Forced-rest is just that

Yesterday :: PM: 10mi easy

I was pretty jazzed about running yesterday, so despite only getting 3hrs of sleep from 6am to 9am, I rested all day on the couch watching bike racing and then went for an easy 10mi evening run. The calf gave me a little bit of a scare after feeling fine on Saturday, so I came home and took care of it while watching US Track & Field Champs recorded over the weekend. This morning I decided to take the day off, despite not really wanting too, so I just stretched and rehabbed the leg. Repeat for the evening. Better safe than sorry because I need to get this fixed once and for all. There's always something with running...

The Magic that is the Western States 100

Yesterday I added another race to the must-do list.

After the disappointment of the cancellation of the 35th running of Western States last year due to forest fires, the atmosphere seemed particularly electric amongst all. No more was that more apparent than at the start line, where 445 runners and twice as many crew members gathered to see the runners off under the break of dawn. The Kimball-crew was a mixed bag of nervous-energy and contained-excitement for what was to come, and as a rookie to this event, I added to that the feeling of the unknown.

Having decided to spend the morning having breakfast with my extremely gracious hosts Ingrid and Kip at their home in Squaw Valley, I decided to catch up with the rest of the Crew at Michigan Bluff, the 57mi marker. Upon arriving, I learned from the rest of The North Face contingent that, for a number of reasons, our charge, Nikki, had the worst start to an ultra that she has ever experienced. Without being able to hold down any food or fluid, and the temperatures rapidly climbing into the 90's, she was in a terrible mess by the time she came into contact with her crew for the first time at Robinson Flats, the 30mi marker. Waiting patiently at Michigan Bluffs and with the computer connections down and no cel-phone service to keep up to date, we had no idea what we were going to face when she came in. We had already learned that a number of the top runners on both the men's and women's side had dropped between 30 and 38mi, underlying just how tough the conditions were very early on in the race. I was having my doubts as to if I'd even get the chance to run my part of this famed course as the faster runners slowly made their way in. The good news was that on the men' side, we had 3 TNF athletes in the top 8, and one more in the top 20; all looked very strong coming through the halfway mark.

So it was to the relief and excitement of all that our 3-time defending champion, although way behind on pace and obviously very rattled, came into the 57mi checkpoint at a run and with a fire in her eyes. Wanting to know exactly where the competition is a great sign because it means you're still in an attack, as opposed to survival, mode. After a brief stint at the check station and continuing on, we raced to the cars to get to the first pacer-station only 5 miles away where I was to pick her up and run with her through mile 80. I've gotten to know Nikki quite well over the years, which is one of the reasons I had the honor of pacing her, and we immediately fell into joking conversation to keep the mood light. It's sometimes tough to fill 4 hours with talk of stories and candid conversation, but not having spoken much in the past few months we were able to do plenty of catching-up to keep the attention off now 70mile-tired legs, and on everything from motorcycles to what constitutes a Montana-Triathlon. Ask me about that one later; that is a story for another time! In the mean time, unbeknowst to us, our boys continued to move on up the field and take advantage of the fast-starters who were beginning to come back.

As sometimes happens in these types of runs and although extremely fatigued, Nikki showed signs of getting stronger as the run progressed. When we met up with Molly, her second pacer who would take her through to the finish, I'm pretty sure it was her dragging my tired-ass up the hill to Green Gate with an increasingly apparent spring in her step. Moving into the night after leaving Green Gate to catch up with the two runners at the 93mi marker, the tiredness of all was starting to soak in. After much waiting, alternating between coffee and hot chocolate and enjoying the warmth of the evening having left the droves of mosqitoes to feast on the runners still down by the river, Nikki and Molly finally came through the final crew station just after midnight; well after the usual finish time for her on a good day and still with 7miles to run.

Despite finishing strong and both making up time on the girls in front as well as gapping those behind her, Nikki achieved a pretty strong PW, or personal worst, for the race. Ironically though, it's sometimes the tough races that force you to show the most character and resolve, and this was no exception. There was plenty of opportunity, and frankly, understandable reason, to drop as many others did. Once the short-lived tiredness fades, pride-of-character will emerge and show this to be a triumph over adversity rather than a disappointment because it's often in our apparent failures that we learn the most about ourselves. Nikki Kimball is one tough cookie and a true competitor and I, for one, am glad I was able to play a small part in todays victory. The men's leaderboard displayed the triumph of three elated runners, Kaburagi, Jez and Leigh having eventually finished in 2nd, 3rd and 7th respectively with Michael ending up well deserved 15th having raced World 100km Championships just a week ago.

Although I'm a far cry from even thinking of running something like this, I know that the day will come when I'll make the transition from crew-member and pacer to runner. I hope I enjoy the savage nature of the event every bit as much I anticipate that I will.

Thursday :: AM: 30min easy PM: 45min easy

Today was a good day. No, correction: today was a great day! Before the clock struck 10:00, I:

• Ran for only the second time in a week
  
• Booked a ticket to Geneva
• Talked to one of my good friends
• Set the DVR for SA v. Brazil in the Confederations Cup Semi

Big news first! A few weeks ago, I alluded to the fact that I would be saving my pennies for a rainy day. Well, I'm told that the forecast is 100% positive for thundershowers on August 21! I am for sure flying to Chamonix for The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc on August 28 and better still, I'm making a stop via Berlin to watch Tera and Paige race at the World Championships! If I look at the grand scheme of things, fate is certainly smiling on me at the present moment even if the running is having a few hiccoughs. Everyone wants to travel to Europe, especially when it's with your friends and coworkers to a beautiful resort town like Chamonix, but it's so much sweeter to when you get to see two of your friends dreams coming true! So the planning begins... I get in to Geneva at 1pm on the 22nd, and will be back at 1pm on the 27th. How I get to Berlin, and where I'll be for the days after that, are anyone's guess. I have some scheduling to do, but I think I may leave a lot of this trip to chance as I'd like to do some travelling with Tera and Paige after their work is done. Somebody pinch me please!

I also managed to run, twice actually, today as my calf finally felt good enough to test. I've spent a lot of time on the bike, which has been fun, so I'm not too worried about my fitness and mentally I'm now about as hungry as ever to start doing some serious training. New York is only 17 weeks away, and it's going to take that long to get myself in what I hope will be 2:25 shape. As long as I take care of myself I think I can get there with some aggressive workouts and some smart, if not high-mileage, training.

The bad news of the day is that SA lost a game that they should have won against Brazil. They were the better team, controlled the pitch for most of the game and had far more opportunities than the Brazilians did. However, a fantastic free kick from Alvez put an end to the run with 4 minutes left in regulation time and there was simply no time for the Bafana Bafana to retaliate. I guess it was simply too much to ask for a USA v. SA Final. The good news is that the South Africans played their best soccer in years, and with the World Cup only a year away, their timing could not be better. I cannot think of a better way to unite the country than the soccer boys doing well next year!

So, with a big day behind me, I need to wind down with some stretching and precautionary icing. This weekend I am pacing my friend Nikki for about 20mi of the Western States 100mi from Squaw Valley to Auburn. Since she's in with a fighting chance of a win, I need to be able to pull her through some of the tougher sections without worrying about myself.

Love you all,

When you can't run, enjoy the bike

Thursday :: 26mi ride too-and-from work
Friday :: 50mi: Long ride in, long ride home
Saturday :: 45mi through the hills

I went out the door to run after 3 days off, and my leg still didn't feel right. After running just 1 mile, I bagged it and went out on the bike instead. I hate not being able to train properly, but the upside is that I get to spend time on the bike which I really miss. Even after three longer days in row after virtually no riding this year, the legs still felt fine. I rode solo today, and there were very few other riders on the road which is weird considering the great weather. Overall it was a good day spend out in the sunshine though, although I'm hoping that I can return to my normal routine tomorrow.

Plans for the 4th are coming along nicely. I finally got around to buying tickets for MotoGP at Laguna Seca in two weeks time, and miraculously they still had a camp site available! The plan is to go down and watch some AMA racing on Saturday, cruise around the expo and then grill out, have some beers, and celebrate the 4th moto-style! It's going to be a great time!



Miss you all,

J

Mon :: 8mi easy. Had to limp home because my right calf let go again. No more Nike Zoom Elite's for me. I love them, but they're just too soft and stretch my calves too much.

Tues :: OFF, ice and rest.

So the good news of the weekend continued today when my friend John called me from Boulder and told me he got engaged! How stoked am I right now?!? My friends have the coolest things happening to them; it makes me really happy. I've only met his fiance once, but I think she's great. She's a PT too so that ranks pretty highly in my books. I don't get to see them nearly often enough; I think I need to make another trip back to the Republic of Boulder. In addition, Salym's belly finally exploded and out came baby Irelyn! Irelyn Hagen Hunter to tell you the full glory of it! I spoke to her briefly a few hours after she gave birth and she sounded remarkably calm considering, but I think that may have been the drugs talking! I can't wait to see the little one...

On a different note, I now have three bikes in my stable getting work done on them. For once, it's not my bike getting the attention because it's running great; however, the KTM is running like shit again, and Paige's Hawk had a bit of a mishap on Sunday and now has oil everywhere it shouldn't and is belching smoke that would make a Chinese factory proud! I took the airbox off and removed the carbs; both were covered in oil so I cleaned them out and tomorrow I need to get into the crankcase breather system because I think that is what caused the problem. Should cost nothing but time to fix though which is good, and it gives me something to do since I need to take a few days off from training to heal my leg.

Thats it for now. I'm off to shower off some of this gasonline stench

Does it get any better than this?

Fri :: 10mi easy
Sat :: 7 x 500m hills; 10mi
Sun :: 12mi steady

It's working. So far.

I have a tendency to get lazy when I'm tired, especially when I don't get enough sleep. Miss one days training though and your entire week is f'ed. Do that regularly and the missed training all starts to add up. So I've decided to keep myself honest by holding myself accountable with whoever reads this thing. Probably only 2 of you; thanks mom and Ginger. Today's what's-going-on-in-Jason's world update has nothing to do with Jason though, it has to do with two other amazing souls, who despite the distance and infrequent contact are on my mind frequently.

A few weeks back I received the incredible news that my friend Tera had been selected for the USA World Track and Field Championships Marathon team in Berlin later this year. To say that put a ridiculous grin on my face would be an understatement; only those that know how hard Tera has worked through-and-since college will realize what an incredible accomplishment this is. To have a good friend reach these heights is really quite incredible and I'm really looking forward to running the SF Half with her late July. However, the good news gets even better.

On Friday I was texting back and forth with someone who holds more respect and affection than probably anyone else on the planet. For various reasons we don't talk too much these days, but I know that she has been recovering from knee surgery the past month. Such things usually take a little while to recover from, at least in order to get back to 100+ mi/week of training anyways. Knowing Paige, she's probably still cross-training to the verge of exhaustion in order to maintain a high level of fitness, which has worked well in the past. I've learned from experience never to doubt her tenacity, mental toughness, and simple drive to be the best she can be. Neverthless, I had no idea how to even respond when she texted me that she was going to be at the World Summit to finalize travel and pick up gear for Berlin. Berlin!?! As in World Championships in August Berlin? "Oh ha - ya I was selected for the marathon" she writes back. No fucking way! So not only do I get to see one of my friends dream's coming true, I get to see two of them! How incredible is that! Believe it or not, the news potentially gets exponentially better than that too! I can't allow myself to get too excited about this part though because I'm only about 75% sure that I can pull this part off. Believe me... if I do, and I intend to do everything in my power to do so, you won't have to read it here because wherever you are in this great world; trust me, you'll be able to hear me! For now, let's just say that I'm going to be putting my pennies aside in case I need them for a not-so-rainy day!

If all this isn't motivation to bust my own ass to achieve my somewhat (ok, a whole lot) smaller goals come NYC Marathon in Nov, then I don't deserve to call myself a real runner.

I can't wait until Monday!!

Objective Improvement

Wed :: AM: 8 Easy
PM: 4 Easy with Drills

Today :: 12.5mi Progression run: 72min flat

The only flat run I have around here that doesn't take me through the 'hood is my route to work. Mostly I do it on the bike, but a couple of times a month I run it. Since it's flat I usually end up using this as my tempo run because running down hills at 5min pace makes me very nervous. It's just shy of the Half-Marathon distance so it's also a good physical and mental fitness indicator when I end up picking it up over the final 5mi. Although I seldom push it over the edge, it takes some resolve to pick it up after 8 solid miles of tempo. Today was the fastest I've ever run this route; roughly 75min for the Half which is 5:45's. Later in the season I won't be all that confident with this pace because it's not near fast enough to get me to where I want, but for now I'm happy. I'm also tired because it's been a mentally draining few days at work. Not that I'm complaining. It's almost the weekend!

Dead, Deader, Dead

Mon: 5mi Easy recovery
Tuesday: AM : 8 of some of the tiredest miles I remember in a long time...
PM : Nearly died at Yoga

Man I hope I'm recovered for tomorrow's workout...

Solid Weekend's Training

~15mi on trails :: steady

Sometimes it's good to mix things up a bit. I'm the worst offender when it come to routine and after a while it shows because your training begins to stall, mentally it's easy to burn out, and running just gets boring. So today I hit the trails for my long run. The trail system in the East Bay is really fantastic for exploring; the problem is that it is tough to avoid elevation. I've found a route that doesn't have too much walking, but for me, if I'm having to redline just to run slowly up a hill, it's too steep. This may not be a problem for trail runners, but I have no interest in struggling to run 9min pace up hill. Occasionally it's ok to just relax, take it easy and enjoy the run which is exactly what I did today. The legs felt great after 15mi of solid running yesterday, and I'm finally feeling like a runner again.

I just realized that I never posted final pics of my bike in it's new black-and-white dress, so here they are before I get the chance to destroy it again ;) I hope you all have had a great weekend!

Feeling Strong

AM :: 6 x 500m Hills, 10mi :: Steady, Hard aerobic workout
PM :: 5mi easy

I'm stacking too much of my mileage over the weekends and I'm starting to feel like a recreational runner. Once my sleep pattern sorts itself out and I'm able to get to bed a decent hour, I think I'll be able to fit more in during the week. This week I ended up falling asleep on the couch after work, waking up, and going right to bed; the end result was close to 8hrs sleep and I felt ready to roll in the morning. I need more of that. I have a 15miler at a steady pace tomorrow that I'm looking forward to because I think I'm going to head out to the trails, which will give me 30 solid miles in two days. This next week should be a great week for training though because the rest of the team is in China, which means I'll be able to get everything done in the office without interuptions. 9-5 is kind of a luxury right now that I'm going to take advantage of.

This afternoon I took advantage of a great record store out here that I've somehow never visited. They have a truly overwhelming array of new and used music on all types of media so I browsed for quite a while. I picked up a few more U2 albums missing from the collection as well as some other random stuff, including a few compilations from South Africa. I managed to get out without going too crazy so it was a good day. I'll be back for more next month.

Off to bed. Too much to do tomorrow to be tired.

J

Is it June already?

Has it really been 2 weeks since I was last on here? I honestly can't believe that it's June already, but since I'm entrenched in brief-writing I guess it must be. I have 6 pretty cool new product briefs that I'm working on for Spring 2011, and the line is finally starting to take shape the way I want it to. Things never happen as fast as you like in product manufacturing and you're never satisfied with product in the market because you're already developing 2 seasons-ahead, but I think I'm going to look back in 2 years time and be pretty proud of the S'11 Running line!

Speaking of which, running continues to go well. I'm not at the mileage I want to be, but I started with workouts last week anyway and despite easing into it I'm happy that it felt as easy as it did:

6x1000m @3min15 w/400m recovery

Almost 15sec slower than I've done them at altitude, but I was a little worried that after nothing faster than tempo pace for the past 6 months my calves wouldn't hold up. The legs were just fine though and I'm feeling ready to ease into some faster workouts. I'm going to need them in order to run decently at the SF Half in 7weeks...