Saturday, February 12, 2011

Same old same old again

10 miles in 1:14:47. Average pace 7:27/ average HR 150. There were ~60mph gusts of wind towards the top of the climb. And the warm-up for this run is quite brutal. I usually slog through the first 15:00 just trying to get loose and don't start rolling until the downhill at ~2 miles.
 Below is a screen shot of my route's elevation profile from Garmin. My altimeter measures this route at just over 1850ft of climbing while the Garmin has it at 2116. Can you spot a flat section? This profile could be any (and all) roads up here. Even my "easy" runs turn out to be tough and recovery up here is quite hard to pull off. I can't head out and do a flat and easy jog, there's always climbing and there's always 8000+ ft altitude.

12 comments:

Brett said...

Yup, found the flat. Looking at your elevation graph, at about 23 minutes into your run, I can tell you get to a flat portion that is 12 feet 8 inches in length.

Lucho said...

Haha! Leave it to you... Now I have a place to do my 10 foot intervals!

mtnrunner2 said...

>I usually slog through the first 15:00 just trying to get loose

So it's not just me.

That's the thing with all the trail runs that start down here on the plains: they all go up into the hills for 2-4 miles. That first 15 minutes sure gets the heart and lungs going.

A lot of winter runs have been on a much more moderate uphill grade in my neighborhood. To my surprise, it has helped climbing those steeper trails in the foothills. I thought maybe I'd lose ground over the winter, but it's the opposite.

Then again, you also have people who run Green in Boulder every day, and they seem to do OK in races :)

Lucho said...

Mtr- Ya, this morning I went through the first mile in about 9:30 just trying to get things lubricated. I do a plyometric and dynamic stretching routine for about 2:00 (nothing special) before hand which really helps a ton. Lunges, leg swings, body weight squats etc. I really feel my age this year, like everything caught up all at once.

I think covering the whole spectrum of grades is better than just hitting steep stuff. You won't lose anything.

Where do you live? Evergreen?

mtnrunner2 said...

Lucho - I live near Green Mountain in Lakewood, which I guess is my "Starr Peak". About 3 miles and 1,000 feet gain from my door to the top.

The warmups are a good idea, I should try to develop something.

That header photo is great by the way; one of my favorites of the recent pictures. Really cool light.

Lucho said...

MTr- Not far from me really then? Maybe we can meet up soon. MY Starr Peak tops out at 10,500ft and the Power Line route is close to 1500ft in .9 miles, maybe this spring I can introduce you.
Yes, I love that header pic. One of my favorite too!

Paul Reynolds said...

I would love to see that elevation profile on my Garmin data after a run. I usually top out at 60m above sea level! I could always jog the 800 miles to Ben Nevis though and get dizzy at 1400m!!!! YOUR LUCKY.

Rick said...

That's some solid same old, same old.
I see where Brett found the flat spot, just below the 8,600' mark. Is it really a flat spot, or is that where you stop to get rid of that first cup of coffee?

Kona Shelley said...

whooaaaaaa that's crazy

Lucho said...

Rick- There's no flats. I don't use the "auto pause when stopped" function so not sure a stop would show up as a blip in the elevation profile, I don't think it would. The profile screen shot is about the only reason I reloaded the Garmin ANT, I like to SEE the terrain as a whole. I want to try to find routes that match up for Leadville so I can train similarly.

mtnrunner2 said...

Lucho -
>Starr Peak tops out at 10,500ft and the Power Line route is close to 1500ft in .9 miles, maybe this spring I can introduce you.

THAT is an intense grade. Yeah, it would be fun to get up there for a run some time. I'll take a head start though. lol

Lucho said...

Ya, it's kind of over the top steep at times but quite runnable. The Powerline route crosses several very nice single track trails that go all around the back woods, basically only local horse back riders and few runners know the trails and you'll never find them on a map. There are also several springs that bubble up from the rock and you can refill your bottles.