Posts
Singletrack Explorers Mountain Running Camp 2016
Being from Kentucky, we sea-level runners are all too familiar with two things: humidity and hills. As many of you know, I have had aspirations of soon becoming an ultra runner and eventually moving out to the mountains to do so on a full time basis. I saw a video on Sage Canaday's YouTube channel advertising a mountain running camp in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of Colorado. Without putting any thought into it, I knew that this camp would be the perfect opportunity for me to immerse myself in the real ultra running community and to spring into the sport. I also knew that being in the mountains of Colorado would be something totally new for me; the altitude would be a major factor in my performance as well as the technical, rocky terrain. No matter, I couldn't pass up on this opportunity.
To begin to prepare myself for this trip, I had to, first, recover from my marathon. This took much longer than expected; I had pulled a muscle in my groin that took about two months to heal. With a few weeks to go until camp, U began a vigorous training regime of hill repeats, trails, and overall elevation gain. This was something totally new to me, but my body accepted it and my training performance reflected so. By the time camp came around, I was in good shape...good Kentucky running shape, that is.
The first night of camp, we - myself and 5 other campers - were greeted by Phil Germakian and professional ultra runner, Josh Arthur. We talked briefly about our running backgrounds and what we expected to learn from this camp. I quickly realized that I was definitely the young, inexperienced one of the bunch. What was really interesting though is the locations from which the campers came - most all of us were from about sea level (California, Indiana, Minnesota, Texas, and Kentucky).
Day one was definitely a wake up call for my inexperienced, confident self. Beginning at 10,000 feet, we were to ascend to Arapahoe South Peak at just over 13.000 feet. The round trip, to and from the peak, would total to be 14 miles with over 4000 feet of total elevation gain. To put this in perspective to my previous training, my most comparable run to this was LLTH, a 15 mile trail run with 2600 feet gain. I really can't say I was nervous though - I was there for the experience and for good quality training. The group held together until about 3 miles. At this point, Josh Arthur and I decided to take off ahead at a faster pace. We made it about a quarter of a mile when we spotted a beautiful snow field running steeply down the face of a rocky mountain.
Trusting Josh's expertise and the classic "YOLO" pep talk, I decided to ski down with him. I mean, how often do I get to ski down mountains in Kentucky...with pro runners...in late July? Upon stepping on the ice, we learned very quickly that this was more of an ice field than a snow field. I also quickly realized that Hokas are not made for skiing... come on Hoka. I basically took off down the hill with no control whatsoever. On the GoPro video I recorded, you can hear Josh laughing at my goofy, ridiculous attempt at trying to stay cool as I was basically facing death on this double black diamond ski slope. Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic. Anyway, I managed to stop once or twice on the way down, but never gracefully. As Josh told me to just take it easy and pick the right line, he took off...fast...on a slick ridge of ice - there was no slowing down from there. The camera caught what was a pretty brutal crash at the bottom; Josh did a few somersaults on the rocks at the bottom and developed an epic knot on his quad. I, on the other hand, managed to sprint off the speed I had built up over the next hundred or so meters, jumping over ravines and boulders that lay under tall grass. What made it worse for Josh was the 300 foot climb up loose scree to the top of the ridge. We took our time, needless to say. This was definitely a "you had to be there" moment. (the footage looks pretty awesome on my YouTube video though).
Running with Josh was awesome because I could see myself in his lifestyle and aspirations. In fact, we both have a vision of someday opening some kind of running store so that we can share our love of running with others and contribute to the well being of the greater running community!
The rest of the run was pretty chill - for the next 4 miles or so, I traversed through various rock fields and around mountain ridges, turning the corner on a dozen or more curious marmots. Eventually, I made it to the summit of South Arapahoe, and boy was it breathtaking. Here I am, a kid with so much ambition and so many questions about my future, looking for miles and miles over vast Colorado mountain ranges, and I am just in awe of how easily your worries can fade away when you just go out and "play in the mountains" , as many of the pros put it. (The pictures of this trip can be found on my social media accounts and on YouTube). What was even more awesome to me was that this was only day one!
The second day of camp was something that I had been looking forward to for a long time. Since middle school, I have been watching Sage Canaday's videos on YouTube, noting and utilizing every piece of advice he had to offer. Today was my chance to run with him! The route of the day was from 10,500 up to over 13,000 at Pawnee Pass. (Of course I sported my Hokas)! This run was only about 10.5 miles, but they were absolutely amazing! I, again, gravitated to the front of the group from the start. Here, I ran with Cat Bradley and Ryan Lassen of Salomon, Brandon Hosch, a Hoka rep, Josh Addison, and Sage. This was all too good to be true for me. These amazing people represented everything I want to be as a runner in life: fast, dedicated, successful, giving, and mountain-loving. At the top, I was again blown away by the views. For miles, all we could see were mountains and alpine forestry, blue skies and blue lakes hidden in the valleys and craters of the mountains. It was truly an unbelievable scene... especially for a sea level kid.
The run down was interesting too. This trail was really technical, and I was feeling a need for speed. So being the cross country minded runner I am, I did what I could to keep up with the front of the pack (even though I knew they were running slow for us). Jumping down rocks is not my forte, but I think that I did alright. I've learned that descending doesn't effect my cardio at all really. I think I place all of my attention on not falling that I forget about my cardiovascular stress. My legs, however, were definitely feeling it, primarily my knees. I guess that was to be expected. Let's just say I have some work to do on this area of my running. The full run totaled up to just over ten miles and 3,000 feet.
Day three was to be our final organized camp run up to Mount Audubon at 13,000 feet. On this day, we were joined by Silke Koester and Ryan Smith... and Kea, of course - a sporty little shepherding-like dog that casually "can run up to 30 miles" in the mountains. This dog is a better runner than I am! Like both of the previous days, we started out slow in the alpine forestry, then up rocky singletrack until the peak. Today I ran in the Salomon Sense Pro 2s. Sorry Hoka, but I am a Salomon trail convert (please disregard my previous disdain of ever switching shoe brands). This run, in my opinion ended with the greatest vies at the summit; we could see, if my memory serves me correctly, Pikes Peak, Longs Peak, and many more notable mountains. At 13,000 feet again, I was having the time of my life. This run ended with a total of 9.5 miles and, again, right at around 3,000 feet.
After the run, we went back to the camp to have our last lunch together. I have to add that I've never eaten so well in my life. I'm pretty sure I doubled my sea level caloric intake. All of the food was natural, locally grown, and/or super healthy. Huge shoutout to RAD for providing some awesome food! They literally made the best brownies I've ever tasted!
Now that the camp was over, I had two days on my own in Colorado to do whatever I wanted. So what did I do? I ran, of course. The next morning, I ran to Chautauqua Park in Boulder (now at 5,300 feet) and up/around the flatirons. I was not familiar at all with the area, so I just saw an epic looking mountain, so I went up it. That run was just under 8 miles with 2,600 feet of vert. I wasn't done for the day yet though; that night, I had the opportunity to run with the Rocky Mountain Runners, a local group of awesome people who have a complete and utter love for the sport and greater community of mountain running. We did 6 miles up and down Green Mountain, equaling another 2,600 or so feet of vert. By this point, I was pretty beat. But the RMR group knows the perfect way to recover from some time in the mountains: food! Even though I was the young, shy, newbie of the group, I had a great time hanging out with all of the runners. I indulged in a black bean burger with loads of fries and fats and everything I could get to replenish everything I had spent in the previous days. This was great!
The next day was a day that I had been dreading since I had arrived in Colorado 5 days prior. The thought of leaving such an amazing place was really depressing. I had to go out in some memorable way, so I got some ice cream. I know - not very memorable, but it was good. The bus ride to the air port was so nostalgic; even though I had only been out here for 6 days, I felt like this was my home. Seeing the mountains fade away in the distance was like waving goodbye to a friend or family member as they (or you) leave for a long amount of time. It may be a while before I make it back, but I can just say that I'm on my way, Colorado.
Now that I'm home, running has been...less than decent. I just don't feel invigorated every morning like I did in the mountains. I miss the crisp, dry air of the alpine forests; I miss the marmots; I miss the running community; I miss the rocky descents; I miss the mountains.
I am now in the process of basically reinventing my training. Kentucky has some amazing trails and gnarly hills, so I am going to capitalize on these and make the most of what I have. I will say, the humidity and rolling hills of my home state have really prepared me for speed and high V02, aerobic performance, so thanks for that, KY. The first race of my ultra running career (as of right now) is Cloudsplitter. It is on my home trails and will be a 50k...or a 50 miler; I haven't decided. Whatever it is, I'm stoked to jump into the world of ultra running!
A final word, when the mountains call, you should probably go. They're pretty cool.
The run down was interesting too. This trail was really technical, and I was feeling a need for speed. So being the cross country minded runner I am, I did what I could to keep up with the front of the pack (even though I knew they were running slow for us). Jumping down rocks is not my forte, but I think that I did alright. I've learned that descending doesn't effect my cardio at all really. I think I place all of my attention on not falling that I forget about my cardiovascular stress. My legs, however, were definitely feeling it, primarily my knees. I guess that was to be expected. Let's just say I have some work to do on this area of my running. The full run totaled up to just over ten miles and 3,000 feet.
Day three was to be our final organized camp run up to Mount Audubon at 13,000 feet. On this day, we were joined by Silke Koester and Ryan Smith... and Kea, of course - a sporty little shepherding-like dog that casually "can run up to 30 miles" in the mountains. This dog is a better runner than I am! Like both of the previous days, we started out slow in the alpine forestry, then up rocky singletrack until the peak. Today I ran in the Salomon Sense Pro 2s. Sorry Hoka, but I am a Salomon trail convert (please disregard my previous disdain of ever switching shoe brands). This run, in my opinion ended with the greatest vies at the summit; we could see, if my memory serves me correctly, Pikes Peak, Longs Peak, and many more notable mountains. At 13,000 feet again, I was having the time of my life. This run ended with a total of 9.5 miles and, again, right at around 3,000 feet.
After the run, we went back to the camp to have our last lunch together. I have to add that I've never eaten so well in my life. I'm pretty sure I doubled my sea level caloric intake. All of the food was natural, locally grown, and/or super healthy. Huge shoutout to RAD for providing some awesome food! They literally made the best brownies I've ever tasted!
Now that the camp was over, I had two days on my own in Colorado to do whatever I wanted. So what did I do? I ran, of course. The next morning, I ran to Chautauqua Park in Boulder (now at 5,300 feet) and up/around the flatirons. I was not familiar at all with the area, so I just saw an epic looking mountain, so I went up it. That run was just under 8 miles with 2,600 feet of vert. I wasn't done for the day yet though; that night, I had the opportunity to run with the Rocky Mountain Runners, a local group of awesome people who have a complete and utter love for the sport and greater community of mountain running. We did 6 miles up and down Green Mountain, equaling another 2,600 or so feet of vert. By this point, I was pretty beat. But the RMR group knows the perfect way to recover from some time in the mountains: food! Even though I was the young, shy, newbie of the group, I had a great time hanging out with all of the runners. I indulged in a black bean burger with loads of fries and fats and everything I could get to replenish everything I had spent in the previous days. This was great!
The next day was a day that I had been dreading since I had arrived in Colorado 5 days prior. The thought of leaving such an amazing place was really depressing. I had to go out in some memorable way, so I got some ice cream. I know - not very memorable, but it was good. The bus ride to the air port was so nostalgic; even though I had only been out here for 6 days, I felt like this was my home. Seeing the mountains fade away in the distance was like waving goodbye to a friend or family member as they (or you) leave for a long amount of time. It may be a while before I make it back, but I can just say that I'm on my way, Colorado.
Now that I'm home, running has been...less than decent. I just don't feel invigorated every morning like I did in the mountains. I miss the crisp, dry air of the alpine forests; I miss the marmots; I miss the running community; I miss the rocky descents; I miss the mountains.
I am now in the process of basically reinventing my training. Kentucky has some amazing trails and gnarly hills, so I am going to capitalize on these and make the most of what I have. I will say, the humidity and rolling hills of my home state have really prepared me for speed and high V02, aerobic performance, so thanks for that, KY. The first race of my ultra running career (as of right now) is Cloudsplitter. It is on my home trails and will be a 50k...or a 50 miler; I haven't decided. Whatever it is, I'm stoked to jump into the world of ultra running!
A final word, when the mountains call, you should probably go. They're pretty cool.
