The Dot Com Death Run

I've been making it a point to get outta the city and hit the beautiful hilly trails that surround us in the San Francisco Bay Area. This time of year the weather is great, wild flowers are popping and the trails aren't quite so saturated with the summer crowds.

Last weekend I embarked on what I have since dubbed "The Dot Com Death Run", a 15 mile run with 4200' of elevation gain and descent.  Don't steal that name race directors! I might use it and start my own race with that one day. I picked the MONTE BELLO OPEN SPACE PRESERVE (photo above)... I was actually on my way to Portola Redwoods State Park but I saw the Monte Bello parking area and decided to check it out. I had a map of the area in my hiking book so I felt comfortable to get out there and explore. Once I parked I realized I had only brought one large bottle of water and only two 12oz Amphipod Bottles and there was nowhere to fill up on the run or in the parking lot. Shit. The last store I saw was about 30 minutes earlier. I had some salt tabs, 3 GUs and figured I would just tough it out. As you can see in the pic, there is quite a lot of exposed ridge there and it was about 75 that day. You can also see in the pic that it drops down 2000' to Stevens Creek. I took off along that ridge for a couple miles and came to a crossroads. I decided to drop down to the creek which was an extremely steep 1.5 miles. Then I hung a left at another trail intersection and ran along the creek for a few miles. At this point, I hadn't seen anyone for a while and running in completely new territory I was starting to feel kinda "out there"... especially being a dude who lives in the city :) Was I going to be able to remember the turns I made on the way back? Was a mountain lion going to try and make me dinner? All of this analysis was taxing my running and then I remembered some wise running wisdom I once heard (or read) "take what the trail offers you". This is good advice for life as well, so I carried on. 5 minutes later I ran up to the creek crossing and one of the most amazing Redwoods groves I have ever seen. I crossed Stevens Creek and ran the 2 miles and 1800 ft up to the ridge at Skyline Blvd. My water conservation was going as best it could which meant I drank most of it already.

I turned around and bombed back down through the redwoods across the creek (forcing myself not to drink any creek water... it was so cold and tempting though) and pushed back up the gently rolling creek side trail to the base of.... the death climb. I saved about 4 ounces of water to drink when I got to the top. I was parched at this point. I started up the hill into the sun trying to run every 50ft or so. Damn that hill was steep. As I was about 2/3 of the way up a turkey vulture started circling me... I yelled up to him (or her), "I'm not dead yet!" and I mustered up some energy to run another five feet :) Deep in thought on the ascent of the death climb I started thinking back to the views of Silicon Valley from the ridge above and then I started thinking of that turkey vulture thinking about how close my proximity to death looked and then it dawned on me, this run would forever be known as The Dot Com Death Run. 

Pacific Coast Trail Runs WOODSIDE 17KM Race Report

A couple Saturday's ago (4/14/2012) I had the good fortune to run in Pacific Coast Trail Run's Woodside 17km Race. For those who do not know, Woodside is a beautiful small town located about 30 minutes south of San Francisco. It's nestled up against the Coastal Range (I think generally it's the Santa Cruz Mountains) with some horse ranches, vineyards, Redwoods and some bad-ass-hilly-windy trails.

It rained Wed to Thurs last week so the trails were a bit muddy but the weather cleared and it was a beautiful Saturday morning for the race. "PCTR" offered 10km, 17km, 35km and 50km distances. Working my way back from injury I chose the 17km and having a quick recovery I was looking forward to a faster race.

The race started at 915am which was mellow. There was a slight bottle neck as all of the runners moved from the start line on a field onto the single track. After about a half mile of pretty flat trail we started climbing... We climbed up about 10 or 11km to Skyline Boulevard. It was a challenging but not to technical climb with a lot of switch backs. Once we hit the (well-stocked) aid station at Skyline Blvd we turned around and started our descent.... This part of the race was awesome! I spent it bombing down the trail winding through the Redwoods. I made up for my slower than anticipated climb, passed some people and ended up finishing 6th place in my age group (30-39) and 19th place overall.

I noticed that most of 17Kers did not carry h2o or electrolyte drink. I carried a small 12oz bottle of Cytomax (see pic below)... i found it helped me quite a bit to push on up the hill and continue pushing on a hard downhill run. I wasn't wearing my Garmin that day but I know I was getting into mid 6 min/mile pace on the way down.

It was an excellent, fun race and I would highly recommend it to all runners. Here's me coming into the finish...

  

Running Exercises and Conditioning

I don't often write posts about running advice but after coming back from an injury I have been focused on what makes my running engine run smooth. I think one of the most important things about being a successful runner (successful = healthy and running as much as possible) is to keep as versatile a training schedule as possible. Mixing up the terrain that you run on, the shoes that you wear, the time of day you run (that's a tough one!), doing cross training exercises and STRETCHING with a focus on alignment will help you grow as a runner.

The foundation consists of building up mileage slowly while simultaneously building up strength (this can translate to whatever level of running you're at). You need your whole body to be strong but strong in the right way. Building your mileage slowly while strength training a few times per week will build up your endurance muscles quickly and effectively. I find that lunges (make sure you keep your knee directly above your ankle through the whole movement and I find that reverse lunges, the ones where you step back are best to maintain focus on your quads, balance and butt muscles) are great foundation builders. I am also a firm believer in calf raises, lighter squats, pull ups (or muscle ups if you can do them), flys, slow push ups and a lot of core work... not ab work but core work: Planks (see video below) are crucial to running long distances, Toe Taps (see video below).

After you've built your foundation (never stop doing those exercises, I dedicate 2 solid days per week to strength training and throw in bits and pieces of strength training throughout the week), you can start ramping up the mileage and switching up the terrain that you run on. A serious runner, or a runner who wants to become stronger, faster and run farther should run all types of terrain: trails, track and hills. If you can stay off of concrete and/or pavement completely you'll be better off. Hills are exceptional running tools. Short workouts on hills (up and down) are great for building running strength and stamina. Same with speed work at the track.

Stretching: It is crucial to stretch everyday, even on your off/rest days. The most important stretches to do are: calf stretches, quad stretches and hamstrings. Ok, hamstrings are probably the most important of all and you should do them with a rope laying on your back. See video below. If you're having running related injuries from Plantar Fasciitis to lower back pain to calf pain to knee pain the few minutes you spend on your hamstrings per day might just fix you!

Good luck out there! Run like water flows.

Planks:

Toe Taps:

Hamstring Stretches (sorry about the music and cheesy yoga style):

Brooks Cascadia 7 Review

Best. Shoe. Ever. I have loved the Brooks Cascadia since the 4th edition. There is something about these shoes that makes them stand out. Maybe its the combination of simplicity and durability or maybe its the light weight, non-bulky-ness that allows you to be nimble on ANY type of trail. That is something a lot of trail running shoes cannot lay claim to. I have reviewed the cascadias before, here's my review of last years CASCADIA 6 REVIEW so you have idea of what the shoes were like before if you don't know...

This year Brooks brought back the classic outer-tread of earlier Cascadias... they changed it on the 6s. I was happy to see this. They also changed the center tread to a cleat style. That combo has created a very sticky feel on trails whether they are muddy or rocky. The 6s were great but not as great as the 4s and the 7s are a HUGE step up. Brooks seriously raised the bar this year. They also come equipped with a curved lacing system and meshy yet durable fabric that wraps your foot which yields a feeling of agility. Brooks kept their "pivot" point system which for turning on a dime at high speeds. And one of the best things about them, they still dry quickly after crossing a stream or stepping in a puddle.

I have thrown down some epic runs over the past few weeks in these guys and like I did on the 4s, I am already thinking about stock piling a couple pairs of these guys. Check 'em out and scoop a pair from BROOKS. or Support the Blog and use the link below!