Train In Spain For The Rockies?

Team Everyman Tri member Paul Mandel on his latest training in Europe.

I've been running since the early 1980's, when I was a cross-country runner, miler, and two-miler on the high school running teams in Port Washington, New York. My first long endurance race was when I ran the Boston Marathon as an unofficial runner while a law student at Boston University in 1990. In 2009, now a resident of Boulder, CO, I got serious about distance running again.


I ran the Indian Summer Half Marathon and the Boulder Half Marathon in September, 2009, the NYC Marathon in November, 2009 (raising over $3,000 for Team Continuum), the Phoenix Marathon in January, 2010, the NYC Half Marathon in March, 2010, and the Boston Marathon in April, 2010 (once again, as a Bandit).

In late April of this year, I was starting to think about what endurance races I wanted to do next. All I had on the schedule was the NYC Marathon in November 2010. My neighbor Paul Shippey had been an inspiration to me in my training efforts over the last year, and when he suggested teaming up for a multi-day backcountry running race, it sounded like a good idea at the time. I figured if I can run a marathon, why not the equivalent of five or six marathons over the course of six days, in the mountains? It may be crazy, but now I'm proud to be a member of Team Everyman Tri, entered in the 2010 Trans Rockies Run.

Once I committed to the race, I immediately shifted my training around to include some hills. Conveniently there is a 1000 foot tall hill just behind the northwest Boulder, CO neighborhood I live in. I started slow runs up this hill once or twice a week. It's very different from road work - lots of new muscle stiffness.

In the second half of June, I travelled to Spain on vacation with my wife and two teenagers. I was concerned about keeping up with training, but Paul said "Do what you can and enjoy your holiday." My first run in Spain was a very easy circuit of Madrid's Parque del Buen Retiro, among many jogging Spaniards. Madrid's elevation is only around 2,000 feet.

My next three workouts in Spain were in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We were staying at the home of a friend in Cahars, outside of Grenada. Luckily, within a couple kilometers of the house was a road and bike path up into a mountain recreation area called Cumbres Verdes. I did one eight mile run with a 1,951 ascent and descent. Then a couple days later I followed up with a fifteen miler with a 3,200 foot ascent and descent on the same road. Both runs went well, except that I ran short of water on the longer one - I had counted on reaching a spring-fed fountain that turned out to be farther away than I thought. Next time I'll bring a Camelback.

Another big run in Spain was at the Sol y Nieve ski area. I covered just seven miles, but climbed 2,743 feet, starting at around 6,950 feet and peaking up at 9,400 feet. I ran up the ski slopes until I hit to top of the lifts, and then took a road that led to a big radio telescope at the top of the mountain. I was surprised to find cows grazing at the top, as well a mountain goat that bounded away as I came around a bend near the summit.

We finally spent several days on the Mediterranean coast in a small town called Agua Amarga. There were some surrounding hills to run, but nothing big. Now I'm back in Colorado, and super-high altitude training can start again.

Fuel For The People

Fuel: a source of sustenance or incentive.  That's what the dictionary says! When I think of fuel for racing I think of sustenance more than incentive, because finishing or winning the race is the incentive, but without fuel, the body cannot sustain itself over long periods of extreme athletic activity.

As an endurance athlete I am obviously very aware of my body's need for the best possible replenishment during races. Over the years I have tried so many variations of what what's trending at the time. In the eighties we dumped pure fructose in our water bottles during cycling tours to help get through each stage.  The science of the day huh!

Thankfully sports science has come along way since then and today there are a plethora of products out there for the endurance athlete. My personal choice over the past 10 years or so has been GU Energy products. I have found that they not only help me through the critical 'fueling 'phase of a given race, but more importantly, their products taste good and digest easily. So I was naturally delighted that they stepped up as one of our sponsors for the Trans Rockies Race.

I love their newer ROCTANE ultra endurance line of gels, and have used these in two major marathons in the past year, so I can vouch for their effectiveness. The amino acid contents seem so help hinder the build-up of lactic acid and help prevent cramps.

I tend to use the regular GU for my regular training runs and then switch to ROCTANE for races or long / extreme training sessions. For the TransRockies in August my fuel of choice will be ROCTANE and then the GU Electrolyte brew will be consumed after each stage.  Go GU!

Testing, Testing 1.2.3.

Starting a run at 10,000ft is always a challenge. For the first mile or so the rarefied air saps energy levels as your body craves the oxygen it's being so cruelly denied. I typically find that after the first 10 minutes or so my heart rate settles down and I start to find my rhythm and my heart and lungs stop whining and settle down too.

Today I decided to tackle the Indian Peaks Wilderness area, some 20 miles due west of Boulder for my weekly altitude run. This is one of my favorite playgrounds in both summer and winter, with spectacular 180 degree vistas of the Continental Divide. The area offers incredible hiking, snow shoeing, running and MTB trails.

My goal was to test a few new products on a run up as high as the snow would permit me to go. I was wearing  GoLite Mesa Trail shorts and their Wildwood Trail Run Top. Strapped to my feet were a new pair of Nike Zoom Structure Triax GTX trail shoes, neatly wrapped in a GoreTex layer. I carried a GoLite Dakota Wind Vest in my Camelback - just in case the wind picked up or the weather changed. At these altitudes a a balmy summer day can change to rain and hail in an instant.

I had hardly got down the trail when the snow drifts appeared. The dense forest canopy in the Brainard Lake region of the wilderness area means a slow snow melt every spring, and it can take till mid-July for this trail to be somewhat free of snow and ice. This was however perfect for putting the Gore Tex Nike's to the test. I ran through drifts, post-holed into four-feet thick piles of melting snow, and sloshed through muddy bog for mile after mile as the trail threw up obstacle after obstacle.

The first three miles were mixed, but as soon as I climbed out of the forest up to Lake Isabelle at 11,000 ft, the mud gave way to hard packed snow and huge drifts. The going got tough and I attempted to slither up a few inclines but without crampons I ended up 'skiing' back down in a hurry. All this time the Nike Gore Tex combo kept my feet nice and dry.  Impressive to say the least.

The GoLite gear was awesome too. I have been using some of their products for years, and have to admit to being a fan of the run shorts. The run top, was also very comfy, and its moisture- wicking ability was second to none, even with a Camelback strapped on my back,  I  never felt too sweaty.

So, another successful training run and a great opportunity to test some of the best gear for the Trans Rockies!

Not Quite Hannibal

After the Boston Marathon in April I decided that I would give running a break and focus on triathlon for the remainder of the 2010 season. I was so enjoying the break from running, especially the bike rides up and down the foothills of Boulder and the swim practice at Flatirons Athletic Club, until I met up for coffee in Boulder one Friday with Scott Surface from Outside PR and Roman Mica of EverymanTri.com.

Turns out Scott and his company are involved with the TransRockies race and within 35 minutes of meeting him, I was already day-dreaming about the exciting adventure of the Trans Rockies event.

Truth be told, I had seriously looked at entering the race two years ago with my crazy friend Ambrose Fischer who competed in the Marathon de Sables in 2008. Ambrose and I never got past the initial discussions, so it dropped off my radar until this recent meeting.

Hannibal marched an army and its war elephants over the Alps and Pyrenees in the times before Christ, so running 125 miles in 6 days over a bunch of 12,000 ft Rocky Mountains is certainly something we could tackle in these modern times!

After a few cups of java, the deal was sealed. Myself and teammate, Paul Mandel, would test some of the coolest running and outdoor gear in this epic adventure. I will cover this event with daily reports and product tests for EverymanTri.com and CNN. Bring it On!!

I went for my first high altitude training run this weekend. I knew it was high altitude because I was running in snow, yes snow in late spring. It was between 9,000 and 10,000 ft elevation and raining down in Boulder, so I kind of expected it. I was wearing the Gore Windstopper soft shell, with a polyester running T under it. The temp was in the region of 34F and I felt dry and comfy for the entire 12 miles I traversed. This is the shell I will be using for the big race, so I was happy to get to really test it in advance! Nice job on this Gore!