Brandon Fuller

January Training Summary (266.84 miles)

266.84 miles in 25 outings in a time of 46:00:53 with an elevation gain of 34,317 feet at an average heart rate of I don't give a shit.

Well, my last monthly was written in July 2011 so I have been on hiatus for a while. I saw others all rolling in with their numbers last night so I was inspired to get back on the bandwagon. Interestingly, that July 2011 was almost a duplicate of the numbers from this month. Although, I was in the taper then and I am in the build now.

So how are things going?

Um, pretty good. You couldn't ask for a more mild winter so far. I think I have been decent about taking advantage of it but probably could have exploited it more. But I tried to stay true to my changed mindset of running longer more often and not running when I don't want to. That resulted in about 6 days off in January. I am not streaking. I don't care about streaks. I am continuing to focus on time per day more than days per week. Neither are shabby but you gotta pick a primary.

What hurts?

You know, not much. Maybe some pride? Ha. Back in December I felt "crunchy" or "ouchy" all the time. Not so much right now. I think 2 factors may have helped. 1) The increased volume. This is counter-intuitive to some but it does work. My body is returning to that state of limberness and fatigue that its somewhat used to being in. This loosens up all those joints that were getting tight as I tucked into a ball during hibernation. 2) The Hokas? I don't want to claim success there quickly but I have been running all my roads in them and I have nothing to whine about. Normally it is some ache but nothing right now. The downside of those shoes of late are blisters! I have been getting really hot feet in them and finding small randomly placed blisters on toes. I just saw them and go again. But its a high of 50 right now and I am not in them? That doesn't bode well for canyons in June.

What's annoying you?

This cough. I have been coughing for a month or more straight. Flem, snot, everything. I am not sick. I just am a fountain while I run. I often have to stop mid-run multiple times and hack out a lung. So forcefully that my eyes water most of the time. This usually goes away once the heat picks up but that's going to be a while. Minor nod to the wind too. Its not spring yet you dumbshit and you are already messing with us?

Excited for Western?

Yup. I have that healthy time yet still to go before the pressure builds but I feel solid about being ready by race day. For the past 3 years, I have felt really great in June and then I struggle through July and August waiting on Leadville. Some of that is just the total unstructuredness of summertime and kids out of school and such. Its easy to get into a routine during the school year but once the chains lift, its hard to adapt in time. Running the goal race in June should pan out well for me. Crew, pacers, lodging, flights, and more are all set. I just need to get the work done now.

Daily Diversion

Fuck your ski and MTB videos. This thing has 61 MILLION views.

Weekly Training Summary (70.25 miles / 10:32:21)

Can't wake up in sweat
'Cause it ain't over yet
Still dancing with your demons
Victim of your own creation
Beyond the will to fight
Where all that's wrong is right
Where hate don't need a reason
Loathing self-assassination
- A7X

Breakdown

Mon - 10M
Tue - Green Mountain
Wed - 10M
Thu - 10M
Fri - Off
Sat - 13M
Sun - 21M

Thoughts

Limited to one Green this week to try and drive up the mileage a bit. Plus, the ice sucks right now. And the lower numbers have been bugging me. I told myself I wouldn't care about numbers but sometimes its all you have to build confidence. So I took Friday off in order to try and run a bit longer back to back over the weekend. The long run sucked but that's how its supposed to be right now. Slow, painful and making you question how you might do this 5x in a row in a day. But by the last five miles, I had shed the shirt and for a moment I felt like we were mid-summer! Can't wait.

Best of luck to Brooks and Andy at RR100 this weekend. I don't know how you can get up and motivated to run a 100 in February!

But its now time to start planning something bigger for February training. I think I will run from home to Green-Bear-SoBo and back...or until I die. This is good for 50+ miles on a Saturday. Advisers have questioned the value of this run but I feel like its a decent early season flat-ish ritual of pain. I plan on focusing on testing a food strategy that I am going to try out in route. More on that later if its works. The alternate would be some Tony-esque loop through Boulder Mountain Park + Walker. Might save that for March.

Back to Leadville next weekend! Might run a bit but might opt to tie some sticks to my feet and coast downhill with the kids.

Daily Diversion

This is kind of like my life somedays...

Weekly Training Summary (56.00 mi / 8:19:04)

I will not be forgotten
This is my time to shine
I've got the scars to prove it
Only the strong survive
I'm not afraid of dying
Everyone has their time
Life never favored weakness
Welcome to the pride
-5FDP

Breakdown

Mon - 10M
Tue - Off
Wed - Off
Thu - 10M
Fri - 10M
Sat - 20M
Sun - Green Mountain

Thoughts

Its hard to complain about this mild winter we are having but when we have days that dip down colder and wetter, its easy for me to stay inside and get work done so that I can play on days where its not. I learned from last year that I am better off to run 2 hours tomorrow, than run 1 hour today and 1 hour tomorrow.

My body is coming around a bit. I am wearing the Hokas exclusively on runs from home. And honestly, things have felt a little more solid lately. The ankles are complaining as much right now. The hip is doing something new but its not such a feared injury anymore. My quads feel sore all the time but that probably just because work is getting done. Not sure they are miracle shoes yet, but early indications show that they are helping. However, when I finally hit trail on Sunday I had some NB MTs on and it felt great to connect with the ground once again.

JV has been leading the whine about why these mild winter conditions suck for trails. It just causes all this ice to build up. It works better when we have feet of snow packed down. A run up Green either has you changing in and out of spikes every 4 minutes or you just wear them and know you are damaging them. Oh well. At least its warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt on some days.

I signed up for Quad Rock this week. I think its going to be a great tune-up at just the right time. I don't want to focus on time there at all. I want to focus on being consistent all day. One pace for the duration. Trying to even my energy level though the day. Will also be using it to experiment with some new fuel ideas in a race setting. I hope to test out some of that before hand just from home too.

Overall, mileage numbers feel a tad low right now. But I feel like I am squeezing out all the time I can right now with a lot going on. And I want a steady build like I have done in years past. I am just so stoked that I get to peak in June this year instead of waiting until August, which is nearly impossible.

Up Next

Its the season to be registering for stuff. I really tossed this one around but I feel like its a great 50 mile training run just before the big show in California. Its close, hilly, about the same elevation, and maybe just maybe...it will be a hot spring day up in The Fort.

Quad Rock 50 here I come!

Who's in?

Leadville Pacers

While we are on the subject of pacers this week, I wanted to announce my Leadville Trail 100 2012 line-up. These guys!

Oh crap...JT has corrupted the boy already! Well, I guess that's what I am in for.

Nick Pedatella (left) is best known for not being known except to those that know him. Huh? I mean the guy doesn't even have a running blog! I know? Freak. But the dude can run. We spent some quality time together last summer during the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race. Plus, Nick has been a constant commenter on this blog since I can remember. Justin recently wrote up a bit about Nick over here. So Nick will pick me up at Winfield and we will march back home. He says he isn't changing my shorts or cleaning up after me though. So I will let him stand down before that happens and bring in a second pacer.

JT (right) is best known for being a douchebag. And then he runs a lot. And he drinks even more. My Mom, upon meeting him said, "He doesn't look like a runner". That only hurts because he is leading our current showdown series. And since he is not running Leadville himself this year, I am bitter that I won't be able to put another W in my column. So how about he paces me and gets a front row seat to his own PR going down in flames there. The truth is that the guy is a trooper. He got Tim (my WS100 pacer) through Hardrock (read) so I figure he is capable of getting me over Powerline as long as I have some cold ones waiting for him on the other side.

For the final leg of the route though, I have it reserved for my sister, Natalee. She got ripped off by not getting to run last year at Leadville with me. So I plan on letting her run mile 99 of WS100 and that final stretch of LT100. That's a pretty historic set of miles to cover. I would be jealous...if I weren't the runner!

Trail Work

Ugh. So for Western States, I have to do 8 hours of volunteer trail work or race event work before mid-May. If not, I am out. OK. But looking around in mid-January for opportunities isn't easy. So I am being lazy and posting this. Let me know if you run across anything or have a connection to some work. Likely once spring rolls in, I can find something...but it bothers me to see a big red X next to my name until I get this requirement checked off.

Line Up Change

This past weekend while running the Fat Ass 50K in Colorado Springs, JP, my two-time pacer at Leadville decided that he needed to enhance his own race schedule for June. This means that he would no longer be available to come to Squaw and play. I wished him well. After 2 grueling Leadville pacing stints that included everything from dressing me to about everything else, he owes me nothing. I wish I could repay the favor at Leadville 2012 when he lines up...but I will be starting next to him for my 3rd run.

Anyway, this put me into a slight tizzy for about 5 minutes while I shuffled through my thoughts on how to cover the gap. There was one guy that quickly broke out. He ran Leadville 2011. Stayed at my house. He told me how I was going to screw up before I actually did it. He emailed me right after the WS100 news and offered support. He is my guy and I am pretty excited about it. I bring you...Mr. Inside Trail...Mr. Controversy himself...

Tim AKA Footfeathers!

Tim ran 6 100-milers last year, including Leadville and Hardrock. He is currently residing in California but hailed from Boulder previously. So he has knowledge of what I am up to here and what an ascent of Green translates to. He will help me dial this whole thing in -- just like the rest of you on the interwebs should be doing.

Team Shart Headquarters in Squaw is almost full!

Unbreakable? Nah. Unstoppable? Fucking duh.

Weekly Training Summary (54.44 miles / 12:21:48)

Take the time just to listen
When the voices screaming are much too loud,
Take a look in the distance,
Try and see it all,
Chances are that ya might find,
That we share a common discomfort now
I feel I'm walking a fine line
Tell me only if it's real
- A7X

Breakdown

Mon - Mission Peak
Tue - Mission Peak
Wed - Mission Peak
Thu - Mission Peak
Fri - Sick
Sat - 32M
Sun - Off

Thoughts

15,956 feet of gain on the week. That's my biggest week ever. Its January. Wow.

So I left for California on Sunday night. Woke up Monday morning and drove straight over to Mission Peak. Its about a 2,100 foot climb over 3 miles. Its a great grade to run up. So I repeated it each morning that I was there because I had flexibility in my early morning schedule. It felt so warm in the sunshine there that I could only dream of the return of the heat back home. Glenn joined me on Tuesday. By Wednesday, my legs were feeling it. They were still working and I knew I was into something by repeating this day after day. I successfully ran every step to the top, even on my final run on Thursday. Felt very weak at the summit yet knew that strength would follow on recovery.

Friday I was just too sick to go out into the colder temps. So I rested what I could in anticipation of a better effort on Saturday.

Proud to have run for 8 hours on Saturday. That's a lot of time on my feet. One of my core changes for 2012 is more long-long runs and that counted. I didn't do any last year and it was a failure. I plan on at least 1 a month right now and January is now checked off the list.

Sunday was my planned off day. Didn't even think about running given my family let me play all day Saturday. Now it was time for all of us to be together and do stuff.

So not a lot of mileage but a nice bump in time plus getting most at once is a star on my training plan. I told myself I would do a few things different this year and those are mostly playing out by the looks of the schedule so far. Hope I can continue it.

I really felt slow and out of shape this week. But NMP reminded me that its only January and you really don't want to be feeling like you are on top of your game right now. He's right. So maybe just a touch of feeling like I am back in the saddle again. Hopefully, the roar will return in due time.