I spent last week in Palm Springs doing some pretty serious pool relaxing as well as some hill work. On Sunday, my brother and I took the tramway up from the hot desert valley (it was 90 degrees) and hiked in mountain snow where the temps were in the 40s. Up on top, the air was pretty thin - we started at 8,300 feet and ascended to about 9,000 feet. The footing was not ideal as the snow was slippery. Most of the people we passed were either wearing snowshoes or skis!
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| Spring hiking near Palm Springs |
On Thursday, I actually ran up a "mountain" trail near downtown Palm Springs for three miles.
Despite the inclines, I felt really good and didn't get winded. It was so much fun and the views were spectacular, I had to fight the urge to go up again when I was finished!
Since there is no such thing as a truly flat street in PS, I saved my 20% speedwork for the downhill portions and was cruising pretty well - between a 6:00/mile and 6:20/mile in one mile intervals (with more than a little gravity assist).
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| Trail running in the mountains |
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| Elevation chart of Thursday's Mountain trail run |
Oh yeah, in addition to the 50 vacation miles I ran/hiked, I also had a lot of time to chill in the pool and try out my underwater camera.
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| Underwater in PS |
I now know I have decent endurance and can go uphill pretty well, so what should my strategy be on the flat Shuffle Course? I came up with this pace strategy off of the top of my head:
6:30, 6:10, 6:10, 6:00, 5:55 = 30:45
I like going out slowly for the first mile (as I may have mentioned in my last post). Even though my goal will be a minute and a half slower than my PR time last year, I am hoping if I feel good after mile three, I can always speed up and try and set a 2nd fastest PR of a sub 30:35.
In addition to being pumped for the race, I also scored a pass to the VIP tent, so it'll be a fun time regardless of what happens!
Anyone else shuffling?
I'll be there! At least, I'm signed up! Hopefully I don't bail this year! :)
ReplyDeleteAs motivation: It'll be a good tune-up for your 10 miler and remember, there will be beer at the finish!
DeleteYour PS pics look great! Next time you need a trail fix, come to San Jose :) your plan for Sunday sounds spot-on, too. I bet you'll end up surprising yourself. :) What's the weather report?
ReplyDeleteThanks, I need to visit Northern California one of these days! Looks like typical Shuffle weather, i.e. upper 30s with a slight wind. I like to leave a little wiggle room in my race plans especially this early in the season. :)
DeleteI'm not Shuffling--too big of race for this middle of the packer. I'm so glad to hear you've got your mojo back!
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
It is probably the most hassle (packet pickup and parking at McCormick Place and then park and crowds in Grant Park) per mile than any other race on my calendar! Thanks, I hope it stays back for awhile.
DeleteI'm shuffling, and I'll pretty much be starting by the time you finish :) I'm hoping to do the first mile at my usual 12:00 pace, then pick it up each mile from there.
ReplyDeleteRunning up a mountain sounds pretty cool! And obviously good training for running up "Mount" Roosevelt on Sunday ;)
I like your negative split strategy, it will be interesting to see how many runners you pass who are fading while you are revving up! Yes, that mountain training will come in handy for the 10 foot incline of Mt. Roosevelt! :)
DeleteI'm just copying your negative split strategy (your pace x 2!) :)
DeleteMaybe I'll see you in the beer garden?
Awesome. It will be interesting to see how my split strategy x 2 works for you! I will be in the VIP tent enjoying whatever free stuff they have there for a few minutes, then I'll head over to the beer garden. See you Sunday!
DeleteI was this close to running the SS this year (since I've never run it) but opted not to when I considered the effort of packet pickup, parking etc. I think you're going to have a great race despite your "low" mileage. Ha! Your trip looks perfect!
ReplyDelete