In my training for Elbrus Race 2013 I have done a lot of uphill “running” or “really fast walking” as I like to say to some people I pass on the trails. I’ve done Squaw Peak, just outside of Provo Utah up Rock Canyon a few times. I took the kids up there once in the fall. It was really pretty.
Here is the GPS track from Strava. When I first did this run I placed pretty highly out of those who’ve done it. In the meantime nearly ten others have squeezed in with better times. That’s the fun thing about Strava – your placing is in near real-time. CLICK HERE for more info on it.
It was a while ago, but I remember how hard it was to keep cranking away on that last uphill stretch. I was surprised to see a lot of rock climbing anchors at the summit. I suppose they’ve managed to put in some more long routes on that face. I’ll have to see if they’re anything I can climb.
The below is an example of a training log taken from a Blogger Blog I share with my wife to track our daily workouts, eating, and goals. I use a little shorthand, since I’ve been doing this for years. Each day immediately after each exercise I write what I do on a small whiteboard I got from Target for $1 in those little bargain aisles just inside the door.
Write Your Workout Immediately on a Whiteboard
I can usually get 2-3 days to a board if I’m doing weights, or 5 to a board if I’m doing just cardio.
Right now I’m in full-on training mode for Elbrus Race 2012 (still not locked in, so not totally committed unfortunately – the visa and flight issues at the end of August are causing me moderate stress as I strive to overcome those obstacles). Hence I am not doing heavy weights, but am going for high volume of light weight to flush blood through my muscles and build endurance and vascularity. (some research has shown an increase in acclimatization with greater vascularity)
I really suggest you log your training for best results. I use a blog that I’ve marked as “Private” and given access (by logging in) to myself and my wife. There are a slew of social sites now where you can do the same thing and share it with all your friends, but I’ve been doing this longer than there even were such things, and I really don’t want to share my every day sweating, despite some of more frequent post topics.
One of my favorite aspects of the online blog version of tracking my workouts is that I can give them labels or tags, so I can find groups of exercises with common themes like “going for maximum vertical per hour” or “squat day” etc. and compare where I am now with where I was a year or two ago.
Angie on the Lat Tower of the Power Rack
Key to log below:
I: Inversion Table
ITM: Incline Treadmill
SLDL: Straight Leg Deadlifts
FS: Nordic Track Freestrider
RC: Roman Chair
DB: Dumbbell
M-: Combo Machine
GHR: Glute Ham Raise
xxxx’/yyyy’ left is from machine display, right is from calculator
