Good luck,Jeff, and I look forward to meeting you out here. Thanks for linking to my magazine article. I think Hardrock is unique insofar as success at it has as much or more to do with “systems management” (fueling/hydration, thermoregulation, sleepiness) and troubleshooting (severe weather, trip-and-falls, flooded streams) as physical fitness, so it will take us managing the circumstances as much as training physically to get to the finish line.
Thanks Sarah — I look forward to that, too. I've been admiring your pragmatic approach to getting ready, and I think your finish will be that much sweeter for the adversity. (My wife has been following closely, too — I think the way you've taken injury in stride gives her hope that she can do the same.) On fitness... I agree. I think there's some basic level of fitness that is "table stakes" for a finish, and after that, the gains from more and more training are marginal. I also think that, frustrating as it is, the Hardrock lottery is actually a blessing... by the time most of us get in, we've been through enough situations to give us a fighting chance at getting through this one (I shudder to think how it might have gone if I'd been drawn in one of the early lotteries). Good luck, see you in Silverton!
You seem to have perfected the “embracing the process” part of running. My favorite part was the flex points—I follow a similar approach, but it’s neither as well thought-out nor as grounded in self-awareness. (Which is to say, I am stealing your list.)
Steal away! (And thanks for the restack.). For me it's a puzzle (and an experiment), and I think I get nearly as much from that side of things, the gaming, as I do from the running itself. I spent a good chunk of my formative years as a cavalry officer, so "process" (and planning, contingency planning, sequences and alternatives, etc.) is baked in. (Also, I'm inherently lazy, distractible, prone to procrastination... I need the game part of it, the plans and rules and numbers, or I wouldn't even get out the door.)
A bit of an odd question but, would you say then that the running and the gaming are a continuum of sorts? Like space-time—you can’t have one without the other, but rather sort of inhabit an integrated experience of both?
Absolutely. I guess I'd say it's kind of a co-dependent continuum — the running and the gaming are entangled with each other, feeding and shaping each other. Without the game, the running would lose something essential (or at least it feels that way now). I see these posts with people telling me how I should "leave my watch behind", but for me that's a false sort of romanticism I'm not drawn to at all right now. Maybe that will change for me sometime, but for now, I want (need?) them both — the raw experience of the run, and the data to go with it.
Ah, the watch thing. I do realize people can have an unhealthy relationship with it (because people can have an unhealthy relationship with anything), but the advice to “ditch the watch” always seems to assume universal victimhood of one’s technological devices. As if one can’t use them without losing one’s existential bearings in the process (and if one can’t, I don’t think it’s the device’s fault). I’m glad you enjoy running, and I’m glad you enjoy your data.
Ha! I think I was still in college when I first realized that one of the ways I'd know I'd "made it" was when I didn't have to wear a watch anymore. (Later I added "interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air" as a another signal — don't think that one is happening.)
I applaud your decision to acclimate ahead of time. I ran TransRockies Run last year and the single smartest thing I did in preparation was to live at altitude for the 3 weeks before the race.
When I paced at Hardrock in 2017, I went maybe 4 days early, and I remember the gut-punch of those first runs at altitude. I decided then that if I ever got into this race, I'd figure a way to get there early enough to be through that phase by race day. Hope it's enough...
Wow Jeff, your details always intrigue me. Sounds like a recipe for success. The fun part is always the “execution” of it all😉
It’s been nice following along on Strava and watching your training plan unfold. Now go out there and Ace the test! Will there be tracking? If so, let us know.
Love this plan, especially the built-in (and documented!) flexibility. Seems like you should be at altitude or heading there soon, yes? Best of luck... Can't wait to read more.
Thanks Mike. Yes, I've been in Colorado for 7 days now. Plan is to sleep at ~6500' for the first 10 days or so, while gradually working my runs up to higher altitude, then moving to Silverton for the final 2 weeks (to sleep above 9,000'). So far, this approach seems to be working — I went above 10,000' for the first time yesterday, and felt good. The real challenge will be to remember I'm tapering — so much temptation to do too much, spend all my time on trail.
Thank you for sharing, Jeff! I've wondered about the high altitude. I would love to run these amazing races out west...you give me hope! I might have to wait a bit (2 young kids at home), but this is good to know. I'm so excited for you!
Thanks for the shoutout Jeff! Love the breakdown of your approach. Keep charging!
Good luck,Jeff, and I look forward to meeting you out here. Thanks for linking to my magazine article. I think Hardrock is unique insofar as success at it has as much or more to do with “systems management” (fueling/hydration, thermoregulation, sleepiness) and troubleshooting (severe weather, trip-and-falls, flooded streams) as physical fitness, so it will take us managing the circumstances as much as training physically to get to the finish line.
Thanks Sarah — I look forward to that, too. I've been admiring your pragmatic approach to getting ready, and I think your finish will be that much sweeter for the adversity. (My wife has been following closely, too — I think the way you've taken injury in stride gives her hope that she can do the same.) On fitness... I agree. I think there's some basic level of fitness that is "table stakes" for a finish, and after that, the gains from more and more training are marginal. I also think that, frustrating as it is, the Hardrock lottery is actually a blessing... by the time most of us get in, we've been through enough situations to give us a fighting chance at getting through this one (I shudder to think how it might have gone if I'd been drawn in one of the early lotteries). Good luck, see you in Silverton!
You seem to have perfected the “embracing the process” part of running. My favorite part was the flex points—I follow a similar approach, but it’s neither as well thought-out nor as grounded in self-awareness. (Which is to say, I am stealing your list.)
Can’t wait for the race plan!
Steal away! (And thanks for the restack.). For me it's a puzzle (and an experiment), and I think I get nearly as much from that side of things, the gaming, as I do from the running itself. I spent a good chunk of my formative years as a cavalry officer, so "process" (and planning, contingency planning, sequences and alternatives, etc.) is baked in. (Also, I'm inherently lazy, distractible, prone to procrastination... I need the game part of it, the plans and rules and numbers, or I wouldn't even get out the door.)
A bit of an odd question but, would you say then that the running and the gaming are a continuum of sorts? Like space-time—you can’t have one without the other, but rather sort of inhabit an integrated experience of both?
Absolutely. I guess I'd say it's kind of a co-dependent continuum — the running and the gaming are entangled with each other, feeding and shaping each other. Without the game, the running would lose something essential (or at least it feels that way now). I see these posts with people telling me how I should "leave my watch behind", but for me that's a false sort of romanticism I'm not drawn to at all right now. Maybe that will change for me sometime, but for now, I want (need?) them both — the raw experience of the run, and the data to go with it.
Ah, the watch thing. I do realize people can have an unhealthy relationship with it (because people can have an unhealthy relationship with anything), but the advice to “ditch the watch” always seems to assume universal victimhood of one’s technological devices. As if one can’t use them without losing one’s existential bearings in the process (and if one can’t, I don’t think it’s the device’s fault). I’m glad you enjoy running, and I’m glad you enjoy your data.
Yes — not the device’s fault.
Great read Jeff! So excited for you!
Now I'm dreaming about "no alarm clock" one day. 😴 Great read, so excited to hear more about your journey towards your once in a lifetime race!
Ha! I think I was still in college when I first realized that one of the ways I'd know I'd "made it" was when I didn't have to wear a watch anymore. (Later I added "interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air" as a another signal — don't think that one is happening.)
Great read. Thanks for sharing.
I applaud your decision to acclimate ahead of time. I ran TransRockies Run last year and the single smartest thing I did in preparation was to live at altitude for the 3 weeks before the race.
Thanks for reading, Sam.
When I paced at Hardrock in 2017, I went maybe 4 days early, and I remember the gut-punch of those first runs at altitude. I decided then that if I ever got into this race, I'd figure a way to get there early enough to be through that phase by race day. Hope it's enough...
How was TransRockies?
Wow Jeff, your details always intrigue me. Sounds like a recipe for success. The fun part is always the “execution” of it all😉
It’s been nice following along on Strava and watching your training plan unfold. Now go out there and Ace the test! Will there be tracking? If so, let us know.
Happy Trails!
Thanks, Mary. Yes, there will be tracking — I'll post links when I have them.
Love this plan, especially the built-in (and documented!) flexibility. Seems like you should be at altitude or heading there soon, yes? Best of luck... Can't wait to read more.
Thanks Mike. Yes, I've been in Colorado for 7 days now. Plan is to sleep at ~6500' for the first 10 days or so, while gradually working my runs up to higher altitude, then moving to Silverton for the final 2 weeks (to sleep above 9,000'). So far, this approach seems to be working — I went above 10,000' for the first time yesterday, and felt good. The real challenge will be to remember I'm tapering — so much temptation to do too much, spend all my time on trail.
Super cool. What an adventure.
Thank you for sharing, Jeff! I've wondered about the high altitude. I would love to run these amazing races out west...you give me hope! I might have to wait a bit (2 young kids at home), but this is good to know. I'm so excited for you!