Hill Running - Accents and Descents

Victor, Tim Long, and Lucho

So as I had stated in previous posts, one of the areas that I really need work on is my descents.  I am fine with short distances; however, if I am running hard downhill for a few miles my quads are useless three to five days after.  I know that a lot of it has to do with conditioning; however, a lot of it has to do with technique. 

 So I really was excited when my wife signed us up for a hill running clinic that Tim Long's (a.k.a. Footfeathers) was conducting in the Marin Headlands.  He brought friends to this clinic, Tim Waggoner (a.k.a. Lucho) and Victor Ballesteros, so you got a full breadth of experience.

Climbing our practice hill.

Lucho, was still recovering from his record performance at the Leadman series, so he was still recovering.  It was nice to see though that these guys are mortal and go through some of the same aches and pains that we all do; even though his effort was a magnitude 11 compared to the magnitude 5 that I am used to!

It was a pretty cold day; however, there was a pretty good turnout.  In fact there were several that had run the Rocky Ridge half-marathon and 10K the day before, so we were in great company.  

Even Victor got into the action.  Notice one foot stays on the ground always.

Tim Long took us up a hill above Rodeo Beach and demonstrated downhill technique.  Basically, you keep your upper body perpendicular to the hill while you are running down in a sitting position.  The best comparison is adapting mogul skiing technique to running.  Your feet are not extended out but make very short but quick steps, with one foot on the ground at all time so that you minimize the force of all of your weight on one leg.

Tim Waggoner illustrated his method, which was similar with the exception that instead you are standing a bit more.  Short quick steps again, keeping one foot on the ground also.

After everyone took turns with feedback from Tim Long, we worked on our ascents.  Basically it is very much like speed walking up hill; however, using your upper body to propel you up the mountain.  Tim Waggoner then showed the method currently being used on the European circuit, which is basically done by placing your hands on your knees and pushing up.

After the clinic, everyone went for a run towards Tennessee Valley. I ran with them a bit; however, decided to cut back to meet Beth who was exploring another part of the trail.  All in all, it is definitely worth the $30 and I learned a lot. Tim does a series of these clinics every month or two and cover subjects like hill training, nutrition, and race planning and strategy.  Check here on a regular basis if you are interested.

Truman is a very happy pup with Cat Corbett!  Photo Brazen Photographer

However, my training wasn’t complete for the weekend.  As I mentioned on my Rocky Ridge post; I was able to run some of the race with Catra Corbett and her dog Truman.  For downhill she recommended that I Google pose running.  Basically it is where you again lean forward, perpendicular to the hill.  You can also find videos on YouTube. The key here is that your feet stay below you so that you are never pounding your quads.  I actually tried this during the race and did not have any quad problems .

So ideally, for me, I will be using the method that Cat Corbett suggested for long downhill firetrails and the Tim Long and Tim Waggoner’s method for technical stuff. 

 At the end of it all, everyone develops their own technique; however, it is great to revisit and refine it every once and a while.

Rocky Ridge 2012

So it was an awesome day for running at Brazen Racing Rocky Ridge Half Marathon, 10K, and 5K!!!  The temperature was just right for our families fourth run at this race.  Emma and me would run the 10K and Sophie and Myles would run the 5K with Beth.  In fact this would be my first attempt at this distance at this race with Beth running it last year.

To be frank, this is a tough race with over 1,900 feet of elevation gain, mostly between mile 2 and 3.  The first two miles though is great!!  It takes me back to high school when I used to run the trails below Stadium High School in Tacoma.  Pretty much all single track, rolling through the Oak Trees, it can be sometimes technical but full of fun!!  Since this is also part of the 5K course my youngest daughter and son treat it like a roller coaster.

Here comes Emma!!

After you run through this section, followed with a bit of downhill fire road you come to the first aid station.  Emma had started out strong; however, she began to drop back after the first mile.  I made it to the aid station about the same time I saw our son and Beth running by on the 5K. 

Cat Corbett with Truman, who won the age division medal!!

After the aid station we began the 1 mile, 1,495 foot elevation gain.  This is where Catra Corbett caught up with me.  She had been running with her dachshund Truman who she recently adopted.  It was nice that I could keep up with her going up the hill and basically run within eye shot of her the rest of the race. At different points I was able to ask some pointers, such as how best to do down hill running.  I notoriously have quad problems after hill runs, so it was nice to ask how she was able to complete over 80 runs over 100 miles without having quad problems.  In fact she will completing another 100-miler next week, Javelina Jundred. For more on Cat Corbet, listen to her interview on ULTRARunnerpodcast.

Wonderful foggy moister!!!

It was really foggy at the top of the ridge, with the trees catching the moisture and dropping down on the trail like rain.  I loved this part, even though it was cold and wet.  It reminded me of when I would ski in Washington when you could only see a couple of feet in front of your face.  But, it was still pretty refreshing.  

Then I began the downhill.  It was wonderful.  It was just steep enough to pull me down the hill but not steep enough to tear up my quads.  In fact I feel great.  Once the finish line was in sight, I left it all on the hill and ran as fast as I could.  My best time on a trail 10K was 1:11:56 on Brazen's Wildcat course last year.  I knew I was close to beating that time and I did at 1:11:12.  This is quite an accomplishment since this  seems to be a much tougher course.

Just as I was finishing I saw Myles, he had just finished (at 53 minutes); and Sophie finished a few seconds behind me (at 56 minutes).  Emma came in at 1:28, which bests her last trail 10K by 15 minutes.  All kids did great with each of them receiving age division medals. For a breakdown of Sophie and Myles run, check out Beth's blog.

To summarize, this is a challenging course; however, because Brazen Racing does such a excellent job in support, it is definitely worth a try.  The only negative was that we missed our friends who were running the half-marathon (its not the same with Mr. and Mrs. NotThatLucas) .  We hope you had most excellent runs and see you at the next adventure!!