Things you may not know about your COROS watch

A short but worthwhile YouTube video. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i-cW4DbPlAE

Recovery Week

A week removed from the Sierras and I feel pretty good. Sleep, energy, resting pulse, all seem back to normal, although the left knee is quite painful on downhill terrain.

On this travel and recovery week I logged: a little over 13 hours, on 175k (170k bike and 5k on foot), with 1000' vertical. I also managed 5 stretching sessions, and two easy strength workouts. Ready to get after it again!

Well I landed on the podium

However, I was 19 minutes slower than when I ran it three years ago. I chalk that up to being slightly longer, the awful weather, and a stop to get out my beefy rain jacket near the end of the race when I was seriously hypothermic.

It was a small age group pool - probably ten folks - but I did manage to beat 20+ people in the 40-50-60 year old age groups.

Until the snow flies I am back in the saddle

BACK IN THE ‘DACKS … almost at Peak Foliage

Still trying to recover from my two weeks in the Sierras, and the 5 weeks of hard training before that!  So, doing lots of stretching, and two-a-day exercise bike workouts, with some short warmup hikes, and strength work thrown in.  I imagine I will get after it again, next week.

Starting to recover

Yesterday was pretty blurry, as I was wasted from the trip and travel; today I am a bit more coherent! It was a great trip - who knows how many more father/daughter adventures are in my legs - however the sierras never fail to excite.

Coupling trail running adventures with a race was pretty spicey, but continuing the long mountain relationship with Mark was the highlight. Whether it's an easy hike, short bike ride, or sitting around the campfire drinking whiskey and telling stories, we look forward to celebrating an outdoor partnership that goes back to 1978.

TRAINING ZONES

As an exercise nerd, I geek out on all this physiological stuff.

https://fasterskier.com/2025/09/training-zones/

But the raw reality, at my age the task is much simpler. What is a heart rate where sustainable cardiovascular gains can be made, without injury or compromising successful adaptations?  (For me - 73 year old male with a long history of training - probably a heart rate of 85 to 115 for almost all of my exercise. And by all of my exercise, I mean every 4 of five training sessions.)

The next question in my geriatric simplification would be: What is the heart rate that will sustainably yield speed for some racing, power for some climbing, or maintenance of max VO2?  (For me, that probably means a pulse of 125-140 for a small portion - say 10% - of my exercise, or about a portion of one or two training sessions every week.) 

So, I won't be measuring lactates, I probably don't need that super-slick Coros Apex 2 Pro watch, because at my age, training isn't rocket science. Maybe it's heretical to say, but at any age or level of athletic performance … it ain't rocket science!

Day #12 in the Sierras

Lucy's last race - the 25k - went pretty well. She finished within her target goal and was just off The Triple Crown podium in fourth place. It was a beautiful day, with a large field, and I managed to hike and run on different parts of the course to cheer Lucy on. We ended the day with a big confab with the extende Ewing clan.

Day will be a long sorting, repacking, and travel day. We drive to the Bay Area; I take a red eye from SFO to Chicago, and then fly to Albany, finishing with the two hour drive to Lake Placid.

Day #11 in the sierras

Yesterday, Lucy raced the Mammoth 50k, with 800 other runners. The course was just under 32 miles, with well over 7000' vertical gain. Lucy was in the top 30 women, but the really good news is that she is sitting in either 4th or fifth in the Triple Crown standings with one race to go … the 25k.

The pictures below were from the 22 mile aid station and the finish line.

Day #10 in the Sierras

The Mammoth Trail Fest starts today with the and the Dragonback ascent to the 11,000' summit. This is a 5k run with just under 2500' vertical. The day was raw, the rain and wind made the footing, even more technical than usual.

Lucy finished as the 8th female (third in her age group), while I also finished third in my age group. My time was slower than in 2022. However, I made a 2 minute stop to put on my rain jacket in the final kilometer which was above tree line. Also, they moved the finish - about 250m - right next to the Gondola. So, it was a pretty good effort, although I was very hypothermic at the finish.

After warming up in the car, changing to dry clothes, we are now fueling, and kicking back at Schatt's in Mammoth.

Day #9 in the Sierras

A casual day. We moved to the lower Lee Vining campsite this morning and are hanging out in Mammoth Lakes. At 2pm we will get our bibs. The race start has been moved up an hour because of the threat of lightning around noon.

Day #8 in the Sierras

The taper to Mammoth Trail Fest is in full bloom. Yesterday we ran on the Sunrise Trail in Tuolumne. Lucy did an easy 7 miler, and I did a three mile shakeout. Today, we will cut that back even more. We ended the afternoon with the view from Olmsted Point and an ice cream cone at the Tuolumne store.

Robert Redford and his love for skiing

https://www.powder.com/news/rip-robert-redford-skiing-sundance?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=powder&utm_content=&hashed_email=d3e1750ccc9b1e465c1b40f08f02801e3dea865ffbb0f204242c79da5feb2147

Day #7 in the Sierras

Starting to taper. Of course, Lucy's idea of a taper was to run up 13,000' Mount Dana. (Her 2:15 time was actually just 30 minutes off the Fastest Known Time for women … she thinks she could Lowe the FKT on another trip.)

I did an easy hike for an hour, and today I will run up to Gardisky Lake. Still sleeping at 9500'; planning to spend Thursday-Sunday at 7000' in Lee Vining for a shorter drive to the races, and access to showers. Of course, we will escape the below freezing nighttime temperatures. (Speaking of which, here is a morning picture, with my iPhone obviously frosted over.)

Day #6 in the Sierras

I had a good first week out west, and the guesstimate on the volume is about 12.5 hours, with two hour long bike rides, three stretching sessions, and 35k+ runs, on probably 3500' vertical.

We are camping at 9500' at Junction just outside Tioga Pass entrance to the National Park. Today, my daughter - the digital nomad - needed to work and so we are spending the morning at Tierra Antigua Cafe.

The nights continue to be chilly in the high 20s.

Day #6 in the Sierras

I had a good first week out west, and the guesstimate on the volume is about 12.5 hours, with two hour long bike rides, three stretching sessions, and 35k+ runs, on probably 3500' vertical.

We are camping at 9500' at Junction just outside Tioga Pass entrance to the National Park. Today, my daughter - the digital nomad - needed to work and so we are spending the morning at Tierra Antigua Cafe.

The nights continue to be chilly in the high 20s.

Day #5 in the Sierras

Lucy ran up Lundy Canyon to Saddlebag Lake, and I did an hour long out and back, after I dropped her off.

Day #4 in the Sierras

We both did good runs from the Green Lakes trail head. Lucy was a 16 mile loop and mine was a 6.5 mile out and back.

Day #3: heading to Tioga Pass

Driving around north shore, over to Nevada and the Carson Valley. A massive, and fatal, traffic accident has had us stuck just short of Bridgeport for quite awhile. Who knows when we will get to Tioga Pass.

GIRL CLIMBER: Maybe the best climbing film ever!

https://youtu.be/YvIfzXPBRxs

Mark and I were able to get tickets to this show, even though it was sold out. Emily Harrington, her husband Adrian Bollinger, and her three year old, were at the show and she did a wonderful Q&A afterwards.

A must see … well it's Day #3 in the Sierras, and we will be driving down to Tioga Pass and camp at Junction or Saddlebag Lake.

Day #2 in Sierras

Lucy spent the morning working and doing a strength workout; while I did some stretching and a nice 80 minute trail run. This afternoon I am biking with Mark while Lucy meets an old NYSEF buddy for a long trail run.

Day #1 in the Sierras

Mostly spent the day catching up with Mark, Liz, and Danny, while Lucy spent most of the day working remotely.

Lucy and I were exhausted from a long travel day, with only about 4-5 hours of sleep. A bit of rain yesterday, but I managed some stretching, an hour bike ride with Mark, as well as a 40 minute run on the old western states trail, while Lucy got in a good run after her last zoom meeting.

So good to be back in the Tahoe area.

Heading to the Sierras

Yesterday, last easy run with Stash.

Another good week ... getting ready to travel

Heading out to the Sierras on Tuesday. I have 7-8 more days of hard workouts, and then a brief taper. Looking forward to the Mammoth Dragon Ascent.

This past week I logged just under 16.5 hours, on 153k (114k bike and 39k run), with just over 5800' vertical. I also managed one strength session where I added an extra set of exercises.

Can Patagonia change our agricultural system?

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/business/patagonia-provisions-dirtbag-billionaire.html

The controversy and criminal trial over the Grand Teton FKT

https://www.irunfar.com/michelino-sunseri-federal-trial-grand-teton-fkt-switchback-cutting-2025

Kilian introduces his new project: states of elevation

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aNaO9dbISUU

Remembering Joss Naylor

A good introduction to a wonderful trail and mountain running magazine, with a large bunch of past stories in its website archive. 

https://www.likethewindmagazine.com/2024/07/03/remembering-joss-naylor/

Do not feed the Talus Shark

Be careful out there! (A watercolor I found in my 1988 TTW journal.)

Newest addition to the Alpine Library Of Hock

Given that I'll be making three trips to the American West in the past four months, I thought it time to read a bit more about the West's history and literature.

So, I have finished Fair Land, Fair Land by A. B. Guthrie, am nearly finished with this wonderful collection Stegner essays, but only four hours into - out of 21 hours - Stephen Ambrose's Undaunted Courage.

Mammoth Trail Training Block

A good first week, in this hard 21 day block which will be followed by an easy week, culminating in the Dragon Ascent.

I logged just under 17 hours, on 148k (111k bike and 37k run), with 5630' vertical. I also managed to do some easy intervals and three strength sessions.