Believe to Achieve

WOW, NICE mileage and pace! You know what to do, ice shock sounds good, refuel and rehydrate is in order. Hope you're not working tonight so you can rest up those speedy legs for the downhill pounding speedy mp miles tomorrow! I am certain you do NOT and will not have scardy cats legs!

You'll do great! I am curious about this concept of prolonged downhill running and what it does to your legs/the trade-off of speed/the effects of altitude! One of these days I'm going to have to come to Utah and try it all out!

April, it may not be pretty (for my legs). Ogden actually only drops 1100 feet for the 26.2 miles and this canyon run I have planned drops 1700. 1100 foot drop in the first 7.2 miles after I warm up by climbing UP two miles. So speed is sometimes hard to control with the legs on the downhill, you could almost trip over yourself if you let them go or end up with other muscles sore from "putting on the breaks". So which muscles do you think would be sore for breaks? and which for flying forward? I really wanted a drop more closer to Ogden so next week I will run Provo Canyon. The drop is more similar and gradual. Not as scary on the legs, except that most of Ogden's drop in elevation is from miles 17 to 22.5 so that's a lot of leg killing downhill close to the finish then its rolling river path for two miles and a mile straightaway. Before mile 17 its rolling hills and one short good uphill. I don't know much about elevation. I rarely race outside of Utah but I hear I would run faster easier at sea level. Would love to come run near you and see if that is true. What is your elevation there?

downhill running = bad news for the quads and hips. "braking" also puts stress on the ankles. i totally know the feeling of "tripping over yourself" on an extended downhill. i like flat. that's why i am going to eugene!

excellent run today. that hill out of AF canyon is a beast and you conquered it. nice mileage this week as well.

april - here's a little blurb from running planet:

"It may seem a bit contradictory that downhill running results in more stress than running on flat or uphill terrain. After all, running downhill is easier – right? Yep – that’s right, it does seem easier and on gentle downhill slopes, it is metabolically easier – it requires less energy. Even though less energy is required to run down a moderate hill, your muscles are still taking on more stress. When you run downhill your anti-gravity muscles are working eccentrically. They are trying to contract or “shorten” at the same time they are being lengthened or “pulled apart”. As you run down a hill your quads are being stretched by the force of gravity pulling you down the hill. At the same time they are attempting to contract to fight the relentless force of gravity.

Think of it in terms of pulling on a rope. If you tie off one end of a rope and pull on the other end with 20 pounds of force, the rope is absorbing 20 pounds of stress. Now have someone else pull on the other end of the rope with 20 pounds of force at the same time. Now the rope is taking on 40 pounds of stress. That’s what happens to your anti-gravity muscles during downhill running. Force in being placed in two directions."

Allie and Julie--sounds like an injury waiting to happen! I'm intrigued by the idea of an "aided" course taking a few minutes off my time, but I can see how very difficult it would be to run after your quads have been thrashed by a long downhill. My quads were thrashed bad enough after my two marathons; I shudder at the thought of how they would feel after a downhill one! I also wonder what the altitude would do to me aerobically. I live and train at right around 1000 feet above sea level. I would love to come run a Utah marathon sometime and meet some bloggers when finances allow--but am wondering if it would be a disaster because of the altitude?

injuries won't happen if you train on downhills to simulate the course, just as julie is doing :D

as for altitude - it think it would take some adjustment (say 2-3 days of running at altitude), but i am not sure it would affect your overall time or pace by too much. i would think it would be more important to be properly trained for downhill running than it would to be trained to run at altitude. but really, i just don't know...???

the good thing about most of the courses in utah is that the downhills are very gentle and gradual. it's the "extreme downhills" (making the course look easy and fast) that are the deceiving ones. takes its toll after only a few miles. the real kicker is moving abruptly from lots of downhill to flat. you start using different muscles and it shocks the legs. but again, it can be tolerated if you specifically train for it.

Y'all should just come run some marathons down here in the midwest--flatness and oxygen rich air! :)