Intervals on the Beach: San Agustinillo, Oaxaca

Started the day in San Agustinillo, Oaxaca by melting the handle off the espresso pot at Bambu, where I'm in a cabana on the beach. Way to go space cadet, but I had to shake off yesterdays curvy, six hour mountain drive from the city of Oaxaca somehow.

Upon arrival last night, I ran down the 600-700 meter stretch of beach that is my front yard here at twilight, and tried a sample interval coming back. Tired.

Well, this morning I trotted down again and ran the stretch three times, 2:33, 2:35 and 2:46. Ouch. The tide was kinda high; I had to stomp through waves running off at points here. Also, even though I've been running consistent 30 mile weeks, I now remember: INTERVALS are REALLY HARD!

So I cap off the morning session with an 80-90 meter stride at a very quick cadence and head in for breakfast.

Noonish, I'm back on the beach for another round, this time another 2:35 but it feels a bit more difficult than it should. I throw in another 90 meter burst but I'm careful not to go too fast and tempt fate.

Finally, after a day of being a lazy tourist, I cap off my running for the day with a 2:20 blitz down the beach with a tailwind at my back. Feeling pretty good, zipping really well over the last 150 or so. More to come for the rest of the week.

My idea, I've been logging 30 mile weeks all fall. Took a break of sorts over the holidays now I've logged another 2 weeks of distance culminating with 13.5 miles three days back. So now I'm looking to get a bit fast. I'm not out to sprint per se, just want to wake up the legs and lungs to the idea of going quick.

Heck, I'm 57 in less that 2 months. This is a hella fun project for a lad at my stage of development!

Nest day. Second full day here. Legs sore as heck from a total of 5 repeats yesterday as well as a little beat up from the added stress or barefoot beach running. So today a very easy day. One repeat in a.m. in 2:19, and one p.m. at 2:14. Pushing just a bit, and finally this afternoon a nice flat firm beach, with the tide out.

Third day. I should say the rest is about 3 min. between each beach trot.. This morning six repeats. 2:26, 2:22, 2:23, 2:18, 2:22, 2:16. Just focusing on rhythm. Calves sore. Got a good groove going here. Hard work without actually killing myself over it. Happy with interval week progress!

Noon-ish on this third day in San Agustonillo, I'm with my daughter near the end of the town beach. An outcropping of rocks a few meters into the sea divides the beach in two at this point, with a flat sandbar poking out to the rocks. The sandbar is about 80 meters long--as the tide comes in waves from both sides come up the sandbar and kiss in the middle.

My 8 year old and I square off on the town side of the sand bar for a series of 80 meter runs towards the rocks. The sand is flat, moist--a perfect sprinting surface. Not that we are sprinting! It's more of a controlled fast rhythm thing.

The first two runs across are exhilarating, a quick middle distance cadence, then shifting to almost full speed, focused on relaxation and rhythm. Sure I'm a bit tired from the morning workout but to lope along at near full speed like this is life-affirming ecstasy.

We take a dip in the sea after two repeats and chill. A few minutes later we try a third. The thrill of the quick burst is gone, looks like I've run the juice out of my legs for today.

The fourth day dawns and my legs are like raw meat from the knees down. OK so my thighs are a bit tight too. Rest day! So I run to the east on the beach (the Oaxaca coast points due south, mostly.) Running to the end of the town beach and back at an easy pace takes about 14 minutes. I try a 20 second stride and call it quits. No sense pushing.

I throw in a couple s80 meter trides at noon on the same sandbar I was sprinting on yesterday at the west side of the San Agustinillo beach. Totally no go. Nothing in the tank. Later on, in the gorgeous late afternoon sun, I go again on the same run I did this morning, this time in thirteen and a half minutes. Legs still sore as hell.

Now it's Friday morning and I have hopes of another big workout. I'm up a bit before seven making coffee and my legs are telling a different story. I trot out to the far east end of the beach over 7 minutes and I'm still very sore. I roll out three repeats on a section of beach that is a bit longer than the central part I've been doing my intervals on, 2:31, 2:35 and 2:33. About 3 minutes between each. I jump through the rocks that form a small barrier to the central stretch of beach, returning to the site of the this week's earlier interval workouts. I ramp up the effort of a bit for a fourth repeat of 2:16. That's it for now.

I decide against pushing on to more repeats. My muscles are sore and a bit strained. To do more now would be to risk injury. Over a six day stretch, I've done 18 repeats of approx. 650 meters with a fairly short rest, along with six or eight strides. This is the most speed work I've done since 2007. I look forward to returning to Oaxaca (at it's 5000 feet of altitude.) I'll continue to do some long runs but will work on speed at least once a week. It will make racing fun this spring, knowing I've put in enough training to push myself in race situations.

Hey! Hold it just a minute! You didn't think I was gonna get up Saturday morning, get in the car and just head back to Oaxaca city without hittin' the beach, didja?

One more 7 a.m in this sublime, singular kicked-back beach town of San Agustinillo finds me making my cafe de olla on sore legs (cafe de olla is the ultimate cowboy coffee--dump the coffee grounds in boiling water. Let it sit for a bit, bring back to boil, strain into coffee cups, a splash of milk and drink. Not bad.)

No way am I doing a full interval workout after beating my legs up all week, but I have something fun in mind. I run down the east side of the beach & half way back to my usual starting point of the fast bits. A one mile warm up, actually going slow and slower.

I'm gonna run fast only once this a.m.--the fastest of the week or bust. I start my watch with legs turning over quick, things feel good and I don't notice the soreness. Halfway down I start breathing pretty hard. Stick to the rhythm and turnover, it's do-able. With about 100 to go I shift up to the next gear. A bit tough but again it can be done. I cover my 19th and last repeat of speed week at the beach in 2:07 and I'm happy. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Get in touch any time to book a Oaxaca running tour! Email me or call 503-213-3671 US or Mexico 951-187-0245.

Steve Lafler

Diving into the New Year

Runners generally hit a new year with optimism and plans for improvement. That's where I am this January, running longer distances than I have the last few years.

For a good many years, I've been a 20 mile a week runner. I always figured I could do OK in races as I'd run my miles on the quick side, testing myself when I felt good. This short distance approach works up to a point--but now I believe that I'll benefit from the oveall strength and endurance gained from going longer. You can only improve so much on low mileage; indeed, during my last buildup to serious racing at age 50, I added some distance to my buildup phase of training and the 5K and 10K times improved quite a bit from the previous year.

To begin with, I'm stretching out to 30 mile weeks. At the center of my weekly schedule are 15-16 kilometer runs in the hills above the city of Oaxaca. Man, these runs take me out of my comfort zone and challenge me to improve.

It's my good fortune to have befriended local ultra-marathoner Richard Stoutner. He is a fellow Oaxaca resident and the owner of Mashica Sport here in Oaxaca. He trains distance runners, triathletes and bicycle racers. He exudes enthusiasm for endurance sports, and a matter of fact positive attitude that is contagious.

I've been running with Richard once a week. While a run in the 15K range is my long run day at present, I'd call it one of his easier workouts. I focus on maintaining my rhythm on the trails and roads above Oaxaca, while Richard glides smoothly up and down the rolling wooded trails. This man is seriously fit. Currently he is preparing to run the Ultra Caballo Blanco 80 Kilometer event in March, the race at the center of Born to Run book by Christopher MacDougall.

I'm enthusiastic about stretching out to longer runs, and indeed racing with more miles under my belt. And of course, I'm looking pulling for Richard to have a great run at the Ultra Caballo Blanco this March 2nd!

This Year's Ultra Caballo Blanco

The 50 mile race sponsored by the indigenous Tarahumara people of Norther Mexico, the Ultra Caballo Blanco, is just around the corner, with the 2014 edition taking place on March 2.

Born to Run, the running book by Christopher McDougall, immortalized the race.

The race takes place in the mountains near the Copper Canyon in the north of Mexico. With the success of McDougall's book, running this race has become a dream for many a long distance runner.

Before you book your plane and train ticket to run, ask yourself: Am I ready to race 80 kilometers (a few steps shy of 50 miles) over rugged mountain terrain? This may not be the race for your average marathoner, rather it's a challenge taken up by that special ultra runner with a real gleam in their eye.