2 Dirty Shoes

Follow-up on Flowmeter

2009-10-23T10:48:00.000-06:00

As a follow up to an earlier post I found some more beta on the new Flowmeter from Camelbak.

Apparently the flowmeter will do a bit more than tell you how much fluid you've consumed. The display shown above reports how much has been consumed out of the total available. The amount added to the reservoir needs be entered by the user. I can't tell for sure bit it looks like that amount will be retained in memory so it won't be necessary to enter 70 oz. every time you fill you 70 oz. reservoir.

Using an advanced mode the user can input their weight and the flowmeter will calculate a PHG or Personal Hydration Goal. The PHG can also be entered manually if you already know how much you need to drink per hour and can be adjusted on the fly. Maybe you start in cool temps in the morning and make an adjustment as the temperature rises. In line with this feature the flowmeter will also indicate how many ounces you still have to drink before reaching your goal.

Another interesting feature is the Estimated Time to Empty. This figure is calculated based on rate of fluid that has been consumed over time. A side benefit that comes with this feature is a timer that counts up from the last time it was reset. Not exactly necessary since most people have their own timekeeping devices already but it another thing they can add to the list of features. One thing that doesn't make sense to me is that the timer will reset once it reaches 24 hours. It's not a limitation on the display so I don't understand why it couldn't continue to count upwards to 99 hours. When your reservoir falls below 10% of the total volume the display will flash "LO" to let you know you will soon turn into a shriveled pile of bones.

The user also has the option to select between english or metric units and the display relies on a set of abbreviations that you'll have to get familiar with listed below:

AC: Amount Consumed
ET: Elapsed Time
PHG: Personal Hydration Goal
AG: Amount to Goal
AR/TV: Amount Remaining/Total Volume
ETE: Estimated Time to Empty

The battery that it uses is a CR2032 watch battery (coincidentally the same I use in Petzl E+Lite). The device that is used to measure the flow is an impeller and looks quite susceptible to getting stuck. Camelbak seem to have addressed this by allowing access to it so that it can be cleaned.

That's nice but I doubt I'm going to stop mid-run or ride and clean it out just so I can get accurate measurements. The other downside with the impeller is that a considerable amount of pressure needs to be applied to get them to spin. This means if you don't suck hard enough on the bite valve the meter won't record. Freezing temps are also going to present some problems but that's already an issue with keeping the tube flowing in cold conditions. The weight of the unit is still a mystery but not the way it attaches. It looks as though it uses two plastic rails that slide on straps used on Camelbaks. So if you're going to use this with a different pack you'll have to figure out a way to keep it mounted where you want it.

At $30, I think I'm going to hold off getting one anytime real soon. I want to see some initial reports before I take the plunge. If you've tried it I would really like to hear about your experience with it, please leave a comment below. You can check out the full instruction manual here if you're interested.

Mtn View Trail Half Marathon

2009-10-19T18:13:00.000-06:00

I don't do speedwork. It's not that I don't like running fast but when I'm training for 50 or 100 milers that go up and down mountains it just doesn't seem prudent. That and I usually hurt myself in some fashion when I decide to run sub 7 minute miles for extended periods. Well, after coming back from a semi flat weeknight run with a PR and a big smile, Betsy talked me into running the Mountain View Trail Half Marathon that she had already signed up for.

As the race drew closer Greg helped me get ready by doing some focused training earlier in the week that involved post-holing in knee deep snow up Alexander Basin to Gobblers Knob. The speedwork came on the way down as the weather turned on us and the temperature started dropping. I think we were both moving faster than we had anticipated that evening. In retrospect I am sure this is why I ended up doing better than I had anticipated.

On race morning we got there plenty early and I jogged around a bit so I wouldn't cause to much damage from running faster than I was accustomed to. It was a beautiful morning. The temperature was a bit brisk at first but as soon as the sun peeked over the ridge it felt perfect. Betsy was walking around with a fleece and I urged her to ditch it in the car because I knew she would be plenty warm once we got moving. While listening to the pre-race instructions from RD Jim Skaggs I ran into my friends Jeff Gerke and Ryan and Lindsay Lauck. It was good to see a few familiar faces because most the people that were there I didn't recognize. Kind of a road race meets trail event but it was all good. Over at the start line I ran into Cory Johnson and chatted about future race plans while we waited for Jim to send us on our way. Cory looked behind me at a tall lanky kid and asked him if he was going to win. He was wearing a singlet and high cut racing shorts. He just shrugged his shoulders and said something about being on the Weber State University cross country team. Hmmm this could be interesting I thought.

Photo credit: Greg Norrander

Right from the start the pace seemed pretty fast and the two guys that had lined up with singlets were right there as we ran stride for stride toward the first climb. Once we were on the slight grade I pushed the pace just a little bit to see who was going to hang around. I have to admit I was having a good time mixing it up at the front and getting my legs turning over.

Photo credit: Greg Norrander

There was a little stretch of pavement at the top of the climb then we angled off downhill on the dirt road toward the singletrack. I was a little bit surprised as we turned the corner and I saw the first aid station maybe two miles into the race. I was even more surprised when I saw my friend David Hayes who happened to be working the water stop, hold up his hand for a high five as I came running by. We blasted the descent then hit the Mountain View trail that would take us all the way to the finish at the Fielding Garr Ranch. At this point I was running in 2nd place and decided to have a look around. There were two guys behind me then a pretty big gap back to 5th place. The four us swapped off taking turns at the front before Cody (eventual 4th place finisher) dropped off the pace. Then a short while later I started to lose contact with the Tyson (WSU runner) and Kevin right around the 7 mile mark when we crossed the road for the 2nd time. By the time I saw Greg shooting pictures, Tyson and Keven had put about 20 seconds on me, a trend that would continue for the rest of the race. Cody stayed fairly close behind me for the duration and as I closed to within a mile or so of the finish I thought he might catch me as I had to slow down for a herd of buffalo. In the end I was able to hold him off to slot in to 3rd at 1:28.07, as Kevin jumped around Tyson for the win in 1:25.17 (full results). I was very pleased with my race since I didn't know what to expect going in and I went under my goal of 1:30.

Photo credit: Greg Norrander

I hung around the finish for a bit talking with everyone and distracting Aric from from doing his job taking finishing tags. Soon enough I saw Betsy cresting the final hill, well ahead of her goal with a time of 2:17. She's been making great progress and I'm super proud of her for such a great effort.

Photo credit: Greg Norrander

Before we left we grabbed burger from the BBQ and a most excellent homebrew prepared by Jim. Thanks to Jim for once again running an absolutely flawless event and keeping his deal with the weather gods for one more race.

Seasonal Change

2009-10-13T15:32:00.003-06:00

Back in June I did one of my favorite routes with Greg and Peter up the Bowman trail and into Mill A Basin. Even though it was June we encountered plenty up along the ridgeline, especially on the Millcreek side after we circumnavigated Mt. Raymond. That day the vegetation was a brilliant green and I snapped a few pics here and there when I got the chance.
This last Sunday we were on the same trail, only going the opposite direction. Not unusual at all. But what I did find unusual was that after looking at my pictures from Sunday I recognized the angle and scenery from another set of pictures, the set that I took back in June. This was nothing that I did consciously, it just happened. So after looking at the two pictures side by side I decided to see how closely they would overlay on each other. The result is below. The scene from June is the dominate green picture in both shots. Animations below.

Click the two images below for the animation

Grandview Peak Adventure Run

2009-10-04T14:44:00.000-06:00

It's not the highest or gnarliest peak around, but I had my eye on Grandview Peak for quite a while. I've been close to it several times, in fact the Wasatch 100 course passes within a mile and a half but I've never stood on top. Bagging peaks is always rewarding, but really the peak was just part of bigger idea I had been working on since last year. A point to point run from Big Mountain pass to the mouth of City Creek canyon, sticking to the ridge the whole way. Whenever I mentioned the route idea to others I always got a funny look and a little bit of waffling when I asked if they were interested in joining me, especially from those that had done it before. When I finally set a date I found that everyone was conveniently busy, so I would be attempting this one alone.

View Big Mtn to City Creek in a larger map

On the drive up to Big Mountain pass I noticed quite a few of big trucks parked along the road and once I arrived at the parking lot my suspicions were confirmed. Opening day of the Elk hunt had arrived. As I grabbed one of the last spots in the parking lot and headed off I got a few strange looks from hunters. I suppose my attire was a little different than everyone else's, black shorts with a red shirt as opposed to the full camo kit with orange vest that seemed to be the trend.

From 2009-10-03 Grandview Peak

The storm that had come through earlier in the week had left a good 6 inches to foot of snow on the mountain. Straight away I was on snow packed trail as I headed in the opposite direction of the Wasatch 100 route. I must have passed 20 to 30 hunters in the first four miles or so. One pair of hunters decided to set up camp right ON the trail, complete with a little fire, unbelievable. After I got past Swallow rocks I didn't see another soul between there and the peak. The trail junction was little hard to see because of the snow but I knew I just had to head out on the ridge toward the peak.

From 2009-10-03 Grandview Peak

As I got closer I could someone or something moving around on the peak. Turns out it was a big bull moose. I kept an eye on him as I made my way along the ridge and noticed he was making his way down the bowl that I intended climbing up to reach the summit. So I decided to to stick to the rocky ridge until it became impassable then just wait him out. He took his time coming down, stopping every now and again as I sat on a little band of rocks taking pictures of him and refueling.

From 2009-10-03 Grandview Peak

I finally reached the summit a little over 2 hours after I started, snapped a couple of pictures then made my way down the west ridge toward the City Creek north ridge.

From 2009-10-03 Grandview Peak

At the saddle between the peak and ridge I ran into a couple of hunters who had just come from the direction I was headed. I asked them how foolish it would be to run the ridge down to Rudy Flat. One of them told me it was "pretty" foolish, which I interpreted as definitely doable. They both looked at me like they would be hearing about me on the evening news that night. A little further down the ridge and I started to wonder if I might end up on the news as well.

From 2009-10-03 Grandview Peak

I knew there wouldn't be a trail for a few miles but the new snow just confounded the route finding and slowed my progress significantly. The whole section between the peak and Rudy Flat was definitely a test of patience. The south side of the ridge was often to steep while the north side had a significant amount of snow. I was ready to bail at one point and head down into City Creek after I realized I bushwhacked out on to the wrong branch of the ridge and encountered the Burro mine. This little mistake cost me about 40 minutes and involved an unholy mess of a bushwhack. I finally made it back on to the proper ridge and just about kissed the singletrack trail I saw laid out in front of me. Now I was cruising with confidence and feeling good. The trail dropped off the ridge toward Rudy Flat where I found a myriad of trails branching in different directions. I was able to get a sight of the ridge I needed to be on and followed that trail. I thought for sure it would be smooth sailing from here to City Creek and just about that same moment the trail just ended.

I desperately searched for a trail through the scrub oak, but there was nothing. The snow was gone now that I was down around 7,000' so I didn't have trouble seeing the ground but there was no clear path. No choice but to bloody the shins and just go. Eventually I made it through and on to the south side of the ridge where I started going out of my way to avoid the patches of scrub oak that littered the hillside, my shins just couldn't take it anymore. I even down climbed a few rock bands just so I wouldn't have to go through it anymore. The 4wd double track that I had been waiting to see finally came into view and I finally got to run again as I dropped down toward the mouth of City Creek. Approximately 22 miles and a little over 6 hours after I started I reached my destination where my lovely wife picked me up. Even though it was a "downhill" route my watch recorded 5,100' of ascent and 7,700' of descent. I know I could do this route faster without snow, I just don't know if I'll be attempting it anytime soon.

From 2009-10-03 Grandview Peak

Rejoice! A Functional Gadget is Born.

2009-09-24T08:27:00.000-06:00

I'm a former cycling addict and as a consequence I still watch races and occasionally keep up with new products that I can't afford. Well, today I found a new product that was presented at Interbike (cycling industry product show). John Bradley is at the show for Outside Magazine and reported on a great new innovation that will benefit anyone that uses a hydration bladder.

The Camelbak Flowmeter.

(Photo: John Bradley reporting for Outside Online)

According to John the flowmeter fits inline with any Camelbak hydration hose and should cost $30. Finally, you will be able to monitor your fluid intake without taking the pack off and checking how full the bladder is.

My own observations: It's digital so it's going to need a battery. The added weight will probably cause the hose to move (sway) more than usual. Probably not a problem on the bike, but for running I'll need to figure out how to secure it. I wonder how the internals will deal with anything other than water, such as Gatorade, Powerade, etc. Hopefully it's water resistant and works in colder temps.

I perused the Camelbak website and couldn't find any signs of it, which is pretty typical with show stuff. I would suspect we could see it in stores later this year or early 2010. Any thoughts? Too much gadgetry for the trail? Is this something you've been dreaming of?

Post Wasatch

2009-09-22T07:23:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm happy to report that the recovery is going well. I've been out for a few decent runs and enjoyed some time off relaxing with the family.
I finally got around to posting a race report for Wasatch over here. Just below my post is Erik's and Jay's who both had great runs. Hopefully Peter will post a report a before too long, he nailed it as well finally catching the Cheetah with a time of 23:36! In fact 15 runners broke the sub 24 hour mark this year, even with the heat (full results).
Next up for me is the H.U.R.T. 100 on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. This one takes place on January 16th-17th, on some of the most technical trails found in a 100 miler. Greg is doing this as well so it should be a good time.

DIY Plumbing and Wasatch Taper

2009-09-05T13:31:00.003-06:00

Another title I was considering for this post was "Why I didn't get my nap". At this point you have probably put the two together and figured out the answer to the nap question. I'll get back to that in a minute.

With Wasatch coming up I've been in taper mode or more aptly named, anxious mode. The extra rest has left my legs itchin' to run so I decided to join Greg for part of the Brighton marathon loop. I won't go into great detail about the route, but you basically circumnavigate Big Cottonwood using the Crest, Mill D, Days Fork and ridgelines. Greg picked me up at Mill D where I left my car (so I could bail halfway through) then we hit the trail from the Brighton parking lot. We gained the ridge via the Dog Lake trail on our way to Clayton Peak. We took note how Timp was hidden by dark gray rain clouds to the south, no doubt heading our way, but we figured we could out run them. Well, that didn't quite happen. By the time we made it over to Scott's pass the wind was howling and the rain was coming down in sheets. Only a few more minutes passed before we made the decision to bail down Guardsman.

With the run finished early I figured I had some time to knock out a leaky shower faucet that had been brought to my attention last night, easy enough right? Before I go any further let me say that I have tackled most of the common household plumbing tasks, by replacing or repairing just about all the fixtures that either produce or drain water. Having said that, the best DIY advice I can give is don't DIY, hire a plumber, rule #1.

If a plumber is not an option then at a bare minumum pick up the phone and call England Plumbing (801.485.3371 or a reputable plumbing supply store if you're outside SLC, UT) to make sure they are open before you start a project, rule #2. Should you decide to tackle the task yourself and England Plumbing is open, then take a good hard look at the problem to estimate the time you think it will take you. Got it? Now double that time and for every decade old your house is, add an hour. That should get you close to an accurate time estimate.

Now if England Plumbing is closed and you have no choice in waiting until they are open, then you will more than likely be going to Home Depot or Lowes, last resort #3. If this is the case double your last time estimate and make sure you have enough gas to make at least two if not three trips back to the alleged "home improvement" store. If your plan includes getting some advice while you're at the Depowes forget about it, they won't even pretend to know what you're talking about.

Now back to my simple little project. Since my job was "easy" I skipped rule #1 and didn't even think about #2 as I have committed their limited business hours to memory. Skip ahead and there I was pulling into the England Plumbing parking lot, happy to see I was the only car, only to discover they were closed for the holiday weekend (insert a long groan here). I was now left with bottom option #3. In the 5 minutes it took to drive to Home Depot I took some deep breaths and tried to put myself in a happy place. Once inside the store I knew all to well where to go and upon reaching the aisle I pulled my parts out of my pocket as I scanned the pitiful selection of valves. "Can I help you?" one of the friendly employees asked. "I doubt it" I replied under my breath before showing him the part I was looking for. "Hmmm, if I were you I would try and find the best match and if that doesn't work keep your 10 foot long receipt so you bring it back. You know you might consider trying England Plumbing". I was shocked, here was a Home Depot employee referring me to my favorite plumbing store. "Yeah, I already tried, they're closed for the holiday weekend" I told him. I eventually found my valves, folded my receipt 6 times so it would fit in my pocket and went home to finish the job. Valve #1 was extracted and replaced smoothly, however valve #2 was left with the locknut seized to the old valve body. Here comes trip #2. Back in the store I wander aimlessly looking for a new locknut to no avail. Again I am asked if I need some help, this time by a different sales associate. I explain my problem and he proclaims the same as the first, you should check with England Plumbing. Unbelievable.

And that is how I missed the ever elusive post run nap once again. The moral of the story? I think I would rather run 100 miles than fix a plumbing problem. BTW, in case you were wondering, the leak has a temporary fix applied until my favorite plumbing store is open.

Mill D - Crest - Big Water Run

2009-06-13T12:14:00.002-06:00

My original plan for today was to ride my bike from the gate in Millcreek (since it's still locked) up to Big Water (AS #8 at Wasatch) then run the Desolation Loop. With the threat of rain and a bike in need of maintenance that I haven't attended to, I decided to head up from Mill D in Big Cottonwood instead. I figured this would extend the run by a few miles and add a little vertical.

Since I was going alone I started a little bit later than usual, leaving the trailhead a little after 7:30. My legs were feeling somewhat sluggish from yesterday's Grandeur Loop and last week's Squaw Peak 50+, but getting miles on tired legs is exactly what I need to prepare for Hardrock.

Heading up from Mill D I took a right at Blunder Fork to get to Desolation. Just before reaching the lake I filled my bottle from the spring that appeared to running at full capacity. Right after the spring I finally ran into a little bit of snow just before Desolation Lake. Once I gained the crest I took a left and north along the Great Western trail where I encountered a fair amount of snow. Of course there are a few downed trees but overall the trail is pretty good shape. I took the long way down to Big Water where I tagged the parking lot, turned around and started the climb up to Dog Lake. The clouds started to break up, transforming the forest in a shimmering sea of green.

A brief stop at Dog Lake then I started the descent back to Mill D. The condition of the trail was probably the best I've ever seen on the steep descent leaving Dog Lake, obviously due to the high amount of rain we've been receiving.

I had a great conservative run, completing the ~18 mile modified loop with 3650' vertical in 3hrs 15mins.

Chasing Buffaloes

2009-04-11T13:35:00.011-06:00

Here's a quick recap on the Buffalo Run 50 miler from 2 weeks ago. In the weeks leading up to the race I had set a pre-race goal of going under 7:30, which would be about ~12 mins faster than last year. As I stood on the start line I thought about my plan to start conservatively, then run a strong second half of the race. At 6am Jim Skaggs sent us on our way and I left my plan on the start line.

Near the finish line

One of the big differences this year from last was the addition of some speedsters. Hiroki Ishikawa brought a contingent from Japan, Tim Long and Nick Pedatella came over from Colorado, along with defending two-time champ Erik Storheim and a few more local guys made for the deepest field this race has seen yet. This was one of the reasons I decided to throw away the plan and just run. I figured this was a good race that I could test my limits on without compromising a finish. Erik has a great report that covers much of my race so I'm not going to rehash the same thing. The only difference is that I started to slow down a little sooner than Erik did and continued to slow throughout the race. I ate a little more food than I'm used to consuming during a race and I ran a bit faster than I normally would for a 50 miler. This equated to a gut full of food that I was unable to digest because I wouldn't slow down. Well, eventually my muscles grew hungry enough that I was forced to slow down and let some of that food digest, funny how that works.

I ended up in 7th overall with a time of 7.45. I 3 minutes slower and dropped 5 places from last year but I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. I laid it on the line and paid the consequences but I learned a lot in the process. Hopefully I can apply some of this knowledge to some bigger goals I have later in the season. One of the highlights of the race for me was meeting and running with Hiroki, all around nice guy with a great attitude. Kudos to Jim Skaggs and his crew for putting on a great race, now the largest trail running event in Utah!

Peter (8th), Hiroki (2nd), myself (7th), and Erik (3rd)

The week following the Buffalo Run was the Hell of the North bike race that I put on every year. All week long it snowed causing fewer riders than normal to pre-register for the race. The day of the race I woke up to a combination of snow and rain. By the time I sent off the first group there was a cold north wind blowing into their faces as they rode across the dirt/mud section of the circuit. Of course the weather affected the turnout on the day of the race as well and altogether 152 racers showed up compared to 200+ in prior two years. Greg was out shooting photos for much of the afternoon and captured some really great shots of the tough racers, check 'em out, they turned out really well, especially considering it was his first time shooting a bike race.

Since then I've been busy with school tests, work, getting kids to gymnastics and track and of course running. Up next is the BSTM (should be good one this year), then the Granduer Fun Run double, followed by Squaw Peak and hopefully Hardrock.

unGrounded

2009-03-03T17:20:00.003-07:00

So there I was consistently training for months on end, through the cold temps, snow and rain, feeling better than I had in who knows how long when BAM! Just as early spring arrives and I can run without gloves I felt a pain where I least expected it, my achilles. I was given some good advice and decided to just lay completely off it until I could get in to the doctor. Well, I just got back from the doc and the injury is very minor, whew.
He told me I could start running again right away and I can tell you the people I am surrounded by every day are probably more excited than I am (some think that I get a little grumpy when I'm forced to rest). So, here it is, I apologize for being a little snappy, won't happen again ; )

#33

2009-02-02T18:47:00.004-07:00

That's how far down I am on the wait list for thee Hardrock 100. For those that don't understand the nature of the wait list it works like this. The race only allows 140 entrants through a lottery system. Those that don't get in through the lottery are put on an ordered wait list. If someone drops off the entry list the next person on the wait list gets in. Traditionally 25 to 35 runners make it off the wait list and get to take part in one of the toughest 100's in the world. A couple of years ago a friend of mine found out the day before that he was in (I think he was 30th on the wait list), and that's not unusual. So now I'm waiting on the bubble.

Maybe #33 holds some significance, there is a little over 33,000' of climbing in the race and 100 divided by 3 is awful close 33.33. Isn't numerology great? This is the kind of stuff that fills my head while I'm putting in miles, that and what if I end up toeing the start line...

This Saturday those of us in the lottery for Wasatch will find out our fate, 1:30 pm @ Homestead in Midway. I plan on heading up so, if anyone in the lottery would like to know their fate sooner rather than later just leave me a comment, I'll listen for your name then drop you a line.

Why Run?

2009-01-25T16:35:00.002-07:00

I had everything on but my shoes. The ipod was freshly loaded with 2 hours worth of Foo Fighters - Live at Wembley Stadium, my legs felt great and I was looking forward to getting in a good hard run, even if it was going to be on the road. Then I glanced at the temperature gauge. What? While I was getting ready it had dropped four degrees in 10 minutes. Looking out the window I could see the light rain had increased to visible drops, with a little sleet mixed in.
As my motivation dropped my facial expression must have followed because my family started to reassure me that it was "alright" if I didn't go. "You'll get all cold and wet", and "haven't you done enough this week" was what they were telling me. It was true, I would get cold and wet just like the morning before when I met up with Erik and Rich in Park City. I also had some pretty decent mileage for the week but I hadn't reached my intended goal.
I sat there for a minute and thought about it before telling them I was going. When Betsy asked me why, I told her the only reason I was considering not going was because of the weather and that's just not a good reason.
I've started quite a few runs and even races in inclement weather with my friends, I suppose it's the old misery loves company thing or maybe not wanting to appear weak in front of my peers. But starting a run by myself in foul weather with a guarantee of it getting worse is a committment thing for me. "How committed are you to getting better?" I have to ask myself. If you can't drag yourself out for a measly 2 hours in the cold and wet how are you going to do it for 25 or 30 hours?
Aside from a few over-eager church goers I ended up having a great run, completing my 16 mile route in a little under 2 hours and reaching my weekly mileage goal.

Baggin' Peaks with the Family

2008-11-02T11:25:00.003-07:00

A week or so after the Bear my son started asking me about bagging another peak before the snow flew, so I suggested Grandeur. I brought up the subject around dinner one night and before I knew it the whole family wanted to go.

Sandwiched between Parleys and Millcreek canyon we usually make the peak part of a bigger run, so I don't really think of it in the same regard as other peaks. Not to diminish it in any way, it's still a tough hike gaining 2600' in about 3 miles. We packed up the 2 dogs, 2 - 70oz hydration packs, 1 - 30oz pack, 2 water bottles and a bunch of misc energy food. I truly thought we were carrying way to much, but it turns out it was just about right.

It was a beautiful day, clear, breezy and unseasonably warm (80 degrees) so it was easy going in the bottom of the drainage next to the creek, but got a little harder the higher we climbed on the exposed portion of the trail. For my daughter this was the longest and highest she had ever climbed/hiked so she needed a little persuading now and then to keep going. About a 1/4 mile from the top she got summit fever and raced my son to the peak. 2.5 hours up, 15 mins on top, 1:15 down, 4 hours roundtrip (including time to pick up some colored leaves for art projects). Good times...

Bear 100 2008 Race Report

2008-10-09T15:50:00.005-06:00

The long version...
Last year this race was about redemption after Wasatch did not go my way, this year the Bear was my focus for the whole season. So shortly after losing out on the lottery for Wasatch I checked out the Bear website and found a pleasant surprise, a new course. The old course was good and I certainly would have been happy to run on the modified figure eight, but the new point to point course really had me excited. It looked to be tougher with a bit more climbing, long distances between aid stations (over 7 miles on average) and did I mention it was point to point? I passed along the good news to Storheim, who also lost out on the Wasatch lottery, and he was in. Peter graciously agreed to pace me once again so it was set.

(Course Profile)

Standing in the dark waiting to start I thought about the trail in front of us and wondered how many runners actually got out on the new course. I had every intention of getting out on a few sections before the race, but I could never find the time, so I was running it "blind" like most of the other runners. I think that sometimes this is a benefit since you can't get too nervous about something you know nothing about. By the same notion it can be easy to get lost when you are unfamiliar with the trails so a few days prior to the race I decided I loaded some of the critical course intersections on my GPS so I could use that to find my way if necessary.

6am finally arrived and 76 of us headed off for a 100 miles of fun. After winding our way up through the neighborhood we came to the mouth of the canyon and the first trail intersection. Half the runners in front of me turned right, the other half went straight, then everyone stopped. I looked at my GPS and quickly confirmed that we were supposed to go straight and we were off again. I should have realized this was a sign of things to come. As we made our way up the 4,000'+ climb a small goup of us formed behind the front runners including Scott Griffith, Brian Beckstead, Jon Wheelwright and another guy I didn't know. After hitting the top of the climb we made our way down a rough atv road and I decided to find out who the unknown guy was. I introduced myself and found out I was running with Paul Sweeney, a man with many ultra's under his belt including a win at Hardrock in 2004. Right after that I led Brian and Paul on to the singletrack and instantly felt a surge of energy. The canopy of aspens we were running under created a colorful tunnel that blocked the early morning sun and made it hard to hold back on the long steady descent to the aid station at Leatham Hollow - mile 20. Scott was slightly ahead of us and left as the three of us came in to refill bottles and get set for the next section. A friend of mine was there, Aric Manning, and informed me that Storheim was running just behind Nate McDowell and Ty Draney. I was stoked to hear he was doing so well, but at the same time I knew we had a long day and night ahead of us.

(still happy leaving leaving Right Hand Fork)
Photo credit Greg Norrander go here for more great pictures.

The next section was the shortest between aid stations at a little over 3 miles. Brian, Paul and myself were fairly close together through this section and the next long descent to Right Hand Fork aid station. Right around this point we caught up to Carter Williams and he tagged on to our little group. As I left the aid station I jumped ahead of those three and tackled the next climb. It was now getting pretty warm and I was trying hard to stay properly hydrated as I climbed up the steady grade. I really felt as though I was holding back and being conservative when I looked down and realized there were no footprints in front of me. I stopped and ran backwards, then forward again scoping out the trail, when I remembered the GPS. At first I looked at the map on the GPS and tried to run toward the trail I saw but it was to confusing. Next I picked out the closest point and had the GPS navigate to it. This is where I realized the problem, I was one drainage further over than where I needed to be. I immediately started my bushwhack climbing over fallen trees and making my way through sagebrush going straight up to a ridgeline. I wasn't really in a panic but I was extremely frustrated. Everything had been going my way up to that point and looking back I can officially say this incident was the beginning of a new chapter in the race. I made it to the top of the ridge and realized where I needed to be as I saw the trail another 1/2 mile below me. I traversed across the hillside and intersected the main trail just in front of Paul. We chatted for a few minutes before I charged ahead, anxious to make up for lost time.

I arrived at the Temple Fork aid station, mile 45, still ahead of my pace schedule by a good 50 minutes so I decided to try and put down some real food instead of just gels. For some reason soup sounded good and I downed a small bowl as Paul arrived. We each sat there for a few more minutes before I convinced him we needed to get out of there. We crossed Logan Canyon road and started the steep climb up blind hollow to Tony Grove Lake and the next aid station. Paul fell behind pretty quickly as I kept going with a steady pace, I was obviously feeling pretty good from the energy I consumed at the aid station. Before to long I started to feel my stomach tighten and the energy high was gone. I was trying to hold back the inevitable, but at mile 48 everything that was inside my stomach finally wanted out. The "free range" cattle watched as I stepped off the trail and took care of business. I took advantage of the post puke endorphins and tried to find the top of the climb but when I when I finally topped out I did not feel like running. I was now 3 for 3 in 100's, puking every time at the 48 mile mark. I knew I could make it right, but it did not stop the negative thoughts from trying to break down the barrier I put up.

I finally saw the lake and knew I was close, so I picked up my pace a bit. That turned out to be a mistake as I had to pull off the side of trail in sight of the aid station and let my stomach do it's thing again. I felt awful as I saw my kids come running up to greet me then retreat back to the aid station. Next I saw Peter and just like the year before he knew exactly what to do. I drank plenty of broth as my family helped me change into my night gear. I put on new shoes, socks, undershirt, long sleeve top and a headlamp before heading out with Peter to try and beat the sunrise. I thought about my family and especially my mom, since it was the first time she had come to an ultra. I mostly just didn't want them worrying about me all night, but there nothing I could do about that now. I was sitting in 13th and I was behind my pace schedule by about 20 minutes when we left.

(Leaving Tony Grove with Peter)

It was great to have Peter keep me company as the sun started to set. This next section was one of the longest between aid stations at 9.7 miles so I was a little worried after the puking episode, but I just took it easy on the ups and jogged the downs. Just as the light was starting to fade I spotted something moving on the trail in front of us and Peter ran ahead to investigate. It was a porcupine that wasn't really interested in getting off the trail at first, but when he grew tired of running in front of us he waddled off in to the bushes. It took me nearly 2 1/2 hours to reach Franklin Basin aid station and close the chapter on the low point of my race. I was feeling better as I sat down to nice warm bowl of soup and saw many of my friends. David Hayes was working the aid station, Greg was there snapping pictures, Scott was waiting for his friend Phil to come through, and some old friends from my bike racing days were there working the aid station, Jamie and Brian. I really didn't want to leave but Peter insisted we get moving.

From here on my memory is kind of fuzzy but one thing I definitely remember is my level of frustration rising as we struggled to stay on the trail. Glowsticks were few and far between keeping us second guessing if we were on the right trail or not. The GPS helped somewhat but the batteries were nearly dead and I forgot to pack extra. Having a second set of eyes was invaluable.

On the way to the Logan River aid station I was shocked to see Brian walking slowly up the trail. He was in a bad way and we asked if there was anything we could do. All he wanted was his wife to come meet him on the trail with his trekking poles. Once we got into the aid station we not only found his wife, but we also found Brian's friend Dave Hunt. Dave jumped into action and took off up the trail. Brian would end up making a wise a decision and call it a day once he made it to the aid station.

Somewhere through here we came upon the Logan River and there seemed to be no easy way of crossing. There was a skinny log, but it was unstable and covered in frost which seemed kind of dangerous. So with no other option we just plodded through the cold shin deep water. I didn't realize that it caused my feet to go numb until an hour or so later when they started to thaw and got the achey feeling that comes with the warming sensation. Once my feet were warm again they were fine.

Near the 75 mile mark we started the descent to the Beaver Lodge aid station. I was definitely feeling better as I picked my way down and passed a few runners. Just as we thought we were getting close we realized we were lost again, of course this was very frustrating. At the lodge I stayed outside while Peter filled bottles and I sipped on some more soup. I was shocked when I saw Carter walk around to where I was sitting. He had been at the aid station for a while trying to put his stomach back together. I wished him well before Peter and I took off for the last 25 miles. It was now a little after 1:00 am and I had moved up to 8th place, but I was way behind my goal pace for a sub 24.

Peter started talking about trying to make it under 26 hours, which seemed reasonable, so I made that my new target. We made a strong pace over the next 4 miles that were all uphill to the Gibson aid station. Even though I was feeling good I could still feel my stomach tighten whenever we pushed a little to hard, but that was about to change. Just as we pulled into the aid station the first place woman was leaving with her pacer. Peter hustled us through in less than a minute and next thing I knew I was running on the semi-flat section. Within a quarter of a mile we caught Kim and her pacer and kept going. She decided that she wanted to hold my pace for bit and stayed fairly close over the next few miles. This proved to be a valuable tool that Peter used to keep me moving at a quicker pace over the last 20 miles of the race. When the terrain would open up he would occasionally turn around and tell me that he could see their lights and I would push a little harder.

Approaching the next aid station we hopped a couple of streams, grabbed some soup and took off. I didn't know it at the time but Kim was only 8 minutes behind me at this point confirming that Peter was being honest about seeing lights and not just using it as a motivational tool. By this time I had stopped asking Peter what time it was or what kind of pace we were on, I just wanted to be done at this point.

As we a came up to the next aid station we made a plan, Peter would fill the bottles while I grabbed a Red Bull I had stashed in my drop bag. Our friends Jeff Lamora and Shane Martin were running this aid station and they were very helpful. I remember Shane telling us that we had a 600' climb that lasted for about a mile then it was all downhill to the finish. The climb was very steep, kind of like the "Grunt" at Wasatch. I'm not sure how long the climb took, but I remember Peter telling me that if I flew down the descent I could go under 25 hours. That was all I needed to hear as I let gravity work for me this time. After a grueling ~4 miles of nasty-torn-up-from-throttle-twisters trail we were dumped out on a paved road. I told Peter there was 2 miles to the finish and asked him how much time we had, a little over 13 minutes he replied. I told him it would be close but I had to at least give it a try. The scene in front of us was incredible. As we ran east toward the lake the sky was starting to turn orange silhoueting the mountains and creating a stunning reflection in the lake.

We made the left turn on to the main highway and I knew we had about a mile to go. I pushed a bit harder and as we rounded a bend in the road I noticed someone running in front of us. Peter dismissed them as an early morning jogger and just about the same time Eric Taft turned around to see us coming. He immediately picked up his pace but I still caught up to him. I told Eric I was trying to go under 25 hours and he should run in with us, but he couldn't hold the pace. A quarter mile later I turned the corner to the finish and ran to the end of the lawn where my family was waiting. I came across the line and the woman holding the watch said 24 59 38. I tried to process the information but I had to ask her again, 24 hours 59 minutes, 38 seconds, 6th place. Yes! I threw my arms in the air and pulled Peter up off the ground to celebrate. A little less than a minute later Eric crossed the line. I told him I felt bad for passing him so close to the finish but I was so focused I couldn't stop. Ty Draney took the win, Storheim overtook Nate McDowell toward the end to grab 2nd, Leland Barker was a very close 4th and Scott Griffith was 5th. Official results here. I took the liberty of deciphering the spreadsheet and posting a little different version here, that contains splits and such (look down in the lower left for the splits sheet).

The night before the race my daughter told me "I have hope in you" and that phrase ran through my head many times throughout the race. Thanks to my family for their support and encouragement, not just on race day but all throughout the year. Thanks to the Lindgren family for lending Peter to me for a long day and night, the experience would have only been half as fun without him. Peter deserves credit for keeping me focused and on track, thanks man, that was a good time. Finally, many thanks to Leland Barker and his crew for the new course and support during the race.

El Vacquero Loco 50k race report

2008-08-21T18:46:00.002-06:00

Last year I had my eye on this race but I thought it was just a little to close to the Wasatch 100 and decided to hold off. That was a mistake, I should have done it.

Erik joined my family and I at our campsite just outside of Afton Wyoming, located a stone's throw from the start/finish line, the night before the race. We had decided to turn the race into a two night camping trip in the Cottonwood Lake campground. A storm had blown through in the early evening and left a chill in the air in it's wake, with temperatures dipping down to 45 degs by the time I went to bed. When I woke up at 5am it was 35 degs and dark. I didn't want to bother with cooking anything that early so I had a clif bar for breakfast and got ready. Erik and I walked down to the start with two minutes to spare before the official start.

Ty sent us on our way down a dirt road for a few hundred meters before we funneled down to an ATV double track trail and I was surprised at how fast everyone was clipping along, it made me wonder if they knew how tough the rest of the course was. The initial climb is about 4 miles long and very runnable, especially with fresh legs, but I just couldn't get going early on. I felt as though I was breathing a lot harder than I should have been and took that as a sign to ease up and relax, there's still 27 miles to go after this climb I thought to myself. I was in 6th place as I was approaching the top of the climb, with one more runner coming up to me, Leland Barker. Leland won the last two editions of this race so I knew if I could stick with him I wouldn't be that far from the front of the race. So I followed Leland over the top and down the first technical descent. We quickly caught up to one of the fast starters then opened a gap once we hit some of the flat sections. I was finally feeling good having no problem matching Leland's pace, I suppose I just needed time to warm up. I found myself getting distracted through this section because the views are simply incredible. Then, after climbing up past a waterfall we reached the lake I recognized from the pictures on the website. I actually stopped for few moments and took in the view, it was stunning.

I caught up to Leland at the aid station next to the lake and I started up the "wall" of a climb leading up to another lake basin higher up. Once we hit the ridge at the top I caught up to another one of the fast starters and started down the long 6 mile descent to the next aid station and turnaround point. Now I was feeling like I was in the groove and put some time on the guys behind me as I caught a glimpse of the 3rd place runner in front of me, which got me even more motivated.

I finally caught up to Chris as we hit the rolling section that led to the turnaround. Once he knew I was behind him he upped the pace and I was content to just follow for the next mile or so. Then as I rounded a corner I saw him standing on the bank of a river, obviously looking for a way to get to the other side without getting his feet wet. I just ran through and kept my pace up to the turnaround point aid station. The turnaround was also the start line for the 25k competitors and I started to see a few of them heading our way, plus I was able to see where 1st and 2nd place were. Soon enough I saw Luke in 1st and a few minutes back was Erik, the lead was about 5 mins for Luke and 3 for Erik. At the turnaround Ty and his crew took care of me, filling my Nathan pack and grabbing my gels before I was off again. Just then Chris popped out of the trail in to the aid station. I started up the trail with a brisk hike so I could get everything in place when I heard Chris coming up fast behind me. I stepped aside and watched him run out of view. I was content to keep to my pace as I thought about what was ahead; a 6 mile climb that gained close to 3000' feet.

Slowly I started to reel in some of the 25k runners, keeping an eye out for Chris up in front and Leland behind. Finally, about a third of way up I spotted Chris and almost at the same time I saw Leland behind me. This was starting to feel like real race. So I started to run some of the stuff I would have normally walked up and as I got closer Chris he increased his pace. Once I caught him I stuck behind him for a mile or so and glanced back again at Leland, he was still closing on us. Right then, with about a mile to go to the top, I jumped around Chris and put in a hard effort. At the top I had opened about a 1 minute gap back to Chris, but I had a hard time telling how far back Leland was and I noticed a 25k runner in a white shirt that I had passed earlier. I guessed that the white shirt guy had just been experiencing a low point when I passed him earlier and now he was making up ground.

I was happy to have the serious climb over with and I was rewarded with a spectacular view from the ridge. I hiked a section I could have run just so I could take it in for a minute. I made it down both of the steep little descents without ever seeing anyone behind me and figured I was putting more time on them. I asked the guy at the second to last aid station how far back I was from the guy in front and he replied 8 or 9 minutes. At that point I resolved to try and hang on to my 3rd place over one more climb and stumble down the last descent to the finish.

This next section felt almost effortless earlier in the day but now I was feeling the effects of the pace I had been keeping. I glanced back periodically and the only runner I could see was the white shirt guy. I wasn't worried, but I didn't understand how he was still making up ground on me. Then, as I started up a short steep climb I got a better look at him, it was Erik! I was really surprised since I hadn't passed him, I yelled his name just to be sure I wasn't seeing things. Apparently he wants to change his middle name to Wrong Way, as he told me about going off course by about 10 minutes. Erik was still motivated and moving faster than me, but I hung on for as long as possible before yielding a little over a minute to him by the time we hit the last climb.

Now it was just four miles of dusty atv double track that dropped about 2,500' to the finish. I gamely tried to keep Erik in sight, mostly to help me stay in front of Chris and Leland who were only 2 to 3 minutes back when I crested the final climb. Erik finally disappeared after a mile or so and I was left to my own devices for motivation, which turned out to be time. I really wanted to finish under 6 hours so I kept pushing, knowing that it was going to be close. I finally started to recognize some of the trail features from the morning and knew I was getting close. Then I saw our campground and kicked it up a notch to cross the line in 5:57:57, good enough for 3rd place. Luke crushed the course record, in his first ultra, with a time of 5:40, Erik wrapped up 2nd in 5:54, Leland followed me in for 4th and Chris came across in 5th. What a great race! See all the results on the website.

At the finish line we were treated to some fine Huckleberry soda and one of the best burgers I could have asked for. If you like spectacular scenery, miles and miles of winding singletrack, and friendly folks then you should definitely put this one on your calendar. Thanks to Ty Draney, his family, and all of the friendly volunteers for making the race so great.

Wasatch Speedgoat 50km Report

2008-07-30T18:16:00.002-06:00

Ow. That was hard.
To summarize, big up, big down, big up, medium down, medium up, little down, hard little up, little down, little up, big down, finish. Mileage: 31, Total vertical: 10,500+/- (many people are reporting higher numbers, but GPS elevation data just isn't very accurate. If someone has an elevation total from a barometric altimeter I'd love to hear it).

Truth be told, I had a great day. I started pretty conservative and ran with Rich most of the way to the top. On the way over to Baldy my electrolyte capsules fell out of a hole in the baggie I use to carry them in so I stopped to pick a few of them up and lost contact with Rich (note to self put capsules in new bag before races). The long descent to Dutch Flat was fairly uneventful, I did roll an ankle but if anyone made it through this section without doing the same I would be really surprised. The climb out of Mary Ellen was hot and I concentrated on drinking as much as possible. At this point I was in 8th place and I could see Rich about 5 minutes in front of me. The course took us over a ridge, down a short section to the water-only aid station, then all the way up to the Basshole...I mean, tunnel. On the way up to the tunnel I passed a woman that didn't look particularly good and offered her help, but she just wanted to slog through to the tunnel. Now I was in 7th, which, funny enough matched my race number (Karl was playing odds maker at his own race).

After the tunnel it was back down the service road 1,500' or so, then a climb up the ridge to a trail junction just below Hidden Peak. Scott Mason was there to greet us and let us know that we had to go down in to Little Cloud bowl and back up to Hidden Peak. I was starting to hit a low point and I was not happy but I followed Karen, who had just passed me, down the rocky descent. It seems as though my legs had no trouble going down, but when I started the last big ascent they started to object. This is where I decided that doing the Millcreek 50k the week prior was a bad idea. Slogging my way up the climb I was able to see 2nd place male, 1st place female Anita Ortiz followed by 4th overall Storheim coming back down heading to the finish. Eventually I hit the final service road leading to the top and saw my family waiting for me which gave me a bit of a boost but I was still feeling pretty low. Greg's wife, Marge was up there taking pictures and I did my best to put on a happy face (thanks Marge!). Despite the boost, I was finally passed by the guy that had been stalking me since mile 15. If it truly was "all downhill from there" like everyone told me it was, (I'm not at all bitter btw) I think I could have stayed with him. But after a short 200' to 300' descent in to Mineral Basin basin the "true" last climb of the day back out sapped the remaining fuel from my legs and I lost my motivation.

Now it was all downhill from here on the service road, but I was being cautious, thinking that there might be another detour along the way taking us up another climb or traverse of some sort. I ran pretty tentatively going down because I didn't want to injure myself and it seemed pretty likely that I would finish under 7 hours. Then I glanced over my shoulder with about a mile to go and saw someone closing on me, so I picked up the pace for the last mile and finished just in front of Sarah Evans for 9th overall in 6:51. I told Sarah congratulations and thanked her for pushing me to a strong finish.

Karl was at the finish greeting everyone and taking all the positive feedback on the course with a wide grin on his face. My family was there to congratulate me along with Erik and Rich. Congratulations to all that finished, that was tough one. Thanks to all the volunteers who made it possible and to Karl for organizing the whole thing. Results and some great Pictures here and here.

Bikes

2008-06-26T15:48:00.001-06:00

The other day I was going through some of my old trail shoes, trying to decide which ones had some life left in them and which ones could be recycled. It got me thinking, I'm not really attached to a pair of shoes in the same way as I was to one of my bicycles. Even though I really value the protection and comfort that my shoes provide, I don't look at them and think of a particular race or training run. Nor do I have a problem getting rid of them when their time is up. Bikes on the other hand are a completely different story for me. As the Italian sprinter Mario Cipollini once said, "The bicycle has a soul. If you are able to love it as it deserves, it will give you emotions you will never forget".

That being said, this is the list of the bikes I own and have owned throughout my life.

** Fully functional and still ride.
* Still own but not functional.

**Schwinn Scrambler 36-36 BMX: 20 in. chrome frame, my first real bike I got at age 6. It had some of those steel waffle rims that made the bike weigh a ton. I did some racing at the 4th street dirt track in Ogden but never really took it serious. Eventually all the components were replaced except for the frame. I still own it and use it when my son and I go hit the dirt jumps in the neighborhood. Memory: Being afraid to leave it in the street after I broke my finger so I walked it home a good half mile, leaving a trail of blood.
Centurion Road: My first road bike when I was 14. It was red with white trim. Just as heavy as my bmx but of course it had gears. I put some cool downtube shifters on it along with toe clips and took it farther than I thought I was capable of going. I remember watching LeMond and the Hampster in the Tour and getting inspired to race, but that would have to wait for a few years...Memory: Riding it up North Ogden Divide from Sunset city and getting back at 9pm, no helmet, no food, no brain.
Cannondale Road: Age 22 I bought my second road bike from a soccer player trying to get enough money together to go to Europe. It was one of those oversized aluminum crit frames that was super stiff. Green with orange trim and to big for me at 56cm (I would normally ride a 52cm). I never really fell in love with this bike but I did race it a few times at the DMV and Utah Summer Games. Memory: Riding it up the old snowbasin road, dying in the heat.
*Ciocc Road: Age 24 I bought this steel Italian road frame from a consignment shop for $300. I dreamed of owning an Italian bike since I was 15 and finally had one. The frame was red with chrome chain stays, seat stays and fork. I raced this bike for 2 years and did quite well on it but it was on the heavy side and a little small for me. The frame now hangs as art in my shop area. Memory: Winning a DMV crit in the B group with downtube shifters and 52/42 front chainrings.
*Rogue Road: One of my true treasures. I met framebuilder Jeff Rogers when I joined the Utah Premier racing team. Jeff was building custom steel frames in his basement and offered a discount to team members for a frame. I think I paid $400 for a custom built frame (which is ridiculously inexpensive). Many local racers had a Rogue frame including Dave Zabriskie and Levi Leipheimer. Sadly Jeff passed away suddenly in 2003. I still have this frame but I will no longer ride it. Memory: No doubt about it, winning the 2001 Pro/1/2 Utah State road race on the only steel frame in the field.
*Bianchi Cyclocross: Classic green celeste color. This was an opportunity buy as I was at a warehouse of lost shipments. The frame was sitting there without a fork and a small dent in the downtube. I paid $20 for the frame and had Jeff build me a fork for $80. I cobbled together some parts and started 'cross racing later that year in '97. Memory: Funny enough it was watching my friend and super fast dirt racer, Gabriel Blanco use it during a 'cross race at wheeler farm. It hasn't gone that fast since then.
GT Time Trial: Another opportunity by from the warehouse. Four frames for $400. They were TT bikes developed for '96 Atlanta Olympics and used by the Montgomery Bell team (pre-US Postal). The bikes were ridden by Nate Reiss, Darren Baker, Tyler Hamilton, and Marty Jemison. I ended up with Darren Baker's. Memory: Taking 3rd in the Utah State 40k TT in 52:39, almost 5 mins behind 21 year-old Dave Z.
**Redline Cross bike: The Bianchi listed above was just a little to heavy to be competitive with so I opted for the cheapest aluminum frame I could find. I recently turned this one into a singlespeed with the intention of racing it in 'cross. Memory: Taking 5th place in the A+ category at trailside park. Small wonder, the course had a ton of climbing.
Rogue Time Trial bike: Jeff convinced me I could use a better TT bike than the one I had. For whatever reason I never really found my mojo on this bike and sold it after the season.
**Rocky Mountain Road: This was my first "pro-form" deal on a frameset. I think I paid somewhere around $800 for my first aluminum scandium road bike. Scandium was new material at the time and I thought I was taking a big risk. This is the bike I currently use as my commuter. Memory: Winning the prologue and 3rd stage of the 2002 Cache Classic (My one and only time trial win).
Fondriest Don Racer Road: This was a team bike that I fell in love with. I only owned it for about six weeks before I had to give it back because a dispute between the bike shop and distributor. It was flat black with white trim and had the stiffer, more responsive, compact geometry that I had been avoiding (because it wasn't the "traditional" horizontal top tube). Memory: Riding out to Hanksville and back with Flynn then going up Wall street leg breaker at the end.
DeRosa UD: This frame replaced the Fondriest. It was made with the same material as the Fondriest and the size was the same but there was something a little different about it. Maybe it was the geometry or the way it was put together I just never felt quite right on it. Our relationship ended later that year when I crashed on it and broke my femur. Memory: take a guess.
Orbea Lobular Road: This Spanish built bike looked good and felt really comfortable. However it wasn't as stiff as the full aluminum frames I had been riding because it had carbon seat stays and chain stays. I probably didn't give it a fair chance since I rode it the year I was bringing my leg back to life. Memory: Leading out Flynn at the Ecology Classic for the sprint bonus while he was wearing the sprint leaders jersey.
Giant XCR Carbon Road: My first an only full carbon frame. I promptly sold it when I was done racing because it was so nice. When I put my carbon wheels on, this bike tipped the scales just a shade over 16lbs. I was very hesitant because the bad reputation Giant had from their early aluminum frames but this bike was a dream to ride. Memory: Hard to say because I did a lot of racing on it, but winning the East Canyon road race (after Pardyjak kept me sheltered all day) is probably it.
**Cannondale F400 Mtn Bike: The latest edition to the family and my first mountain bike. Leo bestowed this upon me before he moved back east. One of my favorite features of this bike is the disc brakes. Finally my hands don't cramp on long descents from pulling so hard on the brakes.

I think I've had a few more bikes than shoes at this point, but not for to much longer...

Squaw Peak 50 - 2008

2008-06-08T10:28:00.002-06:00

In case you were thinking I had abandoned this blog, I haven't. I've been posting on a new blog called the MRC with a few friends of mine. Anyway back to the race.
Squaw Peak was my first 50 miler back in 2006 after my good friend Leo convinced me I had to do this one while pacing him at Wasatch in 2005. This would also be my 10th "official" ultra and the 4th one this season. My body was feeling the effects of the busy spring with some bursitis in my knee and a tender tibia on my other leg. Not that these are good excuses, many runners toe the line with some kind of issue, I just knew it had the potential to make for a long day.
The forecast called for cool conditions with a chance for rain in the morning, HA! It was raining well before we started and made for some slippery climbing up to Hope Canyon. A group of us formed behind the leaders including Peter, Dave Hunt, Brian Beckstead and Shane Martin among others. I was making a conscious effort to start slower, as were the guys I was with. Since the conditions were slower this part was easy. The climbs were much like ice but with slippery mud instead, occasionally I would have to grab a branch to pull myself up.
Eventually our little group started to spread out as the rain gave way to snow and the temperature started dropping. I ran with Shane Martin for a few miles and after he eased off I caught up to "Uncle Dave" Hunt (uncle because he's wise in the ways of pacing). I ran with Dave all the way from the the Kolob Basin Overlook aid station at mile 15, where it was practically a blizzard, down to the next aid station at about mile 21. I left the aid a little before Dave and headed out on to one of my least favorite sections which includes 3 miles of pavement to aid station #6 at mile 26. The rain had subsided but it was still overcast. I glanced up at Windy Peak which we would eventually have to pass over, and it was hidden in cloud cover. Dave caught up to me shortly before reaching this next aid station and we ran in together. Karl Meltzer, was there waiting to pace Cheryl (his wife) in her first 50 miler, along with Dave's pacer Bryon Powell. Dave, Bryon and myself left together but I could only hold their pace for a couple of miles before I had to let them go. I was content to finally get to run by myself and enjoy this section that is usually very hot. I knew at this point that I was running in 9th or 10th overall but I just kept it nice and easy thinking about the brutal climb up to Windy Pass.
I went through Little Valley aid station at mile 33, fueled up and started the long climb. Last year I took off out this aid station to fast and paid for it in spades when I reached the serious climbing. This time around I kept it to a hike until I reached the long traverse which is very runnable. I felt great and my knee was feeling fine so at this point I was cautiously optimistic that I would be able to hold my position to the finish. Just as I reached the base of the steep climb the clouds began to clear and the sun came out. It didn't seem so bad at first but when I stepped on to the snow covered climb the reflective heat started to make me hot. Not only that but I left my sunglasses back at the car so my eyes were getting blinded by the light. I decided that no matter what I would keep moving, even if it was slow. The fresh snow that had been dumped earlier probably helped with the traction but the ascent up to Windy Peak was still tough. Finally I saw the pile of rocks that indicates the summit proper and knew I was just a short distance from the aid station. Even though it is downhill to the Windy Pass aid station it is still very technical and difficult. For the first quarter mile or so there isn't even a trail, so you just kind of pick your way down through the softball sized jagged rocks. I made it down to where there is an actual trail and could here the aid station crew just ahead. The volunteers at this aid station deserve special mention because everything that comes up is packed in by them, thanks guys! They filled my bottles for me and I took off on the descent. One of the volunteers, Jim Skaggs informed me that the snow lasted for about 3 to 4 miles of the 7 mile descent. No worries I thought, we've been running on snow all spring. I was able to glissade a few sections at the top and pretty much just ran over the same spots that the front runners had made in other snowy areas. I was a little cautious about tweaking my weak knee, but it was holding together fine. About halfway down I found fellow MRC member Greg Norrander hiking up taking pictures. I paused for a few seconds and he informed me that Storheim was closing on Belshaw and that Rich was about 5 to 10 minutes in front of me. I tried sending some positive vibes to Erik, hoping he could close down the gap and get the win. My knee was starting to act up, but as long as I kept it tracking straight I had very little pain associated with it. Then I hit some of the nastiest mud I encountered all day. It was the kind of mud that just keeps on sticking to itself and before you know it your shoes weigh a 2lbs. each. My knee really got sore through here but I knew I was almost done. Sure enough I came out of the trees and saw the big grassy meadow and Rich just about a minute in front of me. I was feeling pretty good and really wanted to try for a sub 10:30 but I knew it would be tight since it would only leave me about 30 minutes to run the last 3.7 miles. Rich and I ran through the last aid station together and I was all fired up to get this, my least favorite section, over with. Rich decided he needed to back off the pace and wished me luck. In my two previous races here I have never been able to run this last road section, but I had decided today was the day. Then I saw Storheim driving up in his car. He yelled some words of encouragement and I asked him if he won. He replied that he missed winning by 30 seconds! After about a mile and a half I caught up to Karl Jarvis whom I had run with very early in the day. I made sure he was alright then continued on to the finish. I knew I was getting close and I kept nervously looking at my watch to see if I would make my time. Then at 10 hours 27 minutes I could hear the crowd gathered at the finish area and that gave me an additional boost. My kids came running up to me and we ran in to the finish together. I ended up coming in 6th place in 10:29. Rich came in a few minutes back for 8th and Peter in 15th or 16th. No doubt about it, the conditions ruled the day on an already tough course. As an indication as to how tough it was, times were generally ~1 hour slower. Last year I took 19th in a time of 10:07, whereas this year I was 23 minutes slower and moved up to 6th.
Congratulations to everyone who finished a truly epic edition of Squaw Peak. Thanks to all the volunteers who also had to endure the cold, wet conditions, without your support this race wouldn't even happen. And thanks to RD John Bozung for pulling it all together.

Catching Up

2008-04-23T13:24:00.001-06:00

So it's been a while, I could come up with plenty of good excuses, but really I just stretched myself a bit thin. My body responded last week by giving me a pretty hearty head cold, forcing me to rest. Despite being busy the last month or so has been great.
On March 22nd I joined 70 other trail runners at the 3rd annual Buffalo Run. for the second year in a row there was a 50 mile option in addition to a 50k and 25k race. Originally I had planned on doing the 50k as I didn't care for the 50 mile route from 2007. But RD Jim Skaggs changed the 50 mile route to include the 25k/50k route before heading over to the east side of the island, making it a fun course with more up and down singletrack. Peter and I rode up with Greg and arrived at the start line a good 30 mins before the start. As we jumped out of the car to get our drop bags in the proper place we were greeted with a bitter cold north wind. I would guess that the wind chill was hovering around 20 degs so we opted for a warm-up that involved sitting in the car with the heater on. Storheim liked that idea and jumped in for the final countdown. With about 1 minute to go before the start we got out of the car and toed the start line, anxious to get going and warm up. Storheim took off right away and I stepped up the pace to catch up. We held a pretty good pace that warmed us up as we turned our back to the wind and made our way up the first climb of the day. Next up was one of the highlights of the early morning, the descent down to split rock bay. The full moon was hovering in the western sky reflecting off of the Great Salt Lake creating a stunning scene. Thankfully the descent isn't very technical so could afford to take it in a bit more than I usually would. Storheim and I continued together through the 20 mile mark where he found an extra gear, steadily pulling way as we made our way to the east side of the island. The rest of the race was pretty uneventful as I held on for 2nd place in 7:42. Storheim put 38 minutes in to me cruising in for 1st in 7:04 and Greg had a solid race taking 6th in 8:32. I was really pleased with my race as I ran with a steady effort throughout and managed to finish strong. I was really proud of Betsy, my wife, for running and finishing the 25k a 2nd time.

Next up was a family trip to Moab for my daughter's birthday. We had a great time hiking over 12 miles in Arches National Park. I was able to squeeze in a 15 mile run on an abandoned stretch of 4wd road in the park. The plan was to run from Balanced rock to Tower arch and have the family meet me at the other end. It started out great, running up and down the hills through the desert but after about 7 miles the hard-packed dirt road gave way to soft sand. Of course this slowed me down considerably and my supplies were gone by the time I reached Tower arch. I didn't regret doing the run, but I don't think I'll be doing that again. The rest of the trip was great. The highlight had to be the self guided (permit) trip through the Fiery Furnace. The lowlight was coming back from 60 degrees and sunshine to snow packed roads over soldier summit.

The following weekend I was able to get back on the trails with Peter and Greg. We started at 5:30 from the east side of City Creek and ran on the shoreline toward Red Butte where we planned on meeting up with Erik and Rich. So there we were just cruising along east of the UofU parking lot approaching Red Butte when we found a University cop standing on the trail. He told us we had to turn around and wouldn't tell us why but did tell us it would be a couple of hours. Shortly after we turned around we decided to head up the mountain to Mt. Van Cott instead going around. Erik and Rich gave us a yell from below as they had gone the long way around blockade on the road. Erik was able to get more information out of the cop from the other side and told us that they had some type of dangerous chemical that needed to be disposed of so the bomb squad was going blow it up. Not quite as exciting as the manhunt we had imagined but still very odd. As we were making our way down from Van Cott to the mouth of Red Butte we heard the explosion and held our breath...Apparently everything was fine since nobody dropped dead and I didn't hear about it in the news. How many times have you been stopped by a police officer on the trail?

Trail Goodness

2008-03-01T13:25:00.008-07:00

We had a full crew, with Peter, Storheim, Sam and Greg hitting the trail at six am from Morris Meadow. As I popped out of the car I notice Peter was wearing pants while I was wearing shorts. I asked if he was going to run with them when Sam piped in with "no shorts!". It was probably 40 to 45 degrees which was quite a bit warmer than what we have been used to, so shorts it was.
The trail heading off the bench down to City Creek was slightly frozen mud with hard packed snow and ice, typical conditions for most of the day. Just as we were ready to crest the first climb of the day the sun was starting to come up.

From 2008-1-3 Run ...

(Note the moon just above the ridge)
After cresting the climb we spooked a herd of deer. These guys have had a tough winter and the two small bucks that made it through have been rewarded with more than a few does to choose from. We lost Peter shortly after this as he took off in the same direction as the deer...

From 2008-1-3 Run ...

The air was remarkably clear because of high winds which provided clear views for miles.

From 2008-1-3 Run ...

(looking south, lone peak to the right)
Next we started the descent to the big plateau between Salt Lake City and North Salt Lake city. This piece of land received a bit of press in the last couple of years because the city of North Salt Lake wanted to develop it while (now former) Mayor Rocky Anderson wanted it preserved as open space. I believe that Salt Lake City bought a large portion of it in order to protect it.

From 2008-1-3 Run ...

(Peter, Sam, Greg, Storheim with Antelope Island in the background. All of us but Sam have a date there in 3 weeks for 50 mile Buffalo Run)
After the flat plateau is one of my favorite parts of the run, a very long sustained climb. The wind was howling but the views were incredible.

The next section rolls along the ridge, where we started encountering deeper snow. Most of it was still hard enough that it could support us, however we found a few sections that we started post holing.

On this last picture with the view of the Wasatch front you can actually see Mt Nebo, which I can never recall seeing from this vantage point. Follow the long prominent ridge line down from Lone Peak and you can see a shadowy figure of a mountain.
This next descent is one that I've called the "drop" in the past but I think I might start calling it the "quad-buster". We all made it down in piece but left some flesh in the snow above...

In order Peter, myself, and Storheim.
From here we breezed back to the start, then went and did some bonus miles up on the shoreline. All in all about 15 miles with about 4000' vert, bloody shins, dirty shoes and grins from ear to ear.
Peter shows off his trophy back in the parking lot.

Just what I needed

2008-02-25T18:33:00.005-07:00

At 6am on Saturday Peter and Greg met me at the mouth of Emigration for a trail run. I didn't care what the conditions were like I was not going to run on the road. The plan was to do a route I call short and steep, it's only 16 miles but it packs in 5000' worth of climbing. We usually start by going up the south face of Mt. Wire but we knew that it would be pretty ugly going up that way so we opted for George's hollow instead. There was a light rain as we left the parking lot and flipped on our headlamps and started climbing the frozen snow covered trail. As we made our ascent up Mt Wire the wind picked up and it started snowing ever so lightly on us. We hit the saddle before the last little climb to the top and lost the trail. It's not a big deal as it just makes a slight uphill traverse across a west facing slope then up to the summit. I decided to take a slightly lower line than Peter and Greg that ended up being a frustrating for me, funny for them. When I was about 1/4 of the way across I lost traction and started sliding down about 10'. I took a couple of steps up then slid another 10'. Pattern repeated itself until I had lost a good 40' of from where I started. The funny part was that I couldn't stop myself once I would start sliding. The snow underneath was so hard I couldn't even kick my shoes into it. Eventually I just backtracked and took the higher line, good times. We finally made the summit, snapped a pic, and downed some food before we started the descent.

(Greg and Peter on Mt Wire, Airway beacon constructed in 1942 in the background)

Next we headed over to the living room then picked our way down to the back of Red Butte gardens and over to the mouth of Red Butte canyon. Up to Mt VanCott, down to the shoreline and back to the parking lot. We decided to cut out Dry Creek since we would get 3 hours without it and we were all feeling good. What a blast! I felt rejuvenated even if the conditions weren't ideal. My only regret on this run was that I didn't use the screw shoe and the conditions couldn't have been better for them. Maybe next weekend...

2008 Moab 50k+ Race Report

2008-02-22T13:18:00.001-07:00

When I registered for this race back in December it was my intention to actually "race", but that notion disappeared as quickly as the trails did in the month of January. With near record snow coming down more of my training miles ended up being on the road than I like and my normal Sunday run was replaced with family ski days at Solitude. The only part I'm complaining about is the high amount of road miles, the skiing has been incredible.
The family decided to stay behind on this trip so I was able to hitch a ride with my friend Greg, his wife Marge and their sweet dog Isabelle. On the way down Greg and I nervously watched as the snow finally gave way to bare ground after we were south of I-70.
The starting group for the 50k was at least double the size of last year and there were plenty of fast guys in the bunch. I was able to catch up with many friends as we waited for 8am start including Sam who was attempting his first official ultra. I also saw my friend Scott Jaime from Colorado and Liz Irvine who was nursing a cold. The buzz at the start was mostly about how excited everyone was to be in shorts and feel dry dirt under their shoes. Obviously not a big surprise since 90% of the field was from Utah and Colorado. Before I knew 8 am arrived and just as the sun started to warm the cool morning air (35 deg) we were off.
I started with a pretty conservative pace and picked my way through the pack until I had some breathing room. I decided that a fast race for me would be a sub-5 hour time but I knew 5:30 was more likely. Within a couple of minutes we started the first climb and I was bit surprised to find a fair amount of snow and ice through this section. Not a big deal though, because it disappeared as soon as we started the descent. At this point I noticed Storheim up ahead so I increased my pace bit to catch up. We chatted for a few minutes and remarked about the quick pace that the front runners we setting, including Kyle Skaggs, Tony Krupicka, Karl Meltzer, Ian Torrence, and my friend Scott among others. Storheim has one of those cool new GPS watches that does everything except actually run and it was telling him that we were holding a 6 min/per mile pace on the flat desert canyon road. It was about that same time we backed off a bit and we were soon caught by Darcy Africa. We ran as a group for a few miles before Storheim took off, it would be the last I would see of him until the finish line. Just past the first aid station at mile 6, Darcy, another guy, and myself caught up to Jared Campbell. I was about 5 minutes ahead of my 5 hour pace but still felt comfortable. The four of us then took turns setting the pace all the way up the first long climb to the rim above the starting area. By now the temperature was 'soaring' in to the 40's and it was time to shed some clothing. It was at this same point last year while I was running with Ian Torrence when he motioned over to the rim and said something to the effect of "the view is too good to pass up", so we left the trail for a minute or so and soaked in the incredible scene. I made sure I did the same this year and spent some time on the edge taking in the view of Arches National Park and the La Sal mountains in the distance, it was incredible. I hit the trail with renewed energy and bounded down the descent to aid station 2 at mile 13. I didn't bother to stop as I still had enough fluid left in my bottles but made a conscious effort to make sure they were gone by aid station 3 at mile 17. I made a mental note that the aid station mileage was slightly off, being closer to 14 miles instead of 13 so that still put me ahead of pace by 5 minutes or so. It was through this stretch that Helen Cospolich caught up to me and we ran together for a few miles on our way to aid station 3. I made a quick stop, filled my bottles and grabbed a piece of banana before heading off to the second big climb of the day.
This next section was where I went off course last year with Storheim and Brian Beckstead, getting in some bonus miles, 3 in all, but who's counting. I passed the familiar spot in the road where we went right instead of left and chuckled to myself. At this point I was feeling good as I started the climb, but then something happened, I lost focus and I didn't care anymore. My legs were feeling slightly weak from the lack of climbing in my training and now that the temperature had risen to nearly 50 degrees I was feeling hot. My mind started to drift as I thought about skiing the next day with the family and the cold six pack of moose drool sitting in my fridge at home. I had set a goal time of 3hrs 5mins to this next aid station at mile 21 and as I watched 3:05:00 tick by I lost a little bit more of my motivation. I eventually made it to aid station 4 in 3:17 so I was only 10 to 15 minutes behind schedule but my mood continued continued the downward trend as I set off on the slickrock portion of the run.
On this section last year I remembered standing around looking for flags, unsure about whether I should head up, down or across the slickrock. This year I was prepared as I had loaded a breadcrumb trail of waypoints on to my GPS. Now all I had to do was look down at my wrist when I was unsure about the direction I should take. I also believe that the course marking was slightly better this year however the rock was still as unforgiving as ever. This seven mile section looks like a saw blade on the profile. The terrain not only undulates up and down but much of it is off camber, kind of like running on the edge of highly crowned road. I was happy to see the last aid station come in to view with the snow packed La Sal mountains as a backdrop and almost instantly my mood improved. I sucked down some flat coke, filled my bottle and took off for the finish line. I knew well before this that sub 5 was out of the question but as I glanced at my watch I noticed it read 4:41 as I left the last aid station. I quickly realized I could make my realistic goal of 5:30 if I pushed a bit harder and that's what I decided to do. Gradually I picked up my pace as the coke took effect and I felt like I was cruising the last six miles even though my pace was relatively slow at 8 min/per mile. I hit the last steep downhill section, anxious to be done and crossed the line in 5:32. I had bettered my time from last year by nearly 10 minutes but I had spent nearly 25 minutes off course last year. So overall I was a bit slower this go around but I felt comfortable with my effort, never pushing that hard and not truly trashing my legs.
It was nice to sit around the finish area and hear all the stories from the day and cheer on other finishers as I enjoyed some tasty potato soup. Sam rolled in just a few minutes after me grinning from ear to ear. Storheim had already showered and taken a nap by the time I came in, smoking the course in 4:47. As proof to just how fast the race was this year, Karl Meltzer ran the same time he did last year (which was good for 1st) and took 7th this year. My time of 5:41 from last year was good enough for 19th, while 5:32 this time around put me in 33rd. Kyle Skaggs and Tony Krupicka crossed the line together in 4:03! Check out the rest of the results on the Moab 50K+ site. Overall I had a great time running around on the dirt (and rock) enjoying the warm sunshine. Thanks to Chris Martinez and Greg Poettgen for their excellent organization and all the volunteers that made it possible.
Lessons learned from this Ultra:

Road miles cannot be substituted for trails.
Time on your feet in the mud and snow is still better than the road.
Races can be used as training as long as you keep a lid on it.

Now, time to get back on the trails...

2008 Race Schedule

2008-01-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

One vastly different aspect about ultras from cycling is the fact that races fill up the moment they open for registration. That never happened in the 10 years I spent racing my bike. So as a consequence you have to be on the ball in order to get into some of the popular races. The other annoying part is that registration for the ultras during the summer open during December and January, so plunking down the cash for 4 or 5 races can get expensive during the holidays. I guess the bright side is that I know which races I'm doing right now and I can use that as motivation to get out on these cold snowy days.
The schedule thus far:

Feb 16 - Moab Red Hot 50k+
Mar 22 - Buffalo Run 50 mile
Apr 19 - BSTM
May 3 - Miwok 100k
Jun 7 - Squaw Peak 50 mile
Jul 26 - Wasastch Speedgoat 50k
Aug - El Vaquero Loco 50k
??Sep 9 - Wasatch 100 (lottery)
Sep 26 - Bear 100

The second half of the season is really dictated by Wasatch. If I am fortunate enough to make it in I will just have to see how I feel during July and August. I might need to slow down and let my legs heal from the first 5 months. One thought I've entertained, is that might try doing the Bear even if I get into Wasatch. I had such a great time there last year that I'd really like to do it again.
Initially I had wanted to do the San Juan Solstice in June but we decided to do a family vacation to San Francisco instead. That's how I ended up signing up for the Miwok 100k. I'm really excited to run this one. It's in the Marin Headlands and the scenery looks incredible. The trail looks kind of low on the technical scale so hopefully I'll trip a little less while I'm taking in the views. A bonus to this one is that Peter is running it as well. He was supposed to pace his sister at Western States, but since she didn't get in she is going to run Miwok as a consolation. This race seems to be pretty popular with the fast folks as it is a qualifier for Western States. If you are in the top three men or women you get an automatic birth and you can bypass the their lottery. Lon Freeman won last year in a time of 8:09:52 breaking the course record from 1999. In case you were wondering that's 7:53 min/mile with 10,000 vertical, that's fast! I think I'll probably set a time goal for a sub 11, but who knows since I've never seen the trail.
I suppose with all these races lined up I should get out for a run or two.

Winter workouts

2007-12-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

I recently got a camera to take with me on some of my runs. It fit all of my qualifications: it's small, lightweight, takes regular AAA batteries and it was only $50. One problem, it takes pictures like what you would expect from a $20 camera. Oh well, live and learn I suppose.
This first shot is from our second snow run of season. Peter convinced me to do the first loop of the BSTM which is about 10 miles. It had dumped about 8 - 12 inches a few days before and we knew we would be making fresh tracks most of the way. This is just before the long descent back into City Creek canyon.

(Peter and Jamie ready to crest the ridge)

This next one is Peter coming out of the scrub oak about halfway down the descent. Usually we bomb this descent, especially when there's snow, but not this time. There was just enough famous Utah powder sitting on top rocks and branches that it made for a cautious descent. The really cool part was all the cotton like snow sitting in the branches.

The next weekend I decided to put on the skinny skis and go up to Mtn. Dell for some skate skiing. Man, did that ever make me feel out of shape. For those of you who haven't tried before, skate skiing is about 60% fitness, 40% technique. When the technique isn't there it makes it hard to find a comfortable zone to ski in. So it's on-off-on-off for the better part of 2 hours.

(Random skate skier in the middle)

Later back at the ranch, I was browsing the interweb when I found this little article on the screw shoe from Matt Carpenter's site. This was after I had flailed around Mtn. Dell 2 hours and I was looking to put some productive miles in running. The problem is often traction on well used trails and sure enough this did the trick. I was unable to find 3/8" screws so I used 1/2" all throughout the sole of the shoe. On my first test run up to sugarhouse park I could feel the screws in the front part of my foot while I was on pavement. On the ice and snowpacked roads they worked to perfection. At one point I tried to slide but they wouldn't budge, good solid traction for $3. I'm still going to try and locate some 3/8" for the front though.

Erik and I headed out on the 29th to run along the shoreline, up Mt. Van Cott (minor peak on north side of Red Butte Canyon), then up Dry creek. I was amazed by the amount of deer and elk we saw on this run. In fact we probably stood around for good 15 minutes combined just looking at all the animals. We saw some good size bucks with the deer but only cow elk. The picture below shows a deer crossing the trail just 20 yards in front of us. This is a popular spot for the deer to cross dry creek to the other ridge and it reminded me of a run from last year when Peter almost ran into one while we were descending.

(Squint hard and look in the middle of the photo, Erik on the right)

This next one made us both laugh. The pile of brown stuff is exactly what you think it is (if it was warm it would smell). The funny part is the pack of trident gum laying next to it. In case you were wondering, the gum was still in the package. Weird.

(huh?)

An Urban Epic - Omloop Het Volk

2007-12-21T11:26:00.001-07:00

Wow! I didn't think it was possible to have such an epic run on my beater loop. I have this standard route from my house that I can take through two parks then do 2 mile loops around the perimeter of Sugarhouse park. I'm not very fond of this route but, when I'm strapped for time I can get a few miles in with minimal pavement. Right after I got home from work I headed out the door at 4:30, dressed in shorts and a long sleeve shirt. It was pretty windy and the temperature was a comfortable 40 degrees or so. Man, did that change in a hurry.

The storm front (from SLtrib.com)

As I was completing the first loop around the park I could see the storm was coming but I knew I had at least 15 to 20 minutes before it would hit so I decided to do another loop. I made it about 1 mile to the far east end of the park and the storm had arrived. It was obviously moving a lot faster and packing a bigger punch than I had originally thought. Almost immediately the wind changed direction, the temperature started falling and then the marble sized hail started. I laughed out loud thinking that rain or snow is one thing but hail, come on, are you kidding me? I picked up my pace as my quads turned to blocks of ice. The path that was wet grass just 10 minutes earlier was now covered in hail stones. I ended up running faster than I had intended but I had some extra motivation fueling my pace. The hail stones felt like hundreds of little needles against my wet legs. The fun part was over but I have to admit it was still exhilarating. I made way through the streets to Fairmont and it seemed like the worst was over when the lightening started. Once again I increased my pace as the sky lit up around me. I figured that if I kept moving I would at least stay relatively warm and I was right. The only nagging issue I have from that run is some sore quads from the quick pace. I think I'll head out for some nordic action this weekend on the fresh snow, before the family heads up to Solitude on Christmas day.
As for the Omloop Het Volk reference in the title, I know someone out there remembers a similar epic on 2 wheels. You'd think I would learn my lesson...

Round and Round

2007-11-08T09:32:00.001-07:00

These last few weeks it seems as though I've been watching more running than actually doing it. My son started doing cross-country this year and I take him to practice several times a week as well as running 3 to 4 miles with him on some of the days when he doesn't have practice. This was all leading up to the State meet on November 3rd. He had done two races on the same course prior to the State meet with times of 14:57 and 14:37 for 3km (1.8 miles). He trained hard leading up to the big day and it paid off for a time of 13:47, good enough for 9th place and a trip to Regionals on the 17th at the same venue. Of course I'm super proud of him because he's giving it his best effort and having a good time. He races in the Midget category for 11-12 year olds and is one of the youngest in his category since he just turned 11 at the end of September.
So one day we were out on a training run around Sugarhouse park when he mentioned that he would like to try running a mile on the track. We ran a loop around the park for a warm-up then broke off down to the Highland High track to attempt a 7 minute mile. We started out running the right pace but after one time around he developed a bad side cramp and had to stop. Too late, the damage was done because during that first lap my mind started drifting back to some unfinished business I have with the track, a sub 5 minute mile. Back in the day I used to run the mile and my fastest time was 5:19 when I was a freshman in high school. Two years ago when I started running again I tried again, without any speedwork in my legs and clocked a 5:21. So made up my mind, today was the day I would break a sub 5 mile.
My son watched anxiously as I took off from the start line in a dead run aiming for a 37 second 200 meter split. I hit the 200 meter mark and alarm bells went off when I looked down at my watch, 33 seconds! I had started out to fast and everyone knows that can be the death nail to a good time. The next split was 38 secs, so I was still 3 secs to the good. But then the fatigue started to set in, which is an entirely different type of fatigue that comes from running for hours on end. My splits continued to slow and I eventually finished in 5:23. The steely taste of lactic acid filled my mouth and my chest was heaving from my lungs trying to get enough oxygen. I hadn't pushed my anaerobic limit that hard since I was racing bikes.
It was clear that if I was going to trim another 24 seconds off that effort I would have to do some work. So that's what I did last night while my son had cross-country practice. I headed over to the track after a 2 mile warm-up and did 200 meter repeats. I did eight of them at 35 seconds with 1:30 rest. The strange thing was that the intervals didn't hurt, in fact they actually felt kind of good. I finished by jogging over to cross-country practice where I found the team doing hill repeats. I should qualify the team before I continue as they are made up of kids from the age of 10 all the way through juniors in high school. When I show up the coach says "are you going to join them for some hill repeats?". Oh why not, I can hang for some hills, even if I did just do 200 meter repeats at the track. I decided to start a few steps behind the oldest boys and try to hold their pace. The first couple went fine, but then it felt like they were speeding up trying to put the hurt on the old man. After the fourth one I decided I would really dig and at least finish even with them. I couldn't do it. I dug deep but the well was dry. I had punched all my fun tickets for the night. After this I joined them for a mile and a half cool down around the park that no doubt saved my legs from a considerable amount of delayed onset muscle fatigue (fancy term for sore muscles the next day).
I think that doing some speedwork will be a good change for my legs and will hopefully get me past that sub 5 barrier.

Recovery Mode

2007-10-19T16:44:00.000-06:00

I've been taking it easy lately running when I feel like it and the weather is decent. I tried getting out for some mountain bike rides but the weather hasn't really cooperated. Last Saturday I met up with a few members of the MRC for a pre-dawn run up Mt. Wire and down George's Hollow. The morning was very dark because it was so cloudy and it felt like it would start raining any minute. The south side of Wire is quite steep, similar to the west side of Grandeur, the route follows a ridgeline for much of the ascent. After we made it to the top we hung around for a few minutes looking at the city lights, then out of the darkness a figure approached us from the same side we just came up. He wasn't wearing a headlamp but he did have a large pack on his back. Not a backpack necessarily but more like a bean bag size form on his back. Turns out he was a paraglider. We were stunned to see this guy so close on our heels, because we thought we were making good time. We all agreed that he must have taken a different way in order to save our egos.

Sunday I decided to conduct a little experiment and see how long I could run without food. Alright, it didn't exactly start that way, but I felt so good and I couldn't resist just one more summit. Three hours after I started I made it back to the car, not necessarily in a serious bonk but my stomach was making itself heard loud and clear. I really should have taken the mountain bike out but I thought the trails might be muddy with the recent precipitation we've had. Turns out the trails were in perfect riding condition.

I had another interesting development this week. As I believe I mentioned before I used to be a bike racer before I started this running thing. The last few years I was racing I started promoting a bike called Hell of the North in North Salt Lake near the airport. It's really not my type of race because it's dead flat and goes over a five mile circuit multiple times (depending on category). The one interesting part of the circuit is that it includes 1.75 miles of dirt/gravel road that racers pass over each time around. The other element to deal with is the weather since the date is usually the first or second weekend in April. The race is part of a season long points series for the Utah Cycling Association, a local governing body for cycling. At the end of each season the UCA takes suggestions from cycling clubs/riders for bylaw changes, then they are put to a vote at the November meeting, the idea being that the local cycling scene is improved upon from season to season. Now back to my original development, seems as though someone doesn't like the race I put on, as they put up a bylaw that would not allow races with dirt/gravel roads to be part of the UCA points series. There's no doubt that if the bylaw passed I would lose riders, but probably not that many. As it turns out I don't think I have anything to worry about as you can read here.
When I think about this kind of thing in relation to trail running it makes me laugh. I've heard far more complaints about ultra courses being to easy rather than complaints about their difficulty. Perhaps that is why I've come to like ultra's so much. Each runner is in a competition against the course and the clock, the harder the course the more rewarding the finish is, no matter what place you take.

2007 Bear 100 Race Report

2007-10-05T15:14:00.000-06:00

Redemption! I can't express how happy I am that I didn't have to wait a whole year to avenge my dnf at Wasatch. I had trained hard all year long to complete my first 100 miler and I only made it 48 miles. My stomach malfunctioned while everything else felt fine. I went for a long run the following Saturday on a pretty tough route and when I was done I my legs were feeling well enough to do the Bear. I called my good friend and training partner Peter and asked him to talk me out of doing it, still thinking it might not be the best idea and his reply was "do you need a pacer?" That sealed the deal and I signed up. I was still hesitant since I had never been on any of the trails and wouldn't have a crew but in the end it didn't matter.

The short report: I ran conservatively the first half, had a small stomach issue at mile 49 and fixed it at mile 53. Ran/shuffled/hiked the next 40 miles with the world's best pacer, my good friend Peter, then ran the last 7 miles all the way to the finish for a time of 27:32, good for 17th place. If you want the longer version keep reading.

I hitched a ride to the start with Wasatch Speedgoat Scott Mason and on the way we discussed a number of things one of them being my dnf at wasatch. I revealed that I had decided to try perpetuem in an effort to get a few more calories during the race and that's when I learned that it doesn't necessarily work for everyone. I decided to remove the mix from all of my bottles and drop bags and go with gatorade instead. This proved to be a good move. We arrived at Leland's (RD) trout farm a bit early, picked up our race packs, left our drop bags and headed off to the start. On our way up Cub River canyon, just outside Preston Idaho, we noticed some smoke coming from the hillside and soon realized that part of the course was going to wind it's way through this burnt area. Come to find out it was a controlled burn, that had now been going on for 2 weeks (at what point is it no longer a controlled burn?). We grabbed some excellent grub from the Deer Creek Inn then I retired to my tent located a few yards from the start to get some shut eye. I slept surprisingly well and woke up at 5am ready to begin this 100 mile adventure.
The 6am start came soon enough and I was feeling anxious to get going. 88 runners set off up the dirt road and after a few minutes of running in the dark I could hear strange sounds coming from the side of the road. It was a large herd of cattle and we had a apparently startled them enough that they started running parallel to us. There was one problem with that, we eventually had to make a right turn that would cut in front of them. Sure enough we made the right and just in front of me I saw Ken Jensen speed up to avoid a close encounter with a cow. Ken and I joked about it as we made our way up the singletrack on a climb. I was with Ken for the first few miles but after he stopped for a nature break I was in no-mans-land running through the burned area we had seen the day before. In the distance I could still make out a headlamp and followed it right when I should have gone left. I only ended up going about a half mile out in the wrong direction and decided there was no way I would let it stress me out this early on. Once I got back on the right trail I started reeling in runners on my way to the first aid station. I made a quick stop, filled my bottles and headed out.

Now the sun was coming out and the brilliant fall colors were amazing. The stunning views really made the miles fly by. This next section included the biggest climb of the day and I eventually caught up to Tim Seminoff and The Rocket. They had a very comfortable pace going and I settled in behind them learning a great deal along the way from these two veterans of the sport. We hit the top of the climb and began a long descent to the next aid. The miles just seem to kind of blur together through here until I reach the Danish Pass aid station for the second time at mile 42. I was a bit hungry and decided to eat half a boiled potato and half a banana. About a half an hour or so after this my stomach started to feel a little tight so I slowed my pace down, I think I just ate to much at one time.

The next aid station was just plain cruel as we had to do an out and back to Bloomington lake that included a descent on the way out and of course a steep climb on the way back. After climbing out and getting back on the main trail I popped an electrolyte capsule. Ten minutes later my stomach erupted and I instantly felt better. About that same time Scott came by and suggested I slow down and keep drinking my water. I knew all I had to do was make it to the next aid station where Peter was meeting me and I would be fine. I definitely fought off some negative thoughts through this section as my mind would drift back to three weeks prior when I was reduced to a stumble. By the time I made it to Paris aid station at mile 53 Peter already knew what had happened. He proceeded to sit me down and have me drink some broth, after that I drank some more and before I knew it we were off with all of our lights as the sun was starting to set. I had spent 33 minutes at Paris, which was way longer than I had intended, but it was time well spent getting my stomach back in order.

The next section is one that we would repeat between mile 82 and 90 in the opposite direction. It is also one of the longest sections between aid stations at 8 miles. I took my time making sure I didn't upset my stomach again and after a couple of miles I was able to run again, especially the descents. I was now in unchartered territory, having never run this far before. But that really isn't what consumed my thoughts, it was the threat of the snowstorm that had been predicted to hit by 11pm. I only mentioned it in hushed tones to Peter in fear of jinxing our perfect weather day up to that point. Slowly my energy was returning and before we made it to Dry Fork aid station we saw a headlight coming toward us. It was the other Wasatchspeedgoat, Karl Meltzer, on his way back already. He was 22 miles ahead of me and moving at a very good clip going uphill. He would go on to break the record by over an hour, finishing in 18hrs 50mins, simply incredible!
I made a short stop at the Dry Basin aid station while Peter and I gathered supplies out of my drop bag. The legendary Roch Horton runs this aid station and he has experience on this course so I asked him how technical the climb was after the next aid station, Millcreek, because it looked awful on the profile chart. Not bad at all he replied. As I would find out later I should have asked him how steep the climbs were instead.

I made good progress through this next section to Millcreek aid station and Peter recognized the fact that I was making a good pace and wisely hurried me through. This next section is known as the roller coaster because it is up and down, with a net elevation gain. Some of the climbs were horrifically steep, but I was able to keep moving, even if it was very slow. As we approached the next aid station Peter commented that it was the 75 mile mark. That made me feel good and motivated me to keep my pace up. Again my stay was brief, although I did sit down this time to remove some debris from my shoe.
The next aid station seemed to appear rather quickly and I was anxious to keep moving through there since I felt good and the weather was still holding. I knew that if it started to rain or snow our progress would be significantly slower. Next up was the Dry Basin aid station again. I was happy to reach this milestone but at the same time I knew we had a long 8 miles ahead of us back to the Paris aid station. As we pulled in to the aid station I noticed some empty seats around very inviting fire. Roch saw me standing there and pulled a chair back for me a little bit, but I said no thanks, that looks like stepping inside the Brighton lodge at Wasatch. He knew what I meant so instead of sitting down I grabbed another cup of broth and left while Peter was still gathering supplies.

The 8 mile section that I was now on would prove to be the hardest of the race for me. I had some real low energy cycles during this stretch. I was still able to run the descents but there just weren't that many as we were mostly climbing back to Paris. One of the tactics I employed to catch a breather on some of the climbs was to take a nature break. Thankfully I was staying hydrated enough to make this work. Peter informed me that I was now about 30 minutes ahead of my schedule to break 29 hours and told me I should start thinking about going under 28. It was a good confidence booster but it certainly didn't make this section any easier. At one point Peter told me he though this might be the last climb and I laughed out loud claiming he had no idea whether it was the last climb or not since he hadn't been on the course either. It did help me realize that it didn't matter if there were two or five more climbs ahead of me, I just had to keep moving forward.

About an hour before reaching the Paris aid station as the sun was coming up, a big cloud rolled over the ridge line and before we knew it we were running through fog and snowflakes. It was quite a surreal experience, most likely enhanced by the fact that I had now been up for over 24 hours straight. The cloud moved so incredibly fast that it looked like a time-lapse film happening before my eyes. Shortly after this we hit the last descent that led us to the Paris aid station at mile 90. I made a quick stop, filling my bottles before heading out to the dirt road that would take me down to the last aid station just 3 miles away. As we approached the crest of the pass we could see only the tops of the mountains surrounding us. A cloud had moved in hiding the valley below, it was truly an awesome sight to behold. Just then a sudden wave of elation overcame me and I hopped in the air while throwing my arms above my head. I realized I was going to make it! Peter decided to capitalize on my mood and encouraged me to run. I started with a shuffle and after a few minutes something happened, I wanted to run. So I started jogging and before I knew it I was in full stride leaving Peter behind. I ran into the next aid station filled my bottle and said goodbye just as Peter arrived. He had parked his car at this aid station and we had decided earlier that it would be easier for him to just drive down rather than run with me and try to find a ride back up from the finish.

I now had 7 miles to go, 2 to 3 of which are along Leland's Ledge or the Devil's Den. This is a notoriously tough section that includes small rock scrambles, and downed trees all on a side hill with poor traction. It's not exactly what I wanted to see with 93 miles in my legs, but it felt good to get some trail diversity and kept me mentally sharp. Eventually I made it back on to normal trail and started striding it out once again. I couldn't believe how good I felt. I'm sure I was only running 8 minute miles at best, but it sure felt like sub 6's.

Once the guest ranch came into view where the finish line was located my pace increased even more and I couldn't even feel my feet striking the ground. Peter was there giving me a big cheer along with Karl and Cheryl. I was instructed to make a left around some cars where I saw Leland (who had run the race as well placing 2nd in 20:54) sitting in a chair with a watch and I came to a stop directly in front of him. He calmly looked up and said you haven't crossed the finish line, which was apparently a small banner just a couple of feet away. This made me laugh, then I jumped across the line to stop the clock at 27 hours 32 minutes. It was a low key ending to a low key race and I felt great! In fact it is the best I have felt after any ultra that I've done so far.

Thanks to the volunteers that kept us going at the aid stations, and to Leland, Errol and Phil for putting on such a great race. Special thanks to my good friend Peter for pacing me through the night, he knew exactly what to do and what to say in order to keep me moving. Running with a friend is always fun. My family deserves a thank you as well, without their support and encouragement I wouldn't even try. Now for some time off...

The Wasatch that wasn't

2007-09-10T16:58:00.000-06:00

I trained, I raced and I planned, but it wasn't in the cards.
From the start I kept a conservative pace hitting my pace goal to the first aid station at 18 miles, right on the nose in 4 hours even. I was well hydrated which was evident by my frequent nature breaks and my legs felt great. I pushed the pace a bit through unfamiliar territory between Francis Aid and Bountiful B and continued through to Sessions. By this time I was actually a bit ahead of my goal pace but falling behind with my hydration. Rather than slowing way down I just backed off a bit and continued on through Swallow Rocks aid station, taking my time to enjoy a popsicle as I left. I still pressed on with my steady pace until I reached Big Mountain Aid at mile 40. My stomach was not feeling well and nothing sounded good. In hindsight I should have stayed here until I felt better, but I decided to continue on with my pacer Jesse and fix it on the trail. Immediately after leaving the aid station I emptied my stomach contents on the side of the trail. Of course I felt better immediately afterwards and started sipping water. Forty five minutes later I threw up again. This pattern repeated itself until there was nothing left to come up. I decided before I got to Alexander Ridge Aid that I was not going to continue. I couldn't even walk for more than ten minutes at a time without having to sit down. I felt horrible. Later that night I was able to hold down some broth but my weight was down nearly 10lbs from the morning.
Lessons learned:

Just because you feel good doesn't mean you can forget about taking care of yourself.
Racing 50 miles is only 1/2 of 100.
Take care of issues right away, they only get worse with time and mileage.
The dry wind can dehydrate you very quickly.

The feelings that come with a DNF are not easy to shake, but I'm determined to figure this out and finish a 100 miler.

Devils Backbone 50 miler 2007

2007-07-18T18:27:00.000-06:00

Wow, that is a race that I won't soon forget. Without a doubt the most scenic race I've done yet as well as the highest in elevation.

Back at the end of 2006, after I had sent my entry/lottery ticket in for the Wasatch 100, I started to plan my season. I had the first part of the season figured out but I was looking for a tough 50 miler after Squaw Peak that would still leave me enough time to focus on training for Wasatch. Then I found the race listing "Devils Backbone 50: This is a graduate level run (yes, like Hardrock). It is almost unsupported and unmarked. This CANNOT be your first 50 miler. This course is much, much harder than you expect". After a few moments to consider where it fit in the schedule, I hit the link and signed up.

Cutting edge technology, the hand drawn map

My morning started with a 3:45 am wake up so I could leave the hotel by 4:15 and make it to the start line by 5 am. I noticed as I stepped out of the hotel that felt a bit humid and as I looked skyward I didn't see any stars. Soon after my wife and I started driving to the trailhead the rain began to fall and I could see lightening in the distance. It was all very ominous, driving somewhere I'd never been and running on an unmarked trail I hadn't seen before. The rain just added to the effect. On the way there my wife said, "maybe some of the runners won't show up because it's raining", I just laughed and replied, "you don't know ultrarunners very well yet". Sure enough we pulled in to the parking lot at the trailhead with many cars and saw all the runners getting ready for day's adventure.

Profile of the course.

The course starts in Hyalite Canyon, just south of Bozeman Montana. The race begins by climbing 3500' over the first seven miles and stays above 9000' for the remainder of the race. It's an out and back with about 8000' feet of climbing on the way out and another 4500' on the way back. The two unique features of this race are that it's unmarked, save for cairns (stacks of rocks) placed in confusing areas, and has only one aid station at the halfway point. On the way out we were to bag a peak and pick up a poker chip to prove we were there before continuing the route along the length of the Gallatin divide ridgeline (or a certain someone's backbone).

A view along the ridge (borrowed pic)

The rain subsided just in time for the start. After climbing up through the canyon and a beautiful cirque I finally made the summit after about one hour and forty minutes. As I grabbed my poker chip I looked back down the trail to see the next runner, Erich who I had met at the start line, was just a minute or two behind me. I took a moment to look around at the canyons and valleys that stretched out below and turned in to more ridgelines topped with dark clouds lit up by lightening strikes, it was pretty incredible. After adjusting my shoe Erich and I headed down off the peak together in the lead. Eric is from Bozeman and while he hadn't done the race he had been on the ridge for training. I was happy to have someone that knew the trail and was running the same pace as I was. The whole time we were running on the way out I kept feeling like we were being conservative, but every time I turned around I couldn't see anybody coming. I knew this was good as I usually go out to hard and tend to struggle in the last third of the race. The clouds hung around keeping the temperature comfortable and there was a breeze that would sometimes turn in to a gale force wind.

After about 4 hours and 45 minutes we made it to the lone aid station to be greeted by race director Tom Hayes and a few of his great volunteers. You see, even the aid station is a bit remote, located a tough two miles from the trailhead. That means drop bags and supplies were carried to the spot where we were now standing. They had us in and out within minutes fully stocked with supplies.

As Erich and I left the aid station the clouds parted and the sun started to heat things up. I was still feeling good and decided to push a bit on the climb out of the aid station. After a few miles I was alone in the lead. This was a mistake because soon I started to push harder than I needed to, underestimating how tough the return trip was going to be. With about 10 miles to go I could feel the effects of my effort and I started to slow down. It became very hard to eat anything, which is always a bad sign. I knew that if I could just make it to the six mile long descent I would still have a chance and it would be cooler in the shaded canyon. As I approached the descent I looked over my shoulder back along the ridge and I couldn't see anyone, I estimated my lead to be around 30 to 40 minutes.

I took a moment to look down the canyon and cirque I was about to drop into when the nausea struck. I proceeded to throw up, which initially made me feel better, then as I started to run I felt the nausea return. This pattern repeated itself four times on the way down. Every time I would start to run I would feel sick. I was reduced to a walk for much of the descent and getting dizzy from the lack of food. I knew I would make it I just didn't know what place I would take.

With about 1.5 miles to go I heard footsteps from behind and saw Rob, who had been running in 3rd much of the day. I told him congratulations, you're now in the lead! He was very nice and wanted to know if I was alright before he continued on down the trail. Now I just wanted to get to the finish line and sit down. A few minutes passed before I heard more footsteps and this time it was Erich. He slowed down long enough to convince that I could run to the finish, and we ran together the final 1/2 mile crossing the line for 2nd place. See all the results and the newspaper article.

Erich (L) and I running in to the finish.

That was an epic! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a tough ultra.

L-R, Erich, myself, Rob (winner)

Squaw Peak 50 2007

2007-06-06T18:43:00.000-06:00

Well, I have finally started feeling normal after last Saturday's adventure. It was a bit more painful than I remember from last years' edition, but that probably had something to do with the a) increased Hell like temperatures, b) the throbbing knee that plagued the last 8 hours and c) the golf ball size blister on the ball of my foot.
Both B and C were pretty much self induced but the temperature was out of control. Just to make sure it felt extra, extra hot, the powers that be made sure that there was no wind whatsoever. I knew it was going to be warmer than last year but I really wasn't acclimated to run in the oppressing heat that usually waits to show up until mid-July and August in these parts.
Since the knee had started giving me trouble in the 3 weeks leading up to the race I decided to back off the training and go in to the race without pain. That strategy worked, but my fitness took a hit because of the reduced training. I decided to stick with my original goal pace of sub 9 hours for as long as I could then just see what happened. Something certainly happened and I can tell you it wasn't pretty.
I ran the first 2 hours pain free, but after the 7 mile descent to Hobble Creek road I could feel my knee and a small burning sensation on my right foot. Leland Barker had just run past before we hit aid station 5 and that put me in 7th position by the time we hit the road. Leland took off when we hit the pavement and I tried my best to stay close but he was flat out movin'. I reached aid station 6 about 15 minutes behind schedule but I tried to remain positive. This is the section where I really started feeling the heat. I started being a bit more conservative knowing what was ahead but I wasn't drinking enough. Despite slowing down I didn't get passed until just before starting the climb to Windy Pass. The climb was slow, I had a long list of excuses why, but I'm mostly blaming it on the heat. Once I reached the aid station I sat down and Jim Skaggs helped me take care of the troublesome blister on my right foot. I took off on the 7 mile descent to the last aid station and the knee objected to that idea. I finally took my first dose of ibuprofen about halfway down in an effort to keep it quiet but at this point it no longer mattered. I have really worked hard on my downhill running skills since last year and I now consider it one of my strengths, so I think that's why I was so frustrated.
I hit the final 3 mile section of pavement with Justin Snow and made an effort to run to the last section and finish under 10 hours. The first mile went ok, but then I started feeling dizzy and I had to walk. I made it up to Rich and again tried to run but it wasn't happening. Every time I started to run I thought I might faint. I'm sure this is because I was so dehydrated but it was still frustrating. I finally made it in 10:07 which was good for 19th overall. I improved my time from last year by a little over an hour and given the circumstances I was running with I'm satisfied with that effort.
Kevin Schilling took a convincing win in front last year's winner Allen Belshaw followed by Erik Storheim in third. Birgitta Johnson finished first for the women, followed closely by Liz Irvine in second. Nancy Hendrickson rounded out the podium in third. I met all three of them just a couple weeks prior while doing trail crew for the Wasatch 100. My good friend Peter was on pace to beat his time from last year when he went off course with about 5 miles to go. Seems as though somebody started removing the flagging on the trail. No matter he still finished strong and beat his time from last year. More results here.
Next up is the Wahsatch Steeplechase on the 23rd, I'm not sure whether I'll do it or not, that will depend on the knee and how quickly it heals. After that is the Devil's Backbone 50 miler in Bozeman MT, 50 miles, one aid station, 100% trail, should be a good time.

SLC's Real Marathon

2007-04-22T10:28:00.000-06:00

Which Leg Beater?
There were two marathons taking place on 4/21 in SLC. One where you could pound the pavement for 26 miles and lose a few hundred feet of elevation, surrounded by a 1,000 people. Or the real marathon where you could dance on the trails above SLC, take in roughly 6,500' vertical with stunning views of the Wasatch front while being surrounded by your friends. I chose the latter.
This is a local "club run" where the competitors don't wear numbers and don't pay an entry fee. Last year it dumped about 2' of fresh snow the Thursday before, then warmed considerably by Saturday. Let's just say it produced an epic day. Usually the winning times are in the low 4 hour range, but on that nasty day the winning time was just under 5 hours. This time around the weather was slightly better only sprinkling the hills with about 6 inches of snow on Wednesday and by Saturday the trail was in perfect condition.
Sam, Peter and I arrived at the start, chatted with friends, and got our stuff ready. Karl was there, fresh off his win and course record at McNaughton 100 miler the week before, supporting Cheryl and her first attempt at this marathon. 8am approached and the race director gave a detailed description of the course, consisting of "go do a ten mile loop over there then a sixteen mile loop over there, ready set go". I had decided that I wasn't going to get stuck in the middle this year so I went out with the leaders and settled in to a comfortable pace. by the time we were midway up the first climb it was Brian, Chuck (who was only doing the first loop), Kevin (who had just run Boston the Monday before!) and myself. It was really nice to run with these guys as we chatted and the miles just flew by. We completed the first loop in about 1 hour 44 minutes, which was about 20 minutes faster than anything I had done in training. I had a goal of finishing under 4 hours 30 minutes and this put me on pace to accomplish that. As we left the aid station/starting area it immediately starts climbing back up and I quickly realized that I was going to have to slow down a bit if I wanted to reach my goal. Kevin and Brian went on ahead and I noticed that there was a guy closing on me from behind. He eventually caught me before the next aid station at about mile 17 and put some distance between us. At this point I just focused on my time goal and resigned myself to hold on to my current 4th position.
After the final aid station the course overlaps itself a bit and this is where I saw Karl and Cheryl running together. I shouted some words of encouragement and looked down at my watch as I started my way up the final canyon and it read 3:34. This was about 4 minutes slower than what I had set as goal at this point but I was happy none the less. The canyon climbs gradually for about 1 1/2 miles where you then leave the trail and hit a beast of a climb I affectionately call Uncle F#@ker. I cannot claim that I named it, that credit goes to my good friend Leo, but I can say I have a better understanding why it has that name. You see, not only is it appallingly steep, but it has about 3 false summits kind of teasing you like a mean Uncle. My mantra on this climb has become "just keep moving". Just after I left the main trail I found the guy that had passed me earlier and he didn't look particularly well. We chatted for a bit and I found out his name was Elliot and he had never done this course before. I offered him some food which he declined, then we started climbing my favorite Uncle. I kept running my mantra through my head trying not to look up at the false summits. After about 20 minutes I glanced back and noticed that Elliot was a fare way back, being overtaken by someone else in a red shirt. Now I looked at the top and focused on getting there without falling apart. Once I gained the summit I started down the 4 mile rocky ridge that leads to the finish. I glanced back a few times to make sure that red shirt wasn't gaining on me and I couldn't see him. I was still pushing for my time goal and I knew it would be close. I made my way down through the parking area and headed to the finish line at the RD's house. I hit the driveway in 4:34, 4 minutes off my goal. No matter, it was great day in the hills running around with friends. Kevin ended up coming in ahead of Brian who suffered from a golf ball size blister on his heel for the final descent. After I arrived Leland came in, then a few others I didn't know followed by Peter then Sam. I was a little puzzled when I saw Karl coming in by himself a short time later but realized what was going on when he pulled out the camera to get some finish line pictures of Cheryl. Congratulations to all that finished the real marathon in Salt Lake, see you next year!

Weekend Antics

2007-04-02T15:15:00.000-06:00

Hittin' the trail at 6am meant an early wake-up and making sure that my headlamp was functioning. This is another difference between cycling and running; I rarely started a ride before the sun was up but now I start trail runs routinely in the dark. I like it because I can head out for a 3 to 4 hour run and get back to the house just as everyone is getting done with breakfast. That of course means more time with the family and that makes everybody happy. However early alarms on the weekend can seem evil sometimes.

The chartered course for the day is called Short n' Steep. It's only 16 miles but packs in 5000' vertical over 2 major climbs and 1 minor climb. The rest of the elevation gain and loss comes from rolling foothills in between. I came up with this loop back in the fall when I was looking for a way to connect a few trails without going out and back. My favorite types of runs, or rides for that matter, consist of loops. I find them more interesting and fulfilling than going out and back. The true loop is one that I can complete without crossing over anything I've already been on. I can't quite make this one work that way but it's still one of my favorites. The Short n' Steep route starts at the mouth of Emigration canyon at the trailhead for the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and follows the BST over to George's Hollow then all the way up to the summit of Mt. Wire. Near the top there are two panels that look like monster billboards (I assume they are repeaters of some sort) and at the top there is a 25' metal lookout tower surrounded by a chainlink fence and a gate without a lock. I had never climbed it before, but as I watched Peter scale the metal ladder I figured what the hell and climbed up as well. It was actually quite amazing how much more of the mountain can be seen from up there, mostly because the summit is very big and round.

A view from the top looking Southeast

There goes Sam on the descent

On the way down we hook up on the trail that leads to the 'Living Room'. This is a spot on the ridge that has many flat pieces of sandstone that people have stacked in the form of armchairs and couches.

Sam and Peter in the Living Room

From here we descend into the mouth of Red Butte Canyon and straight up the north side of the canyon to the top of Mt. Van Cott.

Me on Van Cott looking out over SLC

Then we run the ridgeline all the way back down to the BST and ascend up Dry Creek. I've toyed with the idea of leaving the trail at the back of Dry Creek and following Dry fork then ascending Unkle F@#ker, but today was not the day, especially after the 50 miler last week. So we stuck to the plan, climbed up to the saddle then dropped into Limekiln Gulch and ran back to the trailhead on the BST. Even though I prefer the high alpine runs I'll try not to take these smaller mountains for granted. They can provide a proper beating if you're in the mood...

Buffalo Run 50 miler Race Report

2007-03-27T15:54:00.000-06:00

The 2nd edition of the Buffalo run was a great success. Great weather, great people and incredible soup! Race Results here.

Well the first 50 miler of the season is history. I wish the fatigue associated with it was as well. A friend of mine told me that every ultra is different, regardless of what the course is like. He claimed that this is because it's not a question of if, but when you will have "issues" that must be dealt with and every race will present different obstacles.

Issue number 1 presented itself at the start line. Peter and I had both forgot our headlamps. I thought, "it's just a 6am start and the sun will be up before we know it." Wrong. We immediately realized that following the light would be a good choice and took off with the lead group. We ran the first five miles with three others before we throttled back our pace and watched the sun come up over the Wasatch Mountains to the east it was an incredible sight. I turned on the tunes and fell into a nice groove until I hit the first climb. I had it in my head that this was a flat race with two climbs (the same one done twice) but in fact we were rolling up and down the shoreline of the island the whole time. After I reached the top of the climb for the first time I was feeling great and I took off on the section of singletrack at the top before bombing the descent. I ran a good pace all the way to the southern end of the island where the turnaround was located. Because of the out and back nature of the race I could see that I was about 15 minutes from Erik and Kevin (1st and 2nd) and four minutes back from Rich who was in third.

Issue number 2 came at the turnaround when I realized I had been running ever so slightly downhill and with a tailwind for the past 8 miles or so. It wasn't that big a deal, just a bit demoralizing. I focused on keeping a steady pace and trying to gain some ground on Rich. I finally caught up to Rich as we started the climb and I could tell immediately that I wasn't going to be running up this time around.

Issue number 3 happened at the top of the climb. I was approaching the aid station when all of the sudden everything that was in my stomach wanted out, now. After it was over I felt great but I knew I had just dug myself a hole. As I left the aid station I noticed Rich cresting the hill not that far behind me. I focused on making it to the next aid station at mile 37 and putting some fuel back in system. I made it to the Fielding Garr aid station, grabbed my drop bag then made my way to the tables full of food and beverage. The nice folks from Roosters were sponsoring the race and the aid station. They informed me that Kevin had to drop, so that meant I was now in 2nd. I was standing there trying to figure out what I was going to eat when one of the women offered me some soup they had made for the race. I don't know exactly what kind it was, some kind of beef barley, but it was about the best soup I had ever had. Rich came in as I was still finishing the soup and then we left together. It was nice to chat with somebody for a while and the next hour or so passed fairly quickly. After a few more miles Rich decided to ease back and eat some food, I should have done the same. At this point I was starting to have a hard time getting more gels down so I just tried to drink more. That plan worked until about a mile to go.

Issue number 4. There was no fuel left in the tank and I could smell the food at the finish line. I started to get a little disoriented and slowed to a walk. As Kelly came by me he encouraged to run with him but it wasn't happening. Eventually I made it to the final little uphill grade to the finish area and heard "come on Christian, run to the finish". I looked up to see it was Erik who had finished nearly an hour ahead of me. I managed to run the last few hundred meters in order to cross the finish line then I went straight for the food.

Special mention to my better half, Betsy who ran her first trail race. She participated in the 25k and had a great time. I am super proud of her since it was the farthest she has run to date. She had such a good time that only two days afterwards she was asking me to find her another trail race to try out. Good times!

Thanks must go to Jim Skaggs and the kind volunteers he assembled to put on such a great event. I'll definitely be back next year.

First 50 of the Season

2007-03-21T09:54:00.000-06:00

Have I done enough? Did I too much? Will this head cold have much effect on my race? These are just a few of the questions running through my head in the day leading up to my first 50 miler of the season, the Buffalo Run on Antelope Island State Park. I have three 50’s on my schedule this season, all in preparation for the big one in September, The Wasatch 100. I think I need to do a few more of these before I stop second guessing myself in the week before the race.

A few of us ran on the shoreline this last weekend and I must say it felt great to start an early morning run with shorts on. For the first time since last fall I didn’t have the urge to start off with a 5k pace in order to warm-up. The trails were in near perfect shape except for the few ass-hat mountain bikers that decided little ditches in the middle of the trail would be a good idea. I have to assume that they are naïve to the type of erosion they are causing by making troughs in the trail. If you are one of these select few riders that like riding on muddy trails I have one thing to say to you, DON’T.

This pic was taken just as the sun was peeking over the snowcapped Wasatch to our east.

As much as I enjoy the shoreline trails I must say that after running on them for the last several months, I’m anxious to get up in the high mountains again. It’s obviously going to be another month or two before that happens though. Until then I will be happy running on dry dirt with some decent footing.

The good times are killing me

2007-03-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

The weekend started in earnest Friday evening at the Kahtoola Nightflight. The previous day I received a call from a friend telling me about this little running race from Solitude to Brighton on the Nordic track, where you had to use these specially designed neoprene boots for running in the snow. It sounded easy enough and a good reason to hang out in the mountains with the family for a couple of hours. The storm that rolled through that day had left us with a clear night cold temps. The race started at around 6:30pm and it was snot-freezing cold. There were a couple of Nordic racers running with us and I decided I would try to stay with them, big mistake. The low temperature had obviously froze my brain because I forgot I was at altitude with extra weight on my feet, breathing in the 0 degree air. I followed the two of them for about a mile before my legs decided that it wasn’t a good idea to go anaerobic in the current conditions. I hung on for 3rd place about 2 ½ minutes behind those guys. The cool part was that I won a pair of the Kahtoola Flight-boots I had just run in, the bummer part was that I had developed a rasp in my lungs from deep breathing the cold air. We finished off the evening with some great food and beverage from the Pub (Desert Edge Brewery).
Saturday morning seemed to come as quickly as I closed my eyes the night before. Peter and I decided to go run on Antelope Island in order to check out part of the Buffalo Run 50 miler and try to find some snow free dirt. We made it to the starting point shortly before 8am and took off at an easy pace. Even though it was a bit chilly to start at 23 degrees if felt great compared to the night before. The 50 mile route is fairly flat with a few rollers mixed in as it meanders along the east side of the island. One of the best attributes of the Mountain View trail that we were running on is just that, spectacular views of the Wasatch front from North Ogden to Draper.

We saw plenty of bison and heard some young coyotes learning how to tune their voices. We reached the turnaround point at the Fielding Garr ranch in less than two hours and it became evident as we headed back north that we would have a tailwind on the way back. This made it a bit warmer and after about 3 hours I could feel the race from the night before. The last hour became a bit of a slog but we made it back to the car in just under 4 hours, which was our goal to start with. A quick stop at Crown Burger on the way home and everything started to feel better.

Sunday brought warmer temps, clear skies and another trip Big Cottonwood, except this time it was for some downhill skiing at Solitude with the family. It was a perfect bluebird day. In fact it was a bit to warm in the middle part of the afternoon but we managed to deal with it somehow…

Stay the Course!

2007-02-20T17:12:00.000-07:00

So I decided that my first race of the year would be this low-key event called Moab's Red Hot 50k+. What I didn't realize is that the + could mean more than what was advertised as a 34 miler (50k's are about 31 miles), it would have many meanings by the end of the day.
I was really anxious to to run on solid ground and have some decent footing for a change. I have been running on so much ice, snow and mud this winter that I have forgotten what dry dirt feels like under foot.

Everything was going well for the first part of the race, legs felt great, feet were fine, and my stomach was stable. I was in about 5th position at the 20 mile mark with 2 other guys when we decided that we didn't like the current course that we were on. We didn't make the conscious decision to go off course, but we did ignore the red flagging that indicated it was the wrong way. A mile and a half later we decided it would be better to stay on the intended course. I later learned that we weren't the only runners who got off course as it was sometimes difficult to know which way to go on the long sandstone sections. I guess I'll just say that I really got my money's worth after my GPS showed a total of 37.7 miles instead of the standard 34. I will also notch it up as a good learning experience on a great course. I recorded about 4600' vertical for the day over the 5 1/2 hours that I was out there having a great time.

Flashback - There is no Finish

2007-02-09T17:20:00.002-07:00

Anybody remember this poster from the late '70's early '80's?

I did a few weeks ago after being on the trail for about 2.5 hours I could definitely feel the fatigue in my legs as I made my final ascent of the day. My mind started drifting as it normally does, when I remembered this poster my Dad had put up in my room when I was about 9. I could remember the title, but I could not remember the phrase that went with it. Of course the phrase is not exclusive to running, but I remember that it was at a time when runners would speak of the "runners high". I probably read that poster a hundred times trying to comprehend what it meant. The ironic thing is that I already knew what it was stating. It felt good to push myself to my limits... (the fine print is below, minus the Nike marketing stuff)

There is No Finish Line

Sooner or later the serious runner goes through a special, very personal experience that is unknown to most people.
Some call it euphoria. Others say it's a new kind of mystical experience that propels you into an elevated state of consciousness.
A flash of joy. A sense of floating as you run.
The experience is unique to each of us, but when it happens you break through a barrier that separates you from casual runners. Forever.
And from that point on, there is no finish line.
You run for your life. You begin to be addicted to what running gives you.
Beating the competition is relatively easy.
But beating yourself is a never ending commitment.