Follow-up on Flowmeter

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?