Added June 26, 8:00 p.m. If you're out there reading this, are within a short drive of Sisters or Central Oregon in general, and you want to join the fun, please join us! Call me tonight and I can give you all the info. We'll probably leave around 8 a.m. on Friday morning.
(541) 549-1298
Yep, as ya'll know, it's cancelled. That's the way it goes. When Tom e-mailed me a link last weekend about the new fires near Foresthill, I knew this was a possibility. Then all hell broke loose the last few days, and due to safety reasons, WS 2008 is not going to happen.
Yep, I'm bummed. I feel sooooooo ready...I'm about to pop! I would hate to be the r.d. or on the board right now. I know there will be a few people who won't be so understanding about the decision. And really, there wasn't even a decision to be made. The lightning and fires made the decision for us. I mean really, when the Forest Service says that there is a very high probability of Dusty Corners being engulfed in flames by the weekend, the choice has already been made.
So, now, what to do???? We're all fit, rested, packed, and ready to rip. Hmmm... Drive to Tahoe and run on the TRT with Thomas? No, air quality sucks. Drive to the Tetons for a weekend of sweet running in my favorite mountains? No, too much snow. Drive to the Sawtooths for a weekend of sweet running in those awesome, and little used, mountains? Tempting. Stick around Oregon and put together an impromptu training camp? Ding, ding - we have a winner!
Prudence, Darla, Chris, and I had a powwow at Fleet Feet tonight and came up with a plan.
-Thursday, Prudence, Kami, and I are running 38 miles upto, around, and down from Newberry Crater / Paulina Lake. Bronco and I ran this in 2004 and it is awesome!
-Friday, Prudence, Kami, Chris, Darla, and I will run the sweetest loop in Central Oregon - the 27 mile Ochoco Marathon. Similar to what Sascha and I ran 7 weeks ago, but we will get to do the whole loop this time. This would be a sweet 100 miler: 4 loops, each with about 8,000' of up and down. It would cripple you.
-Saturday and Sunday, Prudence, Darla, Chris, and I will be playing in the Strawberry Mountains Wilderness Area for the weekend. The high point, Strawberry Mountain, is about 9,000', but it looks like it already clear of snow. This will be a sweet place to play for two days!
Sounds like a pretty fun weekend to me.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Bighorn and Western
First, a HUGE congratulations to my good buddies Bronco and Rooster for ripping it up at the Bighorn 100 miler and continuing Team Oregon's assault on the ultrarunning scene this year.
Bronco duked it out with Justin, Ty, and a couple of Bozemanites (Jesse and Erich). They were all pretty close through 42, and that's when Jeff decided to make his move. Apparently it was the right move, as he ran fast (and scared!) the rest of the way. He cruised through 50 in 9:15, then ran an incredible 9:41 second 50, to claim the victory in 18:56. This completes Jeff's hat trick, as he also won in 2005 and 2006. Justin and Ty also smoked the Bighorns, both finishing strong in 19:26 and 19:54, respectively. No runner had ever broken 20 at Bighorn, and now 3 did this year. Yes, it was a different course due to lots of snow up high, but these guys ran hard and fast. Attaboys all around!
I don't know Rooster's story, other than she won by an hour with a strong 25:10. Rounding out the girl's podium was another of Team Oregon's sweethearts - Olga! Great job Olga with your 26:50 (only about 3 1/2 hours faster than last year - can you believe that!?).
In the always exciting j.v. race (50 miler), another good buddy Matt Hart (my TransRockies teammate) claimed the W. For 2 years now, Hart has signed up for the 100 at Bighorn, and both years he has injured himself while training, but still makes the trip out and runs one of the other distances. Last year he won the freshman race (50 km). After a last-minute Colonel's training camp last week, Hart whipped himself into shape and was able to run in the lead from start to finish, winning in a speedy 8:11. Also running in the j.v. race was ultrarunning's fastest professional bowhunter, Cameron Hanes (another one of Team Oregon's finest). Cam and Matt duked it out last year in the 50 km, with Cam getting 2nd. This year, like Hart, Cam had signed up for the varsity race, but he decided to go for the 50 miler. He snuck in under the 9 hour mark in 8:59, claiming the final podium spot - and 1st place old guy (Crap, he's 40!?). Great race, my friends.
Full Bighorn results.
Tonight at Fleet Feet, we hosted our second Ultradork Night. This was Rod's idea to help get all of us WS-bound Central Oregonians excited for the big race. A week and a half ago, we watched the 1989 Western States video - the year that Ann's legacy started. Tonight, it was Western States 1988 and Brian Purcell's c.r. 16:24. Awesome videos, cheesy commercials, gutsy running, lots of cotton, no trail shoes, and shorty-short shorts!
As I'm well into taper-mode, I'm definitely feeling fit, rested, and very anxious (although I'm still eating lots, so I'm probably getting fat!). Since my 5-week, 625 mile training block, my weekly mileages have been 50, 98, and 52. The 98 had a good trail 1/2 marathon, my last good, hard 30 miler at Smith, plus two days off (that was Hart's unplanned boot camp week). Race week, I usually run Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but I'm seriously leaning toward taking Tuesday off, too, so I can get in 2, back-to-back rest days. I mean really, what good is running tomorrow really going to do for me anyway?
I'm super excited for all of the other Central Oregonians running Western. Karen and Jon Gnass will be starting their Grand Slam summer; Kami will be looking for a podium finish; Prudence will be chomping at Kami's heels; and Jenn will be out there to run fast and have fun (yes, Jenn moved to Ashland a couple weeks ago, but the entrant's list says she's from Bend, so we'll claim her!).
I leave Wednesday after work. I'm excited!
Bronco duked it out with Justin, Ty, and a couple of Bozemanites (Jesse and Erich). They were all pretty close through 42, and that's when Jeff decided to make his move. Apparently it was the right move, as he ran fast (and scared!) the rest of the way. He cruised through 50 in 9:15, then ran an incredible 9:41 second 50, to claim the victory in 18:56. This completes Jeff's hat trick, as he also won in 2005 and 2006. Justin and Ty also smoked the Bighorns, both finishing strong in 19:26 and 19:54, respectively. No runner had ever broken 20 at Bighorn, and now 3 did this year. Yes, it was a different course due to lots of snow up high, but these guys ran hard and fast. Attaboys all around!
I don't know Rooster's story, other than she won by an hour with a strong 25:10. Rounding out the girl's podium was another of Team Oregon's sweethearts - Olga! Great job Olga with your 26:50 (only about 3 1/2 hours faster than last year - can you believe that!?).
In the always exciting j.v. race (50 miler), another good buddy Matt Hart (my TransRockies teammate) claimed the W. For 2 years now, Hart has signed up for the 100 at Bighorn, and both years he has injured himself while training, but still makes the trip out and runs one of the other distances. Last year he won the freshman race (50 km). After a last-minute Colonel's training camp last week, Hart whipped himself into shape and was able to run in the lead from start to finish, winning in a speedy 8:11. Also running in the j.v. race was ultrarunning's fastest professional bowhunter, Cameron Hanes (another one of Team Oregon's finest). Cam and Matt duked it out last year in the 50 km, with Cam getting 2nd. This year, like Hart, Cam had signed up for the varsity race, but he decided to go for the 50 miler. He snuck in under the 9 hour mark in 8:59, claiming the final podium spot - and 1st place old guy (Crap, he's 40!?). Great race, my friends.
Full Bighorn results.
Tonight at Fleet Feet, we hosted our second Ultradork Night. This was Rod's idea to help get all of us WS-bound Central Oregonians excited for the big race. A week and a half ago, we watched the 1989 Western States video - the year that Ann's legacy started. Tonight, it was Western States 1988 and Brian Purcell's c.r. 16:24. Awesome videos, cheesy commercials, gutsy running, lots of cotton, no trail shoes, and shorty-short shorts!
As I'm well into taper-mode, I'm definitely feeling fit, rested, and very anxious (although I'm still eating lots, so I'm probably getting fat!). Since my 5-week, 625 mile training block, my weekly mileages have been 50, 98, and 52. The 98 had a good trail 1/2 marathon, my last good, hard 30 miler at Smith, plus two days off (that was Hart's unplanned boot camp week). Race week, I usually run Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but I'm seriously leaning toward taking Tuesday off, too, so I can get in 2, back-to-back rest days. I mean really, what good is running tomorrow really going to do for me anyway?
I'm super excited for all of the other Central Oregonians running Western. Karen and Jon Gnass will be starting their Grand Slam summer; Kami will be looking for a podium finish; Prudence will be chomping at Kami's heels; and Jenn will be out there to run fast and have fun (yes, Jenn moved to Ashland a couple weeks ago, but the entrant's list says she's from Bend, so we'll claim her!).
I leave Wednesday after work. I'm excited!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Kickin' it at Kettle!
My good friends, frequent Sascha watchers, and Bendites Darla Brader and Chris Askew ran their first 100 miler yesterday in Wisconsin, the Kettle Moraine 100. After an incredible spring of hard, smart training, I knew they were fit, fast, and ready to rip it up. But, it is 100 miles, and anything can happen.
They played it smart all day long, not running too hard too soon. As the day wore on and eventually turned to night, our heroes just kept passing people and moving up in the field. We, their anxious fans, were getting updates from the webcast and their crew.
Darla did have a dark moment around the 100 km mark and contemplated dropping. But she decided to go on 7 miles to the next aid station and see if things would turn around. By 69 miles, she was pepping up again.
I went to bed last night and could hardly sleep...I was so excited to hear how they were doing. Then, finally, at about 2:20 a.m., the phone rang. By the time I woke up and realized it was ringing, it had stopped. Crap! Was it Tate calling to give me an update...was it Darla and Chris calling to say they had finished...was it their crew calling to give other news??? I didn't know, but wanted to, and could hardly get back to sleep.
Finally when I woke up I checked the webcast. This is what it showed:
Joel Eckberg 31 M 18:10:07 10:54
Mark Tanaka 41 M 20:39:37 12:24
Rick Gaston 36 M 20:40:38 12:24
Darla Brader 35 F 22:04:50 13:15
Chris Askew 37 M 22:04:50 13:15
(full results)
Yes, they kicked ass! Tied for 4th and Darla was first girl!! I was so excited when I saw it, I had to call them immediately. A quick run-down said what I thought: Darla pulled out of her funk and the two of them just kicked it in to the finish. Then, as is common at 100 mile finishes, within 2 minutes of finishing, they both completely seized up.
Chris and Darla...I am so PROUD! Congratulations! We can hardly wait to hear the blow-by-blow story.
They played it smart all day long, not running too hard too soon. As the day wore on and eventually turned to night, our heroes just kept passing people and moving up in the field. We, their anxious fans, were getting updates from the webcast and their crew.
Darla did have a dark moment around the 100 km mark and contemplated dropping. But she decided to go on 7 miles to the next aid station and see if things would turn around. By 69 miles, she was pepping up again.
I went to bed last night and could hardly sleep...I was so excited to hear how they were doing. Then, finally, at about 2:20 a.m., the phone rang. By the time I woke up and realized it was ringing, it had stopped. Crap! Was it Tate calling to give me an update...was it Darla and Chris calling to say they had finished...was it their crew calling to give other news??? I didn't know, but wanted to, and could hardly get back to sleep.
Finally when I woke up I checked the webcast. This is what it showed:
Joel Eckberg 31 M 18:10:07 10:54
Mark Tanaka 41 M 20:39:37 12:24
Rick Gaston 36 M 20:40:38 12:24
Darla Brader 35 F 22:04:50 13:15
Chris Askew 37 M 22:04:50 13:15
(full results)
Yes, they kicked ass! Tied for 4th and Darla was first girl!! I was so excited when I saw it, I had to call them immediately. A quick run-down said what I thought: Darla pulled out of her funk and the two of them just kicked it in to the finish. Then, as is common at 100 mile finishes, within 2 minutes of finishing, they both completely seized up.
Chris and Darla...I am so PROUD! Congratulations! We can hardly wait to hear the blow-by-blow story.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
One Thousand and Five Kilometers
When I ran Western 3 years ago, I decided to train big in May and run 500 miles. So I did. I was super-fit and felt great. I had a crappy WS. Oh well, that's life.
This year, after my earlier season faster training stuff for Boston, I definitely felt quicker than normal, but didn't have the quality trail miles needed for Western. So I once again thought about running 500 miles in May. Then I looked at a calendar and thought, hm, April 27 - May 31, 5 weeks, 35 days...why not just up 2005 a bit and go for 600 miles in 5 weeks? Sounded good to me. So exactly 6 days after Boston, my WS training began.
April 27 - May 2
That first week culminated with Miwok. I ran 88 miles from Sun - Thurs, took Friday off, then had a respectable Miwok. Total miles: 150. More than on-track.
May 3 - May 9
Although I had just taken Friday off, I had just run 62 miles the day before, and was making the long drive home from the Bay, so I took Sunday off. This was also the week that Sascha and I enjoyed our Ochoco Adventure. I ran decent on tired legs that week, coming in at 99 miles. I just couldn't bring it the last day for one more mile to hit 100.
May 10 - 17
I planned on racing Silver State 50 miler on the 17th, and like Miwok, wanted to go into it on tired legs with no taper. For the 3rd Tuesday in a row, dawn-patrol and Smith with Chris, Bronco, and Krissy was a fun, tough, 3-hour jaunt. I also threw in a solid 1:54 tempo on the river trail. I headed to Reno on Friday and decided to take that day off since I had 178 miles logged for the previous 11 days (79 that week leading into the race). SS turned out to be exactly what I wanted: hot, tough, hot, rugged, hot, hilly, and hot. I ran with Mike Wolfe the first couple of miles, traded places with Erik Skaden through mile 15, then alone the last 35. Although I'm not an expert, I really noticed my downhilling was pretty darn good there, thanks in large part to running at Smith. The 6 mile, 3,600' climb hit me hard, taking 1:40 and running out of water with 2 miles to go. But I rebounded back, and finished happily (and very tired) in 8:23 for 3rd. Another solid run. Weekly miles: 130. Three week mileage: 379.
May 18 - 24
Sascha was going crazy on Sunday, the day after SS, so she definitely needed some trail time. We ran up Black Butte, but on the way down, unbeknownst to me, she decided to stay on top. I found this out at the car, so I refilled my bottle and headed back up. About half way, I saw her heading down. That easy recovery day turned in about 650' more vertical than planned. A couple more easy days, and even a bail on dawn patrol at Smith (my calf had a nice knot in it from SS), then I was feeling good again. I ran a short tempo on Wed night, then the river trail 17 again on Thurs. This time, a new Fleet Feet record: 1:53:09 (yes, it has since been broken). Then Saturday, I went big. 38 miles with 9,000' vertical at Smith. I used Vespa for the first time, and was definitely skeptical. But after one of my best long, hard training runs in a long time, I was intrigued. I felt great - especially for only one week post-SS. I think I'm getting fit. Weekly miles: 115. Four week mileage: 494.
May 25 - 31
Okay, now you're probably saying "Sheesh, he only has to run 106 miles that last week...piece o' cake." Me too. Soooooo, I decided to up the ante. Let's see, 600 miles, that's pretty close to 1000 km, which is 622 miles. Okay, new goal: 1000 km for the 5 weeks. So that meant 128 miles the last week.
After my 38 at Smith on Saturday that ended the previous week, I wanted a faster, flatter 20 on Sunday. So I did just that with Chris and Darla. They're about to run their first 100, Kettle Moraine, on June 7, and they are definitely not slow right now. After a mellow warm-up, Chris dusted Darla and me, then Darla started putting the hurt on me, too (and we all thought she was so sweet and innocent). A good, fastish 20 - perfect. In anticipation on 2 more biggies on Tues and Wed, I took Monday off. Tuesday was a recon run at Pine Mountain. I had a blast exploring Pine and ended with 26 rainy miles for the day, with 3 good tempo miles at the end. (I was so impressed with Pine Mountain that I am now filling out an application for the first annual Pine Mtn. Hill Climb 11ish miler, hopefully set for this Sept. - stay tuned!) Wedneday was a big day around Sisters; the full 60 km Rumble course plus some bonus miles for 44. Luckily Fatboy joined me for the first 27, and Sascha ran the last 17 with me. It was a good run, and it left me with 128 miles in the previous 5 days (4 days running, 1 day off). I was tired and hungry.
Thursday I ran around Kiwa Butte with Rod for a little recon for Fleet Feet's next Trail Bandit Series Run. After a painstakingly slow 9 miles of snow slogging, I pepped up on the nice gravel road and we ran 5:30 for the last 2 miles. Sweet! Friday was a nice cruiser run to get me ready for the final day of my 5 weeks. I had planned on the River Trail 17 miler until Bronco called me on Friday night with a proposition of a Smith night run on Saturday. Ooooo, sounds good to me. So Sascha and I just ran an easy 5 in the morning, then headed out to the farm that night for a good run with Jeff and Mabelle. We started out easy, then cruised up Grey Butte at a good pace. That was my first time up there at night and it was beautiful! A couple hours and 3,500' vertical later, we were done with an awesome run. And so was I. Total weekly mileage: 131.
35 days
31 days of running
4 days off
Total distance: 625 miles (1005 km)
This was definitely a very good 5 week training period for me. I'm feeling fit, tired, and very hungry. And maybe most important, not injured. This week will be a nice rest week, 3 days off, and 3 days of shorter, faster stuff. This Sunday is the Dirty Half, always a fun, fastish trail 1/2 marathon. Next week will be one more longish week (100 - 110ish), which will include another 38 miler with 9,000' vertical at Smith, plus some other faster stuff.
Man, I hope this all gets me ready for June 28.
This year, after my earlier season faster training stuff for Boston, I definitely felt quicker than normal, but didn't have the quality trail miles needed for Western. So I once again thought about running 500 miles in May. Then I looked at a calendar and thought, hm, April 27 - May 31, 5 weeks, 35 days...why not just up 2005 a bit and go for 600 miles in 5 weeks? Sounded good to me. So exactly 6 days after Boston, my WS training began.
April 27 - May 2
That first week culminated with Miwok. I ran 88 miles from Sun - Thurs, took Friday off, then had a respectable Miwok. Total miles: 150. More than on-track.
May 3 - May 9
Although I had just taken Friday off, I had just run 62 miles the day before, and was making the long drive home from the Bay, so I took Sunday off. This was also the week that Sascha and I enjoyed our Ochoco Adventure. I ran decent on tired legs that week, coming in at 99 miles. I just couldn't bring it the last day for one more mile to hit 100.
May 10 - 17
I planned on racing Silver State 50 miler on the 17th, and like Miwok, wanted to go into it on tired legs with no taper. For the 3rd Tuesday in a row, dawn-patrol and Smith with Chris, Bronco, and Krissy was a fun, tough, 3-hour jaunt. I also threw in a solid 1:54 tempo on the river trail. I headed to Reno on Friday and decided to take that day off since I had 178 miles logged for the previous 11 days (79 that week leading into the race). SS turned out to be exactly what I wanted: hot, tough, hot, rugged, hot, hilly, and hot. I ran with Mike Wolfe the first couple of miles, traded places with Erik Skaden through mile 15, then alone the last 35. Although I'm not an expert, I really noticed my downhilling was pretty darn good there, thanks in large part to running at Smith. The 6 mile, 3,600' climb hit me hard, taking 1:40 and running out of water with 2 miles to go. But I rebounded back, and finished happily (and very tired) in 8:23 for 3rd. Another solid run. Weekly miles: 130. Three week mileage: 379.
May 18 - 24
Sascha was going crazy on Sunday, the day after SS, so she definitely needed some trail time. We ran up Black Butte, but on the way down, unbeknownst to me, she decided to stay on top. I found this out at the car, so I refilled my bottle and headed back up. About half way, I saw her heading down. That easy recovery day turned in about 650' more vertical than planned. A couple more easy days, and even a bail on dawn patrol at Smith (my calf had a nice knot in it from SS), then I was feeling good again. I ran a short tempo on Wed night, then the river trail 17 again on Thurs. This time, a new Fleet Feet record: 1:53:09 (yes, it has since been broken). Then Saturday, I went big. 38 miles with 9,000' vertical at Smith. I used Vespa for the first time, and was definitely skeptical. But after one of my best long, hard training runs in a long time, I was intrigued. I felt great - especially for only one week post-SS. I think I'm getting fit. Weekly miles: 115. Four week mileage: 494.
May 25 - 31
Okay, now you're probably saying "Sheesh, he only has to run 106 miles that last week...piece o' cake." Me too. Soooooo, I decided to up the ante. Let's see, 600 miles, that's pretty close to 1000 km, which is 622 miles. Okay, new goal: 1000 km for the 5 weeks. So that meant 128 miles the last week.
After my 38 at Smith on Saturday that ended the previous week, I wanted a faster, flatter 20 on Sunday. So I did just that with Chris and Darla. They're about to run their first 100, Kettle Moraine, on June 7, and they are definitely not slow right now. After a mellow warm-up, Chris dusted Darla and me, then Darla started putting the hurt on me, too (and we all thought she was so sweet and innocent). A good, fastish 20 - perfect. In anticipation on 2 more biggies on Tues and Wed, I took Monday off. Tuesday was a recon run at Pine Mountain. I had a blast exploring Pine and ended with 26 rainy miles for the day, with 3 good tempo miles at the end. (I was so impressed with Pine Mountain that I am now filling out an application for the first annual Pine Mtn. Hill Climb 11ish miler, hopefully set for this Sept. - stay tuned!) Wedneday was a big day around Sisters; the full 60 km Rumble course plus some bonus miles for 44. Luckily Fatboy joined me for the first 27, and Sascha ran the last 17 with me. It was a good run, and it left me with 128 miles in the previous 5 days (4 days running, 1 day off). I was tired and hungry.
Thursday I ran around Kiwa Butte with Rod for a little recon for Fleet Feet's next Trail Bandit Series Run. After a painstakingly slow 9 miles of snow slogging, I pepped up on the nice gravel road and we ran 5:30 for the last 2 miles. Sweet! Friday was a nice cruiser run to get me ready for the final day of my 5 weeks. I had planned on the River Trail 17 miler until Bronco called me on Friday night with a proposition of a Smith night run on Saturday. Ooooo, sounds good to me. So Sascha and I just ran an easy 5 in the morning, then headed out to the farm that night for a good run with Jeff and Mabelle. We started out easy, then cruised up Grey Butte at a good pace. That was my first time up there at night and it was beautiful! A couple hours and 3,500' vertical later, we were done with an awesome run. And so was I. Total weekly mileage: 131.
35 days
31 days of running
4 days off
Total distance: 625 miles (1005 km)
This was definitely a very good 5 week training period for me. I'm feeling fit, tired, and very hungry. And maybe most important, not injured. This week will be a nice rest week, 3 days off, and 3 days of shorter, faster stuff. This Sunday is the Dirty Half, always a fun, fastish trail 1/2 marathon. Next week will be one more longish week (100 - 110ish), which will include another 38 miler with 9,000' vertical at Smith, plus some other faster stuff.
Man, I hope this all gets me ready for June 28.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Training lots, Blogging not lots
To quote Brian Morrison: "Boy, hard training and frequent blogging do not go hand in hand, at least for me."
But I'm taking 2 days off - in a row - soon.
But I'm taking 2 days off - in a row - soon.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Sascha's Ochoco Adventure
About a week and a half ago, Sascha and I decided to head out to the Ochoco Mountains for a nice, long day in the mountains. The Ochocos are located about 30 minutes east of Prineville, kinda in the middle of nowhere. I love going there for a few reasons, one being that I hardly ever see another person. The Lookout / Round Mountain loop is an awesome 27 miler with about 6,500' of ascent and descent. It's a great trainer for most hard 100s.
The Ochocos got a lot of snow this winter, so I called ahead to check the trail conditions. Knowing that the FS personnel usually give the worst case scenarios, I was excited when the ranger station lady told me I could probably at least make it up Lookout. So Sascha and I loaded up with lots of food and nuun and started running up the 7 miles to the top of Lookout Mtn.
It was probably 4 miles before we hit snow, patchy at first, then it really started coming at us. I had been up this enough times to know the general direction, so wasn't too concerned when I started losing the trail. Only once did I really lose the trail, but somehow managed to stumble on it again. We eventually summited the large, and very snowy, plateau. After walking around a while, we found the summit sign. I briefly contemplated just doing an out-and-back, but thought that wouldn't be much fun, so we continued the loop on the north side, heading down, over, and occasionally post-holing through, lots and lots of snow (Sascha has a distinct advantage in these conditions). Although never finding an actual trail, we did somehow manage to pop-out a few miles later at a trailhead. Hm, nice.
Next up, Round Mtn. The lower part of this climb was mostly south facing, so there was nice, dry trail to run on. Closer to the top, however, the trail wound its way over to the east side and lots of snow. Crossing a small creek, I decided to fill my bottle. It tasted sooooo nice and refreshing, but my tummy immediately started rebelling. Hm, maybe not so smart. We lost the trail again, so just decided to beeline to the summit. Great views and great weather were at the top, so we took a little break. I broke out the pepperoni sticks and decided Sascha deserved a few hunks, too. She was stoked!
Now we had a decision to make: continue the loop another 5 miles down the very snowy north side of Table Mtn. until we hit the road for the last 7; or go back down the 5 miles we had just come up, and the last 4 also on a road. Not wanting to get too lost, we went back down the way we had just come up. It was a bit tricky, though, starting down on the east side and losing the trail often. Going down one snowy draw in particular, not really knowing if I was going the right way, I had a slight panic-attack. So we stopped, hiked back up about 5 minutes, and Sascha came to the rescue and found the right path going the other way. That Sascha, she's smart sometimes.
We got back to the road and I was kinda looking forward to just running 4 easy miles down now, without having to navigate. So we ran, and ran, and ran, and kept running. Hm, maybe 5? Finally 7 miles later we safely made it back to the Honda. Sascha was hot and thirsty. I was just tired and hungry.
It was a great day. 27 miles, close to 7,000' vertical, 6 1/2 hours, lots and lots of snow. The mileage was actually really big for Sascha. She had 2 acl surgeries in 2004 and hasn't gone more than about 20 since then. So that, coupled with her being 10, made this a great day for her. But I don't think she cared about the surgeries or being 10. She was tired and happy and just glad to be done. And I was happy to have spent an incredible day getting lost in the mountains with Sascha.
The Ochocos got a lot of snow this winter, so I called ahead to check the trail conditions. Knowing that the FS personnel usually give the worst case scenarios, I was excited when the ranger station lady told me I could probably at least make it up Lookout. So Sascha and I loaded up with lots of food and nuun and started running up the 7 miles to the top of Lookout Mtn.
It was probably 4 miles before we hit snow, patchy at first, then it really started coming at us. I had been up this enough times to know the general direction, so wasn't too concerned when I started losing the trail. Only once did I really lose the trail, but somehow managed to stumble on it again. We eventually summited the large, and very snowy, plateau. After walking around a while, we found the summit sign. I briefly contemplated just doing an out-and-back, but thought that wouldn't be much fun, so we continued the loop on the north side, heading down, over, and occasionally post-holing through, lots and lots of snow (Sascha has a distinct advantage in these conditions). Although never finding an actual trail, we did somehow manage to pop-out a few miles later at a trailhead. Hm, nice.
Next up, Round Mtn. The lower part of this climb was mostly south facing, so there was nice, dry trail to run on. Closer to the top, however, the trail wound its way over to the east side and lots of snow. Crossing a small creek, I decided to fill my bottle. It tasted sooooo nice and refreshing, but my tummy immediately started rebelling. Hm, maybe not so smart. We lost the trail again, so just decided to beeline to the summit. Great views and great weather were at the top, so we took a little break. I broke out the pepperoni sticks and decided Sascha deserved a few hunks, too. She was stoked!
Now we had a decision to make: continue the loop another 5 miles down the very snowy north side of Table Mtn. until we hit the road for the last 7; or go back down the 5 miles we had just come up, and the last 4 also on a road. Not wanting to get too lost, we went back down the way we had just come up. It was a bit tricky, though, starting down on the east side and losing the trail often. Going down one snowy draw in particular, not really knowing if I was going the right way, I had a slight panic-attack. So we stopped, hiked back up about 5 minutes, and Sascha came to the rescue and found the right path going the other way. That Sascha, she's smart sometimes.
We got back to the road and I was kinda looking forward to just running 4 easy miles down now, without having to navigate. So we ran, and ran, and ran, and kept running. Hm, maybe 5? Finally 7 miles later we safely made it back to the Honda. Sascha was hot and thirsty. I was just tired and hungry.
It was a great day. 27 miles, close to 7,000' vertical, 6 1/2 hours, lots and lots of snow. The mileage was actually really big for Sascha. She had 2 acl surgeries in 2004 and hasn't gone more than about 20 since then. So that, coupled with her being 10, made this a great day for her. But I don't think she cared about the surgeries or being 10. She was tired and happy and just glad to be done. And I was happy to have spent an incredible day getting lost in the mountains with Sascha.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Miwok
So I went down to the Headlands for my 5th running of Miwok 100k. I love this race - it's got lots of great, runnable climbing, nice downhills, beautiful ocean views, lots of great competition, and the typical 1st-class organization that I've grown accustom to in Northern California races. In my previous 4 runnings, I've had good races (9:41 & 9:28) and not-so-good races (10:23 & 10:40). This year was a good race.
It started on the Wednesday before. I was working at Fleet Feet, thinking about my afternoon run, and noticed I was feeling like crap. Body achy, really tired, and generally fatigued. So I decided to skip my evening run and sleep as much as possible that night. Biener was even nice enough to give me Thursday morning off.
So I slept lots, got up late, went for a short run with Sascha, and got to work in the early afternoon. Rod and Rob both noticed, and commented on, how much like crap I looked - thanks, guys. Rob was even nice enough to get me a smoothie with a shot of "feel better". I made it through the day fine, packed that night and slept way too little (Coach Tate had an early departure time scheduled). It was actually good to leave early, as we (Tate, Prudence, and I) didn't get to the Headlands Hostel until a little after 4 (damn Vacaville traffic).
We met up with Gretchen at the hostel and had a nice walk on the beach before heading to dinner. Just as we were leaving dinner, we ran into Fatboy, but couldn't talk too long, as Prudence and I were on a mission to get Nyquil. Although a little reluctant to actually use the Nyquil, I eventually decided to do it on the drive back to the hostel. So we were taking Nyquil shots while driving; is that legal? Whatever...it put me to sleep by 9 and I was out for the night. I think it may have been my best pre-race sleep ever.
Race morning was nice and relaxing, I woke up feeling pretty good, and we just lolly-gagged over to the start. As usual, Team Oregon was out in full force. My plan for the day was to run really easy (conversation pace) with Thomas for the first 42, then see what we had left. So we started out super-mellow, not caring at all how far back in the pack we were going up the long road. From the first a.s. at 6.2, we were just talking, running, and passing runners all the way up to Pantoll. On the Coastal Trail to Bolinas I took the lead and was just cruising along without any real effort. Thomas said we were moving along at a good clip, so I'm hoping that meant my Boston training was paying off. We passed a few more runners on the way to the turn around at Randall, and caught up to Kami. She asked how far back Bev was; apparently she didn't like the answer because she immediately put some distance between us and was down the road fast. We also ran with Mark Tanaka for a while. He told me he had my splits from 2005 (very nice ego-booster!) and that we were slightly ahead of pace. Arriving at the turn around (mile 35.6) at 4:57, I knew we were faster than 2005 since I had never been there sub-5. And I was still running easy enough to hold a conversation with Thomas - crazy!
The skinny German boy and me.
That energized us a bit as we ran back up the big hill and caught back up to Kami and Mark Lantz. Kami noted how she was walking most of this hill because when she ran it in 2005, the effort kinda kicked her butt a bit later. So I immediately started walking. The 4 of us got back up on the road and ran in a nice pack for a few more miles. It was cool rocking with the old farts! Around 39, Thomas started getting stronger and I was lagging a bit on the rollers. Finally I told him to not wait anymore and just go. It was a couple miles before Bolinas, mile 42, so he was reluctant, but finally went. Mark followed him, with Kami not far behind. I guess running up most of the hill was getting me now. So I plodded along, drinking lots of kona kola nuun and water, and guing a bit more often to get some pep back.
A few miles before Pan Toll, 49.5 miles, I was feeling good again. I got there in 7:10, took a couple minutes to make sure I got everything, filled my bottles, grabbed a gu, and even a small to-go cup of salty potatoes and I was outta there at 7:12. I knew 2ish hours for the last 13 miles was fast, so took off down Mt. Tam with thoughts of 9:15-9:20. I definitely didn't fly down like I had hoped, but did enjoy the climb back up to Hwy. 1. I knew I needed an s-cap there, and got one, but in my haste, forgot to get another gu. I remembered about 200 meters out, but decided to not go back. Instead, I ran hard to Tennessee Valley. I figured if I was going to bonk, I would rather it be as close to the next a.s. as possible.
Up on the ridge I could see down to the aid station and noticed Thomas arriving there just ahead of Kami. Dang, I wish I was with them. I got to Tennessee Valley without bonking, filled a bottle with Coke, got 2 gus, and took off for the final 4 miles. When I'm running well, my goal for this section is sub-40. That's hard, and I've never done it. I didn't kill myself going up, but as I got closer to the top of Wold Ridge, I saw glimpses of Thomas and Kami. Then they popped over the top and were gone. I got on top, took one more glance at the incredible view, and headed down, down, down to the beach. I heard cheers a couple times for my buddies, then soon enough, they were for me. I happily finished in 9:18:52, 11th place, 9 1/2 minute Miwok p.r. I was happy.
Thomas finished his first 100k in 9:14:08 for 9th, and Kami finished in 9:15:50, keeping her perfect Miwok-record alive at 3. Not long after finishing, I looked up the trails and noticed a girl running down who looked very familiar...it was Prudence, and she was rocking in 3rd! She finished like a rock star in her first Miwok, 9:47:23, and nabbed the coveted final girl's spot for an automatic WS berth (of which she knew nothing about, but after hearing is now going!). Two other friends of mine also completing there first Miwoks (and 100k): adventure racing stud Seegs ran a great race for 4th in 10:01, and Tate was happy, blister-feeted, and worked with her great finish in 13:39.
This, my 5th running of Miwok, was my transition from "Boston road training" to "WS trail training". Apparently, I found a recipe that seemed to work for me:
88 pre-Miwok miles for the week + sick boy on Thurs and Fri + Nyquil on Fri night + having absolutely no expectations and going out super-easy = 10 min. course p.r.
Now why can't 100s work like that?
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