the trip that kept back and forthing continued to do so throughout. At first mike and i were talking about coming to zion to traverse the park from west to east. After a little bit, john and gena were going to join us, then a few weeks before the scheduled departure, leah was added to the roster. 10 days before, the party grew again, Jamie and lacy were adjusting somethings so they could join as well.
there was talk about going to the grand canyon and doing a double crossing instead of the zion. that would work, though many of us were anxious to see zion for the first time, a double crossing would prove to be an excellent way to spend the day, and logistically easier.
we all met up the weekend before our departure for Leadville Running Company's first annual reindeer run. all were in good spirits and looking forward to the coming week and our trip. after the run we met up for happy hour and to go over the logistics. We would all meet up in leadville and depart at 7pm.
The day before our departure, mike learned his hip pain was due to a labral tear in his hip, he was out. after some logistical adjustments, it was decided to head to zion and proceed with the traverse. Leah, Sirius and I would meet Jamie and Lacy in minturn on Tuesday night and we'd head out from there.
We got to Zion early Wednesday morning, set up camp, and got some much appreciated rest. Lacy, Sirius, and I woke somewhat early, and decided to wander around and check out the area. When we returned, Leah and Jamie were up, we made a meager fire waited for the sun to come out (it didn't make it on wednesday), and then started prepping things for a couple supply drops and logistics.
We dropped Jamie's truck off at the east entrance, and stopped by the grocery store to pick up some last minute treats for our supply drops.
We dropped the first bag at the bottom of angels landing a short stretch from the zion lodge, the second bag of treats at the hop valley trail head, and proceeded towards lava point for our third set of supplies. After some slipping and sliding, we chose the cautious approach and skipped the 1.8 mile drive through unplowed roads to the lava point drop location. This would mean we'd have aid at mile 13 and mile 38.
By this point we were all pretty tired and ready for food and sleep. We opted to get a hotel and have a good nights sleep and a good meal before starting on the adventure. After a little discussion and review, we opted to have mexican for dinner, and decided on a local restaurant: Lupita's.
We had no idea what a treat we were in for. We were greeted by a small mexican gift shop with all sorts of random articles. Somehow nobody thought to document any of this, i think we were just overwhelmed with the state of the restaurant. We sat down and ordered.
When the waitress came with our food, everybody was pleased and we all began eating immediately. Everything was super tastey. definitely worth visiting if you are in the cedar city area and like good mexican food.
next stop hotel. we migrated the necessary items into the hotel, packs, sleeping bags and pads, and whatever supplies we would be trekking across the park with. Sirius and i headed out for out evening walk. It was snowing, fortune was on our side, a nice warm hotel for roughly the same price to pitch our tents amongst the myriad of people that leave their homes to go camping in an undersized overcrowded tract of land on the side of the I-15.
shortly before 5 the alarms starting going off. time to get moving. a final once over of our gear, final choices of attire, which was pretty lightweight as the morning turned out to be slightly warmer than the previous day. a pleasant surprise. We transfer everything back to the truck and head to the trailhead.
Sirius would stay in the car at Lee's pass for the day while we made our push for the east park entrance and Jamie's truck.
If you are interested in the day's adventures, check out part 2:
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Sunday, December 8, 2013
enjoying the snow
It's been a couple weeks since the last write up. i like to believe i'm getting the hang of this winter running deal. it's more like the running done in Juneau during the Alaska Mountain Ultrarunning Camps Lots of scenery and enjoying the views. I haven't been very good about bringing my camera along, perhaps that will change.
One thing for sure, it's definitely a bit colder here than i've had the pleasure of experiencing during the past 15 or 20 years. As a matter of fact i can't recall running in negative or single digit temperatures before about a month ago. It takes a good bit of motivation to get moving, and i've been struggling a little trying to keep my feet warm, but once you overcome these couple of hurdles, it's an incredible experience.
This past week has been extra cold. I don't know that it's been above 10 since the 1st. The average temperature on my runs has been right around 3 degrees, lots of snow means even running on the road is like running on a trail (if you choose the right roads). surrounded by trees with the crunching of snow under foot, it's a great experience so far.
Once i figure out how to keep my feet warm, i'm sure things will be much more enjoyable. For now, i'm just focusing on playing in the snow and trying to find some new trails.
In a couple weeks, there will be an excursion to either zion or the grand canyon, either one will be a great time with good people, looking forward to some warmer weather, until then, i'll be making fresh tracks and seeking out more fun trails.
One thing for sure, it's definitely a bit colder here than i've had the pleasure of experiencing during the past 15 or 20 years. As a matter of fact i can't recall running in negative or single digit temperatures before about a month ago. It takes a good bit of motivation to get moving, and i've been struggling a little trying to keep my feet warm, but once you overcome these couple of hurdles, it's an incredible experience.
This past week has been extra cold. I don't know that it's been above 10 since the 1st. The average temperature on my runs has been right around 3 degrees, lots of snow means even running on the road is like running on a trail (if you choose the right roads). surrounded by trees with the crunching of snow under foot, it's a great experience so far.
Once i figure out how to keep my feet warm, i'm sure things will be much more enjoyable. For now, i'm just focusing on playing in the snow and trying to find some new trails.
In a couple weeks, there will be an excursion to either zion or the grand canyon, either one will be a great time with good people, looking forward to some warmer weather, until then, i'll be making fresh tracks and seeking out more fun trails.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Winter wonderland
It's been over a month since i've written anything down. I've been busy with too many endeavors to make writing a priority, but over this past weekend, i had a couple truly fun runs and explorations through the winter wonderlands which have become home, and felt a couple paragraphs and pictures were in order.
I was doing a bit of traveling and managed to get in some really fun runs in san diego with victor (revisited some old familiars, sunset cliffs).
In new york, exploring some of the hills i used to roam about as a kid. how much less climbing there seems to be, but so much fun and lots of obstacles in the form of hidden rocks, fallen trees, and briar patches. I also had the pleasure of following my good friend Ian of Finger Lakes Running Company through some of the spectacular trails around Ithaca. If you love down home back to your roots type of running where the race director isn't the most organized, but pours every ounce of his soul into the event and makes an effort to accomodate every participant, you won't find a better fit than Ian and his races:
I did an encore performance on sunday with a bit more climbing and a lot more snow. i had hoped to run a bit more than i did on the ascent, but the fresh snow, climbing, altitude, cold, and my breathing all suggested it was more of a hike up with some short efforts at running, and a fun jaunt down:
no photos from the return trip, i was having too much fun "running" down.
Some more photos of my running excursions can be found here
I was doing a bit of traveling and managed to get in some really fun runs in san diego with victor (revisited some old familiars, sunset cliffs).
In new york, exploring some of the hills i used to roam about as a kid. how much less climbing there seems to be, but so much fun and lots of obstacles in the form of hidden rocks, fallen trees, and briar patches. I also had the pleasure of following my good friend Ian of Finger Lakes Running Company through some of the spectacular trails around Ithaca. If you love down home back to your roots type of running where the race director isn't the most organized, but pours every ounce of his soul into the event and makes an effort to accomodate every participant, you won't find a better fit than Ian and his races:
- cayuga trails 50 we ran a bit of the course, and it is incredible views and some very technical sections, along the way we came across some railroad tie sections (literally railroad tie sized pieces of wood) which had washed down into a gully below the trail. Ian, and his genuine love for his local trails proposed a little cross training: and so we proceeded to haul each of the 15 or 20 hunks of wood up out of the gully and place them above the trail. sorry no pictures, i truly wished i had my camera on this trek.
- Virgil Crest Ultras: if you are interested in doing an ultra with incredible support, Ian offers a 50k, 50 miler, and a 100 miler on some super technical and fun trails. As with everything i've seen Ian do, all his heart and soul, and that of his family gets poured into this race, ensuring the participants have a great time, and get their monies worth. it's a tough course, deceptively tough. there are only a few sections that you can turn your brain off and run. the vast majority of the race your trying to figure out your footing, and wiggling through trees. Despite my thoughts that the course is well marked, it is a bit of an adventure, and has had 1 or 2 sections each year that are a bit tricky, though most of it is super easy to follow. If you want to read more, my buddy Scott Magee wrote a great little post on the course, and i've written a few over the years:
Upon arriving back in leadville I got in touch with Mike to see what was on the agenda for running. A small group runs out of Breckenridge saturday mornings, so it was off to breckenridge for some explorations, with a bail out option around 10 miles. no camera, just enjoying the fresh snow and once again surrounding myself with trails and a few good people. Mike and I opted to go up Mt Royal, one of Mikes favorite spots in all of Colorado. This has to be worth checking out. After nearly an hour of scrambling up icy trails we reached the summit, overlooking the 70, and Frisco, windblown and full of snow and rocks, it was incredible. i can see why Mike loves this place so much. There will be more trips up Mt Royal. We scrambled back down and met up with the rest of the group at the coffee shop, warmed up a bit, and took the shuttle back to Breckenridge (It takes a certain kind of fortitude to head out for another 10 miles in 20 degree weather with snow falling and wind blowing after drinking hot liquids and sitting in a cozy coffee shop for the better part of an hour: none of us had it today). Instead we sat in the warm shuttle and had good conversations.
I did a couple other little runs throughout the week, and joined the group again in Breckenridge on Saturday for a short excursion through a light dusting of fresh snow:
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| a light dusting of snow down in Breckenridge |
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| Following through some packed paths |
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| trees and blue skies - a lovely day for a run |
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| dogs love snow |
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| looking back on the trail as the crew regroups |
I did an encore performance on sunday with a bit more climbing and a lot more snow. i had hoped to run a bit more than i did on the ascent, but the fresh snow, climbing, altitude, cold, and my breathing all suggested it was more of a hike up with some short efforts at running, and a fun jaunt down:
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| The goal: mt massive |
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| flat and somewhat packed early on |
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| started out a bit overdressed, but i'm cautious these days |
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| almost ate some of these, but decided they weren't really raspberries |
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| wiggling through the trees |
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| all this climbing makes things warmer |
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| breaking new ground |
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| looking back on the trail i am working on |
no photos from the return trip, i was having too much fun "running" down.
Some more photos of my running excursions can be found here
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
20131015 adventures
6 runs since welcome winter, and i thought things were going well. After todays debacle, it seems there are somethings that need adjusting.
Just shy of 40 miles with a little less than 5,000' of gain, nothing spectacular, and nothing impressive either.
today's run was the coup de grâce. it was supposed to be an easy jaunt, i knew i was a little light on calories over the past 2 days, and was planning on taking it pretty slow and enjoying the scenery. When i got to Crowder State Park in North Carolina, it was too tempting to run to South Carolina (an easy 8 mile jog over Kings Pinnacle, and along a ridgeline), how could i resist.
Everything started out fine, a nice easy climb over just under 2 miles and some great views (pictures to come, i left my cable at home, so am unable to get the photos off my camera yet), then a fun little rolling 6.5 mile section dipping into south carolina for the turn around.
At the turn around, i felt a bit tired, but figured i'd be ok, jogging back at the same pace i held on the way out. After about 2 miles on the way back, things began to really fall apart. At this time, i was beginning to think i could use some water and something to eat (it would have been good to think of this a couple hours ago when i decided to go without either). The ups turned into walks (though none of them were terribly steep, nor where they long). I was still able to cruise the descents pretty well, and found a little solace in that. It's kind of like coasting down on a bike, is my body getting acclimated to just letting gravity do the work? it seems as such.
But i pay severely on the climbs. With about 3 miles left, things got even worse. i was feeling extremely haggard, my legs were aching, and my body was depleted. I don't recall feeling this depleted on any of my runs. I was a bit dizzy, and looking for one of those many benches i'd seen on the way out. on a couple of occasions, i sat down along the side of the trail hoping things would straighten out, and i'd feel better again.
this never happened. i kept moving forward as i figured the sooner i get back to the car, the sooner i could get some water and calories. as i came around the side of kings pinnacle (i was eager to avoid any climbing i could and anxious to make my way back down to the part visitor center). I saw a sign indicating there were only 2 miles left, a glimmer of hope, though i was still sinking further into the depths of depletion.
I took a slightly different route back, hoping it would be shorter, and less technical (as i remember the pinnacle trail having 1 or 2 somewhat technical rocky sections, which i was eager to avoid in my wonky state). i made it back to the visitor center, and sat in the rental car for several minutes before i could muster the ambition or energy to walk to the water fountain fill my bottle.
i drank a bit form the fountain and some from the bottle on my way back to the car. i then sat down again, and felt myself growing nauseous. i had no desire to eat, and was now feeling nauseous, great, i need liquid and food, and all i want to do is throw it up.
i laid the seat back and stayed there for 10 - 15 minutes waiting to feel like i could drive to get some food and liquid. i made it to the grocery store about 3 miles away, and again laid the seat back and tried not to throw up. i stayed there another 15 - 20 minutes before i was able to muster the ambition to go into the store and get something to try and settle my stomach and regain my strength.
I went in, grabbed a 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk, a box of mango juice, 2 liters of coke, some yogurt (planning for breakfast), some black berries, and a bunch of bananas. The woman at the checkout looked quizzically at the blackberries, and asked "do you eat these", i was a bit surprised and responded "yes, they are super tasty".
I drank a bit of the mango juice, and some coke, and again laid the seat back and hoped it would stay down. After another 10 minutes i started to feel a bit better, and actually found myself actually thinking about food. a good steak.
on my way back to Charlotte, i stopped by Old Stone Steakhouse, and had a very tasty meal. things contiued to turn around, and i was feeling back to normal, except i was strangely full with relatively little food.
Looking back on the previous week, it seems i have been neglecting eating. thinking back, i can't remember eating too much, and the food i've been eating has been low grade. maybe 1 or 2 meals a day of some eggs a couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, maybe some pasta. tonight i sat down to dinner, and had trouble eating a small salad, 20oz steak, a small yam, and a medium piece of cake (normally i am able to eat this and plenty more, especially after a 3.5 hour run).
Now that the house is in a pretty stable and livable condition, I'll be trying to focus on much higher quality and more consistent eating habits and see if that helps turn things around.
Just shy of 40 miles with a little less than 5,000' of gain, nothing spectacular, and nothing impressive either.
today's run was the coup de grâce. it was supposed to be an easy jaunt, i knew i was a little light on calories over the past 2 days, and was planning on taking it pretty slow and enjoying the scenery. When i got to Crowder State Park in North Carolina, it was too tempting to run to South Carolina (an easy 8 mile jog over Kings Pinnacle, and along a ridgeline), how could i resist.
Everything started out fine, a nice easy climb over just under 2 miles and some great views (pictures to come, i left my cable at home, so am unable to get the photos off my camera yet), then a fun little rolling 6.5 mile section dipping into south carolina for the turn around.
At the turn around, i felt a bit tired, but figured i'd be ok, jogging back at the same pace i held on the way out. After about 2 miles on the way back, things began to really fall apart. At this time, i was beginning to think i could use some water and something to eat (it would have been good to think of this a couple hours ago when i decided to go without either). The ups turned into walks (though none of them were terribly steep, nor where they long). I was still able to cruise the descents pretty well, and found a little solace in that. It's kind of like coasting down on a bike, is my body getting acclimated to just letting gravity do the work? it seems as such.
But i pay severely on the climbs. With about 3 miles left, things got even worse. i was feeling extremely haggard, my legs were aching, and my body was depleted. I don't recall feeling this depleted on any of my runs. I was a bit dizzy, and looking for one of those many benches i'd seen on the way out. on a couple of occasions, i sat down along the side of the trail hoping things would straighten out, and i'd feel better again.
this never happened. i kept moving forward as i figured the sooner i get back to the car, the sooner i could get some water and calories. as i came around the side of kings pinnacle (i was eager to avoid any climbing i could and anxious to make my way back down to the part visitor center). I saw a sign indicating there were only 2 miles left, a glimmer of hope, though i was still sinking further into the depths of depletion.
I took a slightly different route back, hoping it would be shorter, and less technical (as i remember the pinnacle trail having 1 or 2 somewhat technical rocky sections, which i was eager to avoid in my wonky state). i made it back to the visitor center, and sat in the rental car for several minutes before i could muster the ambition or energy to walk to the water fountain fill my bottle.
i drank a bit form the fountain and some from the bottle on my way back to the car. i then sat down again, and felt myself growing nauseous. i had no desire to eat, and was now feeling nauseous, great, i need liquid and food, and all i want to do is throw it up.
i laid the seat back and stayed there for 10 - 15 minutes waiting to feel like i could drive to get some food and liquid. i made it to the grocery store about 3 miles away, and again laid the seat back and tried not to throw up. i stayed there another 15 - 20 minutes before i was able to muster the ambition to go into the store and get something to try and settle my stomach and regain my strength.
I went in, grabbed a 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk, a box of mango juice, 2 liters of coke, some yogurt (planning for breakfast), some black berries, and a bunch of bananas. The woman at the checkout looked quizzically at the blackberries, and asked "do you eat these", i was a bit surprised and responded "yes, they are super tasty".
I drank a bit of the mango juice, and some coke, and again laid the seat back and hoped it would stay down. After another 10 minutes i started to feel a bit better, and actually found myself actually thinking about food. a good steak.
on my way back to Charlotte, i stopped by Old Stone Steakhouse, and had a very tasty meal. things contiued to turn around, and i was feeling back to normal, except i was strangely full with relatively little food.
Looking back on the previous week, it seems i have been neglecting eating. thinking back, i can't remember eating too much, and the food i've been eating has been low grade. maybe 1 or 2 meals a day of some eggs a couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, maybe some pasta. tonight i sat down to dinner, and had trouble eating a small salad, 20oz steak, a small yam, and a medium piece of cake (normally i am able to eat this and plenty more, especially after a 3.5 hour run).
Now that the house is in a pretty stable and livable condition, I'll be trying to focus on much higher quality and more consistent eating habits and see if that helps turn things around.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Welcome Winter
i had a couple short higher effort runs on monday and tuesday, neither was fantastic, both were pretty much on roads, and just to try to satisfy my desire to be out and running again. then work and life (the temperatures are really starting to drop, 20's at night and 50's during the day, so getting a furnace and some form of heat took priority over running). The good news, i have a gas fireplace, which is now working, and does a good job of keeping the house around 60 degrees.
Saturday was time for the welcome winter run, apparently an annual event in the making, started last year, and continued this year. The group began to assemble at City on a Hill Coffee shop at a little after 6 am. It was a bit cold (around 20), but spirits where high. Due to the previous nights snow the original route was abandoned for what turned out to be a really fun loop from the fish hatchery over to hagerman pass via mt massive, and back. John promised to run faster than everyone and flag the non obvious turns.
After a little food and drink, everyone began piling into cars, and off we went to begin our adventure. it was a little beyond brisk at the start, a small amount of fresh snow covered the ground as we began up the fire road our of the fish hatchery. We carried on, Mike performing heel clicks and spinning off rocks. we carried on up the initial climb into the mt massive wilderness area, periodically regrouping.
we took a couple wrong turns and lost on several occasions, but managed to find it again and continue on our way. there were a couple creek crossings, one of which warranted balancing on a log, and resulted in milo (Ryan? and Leah's dog) over the creek:
and we were off once again. after a couple more crossings of this creek, we were climbing up through the far sides of mt massive, and had some great views of mt massive as well as a group photo op, as everyone was once again together:
As we were cresting the ridge to head down into hagerman pass, we were above tree line, and greeted with a good bit of wind and rocky trail. It was pretty fun to watch the snake of color ahead of me:
A little shaky, and blurry in the beginning, but it gives an idea of the wind and train of color.
After that there was another fun little descent and some deep snow sections:
taking us down to the Hagerman tunnel, which once connected leadville and basalt via the midland railroad.
We again regrouped here and ate a bit enjoying the warmth of the sun, and discussing the remaining route: we'd continue down hagerman pass, then start up towards sugarloaf on the leadville 100 course, hopping back on the colorado trail around the top of sugarloaf and following that to highline and rock creek trails back to the fish hatchery.
The group began to stretch out again here. once we started up towards sugarloaf, most chose to hike up and enjoy the views of turquoise lake and the surrounding area:
All in all it was a great little adventure, and warmed up nicely. The route was excellent, and the fact that there were so many great people and we all stayed pretty close together once we finished the initial climb made it all the better.
This year's route brought to you by John, Mike and Garmin:
Welcome Winter!
Some more photos can be found here:
Saturday was time for the welcome winter run, apparently an annual event in the making, started last year, and continued this year. The group began to assemble at City on a Hill Coffee shop at a little after 6 am. It was a bit cold (around 20), but spirits where high. Due to the previous nights snow the original route was abandoned for what turned out to be a really fun loop from the fish hatchery over to hagerman pass via mt massive, and back. John promised to run faster than everyone and flag the non obvious turns.
After a little food and drink, everyone began piling into cars, and off we went to begin our adventure. it was a little beyond brisk at the start, a small amount of fresh snow covered the ground as we began up the fire road our of the fish hatchery. We carried on, Mike performing heel clicks and spinning off rocks. we carried on up the initial climb into the mt massive wilderness area, periodically regrouping.
we took a couple wrong turns and lost on several occasions, but managed to find it again and continue on our way. there were a couple creek crossings, one of which warranted balancing on a log, and resulted in milo (Ryan? and Leah's dog) over the creek:
and we were off once again. after a couple more crossings of this creek, we were climbing up through the far sides of mt massive, and had some great views of mt massive as well as a group photo op, as everyone was once again together:
As we were cresting the ridge to head down into hagerman pass, we were above tree line, and greeted with a good bit of wind and rocky trail. It was pretty fun to watch the snake of color ahead of me:
After that there was another fun little descent and some deep snow sections:
taking us down to the Hagerman tunnel, which once connected leadville and basalt via the midland railroad.
We again regrouped here and ate a bit enjoying the warmth of the sun, and discussing the remaining route: we'd continue down hagerman pass, then start up towards sugarloaf on the leadville 100 course, hopping back on the colorado trail around the top of sugarloaf and following that to highline and rock creek trails back to the fish hatchery.
The group began to stretch out again here. once we started up towards sugarloaf, most chose to hike up and enjoy the views of turquoise lake and the surrounding area:
Once on the colorado trail we were greeted with some fun little rolling sections.
All in all it was a great little adventure, and warmed up nicely. The route was excellent, and the fact that there were so many great people and we all stayed pretty close together once we finished the initial climb made it all the better.
This year's route brought to you by John, Mike and Garmin:
Welcome Winter!
Some more photos can be found here:
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Minimal running, but some fun adventures
and some new cold weather gear
There hasn't been a lot of running going on, to be honest, since finishing leadville, and a couple since completing virgil crest ultra 50. Those few runs have proven to be pretty entertaining, looking back on them makes them even more so.
1 run in particular is worth a short story. I was helping mark the UROC 100k course between Frisco and Copper Mountain, which happened to cross the 10 mile range. The day started out pretty gloomy, with some snow and rain.
I headed down to Frisco to meet up with Mike and a couple others that were going to help mark the course. around 12 we started out on the trek which would climb up over the 10 mile range, and take us up around 12,500'. This promised to have some good weather in store for us, and it made good on the promise.
The first couple miles were spent climbing up a dirt road before turning into some pretty fun single track, that continued climbing. the 3 of us (Brian, Sandi, and myself) were enjoying a leisurely climb, alternating between a jog and a hike. Making sure to put surveyor flags every so often to make sure the runners would be able to follow the course tomorrow.
some comments were made regarding there being less snow then expected. then we got above tree line, and were hiking through snow a little over ankle deep and making our way up to the ridge. spirits were still high, though it was starting to get a little chilly (good thing i brought my patagonia houdini, a very light and thin wind breaker: i'm getting better at this preparation thing). once we were on the ridge, things got pretty real.
the banter stopped, the flags started to get placed a little farther apart. the wind was howling, the snow was coming down sideways, and we were all getting cold. everybody added all the layers they had. Of course, in all my preparation, i had a hat (which was serving as a glove by now), an asics cold weather running shirt, shorts, and of course my magic houdini. at this point we could see about 100 yards in front of us, and the pace was quickening. everybody was ready to get off the ridge and out of the winds and snow.
ice covered my legs (literally, i had balls of ice all over my legs, on the windward side), the windward side of my face was starting to freeze, literally, ice was forming on my eyelashes and eyebrows and obscuring my vision on that side. I put my hood up and was thinking how grim things were beginning to look. My hands were so cold, they stopped working correctly.
1 hand was wrapped in the glove to keep warm, the other i tucked under my shirt next to my body to try and warm it. i would rotate the hands every so often to try to keep some dexterity. I was looking around and hoping we'd come to the descent and get back into the trees for some shelter from this beating we were taking.
then about 1/2 way through the ridge section, we lost the trail, or rather re-routed the race course, along a ridge, then down through a rock field back to the actual trail. at this point we were moving pretty good, the lead runner (yes we were doing everything we could to run at this point, despite the close to knee deep snow that we would punch through periodically) would place a flag, the other two would continue around. wash rinse repeat.
this continued for what seemed like an eternity, in reality it was probably 1 - 2 miles of extreme discomfort and cold like i haven't experienced in a while (and i've been without heat for all of september). finally we began to descend and the snow thinned out, revealing lots of rocks and a pretty steep descent on technical footing. at this point the banter was starting to come back, things were warming up, and we were back to having a good time.
we enjoyed some really fun single track descent over the next several miles and a fun little flat section before crossing the 91, and making our way through copper mountain and into where the aid station would be.
that was a very tough and fun little section. there were times i was thinking:
i worked so hard to try and make sure i was prepared so i wouldn't be that guy that search and rescue was looking for, and now i'm galavanting over this pass in some pretty severe weather (temps in the 20's and winds gusting around 40mph with snow: these are all estimates on my part, so i'm sure it's a bit off), at least i'm with 2 other people, both with tights, gloves, hats, and multiple jackets. just keep moving forward and get out of this weather.
When it was all said and done, it wasn't that bad (definitely a hindsight thing). I did learn a bit, and gained more respect for the mountains, and the weather they offer up. I went out and bought some cold weather gear:
With that, I believe i'm prepared for this weekends welcome winter run, i forget the details, but its' something like 60k (37ish miles) over 3 or 4 passes, including hope pass (around 12,500'), and of course all the 50 degree weather we've had this week, is leaving. Being replaced with some nice 20 degree weather, and snow. looks like i'll be carrying some cold weather gear, good think i'm more prepared than i was last week.
if this goes well, maybe i'll actually get up on some of those ridgelines i've been eyeing?? one adventure at a time.
There hasn't been a lot of running going on, to be honest, since finishing leadville, and a couple since completing virgil crest ultra 50. Those few runs have proven to be pretty entertaining, looking back on them makes them even more so.
1 run in particular is worth a short story. I was helping mark the UROC 100k course between Frisco and Copper Mountain, which happened to cross the 10 mile range. The day started out pretty gloomy, with some snow and rain.
I headed down to Frisco to meet up with Mike and a couple others that were going to help mark the course. around 12 we started out on the trek which would climb up over the 10 mile range, and take us up around 12,500'. This promised to have some good weather in store for us, and it made good on the promise.
The first couple miles were spent climbing up a dirt road before turning into some pretty fun single track, that continued climbing. the 3 of us (Brian, Sandi, and myself) were enjoying a leisurely climb, alternating between a jog and a hike. Making sure to put surveyor flags every so often to make sure the runners would be able to follow the course tomorrow.
some comments were made regarding there being less snow then expected. then we got above tree line, and were hiking through snow a little over ankle deep and making our way up to the ridge. spirits were still high, though it was starting to get a little chilly (good thing i brought my patagonia houdini, a very light and thin wind breaker: i'm getting better at this preparation thing). once we were on the ridge, things got pretty real.
the banter stopped, the flags started to get placed a little farther apart. the wind was howling, the snow was coming down sideways, and we were all getting cold. everybody added all the layers they had. Of course, in all my preparation, i had a hat (which was serving as a glove by now), an asics cold weather running shirt, shorts, and of course my magic houdini. at this point we could see about 100 yards in front of us, and the pace was quickening. everybody was ready to get off the ridge and out of the winds and snow.
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| Patagonia Houdini |
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| The houdini stored in it's pocket for convenient carrying |
1 hand was wrapped in the glove to keep warm, the other i tucked under my shirt next to my body to try and warm it. i would rotate the hands every so often to try to keep some dexterity. I was looking around and hoping we'd come to the descent and get back into the trees for some shelter from this beating we were taking.
then about 1/2 way through the ridge section, we lost the trail, or rather re-routed the race course, along a ridge, then down through a rock field back to the actual trail. at this point we were moving pretty good, the lead runner (yes we were doing everything we could to run at this point, despite the close to knee deep snow that we would punch through periodically) would place a flag, the other two would continue around. wash rinse repeat.
this continued for what seemed like an eternity, in reality it was probably 1 - 2 miles of extreme discomfort and cold like i haven't experienced in a while (and i've been without heat for all of september). finally we began to descend and the snow thinned out, revealing lots of rocks and a pretty steep descent on technical footing. at this point the banter was starting to come back, things were warming up, and we were back to having a good time.
we enjoyed some really fun single track descent over the next several miles and a fun little flat section before crossing the 91, and making our way through copper mountain and into where the aid station would be.
that was a very tough and fun little section. there were times i was thinking:
i worked so hard to try and make sure i was prepared so i wouldn't be that guy that search and rescue was looking for, and now i'm galavanting over this pass in some pretty severe weather (temps in the 20's and winds gusting around 40mph with snow: these are all estimates on my part, so i'm sure it's a bit off), at least i'm with 2 other people, both with tights, gloves, hats, and multiple jackets. just keep moving forward and get out of this weather.
When it was all said and done, it wasn't that bad (definitely a hindsight thing). I did learn a bit, and gained more respect for the mountains, and the weather they offer up. I went out and bought some cold weather gear:
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| knickers (yep 3/4 tights) |
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| Marmot Mica a more substantial shell than the houdini |
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| Marmot Mica stored in it's pocket |
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| The houdini in it's pocket, next to the mica in it's pocket for comparison |
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| black diamond liner gloves (not as warm as i expected, but definitely has to be better than bare hands) |
With that, I believe i'm prepared for this weekends welcome winter run, i forget the details, but its' something like 60k (37ish miles) over 3 or 4 passes, including hope pass (around 12,500'), and of course all the 50 degree weather we've had this week, is leaving. Being replaced with some nice 20 degree weather, and snow. looks like i'll be carrying some cold weather gear, good think i'm more prepared than i was last week.
if this goes well, maybe i'll actually get up on some of those ridgelines i've been eyeing?? one adventure at a time.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Virgil Crest Ultras 50 miler
I came out to new york to visit family and run on the VCU course. I've been out for this run 5 of it's 6 years, with some mixed results. this year i opted for the 50 miler instead of the 100.
It turns out to be a good decision, as there was some pretty good rain that started coming down around 3pm, we'll get to that later.
the weather was very favorable prior to the rain (which started around 3pm), cool and overcast. we started at 6am, my goal was to head out at a comfortable pace to daisy hollow (the turn around and 25 mile mark), and try to come back at the same pace.
I met up with Scott, whom i met in Geoff Roes' Alaska Ultra Mountain Running Camp, in 2012, and had the pleasure of running with him again this year at the camp. The first 5 miles into the gravel pit went pretty well and comfortably. The course was suprisingly dry, probably the driest i've seen this course.
I pulled off the course for a quick bathroom break, and when i got back on course, i soon came up on Scott, and we ran together a bit before i took off again. I came into mile 9.5, the lift house aid station feeling good, and ready to embark on the toughest section of course (the Alpine loop), which entails running up and down the slopes of Greek Peak ski resort (some very steep, though shorter climbs).
Finishing up the alpine loop, i came back into the lift house aid station (mile 14), went through quickly, and was onto the section out to daisy hollow, probably the funnest section of the course. we run down the road for a little more than 1/4 mile, then climb up a bit. Just before the climb, there's a small step over a rock wall and a creek crossing, i managed to slip while crossing the wall, and banged my knee pretty good.
fortunately, the pain subsided after 5 minutes or so, and i had full range of motion. i hiked up to the top of the climb and began jogging again moving into the Rockpile. at this point i was moving pretty comfortable, and doing all right through 20 miles. I was holding pretty steady at a 10 hour pace (slated to hit the daisy hollow turn around in 5 hours).
On the way into rockpile, i was greeted by Ed and his son, we hiked up a bit together, and soon I saw Rebecca (Ed's wife). A pleasant suprise. at Rockpile, i ate a bit, reloaded my gels, and ate 1 on the way out. Unfortunately i did not refill my hydration pack, and would run out of water before i got to daisy hollow.
i realized this oversight shortly after i left rockpile, and opted to slow the pace slightly to account for my limited water supply. I was still feeling good, and jogging pretty consistently. The trail seemed to be cleaned up a bit and in better shape than previous years, as the climbing felt easier, and the footing wasn't as technical. Plus the sections that had rope seemed far easier to get up.
I came into Daisy Hollow, filled my hydration pack, grabbed several gels, and a drink box of chocolate milk. I felt pretty good leaving Daisy Hollow, and was able to make decent time back to rockpile, being a little conservative on the climbs, and running well on the descents. It felt like i was a little slower on the way back. I saw Scott, earlier than i was expecting to see him, and unfortunately he was having some difficulty with his stomach. I wished him the best and continued on.
when i got into rockpile, i ate a gel, and restocked my pile. I was starting to feel pretty good about making it back to hope lake, hoping to have a return split within 30 minutes of my time from hope lake to daisy hollow. I ate a bit and headed out.
Just a little before starting to descend down towards lifthouse, my right hamstring started to feel as though it would cramp at any minute. i immediately slowed to a walk, and did what i could to try to prevent what seemed to be inevitable. I walked down much of the descent, favoring my right leg and hoping i could avoid the cramp.
it was tough going, down the rooted muddy section, as i popped out on the road, i started jogging again, and was able to jog all the way into the aid station without issue. though i was starting to feel a bit worse for the wear.
i was pleasantly surprised to see Melissa and my Dad waiting for me there. I was a bit gruff with my requests, though they didn't seem to mind, and quickly filled my hydration pack, and got me some food and extra gels before sending me on my way for the final alpine loop.
I managed to miss a turn on the loop, fortunately i wound up following a parallel path, not too far from the actual route. i had a hard time with the climbs, going very slowly on this loop, and was running the descents pretty slowly as well. as i said, i was definitely starting to feel the days mileage adding up. after what seemed way too long a time, i caught a glimpse of the aid station and was all too happy to be approaching another refueling opportunity.
I slowly jogged down the descent into the aid station, hit the port a potty, and got some food, and refilled my gel stash before heading out, hoping to get as far along the course as i could before the rain started. it had been threatening all day, but was actually starting to feel like the rain was on it's way.
I jogged down the pavement, until the short climb up carson rd, which i walked, and continued walking until the trail turned down again, at which point i was able to muster a decent jog, doing all right even in the technical sections. about 2.5 miles from gravel pit, the rain started, and it came down pretty good.
I was actually pretty happy to be running in the rain, the weather was still comfortable, so the rain wasn't bad. I started to pick up the pace a bit, as i was anxious to get to gravel pit and be onto the final section.
i got into the gravel pit aid station, ate 3 or 4 potato pieces, 1 gel, and added 2 to my pack for good measure. i drank 2 cups of water and 1 cup of coke, and was on my way again. i was super excited to be on the final section, and the rain was coming down pretty hard, making the course even more muddy and slippery.
fortunately much of the final section is downhill, and i was able to jog through it, feeling pretty tired and ready to be done. I walked the few short climbs that i encountered on the way back to hope lake, and jogged the flats and descents. finally i was on the paved path working my way around the lake. i could see the pavilion and finish area on the other side of the lake, and was all too ready to be there.
I jogged it in, and was greated by both my sisters, Melissa and Tracy, and my Dad. All waiting for me to arrive under the shelter of the pavilion. i sat down got some dry warm clothes on and had a bit of food.
we all sat around for a bit, talking and visiting, I wanted to wait for Scott to finish. After a little while, my Dad decided it was time to head home, so Tracy and he left, while Melissa and i continued to wait for Scott.
Shortly after my Dad and Tracy left, i went out, and could see Scott out on the other side of the lake making his way towards the pavilion and finish line. The volunteers were commenting on how quickly the runner in the red rain jacket was moving (Scott must have been very ready to finish as well). He came across the line extremely happy to have finished his first official 50 miler.
Scott had some definite issues on the course, from nutrition to some problems with his knee, so he wasn't able to fully enjoy the course, which i think is suited for his running style: it's rocky, rooted, muddy, and pretty technical throughout.
all in all a great day, and a fun wrap up to my summer (so it may have been the first day of fall, but i'm calling it a summer wrap up). now back to Colorado for some house work, and a couple easy runs, then the grand canyon in the middle of october.
there have been several ridgelines i've been eyeing around leadville, that i think would be a lot of fun to traverse, we shall see if i've got the ambition and time to get across them before winter fully grabs a hold of them.
and of course i got some cool swag:
an extremely warm and much appreciated sweatshirt:
with a nice comparison to Everest base camp to summit (though i am pretty sure it's a bit warmer, and easier to breathe at virgil crest ultras).
and a nice technical long sleeve with the same comparison.
It turns out to be a good decision, as there was some pretty good rain that started coming down around 3pm, we'll get to that later.
the weather was very favorable prior to the rain (which started around 3pm), cool and overcast. we started at 6am, my goal was to head out at a comfortable pace to daisy hollow (the turn around and 25 mile mark), and try to come back at the same pace.
I met up with Scott, whom i met in Geoff Roes' Alaska Ultra Mountain Running Camp, in 2012, and had the pleasure of running with him again this year at the camp. The first 5 miles into the gravel pit went pretty well and comfortably. The course was suprisingly dry, probably the driest i've seen this course.
I pulled off the course for a quick bathroom break, and when i got back on course, i soon came up on Scott, and we ran together a bit before i took off again. I came into mile 9.5, the lift house aid station feeling good, and ready to embark on the toughest section of course (the Alpine loop), which entails running up and down the slopes of Greek Peak ski resort (some very steep, though shorter climbs).
Finishing up the alpine loop, i came back into the lift house aid station (mile 14), went through quickly, and was onto the section out to daisy hollow, probably the funnest section of the course. we run down the road for a little more than 1/4 mile, then climb up a bit. Just before the climb, there's a small step over a rock wall and a creek crossing, i managed to slip while crossing the wall, and banged my knee pretty good.
fortunately, the pain subsided after 5 minutes or so, and i had full range of motion. i hiked up to the top of the climb and began jogging again moving into the Rockpile. at this point i was moving pretty comfortable, and doing all right through 20 miles. I was holding pretty steady at a 10 hour pace (slated to hit the daisy hollow turn around in 5 hours).
On the way into rockpile, i was greeted by Ed and his son, we hiked up a bit together, and soon I saw Rebecca (Ed's wife). A pleasant suprise. at Rockpile, i ate a bit, reloaded my gels, and ate 1 on the way out. Unfortunately i did not refill my hydration pack, and would run out of water before i got to daisy hollow.
i realized this oversight shortly after i left rockpile, and opted to slow the pace slightly to account for my limited water supply. I was still feeling good, and jogging pretty consistently. The trail seemed to be cleaned up a bit and in better shape than previous years, as the climbing felt easier, and the footing wasn't as technical. Plus the sections that had rope seemed far easier to get up.
I came into Daisy Hollow, filled my hydration pack, grabbed several gels, and a drink box of chocolate milk. I felt pretty good leaving Daisy Hollow, and was able to make decent time back to rockpile, being a little conservative on the climbs, and running well on the descents. It felt like i was a little slower on the way back. I saw Scott, earlier than i was expecting to see him, and unfortunately he was having some difficulty with his stomach. I wished him the best and continued on.
when i got into rockpile, i ate a gel, and restocked my pile. I was starting to feel pretty good about making it back to hope lake, hoping to have a return split within 30 minutes of my time from hope lake to daisy hollow. I ate a bit and headed out.
Just a little before starting to descend down towards lifthouse, my right hamstring started to feel as though it would cramp at any minute. i immediately slowed to a walk, and did what i could to try to prevent what seemed to be inevitable. I walked down much of the descent, favoring my right leg and hoping i could avoid the cramp.
it was tough going, down the rooted muddy section, as i popped out on the road, i started jogging again, and was able to jog all the way into the aid station without issue. though i was starting to feel a bit worse for the wear.
i was pleasantly surprised to see Melissa and my Dad waiting for me there. I was a bit gruff with my requests, though they didn't seem to mind, and quickly filled my hydration pack, and got me some food and extra gels before sending me on my way for the final alpine loop.
I managed to miss a turn on the loop, fortunately i wound up following a parallel path, not too far from the actual route. i had a hard time with the climbs, going very slowly on this loop, and was running the descents pretty slowly as well. as i said, i was definitely starting to feel the days mileage adding up. after what seemed way too long a time, i caught a glimpse of the aid station and was all too happy to be approaching another refueling opportunity.
I slowly jogged down the descent into the aid station, hit the port a potty, and got some food, and refilled my gel stash before heading out, hoping to get as far along the course as i could before the rain started. it had been threatening all day, but was actually starting to feel like the rain was on it's way.
I jogged down the pavement, until the short climb up carson rd, which i walked, and continued walking until the trail turned down again, at which point i was able to muster a decent jog, doing all right even in the technical sections. about 2.5 miles from gravel pit, the rain started, and it came down pretty good.
I was actually pretty happy to be running in the rain, the weather was still comfortable, so the rain wasn't bad. I started to pick up the pace a bit, as i was anxious to get to gravel pit and be onto the final section.
i got into the gravel pit aid station, ate 3 or 4 potato pieces, 1 gel, and added 2 to my pack for good measure. i drank 2 cups of water and 1 cup of coke, and was on my way again. i was super excited to be on the final section, and the rain was coming down pretty hard, making the course even more muddy and slippery.
fortunately much of the final section is downhill, and i was able to jog through it, feeling pretty tired and ready to be done. I walked the few short climbs that i encountered on the way back to hope lake, and jogged the flats and descents. finally i was on the paved path working my way around the lake. i could see the pavilion and finish area on the other side of the lake, and was all too ready to be there.
I jogged it in, and was greated by both my sisters, Melissa and Tracy, and my Dad. All waiting for me to arrive under the shelter of the pavilion. i sat down got some dry warm clothes on and had a bit of food.
we all sat around for a bit, talking and visiting, I wanted to wait for Scott to finish. After a little while, my Dad decided it was time to head home, so Tracy and he left, while Melissa and i continued to wait for Scott.
Shortly after my Dad and Tracy left, i went out, and could see Scott out on the other side of the lake making his way towards the pavilion and finish line. The volunteers were commenting on how quickly the runner in the red rain jacket was moving (Scott must have been very ready to finish as well). He came across the line extremely happy to have finished his first official 50 miler.
Scott had some definite issues on the course, from nutrition to some problems with his knee, so he wasn't able to fully enjoy the course, which i think is suited for his running style: it's rocky, rooted, muddy, and pretty technical throughout.
all in all a great day, and a fun wrap up to my summer (so it may have been the first day of fall, but i'm calling it a summer wrap up). now back to Colorado for some house work, and a couple easy runs, then the grand canyon in the middle of october.
there have been several ridgelines i've been eyeing around leadville, that i think would be a lot of fun to traverse, we shall see if i've got the ambition and time to get across them before winter fully grabs a hold of them.
and of course i got some cool swag:
an extremely warm and much appreciated sweatshirt:
and a nice technical long sleeve with the same comparison.
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