Friday, December 7, 2012

Beginning of Winter Blues (and Injuries)

I did not run a step the week before Thanksgiving.  The idea was to rest and then begin a long, slow, and gradual build-up going into the February races and, even farther out, Bighorn.  As usual, I was an idiot.  And now I am really hurt.

Before I took that week off, I went for a trail run at Happy Jack.  It had just snowed about an inch, so I threw on my microspikes and had a good time.  About halfway through the run, I felt a pinch in the middle of my lower back, right above my butt.  It nagged the rest of the run, but I didn't think anything of it.  It continued to hurt the rest of the weekend, keeping me mostly couch-bound (well, that and football).  After a day or two, it seemed fine.

Thanksgiving morning I ran the 4-miler in Fort Collins.  I ran slow, which was a reflection of the fitness (or lack thereof) I had at the time.  I didn't run again until we brought back Tuesday Night Hills last week.  After the hill session, I was in rough shape.  My back pain kept me up at night several nights in a row, forcing me to seek refuge on the couch or in the la-z-boy, and had me cringing all day at work.  My office chair was killing me.  

I kept running thinking that would help.  I was just a little weak; so I did a bunch of core work to compensate.  It seems to have had the opposite effect.

After another round of hills Tuesday, I shelved it.  I could barely move when I got home.

The pain radiates from that spot in the middle of my lower back which makes me curious if I did something to my lower spine.  However, after the hill session, I was hurting most in my upper glutes, particularly the left one, and that pain radiated from my back through my glute and down into my hamstring.  That makes me think it may be sciatica, which is something I've had issues with in the past (I suffered for a bit with it in high school).

Anyway, I haven't run in three days and things are feeling quite a bit better.  However, it does seem that running is 100% responsible for this, which sucks.  I want to be running.

I am going to let it heal and then figure out some new routine or whatnot to fix this.  I'll do just about anything in order to keep running.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Oregon - There and Back

The Oregon trip was great, though a little taxing.  I am exhausted, but I figure a return to the normal routine, including some regular and consistent sleep, will right the ship quickly.

We had quite the adventure getting out to Portland.  Our flight was supposed to leave DIA at 9:15pm and land in Portland at 10:56pm.  Thanks to the weather that rolled in for ONE night, we were delayed by over two-hours and ended up not landing in Portland until close to 3am.  So we began our trip sleep-deprived.

We hung out in Portland, did the touristy things like eat a Reggie from Pine State Biscuits, enjoy a bacon maple bar from Voodoo Doughnut, wander around Powells Books, and get drunk at Deschutes.  Next, we went south to Eugene, where we met tons of fantastic people and gorged on food of a primarily vegetarian variety.  This included stops at Cafe Yumm, Laughing Planet, Ta Ra Rin, Hot Mama's Wings, Eugene City Bakery, Agate Alley, 19th St. McMenamins, Pizza Research Institute, and several fine bars and pubs.  If I were a bear, I would be ready for a long winter hibernation.

Elizabeth also humored me as I let my track nerdiness fly by wandering around Hayward Field.  I excitedly watched Andrew Wheating do a warm-up on the track while Vin Lananna supervised.  Hayward Field is to runners what the Vatican is to Catholics, what Mecca is to Muslims.  I sat in the stands and marveled at the great races that have been run there by legendary, mythical figures.  It's awe-inspiring, to say the least.

Thanks to all the folks who showed us a good time and greatly appreciated hospitality!

Runner Holy Land.

Bowerman still keeps a watchful eye.



Watching imaginary, long-ago run races in my head.

Truer words have never been spoken.



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Off to Oregon!

I never summarized this year's edition of Silent Trails.  I do not intend to do so now.  I am not sure if I will at all.  In lieu of a write-up, here are a couple of pictures from the race, taken once again by the wonderful Wendy Perkins.  As has become the new normal, we were fortunate enough to once again run this race during the first snowfall of the season.  And as is also the custom, by mid-afternoon, it had all melted off thanks to the mid-50 degree temps.

Perfect conditions for a 10M trail race.

Big guns.  L to R: Ted, me, Jay, Gabe (behind Jay), Jason, Nik.  Behind Nik are Nick Clark and the bastard Horsecow.

6th.
In reference to the title of this post, Elizabeth and I are off to Oregon tonight.  We have a late flight out of Denver to Portland.  She is going to spend the next few days showing me around her home.  Oh, and I get to see the Waldrons, who are now residents of Portlandia.  I'm looking forward to it.

When I'm back, I'm going to sit down and attempt to articulate what it is I plan to do regarding this whole "running" thing.  I have been contemplating that heavily lately.

Friday, October 12, 2012

New Direction

I have been thinking a lot lately about what it is I want to do with my life and my running.  An articulation of those wants is not fully complete, but I think I have an idea and a starting point.  That is as far into it as I wish to delve at the moment.

Here are a few photographs from a quick trip to Rocky Mountain National Park Elizabeth and I made last weekend.










We also saw these guys at the Bluebird.  Very fun.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Weeks Ending Sept. 23 & Sept. 30 + Jelm Mountain

Running-wise, the last two weeks have been less than stellar and frankly disappointing.  After one of the best training weeks I'd had in literally years, I lost my legs.  I planned to back-off a little before Jelm, but I didn't bounce back well at all.  After Jelm, the wheels really fell off.

My hip has been doing quite a bit better, to the point that I rarely notice it much anymore.  However, my calves are now starting to betray me.  It took me over a week after Jelm to get them to loosen up enough to feel decent over even a six-mile run.  

I wanted to keep plugging away through Silent Trails and into my 50K in Oregon at the end of the month, but given my banged up legs, I'm thinking about just phoning it in for the rest of the month.  We are supposed to possibly see our first snow of the season over the next few days, so quality running days are short.  The snowshoes and microspikes are going to be pulled out of the closet.

Here's the last two weeks plus my Jelm re-cap:

Tues. Sept. 18 - 8 miles in 1:00.  Earlier afternoon run on the Summit-Browns-Headquarters loop.  I was a little sore in the glutes from my decent down Med Bow Peak two days before.

Wed. Sept. 19 - 7 miles in :47.  I originally planned to do 5-6x5min with 1 min off cruise intervals on the Greenbelt.  I got four done and went home.  Super sluggish.  

Thurs. Sept. 20 - 6 miles in :46.  Afternoon run on Turtle Rock trail.  Again, felt super sluggish.  Only thing of note on this run was the cow and calf moose I nearly ran smack into on the southeastern corner of Turtle Rock.  I turned around and quickly exited the area.

Fri. Sept. 21 - 6.5 miles in :45.  Friday form work with Jefe.  Mi casa to the UW track.  Then 2x form drills and 4x200 strides with 200 jog in-between.  Then back to la casa.

Sat. Sept. 22 - 11.5 miles.  Jelm Mountain Run.  After a lot of shit-talking between the Caballo-Vaca and myself (El Perro Hambriento), we finally toed the line to pit our endurance running skills against one another.  Going into the race with a week of sub-par runs under my belt made me a little anxious.  Horsecow actually registered for the race under the pseudonym "Horsecow Owns-Ragan."  There was more than pride riding on this one.  Having that fucker's name like that ahead of mine in the results for all the internet to see was too much of an embarrassment to consider.  I had to do my best.


Starting Line.  Horsecow is in the speedo.  Photo by Cassandra Driver.


Great shot of folks starting the climb.  Photo by Cassandra Driver.

Great cheering crew with awesome and accurate shirts.  Photo by Wendy Perkins.

There is something about this race that just slays me.  I focused for a month on climbing and, as usual, once we started the first climb up from the start, I already felt like I was in oxygen debt.  It's hard to find a groove when your only task is to run over 2000ft in 5.2 miles.  From the start, I let Horsecow go.  I can't race the first 20 minutes of this race.  I simply have to try to get comfortable enough to not convince myself to drop the hell out.


Cool shot.  Photo by Wendy Perkins.

Horsecow initially gapped me by about 50 meters or so, and that gap grew little-by-little until the aid station about halfway up the mountain.  At that point, I woke up a little and started to reel the bastard back in.  I would never get closer than maybe 30 seconds, however, because once we started the last push to the observatory, I fell apart.  My wheels came off.  

In an attempt to not waste too much time at the top munching on pretzels and losing time to those who had already begun the decent, I packed a gel in my pocket and decided to down it right before the top so I could just grab a quick drink and head down.  In my effort to remove it from my shorts, I dropped it.  The last 150-200 meters of the climb are the steepest, and it's easy to say, "screw it" and walk.  I was running, and when I dropped the gel, I came to a complete stop to pick it up.  Holy hell was it difficult to convince myself to get going again.

Horsecow (4th to the top) beat me (6th to the top) to the top by 1:06 (45:21 to 46:27), and, as in years past, I stopped to catch my breath and down a drink.  With that kind of time gap, I cursed at myself and thought, "I can't catch him on the descent."  And I started down.

I didn't entirely give up, however, because first, I still had another runner, Justin, ahead of me. So I started barreling down the mountain.  I caught Justin about halfway between the top and the aid station.  As I passed I told him to go with me after the Horsecow, but he didn't hang (I would put over three minutes on him by the finish).  Horsecow had a sizable lead, and even with the few glances of him I got around turns, I didn't think I could do it.

Until I came off the last big uphill about a mile out from the finish.  There is a clear view of the flat below and I finally got an idea of how close I had gotten.  He was hurting, and I had made up a good chunk of time on him.  So, me being my idiot self, pressed as hard as I could.

Ugh.  Photo by Cassandra Driver.

5th is the 4th loser.  Photo by Wendy Perkins.

Unfortunately, it was to no avail.  I didn't have enough real estate to finish the job.  Horsecow Owns-Ragan finished in 1:14:34 to my 1:14:56.  I got to within 22 seconds of him by the end (a 28:29 descent to his 29:13).  


She made me a sweet warm-up shirt.  Photo by Cassandra Driver.

I wish I knew why I cannot climb this mountain in faster than 46 minutes.  And while my time was a PR for the course, it was a PR by a measly 17 seconds.  Like I said, I was actually pretty disappointed in this one.  I thought I was a little more ready than that.

It was an historic day at Jelm, with 3 out of 4 course records falling.  The big boy, Greg Schabron's CR from 2002, finally went down.  And thankfully, it went down to a newly-minted Hungry Dog, Nik Deininger, who took it from 1:10:59 to 1:10:30.  That record has been assaulted unsuccessfully the last couple of years.  Jenn Malmberg lowered her own women's CR by over four minutes (!) to 1:24:42.  And Michelle Barlow set a new female master's CR with a super stout 1:26:16.  She beat the male masters winner (our own Jefe French!) by almost two-minutes.  It's okay, Jefe.

This race is getting more and more competitive by the year.  I won in 2008 with a 1:15:13.  We put five under that time this year.

One last note:  Two of the "Big 3" Laramie trail races have CRs owned by Hungry Dogs.  Jason still has the Silent Trails CR from 2006, and now Nik has the Jelm CR.  Someone needs to show up at Pilot Hill next year and beat freaking Nick Clark!

Last week was a bust.  After Jelm, it took until Wednesday for me to feel not sore enough to attempt a run.  I made it four miles.  My calves continued to ball up.  I didn't run again until Saturday morning when Jason and I did a very relaxed Silent Trails loop.  He messed up his back pretty bad in a fall a couple of weeks ago.  He and I, we are getting old.  A little less Hungry Dog, a little more tired and sore dog.  I finished the week off with a quick run on Double Black Diamond Sunday that included a tangent up some rocks because BOULDERING!

September: 178 (22:53)
Year to Date: 1286 (151:06)

Gear: Saucony Peregrine 2 (312 miles), Asics SpeedStar 6 (31 miles)

Monday, September 17, 2012

Week Ending Sept. 16

This was the best week of training I've had possibly all year.  Everything went exactly as I had planned and hoped.  It doesn't hurt that I've been pretty inspired recently.  It's September.  It's cross country season.  It's the leaves changing and the crisp autumn air...there is no better time to run.  When I'm checked-in and inspired, this is almost too easy.  When I'm out enjoying it and having fun, it isn't difficult.  And even the difficult stuff is great.  Why not thrash myself a little?  Embrace and enjoy that pain and fatigue.  It's life affirming.

I'm going to back off a tad this week going into Jelm so I can hopefully have moderately fresh legs for the race.  After that, the plan is another two-week build-up before another easier week heading into Silent Trails.  I'd like to find a race at the end of October/early November.  I'll be out in Portland at the end of October and that weekend there is the Autumn Leaves 50/50.  It would be cool to travel to a race, and this particular one is at sea level on a very fast course.  However, it's the course that bothers me a bit.  It just seems...boring.  Five 10K laps on paved bike paths seems uninspiring to me.  That said, it would be interesting to hop in a 50K like that and see how fast I could do it.  

One more good, longer race before winter settles in would be nice.  I'll have to look around.

Mon. Sept. 10 - 6 miles in :42.  Fenceline loop in the prairie after work.  Easy recovery run.

Tues. Sept. 11 - 11.5 miles in 1:13.  Track workout.  Warm-up from home to the UW track.  Some active stretching with 4x100m build-ups.  The program was 1M, 2x(3x800m), 1M.  I took 4 min rest between the 1M and the first set of 800s, took 30 seconds rest between the 800 reps, and 4 minutes between the two sets of 800s as well as between the 800s and the final mile.  On those rests I jogged a 400.  This workout felt really good.  Splits were: 5:46, 2:48, 2:46, 2:44, 2:41, 2:40, 2:40, 5:40.  Cool down run home.  Again, everything was smooth and controlled.  After all these years, I am finally starting to figure out that there is a difference between running fast and running hard.  You want to run fast.  Running hard will usually get you hurt, burned-out, or both.

Wed. Sept. 12 - 7 miles in :50.  I had a dentist appointment early in the morning in Cheyenne, so I spent the night over there and got up early to run. A cold front with lots of rain rolled in the previous afternoon and was thoroughly socked-in when I rolled out for this one.  It was chilly and I was soaked by the end, but an easy loop around the two parks (Lions and Frontier) in the rain was actually kind of refreshing.  I've always liked running in the rain.  I'm sure if I lived somewhere that it rained more often, I wouldn't be quite as cheery about it.

Thurs. Sept. 13 - 10 miles in 1:19.  I parked at the Yellow Pine campground trail head and ran down Pole Creek to La Puta.  Then I did 2x the climb.  I hit the first ascent in 12:50 and the second one in 12:30.  The 12:30 is the fastest I've climbed in...years.  I feel like I'm getting some climbing legs back under me.

Fri. Sept. 14 - 6.5 miles in :45.  Met Jefe at the UW track for a quick form workout.  2x form drills with 4x200m strides with 200m jogs between.  Efficient 39 seconds per on the strides.  Then I ran home.  Easy.

Sat. Sept. 15 - 15 miles in 1:55.  Jefe and I met at Blair Picnic Area for a Trudge loop.  We started late morning (~11am) as it was getting a little warm out.  I felt really good on the Trudge loop, hammered all the climbs, and came back to Blair in 1:21 to drop off Jefe and refill my water bottle.  Then I went out Cow Trail for about 20 minutes before turning around and coming back.  It feels good to get in a productive long run.

Sun. Sept. 16 - 8 miles in 1:54.  I have to run on the anniversary of the accident, so Elizabeth and I went up to the Snowys and I ran Medicine Bow Peak.  I started at Lewis Lake, then ran the Lakes Trail to Lake Marie, then climbed up the peak from there.  Then I ran down back to Lewis Lake.  


Snowy Range, Mid-September.



I last did this June 10, and was cautious at the time because I had just started running again after my hip injury.  That day, the run took me 2:30, so to come back at the end of the summer and take 36 minutes off my time is pretty good.  I'll take it.

I decided that I was going to let go of the sadness and anger more and focus on what's here and now.  Whatever the reason that may eventually reveal itself to be, I am still here and should be enjoying this life I have.  It's the only one I'll get, so I better take advantage of it.  And what better way to remember and honor those guys and their lives than by living mine better.  Go run, be happy, get shit done, and love those around me.  It's been a year of philosophical shifts for me, and this is a major part.

Totals
Miles: 64 (8:38)
Year to Date: 1224 (143:27)

Gear: Asics Sky Speed (432 miles), Saucony Peregrine 2 (276 miles), Asics SpeedStar 6 (14 miles)

Monday, September 10, 2012

Week Ending Sept. 9

No big adventures this week.  Just some consistent training.  I can't predict what will happen next weekend on Jelm, but I believe that I will be heading into that race in the best shape I've been in since I won it back in 2008.

Summary of the week:

Tues. Sept. 4 - 6 miles in :44.  Tuesday Night Trails.  Sandra and I were the only ones who showed up and considering our respective running paces are different, I ran by myself.  I had plans to go eight or nine miles, but once I had gone out Headquarters, Summit, and down Super Secret, I decided I wasn't feeling ambitious enough to add Pole Creek to the loop and instead opted for the climb up Haunted Forest and back to the car.  Meh.

Wed. Sept. 5 - 10 miles in 1:05.  Tempo run workout on the Greenbelt early in the morning.  So early, in fact, I was out just as the sun was coming up, and the first ten or fifteen minutes of the run were cold!  Fall is here.  I did a three-mile warm-up around the southern loop, then hit a four-mile tempo in 24:03, then the southern loop again for a cool down.  I was very pleased with this one.  The 5:50-6:00/mile pace is pretty comfortable right now.  I'm not sure where the individual mile markers are on this route, but it's an out and back, so I do know what my two-mile splits were.  First two in 12:12 and second two in 11:51.  Negative splits are ALWAYS a good thing.

Thurs. Sept. 6 - 9 miles in 1:09.  Pole Creek/La Puta/Summit loop.  I felt pretty decent going down Pole Creek and climbing The Bitch, but once over the hump, the run back into Tie City was blah.  Tired and a little checked-out.  I felt like I climbed well in 13:03, which, while a little faster than two weeks ago, wasn't as fast as I felt I was running.  I thought I was sub-13 for sure.  Oh well.

Fri. Sept. 7 - 4 miles in 28:33.  Easy post-work run on the Greenbelt.  I flirted with taking the day off, but figured a few miles couldn't hurt.  Did a thorough core workout after.

Sat. Sept. 8 - 10.5 miles in 1:28.  Jelm Mountain Recon.  I try to get up Jelm at least once before the race every year, and this was the first time I could fit it into my schedule.  This is always hard to get focused on because mentally I know what it feels like.  I know that it's going to suck for around 45-minutes.  I started off feeling okay, but by the second climb, a little over a mile in, I was sluggish.  I plugged away until just past where the middle aid station is and perked up a little.  I had about one good mile in there before I tanked again.  I got to the top in :50 not feeling great or very confident with that effort.  I downed a gel and started back down.  In order to avoid destroying my legs, I went down conservatively in :38 (I've descended in :28 on race day before).  My pre-race run up Jelm last year was done in :52 and :37.  Not much different.

I'm going to chalk it up to being a little tired with from this current training cycle.  Also, the reason I like to get up the mountain before race day is because I believe, as Jim Sanchez would say, "You've gotta wake the body up!"  It's difficult to truly train to climb over 2K feet in five miles, so sometimes I just have to shock the body a little, and, since I've experienced it before, hopefully a little muscle memory will take over.  I also approach this run differently on race day.  It's easier to do it when I'm pumped up and focused on racing.  It's a little hard to wrap my mind around it when I'm out there by myself.

Sun. Sept. 9 - 12.5 miles in 1:40.  Long run on the Gowdy trails with Chris Schabron.  I picked Chris up in Cheyenne and we enjoyed a beautiful morning on some great trails.  We hit up Stone Temple, Crow Creek, Mo' Rocka, Foxtail, Skin & Bones, Hidden Falls, Albert's Alley, El Alto, Igneoramus, and Rock N' Roller.  Did some scrambling in a couple of the play areas and Hidden Falls, and enjoyed the view from the Scenic Overlook off El Alto.  As I said, it was a gorgeous morning out there.  There is no better running to be had than on early fall days on Wyoming trails.

Totals
Miles: 52 (6:35)
Year to Date: 1160 (134:49)

Gear: Asics Sky Speed (420 miles), Saucony Peregrine 2 (237 miles)

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Weeks Ending Aug. 26 and Sept. 2 - Mumford & Sons, Antelope Dash, and a Wedding

Another busy couple of weeks.  I now have a couple of weeks of down time.  I have work and running.  That's really it.  Elizabeth will be out of town this weekend, so I think the best use of my time will be to head up to the mountains, sleep in the back of my pick-up, and run some trail miles.  I plan to get up Jelm for the first time as well.  Yes, I still haven't done that.

Training-wise, the past couple weeks have been pretty decent.  Been running 40+ mpw comfortably.  I did slack this past weekend when I was back in Iowa for my cousin Abby's wedding, but I spent two days in the car, Iowa was freaking hot and muggy (I don't run well in temps over 85, but humidity absolutely slays me), I was pretty time-crunched, and there really are no places to run back there.  Granted I haven't spent much effort in looking.

Three weeks until Jelm.  My plan is to run as much comfortably as I can, get up Jelm a couple times before the race, do one tempo or track workout a week to help with the middle miles, and get those long runs in once a week.  I don't know what Horsecow has been up to, but regardless of our battle royale, I believe he and I will be racing for places.  Sam Malmberg is looking awfully damn fit this summer.  

Mon. Aug. 20 - 4 miles in :28.  Shake-out run after work on the Greenbelt.

Tues. Aug. 21 - 7 miles in :47.  Two-mile warm-up, three-mile tempo in 17:33 (5:53, 5:52, 5:50), two-mile cool down on the Greenbelt at lunch.  I was very happy with how good this felt.

Tuesday was also Mumford & Sons night in Laramie.  Yes, that Mumford & Sons, on their brief US tour, played at the Gryphon Theatre in Laramie.  They had two sold-out shows at Red Rocks the following week, yet came to Laramie and played to 900 folks in a refurbished high school auditorium.  And for the sake of brevity, it was amazing.  One of the best shows I have ever seen.





Wed. Aug. 22 - 9 miles in 1:07.  Elizabeth and I went to the trails after work. She hiked and ran while I ran La Puta.  Made the climb in 13:11, which I was pleased to see because my legs felt junky after the previous day's tempo run and two hours worth of standing at the Mumford & Sons show.

Thurs. Aug. 23 - 4 miles in :30.  Easy day.  Pretty tired.

Sat. Aug. 25 - 9 miles in 1:06.  Antelope Dash 8M.  I got up to Curt Gowdy with time to hook-up with Mr. Schabron for a quick mile warm-up.  We took a wrong turn right at the start, which was something that plagued the races this year.  The course was marked, just not very well and in a somewhat confusing and not blatantly obvious way.  That aside, I took the lead from the start and lead Nik and a new kid named Neil on the first couple of miles around Stone Temple Circuit and Crow Creek.  Once on Mo' Rocka, the undulating terrain started to make me keenly aware that I had started too fast.  I red-lined around halfway and let Neil and Nik around me.  


8M start.  A few seconds before our first wrong turn.  Photo by Randy Craft.

Schabby and The Kid take it out!  Photo by Randy Craft.

At that point, Schabby, who was wise and started more conservatively, caught me and passed me.  I spent a couple miles hanging on by a thread, staying within 20 or 30 meters of him, but was pretty convinced Schabby was going to get me on this day.  However, with about a mile to go, we went up one last uphill section and Schab faded.  I got a little second wind and overtook him to finish in third in 56:30.  Schab was next in 56:43.


Powering off Igneoramus.  Photo by Wendy Perkins.

Enjoying our Saturday morning.  Photo by Wendy Perkins.

3rd.  Photo by Wendy Perkins.

Sun. Aug 26 - 11 miles in 1:28.  Patrick and I got up early for a Trudge Loop (or two, in his case).  It was an absolutely beautiful morning on the loop, filled with lots of wildlife.  We saw two bull elk, deer, hawks, vultures, turkeys, a cow and calf moose, and a couple of college coeds passed-out in sleeping bags on the Twin Mountain trail.  I hurdled one of them.  She didn't even wake up.  My knees were a little trashed from the race the day before, so I bid Patrick adieu to run the second loop by his lonesome.

Mon. Aug. 27 - 12 miles in 1:14.  Track workout.  My house to the UW track makes for a three-mile warm-up.  Quick active stretching then 4x100 build-ups.  The program was 2x(1600, 1200, 1000) with 4 min rest between reps (I jogged a 400 during those rests) and 5 min between sets.  I hit set one in 5:39, 4:06, 3:16 and set two in 5:36, 4:00, 3:13.  Three-mile cool down back home.  I was extremely pleased with this workout.  It felt fluid; I didn't feel like I struggled at any point.  It also marks the first time on the track for me since April.

Tues. Aug. 28 - A.M. - 3 miles in :21 with core workout.

P.M.- 6.5 miles in :49.  Tuesday Night Trails.  Jefe and I ran a relaxed Headquarters-Browns-Summit loop.  Saw a coyote.  Nice little evening.

Wed. Aug. 29 - 11 miles in 1:27.  Big Headquarters-Pole Creek loop.  I was pretty tired and sluggish on this one.  Feeling the previous week.

Thurs. Aug. 30 - 8 miles in :55.  Lunch run in the prairie.  Did the powerline climb.  I felt very good considering how tired I was the day before.

I front-loaded this week since I was heading out to Iowa and knew that I would get no running done.  I never do when I go out there.  I should have forced myself to do something, but I didn't.  I am a slacker.  But hey, here's a photo of the Driver clan:


It's pretty much the whole fam-damily.  Minus my sister.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Past Few Weeks-Snowy Range Run, Pikes Peak Ascent, Murder By Death

Things have not slowed down since returning from Rainier.  In fact, I am finding that I may have overbooked myself a little.  I'm getting pretty tired and haven't spent a lot of time at home.  Oh well, now is the time to get these adventures in before winter comes.  I'll have plenty of time at home then.

That has also left little time for this whole blog updating thing.  I'm here now to rectify that.  So, where shall we begin?

For starters, I've been getting focused on running again.  Horsecow and I have a rumble scheduled on the road up and down Jelm Mountain next month.  Barring any catastrophe over the next month, he and I, after a year of smack talk, chest beating, boasting, injuries, and scheduling conflicts, will finally toe the line at the same race.  It's a winner-take-all affair, with all the attendant bragging rights.  We shall finally see what is tougher, a horsecow or a HUNGRY DOG!

A short recap of the Wyoming Komen Race for the Cure: This year was the 10th anniversary of Team Green, and the sisters set out to raise $10,000.  The goal was more than accomplished, with them raising over $12k by race day.  Great job!

Now, this was my first 5K since April, when I hurt my hip.  I have done exactly zero speed work since.  So, I had no great expectations going in.  My only goals were to break 17 and beat Jerry Reif, an elder Hungry Dog who, in his mid-forties, is still a kick-ass runner.  I haven't beaten Jerry in a race in many years.  So, my thinking was, if I can beat Jerry, I'm having a pretty good day.

The race started and I decided to just get out quickly, find a groove, and go.  I hit the first mile in 5:13, which may have been a little fast.  The second mile was a more controlled 5:26, and I came home with a 5:30-ish mile to finish in 16:48.  That was good enough for third place, and was also good enough to beat Jerry, who finished fourth in 17:06.  I'll take it.

The next day, we had an HPH group run around Browns Peak in the Snowy Range.  12 miles on a perfect morning with good folks on a wonderful trail around 11k feet.  Follow that with breakfast burritos, pie, and a couple PBRs at the Bear Tree and you've got yourself a recipe for an awesome day.

Sugarloaf and Medicine Bow Peak behind me.

Snowy Range.

HPH crew ready to go!

After some light running early last week, Elizabeth and I went to Denver to see Murder By Death at the Bluebird.  This was MBD show seven for me, and I swear they get better every time.  They had 4 on the Floor and Ha Ha Tonka opening, and both bands were superb.

Friday, we drove down to Colorado Springs to hang out with Horsecow and grab my stuff for the Pikes Peak Ascent in Manitou Springs.  We got up early Saturday morning to get to the start line.  We met up with Mr. Delaney, who looked very fit and ready to go.

The Ascent is one of the hardest things I've done.  I wouldn't say it was as difficult as Rainier, at least from a psychological standpoint, but it was still pretty brutal.  The first couple of miles out of Manitou and up toward the Barr Trail and the W's was the hardest part for me.  I forced myself to walk some of the switchbacks because I just wasn't feeling sharp.  It was discouraging to feel that way that early and know that things were going to suck for another couple of hours.  


First mile coming out of Manitou.  Not comfortable.  Photo: Colorado Springs Gazette.

However, about halfway through, the course levels out for a couple of miles at around 10k feet going into Barr Camp.  I was able to open up a little and get loose on that section, which got me plugged back into the race mentally.  I actually came to enjoy some of it, and race photos show me with a smile on my face.  For some reason, I run really well between 9k and 11,500 feet.  Above and below, I am mediocre at best.

The "Top Three" above treeline gets to be a march.  Above 12k, it's hard to do much running, especially over some sections of boulders the last couple of miles.  The last bit is a little steep as well, so I hiked most of the last three miles.  I finished in 108th in 3:16, a time I'll take since I didn't train for it.  I also wasn't completely wrecked from it, either.  I was pleasantly surprised with how good I felt after.

Getting close to the top.  Photo: Colorado Springs Gazette.


Jason powers home for the W.  Photo: Colorado Springs Gazette.

After the race, I drove up to Golden to hang out with the Champ (Jason won the Ascent in 2:13) and his family before heading back to Laramie Sunday.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Mt. Rainier Expedition



Elizabeth first approached me with the idea of a trip to summit Rainier back in March of this year.  Her father, Mark, was planning to lead a couple friends up and suggested she bring herself and a friend to join the group.  I'm thankful she decided I should be that friend.  She said, "Rainier should be on everyone's bucket list."  I agreed, but I was a little apprehensive considering I've never done the full-on, roped-up, ice axe and crampons mountaineering thing.  I was a little concerned I was getting into something that was over my head.  She continually told me that given my fitness level from running, I should have no problem climbing Rainier.

However, I then proceeded to tear up my hip flexor at the Horsetooth Half-Marathon at the end of April, and spent the next month cross-training while being unable to do much uphill work.  At the time, hiking, more than anything, really aggravated my hip, so through May and into June, I did next to no hiking or climbing.  I would have really liked to get more mountain work in, especially getting a couple of Colorado's 14ers under my belt, but that didn't happen.  I was going into it hoping my general fitness would be enough.  

Rainier is nothing if not impressive.  Just in its scope and prominence, it is a unique and formidable presence.  With a summit of 4,392m and a prominence of just over 4,000m, this stratovolcano stands alone as the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States.  While Colorado boasts over 50 peaks at or over 14,000 feet, none of them compare to Rainier.  It is simply a different kind of animal.  An awe-inspiring rise from sea-level that dominates the view on a clear day.  It seems as though it goes up forever.

As July 21 drew near, my excitement grew.  More than anything, I was looking forward to getting back up to the Pacific Northwest.  I've been once in my life; a two-week road trip with my buddies Brian and Chris that was my college graduation present from my parents six years ago.  On that trip, we left Seattle for a day on Rainier's northwest flank, hiking around Carbon Glacier.  It was nice and overcast that day, so we never did see the peak.  Therefore, I had no real idea what the damn thing looked like.  That would change.

Elizabeth and I hopped in the Bonneville and traveled north and stayed with her friends Erin and Rob in Helena, MT.  We got there around dinner time, so we grabbed a couple of pints and some burritos before heading to the Symphony Under the Stars at Carroll College.  The whole town comes out, sits on the grass, enjoys adult beverages, and watches and listens to the Helena Symphony Orchestra do their thing until about 10pm.  Then they unleashed some pretty impressive fireworks, which, since southeast Wyoming has been under a fire ban for most of the summer, were the first fireworks we've enjoyed this summer.


Symphony Under the Stars.  Helena, MT.
Erin bought us these awesome trucker hats!  Thanks!

The next day (Sunday), we drove from Helena to Rainier.  With Van Morrison blasting and Elizabeth hopped-up on energy drinks, we entered the park via the Stevens Canyon entrance and made our way to Cougar Rock campground to meet Elizabeth's family.  We set up camp, had some dinner (and pie!) and went to bed drained from two long days in the car.


Camp at Cougar Rock.

We spent the next day (Monday) bumming around a bit.  We slept in, went up to Paradise and checked out the visitor center, went down to Ashford to rent boots and crampons, had a burger and a Rainier Beer (yup!), and then hung out a little more.  It was a cool and overcast day, which had me a little concerned about maybe getting a view of the mountain.  The weather would cooperate in the coming days.

On Tuesday, Mark, Lisa, and I got up early (4am) to get up to Paradise for some "mountaineering school."  Mark spent the morning teaching me the basics.  The fun part was throwing myself down a slope and learning how to self-arrest, which is something I got a crash course in last summer in the Wind River Mountains.  It was nice to learn how to correctly do it with the proper equipment (instead of improvising on technique with a broken ski pole).


Mount Rainier.  
I love the clouds in the valley.
Tatoosh Range.

We slept in again Wednesday, wanting to squeeze in all the sleep we could since our plan was to begin the ascent to the top in the middle of the night.  We packed up and got to Paradise (5,400 ft.) around noon.  From there, we hiked the Muir Snowfield.  The sky was clear and the sun was bright; the reflective snow and the 40 pounds on my back made it a very toasty climb.  I arrived at Camp Muir (10,188 ft.) around five that evening.  We set up a tent, melted snow to fill our water bottles for the climb, ate dinner, and tried to get a couple of hours of sleep.  Given the warm temperatures that day, Mark decided we should get going as early as possible.  Therefore, Elizabeth and I rolled out of the tent at 10:30pm to get ready to go.


Our route.

Elizabeth is excited to go!

Elizabeth and Mark getting ready in the Paradise parking lot.

Working up to Pebble Creek.  What a mountain!

Crevasses.

Tatoosh Range behind me.

Not that steep, eh?

A lot of folks on the Muir Snowfield.

Camp Muir.

View from our tent at Camp Muir.  Mt. Adams on on the far horizon.

We met up with Mark's friend Carl, who hiked up to Muir after work to meet us for the climb.  At midnight (Thursday), now with our fourth member, we roped up and began to trek around the Beehive, working our way up and over Cathedral Rocks.  From there, we trekked across Ingraham Glacier toward Disappointment Cleaver.  About an hour in, around 1am, we encountered a crevasse in the trail.  It was five or six feet wide, so Mark simply jumped over it.  Elizabeth, next in line on the rope, tried to do the same, but ended up not quite making it.  She got stuck straddling the hole, unable to push forward or back.  She called up to her dad, "Hey, I tried to jump it and I'm stuck."  Mark swung around and yelled, "You did WHAT?!"  He grabbed the slack out of the rope and yanked Elizabeth out of her stuck position.

I was third in line on the rope, and when I walked up and looked at the crevasse, I cursed to myself.  "No.  Fucking.  Way."  I tilted my headlamp downward in an attempt to gauge the depth of the hole.  That was futile; who knows how deep that thing was.  I shook my head, took a couple of fast, deep breaths, and counted, "three, two, one!" and jumped.  I barely made it, landing on my right knee on the other side.  I jumped with my axe out in an attempt to gain some purchase on the other side.  Thankfully, I made it.  Carl followed me and simply jumped.  I swear, the man was whistling while he did it.  No big deal.

After the crevasse was the worst part of the climb: Disappointment Cleaver.  I would spend the next two-and-a-half hours on edge, outside my comfort zone, again cursing to myself about being stupid and agreeing to this trip.  Normally, the Cleaver is an igneous rock ridge protruding between Ingraham and Emmons glaciers.  In normal snow years, the Cleaver is something one can simply (or as simply as possible) go up and over and be done with.  However, this past winter, Rainier received around 200 more inches of snow than normal.  This meant that even at the end of July, the Cleaver had snow on it.  This caused a route change that sucked.  Period.

We spent two hours switch-backing on the Cleaver.  We avoided the sections of snow, but had to negotiate crumbly, dusty volcanic rock with crampons.  The rope also continually got caught on rocks, making proper belaying almost impossible on this section.  We stopped for a short rest about half-way up the Cleaver, around 12,000 feet.  Things got pretty crappy from there.

Elizabeth has summited Rainier twice, and both times she had altitude sickness.  It's something that has always affected her.  She was excited this year because having lived at altitude for a year (Laramie is 7200 feet), and having been up in the 11-12,000 foot range with little to no issue on hikes this summer, she was hoping that perhaps she would not have much problem on Rainier this time.  However, the exact opposite began to happen.  When we stopped on the Cleaver, she started to get very sick.  She threw-up quite a bit.  It was very cold, windy, and dark, and she was not having a good time.  Shaking, she got back up and we continued, but her sickness was just beginning.

About an hour later, we finally got off the Cleaver.  I turned around and gave it a middle finger goodbye and looked forward to the next task: a very steep, switch-backing traverse up the snow to the crater on top.  We slogged on for what felt like a small forever, taking a few steps, stopping, taking a few more steps, stopping.  Every once in awhile, I could hear poor Elizabeth get sick.  I felt bad for her.  What a shitty feeling, especially on the side of a mountain.

I started to fall apart myself.  I was getting more and more tired with every switchback, my ankles screaming at me through the plastic boots, unhappy with being asked to work at such an angle for so long.  I was entering a pissed-off-inside-my-own-head phase that I'm very familiar with.  It happens on long runs or during races when I'm tired and just want it to be over.  I got intimately familiar with it during our Wind River crossing last summer.  I don't like that place, but it's unavoidable.  All you can do is try to ignore it and keep pushing on.  All things end, one way or another, so don't worry.  It'll come.

The sun began to rise around 5am, and the view of it from 13,000 feet on the side of Rainier is something else.  I've never seen a sunrise like that before.  It almost felt like we were in orbit around the earth, with the blue outline below us, the cold dark of space around us.  It was simply breathtaking.  I had to stop and just look for a second.  That image and feeling are ingrained in my mind.

A couple of hours later, Elizabeth had enough.  We stopped for a rest about 600 feet from the summit at around 7am.  I was whooped, but I knew that I could will myself to the top.  My concern was coming down.  Given my fatigue, the sun warming the snow, and the steepness of the grade, I was worried about slipping and falling on the way down.  Another hour or so to the top, some pictures and a rest was going to put us in a potentially bad situation.  However, I wouldn't have to worry about it because Elizabeth made our decision for us.  After hours of being sick, unable to keep down any water or calories, she was exhausted and miserable.  I looked at her and asked if she needed to head down and she said, "No, we have to get you to the top."  I told her that was the least of our concerns.  If she felt as bad as she looked then we needed to head down.  Mark asked her how she was.  "Dad, I'm so sick."  "Well, that's it, let's lose some altitude," Mark said and got us up to start down.  I don't regret it, in fact, I was relieved she made the call.  I was secretly wanting to turn around as well.  Taking care of people is the number one most important thing to do.  It was the absolute right call.  


View from 13,800ft.  Again, Mt. Adams in on the horizon.

Wow.

Little Tahoma is the point in the middle.

We started down, making decent progress until we were reacquainted with Disappointment Cleaver.  Same issues going down as going up, but at least this time it was light out and I could actually see what was going on topographically.  Another surprise was the glaciers, which we of course couldn't see in the dark.  Glaciers are amazing things, simultaneously gorgeous and foreboding.  The scope and size of their many crevasses strike awe and fear into you, and I gained a deep and humble respect for the mountain right there.  Do not ever underestimate it or assume you know it.  Arrogance is a very quick and easy way to end up injured or dead.   


Emmons Glacier from the top of Disappointment Cleaver.

Emmons Glacier.

Coming off the Cleaver, we were re-routed around a rock fall and the crevasse we had jumped over earlier that morning.  What was a five or six foot gap had opened to twice that in the matter of a few hours.  The rock fall also happened between us going up and coming down.  Mark gathered us together and told us to move as quickly as we could to get the hell off that section.  We did, moving quickly to get back to Ingraham flats and over Cathedral Rocks.  We encountered another rock fall there between Cathedral Rocks and Camp Muir.  That put things in perspective.  Another hour on top very well could have been a serious problem.


Coming off the Cleaver.  The crevasse in the middle is the one we jumped at 1am.  I took this photo around 10am.

Cathedral Rocks.

Disappointment Cleaver.  As Elizabeth put it, "The Cleaver can go to hell."
Lenticular clouds forming over Gibraltar Rock.

What took us seven hours to get up took us 4.5 hours to get down.  Back at Camp Muir, Elizabeth and I crawled into the tent for a quick nap before packing up and heading down the snowfield back to Paradise.  I used the trip down to practice my boot skiing, which, other than actually skiing, is the most efficient and quickest way down.  Once again, the weather was clear and beautiful, but also warm down off the flats.  The last couple of miles sucked, being that tired, hungry, thirsty, hot, and having feet that want nothing more than to be out of the plastic boots.  I made it back to the car around 4pm.  Taking my boots off was my first order of business.

We threw all our gear in the car and went back down to Cougar Rock.  From there, Elizabeth and I drove to Chehalis to spend two nights and a day at her mom's place.  The shower I took there that night was one of the greatest showers I've ever had.  I followed that with one of the tastiest beers I've ever had.

All told, we ascended over 8,000 feet (and descended over 8,000 feet) in somewhere around 14 miles round-trip.  That is the difference between this mountain and 14ers in Colorado.  This one is up.  Straight up.

It was an unbelievable trip.  I had an absolutely wonderful time on the mountain.  It was well worth four days in the car (~3100 miles!).  Elizabeth's family was fantastic, very generous and welcoming.  I really, truly appreciate that.  I am looking forward to doing it again.  Which leads me to the next adventure idea I'm planning for next summer: The Wonderland Trail.

93 miles.  23,000 feet of elevation change.  I think we break it up into three days.  Run ~50K each day, have a crew of two or three that meet us at pre-planned points within the park, set up camp, eat, sleep, and go again.  I think it would be incredible.