PAPAOF3

WS100 2011, the Play-by-Play

2011-07-08T21:27:00.014-05:00

So this version of my 2011 WS100 race report will be more of a play-by-play, blow-by-blow, mile-my-mile account that captures my experiences, thoughts, commentary, etc. I’ve got another report outlined where I hope to capture my analysis of the race, lessons learned, etc. Bottom line result is that I finished 92d place in 23hr, 09min, 37sec, earning me the famous sterling silver WS belt buckle.

For those that might happen to read this, suffice it to say to Western States has dominated my little running career for the past decade; it was a huge, personal, emotional event for me. Saw my first WS on local KCRA-TV (Sacramento, CA) when I was 14 yrs old. Saw that silver buckle, and for whatever strange, deluded reason, it stuck in my head that I was going to do "that" someday. Then around 1998, after nailing the sub-3hr marathon at Rocket City (1995) and going to Boston (100^th Running in 1996), I started thinking about WS again, and got to planning my first ultra (Pine Mtn, GA). It took until 2002 to actually get to Western the first time. I had a huge meltdown just before the river, and I limped to a 29 hour finish; it was a humbling experience. I knew I would be back to have another go. By then my first child was 18mos old and Kirsten pregnant with our second; I transitioned from active duty to civilian world, and finally got settled down some. In 2006 I started tackling more ultras and building experience and long-term base when I moved to Huntsville. Tried my hand at the Arkansas Traveller in 2007, suffered a DNF at 68 miles. Went to the Pinhoti 100 in my backyard and did well (27:20) but not great. Then went back Arkansas and had my breakthrough (21:45). I knew I was ready to try WS again. Directly or indirectly, I recognize for the past 10 years that every running step, every rep in the weight room, every excruciating session on the massage table, every WOD with my CrossFit brothers and sisters, all of it has been pointed at this 24-hour space of time. So not to spin the tale too much, but 25 years after I saw that belt buckle, having that longing fester in the back of my head for so long, it is done. It is my swan song. I slew the beast. I may well go to other 100s and other ultras just because the locations sound fun (Colorado, Hawaii, Florida, Maryland, and more), but I am done "racing" them, that I do recognize down in the gut.

My crew for this year (and past two 100s) is the most excellent Allan Besselink of the SmartLife Institute. Based out of Austin, TX, I first met Allan a decade ago after moving to San Antonio and beginning the build-up for my first 100 (WS). Allan is a superb physical therapist (he might call it physiotherapist), USATF- and USAT-certified coach, and an Ironman-Lake Placid finisher himself. Most importantly, a great friend that I trust absolutely with my well-being during these crazy races.

Allan and I flew into Sacramento on Wednesday for the race, staying with my Dad near my hometown of Marysville, CA. We had planned to make the informal clinic at Squaw Valley that afternoon, but wisely opted to skip it in order to have some downtime at my Dad’s place. Good opportunity to mix up all my race fuel (Hammer Nutrition’s Perpetuem), take a short run at nearby Hammon Grove Park on the Yuba River (100deg temps, last-minute heat training), and get a relaxing meal.

On Thursday we headed up to Squaw Valley, then took the tram ride to High Camp (8200’) to watch the flag-raising ceremony near Emigrant Pass. Not quite able to make the monument due to snow, we nonetheless were treated to a great little ceremony up there from Toni Rossmann and Mo Livermore, two the race’s founders. Allan captures the essence of the ceremony much better over on his site. The afternoon held clinics for foot care, crewing instructions, briefings on ultrarunning medical research, and WS veterans panel in the evening (not to mention a lunch break in the Olympic Village, a cool place to explore on its own).

Friday morning was race check-in, and gathering of the monumental amount of WS race swag! Backpack, very nice jackets, book bag from Udo’s Oil, race tech shirt, and Moeben tossed in arm sleeves, calf sleeves and a neck gaiter, all with the WS logo screened. Great haul! Of course, we bought more stuff in the WS gift store (it all goes to a non-profit, right?) Had some lunch then took in the pre-race briefing in the afternoon. Once back in the hotel in Truckee, I forced myself to stop last-minute preps around 7:30pm, turning on the TV and vegging on a movie until going to sleep around 9pm.

Race morning we woke 0315, left hotel 0400, and were at Squaw 0420. Got race # (bib), went to bathroom, drank some Perpetuem, then headed outside. Good gracious was I nervous at the starting line. Had enough wits about me to turn around, thank Allan profusely, then walk into the crowded starting area. This is it! 9 years I waited to get another chance. How would it go in the next 12+ hours of daylight? What unknown variables would play “Murphy” today? How would all the training work today? So many thoughts in my head, had to clear them out and just focus on the countdown to the start, calm myself just a bit. BANG! Gun goes off and we are away!

The High Country, the Snow, and the Near-Panic
The old joke is that we sprint like mad for 50m then start walking. That is a lie. We actually make it about 200m before the long climb up towards Squaw Peak begins and the long power-hiking strides from most runners kicks in. So grind away we go, climbing up, up, and up towards Squaw’s High Camp at 8200’ (vs. 6200’ at the start). I’ve got a bottle in each hand plus a third stowed on my back in the pouch of the Nathan racing vest I am wearing; one bottle has water, the other two are empty. I just concentrated on powerful yet relaxed power-hike and let the climb flow by.

The Escarpment aid station, normally located right at 8700’ before we head over the ridge, is actually below High Camp this time, just can’t get a vehicle any higher in the slick, icy snow. So got all three bottles filled up here, figured about 12-13mi to the next aid station on the far side at Talbot Campground. And so the runners started into the snow, while climbing for the Escarpment itself at 8700’ and about 4mi into the race. Managed to take a few seconds to turn around, face east and catch the sunrise and wonderful view back towards Lake Tahoe and the southern stretch of the High Sierras. Crested the ridge and dropped into a bowl on the back side of Squaw, thus beginning the long, cruel, snowy descent towards Talbot and French Meadows Reservoir.

The first 1/2mi of the descent is good single track with mercifully little snow, but that is short-lived as our challenge [adventure? ;-)] was about to begin in earnest. The course ran up onto the snow bank and we hung on for the ride! Not too bad at first; footing is fairly solid and no suncups yet to make ankles work. Following the yellow flagging on the trees and staked into the snow, the line of runners gingerly strided their way over the trail and it would down and around. At some places we would come across old, abandoned ski runs, so the course would stretch 200-300m across a diagonal snow face, covered with a thin coat of ice and still in the shadow of Squaw Peak behind us. There we had to be very careful, trying to move with purpose across the face but not go sliding off down the slope! We slipped, we fell, our water bottles in the hand often providing the cushion necessary to pop back up and keep rolling line drunken fools across the snow.

Needless to say, it was challenging to keep a purposeful pace on the course and actually stay on the course! As we got past 5-6mi mark, the runners started to spread out, sometimes in small packs but sometimes you were solo. The flagging could take sharp turns to the left or right, had to pay attention to them and your footing simultaneously. I got off-course once or twice, fortunately had other runners give me a shout and keep me in line; fortunately I was able to return the favor a few other times during the race. The “sun cups” (examples from the web here and here) started in earnest in the faces that caught sunlight, making footing almost funny. The big toe on my left foot is starting to hurt a bit, probably never quite healed properly from the fracture at the Ouachita 50M. Instead of just being mostly along for the ride, it has been flexing and gripping down in the shoes trying to help me get purchase the snow. In addition, I can feel some inflammation in the left hip flexor area (Psoas? pectineus? Sartorius? Who knows). And there are some hot spots forming around the heels of both feet. Good gracious!

Down around 8mi the snow depth started to decrease and get soft and slushy in places, causing running feet to sink down and get shoes and feet good and wet. Hard to describe the conditions, fortunately Gary Wang of realendurance.com was on doing duty as safety patrol this year, and shot some great video around 8-9mi mark and posted to YouTube, look for me about 7:00 mark of the first video. In addition, Gary posted a whole slew of photos on FaceBook (here and here).

Around 9mi mark we took a sharp left turn off the historic WS course and began this year’s snow-route down towards French Meadows Reservoir. The trail turned into an old 4WD jeep road as it switch-backed thru the snow down through the forest. The hard-packed snow is gone now, we are running through soft and/or slushy white stuff, sinking in 2-3-4” on each stride. But alas, by now I am experiencing a combination of small problems:

1. Hot spots forming on both feet, back towards the heels but not in places I had ever experienced blisters before, not with these or any shoes.

2. Some muscle in left hip flexor area is starting to sing

3. The left (formerly fractured) big toe is sore

4. Legs just generally deadened some early on (snow and altitude?)

All of it together is starting to get me concerned. It is too early to have all this happening!

Patches of mud start to appear, but we are watching footing and seeking solid snow to run on. Feet are soaked now, plus getting into muddy sections, but nearly out of the snow. The last insult was about a mile above Talbot A/S (~Mile 14) where we came to a rushing creek, the same one that eventually is the main feeder of French Meadows Reservoir. The a/s volunteers (God bless them) had cut a set of snow steps to help us down into the creek and put up a rope to hold onto. But it knee-deep and we went from the snow bank, across 50’ of ice-cold, snow-melt water, then back up onto snow-covered trail on the far side!

Talbot A/S (#2) came about 5-10min later (can’t quite remember). I still had plenty of water (should have not bothered with all three bottles at the Escarpment), so I blew right through and kept running. Now we are out on good jeep road, still lots of snow patches and mud but runnable. My feet were cold and plenty numb, I kept trucking in an effort to warm them up and perhaps even start the drying process. Accordingly, my stride wasn’t exactly pretty there for a while. But down we went on the jeep road about of Talbot CG towards the reservoir. We had done nearly of all of the descent to the reservoir by the time we got past Talbot, so the course was flat-to-rolling for the next few miles (I had anticipated gentle descent all the way to Poppy). We were besides the main creek feeding the reservoir, but could not really feel any descent. Alas, by now I am starting to get concerned and can feel a minor panic attack in the back of the brain. My legs are not responding all that well, can feel a pair of hot spots, that left hip flexor area is really starting to sing loudly, etc. I knew the snow section would be challenging, but had not anticipated a combo of problems this early on. Altogether, this is NOT an auspicious beginning to the biggest 100-miler of my life! Time targets were on, but the blisters and hip flexor really had me wondering; hot spots generally only get worse, and inflammation in the hip means I’m gonna start taking Aleve to keep it under control, not the way to make kidneys happy in the middle of long ultra!

So I took 5min to make a pitstop around 18mi. During the squat I took some deep breaths, stared deeply across the reservoir, calmed myself, and repeated the mantra I have mentioned to others often enough: every ultra will have low points, you just gotta wait, keep running, and it’ll come back to you. So I pulled my shorts back up (literally and figuratively), then got back on the course. It’ll come back, just manage your feet, your hip, your hydration, your calories, your electrolytes, etc. and it’ll come back.

After 30-40min of running out of Talbot, made a right turn onto a paved road and made the 1.25mi gentle climb towards the Poppy A/S at Mile 20. At Poppy I had a drop bag waiting for me with Perpetuem flasks and a fresh pair of socks. Tape job on my feet was totally soaking and came up when the socks came off, so probably spent upwards of 10min in the chair drying off my feet, checking the hot spots, applying new layers of tape to the heels, etc. then pulling on fresh Injinji socks. Fortunately, my shoes were mostly dried out by now, so pulling them back on did not immediately soak my socks and feet again. Had run all the way from Escarpment on two bottles (third one full of water was just extra weight on my back), so left a bottle here (that turned out to be a minor mistake) and headed out. The course picks up the new Poppy Trail, winding along the northern shore of French Meadows for 3-4mi. Near the western end, we leave the main trail and climb up to Duncan A/S at 23.5mi. So while this year’s snow course brought us down a snowy descent to the reservoir, it all meant climbing up to Duncan; effectively, another intermediate-level canyon to tackle vs being up on the ridges.

At Duncan, I slugged down a 4-5 cups of GU Brew (a pattern I would repeat at every aid station through the race, sometimes taking 1-2 S-caps as well). As you can see from the photo, the sun is out now, starting to warm up a bit but not bad. I watered up pretty good, both bottles, spent little time there, heading out on the 7.5mi stretch to the Mosquito A/S (replaced Robinson Flat this year). The course wound it’s way over some old jeep road and freshly-cut trail, emerging onto Mosquito Ridge Rd for a mile descent, crossing Duncan Creek on the road (vs normal years on the trail, it is running way too fast to go through on foot safely). A steady climb out of Duncan Canyon on the road for a bit, then split onto some seldom-used trails, winding back and forth. I had no idea where I was, had never been in this area. About a mile down the trail, I see Tim Twietmeyer running back the opposite direction, roll of flagging hanging out of his pocket. He just smiles to us, says “no problem, just re-marking some turns” and keeps going. ‘The Man’ right there, out taking care of business all day long. The trail is fairly exposed, so after an hour I had drunk both my bottles dry (thus, probably should have hung onto the third bottle). The approach to Mosquito is an 800’ climb over about 2mi, and I covered that piece dry. Did not try to run it hard, settled into a good power-hike and ran small pieces here and there; saving the climbing legs for late afternoon and the night. About a ½ mile out there stood Tropical John greeting the runners, always that wry smile “love ya, support ya, gotta be an idiot for running this race” look on his face! Got to the aid station and immediately started sucking down fluids, my slight dehydration now compounding the heel hot-spots and inflamed hip tendon. This was the first medical check, and the scale said 172lbs, down from 179lbs on the wrist band and 181lbs pre-race this morning. The medical folks let me go, but I knew I needed to catch up on fluids.

At Mosquito I opted to make a shoe and sock change from the drop bag. My previous tape job from Poppy was holding well, but took some time to add a layer of tape over both heels, get on a fresh pair of new featherweight Injinji socks, and a dry pair of Inov-8 Flyroc 310 shoes (I ran in another pair of the same model from start to here). Interesting note on the socks: they say never do a race with something untested, but I had a brand-new pair of those Injinji socks, had never worn the newer featherweight version, and it worked out great all day. Best darn socks I ever ran in, esp. for hot weather. Slipped on another pair at Foresthill that carried me all the way to the finish line).

Out of Mosquito we went basically backwards up the course towards Robinson Flat, supposed to cover two miles along newly-cut trail before dropping down the regular course and returning to Miller’s Defeat. On the way out you passed right by that aid station, so rather cruel to be directed outbound by the a/s captain while watching folks run into the station coming down the road. The RD has promised us some more snow up now that we were back up on the ridges. But while there were big patches of it all through that section, it was really not a factor. I had been a touch concerned of slipping on fresh shoes only to get them soaked again in the snow, had even considered delaying the shoe change until Last Chance (43mi and definitely well out of the snow), but no need for unease. About a 1/2mi out of the aid station I got off course for a few seconds and two folks blindly followed this idiot, but something didn’t smell right. So I stopped, panned right, and sure enough saw the flagging. Crashed through the underbrush 50m and got back on the trail. We eventually came onto an old jeep road with a gentle climb, so power-hiked much of that, all exposed up on the ridgeline. The course made a hard left turn, right nasty little descent to the regular course along N-44, and left turn again with a slight descent towards Millers Defeat. Ran that piece with chatting with two fine gents from the safety patrol, who were in turn trying to chat with a spoiled little rich-girl, trust-fund baby living in Marin (must be nice).

Downhill Running, the Canyons, and the Comeback
Watered up good in Miller’s Defeat and immediately headed out. Now we are coming out of the high country with a vengeance, as it is steady descent for the new 10mi. Starting here, I began passing people regularly through the remainder of the race; the only time I was passed again was on the climb past Hwy 49 in the dark by the gentlemen who eventually finished right ahead of me in 91^st place. Now the Aleve is starting to work on my hip, the tape job on my heals is holding fine and hot spots are calming down, and the big toe can just be along for the ride and not grip into the snow. Now I can muster these legs for the descents to come, where my strongest running will occur. Uneventful stretch down to Dusty Corners, but Glenn Tachiyama was taking photos and posted a keeper of me:

After the Dusty Corners a/s we took a hard right onto the Pucker Point section of the trail. This stretch was first used in the 2002 race (my first trip to WS). Great section of trail, offers tremendous views way down into forks feeding the American River, can hear the roar of the water from over 2000’ above it. Actually need to be mindful and pay attention to the trail and not too much on the scenery! Wound through the section for 3+ miles, enjoying every step of it, because now I DO have my legs back under me. The occasional Aleve is doing its job, the hot spots are covered with tape that is holding and thus are dealt with, and the legs are working, even in a fairly flat section like this one. I am starting to chew up the miles like my training has prepped me for.

Came out of Pucker Point area, turned right and headed down to the Last Chance settlement. Stepped onto the scale and saw 177lbs. Whew! Weight back up to where it should be, pounding all these fluids helped get me back. Downed several cups of GUBrew, filled both bottles (one in the hand, one on the back), grabbed some extra Perp from the drop bag, and blew out of there. Because for me, the race is now starting. I won’t say I am the best downhill runner in the world, or the best climber. But by God, I’ve got the skills, strength, and cajones to make these canyons work for me!

Tightened down the racing vest, making it good and snug for the big descent to Swinging Bridge. Made a smooth run out of Last Chance, then hit the trail with earnest. (The sign warning folks of “Precipitous” trail always make me chuckle). I immediately cruised by a half-dozen runners, earning some “go for it!” kudos along with one sourpuss muttering “someone is in a hurry” [no, that dude did NOT ever catch me]. During the Memorial Day training runs, I ran this descent at about 95% effort right behind Matt Keyes the whole way; only my wits kept me from going full-tilt 100% that day, because a crash could prove fatal! Today I ran the descent to the bridge hard, I figure about 80% effort. Smooth and steady, chewing up the clock but saving some reserves for the Calif St section; still a long way to go. Love running down this thing, so let it flow and smiled broadly, because now I was beginning to feel “the zone”. Faster than expected came Swinging Bridge, so I downed my bottle and swapped real quick while making the climb to Devil’s Thumb. Took about 35min, so a real good split there. Temps probably around 85deg, no more than 90deg. I supposed all the heat runs and sauna sessions the past month might be considered overkill, for I had absolutely no problems climbing out of there. Hard and steady power-hike, never ran a step. Kept my inner-monologue going: focus, climb, focus, climb, water, climb, calories, climb, do not stop, steady breathing, do not stop, keep the pressure on, and find the top!

Crested the final rise, saw the Thumb, and rolled into the a/s. Another quick step onto the scale, 177lbs, no problem. Opened up my drop bag to discover that my “cold bags” with two Perp flasks were no longer cold; had gotten rather cooked instead! The ice they started into was not hot water, so just left the flasks there and relied on the tubes of Perp Solids I had with me as backups. Steve Harrold was there to greet me, good man. Asked about my fluids, about my calories, and if I was peeing. Then gave a wry smile and in a low voice said “you are on pace to do it!” And right he was, I had to smile in agreement. By now I am totally focused, the low points of the morning are long past, have nailed the first canyon and know in my gut that I’ll do fine through the next two. Filled my bottles again, filled my cap with ice, grabbed a traditional Devil’s Thumb popsicle (only sugar I ate the whole race, which tasted lovely), and headed out.

Walked a bit to eat the popsicle and let the fluids in my stomach settle. Then picked up the run and began the gentle descent past the Deadwood pump and the cemetery. Re-tightened the vest and dropped over the edge past the cemetery for the long, winding descent to El Dorado Creek. By now it is 50mi into the race (though emotionally I consider Foresthill to be the halfway point). Lovely afternoon sun starting to come down to the west as we descend into the canyon. Passed several more folks on the way down, made a pee stop just past the pine meadow the marks halfway between Deadwood and the creek (thank goodness for that, had not peed in a while). Kept it about 80% effort down the trail, enjoying it immensely and letting the details sink in.

Crossed over El Dorado creek, downed 4-5 cups of fluids and a pair of S-caps, took as much ice as they could spare into my cap, and began the long climb to Michigan Bluff. An hour is the target based on training weekend, think I did it in 65min (splits out of El Dorado were not recorded except for about first 20-25 folks through there). Again, heat was never a factor. Just ground that sucker down, step by step, barely did any running at all. Finally crested out and picked up a good jog into the aid station, I think Allan captured a video of it somewhere? So yes, finally saw my crew for the first time. Good site, glad to know someone is looking out for me today!

Only stopped for fluids and some S-caps. Met another gent that I had run with at the training weekend. He walked out of MB with me for a bit, talking leaders and the snow up high. But had to politely cut him off: “Dude, I really do not want to talk about or even think about the snow, OK?” He nodded and smiled knowingly, gave me a slap on the ass and hearty ‘GO’ as I picked up the jog and headed out of MB. Moved steadily through this stretch, mostly old dirt roads. It was only a day later that I realized I didn’t even stop to enjoy the bikini girls that always work the MB aid station! A gentle climb up into the ridgeline again, stayed at a power-hike and saved my legs. Then the hard left turn off the dirt roads and began the descent into Volcano Canyon. Lots of short switchbacks down into here, a relatively technical section by WS standards (benign compared to trails back home). Crossed over the creek at the bottom, no rope to aid the crossing (kind of odd, was one there for the training weekend). Creek went up to my knees before I slipped on a rock and went in up to my waist! Oh well, splashed out of there and began the power-hike climb towards Bath Rd. Came to the sign from the Auburn Running Co saying “Aid Station ¼ mile ahead”. That’s typical ultra bullshit, it was ½ mile! OK by me, I just kept up the hike, check my watch and knew I was in great shape. Emerged onto Bath Rd, emptied my bottles, downed a few cups of GUBrew. Then, almost entirely for emotional reasons, I ran the whole climb up to Foresthill Rd. I wanted to do it as a ‘gut check’ to prove to myself, right then and there, I had all the emotional and physical readiness necessary to come out of FH standing erect and ready to roll down Calif St. So up I went, step by step, slowly but steadily running up that road for nearly a mile before seeing that heavenly green street sign that says “Foresthill Road”.

Full smile going now, a left turn and gentle descent to the school. Looked at my watch, not watch 7pm. I almost can’t believe it, feeling solid and cruising into FH over an hour ahead of my 2002 split. About halfway down the road I see a young kids, mid-20s, who asks “Josh?” and there is pacer, David Walker. We linked up over the WS100 website on Thurs and here he is, ready-to-roll. We cruise into FH, he splits off to link up with Allan and get my chair on the far end. I am pretty fired up now. Aid station announcer calls out my name and number, says I am the lone runner from Alabama this year. I respond with a full-throated, Forrest Gump-style “Al-a-BAMA!” before rolling to the scale. Medical check is good, 177lbs and obviously lucid. Immediately leave the aid station and pop a squat in the chair Allan has prepped for me. David starts ripping off my shoes and socks. We opt to dry off and re-tape both heels, slide on a fresh pair of the Injinji featherweight socks, swap shoes to the Sportiva Crossblades. Lose the ice hat and Oakleys I have been with all day. Pick up headlamps, prescription night glasses (green-shaded lenses, works wonders under low light conditions), and spare headlamps. Take a deep breath, take account of all the necessary gear, and note that it is 7:15pm. Make a goal of Green Gate by midnight (Allan says sounds like a country-western song), then head out. Perhaps 10min total in Foresthill.

California St, the RaceTrack, and Trying Not to do Anything Stupid
Steady cruise down the road, turn onto Calif St then off the pavement and over the edge onto the trail again. I’m working out the fine details with Dave on the run here. I’ll take the lead and set the pace, he swings in back and pushes me from behind; I’ve got legs to go so want to go fairly strong on the descents to come. Tell him I won’t necessarily do a lot of talking, that he can chat me up as much or as little as he likes, though I may not exactly hold up my end of the conversation. And away we go towards Cal-1.

About 40min to Cal-1, some good steady running through there. Legs are feeling very good for this stage of a 100, no complaints. I have almost completely forgotten about the morning’s episodes, wholly focused on the miles ahead of me. Topped off my one hand-bottle, purposefully left the second empty to save on weight, and blew right out of there. Dave is just awesome, a bang-up job pacing all night. About 100m out he scoops the bottle out of my hand, sprints ahead, gets it filled, takes care of himself, makes sure I’m good, then escorts me out the a/s ricky-tick. I was pushing as it was, he made me go out of there on turbo mode.

Lots more good running out of Cal-1. Walked the climbs, didn’t even try to run those, but worked the descents tenaciously. Ran dry on fluids about 15min out; a risk I took, but no sweat, temps are cooling down and it won’t be a factor tonight. Judging the remaining daylight close now, want to make Cal-2 on the twilight. Sure enough, got there in about 70min. I am smiling again, can’t believe I just made this a/s without lights. Last time I was fading by this point but trying to save the race; now I am plenty of good running left in me, almost jumping out of my skin with excitement. At Cal-2 we pull on the headlamps, do a quick systems check with those and spare flashlights, then head out. Dave has never seen the Calif St section, and I am familiar with it, so I stay in the lead and just roll out of there. This new headlamp (Fenix 10 that I bought from ZombieRunner) is amazing! I had quickly tested it out a few days ago, but dang this sucker is bright! And only on the high setting; got a whole other level to go if needed. Lots of short switchbacks here, quickly winding down to the American River, that glorious sound now right below. It is a great feeling, because the sound of that river is the last one you have to cross! We reached the river, emerged from the single-track onto a jeep road, then began that right nasty little climb up towards Cal-3 (Fords Bar). While I ran that in training, tonight I am content to power-hike and conserve the legs for now. We finally crested that sucker and made a gentle descent towards the aid station. Drank some fluids, topped off one bottle (other is still empty), and headed for the river crossing.

About 3mi of single-track along the river, then emerged out onto a jeep road. Dave pulls up alongside and we run side-by-side now. I am feeling talkative now. This is the site of my 2002 melt-down, just shy of the river crossing. About to bonk badly and far beyond my experience, in hindsight I probably wasn’t emotionally ready to handle that kind of low point back then. I related to Dave my previous experience, then could just smile and yell out “BUT NOT TONIGHT!” as I put more pressure on the pace and rolled steady. Rounded a bend of the river and a mile out is the crossing, all lit up and looking beautiful. I am gonna reach it before 11pm, I can’t believe it! Everything is just going so well now, the “flow” is one and I am feeling it. Saw three other runners ahead of us approaching the river, kicked in the burners and blew by them so as not to wait in line for the crossing boats. Med check went fine, 177lbs and looking good. Swallowed a gut full of fluids anticipating a few minutes in the boats and a few minutes on the far side changing shoes, then stepped down to the boats. Rolled my right ankle stepping down the rocky steps, ouch! The river was running hard from the snow melt; I can say pretty unequivocally that NO ONE was walking across this year, at Ruck-a-Chuck or probably anywhere else. I can also say without hesitation that the volunteers running the boats were absolutely awesome! From the time I stepped off the scale, put on the life-vest, got on the boat, crossed over with my pacer, and stepped off, it was 2min elapsed time. And never got my feet wet. Hopped out on the far end, looked around in a bit of disbelief at how easy that went. (Facchino Photography has a number of shots of me at the crossing, just the proofs). The aid station volunteers handed me my drop bag, where I had planned a change of shoes and socks. But just handed it back to them, grabbed David and we got the heck out of there in a hurry!

Now I am fighting the excitement. I just crossed over the river and have a full head of steam of to go, can’t believe it! We power-walked the steep pitch out of the river for about 200-300m until the dirt road shallows out a bit. Then out of emotional, gut-check needs, I picked up the run and started grinding away that climb to Green Gate. David pulled up alongside, chatted at me a bit, but mostly head was down and concentrating on the road. I needed to run that climb to show myself that I could do this, that I had the necessary power remaining to reach out and take that silver buckle. And so up we went, passing 2-3 other folks, seeing pacers/crew coming down to the river crossing and rooting us on. After a bit, we hear the generators and see the lights of Green Gate. And holy smokes, it’s only 11pm (a full hour ahead of my split goal). Allan is there, so I grabbed some Caffe Late Perpetuem, pull on a fresh shirt for the last 20mi (Team Red, White, & Blue shirt), and roll right out of there. David took a break at this point, planning to rejoin me at Hwy49 crossing, so I was solo again.

The American River Canyon, Running Solo in the Night, and Forcing the Pace

The 5mi stretch between GG and Auburn Lake Trails was uneventful. The leg generally descends over the first two miles, then goes back up a few hundred feet, but hugging the canyon wall above the American River the whole time. I mostly talked to myself (out loud) through here, checking on status of my body, putting down fluids, sucking in some calories, checking my mental states, making small prayers to God for clarity of mind and safety. It was in this leg and the leg to Browns Bar in 2002 I was at the lowest of points. Reduced to a mere power-walk, bonking badly, each step sending painful shocks through my shot-up quads. But not this year; this go-round I was running smoothly and gently. Mindful of the surroundings and the sounds, keeping myself focused and keeping steady pressure on the pace.

Came to ALT in about 75min, took some ice-water but no food and kept rolling. Saw the bobbing lights of other runners and pacers. Then I stepped in a small hole on the trail, rolled my ankle, and went crashing down, wham! What the heck just happened? Quickly popped up, checked myself and my gear. And this is what’s great about ultrarunning, even big-ticket events like Western: two dudes on the other side the small ravine stopped, called out “You OK?”. They waited a few seconds, then called again, where I finally acknowledged, told them I was good, urged them to keep going. How cool is that? Think many Ironman competitor on the bike or run would have stopped for me? I was up and rolling down the trail within 30 seconds.

The trail opens comes out of the trees in several places above the river, hugging a contour line and winding in-out of the canyons’s feeder creeks, fingers, and draws. In those open spots you can see the stars and the lights above Auburn, feeling the miles glide by under your feet. The relentless rhythm of the running stride, inexorable and powerful, taking me towards the finish and my hopes and goals. It was through here in 2002 I felt most alone; realizing later that I was never alone, not then and certainly not tonight, feeling His calming presence on me, keeping me safe and steady.

Got to Browns Bar (90mi) in about 65min, pace sped up significantly from prior leg to ALT. This station is run by local Hashers, but I just smiled at the beer offering and kept on trucking. The next leg has a ½ mile descent right down to the river on a rugged, technical piece of trail. By now, a small hint of fatigue is creeping into the legs, for I simply couldn’t go rolling down that piece as balls-out as earlier; too technical and couldn’t quite muster the zap in my legs to go hopping down it in a hurry. It was my first indication that I would have to carefully meter out my energy in final two hours of the race, budgeting to blow it all right after Robie Pt. But made up some ground on the dirt road down at the river, running steadily if not with a little speed. Then came the nasty single-track ascent up to Hwy 49. I flat-out attacked this sucker, mentally willing myself to run as much as possible, grinding up, up, up through the rocks and tree roots. As with Bath Rd and climb to GG, I needed to push this hard, an emotional gut-check on myself. Just kept telling myself to focus, climb, focus, climb. Do not let up the pressure, do not step to get a deep breath, just go up this sucker and find the highway.

And sure enough, the highway crossing came. Med check went fine at 178lbs. Allan handed me one last caffeinated gel to keep mental alertness up; David there to pace me right to the track. 21hr20min elapsed, meaning 2hr40min to go 6.5mi and make the dream happen. It is so close now, but also several hard-hitting stretches of trail to go yet, so must stay focused, focused. Allan grabs me, says something about mental game, but I know I am only half-listening now; the inexorable pull of the trail is just to the left, where I need to be going, getting on the run. And so David and I went, power-hiking up that cruel little climb, then blessedly emerging on the meadow called Pointed Rocks. Picked up a smooth run again, bore to the right, and take a few moments to mentally prep myself for the last descent, a winding and (typically) fun decline following a creek bed back down towards the American River. We are mixed in with about 7-8 other folks now, runners and pacers, headlamps bobbing all over the place. Did some passing, but we mostly just tried to spread out, else the competing light beams can screw you up a bit.

The Finish
Out pops the trail onto the historical No Hands Bridge, lit up like Christmas Tree for us. As I turned away from the aid station table, I weaved across the bridge just a touch before catching myself and commanding new mental focus. I urge David to be mindful of the moment, crossing No Hands in the dark is an event to remember! I can’t believe I am crossing this thing in the dark! Heck, I could walk it in from here and make it! But no, I am not going out that way. In the midst of the race, when I got to FH it was becoming apparent I could do it (sub24). I had been gently accelerating the pace thru the canyons, and really started to push down Calif St. By the river and GG I was calculating (internally) a possible 22:45-23:00 finish assuming current accelerated pace, and realized I could ‘walk it in’ if I chose to. But I kept the hammer down past GG and ALT; this was to be the last 100mi ‘race’ and I wanted no doubts that I could no faster on this course. I had shaved every possible aid station break, and pushed solid (not all out, but close) through the canyons, ran every step out of Bath Rd, every step out of the river to GG, and ran all the way out of Robie Pt. I sat down 3 times the whole race (4 if you include the boat), and took literally no break on the far side of the river, deciding to forgo the shoe change and keep trucking. I had gotten past “can I break 24?” question and proceeded to “leave no pocket of energy reserves unexpended”. When I got to the track and for the rest of my days, I wanted no thoughts in the back of my mind about coulda-woulda-shoulda as to the ultimate finishing time. Perhaps I might have taken 5min or even 10min off this year’s time, but I was determined to push and shove and keep the pressure on right until the very end. I wanted to walk away from Western knowing that it was my best possible effort. (Of course, combined with that shiny silver buckle, is a good thing to know).

So we get running again, making a steady shuffle in the dark, trading “good job” with several other folks along the way. Still running just fine, but when we began the final climb up to Robie Pt I began to feel the some of last remnants of juice in my legs, along the sharp inflammation in the left hip flexor as the Aleve can’t control it much longer. But up we go, keeping that pressure on, telling myself to climb, climb, climb. Do not stop, do not take it easy, squeeze out every possible second and minute you can get from here. We get some cheers from a few folks standing what turns out to be well-below Robie; kinda of a cruel joke, because you think that final aid station and the pavement is near, but it’s really another 500-600m up the damn trail! But finally we emerge, David gives out a “Alabama in the house!” as we turn right and look up the street. Given the cruel nature of this course, you emerge in the city of Auburn, on a paved road, only to have a righteous ½ mi climb up that street! But heck yeah, we are running that sucker. And up comes the climbing jog, grinding that sucker down, stride by stride, inexorably looking for the top of it. Waving to the locals who are outside at 4am cheering on damn-fool runners in the wee hours. Making sure we know where we are going because neither of us is exactly familiar with the neighborhoods of Auburn! But the climb ends and the climbing shuffle turns into a genuine run. And good Lord I can hear Tropical John on the mike in the stadium, so up comes the pace. And there is the left turn over the bridge and see the light poles over the track, and up comes the pace again. Another left turn towards the finish, and now we are no-shit running; full-on, blow every remnant of the quads and energy stores. Holy shit, I can’t believe this is happening! David is already preparing to peel off and let me have the track, holding out his hands for my gear. Allan is at the bottom of the street, I strip off my racing vest, headlamp and other gear and hand it all over, Just keep the glasses on so I can see all the details, drink it all in. One more left turn and there is the entrance to the track, shoot the gap between the barricades and off to the races; strong, powerful stride, I can’t contain it anymore. Down the backstretch of the track, slightly teary now. So much effort, so long in prepping and waiting for this moment. And now it is here, off the turn, finish line dead ahead.

23:09:37

WS100 Training Camp (Memorial Day Weekend)

2011-06-11T21:59:00.004-05:00

In preparation for my shot at the infamous Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, my lovely wife allowed me a long-weekend trip to California to run in the training camp. It was also a great chance to see my Dad; since he lives a mere hour’s drive Auburn, I stayed at his place through the weekend, driving to-from the daily training runs out of Foresthill/Auburn.

I just managed to make a late afternoon flight on Southwest out of Birmingham on Thursday, took nearly 3 hours to get there in storms and major traffic jams. We left BHM a ½ hour late on the long initial leg to Las Vegas. But bless Southwest, they held mine and several others’ connections there so we wouldn’t be stranded for the night. I walked right to the next plane (no bathroom, no get-a-snack, no nothing) and they blasted out for Sacramento. Got into SMF around 2130, only 25min behind schedule. Picked up my rental care and headed to Dad’s place in Browns Valley, finally getting to sleep just past midnight.

On Friday, the sun woke me about 0530, but managed to doze until 0615. After a light breakfast, went down to Marysville and did a WOD with CrossFit Feather River. Turned out to be a great day to make an affiliate visit, owner Debbi Goode treated the 0900 class to the Filthy Fifty of all things! Did it in 25:34 (PR). Good crowd, always fun to see how Marysville has changed in the past 30+ years. CFFR is located on D St and 5 St downtown, I can recall at least five different businesses in there over the years. I hope Debbi is able to keep it going; she gave me the visit for free after I made the obligatory t-shirt purchase. Had some local Mexican food at Tortilleria Florez with Dad, then working from his house on my laptop rest of the afternoon.

Training Camp Day 1 (Sat)

Normally on Day 1 of the camp, we get bussed from Foresthill (FH) Elementary School up to Robinson Flat (about Mile 30 on the course) and run back to FH. However, due to snow and road conditions higher up in the mountains, race management announced an alteration on Wed before I left home that would have us bussing down to Driver Flat near Auburn and running backward on the course past FH to Michigan Bluff and back to FH. I did not like that option very much. After all, the prime reason for flying out from Alabama is to run in the dreaded canyons! After posting on the Ws100 Yahoo groups page, fortunately for me several local WS veterans contacted me offline and extended an invitation to alternate training runs outside the camp. So that morning I had the good fortune to meet up with Bob Crowley and Steve Harrold, among others, at FH. From there we charted a route backwards on the course through Volcano Canyon, MB, into El Dorado Creek, up to Devil’s Thumb and finally across Swinging Bridge up to Last Chance. There must have been 75+ or more folks with similar notions that day, all on ‘unofficial’ training runs in the canyons.

I stayed with Bob and Steve all morning, making a leisurely start form FH about 0615. Made our way down Bath Rd, took a pitstop, then into Volcano Canyon. Fog bank rolling in, actually rather chilly this morning, set of gloves would have been handy. Creek coming thru Volcano Canyon was full, so we were feet-wet within 20min. Long power-hike climb out of that intermediate canyon, linked up with several other locals up top, and made our way to Michigan Bluff. Steve showed me where Carl Anderson/Ann Trason live, and where Scott Jurek buried his dog (stuff only locals would know). They were the most gracious tour guides all morning.

Took a quick stop in MB (1hr27min elapsed), chatted with some others, then dropped down into El Dorado Creek. Long, steady descent with Bob; not trying to kill it, but rather holding back and keeping it under control, lots of running to go today. Bob was playing tour guide most of the way, showed me a spring that marked 1/3 to go (on the climb) back to MB, very cool. Once over the bridge, took another long power-hike up to Deadwood Cemetery. Bob showed me the pine grove that is halfway point between Deadwood and ElDorado. Once past the cemetery, climbed up to the equestrian pump near Devil’s Thumb. That is new from my last time here, a very welcome addition. Many folks up here today on training runs, eschewing the official runs down on Calif St. At the pump we met Matt Keyes from Auburn, heck of a nice guy. Short run from the pump to the Thumb, then made a steady descent (not fast) down to Swinging Bridge at the bottom of the canyon. Chatting with Steve most of the way, very nice fellow. Found out later he is a senior prosecutor from the Sacto County DA’s office, my Dad knows who he is. Got a feeling he is an ass-kicker in and out of the courthouse!

At Swinging Bridge I took my leave from Bob and linked up with Matt. A quad of us (including new acquaintances Ted and Jeff) made a strong ascent out of there and headed up towards Last Chance. Quick stop as the trail emerged onto old mining road to gather everyone up, then made our way to Last Chance. I took a few minutes to identify the spring there for future use. Turned around at about 5hr5min elapsed and headed back to Foresthill!

About 29min to make the descent to Swinging Bridge (all of these are the longest I have made in 9 years!), Matt and I really pushing the pace down the trail and grinding our legs down; that was some fun running. Bob had related his favorite mental imagery of being a frictionless pinball in the race, making the smoothest, faster possible descent down the winding trail I found that very apropos. After the bridge came the 36 switchbacks to Devil’s Thumb (about 39min to make that climb, but cool weather today). We gathered the four of us up on the top and made our way to the pump where I topped off my camelbak (carried far too much water today, knowingly, but oh well). We had been getting short drizzle early in the afternoon, but now we got a hail burst for 10min that turned into light rain for the next 2 hours.

Another fast descent into El Dorado Creek, Matt and I just cranking it down the trail. At the bridge I stopped for a pee, but Matt just rocked on, instantly scraping me off! Oh well, dude is a great runner, glad to have his company for a bit. The climb back up to Michigan Bluff took nearly an hour, just power-hiked it at good pace (but not all out). The aid station for the official training was still set up, so I treated myself to some cookies and soda (hey, I did pay for it). I was starting to get cold in the rain now, temp hovering around 50deg, arms and hands not working real well. So little choice but to pick up a steady run on the forest road and get warmed up again.

Near the Anderson-Trason place, I saw perhaps the biggest darn jackrabbit ever; ears must have been at least 6” tall! Darn thing was huge. It took off running and bounding, made a pleasant sight in the middle of miserable rain. Anyhow, I ground out the climbs, some running and some walking, and then finally dropped back onto single-track into Volcano Canyon. Made a strong descent (not as fast as before, but passed 4-5 folks easily) before crossing through the stream and feet totally soaked again. Long, grinding climb up the rocky trail. Finally emerged onto Bath Rd, picked up the shuffle and ground ran the mile-long climb up to Foresthill Rd, then had a strong pace back to the elementary school. For a while, I had seriously toyed with the idea of continuing down down Cal St after Matt Keyes to aim for 50mi that day. But at FH recognized that I was soaked and cold from the rain, lacking the right gear to keep pushing today (Matt was there in a fresh running jacket) (which I certainly did not have). So called it with about 40mi under my belt, darn fine training day overall.

Took some time to rub ice on my legs, dry off, then helped myself to grilled ham-cheese sandwich. Talked with talked Matt and his lovely wife (Kim) and Tim Twietmeyer some. But started to get cold again, so jumped into car and warmed up. Stopped at JambaJuice in Auburn, back at Dad’s place around 1730.

WS100 Training Camp – Day 2

Got to FH about 0745, checked in and actually got my number this time! Run scheduled to start 0830, but I was ready to go early, so why wait around for it? Just gonna be a conga line if I go with the crowd. So pulled out of FH on a very pleasant morning and headed down the Cal St section of the Western States trail. Took it easy the first 10-15min, jawboning with some others that started early as well. Then cranked up the speed and got going.

Blew thru Cal-1 in about 36min (alas, dumbshit here deleted his split before I wrote them down, so all times today from memory). About 55min to Cal-2. Very fun descent to the river, multiple switchbacks with banked turns. Borrowed Bob Crowley’s imagery again and just imagined myself as a pinball rolling down the race and flowed down them. Reached the river, trail went flat for a bit before a right nasty little climb on the way to Cal-3, worse than I remember, but ground it out. Blew past Ca-3, did not see it, oh well. Came to Ruck-a-Chuck around 2hr45min (15.5mi)

Walked down to the crossing, made a pitstop in the loo there, came back up to aid station and jawboned with Ken Crouse for a while. Ken is another fine gentleman who reached out to me via email to offer options for yesterday’s re-routed training run. Jawboned with him for 10-15 min, great fellow. Found out later he was a US Marine at the Fall of Saigon!

After about 30min screwing around down there, picked up my pack and made the climb out to White Oak Flat. Long switching ascent on the dirt road and some single track. Official finish line up top, about 19mi mark for the mornings. Ate a pair of hot dogs and drank a coke (usually couldn’t stomach something like that, but tasted great today!) Talked with some other folks and chilled for a few minutes. Decided to run back to FH instead of waiting on the bus. After chatting with some local vets, found the historic WS trail, popped out onto some housing, then onto Todd Creek Trail. Had to pull my phone out and check location on the map (that cost me some time), but eventually made my way to Todd Valley Rd and then Foresthill Rd. Climb up to Foresthill (about 3mi) took a bit, but kept it flowing smooth as I could in the rolling fog and intermittent hail storms. Elapsed time at FH about 6 hours, figure 27mi for the day.

WS100 Training Camp – Day 3

Woke 0600, actually had a light breakfast this morning (scrambled eggs, apple) since run won’t start until ~0915. Left house 0645, at Placer HS and checked in around 0800. Run brief 0815, loaded onto the buses and away we go down CA-49, CA-193, then up Sliger Mine Rd to the cemetery. We unloaded and got to running!

Just past the cemetery (~1/3mi) the road goes from paved to rough dirt, and downhill about 2mi to Green Gate (GG). There we typically take a hard left onto the course, and there were two gentlemen out there guiding us that way. But I wanted to go backwards on the course down to the river crossing. So I tried to surreptitiously slip past (unsuccessfully, it turns out) and headed down there. About 2mi descent on dirt road, I had the option of turning left or right near the bottom. Foolishly chose left (wrong way) and down to the river; made a pitstop there. Didn’t seem like the right place, so climbed back up and took the right turn instead. Now I was in the right place, found the aid station location I remember and river crossing location. Made the return climb to GG in 23:06, good pull.

I went past GG and got back onto today’s scheduled/official training route. Turned on the juice and got moving at a solid pace. Had to make guesses at some trail intersections, but got to Auburn Lake Trails around an hour past GG. Farted around there a few minutes making sure I had the right course (the sweeps, now ahead of me, were pulling the course flagging). Finally left here at 1hr7min split.

Once past ALT, I moved strongly along canyon’s edge. Caught the sweeps after about 25min, running hard to get to them and make sure I was going in the right direction (felt right, but just no real confirmation w/o the course marking). They were not happy to see me, evidently discussion about pulling my ribbon/bracelet since I deviated from the official route. I understand their position, but oh well, it is a free country and I’m here to rack up training miles.

Got to Browns Bar aid station location in 29:58. Pushed down the rutty trail to the Quarry Rd along the river, tried to keep a steady pace on the flats, though can tell the training is starting to do it work: can running solid on the flats but not fast! Ground up a short climb to the aid station about 12mi into the official route, then began the climb up to Hwy 49. Rutty, rocky trail but ground it out with 2-3 short (10sec) walk breaks. Got to Hwy 49 with split of 43:31, cruised over the road and got going up the next section (can’t remember the name of it)

Medium climb up and over the meadow overlooking the river and Hwy 49, then hammered the heck out of the last descent into No Hands Bridge. Talked with Jay Freeman briefly on the way down, a gentlemen I met at the Grasslands event and last saw at WS in 2002! Felt fairly good over the bridge all things considered, spent a few minutes in the aid station there getting water refill and drinking some fluids (34:26 split).

Got going on the last section, still shuffling well and able to climb. Came across a 4’ rattlesnake (let it go by), then had to make a pitstop. Made the climb up to Robie Pt, that sucker is a right nasty little spell. Got onto the road and just kept pressing up the steep road into Auburn, dang I had forgotten how bad that section was! Big ass deer (buck) just nonchalantly wandered across the street, kinda surreal. Finally topped out and began slow downhill on the home stretch. Course markings a little scant through the streets, but a nice lady driving by pointed me in the right direction, bless her. Adrenaline flowing now and kicked it good and hard to the track (44:25 split). About 27mi for the day as best I can figure.

Will log 94mi for the training weekend, not too shabby. With the right gear on Day 1, could have pushed that number even higher (oh well). I was fortunate to be contacted by several locals, they got me to thinking that I didn’t necessarily need to follow the masses on the established routes. Having gotten past that herd mindset, it freed me up to rack some miles and push myself more than I would have otherwise. We will see the results on 25-26 June!

Got back to Dad’s place around 1700. Took a while to get cleaned up and gear somewhat packed. Great dinner of lamb/pork meatballs, garlic bread, green beans. Spent some time chatting with Dad, then we were watching Secondhand Lions on DVD late into the evening (among his favorite movies). Caught the 0600 flight out of Sacramento the next morning.

Ice Cream for Breakfast: Tornado Outbreak in Alabama

2011-06-05T20:30:00.008-05:00

I had been meaning to post some of Clan Kennedy's highlights from our experiences during the massive tornado outbreak on 27 April 2011. While we unfortunately have zero photos from the 6-7 days period in the aftermath, I was able to jot down daily notes on my BlackBerry to keep some sort of record. Fortunately, we suffered no damage at all, though of course had several friends with medium-to-great losses. Amazingly, it marked the first time in my 21-year career with the US Army and Uncle Sam (in various ways) that I didn't have to be at the center of my organization as it went through some sort of disaster (natural or otherwise). During the earlier years of our marriage, Kirsten and I (esp. during active duty years) never saw each other (or were home) as hurricanes approached, monsoons hit Korea, 9/11 occurred, or minor earthquakes caused damage. So in all, a very pleasant time for Clan Kennedy and for me to guide my family through the week.

I woke on 27 April 2011 (Wed) at about 0440 and headed for the gym. Already we had thunderstorm and tornado warning all over the place, which I expected would go on-off all day. Little did I realize how bad they would be; this was just the first (and most minor) of three waves that would come through that day. It was pouring rain during my early weight-lifting workout. By the time I got home around 0610 (typically would wake Matthew then for math team practice at 0700), all the local schools were on 2-hr delay, so let the boys and Kirsten sleep.

I got to the office about 0730 to prep for an all-day meeting starting at 0800. But then that was at first delayed 2hrs, then then cancelled outright. By 1030 we started another series of tornado warning, and my building was evacuated to the basement. Since I work in the basement, this naturally makes for some great impromptu meetings, so I had long chat with others about ongoing technical projects. Little did we realize it would days before we started working on the taskers we gave ourselves! More tornado warnings continued 1130-1300, I got more visitors (friendly), but nothing much getting done now.

By the end of the midday tornado wave, the leaders in our organization began to recognize that another monster storm wave was coming through in the late afternoon. So we kicked everyone out and sent them home. By then I had already seen photos of the tree damage at Kim Susor's place up in the Moore's Mill area in NE Huntsville, half her house flattened by a huge tree. I headed out around 1400, and after battling traffic snarled by tornado damage, got there around 1445 to see the whole neighborhood destroyed by blown trees.

Despite the damage, Kim was in amazingly good spirits, all things considered. She was level-headed and doing a great job prioritizing what needed to happen. Along with other friends that had arrived, we spent time getting her belongings consolidated into standing rooms and out of the rain. Another neighbor arrived with a chainsaw and we got to work on clearing another big tree blocking her driveway. Fortunately, Kim's long time boyfriend (Tim Kerstetter) dropped everything upon seeing the storm damage photos and started driving from Ohio that afternoon, God bless him. By about 1730 we started to watch the third (and most massive) tornado wave come through north Huntsville. Good gracious, I wish I had taken a photo of it. Never have I seen anything like, dozens of lightning bolts going off, far more strikes and far more vicious than any storm I had ever experienced. We waited until it looked like that wave has passed to the north, then I decided to head home before it got totally dark.

I headed back to Big Cove and home via Dug Hill Road without too many issues. Some downed trees but road not impassable anywhere. The problem is that I did not realize that power was no out all over the northern section of the state. I only had about 3gal of gas in the XTerra, and had planned to tank up at Wal-Mart near the house. I got home just after last light, Kirsten and the boys fine but no power. They had been hunkered down waiting for the worst of the storms to pass. Fortunately cool weather, so after checking the house for damage (thankfully none), got the boys fed and hunkered down for the night. I was also able to talk with Tim Kerstetter as he was heading south down I-65 through Kentucky and northern TN at that point. Good man, marched to the sound of the guns (so to speak) and was at Kim's place around midnight.

28 Apr 2011, Day 2: Power Out. Arsenal Closed. Schools Closed. Nearly All Commerce Shut Down. No idea on extent of destruction yet.

So the one morning I might be tempted to lounge around, Kirsten gets productive and starts a to-do list! Sorta funny, sorta not. She had me up by 0600, intent on getting the boys fed and doing some chores. Matthew (our oldest), opens the garage freezer and comments that the ice cream is starting to melt. Then he gets a devious gleam in his eyes and you can tell he has come up with a great idea. "Dad", he inquires, "can we eat the ice cream for breakfast? It's going to melt anyway." Can't fault that logic! Sure kid, ice cream for breakfast. Kirsten and I enjoyed a wry chuckle at the old Bill Cosby comedy routine (Dad is great! Give us the chocolate cake [for breakfast]). What kind of parents are we?!

We were all outside by 0700, busy cleaning out the garage! Neighbors started to emerge shortly thereafter, talking and checking on each other. Heard about the press conference that local leaders were going to hold, so turned on the car radio and several of us stayed in the driveway to hear the news 0830-0930. Turns out Browns Ferry plant shut down, all major transmission lines destroyed. I had suspected we might be several days without power, but this was our first inkling at the extent of the destruction.

I also had to get accountability of all my employees, something I had started on the previous evening with mixed success. Considering I had no power to work on my laptop, I was doing all communications on my gov't BlackBerry, sending text messages to everyone's personal cell phones or calling home lines to those without. Fortunately, by that evening I had contacted all of my folks and all of them were safe. Also got to talk with Tim K again before my personal cell phone died. Only way I could get a charge into it or my BB was via car charger at that point.

So as I mentioned, Kirsten's first chore for us was cleaning the garage. We got both cars out, swept everything, scrubbed out all the cobwebs and dead mosquitoes, etc. With a little "help" from the boys, that and the news conference tied up the morning. Around noon I had heard from just about all of my folks at work, so sat down on the couch to read and eventually took a very pleasant early afternoon nap. Fortunately the weather is pleasant and a breeze blowing through the windows to air out the house.

In the afternoon we took good stock of our food supply, then Kirsten and Matt made a recon (via bicycle) to see if Wal-Mart, Lowe's, or any of the gas stations were oeprating (none at that point). We ate a simple dinner, concentrating on no cooking and eat perishables. Everyone was down by 2100 in the dark, lots of stars to look at with no city lights at all.

Oh by the way: Happy Birthday to me! 39 years old today! Had a couple of cookies from the pantry (ice cream all gone!)

29 April, Day 3: No power at home. Arsenal Closed. Schools Closed. Beginning to understand extent of destruction.

Matthew and I were up by 0600, and wandered down the street to our neighbor's house. We shared a leisurely pot of morning coffee, while charging electronics on the generator (this includes the boys' Nintendo DS systems, which proved to be handy in a few occasions in the next few days!).

Once back at home around 0700, Kirsten had her to-do list ready to go. So me and the boys set about cleaning the entire back porch in detail: sweeping the floors, clearing out cobwebs, scrubbing off chalk marks, cleaning the grill, hosing it all down, etc. Later in the morning, Kirsten and Matt went on another bike recon to Wal-Mart, Lowes, and Publix. Brought back some ice and limited groceries. I spent more time consolidating obvious perishables into available coolers, trying to keep ice alive and not waterlog the remaining food. By midday I got a chance to ready a book and take another long nap (love it!)

This is the day I figured out that a great source of news is the WHNT FaceBook feed. Followed that on-off through the day as more details of the power outage, destruction, and other news became available. Kinda funny that in the middle of a huge power outage, my gov't BlackBerry became the only reliable communications device. I spent a great deal of time getting news communicating with many of my employees and bosses (via text message and/or email). Dinner that evening was a no-cooking affair; easy to eat healthy by concentrating on perishables good without cooking! The boys took colds baths in the back yard, touch less complaining

Dinner was Cold baths, touch less complaining than last night. All asleep by 2130

30 April, Day 4: No power at home, obvious devastation across North Alabama

Up around 0600 again, strolled down to our neighbors' place to charge electronics. We enjoyed a leisurely pot of coffee and conversation on the front porch, boys had some hot chocolate and played horseshoes in the front yard. Got home around 0745, fed the boys some cereal and last remnants of the cold milk. Cleaning tasks for today revolved around emptying both refrigerators, consolidating remaining perishables into coolers with ice, then taking the interiors of the frig/freezer apart and scrubbing it all down in detail in the driveway. I dare say when we got it all back together it was the cleanest it had even been since its delivery brand new!

The lines for gas started to become manageable, so after listening to the daily 0830 press conference on the car radio, Kirsten headed out to fill up the kid-hauler vehicle. She also brought back 4gal of fuel to put into my XTerra so I could drive more than 25mi anywhere. By now it was on the fuel-low light, I had to crank it up once or twice a day to charge our personal cell phones.

This is the day we started to get smart about heating water in the sun for cleaning (dishes and ourselves!). A bunch of containers in the backyard, full of water, laid out in the sun to allow semi-warm baths tonight. This included the kids' sandbox, which turned into an impromptu wading pool, then dishwasher, then bathtub around 7pm. Nothing makes a redneck like cleaning your children in a wading tub in the backyard!

I did manage to go for a short run in early afternoon, good gracious that was rough. The fractured toe felt OK, not great, still can’t jump around or do pushups and put weight on it. But I ambled down past Goldsmith-Schiffman Elementary School and back in 35min. Felt better on the way back as the rust started to break off, but overall shaky! Did some more core strength work on the back porch, then treated myself to a bath via hose before continuing to work around the house

We have a large freezer in the garage, typically holding the remnants of our side of beef (grass-finished, great stuff). But knowing it wouldn't be able to stay cold much longer, I reached and grilled up about 4-5 lbs of ground beef into giant burgers. And thus Clan Kennedy enjoyed its first cooked meal since the tornado, some vegetables and fruit on the side! Fortunately, still enjoying lovely weather, so we ate out on the back porch and played frisbee and catch afterwards.

1 May, Day 5. Power Still Out, Warmer Weather, More Humid.

In keeping for what is quickly become daily rhythm, woke around 0600 and headed to the neighbors for coffee and company. Boys enjoying boiling water on the grill to make hot chocolate and running around in the street; they don't even know what day of the week it is anymore. (For the record, Sunday; we considered heading into church services, but figure the building itself would be stifling without a/c).

I went out for a light run about mid-morning, Kirsten not so quick with the to-do list by now! Still breaking off the rust from two weeks rest, climbed up into nearby Little Mtn estates, paying careful attention to that broken toe. Felt OK, but had to NOT flex off it real hard. Once back at home, went about more cleaning chores through the morning, getting food supplies re-arranged and consolidated. One of the lessons learned from the whole episode is understanding, once again, how to manage perishable food supplies without electricity. It can be done, but takes time and planning to keep stuff on ice, be more careful about not overstocking frig/freezer, and planning meals more carefully so as not to waster perishables.

In the early afternoon, we decided it was time to take a family trip. So we loaded up in the car (now have the advantage of steady gasoline sources) and went up to Maggie Valley Berry Patch on Grant Mtn. What a wonderful spot! I let Kirsten pick strawberries in peace, kept the boys nearby while they "helped" me pick berries from a row 50m away. Together we picked almost 10gal of some darn fine Alabama strawberries, best I have tasted since California. Aftewards we talked with the owners a while, toured their growing blackberry bushes (more picking this summer), and tried to wear out the boys. Stopped at Publix on the way home for 10lbs of ice (fortunately, it was available).

At home, began immediately to make preserves from some of the berries. Re-arranged food once again into coolers, did some throwing away, but able to save off a really large majority of the food from the freezers. From there I went about grilling the remaining ground beef (about 10lbs), 6 chicken breasts, fish, and all of the shrimp. The outdoor freezer wasn't staying cold anymore, so it was time to cook it all or lose it. At the same time, Kirsten making preserves on the side burner of the grill. So we had a truckload of stuff on the grill and lots of pots/pan to wash by hand (in the converted sandbox/dishwasher, of course). After dinner, spent more time rearranging food into containers and putting on ice. Kirsten took a walk around the block to chat with neighbors. The boys and I meanwhile rolled the deep freezer into the driveway and proceeded to give that thing a thorough bleaching and scrubbing. Major portions of this house will never be this clean again!

But since tomorrow is Monday, there is a real question of my employees going back to work. Redstone Arsenal finally announced it would not open tomorrow (turns out it would be later in the week). So had to spent about 2 hours on-off through the late afternoon and early evening coordinating with folks about status of the Arsenal and issue guidance for maintaining continued accountability in the meantime.

And just after sunset, while finishing cleaning the freezer in last vestiges of daylight, something odd happens. I am standing in the driveway, and something is different about the front porch. And something is different about the street lights. Wait, the power is back on! To my amazement and continual thanks to TVA and Huntsville Utilities, about 1945 we were back in business. Much jubilation in the neighborhood (about 98hours without power), neighbors taking a final stroll, shaking hands and wishing each other well....then we all went back inside!

Several days earlier I had turned off nearly all the circuit breakers in the house, save those controlling the lights in the foyer and front porch. I was concerned that a sudden jump in electrical current would fry some items in the house, so leaving those circuits and switches on gave us best indication power was back. I brought on selected breakers over the next hour: lights, receptacles, etc. Cleaned up the boys with boiled water, let them watch a video while Kirsten and I continued to clean up from all the days activities. After about 2 hours, waiting to (hopefully) make sure the power situation was stable, I brought outside frig, washer/dryer, and HVAC online around 2130, wanted to ensure no more power spikes. Left inside frig turned off so we can clean it again thoroughly in the morning.

Then just before 2200 came the big news: Osama Bin Laden killed during SOF raid into Pakistan! Holy shit! Kirsten went to bed, but I was wired, stayed up to watch the President’s address then news and FB until well past midnight. I finally settled down around 0300.

2 May, Day 6. ALL ARSENAL WORKSITES CLOSED; Power back on at home

Woke around dawn, dozed until 0700. Went for an early run, down to GSES and back plus some time on the track there, 40min total. Kirsten and I were busy rest of the morning: making preserves from some of the strawberries, freezing the rest, finished putting the deep freeze back in action, transferring food back into outside frig, cleaning out inside frig and putting back together, and more. Amazingly, still had a great heap of fresh lettuce that we kept alive the whole time, so made a big salad and hard-boiled eggs for brunch around 1100. Took my first shower since Wed morning.

Family trip to Costco 1230-1430. Had lunch in the foodcourt as a break from the past few days. (didn't take us long to get back to American suburbia ways!). Then shopping to do some replenishment of perishables plus use the coupons we had been saving. Once back home, put all the food away, set up the inside frig again, bagged the remaining strawberries for deep freeze, and did about 5-6 loads of laundry!

I went out for another run about 1600. Around Little Mtn loop in the sun (80deg) with 6x1min surges, 6 miles total. While all sweaty, went about task of seriously cleaning the grill, made a mess of myself. Pulled out the grease catch, threw out the heat distribution plate, scraped old grease and remnants from the inside, tried like hell to degrease the cooking grids with minimal progress, even major degreaser didn’t work all that well. Finally wrapped it up around 1830 and had dinner (leftover turkey and greenbeans). Then got to eat my birthday cake! Spent more time through the afternoon and evening communicating with my bosses and employees about status of the Arsenal and work. Power back on? Stayed up late, of course.

3 May, Day 7. MOST ARSENAL WORKSITES STILL CLOSED, Huntsville Schools Closed

Woke around 0600 and headed to the gym to lift weights. Once back home, had breakfast with the boys and watched the rain come in. We were very lucky to have enjoyed cool, sunny weather throughout the power outage. After that I watched the daily press conference about local status on TV for once (instead of car radio) 0830-0900.

Now that laptop is charged back up, was able to look into and clean out all the email that I had been stacking up for days now. After that and a series of phone calls for work, I got Kirsten out of the house for a few hours and away from the boys. Fed the boys some lunch, did homework sheets with them all in turn through the afternoon. Even started to teach Luke how to ride his bike without training wheels. Got extra free time now, so take advantage. Went over to CrossFit Huntsville for a WOD ("Jackie"), then ran another 3mi at the X-C park nearby.

Spent time in the evening answering emails and doing command-control with my folks via text messages and email. Kirsten and I spent more time folding pile of huge pile of laundry (a lot of it with no washer-dryer for 5 days).

4 May, Day 8. ARSENAL STILL LARGELY CLOSED; HSV SCHOOLS STILL CLOSED; GORGEOUS SUNNY DAY (hi of 66deg)

By now, having the schools closed and Arsenal closed is getting to be a pain. I went for a run pre-dawn, then took the boys to Brueggers for bagels (say that 5 times fast). From there it was down to the YMCA where I could run some energy out of them for the next two hours.

By early afternoon, news came out out that most buildings on the Arsenal would be open tomorrow, as would Huntsville City Schools.

5 May (Thurs)...back to normal!

Strolling Jim 40M - May 2011

2011-05-27T18:31:00.006-05:00

My fifth journey through the hills of Bedford County, TN, the Strolling Jim 40-Miler is a Southern ultrarunning classic. Seemingly innocuous on paper (I mean, heck, just 40mi of road. Kinda like an extended marathon right?), the "4 Small Hills" scattered through the race have a habit of chewing up unsuspecting runners (and even a few veterans!). But I always love coming back to WarTrace for the people, the scenery, and a well-executed race.

Got up 0430 on race, left the house, went through Shelbyville 0615, ended up coming in right behind Rob/Kathy Youngren. Saw Gary Cantrell on final mile of his overnight race into WarTrace. Got a chance to talk with DeWayne, Blake, Rob, Dink, Stan/Chrissy Ferguson, and more before the race. Fairly cool morning, great racing weather. Wearing NB760 shoes (needed extra firm for the toe fracture from the Ouachita 50M), Injinji socks, Desoto shorts with UnderArmour compression shorts underneath, tech shirt from Cheaha race, Nathan racing vest (non-hydration), hand-held bottle for water, carrying 3 flasks of Perpetuem, plus plenty of electrolytes tabs and ground sea salt in a ziploc bag.

Started 0700 on time. I posted a number of photos at my Picasa account. Here are the split times:

Mile Marker	Split	Elapsed Time
5 mi	42:07	42:07
10 mi	45:28	1:27:36
15 mi	44:28	2:21:04
20 mi	47:29	2:59:33
25 mi	50:16	3:49:49
30 mi	50:08	4:38:58
35 mi	53:50	5:33:48
40 mi	52:59	6:26:47
Finish		6:40:33

37th OA out of 112 finishers (116 starters)

Not atypical for me, first 1-2mi were a little slow as I got my body warmed up and running smoothly. Had to take a pee break in the early miles, hadn’t quite recycled all of my coffee before the race. Caught up with Christy Scott and ran with her for a while; her daughter Courtney crewed her all day long and did a bang-up job. Went through 5mi marker alongside Christy and no issues at 42:07.

Kept steady pace but made more pee stops (!) as we passed through Normandy and made the right turn for Climb #1. Ground out that climb, no walking for me. Hit the 10mi marker at the top of the climb in 1:27:36 (45:28 split) and eventually moved out of the midpack into about 40th place.

Smooth sailing thru half-marathon point and across US-41. Trade spots back and forth with Christy and a few other runners until the late miles, but was running solo for the most part. Passed the 15mi mark in 2:21:04 elapsed (44:28 split). The middle toes on my right foot started to cramp around mile 15-16, really hurts, damn things want to curl up into a ball. So no choice but to throw down sea salt or extra S-Caps. Alas, over time, the extra salt makes me a bit nauseous, so have to manage that as well.

Passed into flat area with a couple of now-familiar motivational saying painted on the road, “No Pain No Brain” and directions for “Running Fools” to make a right turn onto Bottle Hollow Rd. Some very pleasant countryside along this stretch of the course, but the runner’s focus changes as the long, winding, grinding Climb #2 starts. I am still feeling loose and relaxed, and just ground out that climb, no walking. Rewarded by a water stop up top then saw Courtney Scott as she waited for her mom who was right behind me. Passed the 20-mi mark is up top at 2:59:33 elapsed (47:29 split, not bad with the climb, still running even splits), followed by a right nasty little descent with “Quad Killer” painted on the road before reading the halfway point with its wry humor.

Couple of flat miles before a left turn onto Hill Top Rd and the approach to Climb #3. This is not a long climb, but the road seems to run into a pocket of the Earth, then pitches upward at a right nasty angle. Runners, of course, are greeted with another motivational phrase, “Big Girls Run This Hill”. I am still feeling good and grind out this climb it, no walking. Matter of fact, I ran all of the climbs today, only walked about 10min total during the race. Grabbed a water refill up top, BS’ed with some locals for a minute before another crushing descent to the 25mi mark below in 3:49:49 (split 50:16, last climb). Stomach is edgy now, having to take in more salt than normal to keep my toes from cramping. Putting in calories help, but only so much.

Long, relatively flat stretch up Hwy 130 and Hwy 276. This is a tough stretch mentally, because it is a fairly long pull (~4mi) but you want to get it over so that you can start tackling Cathey Rd and The Walls; thus it always seems longer than it really is.

Finally comes Cathey Rd and entrance to the infamous Walls (site of many flameout for Jim runners). This stretch spares few athletes, one of the toughest pieces of ultrarunning in the South. “Gentle Grades Ahead” my ass. I linked up with COL Jeff Hager who works at Redstone as well, and we ground out the climbs; again, I ran it all (admittedly as slow pace), wanted the training effect for Western States. Hit the 30mi mark in the Walls at 4:39:58 (split 50:08, got a little faster), passed through all that nastiness before making the descent out of it, only to be lied to again by the painted “No More Hills” on the road.

Traded spots with Jeff Hager a few times as we made our way back to US-41, keeping a focus on knocking down 10min/miles, and keeping the water/calories/electrolytes flowing. Passed the 35mi mark at 5:33:48 (53:50 split) and made the turn onto 3 Forks Rd. Finally pulled out the mp3 player to help me get a better running rhythm going, just keep running and grinding it out! A pair of 2min walk breaks helped me consolidate myself for the final 10K stretch to home. Wide open country now, no shade at all, but fortunately overcast at this point.

Finally reached US-64 at 39.2mi with the age-old SJ40 joke of “Only Two More Miles” (making the race about 41.2mi in reality). Jeff Hager caught and passed me, looking strong in the final miles. Passed thru 40mi at 6:26:47 (52:59 split, ran pretty even all day long) then finally to the finish at 6:40:33

Talked with Rob Y and others a bit. Took some time to pour some cold water on my feet, bring swelling just a touch and rinse them off, plus load up Nathan hydration vest and pull on add’l gear and calories. Then after 30-35min, pulled up my gear, slipped across the tracks trying not to attract attention, and headed out for another 10 miles! [Ran the course out the 5mi marker and back.] the first mile was tough, as the legs had to start moving fluidly again. After 15min it started to work OK, took up a rhythm of 15min run (or 10min run), 5min walk break. Lots more cars than in the morning. Had to take a pitstop about 4mi out, but got to 5mi marker w/o incident and began the grind back to town. Took about 2hr 15min total, not great but not bad either. ~51mi on the day, I’ll take it!

Grabbed the hose at the Walking Horse Hotel again and just let the cold water run all over me, totally rinsed off and cooled down. Pulled on a change of shorts and t-shirt, then bellied up to the tables for a soda and bbq chicken. Spent some quality time BS’ing with Gary Cantrell and Ray Krolewicz, then RD Mike Melton. A very pleasant late afternoon hanging out in downtown WarTrace, TN. Finally peeled my ass out of the chair and 1700 and took a leisurely 2hr drive home. The boys immediately pounced on me as I walked in! ;-)

Ouachita Trail 50M - 16 Apr 2011

2011-05-26T16:58:00.016-05:00

A few weeks behind in posting my race report for the Ouachita Trail 50M, but better late than never. With RDs Stan and Chrissy Ferguson, you can be sure of a well-executed, challenging event, and the day did not disappoint. I drove over to Little Rock on Friday afternoon, camping out on Maumelle Park before the race. Follow this link for another fine race report, or go to this for a link on the 50k variant of the race, along with very cool flyover video.

The race started right on time at 6am. The first 3mi uneventful, as we headed west on Pinnacle Valley Rd towards the state park. Typical ultrarunner BS’ing, getting our legs warmed up and finding the right stride. Soon enough we got off the road and turned down onto the Ouachita National Recreation Trail. A bit unexpectedly, we made an extended descent down into a hollow before rolling out to the East Pinnacle aid station at the 4mi mark.

Now the real fun begins and we make the climb onto Pinnacle Mtn. Now that trail is probably among the coolest I have been on in the South, a rock scramble that goes right up the side of the unique terrain feature, climbing about 700’ in under a mile. Forget running, the trails consists of red/white paint blazes up through the rocks to the top; not dissimilar to climbing up Cheaha, but no dirt to speak of. Lots of jabbering and laughing and wry comments from the runners, we were still fresh and smiling and enjoying the scenery and the company. The view from up top on a cool, windy morning was fantastic; the climb up Pinnacle alone was worth the drive and race fee! Somehow I am surprised the race directors never opted to have folks make the climb at the end of the race as well, just as means of extra punishment!

Here is a cool video glimpse of the Pinnacle Mountain climb by vonralls.

Descent off the Pinnacle, down a different trail, was all huge rocks itself, so no way to go blowing down it. Back through the aid station, then heading west again on the Ouachita Trail. Brief stretch on State Hwy 300, passing along east end of Lake Maumelle and then the long run across the north shore of the lake. The trail and the course, while short of major climbs/descents, is nonetheless rarely never flat, sure as heck straight, and always very rocky. In short, it is more challenging than I had really anticipated, very akin to running on Monte Sano or across major stretches of the nearby Pinhoti in terms of rocks and technicality. And so for the next 3 hours I simply ground out the miles, trying to avoid major spills, passing through the Northshore and Long Crossing (unmanned water drop) aid stations. I had some real low moments around 22-23 mi once we got in sight of western end of the lake, my fun meter just about pegged.

Crossed over Hwy 113, put my head down and went south eventually crossing over the western edge of the lake and to the turn-around. Had a change of shoes/socks at the turn (26.5mi) but since I was going to get wet in just a few minutes anyway, and my Inov-8s were working just fine, opted to not to make any changes. Just loaded up on the water, ate a couple of cookies, and began the trip.

I rode out several low points, had a nice resurgence around 31mi. Then my old friend Murphy made a visit. While crossing through a creek, water up about 10-12” deep, I somehow slipped/tripped, and just hammered my left big toe hard. Damn that hurt! Did I just break that sucker? No way to tell, just took a pair of Aleve and tried to keep moving. In addition, toes on my right foot wanting to cramp badly, kept throwing down more and more Endurolytes to keep it that at bay.

The left toe was just really painful. I though seriously about stopping in the Northshore aid station to peel off the shoe/sock to look, but didn’t dare. If I so much as sat down I knew I would not get back; and sure as hell if I pulled off that sock and saw the damage, no way I would get my spare pair of socks back and then rise to finish the race.

Passed through an unofficial aid station run by the local Hash group, where they had more Vitamin-I, took three of those and just kept going. Can feel the toe swelling in the wet shoes, but little choice except to keep moving. The silver lining is that with all the anti-inflammatories I have in my system, all the minor aches/pains that come with a 50M run are all gone! While every rock I step on my sharp pain to the toe, I can otherwise run fairly well with no other minor aches!

I passed 4-5 folks in the final stretches, but almost made a wrong turn at the entrance to Pinnacle Mtn State Park! Fortunately, Stan Ferguson had painted “NO” on the road when I tried to make a left turn, which became my clue to look up then straight ahead to find a mass of blue flagging and blue blazes marking the trail going back into the trees! How the heck could I have missed that?

Ground up another mile of trail, through the last aid station, then a tough little climb up into the park and back out onto the pavement at last. 3mi of road to the finish, so set myself up on a 9min/mile pace and just kept pushing, pushing pushing. Several rolling hills on the way back, with the sun now out warming things up a bit. But kept focused and steady, making the final right turn and left turn into the race HQ, crossing the line at 10:24:57

A gorgeous late afternoon, so took a few minutes to walk around and get my body back under control. Swallowed down some recoverite, then finally took off my shoes/socks to reveal the damage:

Rinsed off with a hose in the picnic area, then had a couple of burgers while meeting some locals: Paul Turner, PoDog Vogler, Charles Flannigan, etc. Talked with Stan/Chrissy for a bit, generally BS’ing. Left the race HQ about 1900 and headed for Embassy Suites. Spent some time in an ice bath, little bit of laptop time, then crashed about 9pm. Enjoy a well-earned (and huge) Embassy Suites breakfast the next morning before heading home.

Reverse Double Mt Cheaha 100k

2011-02-28T18:40:00.000-06:00

The day of 26 Feb 2011 was spent pulling off a tom-fool stunt called the Reverse Double Cheaha 100k. For those not familiar, the Mt Cheaha 50k course is a wonderful, brutal, and point-to-point race in the Talladega Nat’l Forest, starting at Porter’s Gap on AL Hwy 77 and running NE to finish at the top of Alabama, Mt Cheaha (2407’ elevation). Participants are typically bussed down to the start line from from Cheaha State Park on race morning, then run 50k back along what is the toughest 50k course in the state. So it stands to reason that at some point, some moron would eschew the whole bus thing and simply run the course in reverse overnight to the start line, then complete the actual race. Turns out that moron is me.

But the seed of this idea did not start with me. A certain amount of blame lies with the infamous Rob Youngren, long of Huntsville and ultrarunning fame. You see, Rob lives right on top of Monte Sano Mountain in Huntsville, site of the Mtn Mist 50k course. So feeling bored/adventurous one year, Rob decides to leave his house at midnight before that year’s Mtn Mist (2006 if I recall), runs the course in the dark, cleans up, then runs the actual race…all pretty much on a whim. Then in 2009 he announces the day before the race he’s going to do it again, this time running the course in reverse starting at midnight before the actual race. For some absurd reason, myself and John Nevels decide to go with him. Rob called it the Reverse Double Mtn Mist (his idea, so he gets naming rights). Sometime in the months following that bit of tom-foolery, I am looking at the point-to-point Mt Cheaha 50k course map and remark to myself that doing a reserve double of that course looks ‘natural’. So on the dot of midnight under a moonless, star-filled sky, I set forth from the Cheaha 50k finish line at Bald Rock Lodge on Mount Cheaha State Park and start running backwards on the course.

Before the narrative, here are my split times in each direction:

Outbound:

Bald Rock to Chinnabee: 01:40

At Adams Gap: 01:35 (03:15 total), leave Adams Gap 03:25 total

At Clairmont Gap: 1:30 (04:55 total)

At Chandler Springs: 1:11 (06:06 total)

At Porters Gap: 00:47 (6hr 53min outbound)

Splits Inbound:

Chandler Springs: 00:39:37

Clairmont Gap: 01:03:01 (1:42:39 total)

Adams Gap: 1:29:52 (3:13:31 total)

Chinnabee: 1:34:11 (4:46:42 total)

Finish at Bald Rock: 2:02:11 (6:48:02 inbound for the race)

The Reverse

It was a bit surreal at first: near-total silence on the mountain; crisp, cool air; a slight breeze blowing leaves around here and there. It was only later in the night it dawned on me that I was out SOLO, in the dark, on an isolated trail system, in the dead of night. But it was perfectly fine, and the realization of all that brought a smile to my face. A sure sign that I was doing something enjoyable, not scary.

So if you look at the course map of the Cheaha race, you can see that the first terrain feature to be negotiated is running down off of the Cheaha massif to the valley below. The formal name for this path is the Rock Garden Trail; the more appropriate moniker is “Blue Hell” for the route down to the Cheaha Lake below. The names comes from the all the blue paint marks that help hikers (for no one can actual run this thing) find their down (or up) through the rocks and tree roots that make the trail. Words cannot describe its difficulty, though several have tried! . Many consider it to be the toughest piece of trail in the state.

Anyway, so I make my way down Blue Hell in the dark with the help of my headlamp, emerging below at Cheaha Lake and pulling out onto a short stretch of blacktop road and then turn onto FS 600-3 (improved dirt road). I was moving a pretty steady clip, feeling wide awake and juiced up from the adventure ahead. About the 45-50min mark I spotted the turn off FS600-3 and onto the Chinnabee-Silent Trail, beginning a 10mi trail section. The trail is in great condition: dry, no puddles, very little in the way of downed trees or other debris; as good a shape as I have seen. The running is enjoyable and coming smooth, so I really enjoyed to approach to Chinnabee Lake in the dark. Soon enough I could hear the rushing waters of the creek that feeds the small lake, with a great piece of trail guiding those on foot steadily downward to the lake. Reached Chinnabee and crossed over the creek at 0140.

Coming out of Chinnabee on the Skyway Trail is a tough climb out of the narrow gorge made by the lake now behind me. But after that is 4mi of steady in-out of small draws and spurs, crossing over old, abandoned forest-service roads and a few creeks. Plenty of steady running and feeling pretty good. After the final creek crossing is a hard left turn and you begin to make the mile-long climb to Adams Gap up at the end of AL-281 and beginning of FS 600-1 (Cheaha Motorway). I got to Adams Gap around 0315, filled up my Nathan hydration pack from a jug of water I had left there earlier, downed a pair of espresso gels from the same stash (caffeine is a good thing at this time of the morning), then made a pitstop in the trees before leaving there 10min later. I was a tad surprised at how fast I made into Adams Gap, told myself to slow it down a touch on the latter half of the course. Otherwise I would just screw myself for the race itself. Plus, if I rolled into the starting area much before 0645, likely that Todd Henderson (race director) would not be there with my spare gear and a warm truck to hole up in for a few moments! Going too fast served little purpose.

Turned out not to be a huge problem, for the next ~6.5mi to Clairmont Gap (via Pinhoti Trail) is probably the roughest on the course: plenty of rocks to down over, a narrow trail on the cant; a tight, winding descent into a small creek following a tough, rocky climb out of it; all followed by another 4mi of technical, rocky trail. The whole thing can beat up your feet and ankles, and the rocks force most folks to walk over them, sapping your momentum as you attempt to stumble forward gracefully without rolling ankles or falling over period! But towards the end of the stretch I was rewarded with some great views to the north towards Talladega and Oxford, then to valleys on the south as well. A 40% moon, no clouds, plenty of stars made for great sights, as long as you paid heed to the trail underfoot!

Came down to Clairmont Gap around 0455, crossed over the road, and began a relatively easy section where the course follows FS 600-1 (Talladega Skyway) instead of the Pinhoti Trail for about 2mi. Turned off the headlamp for a bit and just ran by moonlight. But that respite did not last long, as the course re-enters the Pinhoti, makes a decsent into a dark, desolate hollow before climbing up and over FS600-3 again to the ridgeline of Talladega Mtn. For the last 2 hours I have heard the trains running in the night on a major rail system just to the south and set up tracks that crosses the Pinhoti going north-south to the town of Talladega. and finally coming down to Chandler Springs. Finally the trail comes down to a gap in the mountain at Chandler Springs, crossing a decent-sized creek and set of railroad tracks. I got there just after 6am, moving steadily in the emerging dawn.

So after Chandler Springs is a 3.5mi stretch up and over Talladega Mtn one last time to Porters Gap, and I had a target time of 0700 at the start line. Not too soon, lest I be sitting there in the cold morning (it was hovering right around freezing). And not too late, or I wouldn’t get a enough time to change socks/shoes, other vital gear, and generally get reset for the race. But the climb up the mountain, while not technical, is fairly steep, so I just opted to power-hike that sucker vs. grinding it out on the run. Again I was rewarded with some great views to the South and Southwest towards Horn Mtn (glad I am not doing THAT section of the Pinhoti Trail anytime soon!) as the sun was fully up now and I turned off my headlamp and flashlight. Once over the peak of that section of the mountain, made a smooth and steady descent into Porters Gap. The buses with all the runners had not showed up, and only got a few stupid looks from folks there wondering where I had come from. Checked in the RD Todd Henderson, who blessedly brought a bag of spare gear down to the start. He cranked up his truck, so I climbed in and changed gear in warmth and relative comfort. I was in really good spirits, so once the buses showed up, spent some time BS’ing with Will/Emily Ansick, John Dove, Dana Overton, DeWayne Satterfield, Dink Taylor, Christian Griffith, Marcus Ferris, Mike O’Melia and others.

The Race Itself

Given that my race plan came together fairly well, I only had a 1/2hr of time between 50K legs, which just about perfect. Todd Henderson started us off right at 0730 with the now-standard playing of “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynard and we were off on the Race to the Top of Alabama! Given that I wasn’t exactly going out with the leaders, settled comfortably in the conga line for the first section back to Chandler Springs. I was a might chilly at the start, but I opted for a short-sleeve shirt (orange “No Cupcakes” shirt from Fleet Feet Huntsville, the better to find my dead body should I pop later in the day) and no hat/gloves. The weather forecast called for 70+ deg that day, and were not disappointed, but more on that later.

For the race itself, I enforced a fairly strict 25min run/5min walk-rest cycle, concentrating on putting fuel down during the walk breaks. Plus I was going to power-walk a goodly number of the climbs as well. Took my first break on top of the mountain, watching more people pass me, many of whom I ended up catching later in the day. After the steep, winding descent to Chandler Springs at about 40min, things started to space out some and found more to room to run and set my own rhythm rather than get stuck in a crowd. Even still, talked to several nice folks on the run: a couple of college kids on their first ultra (one of whom is Mike O’Melia’s nephew), a small team of folks from Atlanta area with their coach, and one dude who picked me up after a took a nasty little spill on the trail (gonna have a bruise on my knee for several days after that one). Then there was some gal, obviously a triathlete (wearing a tri skinsuit and wearing some sort of cycling shoes of all things). She was about the most annoying person I have ever heard on the trail; whining, moaning, and generally complaining on every little climb. I doubt she even read the course description or check the course map, for she likely had no idea about Cheaha when she signed up! I swear, I know it is a bit of hyperbole, but my wife made less noise delivering all three of our boys! Welcome to trail running, young lady!

Relatively uneventful and nice running back through Clairmont Gap at about 1hr 42min elapsed. I took a little spill in the rocks beyond that aid station, hammering the nail bed of my left ring finger and seeping blood out of it for the next 30min until I get sufficient pressure on it to clot properly; that sucker stings even now I sit typing this report on an American Airlines flight to the West Coast (yes, traveling on business the day after 100k). Passed a few more folks on a long technical descent before climbing up and out to Adams Gap at about 3hr 13min elapsed.

It was at this point I began to realize that I my splits were the same as the outbound leg overnight. While of course, even (or negative) splits is the goal of any serious runner, the realities of long races (esp. trail ultras) often preclude it. But hey, we’ll see how it goes rest of the day. While I came off of Mt Cheaha in the dark, I would be finishing by climbing back up it in the heat of the day (not bad at 70-75deg, but not exactly cool either). My goal was to run as steady as possible, keeping the pressure on myself to simulate the pace/effort that I will need later this year at Western States.

The out-back getting off the Pinhoti Trail into Adams Gap is a rocky mess, but the steady descent into down the Skyway trail is quite enjoyable. Made my way across two minor creek crossings, up past another aid station, down and through Hubbard Creek before making the approach to Lake Chinnabee. By now I am starting to feel the clear, sunny sky and the temperature a bit. Not sweating through all my clothes, my definitely drinking my one hand-bottle dry between aid stations. Dropped over the edge of the technical descent to the lake, with all the green vegetation in that enclosed gorge. A nice fellow let me pass him right at the top, and I mustered the juice in my legs again to make a swift descent. Unlike past years, the creek was fairly low, no need for ropes or even getting wet (matter of fact, I never got so much as a toe wet the whole 100k). Quickly danced over the available rocks and did the short out-back to the aid station (4:47 elapsed now). Drained 3-4 cups of HEED and took another two Endurolytes; the toes on the right foot keeping threatening to cramp, a rather uncomfortable experience.

The climb out of Chinnabee was very pleasant, I took a little extra time with all that fluid sloshing around in my gut. The winding trail over to the Silent Shelter was in good shape, as we runners passed multiple bands of hikers, boy scout troops, and church groups. Finally popped out on FS600-3, and hit the road section. While doing great mentally and emotionally, the body was getting tired from the distance, the effort, and lack of sleep (over 31 hours awake at this point). I got into a strict 2min run/1min power-walk cycle, pushing down a few calories at each walk break. After 10min I extended that out to 3min/1min while keeping a firm eye on the watch and really beginning to grasp the possibility of hitting negative splits for the race (inbound leg faster than outbound). But to do I had to keep mentally/emotionally tough, and I had to climb Blue Hell!

So turned onto the blacktop, and just like last year (running with Eric Fritz) there loomed the Cheaha massif, nearly a full 1000’ above us with nothing but suffering to get past during the 3/4mi climb right up the side. After passing through the Lake Cheaha aid station, I began the climb of Blue Hell with 95k on these legs already. At first I could run it, then it become a power-walk, and finally I just kept telling myself to keep moving, one foot in front of the another. Do not stop for anything, do not lose momentum, just keep going up and up and up through those accursed boulders rocks and darn blue paint marks until finally, there is the end of it as the trail came out onto the park’s perimeter road.

But wait, it ain’t over yet! Because despite the nice simple line on the course map, we re-enter a short, rough trail and climb another 200’ elevation again to the very top of Alabama and pass by the park’s observation tower at 2407’. Nothing compared to Colorado, mind you, but enough for down here! And even beyond that, the course enters one final insult stage with 3/4 miles more of single-track trail, winding around to Bald Rock Lodge and my eventual finish at 6:48:02 (68th place out of 182 finishers), accompanied by a wonderful, bright, sunny Alabama spring day.

Aftermath

No shame in saying I was pretty happy with it all at that point. Several folks there at the finish knew what kind of silly stunt I had just pulled off, so rose to greet me, doing high-fives and first bumps. Christian Griffith was on the steps chilling and grinning like a villain, having finished in 5:46 (another stellar day in a string of recent races). John Dove was there, then saw Todd Henderson, DeWayne Satterfield, Dana Overton and multiple folks from the Atlanta-GUTS crew. Meandered inside to find my duffle bag and swallow down some Recoverite before mooching a shower from someone staying at the lodge. No hot water at all, but a cold water shower was just fine by me at that point. Though really not all that hungry (rarely have an appetite after such efforts), grabbed a few slices of pizza and a soda (a real Coke, with sugar and all, no diet BS) before heading outside to sit in the grass, soak up a little sun, and jawbone with folks at the finish area.

I started to zone out around around 1630 or so (surprise, surprise: no sleep for 34 hours by now), so took a power nap on the couch inside. I have no doubt folks passed by me and pointed to the stupid fool taking a siesta. Arose around 1730 a touch groggy, but wandered into the main hall of the lodge and found a good crowd of the GUTS folks there. Still not exactly hungry, but knowing I needed to eat some more, I took advantage of the wonderful homemade chili that Todd/Jamie had prepared. Sucked back another Coke with it, had a little dessert to boot. Around 1800 I knew it was time to started the journey home, so gathered my gear, said my good-byes and see-you-next-race and headed out. Made a stop at the Starbucks in Oxford off I-20 for the largest cup of black coffee they would sell me and headed for home, my wonderful wife, and three sleeping boys.

A huge CONGRATS and THANKS to Todd and Jamie Henderson for such a great event. They do such a wonderful job of turning a tough 50k race into a whole event: from arranging the amenities of Bald Rock Lodge at Cheaha State Park, the trasnpo necessary for a point-to-point course, great aid stations, plus post-race chili party on Sat evening. Not enough good things I can say about this pair: good, good peoples.

I can’t say if I’ll strap on the trail shoes for another Cheaha 50k, and no way in hell I will do that 100k stunt again, but definitely will be back next year and years beyond in some capacity (volunteering, crewing, coaching, or otherwise). It is a great venue (both the race itself and the whole area) with plenty of reasons to come back. Be well…..

Louisville Lovin' the Hills 50k, 12 Feb 2011

2011-02-23T21:33:00.000-06:00

Wanted to log a long trail run, plus the exploring bug got to me a little bit, so traveled up to Louisville, KY for the infamous Lovin' the Hills 50k. I once heard Rob Youngren mention that this sucker is even tougher than the Mtn Mist or the Mt Cheaha race, so of course that was a factor as well! And no joke, Rob wasn't kidding; the LLTH is probably one of the toughest 50k races I have ever seen. The only events of similar distances from my experiences were the now-defunct Carmel Valley 50K and Quad Dipsea races in California.

I have never driven north of Nashville, TN on I-65, so all new territory for me as I passed across the TN/KY state line. Not enough time to visit Mammoth Cave National Park, but did manage an all-too-short quick stop at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site before it closed. Hope to get back to each of these and spend more time in the future. After bashing my way into downtown Louisville on a Friday afternoon, picked up my race packet at Ken Combs Running Store before checking into my hotel south of the city.

Now, as I am driving up to Louisville and seeing landscape flatten out a bit, beginning to wonder what all the hype over the difficulty of the course. I mean, having read race reports from Rob Youngren, Susan Donnelly, and others, I am expecting some pretty hellacious terrain, but not seeing it anywhere. Bu then I pulled off the interstate south of town and drove a mere 3m. Then the backroad immediately climbed up into the Jefferson Memorial Forest and holy cow, now I know what they were talking about! Once up on the plateau, there were multiple steep, narrow draws and spurs coming off in all directions. No major elevations changes, just that you could tell the trails would climb/descend those terrain features time and again.

So next morning I woke 0540 at hotel, pulled on my gear, and walked down to the lobby to eat some breakfast. It was a dang trail runner convention in there! Rob Apple and Susan Donnelly were quietly, along with another dozen folks. I cracked a joke out loud, “So, y’all are here for the Snowman 5k downright, right?” To which I got a mix of chuckles and light derision from the crowd)

The race started 0800 in the cold, about 25deg with some breeze. Plenty of snow still about, kept the trail fairly runnable with no mud for the first 2-3 hours. The pack moved along steady for a mile until we hit the first single track and it was game-on. Hard left turn and narrow descent down a 12” wide trail with scattered tree roots. Turned out not to be a major descent, crossed over a creek bed at the bottom in few minutes, but made an immediately climb back up the other side, setting a pattern for the day of coming off one ridge and climbing to the next. Now it is not that the Forest is amazingly technical or rocky like Monte Sano or Cheaha or Lookout Mtn, but that the trails are narrow, canted, and never ever flat! But the first leg went quite smooth overall, trail was in good shape and the pack I was in moved along steadily. Went thru A/S #1 just under an hour and proceeded over to leg 2 on the Yost Trail towards the east. Only irritating part was having my sunglasses keep fogging up on the climbs (tucked under my skull cap), then can’t see out of them when I needed most on the ensuing descents. So had to park them on my head for the until about Mile 20 when it was warm enough to pull off the skull cap.

Passed over a paved road about Mile 7, then a ½ mile of the course was roughed, no real trail, so had to slow down some on the climb and took some sawbriar cuts. The second leg was still in good shape, lots of packed snow but no mud (yet). Watched Dave Corfman (from OH) slip right off the trail as it traversed a slippery rock face; the smooth rock had run-off covering and he just went down the side. It is what I am now calling a “Jeff Bryan”, so-named for Jeff Bryan of Tallahassee after watching him unexpectedly sliding off the Cold Springs about 1mi into this year’s Mtn Mist 50K!

With so many twists, turns, climbs, and descent on the second leg, it was only the sun position that gave me any clue where I was at on the course. A/S #2 at Mile 12 kind of just popped out of nowhere, a welcome respite for 200m in the parking lot until resuming the trail. We backtracked on the course about a mile towards the west until reaching the major intersection of the race; Leg 2 goes to the east (which I had just finished), whereas Leg 3 (18mi) goes to the west. Turns about the first dozen runners got to the intersection in the morning and turned West (to Leg 3) instead of East (to Leg 2). Thus they not only got ahead of the aid station crews out to the west, but upon getting back to that intersection with about 1.5mi to the finish area (off a bit to the South), they were ordered to continue heading East and finish Leg 2! Ouch!

The first part of Leg 3 was some enjoyable and challenging trail work. Made a long descent to the Jefferson Memorial Forest Welcome Center, crossed the road, then ground up a long single-track climb back onto the ridgeline. Still covered in the snow and on a small cant, the narrow trail demanded your full attention to not slip off and go careening to the bottom. But we eventually gained the major ridge top of the race on the Siltstone Trail, some enjoyable running with relatively minor climbs and descent and much less snow up top. But the worst was yet to come as midday approached, the temperature pushed towards 50deg and the snow began a major melt-off

Spent a good part of this section jawboning with Dave Corfman and Dave Krekeler from Cincinnati area. We were climbing and talking about techniques to beat the hills when they mentioned Dave Riddle busting the course record at Stone Steps. Of course, the name is a bit familiar to me, so we waxed eloquent about the good Mr. Riddle for the next mile or two: what brought him to Cinci, success at JFK50 and Mtn Mist, etc. I stopped to take a leak and Dave left me way behind, ended up finishing about 10-15min ahead of me.

I was started to feel the fatigue and pain in my left glute-hammy as I approached the Scotts Gap aid station around Mile 20. The sun was full out now, so pulled off my skull cap and slid my Oakleys back on; the Rx glasses help a lot, easier to see the fine details of the trail ahead of me! But alas, by now major pieces of the trail are turning to muddy mush, slowing things down some more. Beyond Scotts Gap is a 3mi CCW loop that climbs straight up for ½ mile, makes a descent along a short ridge before turning left down another sharp, switch-back descent that is nothing but slick, watery mud by now. The 3mi loop took nearly an hour, too much short-stepping and walking to avoid going down hard or sliding off the trail. Once back at the Scotts Gap a/s I discovered the young lady behind was the first place woman. The discovery that I might not get “chicked” today was motivating; forgive the obviously chauvinistic term, but it is no lie that I moved smartly on the long return leg towards the finish.

Alas, by now the long climb out of Scotts Gap back onto the ridge line was hampered by long stretches of very slushy-muddy trail. Tough to make a good climb of it when you get even get solid, reliable traction. But made myself smile and enjoy the fine scenery and great course, eventually gained the ridge where the trail went smooth again and did some running up there. I was running completely solo by now, the only people I saw were those going outbound towards the west as I head back east. It is a 10k stretch from Scotts Gap back to the Welcome Center, single-track all the way. Lots more mud as the course came off the ridge down into another creek bed then climbed back up. Eventually hit some snowy patches again that made things a little faster but just a treacherous on the 12” wide slippery trail

Ground my way back to the major race intersection at about 6.5hrs and turned south for the finish area 1.5mi away. Another steady descent along some an albeit wider but still very muddy trail. Came turn a major right-hand switchback with another gent that had come up behind me. I went all the way around the switch, but this dude cuts if off inside me on the turn, slides down the switch about 10’ shy and just left a huge scar in the muddy switch where his feet slid down. What an ass. He was gone, I wouldn’t have caught him anyway, but irritating nonetheless. The last 1/2mi to the finish was all winding climb, little running possible for a nice finish line photo!

Complete the course in 6hr, 50min, 19sec according to official records. Finisher prize was a wooden ornament and Colorado Birch tree sapling that I planted with the boys at home. Overall, toughest 50K I have seen in the South. One of the Horton races in VA may be tougher, but LLTH beats Cheaha in my opinion. Range of finish times all slower than Mtn Mist or Cheaha. I think the Carmel Valley 50k and I ran in California in 2004 were even tougher than this, but only because the climbs/descent were much longer in the California Coastal range around Monterey.

Got myself cleaned up inside, enjoyed a couple of bowls of homemade with Dave Corfman inside the Horine Center (race HQ). Eventually got on the road about 1700 EST, grabbed my McD’s coffee on I-65, made it home around 2030 CST.

2011 Mountain Mist 50K

2011-01-23T20:42:00.000-06:00

Finish #4 in the books for the infamous Mountain Mist 50K on the rugged trails of Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville, AL. Bottom line for me is a finish time of 5:41:39 (course PR by 16min), 53d overall out of 274 finishers (previous best finish was 77th place). Although great portions of the course get worse every passing year, this year’s ice and snow kept the muddiness down, at least for front half of the pack, and overall speed better than normal. I felt pretty good in the first half, moving quite well down Warparth Ridge, etc for a split time of about 2:48 at Fearn Drive (at least 10min faster than norms in 2007-2008). Second half went well, but I was struggling for to keep the pace going crossing over Monte Sano Blvd and into McKay Hollow. I knew was on course PR time, so abandoned any though of ‘enjoying’ the race and pushed the suffering level quite hard. Usually I can come off of Rest Shelter and drop the hammer, was a tad more subdued this year coming onto the plateau. But overall results were good, don’t think I could’ve squeezed more than 2-3 more minutes of my time today.

The really lovely thing about this race is the start is a mere 10min drive from my house. So I actually slept in, waking up 0630, prepped a mug of green tea (to clear the system out an hour hence), put on my race gear, headed up to Monte Sano. I got to lodge aboit 0700, and jawboned with some my fellow Fleet Feet Racing Team comrades, then Christian Griffith, Tony Gonzalez and other from the GUTS/Atlanta crew.

Race started right on time at 0800. Breaking the race down by sections, I came around the Mtn Mist Trail portion with steady pace, right behind Christy Scott most of the way. Pushed some fuel and electrolytes while up on the Gravel Road and Family Bike Trail.

After A/S #1, I took my foot off the brakes and let it loose down Warpath Ridge all the way out the Powerlines, passing 10-15 people on the way and taking the home court advantage while I could. The nice part (or sometimes worst) aspect of coming out on to the powerlines is that, with a quick glance to the south, I can see my house in the distance and contemplate how easy it would be just to head home! But non of that, turned north, worked the wide open spaces under the Powerlines, and back into the single track trail. The climb up K2 went fine, but took a few minutes along the Goat Trail for my legs to come back.

I blew right through A/S #2 at 3 Benches, still had plenty of water from the race start. Splits along Keith and Logan Point Trail probably a little slower, did not see much of anybody all the way around to Stone Cuts and into the Sinks. Had to make a pitstop back up on the Mtn Mist trail before heading to Cold Springs and Fearn Drive, probably cost me an extra 5min there.

I moved steadily to Fearn Drive, split was about 2:48, fastest I have ever gotten there. Filled up water bottle and boogied right out and into the Land Trust. My legs were starting to feel it some by now, but also moving into a section of the course I knew well and could run. Steadily passed 4-5 more folks over High Trail, Bluffline and R/R Bed trails, then passed Jon Elmore in the Alms House area (Jon was having a rough time, but rallied well after Monte Sano Blvd to finish strong). Swallowed down some Perpetuem just before 3 Caves, then made the left turn up the Waterline. Climbed well and steady, passing Marty Coleman and then Sally Brooking, but not going up that section with as much intensity as I have been about to generate in the past; went up better even during the Reverse Double Mountain Mist stunt two years ago. But oh well, topped out fine, gotten a shuffle going again on the way to Monte Sano Blvd (the slowness captured quite alarmingly in Marcus Farris’ excellent video, see 1:50 mark).

I crossed over Monte Sano with Sally Brooking right on my tail, she ended up pushing me the rest of the race. Got an OK rhythm going again heading towards Natural Well, but legs not allowing too fast a tempo any more, especially in the rocks. Moved fairly well down into McKay Hollow, though the trail has more rocks, tree roots and washouts than I can ever remember (a sure sign of my old age). Couldn’t move all that great across the final stretch of Natural Well trail, but turned onto the McKay Hollow trail around 5hr mark and did run well along the Slush Mile, mentally forcing myself to pick up my legs and drive the body over the final miles. The climb up Rest Shelter was difficult as usual; in training I had been able to run nearly all of it, but had to power-hike about half of it today. But stayed mentally focused and kept pushing, really stretching myself to get as much of a PR as I could. Topped out on Rest Shelter hill with Sally right on my ass, greeted warmly by Dink Taylor ("only 1.9mi of candy-ass trail to go, and you got a 54-year old woman right behind you!"), swallowed a cup of coke and willed my legs to get going again. First 1/4mi out of the aid station was tough, but finally got a rhythm going and ran well all the way to the finish. Fortunately, Sally stopped to finish sipping her beer, or she probably would have beaten me! Made the left turn towards the lodge and took it the house in 5:41:39.

Took a few minutes to gather my wits, down a recovery drink and walk around a few minutes to let my stomach settle down. Jawboned with folks from the local area and GUTS crew from Atlanta, wandering back-forth from the warmth of the lodge to the finish area outside to greet folks coming in. After a half-hour or so, went to the food line and downed some pizza, and chatted with DeWayne, Rob, James Falcon, Dave Riddle, Blake Thompson, and many others. Waited another 90min to see Tim Kerstetter finish, then to see Carol Eaton come across the line for her Fleet Feet Slam finish.

Got home around 1700 and showered up. Was considering the post-race party at Duffy’s, always a good time. But when I sat down on the couch for a second, Luke (my youngest) curled up in my lap and promptly fell asleep. And you know, I just stayed right there with him for the next hour, comfortable and warm; a nice way to wrap up the day.

Father-Son Backpacking/Camping Trip to Sipsey Wilderness

2011-01-23T01:46:00.000-06:00

For Matthew's 11th birthday, I took him on a 2-day, 1-night backpacking expedition in the Sipsey Wilderness over the weekend of 15-16 Jan 2011. The trip was arranged via Born Wild Ministries, with 8 Father-Son pairs out in the snow and wilds. Matthew was excited as all get-out in the preceding days, has been bugging me to go camping for a while now. Well alright kid, you wanna sleep outside, we can arrange that!

We left home 0700 on Saturday morning, linked up with other Father-Son pairs in Big Cove then Madison, and drove to the Bankhead National Forest and Sipsey area. It took about an hour to get vehicles shuttled into the right places (left one vehicle on the east side, or exit point, other vehicles drove around to west side, entry point). But we finally shoved off from the Thompson Creek Trailhead around 11am. And yes, there was still plenty of snow hanging around

The group followed 6 mile route along the headwaters of the Sipsey River to a sandy, riverside campsite at the intersection of Sipsey River and Bee Branch. After setting up camp, Matthew and I explored north up the Bee Branch canyon area until sunset around 5pm. Boiled some water and Matthew got his first taste of mac-n-cheese dehydrated meal, for which he was so excited he managed to overlook its processed taste! Rest of the evening was spent staring at Hiker TV (i.e. campfire) and drying out our shoes and socks from trudging through the snow.

After a very cold night (got down to about 25deg F), Matthew and I got up on Sunday morning around 0630. Spent some time teaching him how to break down the gear, re-pack his backpack, and use the small stove to boil water. Hot oatmeal around the campfire was certainly welcome at that point.

Leaving the campsite around 0930, the group went north along Bee Branch Canyon to find the falls along the east branch and view the largest tree in Alabama (a 500-year old, 150 foot tall Poplar). The view along the canyon walls was pretty cool, about 300-400' deep with huge icicles hanging all along the walls. The boys had a marvelous time standing underneath the falls and seeing all the ice.

After another 6mi of hard hiking, we exited the trail back near Borden Creek. Matthew was a champ,; with shoulder hurting and tired from the pack, he kept mentally tough and steadily hiked out of there, never complained one iota or stopped for anything. Took us about 90min to shuttle vehicles into place and load all the people packs.

The group took a lunch stop in Moulton at Pizza Hut, and we all got home around 1800. But wait, one more teaching point for Matt as we first pulled out the sleeping bags and tent to air them out for the night! (Can't quite head to the shower yet). Overall, it was a perfect opportunity to let Matthew try overnight backpacking.

Happenings: Luke's B-Day; Fiery Gizzard Trail Run

2010-10-11T20:47:00.000-05:00

Not atypical, plenty of goings on at Casa de Kennedy, and no ER visits or hospitalizations in recent weeks (knock on wood). Luke celebrated his 6th birthday, getting his Spiderman costume (Halloween) a few weeks early and actually eating (vs destroying his chocolate birthday). Then we took the whole crew to Southern Adventures and spent a slightly ridiculous amount of money entertaining three boys. We all played mini golf, rode bumper cars, drove go-karts, etc. I am pleased to report that all Kennedy males slept extremely well that night (me included).

BTW, note to all parents out there: buying Halloween costumes early may be a good bet, since our younger boys have insisted on wearing them nearly every day so far this month. Get your money's worth!

We had Fall Break this past week, but decided not to venture anywhere. Oma and Opa arrived Wed evening on their Autumn pilgrimage from NYC to Florida, staying for a week; anymore than that will require them at least 2-3 days of concentrated rest/recovery before engaging the boys again. But we're more than happy to let to do baths, story time, etc. Weekend was highlighted by Kirsten setting setting up her display and sales table of hand-made mosaic pieces at Saturday on the Square in downtown Huntsville.

Columbus Day is a most excellent Federal holiday, with the boys typically and me only tethered to work by my BlackBerry. Haven't logged any long adventure runs in a few months, so on the suggestion of Rob Youngren, went up the South Cumberland Rec Area and ran the Fiery Gizzard Trail. A truly great piece stretch of trail, starting at the south end at Foster Falls and winding north about 13mi to the Grundy Forest State Natural Area. Very runnable stretches and great Fall colors up on the plateau with stunning views over the gorge's edge, juxtaposed with gnarly, technical, ankle-rolling descents into the Gizzard along the veritable rock farm at the bottom. (Rolled my right ankle not once, but twice within the first two hours, slowing down progress somewhat.

Alas, I haven't gone that far since early July when some sort of knee injury brought my training to a halt for a while. So by mid-afternoon my legs were starting to get a little wobbly. So popped a squat on one of the magnificent overhangs, chewed on a Hammer nutrition bar and drank more water, let those calories work into my system. I was close to the parking lot, but wanted to take a final excursion back into the gorge and bottom of Foster Falls. Luckily, reward with a great wading pool and lots of cold water to soak my legs a bit before climbing the half-mile out of there and back to my XTerra.

Various Weekend Activities

2010-08-29T16:29:00.001-05:00

Haven't posted up much in a while. Running adventures took a hiatus once my training for Leadville Trail 100 was derailed by knee pain. But an interesting and productive weekend at Casa De Kennedy.

Saturday morning was the Running of the Bulls 5k at nearby Big Cove Creek Greenway and Hays Nature Preserve, so I took the boys over there to volunteer at the race as part of my Fleet Free Racing Team duties. We got the water station set up, and Matthew worked that part wiht other volunteers while Andy and I played traffic cop up the street where the greenway crossed the road. FF Team members Donald Bowman and Dana Overton won the respective overall titles, while Eric Charette raced then put down 16min total of the day. Incidentally, othjer FFRT members were up at the Lean Horse 100 in South Dakota, where the early word is that Blake Thompson raced to an unbelievable 17:45, Eric Fritz completed his first 100, and Rob Youngren racked up yet abother 100M finish.

In the afternoon I took Matthew to his karate test at Alexander’s Martial Arts, going for Brown 2 this time. But this these tests can last 3+ hours (this one went 3½ hrs), I went over to Crossfit-Huntsville and took the excellent POSE Method running workshop for an hour, then back to Matthew’s test until it wrapped up. Meanwhile, Kirsten was at Southern Adventures waterslides with Andy and Luke, nice afternoon for it. I pulled the CF WOD for the day at home, then Matthew and I mowed and edged the lawn, along with other general yard work. I tell you, 1-2 more years and having three boys will become an advantage as I train my slave labor force to take care of the yard, clean the dishes, and more! After all that I grilled some homemade burgers from our stock of grass-finished beef.

Sunday has been relatively chill. After church in the morning, I put in a workout, then Kirsten and Matthew went to a birthday party at the Redstone bowling alley on post. Me and Andy did some homework, read books, then cooked dinner for the crew. (And I managed to write a blog post!)

Independence Day Weekend for Clan Kennedy

2010-07-06T22:05:00.000-05:00

An enjoyable weekend in the Kennedy household over the long 4th of July weekend, though of course keeping three boys tied up over the summer is always a challenge! We managed a decent of free time for Kirsten (because she sho’ as heck don’t get much during the week), activities with the boys, and lo’ and behold, Kirsten and I even managed an hour-long conversation with only minor interruptions from the same-said boys!

Friday afternoon I managed to peel out of the office around 1400 and head for Elkmont, AL to put in a long run on the Richard Martin Trail, a rails-to-trail conversion and newly-designated National Recreation Trail. I had been meaning to explore it and log some miles, but the loss is mine, for it is a great piece of trail. I got started in mid-afternoon, parking at the railway depot right in Elkmont and using that as my personal aid station. The north section is about 4.6mi one-way, south section about 5.6mi one-way (10.2 mi total), with mileage markers every ½ mile in the path. The surface is fairly smooth crushed gravel the whole way, very run-able as I cranked out 8:30/mile pace most of the training session. Though I started in road shoes (NB904), got a few too many small, sharp stones in my foot, so flipped to a pair of Sportiva Wildcats after 90min and was comfortable rest of the evening. I managed to log about 33 miles, pushing the final few miles in the dark among the fireflies and night sounds.

Alas, I rarely sleep well after such an effort, so suffered a restless ‘night’ of sleep and gave up around 0530 on Saturday morning. So made a light breakfast and some coffee, read the newspaper and caught up on a little email, all before Matthew (my oldest) rose at 0615. After getting him a little breakfast, we drove up to north Huntsville and explored some of the Land Trust’s Wade Mountain Preserve for a few hours. After wearing him down somewhat, treated him to a special breakfast at IHOP back in central Huntsville, watching him scarf pancakes and getting a preview of what my monthly food bill will look like when all three of our boys are teenagers, i.e. probably higher than our mortgage! The kind waitress simply placed a full carafe of coffee on the table to help me out.

Matthew and I got home around 1100, and for a moment it was looking like I might take a little nap before digging into afternoon chores. But then Andy (our middle son) asks, “Daddy, can you take us to the waterslides at Southern Adventures?” So how can Dad possibly say no? So Kirsten and I quickly got all three boys into swim trunks and packed some snacks/towels and headed out. The season passes for this place are worth every dime! Luckily the park has a shady area for parents to sit and keep an eye on their progeny, so I parked there with a big bottle of iced green tea in an uncomfortable chair. And despite said tea, I dozed off after 45min, only to be awakened a few minutes (or was it an hour?) by a dripping child needing to go to the bathroom. So after a few hours there, the boys were sufficiently bored with the slides for one day and we went home. Once there, Kirsten was in her studio working on some new pieces. Matt and I mowed the front lawn and took care of other yard work before finally settling down late afternoon to prepare dinner and sit on my arse for a little bit.

Sunday morning was church time, and I got in a solid 90min tempo run in the early afternoon. Once home, I helped Matthew mow the back yard, then did math workbooks with the boys until dinner. We celebrated the 4th with a bunch of fireworks out in the street once the sun went down, managed to get the boys wound down and into bed around 2300.

Monday was a Federal holiday, so basically an extra Saturday for me! Got the boys up around 0700 and went to breakfast at Bruegger’s followed by our typical exercise routine at the local YMCA, plus a chance to practice headstands. Our you noticing the trend of wearing these boys down?! Did a little grocery shopping to help Kirsten, got Matthew a much needed summer haircut, and home late morning. I changed up a got in my first full class at Crossfit-Huntsville (this place is going to be kicking my tail for many months to come). Got home early afternoon and prepped the evening’s dinner before taking in a much-needed massage with Kim Susor to work on trashed muscles from many miles of running. Cooked dinner for my crew, let the boys watch a movie so Kirsten and I could take (how else do you think we could manage the feat of a 1-hr conversation?) and managed to get the boys to sleep around 2200.

Don’t even ask me what’s going on next weekend, I ain’t got that far yet!

'Recovery' Hike on 14ers, 20 Jun 2010

2010-06-24T19:20:00.000-05:00

Q: Hey Josh: you just completed the grueling San Juan Solstice Run yesterday, 50mi of high altitude running in southern Colorado that kicked your tail pretty good. What are you gonna do next?
A: Heck, I'm gonna take a 'recovery' hike on nearby 14ers Redcloud and Sunshine, that's what!

And so the day after a successful finish at SJS50, I found myself riding shotgun (with the intrepid Rob Youngren driving) in a Jeep Wrangler south of Lake City, CO enroute to the the trailhead for Redcloud Peak (14,034') and Sunshine Peak (14,001'). And we enjoyed a perfect weather day to boot, sunny blue skies, mild temps, just gusting winds; no storms or black clouds in sight.

Having not slept all that great after the race and still hungry, woke up early and got a big breakfast from the Tic-Toc Diner before heading over the race's awards ceremony at 0830. Joined by several other runners, including Joe Prusaitis and John Sharp, at the diner trying to refuel body stores with omelettes and pancakes! Starting at 0830, the race directors, like the race itself, put on a great awards ceremony with finishing prizes for all and tons of raffled items (which means, of course, I didn't get my name pulled for a prize!)

Afterwards, a group of runners caravan'ed down to the trailhead, including me, Rob, Kathy Youngren, Tony Gonzales, Perry Sebastian, Sally Brookings, Marty Coleman, Janice Anderson, and Vikena Yutz. We left the trailhead with perfect weather about 1100 and began the hike up to Redcloud. With several breaks on the 4.5mi route, we made the summit about 1400 and proceeded to take plenty of photos (view here at my Picasa account).

Since the afternoon weather was good, despite the 50-60mph wind gusts, we traversed the saddle going south for 1.5mi and quickly gained the top of Sunshine Peak.

Not content to simply reverse course back to Redcloud and head down, fearless adventurer Rob lead us down a SW finger off Sunshine through a crazy scree slope on the western face of the mountain. About 1300' below we took a break near a patch of snow before making our way down a chute in the rock formations. The chute took us a while, but culminated in several folks (Marty, Tony) getting long buttslides down snowpacks [very cool]. We traversed about another miles of rocks before coming into a long creekbed and draw in the mountain and down to the main trail. Then another 2mi downhill hike to the parking lot and trailhead, arriving just past 1900.

Thanks to Kathy's parent (Arthur and Mary Ann Faulkner) for treating us to a great dinner back at their cabin. We jawboned away another hour and watched the dogs make mischief for a while, experimenting with several beers from the New Belgium Brewing Co.

San Juan Solstice 50-Mile, Lake City, CO (19 Jun 2010)

2010-06-22T21:20:00.000-05:00

So I went to Lake City, CO for the San Juan Solstice 50 Mile Run. Got a burr up my rear end to see the Colorado mountains on two feet after listening to tales from Rob/Kathy Youngren and Joe Prusaitis. The SJS50 is the first of two races this summer, with a return trip in August for the Leadville Trail 100-Mile Run. So I was stoked to be there, putting mind and body to the test on one of the toughest ultra courses in the country.

But let us clear up a small misnomer now; 50-Mile Run is a stretch, for no one can run major portions of this high altitude event. The course makes major climbs into the San Juan Mtns and spends considerable time above 12,000 ft elevation, including a 12mi stretch on the Colorado Trail and Continental Divide (about 3mi above 13,000’). So smile folks, you get light-headed just trying to walk or jog slow up there, much less actually run.

The race started at 0500 from Town Park in Lake City, with the first 2.7mi heading out CR-20 towards Engineer Pass. From there we turned south and climbed up into Alpine Gulch and the Williams Creek Trail, topping out about 12,700’ on the first major climb. I got my first taste of what the climb and altitude can do to when I squeezed some Perpetuem paste into my mouth and tried to mix it up with a little water (i.e. just breathing through my nose); my heart rate jumped way up and my head started to swim immediately. For the rest of the day, I could only put down calories while walking on flat stretches or during the easy descents!

Absolutely awesome views up top, looking over a string of 14er peaks just a few miles away. My legs were feeling the first long climb (topped out at about 13,200’), and the subsequent long descent to the Williams Creek aid station (15.7mi) was about the longest I’ve ever pulled so my legs, even after years of training, were in new territory!

I rolled into the Williams Creek aid station just before 9am, grabbed some more fuel from my drop bag, and moved out of there (no sitting down!). The course wound up Cinnamon Pass Road (CR-30) for about 2.5mi, very runnable, before turning south up Wager Gulch Rd and the second major climb to the Carson ghost town site. So you may be thinking “just run up the jeep road” but I tell you that I had to power-walk nearly the entire 3000’ climb over 3mi to the next aid station. I’d get my arms swinging and get aggressive on the climb, but couldn’t push too hard or get light-headed from the effort and altitude. It was like I wanted to press, but instead the mountains were pressing me instead!

It was about 11am by the time I made the Carson a/s at about 12,200’. Rob and Kathy rolled in right behind me and took some aid while I pressed ahead. The jeep road was work-able, a steady climb that never got crazy, but I couldn’t push it too hard. We continued on up past Carson to the Continental Divide around 13,000 then turned left on the Colorado Trail and made for Coney Peak at 13,344’. Rob and Kathy reeled me back in during the secondary climb, and we began to traverse the Divide for a few miles. Unparalled scenery in all directions, with high mountain meadows to the east and a view of 14ers to the west. The trail is runnable, so I’m taking it about a 1/4mi at a time, then a walk break once my heart rate starts to get out of control and I get light-headed; legs are a bit wobbly as well and I’ve got a minor nose-bleed mixed in with the ever-present snot running out of my nostrils!

The 9.5mi stretch from Carson to the Divide aid station is a truly stunning piece of terrain, challenging as hell with a narrow single-track trail out guiding you along the upper reaches of the Lower 48. It took me 3 hours to make that segment, running a little, walking a lot, and letting gravity do its job on me during the downhill stretches. Some pieces were obnoxiously difficult with snowpacks (mercifully few of those) or scree-filled slopes, and I was just hanging in there, grinding out the miles one at a time not letting my breathing and heart rate get out of control.

Around 1400 the trail emerged from a tree grove and onto the Divide aid station. Some great folks there at the 31mi (50k) point, nice as can be. The altitude is kicking my tail but I’m rolling with it. When asked of my home and the volunteers hear Alabama, I get the incredulous look and a “what the f%$^ are you doing up here?” It’s kind of funny, because there is no way those of us from down low can prepare for the altitude of this race, so all can do I just grab my sack and go to it!

The next 9mi stretch from the Divide to Slumgullion doesn't prove much easier, but more sections where I can pick up a slow run and grind down the miles a tad faster. It’s mostly jeep trail and rolling hills along the Divide and Colorado Trail to mile 35, which we leave upon entering Rambouillet Park. Up to here I can run some of the flats on-off mixed in with walk breaks, but walk any incline. After the park, the course begins a long descent (3mi) towards Slumgullion a/s on CO Hwy 149. Though my legs are getting tired, this is actually a good section for me. While the altitude and mountains press on me and limit my climb to where I can breath, during the long descents I can keep engaging these legs and I’m the one pushing instead.

I rolled into Slumgullion a little before 1600, way ahead of the cut-off and feeling OK and in a good mood. The a/s volunteers invite me to sit down several times, but I know better; stay on your feet, get some more water and calories, and keep moving! After a mile descent past the a/s, the course turns up once more. At this time it is one right nasty ascent; about 1700’ gain in about 1.5mi. And so I go back to work, grinding that sucker out one step at a time, but don’t believe I ran more than 10 steps in the entire ascent. Rob and Kathy caught up to me near the top of it, offered some words of encouragement, and then dropped me like dirty laundry. I crested out the climb, then walked a little more until my legs settled down, finally picking up a run-walk cycle across the top of the Vickers Ranch property over the final aid station.

Once again, the folks there remarked (kindly) on the insanity of an Alabama resident coming up to this race, but we had a good laugh of it. They told me it was a nice 3mi downhill back to Lake City, but I’m not really sure that was selling point this far into the race! After some more rolling hills, the course dropped off down the Waterdog Trail, so once again I let gravity do its job on me, mustered these mighty quads and make them work for me.

A long, tough descent into town but the finish line is growing near. Once down off the trail, I took up a 1min walk/1min jog cycle in the final segment, crossing over the Gunnison River, turning left on Silver St, seeing the finish line, stripping off my hydration pack, and thank you Lord, IT IS OVER! 13hr 52min.

The Youngren’s and Faulkner’s are at the finish area, Rob/Kathy got in around 13hr28min, good to see them. Made a call to Kirsten to let her know I was alive, swallowed down some Recoverite, and walked around a little to keep my legs somewhat loose.

Shared pizza with Youngren/Faulkner clan down at Poker Alice, my thanks to them for letting me tag along. Got back to the motel around 2130, cleaned up, and watched a movie for a bit. Alas, sleep was quite elusive and fitful when it did finally come around 2am.

I tell you, as great as the scenery was, and the people out there, I am hard-pressed to say I enjoyed myself. This was a truly difficult event, the toughest I’ve ever gone through. As crazy as it may sound, mile for mile, this was tougher than any of the 100s I’ve run, tougher than the double mountain mist stunt, etc. After the first hour as we climbed out of Alpine Gulch past the first aid station, I was pressed nearly every minute of the race. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I did it, glad I could be part of the history, glad I sucked it up, grabbed my sack, and brought it all the way to the finish. But I was pushed tremendously hard on the climbs, was forced to really make my legs work me during the long descents, and was sucking for oxygen the entire time up on the Divide and the upper reaches of the course.

So why am I writing this down, why doing the soul-searching? Well, I’m gonna be at Leadville in August. So first and foremost, I am a little leery of what the altitude is going to do me, and just how hard I am going to have to push. My memories of Arkansas Traveller and success there are very fresh, and it is tough to imagine another 100 going better than that.The more difficult challenge at Leadville may very well kick my ass! But that's OK, I'm still gonna enjoy the experience and the challenge. Secondly, assuming I get through Leadville, then I am qualified for Hardrock in 2011. Do I toss my name in that for the penultimate? (Barkley being the ultimate). I got a good taste today of what Hardrock could be like, and how hard it will push me. Do I want to try it on for size? And just as importantly, do I have any hope of enjoying it? Thoughts to ponder in the coming weeks and months….

Going to take a zero-week (no miles), then put together a 6-week training cycle to prep for Leadville. Tune back for more....

Pinhoti Trail Adventure Run

2010-05-06T22:28:00.001-05:00

Besides work, my lovely wife, and crazy boys, what have I been up to lately?

http://pinhotitrailadventurerun.blogspot.com

Exploring the Pinhoti Trail – Rebecca Mtn / Flagg Mtn

2010-04-11T02:37:00.000-05:00

Today’s adventure on the Pinhoti National Recreation Trail was all about seeing how we can up and over the planned Rebecca Mtn portion of the trail, hopefully slicing off a section of the road walk outside of Sylacauga. In addition, I got a chance to drive the entire current road walk section backward to Weogufka and Flagg Mtn before calling it a day and heading home. The bottom line is that on a gorgeous sunny day, I ran up out of Bulls Gap, along the spine of Rebecca Mtn being treated to great trail before descending to its SW base and onto FS603A/FS603…then turned around and got to do it all again! So part exploration, part training, and part recon for the upcoming Pinhoti FKT attempt.

Woke 0500, poured a thermos of coffee and made some breakfast, loaded up my gear and heading out about 0540. Drove down US-431 over Sand Mtn and through Talladega before arriving at the Bulls Gap TH parking area about 0830. Pulled on my gear, made some last-minute adjustments, and got moving about 0845. Just as Todd Henderson had described, the stairs up to the Rebecca Mtn were right across the road, so up I climbed and found some good, well-blazed trail and off I went. Of course, there is no published map of this section, so I let the blazes be my guide….at least for a while, then had to let common sense take over.

The trail swings around the eastern and southern slopes of the Hill 1523 before heading SW and generally getting onto the spine of Rebecca Mtn. It climbs up the Hill 1408 on the map, but from there the blazes go away and the Sweco-carved trails goes onto the right side of the spine for about a ½ mile. It turns left and then heads back up to the spine and intersects an old, abandoned 4WD trail that climbs to the northern radio tower on the mountain. But about a 1/4mi after getting onto the spine, with the old 4WD trail straight ahead (hell, ain’t no one gonna get anything up on two wheels anymore, this is all 2-footed trail now), the blazes for the Pinhoti suddenly veer off to the right and down onto one of the lower contours of the hill! WTF! I checked it out for about 300-400m, but there was no trail carved at all, just blue blazes every 20-25m. I had to bash through trees, leaves, and rocks; very little if any running. So while I’ll give folks credit for a well-marked ‘desired’ (or planned) path for the Pinhoti, screw that, I headed back up to the spine for some damn fine running.

The trail continues SW along the spine with great views back towards Horn Mtn and into the watershed basin outside of Sylacauga and to the south. After passing over several minor knolls and saddles, it passes right by the first radio tower on Hill 1523 and then makes a steep descent down the concrete driveway that allows maintenance crews. Down in the saddle you can see the blue blazes come back from the right, cross the saddle and then head into the woods with no trail, but the old, nasty, steep pig trail climbs right back up the spine so that’s where I’m going. After about a 1/2mi of tough climbing, you can see the blazes reappear again from the right, cross over the trail, and then head to the left side and into nowhere. (During the return trip I tracked them back a ways but seem to just die out after a ½mi). I just kept climbing and the ridgeline got relatively level for the next 20min or so, with steady, pleasant running. I passed over another knoll at 1523’ elevation, a few more rollers on the spine until coming to a gate and seeing a poor jeep trail off to the right. I explored down it for 10min or so, just to see if I could spot the blue trail blazes, but found nothing. Back past the gate, another concrete road comes up from the south and climbs up to the southern communications towers on Hill 1429. Past one more knoll at Hill 1525, then on the approach to Hill 1485 the old 4WD trail begins to veer off the spine to the right (north) and starts to look like a Sweco-cleared trail. Then after a 1/2mi or so into the stead, oblique descent, the blue blazes reappear and we are back on the Pinhoti once again! The trail makes two long switchbacks, winds around a bit and drops out FS675.

Turning south along the dirt road for about 1km, I was thinking it would follow some old forest service roads back to the Trammel Motorway (FS603). Instead, at the south end of FS675 the road just runs out, and the trail makes a hard left turn back into the woods with a healthy little climb. From there there is simply no trail at all, but a whole lot of blue trail blazes. So just follow the blazes and follow then no-trail, right? Well, I’ll again give the volunteers credit, for it is marked extremely well, never more than 10-15sec of running between blazes. But the darn trail meanders around like a drunken sailor for about the next 20min; I really had to pay attention as the directions changed and keep an eye on the blazes. Then all of the sudden the last blazes dropped me out on other dirt road…and I can’t find anymore. Am I at the south end? Having no earthly idea just how close I actually was to FS603A/FS603 (the intersection I wanted was about 1km away, and I was already standing on FS603A!). I searched around the woods another full ½ hour, a fruitless search for the blazes. Finally I just headed down the dirt road, and it improved a bit, turned a corner, then dropped out on FS603!

Took a solid break break, called Kirsten, talked with Rob Youngren (cell phone reception is good!), drained some fluids and a gel. After that, only one thing left to do on a sunny day during an out-and-back run…and that is to head back! I got going about 1300 and steadily re-traced my route. The first part went a bit faster since I now knew what to expect and soon popped out on FS675, turned north for a bit, then turned right and began the climb back up the trail to the ridgeline. The breeze was up a bit, and could see clouds of pollen blowing off trees. One check of my legs showed a growing coat of yellow pollen over the dirt, no idea how much I was breathing in.

I stopped to take more photos of the communications towers, send them out, and farting around some looking at the views. Running was pleasant and steady heading NE along the spine. As mentioned earlier I did peel off about 2/3 of the way back to see of the trail markings south off the ridge went anywhere, but no trail as before and just wasted my time thrashing around in the woods on the slope. Once I got past the northern communications tower and began heading down the old 4WD trail again, things got interesting for a bit. I picked up the blazed trail as it comes off the slope from the north side, continued down the old jeep trail, watched it head off the spine to the right just as on the map, and blue blue blazes guiding me straight down the finger. But the dang trail just died out! I crashed through a bunch of deadfall, sure that it wasn’t there as I climbed up that morning. A few minutes later I came out on a cleared trail again; where the heck did that come from? I re-traced it back up the hill to the spine, and sure enough, I somehow blew right past it coming down the finger; know when to trust the blazes and when not to! I took 15min to set up some logs and rock cairns as a half-assed markers to guide others to the left and onto the real trail, before looking at my watch and realizing I needed to wrap this up.

So got on the run again, grinding out the final few miles and getting back to my XTerra around 1630. Took a few minutes to completely rinse off, change my clothes, get a recovery drink prepped. This photo doesn’t quite do it justice, but my lower legs were far more yellow in color from pollen than brown from dirt (or even red from blood).

After climbing back in the truck, I spent the next hour going southbound along the official road-walk directions from Bulls Gap to Flagg Mtn. No issues following the route, it’s even relatively pleasant in the lowlands (minus the dogs that will inevitably chase runners and hikers). I passed through Weogufka, found the unmarked entrance to Flagg Mtn and headed up. Thank goodness for a 4WD XTerra, because I needed it in several places where the road had very deep ruts filled with mud; a car would have gotten stuck for sure. I ahd to stop at the gate near the top, but walked the final 200m and took some photos of the tower on the peak, and took in some wonderful panoramic views of east-central Alabama on a clear day.

And now it’s nearly 1800 and I’ve got a long drive back! Got back down Flagg Mtn, put the truck back in 2WD and headed for Sylacauga. Grabbed some Quizno’s for the road, blasted some rock-n-roll, and headed for home in the fading sunset. Got to the house about 2120 where the boys were coming down from attending an evening birthday party at Pump It Up! So brushed their teeth, tucked ‘em into bed, cleaned myself up, and read a book until past midnight when my body finally settled down and let me sleep. Heckuva fine day.

More Explorations of the Alabama Pinhoti Trail (Feb 2010)

2010-03-16T23:20:00.000-05:00

Continuing report in a series as I explore various section of the Alabama Pinhoti Trail...

Indian Mountain Tract across into Georgia, 15 Feb 2010

Woke 0500, made some breakfast, headed out 0530. Drive went a little slower due to icy roads and winter weather, heading across Sand Mtn was particularly icy and slow. But made it through Piedmont uneventfully and to the High Point Trailhead on US-278 about 0750. Got my gear prepped and leaded north on the Pinhoti Trail 0810. Sun was out, cold and breezy weather all day, starting about 30-35deg windchill.

I made the climb to Davis Mtn Shelter with no problems, stopped there to take a picture and strip off the light pullover jacket, starting to sweat into the layers, which is not good in this weather. Made steady progress over some great trail to Hurricane Creek and the bridge over it, and up into Hawkins Hollow and the swimming hole there. The trail actually has a 10ft ladder to let you down the bank of the hollow before picking up the path again and climbing up the creek bed.

From there the trail makes a steady climb up to the 1700ft overlook and finally up and over Flagpole Mtn. The upper reaches had a thin blanket of 3-4” of snow, but not too bad, nothing a pair of smartwool socks could not need off. What was worse was the 2mi long rock field across and down the ridge that made running difficult, hard to find a rhythm on it. Great views to the south and east into Georgia though. Never could located the Dr. Tom McGhee Memorial marked on the map, but crossed the state line going the ridge, made a phone call to Kirsten for an update, and kept moving since the wind was quite cold.

Ran another 2.4mi into Georgia before coming out onto Jackson Chapel Rd where the first of the road-walks begins. Bloody rolled my right ankle just before the turn-around, took me about 15-20min of walking for the blood to get flowing. Changed socks at the turns, down a pair of GU packets, grabbed another flask of Perpetuem, and began the trip back. Took me 3hr50min to go outbound, about 3hr30min to return.

The climb back up past the state line and onto Flagpole Mtn was a bit rough with the ankle not fully cooperating, but made it well enough. About half of the snow had melted off the summit, but still plenty crisp and breezy on top. Steadily made my way back past 1700ft Overlook and the shallow descents towards Hawkins Hollow. Was frankly starting to get a little tired and bored with it after about 6hrs on the move, and the grinding, power-walk climb out of Hurricane Creek didn’t help any. But got out of that fine and headed for Davis Mtn Shelter. I was very glad to see the shelter, for it meant a mere 2mi left to go to the trailhead. Last portions were fine, ran back through an area known as The Pitts, which is pretty cool, before popping out on the road and 300m down the pavement to the trailhead at 3:30pm.

I had planned to fully rinse off and change clothes, but I wasn’t that wet and too cold outside to be stripping down and scrubbing down with cold water poured into a towel. So just cleaned up my upper body and head, changed into a clean t-shirt, cleaned off my legs, but kept the shoes on for now. Headed out 3:45pm, driving back through Centre, AL for a change of scenery. More snow flurries started as I crossed Sand Mountain, and was a full-on storm as I passed through Guntersville and back up US-431 towards home. Driving was slow as I crossed over icy bridges on the Paint Rock and Flint Rivers. But got in safe and sound around 6:15pm to a warm, cozy house where Kirsten was making waffles for dinner and the request of the boys. Twist my arm! We got the call about 7:30pm that all schools closed tomorrow. So the boys got to play a little longer....

Talladega Mtns Ridgeline and Cheaha Wilderness, 26 Feb 2010

This was Day 1 in back-to-back training session, with the following day being the Mt Cheaha 50k. I woke 0615 with the boys and got everyone off to school. Then headed out myself, on 2.5hr drive to Mt Cheaha State Park. I parked the XTerra at Bald Rock Lodge and got to running about 1030.

Heading out of the park resort area, I stopped to chat with some other folks at the camp store about the race tomorrow, and then headed south on AL-281 (Talladega Skyway), down the road to Adams Gap Trailhead by 11:45 or so. Took a few minutes to jawbone with another fellow hiking from Adams Gap, then turned left and headed up into the Cheaha Wilderness and the Pinhoti Trail.

And this approximately 13.5mi of trail northward toward Blue Mtn is some rough, nasty, gorgeous, scenic and ultimately rewarding running (or hiking). The first mile is a nice climb to get you halfway up the Talladega Mtn ridge and follows the contours for a while before turning into the Stairway to Heaven and a right tough climb into what is called Heaven. This spot is a tree-shrouded boulder formation on top that marks where the trail get on top of the ridge line (well, at least mostly on the ridge, the trail eschews it for a cant 50m down the slope to the left most of the way!). It was pretty cool to keep checking my watch altimeter and see it constantly staying in a band between 2100-2200’ most of the way as I moved northward along the trail for the next two hours. And I was treated to some great views to the north on a sunny, cool day.

The trail on top is fairly rough and challenging, with plenty of rocks and loose footing, lots of leftward cant, tree roots. Ain’t nothing fast about running up there for us mid-packers! I swung past the small bog on Little Caney Head Mtn, took a photo at the intersection of the Cave Creek Trail, and headed for MacDill Point overlook. There I took the 1/4mi detour down to the overlook for a great view to the south along the ridgeline I had been running along. From there I climbed up to Hernandez Peak, saw the trail memorial marker, and then made the descent down towards Hwy 281. But not before I darn near screwed myself. Once you come off Hernandez Peak, the Pinhoti markers have you make a very sharp left-hand turn, which I completely missed and was sucked down another unmarked trail going downhill. About 200m and 100’ elevation down, I realized something wasn’t right. I should be heading mostly north right at Mt Cheaha, but that was on my left and I was going away from it. So turned on my digital watch compass, and sho’ nuf, this decoy trail I had entered was going downhill due east! So realizing my near-mistake, hiked my ass back out there to the top, saw where I had missed the Pinhoti markers, and proceeded to get back on track.

The descent to AL-281 was nice, crossing over the highway about 300m up from the trailhead parking lot. I had the option here of just turning left a and making a short back up to the state park. But I was still feeling decent, and wanted to continue exploring, so went across and was promptly rewarded with 2mi of some damn tough trail on the way to the Blue Mtn shelter. 3-4 slippery spring and streak crossings later, with several short but high-angle climbs/descents, finally made the left turn and began the climb back towards Bald Rock. This is where the Pinhoti 100 course splits off from the actual Pinhoti Trail, so all-too-familiar with this section. It’s a tough, steady climb up to Bald Rock, where I was again rewarded with a great view to the north down into the valley on a clear/sunny day. Ran the last 1/4mi up the boardwalk trail and back into the truck, about 5½ hours on the move and 25mi of running.

While at Bald Rock, hopped inside the lodge and picked up my race packet. Chatted with Todd and Jamie Henderson for a bit, then headed down into Oxford. Checked into my hotel, got some dinner (IHOP, big steak omelet and some nut/grain pancakes). Went back up at the lodge about 6:30pm for the race brief. Sitting with the Huntsville crowd, enjoyed the company very much after a day on the trails solo.

Delano 12-Hour, March 2010

2010-03-14T10:06:00.000-05:00

Seeking an alternate recipe for good-times ultrarunning that doesn't involve gnarly mountain trails, rocks, and carrying 10lbs of gear between aid stations, but still is well-supported with lots of good folks? Then one way to go is the annual Delano 12-Hr in Decatur, AL. Race Directors Eric Schotz and Jon Elmore put on an outstanding event, accurately-timed, varying aid station menus all day long, combined with a certified 1.00-mile loop and and options for a 50mi event and relay teams. All proceeds from the event go to the Centers for Developmentally Disabled - North Central Alabama (CDD NCA).

Many local runners put in outstanding performances despite the mentally-tough conditions. Eric Charette went 2d OA in the 50mi race, enroute to a full weekend of training prep for the upcoming Pinhoti FKT adventure. Eric Fritz cranked out 67mi enroute to winning the Masters division (he's probably freaking out a little bit just to realize he's actually in that category now!). Marcus Farris, former Grissom HS standout and current Auburn student and ROTC cadet, goes 3d OA and sets an age-group state record for 50miles while he's at it. Watching that young man smoothly crank out miles through the midday was both maddening and inspiring! Several other from the Fleet Fleet Huntsville Racing team had solid days, plus relay teams. But perhaps the story of the weekend was crazy John Nevels in his 24 Hours of Delano, starting at 6pm on Friday evening, and running for pledges in support of National Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases where he raised about $1000 for the group. John put down 62mi (100km) overnight before the official race start in the morning, finishing with an even 100mi in 19hr40min (a personal best for him).

The weather here is always interesting (2009 was torrential rains all morning, 2008 started in a snow storm), and this year did not disappoint. It drizzled and rained in steady 15-20min increments throughout the morning, clearing off and kicking up the wind for a 1/2 hour and promising hope, only to bring more showers (even hail) just about the time you were drying out!

We got going at 6am, armed with chip timing to ease the hassle of counting laps. The was water on the dirt/gravel/cinder path most of the day, creating some slushy and mushy spots along the route. I ran many of the early miles with Blake, Eric Fritz, and Joey Butler, getting lapped with Eric Charette more than I care to admit! Despite the loop course where I thought I would go nuts, I actually began to enjoy the rhythm and the no-guessing aspect of understanding how to deal with every curve, corner, climb/descent (such as they were), etc. I cranked through the first 50k in around 5hr30min, faster than I wanted but OK.

My general goal for the 12-hr event was to move steady all day, ran as well in the afternoon as the morning, then save some juice to crank it up in the final hour. I only sat down twice all day, and that was 5min each at 10am and 2pm to change my socks. Big lesson learned from all my previous ultra and 100s is to never lose momentum in the chair; I sat on a bench to change socks!

The middle of the day was a tough period for me, from the 50k point until about 3pm. We would go from dry and cool to wet-cold as rain storms passed through, a little maddening to watch the black clouds roll in and know what was about to happen. But that is a great aspect of this event, as it provides another opportunity for mental toughness, both in dealing with the weather as well as the seeming-monotony of the loop course; you cannot let your mind wander about too much, but rather force yourself to concentrate and keep rolling, keep drinking, keep fueling, and keep concentrating on your body and what it is telling you.

Blake had a resurgence in the afternoon, which I was glad to see. He's still hurting a bit after a great run at the recent Rocky Raccoon 100 in Texas, and he was not looking real keen through the morning. But we cranked some miles starting around 1:30pm, remarking we were due for one more wave of rain soon. And since Mother Nature probably laughed at our half-assed weather prognosticating skills, she promptly sent a darn hail storm on us around 2:15pm! Yes, that sucked, so I had to take a deep breath, force a smile, and keep moving steadily through it.

Around 4pm the daylight began to wane under the cloud cover, but the course was also drying out in places. By 5pm the Cafe Latte Perpetuem from Hammer Nutrition was kicking in (same stuff that fueled my final hours at the AT100), and I cranked up the pace some. Doing the course math in my head, I figured I could squeeze in 4mi in the final hour to make an even 60mi for the day. But as the adrenaline started to flow and the end of the day came into view, I was able to take mile times down from ~13min (including the forced walk breaks) down to 9min (no walk breaks). So the plan worked as I pushed hard through the last hours, actually conserving enough time to crank out a 61st mile. I crossed the timing mats on final time at 11hr54min and called it day from there; no way I was going to make another loop. Hand shakes and congrats all around with the die-hards who had stuck it out all day long.

I got over to the XTerra and poured a jug of water over my legs to wash the mud off (there was plenty), and started to shiver pretty bad despite still riding high on an adrenaline surge. Then my teeth started to clatter as I dried off and tried to get a jacket on; holy cow that was an interesting few minutes. We had a very nice post-race meal at the nearby Westminster Presbyterian Church and watched the awards ceremony. I made my way home by 8pm, took a shower, and read books with the boys for a while (Dr. Seuss never fails). Then it was time for minor surgery on the nasty blisters that had developed on both pinky toes; I'll spare you the photos of that!

Mt Cheaha 50K - Feb 2010

2010-03-06T15:40:00.000-06:00

Another date with likely the toughest trail race in Alabama, along with with the toughest little climb in the state (aka BLUE HELL). And you couldn't ask for a much better race, good folks to race with, and good weather to race in! Todd Henderson and his lovely wife Jamie put on a stellar event, replete with a well-marked course, great aid stations, smiling volunteers, and enough rocks on the trail to make a saint curse!

So this year's Cheaha 50k was actually day #2 of trail running weekend for me, having put in 25mi exploring the Pinhoti Trail in the Cheaha Wilderness the day before...but that little adventure is for another blog post. The day started at 0530from the Hampton Inn in nearby Oxford. Got my gear together, ate some breakfast, caught a ride with the Nevels clan to the starting line. Morning was cold (~30deg) and a little humid, but not bad overall. Weather turned into sunny skies by late morning with winds from north, which made for some great views though some chills as the breeze whipped through cold clothes.

The race started on time 0730 to the playing of "Sweet Home Alabama" as usual. We headed up and over the first section no problems, my legs and knees/ankles feeling surprisingly OK considering yesterday’s mileage. No issues as I went through A/S #1 at Chandler Springs. Tough running in and out of the hollows heading for A/S #2 at Clairmont Gap, but a section on the motorway eased the course a bit.

At A/S #2 I held a minute or two for Eric Fritz and Joey Butler, and ended up running the next 20mi with the good Mr. Fritz. Some challenging, but mostly fun, trail miles as we ground it out to Adams Gap and beyond. Eric was great, keep me move steadier and stronger than I would have done alone, right on my tail nearly the whole way. Caught up with Steve Carter out of Adams Gap, splashed through the first creek crossing together (that sucker was cold!) and pressed ourselves to A/S #4 and then down into the Chinnabee Lake aid station. Another relatively shallow crossing there before A/S #5 and turning for the Silent Trail.

We were dragging a bit in the next 3.5mi, taking a few more walk breaks during the climbs and wading through another creek crossing before popping out on FS Road 600-3. Don’t know why it was there, but we slowed right back to a walk for the next ½ mile after pressing steadily for 25+ on the trails. Finally got to running again, turned right on Cheaha Rd and headed for the final A/S at Cheaha Lake. Given the sunny day and clear skies, we got a whopper view of the Cheaha Massif just a mile away (but a 1000’ climb above us). Going upstairs baby!

We got through the last aid station (one runner downed a bottle of MGD while there!) and got a slow run going before the climb set in. Alas, Eric was having none of it, but I gotta let these thunder-quads of mine earn their keep, so up I went in earnest. Love that climb; he/she who has got the stones can really make some time there, and I managed to roll past 5 other runners on the way up. After emerging onto Bunker Hill Loop Rd on top, got a slow run going again and began to grind out the climb past the observation tower and down onto the last mile of trail.

By now we’ve got a full-on, sun-shiny day, the PA system is cranking some good tunes that can be heard all over the mountain top, so I am actually enjoying these last hurtful miles somewhat. Rounded the corner for the Bald Rock Lodge and cruised into the finish chute around ~6:24 or something like that. Eric Charette (long-since finished and showered) snaps a photo, grabbed my finisher shirt, jabbered with Christian Griffith for a bit (who himself had a stellar day on the course).

The Huntsville/Decatur racing crew had a darn good showing, with DeWayne Satterfield going #2, Eric and Dink also among the top finishers. John Nevels and Marcus Farris turned in some great times as well. I eventually managed to mooch a shower from Fritz/Charette’s lodge room, ate a lot of pizza and jaw-boned in the lodge for another hour or two. Finally caught a ride with the Nevels clan back into Oxford around 1700, got a big cup of Starbucks in Oxford, and made the 2hr drive home to Huntsville. Made a couple of phone calls organizing my 20-year high school class reunion on the way, always enjoyable talking to some of those folks. And sho’ enough, tired or no, my boys were all revved up when I walked through the door so wrestled with them a while and fought off the cramps that were threatening my legs! Good to be a Dad…

Dad's Retirement Party

2010-01-30T22:20:00.000-06:00

So after 30 years as the elected Treasurer-Tax Collector of Yuba County, Calif (total of 42 years service in local county governments across Northern California) my old man finally decide to hang it up and retire! A long and distinguished career of public service at the local level, including dealing with effects of California's Prop 13 in the early 80s, and the near meltdown of the local gov't financial markets in the wake of the Orange County fiasco. He was President of the California Association of Treasurer-Tax Collectors, voted as the Outstanding County Treasurer of the United States in 1996, and the list of local accolades is far too long to list (moving all of the plaques out of the office made my back sore).

But my old man can be a stubborn S.O.B. at times, and for years threatened he would not show to any retirement ceremony if one was put together. "I don't want any f***ing speeches, any plaques, any damned proclamations, or other B.S. I'll skip the whole damn thing!" But the man deserves to have something after 42 years of service, right. So his wife and good friends finally cajoled him into an "open house" event at the local Peachtree Country Club. Accordingly, this invitation went out, a parody on the property tax bill that has come from local county courthouse under his name for the past three decades.

And the old man had no idea I was coming. So after some collusion with his best friend (Dave Brown, Yuba County Assessor) and former assistant (now succeeding him in the job), I flew out to Sacramento on Friday morning, and managed to catch him and Dave at the China Moon in Marysville. Completely surprised, he was weeping in chow mein when I plopped down next to him in the restaurant. After holding an initial coordination for my 20-year high school reunion that evening, I crashed down after 22 hours on the move!

But a great party on Saturday afternoon: no speeches, no plagues, no proclamations, just 250+ dropping by a nice location to shake hands, chat a while, eat some food and drink some booze. Even our local Congressman, Wally Herger (the guy who nominated me for USMA 20 years ago), came by for about 90min to 'be among the people'. A great afternoon for my Dad. Many photos were taken, these are among my favorites: my Dad is in the blue-checked shirt, the gentleman in the tie/blazer is the Honorable Wally Herger of Calif's 2d Congressional District, and the woman is my Dad's wife, Wendy.

To conclude the whirlwind of a weekend, I flew right back home on Sunday!

Christmas Holidays 2009

2010-01-30T21:50:00.000-06:00

I had been meaning to post of some photos from our Christmas Holidays. Oma and Opa were in town for 10 days of the school vacation, which was great and they enjoyed themselves. Alas, I had to pull what is known as a "Christmas Special" most of the time, working late most nights through the 2-week holidays; Uncle Sam can be a tough task master when some staffer n the Pentagon wants "it" (whatever that might be) right after the new year!

I did manage to make the evening kid's service at our church on Christmas Eve, where Matt was in the play. We spent Christmas Day at home with Oma/Opa, though Kirsten and I try to keep the number of gifts under control so the boys don't get warped ideas about Christmas generosity; lots of pajamas, clothes, socks, etc. and even a few toys. Once the Christmas morning commotion of three boys settled down, I went for a snowy trail run over at McMullen Cove, great trail system over there for those looking to explore some.

Andy celebrated his 7th Birthday on the 26th, so we took the crew to Chattanooga for the weekend. Kids were fairly content with a hotel room stay, indoor pool, trips to the Creative Discovery Museum next door to the hotel, even the great Aquarium there.

I took Monday off from work (let my analysts alone for a day to keep hammering and me not bothering them!) and Kirsten and I went for a great day trip to theBankhead Nat'l Forest, Black Warrior WMA, and the Sipsey Wilderness to explore some and hike.

The rest of the week was crazy busy, working 12+ hours a day well into the evening on the Christmas Special. A notable end to the new year was the NYE Toga Party at the Charette Coliseum (more photos to follow).

Exploring the Pinhoti Trail, January 2010

2010-01-30T21:18:00.000-06:00

I had been wanting to explore some of northern reaches of the Alabama Pinhoti Trail, the ones above the start of the Pinhoti 100 race, and made it my mission to do a chunk of it during the early months of the new year. This is due partly to sheer curiosity on my part; but also a desire to check out portions of the trail ahead of our upcoming trip in May, where the Pinhoti Adventure Team will attempt to set the Fastest Known Time (FKT) entire 325mi trail in Alabama and Georgia. But more to follow on that later!

So after a great New Year's Eve party at Coliseum Charette, I decided to put a long adventure run on the first day of 2010. The out-and-back stretch I pulled on New Year's Day was a long, tiring day but well worth it to cover a solid section of the trail.

Borrowing from the Parkay Maps site, I started from the Burns Trailhead on Calhoun County Rd 55 outside Jacksonville and Piedmont. Heading south past the Choccolocco Creek Watershed to Coleman Lake, and then all the way to the Pine Glen Campground:

I left the house about 0530, heading south on US-431 to Gadsden, east on US-278 to Piedmont, south on AL-9, over Kings Gap Mtn Rd to the trailhead on Cnty Rd 55 between Rabbittown and Burn. The weather was cold and overcast to start, but runnable. Heading south on the trail, I passed several hunters in the early miles before crossing over the Choccolocco Watershed. The trail get a bit technical from there as it's carved out of the hillsides, mayber 18" across and on a cant. Passing through multiple creek crossing, it took 2hrs total to reach the Coleman Lake trailhead. I was feeling pretty good, sun was coming out, so I continued to head south south past the Shoal Creek Church historical site and all the way to Pine Glen Campground (start of Pinhoti 100). Sat down around noon to change socks, call Kirsten, eat an energy bar, etc.

I had seen plenty of trail, so I opted to head back north along FS500 (Motorway) instead. That turned out to be an interesting choice, for while the trail stayed along creekbed and was fairly level, the roadway climbed and turned and climbed some more; it was harded to run than the trail! Once I got back near the Shoal Creek church around 1345, I re-entered Pinhoti Trail and headed for Coleman Lake. Took a detour there around the lake’s recreation area just to explore a bit, finally got back on the trail back at the Coleman Lake trailhead and turned north again. The section north of Coleman Lake is a red-cockaded woodpecker habitat, and I actually saw one; first time after living in the protected areas of the South for 15 years! The stretch back to the watershed is some tough running, with 7-8 creek crossings, lots of running on the cant of steep slopes (trail just carved out of the side of the hill), with sun going down. Once I got back to the Choccolocco watershed around 1545, was pretty tired but still upbeat. Pushed through the final 2 mi for the Burns trailhead by 1610.

About 8 hours on the move for approx. 34-35mi. Great day of solid trail exploration! Headed back through Jacksonville, grabbed something to eat there, and was home by 1900.

Having seen south the of the Burns Trailhead, I spent the federal holiday on MLK Day to do further exploring to the north. That day's route was through the Dugger Mountain Wilderness. I left the house and my sleeping children about 0530 and headed south via US-431 to Gadsden, then turned on US-278 to Piedmont, south on AL-9 thrugh Nance's Creek and to the trailhead near Rabbittown and Burns.

Here the route maps, again graciously borrowed from the Parkay Maps site. First one covers from the Burns Trailhead on Calhoun County Rd 55 going north into the Dugger Mountain Wilderness:

The second map covers the final climb over Dugger Mtn and the descent down to the Dugger Mtn Shelter just off FS500:

I met several Pinhoti Trail Alliance volunteers in the parking lot. They were quite pleasant, offered me good tips on the trail, and thought I was nuts for running over the Wilderness! The weather was cold and foggy as I started the run around 0800 out of the trailhead. First few miles were fine, getting a rhythm and playing around with my new Casio watch (combo altimeter, compass, barometer, thermometer, plus the usual stopwatch and alarms). The section through Laurel Passage was quite pleasant, with a rushing creek below and to my right. Alas, couldn't see much due to the fog. Around 1000 the sun finally started to burn through, just as I was passing the Dugger Mtn peak on the left; the trail runs about 200-300m and 100' elevation down the slope. I kept looking for the observation tower on the topo map, but turns out the tower has long since been torn down.

Once past the peak, the trail descend 1000' over the next 1.8 miles; no switchbacks at all, just a long, steady descent. Ran into more Trail volunteers crossing over the creek at the bottoom, chatted with them a few minutes before pressing to FS500. Crossed over the dirt road and ran up the trail another 1/2mi to the Dugger Mtn Shelter. There I found two more volunteers clearing and improving the shelter area, so stopped and jawboned with them for 15min or so; good folks with lots of local trail knowledge.

By now the sun was fully out and it was turning into a very pleasant day! The climb back up Dugger Mtn is not too bad and moves obliquely up the contours, bur runnable if you take a steady pace. As I got near the peak, I turned off the trail and clambered up the slope and through the briars to where the old tower stood. Great view down into the Piedmont area and Chief Ladiga Trail. Gave Kirsten a call to let her know I was alright and enjoying the day, then worked back down the slope to the trail, slashing my shins on more briars for good measure!

Began the long descent down the southern side of the wilderness area and ran into two more trail volunteers clearing debris (met a total of 8 during the days, all working under the Pinhoti Trail Alliance). They advised me to take an alternate route down to the trailhead via the old Jones Branch Rd. Turned out to be great advice, and picked up that old 4WD road (just a trail now), and took the last 2.5mi back that way. It follows a creek down to Cnty Rd 55 and winds through a lovely little narrow canyon at the bottom. A shallow descent most of the trail made a great way to finish the day's run. Approx 20mi in just shy of 5 hours (including breaks and jawboning with the volunteers).

Stopped in Jacksonville for some Quizno's before heading. Drove past this place just outside of town and had to stop and take a photo. Good place to get rid of some old crap from my cadet days?

Keel Mountain Climbs

2010-01-30T19:03:00.000-06:00

Given that I usually dedicate my Saturday to hanging out with my boys and giving Kirsten some free time, I usually try to leave the office on Friday afternoon to put in my long training runs. However, the impending freezing rain storm we saw in North Alabama on Friday afternoon and Saturday, prompted me to bolt for the long run on Thursday afternoon to beat the weather (luckily, Thursday afternoon was flexible).

So I got my employees settled in with tasks to keep 'em busy for the next 2-3 working days and took off about 1400 on Thursday. I had already spent to pre-dawn morning in the weight room, so a long hard run this afternoon could get interesting.

At home I quickly pulled my gear, water, and fuel together and to Keel Mountain for some serious climbing and descents!

Keel Mtn Climbs Angel Bluff Overlook
Find more Runs in Gurley, Alabama

Got started about 1515 and took about 20min to get a rhythm going, just as the first monster climb started. The road is very steep, winding my up through several properties with barking dogs for the first hour. One pair of dogs was actually a touch scary for a minute or so, the pair came right up to me barking like crazy and had the look of being ready to sink some teeth into. One was an old bitch with at least 8 sagging nipples from producing who-knows how many pups, the other was one of her grown male pups. I was about 10-15sec from having to take the offensive, for they were not backing off. Luckily, the toothless redneck owner emerged from his trailer and called them back. With a wave and a smile I continued on.

Once on Keel Mtn plateau, I turned south on the main road and got a decent tempo rhythm going. The running was quite pleasant, even some friendly looks from the folks who live on the rural mountain community. I took a short detour on Angel Bluff Rd and was rewarded with a wonderful view east down into the Paint Rock River valley. From there I continued south on the main road and down the gnarly descent off the south end of Keel (quad busting hell). Got to the bottom in about 2hr 5min, put down some fuel and electrolytes, then turned around and went back up! The southern end of Keel climbs about 900' with a pair of switchback at 19% grade, making for grunts and taunt calves.

Once back on top of the mountain, I got a decent tempo rhythm back up and turned on my flashlight. The dogs are less of a problem at night, owners have them indoors over the winter. Took another view over Angel Bluff with the rural lights on below, but steadily knocked down the miles before turning left and working through the more wnding portion of the mountain. After about 3:30 on the move, dropped over the edge on the descent, 25% (+) grade in several places on the way down, gotta love it! Once past the dogs and in the final mile, I could afford to tune out a bit, so turned on my mp3 player, listening to the Mission to Mars soundtrack. I especially like the finale music, which made the last mile sail by as I was able to shake off the long, hard descent and pick up a steady 8min/mile pace to finish out the run around 1930.

4 hrs 5min on the move for about 24.5 miles. A great route to keep preparing for hard climbs and descents this summer in Colorado. A little stiff in my knees and hips in the office on Friday, but not too bad. As predicted, the freezing rain and snow storms rolled in Friday afternoon, shutting down schools early and leaving icicles over the trees on Monte Sano, Huntsville, and Green Mountains. The boys even played in the very brief snow flurries on Saturday afternoon!

Thanksgiving Weekend, 2009

2009-11-30T21:00:00.000-06:00

A pretty solid Thanksgiving Weekend at the Kennedy household, with gorgeous weather, great food, several outdoor adventures, a little bit of travel, and a near-total avoidance of anything resembling Christmas shopping!

Thanksgiving Thursday opened up with a crisp morning and a trip to IHOP for breakfast. Matt and Andy took one look at the Funny Face pancake on the menu (big pancake with chocolate chips and whipped cream), and what kid wouldn't want that to eat? Dad of course drank plenty of coffee and opted for healthy pancakes and an omelet with vegetables; I can't be eating that stuff anymore! Because they are boys and have far too much energy, we took a trip to the Land Trust's 3 Caves site, explored the quarry entry to the caves, took a walk around the loop and even went a bit up the Waterline trail before I turned them around.

Back at home, Kirsten and I got into our annual Thanksgiving garage and attic cleaning. This year was punctuated by the fact that we just finished building an studio/room in the attic, complete with stairs, separate ac/heating unit, the works, and the garage was a mess from all the construction efforts. I put the shop vac to serious use and cleaned up the layer of drywall dust on nearly everything, moved most of our stuff back into attic storage space, and generally made room to start parking our cars back in the garage after being banished outside for the past two months!

This year we bought our turkey direct from Goose Pond Farms over in Hartselle, AL (actually, three of them for Thankgiving, Christmas, and an extra for whenever). Pretty interesting to see your turkey in the field in the morning, then drive home with it still warm in the trunk in the afternoon. It cooked a little faster than past holidays, so we had ourselves a great meal starting a wee bit early at 2pm! So much for meal planning and our anal-retentive planning efforts.

Following our Thanksgiving tradition, we took the crew for a post-meal walk. This year the boys are old enough for something more than a lap around the neighborhood, so we headed up to Blevins Gap and hiked along the Certain Trail to the powerlines and back. For their efforts climbing up the trail to the ridgeline on Green Mtn, we were rewarded with a great view down towards our home and into the historic Big Cove area and a fantastic sunset over the Tennessee River. The boys generally enjoyed the hike and we were thinking "they will sleep well tonight!" From there we also went down to the Huntsville Botanical Gardens and took the driving tour along the Galaxy of Lights before calling it a night.

I took the day off work Friday and instead treated myself to a little outdoor adventure that did not involve shopping. First I wanted to try out Gibson's BBQ for breakfast and found the place crammed with folks getting ready (or taking a break from) Black Friday shopping. The country ham and biscuits were great, I can heartily recommend it. Now being amply fueled, I headed for the south side of the Tennessee River and Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. I had been wanted to explore the 4WD drive roads via mountain bike there for the past year, and the weather and day off afforded me the chance. I'll credit Eric Schotz of the River City Runners for the idea of this route, he's been thinking of starting a 50k race along this part of the Wheeler NWR.

Headed east along the Truck Trail, my first real mountain bike ride in months. It was still pretty brisk outside, but didn't take long to get warmed up in the wonderful sunshine. First stop was the small beaver swamp at Cave Springs Cave for a look at the grey bat habitat. The creek running out of the spring there produced was 18" deep across the rocky 4WD road and about 50m long, so I couldn't quite make it with putting a foot down, so ended up walking in the stream, vdery cold water up about mid-calf. Alas, I suffered through totally soaked, numbe feet for the next 2 hours (whereupon I got back to the spring, feet almost dry, and dunked them again!)

A great ride from there to the end of the Truck Trail, plenty of great riding, the obligatory detour down Mussel Camp Rd to the river, some nice technical spots, creek crossings, even a few short climbs. At the end, I detoured down Madden Branch Rd to some fishing spots, then headed out to the Talucah boat launch via Talley Bottoms and came back via a clockwise teardrop route on Sharp’s Ford Rd. The return trip back to my XTerra was still plenty of fun and went by fast. I was surprised how well my legs held up, longest I’ve been in the saddle in years! Ended up with about 39 miles riding in about 3.5 hours with stops and detours. I believe Eric Schotz is going to have a great 50k race on that route. I stopped at Moe's on the way home for a burrito, make a quick stop into Fleet Feet Huntsville to find it crammed with customers (good for them!) and home to hang out with the boys for the rest of the day. We watched the Iron Bowl from both our place and the party at our next-door neighbor's house.

On Saturday we awoke to another day of great weather, so packed up the boys and headed for the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga for the day. Being annual members there is money well-spent, for the boys enjoy it immensely and a trip every few months gives enough time where all the exhibits and activities are still fresh and new to them. After a few hours there, we enjoyed a nice picnic on the grassy hill behind the complex with a view into downtown Chattanooga, the boys rolling down the hills as boys are wont to do!

And so finally on Sunday we settled down a bit. After church services and Sunday School in the morning, Kirsten I got busy with the rest of garage cleaning, as well as taking a shop-vac to the cars (where I found old, stale Cheerios and other snacks in the most obscure places). And then (drum roll, please), we actually managed to park both vehicles back in the garage for the first time in two months. Novel concept! Dinner menu was.....(wait for it)....leftover turkey!

And the bad part of the whole weekend? I was a fighting some sort of viral infection and a horrendous sore throat the whole time. I couldn’t sleep because of it, and that sucked! Oh well, still a darn fine weekend with good memories. I hope everyone out there had enjoyable times with friends, family and loved ones. On to Christmas!

Arkansas Traveller 100, 3-4 Oct 09

2009-10-15T23:48:00.000-05:00

The road to my finish at this year’s AT100 actually began two years ago. In the 2007 event, I suffered a DNF there along with Blake Thompson and John Nevels. After a certain measure of redemption at the Inaugural Pinhoti 100 last year, all three of us vowed to go back to Arkansas and complete some unfinished business. Alas, time demands on John at Auburn kept him from this race, heading back to Pinhoti instead. So it was up to Blake and I to gain a full measure of redemption on a course that shook us off pretty hard.

As with the Pinhoti 100, I was quite fortunate to be crewed by Allan Besselink. We first met back in 2001, and I’m proud to be a charter member of SmartSport Int’l team and his SmartLife Institute. Over the years we’ve arrived at a training protocol that balances family and professional demands but also has produced many strong ultra finishes, and this AT100 may hopefully be an example of that. I heartily recommend his book, RunSmart. We’ve often joked about writing an article titled, “Ways that a Husband and Father of 3 Boys Can Train for a 100mi Race and Not Have Your Wife Leave You”

So before this story goes any further, I will send a hearty thanks to wife, Kirsten, and our three boys. She graciously gave me some extra training time at the local Tuesday Night Cross-Country Runs all summer, plus missing several Saturdays and pulling Friday evening training runs during the 8-week ramp up to this race. Thanks also goes Rob Youngren and Eric Fritz for crewing/pacing Blake during good humor and help during the race. They helped me as well at several points, so always nice to share both the temporary misery and long-term joy of success!

The Gear/Equipment/Fuel
· ASICS dual-layer trail running shorts (internal compression shorts
· Shoes: Montrail Streak, with several pairs on Injinji socks
· Brave Soldier lube (available at ZombieRunner), great stuff!
· Multiple (5-6) shirts through the race
· Nathan Hydration vest
· Cheap wrist bands on my lower calves (keep sweat from draining into my socks)
· Oakley Rx sunglasses
· Black Diamond headlamp (had it since 2001, time to upgrade to something brighter), plus a cheap Garrity flashlight
· Fuel: Hammer Perpetuem, mixed as paste (4 scoops per flask), plus Endurolytes

Race morning started 0500, clear and relatively cool, which is great running weather. Got over to race HQ, checked in again to pick up my number, grabbed some last minute gear from the truck before the race start. Then Stan Ferguson (RD) starts to get the crowd at the start line whooping and hollering (Good Times Running!) and come 6am, we are off. I caught right up to Blake and we begin to steadily chew up some miles, feeling strong and jabbering away in the dark. The first aid station came and went as we worked a steady climb up to Flatside Pinnacle. Weather was gorgeous, couldn’t ask for much better. I made a quick stop to recycle some fluids while Blake continued the climb, but caught right up to him past the aid station as we entered the Ouachita Trail section of the race. We were around 10th place or so at this point, well ahead of most runners. But that was the plan, as we wanted unfettered running on the trail, not to be in a conga line out there. So we crossed back through Brown’s Creek, continuing to jabber away as we climbed back up the trail and pushed the pace a bit on the trail.

Alas, that short-term strategy has a minor disadvantage for me, as we rolled into the Lake Sylvia aid station around 9am, 45min ahead of schedule. Rob and Eric were there, but Allan nowhere to be seen! No big deal, I had another Perpetuem flask on me, grabbed some gels packets and headed back out. Funny interlude here as we came out of the trail and into the aid station, a very friendly volunteer pointed us along a big arrow in the left-hand road, waving us left, and kept saying, “Turn Right” (i.e. her right, our left). Feeling somewhat humorous, I poked a little fun and called out “You mean turn LEFT” as we made the obvious turn, the crowd getting a good chuckle. I felt somewhat bad after, the humor was at her expense, but we were feeling good in the early stages of the race. Out of the aid station I took a little walk break while Blake cruised right up the road and headed for glory!

So enjoyed a good pace as I went through Pumpkin Patch, Electronic Tower, and Rocky Gap aid stations, recalling the terrain features from two years ago and how I felt then as compared to today. Ran out of Perp around 10:30am, so switched the HammerGel packets, and could start to feel why difference shortly: slight grind in my quads, in my knees, etc. Hammergel is great, but nothing compared to the Perpetuem. Crested a nice rise just past the 30mi marker and made the descent and approach to the Lake Winona aid station. Allan was waiting for me there, along with Rob and Eric. We re-taped my heels, changed socks, changed, re-loaded with Perp flasks, water, and Endurolytes before heading out.

I pressed smoothly to Pigtrail and Club Flamingo uneventfully and with a steady pace and steady fueling. Out of Flamingo, another runner (younger kid) pulled up alongside to chat and said that we were “27 minutes ahead of 22-hour pace”. Man, I didn’t even want to hear that shit, and tried to let him kindly know that such pacing charts were all BS at this point, there were lots of miles to run, etc, etc. No way I was going to start thinking about finishing times so prematurely; though he fell well off the pace, little did I know the kid was a damn prophet (at least in my case!)

I pulled up to Blake somewhere between Flamingo and Smith Mountain, and we enjoyed a mutual jawboning session as we pulled into the marvelous Smith Mountain aid station. The folks there sported a Peace-Love-Happiness theme and offered L.S.D. (Lemon-lime Sports Drink), plus were cranking some sweet 70s music (Michael Jackson as I recall). After that we made the climb over the carved trail that goes over Smith Mountain to the next aid station, and the jawboning gave way to some minor cursing and the weeds and grassed grabbed at our legs and we tripped through holes covered by leaves. But the shallow descent down the far side was nice, and we cruised through the BM Road aid station and headed for the Powerlines.

Interesting side-story on the race began in the section of the day, as we passed a guy coming back along the trail out of Powerlines. At the time, we presumed he was the leader, and we were impressed with his time! However, as we gave him a “Way to Go!” he simply ignored us and kept his head down. ‘What a prick!’ we were saying to ourselves. More to follow….

So into the Powerlines we rolled, about 2 hours ahead of my 24-hr race plan, but feeling good. I swapped shirts again, but decided to keep current tape job and socks. I was started to feel this could turn out to be a good race, so wanted to keep some momentum going and move on to a very runnable section of the course. Weight-in at Powerlines went smooth, down to 181 (from pre-race weigh in of 188). Rob picked up pacer duties for Blake, and we pressed on for Copperhead Rd (formerly Chili Pepper).

It was here we found out from Rob the dude we passed heading back was formerly in 2d place, but got missed a turn on the course and was back-tracking an extra 14 miles! Oh my gosh, I don’t know the dude could have gotten off-course out here (esp. after Winona and missing so many aid stations), but I also don’t know that I wouldn’t have DNF’ed on the spot! So we decided to forgive his poor running manners and intransigence on the course, we might not have been real friendly either. More to follow….

Eric picked up pacer duties for Blake at Chili Pepper and we began the long haul out to the turn-around aid station, 5.8m hence. I stayed with them for a bit, but the downhill stretches were calling me, so I let gravity do its job on this larger-than-normal-ultrarunner body and slowly pulled ahead, adding on about 400m by the turn-around. There I corrected a mistake from two years ago, stopping only to make a quick shirt change then boogie out of there as fast as possible. This spot is the first of the mental boosts, because it signals you have finally turned for home, instead of running away from the start. I considered it the true halfway mark of the race, 58 miles down and 42 more to go. I first passed the 14-miles-extra-guy, still rather silent, and that was the last I saw of him the rest of the race. Right after that came Blake and Eric, grinding away the climb to the turn-around and still smiling.

The next notable (and alarming) event of my race came about 62-63mi point where I felt a slight twinge in my right calf, somewhere at the upper soleus area where it goes under the gastroc. I couldn’t tell if it was a muscle strain or a cramp, but I dumped an Endurolyte about 30min early to so if that would help. Cruised well back into Chili Pepper with Allan to greet me. There I swallowed down three more Endurolytes to see if the calf was a cramp or a strain, and it seemed to edge over the next hour. We re-taped my heels, got new socks, re-loaded Perp, picked up flashlights. Now comes the first of two decision points where Allan was worth his weight in gold. He urged me to change shirts again, but I demurred, thinking I was good-to-go for now. However, after being in the chair (for foot taping and new socks), I caught a shiver and chills within one minute, and changed my mind on his urging right there. A good call, for the fresh/dry shirt as the sun went down and a slight breeze picking up was the right way to go, keeping away a cold-clammy chest, one of the issues that brought me to a DNF two years ago.

So on went the lights and I pressed back to the Powerlines and another successful weigh in (up to 182 lbs now). Now comes Allan’s number 2 weight-in-gold, crewing-expert moment. It’s about 7:45pm in the evening and I’m a full two hours ahead of schedule (having a A-game as Allan was beginning to say by now). The race plan called for me to pick up flasks of Caffe Latte (caffeinated) Perpetuem for use overnight, thinking I’ll need them sometime after midnight to keep me alert. But I’m two hours early and thinking I don’t need them until later. But Allan rather sharply chides me to get with it, “this is the ball game, and you need to pull out the rocket fuel, the best stuff you got. What the heck are you gonna save it for?!” And you know, he was spot-on correct, as we will come to see. So I grabbed up two flasks of that stuff from the cooler and headed out.

Two years, this is the aid station where I cashed it in. I was falling asleep on my feet, without a crew or any support, and demoralized from the day. But tonight is way different, 180° the other way. I got to tell you, now I was starting to faintly grasp that a sub-24hr race is within my grasp. I’m running well, fuel is working, no stomach issues, no cramps. But even with that idea twinkling at the back of my brain, firmly planted at the fore of my brain was the fact that I had 33 miles to go, over some rough terrain, in the dark, and running alone for the next four hours. Way too early to be getting the smell of the barn in your nose.

A quick hop back to the BM Road aid station, shook Stan Ferguson’s hand and headed out for the gnarly little climb back over Smith Mtn. I’m starting to get a good rhythm going with my headlamp and flashlight (yeah baby, I bring both to the game), seeking out the holes and roots and rocks and trees that can bring me crashing to the ground and hurting myself. A strong, steady descent from the mowed path, plenty of chem lights, and finally I can hear the music coursing out of the upcoming aid station. A tight swing of the trail to the right and out come the disco lights and sweet strains of ELO’s Illegal Woman pouring out of the speakers. Though all the aid station at AT100 are great, Smith Mtn takes the prize.

Now the aid station pattern is getting set for the night, as I bypass everything but a water refill; no soup, so pretzels, no nothing. I’ve got momentum, adrenaline is flowing, I’m joking with the aid station personnel and thanking them for their time, but I am also OUTTA THERE! I make the short descent down the chewed up forest ‘road’ past a few hunters/campers listening to the ballgame late on the radio, and turn left for a solid climb. I can hardly believe it, but I’m still power-walking the hell of the climbs (ever running the shallow ones when I can figure out they are shallow, hard to do in the dark), and running steady on the flats and descent. I stayed with another guy coming out Smith Mtn, but he faded away as I pushed the descents. The caffeinated Perpetuem that allow forced on me is paying serious dividends as I am both well-fueled and wide-awake, plus feeling the adrenaline in my system.

The final approach to Club Flamingo was marked by tiki torches, a very nice touch. There I grabbed my drop bag, changed into a long sleeve shirt (Mountain Mist 50K), got some water, and headed out. I quickly passed through Pigtrail and pushed the rolling hills on the approach back to Lake Winona. At this point caffeinated Perp shows its lone disadvantage, as I had to make a pitstop! (Apologies to the RDs, but difficult to get more than a few feet on the road in the dark). Popped up from that and a few minutes later I passed a pair of dudes in the dark (probably runner and pacer). They were seemingly dicking around in the dark, standing on side of the forest road. Friendly as can be when I passed, just not covering any ground. Beyond those two I began the long descent towards Lake Winona. I can’t believe I am still running well, thinking that any minute now the wheels are going to fall off. The whole race I’ve got an internal monologue on and off. Most of it is just checking my body and stride, keeping an eye on the watch and putting down more fuel every 10min, remembering to take a mandatory walk break (working a 25min run, 5min walk cycle most of the race), getting electrolytes down every hour, etc. Some of it is checking the time schedule, doing the aid-station math in my head. Pieces of it are internal prayers to keep steady, keep me safe, watch over my wife and my boys, and thank Him for staying with me through the long night. Other pieces were just positive self-talk about running light and smooth, staying focused, and reminders that this can be done, it is within your capabilities. It’s great to have someone running with you to pass the miles, but when that’s not possible, I’ve found that I cannot afford to let my mind wander too much.

The aid station is lit up like a Christmas tree and looks great as I rolled in there just about midnight, a full 2 hours ahead of schedule. I jawboning out loud, animated, giddy, but managed to step over to the scale for the final weigh in (183 now). Eric Fritz kindly refills my water, I grab the last of the Perpetuem flask I will need, change into a final long-sleeve short (the Pinhoti 100!) and just haul ass out of there. Allan and Eric started to take about my probable finish time, and I begged them to “shut up, I don’t even want to think about that.” They started to talk about pace, and I say “please don’t, I can do the math in my head, but I can’t be thinking about that right now!” Even as good as I’m feeling, so deep into this race, there are 16mi of tough running to go. It ain’t over yet.

The climb out of Lake Winona is a grind and I push up and over it, cruising another descent and then grinding a climb to Rocky Gap. The poor roads get a little frustrating in the dark, searching back and forth with the flashlight trying to find a decent running line. At one point I rolled my ankle a bit and nearly fell over in a big rut, screaming a loud F-bomb in frustration. I blow in, get water, pass on coffee/soup, etc, thank the folks profusely and head out. This section heading to Electronic Tower is the second-worst piece of the course, little more than an ATV trail swerving back and forth on a climb towards the next aid station. The weather forecaster proves his/her unbelievable incompetence, as the rain starts in about 1:30am, at least 6 hours ahead of schedule, and beginning a steady rain shower that would continue until Monday morning. But in my case, it didn’t matter. I was feeling a good groove, plenty warm in the fresh shirt, and maintaining enough effort to keep me warm. I passed the 90mi marker somewhat in shock that I’m still moving strong after so many miles; it has never gone this well so deep into a race.

The folks at Electronic Tower were great, reminding me of the steady downhill to come with a series of right-hand turn at intersections. I ran steady the whole way, walk breaks nearly unthinkable in this wonderful groove I’ve got going. I blew through the Pumpkin Patch aid station in a tear, but grabbed a piece of pumpkin pie for the road! The last section of the course is among the worst in my mind (Smith Mtn ranks #3), as it goes down into this gnarly hollow along an ATV trail. The route is pitted with holes full of water across the path, fallen trees reaching out to poke you in the legs and faces, the lone creek crossing of the race, and other niceties. Nothing really bad, but a tough spot to be if you are really hurting mere miles from the finish. Those who came through this after being in the rain for 4-6-8 hours were really sucking. I just ground through that crap, spotting the 95mi marker and screaming a huge “F*** YEAH!” in the dark and kept pressing. Now I am smelling the barn, not thinking about blowing out anymore, just pushing more fuel into my system and the pace as much as I can stand. The only thing I am even holding back for is the final 2-mi descent to Lake Sylvia before the finish. Once I get over the creek it’s a shallow climb up the crossroads and final position where the radio operators call my position in. But I’m pushing hard and run it anyway, up over the top, push down some more fuel and lengthen the stride just a touch (how the hell am I actually running at this point) and cruise down towards Lake Sylvia. Screw the flashlight, turn that sucker off. Screw the headlamp, turn that sucker off too. Flying nearly blind in the dark, I’m re-doing the math in my head for the 89th time tonight and thinking, “Holy Cow, I’m gonna go under 22 hours!”

I cruise past the eerily silent campgrounds and Lake Sylvia day area, and start to ground the ¼ mi climb up towards the finish at Camp Ouachita. I take about a minute of walking, just trying to calm myself down, trying to take a moment to let it sink in, wiping off my watch in the rain and reading the time (!). But screw it, I pick up the run again, grind out that last climb, so the lights at the finish another 300-400m up, and POP!....there goes the right calf! Ooh oooh oooh, that hurts. A few limping strides, and oh yeah, I did a number on it this time. But screw it, there’s the line, it’s 3:45am, I strip off that wonderful hydration vest, strip off that headlamp, scream out loud “#61 IS COMING IN!” and baby it is done.

21 hours, 45 minutes, 45 seconds.

100 miles

A personal best by 5 hours, 40 minutes.

Quite probably the finest athletic performance of my life

AFTERMATH
Stan Ferguson plays the music for me, shakes my hands, and I head inside the lodge. Alas, Allan and Rob are nowhere to be found. After about 20min in the lodge, wrapped up in a blanket and eating some chicken soup, I borrow a cell phone (from a young kid who came in 2min ahead of me) to call Allan. Turns out he was not expecting me until 4:30am and was napping in the truck. When I called it said it was done, he initially thought “oh no, it’s over, he dropped out”. I say no dude, I’m finished, in the lodge. Can you bring me some dry clothes and a towel!

After that we head down to the campground and I grab a hot shower (heavenly), though I’ll admit to using the fold-down handicap bench in there to wash my feet! The Montrail Streak shoes had served me exceptionally well, covering all 100mi, but it was time to put them out of their misery and were left in the trash can at Lake Sylvia. Back at the lodge I managed to snack on some fruit, though I had little appetite at the moment. Rob came around 5:30am anticipating Blake’s arrival. We talked a while, Allan zoning out, I’m still flying on adrenaline. Funnier part of the morning was watching Chrissy Ferguson being escorted with an absolutely blank, expressionless look on her face, getting settled into a cot. She then got animated and spouted something to the effect “I am never f***ing doing that again”. Sure, Chrissy, sure.

Breakfast was served about 7:15am, tasted great but I still had little appetite. Napped fitfully in a lounge chair until 8am, when Rob grabbed me and we headed out to watch Blake roll in with Eric Fritz. His pace fell off after midnight, but he stayed steady, grabbed a trash bag to ward off the wet and cold, and made it to the line for redemption of our previous DNF, all with a huge smile on his face [insert his finish line photo].

Rest of the morning went by slow. Tried to eat some more, nut still little appetite. Tried to nap, with little success. Blake grabbed his buckle and headed out for Huntsville with Rob/Eric. Allan and I had a planned stay in Little Rock before his flight home the next morning, so we stayed for the awards ceremony at 12:30pm. Drove to Little Rock, check into the Embassy Suites, limped up to the room. Still not sleepy, I headed down to the swimming pool and soaked my legs in the semi-cold water there; the Jacuzzi looked inviting, but that would be foolish right about now. We grabbed some dinner, checked some email, posted photos and status to FB and Flickr, then Allan crashed out. Sleep come with difficulty for me, finally settled down around midnight.

Up around 4am Monday, Allan had a 5:40am flight back to Austin, so I drove him to the airport, then took a nap back at the hotel. Grabbed a huge (and well-earned) Embassy Suites breakfast before loading the truck and heading out (via Starbucks across the street from the hotel). The drive to Huntsville went fairly well, grabbed some more Starbucks in Memphis, but got home easier than anticipated. As it normal in a house with three boys, Kirsten was hammered from me being gone the past 4 days, and one child was coming down sick!

I still had trouble sleeping Monday night, so zombie’d through work on Tuesday and another restless night. Took Wednesday off and finally settled into a deep sleep that night; gracious how these races can screw up your internal mechanisms! I went to ART (physical therapy) appointments right away on Tuesday and Thursday, but it is going to be at least a month of no running with this right calf. Oh well, the line from The Replacements seems appropriate: Pain heal, chicks dig scars, glory…lasts forever.

So, anybody up for some mountain racing in Colorado next summer? ;-)

ANALYSIS
So where began the seeds of this success? Besides the mental fixation on my past DNF here, let us dial back 18 months to March 2008 at the Mississippi Trail 50-Miler, a fairly easy and run-able course in the DeSoto National Forest. Despite a series of ultras through the winter, my performance was less-than-stellar. It took me 10+ hours to get through a fast course. I was steady but just could not muster the speed and power of past times. It was very frustrating. So Allan and I kicked it around, then went back to the drawing board and re-tooled the training program, focusing on long-lost 10K speed. So through last Summer I ran speed, power, speed, power, and more of the same. No long stuff over an hour, every workout focusing on higher tempo pace pushing right through anaerobic threshold. I used some of that renewed speed to power success at the Inaugural Pinhoti 100 last November.

As I got into the Spring of 2009, Allan and I upped the ante and re-tooled a training program targeted at a 40min 10K pace. Through the Summer I again hammered track workouts, grueling tempo and fartlek runs, and hill sprint workouts, along with explosive power efforts in the weight room and via plyometrics. I threw in the Strolling Jim 40 (always a good time) in May plus a few some 2-3 hour trail runs in the early Summer to keep a taste of long work. Also in there was about half of Rob’s Dysmal 50K training effort on Monte Sano in prep for his trip to Hardrock.

The ramp-up for AT100 lasted eight weeks, and I got right out of the gate with a 50k at the Bartlett Park ultras in early August. That long run was the baseline, and I built in mileage from there in multiple ways. Training runs were restricted to 4 days a week (M, W, F, Sun) with two days lifting and one day of complete rest. Mon, Wed, Sun contained all the speed and power workouts. After Bartlett, the same workouts just got longer with more distance and intensity: longer fartlek, more/longer intervals, longer tempo, more hill repeats, etc. In addition, I incorporated a great lesson from Ray the K. He advocated the simple measure of adding on a few extra miles after your normal workout or elsewhere on the same training day. So I did that, adding on as much a 45min of “cool down” running after a hard track workout, an extra few miles at cruise pace after the tempo run, and pulling a ‘double’ (two-a-day) about once a week. Some might call this junk miles, but I say the definition of junk miles get real loose when it comes to ultrarunning. Or as DeWayne Satterfield aptly stated it once when we training down at Pinhoti: “Ain’t no such thing as junk miles when you’re training for a 100.” Mind you, I kept the non-running rest days in the schedule; I’ve learned that I’ve got to rest or I’ll blow out.

As with the successful run at Pinhoti, I planned for several day-long runs in this cycle to try to cement the AT100 success. Past the Bartlett Park 50K (where I pulled a steady 5:20 in the heat/humidity), Fridays (sometimes Saturdays) were the long runs, and I started extending those out. I basically went +2 hours every other week, going from 6hrs (initial plan at Bartlett) out through a plan for 12 hours. Some folks like the back-to-back long runs over the weekend; I go with the single long run at the same combined mileage. It works better in my schedule (back-to-back runs and 3 boys at home? No way), and I firmly believe for me it is superior physical and mental preparation for a 100. So I built longer and longer through August and September, culminating in a 103-mi week in mid-September; it was the biggest volume training week of my life, and included 56mi monster run at Wheeler NWR with Rob, Kathy, Blake, et al. I also put in long days of 50+ at Monte Sano, and 45+ at the Ocoee River area.

I believe another factor worth mentioning is how I incorporated a shift in my stride pattern starting in the early Summer. I had been steadily shifting towards lighter weight, more minimal running shoes, then a colleague at work handed me a copy of Chris McDougall’s Born to Run.[link]. Besides that it is just a fascinating book and a great read, it cemented for me the need to shift my normal running stride up off the heel and work a slightly shorter, faster tempo while striking at the midfoot and forefoot. I started with the fartlek workout in May and within a few weeks could feel the difference, and then see it in the times as I quickly chopped off a minute from my normal 6mi fartlek route. After pounding the last breaths of life from my old shoes, I switched back to a lighter trail shoe (the Montrail Streak I already had), plus a pair of NB904 for road work. It took several more weeks to get my feet used to the stride pattern, and I still need to concentrate on it some when I get tired, but it is permanent.

Next up on my training calendar? A few weeks of rest and therapy for the strained calf muscle. After that I might take some spin classes to do something different, plus get back in the weight room. We have aid station duties at the upcoming Pinhoti 100 (Nov 7-8), something I am hoping the Huntsville Track Club and Fleet Feet sponsor every year as well make our only 100 a permanent fixture in the UR calendar. But the next adventure should a 3-day crossing of the Georgia Pinhoti Trail, led by the fearless Rob Youngren. Stay tuned….

Bartlett Park Ultras 50K, 8 Aug 09

2009-08-11T21:34:00.000-05:00

In my preparation for the Arkansas Traveller 100 (AT100) this year, I opted to head over the Bartlett Park Ultras just outside Memphis, TN this year a good training run for two reasons. First, my experience from the run-up to my eventual DNF at the 2007 AT100, I passed on this prep event in order to spend more time at home. Alas, I only managed long runs upwards of 5-6 hours that year, and that was one of several contributing factors to my DNF then. The weather and family demands kept me from really pushing long training days then. Second, I wanted to start my 2009 AT100 run-up with a 50k run and build from that foundation. This is primarily from my success last year at the Pinhoti 100, where I had five long runs all further than my longest events from the year before (including a 50mi race and a 12hr training run on back-to-back weekends). Thus, the intent this year is to start around 50k and build up to a 12+ hr training run in late September.

Fortunately for me, I got to link up with Eric Charette and Eric Schotz and the packet pickup, fresh off their epic Run Across Alabama for Elliott a month prior. I also got to meet Christy Scott from Huntsville, and it turns out we both have 4th grade boy in the same elementary school. We all headed to a local Italian place for the traditional pre-race pasta dinner.

Race morning I was up at 0500, grabbed my gear and headed out. Crossing the hotel parking lot at a humid 80deg pre-dawn signaled the challenges of the morning to come! The race started at 0630. The course make a 1.6mi loop on the blue trail before coming back to the parking lot in 14min. There I grabbed my water bottle (didn’t need it until then) and was surprised to find myself in about 8th place, far from the norm for me. The rest of the race consists of 4 loops on a 7.45mi course winding about the park.

The trails had their good and bad points. On the good column was the complete lack of rocks, tons of shade, and no major climbs. The only real obstacles to contend with were a lot of tree roots and about a dozen ditches to jump into and then climb back out of; some were a foot deep, others were 10-12’ deep with 50-60deg slopes to climb out. On bad column was the near-total lack of any straight piece of course to get a running rhythm. I’d bet there wasn’t but 100m of straight-line trail the entire morning. Constant turning, weaving in and around the trails and between trees. Which is a ton of fun, but I ain’t gonna be chasing my 50k PR out here!

Moved steadily on the first loop to complete in 1:15 (now 1:29 elapsed), and then the second loop in 1:16 (including 5+min break at my XTerra). At the midpoint I had to sit down to change shoes and socks, strip off shirt, etc. All were soaked in sweat from the heat and humidity, and the turns created a blister-under-callous on my right foot. I swapped into a pair of Montrails I had as backups, but I may have been better off sticking with the road shoes I was wearing.
I felt fine through the third loop, pushing fluids (40+ oz) and fuel hard (nearly 500 cal) in the 1:15 it took the make it. I was pretty happy with the even splits to this point, still jawboning with other folks on the course as I was beginning to lap some folks. Posture and form were still good, but starting to get a little sloppy in some spots so had to concentrate on keeping it clean and light-on-feet. I rolled out of the parking lot at 4hrs even for the last loop, knowing I would slow down on the last loop as the heat-humidity controlled to work their magic. Sure enough, I tripped and fell not once, not twice, but three times before I got halfway through the final loop! But I hit the final aid station, tightened up my concentration and got a higher tempo rhythm going again to get after the final 3 miles. Luckily, I felt pretty well from there on out, and completed the final piece of the course without any falls in 1:20 for a total time of 5hr 20min and 7th place (out of 38 finishers in the 50k, don’t know about DNFs). It was just shy of high noon and estimates were now about 100+ on the heat index. Alas, I had a very nice blood blister under a callous on my right foot that would require minor surgery at home later that night to remove, as well as a nasty blister on my heel caused by the Montrail shoes (those things need to go). I had toyed with the idea of pressing on to 40mi (maybe even 50mi) if I felt good through 50K, but decided to go out on a high note and call it a day.

Eric Charette and Eric Schotz put in a darn fine race, finishing 1-2 in 4:07 and 4:11 respectively. Kudos to them for hammering it out in the heat and humidity, though they suffered some bruised and bloody toes for their efforts!

So my thanks to the Hampton Inn for their ice machines, because I took a cooler full of it that morning and now was rubbing handfuls of it over my neck, chest, and legs to start cooling down! I thought about imitating Kathy Youngren and sitting in the cooler with a bag of ice over my chest, but not sure if I would have been able to get out. And my thanks again to the Hampton Inn, for after a quick shower they allowed me a late check-out and I headed for home.

After farting around south Memphis trying to find a Quiznos (that’s what I was hungry for, but my by Google-BB application gave me two bad locations before I finally found one on third try), I headed into Mississippi. But the adventure is not over yet. I don’t get over to Memphis that often, to decided to take a detour from Corinth, MS and head up to the Shiloh National Military Park just over the MS-TN state line. Because I’m a National Parks nut (105+ stamps and still going), I deemed it a worthy side-excursion. There I pulled out my mountain bike and cruised the 12mi battlefield tour on two wheels (instead of by car), learning about one of the bloodiest events of the Civil War and where Gen. US Grant and a host of other Union Army leader began to experience real success against the Confederates in the western front of the war. The mtn bike ride was good, as it warmed up my now-stiffening knees and made the remaining drive home a little more comfortable.

The drive home from there was long and frustrating through back roads of lower TN over to I-65; in hindsight, I should have gone south back to US-72 at Corinth, but my wandering genes kicked in to see something different. Trust me, not much to see on US-64 through Southern Tennessee! Arriving home around 8:30pm after an adventurous day, Matthew (my 9yr old) asks incredulously, “Daddy, did you really run 31 miles in that heat today? You’re crazy.” Got to hand it to the kid, calls ‘em likes he sees ‘em.

2009 Strolling Jim “40”

2009-08-02T11:56:00.001-05:00

The grand-daddy of Southern Ultrarunning is the Strolling Jim held in the little town of Wartrace, TN nestled in the hills of Bedford County. Going on its 31^st running this year, I made the trek again to brave Gary Cantrell's "FOUR SMALL HILLS"

Hauled my butt out of bed about 0345, flipped on the kitchen lights, then began a minor visit from Murphy as the power went out! So I spent a few minutes fumbling around to get the flashlight out of its designated spot and start getting my gear in the truck and something to eat (everything goes slower when working by flashlight). Left the house about 0415, but while heading up US-431, the highway was closed because of a wreck! I had to divert to some side roads before climbing up to Monte Sano and the Youngren's place. There I linked up with them, Blake, and the Charette's for the caravan to Wartrace. Oh BTW – it was raining the entire time.

I was heartened to see a bunch of familiar faces at the starting line, most of us huddled under the gazebo in the town square to avoid the rain for a few extra minutes. Then Dink Taylor blasts out of there and we realize that Aimee Cantrell has blown the conch shell and we almost missed it. As the rain continued to roll down, all clothes and shoes were soaked through in the first few miles, so no worries, at least it won't get hot today.

I was plenty hydrated (even though I tried not to drink too much beforehand), so had to pull over several times in the first two hours, include a long pit stop just out of Normandy. By then I was well on my own on the course, so pulled out my mp3 player and was listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows most of the day. I cruised fairly comfortably at a 9-10min/mile pace (including pit stops, climbs, and aid stations). Caught up to and passed Mike O'Melia around Mile 18; he had a pretty good day himself on the course, looking much more relaxed than last year.

Not much to tell through the middle miles as I ground out the climb over Hilltop Rd again and headed for Cathey Rd and The Walls. I hit the 30mi mark right at 5 hr keeping me at a 10:00/mile pace and possible 7hr finish. But the Walls always slow you down some as you muscle out the short climbs and then grunt through the quad-busting descents right after. Luckily the rain had stopped by now and it was just overcast with some light drizzle.

After lolly-gagging a bit too much in the Walls, Mike pulled me within shouting distance, so I got a better rhythm going again as we headed for the US-41A crossing and the 35mi marker, arriving there just after 1pm. Now it's 10k to go and I flirted briefly with the possibility of making a sub-7hr finish, even going so far as to keep running the shallow grades where the RD famously spray paints "Only Wimps Walk this Hill". Dave Riddle is out on the course logging some miles, and even without my glasses I could see him coming from a ½ mile away with that perfect, wide-open stride of his. Now I was getting motivated to push through.

But then the effects of the heavy rains the past few days become seriously evident as fields are completely flooded and creeks are just rolling with muddy water. Then just before I got back to Hwy 64 and the final turn for Wartrace, we had to take a "DETUR" for the road was covered in about 5 feet of rolling water ahead. Well that detour was about an extra mile (plus some more climbing), so that was the end of my flirtation with a sub-7 hr day. So I said "Screw it!" and took some long walk breaks with the hopes of actually being functional at home tonight and playing with the boys some. I finally rolled in around 7:24 and change, not far behind the Youngren's (my ride home) it turns out.

After cleaning up in the bathroom of the local Laundromat, I sat down to enjoy some barbecued chicken and jawboned with Dave Riddle and Chrissy Ferguson a while. Party Animal Blake Thompson broke out a 40oz Miller High Life to celebrate (you know it's coming), a 40-mile run! (actually about 42+ with the detour). Had a nice time talking with David Jones and Janice Anderson, as Rob and Kathy picked their brain about Badwater logistics. The drive home was a bit uncomfortable as I was sitting on a nasty welt in my nether-regions. The conversation was entertaining and mostly kept my mind off of it. Log one more ultra in the books, glad to be able to come to Wartrace again.

MOUNT CHEAHA 50K, 28 Feb 09

2009-08-02T09:26:00.001-05:00

Ah yes, the quickly-becoming-infamous Mount Cheaha, now fully able to claim the title of "Alabama's Toughest Trail Race" (whereas the Mountain Mist is Alabama's Premiere Trail Race). The winning time and distribution of finishing times makes a clear case, and having spent plenty of time on this section in both directions, it is truly some darn tough trail running.

I drove down to Mount Cheaha the day afternoon before, heading through a serious rainstorm that would swell the creek crossings the following day. I pulled off I-20 onto US-431 and then US-281 right behind Dink Taylor and Rob Youngren and followed them up to Bald Rock Lodge at Mount Cheaha State Park. There RD Todd Henderson had laid on a good pre-race dinner spread and regaled us with race brief. It was great to spend the evening jawboning with Rob, Dink, Dana Overton, John Nevels, and meet several other folks.

On race day, I woke 0600, grabbed a little breakfast and some coffee, and then got a ride from the Nevels crew to the start line (instead of going up to Cheaha only to catch a bus to the start line).

Alas, the buses got stuck in the mud, so race start was not until 0900 (instead of 0730). No worries though: had the opportunity to meet William and Emily Ansick, do some jawboning with John Nevels, younger brother, and newcomer Marcus Farris (Grissom HS grad and current freshman at Auburn). Luckily the rain which had been going steadily all Friday and through the night stopped about 0600.

Figure 1. Brothers Nevels at the starting area.

Figure 2. Rob Youngren at the starting area. My man unicycled a good chunk of the course!

Race got started 0900 under sunny skies, hoops and hollers, and high hopes! I got out towards the front-packers and pushed my pace beyond norm for a while because I knew the trail was narrow and I wanted to do some clean running before we got to the tougher, rockier sections.

I got some extra water at Chandler Springs and couple cups of HEED, walked across the tracks and bridge and up to the trail entrance back onto Talladega Mountain. This is where the Pinhoti trail gets tougher, eschewing the ridgeline and moving up higher hills and small peaks and then down into narrow gulleys and stream crossings and then doing it over and over again. One time Todd Henderson (RD) told me there were but 3 miles of flat running on the course, but that is crap; there ain't but one mile of flat running on that course. Even where we came to forest roads for a bit there was an insidious shallow climb or descent to work the legs.

At Clairmont Gap I took some more water, HEED, and pretzels before moving into one of the toughest legs of the Pinhoti Trail, 6 miles to Adam's Gap of nasty, rock-laden, on-a-cant, narrow, muddy trail. Out of the aid station we climbed right back up to the ridgeline, over it, and a descent to mid-slope before going further down and out of several seasonal streams. The scenery along the ridgeline was nice as we had great views south into some farming valleys and further on into the Ashland/Lineville area. Took me about 80min to cover it, and I wasn't screwing around. Had my mp3 player and a solid running rhythm going, just not covering ground that fast! Great trail running, but not meant for speed records. An added bonus was running into Rob Youngren as we crossed over the Talladega Motorway. He opted for the mountain unicycling option that day and was riding portions of the course and Motorway up to the finish line. We shot some photos and talked smack for a few minutes before bidding adieu and getting back on the course. I was glad to have the excuse to stop running for a few minutes.

Figure 3. Senor Youngren grimacing that his unicycle ain't gonna take him down this stretch of the trail. Had to settle for a nice ride down the Talladega Motorway instead (lower left corner)

Figure 4. Rob and his uni, going to head up the Talladega Motorway to the finish.

Once I got into Adam's Gap (about halfway), I had clearly experienced my fun for the day and knew it was time to back off the pace lest I pop later in the day. Hard to say, but I figure the effects of the Reverse Double at Mtn Mist and a tough few weeks at work were taking their toll. So jawboned with Todd and Jamie Henderson for a bit, ate some food, and took my time in the aid station. It was actually fun to watch folks trying to 'race ' this thing, while I was definitely taking on a much more run-as-you-please attitude as the day went on.

As we got onto the 10mile stretch of the Chinnabee/Silent Trail, it got a little more overcast and I knew the creek crossings and wet feet episodes would start. As it turns out, I was not disappointed! For this is one darn and adventurous 50k course with little in the way of easy sections. The first major crossings were around Hubbard Creek, about knee deep and moving pretty good from all the rain, but nothing dangerous. I had slowed down my pace and was
working more calories into my system to make sure I could function tonight and tomorrow at home, but still very much enjoying the trails and the scenery.

Now the crossing at Lake Chinnabee was something to be remembered. During the pre-race briefing, Todd had said the creek would be up and a rope would be strung out. I was thinking, "I don't need no stinking rope! That shit is for sissies." But no lie, when I got down to the small lake and the falls that feed it, I wasn't about to pass up the offered rope! The water was moving pretty good and I went in up to my navel when I first stepped into the water, getting easier about halfway across. The rope was certainly handy, and I used it well to get across. Of course, about halfway there, I slipped on a rock under the water, cut up my lower left shin to the bone, and dunked myself up to the neck before using that rope to get upright. My mp3 player (attached to the chest strap of my Nathan vest) went under along with my disposable camera. I'm glad to report both still worked later on! So I enjoyed the mini-adventure of the rushing creek and got to the aid station on the far side with a bleeding shin; fortunately the cold water kept the swelling and bleeding under control, but I'll have a nice scar for my troubles. My feet were perpetually wet for the rest of the course after that. The trails out of Chinnabee Lake doubled as impromptu streams and the route crossed over the same creek about 2 miles later for another good dunking up to mid-thigh.

Figure 5. Crossing Chinnabee Creek, they even put out a rope to aid matters.

Figure 6. Me losing footing and taking a dunk.

The section on the FS 600-3 and Cheaha Road was a nice respite, and coming into the aid station at Cheaha Lake. The folks there were rather effervescent and promised "only one small climb" up to the finish line. Of course, now the course goes into the infamous BLUE HELL trail, an approx 1000' climb over 0.8 miles right up the side of Mt Cheaha to the top. The a last half-mile of it isn't a trail so much as a bunch of blue paint marks guiding runners ever-upward through massive rock formations on the way to the top. It is a hellacious little piece of trail that helps give the Cheaha 50K its uniqueness.

So finally I emerged out of Blue Hell and began the final section of the course on top of the mountain. Now, if you think that once you're up Blue Hell that the single-track trail is all done and it's just a jaunt to the finish line, you have it all wrong. Todd has special surprises in store for us intrepid runners by throwing in some more nasty little pieces of trail as he climbs you right to the observation tower at the Top of Alabama, 2407' above sea level. On this day, you can't see a thing as a cloud bank has taken up residence on the mountain in the afternoon. I can barely see the course markers 25m apart much less the normally-gorgeous views into the valleys to the north and south. From there, we take some more trail for good measure before finally dumping out near the Bald Rock Lodge and the finish line, about 7hr 3min after I started this little venture.

Turns out other Huntsville natives Dink Taylor and DeWayne Satterfield finished 1^st and 2d, while Dana Overton took the ladies' prize. John Nevels turned in a fine performance of 5:48. But the surprise of the day was young Marcus Farris out of Huntsville and Auburn Univ, the 18-year old freshman clocking 5:28 on a damn tough course. I think that young man is ready to tackle the Pinhoti 100 should he take up the challenge.

I get across the finish line, get my shirt, and start to head for the lodge entrance when out pops Dink and Rob, my ride back down Oxford and my XTerra. They ask, "You ready to go?" I mean, shit dudes, I literally just finished. You mind terribly if I get a piece of freakin' pizza or something first?! They relent, offer to get the food for me as I grab my drop bag from the trailer. Thanks fellas, I know you have my best interests in mind. I managed to finagle another 5min delay so I can go in the bathroom and clean myself up a bit. Of course, once I get in there and manage to strip off all my wet, stinking gear, in walks Rob and gets a peek at me buck nekkid. Of course, he's seen it all from years of ultras and an earlier life at VMI, so we have a good chuckle. Later at dinner back in Huntsville, the usually-charming Dink announces to the table of 16+ people that Josh stripped down nude in the bathroom just for Rob! How the heck does he make that leap? ;-)

So 2 hours and a few coordination phone calls later, I met Kirsten and many of the other local running crew at El Olmeca for some good food and fellowship. An excellent way to wind up a good day on the Alabama trails! Congrats to Todd and Jamie Henderson for another superb race.

So the real question is, "When are we going to do a Reverse Double Mount Cheaha 100K?"

Reporting Day (R-Day) at West Point

2009-06-28T15:22:00.000-05:00

The infamous R-Day for the Class of 2013 at USMA (West Point) is 29 June 2009, and thus nearly 1300 anxious youngsters (and their parents) are eating a final meal together this evening and will likely stare at the ceiling of their hotel rooms in a futile attempt to sleep. Alas, my own R-Day experiences are pretty vague and with only a few clear recollections on just what the heck happened all day.

These days I get the much-nicer job of being an Admissions Officer for USMA. This year I put 31 kids from Alabama into the system, including 16 from the Huntsville metro area. Oh how well I remember my own R-Day 19 years ago, and glad I'm not doing that again! Here is a photo with one of my candidates, placed in an advertisement recruiting others to join the Admissions team.

Best of luck to the Class of 2013. Surf into West Point's website for details and photos.

2009-05-30T13:13:00.001-05:00

30 May 1994: 15 years and 3 children later (not to mention about 12 moves and 50+ marathons and ultras), she is still hanging around me. Married at the Old Cadet Chapel, West Point, NY. Happy Anniversary, Beautiful.

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T11:43:00.000-05:00

In honor of Mother's Day, I encourage all to read the words of President Teddy Roosevelt. His speech of 1905 is perhaps the finest ever given on the trials, tribulations, and utter necessity of mothers. This is one of my favorite parts, though there are many to quote.

“No ordinary work done by a man is either as hard or as responsible as the work of a woman who is bringing up a family of small children…for the lives of these women are often led on the lonely heights of quiet, self-sacrificing heroism.”

You can read the full text at many locations, here is one:
http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trmothers1905.html

Of course, I got lucky and married a fantastic woman who is a wonderful mother. So even though we recognize the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day, just remember: every day is a good day to celebrate her and motherhood in general.

Grand Canyon - The Rest of the Trip!

2009-04-24T19:43:00.001-05:00

An earlier post detailed one of the highlights of our recent Grand Canyon vacation (my Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim [R2R2R] running adventure), but we actually managed some other fun-filled days in Northern Arizona as well!

After flying into Phoenix on April 5th and driving north to the South Rim, we got to stay in the Bright Angel Lodge right on the canyon edge, a mere 100 feet from the rim. We took it relatively easy on the 6th, mostly taking the shuttle bus around the various south rim locations, seeing the multiple visitor centers, gift shops, and spots to view down into the canyon. We even went over to Yaki Point and took this photo just to prove we went on vacation together!

Kirsten and Josh at Yaki Point, Grand Canyon South Rim, 6 Apr 09

Of course, on 7 Apr I did the R2R2R trip, but Kirsten got a great opportunity to hike down the Bright Angel Trail through Indian Gardens and out to Plateau Point.

View of the South Rim from Indian Garden

On Wed, 8 Apr we headed out the eastern entrance of the park and traveled up US-89 for the Page, AZ and the Glen Canyon NRA to take a rafting trip on the Colorado River. Alas, high winds that day forced the guide company to cancel the trip, so we spent some time at the Glen Canyon Dam and Visitor Center, hiked in and around a slot canyon, and made another side trip to the Lee's Ferry portion of the Grand Canyon.

Kirsten climbing down into a slot canyon

Josh soaking his tired and swollen feet in the quite cold Colorado River at Lee's Ferry

Then came the next major highlight of the trip. Kirsten had placed us on the wait-list for Phantom Ranch on Tues afternoon, and by Wed evening we had pretty good odds at scoring an opening. So on Thurs morning Kirsten hopped up at 6am, walked over to the lodging office, and sure enough, we were able to score a cabin with queen bed! After sitting down for a solid breakfast, we made arrangement to check out of our rim lodging a day early, and went about packing our Camelbaks for an overnight hiking trip down to the River and the oasis there. The rest of our gear went into the rental car, which we left parked next to our South Rim cabin.

We caught the shuttle over the South Kaibab Trail head and started the hike down about 11:45. This trail into the Colorado River is known for its stunning mix of pain and pleasure. It provides absolutely stunning views of the Canyon and the River, but it is also unrelenting with probably not 1/10 mile of level hiking. It is a constant, switch-backing descent with hundreds of erosion control logs and stones, but not one piece of shade. So it will eat up your quads and knees on the 7.3mi descent to the Black Bridge over the Colorado River, 0.5 mile beyond which is Phantom Ranch.

Looking west down the Canyon from the South Kaibab Trail

About halfway down the trail

Kirsten, then Josh, on the Black Bridge over the Colorado River

We got into Phantom Ranch in about 3 hours, taking some time to get the obligatory stamp for our National Parks Passport book before checking into our cabin.

At the canteen we grabbed some cold lemonade and then walked over to Bright Angel Creek to soak our feet in the cool waters.

We enjoyed a nice family-style steak dinner at the canteen, meeting a couple from Baltimore at the table with. Afterwards, we wandered up the North Kaibab Trail to see a mile or of The Box and probably one of the nicest pieces of trail you'll ever have the pleasure of hiking or running.

We crashed for the night with the sounds of the creek running nearby. The next morning we had a huge breakfast at the canteen (family-style again), and this time met a great couple from England. The husband was an aerospace engineer and his wife a special education teacher, so we had plenty to talk about. Kirsten and I loaded our Camelbaks up and hit the trail for hike out about 7:45am. This time we crossed over Silver Bridge and made the return up the Bright Angel Trail in just over six hours. Our golden chariot (aka Dodge Charger rental car) was awaiting us about 200' away, so we threw our gear in the trunk and headed out. Next stop was a well-earned treat from Carvel Ice Cream out in Tusayan before we drove to Flagstaff for the night.

Josh and Kirsten at the Bright Angel Trail head, made it all the way out on foot!

After enjoying a hot shower at the hotel in Flagstaff, we wandered over to the Beaver Creek Brewery and proceeded to do some carb replenishment with the local brews and some brick-oven pizza; great place to spend the evening. After sleeping rather soundly that night, we woke up to a snowstorm on Saturday morning. Got out of the Canyon just in the nick of time! Would have hated to hike out in that.

6" of snowfall between midnight and noon in Flagstaff, 11 Apr 09

Despite the snow, we still managed to hop multiple national park sites around Flagstaff and Central Arizona, including Sunset Crater, Walnut Canyon, Wupatki, Montezuma Castle, and Tuzigoot. We enjoyed a nice soak in the hotel hot tub in Phoenix, then flew home the next day.

A great vacation and some lifelong memories. Heck, it took us about three more days at home to recover from the vacation! Is it OK not to miss your kids while on vacation?

R2R2R, Grand Canyon - 7 Apr 09

2009-04-19T23:24:00.000-05:00

The National Park Service (NPS) says that 3 million folks visit the Grand Canyon (GC) every year. I figure about 2 million will never leave the South Rim, merely drive up from Flagstaff, look over the edge, and say, “Wow!” NPS further says that only about 10% of GC visitors (300,000) will drive over the North Rim side of the park, a far more remote site about 4+ hour drive away from the South Rim (yet only 10 miles as the crow flies). Perhaps another 500,000 will come to the South Rim and actually hike down into the canyon for a few miles, stopping at the Indian Gardens or other rest spots. Heck, maybe 100,000 souls go elsewhere in the National Park site beside the two main sites (like the Hulapai Nation Skywalk or Desert View). I’ll further posit that 75,000 folks actually make it to the Colorado River via mule ride or on foot, typically staying the night at Phantom Ranch or other nearby campgrounds; good for them, because in most places on the South Rim you can’t even see the River way down in the Inner Gorge of the GC.

But only a precious few will look across that expanse, that “big hole in the ground”, and wonder if they could go by foot to the other side. Even fewer still look across (from the South or North Rim) and ask “I wonder if I could get there and back in just one day?” And that, my friends, is why it feels right and true and good to be an ultrarunner, an adventurer, a wanderer. You are among the ultimate outliers. Remember the words of Tolkien, as printed on t-shirts here and there: ‘Not all those who wander are lost.”

Kirsten and I were very fortunate to line up a vacation to the Grand Canyon this year, taking a week in early April and cashing in a chit with her parents to look after our three boys while we were off wandering. So thanks to Oma and Opa; the boys loved having you there, and we appreciate the heck out of getting a great vacation! In the Fall of 2008, Kirsten and I planned to get out in Spring 2009 and starting looking at places in the SW USA. Well, after I pulled out the National Park map, the Grand Canyon immediately stood out, and subsequently the chance to do the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim (R2R2R) presented itself after over a decade of since I heard about it. We spent two prized frequent flier tickets with Southwest, and were able to make reservations at the Bright Angel Lodge right on the South Rim, perhaps 100’ from the Bright Angel Trailhead. Needless to say, we were stoked about the vacation! We flew in on Sunday, April 5th, and I did the R2R2R on April 7th.

Kirsten and I had other cool adventures that week, including Glen Canyon NRA, the Lee’s Ferry portion of GC, hiking down to Phantom Ranch and spending the night, and dodging a snowstorm in Flagstaff! All will be the subject of another post. But first, my R2R2R experience

THE GEAR: Asics trail running shorts (with built-in compression liner, so very little chafing problems all day), Montrail Hardrock shoes with Montrail Endurosoles, injinji socks, HIND cold-weather top, LS t-shirt from Rocket City Marathon, RRS Goretex running jacket, gloves (two layers), skull cap, small flashlight, and Black Diamond headlamp. I had a Camelbak HAWG with 100oz water bladder, with a spare LS tech shirt, some anti-chafe lube, cell phone, and all my calories.
** By the way: if any of my compadres from Fleet Feet Huntsville happen to read this, after this trip to GC I had to put the Hardrock shoes out of their misery. After 650 miles, culminating with my R2R2R and a hike later in the week to Phantom Ranch and back, I just sucked all the useful life out of them! About 25% of the outsole had been ripped away, and you could feel the midsole were just shot. Donated to the garbage in Flagstaff.

THE FUEL: Mostly Hammer Perpetuem in paste form crammed into flasks, a flask of HammerGel, and a few Hammer bars just to eat something different. Also had plenty of Endurolytes. What can I say: I get a 20% discount from Hammer because of my team membership with SmartSport Int’l, and for me their fuels have proven the best available, i.e. the ultrarunning ‘experiment of one, I know from experience and experimentation what works for me, but it may not work for you!

So after arriving early evening on 5 Apr and generally just taking it easy on the South on 6 Apr, the day of the R2R2R has arrived. I woke at 0315, restless from the coming epic. Actually, I never slept all that well during the week, which I chalk up to the altitude (7100’) and the dryness (woke up thirsty and dry mouth 3-4 times a night). I got the last remnants of my Camelbak ready, put some tape on my feet, Brave Soldier lube in the right places, and had a little something to eat. Then I kissed my slumbering wife and headed out the door of our cabin. Because of the awesome lodging arrangements, I walked 100’ to the Bright Angel Trailhead and over the edge 0400.

The first hour was relatively uneventful as I headed down the steep trail into the dark. Getting a rhythm over the erosion control logs took some time, but all part of the journey. However, I ended up having to make four pit stops between wake-up and 3mi resthouse to get my pipes all cleaned out! That likely cost me 15-20min on the descent. I went through Indian Garden in the dark, and then the trail dropped into this righteous little canyon, where I could hear the washing rushing thru the small flumes in the dark.

Figure 1. The Colorado River as seen from Plateau Point. Kirsten took this photo while I was on the R2R2R. She had a solid day of hiking herself!

Now I’m about halfway to the river crossing, and the trail begins the nasty, twisting descent into the Inner Gorge of the GC. This portion is known as the Devils’ Corkscrew. With the first light of day now getting into the canyon, and temperature starting to pick up, the view of this piece of trail is downright exciting as it winds down, down, down. About halfway down the Corkscrew, I stopped at a creek crossing to strip off the hat, gloves, and jacket, packing them away and continued to head down to the Colorado River. It will be one of the lessons learned for others to consider, but I ended up carrying a lot of extra weight. Not just the weight of water, for I can handle that, but all the extra gear filling up my Camelbak. I carried a lot of extra gear, likely unnecessary stuff all the way up the North Rim and back. I had the option of caching my jacket, gloves, headlamp, etc, but I opted to hang on to it to hedge against unforeseen events on the trail. Maybe I would twist and ankle and need to jacket, extra clothes, and lights to deal with the night? I carried that weight and volume out of risk mitigation more than anything, but likely could have gotten away without it.

I got to the Colorado River 0615, made a right turn to head up the River Trail. Though it just follows the river, half of the trail is loose sand, so the going can be slow and you slog through it. Two miles later the lovely Silver Bridge across the river came into sight, and its companion Black Bridge another ½ mile beyond that. The oasis at Phantom Ranch is across; I took an enjoyable stroll over the footbridge. At Phantom Ranch I re-loaded water in my Camelbak and called Kirsten with a status report about 0645 from the pay phone there (cell phone completely useless down here).

Figure 2. Silver Bridge and the Colorado River. Photo was taken with a disposable camera at about 0630, so not a lot of sunlight yet.

Figure 3. My big forehead, messed up hair, and you can just see the Silver Bridge.

As the sun continued to rise, I passed through Phantom Ranch, the slumbering campers, and the few gawkers that were leaving breakfast at the canteen. The North Kaibab Trail waited. The first 2-3 miles venture into a section known as The Box. Perhaps one of the best trails I have ever run, simply unforgettable. Bright Angel Creek is rushing down a very narrow canyon that is feeding the Colorado River and the trails winds up the creek back and forth over several bridges. Just a great piece of running up very shallow but steady climb through the tight canyon before it opened up and continued the climb up Bright Angel Canyon.

Figure 4. Trail sign heading out of Phantom Ranch up the North Kaibab Trail. Just a half-marathon to the top, right? Never mind the 6000' net elevation gain! I actually took this photo two days later when Kirsten and I stayed the night at Phantom Ranch.

The Box eventually opens up into Bright Angel Canyon and the shallow climb continues up the creek past Ribbon Falls and into the Cottonwood campground. The sun was now overhead, so I pulled out a ballcap, sunglasses, and put on some sunscreen. I passed through Cottonwood and got some strange looks from the few campers and NPS crews doing trail maintenance; you’d think they’d never heard of someone pulling the R2R2R stunt before. The climb gradient increased a bit on the way up to the house below Roaring Spring. There I made the mistake of passing up the year-round water source in favor of heading further up to the Suppai Tunnel; more on this in a bit.

Figure 5. Bridge over Bright Angel Creek that will take you to Ribbon Falls.

Now the climbing is just beginning to get tough. Out of Roaring Springs the trail leaves Bright Angel Creek/Canyon and starts the climb up to the North Rim. The trail is about 3-4’ wide in most places, with rock wall on your left shoulder but a 1000’ dropoff off your right shoulder! I was doing more power walking than running now, too steep and the altitude preventing a quick ascent. But the view of Roaring Spring pouring out of the rock face is just amazing, as I wind around the canyon walls and through many switchbacks going up, up, up.

Figure 6. Roaring Springs pouring out of the rim wall. Below it forms Bright Angel Creek/Canyon and is the source of the Transcanyon Water Pipeline that brings all the fresh water to the South Rim.

I got to the Suppai Tunnel around 1030, but discover the water there is turned off, and my camelback bladder is now dry. So after letting out a loud F-bomb to no one in particular, I slip back on the camelback and press on; there is supposed to be water at the north rim trailhead. There is still plenty of snow right off the trail on the way up, so I take some and throw it in my cap to cool my head off, and another handful of snow to eat! I ran into two hikers heading down from the rim to cottonwood, and they slip me about 25oz of water. Probably could have gotten away without it, but helped make things a little easier later on.

Figure 7. Approaching the Suppai Tunnel

I reached the North Rim about 1145, sitting at about 8400’ elevation (vs. 2400’ at the river). The final three miles is just a brutal climb, up and up and up. I hardly ran at all, just tried to put one foot in front of the other and not let heart and breathing rate get out of control. At last, I begin to see blue sky through the trees and know the top is near. As with so many ultrarunning, hiking, bicycling, or even unicycling adventures, I just fixed in my mind that the top is near and kept pushing to the top. But with a mindfulness to not ‘pop’ on the way up, for that is only the halfway point!

At the trailhead I took a 10-15min break. There were two other hikers up there that were up there sunning themselves and taking a break (one from Birmingham of all places). I changed shirts, took some photos (got to have proof!), scooped up a few handfuls of snow and shoved into the hydration bladder. Here the water the dudes below gave me came in handy because it helped melt the snow easier.

Figure 8. North Kaibab Trailhead at the North Rim. Yes by golly, there is still plenty of snow hanging around!

Figure 9. Just to prove I didn't steal the last photo from a website or something....

Having made it the North Rim, there is only one way back, and that’s 23.9 miles across the Grand Canyon! No sweat, right! So I headed back down the trail around noon. Lo and behold, I enjoyed somewhat steady running most of the way down. But even then the long, grinding descent, the constant switchbacks and erosion controls made the running tough as you changed directions and speed constantly to take it easier on the legs that are just taking a beating.

Figure 10. View down into Bright Angel Canyon from below the Suppai Tunnel. It is still about 4 miles and 2500’ net elevation gain to the North Rim.

I cruised through the Suppai Tunnel and down, down, down to Roaring Springs. I met up with the two hikers that passed me some water and thanked them for ‘paying it forward’ and promised lunch on me should we link up at the South Rim. Those guys were great, showing the spirit and friendliness that makes meeting folks in the backcountry a lot of fun. We must have jawboned for 15min before I got going again. At Roaring Springs I pulled off the Camelbak, dumped out the unmelted snow and completely filled it with clear, fresh water. Dunked my head, cooled most of the body off. Probably around 80deg now, so not really hot, but all that cold alpine water felt nice anyway.

Continued the descent as it leveled out some and the trail met back up with the Bright Angel Creek. Now the running is really good, a shallow descent with few erosion controls or switchbacks. Down I went back into The Box with probably the nicest piece of running in the entire trip; the sun overhead, a smooth trail (even a little very shallow descent), canyon walls around me, a rushing creek filling my ears. Even after nearly 12 hours on the move, this section felt great. With enough fuel/water/salt, I wished this could go on for hours. The Box and the entire Grand Canyon is truly one of His greatest creations

I ran back through Phantom Ranch 1530-1545, now getting dozens of stupid looks from the folks that had likely taken the mule train down, but smiles from the obvious hikers. I stopped 1545 to refill my camelbak bladder and pour a bunch of water over me. I consider taking a dunk in the Colorado River, but I knew I did not have a ton of daylight to spend. But I did have to wait about 15min for the lone payphone down there to free up (cell phones worthless here and North Rim) to call Kirsten and let her I know where I was.

I crossed back over the river on the Silver Bridge (saving the Black Bridge and South Kaibab Trail for later in the week) about 1605-1610 and traversed the River Trail. Then began the climb back up into Devil’s Corkscrew and Pipe Creek. As I crossed through the creek 2-3 times, I soaked my feet in the cool water creek to give my feet some minimal cooling; felt nice and dried out quickly in the Arizona desert. Then up I climbed through the multiple switchbacks as I headed up to Indian Gardens. This time I got to see the wonderful mini-canyon in the daylight, that water rushing through a very narrow slot, maybe 1-2 feet wide, winding downhill towards the main river. Drank a dozen mouthfuls of water at Indian Garden. I didn’t need to touch my Camelbak, and didn’t want the extra or unnecessary water on the last push out of the canyon. I had carried enough extra weight all day, and knew I needed enough water and fuel to last me about two hours to the top.

It was at Indian Gardens I saw this sign that I missed in the dark on the way down. Whoops!

Figure 11. Sign at Indian Gardens. Thanks to Sandiway Fong at Univ Arizona for posting it to his website so I could borrow it. My shot was grainy and in poor light.

As it passed 1800 and I climbed out of Indian Gardens, the realization of what I was about to do was starting to sink just a little bit. I could see the flagpole of the Kolb Studio on the South Rim, and my cell phone chirped as I came into range of the towers up there. Thus I called Kirsten to make dinner reservations for later in the evening!

So up I climbed, back into the innumerable switchbacks, grinding away back and forth, running as able, but mostly walking as the pitch of the trail and altitude increased, and the erosion control made it difficult to get any sort of stride going. The last rays of light were starting to wane as I passed the 1.5mi rest house. Now I was starting to get stoked, the adrenaline flowing from the knowledge that it is almost done. I pulled out my mp3 player and turned on some sweet tunes to accompany the climb, a smile on my face despite the efforts of the past days and the growing darkness.

Right about 1920 or so the last of the sunlight fell away, but the timing was almost perfect, as just then a near-full moon rose over the canyon rim and gave me beautiful moonlight up the trail and reflected across the canyon walls. Just a wonderful sight, I wish I had a camera that was capable of capturing it. I even managed to getting a running pace growing again as the trail shallowed out just a bit in the final ½ mile and I pressed for the end, arriving about 1945.

Twelve years I had been waiting for this day’s journey, ever since I got into ultrarunning and heard about the R2R2R adventure. The first time I read about it, I knew I had to do that someday. As I’ve talked about with my wife and several good friends, the idea of doing it simply resonated with me, deep in my guts. And now I am here, the trailhead in sight, my lovely wife waiting there to greet me with a wry smile and beaming eyes, a smile on my face from now knowing what I just pulled off, and IT IS DONE.

THE AFTERMATH
We took some photos at the Bright Angel trailhead, and then headed back to our cabin just a bit away. I stripped off all the gear and took a heavenly shower, though had to be careful as a few choice locations in my legs threatened to cramp up.

To cap off a great day, we meandered about 400 meters up the rim the famous El Tovar Hotel. Enjoyed a beer and appetizer in the lounge, then had a late dinner at the El Tovar Restaurant, celebrating the day’s journey in fine style. This was a really great piece of the day, talking with Kirsten and sharing both of our experiences that day; she herself hiked down the Indian Gardens and Plateau Point and got some views even I would never see. After I finished the Pinhoti 100, the time after the race was really anti-climactic as I drove home then was back at work the next day as if one of the biggest events in my life had never happened. It was a month later we got to celebrate the Pinhoti when Rob and Kathy Youngren hosted a great party at their place on Monte Sano. So after the R2R2R, tired or not, by gosh I was going to have a nice dinner with my wonderful wife and do a little celebrating. It was great, and I am so glad she was there; a perfect way to end the day. Of course, I wasn’t worth a s*** in the sack later on, but oh well! We got back to the cabin, both of us starting to get really feel the effects of the day, and crashed out around 2245.

Why do we do it? One possible answer is that adventures like the R2R2R (or any 100miler, the JMT, Long Trail, A.T., PCT, etc.) confirm in us the need, the drive to be an outlier, to be in a very small group of wanderers way outside the ‘average’ human being. Our day-to-day existence as professionals, as husbands/wives, father/mothers, and more, while wonderful and important and rewarding, does not quite meet our deep longing to be fulfilled in ways like these adventures. To prove to ourselves that it can be done once you commit your mind and body to it. And when completed, that deep-down knowing that you have done it…and knowing you could do it again despite the difficulty.