Recently in trail running Category

i was chatting with repete during our 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 run this morning [12.3 miles at 4:56 on 7/8/09] and he was saying how reading too much of the “corporations are evil” type of literature can drive you to have a negative mindset and how he didn’t want to be too negative. that made me think about the positive people that i know.

there are two types of positive people.  first are those that are the happy go-lucky, “i drank the cool-aide” people who shun the thought of adversity, suffering or conflict and candy coat everything.  they view life through rose coloured glasses…not as it actually is.  “shiny, happy people” by r.e.m. comes to mind.

the second group are those folks that understand that life is full of pain, disappointment and hurdles, but also recognize that there is amazing joy, beauty and love to be had; sometimes after facing said pain, disappointment and hurdles.  these types of people embrace the adversity and use it to strengthen themselves, make themselves better people and make a conscious decision to approach life with a positive outlook.

i like these types of people.  you learn how to LIVE from these types of people.  these types of people SUCCEED.  these types of people shun drama and have a warm mug of excitement that is bubbling over.

repete is one of those guys.  in chatting with him about this, i immediately thought of donald and his recent ws100 finish.  donald is the epitome of this sort of positivity.  go now and read his ws100 recap and see for yourself what sort of success these types of people are capable of. 

and, as a side note: surround yourself with these types of people because it’s contagious.

soundtrack for this post
	lick: hipsters: wax:	Magnificent U2 No Line on the Horizon

well, this week kicks off the start of some big summer plans.  well…mainly for the month of june, but depending how this month goes, the rest of the year might end up being a whirlwind/rollercoaster.

friday, i head off the east coast to hook up with flipperhead, warren and bill for a little triathlon fun.  bill, warren and i are all racing mooseman 70.3 this sunday.  flipper had planned on racing as well, but with a recent injury and starting a new career she didn’t think she’d be up for the distance.  that’s okay, her moral support will be most welcome and i know we’ll talk her into something equally or more crazy in the near future.

as for the race, i’m excited.  i don’t think i’ve trained as hard as i did for wildflower, but i’m not as anxious as i was for that race, either.  i have a big goose-egg for open water swims and my longest ride this year has been 40mi, but i still feel good.  i’ve had some pretty decent brick workouts over the last few months, so my confidence is still high.  i’m not sure what my goals are for race day, though.  i think i’ll gauge how i feel race morning and either determine to race hard or just enjoy the day [actually, either way i’ll be enjoying the day]. 

the race is this coming sunday, june 7th, so if you’re home and on the internet, stop by their website and check out the live internet broadcast of the race.  my bib number is 285 and i’m in the second/day-glow green wave, departing at 7: 04. 

following the race, i’ll be hoofing it over to manchester, uk for another work trip.  i get to spend a weekend in country and am hoping that i can swing a trip to the peak district to get in some fun trail running.  the little taste that i had last year with bill really has me wanting to do something in the 20-30mi range this time around.

then, i come back.  and this is where the REAL fun starts.  upon my return to the states, i’ll be heading up to the yosemite area to stay with the in-laws for a few weeks.  they recently put their house on the market and decided to buy a retirement place up in coarsegold [just outside of yosemite’s south entrance].  for those few weeks that we’ll be staying with them, i’ll be participating in a trial run with work to determine if i can work remotely on a permanent basis.

also, while in coarsegold, we’ll be looking at real estate, quality of living, schools, etc and if we like what we find AND i get the green light from work to tele-commute, we’ll be pulling up stakes too and setting up camp in the foothills of the sierras.  so, if that all pans out, then the rest of the summer is going to be nuts-o with moving and whatnot.

so, lots of big stuff happening.  i’m excited and anxious for what june holds!

soundtrack for this post
	lick: hipsters: wax:	Home Foo Fighters Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

as i've mentioned before, my training schedule since thunderclap showed up has been relegated to early mornings, long lunches and the commute.  most often, it falls into the first category and fortunately, i've found a like minded bunch of whack jobs to participate in the hilarity that is pre-dawn trail running.  affectionately called the "dawn patrol", there are a handful of folks that regularly show up on tuesday mornings for a loop through crystal cove state park's "el moro" area.

being saint paddy's day this tuesday, the dawn patrol's "mother", molly, showed up with goodies for everyone in attendance.  she handed out a green chinese to-go box full of green themed goodies; green apple powerbar gel, spearmint glee gum, lemon-lime clif shots, lemon quench gum and organic peanut butter[?].  in addition, attached to the outside was a 4" green chem-lite.

we had a good turn out, and quickly we had all eleven of us ready to go, complete with headlamps and green glowing sticks attached in various methods to our respective persons.  as we set off into the dark, i just had to laugh at what a bunch of impish runners we looked like with our green glows bobbing through the dark.

the run was great, as always, and we had a fun time hamming it up and having our own little trail running rave.  i'm sure the toads, bunnies, bats, owls and coyotes were jealous of all the fun we were having.  too soon, though, the run was over.  i lollygagged a bit afterward [enticed by the bagels that corrinne brought] and just soaked in the great personalities that make up my trail club.  thanks for the fun and memorable saint paddy's day, fellow dawn patrollers!

soundtrack for this post
	lick: hipsters: wax:	Strangers in the Night Cake Stubbs the Zombie: The Soundtrack

my local trail club [socal trail headz] has become more and more involved in the production of trail races in the area, along with providing an increasing number of participants.  when browsing the club calendar for posted runs last week, i noticed the san juan trail 50k on saturday, i decided on a whim to sign up for it.  several friends were listed as participants and i knew we'd have club members manning most of the aid stations.  i contacted repete for a ride to the start and the plans were set for the day.

i had never run the san juan trail, but my curiosity and desire to explore new trails were the motivating factors to sign up for the race.  it wasn't until AFTER i'd signed up that i decided to take a look at the course.  the first 20 miles of the race were on single track [YAY] heading south out of blue jay, but the final 12 miles were on the SAME COURSE as the 21k from two weeks ago.  the SAME COURSE that i SWORE OFF after that race.  the SAME COURSE that kicked my backside during twin peaks while trying to catch back up to mike.   how many times am i going to have to go UP horsethief this year? 

ugh.

but, it is what it is.  i was determined to just get out and have some fun.  with that in mind, though, saturday turned into a day about learning.  after all these years, you'd think i'd have all this racing stuff wired.  well, even the most seasoned can make errors in judgement.

saturday dawned¹ a little overcast  and with perfect weather conditions for racing.  the high was supposed to be in the low to mid 60's, partly cloudy and a slight breeze.  awesome.  it was a little bit chillier than that at the start, so i opted to put on some gloves, a beanie and arm warmers.  also, into the pack went a shell in the event that the weather turned.  error number one.  just because it's cold at the start doesn't mean that you need the warm gear.  suffer for a bit at the start and you'll warm up quickly and not need the extra clothing.

my trusty pair of salomons is on their last leg and i didn't think my sauccony trail shoes would be up for the technical challenge of the course.  they tend to slide around a bit on my feet on really loose footing, so my other option was the uk gear pt03 desert shoes.  i figured that since i'd done some double digit runs in them that they might be okay for the long haul of a 50k.  what i didn't take into account was the weight of those shoes.  they're like bricks when compared to the salomons or the saucconys.  mistake number two.  don't wear a heavy pair of shoes for a long race.  that's just adding unnecessary fatigue to your legs with every step. 

knowing that the gaiters on the uk gear shoes were going to rub my shins, i headed to rrs and picked up a couple pairs of mid calf running socks.  mistake number three.  no new gear on race morning.

when it came to fueling, i've been doing so many self supported runs lately that i was somewhat stuck in that mindset for the race.  rather than run light and rely on the support at the aid stations, i loaded up my osprey pack with a full 100oz bladder, a shell, all the gatorade endurance powder i would mix for the entire race, brownies, gels, gummies, body glide, carmex, etc, etc, etc.  mistake number four.  plan for support on the course and make yourself aware of drop bag options.  the course ran back through the start at mile 20, offering runners a perfect mid-point for a drop bag.

so, i toed the line on saturday with WAY too much gear.  i was loaded for combat;  heavy shoes, a full pack, clothing to get me through a winter storm and a fresh pair of socks.  i was ready for my lesson.

the race, though, was grand.  the san juan portion of the run was a beautiful piece of single track that glided down through an oak filled canyon, climbed along ridge lines, wound around sandstone cliffs and back into a shaded canyon.  when i risked taking my eyes of the trail, the view was beautiful.  the route did a sort of lollipop with an out an back portion topped with a smallish loop. 

the scth club president and his wife were at the 10mi aid station.  steve, the rd for the old goats 50mi race coming up at the end of the month, was all smiles and encouragement.  i lollygagged in the aid station as i mixed a bottle and re-adjusted my footwear².  the aid station was in the middle of the loop on the lollipop, so i was half way from the start and it was all uphill on the return.  fortunately, the grade was always runable. 

on the way back to the start, i started picking off runners, but rather than just blow past them, i was enjoying running up behind, pacing with them for a bit and chit chatting.  i met some really stellar guys out on the trail, from the marine up from camp pendelton and the school of infantry to gary, the south african and mike the 65 year old that would kick my butt on the return down from the last aid station. 

again, the return was just as beautiful as earlier, albeit a little slower.  when i hit the start at 20mi, i emptied out my pack of all the winter gear i was hauling and opted to not refill my bladder.  at this point i was consciously trying to lighten my load by drinking my water and shedding anything i didn't absolutely need. 

from the start, the route headed up the wonderfully steep main divide to the top of trabuco trail.  this is a loose section of fire road that tips up at angles that are runable on fresh legs, but i couldn't pull myself to lift my bricks high enough to run the steep bits, so i power hiked them.  once at the top, i was pleased to find jamison and keira, fellow scth members, manning the aid station.  keira gave her typically enthusiastic welcome and personal attention.  topped off and wanting to get out of dodge to avoid the swarming bees, i headed down the steep and technical trabuco trail. 

at this point, my legs were feeling pretty shot.  normally i'll fly down trabuco in a wonderfully fast controlled fall, but today i was concerned about my ability to control my footfalls.  so, i took it mellow and just rolled down the trail trying to let my legs recover.  by the time i hit the bottom, my legs had come around a bit and i was starting to feel myself again, but i was now faced with the climb back up horsethief.  have i mentioned how silly this trail is?

i put on some fast paced music, put my head down and started grinding my way up the climb.  i caught up to fellow club member, marissa, on the climb and we chatted a bit about her daughter's fund raising plan to swim the catalina channel as a fund raiser for CHOC.

once back up on main divide, i had about six miles to go, most of which was a rolling ridge line followed by a massive downhill.  knowing that i'd see jamison and keira again at the top of trabuco, a plan started to form.  i don't know why i don't start off my races thinking of these things, because they're a great diversion from the mental process of managing fatigue.  i began to plan a haka.

really, the whole haka thing is really over the top, but it's such a fun way to be a nutjob out on the trail.  i started planning my dance, what i would chant, how i'd wave my arms and stamp around.  i rehearsed it in my head over and over...and before i knew it, i was on the final climb back up to trabuco and i could see the aid station sitting up atop the saddle.

as i came into the aid station, keira greeted me with her customary enthusiasm, asking what i needed.  i stopped.  i started stamping and waving my arms and growling gutturally.  keira looked shocked and concerned.  she stuttered a bit, trying to ask me what i needed from the aid station.  i just continued and then started chanting.

NO!  SI!  MANGE!  IL!  FANGO!³

i hooted and hollered some more, and then just stopped, stood up straight and said in a chipper voice, "hi!"  i was cracking up because keira was speechless.  perfect!  i was all set and didn't need anything from the aid station, so off i went without much more said.  i think i giggled the whole way down the mountain.

the rest of the race was just an exercise in not falling and before i knew it, i was at the finish, rounding that last corner and coming across the line to the cheers of my fellow runners.  i didn't put in a stellar time, and the course really beat me up, but i did learn some valuable lessons; ones that it seems can only be picked up from the experience.  the day, despite it's lows at points, was quite fun and i'm glad that i'd had the wild hair to sign up.

oh, and the recap wouldn't be complete without a mention of repete's race day goal.  repete, you see, is a math geek and was hopping to have a finishing time of pi to the fifth [or seventh!] decimal place.  at the top of trabuco, he realized that he was on pace and could possibly finish at 1:59pm.  he sucked up the pain and set a seven minute pace coming down that hill, eliciting a comment from e-rod, "man, that guy is really inspired by math!"  repete, though, would end up running too fast and crossing the line at 3/14 1:56pm, which was only pi to the fourth decimal place.  a few minutes later, another runner would cross at 3/14 1:59 and completely miss the incredible significance of his finishing time.  repete was devastated that the time was wasted on someone with no appreciation for maff.

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¹actually, there was no dawning...we were at the start well before the sun came up so in actuality i should say 'when i woke up on saturday'

²if you're going to wear new gear on race day, WASH IT FIRST.  those new socks were as slippery as thunderclap's snot

³ "don't eat the dirt" - one of the few italian phrases i know.  i'm working on teaching myself and thunderclap italian, but at this point all we know are animal names, how to ask how you are, this phrase and how to sing "ring around the rosy".

soundtrack for this post
	lick: hipsters: wax:	Ramble On Led Zeppelin Box Set (Disc 1)

okay, where did i leave off?

oh yeah.  sleep.

it was an rv/tent campground, so throughout the night, we'd hear the occasional vehicle coming through the camp.  once or twice it sounded like one pulled right up to our campsite.  when the alarm went off at 5am, we sluggishly got up and started packing things up.  we noticed a new car parked right next to todd's truck.

after a few minutes, the passenger window rolled down and a voice yelled, "hey zipper!"  i started cracking up.  it was lambert and he'd brought a couple of the socal trail headz along with him.  kristin [fresh back from running tcc in costa rica] and janet had been bullied into joining him at the last minute.  they had rolled into the campground at 3am so we decided to move slowly and let them get some more sleep before we headed out.

once packed up, the plan was to head up to the end of titus canyon, drop off a vehicle and then shuttle the group to the start.  it was an interesting logistical dilema, seeing as how we had two suv's and a truck and six runners, a dog and a bike to transport.  we opted to leave todd's truck at the finish and shuttle in the two suv's to the start.  this made for an interesting ride back to the start later in the day, but more on that later.

the setup took a bit, but by 10:15am we were on our way and running.  my vision of the route was a long uphill climb through high desert for about 5ish miles and then winding up to a pass at about mile 8, followed by a drop into the canyon for the remainder of the run.  for some reason, i thought that about 14+ miles of the run would be tucked down in a slot canyon.

from the start, my observations of the route seemed correct.  we could see the mountains off in the distance and the road, straight as an arrow, climbing up the desert floor to a point at which it disappeared into the foothills.

we climbed.  and climbed.  and climbed.  and then, we climbed some more.  the grade wasn't difficult, but it was long.  the mountains never seemed to get any closer, but then, before we knew it, we were off the straight section and climbing into the barren foothills.  we wound around through the foothills, working our way closer to the pass that would mark our highest point and the end of our climbing.

during the climb, todd and lt kept alternating between dropping back to check on kristin and janet.  for todd, i'm sure it was an opportunity to ride a little bit faster than our climbing pace and enjoy the downhill a bit, but for lt, that had to be a haul.  that guy is a beast when it comes to trail running. 

eventually we topped out at the saddle that marked the pass.  we could see the road winding it's way down into the valley below, but the route wound behind a spur from the mountain range and we couldn't see exactly where it went or where the canyon started.  after a short refueling breaking, we headed out again, excited to be done climbing and moving onto the exciting part of the route.

happily, we wound our way down into the valley.  the terrain had changed significantly since topping out at the pass.  the rolling foothills had been replaced with a variety of volcanic formations, sandstone cliffs, massive alluvial fans and rock nearly every colour of the rainbow.  it was hard to pay attention to foot placement as the eyes wandered over the colourful and varying scenery.

the tight canyon of my imagination had yet to materialize, but i kept scanning the area ahead for any sign of where it might be.  as i let my eyes wander over the valley, i spotted what looked like a road carved into a red hillside far ahead and above us.  i let my eyes follow it to a saddle high above the valley and then let them scroll back down to it's origin.

i was shocked to realize that it's origin was the road we were on.  i started to think to myself, "there must be a fork in the road ahead".  i couldn't remember seeing a second climb on the map, so that couldn't be OUR road.  when we bottomed out in the valley, though, the stark realization began to sink in that the road winding up out of the valley to the saddle far overhead WAS our  road.  my heart sank.

now, don't get me wrong.  i LOVE climbing.  but i just wasn't expecting any more uphill and was very anxious to get down into the claustrophobic canyon.  once we started up the climb, though, i settled into a rhythm and let the route have it's way with me.  i let go of the thought of running for a great distance through that tight canyon and just began to enjoy what was being presented to me at that point.

i marveled at the red dirt of the road.  i ooh'ed and aah'ed at the fascinating green rock layered between black sandstone.  i bathed in the remoteness of the setting.  i was working hard climbing, but i was in absolute heaven.  before i knew it, i was nearing the saddle.

lt had hammered up the climb and left all of us in the dust [have i said what an animal that guy is?] but i could see him waiting at the top.  i rounded the last corner and gave him a roar that would have made kirk proud.  i looked back down into the valley and the view humbled me.  i was so glad that i'd opted to enjoy what was in front of me rather than obsess on what was to come.  i was anxious to see what was on the other side of the saddle, but i opted to wait until the rest of the group caught up.

meghan and june were right behind me and a few minutes later, todd climbed his way up out of the valley.  regrouped at the top, lt, meghan and i headed down the other side of the saddle and into the valley below.  the view we were given as we came down off of the saddle was incredible.  again, the colours, layers, formations and textures were almost too much to take in and make sense of.  nature, once again, gave us something that not even the most stoned graphic artist could come up with.

i still couldn't see where titus canyon started, but i was really too distracted by all the scenery and just basking in the moment to really care.  the next few miles were just running bliss as sensory overload continued to surround me like a warm bubble of rad. 

we dropped down into an old mining town, leadfield.  by this point, the valley had transitioned into a true canyon and the walls were slowly beginning to get taller and closer.  the geological structures that we'd seen from afar were now being presented to us close up.  meghan, with her background as an interpretive instructor for the park service, was a fount of information about what it was that we were seeing.  huge bulwarks of sedimentary layers, having been thrust upward by some massive force began to force the road to twist and turn.

before much longer, we approached a sign that said, "entering titus canyon".  at last.  by this point, the canyon was vacillating between an open view of the canyon ahead and narrow passages with high walls.  the further we wove down into this canyon, though, the tighter the route and higher the walls.  it truly began to feel somewhat claustrophobic.  no longer could we see what lay ahead for miles.  now, it was reduced to a couple hundred yards at best. 

the miles ticked off and with about four or five miles left of the route, we were swallowed up.  the route narrowed to about 15-20' wide with towering walls of stone climbing hundreds of feet overhead.  lt got frisky and started to pick up the pace.  i couldn't help but follow and before long we were just flying through this tight and twisting canyon.  he kept ahead of me by about 100 yards, so he'd come in and out of view as we wound our way down.  i was feeling quite refreshed with the faster pace and the steeper the walls became, the faster i ran, the more alive i was feeling.

we flew.  we twisted.  we were like water being channeled during a flash flood.  the walls streamed by.  each turn presented another twist.  and another.  and another.  as i neared my terminal velocity, i rounded a corner and saw sunlight and heard wild cheering.

a group of 4x4ers that we had been playing leapfrog with for the entire route had staged themselves at the mouth of the canyon.  as each one of us rounded the final corner and were birthed by the canyon back into the death valley floor, they gave up a hearty round of applause.  it was such a welcome surprise!

one by one, we all finished the route.  lt headed back up the canyon and ran kristin and janet in and meghan welcomed them both with cold bottles of ale [making two new best friends in the process].  the run was over, but the adventure wasn't.  as we cooled down and snacked to recover, todd and i started working on the truck to accommodate the crew for the long ride back to the start.  remember the total?  six, tired, hungry, stinky [i honestly didn't notice] runners, one border collie and a mountain bike.  todd, being the engineering genius that he is, pulled off the task with ease.

we all piled into the cab and headed off for a laughter filled ride back to the start.  i think we were all a little giddy with excitement and hunger, as the jokes were lame and hilarious.  before everyone developed debilitating cramps, though, we were at the start and all into our respective vehicles.  the day was done, with an epic route completed.

the route ended up being something completely different than i expected, but the experience something better than i could have hoped for.  from the effort required to complete the route, to the emotion the route evoked, to the scenery presented and the amazing company, the day was a complete and total success.  i honestly think i will be hard pressed to find a locale and route that will rival the experience of this death valley weekend. 

but that won't stop me from trying.

** bonus for readers making it to the bottom of this post **

mosaic canyon photos

sand dune photos

titus canyon photos

soundtrack for this post
	lick: hipsters: wax:	Rise Public Image Ltd. Album/Compact Disc/Cassette/Download