Midwest On My Mind

Columbus Skyline

Today wraps up my midwest trip that took me from California to Chicago, IL, Des Moines, IA, Indianapolis, IN and now Columbus, OH. Five states in five days. The good news is I still got around 4 hours of running in, albet mostly on bone crushing concrete and asphalt. It reminds me of the song by the 80's punk band Fear called "I love Living in The City." I don't mind running in far away places as long as there are funky and/or cool things to look at. This trip had a few.  

Ohio State Capital 

JW

The Face

The Bean

Going Slong

The Osprey I Saw Today

One of my favorite runs is going slong. I walk out the front door with no particular route planned. No particular destination. Just my Nathan, GPS and heart rate monitor. I start running—really, really slow—with nothing to prove other than time on foot. Time to myself. Time to melt. 

Today I did just that. Walked out the front door, and headed south. Toward my old stomping grounds as a kid. I passed through the baseball diamond where I pitched as a little leaguer. Along the coast highway past the place I worked as a buss boy as a young teenager (the Chinese restaurant is gone). Through the park where I take my girls. Then along back bay drive where I’ve run countless miles. Countless being a large number.

Slow, methodical, fat-burning bliss. That is what going slong is all about. Slow and long. Slong. Heart rate always under 140. Am I coming off an injury? No. Am I out of shape? Not really. Then why slong? Its simple. I’m building my base all over again. I’m shifting my protocol slightly by not focusing just on miles, but time. My goal as I enter the next year is to slong 20 hour weeks before I start to tighten the screws for racing. Its a hunch that I have. Focus on base today, recover better when tighten the screws tomorrow.

Coast Highway - Near the old 'Kams' Restaurant

One of the fringe benefits of going slong is that you notice things much more. Like an Osprey perched above your head. Have you ever seen an Osprey? I did today. It was pretty cool. I was taking a pit stop and heard a really loud noise. I looked up and saw it. Perched atop a utility pole. I found out that Ospreys migrate up to 430 kilometers per day. When they migrate, they have a tendency to fly at night. They usually mate for life, and they are unique in that they are found every continent except Antarctica.

Slonging. Try it some time. I think you’ll like it.

Fire Rages Through Ultra Marathon

This is a heads up to the ultra community. Two women are in critical condition after competing in an ultra marathon last weekend that was engulfed by a raging out-of-control brush fire. The race was in a remote location in northwest Australia. It took 5 hours for rescue workers to reach them. Both suffered burns to 80% of their bodies and are fighting for their lives. Click here for more details.  

Finding Steeps

Found this hill the other day. I'm really excited about it. It's a half mile long with 400 feet of elevation gain, all single track. At the top is a panoramic view of California's southland -- Saddleback Mt., the San Gabriels, the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. It's very difficult to find from the road, and pretty steep, so I don't expect  much foot trafic out there.

Summer is over. Time to get back on the saddle...

Running the 49th Parallel

Marker One - The Start of the Boarder with Canada

Sometimes it is good to just go easy and enjoy the scenery when running. I got to do just that this last weekend while on vacation and in Vancouver, Canada and Point Roberts, Washington. Vancouver is amazing and has an extensive system of bike trails. One thing I learned though is they don't like to share their bike paths with runners in Vancouver! I made the mistake of running the oposite direction on a bike path and was quickly put in my place when a cyclist yelled at me like a traffic cop.

Random Sunflower Growing Out of the Rocks on Beach

Point Roberts was a little more laid back. A funky little place in US territory, "the Point" is only accessible on land through Canada.  What was really cool about running here was running along the 49th parallel. Cal C and I ran down Roosevelt Avenue which stretched several miles along the Canadian boarder. The only thing separating us from Canada were people's back yards. I also got to run along rock and drift wood covered beaches for several miles. All in all a great time away with the family!  

Orca in the Straight of Georgia off Pt. Roberts

Not a Flower for me to Pluck

While taking what I believe is a well deserved break from running, my mind wonders more than what I'm accustomed to lately. Heck, it's only been a little more than two weeks since I crossed the finish line of my sixth race this year, but it seems longer. Some have asked me what I have planned next. This is a great question but its not (yet) worthy of a response. I'm simply trying to absorb some things from my experiences since January. Six races totaling 412 miles with a total elevation gain of 74,623 feet. To put this in mountain climbing perspective, that’s enough to scale Mt. Everest 2 ½ times.

As I reflect on the last six months, and even the last four years, I discover things that I take for granted now as a runner that I had no knowledge of before I started running ultras. I'm also keenly aware there is so much I still don't know, and may never know, but hope to learn one day. As long as I remain willing.

We live in a saturated society. Information gained with the push of a button. Billions of facts and figures at our fingertips. But are we wiser for it? Are we better because of it? Most of us seek knowledge. Questions asked are readily answered. But do these answers bring wisdom?

The answer to this question is no. Because unlike knowledge, wisdom is not found through a push of a button. Or the turn of a page. It is found on the hard road taken toward the goal you put down on a piece of paper. The commitment you make to yourself that you didn’t ever think you could make, but do, and then you deliver on it.

It starts with small steps. A progression, from questions to commitments. And moves from answers to awareness. And it reminds me of a quote that I heard that goes something like this...

"You think wisdom is a flower for you to pluck. It is a mountain, and it must be climbed.”


          Kwai Chang Caine

My Article Published in the OC Register

My Pacers Bino and Chris

Yesterday The Orange County Register published an article I wrote about my experience leading up to and running the Angeles Crest 100 mile endurance run. Click here to read. Enjoy!

AC 100 - Being Drawn Back In

“The Mountains are Calling. And I Must Go” 
                          John Muir

Before the start with Bad Rat Tracy M. 

There is so much more I have yet to learn about this sport. So much! And I’m beginning to realize it's what I’m learning that keeps drawing me back into it. Even after deciding to move on with other priorities in my life. I’m drawn back in.

Entering aid station somewhere between mile 25 and 50.

Last weekend was a perfect example. Because last weekend should not have happened, if not for a fate-filled phone call I received but didn’t take, and ultimately couldn’t deny. I’m talking about Angeles Crest 100 miler here, the race I chose not to do, then changed my mind only to line up with all the other nut jobs at the starting line at 5 a.m. Saturday morning  July 23rd.
 
Its been said that wisdom is learning what to overlook. If you think about it, one has to deduce that the opposite must also be true. After all, how could you know what to overlook if you didn’t know what not to overlook?

negotiating hydro pack while conferring with crew

My plan at AC 100 was first and foremost to finish the race. Why? What I’m learning about this sport is you have to have respect. Respect for the mountain you run on. This I try not to overlook. To go into a 100 mile race with a goal time, if you have never run those mountains, is to not respect the mountains. I don’t believe in this approach and I’ve seen a lot of people who get chewed up and spit out up there who try otherwise. Other than getting lost on a training run, I had never run in the San Gabriels before Angeles Crest 100 mile and I wasn’t about to go in guns blazing.   
 
There were quite of few learning granules I picked up running AC.  Mainly from things I overlooked:  
 
Granule number one: incorporate hiking into the training regimen. This course has soooo much climbing up steeps that aren't runnable that you have to prepare accordingly. The climbs up Baden Powell, Mt. Hilliard and Mt. Wilson are the big three, but there are others. Its hard to bounce out of a one or two hour hike and into a solid pace if your not ready for those hikes.
 
Granule number two: train for the heat. This race used to take place in September, now it's in July, the hottest time of year. Yes there is more daylight in July, but daylight brings heat. I didn't feel cool until the sun was behind the horizon. Even then I ran all night with no shirt on. It's a scorcher out there.
 
Granule number three: maximize time training on the course. There is no better way to find your advantage out there than to experiment on the trail you'll run on race day. Knowing how long you'll be trudging up a mountain or flying down a canyon is a  huge advantage to everyone.
 
Other observations:
 
AC has a lot of running at elevation, even more than I expected. You are flirting between 6'000 to 9'000 feet for first 50 miles. This is much more time at elevation than Western States when you are off the mountains and into the foothills after mile 35. So what about this? Unless you can live and train over 6'000 feet for three weeks or more you have to run carefully for the first half of this race. My heart rate was at least 20 beats per min higher in the first half than in the second, even going conservatively.
 
Finally, there are some very runnable sections on this course and you have to be prepared for them. Going easy on the first half of the course helped get me through the second half. While I might have gone a little too conservative early on, given my goal to finish and not scorch the trail I’m happy with how I executed the plan. Thanks a million to my crew Trina M and Jeff P and Chris C and Bino M for pacing me.  
 
All in all another fun day at the office. Now I have to get back to my other office!  

Angeles Crest 100 - Cliff Notes

Here is my brief take on last weekend with more to follow...

What a course! Just when you feel like letting loose it roles you up again in a wad and spits you out! The hiking, oh the hiking! Relentless climbs. Started out very conservative in 44th place and slowly made my way to 11th overall, but short of a sub 24 hour time. Not disappointed though because my goal since the day I signed up for AC was to finish this race not for time but to help my chances for the So Cal Ultra Series.

Thanks to Bino and Chris C for pacing me, and Jeff P and Trina M for crewing me!

AC. Ready or Not...

When Going Through Hell, Keep Going

A bright sun was shinning over my head. But every step I took was into darkness. I was struggling just to hang on. My stomach, legs and feet had all abandoned me. My mind was now slipping.

I recently wrote that running ultras is more about trust in yourself than your god given talent. Sometimes things can get really bleak out there. As if you’re going through hell. But if you keep moving forward, despite your state, eventually you can get through it. And when you do, when you make it through hell, you can learn a lot about yourself.

My very first trail race I was going through hell. My body started to shut down. I couldn’t eat or drink. I could barely walk. I felt helpless. The feeble thoughts that occupied my mind were like gasoline feeding the flames around me. As I stumbled along in this hapless state, I was interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind me. I turned to see an elderly runner approaching. He slowed to inquire about my condition. He then reached into his pocket and handed me a small white tablet. "Take this, it will fix your problem."

As I reached out to take the pill from his hand, I noticed he was smiling. He explained to me that my electrolytes were out of balance. I didn't question or doubt him. I believed him and took the pill. From a total stranger. Within 5 minutes I started to feel better, good enough to finish the race. I’ve been using Succeed Tabs as a runner ever since that moment.

Wisdom comes from many places.  But mostly it comes from just being on trail, in the elements, seeking answers. If you have trust, wisdom will smile on you. 

Running In Life's Balance (pub. Ultra Running Mag. 9/2011)

A friend of mine once said it. No matter how focused you are on your training. No matter how committed you might be to accomplishing a goal. Sometimes life gets in the way. After 23 years of running, I’m still learning how not to fight this rule, but to embrace it.

This morning I hitched a tandem up to my mountain bike and my seven year old and I rode around our neighborhood. We stopped at a playground and I pushed her on a huge tire swing. She laughed and giggled as I spun her. Then we rode away until we arrived at a coffee shop where we stopped for a snack and I played music for her on my IPhone.

My difficulty is this. I have a hard time hitching tandems, or pushing tire swings, even hearing giggles when I’m hunkering down for a 100 mile race. Its not easy to explain, but it is easy to understand. Life is a plethora of priorities. But for each priority I choose today, I must also choose to put off another for tomorrow.

Over the last six months I’ve been hunkering down a lot, training and racing more than I ever have. But recently I’ve come to realize that sometimes running gets in the way. I have no regrets about my running, and its been a great year for me. I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve also learned that running is a really just a metaphor for life. The ups and downs that it brings. I’ve faced some challenges in my races this year. Yet overcoming these has helped me build confidence and trust in myself along the way.

I recently wrote that it's the simple things, those that we take for granted, that matter the most. The moonlit path under a steely blue horizon during an ultra. Surely we all need to be carried away on our own moonlit path. But for the beginning of every path there is also an end. And we need to notice when we arrive at the end of these paths. And when we do, we just might find someone there for us, laughing and giggling.

Yes, it’s the simple things. They matter the most.

Lost and Loathing On The AC Trail

What, we're lost? How do you use this compass anyway?

I spent the better part of today on the Angeles Crest trail with two very cool runners, Travis C and Larry R. Until two weeks ago I’d never set foot on the AC trail so today offered a great opportunity to see some of what’s in store come July 23. 

Larry R and Travis C

We ran the last 25 miles of the course from Chantry to the finish. All was going swimmingly until we hit Millard campground, mile 95ish on the course and site of the last aid station. Following what looked like the course trail according to the map, we sauntered down along a creek until we got to a place that looked like it had been blown up by a tsunami. Only tsunamis don’t make it as high as the San Gabriel Mountains. But the trail had vanished!  So whatever hit it, even if it wasn’t a tsunami, must have been as big as one. Trees were obliterated, rocks and branches strewn about. But I’m really not complaining about the lost trail. Because a wrong trail that is lost is much better than a wrong trail that isn’t. Get it?    

The Bug Man from the Gardening Shop

So then we turned around. And climbed. And climbed. And complained. And complained a little more. Until we came upon this eerie cabin with abandoned cars and surreal looking dolls staring out of the abandoned cars. It was zany here. So Larry R decided to knock on the door to find something. Like where the F#Vk-are-we? Or where the h3#L do we need to go? He knocked. And just like that, no one answered! Uhmm....isn't this is a good thing? 


So then we kept running. And running. And wondering. And wondering where the hell we were. Until we came upon a man behind a bush. This man showed not his face, nor his body. Just water from a hose was all we could see. I semi-yelled “Excuse Me! Where is Loma Alta park?” And the man behind the bush spoke to us in clear sentences as if he spoke to everyone from behind a bush. “Oh just turn right once your down the road”, he said with no discernable face or body parts. “Thank you man behind the bush” I thought to him as we continued running into our unfinished abyss.

From here we ran over a paved road with lots of turns and houses along the side. Finally, after battling heat, smog, flies, a bugman, self doubt, tsunamis, and a bushman, finally, we found our pot of gold.

But Travis, Larry and I never did see a rainbow!  

Race Difficulty - Comparisons of Ultras

I came across this analysis of various races and their relative difficulty from realendurance.com. Very revealing and seems in line from my experience at San Diego and Western States. I'm about to find out about Angeles Crest 100. Three weeks and counting...

Relative Event Finish Time to Western States 100 Mile.

Sample Criteria:

Same individual completed the listed event and one of the following 100 mile run in the SAME YEAR: Western States, Vermont, Leadville, Angeles Creset, Wasatch, Kettle Moraine, Hardrock, Rocky Raccoon, and Mohican.

The relative percentage is first averaged over the samples for each 100 mile reference, then normalized to Western States, then averaged over the nine 100 mile runs listed.
The relative uncertainy of the analysis is porportional to 1/sqrt(sample size).

Time

Dist. Rel to Sample Event Name
 WS100 Size 

135m 157% 133 BadWater Ultra Marathon  
100m 155% 904 Hard Rock 100 Mile   
100m 131% 58 HURT Trail 100 Mile   
100m 117% 3279 Wasatch Front 100 Mile   
100m 113% 45 Mount Rushmore Trail 100 Mile  
100m 113% 115 Bear 100 Mile   
100m 112% 90 Bighorn Mountain Trail Run 
100m 111% 396 Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Mile
100m 108% 14 Tahoe Rim Trail 100 miles 
100m 108% 2156 Angeles Crest 100 Mile   
100m 107% 12 Grand Teton Races 100m  
100m 106% 79 Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile 
100m 105% 80 Cascade Crest 100 Mile   
100m 103% 4508 Leadville Trail 100 Miles  
100m 100% 7497 Western States 100 Miles  
100m 99% 79 San Diego 100 Mile   
100m 96% 46 McNaughton Park Trail Runs 
100m 93% 72 Rio Del Lago 100 Mile   
100m 93% 41 Ancient Oaks 100  
100m 91% 66 Haliburton Forest 100  
100m 90% 984 Mohican Trail 100 Mile  
100m 89% 108 Javelina Jundred 100 Mile  
100m 88% 341 Old Dominion 100 Mile One Day  
100m 88% 34 SULPHUR SPRINGS 100 Mile 
100m 88% 451 Arkansas Traveller 100 Mile 
100m 88% 628 Kettle Moraine 100 mile  
100m 84% 3533 Vermont Trail 100 Miles  
100m 84% 91 Heartland 100 Mile   
100k 81% 68 HURT Trail 100k option  
100m 81% 281 Umstead 100 Mile   
100m 81% 1654 Rocky Raccoon 100m  
100m 80% 41 Old Dominion 100 mile Memorial Day
100m 76% 22 Dan Rossi Memorial Ultras 
140m 66% 17 IronMan CoeurdAlene  
140m 61% 20 IronMan Canada  
200m 60% 8 Mt Tam Double Century 
100k 58% 45 Where's Waldo 100K  
200m 57% 14 The Terrible Two  
100k 53% 97 Bandera 100km  
140m 53% 25 IronMan Wisconsin  
50m 48% 332 Zane Grey 50 Miles  
140m 47% 28 IronMan USA Lake Placid  
100k 46% 1052 Miwok 100K  
140m 46% 35 IronMan Florida  
100k 46% 42 Kettle Moraine 100k option 
140m 46% 14 IronMan Hawaii World Championship
50m 40% 99 Bishop High Sierra 50 Miles 
50m 40% 70 Tahoe Rim Trail 50 Miles 
52m 39% 340 Sierra Nevada   
100k 39% 144 Ruth Anderson 100k  
100k 39% 7 Orange Curtain 100k  
50m 37% 229 White River 50 Miles  
50m 36% 340 Silver State 50 Miles  
50m 36% 528 Quicksilver 50 Mile  
50m 36% 425 FireTrail 50 Miles  
50m 36% 80 Run on the Sly 50 Miles  
50k 35% 338 Silver State 50k  
50m 35% 342 Nugget 50 Miles   
50m 35% 19 Mt Hood PCT 50 Miles  
50m 35% 369 Leona Divide 50 Mile Run 
50m 35% 147 Umstead 50 Miles  
50m 34% 536 California 50 Miles   
35m 34% 84 Santa Barbara 9 Trails 35 Mile  
50m 33% 2568 American River 50 Miles  
50m 33% 52 McKenzie River 50 Miles  
50m 32% 414 Avalon 50 Miles  
50m 32% 41 Rocky Raccon 50 Miles  
50k 31% 203 Baldy Peak 50k  
50m 31% 163 Helen Klein 50 Miles  
50m 30% 114 Cow Mountain 50 Miles  
50k 30% 64 Tahoe Rim Trail 50k  
50m 30% 372 Jed Smith 50 Miles  
50k 28% 16 Bishop High Sierra 50 Mile and 50 Km
38m 28% 26 Haleakala Run to the Sun
50m 28% 20 Ruth Anderson 50 Miles  
50k 28% 37 Mt. Disappointment 50 Km  
50k 25% 12 Nugget 50 Miles   
50k 24% 411 Ohlone Wilderness 50K Trail Run 
50k 23% 253 Crown King Scramble 50k  
50k 23% 195 McDonald Forest 50K  
71m 23% 31 WildFlower Long Course Triathlon
50k 23% 7 Bighorn Mountain Trail Run 
50k 23% 76 Run on the Sly 50 Km  
34m 22% 36 Peterson Ridge Rumble 60k 
50k 22% 219 Golden Gate Headlands 50k 
50k 22% 58 Bandera 50k  
50k 22% 53 Bulldog 50K Ultra Run  
28m 22% 687 Quad Dipsea  
50k 21% 43 Siskiyou Out Back 50K  
50k 21% 81 Chuckanut 50k  
71m 21% 27 California Half Ironman  
50k 20% 297 Quicksilver 50K  
50k 20% 13 Ruth Anderson 50k  
50k 20% 512 Skyline 50k  
50k 20% 1392 Way Too Cool 50k  
50k 19% 73 Hagg Lake Trail Runs 50k 
50k 19% 5 Wild Wild West 50k  
50k 19% 36 McKenzie River 50k 
50k 18% 301 OTHTC High Desert Ultra 50k 
50k 17% 31 Helen Klein 50k  
50k 17% 38 Salem Lakeshore Frosty Fifty Km 
50k 17% 384 Jed Smith Ultra Classic 50K 
45m 12% 14 Santa Barbara Long Course Triathlon

A general trend can be observed below:

From 50 km to 100 mile,   factor is 4 to 6.
From 50 mile to 100 mile, factor is 2.5 to 3.5

Thanks For the Memories

National Cathedral - One of My Favorite Places to Visit

This week I spent some time on the road. On the road as in traveling. On the road as in “off” the trail. Normally a double dose of “don’ts” when training. But I’ve learned there is no such thing as perfect preparation when training for ultras. Its not like I can just press the pause button on life to do this stuff.

When my red-eye flight landed in Washington, D.C. it was north of 90 degrees and 90% humidity. I’m used to running  while I’m traveling but this trip was a little more of a challenge. It wasn’t the heat so much as the schedule of afternoon and dinner meetings that took their toll. If I can’t run in the evening while on the east coast, mornings become a roll of the dice. I’ve just never been a morning runner. Waking up 3 hours early makes mornings that much more miserable on the east coast. I still managed a few very low-key runs.

Most importantly I was able to see Warren S and Martin V, two good friends of mine from my days living in DC during and after college. I haven’t seen these guys forever and it made the couple hours we spent together seem like minutes. Warren reminded me of the first night I met them. In the middle of a warm summer night in DC. Driving in the back of George’s pick-up truck with several cases of beer. No arrests. Martin reminded me of the 10ks we ran together. Like the Georgetown 10k. He pointed out that we did that race after staying out the entire night before eating and drinking a lot of nasty things. Then I remembered. Everything flowed perfectly for me in that race. Until I reached the finish line. And then I couldn’t control the flow. I continued running. Real fast. To the can. Not pretty.

Thanks for the memories guys.