Bighorn 100 2013

Wow, not sure where to start this one, but perhaps reminiscing on my DNF is a good way to start.  I was worried.  Going into the race I was 1 of 3 with 100's, ran one really well and had disastrous races in the other two.

From the start I felt dull, no energy and working too hard to keep it easy.  Eventually, I fell in line with Bryan and we hiked our way to the ridge.  For some reason I always seem to miss the turn into the brush, and again this year I missed it.  We were fortunate to be loud enough to catch Becky who was rockin' some tunes and on her way off course too.

Seemingly all the way into Dryfork my stomach started to turn and my legs began to ache.  I was pretty pissed off at this point as it seemed that my race from the year prior was reliving itself and I just felt like death.  Quickly I refueled and got on my way to Cow Camp.  To be completely honest, it was one of the lowest times I've had during a race, and coupled with the fact that it was so early in the race, I was fairly distraught.  The folks at Cow Camp were great, and served me some ice cold soda and tums.  While it didn't do much for my stomach, and I laid down on the side of the trail a handful of times between there and Bear Camp, I began to find at least a semblance of the fight I'd need to finish off the race if it took me 30 hours.

Descending the haul into Footbridge, I cranked the tunes and zoned out into one of the best rappers of all time: Nas.  Thankfully, Steve was down at the aid station crewing for Brendan and it was just great to see a friend.  By then I had fully embraced the suck and was content to grind out the best day I could.  I can't say my legs responded at all, but at least my mentality was gaining steam.  I had to really tough out the long drawn out climb to Elk Camp, but I did and I began seeing the leaders coming through, including Brendan, who looked great at the time.

Shortly after leaving, I needed to turn on my headlamp and negotiated the newer terrain to the slightly changed turn point at Jaws.  I didn't go into Jaws at all, knowing all too well the dangers of entering a hot tent on a cold night.  I sat my ass in a chair and changed out all of my gear, switching to pants, down jacket, beanie, gloves, and new shoes/socks.  That was probably the smartest thing I did all day, as the temps apparently dropped below even last year when I became hypothermic (low 20's).

My legs really had a hard time starting to go, and I began to really get that 100 mile ache after sitting for a bit.  However, a few miles after leaving Elk Camp, I was rolling, from here on in, I'd pass something like 15-20 people on the way home.  I ended up running all of the 17 miles into Footbridge where I'd lose the pants and switch sleeves and jackets because I had started to sweat pretty hard.  The climb up to Bear Camp was actually pretty fun, if grueling.

At this point, I was totally in a zone, and I'd listened to so much hip hop music that I'd just start rapping the nastiest lyrics out loud as a source of habit.  By the time I'd make it Cow Camp, I was just shocked to see Steve and Brendan wrapped up in a blanket next to the fire.  And, as it turned out, Becky was in a tent too, later being removed via ATV.  Bighorn is bitch that way, a tough as nails course that does not lend itself to quick recovery or coddling aid stations.  I guess it's definitely part of the allure for me, and it certainly adds to the challenge.

I kept moving steady all the way back to Dryfork where for the first time I realized that if I kept my shit together, there was a chance of going under 24, but it was going to be incredibly close if it happened.  So, I managed to make myself try to forget about it until I got to Upper Sheep Camp and then I knew that if I got to the ridge strongly, I could have a go and see if the legs could take the terrible downhill.  On the way down, I was able to run pretty well for about 2/3 of the way, but just after passing Gary Gellin and Nikki Kimball I fell apart a bit and was forced to hike for 5 minutes or so.  Moving though the lower aid stations, I knew that with 5 miles left, I had to run 39:59 to break 24.  The miles were excruciating, the packed dirt road with rocks blasted my right arch and I was really hurting.  I can't really explain the mental anguish in forcing myself to try to run hard 97 miles in, but my god.  Turning the river and into the park, I realized they moved the finish a few hundred yards back and I was out of time, missing a Rusty Spurs club medal by 40 seconds.  I collapsed at the finish, totally exhausted.

For the first hour after the race, I've never felt worse.  The combination of miles, fatigue, and then pushing so hard for the last hour, I felt like I was going to throw up all my insides.  I had a tough time getting back into the car, but surprisingly after a short nap at the hotel, I was feeling pretty OK.  By dinner time, I was doing great, and the next day, I was almost all the way human.  In fact, today, 2 weeks later, I feel completely fine. After Leadville, I didn't feel right again until January, so I'm happy that I'm in good condition to enjoy the high country season in Colorado.  

So, how to evaluate the race?  Well, I had a terrible 55 miles to start out, and a pretty damn solid 45 finishing miles.  I'm so happy to finish and get that monkey off my back.  Certainly part of being able to recover quickly was due to not running to my potential.  The opening issues I faced were partly due to a bad day, and partly due to some crappy planning on my part.  I feel that I raced and ran too many super long runs (3 45mi or longer runs in 4 weeks) in the build up.  I simply cannot recover after all of that.  I also ran too intensely too far out, causing my peak fitness to come early, and entering the race I had felt pretty crappy for about 4-5 weeks.  I'm certainly still learning, and perhaps a coach would help, but the realities of life don't lend itself to that.

For now, I'm gonna enjoy a few of these:

Wear this around:

And lastly, I'll be up in the high mountains for the rest of summer and fall... More to come on that!

Quad Rock 2013

Well, the last really long day before Bighorn is now behind me and I feel pretty good today.  While I had a mediocre finishing time (for me, I suppose), I had a great time out on the Quad Rock course.  The thing with a course like this is that if you don't have great legs, or you're tired, the amount of extra time you add on is exponential.  What I really wanted, after some internal realistic discussion, was a solid long day.  That was precisely what I got and in the end I'm happy with that.

Finishing up.  Photo: MH

Just one year ago, I had peaked and had a smashing day on the Jemez course.  The thing was, Jemez was not my goal race and while I had a good result, I put myself in a grave doing so which translated to may of the problems I had prior to DNF'ing at Bighorn just a few weeks later.  While there are many folks who can race hard multiple times in a short window, I am not one of those people.

Car! Photo: MH

So, onto the race.  Mike was kind enough to put me up the night before thanks to Clarkie's absurd starting time!  However, once we got going, I settled into the climb and ran with a mix of folks and found what appeared to be a comfortable effort.  Horsetooth came easily enough and I was feeling OK despite the seemingly normal lack of pop in the legs (a product of my training, perhaps more on that later).

Cool shot of the Grass/Burn dichotomy.  Photo: MH

I had enough sense to break the course up mentally and for once I managed to forget the miles and simply run.  On our way up Arthur's the first go around, I latched onto Tom from the Springs and we had a great chat about all sorts of things pretty much the whole climb and descent into the turn.  It's funny how company makes the time pass, and before long we were watching the leaders come back through us.

I must say, as an avid opponent of loop courses, this was surprisingly easy to negotiate (mentally) even though I knew what was coming (a long ass climb).  I plodded my way back through the Arthur's climb and back through the Arthur's aid station where I started my routine of slamming coke at every aid.  From here on out it was the same old story, moderate running downhill, and a mix of hiking/jogging uphill.  I can see that it would be fun to make a course like this your focus and just try to hammer the climbs and hang on through the downs.  But that was not this day, this day was about surviving...

And, after what seemed like an eternity, and a bit of hail, I popped out on the valley trails and meandered my way back to the finish line.  Now, I had prepared to kick Nick in the balls for starting so early, but he so graciously cooked up some Ultragen and I let it slide.  I must say that this race was seriously top notch.  The production, the aid, volunteers (good to see my friends out there on the course), and pretty well everything that goes on there was great.  This is not because I consider Nick a friend, but rather, this was a GREAT event.  Even though I was slow, I had a great time.  Beautiful trails, tough climbs, and fun descents.  The biggest praise I can give my sponsors is that my feet feel awesome today; no blisters and no sore feet!

Gas Station Coffee*

Don't get me wrong, I love great coffee.  I appreciate the quest for it, the places you find it, how it smells as it is roasted, and the careful balance of flavors when prepared in delicate secultion.  I used to consider myself a connoisseur of great coffee, and looked down my nose at anything else.  There was only one problem:

I fucking love gas station coffee.  There, I said it.

You might ask, "why?" And, while there may be a simple answer, the truth lies a bit below the surface.

Finding locally sourced, gourmet, whatever the hell special coffee is easy in Denver, as it is in many places.  However, one is often limited to the local coffee house whose clientele aren’t often up and sipping cappuccinos at 4AM.  Certainly the coffee house crowd isn’t typically demanding a five star latte as they prep for a 12 hour drive to the Grand Canyon, and you can bet your ass that cute little shop isn’t on your way out of town.

While there are always exceptions to the rule, particularly if you already live in an outdoor paradise and City on a Hill is your local joint.  As for me, I’ve always found that gas stations are the best place to grab the cup of black gold before the sun comes up.

The thing is, gas station coffee is often the precursor to outdoor awesomeness.  You wake up, stumble out of bed, it's 4:30 in the morning.  By the grace of god you make it down the stairs without breaking an ankle, throw your pack in the back of your buddy's truck and hop in.  And that when it starts.

You stop, fill your cup with some concoction of "hazelnut/vanilla/odd shade" roast and grab a donut that was likely made in the attendant's basement about a month ago.  Now, chances are you've got to give it a minute in the car, because gas station coffee is usually served at about the same temperature that the core of our earth sits at.  But then, all possibilities are open.

I’ve taken off to all kinds of crazy places, driving 22 hours to run in my hometown coastal mountains, 12 hours into the desert, or 7 hours into the Rocky Mountain wilderness.  While the logistics may change, one constant remains, gas station coffee. The truth of it is this: if you wanna be awesome, you're gonna need some gas station coffee.  And some beer, don't forget the beer.

*I'm working on this a bit.  I told myself I'd write and submit a short for the Dirtbag Diaries, and this is the first idea I've written anything on.  So, this will likely expand and contract for a while.

April 2013

Data:
361 Miles
+51,876' Vertical
58 Hours
3 Days off
Two big days:
Cedro Peak
R2R2R

Justin exchanged some good advice and insight into my training deluge post Cedro Peak that I probably was choosing to overlook.  The basic premise revolves around expectation and goal setting.  This month was deliberate in its purpose and the purpose is preparation for Bighorn, plain and simple.  I missed my arbitrary goals, but not in a significant way, and I had 3 days off.  The days off were necessary and unavoidable (12 hours in a car two days to and from GC, day post CP).  I've since done some tempo work, nothing special, about and not real tempo either, but rather more in the line of what I'll need for longer ultras.  I've taken it easy since the GC trip to let my body recover, and I'm just now feeling like my legs are responding.  However, I need to take it easy still this weekend and into next week to hopefully have some pop at Quad Rock.  Talking with Scott at the PI shoot, I mentioned that I'd like to be somewhere in the 8:30-9:00 range, which would be a good honest effort, but not something that would lay me out.  Obviously the real question is going to be weather, as there is a legitimate chance it could be 80*F, or it could snow...

Last weekend was good times hanging out at the Cheyenne Mountain 25/50K.  Wifey was top-10 in the 25K and JT managed to break 10 hours.  Both impressive.

The Grand Canyon

Thursday afternoon, as I sat staring at my computer screen, I simply couldn't focus.  I needed to get going, I needed to head west.  The weather notwithstanding, I was just so incredibly excited to go see the Grand Canyon for the first time, and to truly experience it.  We surly accomplished that.  Immediately upon arrival, we stopped to check out the views, then after checking in at the hotel we came back for sunset and beers.  Amazing.

3 of 5. Me, Donnie, and Todd.  Photo: Jeremiah Greif

Excited? Yeah.  Photo: Jeremiah Greif

Starting to sink in.  Photo: Jeremiah Greif

That alarm came early and we fumbled about getting ready for a long day in the ditch.  Greg's lady kindly shuttled us from the Bright Angel Trailhead to the South Kaibab and we took some photos and started running down the trail with shouts of joy and stupid grins plastered on our faces.

Down, down, down.  Photo: Todd Gangelhoff

We stopped at nearly every overlook without asking, but with all of us muttering some variation of "holy shit, man."  This is why...

Really? Really.  Photo: Todd Gangelhoff

The long way down seemed surreal, each new cliff face a new canyon and a new sight.  A short hold up with some mules could not derail our giddiness and before long we'd reached the Colorado.

Greg.  Photo: Todd Gangelhoff

Once we'd topped off water at Phantom Ranch, we began the flattish trail up towards Cottonwood Campground and I was instantly dropped by Todd and Donnie, who were blazing away, but slightly ahead of Jeremiah and Greg.  I nearly ran into the river a few times while staring up at the canyon walls.  The temps were ideal while my legs were already toast!  Perhaps the 45 miler last weekend was a bit of an excessive treat prior to a GC trip...

Jeremiah and I.  Photo: Todd Gangelhoff

In any case, I was passed by Jerimiah somewhere before CCG and I began lugging my way up the North Kaibab Trail.  Just below the ranger quarters, TK came up behind me and we said hi briefly and I could instantly tell he was gunning for Dakota's FKT as he was motoring.

My favorite stretch of trail, on the ridge, South Kaibab Trail.  Photo: Todd Gangelhoff

Somewhere before the overlook TK came flying back down, shortly followed by Todd and Tressa from Boulder.  All three were absolutely hammering the down, and I was content to know that I was nearing the top.  Up there, I met Jeremiah and Donnie, and we decided to head back down quickly since we were all nearly out of water.

Mmmmmm.  Photo: Jeremiah Greif

While I love downhills more than most,  my already hammered quads were barking at another 5K of drop!  Eventually we made it back down to CCG as it was really starting to heat up.  We spent a good chunk of time cooling off and picking up some more water.  From there we ran a solid pace back to Phantom Ranch where we were all pretty damn dehydrated and we lamented between ourselves while sucking down some Lemony Lemonade.

Canyons inside of canyons.  Photo: Jeremiah Greif

Only one thing left, about 10 miles and five thousand plus feet of vert!  I found myself in the middle of the group, isolated in an odd state of soreness and decent motor.  Lots of power hiking and a bit of running and I was making solid time until about 3 or 4 to go when I was out of water and feeling like I was about to puke all over the Chinese tourists that littered the trail.  I sat down in the shade to collect myself and serendipitously ran into Jay from the Springs.  He offered me a bar, which I declined, but got up to hike with him.  Turns out, Jay is the greatest pacer in the history of mankind and I nearly forgot just how terrible I felt!  After grabbing some water, we chatted life and plans while drinking in the last of the views from the Bright Angel Trail.  As I got to the last 1/4 mile I jogged up to the top and collapsed next to Todd and Jeremiah.

What do you do to top that? Crush some smothered burritos, multiple orders of tacos, the scraps of Donnie's meal, and a shot of Patron!  This was definitely the highlight of my year so far, and I cannot wait to go back!  In all, I was out there for 10 hours and 44 minutes, a distinctively pedestrian time, but a damn good time.  One day I'll go back and take a crack at running it fast, but it was so enjoyable to just go and spend a day tooling around one of the most incredible places this world has to offer.  If ever there was a reason to be an ultrarunner, this was it.

Cedro Peak 2013

As I sit and type this, I've got some memories planted firmly in my flesh.  Saturday was just "one of those days" for me.  From the off I had all kinds of blinking lights in the cockpit.  "Man, my legs are dead." "Well, good thing I forgot to charge my headlamp, I can't see a damn thing."  Four of us were together from the start, and we bumbled through the first 10 miles at a leisurely pace.  My body was fine, my breathing was fine, but just no go in the sticks.  As disconcerting as it was, I knew that the goal was larger, keep working, keep plugging through, that's the goal.

Coming off Cedro Peak on the way out (somewhere around 12 miles) I found myself hurtling towards the ground face first with no hands in front.  My body made an executive decision to attempt to take the fall with my left shoulder, and I was left to assess the damage.  I quickly got up, and the adrenaline seemed to hold everything together, no broken bones, no excessive bleeding, good to go.

I ran essentially with or near Jacob Lawrence(eventual winner) until aid 5.  Essentially he kept plugging at a solid pace, and I began to have some more issues.  I took 2 tylenol around 4 hours, which ended up causing some  kidney dysfunction.  Coupled with some slight dehydration, I had some issues with dark urine and pressure, so I essentially shut down the last 14 miles and jogged/hiked back to the finish.  I knew that Jacob was gone, and that I had a lot of other things this summer to do, so I wasn't keen to make a bad day worse by charging through the warning signs.  I don't know much about it, but I do know that the cases where people get in trouble are where they continue to push hard for long periods of time after these (or, likely worse) symptoms.

I ended up finishing in 7:46, good enough for second, but a long way from my targeted goal.  Sometimes, you have to play the cards you're dealt.  Once I was done, I started the process of flushing my system.  Between the time I finished and the time I'd arrived I took down somewhere in the range of 200 oz of water and Gatorade.  I've been peeing clear ever since I got home and haven't had any associated discomfort, so I'm confident that I avoided any lingering issue.  In fact, Sunday was my first day off in about 2 months.

Of course, a big congrats to Jacob (we've raced a couple times now), who ran a smart, steady race and seemingly held a consistent effort all the way through.  Also, Kim King (new RD) and her crew put on a great race.  Well organized, some neat swag, great aid stations, well marked and honest course.

What's next for me? Grand Canyon in 5 days!  Recover and execute.

Sentiment

I love the sentiment.  Looking forward to some time in the ditch.

35 from ARC'TERYX on Vimeo.

Some awesome background to the video.