Wow, our ideas of fun have sure changed over the last year. Instead of finding some crazy costume party, we headed out to Auburn for Hilloween. The idea is to cover the maximum number of vertical feet in one day. Whoever goes up the most, wins.
So we stayed at with Elke, our favorite ultra-runner, and went out early morning on Saturday. Set up camp on the edge of a canyon with a few more crazy people, many of them in costumes... and there it goes. Down we go to the bottom of the canyon, over the bridge, all the way up to the other side, then turn around and come all the way back to camp. Rinse and repeat as many times as you want to maximize vertical gain.
Each trip there and back is about 6 miles and 3000 ft. Sarah and I did two, and then had to go back with Elke. Some other folks did three. Hilloween is a "virtual" event, so other people participated too with their own hills in other places. So it's still unclear who won.
It was my first serious trail run since Wasatch and it went pretty well.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Quick Wasatch Recap
Well... I'm really happy to say that we somehow pulled this thing off, and with no small thanks to your guidance in those early days!
I psyched myself up so much about how ridiculously hard it was going to be, that it didn't turn out as hard as I expected. I never hit the wall or thought of dropping. It was certainly the toughest thing I've ever done on the whole, but there was never really like an intense moment of pain/misery or what have you. I think this is probably because 1) Sarah had a really tough race (massive blisters, cramping, pulled hammy) so a lot of the time I wasn't running at my full, and 2) we came in with the mentality to finish instead of going fast or pushing for a particular time. I think both of those things helped ensure that we didn't go out fast or took risks.
I think that really helped in training too.. when we gave up any ambition to get sub-30 (hah!) and just went for finish. So much was riding on the race, that we didn't push hard in training (at least pace-wise) and just focused on staying injury-free and on getting our bodies ready to take 100 miles of punishment. This resulted in doing many really long runs (40+) at really slow pace! We figured with a 36 hour time limit, if we can only keep moving, we should be able to finish, which is about what happened!
I did so great shifting my schedule to go to bed by 9 and wake up really early leading up to the race... and then I couldn't sleep well like the 2 nights before. Ah prerace jitters! So I think that affected my energy levels. Though the first like 25 miles we made good time and then the adrenaline wore off and came a low... which went away after a 1/2 caffeine gu! And then came my favorite section around mile 30 where we ran on top of a ridge with gorgeous views on each side, and that made me really happy.
Getting into Big Mountain and seeing our crew, Sarah's family and a few friends was a HUGE BOOST! I almost broke down crying. They even made wedding shirts and were all wearing them! We were SO good at not spending much time at aid stations and treating them as a buffet. I was really proud of us. I think we averaged 2-3 minutes and even skipped some... EXCEPT for crew stations where we averaged like 20 :). We were all new at this and sometimes there were too many cooks in the kitchen. Brighton was probably the craziest aid station I'll ever have. It was so crazy getting in there feeling pretty shitty in the middle of the night, after being out there for a long-ass time, and a bunch of our friends and my co-workers are there all high energy and happy to see us. It was kind of surreal. I enjoyed double-fisting a Red Bull and a chicken soup :).
Another low point came sometime between Lambs & Big Mountain. Sarah decided to stay behind a guy that I thought was going way too slow, and I started fretting about time, and that made me feel more tired, and there was a lightning storm in the distance that looked beautiful and ominous. So I think there was definitely a little bit of running-partner tension going on there, but we both did a good job of mellowing out and encouraging the other person. And having a pacer helped too.
We started slowing down going towards Brighton. Sarah had a nasty cramp before Mills, which turned into a pulled hamstring, and the long walk on the road to Millcreek really exacerbated her blisters. So that was a long slug through the dark... I remember seeing that Scott's peak campfire from the distance. So alluring and so far. We did a good job having our pacers run ahead and refill us so we didn't spend much time at the aid stations, even the ones with campfires :). Somehow we wound up getting to Brighton within our time frame of 5-7, just after 5.
So at that point we knew we should be able to make it unless something bad happens. After spending 25 minutes (!!!) at Brighton getting fixed, eating, and hanging out with various folks that came out, our crew ushered us out. Elke, whom you've met, the only ultrarunner on our crew, got us at this point. While all of our pacers were awesome and helpful, it was particularly comforting to have all her experience during that last stretch. Ironically we did not let our pacer set the pace. Already feeling really beat and knowing that we didn't have to move particularly fast to finish, we were happy to slog along.
Mile 90 was the lowest point for me. After taking one of those Plunges or Dives, and then seeing the ribbon point to an uphill just as nasty and just as steep, oh how I was cursing the race organizers. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE ALL DOWNHILL NOW!!! WTF?! It was getting hot and I was still wearing my tights from the night. So I had to yell for Sarah and Elke to slow down. All in all it took 10 hours for the last 25. We could have been a bit faster if we wanted to... but at that point we just wanted to finish and get married :).
And after we hit Pot Bottom... we just became really happy. At this point we knew were were going to finish even if we crawled. We got lovey-dovey and I called a couple of people at the finish to give them an ETA. I felt giddy... which was an interesting feeling when combined with fatigue from having run 93 miles. Elke made one last valiant attempt to set the pace... we tried to follow, but it was too hard and painful... and what for? Just to get an extra 15 minutes off our time? Na... let's just finish and get married.
And having everyone out there throwing rose petals at us as we walked down "the aisle", oh it was the most magical moment of my life. The whole thing was a dream at this point. It got captured pretty well here: http://connect2utah.com/
Oh and my stomach had no problems at all, luckily. I mean at the end, I didn't want to eat anything but soup, and just took my gel and perpetuem as medicine every 20 minutes. But no troubles. And the sleep thing worked out OK too. I think being a high-strung person, skipping one night of sleep wasn't a huge deal. Finishing the race, I was SO stiff... I needed those hand rails in the bathroom to sit down (which weren't there!!! Don't older couples ever take the honeymoon suite??). But the most amazing thing was that the next day... I was able to jump around, dance wildly at our wedding, and pretty much do whatever I wanted! I felt like there was a price that I should pay soon for putting myself through that... but it never came. I was certainly fatigued the first few days of our honeymoon in Bali, but nothing prohibitive. Sarah had a much tougher recovery, with elephant legs, 4 toenails coming off, and the pulled hamstring... but on about day 6 of the honeymoon, we couldn't help it but uprooted ourselves from a paradise beach with corals and snorkeling and climbed the island's highest volcano (5000ft climb in under 2.5 miles), so I guess we recovered OK :).
Yeah, so I think I'm sold on this 100 mile thing. I'm right about to pull the trigger to sign up for AC. I definitely want to do this one while I'm still in LA. And I also want to put my name in the bucket for WS. In the likely event that I/we won't get in, I think we'll shoot for Wasatch or TRT. My goal now is to get fast. I really want to do one of these races where I push hard and give it my all. Go to the brink. Run more and faster! Feel the wind against my face. I'd shoot for under 24 if I get into WS, and def. sub-30 for Wasatch. And Sarah and I will do a race or two together, perhaps a 100 and a 50. We really do enjoy running together.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Back into it
Well... we did it! The quest from running 400m to running 100miles in just about a year. I'd like to write a longer recap of the race... but never got around to it. But I think the pictures and videos that are being put together by Michael Shlain will suffice for now.
On the whole, Wasatch was the hardest thing I've ever done... but it wasn't as hard as I expected. I think because running together, there were times Sarah had to wait for me, and I for her. Which means neither of us were running at our hardest.
And I think I'm hooked! I'd like to run two 100 mile races this year. Definitely the AC100 (Angeles Crest) in LA, and one more (Western States? *fingers crossed* - only 10% chance to get in through the lottery). But more importantly... my goal this year is to get faster. I want to push hard and go to the brink.
If I run Western States, I'd like to do sub-24. If I was to do the Wasatch again, sub-30, perhaps 28-29, would be the goal. Also I want to get faster to feel even more free on my run. To feel the wind in my face more often than not. To have more unbound energy instead of trudging up the hills. That would be fun! Oh, and if I'm faster, I can have more of a life while getting my runs in. Running 30 miles in, say, 6 hours, would be much better than 10.
So to get there, I decided to push hard on my workouts and do more sprints/intervals where I push hard. Now that I got the base mileage under my belt and my legs can take the punishment, I can focus on going fast.
Today I ran a 45:10 10K, which is by far my best time, though I never tried that hard before. My previous best time was maybe 49 or 50. It was HARD. My legs performed just fine but I couldn't get enough air. Just panting and panting while occasionally able to get a full breath in which felt SO good... for about 10 seconds.
I could have squeezed a bit more out of me, though it was a good workout on the whole. That's the hard part about running distance is figuring out early on how much to push now vs. how much to leave for the final lap.
On the whole, Wasatch was the hardest thing I've ever done... but it wasn't as hard as I expected. I think because running together, there were times Sarah had to wait for me, and I for her. Which means neither of us were running at our hardest.
And I think I'm hooked! I'd like to run two 100 mile races this year. Definitely the AC100 (Angeles Crest) in LA, and one more (Western States? *fingers crossed* - only 10% chance to get in through the lottery). But more importantly... my goal this year is to get faster. I want to push hard and go to the brink.
If I run Western States, I'd like to do sub-24. If I was to do the Wasatch again, sub-30, perhaps 28-29, would be the goal. Also I want to get faster to feel even more free on my run. To feel the wind in my face more often than not. To have more unbound energy instead of trudging up the hills. That would be fun! Oh, and if I'm faster, I can have more of a life while getting my runs in. Running 30 miles in, say, 6 hours, would be much better than 10.
So to get there, I decided to push hard on my workouts and do more sprints/intervals where I push hard. Now that I got the base mileage under my belt and my legs can take the punishment, I can focus on going fast.
Today I ran a 45:10 10K, which is by far my best time, though I never tried that hard before. My previous best time was maybe 49 or 50. It was HARD. My legs performed just fine but I couldn't get enough air. Just panting and panting while occasionally able to get a full breath in which felt SO good... for about 10 seconds.
I could have squeezed a bit more out of me, though it was a good workout on the whole. That's the hard part about running distance is figuring out early on how much to push now vs. how much to leave for the final lap.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Solo run
Sarah was still not feeling well, so I set out for a fast sol run (and I had a time constraint to be back by 7, so I can have time to shower and pack for my bachelor party, and then make it to a 9 p.m. flight).
This was my first long solo run in a while. One big difference between running with someone or a group vs. solo is the ability to really micromanage ones body. One moment I'm feeling pretty good, so I pick up the pace. Another moment I get winded on an uphill so I walk for a few moments. Then I'm feeling dehydrated, so I slow the pace way down and drink.
I went up Black Mountain, and then down into the canyon and to Skyline, where Sarah met me as my aid station and bandaged up a blister on the back of my heel while giving me a burrito and refilling my water. Sweetest fiance ever! I also met a cool Russian optics physicist on the way and talked to him about cell phone cameras.
Then it was back down into the canyon, and then back up to Black Mountain, and then back down to the parking lot where Sarah arrived just as I got back.
I was able to keep a brisk pace, moving at roughly 12 minute miles on average for 21.5 miles, despite about a 5000-5500ft elevation gain. Not bad at all!
I felt great at the finish and still feeling good now. So I suppose this is my peaking workout. I got one more hard run coming up - going to do Mt. Wilson up and down on Wednesday, and will try to run as much as possible on the way up. And after that is tapering. Probably an easy 20 miler in the Marine Headlands 2 weeks pre-race, and then bring it to maybe 10 miles the last weekend pre-race.
So excited!
This was my first long solo run in a while. One big difference between running with someone or a group vs. solo is the ability to really micromanage ones body. One moment I'm feeling pretty good, so I pick up the pace. Another moment I get winded on an uphill so I walk for a few moments. Then I'm feeling dehydrated, so I slow the pace way down and drink.
I went up Black Mountain, and then down into the canyon and to Skyline, where Sarah met me as my aid station and bandaged up a blister on the back of my heel while giving me a burrito and refilling my water. Sweetest fiance ever! I also met a cool Russian optics physicist on the way and talked to him about cell phone cameras.
Then it was back down into the canyon, and then back up to Black Mountain, and then back down to the parking lot where Sarah arrived just as I got back.
I was able to keep a brisk pace, moving at roughly 12 minute miles on average for 21.5 miles, despite about a 5000-5500ft elevation gain. Not bad at all!
I felt great at the finish and still feeling good now. So I suppose this is my peaking workout. I got one more hard run coming up - going to do Mt. Wilson up and down on Wednesday, and will try to run as much as possible on the way up. And after that is tapering. Probably an easy 20 miler in the Marine Headlands 2 weeks pre-race, and then bring it to maybe 10 miles the last weekend pre-race.
So excited!
Rattlesnake Scare
On Saturday Sarah and I drove out to Mt. Diablo to practice technical downhills. It was a scorchingly hot day which made me understand why the mountain is called Diablo even though, on the whole, it's not that diabolic.
Sarah was still battling a weeklong sickness, so we cut our run short and turned back. I was leading the way on the downhill, happily hopping rocks, sliding on pebbles and joyously running.
Until I hear a terrible dissonant screech. It sounded like the hiss of an extremely upset cat mixed with nails on chalkboard. Instinct took over as I braked, stopped dead in my tracks and started backing up. Only to see an already coiled rattler drop onto the trail from the mountainside on my right. Everything happened so fast, I barely remember catching a glimpse of him, and next thing I remember I was already backed up a safe distance away.
Shit, that was scary.
I've seen rattlers before, but never one so angry. In fact, I've never heard them rattle. I expected it to sound more discrete, with each beat clearly discernible. I guess now I know.
He continued to lay there on the trail, all coiled up. I walked a little closer to take a look, and he got all uppity and started rattling. So I backed up and left him alone.
After waiting for a few minutes and determining that he wasn't going to move, we trekked around him, higher up on the hillside.
What I like about seeing rattlesnakes is that they're a sign that the ecosystem is healthy, being on top of the food chain.
Sarah assured me that rattlesnakes rarely kill. Apparently there has only been one rattlesnake death in the whole State of Utah's history. But they can sure do a lot of damage:
Well, after all my miles on the trails, I was bound to run into a rattlesnake sooner or later. And then I saw another one on my run today, but that one was peacefully chilling on the edge of a wide fire road. So I respectfully passed by it on the other side of the fire road.
Sarah was still battling a weeklong sickness, so we cut our run short and turned back. I was leading the way on the downhill, happily hopping rocks, sliding on pebbles and joyously running.
Until I hear a terrible dissonant screech. It sounded like the hiss of an extremely upset cat mixed with nails on chalkboard. Instinct took over as I braked, stopped dead in my tracks and started backing up. Only to see an already coiled rattler drop onto the trail from the mountainside on my right. Everything happened so fast, I barely remember catching a glimpse of him, and next thing I remember I was already backed up a safe distance away.
Shit, that was scary.
I've seen rattlers before, but never one so angry. In fact, I've never heard them rattle. I expected it to sound more discrete, with each beat clearly discernible. I guess now I know.
He continued to lay there on the trail, all coiled up. I walked a little closer to take a look, and he got all uppity and started rattling. So I backed up and left him alone.
After waiting for a few minutes and determining that he wasn't going to move, we trekked around him, higher up on the hillside.
What I like about seeing rattlesnakes is that they're a sign that the ecosystem is healthy, being on top of the food chain.
Sarah assured me that rattlesnakes rarely kill. Apparently there has only been one rattlesnake death in the whole State of Utah's history. But they can sure do a lot of damage:
Well, after all my miles on the trails, I was bound to run into a rattlesnake sooner or later. And then I saw another one on my run today, but that one was peacefully chilling on the edge of a wide fire road. So I respectfully passed by it on the other side of the fire road.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Not bad for a bad day
We set out to do a 40 mile run today on the Ohlone trail through the Mission Peak Wilderness near Fremont and all the way to Rose Peak in the east, then back.
The highlights of the run for me was the hundreds of ground squirrels running around and playing. I chased after them screaming gibberish. Also we saw like 15 vultures. I suppose something big died.
Oh and there was a poor lady who sprained her ankle and got carried out by rescuers on a stretcher :(
The other interesting thing was using salt in a ziplock baggie to replenish my electrolytes. I was almost out of Salt Sticks and there was no time to go get more. I kept thinking of all the other products I could use instead. The Nuun tabs that dissolve in water had lots of salt... but Sarah likes them and we were down to two. The Margarita Clif Shot Blocks had a decent dose. But I don't like the gummy-bear like texture while running and they stick to your teeth for a while. The Clif Electrolyte powder had more sugar than salt, and requires washing out the CamelBak bladder. Then finally it hit me... what I really need is SALT! So I filled up the ziplock, threw in a 1/4 teaspoon measure spoon for more precision.. and off we go. It's not as convenient as the capsules, and doesn't replenish other stuff like magnesium, but it worked!
I digress.
The main reason I wanted to write was that I didn't have a particularly great day out on the trails. While my body performed reasonably well with no significant aches or pains (other than a few complains from the shin), I was low energy most of the run and not in particularly great spirits a lot of the time as a result. While there were some good points, a lot of the time I was trudging along. The heat was quite brutal for me today too and at one point I had to stop under an oak and regroup.
Yet when I got home... I realized that this is the best I've felt after a run of this magnitude (and we've now done 4). Nothing hurts, minimal stiffness, no blisters and my feet look great. The realization that I've come such a long way - when on a bad day I can go out, run 40 miles (with 10,000 up and down), come home and feel pretty damn good... well that's something :)
The highlights of the run for me was the hundreds of ground squirrels running around and playing. I chased after them screaming gibberish. Also we saw like 15 vultures. I suppose something big died.
Oh and there was a poor lady who sprained her ankle and got carried out by rescuers on a stretcher :(
The other interesting thing was using salt in a ziplock baggie to replenish my electrolytes. I was almost out of Salt Sticks and there was no time to go get more. I kept thinking of all the other products I could use instead. The Nuun tabs that dissolve in water had lots of salt... but Sarah likes them and we were down to two. The Margarita Clif Shot Blocks had a decent dose. But I don't like the gummy-bear like texture while running and they stick to your teeth for a while. The Clif Electrolyte powder had more sugar than salt, and requires washing out the CamelBak bladder. Then finally it hit me... what I really need is SALT! So I filled up the ziplock, threw in a 1/4 teaspoon measure spoon for more precision.. and off we go. It's not as convenient as the capsules, and doesn't replenish other stuff like magnesium, but it worked!
I digress.
The main reason I wanted to write was that I didn't have a particularly great day out on the trails. While my body performed reasonably well with no significant aches or pains (other than a few complains from the shin), I was low energy most of the run and not in particularly great spirits a lot of the time as a result. While there were some good points, a lot of the time I was trudging along. The heat was quite brutal for me today too and at one point I had to stop under an oak and regroup.
Yet when I got home... I realized that this is the best I've felt after a run of this magnitude (and we've now done 4). Nothing hurts, minimal stiffness, no blisters and my feet look great. The realization that I've come such a long way - when on a bad day I can go out, run 40 miles (with 10,000 up and down), come home and feel pretty damn good... well that's something :)
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Utah Running Awesomeness!
We covered about 25 miles of the Wasatch course in Utah. It's BEAUTIFUL!!! The trails are often rough, overgrown, unmaintained, and straight up (or down)... but definitely doable. So I feel better about the race, having seen some of the trails myself.
We got some good altitude training, running at at least 7000 feet, and heat training too, with temps generally above 80, and probably close to triple digits in some places.
Incredible views. Running along the ridges with snow-covered mountains and valley vistas on each side. Had to circumnavigate a few snow-fields.
Physically feel great too. After 50 miles of running (30 miles Friday, 20 miles Sunday), nothing hurts, not even sore.
New nutrition system working out well - using flasks of liquid fuel (i.e. big flask of gel instead of individual packets), which is way more convenient than dealing with squeezing out gus, trash, etc. I can eat more, faster, easier. Love it.
And I figured out how to run downhills FAST. Like an AVALANCHE! With no pain at all in the knees. (Instead of landing on the front, I now roll through the heels). SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much fun.
Oh and we saw a Porcupine! And a wild chicken.
WEEEEEEEE~~!
We got some good altitude training, running at at least 7000 feet, and heat training too, with temps generally above 80, and probably close to triple digits in some places.
Incredible views. Running along the ridges with snow-covered mountains and valley vistas on each side. Had to circumnavigate a few snow-fields.
Physically feel great too. After 50 miles of running (30 miles Friday, 20 miles Sunday), nothing hurts, not even sore.
New nutrition system working out well - using flasks of liquid fuel (i.e. big flask of gel instead of individual packets), which is way more convenient than dealing with squeezing out gus, trash, etc. I can eat more, faster, easier. Love it.
And I figured out how to run downhills FAST. Like an AVALANCHE! With no pain at all in the knees. (Instead of landing on the front, I now roll through the heels). SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much fun.
Oh and we saw a Porcupine! And a wild chicken.
WEEEEEEEE~~!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Helping out at Western States 100
We volunteered at mile 78, Rucky Chucky/Far End. It was a good experience. I enjoyed being part of something so big and seeing so many amazing runners. So many people looked so good - I am inspired to train so I can run fast... and to be fast and efficient at my aid stations instead of treating them like a buffet!
There wasn't as much carnage as I was expecting - we were told this year was much better than normal due to cooler weather. They had a record completion rate of 82% and 120 finishers under 24. There certainly were some folks who were hurting and we did our best to help them, feed them soup and encourage them. Also our station had 2 podiatrists who were working double time popping blisters and bandaging beat up feet. My understanding is Wasatch won't be quite so cushy :).
We stayed there for over 12 hours and got to the finish line about 7 a.m. and watched a few folks finish. Maybe it was staying up all night, but I got really emotional and broke down crying seeing some of the folks finishing, particularly one runner holding hands with his or her crew as they rounded out the track.
Otherwise, training has been relatively easy the last few weeks, but now ramping up for the final push. We're going to Utah this weekend to cover as much of the course as we can (and snow allows!). Then plan on doing lots of back-to-backs, probably the headlands 50, going to Tahoe for altitude and to Utah one more time in August. I feel this lull in training did me really well. I feel a lot stronger.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Cactus to Clouds take 2
I picked Sarah up from the Burbank airport at 7. We had an ambitious plan to start hiking at 4 a.m. Including a 2 hour to Palm Springs, the maximum we'd be able to sleep was 7 hours at that point.
But we also had to stop at REI on the way to pick up Sarah's refillable tubes (for peanut butter!) that I ordered delivered to the store and to fill out our first aid kit. Well... the tubes haven't gotten there yet, but we got first aid stuff and another light for Sarah, so now we each have two. Also we were really hungry, so we stopped by a delicious Chinese dumpling place. This probably should have been a Subway to go, in retrospect, but so it goes. Including packing our Camelbaks for the next day, by the time we went to bed at our Motel 6, it was past midnight.
Needless to say I was not excited when that alarm rang at 3:30 a.m. Slowly we rolled out of bed, dressed, and did last-minute things... and were on the trail by 4:20 a.m. It was dark and hot. Hot at 4 a.m. That's a bad sign.
Well, no turning back now. We started briskly walking up the trail behind the Palm Springs art museum. I started out fairly low energy, as starts tend to be for me and had a hard time keeping up with Sarah. I ate a caffeinated Gu in an attempt to wake up. The beginning section is also really steep and bouldery. It's as if somebody just threw a bunch of boulders on a steep mountain-side, and we are going up that pile. Which makes it go slow... but at the same time very encouraging. Just 1 hour after we started we were already WAY over the city in Palm Springs. It's really cool to be able to get high so fast.
And once we got out from the heat trap which is Palm Springs (nestled between San Jacinto and San Bernardino mountains), it got a little bit less hot and a faint breeze brought at leas an illusion of coolth which lifted our spirits.
Around 5:40ish, the bright merciless sun rose above the horizon and illuminated the beauty around us. Desert hillsides and ridges covered in rugged thin-leaved desert plants and boulders with lots of boulders and red soil. The sun was still very horizontal, so it didn't really add to the heat, and we were largely shielded from it by the ridges. So far so good, we pushed on.
Sometime around 6ish I started feeling dizzy and light-headed and my stomach started feeling funny. Despite the sun still being low, I also felt hot. Not drenched in sweat hot, but hot. So I sat on a rock in the shade to regroup. It felt really good to sit. Why not just sit here for a while and rest?
Sarah suggested I eat something as I haven't eaten much. I was hoping that my big dinner was going to power me through the first couple of hours. And food seemed disgusting. But I took out a mint chocolate Clif bar. Thanks to the warmth it was nice and moist. I hate having to eat dry/hard foods while running, so moist is good. It tasted better than I expected so I started eating.
After I sat around for maybe 5 or so minutes, Sarah tried to get me to move my butt. "For every 5 minutes we rest now, it'd take 20 minutes longer due to the heat." I tried to argue that I should rest more... and it's not really 20 minutes... but I knew and hated that she was right and we should keep moving. So I forced myself to get up.
Being the limiting factor at this point, I took the lead and slowed down the pace just a tad. One thing I learned about running in heat is that you don't get to decide how fast to go. The body kind of does that and if you try to force it... well, there is serious risk of overheating and collapsing. I've pushed it and came close before.
Slowing down the pace just a little bit did wonders. I felt my rhythm normalizing and walking up the hill became easier. The ridges came and went fairly quickly and soon, lo and behold, the side of Long Valley was in our view. It looked closer than it should be! Wow, we're already so close? Long Valley is the plateau at about 8,500 where the tram is based as well as the ranger station. And it was interesting to see the transition from desert to mountains. Here we are surrounded by yuccas, desert shrub and a trail winding through red dust... and up there are gray massive monoliths with rich green pine trees.
At roughly the 2.5-3 hour mark we passed the high desert section which was really hot last year. The one where I got so hot that I collapsed under the pathetic shade of a bush and laid there for a while consuming copious amounts of fruit and fluids. This time we were doing so much better and faster! It wasn't quite as hot thanks to our early start and our energy levels were good.
One thing that I forgot about what makes this hike so hard is the poorly maintained trail. Even the flat sections were hardly runnable due to being overgrown with plants and covered with rocks and boulders. And we spent sometime figuring out which was the real trail and which was a fluke or a steep shortcut, even having to backtrack a little bit a few times.
Well... at one point the trail just went straight up the mountain. At first we were sure it was a shortcut, but it just kept going and going. The footing was treacherous, with rocks, loose sticks and sandy soil sliding from under my shoes. And it was just really steep. I think this is where both of us started to fall apart.
My stomach felt funny - I think partially due to trying a vanilla-flavored Clif gel. Never eating vanilla during running again! Disgusting. I had a hard time getting down food... or water. I ran out of my 3.5L Camelback at maybe the 3 hour mark, and still had 2.5L platypus to go which I figured should last me to the top. It was also close to 8 a.m., so the sun was now way above the horizon and the heat was starting to do its work. Oh yeah, and I forgot the elevation. We must have been at 6000+ by then... and I was feeling it, breathing heavily and energy levels plummeting. Also, my achilles tendons on both legs were feeling tender and sore and I was a bit worried because it took the left one a week to recover and it was actually in some pain. The straight up uphill was not doing them good. Elevation + lack of sleep... also not good.
And Sarah had a massive headache which was somewhat helped by an Aleve, but not completely.
I started getting worried about the Wasatch. Doing mental calculations in my head. If this was day 1... well, we'd be better rested for one, though the altitude would be similar. But Day 2... at that point we would have been going for 24+ hours, would be at some of the highest elevations of the course (10,000+), and the legs would be more sore than I can begin to imagine. I guess the only good difference is it won't be this hot, a big difference though it is.
Nevertheless we kept moving forward. What else is there to do? Our place slowed down a lot but we continued to trudge up, with an occasional very short break. Finally were were able to see the tram station! After what seemed like an eternity, the trail leveled out (i.e. started going up the mountain sideways instead of straight up!). I think we even spotted the place where I proposed, with a nice view of the desert floor and the opposing mountain range, framed by trees. That was a nice boost.
I noted that my knees were feeling shitty even on the slightest downhill at this section. And THAT was disheartening. Despite 2 weeks rest, some exercises and lots of foam rolling, the knees already felt bad after just a tiny bit of downhill. And that was a downer. But nothing to do about it now, just keep moving.
We were now up in the mountains. The soil turned from red to grey. Yuccas gave way to pine trees and down tree trunks. Getting close!
Finally the trail turned straight up again, but we could already see the top! This is where it got particularly hard to navigate at some places... but thanks to our experience last time and careful looking, we navigated it just fine. It felt like it took forever, though I think it was much faster than last time.
We stepped onto the plateau drained in 5 hours 20 minutes, much faster than the 9 hours last year!!! 11 miles and 8000 feet up. About 2 miles/hour in heat. NICE!
The plateau was completely empty, a stark contrast to all the people we saw last time. We found the ranger station which looked closed. Well, that's OK. I started filling out the permit and Sarah went to the bathroom - what a concept, a bathroom!
Trying to fill out the permit, I realized how utterly exhausted and shitty I felt. Weak, and dizzyish, with unsteady hands making for some ugly letters. Sarah's headache was raging, so she took another Aleve. At that point we knew we were not going to walk back down as originally planned. Beside the general exhaustion, I was worried about my knees, the steep brutal 2,000 near the top on a treacherous poorly laid trail, and of course the rest of it too, down in the furnace. But now that we made it up at 9:40... of course were were going to the top!
Setting our ambitious aside, we decided to rest at the ranger station for a bit. Seeing my lemonade-colored pee, I confirmed that I was dehydrated (I had 1-1.5L left in my Platypus while I expected to go through it all), and set out to fix that as well as to get some food into me while Sarah took a nap on the ground. Suddenly a bunch of fresh, well-rested people showed up, some of them wearing flip flops. Turns out we beat the first tram up, which I think is badass.
The way to the top was mellow compared to the first part. We were actually able to do some running! Came across a hut shelter close to the top, and I left a Clif bar in the shelter for the unfortunate soul who would need to use it next. The last 50' was scrambling through snow and boulders to the summit, at 10,800 ft! We hung out there for a while and talked to some other folks, telling them about our crazy wedding idea.
I started getting antsy and cold, and I wanted to pee, so we went back down on our way. To my elation, my knees were holding up great on the downhill!!! I even started to second-guess that I wound up taking an Aleve, even though I remember deciding not to. Well, that was a pleasant surprise. While we still didn't do much running due to a rocky, technical trail and lack of energy, it was nice to know that my knees were not dead.
We got back down on the tram around 4:30 and took a cab back to the car at the museum.
I am disappointed we didn't get to run all the way back down... but we did great given the circumstances. The ultra mantra of "just keep moving" proved true here... even though it felt like we were going at a leisurely or at times slow pace... just by being able to move forward, we still made it up fast.
But we also had to stop at REI on the way to pick up Sarah's refillable tubes (for peanut butter!) that I ordered delivered to the store and to fill out our first aid kit. Well... the tubes haven't gotten there yet, but we got first aid stuff and another light for Sarah, so now we each have two. Also we were really hungry, so we stopped by a delicious Chinese dumpling place. This probably should have been a Subway to go, in retrospect, but so it goes. Including packing our Camelbaks for the next day, by the time we went to bed at our Motel 6, it was past midnight.
Needless to say I was not excited when that alarm rang at 3:30 a.m. Slowly we rolled out of bed, dressed, and did last-minute things... and were on the trail by 4:20 a.m. It was dark and hot. Hot at 4 a.m. That's a bad sign.
Well, no turning back now. We started briskly walking up the trail behind the Palm Springs art museum. I started out fairly low energy, as starts tend to be for me and had a hard time keeping up with Sarah. I ate a caffeinated Gu in an attempt to wake up. The beginning section is also really steep and bouldery. It's as if somebody just threw a bunch of boulders on a steep mountain-side, and we are going up that pile. Which makes it go slow... but at the same time very encouraging. Just 1 hour after we started we were already WAY over the city in Palm Springs. It's really cool to be able to get high so fast.
And once we got out from the heat trap which is Palm Springs (nestled between San Jacinto and San Bernardino mountains), it got a little bit less hot and a faint breeze brought at leas an illusion of coolth which lifted our spirits.
Around 5:40ish, the bright merciless sun rose above the horizon and illuminated the beauty around us. Desert hillsides and ridges covered in rugged thin-leaved desert plants and boulders with lots of boulders and red soil. The sun was still very horizontal, so it didn't really add to the heat, and we were largely shielded from it by the ridges. So far so good, we pushed on.
Sometime around 6ish I started feeling dizzy and light-headed and my stomach started feeling funny. Despite the sun still being low, I also felt hot. Not drenched in sweat hot, but hot. So I sat on a rock in the shade to regroup. It felt really good to sit. Why not just sit here for a while and rest?
Sarah suggested I eat something as I haven't eaten much. I was hoping that my big dinner was going to power me through the first couple of hours. And food seemed disgusting. But I took out a mint chocolate Clif bar. Thanks to the warmth it was nice and moist. I hate having to eat dry/hard foods while running, so moist is good. It tasted better than I expected so I started eating.
After I sat around for maybe 5 or so minutes, Sarah tried to get me to move my butt. "For every 5 minutes we rest now, it'd take 20 minutes longer due to the heat." I tried to argue that I should rest more... and it's not really 20 minutes... but I knew and hated that she was right and we should keep moving. So I forced myself to get up.
Being the limiting factor at this point, I took the lead and slowed down the pace just a tad. One thing I learned about running in heat is that you don't get to decide how fast to go. The body kind of does that and if you try to force it... well, there is serious risk of overheating and collapsing. I've pushed it and came close before.
Slowing down the pace just a little bit did wonders. I felt my rhythm normalizing and walking up the hill became easier. The ridges came and went fairly quickly and soon, lo and behold, the side of Long Valley was in our view. It looked closer than it should be! Wow, we're already so close? Long Valley is the plateau at about 8,500 where the tram is based as well as the ranger station. And it was interesting to see the transition from desert to mountains. Here we are surrounded by yuccas, desert shrub and a trail winding through red dust... and up there are gray massive monoliths with rich green pine trees.
At roughly the 2.5-3 hour mark we passed the high desert section which was really hot last year. The one where I got so hot that I collapsed under the pathetic shade of a bush and laid there for a while consuming copious amounts of fruit and fluids. This time we were doing so much better and faster! It wasn't quite as hot thanks to our early start and our energy levels were good.
One thing that I forgot about what makes this hike so hard is the poorly maintained trail. Even the flat sections were hardly runnable due to being overgrown with plants and covered with rocks and boulders. And we spent sometime figuring out which was the real trail and which was a fluke or a steep shortcut, even having to backtrack a little bit a few times.
Well... at one point the trail just went straight up the mountain. At first we were sure it was a shortcut, but it just kept going and going. The footing was treacherous, with rocks, loose sticks and sandy soil sliding from under my shoes. And it was just really steep. I think this is where both of us started to fall apart.
My stomach felt funny - I think partially due to trying a vanilla-flavored Clif gel. Never eating vanilla during running again! Disgusting. I had a hard time getting down food... or water. I ran out of my 3.5L Camelback at maybe the 3 hour mark, and still had 2.5L platypus to go which I figured should last me to the top. It was also close to 8 a.m., so the sun was now way above the horizon and the heat was starting to do its work. Oh yeah, and I forgot the elevation. We must have been at 6000+ by then... and I was feeling it, breathing heavily and energy levels plummeting. Also, my achilles tendons on both legs were feeling tender and sore and I was a bit worried because it took the left one a week to recover and it was actually in some pain. The straight up uphill was not doing them good. Elevation + lack of sleep... also not good.
And Sarah had a massive headache which was somewhat helped by an Aleve, but not completely.
I started getting worried about the Wasatch. Doing mental calculations in my head. If this was day 1... well, we'd be better rested for one, though the altitude would be similar. But Day 2... at that point we would have been going for 24+ hours, would be at some of the highest elevations of the course (10,000+), and the legs would be more sore than I can begin to imagine. I guess the only good difference is it won't be this hot, a big difference though it is.
Nevertheless we kept moving forward. What else is there to do? Our place slowed down a lot but we continued to trudge up, with an occasional very short break. Finally were were able to see the tram station! After what seemed like an eternity, the trail leveled out (i.e. started going up the mountain sideways instead of straight up!). I think we even spotted the place where I proposed, with a nice view of the desert floor and the opposing mountain range, framed by trees. That was a nice boost.
I noted that my knees were feeling shitty even on the slightest downhill at this section. And THAT was disheartening. Despite 2 weeks rest, some exercises and lots of foam rolling, the knees already felt bad after just a tiny bit of downhill. And that was a downer. But nothing to do about it now, just keep moving.
We were now up in the mountains. The soil turned from red to grey. Yuccas gave way to pine trees and down tree trunks. Getting close!
Finally the trail turned straight up again, but we could already see the top! This is where it got particularly hard to navigate at some places... but thanks to our experience last time and careful looking, we navigated it just fine. It felt like it took forever, though I think it was much faster than last time.
We stepped onto the plateau drained in 5 hours 20 minutes, much faster than the 9 hours last year!!! 11 miles and 8000 feet up. About 2 miles/hour in heat. NICE!
The plateau was completely empty, a stark contrast to all the people we saw last time. We found the ranger station which looked closed. Well, that's OK. I started filling out the permit and Sarah went to the bathroom - what a concept, a bathroom!
Trying to fill out the permit, I realized how utterly exhausted and shitty I felt. Weak, and dizzyish, with unsteady hands making for some ugly letters. Sarah's headache was raging, so she took another Aleve. At that point we knew we were not going to walk back down as originally planned. Beside the general exhaustion, I was worried about my knees, the steep brutal 2,000 near the top on a treacherous poorly laid trail, and of course the rest of it too, down in the furnace. But now that we made it up at 9:40... of course were were going to the top!
Setting our ambitious aside, we decided to rest at the ranger station for a bit. Seeing my lemonade-colored pee, I confirmed that I was dehydrated (I had 1-1.5L left in my Platypus while I expected to go through it all), and set out to fix that as well as to get some food into me while Sarah took a nap on the ground. Suddenly a bunch of fresh, well-rested people showed up, some of them wearing flip flops. Turns out we beat the first tram up, which I think is badass.
The way to the top was mellow compared to the first part. We were actually able to do some running! Came across a hut shelter close to the top, and I left a Clif bar in the shelter for the unfortunate soul who would need to use it next. The last 50' was scrambling through snow and boulders to the summit, at 10,800 ft! We hung out there for a while and talked to some other folks, telling them about our crazy wedding idea.
I started getting antsy and cold, and I wanted to pee, so we went back down on our way. To my elation, my knees were holding up great on the downhill!!! I even started to second-guess that I wound up taking an Aleve, even though I remember deciding not to. Well, that was a pleasant surprise. While we still didn't do much running due to a rocky, technical trail and lack of energy, it was nice to know that my knees were not dead.
We got back down on the tram around 4:30 and took a cab back to the car at the museum.
I am disappointed we didn't get to run all the way back down... but we did great given the circumstances. The ultra mantra of "just keep moving" proved true here... even though it felt like we were going at a leisurely or at times slow pace... just by being able to move forward, we still made it up fast.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Taking a breather
I decided to give the old legs a rest after the punishment of the last month and a half or so. I got to a point where my legs couldn't recover in between my weekend runs and took Aleve on the last three runs to help deal with knee pain/inflammation. So the last couple of weeks I did one little run, some working out at the Gym and a bike ride.
It's been nice and my legs haven't felt this good months! Even my shin feels pretty much brand new and my knees feel normal again. Wow.
I also saw a personal trainer - someone my boss and his wife recommended. She thought I had really good running form (yay! not bad for never having any formal distance coaching and picking it up from Born to Run
and YouTube videos). She thought my knee issues stem from a tight IT Band and a muscle imbalance. So she mainly recommended to use a foam roller
to release/stretch the IT Band and a couple of exercises to strengthen the side muscles of my legs (i.e. inner thighs and outer) which I've been doing regularly. Also it's nice having someone knowledgeable that I can now ask questions.
But... break is over!!!
Tomorrow sairy and I are going to finish some unfinished business in Palm Springs. Last year we went there to do the Cactus to Clouds hike (C2C) from the Palm Springs Art Museum all the way up to the summit of Mt. San Jacinto, about 17 miles and 11,000 ft up one way. But due to a freak late spring snowstorm, the mountain was covered in snow and impassable without snow gear above 9000 feet or so. So we didn't make it to the top, though I did propose on said hike ;).
Well, now we're back with a vengeance to capture what has eluded us! Last year it took us about 9 hours to get to the aerial tram station (about 8,500 ft up). We went slow, had heavy packs, were subjected to 100 degree heat (due to being slow and starting at 7). At one point I had to lie under a bush for a while just to cool off.
So I'm hoping this year will be different. We're in way better shape. We are much better at managing heat, fluids, electrolytes and nutrition. We won't have packs - just CamelBaks stuffed with Clif Bars, Gus, and almost 3 gallons of water between us. And we're starting at 4 a.m. which should enable us to mostly avoid the heat on the way up while we're at lower altitudes.
So once we get to the tram station, we can refill water, do a quick up-and-down to the summit, and then do the grueling descent back from the tram. That will be a real test of my knees.
Also, I'm going to play around with a downhill running idea. Well it's actually an old idea. In my determination to break my heel-striking habit, as advised in Born to Run, I started landing religiously on my forefoot. And I think that's actually bad for running on steep downhills. On steep downhills, the angle is such that even if I land on the heel, the forward and downward momentum would have my foot roll naturally, if I let it, from the heel onto the forefoot. So even though I'm landing on the heel, there is little strike on it. Or so I think. Conversely, trying to land on the forefoot on steep downhills is awkward, creates a lot of braking force and is really hard on the quads and, I think, the knees. My trainer seems to agree. So... I'll give this a whirl! At least on the sections of the trail that are 'runnable'. A lot of it is going to be so steep that we'll be walking even on the down.
Other than this... the next 9-10 weeks are going to be intense training. We got the Headlands 50 coming up in July, and we'll be doing back to back 20-30 or 30-30 weekends. We'll be going to Utah twice to train on the course, and also we'll be going to Tahoe once or twice to get altitude training. So with luck and good preparation, I hope my body will allow me to get through all of that. Though I am prepared to step back at the first sign of injury or over-training. It's now getting to close to the wire to take unnecessary risks.
If we are indeed successful through this training, I believe we have a shot at a sub-30 finish. Still a long shot, but seems it would be within reach. We've been flirting with the idea a little bit. Partially motivated by the fact that the sub-30 belt buckle sounds way more exciting than the Finisher belt buckle. Inlaid turquoise or some crazy gaudy thing ;). But for now, the focus is on the training at hand. And 10 weeks later we'll know what shape we're in and decide what goals/hopes to set. No matter what, the goal is to finish and we'd be absolutely ecstatic if we do... though getting a sub-30 would be a cherry on top. A watermelon-sized cherry.
It's been nice and my legs haven't felt this good months! Even my shin feels pretty much brand new and my knees feel normal again. Wow.
I also saw a personal trainer - someone my boss and his wife recommended. She thought I had really good running form (yay! not bad for never having any formal distance coaching and picking it up from Born to Run
and YouTube videos). She thought my knee issues stem from a tight IT Band and a muscle imbalance. So she mainly recommended to use a foam roller to release/stretch the IT Band and a couple of exercises to strengthen the side muscles of my legs (i.e. inner thighs and outer) which I've been doing regularly. Also it's nice having someone knowledgeable that I can now ask questions.But... break is over!!!
Tomorrow sairy and I are going to finish some unfinished business in Palm Springs. Last year we went there to do the Cactus to Clouds hike (C2C) from the Palm Springs Art Museum all the way up to the summit of Mt. San Jacinto, about 17 miles and 11,000 ft up one way. But due to a freak late spring snowstorm, the mountain was covered in snow and impassable without snow gear above 9000 feet or so. So we didn't make it to the top, though I did propose on said hike ;).
Well, now we're back with a vengeance to capture what has eluded us! Last year it took us about 9 hours to get to the aerial tram station (about 8,500 ft up). We went slow, had heavy packs, were subjected to 100 degree heat (due to being slow and starting at 7). At one point I had to lie under a bush for a while just to cool off.
So I'm hoping this year will be different. We're in way better shape. We are much better at managing heat, fluids, electrolytes and nutrition. We won't have packs - just CamelBaks stuffed with Clif Bars, Gus, and almost 3 gallons of water between us. And we're starting at 4 a.m. which should enable us to mostly avoid the heat on the way up while we're at lower altitudes.
So once we get to the tram station, we can refill water, do a quick up-and-down to the summit, and then do the grueling descent back from the tram. That will be a real test of my knees.
Also, I'm going to play around with a downhill running idea. Well it's actually an old idea. In my determination to break my heel-striking habit, as advised in Born to Run, I started landing religiously on my forefoot. And I think that's actually bad for running on steep downhills. On steep downhills, the angle is such that even if I land on the heel, the forward and downward momentum would have my foot roll naturally, if I let it, from the heel onto the forefoot. So even though I'm landing on the heel, there is little strike on it. Or so I think. Conversely, trying to land on the forefoot on steep downhills is awkward, creates a lot of braking force and is really hard on the quads and, I think, the knees. My trainer seems to agree. So... I'll give this a whirl! At least on the sections of the trail that are 'runnable'. A lot of it is going to be so steep that we'll be walking even on the down.
Other than this... the next 9-10 weeks are going to be intense training. We got the Headlands 50 coming up in July, and we'll be doing back to back 20-30 or 30-30 weekends. We'll be going to Utah twice to train on the course, and also we'll be going to Tahoe once or twice to get altitude training. So with luck and good preparation, I hope my body will allow me to get through all of that. Though I am prepared to step back at the first sign of injury or over-training. It's now getting to close to the wire to take unnecessary risks.
If we are indeed successful through this training, I believe we have a shot at a sub-30 finish. Still a long shot, but seems it would be within reach. We've been flirting with the idea a little bit. Partially motivated by the fact that the sub-30 belt buckle sounds way more exciting than the Finisher belt buckle. Inlaid turquoise or some crazy gaudy thing ;). But for now, the focus is on the training at hand. And 10 weeks later we'll know what shape we're in and decide what goals/hopes to set. No matter what, the goal is to finish and we'd be absolutely ecstatic if we do... though getting a sub-30 would be a cherry on top. A watermelon-sized cherry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)