Snow and the State of Unhealthy

We got our first significant snow in New Hampshire this weekend. This storm was considered a "freak" storm by many, including myself. I can't remember a Halloween in my life where there was snow on the ground but the 15-18 inches of snow that fell here was unprecedented in my 30 years. Last week I was in shorts and this week I was wading through knee-high snow to shovel out the cars. I was able to get some backyard turns in last night when the snow was "only" boot deep. Ha!

I have enjoyed the month of October here in New Hampshire. I have run a handful of times and have been able to keep my mileage down to 3 miles or less on each sojourn. The runs have been less than scenic but I was able to get up above one layer of clouds on a run up North Pack Monadnock (2,279') the other day. This is not typically done on the East Coast at all and especially not in southern New Hampshire.

My body has been feeling good. For the most part my joints have healed but my cardiovascular system has taken a hit. My heart rate skyrockets when I run and takes some time to lower to a more normal rhythm. I did need a break from training and I feel like I can settle into a base mileage phase for my winter running.

One more note: It appears I will be working the 3 pm to 11 pm shift this winter. I expect to be on a more normal sleep schedule this year and should be able to have a more normal training schedule.

Thoughts While Recovering

I have been going back through my stack of Trail Runner Magazines and Ultrarunning Magazines for several days now. Upon picking up an issue of Trail Runner that dates back to 2009 I began skimming the articles and reading the ones I had forgotten. I got to a particularly interesting article by Garrett Graubins who, I feel, writes in a pleasant and often humorous manor. The article describes two road trips that had been taken recently. One of the road trips was taken by himself, a seasoned trail runner, the other taken by a his friend, a seasoned road ultramarathoner. He compared the two trips in an amusing way. He (the trail runner) stopped several times to go for runs along the trail and took 3 days while his roadie friend took just over 24 hours with 4 stops total and lamented not driving sub-24.

This article struck a note with me because I feel I have strayed to the later in my posts this year. I set out to record my trail runs several years ago not with numbers, but with all the interesting things I saw or things I thought along the way. My early scratchings in my "analog" training journal of 2010 had some notes on wildlife that I had seen, interesting descriptions of the trail, and sometimes a discussion of a new idea I had thought of during the run. I don't think I do a very good job of that anymore. My latest blog postings have been filled with short, descriptions of the trail (not very interesting either), and statistics of how far and how fast I ran. While my records of this year do help me remember the important facts of my runs from this summer, they are not very interesting to anyone but myself.

My goal for this winter was to improve my writing skills. I still hope to do this. If I could write several stories a week filled with interesting ruminations cool descriptions of running cool trails then I could still keep my boring weekly summary with its technical writing. I could have both to look back on and remember and others would be more interested in the stories I have to tell. Believe me, I have plenty of them!

Trip Home September 2011

09/28/2011: Stopped at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge just outside of Des Moines, Iowa to check out some "hiking trails." What I found was two loops of ten foot-wide pavement sidewalk through the beautiful tallgrass prairie. If only it had been a real dirt hiking trail it would have been worth the fifteen minute one way side trip. Maybe I should just suck it up and admit that the landscape was beautiful despite the pavement. Beautiful, being rolling hills covered with head high golden tallgrass, flocks of Red-Winged Blackbirds, and occasional groves of trees... Naw!

09/29/2011: Stopped at Cuyahoga Valley National Park just south of Cleveland. I think I found a new place to stop for a couple of days on my way out to the West next time. The trail system would be worth a trip in its own right! I did a 0:26 minute out and back hike starting at the Blue Hen Falls Trailhead on the Buckeye Trail and it was just what I was looking for! Nice semi- to fully-technical trail that travels up and down the rolling terrain. I remembered seeing this in the Spring 2011 Runner's World Special on "The Trail" and now I can see why it is so coveted by Cleveland Trail Runners. The magazine states that there are 125 miles of trail here and what little I saw is that the trails are pleasant and easy to follow at a running pace (which can be a difficulty in Eastern North America running). I will be back after some careful planning and research on the trails here (beyond the Towpath and Buckeye Trails of course). There appears to be a guide book to the trails in the area and I think I will be purchasing it soon.

It is hard to say how I was feeling for the hike. The pace was strong but I could feel that my toes will be the last things to give me trouble. There was a great deal of pain when I stepped forward using my big toes to push off. I bet flexing them was beneficial but I think I should take it easier than even the 1.5 or so miles that I hiked today. Near the end of the hike the ligaments in my knees and my whole right foot were complaining loudly. Time to ratchet it back on the active recovery. I am looking forward to soft couches and soft beds. Tomorrow, tomorrow...

Upon Arrival

Upon arriving at home I have had time to do some research. It turns out that when I was hiking the Buckeye Trail in Cuyahoga I was actually reconning a section of the Burning River 100 mile endurance run (the USATF 100 Mile Championship). The races is not hugely appealing to me, being so flat, but it might be worth doing some day if I am passing through at the right time (Late July) and feel like an extra challenge.

In addition to finding out great things about Cuyahoga, I am finding some additional places to run along the way that might be worth taking a small detour from Interstate 80 (though I am not really sure that I want to take Interstate 80 anymore on my trips west). In my large stack of magazines I am finding old articles that claim "The 6 Best Cities to Live in" or the "25 Best Trails to Run in North America" and the like. I am taking careful notes and doing additional research in order to continue finding trails for road trips in the future.

But for now I am still healing from the Bear 100. My left foot still hurts from time to time and I am waiting for it to stop raining long enough for me to start going on rehabilitation hikes. I am excited to start running again but I am going to make the effort to stop running for at least a month or so. Too bad because the leaves are changing here and the running would be quite gorgeous!

Memories of the Bear

[This post may be edited in the near future to be less bland]

Looking back at my earlier writings the style of writing is very technical: "I was doing _____ and it made me feel ______. I was running on time or before and blah, blah, blah." It is one of my goals to improve my writing this winter, but I don’t want to take the time to start working on my writing style to be more creative before I write about the Bear. Right now I just want to record some of my thoughts before they are forgotten. So, I am sorry for the blandness of the writing. I promise more quality writing in the future.

The Race
I had a fast start. I found a good crew of folks to powerhike the initial ascent of 4200’ with. They had a good pace, a little more energy output than I had going at Leadville last year. I reached the first Aid Station in good time and continued to improve my time as I reached Leatham Hollow well ahead of my projected split. Thank goodness my crew was so well prepared and arrived early because I was running relatively fast and nearly missed them.

As the race continued the temperature got hotter and the sections were more exposed to the sun. I ran up Richard’s Hollow and came into Cowley feeling somewhat nauseas, with a painful left foot. In the following sections I figured out that I was eating too much and was able to reduce my intake to make my stomach feel better. The heat I just dealt with because I knew that we would be running into the night soon and things would just improve physically and degrade mentally.

I passed through Right Hand Fork and Temple Fork in a better mental state, arriving at Tony Grove just after twilight. Mark had arrived making our crew complete and I picked up Maryann as a pacer. We had fun running through the night and I admit to losing a lot of time on the sections to Franklin Basin (mile 62) and to Logan River (mile 69) and Beaver Mountain (mile 75) Aid Stations. Throughout the 11.5 hours of night I only traveled 24 miles!

My worst section was from Beaver Creek to Gibson Basin. I had not really spent any time looking at that section of race course so I was not sure what to expect. I think this was a mistake to learn from. Without knowing what to expect I have a hard time dealing with the pain. What could this mean for my future running 100 milers? What approach would I take if I were unable to recon any of the race? Perhaps I would need to learn to just accept not knowing what is next? Or maybe just knowing the mileage splits and elevation change would be enough. I suspect the later. I could imagine running Massanutten only knowing the elevatons changes on the course and following my altimeter watch for cues.

The rest of the race went alright. The pain in my right knee started to become really difficult to bear. I was taking a lot of breaks to sit down to relieve the pain. I was finding that after having the pain for 20+ hours I was needing some time without the pain just so that I could mentally prepare myself for the next section with pain. The climb up Ranger Dip Liftoff felt relatively good. Being the steepest climb on the course it exercised different muscles for the first time in the race and gave my other tired muscles and joints a reprieve. The final descent to the finish was difficult. The trail was steep, which put a lot of stress on the (already complaining) ligaments of my right knee. I made the descent in three sections, sitting down to rest in between each.

I did my best to run the final 1.4 miles of road to the finish. In about a mile of running on the road my left foot had sharp pain and I stopped for a moment to let the endorphins kick in. Brenden made the comment about the body knowing when it is just about time to stop and breaking down. I believe he is right. After a minute of resting I made the final push down the pavement to the park that marked the finish line. I was relieved to run down that final stretch to finish line with many folks to the right cheering me on. I did my best to finish in style with a running gait.

The after party was nice. I loved finishing early, being able to cheer for the final runners coming in. I ate part of a trout patty (delicious) and received my plaque and belt buckle. Proud to finish! 

The Crew
I enjoyed the crews energy immensely. Brenden was my Crew Chief and did a great job of coordinating the vehicles and people and pacing me to the finish line. He knew all of the details to take care of on the pacing side that made our team the “finely-oiled machine” that it was. Maryann’s energy and feminine presence was great. She volunteered her place to stay both before and after the run and it was really nice to accept. Mike’s willingness to drive and show up at every aid station was a huge addition. It was nice to check in with him at each aid station! Mark’s energy was also great. He was a perfect candidate for running through the night, suggesting some eating from time to time and very willing to allow me to sit for moment.

In thinking about it, the crew was the perfect mix of personalities to be so rock solid. I have heard from other runners that they have had a hard time with their crews at certain races because they are just so clueless. Here we had a crew that treated me so perfect I could never expect better treatment. I really need to do something for them…

The Unique Characteristics of the Bear
One of the things that appeals to me as a runner of ultramarathons is the uniqueness of each run. I heard references to the “Circus” that Leadville has become. I feel that the “circus” is all a part of Leadville and I like certain aspects of it. This year at the Bear the number of runners was far beyond the numbers of runners in previous years, but the feel was still that of a small race.

I had no idea if they were going to be offering some sort of live racer update on the website so that family could watch my progress from across the country. I assumed they were not, but when I got to the prerace briefing they told us that there would be a master spreadsheet on the web site that would be updated with a little delay. My family appreciated it immensely, a great success!

The presence of Errol “the Rocket,” Leland Barker (the RD) and Phil Lowry added to the character of the run as well. I had seen these folks in the documentary “Dancing the Bear” and these folks were represented perfectly in the movie as they appeared in real life. May they always be a part of the race!

There was so much that I enjoyed about the race. The venue at the end of the race was pleasant, running beside the crowds of folks hanging out to finish and the awards ceremony that followed. Leland’s dry and to the point briefing and awards ceremony kept me giggling with every sentence he said. Errol’s sound bites: “if you don’t like the soup at the aid station, well… just go to the next one and maybe they will have one that you will like!” and “the Rocket is just my name. I’m not really the Rocket anymore” and “they want us to mark the course so well that Ray Charles could find his way!” Phil Lowry’s geeky technical mindedness made me chuckle as well. Just look at the photos on the web. It was all so comical and obvious that fun was the goal of the race.

All in all this was a great race surpassing my expectations in almost every way. I am proud of my buckle and plaque and was already thinking about the next step just after crossing the finish line. I enjoyed this climbing course and am interested in doing more 100 mile runs with a lot of vert. I just need to rehabilitate my joints!

Weekly Run Log - Sept. 18-24, 2011

09/19/2011: Logan Peak Aid Station to Millville Pass. A fun quick run to the top of the pass with just a little vert. 0:45, 3.4 miles, 300' vert.

09/20/2011: Richard's Hollow Aid Station, 0:15 up the trail then back. Feeling good! 0:27, 2.0+ miles, 500' vert.

09/23/2011 to 09/24/2011: Bear 100! Look for race reflections in a later post. 33:43:21, 100 miles, 22,518' vert (according to a detailed mileage chart on the website).

Weekly Summary: 105.4 miles, 23,318'+ vert.