Saturday, October 28, 2006

Thousands of Miles to Go


photo courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama

(Warning this is primarily a boring training entry - sometimes it helps for me to write down my goals. That way I will be stuck with them until they are completed!)

This last week I started on a training program. I started the 24-week, more than 70 miles a week, schedule by Pfitzinger et al. I have done this program once before when I was training hard for marathons. I am thinking maybe if I just put in the miles and I take my time with the build-up I can really get ready for next summer's ultra season. I can hope, right?

So today I did a medium-long 15 mile run and didn't feel too bad, considering that I also did two 10+ mile runs this last week. Boy, I have forgotten how tired the legs can feel when consecutive distance days start to add up. Maybe this is what my legs need in order to toughen up. You know the old saying, what doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger. Well, I've appropriated this saying when it suits me to serve my training purposes. If I gradually beat up my legs all winter then maybe they won't get injured quite so easily next spring!

My preliminary goals are:
1. Birthday Challenge on Nov. 25, 2006
2. Yakima Canyon Marathon on March 31, 2007
3. Bighorn 100 on June 15, 2007

If I don't get injured I will probably do quite a few other races along the way, but this year I want to start with some small goals. No more of this racing every weekend, unless I feel like Superman!

Legs don't fail me now! (feet too!)

Monday, October 23, 2006

Family, Friends & Fun


Family, Friends & Fun. What more could you ask for in one weekend? Here is a short summary of my Oct. 21-22 weekend so that next time I am making excuses not to drive home I can remind myself how fun a trip home can be:

1. I got to celebrate Calvin's 33rd by tasting all sorts of Latin American fare and hang'n with old friends. I also got to see Sophia who is getting big in a hurry. She'll probably be taller than me by the time she enters third grade.
2. I spent a little time and got a free lunch with the Brown's during the middle of a bike ride around B'ham. Bryan had just finished a Mtn. bike ride when I stopped by their house unannounced.

3. I saw a large proportion of the family, including my niece and nephew, Hazel and Lucas. Hazel is a little monster, or at least she sure sounds like one! I also got to hang out with my brother while doing a little work on his new dock.

4. I went on a great kayak trip to Saddlebag Island on the way to Bellingham. Although, it was sunny and I was on the saltwater the sea breezes weren't exactly ideal. The wind and the cold of autumn chilled my bare hands and gave me some rosy cheeks. At one point, I startled a sea lion who was floating at the surface. I actually think he was sleeping as his eyes were closed and he was just kinda floating along with the current. I had the island to myself for most of the visit, except for the island deer who I startled. This island is a little small for deer so I wasn't surpised when I found an area on the island where everything sorta reeked of urine. Obviously, I found the deer latrine!

Friday, October 20, 2006

A Lonesome Tree


Check out this one lonesome deciduous tree in a sea of evergreens. Sometimes I feel like that tree might feel: Different (that is if a tree could be self-obsessed and somewhat insecure).

Of course I don't think that it is necessarily bad to feel different. But sometimes it sure can make a person feel lonely. I thought about this alot when I went for my run yesterday.

Fortunately, I had a great run and my outlook took a drastic change for the better. The run started out sopping wet and ended at least 10 miles later under a noticeably brighter and clearer evening sky. I almost didn't go running when I saw how hard it was raining, but since I only ran 4 miles on Wed. I thought I've gotta go burn off some calories. So I took off on one of my old office loops. One which I haven't done in ages. Most of the loop is on roads but fortunately has relatively few stoplights so I could keep going with very few interuptions. Just about everything felt right, including my attitude! It is a little weird when a 10 mile run is more relaxing than vegging out in front of the black box. But I will take it when I can get it!

A Near Epic in the Enchantments


Last weekend (Oct. 14-15) I raced the autumn/winter weather to see some more of my favorite country. I drove over to the Icicle Creek Road area on Saturday and took off running up Icicle and French Creek Canyons in order to visit Klonaqua Lakes. The goal was to get to these lakes, which are about 9.5 miles from the trailhead, toss a little fly line and admire the view of the surrounding mountains.

I found all the solitude and autumn color I was craving, as nearly every twig and tree in the creek valleys was some shade of red, orange, yellow or green and I only saw one couple and a dog. Most of the day saturday ominous clouds flew by overhead with brilliant flashes of ultra-blue sky in between. At the lakes the sun even beat down for about 1/2 an hour prompting a little sunbathing on the rocks near the water.

It seems that the fish have taken their vacation for the winter or have been taught enough lessons over the summer. I didn't see one fish, let alone catch one!
On Saturday I night I did a little car camping in the Icicle Creek Canyon. After a cold night with rain sprinkles I drove a few miles to meet a group of Seattle Running Club members at the Snow Creek trailhead. We then proceeded up to the Colchuk Lake trailhead where we started a one-way 18-mile run through the Enchantments.

Just before arriving at Colchuk Lake the rain began (about 3-4 miles) and then about 200 feet from the top of Asgard Pass the snow began! At the top of the pass five of us re-grouped, quickly ate, and donned every scrap of clothing we had while huddled behind a boulder. The snow was falling heavily with a significant portion of it blowing sideways! There was no discussion about waiting for the rest of the group. We had to keep going as some of us were in shorts!

Running on top of 4 to 5 inches of snow over rocks and boulders proved to be a little difficult but it ended up being a good traction test for our trail shoes, especially for Scott McCoubrey who was testing a beta pair of Filas. Fortunately, there were no catstrophic falls although I understand that Nick (Fila rep) ended up with a slight injury. Once I got warm, while running through the enchantments, the run became extraordinarily beautiful. The primary colors were white and gray due to the low clouds, rocks, and blowing snow. But every once and awhile the brilliant colors of the alpine larches would stand in stark contrast to the dull grey void. Not many people get to see the Enchantments under these conditions. I felt privileged.

Of course we all made it back to the cars at the Snow Creek trailhead, maybe a little tired, but no worse than usual for an 18-mile mountain run. Several of us made a stop in at Gustav's in Leavenworth for pints and food. Thanks to Nick for the grub and thanks to SRC for another great Enchantments run!

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Having Fun With Speed


On October 7th I had a blast running/hiking to the top of Mt. Daniel over near Salmon La Sac. I drove over in the morning and arrived to a very chilly morning at the end of the Tucquala Lake road. My car indicated that the outside temperature was 29 degrees! I was in for a glorious blue sky and autumn color day. All the heather, huckelberry and deciduous trees were showing their most vibrant reds, oranges and yellows.

Since I got kinda a late start, around 9 AM, I was a little worried that I wouldn't have enough time to get to the top of Daniel. So I did some relatively quick hiking and a little running. I was surprised to find that it only took me 3:53 from the car to the summit even though I got off-route for about 20 minutes trying to bypass a steep dirt slope! I was a little surprised to see a couple of climbing groups on the glacier when there is a much faster route without snow on the nearby ridge.

At the summit I enjoyed the view of the central cascades with one welcome friend, a large raven. Ravens are amazing animals notwithstanding their mythological signs and portents. He sat on top of the highest rock on the summit of Mt. Daniel surveying all the snow, bare rock and wilderness below like a king on high. For a moment I could only wish and wonder: what would it be like to soar like a raven above the mountains and claim your perch on the loftiest, most exposed and cold rock in the center of a massive wilderness. Unfortunately, this particular raven wasn't much for chit chat!

I headed down the mountain and out of the forest, taking my time to enjoy the exploding colors of fall. I tried to soak it all in as I figured this trip might be my last before the snows of winter cover the high country.

On the way back to the car I was a little startled when I came around a corner on the trail (the PCT section) and nearly ran into a little porcupine. I followed him down the trail and watched him for a little while when he climbed a tree. I felt sorry for the little guy as a group of teenagers came up behind me and another noisy group with dogs was on the way from the opposite direction. I wished him well and hoped that he wouldn't have a heart attack from all the attention, then took off. When I encountered the group with dogs I warned them to leash their pets, primarily for the sake of the porcupine! The best picture I could get of the little guy is shown below:

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Birthday Challenge


I am planning my Birthday Challenge for Saturday November 25. This will be for birthday number 34. This is not my exact birthdate, but Saturday will probably work better due to the holiday, etc. Anyone and everyone is invited to attend, but I will warn you it will not be exciting and it will probably be raining!

If you have never heard of a Birthday Challenge you should check out this site: http://www.birthdaychallenge.com/index2.html

My Birthday Challenge for this year (2006) is to bike around Lake Washington, Kayak around Mercer Island (in Lake Washington), and run around the perimeter of Mercer Island (on East and West Mercer Way and the I-90 trail). I am planning on having my starting point and exchange point be at Enatai Beach Park in Bellevue. As of today I have not decided on a start time but it will likely be early in the morning (probably before dawn) so that I can finish in the light at the end of the day.

I haven't figured out how far the ride, bike and run will be but I am guessing that the ride is roughly 45-50 miles, kayak 14-15 miles, run 12-13 miles. Right now the plan is to ride on the arterials closest to the Lake except for where I will be on the Burke-Gilman trail. I am also guessing that the challenge may take somewhere between 10 and 13 hours, but it could be much longer, especially if the weather sucks! Ah the pain and torture of getting a year older!

Please don't ask why I want to do this. If you don't understand why people run marathons or ultramarathons you definately won't understand the reason for the Birthday Challenge. I hope to see if the challenge lives up to my expectations!!

Friday, October 06, 2006

Visit to Mordor


On September 28, 2006 Heather St. Antoine and I hiked to the summit of Mt. St. Helens and witnessed geology in action on a large scale. Prior to our trip I had been pinning for the chance to see what is going on at the infamous St. Helens.

The mountain had been closed to climbers for at least a year if not two due to the small-scale eruptions and dome building which was occurring inside the 1980 crater. Finally this last May or June the rangers started allowing climbing again.

The last time I had been to the mountain was before the dome building began so I was excited to see the changes which had taken place and boy was I impressed. The dome within the crater is relatively large and growing everyday. The majority of the dome appears to be just a pile of rocks, but a portion of it consists of some very large rock monoliths which are standing at a near vertical angle. When we were there steam and gasses were released from different areas of the dome and crater area every once and awhile (15 or 20 minutes) while rockfall at the dome and the crater walls occurs at least once every 5 or 10 minutes. I could even pick-out some yellow staining on some of the dome rocks which I am guessing is due to release of gasses (possibly sulfur dioxide?). The whole scene really does impart the feeling of movement. It was way cool actually being able to see signs of volcanically induced change first-hand and in real-time! In addition, I couldn't help but notice that the view from the crater and across the 1980 blast zone resembled a fictional fire and brimstone place: Mordor (The Lord of the Rings).

On a sidenote and for future planning, the hike to the top took somewhere between 3 and 3.5 hours with a couple of breaks. This was not a hard hike and definately does not require an alpine start when done this late in the year. If it is windy a dust mask or bandana might be helpful. I can't wait to go back next year or this winter to see how the mountain has changed!

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

'If it don't kill ya, lord it'll make you strong'


Just heard this line while listening to Mofro. While this is not true in all situations it sure seems to be a useful mantra for someone like myself. When I start to feel tired in the later stages of a long run or when doing intervals I have often thought something similar: If it doesn't kill me (or cause serious injury) it should make me stronger. Sometimes it is so amazing how the human body can adapt to stress. If you train the body correctly it will no doubt be able to perform that specific task. The trickier task is to train the mind to continue on when the motivation is no longer there.

Although I am definately not in the best shape a bigger problem is that my training attitude has changed. Without some tangible racing goals I definately have a hard time putting in the hard miles: the long or fast road miles. So I guess this means I am going to have to start setting some running goals again. But this time I am going to be careful to allow for enough rest and downtime.

I found this old photo from last year's Seattle Marathon. I forgot that this guy raced me to the line over the last 100 yards. Boy was that a rush, pushing as fast as I could after 26.2! Almost makes me want to run the marathon this year. NOT!!