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I know it has been a very long time since I have posted. I guess I just haven't felt like posting and I don't have any photos to share. Although the photo above looks alot like me at Whistler, it is a pilfered photo from their website. Pictures make the blog so much more exciting!
I have had two memorable and bloggable experiences since my last post:
1. Ran my first 50K since last May
2. Took a 3-day Ski vacation in a foreign country
Bridle Trails 50K Race
On January 13 I ran the Bridle Trails 50k race in Bellevue, WA. I wasn't really planning on "racing" so much as just trying to get out and have some fun. Oh and of course finish a race which as beaten me down more than any other. It is a little strange and sad that prior to two weeks ago I had dropped out of this race both times I had raced it! I think that I have only dropped from one other race in my running career! I should have never dropped from those previous two races, but in the past I was always able to justify the drop since it is a Fat Ass race and it is in the middle of winter. It means very little in terms of my fitness since I am usually just trying to build a good base during January. And alot of the time the weather is absolutely dreadful for this race. In fact, last year there was a downpour during the entire race and the temperature was around 35-37 degrees. It started snowing during that race and at one time I found a 100 yard stretch of trail covered by a shin deep pond!
This year the race and the weather were much more enoyable, although still challenging. It was about 25 degrees during the race and some packed snow and ice covered the majority of the trail. But at least it wasn't raining! One of the unique challenges of the Bridle trail race is that the race starts at 3 pm thereby requiring the runner to run at least 3, if not 4, 5 mile laps in the dark. When I think about it this really isn't that much of a challenge since most northwesterners have to deal with running in the dark on most weekdays during the winter!
I had a relatively fun time this year and finished with a somewhat slow time of 4:42 which I blame on a couple of bathroom stops, slippery ice and a slacker mentality! The true highlight of the race was getting to hang-out with a lot of runners who I hadn't seen in a few months. Some of the local runners are such amazing and truly genuine good people. It is refreshing and somewhat comforting to find others who revel in their sport and who value the way they live in much the same way as I do.
Whistler Ski Vacation
Last weekend (Jan 20-22) I drove up to Whistler with a group of guys for three days of skiing. I had a great time avoiding injury and shredding pow, but it was a little strange since I knew no one in the group which I went with. Most of the guys were Microsofties who somehow new each other through the digital world. I just got connected through the Mountaineers UTHRS group. The trip worked out great since there weren't too many responsibilities to hang with the group, but at the same time everyone was responsible enough to make sure that skiing was the top priority. We stayed at a ski in/ski out condo on the side of Blackcomb mountain with a defective hot-tub!
The only thing that perplexed me throughout my stay was the insistence of so many people to use the safety bar on the chairlifts. Although I have not skied at a ton of ski areas I am not used to using the safety bar. I have never really been too worried about falling off the chairlift, except for when getting on and off! When I have skied in Washington it seems like you can usually spot the safety bar users from a mile away. Generally they seem to be beginners, kids or nordic ski types. But at Whistler about 75% of the lift riders seemed to put down the bar, even quite a few rowdy teenagers! I discussed it with one of the guys in the group, Dima, who had lived in Canada for most of his life. He suggested that it is a cultural thing that many more people in Canada, and possibly elsewhere, were more accustomed to using the safety bar out of habit. This got me wondering if the use of safety devices whether lift safety bars, seat belts, bike helmets etc. was more prevalent in other countries and whether or not Americans (the U.S. kind) are less safety conscious. In this country are we all just a bunch of risk-takers or non-conformists and/or are does everyone else use safety devices because they truly believe in their safety or because they have been brainwashed into believing in their inherent safety? Personally, I am not so convinced that the safety bar is really very necessary. Maybe it is more likely that I will fall out of a chair than that the chair will fall off of the lift, but as long as I take care not to fall out of the chair then that shouldn't happen, right? Obviously there are too many issues here to resolve and they are primarily influenced by my opinion. I am guessing that my issue with the safety bar is really childish and probably has more to do with my resentment of nanny state control than anything else. Of course the safety bar is not a regulated device and no one is required to use it but it's heavy-use got me thinking about implied as well as regulated control. It appeared to me that alot of those people who used the bar may have used it due to it's feeling of safety rather than it's actual safety value. Lately I am realizing, more and more, that although I profess to being somewhat liberal in my outlook and politics I am really very libertarian. I definately value the responsibility of evaluating and choosing the way I want to live my life, or ride my chair lift! Now, due to karma, I will probably fall off my next chair lift!
Last Sunday, Matt and I hit the backcountry near Crystal Mtn. and learned why ski areas are in such high demand. I wore myself out skinning up Bullion Basin to do my first backcountry turns on the new AT skis. It took us most of the day just to get to the top of the ridge and it took less than an hour to ski back down. If I was a little more cynical I would have to say I didn't get my money's worth on that downhill run! Then again, I didn't pay any money to get to the top and we nearly had the whole hillside to ourselves!!
Last weekend I learned:
1. The kick-turn in my AT gear is even harder than with my tele-gear
2. I have to lock into the bindings in order to step up steep hillsides
3. Skinny skins don't work so well on steep ice!!
4. No matter how hard it is to get to the top and no matter how crappy the conditions are for skiing down, I can still have a fun time!!!
It was awesome to get to the top of the hill and look out over the Cascades, thinking of all that country which is completely neglected in the winter time. How impossible would it be to do a little ski tour to some of my favorite summer destinations, like the Enchantments?? Just dreaming, I guess.
We got some great views of Mt. Rainier. Sure wish I could ski on Rainier this year. Because of the flood damage, I doubt anyone will be doing much skiing on the Mountain. The upper parts of the mountain are normally relatively people-free during the winter. But this winter may be extra special in that respect. I know the mountain doesn't really care, but I like to think about the vastness and coldness of that mountain, all alone. The mountain is a little too large and over-powering for me to take-it all in on a crowded summer day, let alone a frigid cold and completely lonely winter day. It just seems so extremely wild without the people. I want to visit! Sorry for the Rainier rambing, but I just finished reading The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier by Bruce Barcott. This was a very interesting book and I highly recommend it to non-fiction junkies (like myself).
Today I was just doing a little surfing when I stumbled onto the Chuckanut 50k website. I have to admit I haven't even thought about this race since last year when I ran it and dropped out due to an injury. So I was once again surprised to see that the race is already full and I have once again slept through a race start. I know it wasn't a literal race start, but with certain races it is quickly becoming obvious that the race begins long before the gun goes off, or in the case of Chuckanut, someone yells GO!
According to the website the Chuckanut race filled in only 2 weeks and this is for a race that is on the other side of winter, in March. A lot of NW runners I know are starting to enter the slow-down or downtime for the year otherwise known as the bad weather, dark day, holiday busy time of year, December. Not only have I been trying to take it easy so that I don't build up mileage too fast for next spring, I have been trying to soften my enthusiasm so that I don't enter races every weekend. But this approach has just backfired since I missed my chance to enter one of my favorite races. It is even more annoying when I remember that I tried to enter too late for the same race a year before last. At that time I was then offered a wait-listed spot after I had already written off the race and re-arranged my schedule.
Generally I like to think of myself as a fairly organized person who plans ahead. But these sorts of races and lottery type races like the Western States 100 mile are starting to chop my hide. Last spring I made a special effort to gain a highly coveted entry to the McKenzie River Trail Run. In order to gurantee entry I had to schedule my time just to download and entry form on the first day it was posted and mail it on the same day. In the end, my efforts to enter a great and fun race yielded nothing because I became injuried a couple months before the race and had to cancel.
Of course none of my problems have been a result of poor race management or bad race directing. In fact, these races only continue to run so smoothly because of great race directors (thanks RDs). Sometimes it is just so frustrating that I have to not only train for races, I have to put in so much time coming up with a race schedule.
I really should quit my whining. I already know that the answer is just to do what I can to have fun. That is after all, why I run races in the first place! So I will try to mellow out about which races I run and when I run them. In the end it doesn't matter if I get to run Western States in two years or twenty years. Someday I will run it and on that day, or the day after, when I finish, that race will mean no less to me at age 50 than at age 30.
Being that the weather has finally improved, I decided to go ahead with the Birthday Challenge and test out the 34 year old body. Amazingly I finished my self-imposed challenge, but not without quite a bit of pain. Most of that pain was in my hands, feet and butt (of all places) due to the cold temperatures. Fortunately, I am suffering no long-term effects. Didn't loose any fingers or toes, but my but is still a little sore, two days afterward!
The temperature at the beginning of the day was somewhere south of 40 degrees and by the end of the challenge my car thermometer read a balmy 35 degrees. Other than that the weather was near perfect, with only a slight breeze on the lake and sunny skies after morning fog.
I started out by biking counter-clockwise around Lake Washington (maybe 50 miles?). Due to the cold conditions I wore just about all of my bike gear and even wore two pairs of socks. I was in full bike nerd regalia! The biking went well except for the bitingly cold wind on my face and the associated numb fingers and toes. Obviously, I need some more gear! A face mask, shoe covers and chemical hand warmers would have made the ride far more comfortable. Time: 3:18
Transition/Aid Time: 29 minutes
Next, I unloaded the kayak from the car, reloaded the bike and paddled off into Lake Washington. The plan was to paddle around Mercer Island, taking the shortest route possible. This is the stage which most worried me since I have never paddled around Mercer Island and have never paddled the assumed distance of 14-15 miles. Just as I launched, a small fleet of sailboats sailed by which further unnerved me. If sailboats are going sailing it usually means there is going to be some wind on the water! Amazingly, the paddle went smoothly until the last hour or so when my but went numb and I had to negotiate some choppy water with a slight headwind. The real kicker came when I landed and went to stand up. My butt muscles, gluteus maximus and/or minimus, were so tight that I could hardly stand straight and bending over was extremely difficult. I can only guess that the cold weather in conjunction with the tired butt muscles (from biking) and the long sit had contributed to a major case of BUTTFREEZE!! Due to the buttfreeze and due to the fact that I had a case of uncontrollable shivers, I took my time re-hydrating and re-fueling before the next stage. Time 3:26
Transition/Aid Time: 59 minutes
The final stage: the glorious run which never became glorious was to be a roughly 12 or 13 mile counter-clockwise circling of the perimeter of Mercer Island. Before the challenge I was excited to do the run as it was the only stage which I felt semi-prepared. I have run around the perimeter of Mercer Island on many occassions and felt prepared to weather whatever mental anguish I would have from the day's trials and tribulations. I was however, not at all prepared for the BUTTFREEZE. As I started out running in the cold and the dark (it was after 5:30 PM - that is the beginning of night, around these parts) I quickly realized I couldn't stride normally. My glutes were tight and wouldn't allow me to actually run. My stride was more like a shuffle, the shuffle of an old and worn-out man! Thank goodness, after about a half-hour of shuffling along my glutes warmed up and I was able to really start running. I started enjoying the run as I jogged relatively slowly, south along the western side of Mercer Island. Unfortunately, the run quickly degenerated into a fast walk on the eastern side of Mercer Island as I was afflicted with a serious case of runner's trots. Due to the lack of facilities available I ended up quickly, and sometimes painfully, walking the last 4 or 5 miles to the closest portable toilet.
Time: 2:37
Total Time: 10:52
Total Time Moving: 9:24
To most people this sort of pain and suffering may sound absolutely unnecessary and probably a bit ridiculous, but at least to me and at least on this day, I am glad I did the birthday challenge. Not just because I am the type of individual who gets off on setting goals and accomplishing them. But, rather because sometimes, at least for me, it takes a test of my own physical limits before I truly feel ALIVE. Maybe I am just a superfeeler? This is just a theory I have which originates from something I heard about supertasters. I will not go into it here and now. Maybe later.
Based upon the Birthday Challenge I have concluded the following:
1. I am definately getting older. To truly test this theory I will need to do the same challenge again, sometime in the future. This probably won't happen as I have too many other challenges I would like to do, instead!
2. I would much rather do my birthday challenge during the summer! I might have to do next year's challenge a month or two before my birthday!
I cancelled my plans to do the b-day challenge today due to the cold and the rain! I am sure I will do it. Just not today! I feel terrible about cancelling, but . . . didn't want to do it so I didn't. I am going to go to my happy place now . . .
This information probably isn't necessary since I don't think anyone, except myself of course, is planning on coming to my Birthday Challenge. But just in case it matters to anyone, I think I will change the date of the challenge to Sunday Nov. 26. That way I can spend more time up in Bellingham for the holiday, my birthday, and for some possible skiing. I plan on trying to start the challenge at 8 AM on Sunday Nov. 26 at Enatai Beach park. I am guessing that the challenge segments will take the following time periods: bike 3 to 3.5 hours, kayak 3.5 to 4 hours, run 1.5 to 2 hours. I was going to try and create google maps of the segments, but this was not working out so well today. Maybe I will do this later. Happy Weekend!!
Since the election is over now and there isn't quite as much punditry, I will vent some of my own political frustration. I am not a big fan of Federalism, big government, Oligarchy or non-progressive politics, but the explosion of initiative politics is starting to piss me off! I think initiatives have their place, but currently they are being used as a political tool by extreme right-wing nutjobs. Take for instance Initiative 933 which was put before voters in Washington State. Basically the proponents of this initiative feel that government regulation of their property is an unfair "taking" of property. Therefore, these so-called private property defenders put up this initiative which would require government to pay private property owners if regulations diminish the value of their property or the potential value of their property as a result of their development schemes.
Unfortunately, for these idiots, nowhere in the constitution does it state that an individual has an inalienable right to build a nuclear power plant on their property. Government, when overseen correctly by elected representatives, has the right and the obligation to regulate the use of private property and it's effect on the general public. Should your neighbor be allowed to build a coal-fired power plant next door without the government protecting you from the health effects of the development. To take the argument even further, shouldn't the larger community have the right to decide what sort of development they will tolerate. Right now we do this by electing representative government which, when working correctly, is supposed to reflect the majority views. Sometimes these views aren't even the most rational ones. Look at school board decisions to teach Intelligent Design as an example.
What is new is that the extreme right-wingers have taken the initiative approach since they are a minority and their views will not be reflected in the elected representation. The idea seems to be write up an initiative which makes the government out to be an over-bearing bad guy and maybe, just maybe, enough stupid or un-informed voters will knee-jerk vote in their favor. Fortunately, in the case of I-933, the Washington State voters were smart enough to smell the rats, and soundly defeated the measure.
I am afraid, however, that someday someone, or some minority interest, will hijack our state's policies through the initiative process. It only takes some careful marketing to create a powerful "mob" rule. We live in a democracy not an ochlocracy!
Ok, I will get off my soapbox now!
