SMRG Tiger Mt. "50k"

The short:  Even after raining a months worth of rain in the last 5 days, most of the trails were in really great shape.   The route is a lot harder than it looks.  I got 36.6 miles with over 11k in elevation gain on my Suunto Ambit. There were no views today so some of the trails didn't make sense.


Pros:  You really do get to see a lot of the Mt while staying mostly on single track.  You get to go past the Dieter Spring twice making it a 2 bottle run. All but a few of the trails were mostly dry. I love all the new bridges.  It has a great finish.


Cons:  Since the route is long, the out and backs could be cut/shortened and you'd still be at 50k.  The loop around T2 seems silly while you are running it.  The Hobart-Middle Tiger RR Grade Trail is a real mess.  I almost lost a shoe. I ran out of food about 4 hours before the finish making the Chirico climb a chore.


I would run it again when it's drier.

The beginning!  Why are Monster, Bigfoot and UFO pictures always so blurry?

There are always dangers in the forest.

There were a lot of trails that looked like this.  I fixed 9 or 10 of them by diverting the off.  Most of the time it only takes a few seconds using your heel or a stick.

Beautiful!

I stream was way to high to cross today.  I had to use a broken bridge.  Very slick!

Most of the trails were really good.

Don't trip.

This was as close to a view as there was all day.

More wide open trail.  Not another person insight for the first 4 hours.

But when it was bad, it was real bad.  I almost lost a shoe in here somewhere.

I wasn't going as fast as this picture makes it look.

After about 5 hours the clouds, rain, and wind finally showed up for the party.

No sunscreen needed today.

Turnaround here.

... and they all fall down.  It looked like the trees were playing Rind around the Rosie.

In some places, there was no getting around the mud.

No view today.

Turn around here and head for Section Line. I had to race back to the car so I didn't get locked in.

Here is the gpx.

Still Alive

I have nothing really to say.  It's just been way to long since I've posted anything.

Watch for a post race report after Cascade Crest.

Western States 100 mile

Western States 100 mile run

Western Mug Shot

This story starts back in December when my name was drawn as one of the lucky few that get a chance to run this historic 100 mile race,  where it all began, the big dance, the track meet, etc.  I walked in the door from a 2 hour run in the mountains just moments before hearing my name called over the laptop speakers.  I was in shock, had it finally happened after all these years, OK only 4 but it seems longer.  It took a while to sink in but once it did the planning started.  How would I get into 100 mile shape 2 months earlier than normal? That was the biggest question resonating in my brain cells. 

The Plan

My plan was to keep it simple.  I simply moved up the typical training runs I normally do for Cascade Crest, my late August 100 mile race, by 2 months.  I also figured out my races the same way.  For example, my 12 hour May race was replaced with a March 24 hour race.  At the last minute I decided to go down and see the course during the memorial training event.  That was a very important step in making my race a success.  Had I not gone down, my confidence and pacing would not have been at the level needed to finish in a time I could define as “having a good race”.  My training had very few setbacks in large part to the sacrifices made by my lovely wife.  I sacrificed a lot of sleep, more days than not Jenn would wake up hours after I had left for my morning run, but she didn’t complain too much.  Other than too much snow in the hills the plan worked well.  No matter how hard I train, there’s always that thought of I could have done more, but I made it to the start healthy and ready to run.  Most importantly my mind knew I could do it.

Memorial Day Weekend Training @ Robinson Flats

The race

Race week came way too fast and I was packing right up until the day I left.  I’d been watching the long term forecasts for a month and it swung back and forth more than a pendulum on a grandfather clock, hot cold hot cold hot cold.  Eventually the weather settled on mild with some saying rain.

My goals and how I came up with them.  My first goal for the race was to finish, above all else that is the most important thing.  Finishing in less than 24 hours qualifying for a Silver Buckle, instead of bronze, was next on the list.  Then was to finish under 22:45 which is my fastest Cascade Crest 100(CC100) time.  Next up was finishing in 20:45 or less.  I came to this time by adjusting my CC100 PR by 2 hours.  On any given day, I felt that I could run this course 2 hours faster than CC100 so that would be a course adjusted PR.  Next were finishing under 20 hours, and then the ultimate pipe dream goal would be to finish on Saturday which would take 18:59 or less.  I came up with that Saturday right after the lottery, before I trained a single day for the race and more importantly, before I saw the course.  Once I saw how rocky the trails were I pretty much threw that 18:59 out the window.  I figured if I went for that right out of the gate I’d risk blowing up and not finishing under 24 or at all.  I also wanted to be in the top 10 in the over 40 age group.  I settled with a pace chart of 19:21 and 20:33.  Honestly anything slower than 20:45 and I would not have considered it a “successful race”.

I slept well but not long enough.  There was a party near my room and even an Earthquake so it took me a long time to get to sleep.  Race morning it was cool but didn’t seem like it was that cold for predawn at 6200 feet.  I knew I’d warm up fast going up that first big climb.  I went with gloves, arm sleeves, calf sleeves for extra warmth. I thought about a hat but decided against it. 

 Just as I thought, 5-10 minutes into the race I was plenty warm and sweating.  I went with a jog/walk strategy trying to use as little energy as possible but still moving quickly.  I settled in with some of the top women because they tend to run a lot smarter than the guys and their expected finish time was similar to mine.  About 2 miles up the hill the wind started up, followed closely by the cold and hail.  Yes I said HAIL at Western States!  I went through 5 different hail showers in the first 32 miles of the race.  The closer we got to the top the harder the wind blew which really brought the temperature down.  It was freaking cold!  At one point it felt like I was in a sand storm from the tiny windblown hail.   I probably would have lost my hat anyway.  I nearly lost my sunglasses from a gust that almost blew me over.  I thought those glasses would never touch the ground.  

Cold and Wet at mile 24! Photo by Glenn Tachiyama.

The trail after the first A/S (aid station) gets pretty primitive as you climb the rest of the way to the top.  There was no stopping to enjoy the views today.  You had to keep moving to stay warm.   I just wanted to get down the other side where it was a little warmer.  The trail through the wilderness, the first 28 miles, was supposed to be dry, but that was before this storm came in.  Some of those dry trails had turned into streams.  The first five hours of the race was pretty much running fast enough to stay warm but not so fast that you were going to blow up. 

My A/S times were fast (time in an A/S not running), not as fast as those with crew but fast for me. I was right on pace at Red Star Ridge and Robinson Flat.  After Robinson Flat there is a little uphill and then 15 miles of downhill. Unfortunately when I got to the top my left foot was basically numb, frozen from being cold and wet all day, I couldn’t get a good stride going.  I’m sure I looked like an albatross running as I tried to warm up on the way down.  Eventually, sometime after Miller’s Defeat, my foot and quads warmed up and I started passing back the dozen or so runners that had just passed me.   Dusty Corners went by and I was still on pace, warmed up and passing runners.

 Starting to finally warm up @ mile 38. Photo by Glenn Tachiyama

About a mile before Last Chance I was flying down some nice single track and I caught my toe on a rock or root or something.  I did a serious face plant wipeout, a first for me.  I had a bloody gash over my eye.  The blood was running into my eye clouding my vision.  I could see well enough to spot the ping pong ball size welt growing out of the side of my kneecap.  I knew I had to get up, test it out and start moving before the swelling took over.  I was a little out of it, I didn’t check for lost gear from the fall (rule number one).  Sure enough I lost a bottle and it was far enough off the trail that other runners didn’t see it either.  I limped down the trail, eventually getting back to into a run.  By the time I rolled into Last Chance I was feeling pretty good again.  The A/S volunteers freaked out a little but I convinced them I could see fine.  I had a drop bag here so this was a 3-4 minute stop and by the time I was running out of there I could hardly even walk.  The knee did not want to work so I walked and shuffled and after ¼ - ½ mile I was running again and within a mile I had my stride back.  I cruised down to the bottom of Devil’s  Thumb, glad to be sweating and losing those extra 4-5 pounds I gained up in the high country.  I drink half my calories so I had been gaining weight all day from being so cold but it was coming off now.  The climb up the Thumb was hot but I had trained for a lot hotter so I didn’t struggle too much.  The trail down to El Dorado Creek is sweet and I was moving very well.

I came into Michigan Bluff and the volunteers steered me over to the scale again, weight was fine so they directed me to the food and drinks, then out the other side toward the finish.  I got a couple hundred yards down the road and yelled out half under my breath, “FUCK” and did a U-turn.  I forgot about my drop bag, why did they not grab it for me, this is a very important stop, “come on keep your head in the game dumbass”.  Back at the A/S, I try to get my dropbag and they tell me I don’t have a dropbag.  We go back and forth and finally they start going through the rows of bags, I guess they could see the desperation in my eyes.  They eventually found it, it had been put in the wrong row. I hooked up my watch charger, grabbed some essentials and headed back down the trail.  That was very stressful but only cost 5-6 minutes, it could have been a lot worse.

I jogged along trying to shake off my second drop bag mistake of the day.  At least I remembered I had a drop bag.  Earlier at Robinson Flat (another medical check A/S) I totally forgot I had a drop bag luckily the A/S’s are really close together.  The next few miles were uneventful, Volcano Canyon was hot, the watch charger charged, the trails were dusty and wide, and the Gu was sticky.  I came into Bath Road and my pacer was there, he told me how great I was doing and off we went.  He told me Krissy was ahead me and Megan was behind me.  This was opposite of what I thought.  I hadn’t seen Megan all day so I figured she was way up there and I had left Krissy on the way down to El Dorado Creek, she had been struggling.  Oh yeah, her crew probably whisked her through Michigan Bluff in under a minute as I was searching for my dropbag.   Krissy ended up having a great race and finished about an hour in front of me.

My pacer, Alan Abbs, filled me in on what was happening with the rest of the field.  It sounds like it must have been exciting to watch.  This being our first run together he asked me a bunch of questions.  I was just happy to be running with someone again.  I filled him in on the happenings of my race, what he couldn’t see by watching the splits online.  I felt good; I had been running within myself all day so I picked up the pace just a little bit.  We ran into Foresthill and I quickly resupplied.  I felt good down to Cal 1 but on the way to Cal 2 I had my first low.  I was still eating but not as easily as before.  I gave back 3 minutes on the pace chart between Cal 2 and the River but I was still right where I needed to be. 

The River Crossing was not a good stop for me.  I changed my shoes but forgot the insoles so I had to do some transferring and ended up being there for 15 minutes.  The trails from here to the finish are truly the easiest on the whole course but I started to struggle.  I had trouble eating.  The food from the previous A/S would still be in my stomach when we rolled into the next one.  Before long I was fighting not to throw up.  After a few miles, it seemed like forever, I decided I wasn’t going to do this anymore.  I needed to run and I needed eat so that’s what I did.  It wasn’t long at all before everything in my stomach came right back out.  After what seemed like gallons of stuff, I was finally empty.  That was a relief!  Once it stopped I started in with a Gu and drink right away.  I changed to fewer calories at the A/S and eventually just a cup of Coke.

I was hiking up a trail/fire road and was passed by a runner which didn’t sit well with me this late in the race.  We were somewhere between A.L.T. and Brown’s Bar. I thought about it for a little bit and figured it was around 12 miles to the finish, time to push a little more.  I started speed hiking up the hill and within a few minutes I flew by that guy.  That felt good to pass him and the pace didn’t kill me.  In fact it didn’t feel any different than the pace I had been going before. So I cranked it up a gear and started running the uphill.  That didn’t kill me either.  I figured a Gu would be too much for my stomach so I just gassed up with Coke at the A/S and kept sipping on my GuBrew.  I went through HWY 49 in a flash.  I borrowed a cell phone and called Jenn to let her know what pace I was on and to make sure they were going to be at the finish when I got there.  That took too long, long enough for me to be caught by a runner so I started running as I said goodbye.  I ran out of HWY 49 up the hill and just kept running.  I cranked up the music and dug deep.  I pushed hard from a place I didn’t even know I had.  I wanted to be done, I wanted to be under 20 hours, and I really wanted to see my family.  I think I ran every step to No Hands Bridge.  Then, I didn’t run a single step on the bridge.  I knew we had the finish in our sights.  I basically took a long walk across it and just took it all in.  I was at Western States.  I am running the most historic race I know.  I just raced my ass off.  It was nice to relax.  OK, back to work and up the hill I ran, well most of it because it gets really steep in spots. 

 4/5 of a very tired Martineau Tribe.

As we approached Robie Point I saw the lights of another runner, and then heard the cheers of the A/S.  Megan was about a minute or two ahead of us.  I knew I had what it took to catch her but I decided not to.  My kids would be waiting at the track to run with me, my racing was done.  We jogged over to the high school, through the gate and on to the track but the kids weren’t there, so I stopped.  The volunteers were going crazy, yelling at me to run, RUN, you’re not there yet.  I just smiled and continued looking around for my three little ones.  OK “where are they”, I thought out loud.  So I start yelling for them. Finally I see them 100 yards away at the end of the back stretch.  Jenn figured 300 yards was too much for them at 12:30 am so she set them up at 200 yards out.  I went over to them and we all ran in together as Jenn and my mom cheered us on.  It was the perfect way to end a great race. 

I made a few mistakes along the way but it ended up a success. I finished in 19:47, 7^th Master, 44^th overall.   I could not have shaved very much time running the perfect race. Other than not falling at mile 42, I could not have run under 19 hours (the pipe dream), which is the only goal I didn’t meet.

 19 hour finishers!

I’d like to take these last few lines, which nobody will read because they got bored ages ago, to thank all my friends that had to listen to me ramble on about Western.  How I was never going to get in, and then how awesome it was once I did.  Also thank all the runners that met me out on the trail at ridiculous times of the day for really long runs through the rain and snow. Lastly I thank Jennifer, the most important person in my life.  She’s put up with me running ultras since 2005, without her support I wouldn’t be able to do these crazy things.  I point to her as the number one reason for my success this year.

Pictures from the Start, River, and Finish.
http://www.backprint.com/view_user_event.asp?PID=bp%1Es%40s&EVENTID=103175&PWD=0&BIB=271

Now that I’ve run Western States, what do I do?  What else, go to Disney Land!

 For my recovery I spent the next 4 days walking around Southern California theme parks.

 Cars Land, We won the race!

 Lego Land

 Beach flower 

   Golden Gate Bridge

 Racing the waves!

 Talking to Paul and riding the Sky Trail

 Not so sunny Crater Lake right before the snowball fight.

 Knee 5 days later.

 Knee one month later.

The all new Brooks Launch

OK it's just the same old Launch in a new cool color. This is still my favorite shoe so why change it when it works so well.

Those colors are listed as Black/Silver/Nightlife. Lots of Black and Silver but not much Nightlife.


Coming soon to a store near you.

And the winner is ...

I ran the 100 miles in 18:37. I couldn't have asked for a nicer day and I was done before it started to rain.

There were a few last minute guesses on Facebook that I didn't get a chance to add to the list but they weren't close enough to matter.

The closest guess was Scotty with his 18:30. Congrats!

I'll post a race report later this week.

LED Light Giveaway

I'm giving away a new Coast LED Handheld light model 7007 the Power Tac. This is a very bright 3 AAA battery light.




Coast is a fine Portland company that sells some pretty good lights at a fair price. And no they didn't pay me to say that.

To win it, post a reply here before Saturday with your name and your guess on how I'll do at the Pacific Rim One Day Run, a 24 Hour Endurance race in Longview, Wa.

My plan is to run 100 miles as fast as I can and then stop. Your guess should include the distance and the time to that distance. Just to even the odds a little, here's a little inside info. I've run one 100 week this year. I ran just over 300 miles in February, a personal best for any month. A few weeks ago I had a good weekend of 42 miles Saturday and a 3:27 marathon on Sunday (all on pavement). I'm currently sick but it's almost gone.

Good Luck

Brooks DNA

Here's a funny video for you Lost fans out there.

http://www.brooksdna.com/

Next week I'm giving away a Coast LED light. They're a good local (Portland) company with a good product and even better customer service. I've been using their lights for 3 years now. I had a light switch go out and since they don't have a replace switch they just sent me a whole new light.

98, 99, ....

Wow is it February already? January just flew by.

In January I started training again. I ran about 240% of what I ran in December. I ran Marathon/Ultra Marathons #98 and #99. I “ran” 26 times and took 8 days off. I’m injury free so far. Maybe I can double my mileage again next month.

The last few months of 2009 I took it real easy. September through December my mileage was 86, 69, 143, and 107. Yeah that’s per month not per week.

My next race will be #100 so of course I’ll run 100 miles. …or at least that’s the plan. I plan to run 100 miles at the Pacific Rim 24 hour in March.

Brooks Cascadia 5 Shoe Review

I just slipped on the Brand New 2010 Brooks Cascadia 5's. I will be running a hard hilly 50k on Sunday and will post my opinions about the shoe ASAP after that. The shoe is said to have a better feel than the Cascadia 4 did with only the uppers being changed. They feel good to me sitting here at my desk. Ha! Last year I ran a Marathon in the Cascadia 4's right out of the box.




It's was a nice day on Tiger Mt. this past Sunday, a good day to try out some new shoes. The tread on the Cascadia 5's is pretty much the same as last year. It performed just like it always does. The steep uphill and steep downhill were no problem. I never felt I couldn't trust the shoe to do what I asked it to do. I didn't slip on any wet tree roots, rocks or mud. I did slide a little on the wet bridges, as I always do.

The uppers did feel like they were a little more comfortable. They seemed to stretch out a little by the time I finished my first descent and I had to tighten my laces so my toes would stop hitting the end of the shoe. After that the fit was good. I didn't get any blisters or rashes. I did get that old comfortable feeling of "hotfoot" on the downhill a few times. That's when the entire bottom of your foot heat's up from friction when you are really pounding the steep technical downhill trail. If I wasn't comfortable and confident in the shoe I wouldn't be able to get that feeling.

I tried standing in a stream for a minute so I could see how well the shoe would do after being totally water logged. I'd estimate that in less than 25 steps the shoes were completely drained.

I think Brooks as found a good mix of a minimalists shoe that really helps you feel the trail, a little protection, good traction, and adequate cushioning. My only complaint is that it seems to weigh more than it needs to. My pair was about 12 1/2 ounces.


Disclosure: I get shoes from Brooks at a discount.

2 month Update

I know it's been a while but I needed a break. Since Aug 29th I've run a marathon, 2 50k's (both were a little long) and an accidental 1/2 marathon. I addition to those 4 "workouts" I've run an additional 16 times, but most of those workouts were only 2-3.5 miles. Hopefully I can get my motivation back and start putting in more miles.

Michelle's Grande Ass Marathon 9-6. This was just a week after CCC100 and I was pretty tired. I ran it on about 200-300 calories. Time of 3:41, 1st male, second place overall by about 10 seconds. It was a fun race running from Starbucks to Starbucks with a Monster hill near the end. The rain washed a couple markers away so I ended up doing an extra 1/2 and the course was also about 1/2 mile long.

Baker Lake 50k 10-3. I could really feel my lack of fitness at about 20 miles but still pulled off a PR of 5:37.

Ron Herzog 50k 11-7. Cold and wet. Ran negative splits but ended up with 4:43, 18 minutes slower than last year.

Veteran's Day 1/2 Marathon 11-11. I showed up on Wednesday thinking there was a marathon option but there wasn't. I decided to run anyway and ended up winning in 1:33 which is my regular marathon pace. I ran a negative split again but I could feel my speed going toward the end. My effort increased substantially to keep the 7 minute pace I ran for the whole 2nd half.

I ran in the Brooks Launch for all the above races. They continue to be my favorite racing shoe. I don't know what I'm going to do when Mud Season get's here.

Cascade Crest summary and giveaway winner

Finished that's always a goal.

PR also almost always a goal

Time goal of 21:15. I didn't make this one. I had a nearly perfect run through mile 81. From there the wheels totally fell off. I was sick, I was basically asleep walking and jogging the trail and since I couldn't eat or drink I had zero energy to move down the trail.

The good news is the the extra 1:30 in the last ~17 miles didn't prevent my PR. My time 22:45. Twenty minute PR.

The winner of the hat is Adam who guessed 22:45, so he nailed it exactly. Adam send me a note.

Brooks Hat Giveaway

I'm giving away a new Brooks Hat (black with colored accents) to the person that comes the closest to guessing my Finishing time at Cascade Crest 100 miler.

This is an easy contest.

*Just guess my finishing time at Cascade Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run as a comment to this post.
*Last day to enter your guess is Friday August 28Th. My birthday encase you forgot ;*)
*Limit! Only one guess per person.
*If there is a tie, I'll flip a coin.

Hint: 2006 I finished in 30:22, 2007 I finished in 25:05, 2008 I finished in 23:05.
Hint: I’ll be shooting for another aggressive PR. (could backfire)
Hint: This year the course is a little longer with an extra climb or two. (No Ropes, No Tunnel)

Good Luck!

Guesses so far...
19:51 Shawn M.
20:18 Tim L.
20:35 Jon Y.
21:08:36 Jane H.
21:20 Jenny A.
21:30 Jenn M.
21:33:07 Alvin C.
21:45 Laura H.
21:57 Colin H.
22:05 Linda B.
22:15 Jonathon B.
22:20 Mike M.
22:40 Tony C.
22:45 Adam
22:48:24 Eric B.
22:52 Betsy
22:53 Gilles
22:57 Michelle B.
23:00 Shawna W.
24:00:01 Talldog "MC"

Uphill Challenge

After reading about the Uphill Challenge and watching the video a couple times, I decided to do my own Uphill Challenge at home. I figured shooting for 1.5 miles would be a good goal in the middle of a training week.

I set the treadmill to 10% and 6 mph and set the timer for 15 minutes. After about 5 minutes I figured I could go a bit faster so I went to 6.1, 6.2, 6.5, and finally 7 mph. I tried 8 mph toward the end but that was way too fast for me. I ended up with 1.647 miles which was a lot better than the 1.5 miles I was shooting for.



How far can you go?

Whisky Dick Triathlon

I participated in my first ever triathlon this weekend. Well sort of... it was a relay team and I sprinted the 10k running leg.

It was a new and exciting experience for me. It's so different from the laid back ultras I'm used to running. The athletes are so serious about the race. There were a lot of bikes there that are worth more than my car.

The craziest and most amazing part is the transition areas. If you've never seen it in person, you should go watch one. They come running out of the water after a 20-40 minute swim while striping off their wetsuits. They change into biking clothes or already have them on under the wetsuit, add shoes, drink, and they are off to ride for over an hour. All of this done in about a minute. The bike to run was the same way except now they didn't know exactly where it go and after about 1/2 second of looking around some of them got this crazed look in their eyes like you just hid all their stuff so they would end up last.

Some of the people were amazing to watch. They came in calm and quickly changed and were gone in a flash. Some were in a frenzy trying to get it all done too fast and thrashing about which probably cost them more time in the next leg than they saved.

My race started by watching the cyclists come in from inside a little blue relay waiting area. After what seemed like forever (really only a few minutes), I spotted my biker coming down the road. He came running up with his bike and almost went right by me. He looked pretty spent so got down and took the ankle timing chip off him and put it on. I told him he did a good job and started jogging through the transition zone. Once I hit the timing mat I hit the gas and about 6 seconds later Jeff Hashimoto (a super fast ultra running, and also on a relay) goes flying past me doing 5 minute miles (he had the fastest run leg of the day, 33:18.7).

I'm not really very good at these short distances so I just put the hammer down and started passing people that had been out there competing in the hot sun for 2+ hours. I felt bad for some of them who were struggling and gave encouragement to nearly all that I passed. I wanted to start out with an easy 7 minute mile to warm up and then crank it up from there but with the tail wind I warmed up in about a minute and the first mile was 6:20. The John Wayne Trail made it harder to pass because of the soft loose gravel in the middle passing lane but that 14 mph head wind after the turn around felt pretty good.

I'm not sure how many people I passed maybe about 20-25. I was able to hold a good pace and effort the entire 10k. My slowest mile was 6:50. Part of that mile was the only hill on the course. My maximum speed was 15 mph, that was coming down the same hill. The 10k seemed even shorter than I thought it would be. I finished in 40:26.7 for an average of 6:31/m and the 8Th fastest run leg. I'm pretty happy with that.

The rest of the team did great.
Dave swam the 13th fastest swim leg in 24:09 and Colin finish the bike right in the middle of the 111 biker field in 50Th place with a time of 1:52:25 over a really tough bike leg that's into the wind and uphill.

Overall we finished 2nd in the Men's team division.

I'll post some pictures when I get them.

CCC training

This is just a quick training note from this weekend. I spent the whole weekend away running parts of the CCC 100 course. Big thanks to Jeff and Mike for putting this event together.

Early on Saturday I drove up to Snoqualmie Pass and then about 22 of us carpooled to Tacoma Pass. Some opted to start 10 miles down the trail at Stampede pass. After an hour drive, most on very dusty fire roads we finally made it to the start. I started a couple minutes behind the group because I was talking with Jeff one of the coordinators of the race. I’ve run this section of the trail 3 times during the race so I know it pretty well. I would be putting down arrows in the dirt at the turns so I needed to be out front. I quickly passed all but a couple runners. I didn’t put an arrow at every non-turn and side trail that I passed (there are just too many). A couple of runners, after running in the hot sun for about 5 hours got a little off track and did some bonus miles.

It was nice to see this part of the trail while not racing and during a different part of the day with different shadows. I ran a bit faster than during the race but it was a comfortable pace. I ended up running with Matt from the water stop at Stampede Pass to the finish. We came in first at 6 hours and 10 minutes. That’s about 30 minutes less and 2-3 miles longer than on race day.

After a good nights sleep at the WAC I was up and ready to do it all over again.

Sunday we ran the last 1/3 of the course from Lake Kachess to Easton. This is the toughest part of the race not only because it comes at the end but because the climbs are so steep. I chatted with local runner Tim Stroh and we decided to run together. Tim’s a better runner than I am so this gave me a chance to push myself to try and keep up. He also knows the course better than anyone, having been involved with it since it started.

Even though there was a group ahead of us, we marked some tricky turns with extra arrows and even waist high branches across the wrong trail. By the time we got up to No Way Ridge (that’s really the name of it) at mile 13, we had caught up to all the early starters. I felt amazingly well having run 31 miles the day before. I probably talked Tim’s ear off I felt so good. We stopped at a water stop for what seemed like 20 minutes and then again at the top of Thorpe Mt. to enjoy the view and chat with the ranger.

Sometimes I felt like I was slowing Tim down on the climbs but I would always catch right up on the downhill. We stopped again for water and even cooled off in the stream for a while. With about 4 miles to go I could fell my feet starting to hurt but my legs still felt good. The last 3 miles are really exposed so we heated up nicely. Running on a hot road gets old really fast so I was glad to be done at the Café instead of the Firehouse. We finished ahead of everybody else in 7 hours and 6 minutes. I think that’s about an hour faster than I’ve ever run that part of the course during training.

This year I’ve run miles 0-11, 23-53, and 68-99. I think I’m ready.

White River 50

Saturday, July 25 was the White River 50 mile race down in Greenwater, Wa in the shadow of Mt. Rainier. I wasn't as hot as they said it was going to be, but the humidity was high and so were the DNF's. Times were slower this year for most people.

My legs haven't been very fresh lately from all the heavy training so I figured it was a good time to push them from the start and see how they reacted. I didn't really have a solid game plan for the race. My eyes were still focused on training for CCC. I cruised quickly through the technical first 5 miles. I didn't even stop at the first A/S which I reached in just under a minute faster than last year. I started the climb with fellow Brooks ID member Ryan hot on my heals. I thought we'd be able to work together at least for the first half of the course but his broken toe had other ideas. I soon had a train of about 20 runners behind me. I asked Alison Hanks who had gotten in front of Ryan if she wanted to pass but she said she that it was a good pace. I was just running my own race and didn't care how many people were behind me at that point. I was passed by SRC runner Phil Kochik (finished 11th) and a few other guys, some of whom I'd pass in short order and others that would die on the second half of the course. Without realizing it I had lost the train and both Alison and Ryan were too far back to see through the trees. I'm sure they were there but if you look too long you'll take a dive into the dirt.

The 2nd A/S is just a water stop at a trail junction that the awesome volunteers lug everything to, 5 miles uphill. I filled one bottle and left the other one at 1/2 full. This is also where I passed some early starters, Karen then Rob and Jenny. I was still feeling pretty good and was on an 8:30 hour pace. This leg of the race was nearly 8 minutes faster than last year. I kept pushing all the way up to the first of 2 tops on that half of the race. But when the downhill came I wasn't my usual flying, balls out self. I just couldn't get a good stride going. It's like I had the E-Brake on. This continued all day. I really only had one downhill that felt somewhat comfortable.
At 18 miles I was worried that I would not be able to finish the race without injuring myself. I started going through DNF scenarios in my head. My knee had a pain in it that didn't feel like it could last another 30 miles. Maybe it was from the awkward downhill running more I'm just being over trained.



I took an Advil just before the A/S at Corral pass and was in and out quickly. I ran this section about 30 seconds faster than last year, but I felt a lot fresher this year. I soon realized that the knee felt much better. You see the trail slants because it's cut into a steep hillside and the knee was torquing sideways with every step. When I turned around at the A/S and ran the other way everything evened out. Yes, the knee was overworked going into the race but not so much as to cause a DNF.

I still couldn't get a good flow on the downhill sections but I didn't let it get to me. I was caught by Shawna Wilskey and we both passed Lisa who was just a little slower on the downhill and making my stride even worse. I stopped at the Ranger Creek water stop again and that was the last I saw of Shawna (she finished 26th right where I should have been). This part or the race was over 7 minutes faster than last year but 2-3 minutes of that was a fast A/S stop.

I passed about 6-7 guys on the way down to Buck Creek, the halfway point in the race. I still couldn't find that last gear that keeps me light on my feet, floating over the rocks and roots. By the time I reached the bottom I was getting frustrated with having to work on the downhill and was ready for a change. It took me just over 3 minutes less to run down the hill than last year but again I was feeling much better when got to Buck Creek.

Mistake #1
In the chaos of refilling bottles, drinking, eating, people cheering for runners coming in, saying HI! to everyone you see and trying to get back out onto the trail as fast as possible I forgot one of my water bottles at the A/S. This meant I'd be down on water and calories (it had sports drink in it) within a few miles and my race might be over by the time I get to the next A/S. I had a mostly frozen bottle of water that I was going to use to keep cool. Luckily nearly 2 miles down the trail, when I reached back to discover I had forgot my bottle, I hadn't used much of the ice bottle. I slowed down to think. First thought was that I'm screwed! 2nd, what a dumbass! I came up with the plan to take it easy and conserve, but not to go too slow because that just leaves you out in the heat longer. It was nearly Noon but luckily it wasn't as hot as they said it was going to be. I made it to the Fawn Ridge A/S which is halfway up the climb 2 minutes faster than last year. I felt a little dehydrated and my stomach wasn't at 100% but I knew if I drank extra at the A/S and then took it easy for a mile or so to let my stomach work, that I'd be fine and should be able to get back on track.

When I left the A/S I was only about 5 minutes behind an 8:30 pace but I knew that would soon be 10 minutes or I would risk being sick on the side of the trail for a while (which happened there last year). It was actually nice passing the spot on the trail where I was sick the year before feeling better than last time. My stomach still wasn't at 100% and I had already cut back on my calorie intake for fear of losing them. My legs felt pretty good climbing the rest of the way to the top. I ran some with Darla. We passed each other a couple times and I stopped to take my only potty break at the top. I started down to the Suntop road crossing with the intent of catching her and making up the time I spent watering the bushes. After a minute I got into a stride that was almost there. I was moving fast but I just wasn't as smooth and effortless as I could have been. I did catch & pass Darla and a guy she was following near the bottom. I had thoughts of being able to fly the 6+ miles down the dirt road to Skookum but that road is a lot different than a sweet, soft trail I was on. Without getting sick like last year this leg of the race was over 15 minutes faster than last year but now I was at 8:45 pace.



I was in and out of the Suntop A/S quickly and on my way down. The road wasn't as hot as I thought. I never did find my rhythm running down it. It seemed that I had to work harder and harder to hold the same pace. Darla passed me, twice. And finally, something worse happened.

Mistake #2
On the way down from Suntop somewhere near the bottom in the dust from the drivers speeding up the hill I lost something a lot more important than a water bottle. I lost all my motivation. I just wanted to stop. I wasn't that tired or hurt or even sick. I just wasn't into it and I knew I had a PR in the bag. Well I didn't stop even though that river looked nice. I was about a half a minute faster coming down road over last year. But 3 minutes slower than I should have been.

I last 6+ miles of the race really aren't that hard if you're fresh. It's a lot like the TrailFromHell on the CCC 100 course. It's technical but you can run it if you really want to or if you hadn't just run 43 or 70 miles (bonus for the TFH is that it's dark). I just kinda jogged down the trail toward the finish. I ran the flats about a minute faster than last year and in the last 2 miles I slowly picked it up because I knew I was nearing the end and that I could still get finished under 9 hours.

I finished in 8:59, that's 39 minutes faster that lst time. I'm pretty happy with that.

I'm ready for the real race or at least I will be in a month. I only have 1 more big block of miles then it'll be time to coast in to the starting line.

Grey Rock and Goat Peak

This weekend I ran Grey Rock 50k just outside of Yakima in 5:16 and took 3rd in the over 40 group behind Miles Ohlrich and Jim Kerby and 6th overall. Yeah Miles just turned 40 a couple weeks ago and Jim's knee and fitness are back ...great.

This race was a return to my roots. It was my first ultra and second marathon or longer race way back in 2005 ... 86 marathons and/or ultras later I shaved 2 1/2 hours off my ultra debut. This course is as technical as they get. Lots of big ass rocks and single track. Next time I run it I'm going to put foam pads on my ankles. I kicked a couple large rocks into the opposing ankle. Ouch!

I ended up not carpooling to the race. I rode my Yamaha Warrior over the morning of the race. That meant a REALLY early wake up. I was out the door a little after 3:00 am and made it to the start of the race about 25 minutes before the start. I just had enough time to change and hit the bathroom before the race started.

We all (the 12k, 25k, and 50k) started together but it worked out. I think all the 12k people were walkers and only 3 or 4 of the 25k guys were fast enough to be ahead of the lead 50k pack. Everybody thinned out into small packs pretty quickly.

I did not go out with the lead pack but kept them in site for about 4 miles. I hammered the single track downhill into the first a/s at 12k but did even catch a glimpse of them.
I went back forth with a couple of guys for the first 15 miles. They'd catch and pass me on the ups and I'd pass them on the downs. I think one of them did the same thing I did my first time there, take 50% longer on the return trip then he did on the out portion.

At the second a/s I was in ~7th place then I moved up into 5th on the return trip. Some how I was short on water a mile out of the last a/s so I slowed down a little and tried to conserve water. That only leaves you out in the heat longer needing more water. I was caught by the 1st female and we ran together for a couple miles. She was faster on the ups than I was and I was low on water so I let her go.

With 6k to go I stopped to talk to the Firefighters/Search and Rescue guys that were there. There was a new fire that was growing fast on a nearby ridge and we were being buzzed by numerous helicopters. They were up to date on the fire. That was good to hear. Only thing left to do was finish the race. I didn't push it too hard down to the finish. There are so many large rocks on the trail it was hard to get a good stride going.

After I finished I sat in a stream to cool my legs for a few minutes but the mosquitoes quickly found me and I was starting to get sucked dry. The after race meal was fabulous once again and the ride home was actually easier than I thought it would be.


Sunday I went up to Easton and did an out and back on the first part of the CCC course. I only did 22 miles and the pace was pretty pedestrian. The weather was nice and hot even though it was raining hard on the way up. It was kinda cool halfway through the run standing on a ridge line and on one side to see rain and green and on the other it was dry and hot. I made it back to the car in 5:15 almost the exact same time as the day before. I figured it was a sign that I should call it a day.

I'll have to settle for 90 miles this week.




Grey Rock 50K Trail Race Results
Tampico, WA
July 11, 2009

1. Chris Twardzik 34 Snoqualmie, WA 4:34:56
2. Miles Ohlrich 40 Seattle, WA 4:43:26
3. James Kerby 46 Carnation, WA 4:56:38
4. Benjamin Chaffin 33 Portland, OR 5:12:36
5. Tara Crowley 31 Portland, OR 5:14:09
6. Arthur Martineau 41 Bellevue, WA 5:16:48
7. Eva Lust-Wright 39 Yakima, WA 5:41:59
8. David Fullford 48 Issaquah, WA 5:47:36
9. Jay Clark 42 White Salmon, WA 6:04:45
10. Renbo Trout 44 Portland, OR 6:04:46
11. Herb Reeves 55 Olympia, WA 6:12:16
12. Annie Duong 30 Portland, OR 6:13:00
13. Mike Schmitt 41 Yakima, WA 6:20:06
14. Jeff Hagen 62 Yakima, WA 6:21:20
15. Gary Redwine 52 McMinnville, OR 6:21:47
16. Kristiann Vlieger 23 Sunnyside, WA 6:24:52
17. Andrew Lingbloom 21 Edmonds, WA 6:29:50
18. Mark Dahlby 45 Tacoma, WA 6:31:33
19. Eric Anderson 57 Yakima, WA 6:40:08
20. Francie Hankins 44 Spokane, WA 7:04:09
21. Harvey Hall 43 Olympia, WA 7:07:11
22. Brandy Garton 37 Enumclaw, WA 7:07:39
23. Debra Barnabee 53 Seattle, WA 7:15:36
24. Brandon Lott 36 Burbank, WA 7:26:56
25. Ron McDermott 48 Mt. Vernon, WA 7:27:20
26. Lisa Wheeler 45 Kirkland, WA 7:27:44
27. Gene Griffiths 46 Yakima, WA 7:33:12
28. Cheri Pompeo 57 Woodinville, WA 7:45:56
29. Rick Arnold 47 Yakima, WA 7:48:55
30. Dori Harrell 44 Yakima, WA 7:54:19
31. Cady Chambers 19 Roy, WA 8:15:58
32. Rick Haase 63 Shoreline, WA 8:24:53
Rainer Schulz 66 Roy, WA 8:24:53
34. George Midbust 55 Richland, WA 8:28:27
Micah Smith 53 Edmonds, WA 8:28:27
36. Dennis Rose 57 Portland, WA 8:31:39

R&R Seattle - 12 Summits double

I ran the R&R Seattle Marathon on Saturday and 12 Summits, about 34 miles, on Sunday.

Rock and Roll
My plan was to just run how I felt. I didn't know very much about the course. I checked the elevation the morning of the race to see where the hills were. The only roads I knew I would be running on were the I-90 Bridge and Hwy 99 on the new St. Patties Day Dash course.

I was in the first corral, which was fun. I was lined up just 10-15 feet behind the elite runners and I met a fellow ID member "Kevin", I think he finished around 3:02.

The first hour of the race went by really fast. I was chatting with Ryan and Shawna just enjoying a nice run. R&R has me at 21:48 for the 5k and 44:17 for the 10k. That 10k time included a mile split that was around 8 1/2 minutes from going up the hill at mile 5. Other than that I think I was running right at 7 minute miles. They also had a 9 mile split in there (I don't know why) of 1:04:33, seems like it should have been at 15k.
At around 12.5 miles the marathon and 1/2 merged together and it was a serious mistake by the race staff. We merged in with the 1/2 marathon runners that had averaged almost 2 full minutes per mile slower!!! So for about two miles I had to weave and dodge the slower 1/2 marathoners. It wasn't too bad except for the first half mile of it when we were all jammed into one lane. That was a serious mistake by the race staff, but pretty much their only big one, at least that I saw.

I crossed the 1/2 way point with Shawna right at 3:10 pace. I knew I couldn't keep up this pace once the hills came at around 15-16. And right on cue has I started on the last hill (set of hills from 16-20) I ran out of gas. I was passed by 6-7 runners. Some of whom passed me 4 or 5 times. Even as I was running downhill on the bridge nearing the turn around a found myself checking the pace on my watch and thinking something like, “this is downhill, why is it taking so much effort to run 7:10” or whatever pace it was at that moment. And “if this is so hard coming back up is going to kill me”. I had just finished a gel before the bridge and I guess it started to kick in because as the downhill turned to up I started to feel better. Right after the turn around I had a tiny glass of beer from a Laura, a local runner, and that lifted my spirits. It sloshed and foamed around in my stomach for about 1/2 mile but it gave me something to think about other than how I was about to crash and burn from running faster than my fitness level. At 30k I was at 2:15:32 and felling better.

Well I don't know if it was the beer and the bands or just seeing all my fellow runners going the other way cheering me on and telling me how great I looked but I started to feel a lot better. Not faster just better and as if it took just a little less effort to run that same pace. I passed by the 19 mile mark and did some quick (and simple) math. I figured if I ran 8:00 minute miles to the end I'd be right at 3:15, my PR. I guess the clock must have said something close to 2:19, plus 56 minutes. That’s about all the math I can do in my head at 19 miles. That lifted my spirits even higher. I ought to be able to just jog it in and get a PR. SWEET!!!

I kept doing the math at each mile marker, and kept checking my pace on my Suunto. I was running between 7:15 and 7:45 and averaging (I think) about 7:30. Then it was I can run 8's in and get a 3:14, then 3:13 then I stopped checking and just ran. At 24 miles I was at 2:54:16.

I also had in the back of my head that I would be running tomorrow and that was actually more important than a PR today. I ran the last 2.2 miles in exactly 18 minutes which isn't very fast (8:10 pace) but it did include a nice little hill as you climbed back up onto the viaduct. I finished in 3:12:16 an average of 7:20 mile pace. That's 3:11 faster than my last PR which was at Boston this year. I ran 1:35:10/1:37:06, that's a huge 2nd half PR for me. I normally slow way down in the second half of the race.

Jenn picked me after trying to make it through the maze of closed streets. I had a long ice bath a good meal and then we went to the Strawberry festival. I love fresh picked Strawberries. And of course I had to make a smoothie when we got back.


12 Summits
We had 4 runners show up to run this Tiger Mt. classic. Shawn, Tony (Tc), Linda “Lightening Bolt” Barton and I started off at around 6 AM. I felt better than I thought I would. I could go up and down the hills with just a little more effort than normal and the technical trails were no problem. We took it easy and did the first half in 4 hours. My legs felt good for the first 3 ½ hours then they just went dead. We had a nice long 15 minute break at the turn around then headed back up the trail. My pace was slow all the way to Middle Tiger. I guess that’s when lunch kicked in because I was finally able to keep up again.

We stopped for a few minutes to do some covert vigilante trail work on the back and still make the return trip in just over 4:30 hours. I figured closer to 5 hours. It was a good day to be out on the trail. The rain at 6 am had me a little worried but it eventually stopped and warmed up nicely.

I wore my Brooks Launch road shoe and they did great, for a road shoe. I did find the limit for the shoe. They are not good for very steep inclines. I slipped a little going up the Nook-Section Line trail in the morning, but coming down after 31 miles was down right dangerous. Maybe on fresh legs the lack of traction would be ok but I’ll not be testing that theory out.

I also took a few pictures to update my photo map of the trail. There are 2 new intersections from the logging operations. Watch for that in the next couple days.

Shoe Review: Brooks Launch

Update: I just ran the R&R Seattle Marathon in 3:12 (a 3 minute PR) in the Launch. They performed exactly as they did in my last race, the Lake Youngs Ultra, described below.

I put the Brooks "Launch" on Friday night and I didn't want to take them off. This is a very comfortable and soft shoe. I did some heavy lifting, loading up the trailer for the Lake Youngs Ultra. Being the Race Director I had a ton of things to do but tried to get to bed early, make that before midnight.

I was up before 4:00 am loading the perishables and heading to the start (wearing the Launch). I helped my volunteers set up and check in all the runners and at 7:00 we all started running. The race is mostly on dirt and gravel roads that aren't much softer than asphalt. I wore the Brooks Burn 3 last year but I had to switched to a trail shoe after 20 miles because my feet were getting bruised and sore from all the rocks. That didn't happen on Saturday. I ran the whole 29 miles in the Launch and my feet felt great when I finished. No blisters, no bruises, no soreness. I normally have some shin pain after running this race which did not develop this year.

The traction is not as good as the other Brooks road shoes but it's way better than the Brooks ST 4. The fore foot is well cushioned but the heel might have a little too much cushion. When my form broke down from fatigue, I did some severe heel striking and this shoe is not made for that. They transition from Heel to Toe very nicely and if you consider yourself someone that runs on your toes then you will like this shoe.


The shoe is very breathable and light. If you are a neutral runner this shoe will be your new favorite. If you are a severe heel striker I think it will wear out faster than your other shoes because it's so soft. If you pronate a little you may have to work this into your shoe rotation slowly so you can built up your pronation controlling muscles, ankles, knees, IT band, etc. or you could find yourself injured from a muscle imbalance.

I ran a short recovery run in a pair of Glycerin 6 this morning and compared to the Launch they felt heavy, hard, and the heel toe transition wasn't very smooth. If the shoes could talk they would tell you that they feel like the ugly stepsister.

I've been trying to come up with some "Cons" to go with all these "Pros". I'm having a hard time. You might not like the color, they are pretty bright. And I question the durability because they are just so darn soft. That usually means the shoe isn't meant to last.

Bottom line go try on a pair at your local running store and you will know right away if the shoe is for you.

I will be running the Rock & Roll Marathon in 2 weeks in the Launch. I'll post an update on how the shoe preformed.










Here's a little video from Brooks.




Let me know what you think of it by leaving a comment.

Brooks ASR 6 trail shoe review

This shoe is the trail or “All Season” version of the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 9.

That's actually a light grey not white.
They don’t just slap a lugged trail outsole on it, for traction, and call it a trail shoe. They also changed the uppers to better handle the rain, dirt and mud. The upper is made of a tighter weaved material to keep out the mud and there’s some Hydrophobic foam in the tongue and toe that won’t get heavy when wet. The ASR 5 had a different upper pattern from the GTS. Now the ASR 6 has the same pattern in the upper and the same mid-sole as the GTS 9. That means it now has full length BioMoGo and all the other fancy gadgets that make the GTS so smooth and so popular. To me this made the shoe feel a little softer than the ASR 5’s.

Here is a video from Brooks about the new ASR 6.


So what did I think? As with any Brooks shoe I didn’t waste any time breaking them in. I tried them on when they came in the mail, just to make sure they fit OK, and then I was off and running and running.

On Saturday I ran the Blanchard Mt. Ultra which is 33 miles of trails and logging roads. It has a little of everything (except pavement). I normally wear a straight neutral shoe like the Defyance or the Cascadia. This shoe is more controlling than either of those and it felt a bit more controlling than last year’s ASR 5. It doesn’t twist as much as the Cascadia’s on uneven ground or screaming down switchbacks. That can be a good thing if you’re looking for a little more protection on those longer events. They were comfortable all day (5 hours and 44 minutes) with no blisters or hot spots. The shoe had plenty of cushion while running downhill on the logging road but if you kick a rock or root on a technical trail make sure it’s not on the top of your foot because the tighter weave might help keep out water and dirt but it doesn’t do much against roots. I have the bruise on the top of my foot to prove it.

I also ran another 12.5 miles the next day on Tiger Mt. in the ASR 6’s just to make sure I didn’t have any ill affects from the extra pronation control. I’m happy to report that there were no problems with my IT Bands, knees, hips or ankles. If you are a neutral runner feel free to give them a try.

The new improved lug pattern did a good job (better than the ASR 5) on the steep climbs and the steep descents. I didn’t slip once or fall once either day. There was very little mud but I didn’t have any problems there either.

I would definitely recommend this shoe.


You can see the new improved outsole is a little beefier.


ASR 5 and ASR 6

Update:
Yes they gave me plenty of protection against the rocky trail sections, even hammering downhill, but I don't step on any large pointy ones.