Yaktrax Versus Sheet Metal Screws

Que the theme to Rocky...
Coming this Saturday to a snowy Mt. near you.

It's Yaktrax

Versus

$2 worth of regular old sheet metal screws.

I only used 17 screws per shoe, but I might bump that up to 20 or 23.

I copied this idea from http://www.skyrunner.com/screwshoe.htm. We'll see which one does better in our NW snow.

Here are some pictures from my visit to Greenlake during Dizzy Days. I took the kids out for one loop. It only took us 2 hours.

It's a good thing Linda was wearing her football pants. She obviously stopped and played a few downs on the way around the lake.

Chuckanut 50k

Short version:
5:42, 12 min. PR, Bonked in the middle, muddy.
Longer ...
After getting up in the middle of the night, we show up an hour early to the starting line and the dang lot is already full. We found a spot at a nearby school and walked over to the start. Luckily we didn't forget anything because there wouldn't have been time to go back and get it. It'll be interesting to see what this race is like next year at a new smaller start area.

My splits were nearly identical to last year.
1st a/s I got there 3 min. faster but gave back 2 mins. in the bathroom.
2nd and 3rd a/s were less than a minute faster.
4th a/s was about a min. faster even with the bonking.
5th a/s was about 4 minutes faster.
And the stretch to the finish was 6 minutes faster.

The conditions were a little worse than last year but I was expecting much worse considering all the rain we've had lately.

Today the whole family went into downtown Seattle for the BigClimb. My ankles weren't very happy with me after yesterday so I didn't run it. Jenn did awesome. You can go over to her blog and read all about it.

Pictures by Glenn.

Orcas 50k

It's always a great time at this race. You get to ride on a Ferry and go to the San Juan Islands. And we had perfect weather.

I started at a pace that I expected to be able to keep for both loops (about 6 hours) but couldn't because of an unexpected extra 1100 feet of climbing per loop. Here's the profile of the course from my watch.

I could have (should have) slowed down halfway up the first climb, 2+ miles into the race, when I should have released it was 600 feet straight up not just 200 -300 feet.

By the time I finished the first loop in 2:52 I was already cramping in my calves and hamstrings from running too fast. I got in some really good training on tired legs in the second loop which I'm sure will help me as the year progresses and the distances get longer.


Funny stat, my 2:52 first loop would have but me in 20th place in the 25k but I ended up in 26th place in the 50k but only got passed by a couple people.


"Course Map" View behind my cabin
Early starters Come on James we're freezing

Halfway up the first climb
Glenn Tachiyama
Falls
Lake
Perfect day

Thank you and Goodnight!


**** here are a couple photo's by Glenn Tachiyama ****

Easy weekend

On Saturday I ran a DumbAss loop backwards so I could take it easy on my bum ankle. Jenn and the kids headed out on T3 and I was hoping to meet them at the top or at least on my way back down.
The trail started out muddy then as I climbed I started to hit a few snow patched here and there. Then it really started to get fun, as I went higher I was in a zone that I'll call frozen slush. The snow was packed to about 2" thick and re-frozen. So basically just nearly clear ice, very slippery but nothing compared to what some of us (not me... edit... I'll be at Orcas) will be running in next weekend. I made it up this part unscathed by hopping around and staying near the edges.
As the snow got deeper it became much less treacherous. A couple of times I decided to cut the switchback and climb straight up for 10-15 meters (where someone had slid down packing the snow a little). After the second time I decided that it was loads of fun but too much work.
Finally I made it to the top and hung a right onto the TMT. This is where the first two falls of the day came. This trail hadn’t been used in a while so I was breaking trail, post holing the whole way, sometimes just halfway to my knee others a foot past the knee. I tried to keep a good pace (pretty much run as fast as I could) without running off the trail. The first fall was nice and soft, kind of sideways onto my knees and hip. I’m thinking, hey that was fun. So I get up and start going at the same reckless pace. A couple minutes later I fell again, this time sinking both knees deep into the snow. I’m laughing, Shela’s all over me making sure I’m ok, then I realized I’m waist deep in the snow with my feet pinned back against my rear-end and I can’t move. I finally free myself (it wasn’t really that hard) and start running again at a slightly slower pace. I called Jenn when I got to the top of T3 and found out they turned back and were sitting in the warm van waiting for me.
This freed me to run down the Nook trail instead of walking down the easy way with them. The nook was great. The conditions were the same as they were on the other side except in reverse. The soft snow gave way to frozen lumpy snow then wet slippery ice. I was moving pretty fast right before crossing the TMT and slipped, rolled, then slid to a stop. Again more fun then anything else. This time the snow made its way into places that had been warm. Brrrr!!! Pretty much right after that, the snow turned to ice so I slowed down a little. Falling on these big rocks or a root wouldn’t be much fun. I made it nearly all the way through before falling one last time. I was on a section that was smooth unobstructed ice for 12-15 feet so I just decided to slide my way down. Well just before the end my feet sped up and went flying forward without me. I put my right hand back to slow my decent. Good thing I had my water bottle in that hand, it acted as a nice airbag and prevented any damage to my hand or wrist. I think it is leaking a little now. The rest of the trail was mud so we washed off in the creek that crosses the Bus trail and headed home to warm up.
Sunday I went out for a jog down to Lake Washington and back that turned into a tempo run. The ankle only really hurts when going uphill or walking. I’ll try to take it easy this week so it’s better for Orcas.

Lord Hill

The return of Tim Lofton's Lord Hill Ultra was met with perfect weather and a trail full of happy runners. We couldn't have asked for better weather in the beginning of February. The trails were in great shape with only a dozen or so mud holes.
I carpooled with Shawn and Van. Based on our previous times (6:31, 6:57, and my 7:18) I would be bringing up the rear. I hate making people wait for me so I was going to try to keep up. The course was a little different this year and about 1/2 mile shorter per loop. It was a counter-clockwise loop with an out and back and a lollipop loop along the way.

I ran most of the first loop and finished it in 1:39. I had a nice long A/S break with some snacks and drinks. The second loop was a little slower, mostly because I reversed the lollipop loop so I could bomb down the steepest part of the course. This meant a slower return trip up the long gravel road. It was sooo worth it. At the end of the second loop my time was 3:34. I had been running most of the first two loops with Scott Tomchick but he had to cutout early for some good father son time. On the third loop I reversed the entire course which, in my opinion is the hardest way to run it. I really slowed down in the last 3 miles of the last loop because of a long climb, totally out of gas and almost out of water I crawled over the finish line in 5:46. I'm thinking reversing the course added about 20 minutes to my time. The great thing about going the opposite direction is that you get to see runners that are nowhere near your pace.
I still ended up with a 1:32 improvement over 2 years ago so I pretty happy with that. Next time I'll carry a little more water so I can actually eat (wash down) one of the 5-6 GU's I carried for 31.5 miles!

Pigtails 50k

I was hopping for snow when I woke up but it didn't make it this far south. After dropping the kids at granny's Jenn and I headed to the trailhead to start our lap together at 6 am. There was supposed to be a few others starting at that same time but I guess they started even earlier.

We got off to a pretty slow start. We had a couple stops in the first mile to remove rocks from Jenn's shoes and a couple to figure out holding leashes, bottles and lights, but we quickly got into a Rhythm after that. We passed Tc going the other way, I guess his trainee didn't show. Then Shawn pulling her spare tire, but by then it was light. We had a nice run. Jenn finished stronger than last year and only 6 minutes slower. Lap #1 time 2:21

I started lap 2 without Shela, cold and with very tight legs. Shela was just too distracted by all the runners and loose dogs, and I didn't feel like fighting with her for 3 hours. My legs were tight from running slow with Jenn. I think it's more work to go that slow then my natural or trained pace. Soon after I started Gwen caught up to me and we ran (or what seemed like sprinting) the 2nd lap together. I think she kept going faster in hopes that I would run out of breath and stop talking. And it worked on a few of the uphills. I guess she just asked all the right questions that turned me into a chatty Kathy. We finished the lap in 1:22 and I didn't stop until I got to the Port-a-Potty. Luckily she was gone when I came out, I don't think I could have made another lap like that. I had a nice long A/S break and then away I went alone again.

I felt pretty good starting this 3rd lap. I could tell I didn't eat enough but I had a gel and figured that would be good to make the last lap.

After about 7 mile TP caught me and we ran together for about a mile but I didn't feel like working that hard anymore so I let him pull away. I finished that lap in 1:31 (not including the A/S time) and again had to hit the head. Something didn't agree with me today. I'll have to figure that one out later. I dropped all my stuff and headed out for the Out & Back to make the distance for the day 50k. I figured it's only a couple miles so I pushed the pace. James was out walking the course and I passed him just before the turn around. I guess he got bored sitting around the finish. That's what you get for being so fast. I finished in 5:44.

Mega Fat Ass Figure 8

UPDATE:
I finished 7th out of about 130 runners that started, 100 made it to 17 miles, 25 made it to 25 miles, and only 15 of us made the whole 35 miles. WOW!

Due to too much snow, the Capitol Peak Mega Fat Ass course was changed to a double lollipop (or figure 8) course done twice. This meant less climbing and less snow and a lot more mud. It could have been a much easier and faster course but because of the condition of the trail it wasn't and there were many more people than normal that stopped at the half-way mark and the times would be slow or at least mine was. It's a lot of work to either skip, hop and jump over the worst parts, or just plow straight through. I heard a lot of runners complaining of hip pains, I guess from all the lateral motion.

The first loop was completely runnable. Weather you did or should was a different story. On the Suunto I recorded about 700 feet of gain which is less than a loop around Lake Youngs. I ran all of the first loop in just under 1:20 and kept going through the A/S onto the second loop. I knew that was way too fast but this was just a fun run and I was having fun. Plus I knew the course would be flat and I expected it to be easier than it was.

Not long into the second loop Shawn caught up to me. We ran within shouting distance of each other for the rest of the day. She was supposed to be running with Tc but she said he ran ahead, and I said "well he didn't pass me". I guess she passed him when he was in the bushes. Somewhere before we hit snow Glenn Rogers caught us, I think we had slowed a bit. This kept us entertained with Adventure Racing stories and sucked us into his 17 mile pace. OK I was in front so I can't blame anyone else. When we turned off onto the detour Glenn said "It's all downhill from here". It didn't matter if that was true or not, I put on my coasting legs and notched up the pace a little. We passed about 4 runners from there to the finish. A couple of them stayed with us and/or we were caught by a couple, because by the time we hit the dreaded clay trench the train of runners was 5 or so long (I didn't look back) and steaming full speed down the trail. Shawn was the caboose, I'm sure she was laughing at the ridiculous pace we were running, knowing we were only halfway done. But, I kept picking up the pace in short bursts and they would slowly reel me in. I guess I was a good motivator for them to finish strong. We hit the A/S at about 3:04, way too fast for this course in this mud. The rest of the train thanked me for bringing them in strong. I couldn't talk any of them into continuing on for another loop.

As I'm dumping my pack, Van comes in and out of the A/S in under 7 seconds, and that would be the last that I saw of her until the finish. After 5 minutes, I finally get my gear transferred around and Shawn and I head out for our second time around the first loop. It was a bit muddier and much slower going than the first time around. It took an extra 21 minutes to complete the 8 miles.
Another 5 minute pit stop at the A/S where we got to here about all the people who decided to stop at 17 miles. Maybe they were the smart ones?

The second time time around the second loop gave me 3 new joys. I nearly ran out of drink and had to shout out to Shawn so she would stop and lend me a few ounces to get me to the S&R water stop. I bonked a little right around the same time, probably because I was conserving my drink and not getting the calories I needed. The last thing was a real awesome crash in the dreaded V-notched red clay section only a few miles from the finish. My right foot landed a couple inches too far right and I was down in a flash. All the force was concentrated on the outside of my leg just under the hip. The leg is a pretty color today. It's a good thing I have a beefy IT band there to pad my Femur. After that I just wanted to get to the finish, quickly. Shawn let me lead (probably so she could keep an eye on me) and we blazed the last 2 miles to the finish. That loop was 22 minutes slower than the first time around.

Suunto Says
Distance: 35.3
Elevation Gain: 4888 ft.
Elevation Loss: 4701 ft.
Time: 7:02

Bridle Trails 50k

This year was the first year that weather was not an issue at Bridle Trials. It was raining hard over night so I thought it would be another year of sloshing through puddles that were over 2 feet deep.

I borrowed a portable AM radio from Shawn so I could listen to the Seahawks get their tails kicked. I guess I should have just concentrated on my running. It would have been a lot more fun Not knowing how bad they did until after I ran.



The first lap seemed to go forever. I was thinking that we must be nearing the end but my watch said I'd only gone 2.5 miles of the 5 mile loop. I thought it must be the game that was making time stand still. After the game, in the dark, time didn't move any faster.



My first two laps, before it got dark, were 44 and 48 minutes. It felt like I was running easy, not even working up a sweat. I started the third lap and almost forgot my lights. Luckily I didn't get too far before I remembered. I ran much slower after it got dark half way through the third lap (52 minutes). The last three laps in total darkness were 58, 1:04, and 1:03. I'm not that happy with the last two laps being over an hour but considering the amount of running I've done lately I can't really complain. Time 5:33, a 9 minute PR over the faster frozen course from last year.



Here's a couple a pix from Eric.




Running some where on lap 2. Steve helping out, handing me my headlamp.

Note: The brand of that head lamp is Hummer, it was a gift. Jenn said I couldn't post what I really wanted to write about the headlamp exchange.

Flat Ass 50k

Short version: Flat and wet and fast. 50K pr of 4:45 (unofficial) This was a great training run for something.

I haven't run on the hard stuff since my iUWR marathon. The Foot seems to be nearly 90%. I tried to run light on my feet and it cost me because I was using muscles I don't normally use.

The family dropped me off about 20 minutes before the start (we live under a mile away). I gave the volunteers my drop bag which was my dry clothes and an extra drink, and then I went and found a warm dry place to sit until the start.

At the start I immediately sprinted out with the leaders. That lasted only about 3 miles. It's one thing to horse around a little but there was no need to totally blow my chances of running a good race. And I can only run an 8 min. mile for so long. That's when Tc went smoking by me after his pit stop. I tucked in behind him for about 1/2 mile but he was doing 7:50's so I let him go. At that speed I couldn't have held up a conversion anyway. I filled up at the first a/s because I didn't really pay that much attention to the description of where they were laid out. I could have skipped it.

Just after the A/S Shawn comes flying up from behind me (dang am I doing 10 m/m here ... Nope, the watch says 8:20). I told her we shouldn't be going this fast ... then I subtly picked up the pace to 8:00 m/m. We didn't stay at that pace for long, maybe a mile ... I think I hear Santa ... I better get to bed. I'll finish up later.
...
We tried to run each other into the ground for the rest of the race (or at least it felt like it). We got to the turn around at 2:15(~8:40 m/m avg.). I knew I couldn't keep the pace on the way back even though it's down hill. We went through the marathon mark in just under 4 hours.

We ran together or with in 50 feet of each other until the last a/s where I stopped and Shawn didn't. I think she picked it up after that because she disappeared quick. I didn't feel like pushing that hard. That would have been more pain than what should be allowed at a "fun run".

My second half split was 2:30(~9:40 m/m). I think I could run this course in 4:30 if I was racing it on fresh legs and didn't run a DumbAss 50K the week before. I think this way was more fun.

Merry Christmas

DumbAss 50K

Today was the first of what is sure to become an Annual or even Semi-Annual Epic "Fun" Run on Tiger Mt. I can't wait until the summer edition (stupid Western). I'm sure it'll be stretched to a 50 miler or maybe a 12 hour. Wahoo!


When I first heard of the Dumb Ass I knew I'd like it but I also knew I wasn't in any shape to make 2-3 loops let alone 5. So I ran it a few times and dragged Shawn , Tc, and even Jenn along for some shared "fun".


We were lucky and the gate was opened early so we were able to park in the upper lot. We started at 7 in the dark. I guess some people forgot to bring a light. I didn't see them. The RD, mid-sentence, said it's 7 am go. I sprinted out to get ahead of the huge crowd. I was in first place for about a mile. Sam and Brock got tired of following me. I asked them if they knew where they were going. Someone said something like sort of or I've run here before. OK? Then just as we turned off the Nook Shela got me good and I ended up half down into the ravine. Luckily Bruce was there to help me back up onto the trail. Shela 1 /me 0, but I got her back later with a snowball. As soon I started the real climbing I knew it was going to be a long day. My climbing legs had no energy and felt heavy. It was as if I was wearing my 20 lb pack from last weekend. By the time I started down the back side Shawn, Don, Sam, Brock, and Bruce were way out of site and there was a herd of runners coming up behind me. Going down was much more fun, real fun, not stab the back of your hand with a fork fun. I was tight and not floating down like I usually do. As I'm running the home stretch into the A/S I see Shawn coming back the other way, 3-4 minutes ahead of me.



The second lap was very similar to the first. It was light out so the pace was a little faster but the climb felt exactly the same as the first time. Chris passed me on the way up and the snow was even more slippery. I was able to cruise down hill a lot more easily the second time. I passed Chris back on the way down. I also stared getting Calf and Shin cramps that would get progressively worse as the laps went on.

Lap 3 Chris and I passed each other same as Lap 2. The uphill was much harder than the first 2 laps. I came across Jane on her second lap.



I thought I would never make it up the hill on lap 4. I think few times it was 3 steps up 1 step back. By the time I got back down to the bottom I guess I had forgotten how hard it was on the way up, because there was no doubt that I would be going out for a fifth lap.
Lap five was the same as 4 but I had to stop more to stretch out my cramps.
All day I kept thinking, where is everybody. My goal time was 7:30. I ran a 7:55, considering how I felt at the start of the day, I'm pretty happy with that.

Western ... Bah Humbug!

UPDATE:
I copied this from the ws100 site. "There were about 1,350 applications received this year. The complete list is HERE. There are 357 slots available this year, 166 of which have been filled by "automatics," such as top ten male and female finishers in last year's Race, Two-Time Losers, etc. That leaves 191 slots to be filled via the Lottery Drawing and about 1,190 names to draw from. The odds of any one applicant being drawn is about 16% -- a 1 in 6.22 chance."
They had it listed has 37% for last year.


Well I didn't get in! Bummer. I'll try again next year and then in 2010 I'll automatically get in. What are they going to do when there are more 2 time losers (meaning the third year you get right in) then there are spots?

I did manage to do some running in the snow and got pelted with snowballs by the kids!! And they looked so innocent.