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25 2013 San Diego 100: A Burner

First steps of the 2013 San Diego 100 Miler. Photo: Jeff Johnson

What a tough race. A heat wave hit the mountains for a 48-hour period during the heart of the race to create one of the lower 100-mile finish rates in the past few decades  — 45%. In contrast, San Diego 100 usually has nearly a 70% finisher rate. Conditions with the heat and the exposure — a large chunk of the race being at 5,000-6,000 feet with no shade — made for a very challenging day.

The Course

Stonewall Peak at sunset. Photo: Stephanie Helguera Plomarity

The course is about 50 miles inland from San Diego with approximately 15,800 feet of climbing at elevations ranging from 4,000-6,000 feet. The terrain is rocky, exposed with very little shade for a majority of the race. The course’s main vain is on the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) and other trails the spur off the PCT. Temperatures tend to be in the high 80s to low 90s with higher temps in Noble Canyon (mile 25-44). This year’s heat wave made sure those “norms” were not the case. It was a scorcher.

The Race

At 7am sharp, we were off from Al Bahr Campground and Bandit (aka Rod Bien) took it out at a pretty healthy clip. First mile was 7:15 pace. I told Rod, “I’ve been worried about Dave (Mackey) taking it out hard, when all along it’s you I should worry about.” A little surprised by his fast pace, I gave Rod a little space, took it back one notch and settled into running behind him about 50-60 yards and Dave doing the same behind me. This stayed status quo into the first aid station at 7.5 miles with Rod gapping Dave and I a bit, as he kept on the slightly quicker pace. My split into Meadows Aid Station was 54 minutes (5 minutes faster than last year). WAY too fast. This had me pace check myself leaving the aid station. We left in the same order and off down the trail. Dave caught up to me and we ran together chatting about mountain biking. We could still see Rod on longer, open sections, but he was definitely still putting time on us every mile.

Just after race morning check-in. Photo: Jeff Johnson

Dave seemed antsy with Rod pulling away, so when we hit some double track, Dave pulled up next to me and took the lead on a mellow climb. We had pretty much quit chatting at this point and as we went into a series of little grunt ups, I quit trying to run Dave’s pace, as it felt like he’d picked it up a bit. I figured he was itching to go after Rod. So, I settled into a more comfortable early pace and took a deep breath. I felt like the race had now sorted the 3 of us out and this evening we’d see where we were. We were only 10 miles in and I felt the heat hitting and didn’t want to push too much too early. After letting Dave mentally go, I relaxed and just concentrated on taking care of myself and not racing yet.

We soon came into Red Tail Roost Aid at 13 miles with Rod, Dave and I about a minute apart. Still ahead of last year’s splits. Josh Nordell was there and gave me some words of encouragement. I just gave him a “mellow, it’s early” comment. More to verbalize this to myself than to him. This was my mental reminder over the next few miles as I ran down the double track to pick up the trail and run the PCT to Todd’s Cabin.

I got into Todd’s aid and they told me Dave had taken the lead by 1 minute and Rod was 4 minutes in front of me. I was still over 5 minutes up on last year’s splits and it was much hotter, which meant they were 9 and 10 minutes ahead of my course record pace from last year. I felt like we were pushing too hard for this early. And, to reinforce this, a little mental math also told me that Dave had run the last section over a minute a mile faster than me and Rod about 40 seconds a mile faster. It being a 100 miler, this is where I really had to trust my own pacing and not get caught up in racing. I felt like I was moving well and if I went faster, I’d be pushing too hard. Hopefully those guys were pushing too hard. Time would tell.

7am start...and we're off. Photo: Jeff Johnson

Leaving Meadows Aid Station (mile 7.4). Patagonia Teammate Keira Henninger handing off fresh bottles. Photo: Jeff Johnson

Getting close to the 3rd aid station, Penny Pines, There is a sweeping switchback and the trail backtracks up a ravine then back up another bare ridge where you can see the trail across the ravine well ahead of yourself. I happened to catch a glimpse of Mackey climbing. I made a quick watch check and a mental note of where he was. When I arrived at that spot, he was about 9 minutes ahead of me. Still going faster and it was getting hot.

I arrived Penny Pines (23.6 miles) still ahead of course record (CR) splits, got into my drop bag, new gels and was off with Mackey up 10 minutes and Rod up 9. The next section was where the heat hit hard. It’s a long downhill into Noble Canyon that gets increasingly more rocky, technical and more hot. When I got 2/3 of the way down, I passed some hikers at a creek crossing where I was stopping and dunking my hat and taking the time to get my shoulders, neck, and quads wet before leaving. They told me Rod was only a couple minutes in front of me. Early hot pace was catching up to him looked like. I was carrying two 24 ouncers and I was draining them by every aid station.

When we were just about a 1/2 mile from Pine Creek aid station (mile 30) I saw Rod ahead. He was in the aid station when I arrived. I had been rationing water for about the last mile or two but had not run out. Rod said he’d run out of water and looked at me, “you?” I said, “No, but it’s really freakin’ hot.” With that, we both went to the task of getting ourselves taken care of. This would be the last I saw of Rod, he had a rough time in the heat and his stomach went south and was throwing up. He dropped at Sunrise 1 (mile 51.3) — his first DNF ever in over 80 ultras. My heart goes out to him on that one. Rod is a fierce competitor and I really, really respect that dude. He’s a stud and hated to see it get that bad for him. He had a stellar and commanding PCT 50 miler a month ago where he crushed the course record.

Volunteers sponged cold water over my quads, neck, shoulders and head while I chugged 3 glasses of Gu Brew and got moving again for the hot 4.5 mile loop back to the same aid station in a very toasty Noble Canyon (NOTE: temperature reports were varying, but Noble Canyon reports were anywhere from 101 to 107 at the aid station. I would wager hotter pockets existed on the 4.5 mile section we loop, especially on the south facing side of the butte the course loops around).

This section I ran in just over 43 minutes last year and it was probably 15 degrees cooler. I felt I was moving pretty well and sure enough, came through this split 3 minutes faster than last year. I arrived back to Pine Creek just finishing my bottles and got really cooled down with the help of volunteers. I chugged water, ate a banana, and left with ice in my hat to grind out the 8-mile, 2,200 foot climb back up to the PCT.

I got moving up the old single lane paved road with some hiking and running transitions and let all the liquid I chugged settling in. About a mile up the road there is a bee hive in the base of an old dead tree right on the edge of the road. I was skirting that side of the road trying to grab any tiny bit of shade I possibly could get when I walked within 2 feet of the hive. I was immediately swarmed with at least a dozen bees. I started running up the road swatting bees away. Once I was a good distance, they gave up the chase only to be stung — BAM — by a single bee another mile up the road, right in the middle of my back.

I shook it off and was almost out of water 2 miles up the road when I hit the water/popsicle minimal aid station. Filled bottles, grabbed a mango popsicle and started up the road. I kept plugging away and soon was getting close to Pioneer Mail aid to pick the PCT back up. Hard climb in the exposed sun and heat. I was again rationing water the last 2 miles.

Arriving Pioneer Mail Aid station (mile 44.1), after the gnarly heat of Noble Canyon. Jesse Haynes ready to give me water to chug and swap fresh handheld Ultraspire bottles. Photo: Jeff Johnson

I arrived Pioneer Mail at mile 44.1, 19 minutes behind Dave. My crew said Dave was looking hammered and weaving. I was hot, but felt like I had got through the crazy heat in semi-one-piece. I knew Dave’s style and he likes to push it and was sure he’d keep putting time on me through through halfway, then I’d hopefully be able to start closing that gap. I got my core temps cooled down and drank a ton of water, I ran the next stretch to Sunrise aid 1 minute slower than last year. It was hot for sure at this point. I was just getting close when I had some hikers tell me Dave was 28 minutes ahead. Dang. he’d run that section pretty fast. But, my crew said he’d arrived and sat for 10 minutes and I’d only been there less than 3. So, he’d only really gained another 3 or 4 minutes on me…a little more than 20 minutes ahead, not 28. Manageable.

Arriving Sunrise 1 Aid Station (mile 51.3). Photo: Jeff Johnson

Jugging water at Sunrise Aid. I drank nearly 60 ounces of water at this checkpoint. And volunteers worked hard to get me cooled down. Photo: Jeff Johnson

Sunrise Aid Station at a little over halfway mark. Hot. Trying to get cooled down. Just chugged A LOT of water. Photo: Jeff Johnson

I took time to really cool down, left with a bandana with ice (thanks to Patagonia Teammate Denise Bourassa). The next section was REALLY hot as you run toward Lake Cuyamaca into the afternoon sun with absolutely no shade. I kept plugging along and focusing on taking care of myself. Again, rationing water the last few miles.

I was looking forward to hitting the the climb up Stonewall peak, after Stonewall Mine aid station. It’s the first spot you start to get a little tree cover, albeit sporadic. I got into Stonewall Mine Aid station (mile 58) to find out that Dave had taken a wrong turn at the main intersection of the start of the 29 mile northern loop just after the last aid station. This really surprised me. A veteran like Dave taking a wrong turn at a key spot on the course. It was marked well, with at least 4 or 5 ribbons and chalk dots on the ground. Not sure how he blew through it. Bummer for Dave.

I would like to give the course marking folks a little credit. It was marked. Brett Rivers — who ended up in 2nd place — confirmed it was well marked too. This was before they went out and “over” marked it. A good to reminder to everyone. This is a very important part of running 100 mile trail races. Not only studying the course to know key intersections, but also stopping at intersections to make sure you make a good choice and go the right way. Making good decisions, course recon (via in person or via map) is essential.

I spent the next section over Stonewall Peak just really going slow, I hiked most of the climb and ran the down at a mellow pace in kind of a distracted mental state, reflecting on how bummed I was for Dave and the fact that I wasn’t getting a chance to beat him fair and square. I’d held back in the heat and was ready to roll on this 29 mile loop and had started to see him come back to me at the last checkpoint. So it goes.

Arriving Paso Picacho Aid Station (mile 64.2). Photo: Jeff Johnson

Ice water on the quads at Paso Aid Station. Photo: Jeff Johnson

I arrived Paso aid station at mile 64 to a huge entourage. George, a good fried, Patagonia Team rep and crew master at last year’s race, was attempting his first 100. However, he had dropped early due to some stomach issues and was there to greet me with my crew. Awesome to see him. Scotty Mills (the RD) was there to ask me about course markings and I told him it was marked with chalk and ribbons. He seemed relieved. Knowing Scotty, he’ll OVER mark that spot next year. He also said Dave was making his way around the loop backwards.

I had some avocado, resupplied my gels, and got headed for Sweetwater. About a mile out of Sweetwater (about halfway around the loop) I ran into Dave coming the other way. I apologized to him and gave him a hug. As I jogged off, I stopped, looked back and asked “Rematch at Run Rabbit Run?” Hopefully he’ll take me up on it. I really meant it. He’s a good guy and I was bummed he took a wrong turn.

Running into Sweetwater checkpoint in the evening, mile 72. Photo: Jeff Johnson

I cruised along the next section still reflecting on Dave and that situation. I guess I ran that section okay, even though I felt like I wasn’t pushing at all. I ran 3 minutes slower than last year (where I felt like I was really pushing that section). At sweetwater, I sat down to eat. The only place I sat all day. It really mirrored my mental state. With Dave out, I was not pushing at all. I was just cruising along, finding reasons to take walk breaks and generally not having my head in the race. Enter George…

He bends down as I’m eating, looks me square in the eyes and tells me Brett gained 10 minutes on me on the last section and was in and out in less than a minute at Paso looking very good and very focused. He later told me my entire countenance changed at that moment and saw complete focus. I immediately got up and left and proceeded to run 85% of the next 8-mile climb back up to Sunrise 2 aid station. 5 minutes faster than last year.

I arrived mile 80 at Sunrise 2 at 8:11pm, at dusk. I got my lights, soup, new bottles and gels and was out of there with Jesse pacing me the last 20. He’s only the 3rd pacer I’ve had in fifteen hundreds, but he wanted get in a long night run so I was fine with having some company. We ran really hard until we had to turn on lights. I told Jesse at this point, we should have a good enough lead on Brett to just cruise it in. My quads were sore from fighting some form of dehydration on and off all day and were more tender than normal at this point in a 100. I knew from the last 10 minutes of going hard I could bring it if I had to, but wanted to save my legs and coast it in. He said cool and we silently cruised with me in front. The rest of the run was pretty uneventful besides a couple of good wildlife encounters.

Leaving Sunrise 2 Aid Station with lights on, ready to head into the night. 20 miles to go. Photo: Jeff Johnson

On the way to Pioneer Mail 2 on the PCT, we stopped to check out a huge Tarantula on the trail that went down a hole in the middle of the trail. Then, at mile 97 a skunk jumped onto the trail in front of us running down the trail about 20-30 yards in front of us. Jesse jumped in front of me and tried to scare it off the trail. It wouldn’t budge, just kept running down the trail. It’s a section of tall grass and shrubs and every time the skunk would run around a bend in the trail, we’d slow to a hike. Jesse would peer around the corner, then wave me to proceed. This went of for a 1/4 mile, until we hit a double track section and he threw a rock at it and it hissed and ran off the road so we could run by (fast).

Then, less than a mile later, we were traversing the meadow in the trees when I caught movement in my light to my left. I looked over just in time to catch a long brown animal on top of a big granite boulder jump down and look at me—green eyes. Cat. Brain processing…cougar! I yelled back to Jesse, cougar! He said, where?!” I yelled, “40 yards in the brush!” We were walking and looking and he caught it in his headlamp too. He yells, “I see it, I see it!” We started grunting loudly and making a bunch of noise as we hiked and Jesse picked up a large size rock. Just in case. I started running again and yelled back over my shoulder, “stop and check behind us every once in a while to make sure it isn’t tracking us!” He did and we didn’t have any other issues. I heard later that a cougar had been sighted in the campground the night before. This was less than a mile from the western edge of the campground, so I’m sure it was the same one.

We kept plugging away and I glanced at my watch to see that I had a shot at sneaking under 17 hours. I didn’t mention it to Jesse, but this was in my head, which helped me push a little through the last mile to the finish. We soon had the finish line in sight and I crossed the line in 16 hours, 59 minutes, 24 seconds for my 10th 100 mile win and 15th 100 mile finish. Hard but good day.

At the finish, a little girl came up and said in a cute little voice, “Congratulations.” I have a daughter about the same age and held my hand up for a high five. She kinda missed so I held my hand out to her level and asked her to “give me five.” She gave me a little slap and I said, “Oh come on, give me another!” She did but it was still a little weak cause she kinda missed. So, I said, “C’mon, ONE MORE TIME!” This time she had gained some confidence with practice and laid a hard SLAP on my hand. I said, “Ah YEAH!” and she walked away beaming. KIds are so cool, great way to end a 100 miler, connecting with a future little runner. Giddyup.

A little girl at the finish givin' me five. Photo: Jeff Johnson

Thanks

Big shout out to my wife and kids for all their love, prayer and support during the race and putting up with my training. I do try to minimize the impact on the family time as much as humanly possible and I appreciate their patience and understanding. Thank you, Jennifer. A special thanks to Patagonia and the decade of support they’ve given me…awesome pocketed shorts and some wickedly sweet shoes for this race…and the old school duck bill cap is back, baby! The gear is awesome. It’s an honor to represent such a responsible company. Big thanks to Keira Henninger and Jesse Haynes for crewing and Jesse for jumping into pace the last 20 miles.

Thanks to Rocho at Black Diamond for the stellar bright lights so I could get a good look at that cougar. Ultraspire for awesome handhelds and night time running would be a lot blurrier without Rudy Project glasses. Also, Barlean’s for the supplements. What a cool suite of products they have. Teague and all the folks at FootZone in Bend — if you’re in Bend, check out their new expanded space downtown. G5 for a long leash during the business day so I can live life. Mark DeJohn for the ART (Active Release Technique) and massage both pre- and post-race. Tracy at Ruby’s Lube (this stuff rocks the house, all natural anti-chafe balm…no gross, cancer-causing ingredients like all the other lubes out there), check it out. And, especially the Big Man upstairs for keeping my path safe, stink-free and avoiding being kitty dinner.

0 Spring 100 Mile Training — Staying Local

I’m traveling today and finally getting a deep breath to post. All in all, working on the new house, getting garden beds built and making a  house a home. Working full time, coaching, parenting 3 kids with my hardworking wife and training my rear off to get ready for San Diego 100. 34 hours to the start. Here’s a little look back at my spring.

March: Gorge Waterfalls 50k

After recovering and building mileage back up after Bandera 100k in January, I decided to stay close to home the beginning half of the spring and run local. A return to Rainshadow Running’s Gorge Waterfalls 50k was in order. This is such a beautiful race James puts on. Not only do you get a awesome sampling of the heart of the waterfalls that the Columbia River Gorge has to offer, it also boasts a deep field for a “low-key” race, great micro brews, bluegrass, and handmade pizzas at the finish line. Not to mention the weather was off-the-hook-stellar. 70s and bluebird skies. Unheard of this time of the year in the Gorge.

I went out easy with Patagonia teammate Ty Draney, who was coming from only snowshoeing and running in sub 20 degree snowy weather since the fall in Wyoming. 70s was feeling mighty hot for Ty and he slowed around 10 miles in, so I took it as an opportunity to pick up the pace a bit.

When we got to the out and back road section toward the turnaround, I had pretty good legs and picked a couple of guys off. I could see Hal Koerner ahead of me a minute or so and at the turnaround as I met Hal, he jokingly said, “What’d you do, turn into some kind of road runner?!” Ha. I yelled over my shoulder, “I’m coming to get you Koerner!” I grabbed my poker ship out of the bucket at the turnaround and soon popped off the trail, dropped my chip to a volunteer and took off down the road with the short term goal of reeling in GQ (aka Hal).

Hal doesn’t go down easy, so I put my head down and tried to hold a sub 6:30 pace. I had been doing some good long tempo workout and was even able to throw a 5:58 mile split in on the road. I gained ground, but he was still 30 seconds up when we hit the singletrack again. After a few short climbs and windy turns I finally caught him. Usually I can’t keep up with GQ in a 50k, but he’d been fighting a foot thing again. I feel for him, I hate when you’re fighting little stuff. I’ve had both PF and Morton’s Neuroma over the years. Not a fun thing to be dealing with. After catching Hal, I just kept rolling and soon picked off another guy. I ended up moving from 12th to 6th by the finish and taking the Master’s win.  Great trainer and good to hang out at the finish with Stephanie Howe, Zach, Hal, Ty, and Ian Sharman — whom I’ve trained  quite a few long runs this spring with before he moved back to the Bay Area.

Capped the Easter weekend off by staying at the Hood River Hotel with the family and hanging with my wife and kids in Hood River. Such a cool town and a gorgeous weekend to be enjoying the shorts weather.

Zion Nation Park

April: Patagonia Design Offsite, Rolled Ankle and Ultraspire Retreat

The week after Gorge, I headed to Portland for a design offsite with Patagonia to check out the Spring ‘14 line and talk design ideas for the future. It was a great 2-day session at the Ace Hotel geeking out on gear and hanging with the Patagonia design team and some of the Ultrarunning Team. Awesome and productive. I truly love supporting this responsible company.

After the design offsite, the plan was to train right up to Peterson Ridge Rumble 40 Miler in Sisters, OR and do a mini 4 or 5 day taper and use it as a build up for Ice Age 50 in May in Wisconsin. 2-days before the race, I was cruising in my neighborhood park  and was cruising on a buff section of trail while scouting a 1 mile trail loop for my kids to run (complete with quarter miles markers), when BAM stepped on the only rock on the trail while gawking and rolled my right ankle all the way to the side. I immediately hopped on one foot and knew it was a bad one — one that makes you sit down until your foot stops trembling. Sucked. I walked on it for about 10 minutes and it was ballooning. So, ice-backward treadmill hiking rehab regimen immediately, no Rumble 40. So it goes.

I have a pretty good rolled ankle rehab program, so I got to work on my ice-treadmill routine and had Mark DeJohn do some light work on it. 2 days after I walked 4 miles with no pain (gently), biked 5 days in a row, so no “endurance” days off and by 6 days, I was lightly jogging on a taped and still swollen ankle.

That Thursday (day 5) I was flying to St. George, UT for a design and testing retreat for Ultraspire in Zion National Park. I spent Friday hiking and jogging 8 miles, super mellow, and exploring a dome and a canyon with Speedgoat Karl. He’d just come off racing Lake Sonoma 50 miler Saturday before. Good to hang with the old goat as usual. We always have good times. Ankle was still visually swollen and purple below the ankle bone.

Day 2 I was able to run 3 times (morning, noon, and evening) — all 4 milers for 12 miles total. Ankle was coming around. I kept compression on it when not running and by Sunday Karl, Ashley Nordell, Scott Jaime and I ran an easy 15 miler to check out an arch. Ankle was fine on everything. Still had to go gentle on the downs, but swelling was lots better after all the running on it to flush out the fluid and bruising was gone.

After getting back, I kept training hard at Smith Rock to get ready for Ice Age 50.

Shake out run after travel day with Patagonia peeps. With George, Rod and Katie, and Ken.

May: Ice Age 50 Miler, The EVERlong, and Every Day May

May was a big month: peak training month, Ice Age 50 Miler, Patagonia Footwear meetings and my self-imposed training regimen of no running days off in may…”Every Day May.”

Second weekend in May I flew to Wisconsin with teammate Denise Bourassa and her husband Ken. Fun to hang with them for the race weekend. We had a cloudy and rainy weekend, but got a good couple of last shakeout runs in before the race.

The race went well. Super fast field this year. The race director, Jeff, mentioned it was the fastest top 10 race in the race’s 30+ year history. I had been doing some good, long tempo workouts all spring and they came into play on race day. The first 9 miles I was hitting 6:45-7:15 pace on the rolling XC ski trails in Kettle Moraine Forest and was in 14th place. I settled in and just concentrated on nutrition and turnover and good form. This course consists of a loop, then two out and backs (turnarounds at 26 miles and 40 miles). A great place to see competition and see how your doing in the pack.

At the first turn I was in 12th and the guys up front were running well (Josh Brimhall, Zach Bitter, and David Riddle). They looked strong when we passed on the trail. I picked off a few more guys on my way out to the next turnaround and by the turnaround at 40 miles, I had moved up to 9th place. About 2 minutes out of the turnaround, I met the first place woman, Cassie Scallon (on course record pace). I was kind of in a funky headspace here and that snapped me out of it. Funny how a little assault on the male ego can light a fire. I was quickly running a minute a mile faster and picking off a guy in front of me. I hammered it in and finished 8th place in 6:36 and good enough for the Master’s win. (Cassie ended smashing the 15 year old women’s course record by 18 minutes! A stellar 6:46…watch out for her.)

After the race, I jumped a plane to Grand Rapids, MI for the annual Patagonia Footwear meetings. It was an awesome week of geeky running shoe talk and trail running with The Dirty Herd and West Michigan Trail Runners, as well as Gazelle Sports. Highly recommend stopping in their shop if you’re in town. Met some great folks in Michigan and ran some great trails.

It was also a chance to show the Sales Reps the shoe I’ve been helping Patagonia develop the past 8 months. The EVERlong — a stellar trail shoe coming from Patagonia in Spring ‘14. It’s good. I’m stoked. It’s been my only shoe since last fall. I’ve run in NOTHING else. And anyone that knows me (yep, you know what I mean FootZone folks), this is not normal.

So, now I’m tapered and ready to roll at San Diego inside of 48 hours. Every Day May is complete (35 straight running days, capping off my final week of peak training with 96 miles and almost 15,000 feet of climbing). I feel ready — mentally, physically, and spiritually. I’m stoked to come back to this race. Great course, great volunteers and a great event. Love supporting it. Looks like it’s gonna be sunny and hot in the mountains on race day. I’ve done 5 sauna sessions the past 2 weeks. Let’s do this. Giddyup.

0 2012 Orcas Island 50k

Photo Courtesy: Glenn Tachiyama

This was a quick power trip to Orcas solo. It was good to get back to James’ race, it’s a killer course. Hard, tons of climbing…7500 ft and a great scene. I took off Thursday night after my kids were in bed and crashed in the Gorge. Got up early Friday, hit Seattle at lunch and hung with my brother-in-law, Andrew before pushing on to Anacortes to catch the ferry to Orcas Island.

This year I opted to crash in my rig. After a good night’s sleep, I got up, ate and did a short warm up before toeing the line. I knew going into this I was not in top form. After the broken rib and hand in November/December, I just hadn’t put in the volume I normally have on my legs by this time. Add to the mix that I (and my whole family) got the flu on Monday (5 days prior) and I knew I was in for a challenging day, especially the latter miles.

The weather was just gorgeous this year. Clear, sunny and brisk at the start, but it warmed up quickly and by 10 miles in I was down to light gloves and sleeveless jersey. Nice. The course was in stellar shape and I went out a little hot given my fitness level, but oh well.

I did pay for that “oh well” around 25 or 26 miles when my wheels came off. I was in 5th and 1st masters, but Adam Hewey, another strong master’s runner, came rolling up on me at 26ish closing strong like he always does. I immediately tried to suck on his heels for 100 meters or so, but couldn’t match his pace. Just wasn’t there. So, I just maintained the pace I was holding and hoped nobody else was bringing it home hard. I ended up staying in that position the rest of the race and rolling in for 6th place 17 minutes faster than last year in 4:55. Great race once again. James really knows how to put on a race. I highly recommend one of his races (rainshadowrunning.com).

Also, found out I got chosen in the Wasatch 100 lottery. So, September 100 is chosen. Giddyup.

1 Ultra Panel at Footzone, Wednesday evening, June 8

I’m back online after fighting a spring injury (yes, I’ve been silent…injuries suck and bum me out) and my wife giving birth to a new son in May. Still in the newborn haze of less than ideal sleep, but back training and glad to see some nice weather, FINALLY, in Central Oregon. So, to kick of the summer, and you’re in Bend, RSVP and come check out the Ultra Panel Discussion at Footzone in Downtown Bend on Wednesday evening (June 8). For more info see FootZone’s website. Should be informative from every angle.

Here’s who’s on the panel:

3 2011 Bad Ass 50k Fun Run

The 5th Annual Bad Ass 50k ended up being a cold one. It was 17 degrees at the start with about 2-4 inches of snow on the ground in the Horseridge area, east of Bend, Oregon. The Cinder Butte had a little more off the NW ridge ATV trail section, complete with a few wind lips that made for a couple of drop offs you could jump and get air off of (little heal grab or something fancy). Due to the cold conditions, we only had 4 finish the 50k this year. However, I was surprised to see a a big group show up to run the other distances (9, 13, 22 milers).

50k Finishers
1) Maximus, 4:01
2) Bronco Billy, 4:32
3) Slayer, 4:42
4) Fatboy, 5:47

I have a 100 miler coming up in March and wanted to use this as a 3-day training block for some good volume ending with this run on tired legs. So, I squeezed in 4 runs in a 51 hour window totaling 60 miles. Felt pretty good considering. All in all a great day. Here’s a little video highlight. Giddyup!

8 I’m still here…little update

End of the Bronco Billy "BRB"

Sorry for complete silence. Have been working like a madman, training for Cascade Crest 100 and trying to be a decent father and husband. Somewhere in there I just can’t squeeze in any posts. Wanna hear my excuse? Hey, it’s summer, I’ve been in the mountains.

July Update

Jumped in SOB 50k in Ashland, 3 weeks after Bighorn 100. Squeezed a 4th place finish in in 4:09. Quads were not quite recovered, but all in all great time down there.

August Update

Turned 39 at the beginning of the month. Did the “BRB” adventure for my birthday. Bike-run-bike. 23 mile singlespeed mountain bike ride, 19 mile mountain run, 23 mile mtb ride home. Great day. Have been up in the mountains every spare second I can afford. Some good runs  up into Broken Top and Sisters Wilderness, Three Fingered Jack, and summited South Sister this morning (5,000 feet of climbing, round trip 12 miles), and did recon on part of the Cascade Crest course last weekend (part of PCT section and mile 68 to 95). Gonna be an awesome course. Can’t wait…less than 2 weeks.

Michael Franti, live show in Bend

Hal (in white sunglasses). Crew came up from Ashland for his bachelor party (Bend edition), at Michael Franti concert.

Also, joined the Ashland crew for Hal’s bachelor party (the Bend leg) and went to Michael Franti & Spearhead. Awesome show. Good time and great to see the boys (Meltzer and Brimhall flew in for the festivities). Always good to hang with GQ Smooth. We even got “old man Bien” to come out and play.

Well, that’s what I’ve been up to. Hope everyone out there is having a good summer of mountain running. Okay. I’m going outside. Giddyup.

17 2010 Silver State 50 Miler

Peavine Peak

I headed down over the weekend to Reno, NV to run the Silver State 50/50. I was looking forward to running this, I had penciled it in as a training tune-up for Bighorn 100 coming up in June. I ran this race back in ’04 when it was the old course (before the fire) and was looking forward to testing my fitness after a 70-day running streak with no days off from March 1-May 9 and training hard through Way Too Cook 50k and Peterson Ridge Rumble 60k this spring.

Yassine, Ashley, Sean and I hit the road on Friday morning from Bend. After driving through the Oregon Outback, we crossed into California and stopped at a spot to get an easy run in to shake out our legs halfway to Reno. It was a fun run to cruise up a fire road and into some melting snow patches at 6000 feet. We even saw some bear tracks. Then, we bushwacked up a hillside and then down a drainage. for an easy 4.5 miles and a decent bit of elevation change. Then we jumped back in the car and cruised into Reno by about 5pm, went to pre-race check in, then crashed out. Ashely and I were running the 50 miler and Sean and Yassine were running the 50k.

After an early 4am wake up and some breakfast, Ashley and I headed over for our 6am start. Coming from Oregon we just don’t have any heat yet and I could tell it was going to be warm, as I was comfortable in my sleeveless jersey at 5:45am. At 6am sharp we were off and running and quickly up and into the exposed first sagebrush climb. A young University of Nevada Nordic skier named August Brautigam took the immediate lead and I settled into 2nd about 50 meters back as we started the 12 mile climb up Peavine Peak. As the sun came up it really started to warm up and by the time we hit a few miles below the summit, it was warm. August started to pull away in the middle of the climb, but I kept plugging away at a comfortable pace. About a mile or two below the summit, Joelle Vaught caught up to me and we ran together to the summit chatting a bit. We were able to reel in August and by the summit he was only about 20 meters in front of us. I got in and out and was only 40 meters back from August coming off the summit and into the descent off Peavine and within a 1/2 mile caught up to him. We ran together and chatted until just after the start of the Cal loop. I dropped back to take a gel and a salt tab and he gapped me a little. I felt comfortable and it was still early (mile 15) and I just wanted to cruise and not worry about “racing.” We ran the whole Cal loop in pretty much the same position. August about a 1-2 minutes up on me where I could just see him on long straights or open areas.

Soon we were back around the loop and crossed back into Nevada and hit the new singletrack section over to Ranch Creek and rejoined the 50k course. I closed the gap to 30 seconds on August in this section and headed down the steep singletrack section that heads steeply down to River Bend Aid near Boomtown Casino on I-80. I had been reeling in August on all the steeper, more technical sections and took this opportunity at about mile 32 to pass him and open up a small gap on the out and back section down to River Bend. I arrived into River Bend and got my gear swap out of my drop bag and started the long 6 mile climb back up Peavine Peak. I met August about a minute back and Joelle only another 8 minutes back. I felt good through this section and just kept up running a lot with short hike breaks on really steep sections.

I felt good up the climb and just kept plugging away and passing 50k runners and soon made it to the summit of Peavine at mile 38 in 5:52. I filled bottles and dropped off for the final descent to the finish. On the map it looks like the final 12 miles is all downhill, but it’s not. This last descent is fast and technical in spots with a half dozen 1/4 to 1/5 mile grunt ups that probably total 500 feet or so. So, you definitely have to work on the way back, as right when you get in the downhill rhythm you have to go uphill for a bit. I arrived into the aid at mile 44 and the guy informed me that I was close to the record. That got a little fire under me and I pushed hard the last 6. Once I got down almost the tunnel at the end near the park and looked at my watch, I knew Jasper’s record was just out of reach. I came across the line in 7:12:59 (86 seconds shy of the course record). So close! Oh well, that’s the way the chips fall sometimes. Can’t get caught up in the details when you have a good day just the same. Was totally stoked to run well and pull out a win.

On a Team Oregon note…Yassine ended up running 4:02 and smashing the course record in the 50k, with Sean cruising to 4th place in the 50k and Ashley got 2nd in the 50 miler. Giddyup!

22 New minimalist Inov8 set for mid 2010

Check out these new Inov8’s set to hit the market mid 2010. Weighing in at 6.7 ounces, low-profile, and Inov8’s 1 arrow midsole thickness. Looks like they have a similar upper to the F-lite 230, but with a slightly thinner midsole (1 arrow vs. the F-lite 230’s 2 arrow midsole)…and the X-talon 212 lugged outsole. These look VERY promising. I like the orange too. I found out about these from another Oregon ultrarunner, Joe Grant, who runs in minimalist shoes.

My minimalist transition update…

I just ran the Bad Ass 50k (our local Fat Ass Fun Run in Central Oregon) in the New Balance MT 100s and my body/feet held up great in the minimalist set up. I think I’m fully transitioned now. However, I’ve found one aspect to be troublesome with the MT100s, now that I have 150+ miles logged in them, (including today’s 50k)—sloppy upper on the downs. Trying to stay true to the “slow-progression” to minimalist footwear, I’ve been pretty conservative on technical downhills in training until today’s 50k. Today, I ran down pretty aggro and they proved a little sloppy in the midfoot upper on technical, rocky downhills. My foot slides side to side in them too much and they actually hang off the midsole almost a 1/2 inch at times and I banged my pinkie toe on sharp lava rocks while hammering down at 5:45-6:15 pace coming off the Cinder Butte descent in the Bad Ass 50k today.

This got me into a conversation, post race, with Joe (who told me about the X-Talon 190 coming out). He ran Mont Blanc in the Inov8 X-talon 212 last summer and loved them. I also raced against him at White River 50 miler where he was sporting the F-lite 230s. He has a wider forefoot like mine and we talked about the narrow forefoot fit of fell racing shoes, specifically Inov8s. He mentioned that they stretch a bit after some break-in and that it’s not bad to have a forefoot upper that is snug (read not restrictive, just snug) so it holds your foot over the midsole when having to make those quick hard “mini” cuts and “quick dancing steps” on technical downhills, preventing the side to side sloppiness I was experiencing in the NB MT100’s upper. The NB is fine on other mellower terrain, but it was just too sloppy for my liking on the technical downs. I broke out my blue Invo8 F-lite 230’s tonight and decided it was time to give them another shot. I messed with some unique lacing in the midfoot to loosen up across my instep and put a slightly thinner insole in them. They actually felt good around the house. I’m going to run in them quite a bit this week and report back. Giddyup!

1 Where’s Waldo 100K: Mile 53, up Maiden Peak