Running Trails In Atlanta (No More)

Good-Bye Atlanta Trails Blog! Hello Golden Trails Blog!

2010-01-30T23:51:00.000-08:00

I have decided to move this blog to the Golden Trails Blog. Hope to see you over there!

2009 in Review

2010-01-06T17:03:00.000-08:00

Looking back at my 2009 season, I have found that it fell in four phases:

Cruising at S2S 50k

Phase I: Successful Spring Races (February-April)
February through April proved to be the busiest from a racing perspective. I raced five times in three months and paced once. This was also a very successful period. Each race was either a PR or a top 10 finish or both. Prior to this period I had never finished top 10 in any trail race. I also pushed my 50k PR down by 35 minutes.

Phase II: Getting Faster (May - August)
The heavy spring mileage and extensive travel and work forced me to focus on shorter runs. And to great effect. The Angel Island 16k was probably my best race of year (3rd in a sold out race).

Phase III: Life and Such (September - October)
I really struggled those two months in terms of keeping up my running and staying motivated. The wedding, start of school and Cal's football season made things really busy. More importantly though, I was struggling mentally to get in my runs, especially long runs. But I fixed that by late fall to...

Phase IV: Finish with a Bang! (November - December)
Both December races went really well. I am especially proud of my time at the Muir Beach 50k (4:55). Not only did I finally break five hours, but it also represented a 52 minute (!) improvement over my 2008 50k PR time. What a great way to finish up the year!

Overall, I feel that I am much better runner, but I am itching for more! I've got some surprises in store for 2010!

1883.14

2010-01-03T16:32:00.000-08:00

That's my mileage total for 2009, which I'm happy with. It beat my minimum goal (1,500) but fell a bit short of my dream goal (2009). 1883 gets you from Berkeley somewhere outside of Iowa City if run consecutively. Not bad at all. It's also my most ever annual mileage. Sweet!

This is my third straight year of tracking my mileage all 12 months (I used to track only my training to an annual road marathon or two in years prior).

Here are the previous totals:

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a city this time that I had actually been to for visualization purposes. I have been to Dubuque, IA, but that's 2003 miles from Berkeley...

Wind(Fall) at the Rodeo Beach 50k

2009-12-24T13:01:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday it was time to close out the 2009 season with the Rodeo Beach 50k. It was a chance to get one more ultra in (first one since August), to see some trailrunning friends and to once again enjoy the wonderful trails of the Marin Headlands.

The lady would join me at this race and meet me several times throughout the race (all three Tennessee Valley aid stops plus Rodeo Beach at the 30k mark). We got to the start rather early and, as usual, fueled by Peet's coffee. The second I got out of the car, I knew conditions would be tough. A cold and surprisingly strong wind was making everyone put on an extra layer. Brrrr!

Pre-race - all layered up

The course is typical Headlands fare: big hills (nearly 6,000 feet gain) with smooth, non-technical trails and, most of all, breathtaking views. I had provided my lady with an aggressive time-table of splits (5 hour pace; my 50k PR was 5:12). There was really no basis for this other than my race the previous weekend on almost the same course, which gave me plenty of confidence. In general, I was a bit undertrained (no runs of >20 miles since August), but my head was in the right place. And that's usually half the battle.

We took off from Rodeo to Tennessee Valley (TV) via the Miwok Trail. Strong headwinds made the first climb quite a chore. That 5 hour pace seemed ludicrous only two miles into the race. But somehow I emerged five minutes ahead of that pace at TV. Had I pushed too hard?

Next up was Pirates Cove, perhaps my most favorite of all Bay Area trails. It's a single track trail that runs along high ocean cliffs down into the cove and then back up. Crashing waves provide the backdrop. The winds continued to be very strong and made balancing a bit more precarious. Further, the strong head winds made climbing out of the cove along the already steep, steep trail even tougher than usual. Back at TV though, I was now 7.5 mins ahead.

It was time to take it a bit easier to the halfway point at around the Conzelman aid station. From here it's a long downhill back to Rodeo Valley. As usual, I was cruising on this trail. And then BOOM! I tripped and fell. Hard. I found myself with cramping hips, completely disoriented and a bit of shock laying on the trail. Thankfully, somebody behind me pulled me up and got me going again. In a haze, I continued to the 30k mark.

Over time, it became clear that nearly everything was hurting, in particular my right shoulder and wrist, which took the brunt of the fall. Then the wheels came off going up Miwok again. My legs just didn't seem to want to move. I had gone out too hard.

I rolled into TV aid completely demoralized. I strongly questioned how I was going to make it back up the Marincello let alone run another 13k. People were saying things to me, but I couldn't tell you what it was. I was in a complete daze. Five minutes later, I decided to try to walk up Marincello and somehow make it to the top. Moving slowly helped. And slowly I came to. Once I reached the top, I realized that it hadn't taken me all that long and that a PR was still possible. My spirits took a 180 degree turn. Time to get a move on!

The Marincello Trail. Treat it with the utmost respect or it will get you!

I couldn't believe that I got to Conzelman aid at 4:27. Only 6k to go! Could I break 5 hours? Despite the fall, the winds and my less than ideal state of mind? Why not! I seized the moment and ran as hard as I could to finish in 4:55. That's a 17 minute PR. What a way to end the season!

At the finish, I caught up with some of the other finishers and learned of the Nathan Yanko's brilliant performance (3:43:51) beating the blazing-fast Chikara Omine by a whole 13 minutes. It was a very fast field as a whole. A whopping 21 people finished in under five hours. While this may not be the most difficult (i.e., technical) course in the world, it's not exactly the easiest either. Them are some big climbs in the Headlands.

As usual, my thanks to Sarah, Wendell and all the volunteers who braved the elements and pulled off a another sold-out event without a hitch. Can't wait for 2010!

Running with Ken Burns at Muir Beach (18M)

2009-12-12T15:21:00.000-08:00

Another frustrating non-race last weekend. Woke up sick the morning of the race. Not good timing particularly with finals upon me. It continued an awkward string of issues getting in the way of my racing this fall. BUT THEN:

I got an e-mail reminder about the Coastal Trail Runs and this weekend's race at Muir Beach. Forgot about those! I promptly decided to sign up for the 18 mile version of the race. It would be a decent warm-up for the season-ending Rodeo Beach 50k and a nice present to myself for finishing my penultimate semester of grad school at Cal.

Some of you may have seen Ken Burns' documentary on National Parks. It's BIG. BEAUTIFUL. AWE-INSPIRING. Of course, the series spends some time talking about John Muir for whom so many natural landmarks in California are named, including the start location of the race.

Anyhow, the show came on the night before the race. I started to watch, of course. And what can I say? It fired me up! Some people watch Rocky for inspiration others watch Chariots of Fire. I watch Ken Burns. (Yes, that's my wife in the background yelling: "Nerd!").

Some of you may know of the anecdote of John Muir sitting through a massive storm on the top branches of a 100 foot tree. I agree with Mr. Muir's sentiment that nature is best experienced during "bad" weather. And that's what we had for the Muir Beach 18 miler: rain and wind.

I bundled up well knowing that I'm not fully recovered from being sick yet. The idea was to get my legs moving at a decent pace for an extended period of time without killing myself in anticipation of Rodeo Beach next week. Jason Reed, who is quite the speedster and runs a LOT of races, lined up for the 18 miler as well. I figured he would win.

We took off and immediately hit Pirate's Cove, one of the most beautiful sections of trail in the Bay Area. You gotta love the sound of the crashing waves while trail running! I was cruising on the downhills but my legs felt a bit weak when going up (perhaps from being sick?). Jason and I hit Tennessee Valley together before he pulled away by a couple minutes on the uphill.

It was windy and raining with increasing intensity. But it was fun playing in the mud and listening to the little creeks that formed on the trails. At aid 2, Jason was about 2 minutes ahead, which I was able to halve on the ensuing downhill. Time to go up again (3,780 feet of gain in just 18 miles means a lot of up and down). Here I ran into a coyote right in the middle of the trail. I stopped and Mr. Coyote started to approach me. Time to whistle and make him move. I had a race to run!

This was also about the time I considered upgrading to the marathon. I wasn't going to catch Jason, but I would have a sizable lead in the marathon race. The switch was something I had discussed with people prior to the race, so I wasn't just being opportunistic! In the end, I decided to keep some juice in the tank for next week. Jason came in at 2:40 and I came in second a little under 2:43. A lot closer than I had anticipated!

As always thanks to Sarah and Wendell and all the volunteers for making this race happen in sub-ideal conditions! It is much appreciated

Onwards and upwards!

Know Anything About Running in China?

2009-11-17T22:30:00.000-08:00

Over winter break (which is a nice side effect of grad school, btw), I will be going to China as part of school trip. (No, I am not just discriminating in favor of countries starting with "Chi").

I am wondering whether any of you have traveled to Shanghai or Beijing and gotten some running in. While in South America, I went on an amazing running sight seeing tour of Buenos Aires (something you can do in most US cities, too, btw). Something of that nature would be fun. Or any other tips you might have. There is one running tour group that I found in Beijing, but their runs seem awfully short.

Beijing at night
(sort of a surprising image, don't you think? - can't wait to explore!)

Any tips, advice, etc. would be very much appreciated!

Odds and Ends

2009-11-17T09:12:00.001-08:00

I know, I know. I have been noticeably absent over the past couple of months. So what has happened? Here are some incomplete thoughts:

SF One Day was supposed to be my big race for the fall. A friend's wedding got in the way of that. Such is life. I wish there was a comparable race some time in the spring to make up for it. I'm still a bit bummed.
The kids (wait, they're my age) over at trailruntimes.com featured a blog entry of mine as a winner of the "My First Ultra" contest. Read it here. It won me the most comfortable sweater of all time. I wear it 8 or 9 days a week. Thanks to Brett Rivers, et al in making that happen. Visit their site, read their race reports and meet them at a race. Likely before or after, since their are all fast!

Cal football - Yes, football Saturdays make both race and long-run scheduling surprisingly difficult. Oh, well, at least it was worth it with the Bears living up to expectations this year. Oh wait, that's right. We only really good on paper. That helps. They must beat Stanford this weekend for this season to find a sweet ending, but I digress.

Best. Sports. Moment. (links to 45 sec. YouTube clip)

I loaded up heavy on academics this fall to have a bit more time for job search in the spring. That's kept me busy. That edumacation thing is pretty important, you know? 16 credit hours is a lot though.
Without any real races on the calendar, it's been hard to motivate myself to run much this fall. Been feeling both mentally and physically tired for a couple of months. It took me a while to realize that the lack of race goals may have contributed to that. I also need to get out more. I've fallen victim to running the same long run in Tilden over and over. Why? No idea. The Bay Area is trail heaven. I must be stupid for not having taken better advantage of that. Headlands this weekend. I'm making a change!
With school, job search, etc. I have really fallen behind on reading blogs, the other HUGE source of inspiration. I am slowly catching up, so don't be offended if I comment on a race you did in September. :)
I'm going to run Woodside and Rodeo Beach to finish the year out in style. And I cannot wait. See you all out there!!

A Twitterific Skyline Ridge Race Report

2009-10-05T09:14:00.000-07:00

(Trying something different for this race)

6:10 - getting up...been awake since 3 a.m. Bleh.
6:17 - Not sure whether I can do 50k without proper training. 37k at a minimum today, right? right.
6:27 - at Peet's, getting the usual pre-race food (caramel latte, scone, muffin)
6:55 - crossing Bay Bridge. Golden Gate, the city, Marin....esp. gorgeous in this morning light
7:02 - still brooding over Cal's terrible loss...season down the drain
7:12 - wondering how walking all over Berkeley and standing all through the game last night will affect my legs. Likely not good.
7:35 - Arrive at race. Say hi to @BrianWyatt
7:36 - Brrrrr...I doubt it's even 40 degrees. very windy, too. Check in time. hug @SarahSpelt
8:00 - bio taken care of. Changing into race gear and keeping warm in car.
8:15 - Meeting some Floridians, including first time ultra-runner. Big day for him
8:24 - another bio break. wtf?
8:29 - Hello @RickGaston! Smile. Picture.
8:30 - Off...taking it easy.
8:33 - Super smooth trails.
8:40 - Relaxing big time
9:28 - Out and back...time to grunt my "g'd'job"s
9:29 - g'd'job!
9:30 - g'd'job! g'd'job!
9:31 - g'd'job! g'd'job! g'd'job!
9:37 - aid #1. Lamenting my out of shape self and the Golden Bears disappointment with @BrianWyatt
9:40 - Feeling GREAT!
9:55 - Running smoooooooth
10:12 - stomach acting up. It should be settled after two bio breaks before race
10:37 - Now, it's completely empty. bio break #3
10:38 - Desperately trying to eat at aid 2. Not working out so well.
10:42 - starting to eat another gel. Tastes terrible. Usually that's my favorite.
10:44 - stomach cramp. ugh
10:52 - cramp, cramp, cramp
11:02 - still trying to eat that gel. Not good.
11:24 - at aid#3. Have yet to finish gel. pretzels work better but not enough. stomach still cramping.
11:45 - can't run more than a quarter mile without stomach cramps. Legs are starting to feel ueber-weak b/c I have no calories in me. BAD
12:02 - walking way to much in order to try to settle stomach cramps.
12:08 - This is stupid. I'll take the 37k and call it a day.
12:15 - Pulling out of race. Realizing I'm in 4th and had a good pace. @Wendell looked surprised. I'm frustrated
12:20 - time for chili! @RickGaston is the cook
12:35 - saying my good-byes.
12:45 - driving home. Really wish I could have finished. Must return next year. Definitely some unfinished business.
2:02 - Back in Berkeley. Shower and off to the Spice of Life festival. Food, food, food right at my door step!

Psychedelic Climacteric 50k

2009-08-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

Woah! What a name. Don't try looking it up online. It's a small run put on by Mike Palmer every year. Mike is a well-known figure in the Bay Area community who is also known for his in-the-know e-mail list.

12 of us gathered at the starting line on a small dirt track near (on?) the UC Berkeley campus. There were lots of hugs, smiles and laughter. A few speedsters were there. Mark Gilligan (1st TRT 50 mile), Joe Binder (3:47 at Skyline 50k) and Rob Silva (5th at Ruth Andersen 50mile). But no one was really there to race. We were all out to have a good time!

The PC is a tough course. 7000 feet of elevation will do that for ya. You get a course description, hope that there may be an aid station at mile 8 and perhaps a few ribbons and chalk arrows on the ground. Old school. And I like it that way. (It turned out that the course was pretty well marked actually.)

I settled in with Rob, who was returning from an injury. We got to Volmer Peak without any issues, passed the aid station and headed to one of my favorite spots in the area: Wildcat Peak. It usually has sweeping views of the entire Bay, but it was hazy that day. Bummer. We hung out for a bit anyways.

View towards the Bay on a clear day (with a bad camera).

Somewhere past the ensuing downhill things started to not go so well for Rob. We were slowing down considerably. Time to walk and see if I can get him out of the funk. But things were just getting worse and worse for Rob. After about two hours, Rob declared he was going to walk the whole way back to Lone Pine (another 2.5 miles or so). I decided it was time for me to move on. Rob had a cell phone, the next group of runners was going to happen upon us soon and we weren't too far from the Jewel Lake parking lot (to get picked up if necessary). We said our good-byes, and I took it up a notch.

I ran a couple of sub-8s without much effort. Bought some M&M's at Lake Anza and headed home. I was surprised at how relatively easy it felt going back up to Strawberry Canyon. Still running the uphills. Good stuff! I know the firetrail like the back of my hand and that energized me even further. In the end, I finished in 6:19. I ran the last 12 or 13 miles in 1:45 and felt very strong throughout the day. My summer training has definitely come together well. Now, it's time to take that into the fall.

My thanks to Mike, the aid station guy (sorry, didn't get your name) and whoever else helped in putting this event together. It was psychedelitastic!

Lessons Learned Sweeping the Headlands Hundred Course

2009-08-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, I volunteered at the Headlands Hundred. I took on the task of sweeping 17 miles of the 25 mile loop. Armed with a ton of podcasts, sunscreen and a camelback I set out to clean up the course that witnessed local Nathan Yanko take home the win in his very first 100. Nice job, Nathan!

Course Markings are Heavy!
It may have been the fact that this was an overnight race, but, sheesh, course markings are heavy. Course flags, clothespins, glow sticks, those little metal flag thingies, signs and tent stakes (!) add up quickly, especially on a course as well marked as this one was. Between the start at Rodeo Beach and and Tennessee Valley, I picked up at least 15 lbs worth of stuff (including a few gel wrappers). I was glad to leave those course markings at the Tennessee Valley aid station and head back out with an empty bag. (Btw, it was fun to hang out at an aid station for longer than 30 seconds for once. I enjoyed my 45 minutes there).

It Takes Longer Than You Think
With all that extra weight and the time it takes to pick everything up, it really takes some time to clean up a course. I ended up doing 20 miles (added some out-and-backs for good measure) in five hours. That's probably about two hours longer than it would have taken during a normal run.

Sweeping Is A Fantastic Workout
Boy, was I tired. You run 20 miles, but it's more like a 25-28 mile effort. I was BEAT afterwards.

You Become An Ambassador For The Sport
About 20 people must have stopped and asked me what the course markings were for. "A race" was my usual answer. The reactions were all over the board. Some were "just happy that people are finally cleaning up after themselves" while others (most) were completely taken aback by the distance (50/100 m) of the race. You end up talking a lot about your sport. "People run for that long?" Yes, sir, they do.

Winners!

2009-08-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

As you were leaving great comments on why you deserve a free pair of running shoes, I started thinking about how to pick the winners. The dilemma I was faced with is that I know some entrants, which inherently introduces some bias. Not a fan of bias.

Soooo, what is an MBA student to do? What is it that they teach us to use to solve all of the world's problems with?* EXCEL! All you of you were assigned a number (in order of submission) and I entered you into a little Randomizer I put together (randbetween function for you excel geeks). That left each person with exactly a 21.43% chance of winning. Not bad!

Without further ado, here are the winners:

Ben, Robin and Leslie, please e-mail me at davidrschoenberg gmail dot com. I will put you in touch with the Vibram people, who will send you the shoes. You have until 8/14 to contact me. If I haven't heard from you by then, I will choose another winner as a replacement.

CONGRATULATIONS!

*(that's an exaggeration, of course)

Vibram Sole Review (and Shoe Give-Away!)

2009-07-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

One of two things usually come to mind when you hear "Vibram": solid soles or those funny finger shoe things that are oh-so cool right now. (Keep reading, btw. I have three pairs of trail running shoes to give away).

I myself climbed the highest mountain in Colorado on the backs of Vibram soles. Naturally, I was excited when I heard that they were looking to get back into trail running. Vibram struck a partnership with Saucony and are featured as part of the Xodus shoe, which is earning very good reviews, btw.

My job was to review the soles, not the shoes. I took them out on all types of different terrain to see how they would perform.

First Impression
This is like running on air! Fantastic!

Smooth Single Track (10/10)
Perfect! I was flying on buttery, rolling single track. The soles handled small obstacles (small rocks, occasional root, etc.) with ease. The best part was that I was able to cut around sharp turns (such as switch backs) without having to worry about losing traction. That's a HUGE advantage. You can really make up some time here during races.

Rugged, Technical Single Track (8/10)
The soles definitely performed very well here, too, especially on the uphills. I was a little worried about sliding when traversing larger rocks or boulders. But I shouldn't be running those anyhow.

Rooty Trails (9/10)
No complaints here. Exposed roots did not turn into slip'n'slides as they so often can.

Fire Road (10/10)
Didn't I say something about flying earlier? You can FLY on fire roads with Vibram soles. Just enough grip to hold on to the dirt, but light enough to feel like you're running in road shoes. I was positively surprised!

Very Steep Inclines (8/10)
Climbing was absolutely no problem. Perfect traction here. On very, very steep downhills (30%+), I did lose traction a couple times. But I have never not lost traction on these particular sections of trail. Gravity can be a pretty strong force (thanks, Newton!).

Sandy Trails (9/10)
There aren't too many around...unless, of course, you run a race that traverses a beach. No complaints here.

Road (10/10)
Yes, sometimes you have to traverse asphalt or, worse, concrete to get to a trail. No issues here.

Soooooo, here is the part you have all been waiting for. I have three (yes, THREE) pairs of Saucony Xodus' to give away, so you can try out the Vibram soles yourself. In order to enter, you have to answer one of two questions in the comments:

Why do you want a pair of free trail running shoes? OR
What is the wildest (or most unexpected) thing that has ever happened to you out on the trails?

Sign with your name and city. You have until 11:59 pm PST on August 7, 2009. I will pick the winners on August 8. Check back then, and contact me if you're one of the lucky ones. Good luck!

Update

2009-07-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

Instead of telling you how wonderful a time I had at the Salt Point 50k, I have to give you an injury update. Rats! My ankle was hurt bad enough that running 31 trail miles would not have been a good idea. I do value long term health (and my ability to run!) over short-term fun. With that I stayed home all weekend and worked. Yes, I'm busy as heck with my work and with the wedding coming up. It's all fun actually. Just get to do less blogging.

One interesting thing that happened was that my ankle/foot went numb some time during the middle of last week. Freaked me out a bit. Turns out that I had been icing it a little bit excessively. Imagine that: an ultra-runner going above and beyond what's required. :)

I have started to run again albeit lightly. The focus is now on the fall season, which will be busy, busy, busy!

Tale of a Short One at Sequoia

2009-07-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

I was really looking forward to yesterday's Sequoia 30k. Not only was it supposed to serve as a final tune-up before the Salt Point 50k eight days later, but I was anxious to test out my racing legs. I had been training hard over the last month despite a twisted ankle three weeks ago, which had sidelined me for (fortunately only) four days.

The lady would again join me partaking in the challenging 10k version of the race. Her friend Meghan was also coming along for her very first (but not last!) trail race. We were running unusually late, and I got there 10 minutes before Wendell sent us on our way. It was just enough time to check in and say hello to some friends (Caitlin (50k), Will (20k) and Mark (50k)). Knowing these trails fairly well, I would know when to push and for which sections to conserve my energy. My goal for this race was to break 2:40, which would be challenging but attainable.

Mark and I are cute, aren't we?

From the start, I was running somewhere among the first seven runners between the two races (both the 50k and 30k started at the same time). Soon we hit the first aid (Moon Gate), and I was rushing through in an effort to catch up to Caitlin and/or Mark in order to pace with them. At Moon Gate, speedy Berkeley runner (and quasi neighbor) Bryan Wyatt said hello. It's always nice to see familiar faces at aid stations.

Runners taking off so fast, it was too much for the camera to handle

Then it was time to hit the single track. A very steep and technical trail (Tres Sendas?) connects over to the infamous French Trail. I've run down this trail many times and knew exactly what was coming. Charging down as fast as I did was simply stupid and my reward came quickly in the form of a nicely twisted ankle. Game over! Having twisted my ankles many, many times to varying degrees, I have the useful ability (I guess) of assessing very quickly how bad it is. I immediately knew the race was over for. This sprain was worse than the one three weeks ago (same ankle), but it wasn't nearly as bad as the one that severed three tendons and took me out of commission for two months almost two years ago.

The good news was that I was close to an aid station with road access. Only a half mile climb out of the ravine and I'd be on my way back to the start/finish area. Trailrunners being trailrunners I got lots and lots of "Are you OK?"s. Many of them stopped (some running in the top ten in their respective races). I felt bad about that knowing that I could make it back under my own power, so eventually I took off my race number (looking a bit more like a hiker).

Back at Moon Gate, I watched Will and Guillaume Hansel fly by as leaders of the 20k. It turned out to be a bad day for Will as well, and he would later drop out. The Moon Gate crew gave me some ice for my ankle and some M&M's for my soul, before Craig (?) drove me back to the start/finish.

Back at the finish, volunteers were scurrying about getting ready for the 10k runners to finish. I obviously couldn't help them, so I joined a group of about a dozen wives and husbands waiting for their loved ones while tending to dogs, kids or both. It was kinda nice to sit on the meadow and enjoy a gorgeous day. I really tried hard not to let the disappointment get to me. Keeping up my spirits got much more challenging once the first finishers came in though. I had hardly gotten a workout in! Ummph. Soon, I spotted Caitlin who opted to run just 20k instead of the planned 50k. The trails had been kicking her butt lately (literally!), and she was smart to listen to her body and drop out. We chatted some before Meghan and Melanie finished.

Despite the disappointment of a DNF, I really enjoyed myself out there. The trailrunning community pulled through once again. In many ways. How can you not enjoy yourself? Injuries are part of the game, and the trails aren't going anywhere, so you may as well enjoy yourself out there, even if things don't go your way.

Thank you, Wendell and Sarah (where were you?) for yet another great race and, of course, all the volunteers, especially the Moon Gate crew.

P.s. There is a chance I may run Salt Point this weekend and an even greater chance I won't. The ankle is still very sore.

What a day at the Angel Island 16k!

2009-06-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

For two days now, I have been on a high from my experience at the Angel Island 16k. Sitting in the northern part of the Bay, Angel Island is east of Berkeley, just south of Tiburon and north of the city. You can see it from all of the major bridges (Golden Gate, Bay, Richmond) and from many of the trails here in the northern part of the East Bay as well as the Marin Headland. In other words, you see it A LOT. The Angel Island races (8k, 16k, 25k, 50k) were an opportunity to finally check this gem out from up close.

It's the one marked with an "A". (Thanks, Google!)

This race was a family affair for me. The lady was ready to take on her first Bay Area trail run (8k), my friend Will (fresh off a sizzling 2:32 at the L.A. Marathon) was ready to once again compete in the longest-distance-that-is-not-an-ultra category (25k in this case). He has three wins so far this year (I like to brag on him :)). Finally, his friend Pete was ready take on his first trail race (25k). With a 2:53 at L.A., Pete is very fast himself. I would compete in the 16k. Friends would join us throughout the day to picnic.

Having taken a bit of a breather since the Skyline to the Sea 50k, this race was supposed to be a litmus test to see how much fitness I had lost with all those 20-30 mile weeks and countless miles of travel over the past couple of months. The minimum goal was to break 90 minutes (otherwise I would really have my work cut out for me with the upcoming schedule). I would be happy with a time in the low 80s and thrilled to beat 80 minutes. Secretly, I really wanted to break 80 mins.

View of the city from Angel Island.

The race started out with the steepest section of the day. It wasn't very long, but intense enough for me to completely lose my breath. Similar to the Rucky Chucky and S2S races, I had breathing issues from the onset. However, running somewhere in the top 10, my legs felt really good, so I just motored along. I definitely got the "no way he can keep up this pace" look from people as I passed them. Maybe they would be right.

Or maybe not. Because once things flattened out a bit, I got into a good rythm and started to feel very good. At 37 mins, I passed the half way mark. Not a bad time for a hilly five miler. Five more to go, which tops out at at the highest point of the Island, Mt. Livermore (788 ft). I was happy to go back up, because the views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate and the Marin Headlands were absolutely spectacular! Really, it doesn't get much more stunning than this in terms of views. What a beautiful place Angel Island is!

No introduction needed.

Of course, this second major climb really would decide how well I was going to hold up. Soon, I saw a fellow runner about 50 yards ahead of me. Slowly but surely, I was able to reel him in. Just below the summit I passed and offered to "work together." He said something about "dead legs", which gave me a psychological boost, since I was still feeling good (my legs were tired, but definitely not dead). Didn't see many runners coming down from the summit (well, only one) and thought that I must be running somewhere in 6th or so place, which would be my best PCTR finish so far.

Then it was time to tackle the final downhill, which is my strength (I think). We were running into the back of the 8k race. Passing several dozen people on a narrow single track definitely led to some precarious situations. Lots of "on your left!"s for sure. All of the sudden, a fast moving runner appeared about 30 or so yards behind me. My goal was to keep him at bay, but he was flying. Eventually I happened upon a slow runner with headphones blearing. I literally had to stop and tap the dude on the shoulder, so I could pass. That was enough time for the other guy to catch up. He was faster anyways. Had him within sight the whole way in, but couldn't quite catch him without risking life and limb flying down the trail.

It didn't matter. Crossing the finish, I had reached all my goals. And then some: 1:17:53! Good enough for 3rd overall. The way it worked out, we all finished around the same time. The lady killed it and surprised herself (as I told her she would) with a strong, strong 49th overall at the 8k. So, so proud! Will won the 25k and Pete finished strong in 3rd overall. What a day for this crew!

We had set up a little picnic and enjoyed a few more hours of hanging out, throwing the football and, of course, eating. Also met friends old and new (hello, neighbor Brian!). A perfect day on the Island on easily one of the most scenic courses around. Thanks to Sarah, Wendell and all the volunteers for another perfectly organized race. We'll be back!

Mid-Year "Off-season" and Upcoming Races

2009-06-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

Even before my final race of the spring season, the Skyline 2 Sea 50k, I started feeling a bit sluggish. It had been an intense (by my standards) race season with 150+ miles of racing in just 11 weeks. That's definitely more than I had ever raced before. It was also my most successful (half-) season with a couple of top-10s and a couple of PRs (spread over four separate races).

Give me a break! It's off-season. That means "eat ice-cream" where I'm from.

With my trip to Chile as well as a bunch of other travel (Pittsburgh, Vegas, Atlanta...phew!) looming in May and June, life has been pretty busy (oh yeah...I had finals, too!). May/June always looked like the perfect time to rest.

That's an Argentinian steak, Chilean wine and a Californian carnivore

I need the rest. Physically and emotionally. My runs have been very short (except for two 17ish mile efforts) and relaxing. Then last week it happened: I got a little spring in my step. My legs feel strong again! Without even thinking it, I easily ran 40+ miles this week (including some mountain running at high altitude. Not bad for "off-season." In all, I will have probably run around 250 miles during seven weeks of downtime, which officially ends June 15. (It's "official," because I say so!).

With that, I have also started signing up for a bunch of summer/fall races. Here is what's on the plate:

Angel Island 16k (June 20) - My first weekend back in the States. Nine miles...sort of like a long sprint. The lady will be running too. So will Will.
Sequoia 30k (July 18th) - I know the course and plan to run hard. This should also be a good long-run getting ready for the following week.
Salt Point 50k (July 26th) - Looking forward to running 50k's again. This can't come soon enough!
San Francisco One Day: 12 hour (Oct. 24) - A timed race will be a new experience for me. I do have a little adventure planned around this though, which the RD has already approved (thanks, Sarah!). More on that later.
California International Marathon (Dec. 6) - Haven't run a road marathon since 2004. Me thinks that the 3:47 PR should fall on this fast course. Curious to see how well I can do on the road after my five-year hiatus.

Other races under consideration (likelihood of me entering in %)

Pacifica 30k (5%) - July
Headlands 50k (30%) - August
Santa Cruz Mountains 50k (90%) - September
Dick Collins Firetrails - Marathon (75%) - October
Dick Collins Firetrails - 50 mile (15%) - October
Carmel Valley 50k (25%) - October
Rodeo Beach 50k (15%) - December

I may throw in another short race in November in order to get ready for CIM. I don't really know how to look those up efficiently anymore though. :)

And, yes, all races have been cross-referenced with Cal football home games...GO BEARS!

Running in Beautiful Buenos Aires

2009-06-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

While down here in Santiago, our group decided to go on a weekend trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. It's just as far south as the capital city of Chile, but on the other side of the continent, which means that the flight is a little over an hour: perfect for a weekend trip!

Practice your geography skills!
(and, yes, I'm really far from home)

As we were planning the trip, my friend C points out this "perfect" tourism tour for me: Urban Running Tours. As the name suggest, this isn't your ole' see-the-city-from-some-double-decker-bus, but a personalized running tour of the key sights in Buenos Aires. Sign me up!

Normally, the tours are about 10k. But I'm not normal people (and you are probably not either if you're reading this), so I contacted them to see whether I could combine several tours into one. That wasn't a problem, despite the crappy weather. It just meant that I got passed off like a baton between two guides. This allowed me to get two different perspectives on the city. Cool!

The guides were very knowledgeable and answered all the questions I had. Another cool thing about the tour is that they take pictures of you with the sights. Some of them you can see after the jump.

So, next time you find yourself in Buenos Aires and want to see the city in an active way (without breaking the bank, btw), you know where to go!

I forget the name of it, but that statue behind me is supposed to represent all the flowers in Argentina. It also closes at night, which this geeky runner finds pretty cool!

This park was donated by Los Alemanes and I had to pay my respects. The guide did not immediately know where the American counterpart was. I wish we could have made it here, too, because I unquestionably would have done the same thing there. :)

Looks a like Hamburg here in this picture. The building in the background to the right that looks like the Plaza Hotel in New York...that's the headquarters of the Argentinian military. Wouldn't have guessed that!

Women's bridge in the background celebrating all the achievements of women (cool!). The shape is inspired by the tango. Argentinians are really into design (clothes, building, furniture, etc.).

This is a suspension bridge and therefore bouncy as heck. Also, if I hadn't tilted my heads and arms ever so slightly, the picture would have been nearly symmetrical.

(There were more pictures, but my connection is not exactly speedy).

An Interview with Caitlin Smith

2009-06-03T06:56:00.000-07:00

Catlin Smith has exploded onto the national ultra-scene this year. After easily winning her first ultra on her hometown trails at the Sequoia 50k, Caitlin made a name for herself on the national stage by winning the über-competitive Way Too Cool 50k and a string of Bay Area ultras and remains unbeaten at the 50k distance.

Please talk about your evolution as a runner and how you got into ultrarunning.

I grew-up dancing, but in sixth grade the track coach insisted that I try running. He told me I was a distance runner and that I should try the mile. Ummm, yeah, 100 meters and I was literally out of breath and walking. I think I ran the 4x100 relay that year at a few meets, insisting that I was NOT a distance runner. In high school I continued to run track. Once again I had a coach that tried to get me to run farther and during workouts she would always have me run more miles than everyone else. It was in high school that I joined cross-country and truly started running farther and enjoying it. My track coach from sixth grade saw me out running one summer, pulled over, rolled down his window and said, "I thought you weren't a distance runner?" I just had to smile. I slowly started to really fall in love with running and obviously I've been doing it ever since. I ran two marathons, one in 2002 (Grandma's) and the other in 2003 (Boston). When I moved out to California that is when I found trail running, my escape from the chaos of city living. I ran my first trail run in 2006. I did a few more in 2007. A ton of 20k's in 2008. And, then bumped it up to 50k's and beyond this year. That's my evolution to ultrarunning.

It is widely known in the community that Will Gotthardt acts as your mentor and coach. How did this relationship get started?

Will ran behind me in a few races last year. He was doing the 50k's while I was doing the 20k's. We would find ourselves chatting here and there. He told me I would do really well at the ultras, which I had on my agenda for 2009. Then at the beginning of this year, Will gave me a ride to Pacifica, seeing that I don't have a car. My 30k didn't go so hot. I bonked in the last few miles and I had to walk a ton. On the ride back, Will told me that water, electrolytes, and fuel were going to change that (and yes, they did). I had a lot of doubt about my abilities and the transition, but Will really believed in me. His best question, "you know you're fast right?" My response, "umm well" (which pretty much means “no”). We started training together and he got my splits figured out for my first 50k, Sequoia. Ironically, I came in faster than all my splits and ended up passing Will during that race (neither planned, seriously). Now, we continue to run together and push each other. We're also just good friends.

Caitlin and Will Gotthardt

You have won not one (Way To Cool) but two (Miwok) automatic entries for Western States. However, you have decided not to enter. Tell us about your decision and whether WS is a goal race for you in the future.

I am not ready. My goal this year was not to do Western States. I just wanted to try ultrarunning. There are several reasons for my decision, but mainly I want to be prepared mentally and physically for that race. And, when I do run it, I want to run it really well. I think it will be a race in my future, but again not until my heart and body are in it 100%.

What does your average training week look like? What are you favorite cross-training activities?

I don't think I have an average training week. It seems to vary, somewhere between 60-90 miles. Some weeks I run 7 days, others more like 6 (as I learn that resting is good), and sometimes 5 with races and so forth. When I go out and run, I try to just pay attention to how my body feels. When it feels like going fast, I run fast and when I am dragging, I take it easy. I tend to follow the hard-easy rule. If you run hard one day, then next day you take it easy. As for cross-training, I don't own a car, so I walk and bike to work. I swim. And I practice yoga and pilates.

Please talk about how important yoga is to your running.

Yoga has transformed my running. My breathing, focus, flexibility both mentally and physically, awareness, and joy have all blossomed with yoga. Also, I tend to be a go-go kind of person, so yoga balances me out. It slows me down (at least a little). My yoga practice always reminds me how grateful I am to have a body that can move and run.

What are your favorite foods for training and running?

Ummm yeah, Clif Shot Bloks are basically a staple and honestly, I haven't found much else that works while I am actually running other than chocolate milk. I really like these things called Suncakes for pre-race meals along with yogurt and cereal. Overall, I am a vegetarian minus cheese, post-vegan, and possibly future carnivore. I just eat what my body craves and try to mix it up.

What runners do you admire?

All runners, really. Of course there are some that come to mind too like Bev Anderson-Abbs, Kami Semick, Ann Trason, and there are some guys on the list too, but I'll keep those to myself.

Caitlin competing with one of her idols, Bev Anderson-Abbs, at Way Too Cool

Do you have any advice for other runners looking to make the jump to ultras?

Be patient and consistent, listen to your body, have fun, be social, do yoga and pilates, cross-train, sleep, take naps, eat good food, rest, believe in your body and mind, find a training partner, breathe, swim, bike... and of course there are logistics, so talking with someone that has done one makes the transition much easier.

The SF Bay Area has a plethora of tails. What are your favorite trails/parks?

French Trail in Redwood Park is my ultimate favorite trail. [That sucker is hard. – The editor]. I love running and tend to run a lot in Redwood, Tilden, and Chabot, but put me on any trail and I am happy.

Caitlin finishing her first 50k (Sequoia)…beating the blog author by a solid hour in the process :)

What is your favorite race and why?

I try not to pick favorites and just try to enjoy them all.

What are your running plans and goals this fall, next year and in the long run (pun!)?

After Ohlone 50k [which Caitlin won in CR time this past weekend – The Editor], I am going to focus back on some shorter runs, which are part of La Sportiva's Mountain Cup. The finale of this year will be the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 miler. There is also potential that I will do the TransRockies run in August. But if not this year, possibly next.
Do you have any dream races?

Not a race, but I'd like to run across the United States via trails, ideally no roads.

Thank you for your time, Caitlin, good luck and keep smiling!

Running in Santiago de Chile

2009-05-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

Hola! (Doing my best to assimilate).

As you may remember from an earlier post, I am on a school-work type thing in Santiago de Chile. In short, companies around the world hire Berkeley MBA students every year to consult on a variety of projects. Right now, we have people in places like Laos, Liberia, South Africa, Finland, Easter Island, Zambia,...., and, of course, here in Santiago. (If you want to read more, check out our class blog or this Wall Street Journal article).

On to the actual blog post. Anticipating this trip, I was very unsure of how much I would get to run down here. Unfamiliarity with South America in general and Santiago in particular fueled my concerns of potentially not being able to get in any miles (or very few). Fortunately, that has turned out to be not the case. There are several things I learned though.

No Runners
I have been here four full days now and live in a very busy neighborhood, however runners are basically non-existent (I can count the total number I have seen in four days on one hand...try that in any US city). People look at you like an alien when you're running. I have even had some schoolgirls mimic my running and giggle... None of that will stop me, of course.

Smog The air in this place is POLLUTED. There are no ifs and buts about it. Frankly, I have never seen anything like it. L.A. (which has the worst air pollution in the U.S.) is child's play compared to what's going on here. The smog has definitely caused me to slow down a bit, but it ain't gonna stop this runner.

This is a sunny day. I wish I were kidding.

Safety Not an issue. Whatsoever. I know plenty of US cities that are less safe to run in (comparing downtown areas). Atlanta is one of them.

Dogs
In a city of seven million, there are an estimated one million stray dogs roaming the streets. For the most part, I have found them to be friendly (i.e. they won't attack, chase or bark). There was one exception, but I was crossing a construction site that probably wasn't supposed to be crossed. There, I had a couple of mean-looking doggies bark at me from about 100 yards. I yelled back, picked up a rock and got the heck out of there. Fortunately, they didn't follow.

Trails I have found trails! They are right near downtown, and I enjoyed some wonderful miles on them on Sunday. Of course, it's winter here, so it's still dark until I leave for work and dark when I get home. I won't be running them in the dark, since there are, well, no trail maps.

All in all, I am very happy that I get to run here, while my mileage will probably be moderate at best. That's better than no miles at all!

P.s. I have a very cool interview in store for you. Check back in a couple of days.

Pacing at the Beautiful Santa Cruz Half-Marathon

2009-05-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

With a little delay I am finally getting a chance my report on the Santa Cruz Half-Marathon. This one was all about the lady. She had trained hard for many months to get ready for this event, and I was anxious to see her do well here.

We decided to drive down the morning of the event, making for a very early wake-up call. Somewhere near San Jose, it was finally late enough (6 a.m.) to score some coffee at Starbucks (not quite Peet's, but who cares?). As we arrived in Santa Cruz, I was quietly reminiscing about my college days when I went on a much talked about bike trip along part of the California coast. I distinctly remember not wanting to leave Santa Cruz.

We got there early enough to get a great parking spot and quickly got our numbers, which we pinned on ultra style (folded). You got to represent, ya know? My job today would be to pace the lady and more importantly keep her company. I took a ton of pictures, which I will just let speak for themselves (that's 1,000 words each!).

not used to crowds anymore...they're like picture-worthy

trail > pavement

The Lady ran the race very consistently and finished very, very strong for a PR leaving me in the dust as we approached the finish line (she finished five or six places ahead of me! :)).

In all, this is a fantastic race, part of which is even run on a trail. It doesn't get much flatter than this around here and the beauty of the race definitely rivals some trail runs.

P.s. Lots of travel and finals are eating up my time, so the entries and reports are going to have to be much shorter than usual.

How Running Has Changed My Life

2009-05-04T23:35:00.000-07:00

Over on irunfar.com, an interesting question was raised:

How's has running changed your life? I'm not talking about how it may have helped you improve your health, become more confident, or the like. Nope. I want to know if and when your love of running, in whatever form, has been a deciding factor in a major life decision. Did you choose your college because you could run on the cross country team? Have you ended a relationship... or gotten married because of running? Have you ever moved across town... or across the country to be closer to better running grounds? Ever taken or not taken a job based on how it would affect your running?

To answer this question I have to go all the way back to how I started running. (Trust me, this goes beyond me getting healthier, slimmer, nuttier, etc....just hear me out). As you may know, I attended college in Atlanta, GA, and my undergrad institution required that we take four PE classes. I chose to take, no, not running, but swimming.

At the beginning of the course, they made us all swim a work out and based on the results put us in particular lanes based on our skill level for the rest of the semester. I ended up in a lane with three ladies, one of whom struck my fancy. Eventually, I managed to ask her (completely out of breath, mind you, she was in better shape than me) what she liked doing in her free time. "Running," she said. "Me too!" I replied, which was a complete lie. Of course, I asked whether she wanted to go running together some time. Clearly, I wasn't fully in control of my senses, since I had never run more than one continuous mile in my life. Ever.

She wanted to go the next day, but I pushed back to the following week, immediately embarking on a ridiculous training regimen (one, two even three miles in one day) that left we sore, tired and exhausted for our date. She crushed me (get it?). I was hooked on the girl and running. All this happened almost nine years ago.

Later this summer, I will be getting married to girl "from swim class.'

This is how running changed my life.

Skyline 2 Sea 50k - Simply A "Must Do" Race

2009-04-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well, you read the title already. That's not just a suggestion, but a strong recommendation. Let's start at the beginning.

My first job of the morning actually started the night before. Mark Tanaka had left for the coast on Saturday to get in a little vacation time with his family and forgotten his shorts. So, I brought all of my clean running shorts not knowing what would really fit him. Mark showed up in Hawaiian type board shorts and generally looked ridiculous. Here's proof:

Before

after

We had actually never met in person and used the 75 minute bus ride to the start to catch up on everything from running to chess to the swine flu. (Btw, the man is just as funny in person as his blog writing suggests). In general, this race was a great re-union of the ultra-community. I was able to meet so many people I have met in the blogosphere in person (Caitlin, Addy, Mark, etc.), reconnect with acquaintances (Will G.) and get to know new people (Rick, Nathan, etc.). I'm sure, I'm leaving people out here and I'm sorry. The point is that the community aspect of ultra-running was especially pronounced during this race. And I really enjoyed that. On to the race.

Having run my best season so far and facing a course playing to my strength (lots of downhill), my hopes were high for this one. I felt confident that my PR (5:24 - Sequoia) would fall and really hoped to make a run at at a sub-5.

Right after the start

However, the race didn't start well. As at Rucky Chucky, I couldn't get my breath under control on the initial downhills and generally did not feel good. My legs were heavy, and I just felt out of it. Soon I would pay for my lack of focus, missed a turn and kept going up and up instead of down and down. Lost about 12 mins here.

However, this wasn't all that bad, since I snapped back to reality and focused on downhill running. I flew through Aid 2 and arrived at Aid 3 in fairly good shape (about 2:11), but I could also feel the effects of probably going a little too fast in an effort to catch up on my lost time. Time to climb, eat and relax. I took my time at Aid 4, because the next section would be long and I was tired.

Before the slump

Soon after that aid, I missed a turn again and lost another eight minutes. Not happy...and I'm starting to get into a funk, as a sub-five seemed nearly impossible now. About ten minutes later...THUMP!...I run into a tree. Completely dizzy, I was forced to walk for a bit with my head pounding. It just wasn't my day. Severe foot pain just compounded things and the pity party was on. I was limping, cussing and generally not in a good mood. A shame really, because Big Basin is absolutely breath taking. You couldn't really ask for better scenery.

One of the many giant tree formations

Eventually I got over myself, focused on just finishing and picked it up (mile 27ish). Ultra-running is also about getting through the lows. And I did. In the end the effort was enough for a 5:12 finish, probably below my potential but good enough for another PR. And I'm happy with that. Once I got to the finish, my mood picked up even more. It was fun to hang around and talk to people. Smiles were everywhere. No wonder after such a beautiful run!

My thanks to Sarah and Wendell, all the volunteers, and all fellow runners for making this a great day. There is no question that I will be back next year.

(Also, thanks to Addy, Mark and Cal for all the pictures!)

A Fun Marathon in Marin

2009-04-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

...is the title of this race report because "A Spectacular Day at the Golden Gate Headlands Trail Marathon" would have been too long.

There were a couple of reasons for picking to run this race. (1) The lady was celebrating her bachelorette party/weekend, so no coordination of plans was necessary. (2) This weekend falls exactly two weeks after Rucky Chucky and three weeks before Skyline 2 Sea, my two goal races of the spring. This would be a great carry-over long-run at a targeted 85% effort. In order to minimize any sort of possibility of running too hard or becoming too competitive, I ran naked. No, not that kind of naked...just without a watch.

You could tell right away it was going to be a glorious day. Not a cloud in the sky and comfortably cool at the start. The start area was over at Rodeo Beach, and I spent most of my pre-race time watching the surfers catch waves. I knew the course wasn't going to be easy (4,400 feet of climbing), but it was going to be gorgeous (I had run 95%+ of the course as part of the Muir Beach 33k back in December).

Rodeo Beach just before the start

There weren't a whole lot of familiar faces. Only one as a matter of fact. So as we took off and tackled our first major climb of the day, we started chatting. Turns out the suspicion was mutual even though we couldn't quite place where we had seen each other before. Anyways, talking to Nicole Duke was a joy. We share the same values and attitudes towards trail running with the only difference being that Nicole is way more experienced than me.

Start area with our first climb looming behind it. It does go further up to the right.

So, here we were floating among the wildflowers, taking in breathtaking views and enjoying a day on the trails. This is LIVING! I was feeling strong and conversation was good enough for me to change my race goal from "85%" to "stick with Nicole as long as I feel good". We were running somewhere among the leaders and kept gaining ground. By the midway point, there was only one person ahead of us (quite a few marathoners dropped out at this point...we ran two identical loops).

Nicole was determined to win the women's event and woman #2 was right behind us. So, I changed my race goal again "help Nicole win". I held on until Tennessee Valley and the start of the final climb of the day. Climbing on Marincello Trail, Nicole was about 1 minute ahead of me, woman #2 about 1 minute behind me. It was fun to be right in the middle of the action!

Terrible lighting...GREAT trail (Rodeo Valley Trail)

At the top of the climb (and second to last aid), Nicole was leaving as I was arriving and woman #2, let's call her by her real name, Karalee Morris passed me here. I had been battling cramps in my right foot and needed to take in food and salt. For much of the rest of the way I was able to watch the women's race unfold. Karalee had pulled closer on the uphill but Nicole was slowly but surely pulling away on the long downhill and flat sections over the last 6 miles.

Before long I hit the hardest part of the course: the 1/4 stretch in the deep sand at the beach. This section was draining at the halfway point, but at the end it was the sort of brutal section that makes you question the sanity of the race organizers. It was t.o.u.g.h....and I loved it. In the end, I crossed the finish line in 4:16, which was good enough for 4th place overall. Nicole had actually gotten within 30 seconds of the overall win, but a spill at the end put an end to that dream. Regardless, she ran a fantastic race! Well paced and strong throughout.

All in all, it was a perfect day on some of the most scenic trails around. And I made a new friend in the process. What more could you ask for?

(My thanks go to all the volunteers who make such perfect days possible for us).

Wondrous Yosemite

2009-03-29T21:15:00.001-07:00

A set of unexpected circumstances presented me with some free time towards the middle of last week. So what is a runner recovering from Rucky Chucky to do? Check out some trails in Yosemite.

To some people's surprise, I had never been to this most famous National Parks (along with Yellowstone, I suppose). People like Muir and Adams have captured the imaginations of millions describing Yosemite through their literary and photographic talents. Now it was my turn to check it out.

To put it in one word, Yosemite is simply spectacular. It was early enough in the season to where the park wasn't too crowded and it was easy to get away from people. I like my solitude in the wilderness. Here are some choice photos from the trip. Enjoy!

El Capitan

Rock face with snow melt glistening in the sun

My favorite shot: mountains and trees mirroring on the Merced River

Having fun with the self timer. North Dome and Half Dome in the background.

In the Footsteps of Legends: The Rucky Chucky 50k

2009-03-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

“The Rucky Chucky 50k is a humbling introduction to the Western States 100 course” reads one of Scott Dunlap’s race reports. That assessment couldn’t be more fitting. Rucky Chucky runs between miles 62 and 78 of the Western States 100 course, which is like playing 3 holes at Augusta National except the eligibility requirements for getting on this course are pretty much the opposite. They go something like this: “You think you can run (any portion of) the course? Have at it!”

In a previous post, I described my pre-race excitement of running those hallowed trails, which had been mixed with a healthy dose of anxiety due to some foot issues. Most of that was forgotten on my 2+ hour drive up. Between sipping coffee and continuously switching radio stations, I was reminiscing about my first ultra, the Oak Mountain 50k, which I had run exactly one year earlier. (read Christian’s and David’s accounts of this year’s event here).

I was one of the first to arrive and had the unusual pleasure of parking 10 feet (literally) from the starting line. My race number turned out to be pleasant surprise as well, since its digits also match my birthday (110). The pre-race atmosphere was relaxed. It was easy to meet people and people either caught up with old friends or eagerly made new ones. I had the great pleasure of meeting Peter Lubbers in person. We have been blogging friends for a couple of years now, but never met in person. (As a side note, somebody needs to come up with an name for that. “Blogging friends” is kinda weird. As is “bliends”). Also, thanks to Peter and his buddy Troy, I've got lots of fun pictures in this report. Thank you!

Peter, who would finish 4th, and I before the race

Discussing the race profile at the start (looks staged, doesn't it?)

This was a small race and I love that. RD Robert Mathis gave us all the necessary instructions (“Follow the pink ribbons or Peter in the bright shirt. Turn around by the river and make sure you tell this guy [pointing] when you get back, since he keeps the time. It may rain depending on how long you’re out there. So, yeah,…3,2,1…go!” There are many reasons why I don’t miss big city races with 52,000 runners (new record!), $150 entry fees and Runner’s World coverage. All I need are some trails, a few runners and some dude who says “go”. Simple.

So, off we were and it didn’t take long before we hit the Western States Trail. Woah! Huge forest, magnificent views of the Sierra foothills and a few thousand feet below us the Ruck-a-Chuck River, our turn-around for the day.

Somewhere near the top

We would be going downhill for about 11 miles or so (save a couple teeny uphills) and the strangest thing was happening to me: I could not get my breathing under control. I was panting and losing my breath over gentle running. Maybe it was the little running over the previous two weeks (15 miles or so total). Maybe it was the altitude (we weren’t high though and altitude doesn’t bother me much). Who knows. That was the bad news. The good news was that my foot seemed to be doing fine (phew!). And once I passed the first aid (8.7) things started to improve with the breathing as well. The volunteers shouted “have fun on the next section," and I was wondering what could await me that I hadn’t seen yet.

Somewhere near the bottom

Flowers. Beautiful, magnificent flowers. Everywhere. Orange, purple, yellow, blue,… Have a favorite color? There was a flower for you. Mother Nature was out there putting on a show, and we were all invited. It was incredible!

An out-and-back course make it very easy, of course, to see how you’re doing half way through the race. To my surprise, I was running in 6^th when I hit the turn-around (2:13). That was good enough to get my competitive juices flowing. Number 7 was a minute or so behind me. It was time to push…just I had no juice left. My legs were trashed from the downhill (not good), but a good overall placement and a PR were still in the mix. After some more flower treatment on the river banks and saying my "hello"s and "good job"s to everyone, it was time to head back up. And, boy, was I hurting. I was struggling just to make it to the final aid station, which is no less than 8.7 miles of tough uphill from the finish line. I took my time here to refuel and regain strength. A mix of will-power, salty potatoes and BBQ chips (my favorite!!) was just what the doctor had ordered. I thought a lot about how so many runners have suffered here before. Not just the field, but big names like Trason, Twietmeyer and Jurek pushing for the win. And, truth be told, I was thinking most about Ansleigh. To run these trails unsupported and on a whim...mindblowing!

Shoulda smiled for this one

After some time, I passeed a sign that said “Foresthill 3.3 mi”, so I had about 3.5 miles to go (the finish line was at the other end of town). 48 minutes to break my PR and still in 6^th…I was in great shape. Not so fast was what trail quite literally seemed to say throwing the final, massive, steep, painful uphill in my way. I was reduced to walking a lot of it. In the end, I missed my PR by 4 minutes, but still stayed under 5 ½ hours (5:28) and successfully defended 6^th place overall. I was stoked! In terms of overall standing, this was my best finish ever, and it was about to rain cats and dogs. Sitting inside and eating cake sounded perfect right about now.

In the end, I learned a few things:
Despite doing a lot more uphill training, I still have a lot of work to do in this department
I love this race and hope to return here next year
The Western States course is no joke. Those trails are rocky and fairly technical
Birthday cake is GREAT post-run food
Driving two plus hours after a race stinks. But an In-N-Out chocolate shake can really improve the experience.

My thanks to the RD Robert and all the volunteers, some of whom braved some serious weather and temperature swings, especially the guys manning Cal2.

Those Mythical West Coast Races

2009-03-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

I'm giddy. Really, really giddy. Tomorrow I'll be tackling the Rucky Chucky Roundabout 50k, which means I get to run on the Western States Trail!! It's hard to put into words what that means to me. Ever since I first started discovered trail running a few years back, I have heard about Western States and other famous races out West. Michigan Bluff, No Hands Bridge, Foresthill, Last Chance, Rucky Chucky River Crossing...all those meant something to me long before I ran my first trail ultra.

Me a few years ago

Reading about races like Western States, Miwok, Hardrock and many others captured my imagination. The blood, sweat and tears that go into training and completing these runs were awe inspiring and motivated me to run more and more (challenging) trails and eventually step up to the ultra challenge.

And here I am running on the Western States Trail tomorrow....I AM THRILLED. In anticipation of this race, I have been thinking a lot about what races were really inspiring to me as a novice. Here they are:

Western States 100: The Rose Bowl of ultra-races (i.e. "The Granddaddy of Them All"). It all started here. I don't think I need to say much more than that.

Hopefully my Western States bid won't be as unsuccessful as Cal's Rose Bowl bids...

Miwok 100k: The images and race reports you see and read from this one are without exception epic. I have been fortunate to run in the area a few times now, including Stinson Beach and Muir Beach races. The scenery of the Marin Headlands is hard to beat.

Hardrock 100: I love alpine vistas as evidenced by some of my travels last summer, so I always loved reading the race reports for this one. HOW these people complete that course....well, I really don't know. I still cannot fathom that race.

Angeles Crest 100: The lady is from L.A., so I read these reports anticipating that this may one day be my first 100. We'll see.

The Dipsea Races: Tradition, tradition, tradition (and steps, steps, steps). Another must, especially the Quad.

There are more, but these were the first that came to mind. I feel so incredibly fortunate that fate steared me out here. So, so lucky!

Btw, I am not trying to slight the East Coast races. This post is more about what initially captured my imagination and got me started in this sport. Today, there are quite a few East Coast races that I still want to tackle (I'm looking at you Mt. Mitchell Challenge, Cheaha, Mist, Vermont.....)

Big Smiles

2009-03-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

with each step as I managed to run 3 pain free miles today.

I was almost as happy as I was after reaching the summit of Mt. Elbert.

The (Forced) Extreme Taper

2009-03-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

As I am typing this, the lady is out for a 12 miler getting ready for her upcoming half-marathon. What am I doing sitting on my couch typing away a week before Rucky Chucky? Tapering, well, actually I'm resting.

Early in the week, I started experiencing dorsal foot pain. It cut a 10 miler on Tuesday short. Rested Wednesday. Worries of an over-use injury like a stress fracture wouldn't subside. Ran an easy 2 on Thursday...only for my foot to feel sore again. Rest Friday. Rest today (Saturday). Rest tomorrow (Sunday).

It sucks and I'm celebrating a pity party (and doing countless sit-ups to strengthen my core).

Not running makes me feel sluggish and tired. Bleh!

The Scenic Sequoia 50k

2009-03-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

"I'm really nervous about this one"
They say the most important sleep you get is two nights before a race. Liars! I was already tossing and turning nervously on Thursday night in anticipation of my return to the 50k ranks. It had been 10 months since SweetH20 and with its 5k+ elevation change Sequoia would present a considerably more challenging course than either of my previous 50ks. In total, I was anxious to get to the starting line for about five days.

"Peet's?" - "Sure"
Per our (now usual) tradition, Will and I stopped at Peet's to take in calories in various forms. We were discussing our respective race strategies, and I was wondering whether Will would be able to set a course record for the 30k distance just like he had done at Woodside a few weeks ago. We were also surprised at how nippy it was outside, mainly because of some surprisingly strong winds. What to wear, what to wear? Always a hard decision going into a race. You'd think that after almost 30 years on Earth, we'd having this dressing ourselves thing down.

Mud, Mud, Mud
So, it was a little muddy out there, but nothing too, too bad. I was surprised at the number of people I overheard being annoyed at the mud (which wasn't bad at all compared some other places in the area like Tilden). Really? This is a trail run...in Northern California...in the winter. You can expect to get dirty. And besides, what is better than caked dirt on your calves? (ok, a pint of Ben & Jerry's). They're like battle wounds...except they wash off right away.

The First 15k
The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. Tall Redwood and Sequoia trees everywhere; little creeks created by recent rainfall were dancing down hills. But while the trails were stunning, my legs were heavy. Ooops! What to do? Spend lots of time at aid station #2. And so I did.

The Second 15k
Three minutes at Aid #2 did wonders for me. I found my stride and started passing lots of 50k and 30k runners. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be passed myself the whole rest of the day. Nice! The surprising thing is that the majority of my rejuvenation occurred on the biggest climb of the day (I'm more of a downhill runner).

The Final 20k
At 30k, we passed by the finish line. I could smell the chili and hear everyone laughing, but the hardest part of the day was still ahead of me. Needed to get out of there fast. Somehow I had positioned myself to run a PR and IT WAS ON! I pushed, pushed, pushed...running by myself most of the way. Once I hit the final aid (Moon Gate), I knew the PR was mine. The question was: what would my time be? I attacked the Cinderella trail as hard as I could. Despite it's unimposing name, it's a steep, rocky mountain bike trail (complete with jumps and everything) that is just painful to fun down with any kind of velocity. I may have been screaming like a lunatic. Can't really remember.

In the end, I finished in 5:24, a 23 minute PR. It was good enough for 19th overall in a strong field with many good performances. 14 people finished under 5 hrs (compared to 6, 4, 0 and 0 in previous years). Local runner Caitlin Smith ran a stunning 4:22 in her first 50k coming in second overall (read her account here). And Will ran another course record in the 30k. I'm worried about what he'll do once he moves up to the 50k (you know it's just a matter of time, buddy!).

Thank you to Sarah and Wendell as well as all the volunteers for putting on another outstanding race. I especially enjoyed the crew manning the Moon Gate aid station for rocking the tunes. Jimi Hendrix rocks!

When Trails Turn to Creeks...

2009-02-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

Relentless rain has dropped between 2-4 inches of the wet stuff all over the Bay Area during the past 24-36 hours. The hills are getting soaked and the trails are the muddiest they have been all winter. They were muddy, of course, only when they hadn't turned into a creeks.

A solid 20 miler allowed me to enjoy me plenty of single and double-track, which I had all to myself on this soggy Presidents Day. By the end, a quarter-inch thick layer of muddy goodness was caked on my calves. SPLENDID!

If you haven't already, go enjoy the rain!!

Working Hard at the Woodside 35k

2009-02-09T09:34:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, I had the great joy of finally lining up for a trail race again. It had been two months since Muir Beach. Despite quite a bit of travel over the holidays (two countries in Europe, close to 2000 miles of driving up and down the West Coast, etc.), I had been putting in quite a bit of work in the off-season with high hopes to return to 50k shape this spring.

The lush trails at Woodside (all photos in this report courtesy of the Blogfather, Scott Dunlap)

In addition to racking up the mileage, I had been eating healthier and started to incorporate sit-ups and push-ups in my daily routine. Needless to say, I was eager to hit the trails and see whether all that work had paid off (eating less Gelato is very difficult for me, you know).

Partying Like You're 90!
As with with the Muir Beach race, Will was happy to tag along. He's training hard to set a new marathon PR in Los Angeles later this spring, a 2:30-something time well within the realm of possibilities. The drive over to Woodside started with the obligatory stop at Pete's coffee. Some guy was celebrating his 90th birthday at 6:45 a.m. with about a dozen friends and a giant cake. That man was living life to the fullest!

Runners would start in waves today depending on race distances. Us 35k folks would be starting last at 9:15 a.m. along with the 17k runners. You don't see those kind of start times in the South.

The Race
Sarah and Wendell gave their usual instructions and we were off right on time. Even though it was sunny, we would be covered majestic Redwood trees the whole way. Spectacular stuff (and somehting else you don't see in the South). The race started with the biggest and only major climb of the day up to Kings Mountain aid station. The idea was to take it easy here and then see what I could do after that on top of the Ridge. Well, once I got to the aid, I was hungry and tired. Oooops!

front loaded elevation profile

Three cookies, an orange slice and a half potato later, I was moving again. I would only see one person over the next 30 minutes and wonder where everybody was. Swaths of fog would engulf the trail in certain sections and my mind was drifting off. It felt like I was running through a dream scene the way they depict them in the movies. The Redwood trees were magnificent, the birds were chirping and I was lost somewhere in the middle. Was this a race?

This section was an out and back, so it was just a matter of time until the race leader would pass. And sure enough, Will was flying towards me. We exchanged high fives and shouted words of encouragement. I checked my watch to time his lead. 3 minutes later three very determined looking runners working as a team rushed by me like a high-speed train. Would Will be able to hold on? I better hurry to find out!

At the turn-around, I was in 13th or 14th place. That was much better than any of my previous finishes here in California (20th, 31st, 44th...in reverse order). Now, I was determined to push. The run back to Kings Mountain seemed to take forever, but the many "good jobs" by the other runners helped tremendously. I tried to return the favor as best I could, but often all I could was "gschschawb".

At Kings Mountain, I was spent. Two runners were right ahead of me and I could barely run anymore. However, once we hit the final downhill, I called up my good friend Newton. My strides were painful but efficient, and I would catch up to both of them. The final mile, this guy and I had separated from the third runner and were pushing each other to the limit. I could not pass him for the life of me.......until I saw the cars of the parking lot. Somehow I found another gear (Where were you before, Another Gear? This is a race, not a vacation!) and I flew towards the finish line. 3:14 flat, good enough for 12th place.

Cal v. Stanford
Will found me and told me he won (I had to ask him. He is ever so modest). After some yummy chili we were checking out the impressive results across the board. Previous course records were posted as well, and it turns out that Will had set a new one for the 35k distance! Leor Pantilat of Stanford, CA had set the previous one last year. I just couldn't resist saying something like "Once again Cal beats Stanford" earning me a very disapproving look from some lady standing next to us (sorry!).

Here is my take on the whole Cal-Stanford rivalry: I'm a HUGE Cal fan. The Play is the greatest moment in sports. I can tell you how the women's lacrosse team did last weekend (19-0 win) or how we fared on college football signing day. Our cat even sleeps on a Cal blanket. Clearly, I enjoy every time we beat the Cardinal whether it is in football, swimming or a science fair.

HOWEVER, I think there is nothing greater than having two such outstanding universities here in the Bay Area. A lot of successful companies have been founded, scientific discoveries have been made and world leaders have emerged on these campuses. The universities feed this hotbed of innovation that is the SF Bay Area. There is a lot of collaboration going on between the two schools. We push each other to be better, and we work together on many projects (including one that I'm involved with). I think it's a blessing to have Stanford on the other side of the Bay. I really do. OK, time to move on.

Will and I actually ended up talking to Leor for a while. He is a great talent and a good kid. I look forward to seeing him again at Sequoia, and I'm sure he'll be kicking some serious butt there and at Way Too Cool. That man is fast.

And Thank You!
Finally, thank you to Sarah, Wendell and all the volunteers for a once again perfectly organized race. See you in a few weeks!

Anybody Have Experience in Running in Santiago de Chile?

2009-01-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

Because of a wonderful program here at UC Berkeley, I will be traveling to and working in Santiago de Chile for close to a month in the May/June time frame. The majority of my time there will be spent working on a clean tech project, but hopefully I will have a little bit of time to explore and go running. Needless to say I'm beyond excited!

Knowing that Santiago is one of most developed cities in South America, I am still a bit unsure as to what running is like (weather, safety, etc.) down there. I was hoping to participate in a six hour race only a week or so after my return. If you've visited and can share you're experience with me, please send me an e-mail.

joy!

Race Discount/Free Race Number for My Friends in Georgia

2009-01-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I can't take advantage of this anymore, but if you're planning on running the Granite Grinder in April, you can either do it for free (!) or register with a $10 discount. Here's how it works:

Free: Go to Subaru of South Atlanta on January 31st from 1 - 6 pm, test drive one of their cars and get a free race number AND a free VO2 max test.

$10 off: When you register on active.com, use the code "gogrinder"

Enjoy!

The Effects of Walking on Mileage

2009-01-15T19:06:00.000-08:00

Atlanta is a driving city. It is nearly impossible to live in the ATL (I'm hip like that) without having access to a car. Berkeley is sort of the opposite of that. I got rid of my car the second day after I got here (not an exaggeration). Between the lady and I we share one vehicle that I drive on average about once a week (grocery shopping or trail running/racing). Everywhere else I walk. And I LOVE it!

There are several factors that make this possible. Incredible weather. Proximity of campus and key stores, restaurants, etc. to our home. Decent public transportation system into the city. With all that, I sat down and tried to figure out much I expect to walk in 2009.

Round trip to and from campus (Haas): 2.2 miles
Trips per week: ~5
Additional mileage per week (shopping, getting coffee, etc.): 2.5
Total weeks of school: about 30 (accounts for some miscellaneous events)

Total miles walked per week during non school weeks: ~5
(This number is higher, because I often combine walking to and from schools with running errands. Five miles per week is a good approximation of how much I have walked during break).
Total weeks without school: 22

Total expected walking mileage: ~515 miles

Wow! Walking is certainly not a substitute for running, but it does qualify for cross-training doesn't it? (This may also explain why I lost quite a bit of weight last fall despite running less).

Inspiration

2009-01-13T16:55:00.000-08:00

2009 is off to a great start! My mileage is up despite extensive travel, and I'm in the final stages of putting together my spring schedule. I am committed to making 2009 my strongest running year yet.

One major reason of why running has been going so well is my fellow bloggers. They are setting an example and inspire me every day. Thank you all (you know who you are) for being awesome!

1243.59

2009-01-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

That's my total mileage for 2008. Honestly, it's not something I'm excited about, as it falls way below my expectations. There were way too many 8, 10, 14 mile weeks during summer/early fall when my training was taking a backseat to other things in life. (1245 miles will get you from Berkeley to Estes Park, CO, gateway to the great Rocky Mountain National Park and one of my playgrounds this past summer).

Alas, it's a new year! My minimum goal for this year is 1,500 miles (4.1/day, 28.8/week) and my dream goal is right at 2009 (5.5/day, 38.6/week). We'll see how 2009 shapes up.

2008 In Review

2008-12-22T20:08:00.000-08:00

Looking back at the goals I set at the beginning of the year, it appears that I've done fairly well.

Have Fun Running
The idea was to focus less on PRs and more on the fun of running even during races. Done and done.

Beat My 2007 Total Mileage

I don't know whether I met my goal here, since I kept all my mileage in a running journal the first half of the year and everything I've done since June or so is in my Garmin. Will update on this later.

Explore New Trails

OK, I cheated here a little knowing full well that it was more than likely that I would be heading West when I posted this nearly a year ago. Still: CHECK!

Keep Up This Blog

I did OK on this goal. I wrote quite a bit the first half of the year, let it slide a little during the fall, but have picked it back up of late. The more I run, the more I blog, because I think about what to blog while I run.

Some superlatives:

Trail of the Year

Lakes Trail in Sequoia National Park. It was the most scenic AND I got to watch a mother bear and her cub. Also, it yielded this picture of Pear Lake:

Race of the Year

Muir Beach. Hands down. Everybody should run this one at least once. The views are spectacular.

Accomplishment of the Year

My first 50k over in Alabama. That seems so long ago...

Disappointment of the Year

DNF at Pacifica. Still a good decision. No regrets.

Favorite New Trail

Summit trail up to Wildcat Peak at Tilden.

Realization of the Year

I'm better at downhill than uphill (even though I'd thought the opposite previously).

Hint of the Year

Wearing my Cal hat BEFORE I even got in. Ballsy! I've actually had this one for eight years or so, before I knew much about the school at all. I suppose it was destiny.

2nd Ballsiest Move of the Year

Two way tie: (1) drinking out of some dirty stream at Sweetwater (I challenge thee, irony!) and (2) sliding down some gigantic glacier in Rocky Mountain National Park because it looked 'fun'. (I never blogged about this, but it was as stupid and as much fun as it sounds. Once at the bottom, it took me over an hour to hike one mile to the closest trail, since avalanches had washed away the trail that was supposed to be there.)

Playing in the Mud

2008-12-18T22:25:00.000-08:00

We've been lucky enough to get a fair amount of precipitation here in the Bay Area over the past few days. And I'm not using the word "rain" on purpose, since it actually SNOWED! Right here at Tilden the white stuff came down on Monday as if this were Banff or something. (ok, not quite...but still). Mount Diablo is still covered in it two days later.

Picture of a snowy Mt. Diablo from a few years back.

As a result, a lot of the trails are pretty muddy. I'd almost forgotten what running on muddy trails was like. Back South we got to enjoy that rather frequently, but not here (at least not yet; apparently the rainy season is coming up). I enjoyed getting the back of my legs and butt sprinkled on with muddy goodness during a little run this afternoon. In the process I came up with a fantastic new phrase: sprinkled butt. (Enjoy that mental image).

A Beautiful Day at Muir Beach

2008-12-15T18:15:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, I joined a couple hundred or so runners for the Muir Beach 11k, 17k, 33k and 50k. My distance of choice was a challenging 33k complete with nearly 4,400 feet of climbing. Rain was in the forecast but I woke up to a clear sky with a very bright full moon.

Muir Beach

After what is quickly becoming a customary pre-race coffee stop at Peet's (I live only a block from the original location in Berkeley), I picked up my buddy Will who would be competing in his first trail race. He is no stranger to races though. A collegiate runner at Princeton, I was curious to see how he would enjoy the trail race atmosphere.

Will and I pre-race.

After a beautiful drive over the Richmond Bridge to Marin county, we arrived at Muir Beach shortly after sunrise. Beat, whose girlfriend is in my program and who would be running his (I believe) fourth ultra in five weeks, happened to park right next to us. Great timing! We all checked in and Will made the obligatory "everybody knows each other around here, huh?" remark. I nodded and smiled as I was reminded of how welcoming the Bay Area trail community has been over the past six months (thanks, everybody, you know who you are!).

At 8.30, we were off and immediately began to climb. It was a great way to warm up and check out the views back to Muir Beach and over the ocean. The first few miles were nothing short of spectacular. The course took us on a single track trail sitting on top of high cliffs above the ocean. All you heard were runner's feet hitting the trail and the ocean waves crashing down below us. A trail runner's dream.

The first few miles

Soon after, we hit the Tennessee Valley aid station. Now, you gotta understand. I'm a newly arrived runner from the East Coast having read many, many race reports about the races out here. Western States, Miwok 100, Dipsea...these are places I have only dreamed about a few months ago and now I'm here running on the same trails on which these races take place. I feel like I've read about Tennessee Valley aid stations dozens of times and now it was my turn to refuel here.

Then it was time to climb again. Here I met and ran with Jochen for a little bit. We both hail from the same country and it was fun to speak some deutsch. After about 15 minutes of that I pulled away on a down hill and would run by myself the rest of the way. It was a great way to reflect on my first few months here on the West Coast, take a mental break from finals and think about how fortunate I am...in so many ways.

I would run like that for about 12 or so miles, lost in thought and happy, before I finished in a bit over 3.30.

At the finish, I met Will and we swapped race stories over some chili. A perfect day!

Stoked for Muir Beach

2008-12-10T00:34:00.000-08:00

This will be my final race for the year, but it feels different than that. Training has been good, streak is intact and I'm feeling pretty strong. Slowly but surely, I'm starting to get into shape again. Hopefully a school holiday party on Friday won't hurt too much...

Everyone continues to rave about the beauty of this course, which only increases my excitement. Can we go now? Please?

Muir Beach is actually the beach of choice in this household, so I'm familiar with the surroundings, although I have yet to venture out onto those trails. Can't wait!!

See you on Saturday!

Giddy!

2008-12-04T20:04:00.001-08:00

I'm so excited about my long run tomorrow that I already laid out my stuff. It's been a while.

(p.s. iPhones need flash)

Another Self-Promoter

2008-11-30T12:43:00.000-08:00

David Goggins is apparently taking Dean's lead.

[added later 12/15]
So, a big discussion started over on Scott's blog about this. David Goggins actually replied and clarified a lot of things. I thought it was appropriate to print that here:

Since this is about me, I think that it is good for me to say some things. First, I want to thank the people who have actually met me and came to my defense. For everybody else, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I haven't earned 1 dime from Ultrarunning. As a matter of fact, my family has spent thousands of dollars trying to raise money for this foundation. The 100 Mile man is not who I am,,, So I am not the self proclaimed 100mileman. The 100 Mile man is actually a foundation that was started by a man who wanted to raise a million dollars by running running a 24 hour race. His goal was to run a 100 miles in 24 hours. This man called me because he heard about what I was doing. He asked if I would help support thier foundation. As you can see I said yes. If you have looked on the 100mileman website, you have seen a lot of information about me that I myself did not put on the website. By the way,,,, I do not have a website, nor did I start a facebook page on myself. I do not have an ego. Compairing me to Dean K is just plain funny. They guy makes a living off of running and writing books. I make a living in the military. Being in the military, you can not be sponsored by anyone and except money from sponsors. By the way.... I'm sorry that me getting 3 hours of sleep offends people. In order for me to do my job and train for these events, that is what I have to do. I do not run for the military. They ask me at times to do things for them and I do, but it is not my job to be an athlete for them and I do not trian during work hours. When I go to races, I must take leave and pay for it out of my pocket. When I raise money for the foundations, I also race on my dime. The 100 mile man foundation has been supportive of me raising awareness and raising money for the Special Operations Warrior Foudnation. It truely amazes me that grown people have the time to put this kind of crap on line about someone they have never met. I choose running 100 mile races to raise money because it was a hard thing to do and because it was a sport where people just did their own thing. That is the best thing about this sport, you are on your own. Sorry to have to explain myself, but I want people to at least have the correct facts when they decide that I'm a bad guy or a self promoter for my own personal gain. The 100 mile man foundation put that I was one of the top 20 ultra runners because ultra running magazine listed me in the top 20 last year. I'm not saying it to kiss my ass. I know how they pick the top athletes and I raced a lot in 2007. I by no means have ever said that about myself. It is true that I don't like to run. I weighed 280 lbs in 2005. You will see how much I enjoy running when you stop seeing my name in the results when I reach my personal goal of the amount of money I would like to raise. I didn't see it fit to have a bake sale when 11 fellow SEAL's were killed in the war. So, I decided to pick something hard to honor the hard men that they were. And the hard time their families would be going through. Once again I want to thank those of you who support my efforts and no me for who I am, not what they read.

NGM: Ozarks Highlands Trail

2008-11-27T23:50:00.000-08:00

I'm a little behind on my National Geographic reading, but the October 2008 issue has a really interesting article on the Ozarks Highlands Trail. I drove through the Ozarks as I trekked across the United States last summer, but unfortunately did not have any time to stop.

Anyways, the article talks about how the trail was built by a volunteer group, and how it came about in general. There are also some fun facts about trails in general:

92% of the US population lives within 35 miles of a trail (up from 16% in 1970!!)
This year marks (only) the 40th anniversary of the national trails system, which incorporates 1,077 trails totaling more than 66,000 miles (I'm getting tired just reading that).

Definitely check it out.

Streaking Again...

2008-11-25T23:09:00.000-08:00

So there you have it. I'm streaking again. It's public now, which means that I'm committed (I wouldn't lie to you :)). Not sure whether I can reach my previous record of 282 days, a streak cut short by big root last year. (It turns out that one tendon is not enough to run on; you need four in each foot).

For those of you who don't know what streaking is, it refers to running at least one consecutive mile for as many days in a row as you can. There is even an official club. Some people have streaks going that are decades old, which is nearly impossible to comprehend for me.

Right now, my streak is nothing to write home about. It stands at thirteen. However, it really changed my body last year, especially its ability to recover quickly. That helps in ultras. Which is something else I want to get back into. See you out on the trails!

Fun in the Sun at the Stinson Beach 20k

2008-11-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday it happened: I finally got to put on a race number again! The sheer joy of prepping for a race (over-analyzing the race profile, printing out the Google map directions to the race start, etc.) has been missing from my life lately. So, I was happy to drive out to Stinson Beach with my lady this past Saturday to join 500 other runners at the Stinson Beach 12k/20k/30k/50k.

From the Dipsea Trail looking back towards Stinson Beach (photo credit PCTR)

As usual, PC Trail Runs is not skimping on the availability of race distances (rumor has it they're going up to six per race next year and nine per race by 2010), and I was happy to choose the 20k option. My training hasn't taken me past 9 miles since the Redwook 30k over two months ago and this course looked pretty challenging. A 1,500 ft. climb right out of the gates: Good morning!

The green and blue stripes make this appear to be a much easier course than it actually is.

Stinson Beach is at least as beautiful as it sounds. Picture a California beach town and you're probably thinking of Stinson. On my way to check-in, I ran into the always smiling Scott Dunlap, otherwise known as the trail running 'blogfather.' Ok, I just made that up, but it's true. Actually, Scott is one of my heroes. The man continues to improve on the race course year in and year out, is a successful CEO in Silicon Valley, writes the most widely read blog on trail running and, to top it all off, is the father to a beautiful two-year old. And here I am complaining about my crazy schedule in grad school...

Once checked in, I got to say hello to my friend Beat whose girlfriend is actually in my program. Beat is from Switzerland, so he and I share the funky German accent. There were a lot of those (accents) around actually...and that actually didn't surprise me. Lots of Germans take to the trails and compete quite well at the ultra-distances.

After completing pre-race procedures at what might very well be the most scenically located bathroom in the country, someone said my name. And it was Leslie from the Banff Trail Trash blog. (If you haven't checked that one out, you're missing out. It's one of my absolute favorites!) Leslie and her husband Keith were in California for week celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary....running. Yes, they ran all over. Check it out on their blog.

Keith and I (and, yes, I'm still representing GUTS)...photo credit to BTT

Going up the Dipsea Trail...photo credit to BTT

Leslie, Keith and I would start the race together charging up the mythical Dipsea Trail like three little school girls, singing, bouncing and simply just enjoying ourselves. What a day it was! Blue skies, 70 degrees, a light breeze from the ocean. While I sometimes miss my hometrails in Atlanta, I am not going to lie: I feel so very lucky to live in the Bay Area! I LOVE it here!!

The trail was a bit crowded at first, but all the more time to take in the sweeping views, talk to people and breathe the wonderful fall air. Soon enough we were on top of the first hill and the different races went their separate ways.

Some really slippery ladder on the way up...credit Jane with the pic

It took me a while to get to the top (starting from the back can set you back quite a bit) and now it was time to just let it fly! I charged the downhill like there was no tomorrow. Boy, it's been too long! It wasn't my lungs or legs propelling me forward but pure joy!

I would later pay the price for going too fast during the middle section on the final four mile descent, but, oh well, more time to take in the views. Sometimes, I would just stop and stare: can a place really be this beautiful? Trails, ocean and blue skies. Stinson Beach, I'll be back for sure!

As always my thanks go out to the race organizers, Sarah (sorry, I missed you again!) and Wendell, as well as all the great volunteers!

(Any 'rumors' mentioned in this blog entry are, of course, not true)

(I broke yet another camera...butterfingers...hence the 'borrowing' from the internets)

Upcoming Races

2008-11-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

It looks like I'll be able to squeeze in at least two more races before the end of the year. Unfortunately, I need to focus on some shorter distances for now. First up, the Stinson Beach 20k. The course profile looks similar to what my local training runs are here in Berkeley. Hopefully, that'll be an advantage.

Looks just like my runs up to Grizzly or Wildcat Peaks

I will close out the year with the Muir Beach 33k on December 13.

Next spring, I'm already signed up for the Santa Cruz Half-Marathon and I'm eyeing a couple of 50ks as well.

Rain? Rain!

2008-10-31T12:27:00.000-07:00

I have lived in the Bay Area since late July now. Yesterday was the second time it has rained. The SECOND time! And today was the third time. Apparently, the rainy season has started, since it's supposed to rain three more days.

This morning I took the opportunity to run a little bit in the rain. 9 casual miles in the hills. The countless scents liberated by the rain were permeating the trail. It was beautiful! Makes me miss running in the South a little bit.

Impressions From My New Home Trails

2008-10-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

In all this reminiscing about my summer, I haven't really shown the appreciation I have for living in, what I perceive to be, the unofficial trail capital of the U.S.: the SF Bay Area! ("Unofficial" because me saying it, doesn't constitute the correctness of that statement).

So, I finally brought along a camera on a recent run at Tilden Park (up to Wildcat Peak). Enjoy!

Regular ole' trail. Doesn't look like the South at all, does it?

Wildcat Peak...my goal for the day and the highest point in Tilden

more beautiful trail

Eucalyptus trees....there are tons of them here, however they are an invasive species

View of the Golden Gate Bridge from the top of Wildcat Peak

The infamous Mt. Diablo lurking not too far away...

Frightening Moment on the Trail

2008-10-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

Let me me start this post off by saying one thing: I love animals, and I love dogs. I like to run with them, wrestle them and play with them at any time. Unfortunately a dog was at the center of one scary trail incident this afternoon.

For days, I had been looking forward to this run. My schedule had been built all around it. I even did some studying on a Saturday night just to spend some significant trail time up at Tilden Regional Park this morning. Tilden has a maze of trails and I'm still getting my bearings doing many exploratory runs with a map close by at all times.

About 20 minutes in, I passed by a picnic area with a young couple laying on the ground with what appeared to be a bull terrier...off-leash. Now, bull terriers are so-called fighting dogs and with the wrong owners can be quite dangerous to humans, in particular children. It's up to the owner to raise these dogs carefully and with lots of attention.

So, I'm trying to run by as the dog all of the sudden decides to charge me. Teeth showing, saliva coming out of his mouth, it's running towards me fast. I decide to stop and stand my ground. What was frightening wasn't the dog as much as the owners who looked terrified and just froze. The dog reached me and I could feel his wet mouth brush up against my leg.

Thank goodness, it didn't bite. You could see the sense of relief on the faces of the young couple. One of them came over and removed the dog from my general vicinity. They apologized profusely, and I could tell that they were still in a bit of a shock.

I've had dozens if not hundreds of dogs run towards me or bark at me while out running. They have barked, tried to play and do all sorts of things. But this was different. The wrong dog in a wrong owners' hands can be a dangerous thing. I got lucky.

Video from Elbert

2008-09-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

Since people seemed to enjoy the pictures from Mt. Elbert, I thought I'd dig up a little video I shot up there. You may notice that I'm a little out of breath, but the air was thinnnnnnnn!

I promise to stop reminiscing about my summer soon (at least publicly).

Climbing Mt. Elbert (14,433 ft.)

2008-09-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in a few previous posts, I spent quite a bit of time in Colorado this summer. One of the things I learned was that high altitude is a lot of fun and works for me. I hit lots of high altitude trails, learned to bring lots of layers and even traversed down a giant glacier without any special gear. Not the smartest thing I ever did, but one of the most fun!

But the achievement I am most proud of is summitting Mt. Elbert, at 14,433 ft. the highest mountain in Colorado. It's not a very tough mountain in terms of technical skills required, you just need big lungs, strong legs and be ready to face lots of false summits.

Old school

Elbert is near Leadville, CO, a pretty special place for us ultrarunners. I camped right at the bottom of the mountain at about 10,000 ft. (Prior to this summer, I had never been above 7,000 feet, btw.) and headed out at 5 a.m. one morning.

The climb starts out on a dirt road that my little civic would have succumbed to about a 1/4 mile in. If you have a big 4wd vehicle, you can drive the first two miles, but I didn't that luxury. It lead me through a beautiful birch tree forest and then some of the steepest trails I have ever seen. I honestly could not believe how steep that trail was at the bottom. It must have taken me about 30 or 40 mins or so to just cover a mile.

Just above tree line

But I was making quick progress anyhow. Soon, I was above the treeline and saw a large group ahead of me. I reached them as they were taking a break and decided to rest with them a little. To our left was Mt. Massive (the second highest in Colorado) and to our right the Ivy League Mountains (Mt. Harvard, etc.)....INCREDIBLE!

It was time to move on though, since it was supposed to storm early today. My strategy was just to put one foot in front of the other. And that worked better than expected. After only 3:10 I had finished the 7.5 mile treck to the summit.

Signed in

What a view it was! It felt like being in an airplane flying over the mountains. There were mountains everywhere and, boy, was it beautiful. I can't describe it. Pictures will have to speak for me here.

It was the middle of July...and in the 30s at the summit

Go Bears!

A New Life - New Trails

2008-09-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

Prior to my last post, I was noticeably absent for about a month and a half. "Why?" you might ask. Well, life has turned around 180 degrees for me.

I had to return back to L.A. from my travels early to attend to a family emergency. Everything turned out fine (thankfully) and it allowed me to spend some more time with the lady (never a bad thing) and rest up a little before moving up to Berkeley.

Pretty typical view from the trails in Berkeley.

The move was relatively painless. It's great running here in late summer. The lows are in 50s, highs in the 70s...PERFECT running weather. And quite frankly, I'm getting spoiled.

Eucalyptus forest

And the trails. Boy, the trails here are amazing. There are so many here in the hills above campus, it's a giant maze. What's amazing is how quickly the vegetation changes. One minute, you're in a giant redwood forest, the next on an exposed trail surrounded by brush and grasses, and then you might hit a eucalyptus tree forest. I supposed that's due to all the little sub-climates here in the area.

Redwood Forest

Unfortunately, school has been extremely busy. Generally, I'm on campus 12 or so hours a day, followed by around four or five hours of studying at home. That leaves little time for running (and sleeping for that matter). I may not be running ultras this fall (school is supposed to get less busy after the first semester), but will hit some of the many short trail races here in the area. There are so many to choose from!

A Hot Morning At The Redwood 30k

2008-09-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

Some of you have e-mailed me or left comments, wondering what happened to me. Well, I'm still around, life has turned upside down, but I'm still running. More on all this next time.

How Not To Prepare For A Race
The Redwood 30k was always scheduled to be long run rather than a race for me. I knew it would be sandwiched in to a weekend of three straight DMB concerts at the Greek Theater. Friday night was the first show and, as usual, I refused to sit during the concert, but rather chose to dance (sometimes violently). Most of the time I probably looked something like this.

Needless to say, I went to bed exhausted only to wake up a few hours later to head out to the race. Races seem to start much later out West it seems. When I was waking up I appreciated the 8.30 start time; later on I would change my mind on that.

The Race
The drive over to the Oakland hills was uneventful, except that I had to turn around half way, since I had forgotten my hat as well as my ankle guards. In the end, I got there just in time to register and use the outhouse. I ran directly from there to the starting line and it was time to leave pretty much immediately.

Even though it was only 8.30, it was starting to get warm. Two things I don't get: isn't the Bay Area supposed to be around 67 degrees at all times? And why do heat waves always have to hit when I run races?

As I was considering these questions, I walked up the first big hill taking my sweet ole time. It's funny, I had just started to make a good number of friends in the Georgia trail running community to the point where I would always know people in races and had friends to catch up with. Now that process will have to start all over again.

In any case, it already started getting hot, and as we know from my disaster race at Pacifica, the heat is not my friend. I never really pushed the pace and took my sweet time at aid station 1 (4 mins) and aid station 2 (10 mins!). The food was really good, the people really nice and I was in no hurry.

The first 20k were run mostly run exposed fire roads and single track. The last 10k finally took us into the forest. But it was a brutal final 10k, somewhat reminiscent of the infamous powerline section at Sweetwater (though not as difficult, but much longer).

In the end, I posted a mediocre time of 3:41 and was completely beat up by the course and heat. Not my best race, but I had lots of fun and am looking forward to the next one.

Thanks to Sarah, Wendell and all the volunteers for putting on a perfectly executed event!

P.s. Next time, I'll bring my camera again.

Trailrunning in Zion National Park

2008-07-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

I have finally returned from what I termed my "Big Trip." Hundreds of experiences have left their mark on me and made a lasting impression. In fact, my life is changed a little bit (for the better, I believe). Here is the first in a series of spectacular places I was able to run. Please don't playa-hate as Christian has threatened me he would. Also, I will not be able to run Speedgoat because of a family emergency I need to attend to.

Zion National Park is located in southern Utah near the town of St. George. I wasn't sure what to expect, applying my new rule of "If they're making it a National Park, it's always worth checking out." What I found was breathtaking. The (warm) Virgin River had carved a masterpiece of a canyon complete with red rock walls as high as the sky and a lush, green river oasis at the bottom. Despite the 107 degree heat, I laced up my sneakers and saw this:

Yes, I ran here.

Serious switchbacks.

I know I'm sexy. You don't have to tell me.

Heaven on earth

Loving Life in Colorado

2008-07-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

You may all know that I absolutely LOVE California. It's got everything I need: ocean, mountains, forest, and on. But I have also found my second (geographic) love: Colorado.

For the past week or so, I have been playing here in the Rocky Mountains. My days usually go something like this:

Wake up (naturally) around 6 or 6.30

Hit the hiking trails for about 10-15 miles at 10k+ altitude (which really doesn't seem to bother me as much I have come to find out)

Hit the local library for some catching up on e-mail, reading magazines, etc. (public libraries are great fun and, as is important for a student like me, FREE)

Go to a coffee shop and read the rest of the afternoon

Return to my campsite, make dinner, read some more and fall asleep by 9.30 or 10

There are few places that are as beautiful and have relaxed me as much as Colorado.

(More to come....once I can upload pictures)

I am still alive!

2008-07-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. I've been traveling the Western United States over the past 10 days or so with stops at Zion National Park, in Wyoming, South Dakota and now Colorado. I'm enjoying the high altitude, and I'm taking lots of pictures and spending time in nature. More detailed posts coming soon!

An Interview With Karl Meltzer

2008-07-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

Karl Meltzer is a lucky man. He is a professional ultra-runner. Yup, what you and I do for fun, he makes a living doing. "How" you ask? Simply stated: Karl is a badass. Let's review some facts from his running resume. More 100 mile trail race wins in a calendar year than anyone in history (Karl won six 100s in 2006; the previous record was four). His specialty are mountain runs, as evidenced by his ridiculous number of wins at Wasatch 100 (6 total) and Hardrock (4). As a matter of fact, Karl wins a lot. Try 48 ultra wins in 91 starts, 23 of which were at the 100 mile distance (that's a record, too).

This year, Karl will tackle a completely different challenge. In August, he will set out to break the speed record for the Appalachian trail. This assault will end in my old stomping grounds in North Georgia. Reason enough for an interview.

Describe your evolution from a "regular" runner to becoming a trail and ultra runner.

I have always run well at Cross Country, and trails. When I moved to Utah in 1989, I came here to be a ski bum. I hadn't really run in 3 years at that point. After skiing 120 days the first year, I decided to stay in Utah. A buddy of mine went for a run one day, so I tagged along, but not far behind. Once I ran once I was hooked on trails again, and started training harder. At first the Pikes Peak Marathon was the big dance, then it just evolved into ultras. I never thought I would run 100 miles at a pop, but after a friend told me about the Wasatch 100 I was intrigued and decided to go for it. From there I was hooked for life.

At what point did you realize that you had a chance to be an elite ultra runner? Was there an "a-ha moment" or a particular race?

That first year I ran for 3 weeks around Snowbird Utah, then won the hill climb to the peak on essentially no training. I knew I had potential to start winning other races. Ultras came 6 years later. The first Ultra was the Wasatch 100 and although I finished in 28th, I was in the race to win all the way up to 70 miles, so I knew I had it in me. I won my first 100 at Wasatch in 1998, then my focus was to race the fastest guys out there, and I started beating them. I knew then I was an "elite" ultrarunner.

Don't tell me you have pretty feet.

Out of all your running accomplishments, which are you most proud of and why?

Hard to say, but at this point I have now won more trail 100's then any other person on earth, that would be number 1 , but before that, when I won Hardrock for the first time in 2001 and crushed the record, I felt great about it. I mentioned before the race, since National Geographic and Sports Illustrated were there, It would be a good day to really nail it...and I did.

What would you consider the key to your successes?

Simply put, mental power and knowing when not to train "too hard" and get injured

What is your favorite race to run? Why?

Hardrock is great because is fits my style, but really any race with big mountains and rugged terrain are what I excel at, which is why I stay away from silly road races.

We kick it old school around here. This is after the Karl's 2001 win at Hardrock.

How have you adjusted your training as your focus this year is less on the 100 milers ('only' two this year) and more on the Appalachian Trail record attempt? Describe a typical training week preparing for 100s vs. for the AT record attempt.

Honestly the training is very much the same, I have actually run more miles this year preparing for the AT than any other year....easily. The two 100s I did go into Coyote with Fresh legs and actually tapered for it, normally I just go and run the race, then drive home. Western [States] will be like that, even though WS is a competitive race, it's just a training run for me before the AT. [Obviously, this interview is a few weeks old. For those of you who don't know, WS got canceled this year due to wild fires - the editor].

You live west of the Mississippi, why the AT record (vs. Pacific Coast Trail or Continental Divide Trail)?

The AT has far more history then the other two you mentioned, and is very technical, which fits my strength. I am also from the East Coast originally, and I 've always wanted to do it. And now that Backcountry.com has come along and is supporting me it was a no-brainer. The AT record is more solid [a shade over 47 days for the 2174 mile jaunt - the editor] than the PCT or CDT, so I wanted to chase that first.

Tell us about WheresKarl.com and the neat applications it will have.

Backcountry.com and I discussed whereskarl.com back in December, I came up with the idea of having a live tracking device for people to watch me attempt the whole AT. They loved the idea and we went from there. whereskarl.com will have live satellite tracking every 10 minutes using google earth maps, and an interactive website so people can win prizes, and stuff like that. It now has updates on what I'm doing, how my training is going and what's up with my life. It's very cool, and once lots of people get a hold of it, they may not want to let go once they start to see me suffer. We will have podcasts from crew, me and all kinds of neat stats to go along with it, posted daily throughout the run.

What are you favorite cross-training activities?

Skiing, Golf, Biking, Horseshoes, Beer [let's hang out! - the editor]

Who in the ultra-world have you looked up to? Who are your heroes?

Not sure if I have any "heroes" but I admire any runner who gets it done. It's not all about the winners. I look up to those guys at Hardrock that finish under the cutoffs. They are out there a lot longer and suffer longer than I when I run races fast. They'll get a chance to watch me out there all day, every day. Now it's their turn.

Do you have any advice for novice ultra runners?

Keep the head in the game, and don't overtrain.

You have been a proponent of wearing headphones during races (as is the author of this blog). What do you normally listen to?

I prefer to listen to upbeat music that gets faster with every song. My favorite bands are Strangefolk, Widespread Panic, Grateful Dead, Phish, Rusted Root. Music along those lines.

You run in the backcountry a lot. Do you have any good wildlife run-ins you can share?

I run in the backcountry daily, no roads here for me. I have headbutted a moose a few times, and been chased by a moose a few times...briefly. Otherwise I see deer daily, more than I see people. My best day was on Mt. Timpanogos here in Utah, at 11,000' I was running through a herd of goats (at least 100), when passed them I came to a ridge overlooking Provo Utah, 7000' below, I ran on that ridge for about a quarter mile right behind 8 bighorned billy goats. It would have been an incredible shot as the sun was coming up and the light was perfect....but I didn't have a camera. It could have made many covers of mags...classic!

What is a "speedgoat"?

A speedgoat is one who travels goat paths quickly, I came up with the name years ago on the way home from the Pikes Peak Marathon. It kind of stuck.

Honestly, don't mess with Speedgoats!

You'll be RD for the Speedgoat 50k this year (and the blog author will be trying to finish it). When did you start race directing, what inspired you to do it and how does it compare to actually running a race?

I started race directing just last year, I always wanted to have a tough race at Snowbird Ski Resort and the mountains that surround it. I worked at Snowbird for 17 year, and recently left a year and a half ago (February 2007) I know the events man up there and we discussed having a race, they were all over it, so we made it happen. Now it's the toughest 50k in North America (nothing compares) with 12000' of climb, making Pikes Peak Marathon look easy (although it's not). It is still called a running race. It's great for a true mountain runner as much of the terrain is tough and super hilly. Some is on goat trails as well, making it an interesting course to say the least. All above 8000'. If I am gonna be the RD of a race, we might as well run on terrain I run on daily, right?

Many trail races sell out early, some even have lotteries. How do you feel about the surge in popularity of trail and ultra running?

It's good for the sport to see more people out there, but unfortunately races have limits on runners. The Forest Service should let more runners in, in my opinion. RD's would let more in if they could. Go to Europe, 1000s of runners run at Mont Blanc, and don't destroy anything, here in the US there are so many silly restrictions on usage it makes me sick. Ultrarunners are not people who litter trails or really cause damage.

I would also like to add that pacers-mules should not be allowed in any race, (even 100s) simply because it is a race and the challenge of the athlete that enters it. We should not be allowed to have a runner at our side to "keep us going". That's a bunch of silliness. If they let more runners in the races and no pacers, races would be more friendly to the masses.

What are your plans for 2009 and beyond?

Hard to say, but I'll go after more 100 mile wins, cuz' I want to die with a record in the books. I do have one on the books that is almost 25 years old. I still hold the under 19 age group record at the Mt. Washington Road Race in NH. (4650' climb...7.6 miles) I ran 67:45 when I was 15. That one may stand forever.

Thank you for your time, Karl!

If you'd like to read an interview with more AT assault specific questions, check out this one. If you want to know more about the AT, read Jean's fantastic overview or check out Wikipedia.

A Run For The Ages - Of Fawns, Bears and Picture Perfect Views

2008-06-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

As a trailrunner, I have the great fortune on seeing parts of the wilderness most will never get to see....in a quick manner. But absolutely none of my experiences could have prepared me for one epic run at Sequoia NP (I promise, I'll shut up about that place after this post).

The goal for the day was a place called Pear Lake. My run started at about 7,200 feet elevation at Wolverton parking lot. After I transferred all relevant items from my car to a bear locker, I was off. After about 20 mins, I happened on a few people taking pictures. A fawn and her mom were grazing right by the trail. The fawn couldn't have been more than a few weeks old. It was still struggling mightily with her balance. But it was mighty photogenic.

After this encounter, I made my way up a hill known simply as "The Hump". Except where I come from, we call those mountains and would give it a more appropriate name like Lungbuster Peak or Wtf-Was-I-Thinking?-Gap. After climbing about 2000 feet in about two miles, I was rewarded with absolutely breathtaking backcountry views. I topped out at around 9,800 that day...a new altitude record for me by over 2,000 feet.

After having just arrived atop The Hump. (Yes, I have some sexy shorts.)

From here, the trail became a little less challenging in terms of vertical, but more technical/rocky with some snow-covered sections. Pictures will have to speak a thousand words for me here:

I practice that pose in front of the mirror. Got it almost identical in the last two shots.

Pear Lake

My view during my lunch break. I do not miss my old cubicle.

During this run I discovered that Nuun works great as a taste and color neutralizer for iodine pills. One more reason to love that stuff.

After spending lunch at Pear Lake, which I had completely to myself for all but the first 10 mins, I was headed back down.

About a 1/2 mile from the parking lot it happened: I saw my first bear! As a matter of fact, there were two: a mother and her cub. The mother was trying to find food inside a tree while the cub was playing in the grass. A couple of hikers and I got to watch for about 5 or 6 minutes.

You may be able to make out mama bear leaning against the left side of middle tree in the back.

I had been pretty concerned about running into the big fur balls the whole week, but when it finally happened, I was thrilled. What a spectacle!!

All of the above is from one day, one run. There may never be a day for me on the trail quite like this. How could there be?

Running Among Giants

2008-06-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

As mentioned before, I went camping in Sequoia National Park last week. After getting my bearings, I decided to head out for an easy 6 mile jaunt on the Trail of Sequoias. It was like running through a spread in TrailRunner Magazine, my buddy Greg would say. I had no problem breathing at the 6-7k altitude. My jaw was dropped the whole time. The Giant Forest at Sequoia may be the most magnificent forest in the world. Here are some pictures.

That's me and the bottom of a real life Sequoia.

Shadow and light.

A post about running in the High Country is next.

Tough Decisions at the Pacifica 30k

2008-06-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Let's start with this right up front: I have never struggled during any physical activity as much as I did during the Pacifica 30k. Hands down. Here is my account of what happened.

The Day Before - Do You Have Soul(ja Boy)?
After having spent a magnificent week in Sequoia NP, which will be covered in my next post (it was unbelievable!), I was headed to the Bay Area to run my first race as a Californian. Two G.U.T.S.-ies, Jason and Steve, were going to be out there along with one of their friends. Quite frankly, that was the sole reason I went out there. It won't be often that my old running friends will out here competing on the West Coast.

As my overnight accommodations, Ichose Big Basin Redwoods Sate Park, which was unlike Google Map's prediction a two hour (not a one hour) drive from Pacifica. That meant I would have to rise pretty early. Of course, I got lucky and had 20 high school kids camping right next to me. Naturally, they would not go to bed early. At about 12.30, I got sick of hearing Soulja Boy (click here, if you don't know what I'm talking about) and got up to tell them to turn it off. To my surprise, it was the campers to the other side of me, two late thirty-somethings, who were blasting music that was cool in '07. Guilty as charged, for pre-maturely judging people.

Race Morning - An ATL Reunion
After about four hours of sleep, I broke down my campsite faster than lightning. My goal was to get to Pacifica as soon as possible and to hang out with the boys from the South. Sure enough, they were there early, too. It was great to reunite three time zones to the left.

G.U.T.S.ies representin' out West

At check-in, I found out about the option to change race distances. Everybody else in the group was running the 50k, and I quickly peer-pressured myself into running that distance as well. That was an easy decision. Reversing that decision and making the walk-of-shame back to the check-in table was a lot harder. But my feet were hurting from some serious blisters I had acquired in Sequoia and something was telling me to back off. To my surprise, everybody was real supportive and called that decision "mature" and "smart". I guess, that made my earlier decision "immature" and "stupid" :)

The Race - The First 12k
Promptly at 8:30, we were off with about 200 other people running in four different races: 9k, 21k, 30k and 50k. I was amazed at the flawless execution of four (!) consecutive race by the PCTR crew. Those guys are good.

The 30k assignment

Competitors from the three longer distances started out together, immediately tackling the biggest hill of the day up Montara Mountain. Climbing is normally not my forte. The descends is where I excel using gravity to my full advantage (thanks, Newton!). However, I was feeling strong and cruised up the hill. We were treated to sweeping views of the Pacific (ocean) and Pacfica (town). Wildflowers were growing everywhere and the sweet scent of eucalyptus was engulfing the beautiful trail. Could I be running in heaven? (yup!)

At the start, looking up Montara Mountain, our first challenge of the day

Jason caught me at the top and I saw the rest of the gang soon after on the way down. Out and backs during races are always fun that way. But something was off. Isn't running downhill usually easy for me? Isn't that where I recover from going up and usually catch tons of people? Not this time. My stomach began turning and nausea set in quickly. What was going on?

Little white spots running up to take in some breathtaking views

I quickly realized that I had run out of water near the top and dehydration was setting in. Uh oh! The trail was exposed for the most part and we had about 3.5 miles until the bottom and the next aid station. Ok, relax, and just make it to Aid 1 in one piece. I joined a group of about eight runners and we descended steadily. Water couldn't come soon enough and going down seemed to take forever, but finally we made it down. A nice volunteer filled my bottle and with three orange slices I was off on the shorter 9k loop which only has two smallish hills. Perfect for recovery. Or so I thought.

The First 9k Loop
Jason and I were running together again, but soon enough he dusted me. No problem. This is just a long run for me, I thought, a social race more than a goal race. But I quickly ran out of water again and that was not good. Ok, 9k is not that far. However, it quickly became harder and harder to move. Even on the short flat section between the two hills.

My goal was quickly focused on just making it to Aid 2. But that got increasingly difficult. Steve passed me. He seemed to be flying by. A headache set in. Oh no! Then cotton mouth. I mean, serious cotton mouth. The kind where I thought the state of North Carolina was growing inside my mouth. And it got out of control quickly. Way too quick. I began to hit up other runners for water but everyone seemed to be out. Just make it to the crest of the hill, I thought. You can always run downhill. Where was the top? How far can 9k really be?

Far, let me tell you. Dizzy-spells started setting in. Not good. There was nothing left in my tank. I couldn't even shuffle. Things had deteriorated fast. Where was the aid station?

Some guy, whom I recognized as a front-runner guy from pictures on many West Coast blogs, came down the hill fast and yelled "Are you ok?" I couldn't have looked good. "Yeah, I'm fine", I lied. I was walking the downhill and just thinking about how I could recover and refuel at the next aid.

Aid 2 - The Toughest Call of All
Finally, there it was. The aid station. I inhaled 40 oz of water and sat down. Chills kept giving me continuous goose bumps. Wtf? It's 90+ degrees. Why am I cold? Am I really in that bad shape? I was. It took 25 minutes of back and forth in my head until I made the call to add the three ugliest latter to my running resume: DNF. I was shivering, dizzy and couldn't imagine running 9 yards, let alone 9k. Safely.

DNF - The Aftermath
Believe me, nothing is harder than to make the call to drop out of a race. Had my lady been there, she would have pulled me immediately, I'm sure, but in my delirious state it was hard to make a such a difficult decision. But my body clearly said "No, dude. Not today. You put us through a lot of crap, but it ain't happenin' today".

Off in the distance you can make out my future adversary: Mount Diablo

I love running, because it's an honest sport. You get out of it what you put in. What you did seven weeks ago (SweetH20, in my case) doesn't matter today.

And you can't really buy nicer equipment to speed up your times. You only do well if you train hard enough. I wasn't ready that day. I wasn't ready for the heat and, especially, the dehydration. I made many mistakes. Decisions I regret. Until the last one.

I'll be back, Pacifica. Look forward to squaring off again!

My thanks go out to the whole PCTR crew and all the volunteers for putting on a superbly organized race. I'll see you guys again soon!

Opportunity Of A Lifetime

2008-06-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

For years, ever since my college days in fact, I have been working, working, working. Like a madman I would put in 70, 80, 90 up to 110 hours a week in pursuit of a career. With my social life and running thrown in, that didn't leave much time for reflection.

That time is now.

This summer I will be traveling the Western U.S. to not only see this wonderful country but to also spend some time on myself. Trails have been my way of escape the past few years and they shall be an important part of this summer. (At this point, I need to thank my lady who is making this sabbatical possible for me and who has been so very supportive).

First up, Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks. I'll spend the week there and then head over to Pacifica to meet up with some GUTS people for a little trail race on Saturday.

I didn't take this one, but you bet that I'll have some good pictures for my next few posts

California, Here I Am!

2008-06-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

After driving over 2,800 miles in a Penske truck complete with a trailer for my car, I have finally arrived in California! It's been almost a week since we got on the road and it was HOT! I drove without a/c the whole way to preserve gas. Now, that's what I call heat training.

That's not my actual truck and car, but my set up was the same.

My running has been limited (non-existent to be exact), but that will all change now. I'll likely run pretty much every day this summer.

The big news is that we have already found a place in Berkeley. We'll be living in an area adjacent to campus affectionately known as the "Gourmet Ghetto". It's also within walking/running distance of many, many miles of trails. Not driving to go running on dirt - what a concept!

P.s. Really cool interview is coming up. Stay tuned!

Auf Wiedersehen, Atlanta!

2008-06-07T03:00:00.000-07:00

So, it's time for me to say good-bye to this city, but be sure to know: this blog WILL LIVE ON! (I'm having too much fun with it not to).

This summer should be filled with lots of fun and interesting adventures. I'm taking a sabbatical until around August 1. Once I have dropped all my stuff off in storage in a few days, I will be traveling all over the Western U.S. My destinations will include: the Sierra Nevada, Colorado, Utah and South Dakota just to name a few (these are the ones that are for sure). I have already signed up for a stupid, stupid race: the incredibly difficult but beautiful Speedgoat 50k. (I may bring an oxygen mask for that one).

While I'm really excited about joining the SF Bay Area ultra community, I will miss the one I had here in Atlanta. To commemorate my time here as a trail runner, I put together a little video. Enjoy!

My Favorite Trails in Atlanta

2008-06-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Before I leave town, I wanted to share with you which trails I will miss the most in Atlanta. There are many places to run in this wonderful city (as the Atlanta Trails Map project showed, more than you probably think!). But there are four that I trained on the most and that stick out from the rest.

East Palisades: This is my personal favorite for two reasons. (1) It packs in all types of running terrain (steep, flat, single track, double track, fire road, technical and smooth) into five challenging miles of trail that are exceptionally scenic to boot. Make sure to visit the overlook as well as the bamboo forest. (2) These trails are relatively obscure and used mainly by neighborhood walkers as well as anglers trying to get to remote spots of the Chattahoochee. You'll be running mainly by yourself here.

The start of the East Palisades trail.

Cochran Shoals ("The River")/Sope Creek: One of the most popular trails in the city also has lots of hidden trails that not a lot of people go on. Have you ever been to the graveyard? Or run the powerline hills? Make sure to run by the pond (near Sope Creek parking lot) at sunrise or sunset. It is remarkably beautiful.

SweetH2O State Park: You can find the most technical terrain as well as the steepest hills here. A perfect playground for all trail runners in the city!

During the SweetH2O 50k.

Kennesaw Mountain: This is the perfect place to get your long runs in (as many people do). The trails aren't too challenging until you try to run up the two miles to the top of the mountain. You will run into lots of deer, turkeys, G.U.T.S. members and other wildlife around here.

If you're going to run any of these for the first time some time soon, make sure to let me know how you liked it!

Karl Meltzer's AT Record Attempt

2008-06-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Starting this August, ultra-runner Karl Meltzer is taking on America's most famous footpath: the Appalachian Trail. Spanning a cool 2174 miles from Maine all the way down here to Spring Mountain, GA, the AT might not cover 10k+ ft mountains, but anyone who has been on it knows that it's rugged, tough, and at times downright nasty.

Karl's goal will be to beat the speed record, which currently stands at a little over 47 days. That's over 46 miles/day on average. Yikes! That's very tough to run on easy terrain let alone the rugged AT.

Check out Karl's itinerary. Maybe you want to go out and support him. (I'm sure some GUTS folks will be there). Also, whereskarl.com will be the official website of the event. There are already some very cool videos on there. Stay tuned!

Badges of Honor

2008-06-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

Let's face it: I have ugly feet. Always have. And this ultra-running thing is not exactly helping. The spring season has left my feet battered, especially the steep hills at SweetH2O, which were brutal on the toes.

Now that it's summer, I like to wear my flip-flops everywhere. Well, three of my toes are especially bruised displaying all kinds of nasty colors. Black, blue, purple, white (?), brown....just nasty. It's not exactly easy on the eyes.

So, I took the plunge: I painted my those very toe nails. Now, I have ugly feet with "Times Square Tangerine Creme"-colored nails. :)

Big News: I'm Leaving Atlanta

2008-05-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read that correctly: I am leaving Atlanta.

Woah!

In ten days, my lady and I are moving West. Waaaaaaay West...all the way to the San Francisco Bay Area. I'm going back to school to pursue my MBA at Cal-Berkeley's Haas Business School. Go Bears!

I can get used to this

It doesn't hurt, of course, that the Bay Area is such a haven for trail runners.

This summer I will travel around the United States as part of a little sabbatical. Those travels will include lots of trails but more on that later.

For all of you from the Bay Area, I'm looking for a trail running club. Sorta like G.U.T.S. ... just with people that say things like "gnarly" or "I work for [insert technology company here]".

Also, where can I find races? I know of PCTR but nothing beyond that other than the general TrailRunner Magazine listings. Is there a comprehensive list of trail runs for (Northern) California?

Boy, I'm so exited!! More to come...

Completely unrelated to trail running...but this picture has always made me smile and it's somewhat relevant to this post...so there!

Sole Searching

2008-05-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

As a runner, I think a lot about taking care of my feet. After all, they are what carry us through the woods and must be protected, pampered and taken care of at all times. I personally use a lot of different products to make sure that my feet will carry me for (hopefully) a long time. I use second skin to pretape known hot spots on my heels. Injinji toe socks prevent blisters on my toes. Ankle braces support, well, my ankles (which are part of the foot area, in this runner's opinion). Post-race I use Biofreeze to treat any bruises and Gold Bond cream to massage my feet. Phew, that's a lot of product!

Before and during the SweetH2O 50k, the top of my foot was hurting pretty bad. It actually forced me to stop some training runs. I was fearing I had every runner's nightmare: a stress fracture.

After SweetH2O, I laid off running for bit to see if that would help. It didn't. It was during this admittedly frustrating time, that I was approached by representatives of the company Sof-Sole, who, I promise you, don't have a sixth sense (or do they?). I have worked in sponsorship and marketing my whole professional career, so I was very skeptical at first. Would I have to blog about the product, if they sent me samples? The answer was a clear "no." They just wanted me to try it. So I thought, "What the heck. Send them!"

The answer to my problems.

They sent me some insoles and at first they were laying around my house as I was trying not to run too much. But eventually I tried them. And, WOW, did they feel amazing. The Sof-Sole Athletes were sooooo comfortable. Not only that, but they also deflected a lot of the impact when I would step on rocks, roots or similar. They're pretty much a trail runner's deam. But the very best thing was that the top of my foot completely stopped hurting since I've started wearing them! No more thoughts about stress fractures.

I've taken them onto all kinds of terrain now and all types of runs (short and long) and I have no idea how I ever ran without them. They simply are amazing! I would highly recommend you try them out (remember, I'm not getting paid for this nor do I have to write an endorsement. I actually feel this way). If you're wondering where you can find the Sof-Soles, check out Sof-Sole's retail locator.

My next post will be about soul searching not sole searching (yes, I can spell!).

Atlanta Trails 2.0

2008-05-15T06:14:00.001-07:00

Less than a week ago, I launched the Atlanta Trails Map project in the hope that one or two people would help me build a map with all the dirt trail locations in Atlanta. And the response has been overwhelming! So many people either e-mailed me with information, posted on the GUTS forum or went into the application themselves to make changes. And the results were amazing! Never did I think were there more than 15 or maybe 20 trails in Atlanta. The count is now up to 30+! Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who helped out!

The map will live on in the side bar to the right. Feel free to link directly to the map from your blog. It’s a resource created by trail runners for trail runners and sooooo web 2.0!

To The Locals
I hope you explore some of the new trails you may have never heard about. My personal favorite has always been East Palisades, in case you’re looking for a suggestion.

To The Out-of-Towners
Enjoy this resource for those times that you come to Atlanta, but furthermore consider doing something similar for your hometown. I’ll be glad to help set it up for you and to share my learnings.

Happy Trails!

The Atlanta Trails Map Project

2008-05-09T06:21:00.000-07:00

How about a collaborative post? I sometimes get e-mails from out-of-town visitors inquiring about the nearest trails. This sparked an idea to create a map with an overview of all the different trails in the area. All you have to do now is click the map below, hit any of the blue buttons and, voila, you get a short description of the trail (terrain, distance, etc.) and can click the link for your customized directions. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

Now, let’s do this together.
The trails that are currently on the map are the ones that I regularly run. There are many more in the Atlanta area, so please add them (just hit the edit button). Also, if you disagree with my description, simply improve it. Think of it as Wikipedia but for trails in Atlanta. I’m looking forward to seeing this resource grow!

P.s. You have to have a Google/gmail account to edit. If you don't have one, just send me an e-mail and I will add you to the list of authors (which is NOT necessary if you're already a member of Google universe). Hope that makes sense. Thanks, Rahn, for helping me figure this out.

Spring Season in Review

2008-05-07T05:12:00.000-07:00

My spring season has come to a close and it was quite a ride. I’m an officially an ultra-runner now. And I’m having more fun than ever before. Looking back at my goals for 2008 that was clearly important to me coming into this year (and still is):
Have Fun Running: Often I find that focusing too hard on one goal or preparing just for one race can be stressful and may detract from my original reason of why I run: to have fun. My spring schedule is set up in a way to maximize the fun aspect of running.

So, let’s look at the damage I did:

Runnin’ the Rocks 10k: This race was easily the low-point of my running career. I bonked two miles into a six mile race. Not good. But I learned two lessons: 1) Everybody is going to have a bad race. You, me, everybody. And it will teach you a lesson in humility. 2) Don’t run a hard work out less than 24 hours prior to a race and then expect to do well the next day. That’s just not going to work.

Red Top Rumble 11.5M: Now, this was a fun race! Lots of my friends ran this with me. And my confidence level was back to normal.

Thrill in the Hills ½ Marathon: I love Thrill in the Hills. As a matter of fact, I’ve run all of them so far (there have been two). And they have scenic port-a-johns.

Oak Mountain 50k: Going into this race I was really worried. Was I worthy of becoming an ultra-runner? How would my body hold up? My goal was just to fight and toughen things out until the end. Well, it wasn’t all that bad and actually a lot of fun (sense a theme yet?). I will never forget the Oak Mountain Experience!

SweetH2O 50k: Powerlines. Dorkiness. And lots of H2O.

All in all, this has been a phenomenal first half of the year. It gets me very excited for what is to come!

Cross-training

2008-05-06T08:20:00.000-07:00

The past 10 days, basically ever since SweetH2O, have been very busy. There have been lots of personal things going on (more on that later) including a short trip to California just to mix things up. Unfortunately, I have been running little, but I have been cross-training by playing...softball!

Sprinting around the bases, swinging a bat and drinking beers is totally going to improve my trail running. (nope)

About to score from first. Technically, that's a trail.

Nut? Nut!

2008-05-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

I was flying to San Francisco this morning. For the last two hours or so, I would look out the window and enjoy the beautiful landscapes of such areas as the Sierra Nevada. And you know what? All I was thinking about was how nice it would be to go running down there right now. I'm a trailrunning nut. (Seriously, what's wrong with me?)

The 2008 SweetH2O 50k

2008-04-27T05:03:00.000-07:00

"Sweeet H-2-0...dah, dah, daaaah...good times never felt so good (so good, so good, so good!)"

Yes, I managed to approach an all-time record in dorkiness. No, I wasn't drunk nor was I attending some sort of Boston-based event. It was around mile 19 of the Sweetwater 50k, and I was belting my "new tune" as loud as I could. Lucky for you, you weren't there nor was anyone else. But let's start at the beginning.

The SweetH20 50k is a local race held at beautiful Sweetwater Creek State Park right outside Atlanta. An easy 20 minute drive put me right at the start of this fun race. There were lots of familiar faces, but also plenty of new ones. From some conversations I was overhearing, the half-marathon that was being held at the same time as the 50k was the first trail race for quite a few people.

Right on time Race Director Johnny Buice gave us some pre-race instructions and we were off. The first mile or so was on pavement (bleh), most of which I was able to run with my buddy David (I like for my friends to have the same name as me. It just makes it easier for all of us.). He always has to hear about my trailrunning adventures, and I think he is starting to feel the bug...

It was pretty despite the asphalt at the beginning

Once we hit the trail, things got congested fairly quickly, especially at a couple of points about 3 miles or so in. No worries for me. I like to start out conservative. That worked out well for me at Oak Mountain and it would again prove to be the right strategy on this day.

I'm taking pictures, too, dude!

We soon hit a section of the red trail that runs right by Sweetwater Creek. It is covered in rocks and bolders easily making this one of the most technical sections of trail in all of Metro Atlanta. Dancing around all those obstacles is really a ton of fun! Once we were done with that, it was time to say good-bye to the half-marathoners and we were off to an area known as simply The Powerlines.

When local runners utter the name of this trail it is usually mixed in with an undertone of dread, awe, disgust. The Powerlines are a collection of hills that rise between 100 to 200+ feet over maybe a 100 yards distance at a time. In other words, they are incredibly steep. And they keep coming at you one after another. Eight or nine times depending on how you approach them. It all culminates at a place called Top of the World. Not because the view is so great (even though you can see the entire Atlanta skyline), but because when you get there you feel like you have climbed to, well, the top of the world. If you're not ready for The Powerlines, they will chew you up, spit you out and leave your confidence level like that of a high school basketball team taking on the LA Lakers.

Good thing this section is part of the 50k. Twice.

But I was ready. As a matter of fact, I felt strong taking on the hills and made it out of this section unscathed. After a beautiful run along Sweetwater Creek and past the Civil War-era ruins, I was approaching the aid station around mile 15. To my surprise, only 2.5 hrs had elapsed so far. To my even bigger surprise, my lady was waiting there for me. Instead of sleeping in, as we had discussed the day before, she got up a little after I had left on race morning and headed to the Park to do some volunteering and meet me out on the course. This was a great boost! (Thanks, Honey!!!)

So, I decided to push and go for a PR despite the heat that was decending down on the course. The temperature was nearing 80, but it was really the humidity that was bearing down on all of us. It was key to drink as much as possible while keeping up the electrolyte levels. And since you have got to keep your spirits up, too, I started singing. (I did carry an ipod but never used it).

Next up was the section I had looked foward to the most: the river crossing. A rope was spanned across the creek, which at this point was about 150 or so feet wide (I'm not good with distances, so please correct me if I'm wrong). I was told to hold on with both hands right before being swept off my feet by the strong current. Here I was, holding on to a small rope, submerged in water up to my shoulders. Welcome to trail running!

The water was very refreshing, which was exactly what the doctor had ordered. The next few miles were uneventful. I had been running by myself for a long time now and was looking for someone to pace with. That someone would never show up. The aid stations were always a welcome change of pace (bad pun, I know) as I was yearning to crack bad jokes and to decide whether I would prefer trail mix or straight up M&M's.

I was now headed towards The Powerlines Part II. This wasn't a good time to hit a little funk, but I did. Oh well, time to tough it out. It was hard to climb up those hills yet again and it seemed like I was not moving at all. All of the sudden my buddy Jon Obst was running towards me. He had been running in 2nd place when I saw him earlier and all I thought was "Please don't let this be an out-and-back section." "No," he said,"I was told to go the wrong way earlier. Now I am making up mileage." Gosh, did I feel bad for him. Extra credit miles are never fun, especially when you have a chance to win the race.

Somehow I got through Part II and found myself on the home stretch. Only four miles to go! With a mix of shuffling, running and hiking, I made my way to the finish. My stomach had been giving me problems and I started getting very nauseous. Eventually, I stumbled across the finish line in 5:46. That was good enough for a 23 minute PR and 14th place overall!! I had given it my all, pushed as hard as I could and was simply spent. And to get a result like that on this course in those weather conditions...I was elated! (Still am, actually).

I cannot thank the volunteers enough for all their help and support on this hot and muggy day. A special thanks, of course, goes to RD Johnny Buice and his support staff. Thank you for one heck of a memorable day!

P.s. My camera died around mile 4 (I think due to excessive sweat), so no pictures after that. Sorry!

SweetH20 Result!

2008-04-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

The SweetH20 50k was an epic race! I managed to beat my PR by 23 minutes and finished in 5:46!! That was good enough for 13th overall (I think). The winning time was 5:01.

Full report to follow.

So, Let's Talk About My Weakness

2008-04-22T04:38:00.001-07:00

Years ago, I was certain that my one key strength in running was going uphill. Then I joined the ranks of trail runners and realized that, OOOOOOPS, I'm better at going downhill. Actually, gravity and I, we're pretty close friends now.

Looking ahead to this weekend, I'm really going to have to be smart about my up- and downhills, especially on the powerline section. For those of you who have never been, wait until my report next week. I really can't think of a section of any trail that's more physiologically and psychologically (!) brutal than The Powerlines. Good thing we get to do it twice.

Anyhow, I found a nice little video by Wasatch Speed Goats Karl Meltzer and Scott Mason. It gave me some good tips, and mabye it'll help you.

Blog Carnival!

2008-04-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

So, it’s been a bit quiet around here for the past week or so. That’s mainly due to my travels to the Sunshine State from which I just returned. As you probably know, trail running is hard to come by down there unless you’re willing to drive one hour+ or are somehow lucky enough to live right by a random park (and brave enough to risk potential encounters with alligators and/or snakes).

But while I was out, I did some nice reading on all your blogs. Here is a selection for everyone’s reading pleasure:

My buddy Adam just completed his first Ironman
Leslie and Scott each ran the hot Mount Diablo 50 miler. As did Paul.
Anton Krupicka’s performance at the American River 50 has the blogosphere buzzin’. Read his account here.
Jean Pommier struggled with asthma at the same race
GUTS has a new blog and announced that they will resurrect the Pine Mountain 40 miler

There were so many more great entries recently! It’s hard to link to them all here at once. I could literally post links all day, but that wouldn't fun. Not for you and not for me.

One week until SweetH20!

I'm Sort Of A Badass!

2008-04-10T18:36:00.001-07:00

Or stupid. Or a nature boy. Or whatever.

One thing I was for sure: desperate. I went on a long run today at SweetH20 and underestimated how long I'd be running before I'd make it back to my car.
(For the locals, the power lines and Top Of The World really got to me). It was fairly warm (upper 70s) and before long I was out of water with no water source in sight. No water fountains, no car, not even hikers I could hit up for some spare fluids.

So a bad case of cotton mouth and a pounding headache drove me to the unexpected: I drank out of small stream. It seemed fairly clean. My iodine pills were at home so it was completely unfiltered. A solid 20 oz. of cold, refreshing H-2-0 was all it took for me to finish up my run successfully. Alexander Supertramp, Eustace Conway or even Anton Krupicka (read his 2007 Leadville 100 race report...he drank some unfiltered water then as well) would be proud!

(no ill-effects of any kind so far, so I should be good to go)

Yellow Snow

2008-04-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

Every year around this time when everything is blooming, Atlanta is besieged by what some call "yellow snow", an appropriate term in my mind. The stuff is everywhere! Only a good rain storm will wash it all away. If you're allergic, nothing is better than rain right now, which, thankfully, we had lots of the past couple of days.

I took some pictures to illustrate how prevalent the pollen really is around here.

That's my car's windshield after just one night outside (no, that's not a doctored image).

Those are tire tracks in our parking lot

More and more pollen...

Trail Runs in Georgia

2008-04-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, I try to keep an updated and comprehensive calendar of all trail (foot) races in Georgia. To my knowledge, there is no other place online that has ALL the trail runs in Georgia in one place. I also wanted to alert you that a number of great runs are coming up before the summer heat sets in. Some are more well known than others, but all should prove to be a lot of fun.

Check them out and get out there!

P.s. If you know of any trail races in Georgia that I do not have listed, please alert me in the comments or send me an e-mail.

Back On My Feet

2008-04-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

I just read a very interesting article about Anne Mahlum and the charity she's founded, Back On My Feet. The organization uses running to help homeless people in Philadelphia to get, well, back on their feet. An excerpt from the article:

"Requirements for shelter residents to join are simple -- they must live in an affiliated facility and be clean and sober for 30 days. Members receive new shoes and running clothes, and teams run together three times a week between 5:30 and 6 a.m.
...
Back On My Feet also has a job training program for a partner. Three members are taking classes, learning computer and interview skills, while three others have found jobs."

Wow! I am blown away by the concept and very intrigued. I've always felt that running is a great way to build self-esteem and to learn how to stay focused. Running is a huge part of my life and, I am certain, the backbone to the successes I have had away from the trail.

Again, I'm intrigued, and I'm gonna look more into this charity.

'Back On My Feet' after a recent 5k.

Brookhaven Rotary Club Lend A Hand 5k

2008-03-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

Right Leg: I can't believe that we just ran a race last weekend and now he is draggin' us to another one!
Left Leg: Seriously! But at least this race is just 1/10th of the distance and we've been feeling strong and recovered. Jean Pommier would be proud.
RL: I guess. So, why are we running this again?
LL: The lady decided to run this race with a friend of hers, so why not tag along?
RL: Yeah, twist my arm!
LL: Also a great opportunity to get in a few fast miles.
RL: Yup, we've been doing so many of those slow ones. This should be fun!
LL: We'll see.
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RL: I love the anticipation of starting lines. What music did he choose for this race?
LL: You won't believe it, but he's putting on Guns'n'Roses!
RL: Seriously? That's a first. Seems perfect though. So, what's the goal today?
LL: Who knows. Knowing him, he will race this one hard to see what we can still do. Do you think we can get close to the PR?
RL: 18 and change? Doubtful. We haven't been doing any fast miles. Sub-20 would be awesome though. He could be slower though.
LL: Ohhhhh, here we go!
RL: What is this place?
LL: Oglethorpe University.
RL: Why does it look like Medieval Times?
LL: Dunno.
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RL: We're going fast...running in the top 5!
LL: Let's see if we can keep it up. This neighborhood is beautiful, by the way.
RL: Definitely a little bit more hilly than I had expected.
LL: That might come back to haunt us.
RL: Or the 50k last weekend. Or the margarita last night. Or the Ben & Jerry's...also last night.
LL: And here we go...I hate lactate build up.
RL: Me too.
LL: Well, we passed the two mile marker in 12:25...let's push it all the way in!
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RL: Oh, it says 19:40....GO, GO, GO!
LL: Shut up! What do you think I am doing?
RL: Phew! 19:59...not bad on this course.
LL: Good enough for 6th overall and first in the age group!
RL: Yup...hopefully, he'll let us rest now.
LL: Doubtful...

The Oak Mountain (50k) Experience

2008-03-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, I had be pleasure of joining around 100 runners at the Oak Mountain 50k outside of Birmingham, AL. It was my first official race over this distance having covered it before in my training last fall while preparing for Santa Barbara 9 Trails (an injury prevented me from actually participating in SB9T).

Our challenge for the day

The Oak Mountain race is actually more of a 50k+, with the overall distance hovering somewhere around 33 miles. With 3,900' of total elevation gain this race has some climbs but is not impossibly hard. Perfect for my first 50k!

My lady and I made the two hour drive to Alabama the morning of the race fully appreciating the hour time difference. The temperature at the start was a comfortable 50 degrees. Everybody was in good spirits. There were smiles everywhere. It was going to be a good day!

Water bottle? Check. Camera? Check. Race beard? Check. Goofy smile? Check. - Good to go!

33 miles to go!

We started off on the yellow trail with some steep inclines forcing us to walk almost right away. My strategy was to run very conservatively until the first major aid station. I wanted to get through this part feeling fresh with plenty of energy left in the tank. It was here on the yellow trail that I met Andy, a local with whom I would zig-zag all day long. He was full of info not just about what was coming up on the course but also about the area. I loved talking to him!

Once we passed the first major aid station (1:15, North Trail Head), we were off to tackle our first big climb of the day. It was here that I realized my legs feeling good today. At the top of the ridge I caught up with Andy again (I tend to take a while at aid stations). The trail was pretty much table top flat up there until we dropped down to the most beautiful point of the course: Peavine Falls.

Crossing the base of Peavine Falls

It's a rocky climb down to the base of the falls and then a steep climb back up. You definitely needed all four to make it to the top. It was awesome!

Climbing back to the top of Peavine Falls

Soon after, we hit the Peavine Falls aid station (2:30). My lady was waiting for me here with a couple of gels and a big smile. Fueled up and feeling great I hit the white trail. My legs started feeling a little tired during this section. I guess this race wasn't going to go by pain free...

The white trail was beautiful single track and took us to the top of the race (Shackleford Point, 1260').

The White Trail

From there, we hit a steep and rocky decent back down to the North Trail Head station (aid 3). During this decent, I caught a second wind and was flying as I reached the beautiful spread of food (3:55). I was getting hungry, so I spent some time here eating. I used the entire 3+ mile incline on the red trail, which we were now headed up, to eat and then digest.

Once back up on top of the ridge, I was all alone for about 45 minutes. It was time for some tunes (Grateful Dead, Pearl Jam)! Getting to Aid 4 (back at Peavine Falls) was the biggest challenge of the day for me. Listening to the music and singing out loud made things a lot easier. Once I reached the Peavine Falls parking lot (5:05), I knew things would be all downhill from there. Literally. The majority of the rest of the race was mostly downhill.

Oak Mountain

The problem was that they told me I was in the top 30. 29th to be exact. "Whaaaa? Are you kidding??" I now had my lady pacing me and running downhill is my strength. Let's see if I can finish in the top 30! It was on this downhill that I caught my third wind. I quickly lost my lady (we had discussed before the race that I would just go if I felt good) and continued to attack the downhill. It was here that gravity just took me for a ride. I probably ran about two miles somewhere in the low 7s. It was unbelievable! I passed five people before I finished with a lady who had I had seen on the course all day (she's a GUTS member, but I didn't catch her name). My final time was 6:09:41! The results aren't posted yet, but it looks like I finished in the top 25! (The results are now posted. It lists me as 23rd overall, however, Enid Gonzales beat me. She was 23rd, I was 24th.)

Feeling great at the finish!

It was great to hang out after the race and talk to some of the other folks I had run with. Eventually I got talking to Alan Abbs (check out this interview Scott Dunlap did with him and his wife Bev Anderson-Abbs; they must be the best ultra-running couple in the world). Alan was in town to see his folks and just finished 2nd overall (DeWayne Satterfield won). We talked for a while as I was enjoying my post-race burger. Hopefully, I'll see Alan again at some other race either here or out West. He is extremely nice and awesome to talk to. I wish him and Bev the best of luck at Western States this year!

Alan Abbs and I enjoying the post race festivities

I want to thank RD Scott Parker and all the volunteers for wonderful, wonderful race! It couldn't have been better organized. I loved the no-frills approach (no sponsor logos anywhere!). Next up: SweetH20 50k!

Some Pre-Race Thoughts

2008-03-20T17:31:00.001-07:00

As I'm looking outside at a glorious full moon, the Oak Mountain 50k is fast approaching.

Somehow this race has crept up on me. My spring has been unusually busy and my focus has not been on running. I'm not trying to set low expectations here. (I'm notorious for doing this, because so much of my performance depends on how I feel on a particular day. If my legs aren't there, I slow down and enjoy the scenery instead of killing myself out on the course).

Anyhow, I'm excited for Saturday. It doesn't feel like there is a 50k coming up, which is probably a good thing. As always, my main goal is to have fun.

Look for an extensive race report either Sunday or Monday.