Run Rabbit Run - Mother Nature Not Playing Nice

Last year I approached Base Camp (Mile 32) completely out of gas due to an overheating body and on the verge of severe dehydration. This year I approached Base Camp shaking uncontrollably and hands so swollen I felt like each of my hands had 5 thumbs that couldn't bend.

Before I start, I gotta say a huge THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped make this race happen. Folks were dropping left and right and it could have gotten really ugly had it not been for all these fine people.

Race morning had some surprisingly comfortable temps. My long sleeve almost seemed like too much and I questioned if my jacket tied to my Nathan was even necessary. My drop bag had a short sleeved shirt which I wish was on me instead.

The start is in the dark and was hiding the dark luminous clouds that were lingering some 2,000 feet above us. This year was a complete contrast to last year. No sun. No fall colors (yet). And worse, no warmth for those ready to run 50 miles.

(The Start from our condo...the day after the storm)

The first 23 miles were at a conservative pace with a focus on hydration and fuel. No gps today and only an old school Timex who's time is set to another hemispheres time zone which beeped every 15 minutes. All felt easy to this point with my only bumps in the road being 3 bio breaks in the woods.

Since about mile 5, heaps of fog, cold light winds and a steady mist kept us company. At first, it wasn't a big deal. Over a couple of hours though, this mist was more then enough to soak us. Refuge among the trees was bliss compared to the exposed open meadows where the weather was miserable at times. It was the climb up Rabbit Ears when the weather got nasty. The rain was now a down pour. The wind howling.

The turnaround came in at just under 5 hours flat. Pretty much spot on to last year. The big difference was I felt awesome. Well hydrated, well fueled. Ready to hammer it back home. Oh and it was snowing.

Bio break number 4 at Dumont (Mile 28 and my first on an actual toilet), reloading on gels and chews and being extremely thankful that I had my somewhat damp jacket with me but wishing I had gloves and a beanie.

The next 4 miles went by quick but are the most exposed. Again, I was feeling great but the mixture of upper 30's temps, wind and rain got to me. I ran the last mile into Base Camp pretty hard. Well as hard as one can run on a sloppy mess of a forest road.

Even after that effort, I got to Base Camp frozen. Next thing I know I'm getting put into a warm SUV and peeling off my jacket and long sleeve and wrapped in blankets. Sitting next to a gal who up to this point was leading the women's race. I spent the next 30 plus minutes shaking uncontrollably. The next 30 plus minutes after that pondering how to avoid another DNF as my shaking continued. Watching person after person approach Base Camp getting put into the one of the 10 cars with the hope of warming up.

After an hour and 15 minutes-ish, I put on my long sleeve which was now dry. My dry jacket and dry hat. Threw down 2 big cups of noodles and broth, a few sodas and stepped outside. It was raining worse, mixed with hail and felt 20 below. Running in this for even a few minutes would put be back in a state of hypothermia. Then possibly my saving grace, a garbage bag.

A bag that would keep me dry and even possibly keep me warm due to its lack of breathing material. One hole for my head to poke thru, the rest of the bag tucked into my shorts. So I was off to finish this race. My goal of sub 10 was gone but still had a small shot at sub 11. The first few minutes out of the aid station led to some serious second guessing of my decision to leave. I started to get the chattering jaw again, still fat fingered and the sitting in the back seat of the SUV left my legs tight. Each step felt like I was driving my heel into the ground with no ability to bend my knees.

With a group of four other runners I made an unexplained move to pass down a sloppy slope. Bang! It all felt right. I ran damn near every step over the next 6 miles. Please keep in mind the running was ugly due to the horrible HORRIBLE trail conditions that now greeted me with every step.

Long Lake Aid Station was another refuge for those seeking warmth. Thankfully I wasn't one of them and didn't bother breaking stride. I continued on and made quick work over the next 5 miles running big chunks of it. The last time I ate anything was back at Base Camp. I tried since but I couldn't for the life of me open a gel. Open a pack of chews. (Cue in Benny Hill Theme Song - Yakety Sax) Fingers were beyond useless.

(Thankfully the rest of me was only frozen cold)

The last 2 miles to Mt. Werner (Mile 44) were much slower now but still felt good. Actually well hydrated and just unfortunately low on fuel. It was my now frozen hat causing issues and over these miles the cold winds at 10,000 feet caught up to me and I got into the aid station freezing agin.

I tried warming up for 10 minutes while covered in blankets and space blankets. Not working. Actually getting worse. Then I just said screw it and hoped the 6 miles of downhill would warm me up. It didn't. But I was moving along at a steady clip without any issues. With 2 miles left I wanted to ditch the garbage bag that saved my race. Second I peeled it off I started to freeze so I slipped it back on.

11 Hours 28 mintues, 51st place and the last 18 or so miles drapped in a garbage bag and I was now crossing the finish line.

Unofficial Results. Gloss in the local fish wrap.

So easy for me to be disappointed about this race. Over an hour an half spent on my ass trying to warm up. 4 stops wondering what was going on with my ass.

Honestly though, none of that mattered. Physically, from a pure running perspective, I got stronger as the day went on. My stomach never once even thought about going south on me. Hydration and fuel were spot on considering the circumstances. Menatally, I felt about as strong as I've ever felt during a race. No bonk, no quit in me. Only a desire to continue hammering.

Highlight of the race was seeing my family at the end. Being greeted by my overly supportive wife who for some unknown reason allows me to beat myself up in these races. And my daughter who's smile when seeing me at the finish made this race that much more memoriable.

(The family hanging out with a hobo in a garbage bag)

August 2011 Summary

Runs - 21
Workouts - 0
Injured - 0

The Bad:

A left ankle that can't catch a break. I can't remember the last time I woke up when my left ankle wasn't sore or stiff. I've rolled the ankle every possible way and it's been bruised up or inflamed for the better part of the past 2 months. What I am now left with is an inflamed bursa sack right where the Achilles tendon connects to the heel. Most days it takes a good mile plus to work thru the pain before it warms up. Some days the pain just doesn't go away. Now that I'm in taper mode, aspirin, ice and staying away from technical trails is about all my left ankle can ask for.

Recovery. In hindsight, not sure how smart it was to run the SF Marathon. Maybe it wasn't smart to run 22 miles at night in Leadville 6 days later. Either way, the first half of the month was spent trying to recover as quick as possible. Lots of days off (21 runs in the month was the least amount of running I've gotten in this year).

The Gym. My days off were complete days off were I didn't do shit. No gym, no running. Just relaxing and spending time with the family (a great thing) or working way to much (a crappy thing).

The Good:

Even with a slight cutback on the running, the month of August was a blast with the follow:

1st Weekend - Annual LT100 Night Run
2nd Weekend - Bergen Peak
3rd Weekend - Crewing and Pacing PG during his kick ass performance at LT100
4th Weekend - North Loop Indian Peaks Wilderness

With all the time off, I got in a healthy amount of stretching, foam roller and icing time in for the body. By the third weekend of the month, my body was starting to feel really good.

Looking Forward:

Not looking at 2012 all that closely but was curious to see when Jemez was being ran. Was really sad to see the Las Conchas Fires impact on the area and the race itself. Home page unfortunately says it all. If permits allow for a race next year, I'll make every effort to get down there and support the race and community.

Oh and some little race I've been eyeing now for some time is only weeks away!

Parting shot of the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area -

North Loop - Indian Peaks Wilderness Area - Back Again

Not sure what more I can say about this loop that hasn't already been said. Well other then get out there and run it you haven't done so already.

Last year I ran this loop counter-clockwise alone. This year I ran it clockwise along with some fantastic company. I was some how able to talk both a run-in with the law and KM to wake up damn early, stomach a long drive up to the Long Lake trail head and hit the trails by 6:30am.

Temps at 10,500 feet couldn't have been any nicer at the start. Comfortable cool breeze's greeted us at both Pawnee and Buchanan. Typical of Indian Peaks, a bit of rain and thunder, lots of sun, water crossings and heaps amount of wildflowers helped paint a picture perfect day in the mountains high above the Front Range.

(Heading up towards Lake Isabelle and Pawnee Pass)

(Near the top of Pawnee Pass looking west)

(Run-In making quick work down towards Pawnee Lake)

(KM a few switch backs below Pawnee Pass itself)

I've been to the top of Pawnee Pass 6 times now in my life and the views and surrounding area have left me speechless each damn time. Run-In (who is running the Wasatch 100 and gunning for a Velvet Cougar aka Crimson Cheetah) set the pace most of the day but was kind enough to hold back from time to time. I personally felt great most of the run staying well ahead on both fluids and fuel. Also helps that the views and conversation offered up a great distraction to the running itself.

(Run-In leading the way down Cascade and up Buchanan. KM not far behind)

My only bottom happened shortly after leading us down a wrong trail about a mile before Coney Flats. What resulted was an additional 1 mile and damn near 30 minutes of bushwhacking and creek crossings to get back on the Beaver Creek Trail.

Leading the group the wrong way mentally drained me. Just felt bad for doing that even though no one cared. Having zero water on the last big climb of the day didn't help matters either. Most of the trail up to the Mt. Audubon intersection is runnable but not on this day for me. It was a slow slog up. Thankfully things came back together for me and we all made quick work of the last few technical miles back to the car.

Stats for the day were roughly:
27 3/4 Miles
7,100 Feet of Vert
7 Hours 20 Minutes (of that 30 mins spent lost, 30 mins spent just kicking it and enjoying the views)

(Indian Peaks Wilderness Area Single Track. Doesn't get much better then this)

July 2011 Summary

Runs - 25
Workouts - 5
Injured - 0

The Bad: Lots of travel days limited my running.

Is it possible for my left ankle to get even more thrashed? Yes when I seem to roll it every week.

The Good: Were to begin?

1st Weekend of July - Running Mt. Princeton.
2nd Weekend of July - Pacing/Crewing my friend at HR100.
3rd Weekend of July - Family vacation to Durango.
4th Weekend of July - Running the South Loop of the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.
5th Weekend of July - Running the San Francisco Marathon while on vacation.

The month of July saw me spend the most hours on my feet, the most vertical feet climbed and almost the most monthly miles so far this year. Even more important, a lot of time spent with the family! Damn how I love summer time in Colorado.

Looking forward: There is still plenty of time to be spending in the high country so I'm banking on a few more running trips up high. I also have 6 weeks till Steamboat so I have another month of focused training ahead of me that I'm looking forward to.

Most excited that in a few weeks, along with a few of his buddies, we'll be crewing and pacing PG at Leadville. The tasks of getting PG thru the race is something I'll be taking extremely serious. There might not be one right way to train for a 100 mile race, but the time he's put in over the past 6 months is extremely impressive and one I'm sure will pay off nicely. It's going to be a great weekend for so many folks up in Leadville! Can't wait.

And lastly, a trail running trip report (and pics) I never got around to posting. Columbine Lake attempted 1 day before my duties began at Hardrock. A comfortable 5 1/2 mile round trip route with 2,500 feet of up peaking at like 12,700 feet. A lake I've always wanted to visit. A lake that I got denied visiting due to waist deep snow. And I was only a few hundred yards away.

(Alpine Chicken!)

(Columbine Basin filled with snow)

(Looking towards the area between Ouray and Lake City)

(Looking towards Silverton)

2011 San Francisco Marathon

Heading back home now a days is all about spending time with family and extremely close friends. Nothing else matters. Not even my running. And this "doesn't matter" approach was exactly how I treated the San Francisco Marathon that was held a few days ago on the last day of July.

This year's trip back home was made even more special as my beautiful baby daughter got to meet so many new face. She also had some trouble getting adjusted to her new sleeping arraignment which meant sleepless nights for the wife and I for the duration of the trip.

Mix in a very short 3 day taper (Thur off due to travels, Fri & Sat combined 7 miles, 40 mile week and 21 miles just 8 days earlier) and I wasn't expecting much come race day. For no specific reason a slow 3:40 sounded right.

Sunday race day starts out stupid early. 5:32am to be specific. I won't break down my race but rather share random things that went on during my 26.2 mile training run in San Francisco (aka The City by the Bay, aka The Sucka Free City, aka The 415).


Overheard: "We are 20 seconds behind our goal pace and I already feel like I'm pushing hard." This was at the 1 mile marker

Pace Group Encounter #1: Shortly after watering the plants at mile 4, I saw the 3:40 pace group about 20 yards or so behind and thinking it would be tough to keep up with them.

Golden Gate Bride Crossing: Way to crowded to have it be enjoyable (to me) but still pretty freaking cool to be offered the opportunity to do so. Yup, that's a girl in a tu-tu smoking me early on.


Presidio: Hitting a high point of the course 10+ miles in and realizing I had another 3 or 4 gears in me. This is where the fun began.

Mile 15: Free Beer! Need I say more. And yes I will have another.

Pace Group Encounter #2: Creeping up and passing the 3:20 pace group around mile 18 and thinking their pace was way to slow.

Haight St: Awesome that the course ran down the heart of such an amazing place.


Hills: I love hills and I love watching people suffer up them.

Cell Phones: I called my wife at mile 21 to let her know where I was. The look from other runners was priceless.

Downhill finish: All that downhill over the last 6 miles came within what felt like 10 quad mashing blocks.

Passing Fools: I was maybe a foot or so away before noticing that I was passing up JT. I've only met JT a few times (read his blog all the time) and he seems like a solid guy but reality is I don't know him. So a smack on the ass as a motivation tool to the Sub Elite would have been weird. Now if you're reading PG, I will use this tactic if I see you slacking anywhere between Twin and Fish. You've been warned.

Toughest moment: Doing a healthy size whiskey shot at mile 25. I almost barfed on the party of crazies providing the free booze. Took me a 1/4 mile to be sure my stomach wouldn't come up.

3 Hours, 15 Minutes, 27 Seconds. 7:28Pace. 195th out of 5920 runners (finishers?).

I started out the race extremely slow and ate and drank a bunch early on. Once the legs warmed up I just sped up the pace every few miles till the race was done. 8 miles in I had a 7:54Pace going on. So yeah, I picked it up a bit there after even though I was easily goofing around much more during the second half of the race.

I was actually disappointed that the race was done and I could have easily headed out for lap 2 of the course. And this is what I was most proud of. So much left in the tank to take on more. Mentally wanting more. Yeah a marathon won't prep me for Steamboat but it's these little things that help ensure my current training plan is working.

As for the course layout, for the out of towner, it was great. You do get a great tour of the city. For me though, and as a native, I would have loved seeing the route go thru more of the cities neighborhoods and tackle a few more steeps. I believe that it's these two things that make the city what it is (you can have Pier 39 and the Wharf and I'll take North Beach or the Inner Sunset any day of the week).

I'm not one for finisher medals but the one below is pretty bad ass. Now to plan next weekends adventure in the high country.

South Loop - Indian Peaks Wilderness Area

Every trip I've ever made to the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area has treated me with lots of snow, even more water, plenty of color up high and down low and signature technical single track. Mix in some light breeze's and blue bird skies and Saturday's run around the South Loop did not disappoint.

WA and I met up for a great jaunt around one of the nicest trails the eastern side of the divide has to offer. The route was pretty simple:

Start at the Forth of July Road & The Hessie Trailhead intersection.
Up to Kings Lake with side trips to Lost Lake and Betty Lake (Screw Bob and his lake).
Two miles along the Continental Divide to Devils Thumb Pass.
Down the Jesper drainage with a side trip to an aerial view of Diamond Lake(got misrouted due to huge snow fields and lack of trail).

Roughly 21 miles, 5 1/2 hours and over 5,000 feet of up and down. Pace was conservative, energy strong and the company/conversation fantastic. Woody was looking great coming off a nice showing at the Silver Rush just a week ago.

Instead of boring you with details of the run, I'll let the following pics show off what true Colorado summer running is all about (pic of delicious and cold filtered stream water from 11,500 feet not included).

(Temps down low - Upper 90's. Temps at Betty Lake - Mid 60's. Suck it Front Range)

(Woody working the CDT with way to many peaks in the background to name)

(From Devils Thumb Pass looking down on Devils Thumb Lake (L) and Jesper Lake (R))

(Below Devils Thumb Pass and before some guy telling us it was 75 miles round trip from Hessie to Winter Park. Calling BS on that one.)

(The Smooth take off...)

(and the even Smoother landing. HA!)

(A wrong turn led us to this point. Not bad views of Diamond Lake and Arapaho Pass)

(Opening it up along a rare spot of smooth single track)

(It's views like this as to why I love to trail run in Colorado)

Scared Shitless at HR100 (Pacing)

Congratulations to Scott for finishing Hardrock 2011 during his first attempt. 38 hours 22 minutes. 32nd overall. His conservative game plan early on paid off. He was something like 80th coming into Grouse (Mile 41.5) and slowly picked off the competition and looked stronger as the miles went by.

I had the pleasure of crewing and pacing Scott this past weekend down in the heart of the San Juans. Along with his friend Pat and wife Sharron, our team spent the day and a half driving around from town to town, aid station to aid station to ensure that Scott got what he needed.

(Scott and Pat about to leave Grouse)

My pacing started at Chapman Gulch(Mile 81.4) roughly around noon Saturday. By this time, his ambitious goal was to finish before it got dark. Up to this point, Scott's only rough patch was heading up Handies and being annoyed with having to venture all the way down to the Hot Springs of Ouray for check in.

Upon leaving Chapman, I spent the next 15 minutes trying to assess Scott's mental and physical state. He was tired, he was excited to have me march him into Silverton and that son of a bitch was looking strong (though he didn't want to admit that). I set the pace the whole way up Swamp Canyon. Passing folks who own double digit Hardrock finishes scared Scott but he kept on motoring along.

Finally got our first real view of Grant-Swamp pass from a few pitches below. Based on earlier landmarks, I was guesstimating that the group of 4 ahead of us had a 20 plus minute lead. They were also displaying a nice zig zagging route to scramble up during the last 1/4 mile steep pitch. About 100+ yards from where the pitch starts it happened.

Literally minutes ago the sun was shining. It got dark. The sky lit up with a flash and at the same exact time an explosion of thunder erupted. Easily the loudest boom I have ever heard and one of those bolts that start out with a long cracking sound followed by an explosion left with the echos ringing off the peaks. Scared the shit out of me so bad that I dropped to the ground. Scott, just feet away from me looked just as scared. We looked at each for an answer to the question neither of us asked. What now? Another loud boom just to remind us that we were in the heart of a storm.

Funny how the first thing I thought about upon hearing the lightening was whether or not I'd ever see my wife or daughter again. How pissed my wife would be once I told her of this occurrence. How if I did die by lightening that I hope it goes quick cause dying a slow death and getting thumped by that hail would really suck balls.

We quickly decided that heading up and over was our best bet. Going backwards to treeline simply wasn't an option. 1) It was to far and 2) You don't go backwards in a race. Rain, then painful hail mixed in with numerous flashes and booms. Scott and I bee-lined up Swamps face. Sprinted the short ridge line (yes we paid our respects to Joel Zucker by tossing a rock near his plaque) and literally ran fell and tumbled our way onto the switchback heading down Ice Lakes Basin. One more accidental tumble and we would have both been swimming in Island Lake.

That group 20 minutes ahead of us were just feet below the pass and we were on their ass. Didn't think much of it till all a few basically said "I think you just set a speed record heading up Swamps". The rain was still a downpour and every step was either in a muddy bog or in a cold puddle. All Scott or I cared about was treeline and we pushed it during the drop.

Once there the rain stopped. The sun came out. My shivering body warmed up. Cloths (which wasn't much) began to dry. The muddy & slippery drop down the Ice Lakes drainage didn't bother either Scott or I. The Kamm Traverse offered up the best sun rays and we took our sweet time cutting across the mountain face. Arrival into KT (miles 88.4) was awesome as it was being ran by lots of fine Durango folks who know Scott well and a few who remembered me from my days down there. Our split was under 3 hours. All those at the aid station were keeping tabs on Scott and were impressed by the time considering the terrain and conditions we were dealing with.

(Kamm Traverse heading to KT)

As crazy as the last 3 hours were, we still had 13+ miles left. In short, the remaining miles were like this:

South Mineral almost took Scott for a wild ride. How I was able to pull him in is beyond me. We had warm sun and a muddy climb up to the Porcupine-Cataract saddle. We got nailed badly with the most painful hail as we traversed the Putnam ridge. Arm warmers also make good neck gaiters. Once the hail stopped the rain just dropped at an insane rate. Lots of thunder and lightening and each one of them freaked the shit out of me. Dying once again entered my mind. Mineral Creek itself almost swept Scott clear to Durango. Going back out a few steps into the rapids to grab him completely exhausted me. Scott crossed the finish line before sunset!

(U.S. Grant with Grant-Swamp Pass too the left)

(Near the top of Putnam Basin - Enlarge to see hail & Scott minimizing the pounding)

(Scott not excited about crossing the gnarly Mineral Creek)

We crossed Greene St (Silverton's only paved street) completely soaked and freezing to death. We honestly thought we were dead at Swamps, dead above Putnam and for Scott, dead at Mineral Creek. Yet we were laughing our asses off at all the shit we had just went thru over the past 8 hours. Right then a car stopped along side Scott and yelled out something like "Hell Yeah! You rock!" The car drove off honking and thumbs up sticking out the window. Scott asks me "who in the hell was that magician driving around in a clown car?" I replied back laughing, "That was Ricky Gates complementing your soon to be kissing of the Hardrock."

Thursday night thru Sunday noon spent in the San Juan's. God's country. A place I would love to one day call home again. A place that some how gets more beautiful with each and every visit. I can't thank Scott enough for letting me help him out on his amazing accomplishment. Funny how a down right scary 8 hours and 20 miles are easily the most enjoyment I've ever had of running in my life. Hoping he gets in again next year so we can do it all over again!