Evergreen Lake Trail Run 51 Mile

three 17 mile loops around lake evergreen.  first 50 since 2009, so i'm pumped.  came off a solid summer of volume, for me anyways, and was using howl 8 as a long run for leg strength.  smartly and rightly took the early start at 3:30 a.m., projecting 13+ hrs to finish. nice and cool, 40s to start, some really great night running under a clear and starry sky.  there are few things better.  kept a steady power hiking pace, with some running of the downs, made good time in the dark.  i did stupidly veer off course at one turn, probably cost myself 10 min. or so.

loop one ended in the morning sun.  quick removal of long sleeve to short, kept moving.  second loop was solid, good, consistent fueling strategy throughout the day, didn't have super dramatic energy lulls.  this is not a tough course, so hills not a factor, able to grind my pace pretty much the entire time.

loops two ends, not sure the time, but sub 9 hours, on pace.  lube up, change shoes into montrails, fuel, and go.  last loop was in the heat of the day, although really really nice in the 60s.  i did get some posterior knee pain in both knees, that i think was due to the higher profile of the montrails, vs. the old, beat up vasques i wore for 34 miles.  took the pain of the newer shoes to absorb more of the trail punishment of the latter part of the race.  i think this was the right choice.  honestly, mostly power hiked the last 10 miles or so, came off pace a little, but not horribly.  finished in 13:28.  really happy with that, didn't suffer mightily and generally executed my race plan, although i would have liked to have felt a little better in the late stages to push a bit more running.  ah well.  great swag, hand-carved walking stick and necklace, a couple of ipas at the finish.  another beautiful day on the trails. 

recovery has gone pretty well.  have been generally tired, to be expected, and dropped mileage a bit. eased back into some more normal days this week and am contemplating the farmdale 30 to finish out the season.

howl at the moon 8 hour ultra marathon--2014 edition

howl at the moon 8 hour

i suppose howl has become a quadrennial even for me ('06, '10, '14) but it really needs to be something more frequent than that.  if you haven't been to howl, you're missing oh-so-much, a real old-school ultra, really more a party that celebrates moving over distance than a race per se.  for my part, i was reminded just much dang FUN this event is. 

drove down morning of, grabbed a coffee, arrived at the race site around 6:30 a.m.  set up my chair and junk and immediately engaged in conversations with: a.  interesting guy from muscatine, ia b. 75-year old running his bazillionth ultra and has done a marathon in all 50 states TWICE  c. local doing his 22nd consecutive howl--doesn't train and only does this one even all year.  that's what i'm talkin' bout.

my event: the nuts and bolts of the run itself were fairly uneventful and really not the point, but since you asked, i was able to grind out 30.11 miles, feeling good most of the time.  never had any structural issues, only some minor stomach issues from 20-25 miles that i attribute to over-hydrating.  howl is a not tough course, but it is open, and on hot, sunny days, can be brutal.  this day was mostly cloud covered, yet i failed to hydrate properly considering the conditions.  some extra salt and pretzels settled the stomach before the stretch run.

postrace:  beer.  i mean good beer.  this is one of the cool things about howl.  killian's and sam adams summer ale.  had a great 30 minute conversation with legendary rob apple (679th ultra finish, thank you very much) over at the beer trailer, gathered my award, talked civil war history with a couple from kentucky in their 70s while i was packing up, then headed for b/n to meet the family for thai food. 

yeah, really need to make this more than a quadrennial thing.

Colorado Vacation Journal 2014

7/3 fly to denver/highlands ranch to stay with doug, lisa, and fam

7/4 2:10 run/hike in waterton canyon, dinner at ted turner's, rockies/dodgers game with doug and lisa followed by incredible fireworks

7/5 hike/run 2:10 deer creek canyon to red mesa.  swim and hang out.

7/6 hike run 2:15 mt. falcon to summer house peak (failed attempt to construct a castle home for the american presidents in early 20th century--weird.

7/7 travel to san juans via 285 and the always scenic route 50--lunch in gunnison, love that town.

7/8 hike/run 2:10 ouray perimeter trail and camp bird road.  hung out in silverton (love that town), andrew to the san juan county mining museum (awesome), kilian jornet sighting in cafe mobius.  back to ouray via million $$ highway, swim in hot springs pool for afternoon.

7/9 jeep up to imogene pass, four hour round trip.  incredible views of sneffels, telluride, and the red mts. swim in hot springs pool, evening gently hike to cascade falls area with kids.

7/10 travel to vail via route 50 and 24.  stop off at black canyon national park, seriously underrated place, 2000+ side wall canyon, dramatic.  someday might have time to stay in area and hike down to river.  dicey driving in afternoon around minturn, low tire pressure, winding road, heavy rain, falling rocks, meh.  made it to vail for dinner and hang out.

7/11  bike 2:00 with kids in vail, up gore valley trail and vail proper.  lunch in vail, drive to highlands ranch.

7/12 fly back to former tallgrass prairie

correspondence chess win...

not a bad win, playing as white:


1.    e4    c5
2.    d4    cxd4
3.    Ng1f3    Nb8c6
4.    Bf1b5    a6
5.    Bb5a4    b5
6.    Ba4b3    e5
7.    O-O    Ng8f6
8.    Rf1e1    h6
9.    c3    dxc3
10.    Nb1xc3    Bf8b4
11.    Bc1d2    O-O
12.    a3    Bb4c5
13.    Nc3d5    Bc8b7
14.    Qd1c1    Bc5a7
15.    Bd2xh6    Nc6d4
16.    Bh6xg7    Nf6xd5
17.    Qc1h6    resign

kettle moraine 50k

thoughts and observations on the run:

-always nice having family at a finish line, even if it is midnight

-point-to-points are great, although a rarity in the midwest.  this section of the ice age trail has some great terrain variety and scenery.  glaciation isn't all about pancake topography.

-this course would very tough when the sun is out.  it wasn't, that was good. 

-night running on rocky trail in the rain is fun.

-had the pleasure of running with corey lyons from morton, il for a bit.  was at howl with him years ago.  also, met a guy at starting line who's grandfather used to be doctor in eureka--spent his summers here.  ultras=still a small world

-you know you're in wisconsin when the aid station offers cheese cubes and brats.

-when did compression socks become so popular?  i thought i was running through a shuffleboard tourney at the shady acres old folks home.

-kettle is a classic race.  has a bit of everything and is well organized.  you should probably pick a distance and go do it.

world anew

a day of hope and renewal, new life and beginning.  celebrate it. 
get out on the trail, into the world anew, look around
oaks, shagbarks, now maples, still holding onto the vestiges of slumber
better look closely for those buds

undergrowth, don't know all of these shrubs, just coming into green
no bluebells, not yet, but soon in my patch of woods
this coming week perhaps?
the trail itself lined with the remnants of autumn's change
softening footfalls

you see, i have this secret trail
carved it out of an old deer path as the ground slumbered
you can do that then, it can't fight back
a few branches clipped, a path cut through dormant soil
it shows after a few passes
but not too much
i don't want you to know
you need to make your own secret trail

that trail it connects to another world
for just a moment a time before the plow
before the cabin at forest's edge
just a moment, there in solitude
there is an old fence, maybe from the depression era
rickety, barely perceptible, yet it persists
a remnant of a time
of the plow, of what exists in dominance now
but not in this spot

this spot that maybe you can't find
is as it was
a place of hope, renewal, beginning, for today
celebrate it

2013 in review and snow running...

great year in 2013, trail wise.  total miles : 2,135  biggest year ever.

new year's evening brought us another 2-3" of snow to help this morning with providing a bit more traction on the currently ice-covered single track.  conditions haven't been good the last week and bitter cold is coming, but today is nice.  get out there to spark off 2014.  happy trails and injury-free days to all.