The Sierra will always beckon

Convict Lake

Well it was a cold 8.5 miles this morning, could have used my gloves and soon enough I'll be needing my headlamp. This time of the year always in the past brought excitement. It's getting darker in the mornings, colder as well, and the green plants are all beginning to die off. All the ski rags are publishing their "buyers guides" for all the kick ass new ski stuff. We'd pour over the catalogs and weigh the benefits of a fatter or skinnier ski, compare the new to with what we've already got in our quiver. That means ski season is coming, well, for others not me anymore. Now it just brings cold dark morning runs that are hard to motivate for!

dawn patrol over Lake Tahoe

Sure miss the anticipation phase of the winter season in Lake Tahoe. And of course winter: 4am dawn patrols, dark coffee and day old donuts, breaking trail to the top of the West Shore peaks in 3+ feet of fresh snow to catch the sunrise over Lake Tahoe then laugh, hoot, and holler the whole way down with friends as you make some of the best ski turns of your life, put your skins on and charge back up. All before going to work where some jack ass thinks you're stuck inside all day on a powder day. Sorry, we skied better snow this morning than you'll ski all day riding the wires at the resort. But we keep our mouths shut, our secret safe. Besides, that guy will have a blast too skiing crud piles all day long.

breaking trail

Some mornings during my run California's Sierra Nevada beckons me back. It always will. I not only miss the natural beauty and challenge of the Sierra but the friends I made there. The unfortunate thing is I don't think I will ever be back. However, I did leave once, I returned. And in speaking with one of the famed Sequoia Kings Canyon backcountry rangers, George Durkee, he told me in calm words, "you'll always come back".  

all smiles after skiing a 6000 foot couloir

Looked into this upcoming race a bit more. So it's the Stretton Skyline and is 19 miles long with 4,450 ft of vertical. Not too bad I guess for not being in the mountains. The men's course record has stood since 1986 and is about 2 hours 17 minutes. I'm assuming in the grand scheme of things that's fast!

So we are required to carry waterproof jacket and pants which I think is lame. I hate having shit bouncing off my waist which is most likely where it will stay. If it rains we'll run harder to keep warm! I actually think this rule is in place from the Fell Running Association for safety in case you get lost or injured and are stuck out for a while.

It seems there is no "official" route. "Navigational skills are recommended as there is considerable route choice & the course is not marked, except for a short section between the Lawley & Dudgeley Farm".  It appears that the fastest and most efficient way between the 7 checkpoints is the way to go. We are not required but they recommend carrying an OS map of the area (the USGS equivalent in the UK), whistle, compass, and food. They've also got a map of the course for us to carry. They have water at three of the checkpoints which is nice.

So sounds like it should be fun. Definitely different. I have an uber light waterproof jacket I got last year. The Montane Lite-Speed H2O breaths as good as a garbage bag but it weighs in at 5.5 oz and packs down tiny. It's a medium but I think I should have gotten the small. The UK fit is kind of weird. I also just got a pair of Montane Minimus waterproof pants, they weigh in at 4.4 oz. Mine will be a bit lighter since they are size small. Montane is a British company that seems to cater to a lot of these fell races and another similar event here in the UK known as a mountain marathon. It seems like ok gear but definitely not all that durable and as I mentioned the jackets fit kind of weird; I like that slim alpine fit. Well light is right and considering less is more in this case I'm looking good.

Definitely will be wearing trail shoes. My Mizuno Wave Harriers have aggressive enough tread but are a size too small. I may try to dig up a pair of something new to try but otherwise they'll work even if they do give me some toe issues descending.

I would have posted a map of the course but for some reason Blogger won't let me post any photos today!

One last thing, got my finger on the pulse for another ultra. Not many go down in the winter and I'm itchin' to do another 50 miler. I came across the Thames Trot 50, 50 miles from Oxford to Henley along the River Thames. Fast fast fast course. I'm pretty sure it's either flat or downhill the whole way.  Race goes down on February 2nd, the promoter said they expect it to fill by November so I need to get clearance from the wife and then get registered!

Yep, well the weekend went kind of as planned. About 8.5 miles Friday, Saturday was an off day due to lack of time to get out and lack of sleep. Sunday snuck out for 8.5 miles but definitely would have liked to have gotten out for longer but once again lack of sleep. Today missed out but I was planning on having it off anyway.

The little one has been doing her thing again off schedule so I've not been sleeping much at all. In addition we had the wife's sister's family here for a night at the last minute, which although nice to have them here, messes up the little one's plans.

had to take a pic of this place

Been having a hard time keeping weight on after the 50 miler for some reason. Been eating like a fiend but just keep dropping weight. My diet hasn't changed at all but it kind of worries me a bit. I think I've actually been eating worse/more high calorie shit food than before. Normally I try to avoid any packaged processed foods, any junk food, alcohol, etc. but lately been nibbling on some of that crap. Many people think I'm vegetarian because I eat an absurd amount of fresh fruit and vegetables. I try to eat fish and chicken most days however.

I haven't even been putting in big miles but have started to add in tempo and speed work. Also trying to be more adamant about body weight exercises; lunges, squats, push ups, pull ups, etc... I want to try to avoid any injuries as I pick up my pace for shorter races in addition I need to be prepared for more hilly terrain.

Am planning on a pretty cool sounding race in a couple weeks. I believe it's a bonifide fell race, 19 miles, about 5000 vertical feet, the course isn't marked so you need a map and compass among some other required gear. I need to do some more research and I'll let you know more in the next few days.

Lightroom 4 is still pretty cool but I've yet found time to play with it so sorry but the pics posted today aren't as cool as they could be!

Got out for 6 miles easy yesterday and this morning managed 8. Both days did a few pick up intervals to try to get some snap back in my running. Felt really good this morning. Also snapped a few photos as well so a little more eye candy to view.  

morning run along the canal

Well I committed to a season of running cross-country today. Should be pretty cool. The last few days I was kind of on the fence about it. I'm still riding the high of that 50 and really want to find another to run. Not sure if one will happen soon though. Looks like the Scotland trip has been moved to October so I'll miss out on the race in Ayr and as I mentioned the little one's birthday is right before Round Rotherham so that is pretty much out as well. 

 I'm still going to try to keep up the mileage I think and try to do one really long run a month. Make this the one cool run I do like the long distance trails. Obviously a lot more speed work is to come with this cross-country endeavor. Just need to try to stay injury free. With speed work usually comes a higher likelihood of injury. It will be weird racing CC again. Mostly weird because of the shorter distance. It's off road essentially but won't have the climbs of trail races.

I find the slugs here fascinating

Well no big plans for over the weekend. 8 or 9 miles tomorrow, may have to have Saturday off due to work, Sunday would like to go longer. Downloaded the trial of Adobe Lightroom 4 so my photos may have a bit more pop to them too. Fun fun program to play with! 

Well slowly working back into training again. Wife has a busy week so I think I may have an easy week. Probably not a bad thing. The little one is sleeping through again so I've been getting fairly well rested which is nice. I think the timing of this is perfect.

Trying to figure out a training schedule if I end up doing the River Ayr Way Challenge in Sept. It isn't for sure yet but I figure if I am training for it I'll be on if it happens. I think all I need to do is bang out a couple longer runs, 18 - 25 miles, a few weeks before and I should be golden.

Over the weekend didn't run much. Ran an easy 5.5 and then 6 miles which is probably about what I should have run. Off yesterday as I normally try to do.  Although feeling ok, I'm trying to roll out my legs everyday with the foam roller to ward off any bad juju that comes with racing. I do not want any injuries. I considered hamster wheelin' it this morning but decided not too. Coffee outside and a chilly morning reminds me of waking up and rolling out of a tent in the mountains. Miss that.

Today I'm planning on heading down to Great Malvern with the little one and a kid backpack for a little hiking. This will be a first so we shall see how it goes. Going to meet a friend down there who has a slightly older son. When I finally run the Worcestershire Way Malvern is the terminus and I'd catch the train home so this will be a good recon of the area.

I attempted to take some photos this past weekend but nothing great presented itself other than a few photos of a "horse jam".  Two horses had escaped and were on a piece of single track I was running on. Of course they were in my way. To quote Bukowski from Barfly "I don't hate them.....I just feel better when they're not around". Yes he was a sexist pig, I know, but come on, Bar Fly was great! This problem with horses has happened in the past to me as well, this time I made my way around, the previous time I think I ended up chasing 5 horses into town! Not my problem, as much as I  think it would be sweet to be an American cowboy in the UK I think the only person here that wears cowboy boots is Robert Plant.  

Centurion Running, the race promoter for the North Downs Way 50 I recently did, has their official results up and also their race report. Pretty cool. Click HERE for the whole thing otherwise here's a snippet of the 50 mile race:

photo from  www.centurionrunning.com

"The 50 mile course remained the same as the previous year. Martin Kennards 2011 Course Record of 7:35 looked under threat from early on as Darryl Carter bore down on the aid stations at a blistering pace. Darryl made it through to the 50km mark at Reigate Hill in just 4:25 but had Steve Patterson and Andrew Stevens pushing hard 6 and 8 minutes back respectively. By the time they had emerged at the top of Botley Hill, Steve had a two minute lead over Darryl and proceeded to hang on through to the finish, taking the win in 7:22:45, 5 minutes ahead of Darryl. Both went under the old Course Record. Andrew Stevens rounded out the podium as the only other man to break 8 hours."  from www.centurionrunning.com

Sounds like they've got a bunch of photos from the race they'll have on their website soon. Excited to check them out. I was down alone so any pics I acquire will be due to people kind enough to take pictures of random people!

Yesterday got out for about 4 easy miles. Felt just fine running. Took my New Balance Minimus shoes for a spin to stretch out the legs. Kind of regretted it today since I woke up with sore lower legs, should've known better! Honestly I understand the benefits of running in a minimalist shoe but would much rather be comfortable with some cushioning. I'll keep trying to wear them once a week or so to strengthen my feet and lower legs, but otherwise I'll stick to my standard shoes.

Today was awake early to run despite being up late due to the little one but decided to hold off. Later in the day I wished I would have gone out early because I ended running on our treadmill for 30 minutes. Felt alright but I think the nature of the treadmill bothered my IT band on my right leg a bit. Got on the roller and fixed it right up!

Hoping to get out for a normal run tomorrow morning. Curious how I'll feel.

So I mentioned a few days ago "what next". Well the cross country thing is a definite possibility. Round Rotherham is most likely a big no. I don't think the wife will be into me doing that race mainly because it's the little one's 1st birthday the day after. Some other options I've thought of were just getting out and running some cool long runs. They're pretty much free and I get to explore some cool trails and portions of the countryside here.

Some of these I may have mentioned before but first on the list would most likely be the Worcestershire Way from Bewdley to Malvern. I've ran half of it and it totals out at around 35 miles with the extra spur from my house. Run along the canal to or from Birmingham, flat and a lot of urban interface but could be cool none the less, maybe 32 miles. North Worcestershire Way Path goes the opposite of the Worcestershire Way and is around 37 miles. So those are a few to start with. There a ton of options for these "Long Distance Paths" as they are referred to here. The North Downs Way was one of them but there are lot of smaller less known trails as well.Good thing is they are marked pretty well so if you have a map you should be ok.

Sorry for the lack of photos lately, the weather hasn't been conducive to photos so I've been leaving my camera at home. I'll try to get back at it this weekend!

Photos from the NDW50 are starting to appear on the interwebs. I've poached them from other people. There was NO WAY I was going to drag a camera along during a race! I'll sneak them in as I find them into my race report post below so check back if you are interested.

Fully recovered. Three days off. Not too bad. Not too sure what my next goal will be but it depends on what works out with the family I guess. There are a couple possibilities for longer races that I'd like to do; Scotland's River Ayr Way Challenge in September, 44 miles I think, Round Rotherham 50 in October.

I've also been e-mailing with my nemesis of the shorter races. The guy who beat me in the Wyre Forest Half and also Danny's Dash. He's trying to recruit me for his club's division 1 cross country running team for the upcoming season.

Cross country running officially started over here in the UK. According to the wiki the first national competition was in 1876. Pretty cool. Compared to the US where the sport seems to be most popular in high school it continues on as a club sport for all ages here and there are a ton of meets. If it works out I think it would be really fun to race CC in England. Trouble is that this guy's club is a ways away from where I live and obviously meeting up to training sessions would be a good thing. We shall see.

I need to get back at training though. The little one's schedule has changed drastically and my early morning option is hit or miss now.  I think I was damn lucky leading up to my taper for the North Downs Way 50. We've been transitioning her to solid food and also she has a couple more teeth on the way so she's definitely off a bit.

Fortunately we recently purchased a treadmill! The wife wanted it for the convenience. Good thing is that it's way more convenient for me too! Normally on days the wife is in London for work I either take a day off from running or ride my bike in the trainer when the little one sleeps. Trouble is that riding bikes takes a bit more time to prepare for. Cycling clothes, shoes, set up the trainer, pump up tires, not to mention the time difference for workouts. Well anything is better than nothing though. Having the treadmill will be nice, shorts shoes and I'm running! And a half hour running will be better than a half hour cycling fitness-wise. Also I may be able to get int two runs if the little one times it right!

My first 50 miler

poor photo of the race course, the crappy yellow dot is the 50 mile finish

Well it's been a while since my last post and a lot has happened. Mainly the North Downs Way 50. Leading up to it I had my doubts due to lack of sleep and training, but, as I mentioned I'd done the miles so I should've been good. The rest of the week leading up to the race I ran maybe every other day and maybe 5 miles at the most and sleep continued to be intermittent at best.

Then came Friday. The day before the race I caught a train south to Surrey. This is the first time I have ever been away overnight from my 9 month old daughter, it felt weird but honestly I enjoyed the time alone. The wife and little one were considering coming along but we all felt it best if they didn't, spectating running races isn't that exciting and this one was going to take all day! Managing a little one would have been too much for the wife.

NDW signpost

After about 5 transfers and 4.5 hours I arrived in Farnham and went to register for the race. I had already signed up but they wanted us to show up the night before. This ended up being a total waste of time. All I did was sign a waiver I could have signed the morning of the race and they put a check by my name. Lame. I could have saved myself some time and taxi money and gone straight to my hotel. No big deal I guess.

I arrived back at the hotel at about 815pm and promptly went to the pub to get some food since I was starving and also was running 50 miles the next day, food is good. So I ordered a Budweiser and some vegetarian lasagna. 3 more pints of Budweiser and an order of meat lasagna and I realize that I need to get hydrated and also figure out what I'm going to have for breakfast since the pub is closed until 7am! Nothing like getting carbo loaded.

So, I speak with the bartender and get my hands on a few baked potatoes, that should be fine for breakfast. Then on my walk back to my room I notice there is a huge ass 24 hour grocery store next to the hotel. Looks like all the potato effort was for nothing, makes a good story I guess!

I chugged some water and settled down for the night at about 1030pm but I am too anxious to race and sleep like crap, awake at 5am.

I didn't have much with with me so organizing my crap was easy. I was out the door to catch a train to Farnham from Aldershot. I ask the guy at the desk how to get to the train station and mumbles something in a thick Eastern European accent about going around the roundabout which was totally the wrong way. Luckily I pulled up a map on my phone and got a little reassurance from some lady at the grocery store, I was in the right direction now. Then a little warm up run in order to not miss the train. I arrive at the race HQ at 640am, get my race number, give them my bag to transfer to the finish and then sit down to chill.

I'm wearing a synthetic t-shirt, super short running shorts with pockets, and have one handheld bottle. Hidden in my pockets; 2 GU's, a cut up map of the race course, some salt tabs, my iPod Shuffle. I'm naked compared to everyone else. The vast majority of people have backpacks, gaiters, hip packs, compression gear, poles, all sorts of shit! Is there something I don't know? Well it turns out that marketing is an amazing entity. Less is more.

So after a short race briefing we wander over to the starting point, the weather was sunny and in the 70's I'd say. Great day for a race, maybe even a bit hot, but no friggin' rain at least. All in all it's a pretty mellow vibe but there is still a competitive feel to the air. People are eyeing up each other. You wonder if the dude with all the Salomon gear is sponsored AND fast, that guy's legs are shaved triathlete or pro? How many completers are here versus competers? The 100 mile racers started about an hour before us so this was it for the starters.

The pace at the beginning seemed around 7:30/mile which was rather fast compared to last year. One guy shot off the front right away and then there was a pack of about 15 or so that ebbed and flowed for the first 15 miles maybe. Mainly felt like an easy run with a group of folks, people took wrong turns and caught back up, aid station stops were fast for the most part.

Mellow until about 25 miles. A guy in a green singlet and I upped the ante, the race had begun. We cruised through the aid station at mile 25 (which was a mistake I paid for later), while others took their time, and we then motored up Box Hill, the first major climb.

stepping stones before the climb up Box Hill

It was a fast walk up endless uneven stairs but green singlet and I took advantage of people taking too much time at the aid station and also started to reel in the leader. We made a pretty good gap between us and the rest but also got to within 5 minutes of the leader at the top as we passed a huge Olympic rings sign over looking the valley. I believe the Olympic road race was in this part of the country. At the top of Box Hill I hit a nice mental high point of elation and charged downhill, emotions ran high, only to then realize I hadn't been eating enough.

rings at the top of Box Hill, cool, but I preferred the view to the right

The valley I dipped into was deep and the pain cave dark. The guy I was running with gave me some food but it was too late. He sped off and I faced the pain and pushed on. My legs were searing and my right calf was trying to cramp up. I ate what food I had and chugged what water I had as well. Unfortunately the next aid station was only water! I started trying to run 5 minutes walk one just to fend off any followers who I had no idea of how far behind they were. A blister was forming on my right foot and I had some grit in my shoe so I took off my shoes and shook them out, the blister I figured I'd deal with to the end. Anything for a break from the agony.

I hadn't taken a piss in quite some time and my mind was starting to think the worst. I finally took a leak and it looked like gravy on Thanksgiving Day. I motored on and my legs were starting to feel better, maybe it was the crutch of my iPod I had been saving just for this date with pain that helped out. Miles 30 to 40 were horrendous all because I was too worried about my stomach being upset. Shit, when you puke it's like hitting reset right? I should have just HTFU! The last thing I wanted to do though was have to drop out but this was my first race of this distance, I didn't know what to expect! I definitely hadn't eaten enough.

My hydration was getting back to normal, I ski walked the final big climb to mile 40 something and the final aid station. I used to hate ski walking in training when I was younger but now it was great, it used different muscles so gave some relief and also I can walk way faster doing it. No sign of any followers but I knew they were hunting me down just like I would do to them.

At the aid station salvation came as watermelon. I mowed through 5 pieces eating all they had, filled my water bottle, grabbed a couple gels and some gummi bears (like I'd need them now, idiot!?) Spent a couple few minutes there and was rejuvenated.

thanks to the dude who took this and left his Fbook page open!

It was go time, I wasn't going to be caught and I wanted to go under 8 hours. I turned up the iPod; Rage, Tool, Body Count, coursed through my ears. The pain in my legs went away, my stomach settled, I was running at full stride on the descents and the flats. My mind was a fuzzy haze with one goal in mind. I was within 7 miles of the finish with no idea of how far to go. It had become flat overgrown trails along fields of grains and pastures full of cows. I pulled out the cut up map I was carrying to see if I had any idea where I was, no clue. Put the map away and charge.

I finally started seeing random spectators on the course, I was close. Then we hit the road and the final downhill to the finish. 3rd place was mine as was a sub 8 hour time of 7 hour 56 minutes. Perfect.

Overall a great first experience. I look back now and see what I could have done better. Obviously feeding. Maybe a better night's sleep, less travel the day before. It would have been nice to run the course as well to know where the climbs were and have a better idea of the finish, rookie mistake there. In my training I wish I would have done some speed work and hill work; I did little if any. Otherwise I think I lined it all up right. Now I need to find the next one. 50 miles wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

*all photos taken from other people's blogs, random posts, facebook, etc. Thank you whomever posted them!        

Well, almost had a normal sleep last night. For some odd reason firstly I couldn't get to sleep and then the little one required some food at about 2am. Most likely her all afternoon birthday partying threw her off schedule. So, I'm getting closer to back on track, maybe tonight?

Got out for 5.5 miles today. Felt better mentally but my quads felt trashed from my run yesterday. Very odd. Stretched and got the foam roller out, 6 days, I should be ok.

Well I've done the miles, if I can at least get my head back in the game I should be good to go I hope. Just need to stay positive!

Ugh. So the lack of sleep has continued until last night. I think we've got the little one back to normal. Now I need to get back to normal in seven days!

Monday got on the trainer for an easy half hour spin. Tuesday nothing. Wednesday I managed a run however I felt like complete crap, exhausted, but still pulled off about 6 miles. Thursday off. Friday another poor quality 5 miles. Which brings us to today.

The wife went to a baby birthday party of her step sisters'. So, I decided to get a run in. Wanted to do 10 easy miles. Ended up out for about 12 miles for way too long. Explored around Ribbesford Wood/Danny's Dash race course, great trails, poor quality run. Felt like complete crap. My muscles were ok but my mind is utterly trashed from lack of sleep. Sure is a change from crankin' out 745 minute miles for 34 miles a couple weeks ago. I hope I didn't peak for that run, I know I could have held that pace for another 16 miles no problem.

I know I can finish but I do not know if I can finish how I want to finish. I'm just hoping that if the little one sleeps normal this week I'll be able to recover this week and be able to be a "competer versus a completer" in seven days. I figure with the help of the little one, focusing on sleeping during the day, and maybe some meditation in the mornings I'll get back to normal. I was pretty bummed out today, still am, at how I feel but I need to stay positive. I have the fitness, just need to get the mind back in line. You put so much effort (4am starts, juggling schedules, good workouts, bad workouts, injuries, dealing with the wife and the little one) and time into the training and then you're off by just a bit makes it tough.

Looks like the weather is going to be partly sunny and 70 most of the week before and also day of the race so road shoes will work just fine, no need for trail shoes which is nice. The trails should be nice and dry, no mud. Still planning on one handheld, some gels, maps (yes people have gotten lost), maybe some salt tablets, and maybe a bit of athletic tape in case of blister issues and that's it. I can carry gels in my shorts and aid stations aren't so far apart that I'll need more water. There are a couple about 11 miles apart but a little planning ahead and I should be fine. Feet are doing well, maybe a hotspot forming on the outside right ball of my foot but I think I can solve it with an Engo patch or just deal with it. So things are looking good other than the tiredness.

Hoping for an easy 5 to 8 miles tomorrow then an easy week until race day. I'm going down to the race myself which will guarantee me a solid nights sleep before the race. The train ride back should be interesting but I'll worry about that when the night comes. If need be I'll get a hotel post race but would prefer to get home.

Ok, time to work on that recovery for the week, I'm off to bed.