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.