Lakewood's Wanderings and Scribbles....

First Race, Snowy Hills, and Happy Feet

2012-02-12T18:36:00.013-05:00

The snow has come to PA

Well it's been an interesting week of running for me. I told myself that I was going to take a slight step back this week, focus more on light hill work, and keep the mileage totals a little lower. For the most part I stuck to this plan, but also managed to throw in a few curve balls into the mix.

Let me first start off by saying, that winter is finally here in central PA. For the past two weeks I've been able to enjoy some beautiful trail running through Rothrock State Forest. Well...with a new, fresh 6" or so out there now, it makes running on the trails pretty dicey...especially considering how rocky and gnarly they are without the snow. So I've been relegated to a lot of road running. Thankfully, with a little creativity, I managed to put together a pretty nice week for myself.

A quick foot update. For the first time in almost 8 months, I've gone three days completely pain-free in my right big toe. I had a few final followup doc visits and the short story is that I simply have some mild arthritis in the one joint, and running 50-70 miles a week isn't helping. No matter what I've tried...this damned recalcitrant toe, just doesn't want to cooperate. Well, I've temporarily increased my ibuprofin intake, finished off every evening with a warm foot-bath, and I've been wearing dancer's pads. I ordered both the felt and foam pads and have been wearing them around the apartment and while running. Lastly, I've been wearing new shoes, with a much firmer fore-foot...and it has been like night and day. My foot hasn't felt this good since last May...and I ran 58 miles this week (including a race)!

Typical Dancer Pad - Keeps pressure off of the

big toe's first joint (Metatarsophalangeal Joint)

So on to some quick weekly numbers:
Rather than do two back-to-back long/hill runs this weekend, I opted for a longer Saturday coupled with a shorter intense hill workout Sunday. I popped onto the local Nittany Valley Runner Club page this week and saw that the first of six "Tussey Teaser" races was going to be this Saturday. A 5.8 mile out-n-back on leg 9 of the Tussey 50 miler course. I haven't done any sort of competitive race this year and I thought it would be a good idea to see how I fared. So, I parked my car about 9 miles away from the start of the race, and had a nice hilly run to the starting line. At 10:00 am, about 40 of us headed out into the 30 degree, snowy oblivion. I was very surprised at how well I was able to maintain a fast pace (7 min/mile) without breathing too hard. I guess all the training has been paying off. I passed people left and right and finished the 5.8 mile snow covered course in about 41 minutes. I finished in 5th place, so I was very pleased. After the race, I put my Nathan pack back on, and ran about 11 miles back to my car (via different trails). This gave me a nice 19-mile long run, with a ~6 mile race thrown in. Great day!

RACE RESULTS: HERE

- As far as hill workouts, this week was a lot tougher to get in the overall elevation. The snow makes the really steep trails quite scary to navigate and difficult to get good footing on. I will say that the new Brooks Cascadia 7s held up very well and had excellent traction on the slippery rocks. While my own verdict on the new Cascadia's is not quite out yet, I was very glad to have such stable footing all week.

- I was able to get in a solid 4x repeat up-and-down on Mt. Nittany on Tuesday before the snow hit. I am getting noticeably faster with this climb. I ran quite a bit of the uphills.

- On thursday, I made my way to Broad Mtn again, but after one climb up, I realized that the trail was way to sketchy to be doing and instead settled for a moderate run along the fire road.

- I was starting to get a bit worried about what I'd be able to find to do proper hill workouts on. The snow is really putting a kink in my plans and even Mt. Nittany Trail is pretty slick now. But alas, things always work out. While I was looking over my map for something to run that best mimics the type of climb that I'll be faced with in a few short weeks, I discovered something that hadn't occurred to me. I had an outside-the-box sort of epiphany and found what I was looking for. And what exactly did I find you ask? Well, I found the magical "gas-line cut". Similar in style to to a "powerline cut", the "gas-line cut" runs right through Rothrock and goes straight up...and straight down the ridges. No switchbacks, no trails, no simple way about it. This is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Something steep, something unmaintained, and something relatively clear of snow. For whatever meteorological reason, the way the wind blows through the cut, keeps a lot of snow from accumulating. This was a big bonus. And while the cuts aren't a complete "bush-wack" (which I will also like to train through), it is a step in the right direction. So today I had a "fun" field day playing on the gas-line cuts.

Cut 1:
The first cut seemed perfect. 1250 feet of gain in just under 1 mile. This is the closest I've been able to find to what I will actually be dealing with. This was the type of climb that I found myself on all fours several times. I was surprised at how strong I powered up it...but then reality hit. This particular climb was extremely rocky. I hadn't really paid much attention, but on the way down, I was frankly terrified. I slipped several times and decided that doing two more passes just wasn't worth the risk. After about 15 minutes in my car of feeling rather dejected...I set out to find another cut to play on. It was tempting to simply drive home. After all, I ran almost 26 miles yesterday, it was about 20F outside with gusting wind, and I was tired. But as I started to drive away, I decided to take a look at one other place that looked promising on the map, that was also on the way back home.

Cut 1: It doesn't look that ominous, but don't be fooled. It is 1250ft in 0.95 miles

Once up, once down was enough for me

(I will definitely try this cut again once the snow melts though)

Cut 2:

The second cut was noticeably lower in elevation, but also noticeably "grassier". The total elevation was about 700ft in 1/2 mile...so about the same steepness. I figured this was a good compromise and started up it. There ended up actually being a sort-of goat-path along the left side. I wouldn't call it a trail, but it gave me a vague path to follow. This climb was considerably less rocky and I was able to power up and down it 4 times....giving me over 2700ft of ascent in just under 4 miles. The best part about this cut is that at the very top, it crosses the Tussey Mountain trail. I see a lot of potential here for combined long/hill workouts.

Cut 2: A more subdued 700ft of climb in 0.5 miles.

Cut 2 repeats. I ran along the Tussey Trail for a bit after the fourth climb,

and I added a cool-down run once back at my car (Total 5 miles)

The hill workouts are really starting to add up. It's hard not living in someplace like Boulder where I could go up and down a single peak every morning for 3000ft of gain. I have to do the best with what I have here. So far, I feel that I've been pretty creative in what I've come up with: steep and rocky trail work, with some long runs thrown in.

- For this particular week, I managed just under 12,000 ft of total Ascent, ~58 miles, and a good showing at my first race!
- I did also manage to get in a little compass work today. I practiced getting bearings, and picking proper headings to various landmarks. In all, it was mostly a refresh just to make sure I remembered how to use my compass. I plan to do a more intense refresher in the weeks to come.

Hill Ascent totals so far

Next week, I'm hoping to step it back up to about 60-65 miles. I will undoubtedly be using my new found gas-line cut often and would like to get in at least 15-20,000 feet of gain for the week.

By the way, for those that are interested in how to calculate "steepness" vs "percentage" vs "gradient", here's the easy guide:

Slope, gradient, grade, incline, and pitch, are all the same thing.
Slope is usually expressed as a percentage, angle, or ratio.
Slope is determined by dividing the "rise" over the "run".
"Run" can be determined either on a map, or very crudely by using the pythagorean theorem.
Mutiply (Rise/Run) by 100 to express slope as a percentage.
To express the slope angle in degrees, take the arctangent of (Rise/Run).

Example from Cut 1, yesterday:

1. I ran just under a mile from my car to the top of the cut....or 5000 ft.
2. I climbed 1250 ft of total ascent. This would be the "RISE"
3. To determine the RUN, I will use the pythagorean theorem.
(Obviously using a map is the better way to go here to get the actual "RUN"distance since I did not run a perfect angle on a perfect triangle - but this will give a rough estimate)
RUN^2 + RISE^2 = AB^2 OR RUN = SQRT(AB^2 - RISE^2)
RUN = approx 4841 ft
4. So, the Slope (ratio), or GRADE, is RISE/RUN = 1250/4841 or 0.258.
5. Expressed as a percent, it would be 0.258 * 100, or 25.8%.
6. The angle in degrees would be expressed as arctan(1250/4841) or, ~14.5 degrees.
7. Of couse this is an average slope integrated over the length of the run. Obviously some parts are steeper than others.

Note: Using a map to determine an exact RUN distance by using the scale bar on the map, I get a RUN of about 4600 ft...which results in a Slope of 1250/4600 or 0.271 (27.1%). This would equate to an average degree-angle of roughly 15.2 degrees.

One last thing...
My Great 2012 Shoe Experiment:
Something I haven't talked about but I will mention briefly, is I also plan to conduct my own personalized running shoe study. In addition to the dancer pads, my doctor also suggested I try two different shoe routes to help with my toe (even though it has now been pain-free for over 3 days). He suggested either a more robust shoe with a stiffer fore-foot, or a shoe with added cushioning/padding. So far I'm very pleased with my new Cascadias, and am proud to be a "Friend of Brooks", but wanted to at least be scientific about this. With the help of some incredible deals on a few outlet websites, I managed to acquire two additional pairs of shoes that I will be testing over the next couple of weeks. This is all I'm going to say about it right now, but will do a complete review following my experiment. Needless to say, there aren't any minimalist shoes in the mix.

onward!

The NEW Colorado Trail Handbook

2012-02-08T15:46:00.011-05:00

Yogi's New CT Handbook!

Back in 2008, following three weeks of work at the National Ice Core Lab in Denver, I had the incredible opportunity to do a rather quick thru-hike of the 485-mile Colorado Trail. It was my first foray into the world of alpine hiking. I hadn't ever dealt with altitudes over 7000 ft, afternoon thunderstorms, real lightning threats, extreme night-time temps, or big river fords. Before any sort of PCT thru-hike was even considerable, I needed to prove to myself that I could fare well through a tough, albeit shorter, mountain hike. A CT thru-hike seemed the logical way. I was excited, but also a bit timid. I wasn't sure what to expect, or how I would do so "exposed" above the tree-line.

At the end of the 485-Mile Colorado Trail (2008)

At the time, there weren't a lot of resources for planning. I used a data book published by the CT foundation, along with some pages from an old guide book. Other than that, I pretty much just poked around on forums and asked a lot of questions on-line. I did ok, but had kind of wished there was a better resource out there.

Fast forward two years to the summer of 2010 and I did find myself trudging through the mountains and deserts along the PCT. For this hike, I had the luxury of a wonderful planning and town guide courtesy of Ms. Jackie McDonnell....aka...Yogi. There's not a single hiker along the PCT that doesn't know of Yogi's books. Her guidebook was an absolute life-saver for me. I carried it the entire PCT and used it often to plan town-stops and for pointers on various water sources.

PCT Mile 0, with Yogi's Guide Book in side pocket

PCT Mile 2650, with Yogi's Guide Book in side pocket

Sometime last year, I received an email from Yogi asking me for input for a new Colorado Trail book she was putting together in the style of her very successful PCT and CDT books. I happily agreed to help her out as best I could. She forwarded me a detailed questionnaire and I did my best at filling it out. I was in the middle of studying for my PhD candidacy at the time and it gave me a nice distraction from studying differential equations. It was nice escaping in my Colorado Trail memories. I sent in my finished questionnaire and pretty much forgot about it.

Well, last week Yogi informed me that the book was finished and that she used a lot of my input. Cool! Today in the mail, I received a full kit from her with the new planning and town guide books. They came out really well...and I'm not just saying this because I'm featured in them (although it is pretty cool to know that perhaps some of my experiences may help others in their planning).

I don't generally outright "plug" many products on here, but I am definitely doing it now. Thank you Yogi for what you do for helping all of us hiker trash out here with your wonderful guidebooks, town-stop cards, and planning books. So if you are reading this, and are also planning a CT hike, think about picking up Yogi's new books. You can get them over on her website here: YOGI's WEBSITE.

One other thing that I would like to add. Not only does Yogi make these wonderful resources in her free time, for all of us to use, but she also has an attitude that is so hard to find these days...an attitude that many of us yearn for. She is always encouraging us to "get out there" and "see the world".

I'll leave you with this bit of text that is from my own little "writing project" that maybe one day I'll put out. It's from Chapter 4, titled: "Springer Fever"

"Once I started the planning process, I found myself digging through various trail and preparation guides. On one random evening while pouring over mountains of text, photos, and advice from previous hikers on how to plan my latest adventure properly, I came across a paragraph written by a fairly well-known thru-hiker: Jackie “Yogi” McDonnell. Yogi had compiled all of her own notes and experiences while thru-hiking the PCT several years ago, along with some comment from others, and created series of guidebooks to aid future hikers in their PCT hiking endeavors. The quote I found on this particular evening from Yogi’s book read,

'It didn't take long after thru-hiking the AT for me to realize what I had found. A different world. A world full of good things. Simplicity. Relaxation. Freedom. Self-confidence. Camaraderie. Before hiking the AT, "the trail" represented images of dirt paths, mountains, streams, backpacks, sleeping bags, tents, camping stoves, etc. Mostly physical things. After returning home, I quickly realized that "the trail" represents more of a feeling. A feeling of being INVINCIBLE. I want that feeling again. I want to go back.'"

I know exactly what you mean Yogi. Exactly.

Here are some pics from the new book. I took them with my iTouch so they are low quality. I have comments throughout the entire book on various tips and tricks based on my CT experience. I hope they prove to helpful to some of you out there!

Hike on my friends.

The full CT kit that I received today! Thanks Yogi!
(This pic is from Yogi's Website)

My Blurb in the Planning Guide

A typical comment of mine taken from the questionnaire

My blurb at the end of the book

Some Weekly Training Numbers

2012-02-06T12:52:00.001-05:00

Definitely tired and sore today. Thought I'd take a quick break from thinking all things ice, to post some quick numbers from last week. I have officially hit a new high water mark for training. Not only did I do over 12,000 feet of hill workouts, but I have now run my highest mileage training week ever: 73 Miles.

Of course my highest mileage weeks ever, were last summer when I had something like 123.5 miles the week that I ran Leadville, and of course my 222-mile week of hiking in July on the PCT back in 2010. As far as pure training goes though, 73 is currently it. And this is after a nearly 60-mile week the previous week. To all the elite ultrarunners out there, a 73-mile week is probably considered a "light week" or a "taper week". For me, I am pretty happy with how my training has picked up. I am starting to notice my nagging turf-toe/sesamoiditis symptoms coming back though and it is really aggravating. I have decided to make this current week a step-back week...and give the ol' toe a break. I will continue to hit the hills, but with much lower intensity. I need to give my foot a rest. I've also finally scheduled a followup doc visit just to make sure there's not anything else going on down there other than irritation. Lastly, I've got some pads and inserts that I am going to start wearing in my shoes that allow my big toe to float a bit more and relieve some pressure on it. It's more-or-less the equivalent of a dancer's pad. The woes of having high arches. Of course with all this said, I will never, and I stress NEVER, wear minimalist shoes again.

The Plan:

Step back to 40-50 miles this week and then pick it up again for the following two weeks. I'm hoping to maybe break 80 miles. Of course this will all depend on how my foot is doing. I really need to keep up with the hill workouts this week even if it means hiking. In two weeks I hope to start doing some off-trail hill workouts. In other words, very steep, bushwacking type climbs. Lastly, I need to start practicing and refreshing my orienteering skills. I hope to get out next weekend for some compass work.

The run through:

Throughout the week I did about 13 miles of pure hills, with another 19-miler on Saturday through Rothrock doing a long/hill workout. On Sunday, I again ran in Rothrock, but instead chose to stick to the fire roads. The 18.8-miler still featured 2500 ft of gain, but was much more rolling. by mile 16 I was so exhausted, that I found myself walking. Definitely a long week. Today, I am taking off.

Since starting my self-imposed Hill workouts, I've totaled over 22,000 ft of gain

Finally broke 70 miles in a week for training.

Sunday Fire-Road Run in Rothrock

Rolling Hills in Rothrock (Sunday)

Two quick side notes:

1. Congratulations to my friend and 2011 Leadville Pacer Sophia for breaking 24 hours at the Rocky Raccoon 100-miler! Huge accomplishment. Wear that belt buckle with pride Sophia, and I will see you in Leadville.

2. I finally got my copy of JourneyFilm's "Unbreakable"...the story of the 2010 Western States 100. I won't go through a full review of it, but will say that I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it was well done. There were a few scenes that I thought it could have done without, but for the most part I thought the story was well told, and the camera work phenomenal. It was also very cool to get the story of Gordy Ansleigh in there as well. Overall, I'd give a 4/5 stars and say that it is worth the purchase for sure.

...and More Hills

2012-02-03T15:26:00.008-05:00

8 Mile Hill Course on Broad Mountain

Remember last week when I was all excited about doing hill workouts and and I even used the word "fun" several times to describe it? Well I've determined that feeling to be rather ephemeral. In fact, in just a week I've come to realize that I both fear and loathe hill workouts, despite how much they are doing for me and my race preparedness.

Quite simply, they suck....but in that satisfying sort-of-way? Type 2 fun vs type 1...or something like that. You know, when it's terrible while you're doing it, but great afterward?

At any rate, I could run and hide...or I could embrace them. I've chosen to embrace them in all of their wretched glory. And so this weekend will again be chock full of hilly long runs.

But first, a quick recap:

On Saturday and Sunday I did my back-to-back Rothrock 19-milers. This course was a nice combination of both distance and hills. I had great weather for it and was able to spend 5 hours out each day. In a nutshell, I really enjoyed Saturday, but Sunday was a bit much. Needless to say, I was pretty whooped on Sunday evening.

Rothrock 19-Mile Long Run - Profile

Rothrock 19-mile Course

Total "Hill" Miles: 38

Total Ascent 9000ft

Time: ~10 hrs total

After a leisurely saunter around the flat neighborhood on Monday, I went out for my first mid-week hill workout on Tuesday morning. I thought it would be "fun" (there's that word again), to do repeats up and down Mt. Nittany....you know, the "pride and symbol of Happy Valley" and University namesake (blah blah). The climb from the parking lot is about 650ft....so I decided to do it three times, adding on an extra summit push on the last loop. I quickly remembered that hill workouts take significantly longer than normal workouts.

Mt. Nittany Repeats - Profile

Mt. Nittany Repeats - Course

Total "Hill" Miles: 4.6

Total Ascent 2000ft

Time: ~ 1 hr

On Wednesday, I went out for a nice 9 miler through the neighborhood to give myself a break from the hills and focus on normal-paced miles. But then I thrust myself into the fray again yesterday for a brutal trip up and down Broad Mountain. I basically took out the topo maps for Rothrock State Park and said to myself, "Where is the single most brutal climb in the entire park that's on a marked trail?". This is what I found. So what did I do? I ran it twice. Of course it will soon get to be even more fun when I start doing hill workouts by bush-wacking my way up steep, 40% graded, non-marked routes....but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Anyhoo...this workout was an ass kicker. I did a full loop around the mountain, but on the 2nd pass simply did an up-and-down to the summit. It turned out to be 8 miles of ridiculousness. My headlamp failed and I was running in the dark, getting lost, bushwacking...you name it. You might almost say it was.........wait for it...........fun? That's just crazy talk.

8 Mile Broad Mtn Hills - Profile

8 Mile Broad Mtn Hills - Course

Total "Hill" Miles: 8

Total Ascent 3100ft

Time: ~ 2 hrs

RUNNING TOTALS (Starting Last Tuesday 1/24/12):

Total "Hill" Miles: 53.9

Total Ascent 15,200ft

...And this weekend you ask? Well it'll be another back-to-backer in Rothrock. Probably the same course as last week. I'm actually excited about Saturday...undecided about Sunday just yet.

onward!

oh and one other thing.

The 7's are finally out, in my possession,...and oooooo...I'm excited.

Bring on the Hills (and the Fun!)

2012-01-29T18:42:00.004-05:00

Shingletown Boulder Scramble (Mile ~13)

Without sugar-coating it at all, and simply putting it, this weekend I began, in ernest, what I would call my self-imposed, high-intensity, "hills and trails", training. My time in Antarctica, as wonderful and awe-inspiring as it was, did make me a smidge soft...despite my dedicated efforts at trying to run nearly every day. I just had a hard time getting in long runs (or any sort of hill work) down there and my stamina has likely come down a notch or two because of it.

With a couple of very high intensity events/races looming ever so close on my calendar, the time to ratchet up the training regimen is here. I decided the best way to not only get in some long running, but to also get a serious hill workout, was to go out for the day(s) in Rothrock State Park. When working out a course to run, I eventually decided to simply run the exact course (or nearly) that the "Rothrock Challange (30k)" uses. For those of you that might remember, the Rothrock Challenge was a race I did last year here in town...that was ridiculously hilly and technical. Perfect. Incidentally, it was also the course where in incurred my dreaded "turf-toe", that has plagued me on-and-off since. Thankfully, it is doing much better now.

Lastly, I decided that there was yet another way that I should step up my training....to do my first true "back-to-back". So, naturally, I decided to run the 30k course again on Sunday....in reverse. So, in a nutshell, I ran two 19-mile long runs, back-to-back, that each featured nearly 5000 ft of ascent (including several gnarly scrambles).

This also gave me the ability to test out a very long run (4+ hours), unaided. This is something I need to start working on. For the first time ever, I carried my Nathan pack with the water bladder filled. I also carried fresh PB&J sandwiches, various Larabars and Clifbars, and other foodstuffs. I figure that spending a good 4-5 hours out on trails requires a different type of preparation, almost more similar to a day I would have planned during one of my thru-hikes. I took lunch breaks somewhere around 12 miles into the course during both runs (8-10 breaks each time)

My goal over the next 6 weeks or so, is to not just sprinkle some hill workouts into my schedule, but to make them my primary focus along with long runs. My tentative plan is to do intense hill workouts both tuesday and thursday, and then work hills into my weekend long runs as well. I will space them out with easy runs and a rest day on Fridays. I hope to put in at least 2000-3000 ft of ascent for each short hill workout, and 5000-10,000 for the weekend long runs. I may occasionally do a more traditional long run on a weekend day as well here or there. I will cap this training off in mid-march with a self-imposed fat-ass style 50k of some sort in Rothrock. Of course anyone is welcome to join me! This should get me primed pretty well for what awaits me this season.

Some Stats for each day (double everything for the weekend):
Distance: ~19 miles (GPS said 19.4, Google Earth said 18.9)
Total Ascent: 4600 ft
Calories: ~3500
Gear: Nathan Pack w/2L bladder, Food, Salts, Columbia Peak 2 Peak coat, long johns, hat, gloves, buff, heart rate monitor, altimeter watch, etc.

Total Weekend Miles: 38 in two days.

Here are some visual specs for the day as captured in Google Earth:

My overall elevation profile for the day (with start on the left)

My overall running speed for the day (with start on left)

Combining the two plots clearly shows that

during climbs and descents I slowed down a lot

The course as mapped by my GPS

(The video below has flyover animation at the end)

Here is a quick video highlighting some spots along the course as well as a Google Earth animated flyover at the end of the entire course. I had my GPS recording the entire day, and was able to import into Google Earth, and turn my Tracks into an animation rather simply. Cool stuff.

Upcoming "Big" Race Event of 2012

2012-01-24T09:21:00.000-05:00

Well...for those of you out there (all three of you) that were checking in on my page here to see when I was going to post about my upcoming "big" race that I've talked about in some previous entries....that time has come. Unfortunately, after a lot of thought, I've decided to keep that information off of the blog. WHAT?! Hear me out...

Since moving my blog in a direction of adventure and various race journaling, I've had a fairly open policy. I've shared with the world information about nearly every race I've been in, the goods and bad, and the followup race reports. I've shared a lot of what some may consider, personal information too. In addition, I have blogged every single day while on a 123-day thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. Every race that I'm either scheduled for or contemplating for 2012 is listed in my side bar, as was every race last year. But this time...this ONE time, this ONE race, I've decided to hold off. There's a part of me that wants to shout to the world about it. Frankly, I'm still shocked I even got in. I have told close family and friends, but otherwise no one. I briefly posted a vague comment on facebook about it, but have since taken it down, so I suppose it may have been spotted, but in the case of this particular website, this "big" race shall remain anonymous...at least until after it's over. I may post a followup or stripped-down race report once it's all over, but of that I haven't decided yet either. I'm sure a lot of you out there have already guessed based on approximate time-frame and my need for what I've called a "stepped up training", but that's about all I'm going to say about it.

And for the few of you that DO know which event this is, and that I'm in it, I ask that you please refrain from posting about it (in the comments here, or elsewhere). Thanks.

So why keep it quiet? Why not talk about it?

I could write paragraphs about this, but to keep it simple, I will just say that this particular challenge, is completely and entirely a personal one. Every race or challenge I do, I am eager to share it with whoever wants to listen. This time, however, this is something that I want to do, and am going to do, as a test and challenge for myself.....and myself alone. This will be one of the most difficult and humbling endeavors I've attempted yet, and many a personal/internal battle will be fought during its undertaking. There's also the part of me that recognizes the difficulty with such an event, and I'd like to think that I have some respectable amount of humility that would keep me from "talking it up"....only to be beaten back to reality rather quickly.

So I ask that you simply wish me luck on this upcoming event, and in staying safe out there. In the mean time, help me to get excited about my first "public" ultra of 2012 - The Massanutten Mountain Trail 100 in May!

hike on!

Fourth Antarctic Season Over...Headed Home

2012-01-17T20:15:00.002-05:00

...And another successful Antarctic season comes to an end; and in interesting season it was. Participating in my first "double deployment" was a bit stressful, but a unique experience nonetheless. I was very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work out of Union Glacier earlier in the season, but the travel in between that experience and my latest at WAIS Divide was a bit grueling. I don't know that I would want to do that again.

Without going into too much rambling about my 4th WAIS Divide field season, I will say that all in all it was another big success. We achieved our final drilling depth of 3405 meters, the replicate coring was being fine-tuned as I left, all side projects were completed, and there were no major "meltdowns". If you are wondering why I appear to be en route home a few weeks earlier that originally planned....well you would be correct. The four of us in our group (3 science techs and a team leader) decided that with the season winding down, the need for 3 science techs just wasn't there. I volunteered to bow out two weeks early as I have much to work on back home for school, and I have been a bit more homesick than usual this year; specifically missing those back home quite a bit. The quick visit home between deployments only made that particular aspect a bit more difficult.

A few notes on the camp. Without hesitation, I can say that this was the best run, the kindest, and the most welcoming WAIS Divide camp that I've experienced in all 4 years. A lot of familiar faces that had returned, and a lot of new folks. It truly was an incredible camp this year. I will miss it, but already know it will be in good hands next year. :-) On a personal note, I want to thank Giff, Logan, and Don for being such incredible teammates and for the great company. You guys were all awesome and I truly felt like I was part of an "all-star" science team this year. I will miss you guys (except you Don...I'll see you in two weeks!).

The short synopsis key milestones for the season could be summed up with the following:

Finished the WDC06A main WAIS Divide ice-core at a depth of 3405m
Packed and shipped out all remaining ice core
Borehole logging was a huge success
Local seismic experiments were a huge success (Penn State)
Began configuring and testing the replicate coring system (started broaching deviation hole)
Drilled 9 firn cores for spatial variability graduate project (Dartmouth)
Dug and sampled 1.5 meter clean snow pit (Dartmouth)
Dug and photographed 2 meter back-lit snow pit (Penn State, Dartmouth, Oregon State)
Installed Net Radiometer on Automated Weather Station (Penn State)
Installed and ran small temp/humidity/pressure/insolation logger outside of camp (Penn State)
Prepared Facilities for next season's replicate coring
Tested "Eclipse Drill" and worked with drillers logging 100 meter "test" core.
I Ran a lot, went skiing a lot, and even rode the mountain bike
I met and interacted with some truly incredible people
I marshalled a Hercules LC-130 on a beautiful evening
A lot of other things I'm forgetting

So, without any further adieu. Here are a few Season pics....

Fisheye Herc Flight (Photo L. Mitchell)

Christmas Deserts

Me and Santa

A little mountain biking (way harder than it looks)

Drilling shallow 6-meter firn cores

The buried ice-core arch facility (Photo L. Mitchell)

The Team: Me, Logan, Giff, Don (Photo L. Mitchell)

Lots of sun dogs this year

Pouring out the bubbly on New Year's Eve

Lots of blowing, crappy weather this year

Excitedly packing the final core of the project (Photo L. Mitchell)

Lots of snow drifts that needed cleaning

Installed Net-Radiometer (over my head)

The Penn State Contingent

Logging/Drilling Shallow firn cores

Science Tech / Daft Punk tryouts

Large crust in shallow core

Clean snow-pit sampling (Photo L. Mitchell)

More clean snow-pit sampling (Photo L. Mitchell)

Going for a run....out there

Back-lit snow pit main wall

Looking more closely at a preserved crust in a core

Core "handling" with some junk firn cores

Marshalling in my 2nd LC-130 in three years

(This was the plane I left on last night too)

10,000 Miles (from Antarctica!)

2012-01-15T10:00:00.002-05:00

10,000 Miles (from Antarctica!),
a photo by John 'Lakewood' Fegyveresi on Flickr.

On May 1st, 2007, I took my first step on the Appalachian Trail for what would become a 2175 mile thru-hike. Since that day, I've been keeping track of all of my hiking and running miles. Every day that I go out for a run, be it a 3-miler or a 100-miler, it gets recorded. I consider hiking to be an athletic form of forward motion as well, so I lump those miles in with running miles (daily walking around doesn't get recorded though...only actual hiking) When I left home for the 2nd Antarctic deployment of the year back in early December (for the WAIS Divide camp), I noticed that my mileage totals were nearing 10,000. I realize that this number is just that....a number, and there are probably some large error bars on that number, but mentally, it is an enormous milestone for me. In 4 and half years, I managed to move myself, actively, 10,000 miles by either running or hiking. That's almost 6 miles a day.....every day. Certainly the AT, PCT, and CT thru-hikes make up a large portion of that, but the running makes up for nearly half. In 2011 alone, I ran well over 2000 miles (almost as much as another AT thru-hike).

So....to start off 2012, I decided to celebrate with an inaugural 10,000 mile run. On January 1st, I suited up, and went out for a brisk 5-miler along the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and calmly celebrated not only a successful ice-core drilling season here at camp, but a successful progression to the magical number of 10,000 motion-miles.

Unlike last year, I've been able to run almost every day here at WAIS. While my long runs have suffered a bit (it's too cold to run any longer than 90 minutes), I have maintained a steady flow of 5-8 mile runs. I've even been doing hill training on the winter-over storage berms (it's the only topography at camp).

I head home very soon now, and will immediately jump into a very aggressive training routine over the next 2-3 months. I have an enormous race to prepare for and have to be well-prepared. (more details on that as soon as I get home)

and so my friends,
hike onward,
run onward,
and have fun out there

-j

The End of an Era: The WAIS Divide Ice Core

2012-01-01T10:02:00.002-05:00

The End of an Era: The WAIS Divide Ice Core,
a photo by John 'Lakewood' Fegyveresi on Flickr.

Yesterday, amongst a small group of friends and fellow scientists, the WAIS Divide Deep Ice Core (main borehole) drilling came to an end. The drillers pulled up the last and final ice core from the main borehole, WDC06A...from a depth of 3405 meters. At the end of last season, we all believed that the drilling was over and that we had achieved our absolute deepest mark of 3330 meters. At the time, there was no official approval to make it any deeper, and as far as we were all concerned, the project was a success. I even blogged about it. There was a HUGE celebration and the entire camp staff had an enormous party. Everyone photographed the final core and took pride in the fact that we were there, present, for the last core. People proudly went home with the thought that they could tell folks that there were there for the "last core".

But alas, it wasn't really over.

Shortly after returning to the States last year, approval was obtained to run a series of experiments to determine the absolute depth to the bedrock at WAIS Divide (which was assumed to be about 3450 meters). Because the borehole is filled with drill fluid, and because there is believed to be about 1.5 cm of water at the bed, we cannot drill to the bedrock and risk that fluid contaminating the basal hydrological network under the ice sheet. So, NSF set an absolute limit of drilling to be 50 meters above the bed. The problem was that we didn't really know for sure, where the bed was. So the plan was to send a group (from Penn State coincidentally) down to run some seismic experiments to determine that depth so that we could drill up to that 50-meter limit. This is why I was able to return. Normally, they send down 6-8 science techs (or "core handlers"), of which I'm included. With this year being a much smaller operation, there are only three of us here.

The atmosphere this year was much different than last year. A small group of about 20 of us quietly stood in the drilling arch as the last core came up to the surface. There was no glorious speech, no huge party, just a humble, subdued feeling of accomplishment. We shook hands, thanked everyone, and processed the core as usual. I managed to get a couple of photographs as we marked and cut the core before pack-up. The above photo was taken moments before cutting the last meter of ice from the very last core of the project.

Later that night we prepared for a nice New Year's Eve dinner and contemplated a very poignant thought:
The WAIS Divide Deep Ice Core project was first conceived 25 years ago. In 1986 there was a short article written about how the U.S. should drill an ice core in West Antarctica. In the early 90's, the actual WAIS Divide initial proposal was first drafted. Yesterday, I was there for, and I witnessed, a 25 year vision come to an end. It was quite a powerful thought.

I have been incredibly fortunate to have been involved with this project for 4 years now. Not only did my Masters degree and first publication come from data I obtained from this core, but I have been able to come down and work here in the field all four seasons. Never did I imagine I would get to work in remote Antarctica...let alone FOUR times. Add to that the incredible opportunity I had in November to work as a part of the polenet project, and I feel ridiculously fortunate.

As this week moves on, the focus of the project now will shift to what we are calling "replicate coring". The drillers will send down a new type of drill, and drill off-angle into the sides of the main borehole at specific shallower depths...to pull up "replicate cores" to the main core. This is a very new type of technology and will take a long time to master. The goal for the remaining few weeks here is simply to get the replicate coring working, and to pull up a few meters. On the side, I have some other projects going on here and hope get that work done in few days.

So....what does this mean for me. Not sure yet. I may or may not be here to the end of the season, but am at least tentatively scheduled that way for now. Next year replicate coring will go into full swing, but me returning here to WAIS seems very unlikely. I have my PhD comprehensive exam next year and have a lot of research and writing to do. Plus, at some point, I need to actually start thinking about graduating in the next couple years. With that said, it would be quite a milestone to come down for a 5th season...but I think being home for Christmas would actually be quite wonderful for a change (as much as I love it here on the ice).

That's it for now. Happy New Year everyone! 2011 was truly one of the best years of my life and I only hope that 2012 can be just as wonderful.

-j

...oh and I received some rather interesting news regarding an upcoming ultra/race that I'm VERY excited about. I will post about it once I get back home, but I will tell you that I CAN'T WAIT!

2011 - The Year of PhD Research, Pubs, PR's, Peak Bagging, and Polenet

2011-12-15T22:13:00.012-05:00

Looking out over Union Glacier - Nov - 2011

Here we are again in December, and I find myself in the all too familiar McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The time has come again for me to reflect on another year gone by....and what a year it's been. Every time I start to gather my thoughts and photos for my end-of-the-year posts, I find that I often think back to a specific moment in 2006; A moment that I remember quite vividly. I was sitting in my cubicle at what had become my stagnant, dilbert-style, IT job, with my life decaying around me. I was lost, alone, and miserable. At that moment, I took out my cell phone and recorded a very short video of myself. The video is only about 5 seconds long and I only say one sentence while looking into the camera, completely emotionless. That sentence was:

"You have to get out of this..."

That day was my pivot day. That was the day that I realized I had nothing left to lose and that I was going to be taking some risks if I truly wanted to seize my day. That day was also the day I told my boss that I would be accepting the grad school offer from Penn State, would be quitting my vested 7-year long job with good benefits, and would be hiking the Appalachian Trail the following month. And as they say.....and so it came to pass.

What a ride it has been since then. In five short years, I've done more living than I had in the previous 15. I have forced myself to never slow down, and to keep pushing myself however I can. I refuse to have "if only" and "I wish I would have" regrets when I'm a dying old man years from now.

Yeah yeah...enough with the existential mumbo jumbo John, let's get to the Year-In-Review. Ok....

2011 was another fun-filled and jam-packed year for me. Again I started, and now end the year, in Antarctica. I ran over a dozen races (7 of which being ultras), set all sorts of new PRs, played in the mountains of Colorado, worked on my research, and became a published author. Let's start from the beginning......WAIS Divide, Antarctica

Celebrating 3000 meters in early January

2011 started just as the previous two years had started. I found myself celebrating the new year at the WAIS Divide field camp in West Antarctica. I again had the privilege of working at the camp as a science tech. Our goal for the season was to hit 3330 meters and finish the main borehole. After working long hours through several major issues and setbacks, we finally hit our goal depth on January 28th: 3331 meters. There was a huge celebration at camp and NSF applauded our heroic efforts in drilling and processing the deepest ice core in United States history. I left the ice under the assumption that I would not be returning to Antarctica the following season. Drilling was done, I played my part, and I would likely be home for the holidays the following year. Well it didn't quite go like that, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Pointing out a high-density crust in a snow-pit wall at WAIS Divide

The title of this post, and again keeping with alliteration tradition, focuses on what I consider to be the highlights of the year:

Getting some important, and new, PhD research done
Finally getting published in a scientific journal
Setting, and resetting, all sorts of personal racing records
Bagging several Colorado 14ers
Participating in the Polenet project out of Union Glacier

After spending just a few short days in New Zealand in early February, I quickly headed back to State College. I immediately dove into data processing and manuscript editing. While on the ice, my submitted paper (based on my masters work) had gone through review and was waiting for me to begin the long process of dealing with the edits and comments. It took me over two months of back-and-forth with my advisor and various co-authors and reviews to get it where needed to be. Finally on April 4th, the paper was officially accepted and sent to the publisher. On July 13th, it finally appeared in print in the Journal of Glaciology. What started in 2007 as an interest in glaciology and paleoclimatology, and progressed into a Masters Degree project, was finally realized as a 10-page paper in scientific journal:

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/igsoc/jog/2011/00000057/00000204/art00005

During the late-winter and early-spring, I also began to focus heavily on some new data sets. It started to dawn on me that while a Masters project was difficult, a PhD thesis was basically doing three Masters projects at once. I began juggling my time between processing new ice-core gas data, ice-core physical properties data, and WAIS Divide surface observations. I was able to get through a good portion of it and even presented a preliminary poster at the graduate school student colloquium in late March. My goal for the remainder of the year was to simply clean up those data sets and start to pull together an overarching theme that would define my thesis proposal. I knew that sometime within the next 12-18 months, I would have to formally present my thesis proposal to my committee and defend that proposal during my comprehensive examination (aka "Candidacy Part 2").

One new development with regards to my research was my introduction into the world of ice-core gas processing. I had always wanted to incorporate a gas study into my PhD somehow, and had found an opportunity with one of my committee members that studies methane concentrations. As a part of my research, he suggested that I work with total air content data that are obtained through his "spider" apparatus. In a nutshell, this machine takes ice samples, melts them down, extracts the trapped air, and then analyzes that air. In particular, he is interested in the methane, but the overall gas content can also potentially be used as a paleo-barometer, and thereby tell us about the elevation history of the ice sheet. A secondary bonus to all of this, was that it allowed me the opportunity to prepare gas samples from the WAIS Divide ice core at the National Ice Core Lab for two weeks in June.

Cutting a "gas sample" from the WAIS Divide ice core

The ice-core library at the National Ice Core Lab

Working in Colorado for two weeks also gave me the wonderful opportunity to bag some 14,000 foot peaks. Ever since driving up Mt. Evans and hiking past the summit of San Luis Peak on my CT thru-hike, I had been interested in knocking out some of Colorado's fifty-four 14'ers. Certainly there are those out there that bag all 54, and some even try to break the speed record for bagging them all. Me...well I just wanted to climb them, stand on top, and have fun while doing it. And so I did. Here are the highlights from the first Colorado trip (I went back in August and bagged a few more):

View from the summit of Mt. Bierstadt

Running up Mt. Evans during the Mt. Evans Ascent Race

View from the summit of Mt. Sherman

On top of Grays Peak

Summit of Torreys with Grays in background

While all of this was going on, and my school work progressing, I was intently focusing on a rigorous running and training routine. In 2009, I proved to myself that I could physically run several ultras in one year. This year, I wanted to prove to myself that I could run multiple ultras in one year fast. I trained hard. Harder than I had during any other period in my life. I changed my diet, lost nearly 20 pounds and became a lean, mean, running machine. I signed up again for the Vermont and Leadville 100, and even signed up for Finger Lakes as a training run again. I figured my 2009 plan worked pretty well, this time I would just step it up a notch.

I started the year slowly by easing my way into marathon training for a 3rd attempt at the Pocono Marathon. I didn't have high expectations on beating my previous PR of 3:39, but kept an open mind. After finishing the marathon in May with a strong 3:21 finish, I knew I had the strength and fitness to do well throughout the year. I pushed my training up to the next level and started on a roll of setting new PR's one after another. Just as I'd set a PR, I'd beat it a month later with a new PR. As an example, I reset my 50-mile PR three times over the course of the year. Previously, my best 50-mile time was 10 hours 34 minutes. In July, I finished finger lakes 50 in 9 hours 20 minutes. Two months later, I finished the Vermont 50 in 8 hours 42 minutes. Then just a month after that, I reset it again at the Tussey Mountainback 50-miler with a finish of 7 hours 49 minutes. In all, it was an incredibly successful year for my running, and I was not only able to finish every race I started....but finish them all well. Here are some (not all) of the highlights:

May - Pocono Marathon PR 3:21

Jun - Rothrock Trail 30k PR

Jun - Laurel Highlands Ultra 50k PR 5:54

Jun - Slacker Half-Marathon PR 1:30

Jul - Finger Lakes 50m PR 9:20 (finishing lap 2 of 3 above)

Jul - Vermont 100 PR 21:48

Without question, there were two pinnacle performances for me during the year. The first was my nearly 4 hour improvement at the Leadville Trail 100. While I didn't break the coveted 25 hour time, I still managed to finish in the dark; something that was very important to me:

Aug- Coming down Hope Pass (mile 45) Leadville Trail 100

Aug - Finishing Leadville Trail 100 in 25:36

Sep -Vermont 50 PR 8:42

My second pinnacle performance of the year was my running of the Oil Creek 100. I signed up for this race not expecting much. I enjoyed the course after pacing a runner at it back in 2009 and thought why not give it a stab. I ended up not only finishing in under 22 hours (and winning one of the special gold buckles for sub 22), but placed 5th overall. To this day, my best place finish ever. As a side note, while I did miss my 100-mile PR by 3 minutes during this race, the course was actually 100.6 miles...which actually put me at or near a PR for 100 miles (unofficially of course).

Oct - Oil Creek 100 : On my way to a 21:52 and 5th place finish

Oct - Sub 22 hour Oil Creek 100 coveted gold buckle

I ended the season with a big bang by racing strong at the Tussey Mountainback 50-miler. This is my hometown race, and I wanted to make a strong showing. I ran it hard and finished in 7 hours 49 minutes....my fastest 50 miler ever....and one that will probably stand a long time.

Oct - Rolling fast at the Tussey 50 PR 7:49

In August, after my running at Leadville, I also spent a week relaxing in one of my favorite states. While there, with good company, I was able to see many wonderful places and bag a couple more 14ers.

Mt. Elbert Summit (Highest Peak in CO)

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Summit Lake : Mt. Evans

Climbing Uncompahgre Peak

Uncompahgre Summit

Fun with rented jeeps and crazy 4-wheel drive roads

So last but not least comes the final "P" in the title of this already too long post. Polenet. I could write an entire 2nd post just about the beauty I saw while deployed for Polenet...but my last post covered it pretty well. In September I was asked if I wanted to participate in a 2nd Antarctic deployment (after already hearing that I was wanted back for another year at WAIS). After learning what the project entailed, and where I would be stationed (Union Glacier), I jumped at the chance. In October I went out to Socorro New Mexico and spent two days training at Passcal. It was there that I learned the inner workings of the Polenet seismic stations. When I deployed South for Antarctica on November 3rd, I had no idea how incredible the scenery and the project were going to be. Instead of picking through photos, I'm just going to re-post the youtube video montage I put together. It sums it up pretty damn well.

And so...

Here I sit in McMurdo again. Waiting to deploy to WAIS Divide for what will be my fourth season there. We hope to extend the main borehole about 100 meters deeper, and then begin drilling replicate cores. I anticipate a much slower-paced season than previous years. I will once again spend my Christmas amongst a small field camp group of about 35 people. And on New Years Eve, I will welcome in 2012 from my familiar 2nd home.

There are a few other sub-stories from 2011, like my weekend trip to New York City, my three-day weekend in the Redwood forests of California, a weekend away in Cook Forest State Park....but I think maybe I will leave these memories to myself.

As far as goals for 2012....well I have a few. First and foremost, my primary goal is to pass my PhD Comprehensive Exam. I surmise this exam will probably take place some time in late Spring or Summer. I'm optimistically hoping to finish it up before Summer though. Outside of school, I've again signed up for a number of races. Some are old favorites, and some new ones. As of right now, I have no time goals or race goals except for maybe....just maybe, to break 25 hours at Leadville. BIG maybe though. I've been missing the hiking a lot lately, so maybe a long overdue Long Trail thru-hike will be in order instead. Guess we'll see. I'm leaving 2012 pretty open right now. Sometimes it's more fun to be spontaneous. But there's a chance, I may have a few other devious ideas up my sleeve *smirk*

Anyhoo...

Happy Holidays everyone, and on the 100th anniversary of Amundsen and Scott's epic "race" to the South Pole, I'll leave you with this sobering and powerful quote from early 1912, written by Scott on his return journey from the Pole,

"... but for my own sake I do not regret this journey, which has shown that Englishmen can endure hardships, help one another, and meet death with as great a fortitude as ever in the past. We took risks, we knew we took them; things have come out against us, and therefore we have no cause for complaint, but bow to the will of providence, determined still to do our best to the last ... Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but surely, surely, a great rich country like ours will see that those who are dependent on us are properly provided for." - Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Last Journal Entry before perishing on his return from the South Pole

The True Majesty and Beauty of Antarctica

2011-12-02T04:30:00.003-05:00

Mt. Rossman and Union Glacier

The dictionary defines “awesome” as “extremely impressive or daunting, or, inspiring great admiration”. In my vain attempt at finding a word to best describe what I have seen and experienced over the past two weeks, all I could come up with was “awesome”. Try to remove yourself from the colloquial usage of the word, and think of a time when what you gazed out upon truly triggered a goose-bump raising response; A sense of shear wonderment at the spectacle that our little orbiting rock can sometimes present. Think of a moment where you may have stood, in such utter disbelief at the beauty that lay before you, that you were unaware of everything else around you. Now imagine that normally ephemeral feeling, lasting continuously for two weeks….

This is the “awesome” to which I refer.

Over the past three seasons, I thought that I had experienced the very best that the frozen and wondrous 7th continent had to offer. I couldn’t possibly have been more wrong. Everything was in order for me to come down to Antarctica for my 4th season this year at the flat and white camp of WAIS Divide. In the few months leading up to my deployment, I was asked by one of my PhD committee members if I would go down earlier in order to assist with the Polenet project. Initially I responded with little interest, but when I heard I’d be going to the Ellsworth mountains and staying at the Union Glacier (ALE) camp, I knew I’d probably never get another chance. Add to that the prospect of working on seismic and GPS equipment, and I was sold.

A little background: For over 20 years, the Patriot Hills camp has been the single longest lasting privately run camp on continent. Any time you hear about someone paying money to go to Antarctica, or paying to run a marathon there, or paying to climb Vinson Massif (the highest peak in Antarctica), OR, paying to mount a ski expedition to South Pole…it was through Patriot Hills. If you had lots of money, and wanted to experience Antarctica apart from the NSF funded science projects, you came down to Patriot Hills by way of Chile. Starting last year, the Patriot Hills camp moved further north in the Ellsworth Mountain chain up onto Union Glacier. The scenery is arguably more breathtaking there, and the winds much calmer. Most recent opinions do agree that the Union Glacier site is better overall. This is where I was based out of the past two weeks.

But…it gets better.

For those of you that have read my blog posts before, you’ll know of my fascination and near-obsession with going to extreme and remote places. Places that no other person would have any interest in…I’m drawn to like moth to a flame. Nothing excites me more than the prospect of going to a remote nunatak in the middle of Antarctica, if only just to stand on it and take in the utter isolation of it. The Polenet project is basically tailored for someone with just this sort of fascination. The work I was asked to do, involved getting into very small ski-equipped planes, and flying to the most remote outcrops on, in, and around the Ellsworth mountains in order to service independent seismic and GPS stations. Probably the single best job on the planet in my mind. Let see: Cool polar science – check, cool gadgets – check, flying in small planes – check, going to ridiculously remote places – check, working with great people – check, and seeing the most beautiful places on Earth….- check. No brainer.

Rather than rambling on, I’m going to just post some pics to give you a small idea of what I saw. These pictures can’t possibly do it justice, but it’s the best I can do…

Site Visit Map

Day 1 – Our first full day at Union Glacier, we flew out to, and serviced Pecora Station (Pecora Escarpment). I desperately wanted to go to this site as it was the farthest South (86 degrees), but with all of the equipment and fuel, the pilots could only take 3 out of the 6 of us. I worried that this would be the trend for the project, but I was thankfully proven wrong. After this first day, I was able to come along and assist at every other site we visited.

View from my tent

Days 2, and 3 – On our 2nd and 3rd days, we visited and serviced the Mt. Suggs station up in the Merrick Mountains at the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. This was a beautiful and remote location and my first flight in a ski-equipped Twin Otter. It was also my birthday…and so quite a present. I will never forget my 35th, that’s for damn sure.

Loading up the Twin Otter

Twin Otter going out to refuel

My kind of scenery

On Day 4, we all went out to the Cordiner Peak (Dufek Massif) site. The flight for this site was long and required refueling at a remote cache along the way. The site itself was on a beautiful and tiny spec of exposed rock just jutting up through the ice sheet.

view from the plane

Dufek Massif

Dufek site location

Work-site heroic Antarctic photo-pose

Foundation ice-stream

Remote refueling

On Day 5, the GPS team took a short flight up to the Wilson Nunatak GPS-only site about 50k away, while the seismic team (of which I was a part of), drove snowmobiles out to the seismic station that was about 5 miles outside of camp (on the flank of “Peak 942”). Despite being only 5 miles from camp, the local site had some of the best views of Union Glacier and the surrounding mountains.

View from Peak 942 (local Union Glacier Site) w/ALE camp in far background

View across Union Glacier

On day 6, we finished strong by hitting two sites in the same day: Howard and Haag Nunataks. Haag was probably my favorite site that I was able to see. It was a stunning and perfect little piece of exposed rock surrounded by ice in all directions. What made this last day even more spectacular though, was that the pilots flew us right along the main ridgeline of the Ellsworth Mountains. About 40 minutes into the flight, they flew us up to nearly 15,000 feet and right past the summit of Vinson Massif, the highest peak in all of Antarctica. It was mind-boggling, and absolutely breathtaking.

Snowy Peaks

Vinson Massif

Mmmm folds and stratigraphy

Nunatak Jumping

After 6 days of site-visits, we took a well-deserved day off for Thanksgiving. Weather eventually turned sour in the area over the next few days and we were not able to hit the last station we were hoping to service in the Whitmore Mountains. This was not a priority site, however, and will still be serviced out of another camp. All in all, it was a ridiculously successful season for our little Union Glacier Polenet group, and one that I was extremely fortunate to be a part of.

Union Glacier Christmas Tree

Beautiful clouds over the Ellsworth Mtns.

Here’s a little video I quickly put together set to some music to help put it all in even better perspective:

Waiting in McMurdo, Antarctica

2011-11-08T23:22:00.003-05:00

The view of the Royal Society Range across from McMurdo Sound

Again I find myself sitting in the lovely confines of McMurdo Station, eager to set out to a new and exciting field camp. We were originally scheduled to fly to the beautiful and awe inspiring "Union Glacier" site tomorrow...but the flight was canceled due to weather. The forecast has the system hovering for a couple of days, which means I get to patiently sit here and wait for my chance to go where very few do.

The Union Glacier camp is actually a privately owned Antarctic Camp that very few who are associated with NSF projects, get to go to. Normally, the people that come through Union Glacier are the very rich folks that are wanting (and paying heavily) to summit Vinson Massif in a quest to do the seven summits. It is a beautiful camp, with the best food/chef in Antarctica. I've seen pictures from previous deployments there, and the landscape is indescribable. To give you an example, a photo that a fellow Penn Stater took last year at the Union camp won the Wired.com photo contest

Union Glacier Wind Scoop (Where I'll be)

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/04/geology-photo-contest/?pid=1175

I've been out running a lot in town. Believe it or not, there are actually some good trails here, despite them all being very rocky (all volcanic). All of our prep work for the deployment is already done, so we are just in standby mode. Hopefully, we get out soon. I am anxious to see some of the sights, get my hands dirty, and install some polenet stations. I plan on taking hundreds of pics, and marking lots of GPS waypoints to track where I go.

In the mean time, here are some pics from the trip so far:

Sea ice seen from C-17 (woo...say that 5 times fast)

Helicopter...inside a plane. Cool

Observation Hill...seen from the ice runway.

Getting loaded into Ivan the Terra-Bus

Coming in to town

Hobbs Glacier (Across McMurdo Sound)

The "Pimple" across McMurdo Sound

The view just before running up Observation Hill

Almost there...

Another wide-angle of the Royal Society Range

Even in Antarctica, we drive electric cars. If only we could get people

to drive these back home instead of their 12 mpg Dodge Durangos.

Antarctic Departure, Memorial Runs, and a WS100 Plea

2011-11-01T13:59:00.002-04:00

C'MON WESTERN STATES! Again this month, I will put my name in the hat to participate in the Western States 100 Race for the following year. I tried in late 2009 (for the 2010 race) but didn't get selected. Unfortunately, I could not enter the lottery last year as I ran no qualifying races in 2010 due to my PCT thru-hike. This means, I lose my continuous "lottery loser" status and go back to square one. *Sigh*. So, in short, my odds of getting selected this year are about 10% or so (not good). I'm hoping with enough good mojo however, I can swing that proverbial karma my way and get a lucky draw. C'mon everyone...let's send some collective karma my way!

Why is Western States so important you ask? One could argue that it's not worth it. It is expensive, travel is a pain, and it is certainly very commercialized. For me, it's all about one single thing. That one single thing can be summed up in one word:

Grandslam

That's right. I am ready to give the grandslam a go. I have now successfully completed both the Vermont 100 and Leadville 100 in the same year....TWICE. (2009, 2011). This year, I finished Leadville (what many grandslammers say is the hardest to finish due to tight time limit) in 25 hours 35 minutes. In addition, this year I also ran both the Vermont 50 and Oil Creek 100 in the month and a half following Leadville. I think....I am ready. I really want to run Wasatch as well, but don't want to enter unless I know I'm going for the slam (At least not yet - this might change as the years go on).

For those of you that don't know, the Grandslam of Ultrarunning consists of doing four distinct 100-mile races in the same calendar year: Western States 100, Vermont 100, Leadville 100, and Wasatch 100. These four races are never farther than 5 weeks apart and in the case of Wasatch, it's less than three weeks after Leadville. Each year, several dozen runners start at Western States with the hopes of being named a "Grandslammer", but in the end, usually only about a dozen actually finish all four races.

For me, all of this is a moot point however if I do not get into Western States. As of today. I am already registered for the Vermont 100 and the Leadville 100. Both races I had planned on signing up for again anyway. Next week, the lottery opens for Western States and I will again put my name in. So....wish me luck that I get a lucky lottery draw! As far as Wasatch, they offer provisional acceptance to all runners that are attempting the Grand Slam. So, if I get into Western States, I can register for Wasatch provisionally and can bypass their lottery.

If karma doesn't go my way, and I don't get the WS nod, I also have my name in the Hardrock Lottery (for the 3rd time) and have a few other little interesting bits up my sleeve.......*grin*

Anyhoo...on to some other news.

The past few days have been crazy regarding my upcoming Antarctic deployment. I am scheduled to leave Thursday, but all Hell broke loose when Qantas Airlines went on strike this past weekend (thereby grounding all flights). The US Antarctic Program uses Qantas Airlines to get all participants down to New Zealand. My flight was essentially set as TBD. Thankfully, an Australian Judge ordered an end to the strike which means pending a huge backlog of flyers, my flight will be on schedule Thursday. Craziness. Can't believe I'm ice-bound in 2 days!

On a personal running note, several members of the Nittany Valley Running Club went out for a group run on Sunday afternoon to honor the late Ed Thompson. For those of you that don't know, Ed suffered a fatal heart attack during the Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK last Sunday. What would have normally been an exciting and celebrated race-day last week, was sadly marred by Ed's passing. The group run in his honor was a nice jog along leg 8 of the Tussey course. The group (about two dozen of us) stopped on the road at the place where Ed fell, held a moment of silence, placed flowers and running shirts by a small erected wooden cross, and then traded some good stories. It went really well and I was glad to be a part of it.

Ed's Memorial

Trading some Ed stories

Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK 50 Miler Race Report: New PR - 7:49:50

2011-10-24T20:53:00.014-04:00

A very cold Tussey Start

I know what you are thinking. That must be a misprint. There's no way he just ran a 50-miler almost an hour faster than at the Vermont 50. There's no way he just ran an hour faster than a time he confidently declared less than a month prior...would be nearly impossible to beat again.

Well...you read it right. I really did just shatter my previous 50-mile PR by over 50 minutes. My "Perfect Race" performance at Vermont that I talked about just a few posts prior resulted in a crazy new 8:41 PR that stood for all of 4 weeks (and with a 5th place Oil Creek 100 race thrown in between).

It should be known that I had no intention or desire to run this fast or hard. The simple answer is that it was a perfect weather day, and the course is incredibly fast and runable. Michael Wardian was quoted after the race (Which he also PR'd at) as saying he "thought it was a faster course than JFK". With that said however, I would not have ever expected to run 9:24 min/mile pace...for 50 miles.

PRE-RACE:

On Saturday night, I had the wonderful pleasure of volunteering at the pre-race dinner/expo/packet-pick-up. I was in charge of handing out race bags and explaining the rules to the runners. It was an absolute blast. I got to talk one-on-one with legends like Mike Arnstein and Michael Wardian, and I got to banter back and forth with several like-minded ultra-crazies. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in my insanity. There were quite a few local Nittany Valley Runner Club members hanging around that I caught up with as well. Being that the race is the USATF championship race, I felt it appropriate to finally sign up to be a member too (only 10 bucks). After the expo, I had the somewhat bizarre experience of hopping in my car and driving home to my own bed before a race. Weird...I know.

RACE REPORT:

I woke up early Sunday, grabbed my gear and gummies, and drove the 10 minutes to the start of the race at the foot of Tussey Mountain. It was rightly chilly out. Somewhere in the high 30s. I stayed nice and warm in my car until the very last minute when I saw everyone gathering around the start. A quick national anthem and a few race instructions later....I was off.

Start (and Finish) Line

Rockin the Flaming Arm Sleeves

The Start

The course starts off on pavement and the leaders were out quick. For about 2 minutes I could still see the lead pack in front of me....and then they were gone. I settled into a brisk, but comfortable 155 bpm pace (whatever that is). It felt like 8:40-9:00 min/miles or so, but was probably closer to 8:00 min/mile pace. I figured I'd push my heart-rate a little at the beginning, and tone it down as the race progressed.

Every week for the past couple of months I've run on various sections of the course (multiple times), so I knew exactly what to expect, where the climbs were, and where the turns were. I've never had this luxury before. I have run races multiple times, but never had course details still so fresh in my head. With this sort of fore-knowledge, I knew exactly where I could push myself and where to stay conservative. It paid off. Almost the entire course was on traditional fire-road style roads (with a few paved parts), very similar to the Vermont 100 course (sans the horses of course). A quick glance at the elevation profile might make you think that this would NOT be a fast course, but in reality, the climbs are very long and low-angle. Likewise, the descents are long and give runners a chance to really turn on the afterburners for extended periods. So without sounding cocky, the course is deceptively easier than it looks. BUT (and a big but), it's still 50 miles, and still chock full of climbs. So while I did run faster yesterday than I did at the VT50 last month, I still feel that the VT50 race was harder fought, and more honestly earned. Anyhoo...on to the rest of the report...

Tussey - Elevation Profile

Tussey - Course Map

Leg 1 starts off with a tough climb and brings the runners up to the highest point on the course. This leg forced me to watch myself and keep it at a decent pace. At the top though, I let it rip. Legs 2 and 3 are notoriously fast and easy. 7+ miles of uber-fast fire road. At one point I timed myself on this stretch and was running sub-8-minute miles (perhaps a big reason as to why I feel so destroyed today). Upon reaching the end of Leg 3 at Whipple Dam, I finally hit up an aid station and talked a bit with some folks. I opted to keep my arm sleeves and gloves, as it was still super cold. I hadn't really thought about finish times or goals yet, hadn't really looked at my watch seriously (other than to monitor heart-rate), and had a very loose goal of maybe running sub 9:30....but really to just keep smiling.

Morning fog around Bald Knob

Whipple Lake

Heading out of Whipple Aid Station

Leg 4 out of Whipple is a tough one. It is a 10k stretch with a tough little uphill at the beginning. I kept it in check through this part with the goal to just keep running...even if slow. I had told myself that I wanted to try and run all 50 miles. Somewhere near the top of the climb, I realized that I was "running" slower than I could walk and switched to a brisk power hike for about a 3 minute stretch to the summit. At the gate at the top of leg 4, the afterburners fired up again. Leg 5 is FAST and downhill. I was cruising at about 8 min/mile pace (which is fast for me in an ultra, at mile ~20). Coming into the aid station at Alan Seeger picnic area...I was still smiling, and moving fast. I was hydrating well, eating well, keeping up on my salts, and overall doing great. As I approached the station, I decided it was time to lose the sleeves and gloves.

Cruising into Aid Station 5 (Mile ~20)

Enjoying some snacks and getting a refill at Aid Station 5

One aspect to the race that I didn't anticipate is the car traffic. In order for the support vehicles to keep up with their runners, and for the relay runners to properly leap-frog, vehicles have to drive on the same roads that the runners are on. Usually this was a good thing as you got lots of honks and cheers. Sometimes though, the drivers were a bit reckless and weren't paying attention. It made for some added stress to the running and certainly justified the "no-headphones" rule. In general though, it wasn't a complaint in so much as it was an extra aspect to keep aware of. Thankfully, I was far enough up front where the traffic was somewhat minimal. I can't speak for those that were two hours behind me.

As I continued on through leg 6 towards Penn Roosevelt Park I settled into a more modest pace. I was starting to feel the effects of going out too fast, and running the downhills too fast. I was just barely half-way, and starting to hurt a bit. I was in and out of station 6 quickly and began the very tough climb starting leg 7. About 2 minutes into the climb a runner came up on me. I turned around to move out of the way when I immediately recognized the familiar face. Smiling happily behind me was the one and only, Keith Straw. Yep...the same Keith Straw that I ran the last 1.5 miles of Oil Creek With. He had again forgone the tutu, but was sporting the pink gaiters in full form. I was thrilled to see him again and for the next 5 miles we ran together chatting it up heartily. We traded stories from Oil Creek, he told me all about Badwater, and we discussed possible future races. I simply cannot stress enough how good of a guy Keith is. A true gentlemen and a fantastic athlete. When we reached Station 7, I had hit my low-point of the race. The soreness was catching up to me, and all the chatting away with Keith had left me feeling pretty winded and sluggish. I gracefully let Keith go on ahead and spent an extra minute at the station. I needed to regroup if I was going to finish with a smile still on my face. I forced myself to spend another extra minute slowly eating some food and to give myself time to regather myself. Local runner, and fellow Vermont 100 finisher, Jeff Smucker (who I hadn't yet met in person yet) was waiting for his relay runner at the station....so we chatted for bit. The weather at this point was awesome. High 50s/Low 60s, cool breeze, sunny...but shaded. Perfecto. I slowly began walking out of the aid station eating and taking long deep breaths. When I passed the last parked car I began running again and it felt ok. I kept the pace conservative as I knew I still had 20 miles remaining.

Mid-day view of Mt. Nittany

Legs 8 and 9 I knew would give me a bit of a reprieve. They are two very pleasant segments of the course (mostly flat and down). I comfortably went through these legs just trying to tick-off some miles while maintaining my running. The pace was slower, but a run nonetheless. Coming into Colyer Lake at the end of Leg 9 (Mile ~36) I was really starting to get tired. The year of ultrarunning combined with a fast race...was finally catching up to me. In the picture below, you can really see that I'm no longer smiling. I was starting to think that the next 14 miles couldn't come fast enough. Thankfully, right after the photo was taken, I filled up on all sorts of good food and received some incredible support.

Coming into Colyer Lake feeling pretty awful...but excited to see my "support team"

Leaving Colyer was tough, but I forced myself out and began running immediately. I knew the climbs were almost over. If I could just make it up leg 10, the worst climbs would be over. I grunted and groaned my way up and several cars passed me giving me lots of verbal support. After what seemed like an eternity of running, I finally began hearing the cheers coming from the aid station. When I rounded the corner and pulled into the station, I was welcomed by an enormous crowd of people. I had forgotten that the station actually served as two-aid stations because the next leg was an out-and-back, back to the same station. Because of this, there were dozens of relay runners waiting to hand off for both legs. I was getting a lot of cheers from everyone. It felt incredible, and gave me that last little boost I so desperately needed. I filled up, fueled up, and headed out for the last 4 mile hilly bit before my final descent to the finish. As I headed out, I realized I had caught back up to Keith...who was now struggling a bit. I ran up to him and he put a big smile on. He said, "It's good to see you back in your true form John. Ten miles back, that wasn't you. This is the Oil-Creek John I know. Now get up there and run it in strong". This was the absolute best thing I'd heard all day from a runner...and I immediately took off. I ran backward for a few seconds yelling back to him, "Don't you stop running Keith, you are still going to get that sub 8-hour finish!". Ten miles back, we had both talked about the possibility of finishing sub-8-hour. Up till that point, I hadn't looked at my watch. When he said sub-8, I practically bust out laughing...but when I looked at my time, I realized it was actually possible. How the Hell was I running so fast? I didn't feel like I should be on sub-8-hour pace...what gives? Eventually I just accepted it and decided to see if I could finish by running out-right. When I moved ahead of Keith, I figured I was on pace for something like a 7:58 finish (it would be close). I made my way the two miles to the furthest point of the leg and turned around at a pumpkin on the ground by a small table. There were also two volunteers there documenting the runners. This was the turnaround for the out-n-back section. Very quickly I passed Keith in the other direction, who was only about a minute behind me, and I began running the long uphill climb back to the aid station (the last climb of the day). I finally hit the top of the climb, very tired, and sloppily began hobbling back down to the aid station. I walked in, filled up, said "Thank you" to everyone, and happily made towards the finish 4 short miles away.

THE FINISH:

The last 4 miles are entirely downhill. I began running, and running hard. After about a mile, the fire road became paved and my knees were definitely not happy. The pounding really hurt badly, but I only had to endure for another 3 miles. I kept it up, methodically ticking away steps. Trees passed by, one by one, and I was chewing up the miles. About 2 miles from the finish, a young kid came up out of nowhere, basically sprinting, and flew ahead of me. Normally I would not be too thrilled with someone passing me this close to the finish, but there was no way I was catching him. I turned around and saw no one else behind me within a half-mile view. I knew I was safe from being passed again. It turns out the kid that passed me was actually in front of me all day anyway, but had stopped for a longer break at the last aid station (at least that's my way of justifying it :-)

I hit the last mile right where the road splits off at the beginning of the first leg and I was now on the home stretch to the finish. I checked one last time for anyone on my tail, and I was still clear for as far as I could see. I happily, albeit painfully, ran up the road to the Ski Area at the foot of the mountain where I crossed between two telephone poles under the finish line with a final time of 7:49:50. Somehow, I had made up about 5 minutes in the last 4 miles....or instead of running the 9:30 pace I was trying to maintain, I ran more like 8:20 pace. After I finished, I immediately collapsed down onto the soft grass and began feeling all sorts of unpleasant pains. Yep...I ran too hard. I guess I really did just run a 7:49 race. Ugh.

5 minutes later, with a total time of about 7:55, Keith Straw came running across the finish. I cheered wildly for him, shook his hand, and thanked him for the wonderful in-race conversation. I'm sure I will see him again.

Post-finish and Post-grass-collapse

All I was thinking in this pic was, "Advil and bed please"

Some Thoughts:

Overall, I am very pleased with the race and my crazy new PR. It's been quite a year of running for me. Not only did I set many new PRs, but I re-set many of those same PRs multiple times. 2011 will definitely go down as one of my best years for running. I plan to do a full year-in-review look at my race highlights in my year-end post, but for now I will simply say that I have a big smile on my face when I look back at this year. Between May and October, I was somehow able to run 7 ultras (three 100-milers, three 50-milers, and one 50k), and several other marathon and shorter races.....without a single DNF. I feel very fortunate to have remained mostly healthy (although my damned "Rothrock-Toe" still acts up from time to time).

The race itself was full of some interesting new ups and downs for me. I felt pretty darn horrible around mile 35. I remember telling people at the end that had the race been a 100k (just 12 miles longer), I very well may not have been able to finish. I pushed myself just about has hard as I could have for the race. In all, I walked probably only about 1 to 2 tenths of a mile (or I ran 49.8+ miles out of 50), and never spent much time at the aid stations (except for #7). The powerbar gummies and cliff shotblox did ok, but in general I don't think I fueled enough for the performance level I was running at. Today, I am VERY sore. More sore than I've been all year except for maybe after the Pocono Marathon.

From a race perspective, Michael Wardian absolutely crushed the course record with a time of 5:33 (that's 6:40ish pace for 50 miles!). Todd Braje (the previous course record holder), came in 2nd almost 20 minutes later, with Michael "The Fruitarian" Arnstein right behind in 3rd. In general, there were a lot of very fast finishes. My time of 7:49 would have placed me about 15th in previous years. This year, I placed 24th overall, and 13th in the open mens category.

Now it is time to transition. Now I must change my focus from running, to Antarctica. I have two very different deployments coming up that will keep me busy from next week, until the end of January. So, with that, I will gracefully exit stage-left from the 2011 ultra season and began my plans for 2012. I have quite a few interesting ideas bouncing around my head....I'll leave it at that :-)

For the gear heads and number crunchers:

- Avg Pace: 9:24 min/mile

- Calories burned ~7000

- Avg Heart Rate 151 (peak 176)

- Clothing: Patagonia nine trails shorts, VT100 race shirt, Brooks cascadia 6's, Darn tough socks, Moeben arm sleeves, Buff gaiter/hat

- Salts: S-caps

- Hydration: Water and soda

- Gear: Nathan Mutation X-trainer belt with extra pocket, polar heart rate monitor RS100

- Carried food: powerbar gummies, Cliff shotblox, ginger chews

- Aid Station Food: chips, pretzels, cookies (no PB/J sandwiches - They didn't have them)

More pics/stats to follow....stay tuned.

One last note to this entry. I would like everyone reading this to take a short moment to honor fellow ultra and Nittany Valley runner, Ed Thompson. During the Tussey race yesterday, Ed suffered a fatal heart attack and collapsed on the course. Emergency responders were unable to resuscitate him. This adds a very sad/somber undertone to the race for me and for everyone involved. My thoughts are with Ed's family. You can read more about some of the wonderful things he's done for Penn State and the community here: http://live.psu.edu/story/55974

Edward N. Thompson

Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK 50 Miler: Quick Race Preview

2011-10-20T01:53:00.002-04:00

For the first time since I started running long ultras in 2008, I'll be running an official ultra in my home town. The Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK is a 50 miler ultra and relay course that happens in late October right down the street from my apartment here in State College. Every year, I am either gone, or have another race during the Tussey and have been unable to do it, so I'm very excited to finally be able to participate this year. There will be several friends and colleagues running both the ultra and on various relay teams, as well as many familiar faces cheering me on. The course is also home to the USATF 50-mile championship and so has drawn some fast runners this year (i.e. Michael Wardian, Michael Arnstein, The returning champ: Todd Braje, etc).

I have quite literally run every leg of this course and most of my recent Saturday long runs have been at least partially on the course (I know these fire roads quite well). I have absolutely zero expectations for this race other than to really and truly just have fun with it. I deploy for Antarctica in less than three weeks, and just want to cap off my 2011 ultra season with a fun and smile-inducing hometown run.

So, to all my State College friends...come by on Sunday and cheer for the runners, and even volunteer at an aid station if you feel up to it. They can certainly use the help.

I can't think of a better way to finish off a very fun and successful season of running.

Lots of ideas for what new races I might try for next year have been bouncing around in my head lately. I'm certainly trying for Western States again, but my expectations are admittedly low.

Anyhooo.....Time to shift my mind into Antarctica mode here soon....

Oil Creek 100 Race Report: Going Solo for 5th Place

2011-10-10T20:10:00.028-04:00

The coveted sub-22 hour "golden" buckle!

Somehow my legs had it in them this weekend. I drove up to Oil Creek State Park Friday night still not sure if I was going to run the 100-miler Saturday. I have been tired from all the running this year and mentally, I just wasn't feeling it. I figured I'd pitch my tent, hang out, and wait to see if I got the "vibe". After a great dinner, and some chatting with other runners, I decided that I'd give it a try. I quickly went to bed knowing I'd be up in less than 6 hours.

The start - I'm in the white shirt, back and to the right... (Photo m. henderson)

At 5:00 am we lined up outside the Titusville school, and started running. My goal for the day, was to simply enjoy myself...much like up in Vermont. I knew the course was a tough one, and a PR wasn't going to happen...nor did I want it to. I just wanted to enjoy the wonderful trail.

And so I did.

LAP 1 (miles 0 - 31)

For the early part of the first loop, I simply chatted away with other runners, not caring who passed me or who I passed. I enjoyed the banter with aid station volunteers, and took in the beautiful trail. I am quite familiar with the loop as I not only paced a runner in '09, but have hiked the trail several times. It stayed dark for about two hours, and only began to lighten up as I was running under the wooden oil derricks, just before the Petroleum Center aid station (~Mile 15).

Oil Derricks near aid station 2 (pic from an '08 hike)

One word to describe the volunteers for this race: Incredible! Each of the four primary aid stations had the most helpful and understanding volunteers that I've ever dealt with, at any race. Filling my bottles, making me custom sandwiches, and tending to my needs. Truly fantastic folks. As I left aid station 2, I realized I was alone...a situation that would end up being a theme for almost the entire race. There was no one in sight either in front of, nor behind me. While I have experienced solo spells during races before, this was different. I truly felt like I was out in the woods here in State College for a Saturday long run. There was no concept of a "race". I just felt like I was out for a weekend jog. It was quite a strange feeling. For the next 15 miles it was like this. I saw one or two other runners as I hit the 3rd aid station, but then was on my own again. By now, it was early morning and the temps were quite pleasant. The forecast called for a sunny mid-70's day. As I exited the trail onto the road, the course went around the historic Drake Well. I did the short 1-mile loop around the well, listening to the steady thump of the powerhouse. When I finally pulled into the School a mile later, after the first 31 mile lap was over, I checked my watch: 6 hours exactly. "Cool!", I thought. I didn't feel like I was pushing, and in my mind a 6-hour 50k for a casual pace was fantastic. I took a good 7-8 minutes digging through my bin and resupplying my gummies, shot-blox, and various other supplies. After a nice mingle with the aid station staff, I began my lap 2 still feeling good. I had no idea what place I was in, nor did I care.

navigating over a log in loop 1 (photo m. henderson)

rocking the flaming arm sleeves! (photo m. henderson)

The Historic Drake Well

The "Big" 50k full loop (map: Peter Kozlowski)

LAP 2 (miles 31 - 62)

The second lap, in my mind, would be the hardest. I knew that despite having one lap under my belt, I would still have one more to go. Also, the entire 2nd lap would be done during the hot part of the day. I headed out from the school and ran the mile-long bike path back to the trail head with another runner. It was the first time I had company in over 15 miles. We headed into the woods together and chatted away for a while. Somewhere just before the first aid station, the topic of finish goals came up. He then said something which changed my entire motivation for the day. He said, "So, did you hear. You get a specially-engraved GOLD buckle for finishing in under 22 hours?". I had not heard this...but from the minute he said it, I had one thought in my mind: That sub-22 buckle would be mine. I had a new sense of purpose and began thinking honestly if it was attainable. At my current pace it would be close, and would basically take a PR (or damn near it). This course was decidedly harder than the VT100 course, so the thought of a sub-22, at least on paper, seemed unlikely. But I wasn't about to give up. I thought, "let's see how I do on lap 2". I had one goal for lap 2 and that was to simply get through it as strongly as I could without feeling like I was burning out. On and off I ran with a few people here and there, but it soon became clear that I would be mostly on my own now for the rest of the race. A couple of the lead 100k runners did pass me on this loop, and I managed to lap a few of the 50k walkers...but like I said, I went solo for most of it. As I came into the 2nd aid station (~Mile 47 or so), the staff was cheering wildly for me and there was even a guy dressed up as elvis. It was awesome....a real morale booster. Out of curiosity I asked what place I was in, and was told under 15th. WOW...really? Cool! I headed out of the station and soon crossed the half-way point. I looked at my watch and it read 9hrs 50mins. At the Vermont 100 in July, I hit the half-way point in 10 hrs, and finished in 21:48. Damn, this was going to be close. I kept thinking, "Do I have enough in me to maintain a VT100 pace this late in the race, on a much more difficult course?" The thought alone seemed monumental, but I just kept thinking short-term goals. Make it to the next aid station without walking, or finish the loop in under 7 hours so that you have 7:15 for loop 3...etc. Again I ran the entire 15 miles back to the school by myself, and in the hottest part of the day. I hit the bike path about a mile out, and noticed my knees were really hurting with the pavement-pounding. What horrible timing...just as I was about to finish my 2nd lap. I was beginning to doubt myself and thoughts of dropping with a respectable 100K (62 miles) began creeping in. No buckle, but still a good run right? When I got to the aid station I looked at my watch: 6 hours 45 minutes. Damn, I ran the 2nd loop only 45 minutes slower than the first. Maybe I could run sub-22. That was all I needed to head back out. I quickly resupplied, grabbed my headlamp, and headed out just before 6 pm for my final full loop.

One of the many climbs... (Photo CJ Houpt)

Having fun (Photo CJ Houpt)

Still smiling (Photo LA Reiners)

Afro-Elvis cheering us on! (photo m. henderson)

LAP 3 (miles 62 - 93)

The best part about heading out on the final loop of a multiple-loop ultra, is that you know every step of trail you pass over, is the last time you'll see it. For this race, this was actually not entirely true. There is a 7.7 mile final 4th loop that must be done to complete the 100 miler, and this loop uses the first and last 3 miles of the course. So, as I ran along the first couple miles of Loop 3, I kept thinking that I would still get to see that part of the course one more time. When I passed the sign indicating where the Loop 4 runners turn, I smiled knowing that I was now running on trail that I would not see again. Right around this point, it also started getting dark. I flipped on the headlamp right as I made my way into the first aid station (which was also my favorite on the course - Wolfkiel). I told the volunteers I was on a mission and couldn't stay long. I got a fill up and left quickly....still alone. Leaving the station, the race took on a very different feel. I was all alone, in the dark, in the fog, guided by only a dim head-lamp. It was truly surreal. I absolutely loved it. Just like I talked about in my Leadville report, there is something about being this late into a race, in the dark, that is just magical. I weaved my way around the trail for another 7 miles and pulled into the 2nd aid station after about 3 and a half hours. Damn...it was going to be close for that sub-22. I again, was in-and-out quickly. I made the long slow climb up Heisman Trophy Hill to the top of the ridge and trotted my way along the longest section of the trail....about 8.8 miles to aid station 3. I tried as much as possible to run the entire leg. I just kept thinking I could "build up" more cushion. Little did I realize that I was just barely treading water. I passed by the people camping out at the Cow Run shelters and stood by their campfire for about 15 seconds. It was great. Moving on from here was hard and the following stretch dragged on for what seemed like an eternity. I felt like I was seeing the same turns over and over again. When I finally did make it to the 3rd station, I was so happy, that I took a minute to enjoy a grilled cheese sandwich. It was heavenly. On my way out, still not having seen a single runner in over 25 miles now, I headed up the dreaded "Death March Hill" past the old (and spooky) cemetery. By this point, I knew I was on the last leg of the last big loop and damn near 90 miles in. I began running on adrenaline and could think of nothing but finishing the loop and getting out there for that victory "headed home" final 7.7 mile loop. I passed the point on the trail where the final fourth loop comes in and I thought....I'll be there in two hours....woo hoo! I came out of the woods, rounded the Drake Well for the last time and ran all the way in to the school, having finished all three loops and 93 miles. I looked at my watch and it said 7 hours 20 minutes...only about 35 minutes slower than lap 2. I did the math very quickly and realized that I had 1 hour and 52 minutes to do the final 7.7 mile loop. What I didn't realize is the awful hill that was waiting for me.

Some trail humor (Photo LA Reiners)

Lovely creek crossing (Photo LA Reiners)

LAP 4 - Headed Home (miles 93 - 100.6):

As I ran into the school at the end of my lap 3, I didn't even stop to go through my supplies. I simply yelled at the volunteers and said, "I'm going right back out...NOW!" I didn't want to waste a single moment. I knew it was going to come down to minutes. I booked out of there running immediately. No time for walking. I forced myself to painfully run the entire paved bike path back to the trail head. When I started up the first climb, and after nearly 30 miles of solo running, I heard someone yelling, "Hey! Am I on the trail?!". I had come up upon Jill Perry who was running a strong first place. Her headlamp had died and she was relying on a very weak flashlight to help her navigate. After getting off-trail and having to backtrack a bit, she had convinced herself she was still off-course. I caught up to her and told her she was ok, and that the turn off for final loop was about 15 minutes ahead. I assured her that she was going to be ok. I decided to run with her a bit just to make sure, but I soon realized that we were walking a bit, and I felt the sub-22 slowly slipping away. I asked if she was going to be ok if I went ahead, and she told me to go for it. So I graciously stepped ahead.....and turned on the afterburners. I steamrolled down trail and practically bust out with giddy jubilation when I reached the sign that said "100 Miler Loop 4 runners turn here --->" I turned and headed down along the river eventually crossing over a long expansion foot bridge. When I reached the other side, I saw the sign...the dreaded sign. It said, "The Hill of Truth". Dear God was it awful. I had convinced myself at this point that I was not only going to finish sub-22, but that I would actually PR. The Hill was awful though. In retrospect, it probably wasn't that bad, but at mile 97, it was a crusher. I fought my way up it, hands on my things, panting excessively, teeth showing, strange grunting noises emanating, and plenty of cursing. I finally reached the top and connected back in with the main trail, only to make my way back down again to the Drake Well. This time, the course skips the well, and there is just the 1.5 mile bike path and road back into the school. Right as I connected with the road I caught up to Keith Straw finishing his third loop. For those of you that don't know, Keith is a 2010 grand slammer and all around great guy. He is also the guy that often runs ultras in pink shoes and a pink tutu. Yes...he's that guy. I looked down at my watch and it read: 21 hours 40 minutes. I had 1.5 miles left. There was no way I was going to PR and do it in 8 minutes...but pending some disaster, I was going to get the buckle. Keith and I chatted it up wonderfully. It was so nice to share my last mile and half with such good company after running alone nearly all day. I was really worried how I would fare without a pacer and trying to keep motivated this late in a race. It definitely was very different, and in general I prefer having a pacer, but it was still ok in its own way (if that makes any sense). I kept wanting to walk, but Keith kept telling me to keep the jog up and to not make it too much of a close call at that finish line. Right as we dumped out of the bike path and on to the road, about 3 tenths of a mile before the finish, my clock passed 21:48. I told Keith..."Well, that was my PR...less than a half a mile from the finish". He just laughed and said something about how he couldn't imagine a PR on a course like this. When we rounded the final turn towards the school I saw the sign indicating a turn to the finish line. I said goodbye to Keith, turned and sprinted in. Just before crossing the line I looked up at the clock and it said 21 hours 51 minutes 53 seconds. I crossed the finish line, arms in the air and screaming. There was no one there. I looked around for a minute. "Hello? Uhhh....I just finished. Is there anyone here to document this? Oh crap, is this not the finish yet?" It was just then that Tom Jennings came out of the back door congratulating me on my great time. There were all sitting just inside the door with the clock computers to stay warm. Still, it was a little weird to cross a finish line with no one around. I shook Tom's hand, walked inside, was awarded my sub-22 custom gold buckle and sat down with a ENORMOUS grin on my face. Awesome.

Final "Headed Home" 7.7 mile loop (map: Peter Kozlowski)

-Note the wonderful "Hill of Truth" climb at mile 4

...and then I was told two little pieces of good news.

First. The course was actually 100.6 miles long....Meaning technically I DID PR for 100 miles. I realize it's a technicality, but still, I figure I crossed 100 miles somewhere around 21 hours 46 minutes (or 2 minutes faster than my PR)

and Second: That I placed 5th. Overall. Not 5th in age group, or 5th division....but 5th overall. Holy crapballs. I've never placed top 5. Awesome. Somehow I went from about 15th place earlier in the race, to 5th. I didn't remember passing 10 people, but I think several of them may have dropped. I was also the last person to cross sub-22. There was a guy hot on my heals, but he crossed the line in 22:04. Ugh. Jill Perry did win for the ladies, but finished in 22:10.

So. A HUGE success this past weekend. Not only did I run in my 5th 100-miler, and finish my 5th 100-miler...but I finished right on PR time, and was one of only 5 runners to receive the golden sub-22 buckle. Today I'm hurting quite a bit, but I feel ok otherwise. I definitely feel like I can still run Tussey in two weeks and will be looking forward to it. I really can't believe how good of running-shape I feel like I'm finally in. It's a little upsetting to think that I'll be heading to Antarctica for two months and will lose a good portion of my fitness. But...so it goes. I will get to enjoy the amazing majesty of the frozen continent, so it will all be worth it!

As a final note, I just want to say thank you to the amazing race director: Tom Jennings and to all of the aid station volunteers, traffic and police volunteers, and to those that marked the course so wonderfully. This race had some of, if not THEE best volunteers I've ever come across. So, sincerely, thank you. For a race that I participated in completely solo, with no pacer, no crew, and virtually no running companions at all.....I still managed to have fun and finish strong! Yay for happy endings!!

OFFICIAL RESULTS: OIL CREEK 100 MILE RESULTS

back of the buckle....yay!

...and for the gear heads and number crunchers:

- Calories burned ~14,000

- Avg heart rate: 142 (peak 170)

- Clothing: Patagonia nine trails shorts, VT100 race shirt, Brooks cascadia 5 shoes, Darn tough socks, Moeben arm sleeves, bandana, and headsweats hat

- Salts: S-Caps

- Hydration: Mostly just water, with a little soda and gatorade. Quite a bit of ginger ale when stomach was upset a little on lap 3

- Gear: Nathan Mutation X-Trainer belt with extra pocket, polar heart rate monitor RS100

- Carried Food: Powerbar gummies, Cliff shotblox, ginger chews

- Aid station food: Just about everything!

Oil Creek 100: Race Preview?

2011-10-06T00:44:00.003-04:00

Aid Station break while pacing at the 2009 Oil Creek 100

Back in 2009, I had the honor (and good fortune), to pace an incredible runner at the first annual Oil Creek 100 trail race. I had such an amazing time trotting along for nearly 40 miles with a woman I had only just met. I needed some volunteer hours, and the race is only about a two hour drive from my apartment. I figured what better way to volunteer than to literally show up and ask runners as the go by if they need a random pacer. As luck would have it, Susan (my runner) came through after 62 miles in rough shape talking about possibly dropping. I convinced her to keep going and that I'd run with her. She agreed and ended up finishing strong. I saw Susan again this past summer at the VT 100 where she again finished with a great time. This year, some time back in June, I got the crazy idea to sign up for Oil Creek...knowing full well I would be running the VT50 and likely the Tussey Mountainback 50 on two weeks either side of it. I don't know what I was thinking, but I signed up anyway. There something about the course that I have a very big warm spot for that has a rather historical connection for me.

Back in 2006, when I was dealing with all sorts of negative situations, I found solace in hiking. I had been toying around with the idea of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail the following summer but was worried about having so little experience with solo-hiking. As a test to myself, I set up several long-weekend hikes that summer to shake-down my gear and my ability to simply go alone. The Oil Creek loop trail was one such hike. After doing most of the loop, I came back convinced I could do a long thru-hike. As you all know, the following summer I did complete the entire A.T. and subsequently the C.T. and P.C.T. So in a sense, the Oil Creek Trail was one of the very first solo hikes I ever did, and one of the first few hikes that started that thru-hiking spark within me. Now, I have nearly 6000 hiking miles under my belt.

So, back to the race:

The course is a 31 mile loop that is done 3 times for the 100 miler (plus a 7 mile extra loop). 50 and 100k runners obviously just do 1 or 2 loops. Despite the low elevation, it is a surprisingly feisty little course with lots of undulating ups and downs. There is actually more elevation gain over the 100 miles, than at Leadville. Hard to believe, but true. What's nice is that you can leave a big bin full of supplies and gear at the start and resupply every 31 miles.

I had always told myself that I would never go into a race unless I believed in my heart and in mind that I was going to finish it. Sure...things sometimes happen and force a DNF, but if I ever truly doubted the completion of a race before I even started, then I shouldn't run it. This is critical. You have to believe you can finish, or it will just be that much easier to justify quitting to yourself late in the race. You'll think something like, "It's ok to quit now, I didn't really think I would finish anyway".

So, I sit here tonight not sure what my plan will be. I'm tired from a season full of ultras, still weak from the Vermont 50 two weeks ago, and really want to run the Tussey 50 at the end of the month. I am seriously considering holding back on this one and gracefully bowing out. As of right now, my heart is not 100% in it. Unless this changes by Friday, I will more than likely just go up to the race to pace again and cheer for the other runners. Maybe tomorrow I will feel differently...I don't know.

It is supposed to be beautiful weather this weekend for a change...

...anyway...here are some old pics from my 2006 Oil Creek Hike

A Recent and Exciting '11-'12 Antarctic Field Season Development

2011-09-30T14:34:00.006-04:00

Polenet Station deployment (via Twin Otter) on a remote nunatak in West Antarctica

For the past three years, I've had the incredible opportunity to live and work at a remote field camp in West Antarctica. This field camp, WAIS Divide, is the site of an exciting ice-core drilling project. Each year that I've deployed, has been somewhat different, but all very memorable. During one season I had the unique experience of driving out on a short traverse about 50 miles from camp. I felt like a true Antarctic explorer when I stood on the ice sheet miles from any human being with the thought that no other human had ever stood on that spot. In 2009, I also had the unique experience of tagging along with the Penn State seismic team on a short traverse out of McMurdo up to Cape Royds. We passed by Scott's hut at Discovery Point, the calving front of Barne Glacier, and the penguin rookery near Cape Royds on our way to Shackleton's historic hut. This year, it looks like again, I have been presented with a very fortunate and exciting opportunity.

On "traverse" of of WAIS Divide in 2010.

Shackleton's Hut at Cape Royds (with hundreds of penguins in the background)

The POLENET project in Antarctica (Polar Earth Observating Network) is an ongoing endeavor to install and maintain an entire network of seismic and GPS stations around Antarctica. There are several Universities, PIs (Principal Investigators), companies, and groups involved. Historically, Penn State has been heavily involved as we have several PI and Co-PIs with the project here. In order to install and service these remote stations, various teams of scientists deploy out of McMurdo to "Base Camps", like WAIS Divide, and then fly out to the stations via small Twin Otter flights. The incredible part of these smaller flights, is that it means flying over remote nunataks, going to beautiful places like Patriot Hills, and hopping all around West Antarctica by way of a tiny twin-engine Otter (not much larger than the Cessna 172's that I am licensed to fly). This is all great John, but what does it have to do with you....

For a fourth year, I will again be deploying to WAIS Divide to work a short 5 week season. There will only be 3 science techs this year, as we are only expected to drill about 100-150 more meters of ice. I was very grateful and fortunate to be asked down for another season. I will be able to again work on my surface studies and deploy some solar sensors for my own PhD research, so I am very excited. The WAIS Divide camp is a great place to work and live out of in Antarctica. The camp is always run very smoothly, and the people are incredible. Every year I come home with great stories and wonderful memories. Because of the short season, I was not scheduled to deploy this season until mid December....and so was recently approached by one of the Polenet PIs, and asked if I'd like to participate in the Polenet project before my WAIS Deployment.

I said, so let me get this straight..."I go down before WAIS Divide for a few weeks, I fly all around remote parts of West Antarctica in a Twin Otter deploying and servicing GPS and seismic stations, I will work out of Patriot Hills (a private camp that very few people ever get to go to), I get to see and work in the Ellsworth Mountains (home to Antarctica's highest peak: Vinson Massif) and at Union Glacier, I get to possibly put some of my old computer engineering skills to work, I get to work along side UNAVCO folks (a company/organization I have a lot of interest in), I get to dig snow-pits and study the surface all over West Antarctica, AND I still get to go to WAIS Divide after?"

"Yes"

"uhhhhh...you're kidding right?"

"No"

"DOH! I really,really want to..... BUT.... I don't want to be away for 3 months straight again, it's just too long to be away from home, and I have some commitments back home that I can't miss before I go to WAIS Divide. If only there was a way to split it up........*sigh*"

"You can come back home in-between deployments"

"uhhhhh...you're kidding right?"

"No"

"woohoo!....sign me up please!"

So long story short....and if all my paperwork goes through (which some of it is still pending), this will be the plan. I have already passed my physicals for WAIS anyway, so I don't have to do any of that, AND I've got all of my other paperwork submitted. Just waiting on the final "ok".

If this does go as planned, I will certainly take LOTS of pictures and it will undoubtedly be another Antarctic season to remember!

Polenet map showing location of several stations (w/ Patriot Hills and WAIS noted)

One view from Patriot Hills

Polenet Station

Some of the guts and inner-workings of a polenet station

2011 Vermont 50 Race Report - A Truly "Perfect Race"

2011-09-26T18:13:00.003-04:00

If I were asked what I thought my best race ever was, I would probably say this year's Leadville. I worked harder than I ever had during a race, and it paid off. I improved almost 4 hours on my 2009 time. So in this sense, my "best" race would be somewhat of a measure of how much grit, determination, and effort I put into it. If however, I were asked simply, which race went the most perfectly or which race did I achieve my best peak performance....I would say this year's Vermont 50.

I went into this race very well prepared and trained, but also with no real set goal. I just wanted to have fun. I sit here on Monday, not even 24 hours after running, and have absolutely no pain. I simply cannot believe how well yesterday's race went. Here's what I can tell you:

I ran almost the entire 50 miles. Seriously....I ran almost the entire course. Even most of the uphills.
I never bonked, never got tired, never got sore.
I felt great for the entire run and had NO discomfort, or nausea.
I managed my hydration and salt intake perfectly despite the hot/humid weather.
I implemented what ended up being a PERFECT nutrition strategy (will discuss in a bit).
I crossed the finish line and could have kept right on running.
I feel zero pain and soreness today....very weird (I'm always sore the day after).
...and, I had a smile on for all 50 miles

First off some numbers:

I didn't really start checking my watch until about mile 30, when I realized I was on PR pace. Sometime about mile 40, I realized that I was on pace to break 9 hours and so I started pushing a bit. When I got to the finish, I stopped my watch and gazed at it in disbelief. FINAL TIME: 8 hrs 42 minutes. Somehow, on a much more hilly course, on a much more hot/humid day, and in muddy conditions, I managed to beat my 50-mile PR by 40 minutes. I managed a 10:30 pace for the entire race. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around this. The added kicker, is that the course was actually closer to 51 miles with the reroutes...meaning I was actually closer to 8 hrs 30 minutes for 50. So, how the hell did I manage to do so well? What did I do differently? How could I improve 40 minutes on a time that I never thought I'd beat? Especially at a muddy race with so many hills and very high humidity.

Here's what I think:

I think there were several factors that went into my great race yesterday. I do also think that some of it was just luck. We all have good days and bad days, and for whatever reason, all my stars were in alignment yesterday. I think the biggest controllable factors were my strong training and a strong nutrition plan during the race. During my Leadville race this year, I finally was able to identify when I actually am starting a dreaded bonk. There are always times in races when I feel "tired", but I came to realize, that these "tired" bits, were actually due to low sugar. Thankfully, at Leadville, my pacer began feeding me quickly to get me back in the game. For Vermont, I decided that rather than focusing on aid station nutrition, I would carry more on-the-go food, and limit my aid station visits to VERY short stops. My goal was to spend less than 30 seconds at each aid station just filling my water bottle, grabbing some chips, fruit, and PB&J wedges, and getting out. For nutrition, I decided to try a strategy of what I call "slow-intake". So instead of cramming down a gel every hour, or putting down shot blocks all at once, I kept a constant, and steady stream of sugars coming. Before the race I bought three packets of Powerbar Gummies. These worked great at Leadville and I decided to try them again. I also had two packets of shot-bloks, and several gels. Throughout the race, every fifteen minutes or so, I was eating a couple of gummies, or a shot-blok. I would hit down a gel here and there as well, but never ate too much at once. I wanted to caloric intake to be constant, and regular. I did grab some additional snacks at the aid stations later in the race, but still never spent more than 30 seconds at any one station. For salt, I used S-caps again, and took 1 every hour....religiously. I never had any nausea, or problems or obvious puffiness. My heart-rate stayed 150 bpm for the entire race. It never dropped very low, or peaked very high. I managed it exactly as I wanted. Truly....everything just "CLICKED" yesterday. Good hydration, good preparation, good salt monitoring, good trail, good people, and great fall colors. It truly was a "perfect race"

Quick Race Report:

After the massive waves of mountain bikers all got on their way by 6:30 am, the runners lined up at the start for a 6:35 gun. We were told that there were significant changes this year due to hurricane Irene. Most of these changes were in the first and last 10 miles. The middle part of the course, which has my absolute favorite single-track trail of any course, was to remain the same. A quick "3-2-1-GO!" and we were off too. I started out quick, but not fast. After a mile or so, I looked back and realized I was in the "lead group". Not good I thought. WAY too fast to be starting a 50-miler. Somewhere around mile 3, Dan Larson and Serena Wilcox passed me slowly and I thought, "Holy crappola, I am going way too fast and will definitely burn out". For those of you that don't know, both Dan and Serena placed in the top 10 overall at the Vermont 100, and Serena won it for the women. Both of them are way out of my league. I decided to tone it down a notch as my heart rate was starting to push 160 (way too high for a 50-miler). For several miles I tried to find a comfortable groove and watched as some people passed me and I passed others. I was worried the course would be super muddy, but most of the mud was manageable. I was having a hard time recognizing places along the course, and a lot of the aid stations were moved. At some point early, I started getting worked up a bit about where I was, how many miles between aid stations etc...and then I realized for a moment that I was no longer smiling. That's when my whole attitude changed. I took a deep breath, and told myself that I was there to have fun, and to stop fretting. Just enjoy the scenery, the people, and the beautiful course. So I did! From that point on, the race was fantastic. When I got to my favorite long section of the course around mile 30, I was practically giggling along the trail. The single-track from mile 30 to about mile 45 is some of the best I've ever run. It's incredibly serpentine, and winds its way all around through the beautiful woods of Vermont. It really doesn't get any better. It was during this section in 2008, that I became hooked on ultrarunning. Miles began ticking by faster and faster and I was simply amazed at how good I was still feeling. I had been running up-hill sections all day and was just waiting for the wheels to fall off. But, they never did. I was still running up-hill sections at mile 45. At around mile 40, I began to realize that I was not only on pace to break my 9:20 PR, but I was looking break 9 hours. I tried not to get too excited, but I starting doing a lot of math. I was trying to figure out how much I'd have to run, and how much I could walk to break 9. By the time I made it to the last aid station at mile 47, after having run nearly all 7 miles, I knew I was going to do it. I had almost 50 minutes to go 3 miles, so I could have literally walked all three outright. But, I figured I still fell good, why not see how far I can take this. I figured I'd begin to fall apart during the last bit, but I was still chugging away. When I hit the final mile on the Mt. Ascutney ski slope, I was nearly sprinting. I full-out ran this final bit, passing 5 people in the last half-mile down to the finish chute. When I finished, I could have kept right on running. Today, I sit here at my desk, and wouldn't even know that I ran 50 miles yesterday. My legs feel great.

I just don't get it....but I'll take it. A big thank you to all of the amazing volunteers and race coordinators. You put together a spectacular race in spite of Irene's aftermath.

I'll post pics, official times and place once they become available...

2011 Vermont 50 - Short Preview

2011-09-20T21:22:00.000-04:00

Will all the hustle and bustle as of late with school and various other commitments, it's hard to believe that another ultrarun is yet upon me. This Sunday I will participate in my 3rd Vermont 50 race. While I am super excited to be running what has been, and still is, my favorite ultra...I am also having some mixed feelings. First off, I have an important school conference in San Diego next week that I'm frantically trying to prepare data and a poster for. This has put running as rather low on my list of priorities. Also, knowing that Vermont was devastated by Hurricane Irene, and that the course had to be modified because of it, makes it feel a bit off. I feel terrible for the people and communities that were most affected, and will be bringing some food donations up with me (every little bit helps), but it's almost made me feel like I should stay away, so that the communities can rebuild in peace without be swarmed by crazy runners and bikers. Although, having so many supportive people come up can and should bring the spirits of the locals up a bit I would think. Like I said, it's just a weird year for the race.

Also, for the first time this year, I don't really have a set goal for a race. I suppose if I had to set a time one, I would strive to beat my previous VT50 time of 10:37 and perhaps shoot to break 10 hours even. I know I can do it, as I broke 10 at Finger Lakes this year. Honestly though, I love this race so much, I really just want to go, and enjoy the beautiful colors, and wonderful people. So...my goal for this year's VT 50, my REAL goal, is simply to have a smile on for all 50 miles. This was my very first 50-miler back in '08, and I want to have as much fun as I did back then.

I'm sure it will be a wonderful muddy fiasco...but that's usually when I'm smiling the most!

So...wish me luck and here we go!

...on a side note, I finally put a short video together of my Leadville pics from this year:

The Vermont 50: It's On!

2011-09-06T12:28:00.000-04:00

Vermont 50, 2009

In light of the recent devastation brought on by Tropical Storm Irene, the event organizers for the Vermont 50 were still unsure about the feasibility of holding the annual VT 50 race. I just received word this morning that the race is in fact still on, and the hearty people of VT are working hard to clean up and make the course usable. In an email statement, they have said there will likely be a few reroutes and some additional jeep road sections in lieu of damaged single-track, however. This doesn't bother me one bit though. The VT50 is the race that started it all for me. It was my first, and still one of my favourite ultras. I will always have the softest of spots for it. I was genuinely sad last year when I wasn't able to run it (due to my PhD Candidacy exam). This year, I eagerly signed up in June, and have been anxiously waiting ever since. With the big summer of ultras over for me, and number 10 now in the bag, I'm looking forward to a fun, slower-paced, fall season of running. Nothing like running in the beautiful woods while the leaves are changing. How could you not want to run through this?

So in just under three short weeks, I will again be trotting down the roads and trails near Brownsville VT, undoubtedly getting incredibly muddy, and giggling and smiling the entire time. Can't wait....

2011 Leadville Trail 100 - Race Report

2011-08-24T22:46:00.007-04:00

2 for 2 at the Leadville Trail 100 (Final time: 25:36:21)

"Eggs and Bacon". That's my new nickname apparently. My pacer this year affectionately came up with this little moniker for me as it represents a "half-grand-slam". Because I again did 2 of the 4 grand slam races this year (Vermont and Leadville), I am only "half-grand slamming". So instead of the usual eggs, bacon, pancakes, and toast slam...I'm just eggs and bacon.

I came into this year's Leadville Trail 100 significantly more prepared than in 2009. My mileage totals were much higher as was my overall fitness level. My diet has been much improved, and my weight has been ideal. Coming into this race as the mid-packer that I am, I feel that I couldn't have really done much more to prepare. I simply cannot run more than 60-70 miles during a peak week...and frankly don't want to. I have a life outside of running that I enjoy very much. I have no aspirations to be a professional runner, nor do I have the natural, elite physique for it.

Upon finishing the Leadville Traill 100 in 2009, in 29hrs 13minutes, I posted a short blog post titled "Infinite Well". It was based on a pep talk that Ken Chlouber gave at the pre-race meeting. Here is the entry: Infinite Well. This is how it read:

"Inside each and every one of us is an infinte well. An infinite well of determination, drive, guts, grit, and will. At any point we can tap this and accomplish things that we would normally think to be impossible. We just have to believe, and that well is endless. When you need more, you just have to dig deeper. Each of us can do more than we think we can, and is capable of more than we think we are"

One year ago tomorrow, also marks the one year anniversary of completing my Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike...a journey of which these simple words often motivated me. There were countless days when I was knee deep in snow postholing in the Sierras, or swatting at swarms of mosquitos, and missing home, when these words above popped into my head, and I slogged on. True to form, Ken gave his speech again this year, and it was again very moving and inspiring. Watch for yourselves:

Ok...so now on to the
RACE REPORT:

My goal for this race was very similar to that for Vermont. I simply wanted to improve on my split times, and thereby improve my overall time. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had kind of thought there was a small chance I might be able to break 25 hours...but it was WAY in the back of my mind.

I showed up in Colorado on Wednesday morning, a full day sooner than in 2009. A single day probably doesn't make a huge difference for altitude, but it couldn't hurt. I had also spent almost a month in Colorado back in June, but any benefit from that was more than likely gone. I drove up to Leadville and settled in Wednesday night at the Hostel again. Thursday morning I did something rather stupid. Thursday and Friday were supposed to be rest days. I had religiously stuck to my taper schedule leading up to the race, and for some idiotic reason, I thought I'd go for a nice easy hike at altitude to loosen up my legs and lungs. The problem is that for a natural hiker like me...the idea of a "nice easy hike" is to do the 9-mile round trip climb up and down the 14,440 ft Mt. Elbert, the second highest peak in the lower 48. Putting aside the fact that the climb has over 4500 feet of elevation gain, doing any strenuous activity this close to race day was simply a bad judgement call. I simply couldn't resist though and somehow had justified it as a way to shock my body into dealing with the thin air. Thankfully, by race day, the soreness in my legs from the hike was gone. I'm sure it probably still slowed me down a little though.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY:
After my idiotic Mt. Elbert escapade, I spent the afternoon doing what I should have been doing, resting. I made my way up to the runner dinner at the 6th street gym where I finally met my pacer, Sophia, in person. I hooked up with Sophia through a random blog posting here.. Her friend had seen my pacer-request post, and sent Sophia my way. After a few email exchanges, it seemed like we were a great fit for the race and both had similar attitudes as far as my overall goals: To have fun, finish, and break my '09 time. We ate together and talked about race and pacer strategies. I was immediately excited by her incredible energy level and eagerness. I knew it was going to work out well. After dinner we split and I headed back to the Hostel for a good night's sleep. On Friday, we met up again briefly to go over a few more details, but mostly I simply focused on keeping my legs off the ground. I rested a lot and tried to think about nothing all day.

Weather-wise everyone was worrying a lot. It rained hard all night Friday before the race. It absolutely poured. We all knew that even if the rain stopped, that there would probably be some wet and/or muddy parts. The forecast was definitely a little worrisome too. It was calling for 40-50% chance of rain with night temps down into the 30's. Thankfully, by 2:00 am, the rain did stop and the skies began to clear.

RACE MORNING:
I went through the same routine as in '09. Woke up about 2:00 am, had a hearty breakfast at the hostel, and trotted down to Harrison Ave for the start. I bumped into several familiar faces while standing around in the cold and chatted it up for quite a bit. Just before 4:00 am, over 600 runners started the 10 second countdown and we were off on our quest to move 100 continuous miles in and around the mountains of Leadville Colorado. Without a crew this year, I had to be a little more careful with my gear selections and had decided to go with the simple belt/bottle combo until Twin Lakes at mile 40, where I had planned on switching to my nathan backpack.

Starting Gear:
Nathan X-Mutation belt with added extra pouch, Amphipod handheld, Patagonia Nine-Trails shorts, Brooks Cascadia 5's, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech shirt, headsweats cap, 2 photo micro LEDs, Polar RS100 heart-rate monitor, Casio Pathfinder watch w/altimeter (yes I wore two watches), and bandana.

START to MAYQUEEN outbound (Miles 0 - 13.5)
This part of the course is fast, but often with punctuated frustration. I knew in order to improve on my fairly fast 2009 split, that I had to get up a little further in front during the first few miles of wide road running. Once the course pinches off to single track, it is literally a squished conga line. It is very difficult to move up once you are stuck within that chain gang of runners. I pushed it a bit hard for the first few miles and probably hit a heart rate a little higher than I should have, but I was able to get up to a good spot in the line. I simply wanted to improve 5-10 minutes on my 2hr 25min 2009 time. This part of the course goes by considerably fast considering it is a half-marathon and over 2 hours of running. I got stuck a few times behind some traffic jams, but managed to keep a good, solid, and steady pace throughout the entire 13.5 miles. I ran probably 95% of this leg and rolled into Mayqueen feeling good just as it was starting to get light out in a time of 2 hours 13 minutes (12 minutes faster than in '09). I had nothing to swap out in my drop bag and no one to meet up with...so I was in and out in about a minute. Overall, I was feeling great at this point. Unlike 2009, I decided to forgo trekking poles for the upcoming climb up Sugarloaf Mountain. I had sent my poles ahead for the climb up to Hope Pass.

MAYQUEEN to FISH HATCHERY outbound (Miles 13.5 - 23.5)
The first real test for runners at the Leadville Trail 100 is the climb up Sugarloaf. It's early in the morning, the climb gradual, but it still tops out over 11,000 feet. It is a sort-of teaser for what's to come for the climb up to Hope Pass later in the day. I did ok on this 10 mile section in '09, but not great. This year I made a considerable effort to improve on this leg. I made my way quickly up the short road section after Mayqueen and hopped on to the Colorado Trail for a short 2 mile stretch up to Hagerman Pass Road. This is a fun little technical trail section that I power hiked fairly quickly. The mile or so up Hagerman Pass Rd is very gradual, but I remember walking most of it in '09. This time, I ran it all. Even when the course turned off the road to the steeper jeep road that climbs up to the top of Sugarloaf, I continued to run. Only when the trail go sufficiently steep, did I tone it down to a power hike. At an rate, I was pushing hard and making good time. I was actually pleasantly surprised when I looked at my altimeter watch and saw that I had already hit the summit. For some reason I had remembered the climb being much tougher...but I wasn't going to complain. I was so glad I remembered to wear my altimeter this go round. In '09, I was going mad trying to figure out how many feet I left in the big climbs. There something about knowing how much further it is to the top that is rather comforting to me. From the top of Sugarloaf, I ran a strong and steady pace all the down the very steep power-line cut to the road leading into fish hatchery. I made an extra effort to go easy down the steepest parts so as not to annihilate my quads and knees too soon. I gladly let others blow by me. There was still 80 miles left in the race and I needed my quads for the big descents later. Nutrition and hydration were going ok. I had been putting down a gel here and there, and had been concentrating on salts as well. I made the decision a few weeks ago to switch to S-caps for my salts. They offer higher levels of sodium and potassium without anything extra (more bang-for-buck sort of thing). Up to this point, the weather was cooperating, my clothing choices seemed ok (although it was getting a bit hot), and I had remembered my sunglasses. I was still firing on all cylinders. This leg of the course took me 2 and a half hours in '09. I was hoping to drop that down closer to 2 hours flat. When I hit the paved road at the bottom of the power line drop, I told myself I would run the entire 1.5 mile uphill stretch to the Fish Hatchery Station. I ran into the station with a 2hr 1min split and a total time of 4hrs 15mins (over 35 minutes ahead of my 2009 time).

Going up Hagerman Pass Road

FISH HATCHERY to HALFPIPE outbound (Miles 23.5 - 29.1)
This stretch of the course, while along the same route as in '09, was shorter. They moved what was called the Box Canyon station in '09 up a mile and renamed it Halfpipe. Most of the stretch though still involve the less-than-ideal paved road run. I kept it simple here and simply put my head down and shuffled along at a nice jog. If anything, this section at least allows for a somewhat "easy" place to make up a little time being very flat sand smooth. It was considerably cooler this year during this leg. My eyes kept looking up ahead at the intimidating Hope Pass, looming off in the distance. Thankfully, the skies were still cloud-free. I cruised around the paved section, excitedly declaring to everyone around me at mile 25 that I was half-way to my pacer, and came through the "Treeline" crew access area. Since I was crew-less this year, I didn't even stop at all. After a short 1hr and 13 minutes, I found myself coming into the Halfpipe station. This station doesn't allow crew, so it's much quieter. I took a couple minutes to enjoy some food, and refill my bottles. I knew the next section of the course up to Twin Lakes was a very nice and run-able part of the Colorado Trail and I was really looking forward to it. Nothing like some smooth single track to get me all excited. Pace wise, I was doing fairly well up to this point. I wasn't thinking about any sort of finish time yet (as this would be foolish with the two Hope Pass climbs still to do), but I was content with my progress.

Coming down the "powerline"

HALFPIPE to TWIN LAKES outbound (Miles 29.1 - 39.5)
I was very excited going into this section, but that excitement was quelled rather quickly. Not long after leaving the aid station I was hit with some fairly significant stomach issues. Similar to the problems I encountered at Finger Lakes, I tried to focus on other things, specifically the beautiful and very run-able trail beneath my feet. It wasn't working. I went for the ginger chews hoping for the best....and thankfully the issues became more manageable. Regardless, the whole experience made this 10 mile section feel longer than it should have considering the trail-tread. I found some good company to run along with and managed some decent conversation. The long stretch was broken up by a water-only stop dubbed the "Mt. Elbert Water Station" about three miles from Twin Lakes which help too. The really nice part about this spot, was that it was right before the big descent down to Twin Lakes began. I knew this would be helpful on the return leg...to know exactly when the climb would be over on my way up. Once I began the descent down to the Lakes, I began feeling much better, and once I was in sight of the the aid station, my spirits improved significantly. I have always had a soft spot for Twin Lakes as it was here that I had a great hostel stay on my Colorado Trail thru-hike. I arrived at the aid station I knew that I had to do some serious gear reworking. I quickly grabbed my drop bag and began the mad shuffle. I replaced my handheld amphipod and Nathan mutation water belt with a Nathan pack with some extra gear and clothing. I also grabbed my trekking poles, chugged an entire gatorade bottle, ate copious amounts of food and set out...

TWIN LAKES to WINFIELD outbound (Miles 39.5 - 50)
And so it began. The monster. In 2009 I was terrified of the 3500 foot climb up to Hope Pass. This time though, I was confident. I was ready to tackle it and knowing I had an altimeter was a huge mental booster. I never had to wonder how much more climb I had....I would know. I made quick work of the mile-long run across the field to the base of the climb. With all the rain Friday night, it was a muddy disaster. I knew there would be the one big stream crossing, but I wasn't prepared for all of the nasty ankle-deep mud puddles. I slogged through them all and when I made it to the big stream crossing , it was about knee deep and frigid. They had a rope strung up to help the runners and there were some photographers there taking pics. Hopefully mine don't come out with me looking too miserably cold. I made it to the trees and saw that the hard part was about to begin. My goal for the climb was to simply not stop. In '09, on several occasions, I found myself stopping to rest while on the climb. This year, I simply wanted to keep moving no matter how slow. Short and consistent steps, while really using the poles, was my plan. For the most part, I kept to it. For the entire climb, I kept moving. When I felt the need to take a quick rest, I simply slowed way down and took tiny steps....but kept moving. the climb went by so much faster than in '09 (which seemed like it took an eternity) and I broke through tree-line at about 12,000 feet. I actually picked up a slow jog for the 1/4 mile up to the Hope Pass aid station and checked in with the staff. This aid station is absolutely incredible. There are hearty volunteers camped at 12,000 feet in small tents, eager to help, and llamas littering the landscape. It's truly a sight to see. I was in and out quickly and began the final steep 600 foot ascent up to the pass. Just as began the climb, I heard one of the aid station volunteers say, "We have our first return runner coming over the pass!". Sure enough, South Africa's Ryan Sandes had just crested the pass on his return from Winfield and was screaming down the trail with pacer, Anna Frost, charging in front. I offered my congrats to him as he passed and I couldn't help notice how completely fresh he looked. It's just baffling to me that these elite ultrarunners can look so good after 55 miles. Not far behind Ryan in 2nd, was Michael Arnstein (who had just won the Vermont 100 five weeks ago). By the time I made it to the top of the pass, I had been passed by several more runners including last year's winner, Duncan Callahan. I took a moment at the top of Hope Pass to again admire the view. The weather was still cooperating, but the afternoon storm clouds were beginning to form. I knew I had to be quick about getting down the mountain so that I could get back up and over on the return as quick as possible. The last thing I wanted was to have to worry about lightning. I made haste down to the Winfield Road. Somewhere about half-way down, the top two women runners (Andrea Metz and Lynette Clemons) passed me within a few minutes of each other. I hit the notoriously dusty and nasty road for what is considered by most to be the worst three miles of the course. With the rain the night before, and a morning spray-down of the road by race crews, the road was noticeably less dusty this year. I unremarkably made my way along the three mile stretch and finally made it to the half-way point at the Winfield ghost town aid station in just under 11 hours. It was at this point that the thought of maybe breaking 25 hours began to seriously creep into my head....but I tried not to think about it too much. I still had the worst climb of the race to come: The climb back up to Hope Pass, up the steeper backside. As I turned at the halfway stanchions toward the aid station, I finally met up with Sophia. Was I glad to see her too. I was hoping her positive energy would come my way...I was in need of it. We gathered ourselves, and I grabbed my headlamp. In 2009, It got dark before my return to Twin Lakes, so I instinctively put my headlamp in the Winfield drop this year because that's where I had picked it up in '09. Needless to say, i looked a bit ridiculous wearing my headlamp at 3 pm...but whatever. I guess I could have squeezed it into my Nathan pack...but I honestly didn't really care. So we left Winfield and began the three-mile road run back to the base of the big climb.

The creek crossing

...at its deepest.

Hitting the Hope Pass Summit

Coming down from Hope Pass

WINFIELD to TWIN LAKES inbound (Miles 50 - 60.5)
We managed to run almost the entire three miles back to the base of the climb, passing several incoming runners along the way. Sophia was excited and it was so nice to have that positive energy beside me. The climb back up to Hope was definitely more difficult than the outbound climb. I struggled a lot. Despite my mantra of not stopping, and even with Sophia's company, I found I had to stop a couple of times to rest. The compounded miles of the day, combined with the altitude, and with the fact that I was actually bonking and didn't realize it....was just too much. I was hitting my low point of the race. I was starting to become very negative as well....probably not the most fun person to be around. But, Sophia kept laying on the positives thick...and eventually we made it up to the 12,600 foot pass for the last time. We had passed by dozens of runners that were coming down. Some of the later folks I felt bad for knowing they likely wouldn't finish. At the top, I walked over to the marker and gave it the traditional middle finger, and it felt damn good! I was utterly spent, but knew I would feel 100 times better once we started the descent. We scurried down to the Aid station in less than 10 minutes, and I enjoyed a wonderful cup of salty ramen noodles, tons of fruit and cookies, and some good conversation with the volunteers. Already, my spirits were lifted. The hardest part was over. The rain clouds overhead were thick, but managed to only spill a few drips on us up to this point. I kept telling Sophia that we just needed to make it to the trees and I would feel safer about potential lightning and cold rain. Somehow, the full on rain and lightning never materialized though despite very ominous looking storm clouds. The descent down from the aid station went very well. We ran it all, and again I went somewhat conservative so as not to destroy my quads (which up to this point were still doing remarkably well). The flux of outbound runners had now stopped as those this far back had been cut-off. Sophia was managing her role as pacer better than I could have hoped too. She was on top things like my salt intake, making sure I stayed hydrated, and most importantly keeping me fueled between aid stations. It turns out I wasn't doing very well on the fueling and had actually bonked pretty hard. Thanks to a steady flow of gummy chews from Sophia, I was back in my A-game. When we hit the field at the bottom of the descent it was still light out. This was a bit strange as when I made it there in '09, it had already gotten dark. The creek crossing was ridiculously cold, but I knew that I had dry socks and shoes waiting at Twin Lakes less than a mile ahead. In no time, we were back at the aid station and I was rummaging through my drop bag again. I had decided to keep my gear the same for the remainder of the race and even hold on to my trekking poles, especially since there was a nice little 1000 foot climb up back up the Colorado Trail out of the aid station.

Coming in to Twin Lakes inbound

Not in the best of moods with wet, muddy feet

TWIN LAKES to HALFPIPE inbound (Miles 60.5 - 70.9)
This leg of the course was mentally the longest. While the climb up out of Twin Lakes did go by rather quickly, and the arrival at the climb-ending Mt. Elbert water stop was gratifying, the final stretch to the Half-Pipe station went on for an eternity. I really struggled through this part. I ran a lot, and so felt that it should have gone rather quickly. The problem was that I was remembering various sections incorrectly and it was really upsetting me. I was getting aggravated that it was taking so long, and like waiting for a pot to boil, waiting for that Halfpipe aid station sign just wasn't coming. Like I said, we did run a lot of this, but it didn't seem to help. I was hungry too...and for real food. Not gummies. The negativity was starting to grow and I knew I needed to address it. Sophia had told me at one point that she could tell when I was on a sugar-low because I would start to whine....well I was whining. The sun finally set about 30 minutes before the aid station, which was a nice change of pace. There is something I just love about night head-lamp running....especially on some eerie mountain top in the middle of nowhere at 2 in the morning (more on that later). We finally arrived at the halfpipe station what seemed like an eternity later (really more like 2hrs 40mins), and I knew what I needed. I grabbed some food, took a few deep breaths and told Sophia that I simply needed to sit for a minute. Sitting during an ultra can be a very bad thing. In 2009, I sat at the Fish Hatchery station at mile 76.5 and almost didn't get up. I wasn't sure what Sophia was going to say, but I really just needed a minute. I told her, under no circumstance, no matter how much I beg, not to let me sit more than three minutes. So, I sat. And it was magical. It was glorious in fact. Waves of happiness began to come over me and I pleasantly smiled and drifted away a bit. Then I thought of......"HEY, YOUR THREE MINUTES ARE UP! LET'S GO!" Wow. It is so easy to give in. It's like a drug or a temptation that's right there taunting you. I was ready to give into it. Thankfully I had Sophia to mentally slap me. I then thought of my dad, and how it was his birthday, and that I was running for him today. I thought of Ken Chlouber's pep talk speech where he says, "Commit, don't quit!". I stood up out of the heavenly chair to very angry and stiff legs, looked at Sophia, and said calmly, "I'm ready", and we left. I did it. I fought it off...again. I had a new sense of urgency now, and was thankful that the next section of the course was short and very clearly defined. The road running would be a welcome change of pace, if only that it was something different.

HALFPIPE to FISH HATCHERY inbound (Miles 70.9 - 76.5)
Very quickly after leaving Halfpipe, we arrived at the Treeline crew access area. There were literally hundreds of people standing around their cars waiting for their runners and cheering us on. It felt great to be suddenly overwhelmed by such an awesome support group. It gave me a new sense of energy. One of the race volunteers yelled out and told me that I was number 100 to come through. I thought that was pretty cool. Sophia was still so energetic and full of positive energy through all my ups and downs. She tried to help pass the time by playing little games with me, like, "name that actor", or "what movie", etc. She would always try to get other runners involved too...it was actually pretty funny. The whole time we were running, she always made sure that I didn't walk too long either. If I had been walking for a while she'd say, "Ok 50 steps of running", and we'd literally count out 50 steps. She was clever though and a lot of times she would tell me she was counting in her head...and would count to 100 instead. I was so out of it, I didn't notice, and it got me running more. She really was an excellent pacer. After Treeline, we made quick work of the 3 mile road section around to the Fish Hatchery. We went in, ate a bit, had a cup of ramen together, and enjoyed the heaters blowing on us.

FISH HATCHERY to MAYQUEEN inbound (Miles 76.5 - 86.5)
When we left Fish Hatchery, it became immediately apparent that we enjoyed the heaters a bit too long. As soon as we started down the mile-long road stretch to the base of the Sugarloaf climb, I started shivering uncontrollably. I took my pack off, put on my light coat, hat, gloves, and started running. Soon, I eventually did warm up, and just in time for the dreaded final big climb of the course: The inbound Sugarloaf climb. In 2009, this climb absolutely destroyed me. I simply fell apart then. I was very nervous that this would happen again. As the steep powerline climb began, I told Sophia that I just wanted to take it slow and easy, and hopefully not stop for breaks. The backside climb up Sugarloaf can be very demoralizing. There are about 4 false summits and it can really break you down this late into a hundred miler. But, this time I knew what to expect and I had the altimeter. We plodded slowly, but surely, throwing in punctuated 50-step runs here and there. Sophia was great about keeping me moving and kept the gummy chews coming. I was fading fast though. When we reached the final and actual summit of the climb, I finally felt like I could exhale. The big climbs were over. Now I just had to finish. On the descent down from the top I could see various headlamps bobbing away in the distance below me, but there weren't any near me. I love this part of the race. You are all alone, in the middle of the night, a sky full of stars overhead, breathing in the cool/crisp air. It's very surreal, and for that moment you are no longer in a 100-mile race. You are just another animal, standing on a mountain. I love that feeling. After my little profound moment of "taking it in", we ran the entire way down to Hagerman Pass Rd and the mile along the road, catching and passing several runners in the process. At the Colorado Trail junction I took off, in a similar fashion to my 2009 performance. Going along rocky and rooty trails with my trekking poles in hand is where I excel. I can move, and move quickly by using what I call my hike-run-pole-maneuvering. It's my quick way of moving along trails that I've perfected over my years of thru-hiking in bad weather or when trying to get to a post office before it closes. I use my poles to sort-of vault along the trails at a quick clip. I passed at least 5 runners over the last two miles of this leg leading up to the final aid station: MayQueen. Sophia was pleasantly surprised by my late stage burst of energy as we arrived to the cheering volunteers.

MAYQUEEN to 6TH STREET inbound (Miles 86.5 - 99)
The volunteers at Mayqueen were fantastic. They gave me fresh pancakes, coffee, and loads of fresh fruit. I was loving it. Unfortunately, time-wise, it was now apparent the the slow pace up and over Sugarloaf was making a sub-25 hour finish nearly impossible. It would require me running most, if not all of entire 13.5 remaining miles of the race. I was in no condition to do this. I had not been really paying attention to the time for the past few hours and was now visibly upset that the sub-25 was likely out of reach. Sophia brought me back to reality by telling me not to dwell. My goal was to have fun and remember my goal of beating my '09 time. I was still on pace to shatter it. I had to get the sub-25 out of my mind and fast...I still had 13.5 miles to go. And so...I did. I gratefully thanked the volunteers, put on a big smile, and set out to trot along the nice single-track around Turquoise Lake. In 2009, while running this section of the course, I got to experience the sun rise. This time, it was still 2 in the morning and rightly dark. This is when I realized something else that made me very excited. I had always thought that more than finishing sub-25, it would be awesome to finish the Leadville Trail 100 before sunrise...in the dark. I realized that as long as I made a good effort, I could still do this. I knew it wouldn't start getting light until about 5:50, so I just had to get to the finish by then. I told Sophia that I had a new goal....finish in the dark! She was all about it. We knocked out the 6 long miles from Mayqueen to the Tabor Boat ramp. It was long, but nice running along the peaceful lake. We didn't see or hear a single soul along this entire leg. No one. No runners passed us, and we passed no one. It was fantastic. Just the two of us. We didn't talk much, and simply enjoyed where we were, and what we were doing. At the ramp, we turned and began heading around the East end of the Lake through the various campgrounds until we finally dumped out at road outside of town at the top of the steep powerline cut. A short mile later we were on the jeep road moving up towards the bottom of the 3 mile boulevard road that leads back to town. Finally, we were in the last stage of the race. The final climb up to town. For three miles we alternated between fast hiking and slow jogging, Sophia's patented 50-step move. We were making great progress and had actually caught up to another runner. I politely passed him and pushed on ahead. This must have upset him a bit because after about 5 minutes, we turned around and saw that he was trying to catch back up to us. This was not going to happen. I would not be passed in the last mile of the race. I told Sophia we needed to run for a while. I wanted a good cushion. We ended up running all the way up to the paved road a mile from the finish putting about 200 yards on him. I knew I was fine. I got so distracted by this little exchange that I didn't even realize that I was now only one mile from the finish. I had made it to 6th street. The final leg. The finish line was nearly in sight....and it was still dark (only 5:30 still). I was starting to get that little dizzy feeling.

THE FINISH (mile 100)
When we crested the hill on 6th street and I could see the finish line stanchion I let it all go. The slow jog that I had been maintaining since reaching the pavement, had suddenly become a run. The volunteer along the side of the road a half-mile from the finish radioed my number up ahead. I could hear Ken on the megaphone at the finish announce, "John from State College, PA is coming down 6th Street Now! Everyone let's give him a warm welcome and cheer him on home!" I looked behind me....no one. I looked ahead of me to the finish about half-mile ahead....no one. At that moment, I OWNED 6th st. It was mine. It was my moment to shine. Sophia, me, and my old man were the only ones running down the street...and it was something that I will never forget. The most incredible moment I've ever had at any race. My running...became a full on sprint. I ran harder than I've ever ran....tears flowing, goose bumps up, hair standing.....and, it was still dark. I never stopped running. I hit the red in carpet full-on sprint mode and a moment later I broke through a pink tape, and was simply standing....standing on the other side of the finish line. I had done it again. I had again set out to finish the Leadville Trail 100, and I did....AND besting my previous time by over 3 and a half hours. I crossed the finish line in the dark, with a time of 25 hrs 36 mins 17 secs, at 5:36 AM. It truly was a moment that I will take with me forever.

Thank you dad for running with me every step. I know it was you that brought me back when my spirits were at their lowest. I'm pretty sure you had something to do with the weather holding off too.

Thank you Sophia for the wonderful pacing. You are a gift to the ultrarunning community and I hope that I get to return the favor and pace for you someday. Thank you also for all the Powerbar Gummies...they saved me from my bonking.

A QUICK LAST THOUGHT:
In hindsight, I truly believe that for me to break that mythical 25 hour barrier at Leadville, I would probably have to not only train a little harder, but make Leadville my focus race. In other words, not run Vermont five weeks earlier. This year, my peak race was Vermont. It was the one I was most trained, AND most rested for...hence my 21 hour 48 minute finish. Trying to run a sub-25 Leadville Trail 100 five short weeks later is just asking a little too much. With this said however, I do feel I could have made it much closer this year had I not spent so much time at some of the aid stations (particularly Twin Lakes return) and not had to rely on drop bags. If I had had a crew, I wouldn't have had to futz around finding and digging through drops. Also, I probably would have done better had I not hiked Mt. Elbert two days before the race. It truly makes me wonder if I would have gone sub-25 had I not been an idiot on Thursday morning. I guess that's to be left a mystery.

My Prize this year

I had a lot of fun out there this year. I really did. I love coming to Colorado and I absolutely love the mountains. What is life if we don't truly find the things that bring us some happiness? I mean the important part of this little life we all get really is just how well we live it...right? I have said so many times before, and that I have permanently inscribed on my PCT mug, the words of Thoreau can't possibly be more true...

That's it for now...thanks everyone for reading all the way through.

-John "lakewood"

Disclaimer - I did buy, and have permission to, all of the Zazoosh photos.

Leadville Trail 100 Finished: 25hrs 36mins

2011-08-21T19:11:00.000-04:00

I have again moved through the Sawatch Mountains outside Leaville Colorado for 100 continuous miles. On foot. Earlier this morning I crossed the finish line at the Leadville Trail 100, for a second time. I missed the sub-25 hour buckle by 36 minutes, but still beat my previous time by almost 4 hours, so I am thrilled. I have not really slept much, so this will be my first priority before any sort of race report.

I will say, one of the most exciting aspects to my experience this year was actually finishing in the dark. More than finishing sub-25, I have always wanted to break the tape at Leadville...in the dark. Crossing the finish line at 5:36 am this morning, I was able to complete this goal. 10 minutes later, the sky began to light up. Also, I finished completely alone. I ran down 6th street with no one in front of me and no one behind me as far as I could see. I managed a full-on sprint down the street towards the finish line while everyone was cheering for me. It was incredible. Lastly, my pacer was incredible. I will go into more detail in the race report, but the short story is that Sophia ran all 50 miles with me, and I wouldn't have done as well as I did without her. So thank you Sophia.

More to come later.

Live Tracking for Leadville Trail 100

2011-08-19T20:07:00.002-04:00

If any of you want to follow along as I plod my way along the course tomorrow, here is the link for live tracking:

http://www.leadvilleraceseries.com/page/show/363457-tracking

Click the real-time tracking and either enter my last name or my bib number: 322.

Here we go!

Leadville Pre-Race Fun (and Mt. Elbert)

2011-08-18T18:39:00.002-04:00

Well...I was able to get all checked in and weighed in today. All that's left to do for the race is to meet up with my pacer, go to the mandatory meeting tomorrow, and organize all my drop bags. This year I weighed in 16 pounds lighter than in '09...at a very ideal weight of 145.4 lbs. I was also assigned bib number 322...which also happens to be the highway that runs through State College. (State Route 322). There is a racer dinner tonight that I am going to head up to here in a few minutes, so that I can stuff my face with yummy carbs. Tomorrow is all about doing nothing.

Today was supposed to be a rest day, a day for doing nothing too....but being the idiot that I am, I couldn't resist the beautiful mountains off to the West. So, I went for a little hike to see how my lungs would do. I drove to the Mt. Elbert trailhead a few miles outside of town with the intention of just hiking a few miles in and then turning around. When I hit tree line though, and I could see the summit, I couldn't resist. Let's hope I didn't destroy my legs too badly two days before the race. I did surprisingly well at altitude. Sure, I was a bit tired above 13,000, and with climbing over 4000 feet of elevation, but never got dizzy or a headache all the way up to 14,440. One interesting altitude side-effect I've noticed, is the bizarre dreams I have at night. Oh well.....here are some pics from the hike...

Just past treeline

Nearing the summit

Another 14er! (2nd highest peak in the lower 48)

Leadville Trail 100 Race Preview: 2011

2011-08-17T18:38:00.001-04:00

Mile 16 - 2009

Sitting here, jammed into a middle seat on my flight to Denver, going over the upcoming Leadville 100 in my head. Did I remember all of my gear? Did I train hard enough? Will the altitude affect me this year? Will I do ok with just drop bags and no crew? Will the different course (from '09) screw me up? So many "what-ifs". So many in fact, that I've decided it's not worth fretting over. I signed up for Leadville this year completely on a whim. I had known that I wanted to re-run the Vermont 100, but Leadville was an impulsive registration. Honestly, I signed up simply to "get in" before it filled. With that said, I am not one of those people that books a spot just to have it with no intention of truly running. Once I signed up, I had mentally committed, at least to a 75% level, that I was going to go run.

The Leadville 100 race will be my 10th official ultra since I first ran the Vermont 50 back in 2008. I can't think of a better place to celebrate this milestone. Of all the races I've done since I began really running after my AT thru hike 4 years ago, the 2009 Leadville 100 was my proudest moment. I sincerely did not think that I was going to finish the race or even make the cut offs. At the Winfield station half-way point, I almost didn't…squeezing in just 30 minutes ahead of the final cut off. I had race directors telling me there that I should consider dropping because most people that arrive that late don't actually finish. I stuck it out and crossing the eventual finish line, even if it was after 29 hours, was still an accomplishment I have a hard time wrapping my head around today.

The course at Leadville is notoriously tough and has a historically low finish percentage (50-60%). While this is due to the high elevations, and tough climbs, it's also due in large part to the open registration. There are no entry requirements, and anyone can enter to run. This means there will inevitably be a high drop-out rate from underprepared runners. In 2009, I was fairly well prepared, and still barely finished. This race is not one you can simply show up for with the thought that you'll just "wing it" or "power hike the course" in under 30 hours. It's too tough for that, especially if you're coming from a lower elevation. My plane will be landing here, so....to be continued....

(continued...)

I had originally planned a grand pre-race post here, but there really isn't that much more to say. I've arrived here in Leadville now (a day earlier than I had originally planned-long story), and am ready to go. Tomorrow, I am going to go for an easy hike around the Mt. Elbert area to get my lungs working here. Driving through the mountains today was wonderful. I truly feel in alignment when I am amongst the big peaks. I am going to enjoy my few days of relaxation before Saturday. I'm ready, I'm excited, and I'm going to kick this races ass. Bring it!

I will post again after all of my pre-race meetings, medical checks, and pacer discussions.

Wish me luck,

2009 Start

Katahdin +4, and a day in New York City

2011-08-15T11:41:00.002-04:00

Well, here we are again at August 15th. Four years ago on this date my life changed forever. I walked up to the final summit of what seemed like just another random mountain, fell to one knee, rested my head upon a sign that read "Northern Terminus of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail", and finally exhaled the long breath that I'd been holding in for 2 years. I had made the crazy decision to not only quit my job, go back to school, and start a new life at the not-so-young age of 30, but to attempt a thru-hike of the entire 2174 mile Appalachian Trail. Sure I liked a good hike now and then, and I considered myself fairly fit, but hiking and camping for over 100 straight days while carrying my entire life on my back was something I was not truly prepared for. I had no idea what sort of mental ups and downs I would go through (nevermind the actual ups and downs of the trail). I learned a lot about what is important, as well as what we really don't need (despite thinking we need). Things about my life, that I struggled to see and understand clearly before the hike, became crystal clear as the fog that hovered around me finally had a chance to lift. I have so many vivid memories from my 2007 adventure. The people I met, the funny trailside stories, the weird hostels, the friendly trail angels, the great hiking partners, the bugs, the weather, the roots, the rocks, the PUDS and MUDS, and of course those moments....the ones where you are completely taken off guard. Those precious trail epiphanies when everything lines up perfectly and you are gazing across a spectacular valley from the top of a beautiful mountain. The breeze is perfect, temperature cool. There are a few clouds speckled across the sky and you are alone with your thoughts and this perfect image. The goose bumps come up, you breathe in the cool air....and for that brief moment you are moved beyond words. I live for these moments.

Since this magical day in 2007, I have been so very fortunate when I think about what I've been able to see and do. I have been able to experience Antarctica three different times, participate in several 100 mile (and 50 mile) ultraruns, play in the woods and mountains of New Zealand, thru-hike the Colorado Trail, complete a Masters Degree in Geoscience, begin a PhD program (and pass the entrance candidacy), get my first paper published in a scientific journal, and of course....Thru Hike the 2663 mile Pacific Crest Trail last summer. Also, I've met some of the most wonderful people since that day. I've made new friends, and found happiness again. I couldn't be more content with how much I've been able to do since this day four years ago and how alive I've been able to keep that passion within me.

my railroad spike thru-hiker

On a different front, this past weekend, I also finally had a chance to experience New York City in all its glory. I had a weekend family gathering in Southern Connecticut, and decided to finally do the NYC detour. I spent a long 10 hours traipsing around the famous spots in and around Manhattan. Despite having family on Long Island for my entire young life, I have only really been deep within NYC one time...and that was to see the Natural History Museum. This was my first time really exploring. Here are some highlights:

Empire State Building

Part of the Skyline

Liberty Island

The proverbial Statue shot

Ellis Island

New WTC Tower

9/11 Memorial Wall

FAO Schwartz Lego Indiana Jones

Times Square

Grand Central Station

On a Leadville Trail 100 Note:

The training is all but done, just have a few miles to run this week before the big day Saturday. I am flying out on Thursday morning and everything is set. I just need to pack and get out there. Not much else to say about it. It is going to be a mad house this year with over 800 runners....ugh! My goal is simply to finish and hopefully beat my time from '09. I will have a dedicated and detailed Pre-Race post here in the next day or two so stay tuned!

Leadville Peak Week

2011-08-07T23:51:00.002-04:00

A long and tiring week has come to an end. My self-imposed Leadville peak training week was tough on many levels. I had a rough goal of breaking over 60 miles, which for me, is a lot. I realize the elite runners do 100+ mile weeks, but I have never done more than 55 in training. Add to this, a very demanding week in the lab, and needless to say...I'm a bit pooped this Sunday night after having finished a 63 mile week. Tomorrow, I am taking a well deserved day off, and then I get a nice and easy two week taper up to race day in Leadville.

While I am tired, I'm also very pleased that I was able to meet my training goals. I feel much more prepared for Leadville this year than I did in '09. I feel strong, fit, and mentally ready. I have found a pacer, I have typed up my splits and drop bag details, and I have my travel details in order. Now, I will calmly and patiently wait for my big day. I am excited to take another stab at this monster of a race, and I know that I can improve on my 2009 time of 29hrs 13mins.

Not much else to discuss here. The race this year actually falls on my dad's birthday (Aug 20th), so I've decided to run this year's race in his honor. Along with this, I've also decided to re-promote my charity memorial site: www.hike4dad.com. I had this memorial site set up for my PCT thru-hike last year and it raised almost $1300.00 for the American Heart Association. So, if you're feeling up to it, and would like to donate a little something to charity, please consider my dad's memorial page. Thanks!

I plan on posting several pre-race reports soon, so keep an eye out.

happy trails everyone,

-j

Help! I Need a Pacer (& Crew?) for Leadville

2011-07-27T12:46:00.006-04:00

*UPDATE: I FOUND A PACER! THANK YOU SOPHIA!*

I again find myself in a similar position as I was back in 2009. The Leadville Trail 100 is a month away, and I am currently sans pacer. A friend (and Colorado native) of mine had offered to pace, but only recently found out that she has to do field work that weekend. This gives me less than four weeks to find someone. I've already posted a note to facebook and joined the LT100 yahoo discussion group (where I will post a request). I am also still waiting to hear back from another local friend of mine who had said he'd crew for me, but at the moment, it's looking like I might also be sans crew for the race. I'm in no way panicking...as worst case scenario is that I simply go solo. It's not unheard of, but certainly not preferred.

I'm hoping that this post brings me luck...much like in 2009. After posting a similar message back then, I was so very fortunate to hear back from Kati (who read my blog)...a random ultra runner from California who wanted to run Leadville in 2010, but wanted to first "feel-out" the course. Because Leadville is a 50-mile out-n-back, she was able to see the entire course by running the 2nd half w/me. She was a life saver and helped get me to the finish. I also had fantastic crewing for the race...the best you could get, from my friend Elizabeth. (She will not be States-side this year during the race).

So, long story short, if you are reading this and feel like helping a fellow runner out at Leadville here is me asking you:

Would you like to come to Leadville CO and run with me as my pacer from Mile 50 on? You wouldn't have to run the entire 50 miles (from 50-100), but I would certainly enjoy the company and extra motivation for the entire 2nd half. (There will be a lot of hiking)

The race is on Saturday and Sunday, August 20th - 21st.

I may be able to help with some of your travel, but on a graduate student stipend salary, I can barely afford my own travel expenses

If you'd rather crew instead, or know someone who would, please also let me know!

If you have any questions about the race or pacer/crew expectations, please please please email me. It really is A LOT of fun.

I am NOT a Leadville rookie. I finished the race in 29 hours back in 2009 and am shooting to beat that time by at least an hour this year, hopefully 2 hours. I am in much better shape this year, and I just ran the Vermont 100 in under 22 hours.

Please email if you are interested or know someone who might be! My email is: TROWER7 at GMAIL dot COM. If you'd rather talk over the phone, email me and I'll send you my number.

So listen. If you are sitting there and reading this thinking, "Yeah that sounds awesome, but I don't know this guy and it seems like a lot of logistics, and 50 miles is a long way to pace....etc etc"......Please, please, just email me. It is absolutely so much fun at this race and I guarantee you'll have a blast. I didn't know Kati in 2009, and we had a great time running together. Why not do something a little crazy? I never thought I'd be running Leadville once, let alone twice! So if you think it sounds like fun, or even just intriguing...shoot me an email. I need your help getting to the finish again!

My 2009 finish

If you want a little extra motivation. Here is my video

from the 2009 race to give you a taste of what it's like

(Elizabeth-crew is filming, and Kati-pacer is running at the end with me)

Vermont 100 Local Newspaper Article

2011-07-25T09:38:00.004-04:00

Local area runner and fellow Nittany Valley Running club member, Tara Murray, writes a monthly column for the local newspaper here in State College (The Centre Daily Times). This is the same paper that featured the column about my PCT thru-hike last year. Last week, she sent both Jeff Smucker (another local VT100 runner) and me some questions about our experience at the race and then wrote the following article that was posted today:

Local Runners Buckle Down for 100-mile Race...

Congrats to Jeff who had a killer race (21hrs 8 mins)!

TWO additional medical followup notes:

- In an earlier posts I noted how elevated my liver numbers were when I had my blood work done for my Antarctica Physical Exam. Both the doctor and I were a little worried, but had assumed these numbers were high because I had just run the Finger Lakes 50 mile ultra 4 days prior. There are a slew of medical papers out there that document similar cases of endurance athletes having elevated liver enzymes post-race. Sure enough, I had my blood-work redone 5 days later, and all of my numbers are within normal values. Woo hoo! Big relief as I am certainly predisposed to potential liver issues.

- As far as my recent back troubles. Both the doc and I are fairly convinced there is a single cause. While my sitting posture is not perfect, and I do put a lot of strain on my back with all the running, we agree that the single culprit is in fact my mattress. My mattress is well over 15 years old and it feels like it. My back first started hurting a little right when I got back from Antarctica. I also noticed that all the pain went away while I was in Colorado...sleeping on a firm hotel bed. I thought back to what might have changed and remembered that I had rotated my mattress when I first changed my sheets after returning from the ice. I have not rotated my bed since (and yes I've changed sheets). I can't believe I'm going to say this, but it may finally be time to suck it up, and buy a new mattress. The past two nights I've literally slept on the floor. For now, I'm going to rotate it back and perhaps get some prices on new mattresses. In a perfect world, I'd get one of those awesome tempur-pedic beds, but as a grad student, on grad student salary, that's just not an option. The doctor today was singing the praises of those select-comfort beds, but after dealing with enough puncture repairs while camping, I'd prefer not to have a mattress that's filled with air. At any rate, at least I don't have a herniated disc or something crazy like that.

I think I'm finally starting to feel my age a bit. sigh.

Leadville Trail 100 - Four Short Weeks Away

2011-07-24T16:47:00.007-04:00

2009 Leadville Memories

With the Vermont 100 already a week behind me, I find that the good-run celebration, the good-day memories, and the post-run relaxation have all been quickly put away into my dusty filing cabinet of life experiences. It's hard to believe that July is already on the way out and that we are over the mid-way hump of Summer. The Leadville 100 is now only a mere four weeks away. Less than a month. Less than a month to try to squeeze in a proper post-Vermont recovery, a pre-Leadville build-up, and pre-Leadville taper. The good news is that the foot/toe is nearly back to 100% and I am back to proper running form (whatever that is). The slightly bad news now, is that I've been dealing with some on-and-off lower back pain recently. Not sure what that is all about, but it is gone from the annoying stage, through the nagging stage, to the straight-out uncomfortable stage. I have a followup doc visit Monday to finalize my Antarctica paperwork, so I may run this latest twist by him as well. I probably just pulled something or pinched something...but it's making my sleeping rather erratic and the Advil isn't cutting it.

Anyway...I know, I probably sound like I'm whining again. So, on to some details. I pulled out my time sheets and various memorabilia from 2009. It was honestly the first time I had looked at my buckle and award since the race. I had forgotten just how much I put myself through to get that damn buckle, and all at once I was overcome with a sense of accomplishment and flooded with great memories from the '09 race. My friend, fellow USAP'er, and crew person from '09, Elizabeth, had marked down all of my in/out aid station times from the race. I also, found a site where split times were recorded according the the race officials here: SPLIT TIMES. Not sure who's watch was off, but the times are about 5 minutes different for each split.

I decided the best way to approach the race, was exactly how I approached Vermont. I created a split-time spreadsheet, and will race against my 2009 self. The nice thing is that with a finish time of 29hrs 13 mins, I can't really do much worse without dropping. I'll be much more prepared and in better shape this year, so at least on paper, I should do better. I put both the "official" times and Elizabeth's times on the sheet. The nice thing is that Elizabeth recorded times for the Treeline handler area, and the "official" times record a split for Halfmoon. This gives me some extra data to work with. The only "gotcha" that I need to look out for is Halfmoon. In 2009, the course was slightly modified between Treeline and Twin Lakes and the Halfmoon Station was replaced with the Box Canyon Station (due to the helicopter crash). Not sure if this was an advantage or disadvantage at the time, but it will be different this year regardless. Because of this, the split time may be much different. First thing I notice that immediately jumps out at me with the split times is the first 13.5 miles. I ran these miles a good a clip. A 10:31 pace is a good clip for a 100 miler and this will be tough to duplicate. Also, the climb up to Hope Pass absolutely killed me (as did the climb up Sugarloaf on the way back). My pace going up to Hope Pass was 30 min/miles. This is slow even for hiking. The altitude surely played a part in this.

dorking out on stats

The plan for this year is mostly similar to '09. I am flying out early Thursday (18th) and driving to Leadville where I again have a bunk at the Hostel. I love staying at at the hostel as the owners are fantastic, and the meals are incredible. Ever since staying there during my Colorado Trail thru-hike in '08, I've had the hostel on my list of favorite places to stay. Friday morning is the mandatory pep-talk meeting as well as the medical check-in. The biggest question mark for me is crew and pacing. I have a few friends who've offered to help, but nothing is set in stone yet, so I simply don't know. Until I get a solid confirmation, I have to plan for a solo run, just in case. My hunch though is that I'll have at least a crew, and probably a pacer for a good portion of the 2nd half. I completed my on-line medical check today on the Leadville Race website. This check is just the 1st part...with the 2nd part being the in-person check the day before the race. One sort-of interesting twist and side-note to this year's race is that it is on August 20th....my late father's birthday. So I will be out there not only running for me, but running for him. At least I know, he'll be pacing me.

After the race, I am going to spend a few days playing around in Colorado again before heading back to the school, classes, and research. I'm really looking forward to this part...as it's my sort-of "road-trip" for the year. Definitely going to visit some places I haven't seen yet.

My recovery week training has gone ok this week. I eased into my runs slowly and managed a nice and smooth 15 miler yesterday without issue. My legs were a bit sore/stiff, but that is to be expected. I hope to ramp up for the next two weeks, peaking two weeks before the race, and then taper for the last two weeks.

That's about it for now. Hopefully the issues with my back are nothing serious, and in less than a month I'll be standing out on Harrison Ave waiting for that gun to sound again...

A little early motivation for myself...

2009 Start

2009 Finish

On a completely random Attention-Deficit-Disorder side note, I finally have been getting some visitors at my bird feeder. These guys popped in to say hi today,

...and yes, those are in fact tufted titmice.

Seriously, who comes up with these names?

Also, on a school note, my paper (based on my Masters) has finally been published in the Journal of Glaciology: Late-Holocene climate evolution at the WAIS Divide site, West Antarctica: bubble number-density estimates

Vermont 100 - Race Report

2011-07-19T11:25:00.015-04:00

What an absolutely spectacular day I had up in Vermont. I cannot say enough wonderful things about the race director and all of the people and volunteers involved with the race. This was my 2nd running of the VT100, and as much as I loved my first stab at it, it was even better this time! Now...on to some details:

After spending Thursday night getting all of my gear and supplies finalized, I promptly woke up at 3:45 am Friday and headed out at about 4:15. I spent the next several hours driving along interstate highways as the sun rose up around me. Normally, the drive does get a bit long after about 7 hrs, but this time I really enjoyed it. I pulled in to Silver Hill Meadow at about 2 pm, and set up my tent in the designated camping area. Eventually, I made my way down to the bigtop tent where I dropped off my race drop-bags, signed in, and picked up my number. I also did my pre-race weigh-in and registered in at 149 lbs. Lastly, I attended the mandatory race meeting that started at about 4:00 and listened to all of the instructions and course notes. After the meeting I happily wolfed down an enormous dinner replete with pasta, bread, potatoes, and ice cream. Yay for carbs. My pacer Mark showed up around 8 or so and we met briefly over by the tent city to discuss logistics for the following day. I told him to expect me at the 70 mile aid station some time between 6:30 and 7:30 pm and then I promptly headed to my tent to try to get the best night's sleep I could. Thankfully nobody's car alarms or screaming children went off at 2:00 AM (like in 2009).

RACE Morning
At 3:00 the loudspeakers began booming the likes of "Chariots of Fire", "Eye of the Tiger", and "Born to Run". I geared up, walked down to the tent, drank some coffee, ate a bagel, and mingled for a bit with other runners. I saw quite a few familiar faces. Chris Reynolds (Finger Lakes Fiftes Director) was there as was Susan Muhaw (the woman I paced at Oil Creek). I also saw a lot of all-star favorites like Leigh Schmitt, Serena Wilcox, and a few others. Promptly at 4:00 AM, after a 10 second countdown, the 300 of us runners began our quest to move 100 miles.

Some Race Notes
As I stated in my previous post, my overall goal for this race was to stay conservative much like I did in 2009, while also trying to bring up my total time. In other words, I wanted to run faster throughout the entire race, but not too fast over any one leg. I also didn't want to go out so fast, that I became one of those runners that gets passed in the last 5-10 miles. I had stated in my last post that if I could simply improve my overall pace from ~14 min/miles to ~13/min miles, I would improve my total time by over an hour and a half. Makes sense on paper anyway. I carried with me for the entire race, a printout of my split times from 2009. My goal was to try to improve on each leg, even if only by a minute or two. I knew that over the course of the race, these several minutes could add up to a significant improvement. It's hard to gauge how you're doing over the course of 100 miles, but having split times for ~5 mile legs helped me keep the goals down to a manageable sizes. In addition, if I saw a long split time from 2009 on a short leg, I knew it probably had a lot of tough hills. Likewise, if I saw a fast split time from 2009, I knew it was probably a very runable section. I was very detailed-oriented in the logistics and with my approach to this race....and it paid off (as you will read). Another strategy I told myself I was going to employ for this race was the quick-in/quick-out aid station strategy. I decided I would take a break at the stations as needed, but would not lollygag. Get in, get what I need, say "hi" and "thank you" to the volunteers, and start walking while eating. The one exception to this rule was the Camp 10 Bear station where I had to get out head-lamps, sort through other drop bag items, and pick up my pacer. I also had decided to talk with my pacer about running ahead of me during the night stations to get my water filled for me so that I could minimize time as well.

First 15.3 Miles (Start to Taftsville Bridge)

The first 15 miles of the race are without any full-service aid stations. There are a couple of unmanned water stops, but that's it. I guess they figure, you better damn well be able to at least make it 15 miles before you need any real help. This is the longest single mental stretch of the course, but being so early, it goes by rather quickly. It is so very tempting to go out at the start aggressively. You are standing there in the dark, cold, full of coffee, having just tapered for a few weeks, and having not run for 2 or 3 days. Add to that, the fact that it's race day...and the anticipation in the air is palpable. Needless to say, you are amped to go. I had to fight every instinct of my being that was trying to tell me that it'd be ok if I ran 8 minute miles for the first 10-15. No No No. Go easy John. So, that's what I did. I looked at my heart rate monitor and said to myself....run as fast as you can, but so that your heart rate never goes over 145, preferably not over 140 (Anything below 157 or so is in the fat-burning aerobic range, but the lower the better). I fell into a very nice groove early and picked up a few good running partners. One guy I ran with had apparently seen my old VT100 youtube video and recognized me. He told me he watched the video 2 years ago when I posted it, and decided to attempt the race himself...so this brought an early race smile to my face. We ran together for a good 5 miles. After about 7 miles, it started getting light out and I switched off my little clip-on LEDs. Somewhere in here the first of the horses started passed me as well. It's hard to put into words just how awesome it is to be cheered on by someone as the trot past you on a horse. Yet another reason why I love this course so much. Seeing the horses absolutely makes my day. I ended up seeing them on and off all the way to mile 80 later in the day. Anyway...I burned through the two unmanned water stops without really thinking about it and focused on getting to that first "real" aid station. This was also where I had my first recorded split time that I could compare. After 15.3 miles, the course dumped me out in the small town of Taftsville, and I ran through the lovely Covered Bridge that was built in 1836 (one of the oldest in Vermont) that goes over the Ottauquechee River. Right on the other side, I pulled into the aid station and checked my split. My time was 2:38. My time in 2009 was 3:08. CRAP. As much as I loved the fact that I shaved 30 minutes off of my first split, this concerned me greatly. Sure, 30 minutes over 15 miles isn't that much, but it had me worried that I did in fact go out too fast. I checked my average heart rate though and it told me that I was doing fine. Could it be that I really was 30 minutes faster and doing ok? I decided to believe the heart rate monitor, and not start second guessing myself and playing head games. I knew I would have enough mental struggles later in the race to worry about whether or not my first 15 miles was too fast. Besides, there was nothing I could do about it now, and if I started getting passed at the end of the race I'd know for sure. So, I clicked "Lap 2" on my watch, grabbed a few snacks, and moved on.
-Race position at Mile 15.3: 103rd place

Miles 15.3 - 30.1 (Taftsville - Stage Rd)

After Taftsville, the course took on a mathematical approach for me. The longest stretch between any following stations was 5 miles (including unmanned) and the longest split stretch (distance between full manned aid stations) was 9 miles. I broke down the race into 26 small runs from here out. This is how I dealt with it in 2009 as well. I would walk out of an aid station and think, "time to knock out a 5k". At the next aid station it was another 5k, or perhaps a 4.2 miler. With 29 stations throughout the race, this strategy is really easy to work with. It helps too, that as you get further into the race, the aid stations become closer and/or more frequent. Going from 15.3 to 30.1, meant I ran through 4 aid stations (2 manned and 2 unmanned). When I pulled into the "Pretty House" station at 21.1, after 5.8 miles, I checked my split again. This time, I had improved a modest 4:41 over my previous time. Much better. This started a trend for the entire day. I kept vigilant watch on my times and tried to anticipate my arrival times at aid stations. If I felt I was a little behind, I perhaps pushed a little harder, even if it meant only gaining 5 seconds on the split. At mile 26.2, I passed a small sign on the course congratulating me on my marathon. I looked at my watch and it said 4hrs 59minutes. I had to laugh thinking I had ran Pocono in 3:21 just two months earlier, yet a 5 hour marathon on this course was doing pretty darn well. Of course I also did the math and thought..."this means I should be able to run a 20-hour race right"? As most ultra-runners know, it doesn't work like that (unless of course you are an elite runner that can run constant pace over 100 miles - which I am not). At any rate, I came down to the "Stage Rd" station, a short paved part of the course, fueled up, checked my split (5 minute improvement again), and moved on. By this time the temps were starting to climb a bit. My gear and clothing choices were working great to this point as well. I had taken a gamble in wearing an old golite shirt that I had that is very light and breathes wonderfully. I was going to wear the usual merino, but decided on the golite instead. It was a great decision as it kept me cool all day. As usual the Patagonia shorts did well, as did the socks. So far up to this point, my foot wasn't causing me any sort of trouble or pain. This was something I was very worried about going in to the race (in light of my Rothrock injury). My feet in general felt good, and the sportslick/hydropel lube combo was keeping away hotspots and other general chafing. I was in good shape and had settled in with a great group of other runners to keep me company. I chatted for along time with another 2nd time runner and with a gentleman from Argentina. I heard some great stories.
-Race position at Mile 30.1: 101st place

Miles 30.1 - 47.2 (Stage Rd - Camp 10 Bear)
Heading out of Stage Rd involved a short paved section. Somewhere in here a couple of us mentally high-fived the fact that we'd just finished a 50K and had nearly 1/3 done. I had to quickly force myself back into aid-station distance mode again and try not to think about the finish that was still so far away. It didn't help that I was also thinking to myself that I was nearly half-way to seeing my pacer. Camp 10 Bear was now on my radar a mere 17 miles away. 10 Bear is sort of the "master" aid station. It is certainly the biggest, but because it's visited twice, and once at the pacer-pick-up mile 70, it acts as a major milestone aid station. Getting to 10 Bear is a big check mark on the race "to-do" list. It is also close enough to the half-way point on the first pass through that it more or less acts like the half way point. Mentally, I think of the course as a three stage ultra. Stage 1 being the start to 10 Bear, State 2 being 10 Bear back to 10 bear (mile 70) where I pick up the pacer, and Stage 3 being the last 30 miles to the finish. The 2nd stage, 10 Bear to 10 Bear, is often considered the toughest stretch. It is the hottest part of the day, there are lots of climbs (including agony hill), some of the aid stations are 5 miles apart, and you just feel like you're doing a forced clover-leaf style loop. It can be rough. But...this was still a ways ahead for me...and for now, it was time to focus on the next 17. I made quick work of the Route 12 Aid and Vondell Reservoir stations and came down into the town of Woodstock VT where I crossed through another covered bridge. This time, the Lincoln covered bridge. On the other side, I checked my split, and again, I had gained a few minutes. By this point I was over 45 minutes improved on my 2009 time. I was starting to think to myself that pending some disaster, I should be able to at least maintain to get another sub-24 hour buckle. Although...I tried not to get too far ahead of myself, there was still over 60 miles to go. Four miles and some pleasant conversation later, I made my way down the hill to the Lillian's Aid Station. I vividly remember this station from 2009, as it was the station that I spent almost 15 minutes at....but not for the reasons you might think. In 2009, I really had to use the porta-potty, but someone was having some trouble in it. So I waited...and waited....and waited. Finally I used it and got on my way, but not before dropping 12 places and 15 minutes. This time I wasn't going to let that happen. With that said, however, my body decided after 43 miles, that it again needed to go. So here I was, at the same aid station, with the same problem. I did have some TP/Wipes with me if I had to make an emergency trail-side situation out of it, but that was certainly not preferred. When I pulled in to Lillian's, I quickly walked to the toilet, came around front and looked at the door....Dammit! In-use. AGAIN. I was not going to wait 15 minutes this time. I knocked and was told, "i'll be right out". I've heard that before. I went back to the table, ate some food and told myself I'd wait 3 minutes. After 2, the toilet freed up, and I made quick about it. Woo hoo....no 15 minute pit stop this time. I was back out on the course, only losing about 5 minutes this time. I felt 100% better, so it was totally worth it. A couple of miles down the course, I made my way up the hill to the unmanned Jenne Farm water stop and put some ice in my water bottle. I remembered this stop from 2009 as one of my favorite of the course....just something about it. Nice views. Less than 2 more short miles, I was finally making my way into 10 Bear, and into the big crowds. It was also my first official weigh in. I knew I would take a few minutes here, but wanted to keep it as close to 5 minutes as I could. One of the nice things about NOT having a crew, is that I don't spend much time at handler stations. Every time I leave a big aid station where runners' crews are allowed, I end up gaining several places in the races as other runners lollygag and deal with their support team. I just pop in, and pop out. The downside is that I have to carry a little more and prepare drop bags if I need them. Up to this point, I've left my drop bags alone. I made the mistake of NOT chugging my water before coming into the aid station. Every ultra runner knows that before a weigh in, chug water to bring the weight back up. I forgot to do this and so when I weighed in, I had dropped 4 lbs down to 145. They asked me how I was doing and told me they were going to keep a closer eye on me, but that I was free to continue. I knew I'd be all right. I quickly found my drop bag, chugged a warm ensure drink (yuck), chugged a warm gatorade (yuck), stopped to enjoy the fact that I was nearly half-way, and then started walking out. I briefly looked for my pacer Mark who had told me he may be volunteering at the station by noon, but I didn't see him.
-Race position at mile 47.2: 86th Place

Miles 47.2 - 70.1 (10 Bear to 10 Bear)
Leaving 10 Bear meant that Agony hill was just up ahead. This is a brutal climb at the hottest part of the day. To be honest, the 23 mile 10 bear loop was rather unremarkable. I did a lot of head-down shuffling, while trying not to notice the heat. Thankfully the humidity wasn't too bad, so the heat was bearable. I had found a great running partner, Mark (from Mass), who kept me company for over 15 miles of the 23. We just sort of plugged along, admiring the course through this section...thinking about how much closer our pacer pick-up was getting. When I crossed the 50 mile mark, I checked my time: 10 hours exactly. Perfect. If I ran the same time for my 2nd fifty as I did in '09, I would finish in 22:15. There were some highlights in this section for sure, like the Margaritaville aid Station, where they blast Jimmy Buffett music and grill burgers. There was the hill top water stop perched on Prospect Hill, and the long 5 mile stretch back into 10 Bear at the end. Coming in to the Tracer Brook Aid Station at mile 57 something rather unexpected happened. I checked my split time, and had come in 2 minutes slower than in 2009. I had noticed on the previous split (Birmingham) I had come in exactly on my split too. I had felt like I was running well, but this had me a little concerned that I was beginning to fade. It was the first time all day that I had lost time on a split. It was also a real kick in the pants to get back to focusing on the goal: Buckle and break 23:15. After Margaritaville, I made an assertive effort to stay strong and gain back those precious minutes. When I finally came down the hill back in to 10 Bear, I had gained back 5 minutes on the previous two splits and was feeling good about my race again. As I pulled in, I looked at my watch and it was 6:25 pm. I was over an hour ahead of my 2009 pace at this point (I pulled in at 7:30 in 2009). This was fantastic! Mark was there waiting for me, we grabbed our headlamp gear for later in the night, he eagerly filled my water bottle, and I walked over to the scale. This time I remembered to chug lots of water before my weigh in. I had also been eating a lot more at the stations and this time weighed in back at 147. Perfect! We said goodbye to Mark's wife and began the final leg of the race.
-Race position at mile 70.1: 68th Place

Miles 70.1 - 88.6 (10 Bear to Bill's)
The first thing that course does out of 10 Bear, after picking up your pacer, is climb. It's a nasty one too. I remember feeling bad for my pacer in 2009 as well. Here you are, mile 70, just picking up a fresh pacer, and you basically have to walk for over a mile. I told Mark that I would speed-hike (16min/mile), but not run this nasty hill. He was fine with that strategy. Mark had a great pacing attitude...very different than Chris back in '09. When I ran with Chris, I had a feeling as though he was passively pushing me to go harder. I'm not sure what you call that, but it was certainly effective. It was more of a coach-like feeling, and I felt compelled to run as I didn't want to disappoint him (in a sense). With Mark, he was more about me running my own race, giving me more of a feeling that I was calling the shots, BUT, all the while giving me huge confidence boosters. He was constantly telling me that I was doing great, or that he couldn't believe how strong I was doing, or that I should try to "pick off" the next runners. It was great. Running with Mark allowed me to truly believe in myself and my abilities. He also helped me a lot at stations by not letting me dawdle around and by running ahead to fill my bottle before the station. When we pulled into Seabrook at mile 74.7, I had gained 7 minutes on my split. I was feeling very confident and strong....and it was still light out! 3/4 of the race done, and less than a marathon to go. I kept thinking..."I got this!" At West Winds, Mile 77, I had gained another minute and was still doing ok. I spent a little too long waiting for a grilled cheese sandwich at this station though and was sluggish getting out. I finally did get going, but a couple minutes later than I had wanted. As we ran past the Goodmans unmanned water stop, the sun was finally setting and the headlamps were coming on. We had been passing several runners, but also leapfrogging several others over the last 10 miles. It was hard to tell if we were actually gaining any positions or not, but as long I was still running, I was content. At the Cow Shed station at mile 83.6, I had lost almost 2 minutes on my split. I wasn't too concerned this time though as no one had really passed me, and because I had spent at least 2 minutes too long at West Winds. We did our thing and headed out for the last long split...a 5 mile stretch to Bill's. Based on my '09 split time, I figured this stretch, while long, was very runable. After some beautiful early evening shuffling along on some remote Vermont roads and trails, we pulled into Bill's at mile 88.6. I looked at my split and began to panic. I had lost almost 4 minutes. Dammit. I was losing it. I calmly stopped for a minute, looked at Mark and said..."don't let me lose it now. Keep me going". I zipped into the barn, weighed in at 148lbs (good), and started looking over the food. This late in the race, none of the food looks appetizing. Mark said, "Grab something and let's go. You're lollygagging!" Yes....yes I was. I was grateful that Mark made that comment. I gritted my teeth, put on my mean face, and said, "bring it". We were off.
-Race position at mile 88.6: 53th Place

Miles 88.6 - 100 (Bill's to Finish)
Leaving Bill's I was on a mission. I would not lose any more time. I was still an hour ahead of my 2009 pace and a small hint of a thought began creeping into my head. That thought was, could I possibly break 22 hours? For the next 3.4 miles, I pushed hard. I had the thought of that damn 4 minute loss nagging at me. I was pissed off and motivated. I had finally began drinking the coke and mountain dew at the aid stations and so had some caffeine in me too. I had been forcing myself to avoid it all day, so that I could pound it over the last 12 miles and get a nice boost. It was working. After muscling it out to the Keating station at mile 92, and passing 4 people in the process, I checked my split again. I had gained 8 minutes! 8 damn minutes! Hell yeah. I was back, and now with only 8 miles to go. 8 miles...that's a one-block loop around State College. Mark and I methodically picked off 4 more runners on our way to Polly's at mile 95.5, the last full service aid station. Somewhere along this stretch is also where I think there was a lovely mile long meadow run that was so intimately lit up with green glow sticks. It was probably my favorite stretch of the entire course this year. Having a full moon overhead made it even more spectacular. I actually stopped at one point in this field just to take in where I was, what I had just done, and how close I was to finishing. It was one of the magical moments that come so rarely, but when they do, can touch right down to your soul. When we pulled into Polly's, I had gained another 2 minutes and knew that I was going to finish well under 23. But...could I break 22? It was going to be close. If I ran my split from 2009, I would finish somewhere around 21:58. Somewhere before the last water stop at mile 97.7, I made the decision that I was going to give it everything for the last 4 miles and break 22, with authority. None of this 21:59 crap. We picked up the pace. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt. I had energy. I felt good. It almost made me wonder, could I have run harder all day? I shouldn't have this much energy at the end of 100 miles. Well, I could ponder these thoughts forever, but at the moment I had one goal: break 22 hrs, and break it substantially. We got to Sargent's water stop at 97.7, one of my favorites, and I topped off my bottle. I knew I had just over 2 miles of nice trail left to go. I was going to do it. I was going to buckle again, I was going to PR, and I was looking to break 22. Then I took off, and I mean I took off. I ran, and I ran hard. Mark kept asking me how the hell I had energy to run so hard at mile 98. All I could say was that I could taste that finish. I saw the sign indicating "1 mile to go" and didn't even stop to admire. I just ran right past it. By this point I was actually gaining distance on Mark. He yelled up ahead and said, "Man, you're working me hard! Where are you finding this energy! Well, whatever it is....keep doing it and don't wait for me! Go Go Go!" The afterburners turned on and I was gone. On Friday night before the race I had walked up from the finish line a half-mile just to admire that last bit of course. Now, as I passed the "1/2 mile to go" sign, I recognized the trail from the previous night and knew exactly how far it was to the end. I kept checking behind me to make sure no one was coming up to pass me. In 2009, someone passed me in the last 1/2 mile. It was a bit aggravating and deflating. So far, I had only been passed by one person since mile 92, and I didn't see anyone behind me besides Mark. I knew I was golden.

I made the last turn and saw the 1 gallon glowing water jugs and knew I was coming down the final chute. That little annoying finish line dizziness was starting to creep in but I fought it away. Mark had sprinted to catch back up and we ran down the last bit of trail together. At the final turn I told him that I was sprinting all out, turned and sprinted towards the finish line up ahead and crossed under the glowing neon sign that read "Finish Line"

I had done it again. I finished the Vermont 100. This time, no intense foot pain, no passing out at the end, no oxygen jammed in my face, no medical tent. Just me, standing on the grass staring at my watch not believing that I gained 10 minutes on my last split and finished in 21 hrs, 48 minutes, 16 seconds.

I shook Mark's hand, thanked him immensely for the great pacing, made my way to the food tent, ate some hot ramen, drank a coke, and sat in the grass. It was awesome. I was ecstatic. What an absolutely perfect and wonderful day. When doubt crept in earlier as I was losing split times, I fought back and won. I know that I will have some bad races, and probably even some DNF's at some point....but not this day. This day, I had the race I'd been hoping for.
-Race Position at Finish: 46th Place

Official Results:
Time: 21:48:16 (A new 100-mile PR by over 1hr 25 mins)
Place: 46/197
Age Group (30-39): 22/50

Thanks to the race director for putting on such a great race, the volunteers for all of their smiling faces, motivational cheers, and hard work, and to Mark for being such a great pacer and running partner. Also, thanks to Chris and Joe for the great company both pre- and post-race...and for that celebratory beer. Mmmmmmm.

Some Stats:
After compiling my stats, I learned a couple of things. First off, I maintained or gained my position throughout the entire race (except a 2 person loss due to the porta-potty). This was very satisfying to know that I was not one of the people that gets passed by everyone at the end. Also, for the split that I lost the most time, I also had the lowest heart rate (111 bpm). This tells me that I simply got a little lazy over that stretch. I absolutely could have pushed myself harder, but was simply tired and needed a little motivation. Overall, I actually feel that I could have run the race harder and finished a little faster, but I am not going to think about the what-ifs. I'm thrilled to have done as well as I did, and have a fantastic new 100 mile PR. I gained 87 minutes over my previous time. My goal was to improve my overall race page by 1 minute. My race pace in 2009 was right about 14min/mile. My race pace this year was 13:04, so I did exactly what I set out to do. I finished the first 50 in 10hrs, the 2nd 50 in 11hrs 48mins (as compared to my 2009 times of, 11hrs and 12hrs 15mins). Two days later, I actually feel great. My legs are working fine, my foot is ok, my post-ultra nausea is ok, and my kidneys are normal. I may even go for a short run today!

some race stats

What's Next John?:

So the real big question. Looking at my "race schedule" in my sidebar, it seems pretty open until September when I'll return for my 3rd VT50. I have been very quiet on this blog about my post VT100 Summer plans. It turns out that I've actually had something planned for a long while, but haven't really talked about it. Without dancing around the point, I'll just come out with it. I am registered for, and will be running again, the Leadville Trail 100. That's right, in five weeks, I'll again be making my way towards another 1/2 Grand Slam. I had such a blast the last time in Leadville, that when I got back from Antarctica in February, I quickly signed up for it again before it filled. I haven't talked about it because I honestly wasn't sure I was going to do it. Not only have I decided to definitively do it again and go for another buckle there (and try to break my time of 29 hrs 11 minutes), but I will be making a very little vacation out of it. I can't wait to spend a few days playing in Colorado again and I'll have some good company coming with me to boot. YAY! So...Leadville......Here I come, again. Bring IT!

Some More VT100 Details:

Gear/Hydration Setup:

Shoes - Brooks Cascadia 5's

Shirt - Golite Ultralight C-thru shirt

Shorts - Patagonia Nine Trails

Socks - Vermont Darn Tough Merino Cush 1/4 Socks

Hat - Headsweats Cap

Bandana

Nathan Mutation X-Trainer belt (1 bottle) with modified added extra pocket for gear

(Extra Merino Shirt in Drop Bag)

(Extra Socks in Drop Bag)

Carried Supplies (Or in Drop Bags)

Aid Station List and Split Times with various calculations

Small sportslick balm jar

Extra nip-guards

2 bandaids

small roll of sports tape

some ibuprofin

small amount of TP

some ginger chews

Hammer Endurolytes

2 Clip-on Photon Micro Lights (Morning Dark Running and backup for night running)

Petzyl Myo Headlamp (Night-time Running)

Extra batteries

Food Carried/Drop Bags

Larabars

Honey Stinger and Hammer Gels

Dates

Nathan's PB Packets

Bananas

Ensure Drinks (Chocolate)

Food Eaten at Stations

PB and J sandwiches

Salty Chips

Gummy bears

Lots of Fruit

Heed Drink

Milky Way Candies

Twizzlers

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Ramen Soup

Heart-Rate Info
Total Calories: ~12,500
Avg Heart Rate: ~130 bpm
Max Heart Rate: ~158 bpm
Highest AVG Heart Rate Split: ~139 bpm
Lowest AVG Heart Rate Split: ~111 bpm

Some Pics

My lonely tent in tent-city

One of the "other" 100-milers

The event tent

The weigh in

The Starting Line

Awesome Pasta Dinner

Hanging out at the finish line cheering on the last of the finishers.

Not quite sure how I was even able to stand at this point

1 Official Race Photo

More "Official" Race Photos Coming Soon...

Vermont 100 Quick Result Update - 21hrs 48 mins

2011-07-17T15:57:00.009-04:00

Vermont 100 Quick Result
Originally uploaded by John 'Lakewood' Fegyveresi

As was made famous by the movie "Princess Bride" - lets go for the short-short version:

-I'm alive.

-The event was a huge success: great people, great staff, awesome volunteers.

-I finished my second running of the VT100 in 21 hrs 48 mins, beating my old time by an hour and a half. I don't know any stats yet.

-The race went well overall...no major issues or blowouts.

-Full report to follow in a day or so

-I'm quite literally falling asleep at a highway rest-stop somewhere in ny.....

Vermont 100 Final Prep and Packing

2011-07-13T23:52:00.001-04:00

Getting gear ready for both running and camping

It's game time. I'm done running for the week, my body is happily resting, and my focus has shifted to logistics. Running a hundred miler is a different type of beast altogether when compared to other distances (even 50 milers), and presents all sorts of new challenges. Lots of things can change over the course of 100 miles, but you obviously don't want to carry everything. Pacers are not allowed to mule for runners in Vermont, so anything I want....I have to carry. Luckily, there are drop bags allowed at various points throughout the race. This is where good logistics planning comes in. It turns out that one particular station in this race, "Camp 10 Bear", is visited twice: Once at mile 47, and once at mile 70. This means if I send a full bag of spare clothes, shoes, hydration options, and a headlamp...I will be able to potentially swap out gear two different times. This is an enormous burden off of my back. In a sense, I can prepare for a 50 miler, and send a big bag of extras to 10 Bear. In 2009, this strategy actually kept me from dropping out of the race. After about mile 25, my left foot started hurting very badly as the shoes I was wearing were causing me some problems. I had sent more supportive shoes to 10 Bear and swapped them out at mile 47. My foot felt much better for the rest of the race...and I was able to finish. The drop bags also mean that I can send my favourite bars, gels, and goodies up ahead and only need to carry enough to cover me for 10-15 miles.

Another added twist to all of this is the camping, and the 8 hour road-trip. I have to remember little things like air mats, jugs of water, baby wipes, camp soap, etc. I just spent the past two hours or so making sure everything is in order. Now, I get to patiently wait until Friday when I'll be en route up to VT for another fun race. I've also picked up some more local Otto's brew for my pacer. Hopefully we will be toasting at the finish line!

Some Drop Bags

Can't wait till this weekend! They are predicting temps in the mid-80's, so it's going to be hot, muggy, and a wild time. Woo hoo....here we go.

On a completely random side note,

I received an email from the Columbia Sportswear Field Testing division. They found me through this blog and asked if I'd be willing to field test (and keep) a piece of their gear under the agreement that I'd then give it an honest review and write-up both on a survey form and on this blog. I said...Sure! Why not?! The gear they sent me is the Titanium Omni-Dry Peak Jacket. It's a really nice breathable, waterproof shell that is supposed to perform well in all kinds of conditions. I haven't had a chance to truly test it yet (I got it after I got back from Colorado), but hope to get it out a lot later this summer, and in Antarctica. You can read about the features here:

Peak 2 Peak Jacket from Columbia

The new jacket