The Westward Adventure: Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim

While planning the westward road trip, I knew I wanted to spend some time running in the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness and visiting friends in SoCal. A week or two before defending, it occurred to me that I would also be passing close to Grand Canyon National Park. What do trail runners do in the Grand Canyon? Well, they like to run from one rim to the other. Or, if one is feeling especially adventurous and energetic, one might then return back the way he or she came and return to the other rim. This nifty trek is aptly named the "Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim." Many many ultra runners do this run every year and I figured this was as good a time as any to add my effort to the thousands and thousands of miles logged by my running brethren. After all, how often will I be passing through northern Arizona?

Before I recount the details of this particular adventure, I should also note that I did a couple runs on the way, while passing through Utah. I did a short jaunt in Arches National Park (this was a crowded, crowded place) followed by a 13 mile run in Canyonlands in the Needles District. Canyonlands was AWESOME. Very few people and the desert was spectacular. Running through canyons and washes amid beautiful spires and other stunning geological relics was something else entirely. I will certainly go back to this place and explore it more. There are a lot of trails and plenty of cacti to stub my toe on (yes, I did this and it was pretty hilarious in hindsight). But back to the Grand Canyon.

I brought my cell along and took a lot of pictures and video while running in the Canyon so I will post some of those here and try not to drown you, my dear friend, in details that even I don't care a whole lot about. I'll end the post with some data that might interest someone who is interested in doing this awesome, fun, and eminently doable running adventure.

I arrived in Grand Canyon Village the night before the run and stayed with Joelle, a ranger in the canyon and good friend from the glory days of Hoofer Outing Club adventures at UW, and her three splendid housemates. They made so much pizza and I ate so much of it. Fuel was not going to be a problem on this run. Joelle and her colleague Emily also spent a few minutes PSAR-ing me. Preventative Search And Rescue. If you see someone doing something dumb, you can prevent a future search and rescue operation by convincing them not to do it. I was not convinced but I think they had some faith that I wasn't completely full of sh*t and more or less capable of finishing this run. So 4am the next morning rolls around and I found myself walking from their house to the Bright Angel Trailhead on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Here the adventure begins.

Grand Canyon Bright Angel Trailhead: The Beginning

After leaving in the dark, I ran at a very relaxed pace down into the canyon. On the way I used a privy near Indian Garden Campground... while leaving the privy, I was distracted by a sign. While reading it, I walked backwards and tripped on a rock. And fell on my ass. This was my only fall of the day. Down to the river in 1:50.

Sunrise on the Colorado River

OK, 9.5 miles and about 4500 feet of elevation loss from Bright Angel Trailhead down to the Colorado River. 14.5 miles and 5500 feet of elevation gain up to the North Rim. Get some food inside me and time to go. The first 7 or 8 miles past Phantom Ranch towards Cottonwood Campground only rise about 1500 feet or so meaning the entire distance is super runable. Up through the Box in the rising sun I went. Through Cottonwood and on towards Roaring Springs.

Heading towards the North Rim along N. Kaibob

Roaring Springs is cool. As I learned from many signs in the Canyon, the water supply for the park, its many visitors and its several hundred full-time residents comes not from the Colorado River but from Roaring Springs. They pipe the water down underneath the N. Kaibob Trail and up to Indian Gardens under gravity and then actively pump it the rest of the way to the South Rim. Super cool! About this time the sun is up and I can finally start seeing where I am running. And let me tell you, the Grand Canyon will steal your breath away. Unreal. The colors are just stunning. Millions of years of geological history uncovered in the mile deep canyon make for some scenes that are a challenge to wrap one's mind around. So I didn't bother. Rather, I just loved every second of it. So much so that I hardly noticed the uphill slog to the North Rim. While the first 7 miles of the N. Kaibob trail ascend 1500 feet or so, the last 7 miles ascend about 4000 feet. Not so bad for the most part but the last few miles are particularly steep. All hiking here. But, after about six hours even, I made the North Rim! Halfway there!

The North Rim!

So now the real run begins. For me anyway. After the first 24 miles or so I was pretty tired but not too bad as I had been taking it pretty slow. The first 14.5 miles of the return trip are all downhill back to the Colorado so I was looking forward to the gravity assist. And very excited to be running into the Canyon rather than away from it. Running uphill requires one turn around every now and then for the epic views. Running downhill means its all in front of you all the time. This was gonna be good :)

Heading back down into the Canyon along N. Kaibob

Running downhill has its issues. Sure, gravity is now helping you along but the toll on your body can be great. The impact on your legs is somewhat greater and stability muscles do a lot of work to keep you upright as you cruise along, especially on trail. And your quads... those big muscles take a beating from the loading they experience when running downhill. So, a 5500 foot descent over 14.5 miles ends up being less fun than it sounded at the top. But, still fun nonetheless :)

Running downhill in the Canyon! Sorry the picture sucks... my phone doesn't do action terribly well I guess.

As one approaches the bottom of the Canyon, you arrive in the Box. This is a box canyon with nearly vertical walls and is famous for its challenging conditions. Runners fear this area on sunny days as it can routinely be 15 degrees warmer here than in the rest of the Canyon. On this day, the forecast was 100 F so it was entirely possible that, at this stage of the afternoon, the Box might be well over 110 F. But Lady Luck smiled upon me. Clouds obscured the sun and, of all things, a cool breeze started blowing up the Canyon. The Box was, for me, a pleasant 80-something degrees. Some people get all the luck and, right now, that's me!

Running the Box. This place is seriously cool. I mean this in the various ways one can mean it.

So the Box behind me, I reached the Colorado for the second time. About 38 miles or so down, just under ten to go. 4500 feet of climbing to go with it. Now, at this point I was very tired. The energy I felt near the North Rim was used up almost in its entirety with the long downhill. I will always respect downhills from now on as they can exact a toll that I was not entirely prepared for. So, after a long break at Bright Angel campground, I began to make my way up the Canyon. I hiked every step of the way. For three reasons. 1) I was tired. 2) I had a race in less than a week and a half and I saw no reason to kill myself on this fun, awesome run and put that race in jeopardy. 3) Oh My God the Grand Canyon is beautiful and this is especially apparent from the trails heading up the South Rim. I spent so much time just turning around and looking at the Canyon. These were views that I missed in the darkness of the initial descent that morning. And they took my breath away. I'd normally wax poetic about some profound thought that passed through my mind at this point. But I had no thoughts. That place wiped my mind clean and, for that, I will be eternally grateful. It is rare that such a sense of peace and smallness can put one at complete ease, satisfied with the inconsequential space we occupy in a place so vast and beautiful as the Grand Canyon. I will let some images supply the description.

Approaching the South Rim.

Arriving at the South Rim.

No clue how to sum this up. Running the Grand Canyon was possibly the most epic run I have ever done. And you should do it too. 13 hours 20-something minutes was how long it took and eventually I will go back and run it for time as it is a really intense and awesome challenge.

I'd like to thank Joelle and her house for their hospitality and kindness. You guys are the proverbial bomb :)

Ran from Bright Angel Trailhead at South Rim to N. Kaibob Trailhead at North Rim and back the same way. Water was running everywhere in the canyon so no issues there and no need to filter. Ate a number of gels and two nutella, peanut butter, and granola wraps. Also ate some shotblocs. No electrolyte drink but did have some endurolyte tabs. Ran in shorts and shirt sleeves all day. Hat and bandanna kept the sun at bay. Weather was cool and cloudy for most of the afternoon. Morning was warm and sunny. Never got above 90 as far as I could tell.  Shoes were Inov8 flite 195s. The sole on these was a little thin and rockier sections of trail were sub-optimal. But these popular trails are not technical for the most part so I'd use these shoes again over something heavier. Carried all food and a few emergency things like a map in a Nathan Hydration pack (from which I removed the bladder after the messy water incident in CO. Hydration was taken care of by Ultimate Direction bottles (the kind everyone uses). 48 miles total, some solid breaks added in for good measure... this was vacation, after all!

OK, I hope this gives at least ONE person the bug to go run in the Grand Canyon. Its a special place (understatement). It will touch you were you have never been touched before (profound and oh so creepy).

Peace, world.

The Westward Adventure: Epic Mount Zirkel Trek!

Sunday, September 1, 2013. Three days of acclimating to 10000+ feet elevation have passed. Mount Zirkel lies 18 miles north of my camp at Luna Lake, perched atop the Continental Divide. The time is 5:15 am, and it is time to go.

I want to make it to the Divide in time for sunrise so I leave in the dark, armed with a headlamp, two water bottles, and a pack filled with calories and a few emergency supplies I have convinced myself will be worth carting over 36 miles. There is also a full water bladder in this pack too. This will be important later.

The previous three days, I have started the day with a time trial up to the Divide. Just to see how my fitness is improving (or not) as the days pass. Today is a long day so I take it easy and walk most of the way up to the Divide. The sky begins to light up as I approach the Wyoming Trail along the Divide, promising a stunning sunrise, the reward for my restless sleep and early rising. Sure enough... the sun does not disappoint (as Sol rarely does).

Sunrise at 12000 feet.

I continue along the Divide, heading toward the Lost Ranger, a 12000+ peak and, upon cresting the thing, I see my object on the horizon, dimly lit by the rising run, Mount Zirkel, flanked by the ever-so-slightly-shorter Big Agnes. Mount Zirkel is the namesake of this Wilderness and rightly so: it commands the Wilderness and the respect of those who wish to gain its summit.

My first glimpse of Mt. Zirkel.

So I run. I run downhill and I walk uphill what with my oxygen problem up at this altitude. The water on my back pisses me off though. Sloshing around, being all heavy and whatnot. Then I notice I am sweating. A lot. From my butt. This is strange as I have yet to sweat noticeably all week. It's so dry and the sun is so intense up here that sweat evaporates before you even notice its there. So why is my ass soaking wet? Damn water bladder broke! The junction between the hose and the bladder itself broke and now the contents are leaking down by backside. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise though? I hate that thing back there and now I have no choice but to empty it out.

And now I feel a million times better! My pack is several pounds lighter, it sits stably on my back, and my butt is refreshed. Onward! After traversing some surprising and beautiful high alpine meadows, the trail descends several thousand feet to about 9500' before the long ascent toward Mt. Zirkel commences. This is great, actually. At 9500' I can run! Uphill! Not a steep hill, mind you, but an uphill incline nonetheless. For the first time in four days, I am able to make about 12 minutes per mile on something other than flat or downhill terrain. Thank you Oxygen! But, the uphill incline is accompanied by a monotonic increase in elevation, as will happen in these things. So eventually I am reduced to sucking air and power walking. But this is also great! Because I am in the mountains!!! I came here to do this and now I am doing this and it's marvelous and wonderful and happy.

After an hour or so making tracks up toward the approach to My Zirkel, I find myself in a high Alpine meadow under the unwavering gaze of these high peaks. I think they are laughing at me and my pitiful attempt to scale them via "running." Anyway, see for yourself, it was a rather moving sight.

Alpine Meadow Approaching Mt. Zirkel

The approach up Mt. Zirkel is a series of long switchbacks up a barren slope into a pass in which the dirt is red. It's name is "Red Dirt Pass." Clever. From here the trail goes straight up several hundred feet onto a flat ridge that runs to the summit. I am always amazed by the boulder fields one often finds atop mountains... makes for slow going but damn its fascinating stuff! Anyway, I figure out which bumpity bump atop the mountain is the actual summit, pass some folks who like my bright yellow shorts, and find myself atop Mt. Zirkel.

And then I cry. For like a minute. This is the first time I actually realize that the past is past and that all I have left is the future. This is a stupid simple concept but I suppose it had yet to occur to me that I am in fact leaving Madison and going west. That I will no longer see the people I am closest to on a daily basis. But then of course, this is OK! Change is good and the future is a terribly exciting place where anything can and will happen. So I spend a few minutes atop Mt. Zirkel, think about all the people who have helped me get where I am today, the people I wish wish were with me right now, and eat a peanut butter-nutella-granola wrap. After sufficient pondering and reminiscing I take my leave from this amazing place and start working my way down the boulders and off the mountain.

Atop Mt. Zirkel. It's been a long exciting road to get here and a long exciting road onwards from here :)

The trip back is just a slog in terms of running. 18 miles back down off Zirkel, back up to the high meadows north of Lost Ranger, a tangle with a little bit of lightning atop Lost Ranger and, finally the long slow descent back into Luna Lake. I'd say more about this second half of the run but I was so overwhelmed atop Zirkel, so flooded with emotion once I realized just where I was and what was going on in my life, that I have so little to say about the second half. Except this: once I got the little bit of sadness out of my system, I was so filled with optimism and happiness about where I can go from here that I hardly recall what went through my mind for the next five hours or so. All I recall is a feeling that things aren't just going to be all right, they are going to be great. And not just for me but for all of us. So much lies out of our control but we can influence things just enough, I think, to always steer our lives toward excitement and happiness. Freakin' sweet!

OK, 36 miles down, about 8500 ft of elevation gain to go with it. All between 9500' and 12500'. A nice little cry in the middle to round it all out ha. Total time? Who even cares? I did this for fun, not for fast. But, for those who like to keep score (me a tiny bit), about 10 hours and 18 minutes on the move. Not a bad way to spend a day! After ending the day with a freezing dip in the lake, all I can do is sit, eat, drink, and contemplate the run and the events of the past 6 years. What a run it has been, literally and figuratively! I think the video atop Mt. Zirkel says it all - where would I be without my friends and family? I'd rather not even contemplate that. I am so grateful for all of you over all these years. And I cannot wait to share many more experiences with you all over all the years to come.

Now, go for a run or a hike in some mountains. Perhaps you cannot always move them but, I can assure you, they will move you.

Peace world :)

Running in Mount Zirkel Wilderness

So running adventure number one. Mount Zirkel Wilderness near Steamboat Spring, CO. I dropped off some belongings that didn't want to be in the sun very much with new friend MJ in Fort Collins and headed west into the mountains. Four hours later found me driving into Buffalo Pass along a pretty sweet forest service road in my AWESOME new car that I love to own and drive places in a TON. Buffalo pass is where the Wyoming Trail (coincides with the CDT at this point) passes through a nice high, accessible trailhead with parking and many other amenities like a pit toilet. Which is an important amenity. Left the car, hoisted my pack and, for the first time in several years, headed into the wilderness for a five night/four day adventure.

Armed, in hindsight, with a somewhat misplaced sense of self-confidence I hiked 8.7 miles into the backcountry to Lake Luna, a beautiful alpine like sitting at 10500 feet. This is the same lake that Jesse, Steve, Christa, several other Hoofers, and I visited back in 2010 on a whirlwind Colorado hiking weekend. I recall its stunning beauty then and I was not disappointed this year either.

I arrived in an evening drizzle as the sun set, set up a temporary campsite (my intended site was occupied when I got there... this is what happens when you arrive stylishly late to the backcountry mountain party) and spent the first of five nights in this majestic place.

Final campsite for the week! This site is just north of the east end of Lake Luna

up on a little hill above the lake.

The next morning featured a late wakeup (I'm on vacation here!!), moving my camp to the place I wanted to be after the forest service trail workers who had been staying there left, and heading off on the first run. Oy. Running at 10500-12000 feet is hard. There is no oxygen. None. Zero. I was breathing like a fat kid at the slightest aerobic provocation. And when the trail went uphill, which it does immediately from my camp on all the trails I wanted to run, I swear I felt like I had just sprinted a 200 on the track -- that anaerobic, lactic acid feeling in your quads that suggests you have very recently demanded more oxygen for the effort than was available at the time. It was challenging. My first run up to the Continental Divide (so cool to run on the Divide!!) was 1.9 miles uphill and took me over 30 minutes. Once I was up there was not much better... for the duration of the trip I think I only ran a handful of miles that resulted in a pace less than 12 minutes per mile. Remind me that, should I ever run Leadville, I need to take at least a full week and live/run at 10000 feet because even four days of intense running at this altitude was not quite enough to render me able to perform up there. Here, "perform" means "be able to actually run in a manner the average person would recognize as 'running.'"

But, these technical, ability, and acclimation issues aside, the runs took place in the most majestic arena imaginable. The views from atop the Divide were simply stunning.

Looking back on Lake Luna from about 1000 feet of elevation higher.

Many trails were lovely dirt singletrack while others were much more technical.

Great variety to keep every run interesting.

My running schedule for the week ended up looking as follows (along with some random notes I made regarding the runs while I was out there):

Thursday 8/29

AM: 6.2 miles 1120 ft in 1:20:58 (31:22 to the Divide and 23:26 back down [1.9 miles])

PM: 8 miles 1920 ft in 1:47:43 (yarrrr...)

Friday 8/30

AM: 12.6 miles 2640 ft in 2:54:46 (30:22 to Divide and 24ish back down; legs dead at the end but two super hot CDT thru hikers)

PM: 7.4 miles 1600 ft in 1:29:02 (descended from Divide in 19:30 motivated by thunder; 1.8 miles flat at the end with last 0.9 in 5:42, though I think this mileage is a tiny bit suspect; met a huge porcupine on this run)

Saturday 8/31

AM: 19.6 miles 4320 ft in 4:27:51 (30:57 up to the Divide; ran back to car to get a different day pack for long run tomorrow! had to walk a lot but made good time from Luna Lake trail to Buffalo Pass, 7 miles in ~1:22; along Wyoming trail and back again; met lots of cool people who think I should come back for Run Rabbit Run)

Sunday 9/1

Epic run... 36 miles with about 8500 feet of elevation gain. There will be a separate post describing this run.

So a grand total of just about 90 miles in 4 days. Super exhausting but moving. Moving in the sense that I was basically overcome by intense wonder and happiness ALL THE TIME. Except for some of the climbs... they were hard. To conclude, amazing trip, lots of running albeit slowly, and a great opportunity to engage in a great deal of soul searching and hard running. Vacation is the best :)

Wyoming trail was great for running :) 

The Continental Divide is amazing :) 

 My little beach for swimming with or without clothes.

Afternoon thunderstorms often chased me off the Divide.

The granddaddy of all porcupines.

Post-run trip to New Belgium in Fort Collins and some great recovery nutrition!

Look back in a day or two for a more specific post on the 36 miler to Mount Zirkel and back! And for a Grand Canyon adventure! And, eventually, hopefully (foot willing... more on this later), Pine to Palm 100 miler.

Peace, world :)

Fort Collins and Westward

I have not posted in a long time. The past few weeks have been dizzyingly exciting and busy and have featured completing my dissertation, successfully defending it (Dr. Gordon Freeman??), going away party/EP release party, about a dozen gigs with No Name and Riptide, bidding Madison farewell, spending a week in CT where I bought a car and spent wonderful time with my entire family... and now a whirlwind road trip across the country in which I have spent time in wonderful places with wonderful people. Stops in Bethlehem, PA, Philadelphia, PA, and now Fort Collins. I also spent five days in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness near Steamboat Springs in there as well which featured a great deal of running at 10000+ feet. I will hopefully have time to post again in the next day or two as these running adventures are the real focus of this road trip as I make my west towards a new life in Portland, OR!

OK back to the road. Check back soon for some epic mountain running adventures! Today I head to Moab for some runs in that area and then tomorrow night to Grand Canyon for a.... rim-to-rim-to-rim run on Thursday!!!

It's a wonderful life indeed :)

PS Snooze for breakfast and Larkburger for lunch?? I Love CO!

The rollercoaster

The last few weeks have been intense, to say the least. The last I posted, everything in the world was right as rain and only looking up. Well, as far as I can tell, that is still the case! But things go up and down faster than I can keep track and I have so much emotionally invested in so many things at the moment that my feeble mind has trouble keeping up from hour to hour.

On Friday July 26th, we got a rejection notice from PNAS. An editor took a look at our paper and decided he or she didn't like it. Or, rather, that he or she didn't think it warranted consideration for PNAS. This was frustrating as PNAS publishes a lot of articles and, depending on the editor, utter garbage gets through along with the really great articles that define the journal. I am not trying to suggesting that our paper was garbage but I do think it was both good enough and impactful enough to at least go to peer review. One unlucky editor draw later and here we are. We decided a giant F*ck You was in order so we are revising the manuscript and sending it to Nature Physics instead. Nothing like upping the ante and resubmitting to a Nature journal. Besides, cutting out more than half the words to make it fit the guidelines for Nat Phys has forced us to make our story more concise and the message, and its importance, easier to distill. So maybe the PNAS rejection was both warranted and a good outcome. We'll see.

Then on Monday, July 29th, I finished my dissertation and got it turned in to my committee!!! This was a big deal. And, for me, a moment of mixed emotions. Once I submitted my dissertation, all I could think was a mix of, "Oh My God, it's finally done," and "Oh My God, did I do enough?" I never thought I would experience postpartum depression but here we are.

What about running? Isn't this blog supposed to focus on running? My man, your work-life balance is all upended and work is coming out solidly ahead: what gives? Well the past few days I am trying to get back on the horse. Because I am registered for Pine to Palm 100 miler in the Siskiyou Mountains of southern OR on September 14th! So I need to get my fitness back as soon as possible and then work on improving it. The average elevation gain is approximately 50% more than Devil's Lake 50M three weeks ago and the distance is twice as much. Note to self: treat with respect.

The past five days then:
Tuesday: speed work with Tom Kaufman and gang - 3.5 mile warmup, 3x1600m (5:18, :17, :18) with 4:00 rest, 3 mile cool down
Wednesday: off (busy day and last concert on the square!)
Thursday: 5.6 miles at 7:18 (busy day, little time to fit run in)
Friday: 12.6 miles at 7:30
Saturday: 19.1 miles at 8:44 (this was supposed to be slow; not this slow, but slow)

Moving forward, I am focusing on hill work and long runs. And making sure I get speed and tempo runs in every week to keep my fitness and speed up.

More to come soon. There is a lot more happening in my rollercoaster life right now than just a lot of work and a few runs... music and musical friends are providing me with an amazing sendoff. Not just the going away show on the 14th, but 10 gigs in my last 14 days in Madison! And then all the other issues attending moving. Like... moving. Anyway, it is time to start thinking about my defense talk. And dinner. Maybe another long run tomorrow (shock and awe training regimen!) followed by a set the stringband is playing at a music festival out in Mineral Point, WI! Should be a good day!

Peace, world :)

How did I ever get so lucky?

Things are heating up. I got some work done on my dissertation over the weekend. But two big things also happened in the past few days.

On Friday evening I submitted the manuscript I have been working on FOR YEARS to PNAS (the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, no big deal). I messed up the submission a little bit but the editorial office emailed us Monday morning and I got it fixed up and it has subsequently been sent to whatever editor will handle it for the review process. I hope it goes well... it may not even get to the review stage if the editor feels it lacks the import to warrant consideration for PNAS. But I think the science is good, timely, and could be published anywhere. Maybe that is too high an opinion of my own work but if I don't think that highly of it, whatever is a reviewer going to think?

Then on Monday, I got in the car with Matt Manske, picked up some food, some beer, some whisky, and headed out a little farm near Mount Horeb, WI. Waiting for us there was the rest of the No Name String Band: Brian Zimmerman (vocals and banjo), Kelley Rolak (vocals and fiddle), Jeff Weiss (bass), and Josh Pultorak (percussion). Manske busted out his guitar and I my fiddle and Bear had the recording equipment ready to rock and roll. Over the next 24 hours, we lived a dream. 25 tracks down for our first album as a band. Along with some of the best camaraderie imaginable. I had ambitions of working on my dissertation during breaks in recording but those were quickly lost in a whirlwind of music and Bulleit and instead I focused on savoring the experience, an experience made all the more amazing by the most impressive thunderstorm I have ever witnessed, some exceptionally dank pizza and growlers from the Grumpy Troll, and did I mention the great comradeship and music?

August 14th, we have booked the High Noon Saloon here in Madison for a going away party I had only conceived in my dreams prior to this past week. Four bands on the bill, all of them I have played with at some point or another during my time in Madison. August 14th is the date all the leases in Madison expire so we are billing it as a "Move Out Bash." But wait.. there's more! We also anticipate most, or all, of the production work on the album will be done by then so its the "Move Out Bash and CD Release Party!" This is going to be so freakin' awesome. Defend August 12, pack all my stuff, epic music party at the High Noon on the 14th, then I can make my way back east for a week or two - I do believe I have some business to attend to out that way before the big move to the west coast.

I may have a great deal of loose ends to tie up here in Madison but the outlook for the future is so incredibly bright and happy that I can hardly contain myself. It is hard to focus on my dissertation when I know that I am oh so close to everything I have been working towards these past few years.

But, first things first. Write dissertation; write new paper on side project that took off last week; make a defense talk that will leave my committee speechless in all the right ways; ENJOY THE LAST FEW WEEKS IN THE GREATEST PLACE I HAVE EVER LIVED! That last one is big. Tonight is an all night writing night, but my reward tomorrow is the second to last concert on the square. I think it is going to be Old-Fashioned night for us.

Peace, world. I hope all the people I know and love are driven by whatever makes them happy. And willing to take risks, to make themselves vulnerable in whatever way is necessary for the world and the people in to have the chance to touch them and make their lives that much more wonderful.

Training notes: HA no time to run recently. And with a lack of sleep, I also lack the energy I need to train at a level that I need to. 30 miles in last week. Super underwhelming. That changes now... I am registered for Pine to Palm 100 miler in Sept. in OR so gotta get in mad shape for that. Gotta break this 4th place finish trend. Check back in a week or so for what, I hope, is a solid training regimen that fits in with the whole graduation schedule. Yes I said it... graduation :)

As we approach the end of an era, we must always remind ourselves to not over-muddle the mint

Yesterday was a Wednesday, group meeting day in the de Pablo research group. For six years, I have been attending and giving group meetings on Wednesdays at noon. Yesterday I gave my very last group meeting ever. It will not be the last time I present for them as I must still practice my defense and then actually defend but... I will never give the entire group an update on my research progress ever again. I'm not sure if I wanted to cry or shout so... I went to concert on the square and drank mojitos instead as this seemed the appropriate compromise. Who has time for that? The guy who spent all the previous night drinking coffee doing science does. Which brings me to my next point.

I do not like working on my dissertation. So I will make myself suffer until it is finished. Which it must be by July 29th. I will stay up every other night with no sleep until it is done. Working, of course. This will be both miserable and, I hope, productive. Who knows maybe I only need one or two of these intense, focused, all-night work sessions to bang out what's left? Or maybe it will go down to the wire.

I figure I'll be fine so long as I remind myself of Dr. Dan's suggestion, "Engage Gordo monster-mode!" He also said, "Modelers are the great satan."

Thanks, Dan :)

Race Report: Dances with Dirt Devil's Lake 50M

"Is he a closer?" "Um... well... not really."

This describes the day pretty well. This race was, by far, my best performance in an ultra on a tough course. Kind of. The day started at 4am with Jesse and I leaving Madison to head up to Devil's Head for the 50M start at 5:30am. Checked in, dropped off drop bag, found Keith (who would be my crew for the day), did a stretch (I think I put my arm straight up and reached reaaallll high and called it quits because stretching is challenging and stupid), lined up with other 50k and 50M runners and then... go time.

I tried to prepare very well for this race. My training the past 6 weeks has been at a level I have never previously achieved and it showed. This 50 miler boasts seven big climbs, where I define "big" to mean more than 10 minutes of steady elevation gain. The only other race I have ever run with big climbs was HURL Elkhorn 50k out in Helena MT. This course has smaller climbs, but more of them, with a total elevation gain of about 7500 ft. The ultra courses begin with about 900 ft of climbing up some ski hills near the start/finish area including some off-trail bushwhacking just to make things interesting and, I imagine, to ensure everyone runs the next 45 miles on a pair of legs that raced up these big hills on the early race fast-paced high that we all fall prey to. I was no exception in this regard: first 4.5 miles on a big climb in 38 minutes - about an 8:30 pace. This is quicker than I had any business running, even with a goal time of 7:10. Oh yeah, I wanted to run somewhere around 7:10-7:20. Ambitious considering my PR at 50M is 7:47 on a much flatter course... but what's the point of doing this stuff if not to have fun setting big goals and training/racing as hard as I can to meet them?

Anyway, off to a fast start, running around 4th. The climb out of Parfrey's Glen into Devil's Lake State Park took me 19.5 minutes from the trailhead to the mileage sign near Slocum Lane so still cruising. And this continues through mile 25. I continue to hold 4th place throughout the first half of the race and run a 3:35 25 mile split. So far I am feeling good, strong, and able to run every step of the race including each and every climb, big or small. Shaping up to be a banner day! I hit a marathon split somewhere around 3:45 (the winning marathon time in that race was 4:09... and there were three guys in front of me as well so that gives you an idea of how solid the 50M field was this year!) and a 50k split of something like 4:30ish. So far a very similar pace to KM 100km race six weeks ago but, on much more challenging terrain with big climbs so I was having a good day. I was starting to lose the pace a bit at this point with climbing splits (the only ones I paid a lot of attention to) about 20 seconds per mile slower than the first loop on this part of the course. This was expected and within the race plan I made. However, coming down off the bluffs into the "Bug Pit" aid station, I SMASHED my left foot. I had already banged it up three times earlier in the race and dealt with the all-to-familiar toe pain that goes with it but this one was bad: had to walk for about a minute or so. This did not bode super awesomely as it was indicative of the fatigue I was starting to feel from pounding up and down all the hills.

Anyway, at this point in the race I started to slow down noticeably. After the second trip through Bug Pit (where Keith was a champ for me all morning!!), the eventual winner passed me. The dude (Garrett Peltonen) was cruising. He ended up passing me and three other guys to finish first. I gotta learn to race like him. So now running 5th. Was still able to run back up the bluff though this time dropped a full minute compared to the earlier loop. But still moving well through mile 40 and back down towards Parfrey's Glen. This is where I bonked. I think at this point I was running around 10 minute miles, still moving, but it was a monumental effort to put one foot in front of the other. From the mileage sign in the woods to Parfrey's Glen trailhead, all downhill, took me about 21 minutes. Compared to 19.5 minutes running up the hill earlier in the morning. Oof. But the real crisis was still ahead.

The race directors always have the 50 milers do one more trip up the ski hills at the end of the race, just to make sure no one complains that the course doesn't climb quite enough. And before you head up the ski hills, you run right past the finish line. This, for me, created an immediate motivational crisis. Knowing how hard the climb is from having done it just 7 hours earlier and knowing how physically close I am to the finish line... these are two simultaneous feelings I don't love a ton. However, years of hard training and racing have armed me with the never failing strategy of ultrarunning: when you are at the end of your rope, all the energy is gone, the fun has been replaced by suffering, and that last section of course looms like a demon... put one foot in front of the other and don't stop. I was dizzy from the heat that had decided to make an appearance after a cool, fast morning and I wanted desperately to close my eyes and rest but I told myself, "that's sh*t for the finish line and you aren't there yet so keep it movin'." I had to walk more than a few times and found myself leaning on a tree at one point. I think I almost ran into a tree too. Those miles were hazy, slow, and a challenge (48 min. split for the section versus 38 min. earlier in the morning). But I envisioned the finish line, how amazing it would feel to be done, to be able to rest and know my work for the day was done, and I was able to keep moving.

I had a number of goals today. The 7:10 goal was an ambitious reach. A more realistic goal was 7:30 and one I thought I could nail. The last goal was sub-7:44. 7:44 was the course record previous to this year. As I came down the ski hills, running as hard as my thrashed legs would go, I despaired about this last goal that was still just within my reach. But still I ran hard. If only to get to the finish and be done with the thing. But I emerged from the woods with the finish in sight and the watch read 7:42:30. I ran the last few hundred meters as hard as I could and crossed in 7:43:28, less than a minute under this last goal. I crossed the line, spiked my water bottle in what is becoming a bizarre tradition fueled by intense relief and exuberance, and abandoned myself to my good friends and crew.

When all was said and done, I hit one key goal I have every race: I left everything on the course. I ran every hill as hard as I could, every flat section as consistently as I could, every downhill as aggressively as I could. I just couldn't finish the effort. This is where I need to focus training the rest of the summer: finishing the race, being able to to put out the last 10 miles at the same level as the first 40. This is where the winner, Garrett, kicked everyone's ass. While the rest of the field faded, he powered on. He did not necessarily run much faster at the end of the race (though I think he did negative split by a couple minutes; a really amazing race)... he just never ever slowed down, never let up. This is what I need to learn.

The race in brief: 50 miles in 7:43:28 (PR); 4th overall (one guy bonked even harder than I did so I moved from 5th to 4th about 7 miles from finish; interestingly I ran the 4th fastest time in race history and finished 4th this year... good field!); 2nd in age group; 3:45 marathon split, 4:30 50k split.

Nutrition: Water and gatorade on the course. Only food was seven gels throughout the run. Gotta work on that... gels always repulse me by the end of a long day and getting them into me is something of a challenge.

I should note that Jesse ran his first marathon here too! 4:12 was good for third place! Incredible job that guy did preparing super quickly and absolutely killing it on the curse! Hanna ran the half marathon and, despite falling twice and getting lost once, smoked the women's field and took 1st. And Keith, like I mentioned, was an awesome crew on the course. A great day for team us!

Music and running - busy weekend

Weekend was intense. I ran four times on Saturday for a grand total of 18 miles. 1.5 miles to Dan's house to watch TdF then 1.5 miles home. Then 7 miles before birthday string band gig out in Lake Mills. Then 8 miles before string band gig at Alchemy. I was hoping to get 20 miles in Saturday but I guess I am just glad I got as many miles in as I did. No rest for the weary fiddle player I guess.

Alchemy gig was awesome though. Always have sound problems there but this time we got it all sorted out quickly and had a blast laying down burners for a super attentive audience (relatively speaking). We were filling in for an established bluegrass band, the Oak Street Ramblers, so we got their crowd. Their crowd was awesome. We will fill in for them again next month too so hopefully more of the same.

Sunday was super disappointing. Day started off with another string band gig, this time at Monona Farmers Market. That was pretty fun though after limited sleep, it took me a full set to get into it. Afternoon I meant to get three hours of running in but instead I napped for FOUR hours. I guess it was pleasant but also a waste of a day. And then when I tried to run... I only made it 12 miles in 1:43 (slowest run of past few weeks that didn't involve a ton of hill action) before I called it quits. Unbelievable fatigue in my legs.

Now, this is important. Any other week and I take a couple minute breather, collect myself, and push on until I hit the full three hours. BUT, I have a race on Saturday and I need to be rested and fresh for that race. I felt that any gains I would make by pushing through the fatigue and finishing the run would be long-term and that the potential short-term tiredness that might result could be detrimental to my efforts to beat the field on Saturday. I don't know how true this is but it was my rationalization for cutting the workout short. Kind of lame, but here we are. All I care about right this moment is arriving at the start line on Saturday feeling light, fast, fresh, and mentally prepared for a long, challenging, fun day of running the bluffs of Devil's Lake.

Very excited :)

Going to start a training and racing blog. Also starting to see gains.

Maybe if I write about my training and racing, it will force me to think about it more, do it more intelligently, and help me feel guilty and lame when I miss a workout or reduce a workout's intensity "because it doesn't feel awesome." So I am going to do that... probably for like a week and then never again.

Today was a 14.1 mile tempo run. 1:30:10. That's a 1:23:45 half marathon split for those who are keeping track. Which I am. And that is also an unofficial 1/2 marathon PR by a couple of seconds. However, I did have to work hard at it and it was far from an "easy" run. But it does show that I am making solid progress. I'd like to think there is a Universe (this one, right now) in which I could challenge sub-1:20 in an actual race in which I was willing to run myself well into the zone of painful discomfort.

Why run tempo runs when my goal distances are 50k+ (right now, 50 miles+)? It's all about keeping the ultra away from stranger danger. I mean away from oxygen debt. 50 miles at an 8:30 pace is going to be a hell of a lot more comfortable if I can run 14 miles in an hour and a half during a tempo effort than if it takes me 1:40 to run that same 14 miles. The ultra should be all about conquering emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. Making my legs go when they want to stop more than anything else in the world. Slaying dragons in the woods, if you will. My aerobic capacity should never ever be a limiting factor in my ability to run whatever zany race plan I come up with. Tempo efforts also teach me how to suffer. This is super important I think. Having the wherewithal to keep up the intensity when every fiber in your body wants you to stop. In an ultra, that skill can mean hours in terms of overall time. And by hours I mean actual, real life, hours. Tempo runs... do 'em.