Capitol Peak Ultra Report

(Mt. Rainier from Capitol Peak)

The Capitol Peak 34 miler took place this past weekend and I was looking forward to bumping it up a notch (since Badass) in a somewhat more race-like atmosphere even though this was still technically a "mega fat ass event." For those of you that don't know the lingo it basically means that there aren't really aid stations (just water jugs every 10k or so), no timers, no real entry fees (I gave a $10 bill for donation to the forest)...just another post holiday trail training run get together in the Pacific Northwest. This particular venue was nestled about 20 miles south of Olympia, Washington just under two hours north of Portland.

Trevor picked me up just after 5am Saturday morning and we hit I-5 North heading to the forest. I got a few updates from The Capitol Peaks Facebook page stating that the course was going to be pretty muddy in some places which was to be expected. The temperature was very mild though and again I am so pleased to be running trails in shorts in mid January. Fearing completely destroying my new Inov-8's that I just received (I know...I just couldn't do it this early though!) I decided to wear my old faithful Roclite 285's. Again, they served me well traction wise in these conditions.

I was really surprised how organized and how many people came out for this event. Search and rescue were present and the race director John Pearch made everything very clear in our pre-race meeting, including that it would be a 30-miler and not 34. We had tents for shelter and to cover food, burners for pots of soup, tables, lots of snacks, warming fires...I was impressed.

Once we got going I was also pleasantly surprised by the trails and area we were running through this misty morning. Nice singletrack mixed in with some doubletrack here and there that passed through areas of clear-cut forests. Mostly we were in the beautiful thick moss green forests that this part of the country is so well known for. I started off at a pretty good clip. My goal was to take the intensity level up a bit from my last event. There also was a 17-mile race taking place so it was difficult to know who was doing what race. Most of the time I just asked but some guys had on headphones.

I felt really strong Saturday morning. My energy levels were high and I felt properly fueled for the day and I wanted to keep it that way. I've been doing some research on carrying the least amount of things with me and not making unnecessary stops throughout long races. I had an Amphipod pack on my low back that held a 20 oz. bottle of water, and a little pouch that held a Clif Bar and some block shots. In my shorts I had a couple GU Roctanes and in my light jacket I had a few S-caps and a little flask of Perpetuum. This turned out to be the perfect equation for the distance. I could have probably did it on less but I'd rather err on too much than too little! I stretched the 20 oz. of water the whole way except to re-fill the bottle half way quickly at a water jug...so I probably drank approximately 30 oz.

As we made our way to the 15-mile turn around at the top of Capitol Peak I was really tackling the hills and felt good about that fact. Typically this is an area that I struggle and usually hike but I really felt like I was improving this weekend. I didn't expect some of the climbs out there this weekend either. Race director John Pearch guesstimated that it was probably about 8,000 feet of elevation change for 30 miles...not bad! I got to the top, grabbed my rubber band out of a zip lock bag to prove that I made it, and headed back down the mountain. This is where I really started turning it on! I was hopping down the mountain trails and taking some of the switchbacks banked turns fearlessly. I had a few minutes on the other guys at this point but was impressed on how well they were doing too. Trevor was looking really strong and Matt was working hard as well. Then I saw fellow Portland ultra runner Geoffrey Donovan and then Shawna Wilskey (who passed me in 100 in the Hood) who also was looking focused and fit.

I would say miles 17-27 were some of my strongest miles. Times I felt like hiking I just pushed through and I got into some nice rhythms. I didn't have a watch on so I wasn't sure what sort of time I was making or where I was in terms of mileage. That kind of freedom was nice though...I just ran and enjoyed the surroundings. I felt that by like mile 28 or so that I probably had it wrapped up and figured that I should be getting close.

Then I came across some very large trees that were covering the trail. I don't remember these?! Uh oh...I'm going the wrong way...What!....back track!...I made a wrong freakin' turn somewhere! As I ran and cursed myself I finally figured it out through the process of elimination and running all over the place and got back on track. I came across a woman that I had previously passed and I asked her if anyone came through. She said a couple guys came whizzing by a few minutes ago....man! Bummer! Then I saw the finish and I finally made it in with a time of 4:16 for third place behind Matt and Trevor. I probably ran about a mile and a half out of my way and probably would've finished right around 4:05 if I didn't make the wrong turn.

I just want to say that the course was marked really well and I really appreciate that for those who took the time to do it. I still had such a great experience and was thoroughly pleased with my performance. Apparently, I was just thinking about what I was going to eat, probably fantasizing about sitting around the fire in dry clothes and lost focus for a second, and sometimes that's all it takes to get off course!

I am registered for the Capitol Peaks 50-miler on April 25th too so I am glad that I got to meet some nice people up there and get a sense of the lay of the land. Good work to everyone up there this weekend and thanks again to John Pearch and all the volunteers.

I guess I just needed to get that full 50k distance this weekend...regardless... I had a really fun time!

Next up: Orcas Island 50k way up in the San Juan Islands...should be another gem of a race!

Why Don't You Just...Stuff It!

Ever wanted to say that to someone? Or have you? Well, this blog post isn't about unleashing some built up resentment against another person, it's about a pretty nifty little product I got as a gift from my wife for Christmas a few weeks ago. It has worked like a charm ever since.

The product is called Stuffitts Shoe Savers. Click HERE to learn more about them.

As a newcomer to Oregon I found out that the nickname for Oregon's first sports teams was "Webfoots". The name originated from a group of fishermen from the coast of Massachusetts whose descendants settled in Oregon's Willamette Valley. When the University of Oregon was founded in 1876, "Webfoots" was the natural choice for the school's nickname, because of Oregon's reputation for wet weather. That eventually changed to the Oregon Ducks. So...in my opinion this inexpensive tool is almost a necessity for someone who lives and runs in the Pacific Northwest.

It's very simple: 1) You run. 2) Your shoes get soaked. 3) Get home and take off shoes. 4) You insert Stuffitts. 5) Repeat.

When I first started running my buddy Harland showed me a little trick to dry out very wet running shoes. You just save all newspapers in your front closet. When your shoes are extremely soaked you just crumple up newspapers and stuff them into your shoes. Voila! The newspaper absorbs all the wetness and the following day your running shoes are ready to go. While this is also a very economical and simple way to get the job done it just doesn't have the same benefits offered by Stuffitts.

Here's the difference: Stuffitts have an insert that consists of Aromatic Eastern Red Cedar that absorbs the wetness. So not only does it absorb the moisture very quickly but it leaves stinky trail running shoes smelling like the forest you just left. Trust me...guys and gals...your spouses, house mates, etc. will really appreciate this. That's probably why I was given it as a gift! ;o)

Here is a quick example of how effective this product proves to be:

You then replace the inserts every six months or so and your shoes keep their form, don't smell or have any bacteria growing in them. I can honestly say that I've put these in my Inov-8's in the morning after returning from a run and by the evening my shoes were completely dry. They're also great for traveling so you don't stink up your luggage with your wet, musty shoes.

Speaking of Inov-8's...I am expecting some new shoes arriving here any day. I will be getting a pair of the X-talons 212's, F-lite 220's, Roclite 295's, along with some F-lite 230's and Roclite 285's. This will be my rotation for 2010. I am also definitely looking forward to adding the X-talon 195's some time this spring or summer. I'm so grateful to be sponsored by such a solid trail running shoe company. I really believe in the philosophy and design of Inov-8 and excited to be part of the 2010 team.

That leads me into congratulating fellow Team Inov-8 member and friend Aliza Lapierre for tying another good friend of mine Jill Perry at the Bandera 100k this past weekend. Nice job ladies! Both of them earned a spot into Western States 100 and have definite shots at top ten out there in June.

I had another solid week of training but decided to back off a little this weekend due to a little arch pain. It's not anything major...in fact I can run pain-free but I don't want it to turn into anything...like plantar fasciitus! Thank you Gary for letting me borrow the "boot". I'm hoping this thing will be completely off the radar in the next few days.

I'm looking forward to heading up to the Olympia, Washington area (about two hours north) for the Capitol Peaks 34-miler on Saturday. It'll probably be a wet and muddy one...but I'm glad I have my Stuffitts!

Happy Trails! :o)

Badass 50k

The Badass 50k takes place in the high desert area known as the badlands about 25 miles east of Bend, Oregon. It's really a different type of terrain, beauty, and weather than the Portland area and I'm so glad I made the three hour trip. It is put on by two experienced ultra studs and super nice guys Sean " The Colonel" Meissner and Jeff "Bronco Billy" Browning. I got a text message from Jeff on Friday afternoon while he was marking the course stating that it was in great shape, hardly any snow, and that Saturday was going to be partly sunny with a temp of about 46. Perfect! Also, a Fatass event is supposed to be a no entry fee, no sponsors, no aid stations, sort of fun training run...not really a race....Yeah right!

(Co-Race Directors Jeff and Sean)

My good buddy and training partner Joe Grant and I decided to head down and we both agreed that we were just going to have fun, enjoy the weekend, and not run super hard. ha! We milled around downtown Bend Friday night and found a place to do a little carb-loading even though we didn't taper at all for this event. In fact Joe and I both did this run as part of relatively high mileage weeks using it as our long run. For me...this would be by far the longest run since 100 in the Hood on September 26, 2009.

Joe and I, being extremists, decided to camp!...yeah camp!...on Friday night January 1st. When we pulled back into the badlands near the start/finish area Joe says, "we should go up to the top of that hill". Having the All-wheel drive Subaru Forester and with the sandy, red ATV-type road somewhat solid giving us traction, we powered up to the top of Cinder Butte...barely! Little did we know that we would be climbing this butte several times the following day as part of The Badass 50k!

Check out the video of what we woke up to just before sunrise!

After getting some breakfast and caffeine we looked down the butte to see Jeff and Sean setting up the start/finish area. Then people just started piling in...way more people than I expected. It was such an honor to meet world class runner Max King, and a host of other ultra runners. Such a friendly group and this is one of the great things I love about the sport.

Jeff gave us some instruction and we all just took off! It was great to be running in shorts with a bunch of like-minded people on January 2nd. I wore my Roclite 285's and they proved to be a good choice for the course. There were some nice sandy spots and also some loose rock and, like I said, the terrain is just so much different down there. I really like it!

Needless to say Max was way out in front and a bunch of us settled in for the first few miles. Then as the race went on the pack started to string out a little. I ran with Sean and Jeff a little picking their brains about Bighorn 100 and talked with Andre briefly about him leaving us for beautiful Colorado. Joe decided that he was going to try and speed up and try to hang with King...which was definitely something I was not interested in this weekend...(not that I could anyway!) I was really just being uber-focused on not feeling any complications and if I did just to stop at mile 22.

Josh Nordell, Jeff Browning and myself ran the bulk of the race together and enjoyed getting to know each other. It really just makes the miles tick by. By the time we made it to our final loop I was super impressed to find out that Joe caught up to Max and they were running together about ten minutes ahead of us. Also, by this time the talking became more sporadic as fatigue started setting in and I think we all were just trying to make it to the finish feeling a little bit of the holidays in our guts and muscles. Josh broke off to use the Juniper trees and Jeff and I coasted down through the canyon and made the turn for our final climb up the backside of Cinder Butte. This is where Jeff would lose me as I had to power hike sections of this somewhat steep climb. I would look up every so often and see Jeff running up the mountain and it inspired me to dig deep and run, and then I would throw in some hiking. Once we hit the summit it was a steep downhill to the finish. It felt really great to conquer the distance on such a beautiful day.

I really recommend this social training run, race, post holiday get together, whatever you want to call it! Good people...good clean fun!

Click HERE for the 50k results

Great to see some familiar faces: Geoff Donovan and his wife Rachel, Andre-Paul Michaud, Sean and Jeff, Sascha, and great to meet Ashley and Josh Nordell, Max King, Kari, Fatboy and all the others that came out for whatever distance. It was great just hanging around the fire afterwards and it felt awesome knowing that we got that first 50k under our belts...and there were some really solid 50k times too!

Here are some more pictures:

(Top two sub four hour badasses!)

(Juniper burns nicely!...feeling good talkin' shop around the fire afterwards)

(Good dog Sascha...you're an ultra legend!)

It feels good to know that we are now officially Badasses! Great work everyone! Let's keep it rolling into the new year!

Next up: Explore the forests at the Capitol Peaks 34-miler on January 16th

2009 Year in Review and 2010 Race Calendar

Last year at this time I was swimming, floating around, and splashing Erica in the Gulfo Dulce while on our honeymoon in Costa Rica. We decided to take our honeymoon before our wedding for a couple of reasons. 1) We knew we were moving to Portland, OR shortly after our June 20th wedding and 2) It is just brutally cold in Ithaca, NY! The warm, tropical weather down there made it difficult for me to NOT go looking for some epic trail runs, even though I said I was going to just take it easy. So, after a stellar 2008 race season and a short break, my training started in the jungles of Costa Rica for 2009.

I must say it is nice to be back in the states for this holiday season. It was a little weird sweating my butt off while kayaking on Christmas day last year. So now, as I sit here next to our little Christmas tree, I am able to reflect on all the amazing things that happened in my life over the last 365 days... and some things that I learned.

When I got back to central New York in mid January I could tell that 22 days in that climate really conditioned me physically and totally replenished my spirit. I kept on going and as cold as it was I continued to hammer the hills of Ithaca through snow, sleet, and sub-zero temps. One of my training partners Michael W. introduced Gunn Hill repeats to me and I really started noticing some high levels of fitness. In February I signed up for the H.M.R.C.C. winter marathon in Albany, NY. You can read the race report HERE. I decided to run it on no taper and part of a 104-mile week as an up-tempo long run. Well...I had a great race...ended up winning in 2:47...and left the race with a big ego. Lesson learned.

From that point on I continued to train like I was some super-human machine that didn't need any rest or recovery. I had all these great race plans for the year and, in hindsight, was unable to control my enthusiasm. After a couple hiccups in my training I was still able to make to the starting line for the H.A.T. 50K down in Maryland feeling pretty confident about my fitness. Again, I had a solid race and ended up finishing third place but toward the end felt some remnants of an old IT Band injury. Uh oh!

Things gradually got worse and I had to skip The North Face Endurance Challenge at Bear Mountain, NY. From that point on I struggled with thinking I was getting better and coming back too quickly and then subsequently re-injuring myself. I raced a few shorter distance trail runs and really worked hard to rehab my leg including barefoot workouts (before Born to Run came out!) and Active Release Therapy along with massage. I decided to set my scopes on The Finger Lakes Fifties scheduled for the fourth of July. In the mean time we had a beautiful wedding celebration at Stewart Park in Ithaca on June 20th, I finished up my term at SUNY Cortland, and started getting prepared for our big move across the country.

The fourth of July rolled around and I took off like a bandit on the course of my first-ever ultra a few years ago. About 38 miles into the 50-mile race I felt serious pain and tightness and was forced to swallow my first DNF at mile 40. Ouch! Time went on and, again, I started feeling better and incorporated many strengthening exercises. By late July I had run a 40-miler on my last day in Ithaca and wondered about my future race plans that I had already signed up for in advance.

We made the big move across the country and I made the big decision to give Where's Waldo 100k a go. I'm still perplexed about why and how I was able to finish this race pain free. This race gave me a nice intro to the beautiful state of Oregon and I was very satisfied with the outcome. I went into 100 in the Hood thinking that I was "cured" but after 50-miles found out that was not so. I was able to tough it out and ran the second half of the race on an injured leg. That would be my last race of the year and, even though I still finished in seventh place with a respectable time of 18:53, I know I have so much more in me.

So after finishing my first term at Portland State University and meeting so many great people here I have constructed a plan for the new year. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and I'm going to try and learn from some of my mistakes.

Here is my tentative 2010 race schedule:

*Badass 50k fun run (training run)

*Capitol Peaks 34-miler (training run)

*Orcas Island 50k

*Hagg Lake 50k (volunteer)

*Chuckanut 50k

*Peterson Ridge Rumble 30k or 60k

*Capitol Peaks 50-miler

*Forest Park 50k (training run)

*Bighorn 100

*White River 50-mile

*Where's Waldo 100k (volunteer)

*Virgil Crest Ultra 100 or Palm to Pine 100 (same day...haven't decided yet)

*Lithia Loop Trail Marathon

*The North Face Endurance Challenge 50-miler- San Fran.

Whew! that makes me tired just reading it ;o) Now...this is just a tentative list mind you. Naturally things come up, plans change, injury (hopefully not too many this year!) that will cause me to alter this list, but these are the races I have my sites on for 2010. I also want to say that I wouldn't be able to do half of this without such an awesome supportive wife! Thanks babe I love you much! :o)

So will I see you at any of these races?

I look forward to a great year and hope to see you along the way as we dance the trails in the great sport of ultra!

Happy New Year and Happy Trails!!! :o)

Visiting the Northeast

I'm just wrapping up a nine day visit to the northeast as I sit here in Syracuse airport updating my blog. This part of the trip could be compared to being at like mile 75 of a 100-miler. I'm almost home but still have a solid 6 or more hours of traveling to go. From here we head to Newark...hopefully we will not run into any weather causing delays or cancellations. Then it's across the expansive country to my new home of a little over four and a half months.

This trip gave me a relative break from the computer, Internet, blogs, facebook, school, etc., and my eyes needed a reprieve from staring at a screen. I can't say I was completely cut off...I mean I checked a few times at coffee shops and on my phone, etc. but for the most part I just enjoyed the company with family and friends. My last couple days of the fall term consisted of final exams wrapped with back to back 15-milers around them and a red-eye flight Thursday night after my last exam. I like to try and tire myself out for these long flights so I can try to get some shut-eye. It often works but I also have to get up and stretch out every once in a while.

Friday morning I landed in Syracuse and was picked up by John O. and we headed east on I-90 to southern Vermont. John and I both love to bowl so we started a tradition of bowling a few games every time we see each other. So in Utica, NY we stopped and I was almost able to get that elusive 200 game but had to settle for a 173. After that we enjoyed a nice lunch and then it was off to the B&B in Vermont. There we would prepare for a good friends surprise 40th birthday party. Our friend Doug F. thought he was just going for a romantic weekend with his fiancee at this bed and breakfast. Little did he know that 50 or so good friends and family bought out all the rooms and were hiding in the back den. When he entered....well....all I have to say is that it was classic! :0) We spent the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning visiting....it was such a memorable weekend! My face hurt from laughing so much and it was great talking to and meeting everyone. Sunday afternoon we were off to Ithaca, unfortunately, in a freezing rain storm. I counted 11 accidents in our 3.5 hour commute!...but we made is safely. I must say...I don't miss that kind of weather!

The next six days I was staying with my brother and his family who live completely off the grid in central New York. Yep, solar panels, wood burning stove, gravity fed mountain spring flowing into a timber framed home that was built by my brother Jamal. It's always so relaxing and refreshing to recharge my batteries on Nobles Hill. I met my niece Amani who was born 11 days after I moved to Oregon and thoroughly enjoyed the company of my other two nieces Lydia and Makana and my sister-in-law Daura. It was also a treat to visit with the rest of the Nobles Hill gang that included Rob, Shena, Nimah, Alden, A.J., Nick, and Maggie. Tuesday I met up with some friends on the Finger Lakes Trail up around Connecticut Hill and got in about 10 miles with Nancy K. and Mark T. I took Wednesday and Thursday completely off and had to remind myself that it's OK to do that while on vacation. Friday I had a beautiful eight mile run as the sun set over to the location of the annual solstice party. There was a ceremony that kicked off the winter by lighting a huge bonfire and we danced the night away to some jammin' live music. My last morning in the Ithaca area I joined some Finger Lakes Runners Club members (Karen G., Shelly M., Jim M., Mark T., and John W.) for a 15-miler through downtown and Stewart Park (three loops of the 5 and 10 course). The final five mile loop Mark and I picked the pace up to about 7 min./mi. pace and it sent me on my way to the airport...again...fatigued. I feel so blessed to have such an awesome family and great friends. Well...the journey continues and we'll see you guys next time! :0)

I also was notified that I will be representing Team Inov-8 for the 2010 season and I'm super stoked about that. This is my second year on the team and I really think that Inov-8 has some great momentum going. The products are top notch and I'm excited to try out some new minimalist shoes and packs, etc. The 2010 team is posted HERE

I'm really excited to be home with my wife and I hope everyone has a love-filled holiday season.

Jingle Bell Run

The jingle bell spirit is in the air and if you were down on Naito Parkway in Portland on Sunday you would have heard lots of jingles and people having fun running a 5k for arthritis. If you weren't running you probably would have froze your you know what off! (What's up with this cold...I thought it was supposed to rain here a lot? I'm ready for some rain...I've had enough of the cold from living in central New York!) You would have also seen most people dressed up like Rudolph, Santa, elves, or something in between... or just plain goofy Christmas apparel (like me).

It was first mentioned to me by my friend Chyle whose wife Jana has rheumatoid arthritis. I thought that this was a great way to give to a needy cause and have fun with some new found friends while doing one of the things I love most. In fact now that I think back I did my first ever marathon (Marine Corps Marathon) with Team in Training (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society), and my first 100-mile run for Lupus awareness in honor of my sister in law Janna. Crazy coincidence with Janna and Jana! ;0) Anyway, I think doing charity events are important and very rewarding because it gets you outside of yourself a little bit and helps you appreciate things we may take for granted.

We had a crew of....geez...let's see if I can remember everyone...Chyle, Jana, Dale, Matt, Annie, Tom, Dan, Ken, Allie, Margaret, Carol, Andrea, Starlet, Darla, Leigh, and me. What a colorful bunch!...check out some of the pictures below :0)

I made sure that I wasn't going to race it hard on Sunday morning by going out Saturday evening and doing a decently hard track workout in my Vibram Five Fingers. I had a nice workout with some ladders of 400, 800, 1200 and then back down at like a 5:30/mi. pace. Enough to build up a little lactic acid in the calves and get the legs moving quickly. It's been a while since I've done a workout like that and my lungs were definitely burning! So Sunday morning I had no desire to run fast although I would be lying if I said that I didn't look at the starting line to see who was up there :0) Plus, I had too many clothes on to be running fast ;0) We had a fun time down there and enjoyed a nice breakfast/lunch afterwards. Good clean fun for a good cause!

Next up was checking on my training buddies that ran The North Face Endurance Challenge 50-miler down in San Francisco. I've got to give a shout out to Joe Grant who place 9th overall in an insanely tough field of runners. Joe smoked the tough course in 7:24. The funny thing is I told Joe on our last run together not to come home unless he was in the top ten! :0) Maybe it helped Joe, eh? Our other buddy Nick Triolo was attempting his first 50-miler and totally nailed it in just a hair over 9 hours! Congrats Nick!...all that training paid off...way to go bro :0) That has got to feel good for the both of them!

Well as many of you know and could have anticipated I didn't get into the Western States 100 via the random lottery this year. I must say that I had a lot of fun with the suspenseful process. Cheers to everyone that did get selected and I know I'll get in there sooner or later. Now that obsession of Western States 2010 is over with (well...kind of...) I am getting closer to the final construction of an epic race calendar for the new year.

Time to go take three final exams this week and then fly to New York to visit family and friends. Hope this blog post finds you well...happy trails! :0)

The Monday Morning After The Western States Lottery