A little bit of this and that

August sapped the life out of me. 80 hour work weeks and 90 degree weather disagree with my system. September has revived my soul as the temp has mellowed and the work demands are more reasonable. Little brother JD is in town for the month, but is here for school so the adventures have been tame and sporadic, but will hopefully pick up toward the end of the month. Here's a little of what's been going on.

I've been loving various MTN Bike rides along the shoreline, Bobsled, and the Crest trail...that is until the rear shock just popped off of the frame on my otherwise awesome bike.

That makes two bikes and my Dynafit boots that have all malfunctioned on me. Maybe I'm the problem. No finesse...?

Got out for a nice day in the mountains with lil JD (wifey) when we went for a run up the ever scenic Mt. Timpanogos. Jessie did great on all sections except the rocky switchbacks just before the final summit ridge. We had a "discussion" about the safety of hiking rocky terrain which resulted in her deciding to stay put while I tagged the summit.

Lil JD hunkering down

The other JD and I had a busy Saturday, running a trail marathon and then jumping out of an airplane for the first time in what will hopefully set us down the path to one day do this



I've also been out climbing a few times, which has been great since this summer has been a bit of a downer climbing wise. From the Black Peeler Buttress, I got a good look at Coalpit #4, which really didn't look any better than when we skied it back in March.

And, today I went up Olympus with brother JD and our pops. Our old man is really getting back into the climbing/mountaineering, and wanted to up the ante by getting comfortable placing gear, building anchors, and setting off to realize his own adventures. So we had him lead all six pitches up the West Slabs, cleaning some bomber pieces and finding some gear that looked like it had just come out of the shit factory.

Mike D trying to figure out how to place a cam on lead.
High on the West Slabs.
Alpenglow top out. Father and child.

September is most definitely one of the best months of the year. And while this one is quite a bit more low key than last year, the adventure inertia is building. Gonna have to fill up the tank before work destroys me again in November.

Kings Peak Marathon

Kings Peak Run from andy dorais on Vimeo.

Yesterday, my "son" Kyle Perry and I went out to the Uintas for a little run up Kings Peak. I had heard the trail is between 24 and 32 miles long, but once out there, we met a guy whole gave us directions for the best semi runnable trail and he claimed it is exactly 26.2 miles. Kyle is a former NCAA national champion in the steeple chase and currently runs for New Balance. I definitely had my hands full chasing him up hill for 13 miles.

Above video and pic taken with my new iphone 4

About a mile from the summit, we bumped into a couple guys on their way down that I recognized from a long time back. They were trying to run the "fastest known time" for Kings Peak. I guess there is some website that keeps track of the fastest reported times for many classic hikes/runs. Apparently, Kings is yet to be reported, so those guys figured they'd start with the record. Kyle and I were running steadily, but taking our time to stop and take pictures and chat with backpackers that were trying to figure out why we were underdressed and without big packs. But, on the way down, our conversation about the fastest time lurked in our minds and we ran a bit faster...until Kyle started to cramp up a bit and I was happy to join him in what became a walk/run/walk/run routine for the last couple miles.

Strolling back into the parking lot, we were surprised to find the other runners hanging out waiting for one of their lost buddies. They were eager to ask our car to car time (they had been holding the record for the "fastest known time" ...for that afternoon at least). That was until we informed them of our 5 hrs 29 min and 01 second new "record". They were good sports and it was fun to see other people out trying to cover some alpine ground quickly.

I'm sure there are tons of people who have run this trail faster. I can think of a few, just in SLC, that could probably knock off a good chunk of time. Sub 5 hrs wouldn't be too hard if we weren't goofing around so much, not that I'll be back for a while. And, I think the urge to ski in the Uintas is probably satisfied for the time being after seeing the long flat approaches and relatively gentle terrain.

Anyway, I have a few more summer plans in the works before the seasons change. But, like I mentioned at the end of the video...the count down has begun. 121 days until the winter solstice.

The Speedgoat 50K

Last Saturday was the Speedgoat 50K, the brain child of Karl Meltzer


Karl runs ultras in the mountains and wins a lot of them. He touts the Speedgoat as the toughest 50K on the planet. Which, in the middle of the summer in Utah, and with nearly 12,000 vertical to gain and run down, he might be right. The Samurai wrote extensively about the day here, so I'm just going to publish a bunch of pictures - none of which I took. All pics from the event are from Pure Light Images (photographer Thomas Martens), race profiles by Jared Inouye and stolen from his blog. And the pic of the "Speedgoat" above is from the backcountry.com website. If anyone has a problem with me reposting, let me know and I'll take em down.

Race Profile:

It started with a huge 8 mile climb to the top of Hidden Peak and then over to Baldy.

Then we descended into American Fork amidst multitudes of rednecks out on their ATVs and dirt bikes. Don't they know they could have just run out there? It was at the turn around point that morale hit an all time low. I sat in a lounge chair eating a popsicle and just watched people come and go until I could heave myself out of the chair and up the 5000 ft(?) climb back to Little Cottonwood.

A cruel joke had us descending down Peruvian Gulch before heading back up the Cirque Trail to Hidden Peak. Some where along here my quads started cramping and each step got uglier and uglier. From Hidden Peak it was 6 miles of rocky down hill "running" to the finish. I cramped continuously from chest to legs and definitely walked some stretches. Surprisingly, my feet felt fine. I wore Nike Lunar Flys and got a bunch of snotty looks from other runners who wondered why I didn't have on dedicated trail shoes.

6:30 AM start



Early in the race - still pretty happy



Walking near the top of Baldy. I'd guess 10ish miles weren't "runnable" for me, which resulted in a bunch of hiking.



About 20 miles in I started to feel pretty good again (for about 4-5 miles before the real self destruction began). I made up ground on a few people and it was nice to be running after some steep sections out of AF.



And, I was feeling better than this guy.

Jared's blow up happened about 3-4 miles before mine so I was lucky to stay in front (but behind about 20 others) the rest of the way.

To recap, it was hard. Really hard. There's a lot more to it than just running. Nutrition is a big deal and I think I may have gotten a bit behind as evidenced by the cramping during the race and the fact that when I got home, both legs seized so badly in the driveway, that I fell down and called Jessie to come help me into the house. I think my overall feeling is that these distances are totally foreign, difficult to adjust to, and strangely alluring. I took a few days off, but am already scheming up plans for another...

Speedgoat 50k: An Ultra Runner I Am Not . . . Yet

Every so often, the body needs a good thrashing.  If I were to place some of my adventures on a thrashing scale, with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, I would rate running the Speedgoat 50k a solid 7.5.  I would say that it's right up there with long speed ski traverses and epic bike rides.  I went into the Speedgoat 50k thinking that it might be my entrance into ultra running.  I came out of the Speedgoat 50k thinking two things: (a) ultra running is really hard, and it's going to be awhile before I even can fathom being a real ultra runner, i.e. the kind that runs 100 miles, and (b) that was totally awesome!


The Course


According to my Garmin, the Speedgoat was 31 miles, gained about 11,000 feet, and descended about 11,000 feet.  The Speedgoat started at Snowbird, criss-crossed the front side and eventually topped out at Hidden Peak (11,000).

From 2010-08-03

From Hidden Peak, the race went to the top of Baldy, down into Alta, and nearly to the top of Alta's Sugarloaf lift.  It then descended sharply into Mineral Basin and down Mary Ellen Gulch and bottomed out somewhere in American Fork Canyon.  From there, it climbed back up towards Mineral Basin via Miller Hill.  It then took us up Mineral Basin the Peruvian tunnel.

From 2010-08-03

After exiting the Peruvian tunnel on the frontside of Snowbird, the course forced racers to run down before we were able to climb back up to the top of Hidden Peak via the Devil's Backbone.  After topping out at Hidden Peak for the second time, the course turned down down down to the start at Entry 1 of Snowbird.

From 2010-08-03

This course was covered in 5:43 by Kevin Schilling.  Nick Clark finished a few minutes later.  Luke Nelson finished in third.

My Race


All the stats are compiled here.  I took 7 hrs and 27 minutes to finish the course.  Out of 152 "Billies" and "Nannies," I was 32nd place.  I was happy with that result given that I was venturing into some unknown territory -- 31 miles is by far the longest I have ever run.  But more importantly, I was happy to simply be out and running in the mountains, with other goats.

At the start, I enjoyed seeing some of the heavy hitters of the sport.  Immediately, an elite pack formed at the front.  I joined the pack right behind them, and held on as long as I could.  While doing so, I was able to meet and chat with other runners.  Jared Campbell told me he was going to attempt WATOJA, which is the Wasatch 100 on Friday and LOTOJA on Saturday.  Another guy told me that I make a loud thud when I hit the ground.  About 7 miles into the race, I was running downhill, caught my toe and went down hard, cutting my hand, scraping my chest, and bruising my hip.  Kind of a sucky way to begin a race.

One of my favorite moments of the race was topping out on Hidden Peak the first time (my second favorite moment was topping out the second time because that meant it was all downhill).  There were people on top with cowbells and the like cheering.  Plaid shirt guy had taken a direct route -- on foot -- up to Hidden Peak and was there to cheer on racers.  The sun was peeking over Baldy.  It was a nice scene at 11,000 feet.

As I scurried across the ridge to Baldy, I laughed to myself as I watched the guy in fluorescent green scrambling up Baldy.  It was Andy Dorais, a partner from the WURLOS ski tour.  During the WURLOS, Andy skipped Baldy, and he was finally making it right.

The run down into Mineral Basin wasn't very fun.  After I thudded on the ground, I lost my downhill mojo.  The blood smeared all over my water bottles was a constant reminder of the thud and a hindrance. The fact that the course plummeted down a scree covered, rutted road didn't help either.  Like skiing, it's best to simply "point 'em" on the downhill; if you're tentative, you tend to be too tight, look bad, feel bad, and burn too much energy.  I wasn't able to point 'em.

Much to my amazement, when I reached the bottom of Mineral Basin, the course jogged up over a ridge, and then plummeted down another several thousand feet down Mary Ellen Gulch to somewhere in American Fork Canyon.  I wasn't able to run these miles confidently, and at the bottom, I face planted again, filling my wounds with black dirt.  Ouch.  Ouch. And ouch.  (I might have been a bit more profane than that in the moment.)

A little over 16 miles into the race, Andy and I hung out for a few moments at the aid station.  I washed my wounds and argued with one of the workers over whether I had to do a penalty lap for going off course (for once in my life, I didn't).  Andy was lounging in a lawn chair eating popsicles and said he wasn't feeling good; so I left him for dead and kept going.

3 miles after that, I hit my wall, and saw a fluorescent green shirt gaining on me.  Soon, Andy passed me, and left me for dead when I stopped to examine some blisters on the ball of my foot.  Luckily, I had some new friends to nurse me along.  Mark Christopherson and I seemed to be moving at the same pace, and we did some hard miles together.  Jared Campbell and Pat McMurty whizzed by, but slowed up long enough to offer me a gel, which I gladly took and which enabled me to get back up to Hidden Peak the second time.

As I was climbing up the Devil's Backbone, I wondered why I was going so slow.  At that point I probably had done about 10,000 feet of climbing, which isn't out of the norm during ski season.  Why was I feeling so beat?  I'm still not sure.  It might have to do with the different mechanics of running.  It might also have to do with the thrashing my body took running from the top of Snowbird to AF Canyon.

Although my body forced me to go slow, I never was miserable.  (For example, the last 20 miles of the Highline Traverse were bloody miserable.)  And the whole time I had fun, which was a blessing. Perhaps the novelty of the challenge rendered me blessed.  Perhaps it was being on new trails and seeing yet another aspect of the Wasatch.  Perhaps it's because I'm born to run . . . HA!

When I got to the top of Hidden Peak, I felt that the race was basically done, which wasn't truly the case.  My legs conveyed this to me quite loudly as I hobbled down the trail for the next 5 miles.  My pace was in the 10 to 12 min/mile range.  And I got passed by several people, two of whom were "Nannies," and three of whom were wearing moon boots.  But I didn't care, I had only lost one toenail (I'm down to 5 good ones), was still running, had covered 31 miles, and was going to finish.

Over the last four months, it's been a struggle to become a runner, to cause my body to adapt to the demands of running.  I have a long way to go, but I'm finally to a point where I am relatively comfortable, running. Runners often describe their sport as being "pure."  They describe feeling "free."  As I have a run the Wasatch this summer, I agree.  

PSA: Wear your bike helmet!

So I've been keen on riding my bike to work lately but haven't been bothering with the inconvenience of wearing my helmet. Well, let the next few pictures be a lesson to any of you boys or girls who think you can get away with being stupid.

Getting picked up by the paramedics

SS and JR were driving to meet me for lunch when they saw me all bloodied on the side of the road. They followed the ambulance up to the U and kept me company while I blabbed on incoherently

Those sting a little

I was riding down South Temple on my way to meet my classmates at Sawadee when, while accelerating through an intersection between 20 and 30 mph, I felt a pop and my bike locked up and began shaking violently. I tried to regain control... and then woke up in the trauma bay at the U of U Emergency Dept. Actually, I remember about 30 seconds from the ambulance where I tried to tell the paramedics that I didn't need the C-collar because I could clear myself clinically (i.e. no C-spine tenderness, no distracting injury, not intoxicated, etc). They weren't buying it as I was in and out of consciousness and really goofy. I have a few recollections of having my clothes cut off and recognizing my colleagues in the ED, which was hugely comforting, as well as seeing some flashing lights in the CT scanner. But, it wasn't until nearly two hours after the accident that my head cleared, from which point my memory is intact. A friend sewed up my head, others snuck in some ice cream, and Jessie was by my side as soon as she heard about it. I feel pretty lucky that a headache, some stitches, and a lot of road rash are all I got. Maybe, if I had had a helmet on I wouldn't have had any loss of consciousness or cut my head as badly.

So again, lesson of the day? WEAR A HELMET!

Minor setback to the Speedgoat plans, but hopefully I'll be up and running soon.

My Feet and Trail Shoes

Discovery of the right shoe is important in my decision that I might be born to run. I have, off and on, dabbled in trail running. And fall/spring skiing often requires a good pair of trail shoes. Pre-B2R, I had some Salomon and Montrail shoes. I went from Salomon to Montrail because Montrail was making some shoes -- the Hard Rock and Continental Divide -- that had some big fat heels. I thought that if I had a big fat heel, more cushion, and more support, maybe my chronic ankle problems -- problems that made running prohibitive -- would go away.

Of course, after I read B2R, I realized for the first time in my life that I didn't need to heel strike to run. And so I began my search for the perfect minimalist shoe. I didn't attempt to go barefoot, but I did acquire a pair of those funny looking Vibram Five Fingers.

Vibram Five Fingers (VFF)

A few moments after I got them (I was at work), I put them on and went running. I was in dress pants and a dress shirt when I started, but after short while, I left my dress shirt hanging on a post and kept going, shirtless. I also rolled up my dress pants to my knees. And I proceeded to run up through a neighborhood and then into the foothills. By the time I got into the foothills, I realized in my over-exuberance that I had some blisters. A few moments after that, I realized that they were bleeding. I limped back down to the neighborhood, and once I got on sidewalk and pavement, I removed the VFFs and walked down through an affluent east side neighborhood barefoot, shirtless, and wearing dress pants rolled up to my knees.

My review of VFFs: Not suitable trail running for novices like me. They might make my feet stronger if I do easy runs on grass and the track. Otherwise, they will be great drift boat shoes.

New Balance MT 100
I've related an experience with these below. The first time I ran home from work in these, I DNF'd. In hindsight, my failure was more operator error, rather than shoe error. I was practicing my Tarahumara/Pose/Evolution/Chi (google them) running styles, or trying to at least. Turns out that I was over-emphasizing the forefoot landing and was running on my toes, which strained my Achilles and calf muscles. Also, my body wasn't used to the strains of running. And, I think the MT100s were too small for me. (Initially, I sized running shoes like I sized ski boots. Luke has advised and I have come to believe that a thumbnail length in the toe is the way to go.)

My review of the MT 100s: I'd like to give them another try in a larger size because I think I could like them. They are very light, and they have small heel to toe drop. The heel is only about 12 mm higher than the toe. What prevents me from giving them another shot, however, is the fear that they don't have enough traction for the kinds of trails I frequent and the uppers won't hold me on top of the shoe. Running downhill, I felt like my foot was going to burst through the front of my shoe. Then again, they are good enough for guys like Anton Krupicka . . .

La Sportiva Fireblade
I got this shoe because Karl Meltzer used to endorse them. He now runs in moon boots. Anyway, I also got the Fireblades a bit too small and they hurt my toes on the downhill. Like all La Sportiva shoes, the Fireblades are well-designed and reflect Italian craftsmanship. They also have a small heel-to-toe drop, about 12 mm I think. The toe box was sufficient and the heel cup was nice. The things that have prevented me from trying to get a better size and seeing if I can make them work is (a) I feel like there isn't enough cushion in the sole, (b) the sole is a bit stiff, and (b) I like knobbier traction. I think I could very well grow out of these concerns as I get more trail running experience and better form.

La Sportiva Wildcat
Compared to the Fireblade and the Crosslite (below), the Wildcat is beefier. In particular, it has a thicker and more cushioned sole, The upper is comfy and supportive. And they have a roomy roomy toe box. I got these in the right size, but after a 12 mile mountain run, determined that they weren't for me because the heel was too tall. If the heel is too tall, I have a hard time running downhill on my forefoot, which causes me ankle pain. Most of my shoe search has been designed to find the shoe that allows me to run in a way that makes my ankle pain go away. Like the older Montrails, the Wildcat actually causes me to have ankle pain.

La Sportiva Crosslite

I like these shoes. Compared to the Fireblade, the toe box is narrower. It borders on being almost too narrow for me. The traction on the Crosslites is awesome, and I really like the gaiter on the front. What I'm not particularly thrilled with is the heel structure. There is less cup in the Crosslite heel compared to the Fireblade and the Wildcat, and this causes some heel lift. As my shoes have broken in, the heel lift has subsided, but the cup could be better.

Another thing I have noticed is that compared to my Inov8 shoes, there is less cushioning in the forefoot. I prefer more cushioning, but I think I could get used to the relatively hard sole of the Crosslite.

Finally, I wish that the heel to toe drop on the Crosslite was smaller. At about 12 mm, it doesn't cause me to have ankle problems, but I would prefer less. I plan on taking a knife to the shoes or taking them to a cobbler to try to reduce the heel lift.

I like these shoes and run in them now and again.

Inov8 Roclite 295

These are the shoes I currently train in. They have a small heel to toe drop. They are super flexible. They have great traction. They are relatively light -- 295 grams. The have a roomy toe box. They appear to be fairly durable. All of these are characteristics I've been looking for in a shoe. The only issue I have with the Roclite 295s is that I feel rocks pushing through, and they hurt my feet, but this is a minor issue, and  I've decided these are great shoes for me.

Inov8 Talon 212

This shoe is very light for a trail shoe. And it's very minimal. Except for being as durable and having a roomy toebox, it has all the characteristics I like in the Roclite 295. In fact, the heel to toe drop in the 212 is even smaller -- 6 mm I think. Compared to the Crosslite, there is a lot more cushioning in the forefoot, although as they age, I think the cushioning will pack out. The first time I ran in the 212s was at the Wahsatch Steeplechase. I knew I was taking a risk, but I'm glad I did.

Compared to the Roclite 295s, the Talon 212s have a tighter upper. I like that because it holds my foot in place on the downhill.

Because the 212 is so minimal, there are a couple problems: (a) durability -- I've put about 30 miles on my shoes and the sole at the toe is starting to peel, and (b) the tongue on the shoe is so minimal that dirt and debris can easily enter the front of the shoe.

Hoka Mafate
Everything above this, I wrote a couple weeks ago. Since then, my feet have hurt almost constantly because I'm not yet conditioned for this running thing. So, I've got some Hokas on the way -- the exact antithesis of minimal running footwear. I'm hoping that I can still keep my running style, i.e., not heel strike, but have a lot of cushion for my wimpy feet.

Deep down, I know that my feet problem has less to do with shoes and more to do with needing to log more miles and ramp up gradually rather than going all in. But, if there is a shortcut, I will take it!

My Feet

Missing a couple toenails with others black and blue.  Seriously, is this normal?

Summer Fling

My mistress, winter, left me in the Tetons about 3 weeks ago. Since then, I’ve been wandering, running aimlessly along SLC’s abundant trails, pushing the tether out farther each time. I’ve been on runs up Ensign and Grandeur Peak, Black Mountain, and along the front side of Timp. I'm flirting with summer and some of what she has to offer...ridge runs, climbing, speed traverses. However, it's all really just a bunch of ideas right now.

But, over the 4th weekend, something resembling my winter provided some good times.

Adam, and co-interns SS and MF joined me for a run up Baldy. The snow was patchy until the mid mountain lift but I didn't care.

These guys look pretty happy too

Some more pics







Uh, only 169 days left until winter.