Getting in Shape

Over the past couple years in my run up to Western States I have often thought about Michaelangelo. Reason is, as all of us know, Michaelangelo believed that that work of art was within the stone and it was his job to expose the beauty within the rock. So it has been with my fitness over these past few years.

I have come to know that, deep in the recesses of my body, fitness lies. However, given the vagaries of life and living at different times and at different contexts it can lie buried, dormant, sometimes for months at a time.

However, with the right blow of the hammer, the correct cut of the chisel, the art that is the Western States fitness can emerge. And, for me, that sharp cut happened today.

It started innocently enough. My plan was to run up and down Carbonate Mountain four times. Three miles and 1500 feet up and then three miles back down. Lather, rinse, repeat...

Lucky for me I had Brad Mitchell along with me so we were not going to be lazy on this day. We did the first lap in 30/18, the second lap in 29/17 and the third lap in 31/18. Then, Brad met up with his wife and daughter and headed to the coffee shop. I was left to do the last lap alone.

I'll be honest, the first five minutes of the climb sucked and I fought the urge to turn around and head back to the car several times. By the time I got to the 7 minute mark I was reduced to a walk and I told myself, "Just get it done."

Then, as if on cue, around 10 minutes into the climb I began to feel It. I began to roll into the hill with a slight bit of energy and I began to feel moderately good. The negative voices in my head quieted and were replaced by voices of hope and joy and positivism.

I got to the top in 33 minutes and floated the descent. It was clear, the art was emerging.

The beauty of rolling into shape had reared it's head.

And, I smiled all the way home.

Snow

I was talking to a guy at my school today who grew up in Squaw Valley and whose parents still live there. According to them, the current snowpack in Squaw is as high as it's been since 1952! Wow! Now, I know we have global warming and all these days but that's alot of snow. Thinking back to the "Fire and Ice" Year has gotten me thinking that this could be a very interesting year at the Dance.

From what I've heard along the grapevine, as of today, there are basically three options:

1. The original course to Lyon Ridge, Cougar Rock, Red Star, etc...(I am guessing 30% chance)

2. Last year's course which cut south a mile before Lyon Ridge and rejoined the original course about a mile below the Duncan Canyon Aid Station. (45%)

3. A new "snow course" that would follow last year's snow course and also bypass Robinson Flat to the southwest (if it's inaccessible) and, using a bunch of supposedly sweet trails that exist on that south side of the ridge, rejoin the course at or near Miller's Defeat Aid Station. (25%)

I am intrigued by all of this and, of course, there is still time for it all to change. But, one thing's for sure, the excitement is building going into this year's Dance and the intrigue about the snow is making it that much more interesting.

That, and the fact that a pastor in Oakland has predicted 130 degree temps in El Dorado Canyon on June 25th:)

AR50

There are many things that I love about ultrarunning but for me the best part of the sport are the friends I have made over 18 years of running. And, of all my running relationships the one that means the most to me is my friendship with Craig Thornley. Sure, we give each other a fair share of grief but in the end the friendship we have forged through a decade together on the trails is very much like brotherhood. So, before I get any more sappy let me tell you a bit about this past weekend.

You see, I fully intended to go down to AR50 to run a training run. Honestly and truthfully I simply wanted to have a good day running on Saturday, getting time on my feet and then following it up with another long run on Sunday. Well, I did the follow-up run on Sunday (30 miles rather than 40:) but I failed in my effort to run the Saturday race as a training run. And that was for one reason and one reason only, Craig Thornley.

I'll skip over the first 30 miles of the race because nothing really interesting happened until after Granite Bay (Mile 31). Someone in an aid station told me that Thornley was only 7 minutes ahead. I thought, "Hmmm." The gels were going down easy and I was moving pretty well so I notched the pace up a bit. At Mile 35 Matt Keyes told me the gap was 5 minutes. I ratcheted up the pace a bit more. Mile 40, they told me it was 3 minutes. The smell of blood wafted down the trail. I put my head down and ran.

Around Mile 43 I saw them, Craig and his pacer, Meghan Arbogast, and they were about a minute ahead. The trail was rolling nicely through trees and meadows at this time and I could just feel them coming back to me. Both of us had been passing quite a few of the fast early starters for the past hour or so but, to be honest, as soon as I saw Craig it became a two-person race. Neither of us cared about anyone else. It was one-on-one.

Soon after the 44 mile aid I moved up to their heels and popped a gel. Craig said something like, "hey Jiz, what took you so long" and then immediately slowed to like a 10-minute pace, just tempting me to pass. I asked him if that was all he had and he let me by. I knew what he was doing and he knew what I was doing. This was getting fun. I tried to put a bit of distance on him but I was waiting for the gel to kick in and was feeling a bit crampy. I knew if he saw me reach into my pockets for an S! Cap he would see it as a sign of weakness and try to pounce. But, I couldn't wait any longer so I took one, well, actually, I popped three. Within 20 seconds he was right back on my tail. I had shown weakness and he jumped. Neither of us said a word. We didn't need to.

A mile or so later and about a mile before the final climb started Craig let out some sort of grunt. I thought he was sandbagging but I figured if he wasn't this could be a time to get a gap. Plus, there was another guy coming back to us so I had a target. I ramped it up a bit. I didn't dare look back but I got that feeling that I was getting away. By the time I got to the Last Gap Aid Station I had 30 seconds on him. But, I stupidly blew through the aid without taking care of all my supplies and I killed ten seconds running back to grab a final gel. I saw them enter the aid station right then. I put my head down and ran.

In the end I think I beat him by 75 seconds or so but that really doesn't matter. What does matter, at least to me, is how the experience once again confirmed for me the value of friendship and particularly friendship forged on the trail doing what we love most. On this day, as on many days before, we made each other better, not only better runners but, more importantly, better people.

Thanks LB, for another great race! See you in May at Michigan Bluff!

April Runcation

I am pretty psyched to be heading out for a brief foray into the American River Canyon this weekend. Given that the snow is still flying out here in the Central Idaho Rockies this getaway is especially enticing. I am looking forward to running the American River 50 on Saturday, one of the Spring Classics on the Ultra Circuit, and then following that up with a 40 mile Sunday run on the WS100 course as any trip to the region would not be complete without it.

I am thinking of cruising the AR50 just fast enough to get the legs tired for the 40 the next day. It's an interesting challenge but given that fact that I've been doing these things for over ten years I figure I need to conserve and protect whenever and wherever I can. Furthermore, anytime I can get out onto the hallowed ground of the WS course I feel like I better take advantage of it (kind of like the golfer who goes to St. Andrews in the spring to prepare for The Open in July). As is the case every year, I tend to keep to the same routine rolling into WS while tweaking things a bit as life and age dictate. This weekend's experiment is an example of the evolution of my running. Don't expect to see my name in the top-25 at AR. But, if you ask me what my split was from Highway 49 to the Finish in my Sunday run I'll bet I'll be able to tell you down to the second. And, I might as well put it out there right now, I want that 7th top-10 really, really badly. If I get it, it means I am golden until #10 and then I can sail off into the sunset. But, there's still alot of work to do! Train on!

Hardrock 100 Elite Race Announcement

In a shocking development, the Hardrock 100 Race Committee today announced that they will be adding an "elites only" component to their event this year. Citing increased interest in their event from elite runners, the race committee has decided to offer 10 spots to male elite athletes and 5 spots to elite female athletes for their July 7th event.

"It is clear that the elites want to come to Silverton, " said Gale Darland, RD, "we feel that by creating an elites only event we can expose the best runners in the world to our beautiful area." The elites only event will have a few additional components that are interesting to note:

1. Runners are invited to apply for the event and will be notified on July 4th whether or not they will be granted entry.

2. The Elite entry fee will be $1000 as the Race Committee acknowledges that most elite ultramarathon runners are fully sponsored athletes and therefore entry fees would be covered by sponsors.

3. The Elite Start will be at 5am, exactly one hour before the traditional 6am civilian start. In addition, elite runners will need to run the first 24 miles of the race without outside aid. "We believe that the elites can easily handle 24 miles without aid and it will add to the intrigue of the event," said Hardrock Board Chair Wake Blood.

4. In order to maintain the competitive nature of the "elites only" event the race will be cut-off after 24 hours for the men and 28 hours for the women. Several elite runners who were contacted in regard to this announcement acknowledge that a sub-20 hour finish is quite likely given the nature of the course and none of them have any doubt about completing the race under 24 hours.

5. In the event that one of the "civilian" runners passes one of the elite runners after Ouray the passed elite runner must drop out of the race. (AKA; the not-so-elite rule)

6. Any male elite runner who is passed by one of the female elite runners after Ouray must drop out of the race. (AKA the "getting chicked" rule)

7. All elites entered in the race must wear minimalist shoes. Any shoes weighing more than 6oz (size 9) are not allowed.

8. It goes without saying, but no pacers are allowed for the elite runners and crews can only access their runners at the Start and the Finish.

9. All elite runners will be required to run with GPS devices attached to their ankles and will be equipped with video cameras strapped to their heads to document the historic event.

10. The race will be televised on the Outdoor Life Network and the entire event will be streamed live to the gym in Silverton. All elites will participate in a press conference at 4am on race morning.

Obviously, this is a very exciting development for the sport of ultrarunning and provides yet another indicator of the remarkable growth of our sport!

Coyote Two Moon

One of the great ultra events on the circuit, in my opinion, is the Coyote Two Moon 100 in Ojai, CA. It is more than a race, in fact, it's more than just about anything. Held on the full moon every March, this irreverent event is put on with extraordinary dexterity by Chris Scott and his wife Sue Johnston, as well as literally hundreds of loyal volunteers who return year after year to join in the collective merriment.

The 2011 edition also presented an opportunity for the good folks at Patagonia, located in nearby Ventura, CA, to stage their first athlete summit meeting. This iconic outdoor equipment and apparel company, that has supported my running for the past three years, is now making a serious push into the trail footwear business and this gathering gave the runners on the team a chance to get involved on the grass roots level. We spent a day and a half with Patagonia designers and marketers and along the way enjoyed great food and wonderful support. We also had a great sun-drenched run on the Thursday before the race on the world famous Ray Miller Trail out of Point Mugu.

Then, on Friday, following a raucous evening of bowling at Ventura Lanes, the pre-race festivities began in earnest which included, sadly enough, a performance by the "Patagonia UltraRunning Team Glee Club" led by Roch Horton. It was a fitting way to conclude our team summit and get us ready for the run.

I ended up being placed in the final 100 mile start group which included Karl Meltzer, Ty Draney, Justin Angle, Brian Polley, Jared Campbell, and Jeff Browning. With a crew like that, I knew we'd have fun. We started, innocently enoug, at 10am on Saturday morning and began our first climb. It was a nice little cruiser up to the Ridge which was, benignly, quite pleasant at the time. From there we headed across the Ridge and down the Road to the Sisar Canyon Aid Station before beginning the 7 mile, 4800 foot climb up to the top of Topa Topa. Toward the summit we got our first glimpse of things to come as the snow started falling and the temperatures started dropping. A quick descent off this high point of the course broght us out to Rose Valley where we all grabbed more clothes and began the third ascent of the Ridge.

Topping out at Ridge Junction Aid Station was outstanding especially given the fact that the Aid Station guys had fresh-grilled tri-tip ready for me to munch on as I made my way across to the Chip and Seal Road and the subsequent second descent to Rose Valley. At this point things seemed OK. Sure it was cold, wet and snowy, but not yet sketchy. That would change quickly.

I grabbed a headlamp at the bottom and started the nasty climb back up to the Ridge (Ascent #4) as it was getting dark. The snow picked up at this point as did the wind. By the time I got to the cut-off leading me to Howard Creek my ears were filled with snow and my hands were frozen. But, no worries, I knew Blake Wood awaited at the bottom and he would have great food and a nice warm tent. He did, but, it didn't matter. Things were now quickly deteriorating.

I made my way back up the climb and somehow got across the Ridge to Gridley Top. There Chris was waiting with his clipboard and his pig hat and, I must admit, he was not his usual jovial self. Sue came in at this point and sat down next to me. She looked over at me and as only a hardened ultra veteran can say, said to me, "This sucks." Pause. "But, because of you, we can't drop."

:)

I grabbed a bunch of clothes from my good friend and Aid Station Captain Luis Escobar and began the trip down to Cozy Dell where I knew my training partner and crew Hank Dart would be waiting for me with gels, espresso, and good cheer. On the way down the extent of the carnage became clear to me and I began to think about what it would take to finish this thing. The last mile or so before the Aid Station I encountered some of the worst mud of the day and I must say I was wondering how I could possibly get back up this thing.

By the time I got to Cozy Dell it appeared that die had been cast and as Ty, Jared and I stood there stuffing our pockets with gels and our faces with food the call came in that the race had been cancelled. And, just like that, we got into the cars and drove away.

At breakfast the next morning we were re-living the epic night and Roch pulled out the quote of the week,"

"Guys," he said, "Let's remember that it's nights like last night that remind us why we do this."

Indeed.

Mountain Life

As readers of this blog know, my family and I are getting ready to leave our beautiful mountain home here in Idaho in the next few months to take on a new adventure in Virginia. I had a couple things I wanted to do before we left and I did one of those things today.

You see, there are not many places in the world where 3200 vertical feet of snow and mountain loveliness lurks outside your door. But here in Sun Valley it does. So, today, I set out to run up and down the Mountain in the morning and then ski the Mountain (top to bottom) five times in the afternoon. It took a bit of logistics but I got it done.

My alarm woke me up at 4:30am and I gulped my coffee while strapping on my YakTraks. I ran from my house to the base of the mountain and then climbed the 3200 feet in just over an hour. After warming my hands in the mountaintop lodge I descended the mountain and went off to work. It took me until lunch to thaw out!

Then, at around 3pm I made it over to the hill and skied my butt off. An hour or so later I had gone up and down those same 3200 feet five times (up on a lift, down on my skis) and my adventure was over. Indeed, it was good times all around.

I guess now it's time to get ready for Coyote 2 Moon and whatever else the Spring has in store. As my mom always says, "We only live once!"