SherpaHerb

2012-01-16T16:40:00.000-08:00

It's been almost a year since my last post. Last year was good. I felt stronger than ever after several weeks of hill training at Rock Candy Mt.

I had a pretty good White River 50miler, fell down running uphill at about mile 17 and lost all my electrolytes. I finally made it out of the flat section at the half way point feeling great, but dehydration set in during the next climb and it took me awhile to overcome. Ended up finishing just off my PR, but I was hoping to beat it by an half hour at least.

Cascade Crest was fun, then disappointing. I managed to fry my quads on the steep downhill before the tunnel at the half way point. Really hit me hard at mile 80 right after the No Name ridge aid station. I could barely walk on part of the fastest trail on the course. To make matters worse, Kris Ryding paced me from there, so she didn't get much of a run in but was very inspiring to have along. Again no PR as planned, took an hour longer!

I have an ambitious year planned with an early 100 miler at Badger Mt. Really looking forward to the Rainshadow runs in the North Cascades this summer.

Orcas 50K!

2011-02-07T20:42:00.000-08:00

Another great time at Orcas. It started out a little slow, Kris and I missed the 4:00 ferry and had to wait 3 hours till the next one. Fortunately I had an audio book "4 Fish" and learned about the extermination of Atlantic salmon and the successful domestication that brought them back, a little genetically altered. Friday night at the lodge was fun seeing everyone show up, getting something to eat, then the Oly crowd headed to our bunkhouse. I scored a lower bunk with drawers so I was very happy. By 10:30 lights were out and we all konked out. Kris, Heidi, and I woke everyone up at 5:30 in the morning. Kris and Heidi were doing a super early start since they had to leave early afternoon and they wouldn't just run the 25K. I got up early to cut bagels and muffins for the breakfast I host every year. Breakfast went great, John and Alex (won the ultra series last year but now injured) helped alot. We were all bad at making coffee. At the start of the 50K, I ran into Glen but didn't catch up to him till about 3 miles in. We ran the first loop together until the downhill when Bushwaker showed up and I took off. I felt great after the first loop, and had a good climb up the powerline, Bushwaker passed me right away, good training for Hard Rock! I topped the powerline and had a great downhill chasing Joesph down to the lake. But I hadn't been drinking enough and I was about out of water for the loop around the lake. I stumbled through this bad patch, mad at my poor planning. I started to recover after the water stop and climbed the 3 miles to the top of Constitution with Joesph. It was great to see Glen near the top taking pictures and even better seeing the aid station at the top. I chugged down some fluids, ate some food, grabbed a cookie and headed down. My dehydration showed on the downhill. I just couldn't get the wheels turning. But I felt good so as it started to level out, I ran better. When I got down to the last lake loop, it looked like I might be able to finish under 7hrs.
I was running strong, but at the back end of the lake, we were sent on a new trail so the finish was farther away than I thought. I didn't care, I was happy I was running strong at the end especially after not training much before the race. I finished in 7:07, sixth in my age group, a half hour slower than last year. I guess the course was a little harder and longer than last year and I was a little bit slower. As usual, great food, music, beer, and bonfire after the race.
It was a great start for what I hope is a fun ultra season!

Mega Wet Fat Ass

2011-01-17T21:18:00.000-08:00

We had a very successful Capitol Peak Mega Fat Ass. Last week I marked the upper part of the course, on race day I was going to sweep with Kris. The morning started with me watching the start, then heading up to Falls Creek to set up the turnaround aid station with Glen Rodgers. We then headed up to the peak where Glen would be stationed. I ran down the course to Falls Creek to meet Kris. It was a great warm-up run and I got to see most of the long course runners heading up the hill before I got to the 17 mile turnaround. It was unseasonably warm and dry and everyone was in good spirits. I didn't have to wait long for Kris sweeping behind the last long course runner, who promptly dropped! The last runners left about 10 min prior so I knew we would catch them before the top. We headed up at a steady pace and it began to rain. I ran into Seth in first place bombing down past the trail 50 intersection, he only had a couple of minutes on Yassine though. It would prove not to be enough. By the time we reached the top, we had caught the last runner, the temperature dropped 10 degrees, the wind was blowing and we were in full rain gear. The last guy was 61 years old and just plodding along. As Kris and I followed him, we started to get cold, and he started to have problems. Half way up the steep grunt, we decided I should run ahead and get the search and rescue to drive up to the peak and pick him up. I ran up and over the peak and down to the search and rescue and rode with them back up to the top to pick up the runner. Then I ran back down to the aid station with Kris and grabbed my insulated vest to stay warm. The last runners were now a 1/2 hour ahead of us, but we make up 15 mins on them by the time we reached Fall Creek. Boy it was wet, I've never seen it that wet up there and the trails were raging creeks. It was slow going picking up the flagging and all the water and mud. We never caught up to the last runners and finished just as it got dark. We were both totally soaked and tired but it was a good experience and I got 30miles in!

Capitol Peak 50 miler

2010-04-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

There are so many to thank for this weekend's Capitol Peak 50 miler. First of all, thanks to John for despite many obsticles, put on a fantastic race on a great course with great weather and thanks for letting me run it this year. After hurting my hamstring 2 weeks ago at Peterson Ridge 60K, thanks to Ted from Integrated Sports Therapy for getting me back on the trail with no pain. Thanks to Kris and James for most excellent trail marking, aid stations and everything else. Thanks to tall Dave and Jim for chopping that tree across the road like busy beavers. Thanks to Wayne for not being 20mins late picking me up for the start. Thanks for Racheal for hopefully accepting my apology. Thanks to tall Dave and Wayne for starting slow and running steady with me. Thanks to Clem for giving me tips about the Swan Crest trail. Thanks to Kent Holder for showing us how it's done when you're over 70. Thanks to Bill and Jenifer for running the Mt. Molly aid station all day. Thanks to Dave and Terry for standing in the middle of no where and pointing us up the grunt. Thanks to Ulrike for sweeping though I never saw you. Thanks to Laura for helping Kris sweep. Thanks to Heidi for finishing strong. Thanks to Rob for finishing 6th in his first ultra. And finally, thanks to Wayne for finishing his first 50 miler!

Hammer On!

2010-01-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a very interesting year. It all started out with a notification that I was selected to be a Hammer Nutrition sponsored athlete for 2010! I thought it was worth applying for since I had quite a few podium finishes in my age group, but I think they were most impressed with the number of referrals from my website. I get some free stuff to hand out and deep discounts so it will be alot of fun. The other exciting news is I'm going to do the Swan Crest 100 in Montana at the end of July, should be an incredible course as a point to point along the Swan Crest range. Hopefully I will also be able to do the Waldo 100K again and get an age group award.
I had mixed results at our first event this year, the Capitol Peak Mega Fat Ass. I normally only do the 25K, but this year I went for the 50K distance. Unfortunately, I came down with some stomach flu and turned around early a couple of miles short of the summit. I still got in about a 24 mile run, but I really wanted to run the whole thing. At least I got back in under 5 hours and got to watch most people finish. Next is Orcas 50K, fun time but hard course.

The long CleElum 50K

2009-09-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

Note to self, don't drive to a race on I-5 on a late friday afternoon! The longness of my weekend started with sitting by the tacoma dome for a half hour waiting for traffic to clear so I could make to HWY 18. Kris missed the delay by taking the Puallyup shortcut, what was I thinking? Wayne, Kris, and I all car camped together at the start/finish. John was there helping out James organizing the aid stations and making a late night trip into town to pick up more supplies. Of course James waited until about 10:30pm to head out and mark the whole course! I slept great and woke up early to help get the registration table organized since James was still out marking the course. James showed up just in time to give the pre-race talk and get us started. The course starts with a two mile uphill on a gravel road which was marginally runnable. I managed to keep up with Kris, and Wayne even caught up to us, all that Rock Candy Mt training was paying off! Once on single track trail, it kept going up and I couldn't keep up with Kris anymore so off she went. My goal was to finish 1st in my age group so I started looking for old farts to pass. I was feeling good and it was great to see John making p-nut butter sandwiches at the first aid station. After 10 miles of constant up, it was great to be on the ridges, but the trail always seemed to have more ups then downs. I decided to take it easy, not knowing if there would be any relief further down the trail. I managed to pass what I figured was the last old guy and ended up running alone for a couple of hours. The weather was great at the start, but now there were rain showers and wind blowing on the exposed ridges, so I threw on my jacket and enjoyed the peekaboo views. I finally caught up to a couple of runners as we ascended the big switchbacks up the exposed grassy hillside. A couple of miles later, we made it to the aid station. It seemed that the distance between aid stations was always more than expected and the trail continued to have more up than down! Finally there was a good downhill section and I took off, leave the other runners in the dust. One of the aid station workers told me that Kris was about 8 min ahead, but I didn't think I would catch her since she is always faster on the downhills. But the down was short lived and I was back to an upward slog when I ran into Kris, who was just standing there, frustrated about where the next aid station was. We ran together to the last aid station, but shortly after leaving, Kris decided to slow down since she was doing hundred in the hood next week and only needed to finish. I told her only six more miles, should only take an hour and a half. But the trail was still going up and it took forever to reach the water drop with 2 miles to go, before the final downhill and Kris went blowing by me cussing and swearing about it taking too long to finish. I just kept plodding along at an easy pace and got passed for the first time by the woman I passed back at the windy pass aid station. I figured I would finish around 7:30, but that time went and passed and I still wasn't close to the finish. So ten minutes later, I finally saw the line. Kris beat me by over 3 minutes, but I was happy, I won my age group and James gave me a couple pairs of socks as a prize! The best part was waiting for Wayne to show up. He was concerned about finishing this hard race and we had even talked about taking the early start, but in the morning, he toed the line with the rest of us. We were getting nervous as the cutoff time was approaching when here comes Wayne, hauling down the trail with 5 min. to spare! It was a great accomplishment for him, just starting trailrunning a year ago. This course was exceptionally agrivating because it always seemed to go up and come to find out, it was probably 34 miles so it was long and it felt long. I hung out afterwards to help break down the finish and since I had room in my van, hauled some tables to Easton for storage. I ended up very tired and the next day felt that even though I had a good race, I was just burned out on the whole process and decided this was my last race for the season. I would miss hundred in the hood, but I had a good season, finishing in the top three of my age group in every race but one. It's now time to regroup, rest, then start training for next year!

Where's Waldo 100K

2009-09-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

I was looking forward to this race for many reasons, in '06 I only made it half way, in '07, I took a 6 mile detour. So this time I was ready to hit it hard. This is one of my favorite races, but now it conflicts with my new favorite race, the Cascade Crest 100. So I guess I'll be alternating races each year. After missing out on the hardware at White River 50 because I wasn't a member of USATF, I joined for this race since it was the 100K championship and I had a chance for the podium in my age group. Kris and I drove down together and stayed in a little cabin just down the road from the start. We both skiped the early start this time, we felt we should be able to finish under the 16 hours and win a hat doing the regular start. I have to admit it was alot better starting at 5:30am rather than 3:30. At the start, there is a mile hike up a ski run to get warmed up before running on single track started. I was feeling realy good and stuck behind Wendy as she passed through little groups of runners. After a while, I let her go, she's alot faster than me and I settled into a comfortable pace to the first aid station where I took a potty break and took off for Mt Fuji. It was great on the out-n-back to see the leaders and on the way down, I saw Kris not too far behind me. I felt great from Fuji to Mt Ray then halfway to the Twins, things started to unravel. My stomach started to go and I started to slow down. By the time I got to the Twins aid station, I wasn't feeling very good and couldn't figure out why. Unfortunatly, Kris showed up at the aid station feeling the same way, so we limped out of there together and headed to Charlton Lk, the halfway point at a slow pace. I had a brief moment of thought at Charlton lake about dropping, but we were way ahead of our split time and Kris and I decided to take off hoping we would feel better later. I figured out I was dehydrated and at road 4290 aid station took some time to drink alot. From there, I felt better and better and left Kris to go off on my own. I had a good run back to the Twins and figured I was still an hour ahead of my projected split. I took it easy on the climb to Maiden Peak and also on the steep downhill because last time I got shin splints and had to limp into the finish. This time I felt great and ran well on the last leg, passing a few runners until Ben Blessing went flying past me with two miles to go, hoot'n and hoolering. He also passed me near the end of Cascade Crest so it was actually fun to see him go by. I finished at 14:35, a great time for me and ended up getting a USATF medal for 2nd in my age group!

White River 50 Miler

2009-07-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

This was going to be an interesting race. I was feeling good but the weather was going to be hot. I did ok with hot weather at the Grey Rock 50K so I thought I still had a good chance to get a good time. I was especially happy that my new trail shoes showed up at the running store 20min before I was leaving town, they had been back-ordered for 3 weeks and I was afraid I would have to run in my beat up road shoes. Got up to Buck creek and set up my tent by the start line then up to Crystal Mountain for the spagetti feed. Met Kris up there and we ran into Glen and heard his great story of finishing Western States just under the time limit. After a great nights sleep, woke up in time to watch the Eric and TJ take off with the early starters. I decided to where my pack for the first half of the race so I could carry all my fuel, then ditch it when it got hot. I ran the first leg too fast again, even with a minor fall, it was good to see John there to cheer us on and I was feeling great. Charged up the climb and did the stairs without anyone passing me which has never happened before. A quick potty break and I met up with Kris and and actually beat her to Corral Pass. At the aid station, there was John cheering us on and after grabbing some eats, Kris and I left together. On the way back, we saw Heidi and Harvey both doing well. When we got to Ranger creek, I knew Kris would crush me on the downhill, but I actualy stayed with her half the way down until I started not to feel good. I got to Buck creek almost on 10hr time and by far the fastest I'd done that first loop. I tried to fuel up as best I could, but couldn't get up to speed on the 2 mile flat before the climb to Fawn ridge. Things got worse during the climb, I was hiking slow and couldn't run the runable sections. It was warm, but I had screwed up my fueling and was low on energy. To top it off, I couldn't choke down a gel so it wouldn't be till I stumbled into the Fawn ridge aid station before I could fix my situtation. I spent some time recovering at the aid station and getting refueled and by the time I made it to Sun Top I was feeling better, but still spent too much time there before heading down the 6.5 mile road section. The downhill went great! I just took off at a steady fast pace and stayed consistant all the way to the bottom, passing about 10 runners. At skookum flats aid station, I had to sit in a chair for a couple of minutes though, with John reminding me that the finish line was that a way! So I headed off down the trail, feeling ok, plodding along until about the last three miles I ran out of energy and had difficulty running for any length of time. I think almost all the runners I passed on the downhill went by me in this last section. It was hot and depressing and I was mad about screwing up my finish time. I eventually made it to the finish at 10:46, not a bad time for the conditions but I knew I should have done much better. Kris struggled also but still beat me by at least 20 min. Heidi came in an hour later, very tired, and Harvey kept us all anxious by finishing 2 min. before the cutoff, the last official finisher! I was very happy with my performance on the first loop and the road downhill. I think I needed to eat more atfter the ranger creek aid station to not fall behind before I reached buck creek. Well I should be able to go under 10 hours next year!

Grey Rock 50K

2009-07-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

"The toughest 50K in Washington" With a boast like that, I couldn't wait to check this race out in Yakima. After a successful Rock n Roll marathon, Harvey signed up and we car pooled over with his 2 year old daughter and brother-in-law Gil as the babysitter. After checking into our hotel in Yakima, Harvey had the good idea to drive out to the trail head so we could time it correctly in the morning. Lucky we went out there since it ended up taking about an hour to get up to the campground. The next morning, we arrived right on time, it was a small mostly local crowd doing either the 50k, 25k or 12k. King Arthur showed up on his harley after waking up at 2am and charging over the pass. The RD gave his pre race talk emphasing that it would get hot out there and to take lots of water. He also warned us about lighting strikes and forest fires. At the start, we went up the first 2 mile climb, I took it comfortably and in no time was cruising down the 5 mile downhill to the middle aid station. Then came the 7 mile up to the turnaround aid station. I spead up to pass the guy in my age group ahead of me. It was starting to warm up and I could feel alittle elevation (5-6,000ft) but the climb wasn't that bad. I got to the aid station, did the mile out n back and checked my watch. 3:10! this was going much better than I thought. Instead of trying to beat 7 hrs, I was closer to a 6 hr finish! On the way back, I heard a helicopter and a couple miles down the ridge was a new forest fire. It looked like it was far enough away not to effect our race, but I caught myself interrupting my downhill run stopping to look at the fire from time to time. It was getting hot so when I left the middle aid station, I decided that instead of going all out to finish under 6 hours, I would take it easy on the last 5 mile climb since I had my age group in the bag. So I walked most of the climb, got passed by a couple of runners, then I even took it easy on the last 2 mile downhill because it was rocky and I didn't want to fall. I finished in 6:10 and felt pretty good about how I managed the race. I stayed well hydrated and felt good most of the time. I even got a little medal for winning my age group. But all that went out the door when I locked Harvey's keys in his van. It ended up taking Harvey 31/2 hours to catch a ride into town, get hold of AAA, and ride with the locksmith back out to the campground. In the meantime, I helped the volunters break down the finish line. It was a great event, but a long day...

Lake Youngs almost 50K

2009-06-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

Lake Youngs is an urban 3 lap trail race around Lake Youngs with not much elevation gain so it's all runnable. Each lap is just under 10 miles so the course is about 29 miles. Last year, I ran it pretty hard with Matt with a time of 4:19. This year, due to my hamstring and heel injury, my goal was to not get hurt and finish under 4:30. This is a low key race, and King Aurthur, the RD, was running it also, so at the start he just said "Let's Go!" and off we went. The weather was great, cloudy a chance of clearing, and I started off with a comfortable pace. Steve Stoyls caught me, and we ran together until about mile 6 when I had to make a dodge into the bushes for a bathroom break. I ended up running the first lap a couple of minutes faster than last year without really working at all. I guess I'm in better shape, the hills on the backside of the loop didn't seem bad at all. I did slow down the second lap, I didn't want to push it, but when I got to mile 17 in the hill section, my hamstring started to tighten up and I slowed more and started to wonder if I should do the third lap. As I got closer to the finish, I thought how great it would be to stop now, with a good 19 mile training run in, and not hurt myself some more. But it was important that I get a long run in and I knew I could hobble around the loop one more time. I ended up charging into the aid station, handing Tony C. my bottle for a refill, and charging back out on the course. I knew if I stopped, I would sit down and not leave. I suddenly felt better and chuckled that this was another example of my motto, "It doesn't always get worse!". Then suddenly, I had another impending diarrhea attack. I was in a bad spot with no access to woods for another mile and a half, so I toughed it out and made a dash for the bushes at the first opportunity. I had to sit there for a long time, probably 5 minutes and when I finally got back out on the trail, I noticed the thirteen year old kid was ahead of me by a couple of hundred yards. I ran the rest of the loop at a comfortable pace, no problems on the hills and I caught the kid on the last hill just before the finish. This was his first ultra and he ran each lap without a water bottle! I let him finish in front of me so he could hear the praises from the crowd first hand, plus it was kinda neat getting punked by a kid! I finished in 4:27 and change with factoring in the potty breaks, was about the same that I ran it last year but with much less effort. It was a good day and I'm glad I decided at the last minute to make the trip.

Capitol City Marathon

2009-05-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

Since my surgery, I've been running capitol city marathon for the last 5 years with finish times from 3:36 to 3:46. Before surgery, I usually ran 3:20's. So again this year the plan was to run a sub 3:30. Previously, I've either had an injury or ran Mac Forest the weekend before so I couldn't go full speed. This year I planned to skip Mac Forest so I would be rested for the marathon, but ended up injuring myself anyway. When I got laid off from work, I decided to take that opportunity to lift some weights. So of course, I started out 3 times a week and promptly strained my hamstring! So I started the marathon with a nagging injury but I thought I would give it a try anyway. At the start I got together with Rachael and Terry(in pink-he lost a bet!). Kris was there for moral support and she would check on us out on the course. Also running was Ulrike-paced by Dave, Heidi, Ted, and Israel. After the first mile, Rachael decided to drop back while Terry and I pushed on at a 8+- minute/mile pace. The first 16 miles has some rolling hills so I wrote my goal time for mile 16 on my hand to check my pace then. After about 10 miles, I surged ahead of Terry (to get away from his pinkness)and when I reached mile 16, I was right on the mark! But, same as last year, in the next two miles, the hammy tightened up and my 3:30 finish was out the door. Terry went by me like a shot as I settled down to a slower pace to get home without hurting anything. I ended up finishing at 3:40 which actually gave me a second place age group award! It was a great day and everyone finished, Ulrike with second overall, Dave had alot of fun pacing and providing strategy, Heidi won an age group award, and Terry finished under 3:30!

Ice Axe on Eleanor

2009-05-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

I've done alot of running and hiking, but never have learned to use an ice axe until today. With a possible climb of Rainier in the future, my wife's father's very experienced climbing buddy Fred Griesman invited me to tag along on a climb up the snow chutes of Mt Eleanore.

We arrived at the lower trailhead at 8:30 in the morning, the road to the main trailhead was impassible due to snow. I was surprised that there was only one other car there, must be because of mother's day, but the weather was sunny and warm. It took us about a half hour to hike up to the main trailhead and after another 20 minutes, we were in snow for the rest of the way. Fred loaned me some really good plastic climbing boots,snow gaitors, and an ice axe. So I was ready for anything! we soon took the turn to the chutes and started plodding up the steep snowy slope. I felt like I was climbing Mt Everest, planting my ice axe, taking two steps, plant the ice axe, take two steps. We worked our way, to the left, taking the most direct route up. It was alittle steeper and at the top, the chute narrowed to a short techincal rock move that took a little time to figure out. The climbers below us thought better of it and took a different route. Another short climbing session and we were on the top! After a good look around and lunch, we put on our rain pants for the glissade descent. What a hoot, sliding on your ass down a steep slope. I had some control problems in the beginning but once I got the hang of it, it was way fun. I'm now more comfortable with an ice axe and looking forward to some more mountain climbing!

Chuckanut '09

2009-03-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

I was excited for this year's Chuckanut since I missed last year's at the last minute due to my dog having a seizure. Now the dog is fine and Kris and I are cruizing up the freeway to Fairhaven runners to pick up our race stuff. We met Anna and Dugan Bates there (Anna tried to poison me at Cascade Crest)and went out to the Boundry Bay tavern for some great pre-race food. There we were joined with our hotel room mates, James and Warren from Winthrop. The Bates kept up their poisoning tradition with Dugan sending over a bedtime beer for me. I slept well and woke to sunny skies. I started the first flat 6 miles too fast as usual, but after 15 min, slowed down and recovered then sped back up and started passing people. On the first climb, all the people I passed went by me,I'm so slow on the ups! After the second aid station there is a long road uphill where even more passed me and Glen caught up to me. I managed to stay with him to the ridge and actually was spot on the time I was shooting for. But mother ultra raised her ugly head and my stomach started going south. I was real disappointed since the ridge trail is the funnest part of the race. I stayed with Glen till chin scraper but Kris went charging past, drats, chicked again! I hurried down the downhill as best I could, not knowing which end was going to cut loose first and hoping I would make it to the last aid station bathroom in time. After a satisfying 10 min. break at the last aid station, the last flat 6 miles were slow with more stomach pains so when I finally crossed the line, I headed straight for the bathroom. Sounds worse then it was, I actually had a good time and the weather was great.

Orcas '09

2009-02-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

What another great event! It started friday morning with a shopping trip to Costco to pick up supplies for the pre-race continetal breakfast, then pick up Kris for a ride up. We drove in the rain until Mt.Vernon when the clouds parted and cleared by the time we got to the ferry. On the ferry we ran into Clem and Ken Ward from Corvalis. It was great catching up with Clem and Ken showed me how to work my new camera. Glen was there also, hadn't seen him since Cascade Crest. It was still daylight when we reached Moran State Park. Several runners had already signed up and when I brought in the race shirts, pandimonium! James scrounged up recycled shirts, zip tops, sweatshirts, and hoodies and printed them up. They were fantastic and it was first come, first serve to choose the one you wanted. It was just like a 50% off sale at Walmart. Everyone just dove in and shirts went flying. I of course got the best one. We spent a relaxing evening waiting for the late ferry with the rest of the oly folks, on it. By the time they showed up, it was about 10:00 and time to go to bed.
In the morning, Kris and I chopped bagels, muffins, bananas, and melons for the breakfast. It all went well,there was plenty of food and enough time to get ready for the start. For some reason, Dave decided to run the 50K instead of the 25K, so after the start, he ran with me for a couple of miles to keep from going out too fast, then as we approached the first climb, he took off. I felt good on the first climb, and after reaching the summit, I blasted the downhill passing alot of runners. Just before reaching the 10 mile aid station, I caught up with Wendy. I knew I was going too fast, I shouldn't be anywhere near her. Just before the aid station, Dave passed me on the out'n back. I think we were both surprised to see each other. Wendy and Dave would end up beating me by more than 45 minutes. I had a hard time getting back up to speed before hitting the infamous powerline trail. As usual on a hard climb, I got passed by all the runners I blitzed on the downhill on the first loop. I ended up running with Randy, an Orcas local, and Glen till we got to the aid station at the top of Mt Constitution at mile 22. It was great to see John, Clem, and James up there. I grabbed a cup of coke, and left just as Kris reached the summit. I started down the steep switch backs with Glen and Randy, but
started to fade and lost touch with them as I slowed to eat a gel. I wish I would have eaten that peanut butter sandwich at the top. I started to feel better as the trail flattened out and was about 2 miles out with less than 20min to go. For a moment, I thought I could finish under 7 hours, but decided to walk the little ups and cruise into the Lodge.
James pulled off a great post race party with tons of black bean chili, 2 kegs of beer and great live music. We all had a great time and after cleaning up in the morning, even caught our ferry on time. It was another great event, but I sure felt it with sore quads for 3 days after.

A Great Day!

2008-11-17T22:07:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I had one of those days where everything just fell into place. It started with our morning run at Capitol Forest. Dave and I went up to Falls Creek for an easy 2hr run. Shortly after starting up the hill, we entered a temperature inversion and suddenly it was sunny and 60 degrees! The trail was in great shape, and we ran at an easy pace for a most enjoyable run. To top it off, when we got back to Top Foods, they were having a free breakfast in the parking lot with eggs, sausage, pancakes, juice, and starbucks coffee. We were in heaven! After cleaning up and doing some yard work, it was off to my next adventure, razor clam digging! I haven't gone clamming for 20 years so I was really excited that Kathy and Dan invited me along. Low tide was at 8pm, so we arrived at Aberdeen around 5:30. Not really knowing where to go, we decided on Grayland. It was dark when we turned down the main access to the beach. We didn't want to park on the sand, so we parked in the lot and hoofed out to the beach. There was a steady stream of cars, but we were shocked when we looked up and down the beach in the darkness, there were hundreds of lantern lights as far as the eye could see in both directions. Though it seemed really crowded, we just walked straight down to the water and started digging. We got our limits of 15 clams apiece within an hour, then took pause and noticed that it was just an incredible night. Warm, no wind, clear with almost a full moon, and that surreal scene of glittering lanterns. We were so amazed, we didn't want to leave. I'm now hooked on clamming, but I don't know if it can get any better then that.

Time to Rev it Up!

2008-11-02T20:05:00.000-08:00

Today, Kris and I ran up to Capitol Peak and back. It felt great! It was the first time either one of us had been up there since August which is pretty bad since it's in our backyard!
After Cascade Crest, I decided to take a couple of months off. I did get a couple of long runs in, and a couple of great hikes, one to High Rock(see photo) and also up to Tolmie Peak. Both hikes were in beautiful weather with outstanding views of Mt Rainier. I also finally went Tuna fishing and brought home 8 Albacore! But now comes November and it's time to start training for next year and a Christmas ski trip at Whistler. Of course, last Sunday I managed to strain something in my right foot as I was trail blazing a new trail from the Waddell Creek loop to the Capitol Forest wilderness. This is a new trail area that James introduced to us a few weeks ago. The only access was through private property so we needed to bushwack a new route. Anyway, now my foot is hurt so I won't start November up with a bang, more of a limp. My goals for next year are a sub 3:30 Capitol City Marathon, run some awesome 100 miler that I haven't picked yet, and run Waldo again.

Cascade Crest 100 - Best Yet!

2008-08-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

First, one can't ever do an event like this without alot of help. I would like to thank my crew extrodinaire Harvey Hall who kept me fueled and on track, John Pearch for his help and enthusiasm on the course, James and Alison for your support and aid station,Kris for training with me, and Glen for running with me through the night section.

Cascade Crest is ranked as one of the harder 100 milers with 20,000 ft of climb and every type of running surface you can imagine including a 2 mile tunnel. As it was my first 100 miler, the goal was to finish under the 32 hour time limit and to have fun.

Kris and I showed up at 7:30 for the breakfast before the 10:00 start. It was hard to hold back on all the great food, but I had a blueberry pancake and a spot of scrambled eggs. After getting organized with Harvey, the pre-race meeting and the traditional singing of the national athem, it was time for the start. John led us out on a mountain bike and I settled in to a comfortable pace. My plan was to start slow, take the first long climb easy and drink a lot. The Goat Peak climb was long but the view was worth it. By the time I reached Tacoma Pass at mile 23, I was running with Glen and Kris had just caught us.

It was here I made my first mistake, Anna Bates suggested I split a bologna and avocado sandwich with Kris. I probably haven't eaten bologna for 30 years and it hit my stomach like a rock. Shortly after the aid station I wasn't feeling too good and Kris took off. I now just stuck to gels and no solid food except for an occasional fruit. Stampede Pass at mile 33 and now an hour behind Kris, I grabbed my pack and light and Glen and I slogged through a tough section of the PCT trail and the dark until we finally reached Olallie Meadows at mile47. We left the aid station ready to take on the ropes section but after running for about 10 minutes, Glen discovered that he had left without his water bottles! He was going to go back when I offered him one of mine since this was a short section and we could get by with one bottle and we would sort this all out at the next aid station. Then we ran into John, he was heading back after checking the marking at the rope section and he offered to grab Glen's water bottles and meet us at the next aid station at Hyak. The rope section was fun except that I wear my light on my waist so if I rappelled, my light went out, so I did most of it facing down. Then we entered the two mile tunnel. I was still wearing a short sleeve shirt and the tunnel was cold so I picked up the pace to stay warm and then it got a little scary so I picked up the pace more and hauled out of there, passing everyone in the tunnel! I was feeling great so I continued the pace for the next mile to the Hyak aid station at mile 53, met Harvey and John and sat down and had pizza and chicken soup.

Glen and I had a good 7 mile hike up to Kachess ridge on the road and a comfortable 7 mile back down to Kachess Lake aid station at mile 68. I was excited for the grilled cheese sandwich and to start the infamous "Trail from Hell" section which is only five miles along the lake but with lots of little ups and downs and logs to crawl over. What I didn't expect was the horrible bushwack trail that we had to crawl through brush and over downed trees just to get to the trail head. Glen lead the way as we agreed to take it slow and worked our way methodically towards Mineral Creek and daylight.

I was planning on changing my shoes after fording the calf deep creek, but when we got there, there was a log bridge and we entered the aid station at mile 73 with dry feet. My feet felt great but I decided to change my shoes anyway, I checked and no blisters or hot spots and it felt good to have new socks on. I was feeling strong and needed to meet Harvey up the gravel climb 2 miles to change back into short sleeves and ditch my light so I started powering up the road while Glen who was feeling low on energy lagged behind. After meeting Harvey for the last time till mile 95, I was ready to race. Glen was still lagging behind so I decided it was time for me to go and finish this thing. I was also super excited to see James and Alison at the next aid station so I powered up the gravel road for the next 5 miles passing everyone I saw. James grilled up a most excellent ham and cheese sandwich for me at No Name Ridge mile 80 and I left the aid station ready to attack the Cardiac Needles with 4 hard climbs in the next 9 miles. I had thought I would be walking this whole section, but here I was, full of energy, running this section like our training run. It was great fun, still passing runners, had a great up and back on Thorp Mt at mile 84, saw Glen who took this great picture.

I suddenly realized that I could have a great finish time, possibly in the 28 hr range if I kept the gas on. Right after the French Cabin aid station at mile 88 is the last steep climb and right at the top were two mountain bikers getting ready to head down. The first couple of miles are technical downhill so we kept passing each other to their amazement until the trail flattened out and they were gone. The next couple of miles were flat and runable but I was starting to slow and feel like the party was over. I was hoping to get to the Silver Creek aid station before 2:00 to give me time to finish before 3, but it wasn't looking good. I struggled through the trail reroute around the big avalanche as my legs started to stiffen up so I knew I needed more electrolytes, so after popping a couple of e-caps, I started to loosen up just as a runner and her pacer were catching up to me. It was game on again as I charged down the steep downhill to Silver Creek aid station at mile 95. I bombed into the aid station an hour before I told Harvey I would be there. I was afraid he wouldn't be there, but there he was, ready to get me going. I dropped my pack, grabbed a water bottle and took off at 2:10. Five miles in less than 50 minutes was a definite possibility. I followed a kid down the dirt road, running as hard as I could. After about a mile, the kid pointed to a red flag on a dirt road to the left and I followed him down the road for a couple tenths of a mile when I noticed there were no shoe tracks in the dirt and I hadn't seen anymore flagging. I yelled at the kid and we turned around and ran back to the turn and sure nough, there were more flags straight ahead. I was so pissed and disappointed, I stopped and drank some water knowing I had blown my chance for a sub 29 hr finish. I started up again and Harvey drove by encouraging me and I slowly got back up to speed once I hit the pavement with about 3 miles to go. It felt like the end of a successful marathon, I was chugging along the pavement at a good clip but after crossing the freeway overpass, it looked like I had 14 minutes to cover 2 miles, not good. But as I popped up to the final section along the tracks, I could see the finish and I had 8 minutes to go. I put my head down and started to sprint because you never know how far your watch is off the official clock. As I rounded the last turn, I saw the clock at 28.55 and blasted across the finish line in pure joy!

This was by far my hardest and best ultra yet. I had no idea I would feel so good the second half. Next year I'm doing Waldo, but I'll be doing another hundred for sure!

Assult on Haleakala

2008-07-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

While everyone's been doing hard training and events, I've been tapering in Maui for the last week, swimming, snorkeling, and surfing. We're staying at a condo at Kahana Sunset, just south of Napili. I found a good running route a mile from our place that is a vacated golf course with steep asphalt trails with up to 600 ft of elevation gain. But my eye has always been on the 10,000ft volcano Haleakala. The logistics of running most of the mountain was out of the question, but when my wife's cousins decided to drive up to view the sunset, I had a plan. They would drop me off at the 8,000 ft about 5 miles to the top and I would either meet them at the top or they would pick up the road kill on the way down. It's a two hour drive so we left at 3:00 am to catch the 5:37am sunset. The road is in great shape and gently ascends the mountain with many switch backs. The nearly full moon was just setting so it was very dark out but the view of lower Maui was incredible. The mountain only has some sparce scrub brush so you can see all over the place with out those pesky trees being in the way. We reached the 8,000 ft mark at 4:45am and there I started my run with a windbreaker, my hydration pack, and a couple of water bottles. The wind was blowing and it was a little under 40 degrees with clear skies. Quite a change from the 85 degrees I was now used to. It was dark but I could run without a flashlight and there was an occasional car to light the next switch back.
I trotted along (I'm on vacation after all) and really didn't feel any effect from the altitude. The run was surprisingly easy with the moderate grade and the wind even died down. It started to lighten up and I realized I might make it to the top before the sunrise. I stepped it up a bit and the clouds on the horizon delayed the sunrise a bit and I bounded into the summit parking lot just as the sunrise was starting. I was so happy to get there mostly because there are a ton of tourist bikers that coast down the road after the sunrise and I didn't want to try to dodge them! The sunrise was beautiful and I added another conquered mountain peak to my list. Next stop White River 50.

Back to Backs

2008-06-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

Had a back to back weekend with Lake Youngs on Saturday and a Rock Candy run on Sunday. Ran Lake Youngs with Matt, his first ultra. It was alot of fun since he had a garmin so I could constantly ask how fast we were going and our average pace. We've run Capitol City marathon together and he is faster, but usually runs the same pace that I do. We started off a little fast but got into a comfortable pace and did the first lap in 1:20, just a little faster than planned. Matt had to go to the bathroom so we spent about4 mins at the aid station. The second lap felt good, Matt had to stop a couple of times to get rocks out of his shoes, and Van Phan and Steve Stoyles caught us just before the end of the lap and we finished in 1:26. We both started to feel the pain on the third lap and couldn't keep the pace up, but I wasn't suffering, and felt pretty good. In the last mile, I started to smell the barn and surged ahead of Matt, who figured he would catch me on the steep hill at the end. But I decided to charge up the hill instead of hiking it, so Matt couldn't catch up. We finished at 4:18, I was hoping for 4 - 4:15, but was happy with the result, I could always blame it on Matt's breaks. We were surprised to see Kris at the finish, she dropped after trying a third lap and deciding to turn back due to stiffening up. But Kris recovered quickly and wanted to run the next day as a start for our Cascade Crest training, so we decided to do Rock Candy Mountain, about an 11 mile run with a couple of thousand feet of gain. We got up there at 11:00 when all the motorbikers were there, but few were on the trail. However, there was alot of big mud puddles on the lower part rimed with devil's club, that made it slow going to start off. We took it easy going up, and were disappointed it wasn't sunny and warm at the peak, but the view was great. Had a good run going down, talked to a couple of bikers on the way down and just before the parking lot, Kris slipped on the mud and landed on her butt, caking her handhelds in mud and of course her backside. If felt good, it wasn't that long ago I wouldn't do any running for a week after a marathon. I plan to do Rock Candy at least once a week and will start doubling up long runs on the weekends more.

A Month of Fun!

2008-05-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been over a month since I've posted. Near the end of April, I helped out with our local Capitol Peak 50 miler. I really wiped myself out flagging the second half of the course the day before the race. Between post holeing in the snow along the ridge and tossing branches I was exhausted by the end of the day. The next morning I was up early, stocking the aid stations, then I swept the last 15 miles. It was a great sunny day and I felt great by the end.
My next adventure was running the MacDonald forest 50K. Had a good trip down, spent the night at Jim Lofgren's house (he and his wife are incredible!). At the start, I hooked up with Todd Temple who I had started with at Waldo last year. He was going slow, so we ran together for the first 9 miles. However, when I got to Lovely Rita, the first uphill in the maze, I started to struggle and tried every combination of electrolytes and gels and aid station food, but nothing seemed to help till about the last 6 miles when I felt great. I guess I got dehydrated on the long downhill before the maze and took awhile to recover. I was really sore for the next couple of days, but after reading Eric Barnes blog about his Tacoma Marathon, I thought I might as well sign up for the Capitol City marathon the next weekend.
My next adventure, the marathon. I've never run two long races a week apart, but I was just sore, not injured, so I thought I'd give it a try. The plan was to try and qualify for Boston with a 3:35. The course is hilly so I just figured out my goal time to reach 18 miles and then decide what to do. It was a sunny day, but not too hot, so I started out slow then cranked it up doing 7:45s -8:10s on the flats and faster or slower on the hills. When I got to mile 18, I was right on the mark! I did two more miles on pace, then started to fade. I finished strong but with a time of 3:39, missed qualifying for Boston, but I beat my last year's time by 8mins. I also ended up with a third place age group trophy! Then afterwards, my mind fog cleared, and I realized I turn 55 this August and I easily qualified for Boston for the 55+ age group!
I'm getting excited for Cascade Crest, I'm finally up to training speed and not injured. Will be concentrating on hill work between now and Lake Youngs.

Green Light for the season!

2008-04-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

It was time for my annual checkup with my cardiologist. It's been two years since my last stress test so I was excited to battle the treadmill again and hopefully get the thumbs up for another season of ultra running. The test starts with attaching about 8 electrodes around my chest and back(some shaving req.) and wrapped a blood pressure strap around my arm. Then I laid on my side for an echocardiogram. Using an small ultrasound wand, the technician targeted different areas of my heart, creating a series of colorful short videos that showed the blood flowing through the chambers and valves. It was very interesting to watch the old heart work away. Then it was time to start the treadmill. The test is call the Bruce treadmill test, you start out at a walking pace 1.7 mph and incline of 10%, then every 3 minutes, it speeds up and elevates. Our treadmill was set for 7 sessions that ended with 3 mins at 6.0 mph at a 20% incline. I did the same test a couple of years ago and hold the distinction of being his only patient that completed the whole 21 minutes. You have to understand that most of his patients are 20 or more years older and have trouble walking fast and I'm the only one that shows up in running shorts. While I was plugging away, in the other room, they ran a couple of other patients through their complete tests. They thought that was funny. The nice thing about this test, is that it allows me to check out my maximum heart rate under medical supervision. When I got to the last of my 21 minutes, I was at my maximum heart rate 174, (my resting is 38). I was ready to stop, but they wanted to see what the machine would do after 21 minutes. Would it stop? would it keep speeding up? no one knew since they never went that long. So they said hang in there so we can see what happens. The treadmill just stayed at the same pace and incline, fortunately after another minute they stopped the machine and laid me down for a post run echocardiogram. My heart was really pumping away but settled down very quickly. My cardiologist told me I didn't have any issues, sent me for a blood test and I was done. So I'm good for another year, a little adjustment on my chlolesterol medication, and I'm on the trails again!

Mental toughness

2008-04-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

well it's a week late, but here's last weeks adventure...
My family took our spring break down at Sunriver the week before Peterson Ridge 60K. It was alot of fun, spring skiing and biking each day. My muscles were sore from the skiing, but I was having too much fun. Tried to run the Dechutes river trail, only made it about 2 miles in, too much snow and I couldn't always spot the trail. Saturday nite, Alexa, Dave, and Kris showed up at our rental house to crash for the night. Dave showed his prowness with ping pong before we hit the hay for an early wake up for the drive to Sisters. The temp was cold, but with the forcast for 70 degree weather, I started with short sleeves, skull cap, and gloves. I started the race running with Eric Barnes and we clipped along at a good pace on the flat first section, but after reaching the first aid station a few minutes earlier than I have in the past, I slowed down. But after another mile, there was Eric, taking pictures of runners. I guess he wanted to slow down also, since he ran a marathon the weekend before. He dropped in behind me and managed to take a header at a road crossing. I started to feel heavy legs and by the time we got to the grunt climb, Eric was way ahead of me. After the grunt is a long gentile downhill where you can really cook. I could barely make 9 min miles! The trail was also part of an out and back so there was alot of traffic going both ways from both the long course and short course runners. Every one on the downhill was passing me, how depressing. I felt terrible but managed a smile when I spotted Alexa charging up the hill past me. Then Dave came cruising by and when I said hi, he stopped and ran(shuffled) with me. He got his fast workout in and wanted to run in with someone. When we got to the next aid station, I thought I would have a seat and wait for Kris to show up. Didn't have to wait long, but Kris was cruising and there was no way I was going to keep up with her. So Dave hung with me almost to the turn for the second loop. I really wanted to just finish with him, I was going soo slow, but it was a nice day and I figured I need to practice running in pain for a few hours, so when Maureen showed up, she and Dave continued to the finish while I made the turn for another 3 hours of fun. On the second loop, I tried every combination of fluids, gels, and electrolytes with limited success. At the top of the hill at the 25 mile aid station, I had a nice chat with Kurt, RD for Waldo, then actually ran part of the downhill at a pretty good clip. But by the time I reached the last aid station, I was back to shuffling. I finally finished about an hour later than I expected. It was great coming in late, more people to cheer! I didn't feel that bad, and the shower in the gym was invigorating. But my legs were sore for a couple of days. I'm glad I stuck it out, good mental training, however, I know I need to take it easier before a race, not start out too fast, and wear a hat!

Hell's Creek Slide

2008-04-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, James and I were going to run the trail from Wedekind to Hell's Creek since we couldn't make it all the way last week due to snow. It was great to drive all the way to Wedekind with no snow. Since I as usual was under time constraints, we skipped the first section of trail and ran down the road to catch the trail where the 50 miler usually does. The trail was in good shape until we got about a 1/2 mile from the C line road intersection. There was a group of 8 to 10 fir trees, some large, laying across the trail. More than my chainsaw could handle. We decided to continue on a couple more miles and scope out the slide at Hell's Creek that wiped out the trail. Wow!, the slide started from the top of the switch backs all the way to the Creek. Totally wiped out everything. We could see the Greenline trail leaving the Creek from the log jam at the bottom and decided to head down there and run the the Greenline back to Wedekind. We went about straight down on a old log skid slide, (the same place John hurt his knee) cut over onto the slide, walked a log across the creek, and forged our way through the log jam to the trail on the other side. We thought this could still work for the 50 miler but I'm sure there would be alot of complaints, DNR wouldn't approve, and John would never do it. But we had a good little adventure and the Greenline trail going back up had been scoured and was rocky but not as muddy as it usually was. We made the shortened loop in 2 1/2 hours. Another great day in the Capitol Forest!

Bunny Snowman

2008-04-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

Had a couple of good trips up to Capitol Forest over the last couple of weeks. First, I went up to meet John and Henry the mountain biker to clean up fallen trees by Wedekind. I went up early and was happy to find the main road freshly graded and free of snow all the way to Wedekind for the first time in weeks. I worked for about an hour with the chainsaw until getting it stuck just as Henry and John arrived. Henry has a big saw and made quick work of the rest of the trees while I caught up to John at the washout and built a ramp down to the creek crossing. I had to leave early, but Henry gave John a tour of his proposed new trail west of Wedekind. It was alot of fun running the chain saw. I'm sure I'll have more opportunities as we prepare for the 50miler.

This Sat, Kris, Dave, James, and I planned to run from Wedekind to the slide at Hell's Creek. Unfortunately, the snow gods had re-appeared and there was a new foot of snow on the road and we had to park at Trail 50 and run from there. We ran the road ruts past Wedekind down to the 50 mile turn off into the trail. There was only about 3-4 inches of snow on the trail at this point so Dave talked us into trying it out. We went for about a mile with easy running until we hit a road crossing. It was time to turn around, but there was Dave, feverishly building a snowman. So James and I each rolled a ball as Dave fashioned the snowman into a bunny! What a goof ball!
I managed to snap a couple of pictures with my phone camera and recorded a short video which my phone won't let me send anywhere so right now it's my wallpaper on my phone. It started to warm up on the way back so on the trail, we were pelted with snow balls falling from the tree limbs. I took a direct hit on the top of my head and another big one on the shoulder. Now, everytime we took a break, Dave would make another bunny snowman. I felt great on the long uphill climb up the road and cruised on the downhill to the car. All in all, another great day in the forest, and I didn't even get my car stuck in the snow thanks to Dave and James pushing me out of my parking spot.

Capitol Forest - Plan B

2008-02-23T20:15:00.000-08:00

Today's plan was to run down Green-line from C-line to Falls Creek and back up Mima Porter to Wedekind where I would meet John as he surveyed the bridge damage just out of Wedekind. It was sunny and the trails were in great shape on both the down and up. Just before the intersection with trail 50 I ran into patches of snow. After the intersection, the trail was covered with soggy untracted snow 1-2' deep and I started slogging through the crap up to my shins. I didn't think John should hike in this stuff and was hoping on meeting him at the first washout out of Wedekind and tell him not to go any further. But after taking over 45 min. to cover 2 miles, I arrived at Wedekind to find the road unpassible with over 2' of snow on it and just some snow cat tracks. I had told John I would be really pissed if he wasn't there, so my first thought was why he didn't meet me at trail 50 since he couldn't drive down here, so it was time for plan B, I figured I would hoof it up the road which was a longer distance but at least it was semi runnable. I actually had a nice run up to the Capitol peak junction and started down the road which was still not driveable. Right after the rock quarry, there was John with two other pickup trucks. It seems that after dropping me off, he drove about 2 miles up the road and got stuck and been there the 2 hrs it took me to run around. My timing was great, everyone was unstuck, and we were able to take off. Of course John was a wreck, and as usual, he was in worse shape even though I'd been running and slogging all this time. He hadn't eaten and didn't have anything to drink and thought he'd be spending the night out there, so we had a good laugh and chaulked it up to another great adventure in Capitol Forest.

Orcas Kick My Fat Ass!

2008-02-18T21:05:00.001-08:00

I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to Orcas this year due to my tender hamstring and lack of training so far this year, but sunny weather was to be had, and a new, lower course which should make for an easy double loop brightened my spirits. I helped out this year by hauling all the aid station stuff that John took out of his car so he could pack his bike. Fortunately, at the last minute, Dave decided to go with and run the 25K. We had an easy drive up to the ferry and caught the same one as John even though he left an hour before us. James put all us Oly people in the same cabin so we also had Kris and Dan bunking with us. It wasn't terribly cold in the morning so I stuffed some gels in my shorts, wore my patagonia zip tee and light gloves and grabbed a water bottle and headed to the start. I stashed a short sleeve shirt in my drop bag in case it got warmer on the second loop. I was a little worried about covering the last 9 mile section with just one water bottle but thought it could work out. I started too fast as usual but after the first hard climb up the powerline, I took it easy on the downhill remembering my goal not to hurt myself any more. My water bottle leaked all over my glove so my hand was frozen till the first aid station. While I was there I didn't drink but ate a gel and took off. The rest of the 9 mile loop I started to slow down and feel tight. Just before the end of the first loop, Kris caught up with me and we decided to run the second loop together(at a slower pace) On the second loop I wore my short sleeved shirt but kept the gloves, it was still cool but it worked well. I still didn't feel good until we got to the aid station and I figured out that I needed some electrolytes, drink more and eat more. After that I felt great, and we plugged along at a comfortable pace enjoying the sunny day and the great views. Unfortunately, just before the last major climb with about 4 miles to go, I ran out of water. So I stayed behind Glen who was slow up the hill and conserved myself. With about 2 miles to go, Kris smelled the barn and took off. I just hung with Glen since I know the easiest way to aggravate my hamstring is to be dehydrated. I felt great at the finish (over 7 hrs!) and especially enjoyed taking a hot shower right after finishing. Later, John, Kris, Kent, and I went up to Mt.Constitution to catch the sunset. The views from there were stunning. It was a very good weekend hanging with the ultra crowd, listening to live bluegrass music, and getting great advice about Cascade Crest. James managed to still get almost 7,000 vertical in this race so it truely did kick my fat ass. But everyone loved the course so next year the fat ass label will be gone. This is now a classic NW ultra!

Capitol Peak FatAss

2008-01-20T16:11:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the week, I thought that this was going to be a nice dry trail run, but of coarse, it started raining with mixed sleet at 5:30 in the morning, so here we go with another miserable day in the forest. The plan was for Kris and I help with the parking and do the sweep. I decided to also run the first loop so I wouldn't have to stand around for 4 hours. I left shortly after the start and was immediately stuck behind a slow pace line which actually felt good at the time. I still managed to catch up with Alexa and ran with her for about the first 1/2 hour until Mat showed up(he got a late start waiting for the bathroom). Mat and I picked up the pace and stuck with a couple other runners for the rest of the first loop. We did the first loop in about a hour and a half which was a good time for all the dinking around we did. It felt great stopping after that first loop and hanging out by the super warm burn barrel. Other runners started dropping like flies after the first loop but most that completed the second loop were especially happy to be done. I noticed that a lot of runners indicated at the start that they were doing the 34 miler, but many had a change of heart after 17 due to the cold rain and muddy footing. It was great watching Mat and Rob finishing their first Capitol Forest Ultra in good times and good spirits, but we had to leave before Alexa finished. Kris and I started the sweep at noon, right after three runners left the camp. We quickly caught up with them and continued on a comfortable pace. However, after 100+ runners, the bottom loop trail was a muddy mess. It took about 2 hours to complete the loop and I was pooped and had a blister on my heel. Fortunately, Dave was tired from timekeeping and offered sweep the second loop with Kris, so I got to change my cloths, get some food and hang out at my favorite burn barrel. It really didn't stop raining until the last of the runners finished, and when the sweeps arrived, we had half the camp packed up. We managed to clean everything up and get out of there by 5:10 and it was still light out! All in all a good run and a good day.

Mental Toughness

2008-01-12T21:08:00.000-08:00

Today was to be a quick training run up in Capitol Forest. Kris and I would run a short loop while John surveyed the damaged bridge by Trail 50. Of course there was snow on the trail and it was raining hard at the start, but we decided to take it easy and power hike the ups. Soon, the snow deepened and the power hike turned into a slog up the steep switch backs. I felt like we were climbing Mt. Rainier as I broke trail in the deep slushy snow, one laborous step after another. I began thinking about my spin class the previous night. Rachael, our instructor, threw in a 15 min. "Time Trial" in the middle of our workout. During the workout, she talked about the importance of maintaining consistant effort and that this was about mental toughness. So as I climbed the switch backs, I developed a steady cadence and concentrated on maintaining steady effort. When we reached the top, I was pooped! We decided to run back down on the roads. A 4 wheeler had made it up there so there were some tracks in the deep snow to run down on. The tracks were just a little bit too narrow, I had a hard time keeping my balance, so most of the time, I ran down the middle, which was semi compact. About 2/3 the way down, the road finally cleared of snow and we ended up with a good 2.5 hour workout. Hopefully the Fat Ass course will melt a bit before next weekend's race.

Trail Work!

2008-01-06T22:01:00.000-08:00

This last saturday, Kris and I did trail work with the Friends Of Capitol Forest.(the others were all mountain bikers) The goal was to clear the down trees on a bad section of the Fat Ass course and try to figure out what to do with a couple of bridge washouts. The weather was a mess on the drive up, but at Falls Creek, it was dry and balmy. The organizer, Dave Snyder, set up teams to work on different sections, and gave me about 9 people to work our section. I lead the car caravan out of Falls Creek to the Trail 50 intersection, and it began to snow heavily! About a third of the way there, I slid into the ditch, I sent everyone ahead as I put chains on and waited for a tow out. Lenny dragged me out of the ditch with his 4WD and by the time I reached the first washed out bridge, Kris had already come up with a bypass plan and everyone was working on clearing a new path around the creek. I went ahead with my chainsaw to work on the down trees in a slide area another 1/4 mile down the trail. Henry was already there with his saw stuck in a log. We spent the next couple of hours cleaning up the down trees and rebuilding the trail in this winter wonderland. I had to leave, but the crew moved to the next washout and created a nice boulder walk through the falls. Thanks to all the work of FOCF, the trails are now ready for the Fat Ass. Those mountain bikers rule!

Storm Damage Report

2007-12-09T20:54:00.000-08:00

Ran the upper loop of the Capitol Peak fat ass today. Of course it snowed, but not bad and it didn't start sticking until I got to my parking spot. Just past the intersection of Greenline and C line, there is a large slide across the road, 4 wheelers can drive thru, but not my volvo! Starting up Green line, there is a lot of trees down, edge of the clear cut caused the problem, once in the clear cut, smooth sailing, but between there and trail 50, there is alot of water rutting on the trail. We'll need to build some more water dams. Past the intersection of trail 50, Green line is clear to the top, and the ridge heading down is good also. It looks like the FOCF did major damage to the salmon berries, there is now an 8 ft swath down to the triangle. Met a couple of mountain bikers there, they couldn't find the entrance to Green line going up so I pointed them in the right direction. The trail is in good shape from there down to Wedekind. The worst is Mima Porter between Wedekind and trail 50. One creek crossing is totally washed out and is much bigger, needs a bridge. Just a bit further down the trail, there is a big mud slide with a bunch of trees across the trail. Then at the next creek, the bridge is torn from it's foundation and is hanging on to one side by a corner. I ran the road back down to Green line. It was great running on about an inch of snow, nice and cushy. Looks like we'll need to coordinate with DNR on a couple of bridges and have some chain sawing to do!

Finally - back to the forest!

2007-12-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

Due to a variety of injuries, I haven't actually run on a trail outside the city limits since August! Finally made it up to Capitol forest for some trail work and fat ass recon. John, Kris, and I showed up at the "Y" for the monthly Friends of Capitol Forest work party. I tried out the new trail mower machine, this beast is like an overgrown rototiller with a three foot wide muncher bar on the front. It is diesel powered and totally destroys anything in its path! Can't wait to haul it up to the ridge on greenline and destroy some salmon berry bushes. After an hour and half, I was pooped, wrestling that monster through undulating patches of salal next to the new "Y" parking lot. It started snowing and we were itching to head up to the mountain to check out the last section of the upcoming fat ass. The plan was for John to drop Kris and I off on C line by the greenline crossing, and we would head up the road, catch trail 50 then head down Mima Porter to Fall Creek. John was to park a Fall Creek and hike up Mima Porter till he met us. It was snowing pretty good and the road was totally covered as Kris and I climbed the first couple of miles. Once we hit the trail and started heading down, it was great run in a winter wonderland! The trail was in good shape for the fat ass, the mountain bikers had fixed the deep ruts. We met John near the bottom and back tracked a little so John could see the trail work. The event of the day happened further down the trail where John showed us a fresh cougar track. As we crouched down to examine the print and the deer print next to it, suddenly Kris yelled "bike!" in our periferal vision there was a yellow blur almost upon us and John jumped and let out a yell which made me jump also! Of course it wasn't a cougar, but a mountain biker, but he gave all of us a good scare! It was great being back up on the mountain, I'm starting to get over the injury hump.

Back At It Again

2007-10-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

After a successful season riddled with injuries, I had to take a month off after Waldo to recover from a shin splint and then, just as I was planning to start up with training again, I caught a bad cold! Finally, the second weekend in October, I'm running again. A couple of 6 mile runs around the lake was enough to prove how out of shape and slow I am. The immediate plan is to ramp up some road mileage to see if I can be ready to run the Seattle Marathon and qualify for Boston. I'm going to work on some strength training and play some tennis to work on my lack of bounce and lateral movement. The ultimate goal is to get back in shape to attack Orcas Island 50K in Feb.

Where Was Waldo?

2007-08-21T21:42:00.000-07:00

After DNFing Waldo last year, I've been really looking forward to attacking this beast of a run again. Unfortunately, I spent half my summer injured and I wasn't sure till the White River 50miler if I was in good enough shape. Rode down with Kris who finished last year and we had a spaghetti diner at the Willamette Ski Lodge and listened to Chris Thornley's pre race instructions then I sacked out in my tent right by the start/finish. Woke up at 2am feeling ready, got to the start line for the 3am early start with 30 others. I hiked up the first section with Todd Temple, he's faster than me but had also been injured so we both took it easy. On the downhill, we slowly pulled away from the rest, blew through the Gold lake aid station and started climbing. I let Todd go, but by the time I got to Fuji Mtn. aid station, I was in 4th place. It was 5:45 in the morning and there at 6,500 ft aid station was John Pearch in a grass skirt! I wish I had a camera there. The climb to the top was comfortable and the sunrise view at the top was fantastic. On the way to Mt Ray aid station, I passed Pete "Hippo" and left the aid station in 3rd place out of the early starters. Even though I'm a solid mid packer, I suddenly felt like I was racing and with Hippo in tow took off with renewed vigor. About halfway to the Twins aid station at around 23miles, some hiker moved the trail markings right after Todd passed through the junction and sent me and Hippo the wrong way. I was happily cruising down the trail for another 30 min. when the terrain didn't seem right. We stopped at a junction with more flagging heading downhill when the normal start, first place runner went blowing by down the trail, so off we went. We then hit another junction and ended up on the Gold Lk trail at a stream crossing I recognized. Holy Crap! we were way far away from the Twins. Fortunatly, I felt great and had plenty of time to finish and get that dam hat, so off we went back tracking. We arrived at the Twins aid station about 1.5 hrs late. I ran an extra 6 miles and went from 64th place overall to 90th(out of 100). I felt good but had lost my spunk. I decided to rest at Carlton Lk aid station, where I dropped last year, and get my head back in the game. At Carlton Lk, I got a blister taped up, had a shot of beer from Clem's keg, (I heard I was the only runner that had one), fueled up and took off into the great unknown. I ran mostly by myself for the next 3 hours, walking the ups and cruising the downs, saving energy for the Maiden Peak climb. At the Maiden Peak aid station, I met Hippo again and Kent Holder. I hiked up Maiden just like I did Suntop at White River, steady and energetic. I actually passed those two on the way up, I never pass runners on a hike! I felt great at the top of Maiden and the view was fantastic. I headed down to the Maiden Lk aid station knowing I had the finish and a hat in the bag. However, on the last 7 mile section, I developed a shin splint on my right leg and couldn't run more than a few steps at a time. So I walked around the lakes, enjoying the views, but got concerned about the darkness. Didn't want to finish with a headlamp, so I jogged in and was greeted by Kris and John at the finish and got my Hat! I felt great but hated finishing so late, most runners had gone home, it was dark and cold, and I had to jump into my sleeping bag to stave off hypothermia. Though I was disappointed about the detour, the race was so well done, the aid stations were incredible, and I felt comfortable the whole distance. I feel if I pay attention, I can easily do it under 16 hours next year.

White River proves motto

2007-08-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

Had a successful White River 50, did terrible first half, but recovered and ran a great second half, proving my motto "It doesn't always get worse!". We started friday nite with a Pasta feed at the Snorting Elk at Crystal Mountain, with RD Scott McCoubrey standing there with a crutch, high on pain pills, doing a great job describing the race. The morning weather was great for the start, sunny and cool. I started near the back, my plan was to start out slow. I ran along the single track trail in a pack at a very comfortable pace except for the woman behind me who was so excited, she kept running up alongside me even though there was no room on the trail. The first climb is steep and as usual, everyone started passing me on the hike up. With 5 more miles to Corral Pass, I was feeling down, must only be 10 runners behind me. This section was an out and back, It was great to see all the runners coming back, James let out a holler and was cruising comfortably, but on the way back, I didn't see very many runners :( However, I did figure out I wasn't eating my gels, so I fueled up and started picking up the pace. The last leg of the first loop was a 4.5mile downhill. I now felt great and started passing runners until I tripped over a rock, knocking myself over the steep bank until my left leg got stuck inside the end of a rotton stump. I hurt alittle all over, but the real pain was my left calf cramping. I crawled back up to the trail and noticed I lost one of my handheld bottles. A couple of runners came by and helped me look for my bottle, but it was long gone. I ran well down to the start/finish aid station where John thankfully ran to his car to get me another hand held(I did worry about cooties), which was critical for the next climb. I started the climb to Sun Top full of energy and started passing more runners. Just before the summit, Glen was there taking pictures and this time I was really running! I felt good on the 5mile downhill on the gravel road and continued to pass more runners. At the last aid station, I thought I might be able to finish under 11 hours. But the last 6 miles was gnarly and rooty and it took me 15 minutes longer to reach the finish line. I was very happy with my run even though it took so long. The best part, I ran the second loop almost an hour faster than the first loop and no one passed me until the last 100 yards. Now I feel ready for Waldo!

Tapering at Capitol Forest

2007-07-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

Kris and I had a great 2 1/2 hr run today up at the Capitol Forest. We parked at where Greenline crosses C-line up to Capitol Peak. But started our run up the C-line road until we caught #50 and droped down to Mima Porter to Wedekind. It was wet but not raining and the temp was just right. From Wedekind we headed up Greenline along the ridge to the Capitol Peak junction. The trail was terribly overgrown and not runnable! It will only get worse when the sun comes out again. We got all scratched up and it was slow going. Reminds me of a 50miler I once did... The Greenline trail from the peak back down to the road is still in good shape, the mountain biker's been working on it, probably the only trail that is runnable in Capitol forest! However, prepare yourself for a shock, the section between the Fall Creek bridge and the C-line crossing was just clear cut! The trail is still intack, but they haven't yarded out the trees yet. We had a very enjoyable run and I think we're both ready for our 50 milers next weekend.

Back On Track!

2007-07-16T21:42:00.001-07:00

The second White River training run this Sunday was much better than the first. Dan and I drove up to Skookum Flats for a 25 mile run up to Sun Top Mountain and back. The weather was great as we started out with a 6 mile jaunt along the river with lots of undulations and roots. This was the last section of the 50 miler, doesn't look like alot of fun to stumble through this at the end of the race. As before, I couldn't quite keep up with the main group, and after 4 miles, Dan and I were on our own. I gave Dan the car keys, I figured he'd easily beat me on the climb. He stopped to get a drink, and I continued on, meeting up with a group of 4 that I hung with till we got to the confusing part by the airport. We lost the trail and meandered around until we found ourselves in shouting distance from Scott and his van. There Scott told me he heard that Dan took a wrong turn and he would go back and look for him. The climb up Sun Top was easier than last week's, but more exposed to the sun. I drank alot and sweated alot and hiked most of the climb. I was slow, but I felt much better than last week. Just before the summit, there was Glen with his camera, so we staged a good shot, looks like I'm charging up the hill, but it was just for show. I mostly just slogged up the steep trail. Unfortunatley, low clouds obscured what should have been a fantastic view of Rainier, but it also cooled the temp down. The last 6 miles was a gradual decline down a gravel road. I just cruised down at a good pace and felt great that I could keep an even pace the whole way without stopping. At the bottom, Dan was at the car, he had turned around and had a good 13 mile run with a side trip to some falls. What a great day, finished under 5 hours,no pains, slow but consistant. Would like to have some more time to train for White River, but I know now that I can run it, I will be slow, but after all, it's just another training run for Waldo!

Ouch! First day training for Waldo

2007-07-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

After spending a week in Idaho at Tamarack Resort, doing some hiking up ski runs, with no pain in my heel, it's time to get back running again. So today I joined the Seattle Running company training group for a 23 mile run on the White River 50 mile course. I showed up with two water bottles and a full bladder in my pack. Come to find out, Scott was going to have a water aid station at mile 14 at Corral Pass, but I wasn't thinking and left my heavy bladder in my pack. We started out with a good slow pace, I stayed in the back, cause most of these people were fast. After a nice 3 mile warm up, I soon got left behind when we started the hike uphill. I'm a normaly slow hiker, but with my weak ankle, I was even slower!. I ended up hiking by myself, taking it easy so I wouldn't injure myself again. I found as I went along, that I was favoring my ankle and couldn't get any sort of gait going on the uphill runable sections. I started getting frustrated and tired and decided to shorten the run at the turn off to the trail down the mountain. I had gone a little over 10 miles with about 2,500 ft of elevation gain, but it took over 2 hrs. So I hung a right on the 4 mile downhill, should be fun! But I couldn't run downhill very well either. So I ended up jogging/stumbling/walking the downhill to the parking lot. I did accomplish my two main goals, preview the course and don't re-injure myself. But I felt way out of shape. So I got a lot of catching up to do, but at least I'm officially started.

Success From Back Of The Pack!

2007-06-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well, the plan was to run the Pacific Crest 1/2 marathon in SunRiver Or. slow enough that I didn't re-injure my Achilles. My physical therapist didn't think it was a good idea, I should be focusing on getting healed up for the White River 50 miler at the end of July. But, I was going to be down there anyway, and I was already signed up for the marathon, so why not just jog the half? At the start, the weather was cool and clear, just perfect. I haven't run a race with 1,000 other runners for a long time, let alone starting in the middle of the pack. I figured I would run around 9:00 minute miles, a little slower on the uphill and a little faster on the downs. It was a pretty flat course though. It was chip timed so it didn't matter it took more than a minute to cross the start line. What a zoo! The start was on a road, but quickly turned into a 10ft wide asphalt trail, so there was quite a traffic jam at the start of the trail. I started slow, but everyone else was even slower, so I had to weave all over the place to make my way forward. I drank alot
prior to the race since the air is so dry there and it usually gets hot later. So I had to pee right away. The good news was there were porta-potties at every mile marker, but there was also a line at each one. It took almost 3 miles before the crowd thinned out and left some running room and I spent the next three miles cruising along, trying to catch an open toilet. Finally, at mile six, I found an empty one. I brought some gels, but forgot my e-caps. They were serving gatoraide which doesn't have enough electrolytes for me, so I spent most of the race looking for someone who might be carrying, but most of the people around me wouldn't know what electrolytes were. I've never passed/been passed by so many runners! By mile 9, I was feeling good, but I was also feeling my heel, so I knew I couldn't drop the hammer and take off for the finish. I passed on the Red Bull aid station with it's screaming hoard of teenagers pushing cans on unsuspecting marathoners. I noticed the best part of running the half is that unlike the marathon, you finished before all the kids on bikes showed up zig-zaging down the trail. I wasn't quite sure of my time, I had messed up my watch, but I wanted to finish at 2 hrs. When I saw the finish clock about 100 feet away, I was a couple of minutes early. I thought about stopping and waiting for the clock to catch up, but because of chip timing, and not having a clue from my watch, and looking pretty stupid in front of a bunch of cheering supporters, I pressed on to the finish. It felt great to run again, I got an ice pack on my foot, a massage, and hope that I've finally turned the corner and can start training again!

On The Road Again

2007-06-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

Well it's been about 4 weeks since I ran Capitol City Marathon and injured my achilles. After much therapy and some cross training, I managed to run today for the first time. It was only 2 miles and it was slow, but what a great feeling being on the road again! I'm scheduled to run a marathon in Sun River next weekend, not sure what to do yet. I know my physical therapist will say it's out of the question, however, I do need to start getting some miles in to prepare for White River 50miler. For now, the plan is to build up some miles this week and see how I feel on Friday...

Hammer Nutrition Products 15% off!

2007-06-07T22:04:00.000-07:00

Hammer Nutrition has been supplying endurance athletes with top of the line sports drinks, electrolites, gels, and supplements since 1992. Their business has grown mostly on athlete referrals rather than distribution through retail outlets. So the success of their products has lead to their widespread use in cycling, triathalons, adventure sports, and ultra trail running. As part of their referral program, if I refer you to them, you get a 15% discount on your first order and I get a credit for future products. It's a win-win for both of us!

To take advantage of this offer, first visit Hammer Nutrition and see what products they have that may be of interest to you. I suggest checking out the Kits, the best way to start out with Hammer Nutrition is either the Short Course Fueling Starter Kit or the Long Course Fueling Starter Kit. Not only do you get the all the products you need for fueling, you also get a flask, purse, and water bottle, and most importantly, the informative fueling handbook. If you are also interested in Supplements, check out the Daily Essentials Kit. Their Tissue Rejuvinator has helped me recover from injuries twice!

Bet you didn't know you can also get Race Ready shorts and Patagonia tops with the same discount. I use Race Ready shorts all the time. The pockets are perfect for holding gels, bars, e-caps, gloves, empty gels(keep trails clean!) and keys!

To get your 15% discount

Fill up your shopping cart and continue on through checkout. When you get to the question "Where did you recently hear about us?", check the option "Referral from Friend" and click the Continue Checkout button. When you get to the payment page, continue down to the Referral Reward section, then in the Friends Customer Number # box, enter 72672 . That's it! You'll get a 15% discount!

I've been using Hammer products for a couple of years and found them to really deliver with out upsetting my system during ultra events. Give them a try, you'll be happy you did!

Aqua Jogging!

2007-06-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

Being laid up with achilles tendonitis has allowed me to explore cross training opportunities. My last couple of weeks include 3 days of Phyiscal therapy(massage and ultrasound) and 3 days of weight lifting. If I stay injured, I'll be plenty buff by the pool this summer. I also started biking again with a great 2.5 hr ride last Sat. But my newest adventure is Aqua Jogging. I've started with a 45 min work out, and plan to do at least an hour a day, with some sporatic interval work outs. This will get me by, but I sure miss trail running!

Report - Capitol City Marathon

2007-05-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

I felt more anxious about running this race than normal. Having an injured heal and no training left alot of unknowns to consider, but I got the fever so I jogged down to the start from my house at 6:30am. Met James and Matt, both in good spirits and Kris showed up to cheer us on after running the Mac yesterday on a sprained ankle. I planned to run with Matt, but I missed him at the start. The weather was cool but comfortable and I ran a 7:35 for the first mile, then spent the next two miles slowing down to 8:00 per mile. Matt started with a 8:20 mile, but caught up to me around mile 7 - it was great running with Matt, I kept him from going too fast and he kept me from going too slow. We ran steady though the rolling hills, staying within 10 seconds of a 8 mile/min pace. Everything was fine until the hill at Woodard Bay at mile 15, I couldn't keep up with Matt and let him go. I felt a bout of diarreah coming so I started to really look forward to the porta-potti at mile 18. Of course when I got there, the guy in front of me jumped in first so I had to wait 1.5 min. for him to get out! seemed like an eternity. With that done I took off feeling great, and started picking off people. My friend Bruce Olson showed up on his motorcycle and escorted me the rest of the way. It was great to have someone to talk to again. Unfortunately, around mile 20, my heal pain flared up again. I felt great, but had to slow down and start a running limp. My hopes for qualifying for Boston went down the drain, but my goal for the day was just to finish anyway. I ate another gu at mile 24 and ran comfortably to the finish. My time, though slow was a marathon pr for me since my surgery, by about 2 min.! One of these days I'll get back to my sub 3:30 times. James had a great race, winning his age group and 7th overall in 2:53 I think, Matt finished in 3:37 slowed by leg pains. What a great day! I felt like I could run another 10 miles. It was great to see the Oly trail runners at the finish. I hope I can heal up in time for Lake Youngs.

On the Mend!

2007-05-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

Since hurting my heal two weeks ago, I haven't run till last thursday. An easy run with our trail running group in Priest Point Park went well with no soreness afterward. So I ran my normal 6 mile around the lake route again with no pain. So today, I ran a little over 7 miles on the marathon course with only minor soreness. I think I'm at about 75%. Either I'm 3/4 healed or will last only 20 miles, hard to say. At least I feel good enough to run the marathon at an 8 min/mile pace until I finish or something goes wrong...

I Got The Fever!

2007-05-05T20:56:00.000-07:00

For some odd reason, while I've been sitting around waiting for my achilles injury to heal. I got it in my head that I need to run our local Capitol City Marathon! I was going down to Oregon to run MacDonald Forest 50K, but now I'd just rather stay put and suffer through the local marathon. I figure I have about a 20% chance of having an enjoyable race. I have run 16 miles of the course, but it was the first time I've run over 8 miles on pavement this year. Now I'm sitting around not running and the race is in 2 weeks. Oh well, maybe my heel will not heal in time...

Capitol Peak 50

2007-04-29T22:46:00.000-07:00

Just had a great time volunteering for the Capitol Peak 50, thought I'd share my experience. I had the best job, driving a van around supporting the aid stations. My day started out at 4:45 am directing traffic for parking, then, just before the start, I took the drop bags to aid station #2, when I returned, ran up the trail a couple of hundred yards to post a directional sign and scare some deer, then ran up the trail again with Craig Dickson and posted a string of poem signs further up the trail. Next I led Glen Tachiyama up to Capitol peak to show him were to take pictures, dropped off a couple "Runners on the road" signs on the way up. I checked in with the aid station at the peak to make sure all the signs were in the right place, then Glen and I hiked up the road to the back side of the peak where I posted another string of poem signs on the grunt(see Photo) and where I think I tweaked my Achilles on my right foot:( Our timing was great, the first runner came though after we were all set. I then drove down to the Wedekind aid station to find out that aid workers for A7 already picked up their stuff and were gone, and Steve Cullen was all loaded up and ready to go to A8. So I left a drop bag for A8with Steve, and drove down to A7 to leave the rest of the drop bags. I hung out for awhile waiting for the first runner through, then I headed back to Wedekind where I found out that Steve was lost and the volunteers only had one bottle of water with them. So I grabbed some supplies and headed down there. Fortunately, Steve found the spot, and they were all set up when I got there. I spent some time at Wedekind, helping out at the aid station, which was great since I actually rarely see any runners in my travels. I hung out until a few minutes after Clem, the sweep, went through, then went down to A7 to pick everything up. By the time Clem showed up, we had everything packed up in the van and everyone could go. After stopping briefly at Wedekind, I headed to A8, packed it up, and sent the volunteers home early, then waited about an hour for Clem. He decided to stop since the last runner had already past Wedekind, so I gave him a ride back to Wedekind. Then we packed up the gear and headed back to the Start. After some food and beer, and watching the last runners finish. I helped pack up the rest of the gear and we were all out of there before dark! It was a great experience, thanks to John's planning, most everything went off with out a hitch, and most importantly, I think the runners had a great experience. I managed to injure myself more than if I had run the race, so I guess this means at least a week off for me!

On the Roads Again

2007-04-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

With the SunRiver Marathon coming up late June, I thought I should start training on the roads. So last Sunday, James Varner and I ran the middle half of the Capitol City Marathon course. James is planning on running the marathon which is the day after MacDonald Forest. He ran the last half of the course the day before with Dave Mora. (That is Dave Mora who won the Goodwill Games marathon!) I wasn't planning on running hard, so we took off and I settled into my normal 8 min/mile pace that doesn't speed up or slow down no matter how hard I try. The middle of the course has alot of hills or as the brochure would say, scenic and rolling. James just cruised along as I struggled on the hard surface, but we kept a steady pace until we ran into Matt at about mile 14, he was out training for the marathon also. We chatted for a bit, but when we started back up to run, I was stiff as a board! Took alittle bit to warm up but we finished strong and I think we both felt we had a good work out, James figured we went about 16 miles. I was really sore afterwards and had a twing of a strain on my hamstring, but after running today, Tuesday, I feel fine. Seems that I need to hit the roads for some long runs to get my body use to the pavement.

Tour of Smith Rock Park

2007-04-16T22:34:00.000-07:00

I was really looking forward to running my third Peterson Ridge Rumble since it was the first ultra I ran three years ago. However, our family plans included a few days in Sunriver during spring break then I had to drive my in-laws back early Sunday :( So close, but so far away! But, Clem LaCava posted on the NW list that he wanted to run the Saturday before the rumble at Smith Rock Park, so we arranged to meet up Sat morning at 9:00 in Terrabonne for a 2hr run. Local Curt Ringstad joined us and we car pooled in his truck to save on the $3 parking fee. The run started out in a lite rain (isn't it always supposed to be sunny in Central Oregon?), but the weather improved as we ran. Since Curt and Clem were old hands at running at Smith Rock, they discussed several options and decided to run the opposite direction they usually would do, so we hung a left at the rocks and did a clockwise loop. The run was fantastic, the scenery was incredible and it was great listening to Clem and Curt catching up on what was going on in the local ultra scene and discussing Western States strategies and Curt's constant stops to point out blooming desert flowers and points of interest and history. The highlight for me was standing on the top of the ridge next to the famous Monkey Face rock, directly across from climbers half way up the climb. It seemed like they were only about 50 ft away! You could sit there and talk to them if you wanted. I can't believe after visiting Bend 2-3 times a year for the last 12 years, I never visited Smith Rock Park, now I will!

Pay Back Time for Trail Running!

2007-03-24T22:44:00.000-07:00

Today, RD John Pearch and I spent the morning in the pouring rain,doing trail work on the Lost Valley section of the upcomming Capitol Peak 50 miler. This is a very pretty section of trail that can easily lose it's appeal if overgrown. Some of you may remember the 2005 race when we all had to fight through a thick section of salmon berry bushes, getting scratched all over. But today, with brushwacker in hand, we destroyed those pesky bushes and created a freeway through the Lost Valley. I felt great joy and satisfaction buzzing through with a weed wacker, sending pieces of salmon berry bushes flying! I strongly recommend trail work to take out your frustrations or revenge for scratches and trips. I believe John will announce a couple of trail work/training run days in the near future for the Capitol Peak 50 miler. I strongly recommend volunteering, it's worth it!

Chuckanut 50K

2007-03-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

This was a great trip and as usual, plenty of laughs in addition to the race. Kris drove Kyle and I with her friend, future Western finisher, Anna Bates. Of course, Anna grilled Kyle about his records, his family, and his life on the way up("It's like talking to Lance Armstrong!"). We dropped Kyle at Mt. Vernon, picked up our race packets, and went looking for a brew pub. Kris has a nack of just driving around and finding places. A quick meal, checked in the hotel, Kris repacked all her bags for the fourth time, and they were in their PJ's and in bed by time the rest of the crew showed. Terry, going for his first 50K, stayed with us in the "racer's room", with Alexa, Laura, and James in the other. Did a quick checklist with Terry, and of course, he forgot his waterbottle in Laura's car and ran down to get it. In the morning, Anna gave Terry tons of sage advice as he wondered what to take with - talked him out of his backpack. Got James up at the last moment, and headed for the start. It was pouring down rain! well at least it wasn't snowing like the last three races so far this year. Got our group photo, then Terry and I striped down to a long sleve shirt and took off near the front of the pack for the start. Of course Kyle took off, lead the whole race and won. We ran a comfortable pace for the first 6 miles on the flat, Terry pointing out the house he and Alexa tried to rent for us but, ended up in a legal argument with the landlord(never say I'm an attorney to a landlord!). Once we started the first climb, Terry pulled away and I never saw him again until the finish. I had been anxious about this run, I sprained my foot the week prior and only got the swelling down enough to wear a shoe on Wed. Though still a little swollen and colored, my foot seemed to be ok and I kept up a normal pace. I ended up running with three western states entrants, Eric and his pacer Steve(who I met at Orcas), Tony C., and Clem. After aid station #3, Tony and Clem took off, and I took my time on that knarly ridge trying not to twist my ankle again. That loop was way long, but I ended up catching up with Clem and we both crawed up chin scraper together complaining all the way. I ended up running out of water and was really hungry, so when I got the the aid station, I stayed and ate everything there while everyone else took off. Felt good on the downhill, passed Eric and Clem and hit the last aid station feeling like a winner. But after 5 min. on the flat gravel path, my ankle flared up and my run slowed to a shuffle. It looks from the results, I lost an additional 12min. on that section and was passed by 26 runners, the last one being Clem. A little depressing, but I felt great about the race overall. Finished in 5:52, Terry had an outstanding rookie time of 5:35. Kris came in a little after 6 hours and Anna shortly thereafter. We all went back to the hotel to get showers, Terry (the rookie) took a hot tub, then sat down at a table with Alexa and promptly fainted and fell on the floor. The hotel called our room so Kris and Anna ran downstairs and I took advantage of the empty shower. Terry was ok, just a little dream session and he was up and at it again. Since Anna was insisting on having oysters, our little caravan went on search mission down Chuckanut drive ending up at the Longhorn Tavern in Elgin! The only businesses in this little is town is two bakeries and two taverns. We ended up with some strange beer and sandwiches, but the highlight of the whole trip was the unveiling of Terry's race shirt. The one thing Anna didn't tell Terry about was taping his nipples(I guess it's a guy thing!). Terry's shirt was a bloody mess. I checked out the official finish pictures, and there he is, two gun shots in the chest! I can't wait to see the next cover for Northwest Runner!

Orcas Island 50K FatAss

2007-03-03T20:12:00.000-08:00

Rode up with Jim and we managed to miss the 3:30 ferry, not a big deal, but crossed at night and didn’t see much until we reached Orcas and saw those ever familiar big yellow Capitol forest Trail Run sandwich boards all over the island. Met James at the Lodge, what an awesome place! We claimed our bunks in the first cabin and hobnobbed with the other runners for the rest of the night. Sleeping in the bunkhouse went well, only one snorer out of 16 people. We all got up at 6:30, the weather was threatening, Terry spent most of the morning trying to decide if he was going to run with his backpack or not. It was cool at the start, we all ran together for about 2 miles until the groups split. The hi-lite of the first 9 mile loop was a nasty scramble up moss covered rock that was better than the grunt at Peterson Ridge. The first loop ended at the lodge, it seemed like 12 miles. However, the real fun was just down the trail, a long narly climb up a powerline easement with snow and wind blowing 20-30mph on our backs. I was hiking with Christel and we both anxiously gazed at trees creaking and cracking in the gusts of wind. Then I took a wrong turn for about a 100 yards and lost the people I had been running with. After an hour, I caught up with a couple of runners and we started the climb up to Mt. Constitution. It took awhile, got into some snow, then we reached the false summit. With the strong wind and snow, my hands were getting cold, and I was getting hungry for Top Ramin. There was a sign, two miles to the summit, but due to the conditions, running along a ridge in blowing snow, it felt more like 4 miles! What a wonderful sight seeing that aid station! Laura was there spooning out soup and hot chocolate, and John filled my water bottles. Warmed up and raring to go, I headed down hill with Rich White and instantly noticed my mistake. I wore gloves, but my handheld water bottles were almost frozen and my hands quickly followed suite. I was out of the snow in about 15 minutes but it took another 15 for my hands to thaw out. I ran the downhills carefully, hiked the remaining uphills comfortably, and didn’t tighten up till about the last mile. My time was 7:44, all time slowest 50K, but a very satisfying run. Scott, Terry, and Jim all had very good runs for the 25K, Laura wins the courage award, sweeping the last part of the course, getting lost and finishing in the dark! The best part was the quality, down home music in the lodge that James arranged that evening. After a few beers and a good sleep, Jim and I got up early, cleaned the lodge and cabins, and took off to American Legion pancake feed, planning to catch the 12:45 ferry. John and Peter showed up at the Pancake feed a few minutes after us but when it came time to catch the ferry, we found ourselves in the standby line for the 2:45! John managed to be the #1 car for the 6:00 ferry! Driving down to load on the ferry, we were stopped next to John, as I waved, Jim lurched the car forward and the ferry worker, chagrined that Jim was now out in the intersection, waived us on… we were the last car on! We left the State Park at 10:30am and got home at 8:00pm! Ferry Hell! The Orcas experience was fantastic! James put on one heck of a weekend. This will be a must due from now on!

Geoduck Gallop Half Marathon

2007-02-04T18:36:00.001-08:00

Was'nt too sure I was going to run since my ankle twist thursday nite ended up worse than I thought. But felt ok Sat so Sunday morning I was there. Matt and I started together, the weather was about perfect, we ran the first mile in 7:00, oops! There was a good crowd this year, didn't have to worry about finishing last again. We settled down and started clicking off 7:28's like clockwork. Everything was going great until mile 6 when my ankle started hurting and I had to slow down a little. Matt continued running strong and passed a couple of runners in the second half. I tightened up in the last three miles and ended up finishing at 1:39, about a minute slower than last year. Matt ran a great race and we think he finished around 1:35. Might be a pr for him. All in all, this is a great, low key, early season speed event. By the way, the winner of the 10k ran a 32, thats 5:11 min/mile!

Capitol Peak Fat Ass 25K

2007-01-20T18:01:00.000-08:00

I started the day early because I was going to help with parking and I knew the road conditions would be snowy. When I got to the Y, James and DJ were there warning people about the icy roads and arranging car pools. I chained up and gave Dave a ride to Fall Creek and we both did some parking help before the start. There was snow on the trail, but the weather wasn't all that bad, I didn't wear a windbreaker. At the start, I took the lead to guide the runners out of the campground and onto the trail. Then I stopped and let the group of fast guys go past. The first leg up to Capitol Peak, I went too fast to begin with and paid for it on the switchbacks. Got passed by a bunch of runners on the hiking part. Unfortunatly, Capitol Peak was socked in so no views this year. At the top I saw Kris who was dropped off up there to run after making a water run, and then Terry caught up to me and passed, only to almost take a wrong turn, then he stopped at the aid station to retrieve some clothes and never caught back up with me. On the way down, my legs felt like lead. Not a good sign since I was planning to do two laps. It was great to see Alexa and DJ at Wedikin cheering everyone on. But it wasn't going to be my day. I finished with the same time as last year and there was no way I could do another lap. After some of Jim's great soup and dry clothes, I spent the rest of the afternoon supporting Kris as she did a second lap sweep. I was disappointed I only did one lap, but I didn't fall, or hurt myself so all in all it was a good experience.

Tiger Mountain Fat Ass 25K

2007-01-06T17:59:00.000-08:00

The day started off with blue sky before the start, what a welcome change from the last few days. Kris drove James and I up there in her new car and we listened to some Christmas exchange tunes. We all started together and stayed that way for about a mile till Scott Jurick and the Seattle running co. group came storming by and James hooked up with them. I then took a potty break and took over an hour to catch up with Kris. The sky turned overcast but the weather was perfect, I even ran without a hat on (I never do that), however we soon were running in snow. The Tiger mtn trail just goes up and up then up some more, there was about a foot of snow on the ground for most of the race. But the footing wasn't too bad and it was beautiful winter wonderland in some places. Felt like cross country skiing through the trees in the Cascades! Unfortunately, the viewpoint at the top was socked in so no views this year. I was at my limit for climbing on the last hill, but I followed the same guy for the last hour and we were both very happy with reaching the 3 mile downhill to the finish. James finished in 3:08 complaining about some soccer injury(Scott Jurick finished in 2:38), I came in at 3:22, only a couple of minutes slower than last year, so I was very happy and I didn't fall! Kris finished at 3:40 and we headed down to the Issaqua brew pub, where we met a bunch of people that were at Orcas last year and Big Steve, who creates a party whenever he shows up! This is a great fat ass and now that we know about the brew pub, a must do for next year!

Club Oly Millersylvania 5K

2006-11-11T21:59:00.000-08:00

The 5K had good weather, in-between rain storms, the course was three loops on the fitness trail with one 20ft long puddle with water almost up to your knees! Twice it untied my shoes going through it(forgot to double tie). First lap was was ok 7:20, but I slowed down from there and finished in 24 again. Just can't seem to generate any speed these days. Fortunately, I finished 7th out of 11 and they gave out pumpkin pies to the top ten.

Capitol Forest - Hell's Creek Loop

2006-10-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been over a month since I've done any long runs on trails. It was great to get out to the Capitol forest. I was joined by Chris, DJ, and James for a run from Camp Wedekind around the 17 mile Hell's Creek loop. We started around 8:30 under sunny skies, temp about 45, perfect conditions. However, the first mile was alittle brushy, and the brush was wet. James in the lead took the brunt of it, but he stayed in his "happy place" and plowed through. The trail was gently rolling, had a good run until about half way when I turned my ankle for the second time in 2 days. Took a few minutes to shake it off, hurt mostly on the downhills. The last of 4 of 5 miles are the climb of the run. Ran most of it till my ankle hurt too much, the last mile was all downhill, which was painful but ok. Finished in 3:42, felt sore and great, with a nice view of Mt Rainier in the distance. It was good to run a long run again, especially with great company!

2006-09-30T21:41:00.000-07:00

Mt Carrie

2006-09-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

The run was planned as a loop out of Sol Duc along the High Divide with a side trip to the summit of Mt. Carrie. Robert McIntosh and I took off Thursday afternoon and made it to the Sol Duc resort restaurant in time for dinner. We spent a restful night in his VW camper, except for one errant mouse, with Robert setting his alarm for 4:20 in the morning. Fortunately, he slept through the alarm and we woke at a more civilized 7:00. On the trail at 7:30, we made it about a mile before Robert realized he forgot his water, and ran back to get it. The weather was promising as we ran the 8 miles to Heart Lake where we broke into a beautiful open valley of heather and huckleberries and one bear. Instead of going to the right to the High Divide, we broke left on a trail that skirted Cat mountain with outstanding views of the Hoh river valley, however clouds covered Mt. Olympus and the Bailey Range. To thirds the way around Cat Mountain the trail ends, and the mountain goat scramble starts. A knife edge ridge with sick drops on both sides, called the Cat Walk, is the bridge to Mt. Carrie. Would have been more fun if it wasn't wet. There's no real trail up Mt. Carrie, mostly scrambling up rock and scree, through misty clouds. Our main concern was losing visibility on the way down, but it cleared up a bit at the summit. After a couple of photos, we started down and immediately got caught in a small blizzard. It cleared up quickly, but it was slow going down. When we reached the cutoff to the High Divide, it was obvious we would be finishing in the dark, so we headed back the same way and reached the car around 9. All in all a great trip, the open meadows, glaciers and steep drops were amazing. Best of all, there were zillions of perfectly ripe huckleberries. When I'm reincarnated, I want to be a bear living in the upper Sol Duc!

Oregon Trail Ultra Marathon Series Lament

2006-08-31T22:23:00.000-07:00

Last year was my first year running ultras. I entered a couple ultras in Oregon and had alot of fun. I learned about the Oregon ultra series and after viewing my age group results and how I compared, I thought I might have a chance of finishing in the top 3. Your score is determined by how many points are earned per race, with the top 4 race scores added for your total. I planned to run 5 out of the 7 races and included all the longer races since they score higher points. I'm not a fast runner, at my first race at Hagg Lake 50K, I won an award for placing exactly mid-pak! However, after a couple of races, due to who showed up and who I beat, I found myself in first place of my age group! I remained in first place through the first five races. Where's Waldo 100K would decide the winner of our age group by my careful calculations. Mike Burke would beat me, and just by finishing, I would wrap up second in my age group for the series. Way too cool!! Unfortunately, I didn't finish Waldo, so tonight I found that I'm now in 4th place, and could drop more after McKenzie River 50K. Hell's bells!!! I anguished over my decision to drop at Waldo a thousand times, but eventually chaulked it up to the vast unknowns of ultra racing. All in all, I'm very happy with my results this year. I'm still the fastest open heart survivor ultra runner. I won't compete in the series next year, want to do some races in Washington, but I will definitely go after that Waldo hat.

Where's Waldo 100K

2006-08-29T22:19:00.001-07:00

They say half the fun is getting there and that was my experience for Waldo. I was to ride down with John, then back with Chris. We met at my house to caravan down to Willamette Pass, but as soon as we hit the freeway, Chris took off like a shot and we never saw her again until she pulled in right behind us at the pass. Meanwhile, we flew down I-5 with Colorado road trip music blaring and John talking non-stop on the cell about Cascade Crest. John began eating everything in the car, (about 3,000 calories!) including part of my lunch, then he made me drive because his leg was getting stiff (who was running the ultra the next day?). People gawked at the rest stop as John stuck his leg in a garbage can to stretch his hamstring(you know the drill). But the best was his money juggling magic trick. At the gas station, I tossed him a 20, with the window open and the wind blowing, the bill danced in the air as John juggled it with his hands several times and then it disappeared! We looked in the car but the 20 was gone. John launched out the door and started looking all over the gas station and roadside. Of course there was a long line of cars behind us, so I paid another twenty and as we took off, he anguished how he would never live this down. He even offered me a $100 to keep my mouth shut! As a true magician, when we got to the Willamette pass parking lot, John opened up the back door and pulled out the 20! We camped near the start line so it was easy to get up at 2am, wander over for coffee and a bagel and get ready for the 3am start. I started in second place so I wouldn't get wiped out by trail dust, but there were a bunch of fast runners in the start, so I let about ten go and settled in a pack led by Steve Peterson from my age group. We reached the 10 mile aid station just a few minutes early, woke up some bees, I guess they stung some of the regular starters. The climb up fuji mtn was great, but my stomach started going sour on the way to the Mt Ray station at mile 22 where John was working so I slowed up and Chris showed up and we ran into the aid station together. It was great seeing John there holding my drop bag, offering assistance and advice, but I was still in a funk. Chris said she was going to slow down, so as we left the aid station, she took off like a shot and I never saw her until the finish. I continued to feel worse as I climbed to the next aid station at 28 miles where their offering of pancakes made me gag. On the way to Charlton Lk aid station at 33 miles, my legs then my breathing started to go. At the aid station, I soaked in the lake, sipping coke, but my condition didn't improve and I dropped. I was very disappointed but felt I made the right decision. A few minutes later, Steve Peterson showed up and dropped out of his first ultra after completing 100 others! After a while, I caught a ride back to the start and slept for a few hours until the 4:00 BBQ started. The only good thing about dropping early was I could actually enjoy the BBQ. Meanwhile, John drove over to the Maiden Peak aid station at mile 50 which was a steep 3 mile hike from the road. I saw at the finish radio station that Chris showed up at Maiden Peak at 5:30, she was going to finish! At 8pm, 50 yards from the line, glancing over her shoulder, Chris spied her friend Erin just behind her, and of course, took off like a shot for the finish! She did a tremendous job in a very difficult race (30% of us didn't finish). All in all it was a great experience, great course(at least the first half!) and a tremendous race organization. I would recommend this race to anyone, and have a new found respect for anyone wearing a Waldo finisher hat!

Mt Hood PCT 50 miler

2006-08-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

Had a good race, finished at 9:45, more than a half hour quicker than last year (no falls). However, even though I ran faster, there was a faster field this year, last year I finished 41st, 4th in age group, this year 44th, 7th in age group! Heck, the second place finisher overall was 50! Friday night, I slept out on my cot, to my horror, there was a tower of mosquitoes overhead. I used my Western States hankerchief successfully as a bug screen (thanks John) until about 10 when the skeeters went to bed. The weather was perfect in the morning, cool and overcast. I had pace intervals set for finishing at 9:30, hung with a good group for the first six miles, then ended up running alone (as usual). Stayed on pace until the final climb, can't seem to move very well in the sand and got passed by a few people. Sat in a chair at the top for a couple of minutes, enjoying the view (it was now sunny and clear) and the aid station. Just as I was leaving the aid station, Clem was coming in, I've never beaten him before so I thought I better get going, However, after the downhill, I didn't feel very good for the next ten miles. I got passed by a couple of people and figured Clem would show up soon. Fortunatly, I came to life on the downhill just before the FS Rd 58 aid station, about mile 40, chugged down a couple of cups of mountain dew and took off. At the Little Crater aid station, Clem was just arriving when I left, so I took off and ran hard all the way in to the finish, passing several runners. Boy was that different! I was very happy about finishing strong and beating my last two intervals! I ended up beating Clem by over 10 minutes, but talking afterwards, he wasn't having a good day. I think I'm still in 1st place for the series, not sure because they haven't posted SOB results yet. Next is Waldo, got some sage advice from Clem and Todd Temple, a fast guy I met last year, and I'm doing the early start, can't afford to DNF:(

Pacific Crest Marathon

2006-08-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

Had too much fun down at Sunriver, biking and rafting, forgot about tapering. The marathon started at 7am, 50 degrees, with about 150 runners. Two laps around Sunriver on rolling, winding asphalt bike trails with squirrels, prairie dogs, a deer, and scary vacationers on bikes! The start was actually about 8 blocks from the village, we walked behind a golf cart up and around a couple of roads to a timing mat on the bike trail. I started with heavy legs, a loaded bladder, and a goal to break 3:35 to qualify for Boston. First mile 8:30 (with pee break) too slow!, second mile 7:10 too fast!, Third mile 7:40, starting to settle down. First lap was ok, on pace for 3:30, then the temp started to rise, and I started to slow. The last 6 miles were mostly around open fields, great exposure to the sun, and it was hot! I settled into survival ultra pace (9:30's) kissed my Boston goodbye and waddled into the finish at 3:47 (which happens to be the same time for my last two marathons!) Luckly, the 6 other guys in my age group didn't fare any better, and I won my age group! Now I have a trophy beer glass and a medal, however, I have to find another marathon to qualify for Boston...

Heart Still In The Race

2006-06-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

Olympian, The (WA)

May 11, 2004

Heart still in the race

Reeves runs on despite heart attack

BY CHESTER ALLEN

THE OLYMPIAN

Herb Reeves never thought about having a heart attack - until he had one the week before Christmas 2002. Reeves, a distance runner for 20 years, was playing tennis, and he couldn't catch his breath between points. "I thought I must have asthma," Reeves, 50, recalled. Reeves' wife Barbara Sandahl, urged him to see the doctor, and he went to the emergency room a couple of days later - and found out he'd had a heart attack. The next nine months brought a series of heart procedures - including coronary bypass surgery last September. Reeves, 50, plans to run in the Capital City Marathon on Sunday morning, less than eight months after the surgery. "Herb is a most impressive patient and an inspiration to the rest of us," said Dr. Robert Wark, his cardiologist. Reeves said running a marathon seems like a good way to celebrate his recovery. "I first thought running a half-marathon was a reasonable goal after surgery," Reeves said. "I started training with the South Sound Running group, which I've done before, and each run went better and better. "I thought, heck, I might as well do the whole marathon." Reeves said his wife, Barbara Sandahl, and Dr. Wark gave him the green light. "Herb was the last person you'd expect to have this happen to," Sandahl said. "He's so fit." "The fact that he was a really fit guy saved his life." Reeves, who has the trim build of a hardcore runner, said he ignored some warning signs, such as shortness of breath, while running the hills before his heart attack. Reeves' road to recovery has been fast - but it took nine months - and five different procedures - to put him on that road. At first, doctors put a stent - a tiny wire cage that keeps an artery open - in an artery soon after his heart attack. But about 10 percent of stent patients have clotting problems, and Reeves was one of them. Doctors tried medicated stents to keep the clots away, and Reeves did well on treadmill tests. But he still couldn't run. Dr. Wark called for an ultrasound of Reeves' heart, and the problem soon showed up: a narrowing of the left main artery. That artery supplies 2/3 of the blood to the heart muscle, so Reeves had to have bypass surgery, Wark said. "I was kind of like, `What?'," Reeves said. "I felt good - I just couldn't run. "I didn't feel bad, and, all of a sudden, I had to have open- heart surgery. I had just turned 50, and I wondered what it was all about." Reeves said he was lucky that Providence St. Peter Hospital has a top cardiac program. On Sept. 18, 2003, surgeons cut open Reeves' chest and installed the bypass. Reeves walked out of his intensive care room - and got a special T-shirt for the journey. "Usually, you spend three or four days in the hospital, but I was doing really well, so I got out in a couple of days," Reeves said. Reeves, who was in good shape to begin with, was back at work managing Thurston County's building permit center about a week after surgery, Wark said. Reeves joined the Providence St. Peter heart recovery program, which includes monitored treadmill workouts and light weight lifting.

All that went great, and Reeves gradually started to run again, with Wark's permission.

Reeves said he followed his medical guidelines and kept track of his heart rate with a monitor. "It's just a matter of figuring out how much you can do and when," Reeves said.

Reeves said he used to chase down other runners in races, but he now runs with an eye on his wrist monitor. "Now I run by a heart rate monitor," Reeves said. "Instead of speeding up a small hill, I slow down." It seems unfair that Reeves, a long-time runner, would get heart disease, but it can happen to anybody, Dr. Wark said. "! Our bodies are a lot more complicated than simple answers," Wark said. Heart disease strikes for different reasons, and even the most fit athletes should not ignore warning signs, Dr. Wark said. Reeves is back to a regular life, but he does have to watch his heart rate -and his diet, Wark said.

Not many people run marathons, and even fewer of them are recovered heart patients, Wark said. However, it's not unknown at all to see former heart patients on the course, Wark said. Sandahl said she's not worried that her husband is running a marathon.

"He knows how to listen to his body," she said. Reeves said he enjoys life even more now. "I was a real patient person before, and I'm even more now," he said. "This does give you a different perspective." And, for Reeves, that perspective includes tying on a pair of running shoes and hitting the road, and eventually, mountain trails. "I'd like to be able to qualify for the Boston Marathon and do that," Reeves said. "And I'd like to be! able to get back up in the mountains."