8/2 – Newport and Balboa Boardwalk

6mi:50min

7/26 – 3mi Icehouse Canyon

7/27 – 2mi walking

7/29 – 6mi:60min barefoot beach running

7/25 – Icehouse Canyon

~3mi: Icehouse Canyon towards Cedar Glen

Yesterday: helped John move. Full body work-out.

7/20 – Mt Baldy, San Gabriels

Mt Baldy hike via Old Baldy Trail – 12.8 miles: 7:30 hrs

7/14-15 – Sespe Wilderness Backpack

9 mi round: Piedras Blancas Trail Head to Bear Camp

7/12 – Icehouse Canyon to Chapman Trail

9 mile hike/run: 2:50hrs

Back, I guess

Well there have been plenty of adventures, but non on here. I got pretty discouraged after Calico and did not run for a while. Now I am back at it. Have done lots of hikes and backpacks since my last post, but oh well. Maybe I’ll update some of those later. Regardless, I am getting back on this to have somewhere to track my progress to prepare for a Trans Zion 48 mile run.

Thread here: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=63952

EDIT: 2.5 road miles tonight, no time plus 13 scheduled for tomorrow…

Report: Calico

So this was basically a disaster. Since my Death Valley Marathon my right knee had not healed so I had barely done and training whatsoever. I knew my knee would flare up during the run but I was hoping I could dull the pain with ibuprofen and just push through it. In addition I was sick at the time and had a ton of phlegm in my lungs that made large breaths impossible. So basically I had a few good reasons to not go. But I went and ran anyways. I couldn’t get my $65 back so I’ll be damned if I wasn’t going to get anything out of it.

I drove out the day before and camped in the Calico camp ground which was a really shitty campground with lots of noisy kids, RVs, and so privacy. I am glad I didnt have to pay for the patch of gravel since the place is surrounded by BLM land where you can camp for free. It was a lot colder than I expected that night (36) and the moon was almost full which made camping without a tent a bad idea.

After a bad sleep I hacked up some phlegm and drank some coffee and got ready to run. I was really ready to go once the gun went off- it was really cool so perfect running weather. After about 11 miles the shit hit the fan. Up until this point the course was all up-hill which gave my knee less problems. Not to say it didn’t hurt, I just was able to deal with it. From this point on I had to walk. I ducked out of the 50k course onto the 30k but I was still far away from the finish. I don’t know about the 50k course but the 30k went through a beautiful canyon and I would love to run this again some day. However this canyon was also super gnarly even for the most legit 4WD trucks, let alone for running. because it wasnt accessible by most cars the trail markers stopped when previously they had been frequent and highly visible. Between the lack of markers, the craziness of the canyon, and the lack of footprints, I was dead certain I had somehow made a wrong turn. I refused to turn around and I resigned to hike out the canyon and just find a way back to Calico from whatever road it dumped me on, preferably by hitchhiking so I could give me knee a rest. This canyon was a lot longer than I anticipated and the charm of its beauty was fading real fast when I kept having to jump down drops and step over boulders with a knee that shot lightening bolts of pain whenever I bent it at all.

This nightmare was not short lived. Finally I reached the end of the canyon when some day hikers passed my on their way out saying “this canyon is crazy, I cant believe you guys are running down it.” I realized that this really was the actual course for the 30k and somehow none of the people in back of me had passed me, granted behind me was only a couple old ladies. I hobbled through the wash and through the parking lot. I stopped atmy car before I reached the finish line to fetch my fleece and ditch my fanny pack. I saw that I actually had another mile through the parking lot and back around through the ghost town. I had battled and made it this far with no choice but to keep going much to the detriment of my ACL but I just could muster the energy to care about finishing. I hopped in the car and left for home with DNF. At least I got my $65 t-shirt and fucked-up knee.

Turns out I shouldnt have gone considering it has been over a week and my knee still gives me pain and I cant walk right, but at least I can bend it again. I dont think I will be running again anytime soon, I look forward to being able to simply hike again actually. So looks like I will be biking more than ever and lifting weights again, my time of focusing on running will have to be put on hold. What a cluster-fuck.

Calico Trail Run 50K

Update! As of last night I am signed-up for the Calico Trail Run 50K. After the Death Valley Trail Marathon I have a much better idea of what to expect from a long distance run like this. I had the feeling after the marathon that another five miles and one hour was completely possible. Just about every five-mile interval I ran was one hour, except for the last which I started slowing up on because I knew I missed the 5-hour goal. This time around if I keep an 11-minute mile pace I will be more than happy. This course mercifully has more miles of up-hill. The downhill was really the meatgrinder for me so I am confident in my ability to finish at Calico, which is my ultimate goal.

As you can see the course profile isn’t too brutal. Once I make it to the 18-mile high point I figure I am in the clear and am guaranteed to finish the race barring some type of injury.

This race is certainly less scenic than the Death Valley race but that isn’t why I’m running it. I want to try my hand at the 50K distance and this seems like a very runnable coarse. After a few 50Ks in the bag, then who knows? Maybe the Bishop High Sierra 50 miler in March? Assuming this race goes smoothly I will run the Pemberton Trail 50K in Fountain Hills, AZ whilst visiting my sister in Phoenix. This course is very very basic with smooth trail and rolling hills. A bonus is that this year it will be run in the dark by headlamp. This should be very exciting and definitely a unique running experience. However this will slow down what is definitely a fast course.

Death Valley Trail Marathon – Race Report

Death Valley is a wonderful place. Once you’re inside the park it is hard to describe the remoteness and desolation. I constantly felt like I was on the moon- it was barren with no wind, few plants and even fewer animals. We stopped at Badwater on the way in from Baker. This location is famous for being the lowest point in the U.S. but more famous in the running world for being the namesake of the infamous Badwater Ultra Marathon- 135 miles from Death Valley to the Mt. Whitney Portal. I can’t even imagine.

Dad taking better pictures than me.

We headed to the campground and set up for the night. I hit the sack pretty early because I worked at 3:30 that morning and hadn’t taken my siesta. Also the flat tire on the way in added to my exhaustion.

The next morning runners met at the Furnace Creek bar to pick up bibs and get a pep-talk from Dave, the race director. He had a welcome sense of humor and gave a good speech. Since the check-in and award ceremony were at Furnace Creek he called it the “Bat to Bar” marathon. He also made a lame pun saying the popular Rock N Roll Marathons have nothing on the continuous band of rock in Death Valley. Har har. He displayed the first place prize- a rubber chicken, and then led us in singing America the Beautiful before we were bussed to the start in Nevada, outside of the park.

The conditions at the start were perfect for running and they stayed that way all day. The start was about 40 degrees and it stayed in the low 50s the rest of the day. It was still really dry though so even though I tried to drink a lot I only peed once.

The approach to the uphill was great, effortless running. The slight uphill grade and intentionally slow pace made the first 7 miles the easierst of my life. Even after this when it steepend a little I felt great. After the mile 10 aide station we plunged downhill for abut a mile before peaking again at mile 12. Everyone around me walked the twelfth mile. I wish I would had gone faster in the first 10, but I didn’t want to burn myself out, not really knowing what to expect.

Starting line

The high point on the course and start of the 14 miles descent

As soon as the downhill started reality set in that the last 14 downhill miles would be brutal. I hate running downhill when the grade is even close to steep and it was steep for hours. This is where the trail gets beautiful when you enter Titus Canyon which compensated for the discomfort in my knees and feet.

First glimpses of the good stuff in the canyon

The aid stations could have had more food options but I was happy enough with the Chex Mix and Gatorade. I booked it the last three miles because you can see the finish and I desperately wanted to be done. All-in-all it was a great run with great people. I would run it again simply to better my time and enjoy the great scenery.

I ended up running in my New Balance MT101 and I was happy with the decision. The road was rocky, but easy to avoid the bigs ones. And the best part- not one blister and my planters fascitious didn’t flare up.