Friday 043010

12 miles over at Flatirons Vista.  This gives me a “little” vertical (1300 feet-ish).  No major climbs, but a lot more up and down than I would get on the roads (and more than I have been getting for the month, year).  The trails were slick as snot with the mud though.  Total mess.  Rolled my ankle brilliantly when the mud just went out and had to stop and shake it out for a bit.  Anyway …
April in the books.  April at  364 miles, 1350 on the year (and we are 120 days in).   I used to think a 350 month was a big month.  But it is not.

You can run faster by the way if you do not chicken out.

Matt Carpenter cracks me up.  Want to shave 15 bucks on registration for the BTMR?  You need to wake up at 3AM!  Reg opens up Monday (early!).

Thursday 042910

80 degrees yesterday.  Snowing this AM.  Ah, springtime in the Rockies.

Got a link to this 7:12 R2R2R from Homie last night.  That might be the 2nd FKT?  (On that front, there is Peter Bawkin’s FKT site).  Jason Henrie did a 9:29 a week after the visit from JV and myself.

The decline of higher ed?

I put up two polls to the right … one to determine the best time to have the showdown at Green, and one to determine who is the silver medalist at some mountain down south in August.

Afternoon – the weather cleared so I got outside.  Felt great, and ran 7:30s very relaxed around the tech park.  11 miles.  AHR = 149.  It bounced up towards the end simply because I decided to roll it in.

Wednesday 042810

Outside of the longer days and shorter nights, trees popping buds leaves, and the white stuff of snow and ice disappearing, there are other incredibly clear indicators that the burn of summer is arriving. 

Namely, races. 

They seem to come in drips and spurts through the late winter and spring, but then they flood at you, spilling over the dam.  Their flood is intoxicating and inspiring. 

This weekend is no exception.  Good luck to Lucho and Bret this weekend at the Collegiate Peaks 50, and to Tim and Tony at Miwok (good preview of Miwok here).  Plus there is a boat load of other races (Greenland … ).  JP and Beth are doing a frakin’ IM in St George Utah!

Shifting gears … a nice short piece, reminder on professional development .

Got out for an early morning jaunt up something I have been avoiding most of the winter:  vertical, and namely that mistress called Green Mountain.  I hear some guy has been dating this chick most the winter but that he is out of town this week.  Apparently she is real popular now.  In any case, as she seems to have a love affair now for the long haired young academic types I figured I make my case for the short haired short guy nine toed happily married old man type.

I had not been here since January 18 (a slip fest for me that day as I came armed without traction).  Before that, it had been October of last year since I had been to this bump. 

My only goal for today was to run the entire distance.  At times, this meant I may have been “running” more slowly than if I were power hiking (probably near 3.5 mph for me), but that did not matter.  I wanted to get the work in of running to into the adaptation of uphill running.  So no “ripping it” from the line today – instead a bit of a re-familiarization of sorts.  Taking the Gregory route (it is slightly more shallow) I did manage to run the mountain, although there were a couple of short stretches near the top (north facing) that were covered with snow that were really slow. 

Even though I have not been faithful to Ms. Green this winter, she welcomed me with sweet smells of apple blossoms down low, pine covered trails, familiar rock step ups, and that familiar wind once you break the ridge that opens to the West.  Gorgeous morning out there. 

Went shirtless, so it was a touch nippy at the top with a cool breeze (it was very comfortable at the bottom however, although it might snow again tomorrow – this after temps in the 80s today!).  I took in some quick views and headed back the path I came, and then tacked on some Enchanted Mesa goodness to round the run out to 10 miles and 3000+ feet of gain.  Overall I felt good.  Then again, I was not drilling it.  More of this sort of stuff to come.

Eric Morse is a total bad ass.

And on that front, the initial Mount Washington Road Race Hall of Fame inductees have been named.

Tuesday 042710

AM – easy six miles, including some with TZ and some dog jogging.  Weird niggle in the left big toe.  I debate if I should post all the niggles I get, but I guess I ought to so I have record …

I must admit, I feel pretty inspired by the recent performances of Justin (London), Brandon (Boston) Jeff (Grand Canyon) as well as the daily training of guys like Lucho and Tony.  There are others in this camp as well, but clearly, I am much more interested in the outcomes of these folks than the Mebs and Gebs of the world.  Nothing against those stars, but I just find what we are all doing to be more enjoyable.  Think local I guess. 

Interesting interview with Ziegler from the guys at CompetitorRadio re: doping.

Mid day – got out with KP, SM and DB at work and then tacked on.  Easy 9 miles.  While I was getting in some of the additional miles, I wandered over towards the Great Western Open Space (south of 128, bounded by Simms and Indiana) and I think I found the preliminary trail going in there.  Did not navigate in too much as it is pretty muddy.  Will explore there some more when things dry out.

Evening – four miles.  Did some basic drills with KZ’s soccer team, and then did some easy jogging around the field.  Finished up with a half dozen or so 20 second slightly uphill strides back up towards the middle school.

Monday 042610

Mock gets some press.

Mid afternoon – 12 miles, up on the 128 route.  Felt good, actually the best I have in a week and rolled it up a bit at the end but not pushing it.  Not zippy, but it was nice to be rolling sub sevens fairly relaxed. 

Geeking … This was sort of similar to the progression-ish run that I did in January and February (like to get back to this obviously a bit more frequently)  This was a little different in that it was a little longer (12 instead of ten), and I was a bit tentative in going after it because I was evaluating all the parts.  Good news is the average pace was about 5 seconds faster per mile at a HR about 6 bpm lower when compared to January.  In Feb, I went about 15 secs per mile faster, but at a HR about 3bpm higher than today.  Yawn. WHAT-EFFING-EVER.  Truth be told, with the snow melting out (or not?  looks pretty fresh up there according to Mr. Tony), the longer days, and mountain races coming, it is time for me to get some vertical (but not go ape shit yet).

Zane Grey gets an eyebrow raise from me as a tough freaking course from reading the reports.  Apparently ultra stud Karl M broke his arm.  WTF?

While I am not a tri guy, I do enjoy Macca interviews.   This one is queued up for a run in the near future.

Did some setup work on the Pack rocket launcher tonight with JZ.  This old timer is bad ass.  It launches 10 rockets at once.  It has lights, sirens, count down timers, switches for every scout and a master control kill box.  JZ and I did a once over on the circuitry.  It is all in working order.   The box has taken a beating with thousands of launches on its frame.  We might need to work it up a bit with the launch rods (but bed time called).

Sunday 042510

Justin posted this on Facebook this AM: 2:29.34 per watch. somebody get chip time? insAne. I can't stop crying.  Very stoked for the guy.

  Headed out and felt like sluggish, so I curtailed the run at 8 miles.  Thought about getting out in the evening but we spent the afternoon (freezing) at the Rox game, so I bagged that – as felt pretty bushed post the game (fighting off the cold wind).

63 miles on the week.   April at  300 miles, 1286 on the year.  About 9.5 hours on the week so about 183.75 hours on the year.   Week was pretty mellow on several fronts – mileage, intensity, etc.  A combo of a busy week at work, recovering from the Canyon, etc … 

Lots of races on tap this past weekend … Adam Rich won the Sneak, Scott Jaime won the Zane Grey 50 Miler

Saturday 042410

Most of the day was spent planting a tree.  Digging a big hole in this Colorado clay is a bit of work.   

10 miles. 

Friday 042310

The rain this AM compelled me to stay in bed.  Love laying in bed and hearing the rain.  Hit the mill mid AM, and actually felt normal for a run for the first time in a week.  7 miles.  Actually thought about nudging it a bit, but better wits prevailed and I kept it easy.

Listened to this podcast that had an interview with Paula R yesterday (she comes in at 38:30 if you want to skip ahead).  I find these guys pretty entertaining, but it might just be their Brit accents.

I am not sure if I will do this, but it caught my eye – 15km trail USATF champs. 

Not the best audio quality but a good chant to get lost in a run to.

Had my first OSTAC meeting last night.  Pretty stoked to be a part this, particularly as there are 2010 tentative goals listed for trail link ups.  JZ got his Bear badge last night too, so he is now a Webelo, and KZ finished up with the Aladdin production.  We were glad that soccer practice was cancelled because of the rain.  It was a busy night. 

Considered going outdoors in the afternoon, but I peeked out and it was SNOWING!  So I got on the mill again for an easy six.

More GC video …

Side note dork rant … just because you write something and put it up on a website, that alone does not make it a blog.  You need a damn RSS feed James and Greg.

Thursday 042210

AM – easy dog jog.  5 miles.  It rained pretty well last night so there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of worms out on the trails. 

KZ performed in Aladdin last night at the middle school.  It and she were great.

I got word that I won a 50 dollar gift certificate to Dicks for being the first Khol parent at the Khol 5k.  Sweet.  JZ needed some new baseball gear.

Getting to some of the video (not much) I took at the Grand Canyon.  In this one JV is trying to fill it.

Getting word that Justin is en route to London, and getting around that volcanic ash stuff.

Interview with Hal K that I need to check out.

6 miles in the PM, easy.  Legs are almost completely back.  Right quad is lagging a bit.

Wednesday 042110

New header pic via JV.

AM – easy 3 miles with the dogs.  I am almost a real boy again.

Top Colorado finishers at Boston.  Parr appears to have bonked pretty hard. His report …

PM – seven miles.  Felt pretty good for the first few miles.  Still some quirks in there to work out.  No problem.

NE running ambassador JJ’s 2:30 report from Boston.   I came up through 20 in 1:53:03, which was a crazy PR for me for 20 miles.  Well deserved for a hard working all around nice guy.  Even if he stole my shoes.

I forgot to post this on Monday. 

An open letter to my legs, specifically the quadriceps department. 
Dear quads team,

I’d like to thank you again for all that we have been through.  We have certainly seen some good times.  You have carried me through thousands of miles, countless races, and even occasionally a race victory or two. 

I do need to apologize however.  This past weekend I surprised you  with a trip to the Grand Canyon, that included 4800 plus feet of descent in the first seven miles.  It was pretty clear to me that this was very upsetting to you.  By the time we reached the Colorado River, you were very clear that this was not within your expectations, and that I had not properly prepared us for this journey (in other words – I did not choose proper downhill training).  I apologize and promise I will not engage in such an activity again without properly training (like running downhills).

So, in light of this apology, I would ask that you lift the grudge that you are currently holding that makes it painful to climb stairs, or even worse –descend them.  The feeling you are producing, similar to that of a baseball bat being swung at full force to the quads, certainly gets my attention.  Message received.  So, please … forgive me and let’s go back to being friends. 

Love, GZ

Tuesday 042010

Brownie’s Boston report.   During the race I could feel my doom approaching, and in races past that feeling has always caused me to find religion, go vegan, quit drinking, give up sex, become a monk, train harder, and do whatever else it would take to get a faster time.  ‘Nuff said.

I was fairly sore, stiff yesterday.  It was bad (as Lucho described yesterday … A little tightness from the baby jogger yesterday but only in my achilles, calves, hamstrings, quads, lower back, upper back, neck, lower abdominals, obliques, chest, biceps and triceps, ear lobes, fingers, toes and eyes and hair.).  Yeah, bad -- but about the same as after a Pikes race.  I have come to think, that this is about as bad as it gets unless you actual break something.  The combination of being 2 days out from the big run, and then sitting in a car all day Sunday (including an extra unnecessary half an hour in Arvada) set me up for it.  And given I am early to this game, I don’t recover like Mr. Tony (a PR on Green the day after a 50 miler).  It was awfully tempting to not run yesterday, but I decided to do an easy three just to get some of the crap worked out.  I find it helps.

I feel better today, but I am still working the razor blade out of my right quad.  Easy five miles.  Expect to be pretty easy for most of the week.  I have heard folks say that this sort of thing can level them for several weeks.  It does not feel like that right now, but I will take it day to day for a bit here.

Expectedly, I find my thoughts circling back to the Canyon quite a bit.  Certainly considering what I could do there if I really trained and went for it, but also recognizing it is quite a bit the conditions you are dealt that day.  The point is this, it is a long trip that can come down to weather … so set expectations accordingly. 

And on that note, Jason H is going to follow up this weekend with his own double crossing. It looks like the temps are supposed to be in the 70's at Phantom through the weekend and into early next week.  Good luck JH.

In any case, I have a new peg of confidence.  I have long suspected that I would not be able to manage the ultra distance, because of my structural issues associated mostly with my left foot.  This run has put a lot of that to rest.  My feet survived.  I did not physically break down to the point where I could not run (or crap myself or hallucinate).  And I did not feel that I did damage that was long term.

A few folks I work with or know got wind of what I did, and so they ask about it.  I find I end up pitching this sort of sound byte when conversing with them about it.  “You should do it.”  I say this in regards to Pikes too.  All too often their answer is, “There is no way I could do that.”   I say they should do it, because I really think they should.  I believe that doing these sort of things would change who they are, what they see, and – obviously what they believe in.  And of course, I think that is exploration and growth, and it would make all of us better people.  So in some regard, I am “witnessing” this “religion” to them.  But I don’t push it beyond that.  Much.  Yet.

PM – easy 3 miles around JZ’s soccer fields.  Tried shoeless for a bit, but they recently aerated the fields, so there were lots of dirt plugs that were fairly hard.  I relented after a quarter mile, as they were beating up my feet.

Monday 041910

JV’s report from the GC run.  It was daunting at times to look down canyon while still high in the valley and see the plateau of the S. Rim looming so high above in the distance, knowing I still had ~2,000 feet to drop before I could cross the Colorado River and begin my final climb.  JV’s 8:15 was AWESOME.  The guy was so geared to this – it was infectious and inspirational.

Brandon’s report from Boston.  I was a god damn robot — executing the program. Damn – way to execute to the plan.  It does not go any tighter than this.

Interview with Timmy Parr.  Would I be willing to trade my 1st at Leadville and 48th at worlds for a did not compete at Leadville and a 20th at worlds… No!

New Smashing Pumpkins tune.

PM – 3 miles hard.  No, kidding.  It was easy.

Sunday 041810

In the car, returned home today.  Pretty stiff from sitting in the car all day.  Ouch.  Zero today.  The ride back from the Canyon is about 700 miles and at least 11 hours … probably closer to 12 with stops.  JV and Homie made it go as quick such a ride could go though.

Week was 82 miles on 9 runs, but one of those being pretty damn long.  April at  237 miles, 1223 on the year.  About 15 hours on the week so about 174.25 hours on the year. 

Next couple of days will be easy, just getting my legs back.

Some GC pix

 

  

Saturday 041710

More to come …

My longest run timewise, mileagewise, and I think for pure vertical in one day:  The Grand Canyon R2R2R.  Ran easy all day but my quads are still fairly shredded.  JV went 8:15, I went 9:22, and Homie went 10:22.  Fair amount of snow above the Supai Tunnel, and pretty warm (mid to high 80s?) in the lower canyon.

Pretty stoked as I did not have any significant issues or hallucinations.

Saturday 041710 Grand Canyon R2R2R

Where to start?

In the days leading up to this run, the magnitude of it was clearly an itch in my brain.  In other words, I was scared shitless.  43 miles?  10000 feet of vertical?  10 hours?  Or more?  I had never done anything longer than 5 hours or a marathon.  I had not trained with longer runs or anything of significant vertical this winter spring.  What the hell was I getting into?

I tried to shake this off because I knew other folks who had done it, and I was confident (in an inappropriate sort of self talk swagger sort of way) if they could pull it off, I could too. 

That said, I certainly did not want to be the “that guy” who ended up getting his ass drug out of the Canyon on a mule.

Friday night we packed up.  I packed six gels, three bars, a bag of powerbar chews (much like shotblocks), several packets of gatorade, about a dozen S-caps, an extra pair of socks, gloves, an ultralite shell, brim cap.  All this was shoved into TZ’s High Sierra camelbak.  I loaded that up with 70oz of Gatorade mix, fairly sweet to start thinking I would thin it out through the day.   I would wear a tech shirt (Mt Washington as a matter of fact) and my longer shorts that have a few pockets in them.  For shoes, I went with a well worn pair of Cascadias.

At the last minute, I decided to NOT wear the Garmin.  I got concerned that the battery would die at 10 hours, and that I would be out there with no idea as to what time it was.  Instead, I opted for the Altera, and further rationalized that I’d not get good GPS data anyway (based on what I heard from several folks).

I had also decided to NOT bring my IPOD.  I thought I might in case I hit a bad patch.  But I then decided that this run was about exploration:  the exploration of the Canyon, of the really long run, and of myself.  I decided that if I hit a bad patch, I wanted to explore that too.  I did not want to drown that out with music but to really hear it.  So I left it behind.

I had predetermined that I would not specifically advertise a time I wanted to run.  I knew that JV wanted to beat his 8:43 from the year prior.  John had goals near or under 10 hours.  I really had NO idea.  I knew I would not rip it as fast as JV.  Simply, I had not done the training and I was not going to push this bugger give the “first time” nature of it.  But I was not sure if that meant 10 hours or 12 hours or 16 hours.  I had visions of wandering back up the South Kaibab out of the Canyon, mumbling, stumbling, dry in the mouth – needing water and hoping to finish before dark.

As a joke at the last minute before we went to bed, I pinned my number from the Kohl 5k on the front of my shorts.  It had been left in my windbreaker from the week before.  We did some last minute exchange of various beta on the trip.  Through the ride down, JV had given me lots of tips, pointers and insights on everything – where there was water, where to run on the way back up, the break points  … while I had never been on the Kaibab trails, it was almost as if I had been with the pictures he had painted.

We woke at 4AM with intention of 530AM start.  These are Arizona times – which means that they were an hour behind Mountain Daylight Savings Time.  Arizona does not observe DST.  Unless you are in the Navajo nation parts.  Ridiculous.  But I digress.

I had slept soundly – maybe even more so than the other guys.  JV mentioned he had been up since 3 or so.  We did the typical morning of a run stuff:  meaning we went to the bathroom about 10 times each.  I suited up and covered all the sensitive areas with Vaseline.  Crap, what the hell sort of nipple chaffing am I going to have after a full day of running?

I took in a couple of bananas with peanut butter, and took in a couple of bottles of Gatorade.  I had been trying to force the hydration (intelligently) for the day before.  It was right near 40 degrees so I put on the shell and the gloves. 

We collected into the van around 5ish and headed over to the lot near Kaibab road entrance.  It is about 6/10ths of a mile from that lot to the actual trailhead.  We walked / jogged very lightly in the dark. 

Other runners that were from Colorado were already out there.  Meaning – OUT THERE.  There was at least one person who had started at 7PM the night before.  And several folks had started at 3AM.  One guy joined JV, Homie and me.  We hit the bathrooms at the start as the mules in the nearby paddock stared at us with interest. 

And then we went.  My watch read 5:36 and change when I switched over to the chrono and started it.  JV and this other guy took off very quickly down the trail.  I held back intentionally – repeating the mantra that I needed to establish a pace that I KNEW I could hold for a very long day.  Homie settled a handful of yards behind me.  I gave a loud whoop and it was returned by the other guys:  here I was … IN THE CANYON.  RUNNING THE GRAND CANYON.  Seeing it at sunrise.  With friends.  Enjoying the great spectacle it was, and serving up a setting for me to test myself in a new way.  How glorious could that be. 

I had also elected to pack a camera.  I had thought about not bringing it, but decided that since I was not “racing” this – I had room to enjoy this.  I snapped some shots as we moved down the trail.

Within 10-15 minutes I realized I was overdressed.  It was warming up quickly as we descended.  I pulled off the side of the trail, flipped off the pack and shoved the gloves and the shell into it.  Homie slipped by and got about 100 yards up on my before I started moving again.  Occasionally I would catch sight of JV several switchbacks down.  The sun was rising and beginning to paint the canyon with its reds, browns and greens against a gray to blue sky.

And then I got my first warning.  We passed a location called Skeleton Point and I felt the beginning of my right quad bemoaning the descent.  We were maybe 20 minutes in?  Crap.  Way too early for this.  My choices?  Stay reserved and move on. 

Homie remained a few switchbacks ahead as we descended.  He’d gain a little ground as we hit the more vertical technical drops and I’d get a little back as the trail went to more gentle terrain … it was ever gentle.  The trail drops 4500 plus feet in seven miles.  It should be easy to rip this, but with the water bar drops, it is not like running down Flagstaff Road.

We got site of the river and then came to the tunnel at the Black Bridge – the bridge that crosses the Colorado.  I went through the tunnel and WHAM.  As I came out of the tunnel, I hit a lip at or before the bridge and went down on my right knee and hand.  Blood began to leak out of both.  My choices here?  Stay reserved and move on. 

We had hit the bridge in about an hour on the nose.   HR and effort wise I was fine and enjoying the morning.  I was concerned a bit given the right quad that was increasingly complaining and the fall but neither was overwhelming.  I slowly caught up to Homie as we pulled into Phantom Ranch.  We slowed down as we looked for where we could gather water and finally found it.   We moved quickly, but not panicked.  Homie slipped out of the Ranch a few steps ahead of me.  We left the Ranch about 70 minutes into the run.

I popped some S-caps, took a couple of swigs of water, a few of the powerbar chews while walking quickly up the trail and then settled into a slow jog as the trail started to climb.  I had to pee.  I decided since this was a trip of firsts, I would also try another first here:  peeing while running.  All I can say is – it is possible, I did it, but it is more of a waddle than a run.

I rolled Homie up in a few minutes and kept the thought of keeping reserved, run easy, never press, that I had a long day ahead.  We had moved into the big expansive stellar views of the Canyon to a box canyon, adjacent to Bright Angel Creek, with a slow climb.  The North Kaibab would take us to the North Rim over the course of 14 miles and some 5500 feet of elevation gain (so a little more gain than what we had just dropped but over twice the mileage).

I kept plodding, and glancing back, I could see Homie anywhere from 30 to 150 yards behind. 

There was a true water crossing – maybe 15 feet wide?  There was ankle deep water running over it – so nothing hugely technical but I was very thankful that there was a zip line over it to steady against. 

As we made our way up, we began to catch some of the early starters.  This was motivating because seeing others out there always gave you a target to chase and a brief moment to exchange some pleasantries. 

Eventually we came to the Cottonwood campsite and he caught up to me as I filled with water.  I was envious as to how quickly he could fill his water bottles, while I had to take longer with the more challenging backpack hydration system.   He asked me how I was doing.  We were at 2:30 into the run, so I answered, “well, this equals in terms of time about the longest run of the year I have done so far.  Now it gets interesting.”   The night before I had heard this was a run of six seven mile runs.  Seven to the creek, seven to Cottonwood, seven to the North Rim, repeat in the opposite direction.

Back to the slow plod up the gentle climb.  A short while after Cottonwood is the Roaring Forks site.  This was maybe 10 minutes later? – so I elected to not stop for water here as I was still full. 

We had climbed out of the shadows of the box canyon, and the sun was climbing in the sky and it was definitely warming up.  With the heat, I backed off to a walk on the steeper stretches – again the mantra here was that I did not need to kill anyone climb as there was still many miles to run.  We passed crews working the trail, who gave quiet hellos.  I think they clearly knew what we were doing but it really was not something to be discussed.

Homie remained anywhere from 40 to 200 yards behind me.  I was not directly competing with Homie but at the same time, I was mentally leveraging him for motivation.  I was concerned about the descent coming from North Kaibab back to the river.  My quads were mushed from the initial descent and the fatigue of climbing another 14 miles was slowing continuing to provide an element of Chinese water torture to them. 

There were some very cool water falls, including a couple you actually ran under, that provided a nice cooling effect – albeit briefly from the sun that seemed to light up all of the Canyon.  I just kept moving – walking where the trail was steep and jogging where it would flatten out a bit – but steadying my effort to be as light and as consistent as possible.

I tried to level the input of food, water and S caps.  I was not hungry, but I wanted to keep the tank correctly full.  Every half an hour or so, I pop a cap, or a bar or a gel.

I arrived at the Supai Tunnel and recalled hearing that this was about 2.5 miles from the rim.  Water was not on here – which was a disappointment but not unexpected.  I had run out of water in my pack just before the tunnel.    This meant I was about another 10 miles from a pure water source – way too long.  I weighed a couple options as I moved through the tunnel (careful not to trip this time!):  snow, the river I walked through, and puddles at the bottom of some of those waterfalls.  I would end up doing all of these on the descent. 

The conditions above Supai were different.  Wooded versus open and rocky canyon walls.  And about half the trail was snow covered.  The snow covered parts were well packed with many footprints from all the winter travelers.  I kept an eye on the Altera, watching the elevation climb from 6000 to 7000 and seeing it approach 8000.  JV came running down, having already reached the top.  He looked great – smooth and controlled and we both gave each other words of encouragement. In this section, I caught up with many of the early starters.  The last I saw (Bob), I asked “hey – this is my first time … is it about a mile to the top?”  He grinned and said “how about a hundred yards?” thumbing over his shoulder.  And there was the north kiosk.

I tagged the kiosk, took a picture and noted that I arrived there in about 4 hours and 32 minutes.  I then turned around and started the descent.

I was both enthusiastic and nervous.  I had run 21 miles and saw everything that I had to cover.  I was confident that I would finish.  I was also nervous because my quads were already complaining with the first steps down.  I wondered if I would be reduced to a painful walk to the river within a mile or two.   I wondered if I could break 10 hours.

I saw Homie a few minutes down and told him I thought he’d probably catch me given how my quads were mush.  The first couple miles back down were slow because of this and the snow.  And, being out of water – I took handfuls of snow and slowly ate them to get something to hydrate with.

Back through the Supai tunnel, and into the heat.  It was warm, and getting warmer.  I hit one of the waterfalls and got down into a push up position and took long draughts of it.  It tasted good.

I eagerly approached the Roaring Forks site – ready to fill the bladder of the pack.  I was thinking I would fill here, take as much as I can and then fill again at the Cottonwood site so that I could get ahead of my hydration – or actually back from being behind on my hydration.  I pulled off at the spigot, turned it and got about 12 ounces in the bladder … and it stopped.  I fidgeted with the spigot, cursing.  Homie pulled in and I told him the bad news.  I was already putting my pack back on and getting ready to head to Cottonwood to get water there.  He mentioned it was dribbling, but I was already heading back down the trail.

This downhill was much more gentle now and I was moving with the motivation to get to Cottonwood.  I was feeling good and my quads were thankful for the gentler grade. 

And I fell asleep.  Essentially I ran right through Cottonwood.  I totally missed the water.  Just a total mental lapse.  I realized it maybe 50 yards past the site, and half contemplated going back for the water – but stupidly chose not to.  I recalled that the stream crossing was just below the site and decided I would drink there.  I did.  I should have actually filled the bladder there but that was another mental error.

I guess I never went through a black patch or a really bad patch, but I did go through some gray times where I was tired and had to relevel myself a bit.  Clearly, the effort was taking its toll.  I now realized I was without water, and had a bout an hour to Phantom Ranch and fresh water.

The heat built.  The quads were fried.  I was fine aerobically but I could feel my effort rising as I dehydrated.  I was dry in the mouth and even my sweat was slowing.  None of this was good.  I knew I would make it to Phantom Ranch, but I wonder what the cost of this error would be.  I glanced back a few times – and could see no sign of Homie.

About 30 minutes into this segment to that hour to get to the Ranch was pretty challenging.  But it was one of those where I knew I had to keep moving.  Stopping would only delay me getting to water.  I started a trip report of things done wrong. 

I had kept count of the bridges on the way up, so I used those as landmarks for progress on the way down.  I had a scare at one point – a helicopter landed just above me in the Canyon.  As it was coming in, there were guys there telling me to just move on through.  I hoped that I would not come around the corner and see a crashed JV there, lying in a heap.  Thankfully – that did not happen.

Then I fell – for the second time of the day.  This time I bounced off my left hand, leaving my palm bruised.  I cursed as I fell.  I got up, talking aloud, “okay Zack, get up, walk it off, get moving.”  I had tripped on some round river stones where the footing was tricky.  But I was okay.

Finally I got to the Ranch … and drank.  I filled the bladder and drank probably 20 ounces off it right away.  I did this again and took in another 10 ounces.  And then I drank a bunch more from the spigot.  I started the march out, taking in some food, passing the tourist who looked at me with a concerned eye.  I was dirty, sweating, moving quickly on a warm day where most folks were doing whatever they could to not expend energy. 

My legs protested – very much ready to be done.  I had now completed 35 miles of running – way more than they had carried me in a single day.  I reached the ranch in just under seven hours, and spent probably six or seven minutes there, hydrating.  This gave me 3 hours to get out of the Canyon – to be sub 10.  I had read AJW’s report of him getting out of the Canyon in 2:11.  I thought this would make 3 hours fairly do-able.

I now wanted my GPS so I could take stock of my speed, my splits, my pace per mile.  But I did not have it so I just had to run where I could and walk where I could not run.

I knew what was coming – a climb over seven miles and 4500 feet.  This section was going to be a bitch, but there was no avoiding it.  Constant forward motion.  Push when hiking.  Get back to running when hiking.  Repeat.

I used hikers going up, hikers going down as motivation.  Occasionally I would glance up and see tiny figures on a switchback in the distance, well overhead and realize that I would be there shortly and at the same time be a little freaked at how far I had to go.  I’d get odd stares, nice hellos, and the occasional statement of awe and encouragement. 

I ran out of water below Skeleton Point.  Not a cloud in the sky. 

Nothing I could do about that now.  I tried to do the calculations to determine how much longer I had to go, and thought it could be as much as two hours.  Not having water that long would suck, but I could deal with it.  Again, I kept checking the Altera.  I knew I had to get to an elevation of about 7000 feet.  At times it seemed like forever for the watch to tick from 4800 to 4900 to eventually 5000. 

But despite all this, I was having fun.  My legs were trashed but my effort in my core was easy.  My mind was gently determined, and not frantic.  I was enjoying this journey through this majestic place – a place for my first ultra.

I reached Cedar Pt and knew I had about a mile and a half to go.  I contemplated (many times) how JV was still done, and glanced back and down to see if I could see the red jersey of Homie. 

I reached the place they call ooh ah point and I could see the final walls in the distance.  My jog was hardly anything but a shuffle now, but I kept the motion going. 

I passed the sign that said, “DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HIKE TO THE RIVER AND BACK IN A DAY” and recalled AJW had noted it took him about 11 minutes to get from there to the South Rim.  I took note that I was at about 9:16.  I knew that I'd break 10, but now wondered if I could go sub 9:30. 

And six minutes later I was done.  9:22:50.  I HOOTED really loudly at the top.  Some young girls laughed at me and asked if I had set some record.  I grunted a brief explanation, and sat on the kiosk – immensely satisfied.  I basked in the glow of the Canyon, the ridiculous nature of what I had just done, the gift that I had in that I could do it, the day, my family and loved ones, my friends, its meaning and meaninglessness all the same time.  My first ultra run.  My longest run ever in terms of mileage and time.  I ran well and could see lots of places to improve and test myself.  In the GRAND CANYON.  My stomach held together well.  I did not hallucinate or crap myself.  My legs were sore as all hell and I was walking slowly, but I was fine.

And I did not need a mule to get out.

I thought about waiting for Homie – but I knew I needed water, and there was none at this trail head.  I caught the bus back to the end of the road, and then walked the 200 yards to the car.  JV was there with a friend – and we exchanged war stories.  He ran 8:15.  On a cooler day in the canyon, with less snow above the Supai, and a few other tweaks – JV goes sub 8 in my mind. 

We sat in the car and bullshited every aspect of the run.  And then Homie came up the road.  He sprinted into the lot – DAMN.  More war stories exchanged and a lot of glee for the whole damn thing.  We could not stop chatting about it all until well into the night … 

Yeah, I will confess, I have thoughts of possibly doing this again and having less of a time with it.

Things done right
1.)  Higher mileage coming into this event is the only reason why I could do it.
2.) Nutrition was perfect.  Never felt hungry or bonked (this might have been because the effort was controlled)
3.) Mentally was steady.  I made some mistakes but my resolve was balanced and strong. 
4.) Enjoyed myself
5.) Pushed the hike when I hiked and got back to the run whenever I could
6.) Got creative (and lucky) with collecting water from other sources

Things done wrong
1.)  No really long runs coming in
2.)  No vertical coming in (particularly DOWN HILL vertical)
3.)  Screwed up hydration, including bypassing water
4.)  Carried too much gear for the heat.  Never really needed the jacket, the second socks, or the gloves.  That said, this one is a push … better safe than sorry.  Hindsight is 20-20.
5.)  Not sure if I’d use a backpack hydration next time … water bottles might be more efficient for time.

Friday 041610

In the park with the guys … JV and I did a couple of miles in the AM, checking out the trailhead at South Kaibab and catching the sunrise.  A good part of the day was spent as Gerry Roache (an amazing Ed Abbey of the mountains kind of guy … he has climbed everything and written several texts on it) and Homie climbing some ridiculous formation in the park called “the Sinking Ship.”  I chilled and walked around as they climbed, enjoying the vistas and seeing some ruins near the climb site.

JV and I sat for a bit watching them climb.  Pretty cools stuff.  I decided to wander back a bit early, thinking I might nap in the car as they finished.  I ended up getting a bit turned around in the woods however.  When I hit the road, I thought I had over shot the lot we parked at (meaning I thought I was east of the lot).  So I started jogging west.  After a bit I figured I was wrong and ended up jogging back east.  Probably 30 minutes of running – and not what I really needed the day before a big run – but oh well.  Calling it four on the day.

Pixs courtesy of JV.

Thursday 041510

AM – before the road trip, 3 miles.

Pix from the day …