KMAX TRAX

Running and Rambling: New Balance MT101 Giveaway

2010-12-21T09:22:00.000-05:00

Another chance at some sweet New Balance Mt101's

Running and Rambling: New Balance MT101 Giveaway

Eagle-Eyed TSA Screeners Don't Notice Loaded Handgun In Man's Carry-On

2010-12-20T14:45:00.000-05:00

More good news in the fight against humanity.

Eagle-Eyed TSA Screeners Don't Notice Loaded Handgun In Man's Carry-On: "

If you thought the TSA's inability to notice a 6-inch hunting knife was a sign that airport screeners might as well be watching Spongebob instead of X-raying you and your stuff, here's further proof.

A man in Houston says the TSA screeners didn't blink an eye at the loaded .40 caliber handgun he'd forgotten was tucked away in his computer bag when he made his way through the security checkpoint at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Since the TSA requires you to run your laptop through separately from its bag, it should have been even easier for screeners to notice the gun in the laptop bag.

'There's nothing else in there. How can you miss it?' asks the passenger. 'You cannot miss it.'

The passenger noticed the gun when he arrived at his destination and reported the incident to authorities. The TSA investigated and provided 'remedial instruction' for the screeners involved.

Sorry, but if you have to re-teach a TSA screener what a gun looks like, maybe you should reconsider your hiring practices.

ABC News provides one final look behind the curtains of Security Theater:

A person briefed on the latest tests tells ABC News the failure rate approaches 70 percent at some major airports. Two weeks ago, TSA's new director said every test gun, bomb part or knife got past screeners at some airports.

Man boards plane at IAH with loaded gun in carry-on [ABC]

Thanks to Jared for the tip!

Wilde Lake holds off Franklin to win 3A state title, 21-14 - baltimoresun.com

2010-12-03T08:08:00.000-05:00

Wilde Lake holds off Franklin to win 3A state title, 21-14 - baltimoresun.com

Preview capsules for the state football finals - baltimoresun.com

2010-12-02T09:24:00.000-05:00

I'll be there, will you?

Go Cats!

Preview capsules for the state football finals - baltimoresun.com

DCCX Tandem: The Movie

2010-10-26T10:06:00.000-05:00

I haven't watched this video yet, but I bet its awesome!

DCCX Tandem: The Movie: "

Padam cruising to gold at DCCX

For most promoters, a full slate of MABRAcross racing is plenty. But the go-getters at DCMTB wanted more so they added races for rookies, single-speeds and tandems to the DCCX slate. For those that stuck around late in the day, these races were some of the most entertaining on the schedule.

The tandem race, in particular, did not disappoint. Twelve teams signed up and eleven were brave enough to toe the line. Many of the racers were lining up for their third race of the day.

Looking at the start list, it was safe to say that the race favorites in the tandem class were familiar names to MABRAcross prognosticators.

Jared Nieters, MABRAcross series leader, and Joe Dombrowski, the winner of the day’s elite race, looked strong on paper as they squeezed their Haymarket Bicycles-SEAVS rig onto the front row. But a slow start and nagging mechanicals seemed to dog them along the way.

Lined up next to Nieters and Dombrowski was the Adventures for the Cure tandem piloted by Adam Driscoll with Pat Blair as stoker. If you don’t know much about these guys, let’s just say they spend way too much time together. They have ridden across the country together on fixed-gear bikes, completed the two-man Race Across America, and are pretty much inseparable if the activity has anything to do with bikes. In fact, they get mistaken for each other so much at bike races that I believe they just take on the other’s persona when someone can’t tell them apart.

I point this out about Driscoll and Blair because their communication on the bike is incredible. You can hear it on the video in the turns and through the barriers.

Another team that does a nice job communicating is the TOMS Shoes p/b Kindhuman Sports team of Matt and Chad Bartlett. The brothers have more fun on a bicycle then should be allowed. We get to hear them discussing the set up to their big air moment and also heckling the other TOMS Shoes rig. Needless to say, these guys also get confused for each other. Maybe that’s the key to tandem cross success.

If you like what you see and want to try it out for yourself, you can do just that at Rockburn Cross, day two of the Howard County Double Cross. Early word is that this is going to be an epic rematch of the top three teams, with other strong challengers on hand to make it spicy.

For the video we went into unchartered territory. Three helmet cams, one camcorder outside the tape and a whole lot of footage. I’ve edited it down to about 13 minutes but I’m sure there is a whole lot more to go through that was left on the cutting room floor.

Thanks to John Cutler for the background music and than you for watching.

DCCX Course Preview

2010-10-21T08:41:00.000-05:00

DCCX Course Preview: "

DCCX takes place Sunday at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C. With over 600 racers already registered, this event is going to be huge.

Despite the ever growing popularity of DCCX, the organizers are never satisfied with last year and are always looking to give participants and spectators the best experience possible.

DCMTB, the club responsible for bringing us DCCX, is not one to blindly follow conventional wisdom. They like to mix it up a bit on course design, venue layout and fun extra activities like tandem races, a Saturday women-only CX clinic and a rookie class.

Women interested in the Saturday clinic, led by 2009 DCCX champ Arley Kemmerer (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes), need to do nothing more than show up at the AFRH on October 23rd at 2 p.m. Let the guard at the Upshur St. NW and Rock Creek Church Rd. gate know why you are there and he will point you in the right direction.

We met up with DCCX promoters Marc Gwadz and Matt Donahue to run through the course and get an idea of the new twists and turns. Many will be happy to learn that the long, exposed out and back on the far side of the course is gone. However, a new uphill barrier will join the existing uphill obstacle (steps replace last year’s barrier) to make the course no less painful.

For this course preview everything was done on location, which is a CXHairs first. We rode and filmed the course and immediately downloaded the file. The mobile crosshairs studio was set up on a hay bale leaning against a telephone pole around where the frites will be served on Sunday. Matt and Marc got on the mics and recorded the commentary in the field, which means you get some authentic DC background noise, like the medevac helicopters landing at Washington Hospital Center, mixed in with the commentary.

For more information and updates on DCCX, check out the DCMTB blog.

Thanks for watching and we will see you Sunday.

Major Yuengling expansion on the table

2010-10-15T10:57:00.000-05:00

I believe it was Lisa mentioning the other day they don't have access to Yuengling up in Michigan. Looks like the company is aiming to change that in the next few years.

Major Yuengling expansion on the table: "Just got a press release from Yuengling about the purchase of the Hardy Bottling Facility in Memphis. They are in negotiations for the purchase, and have signed a letter of intent. Here's the first paragraph:

Dick Yuengling, Jr., president and owner of D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc., today announced the company has signed a letter of intent and is in serious discussions for the purchase of the Hardy Bottling Facility in Memphis, Tennessee, which will allow them to distribute Yuengling lager, their flagship brand and Yuengling's much sought after portfolio of brands in select new markets in the United States.

The 'Hardy Bottling Facility' is the former Coors brewery in Memphis, where they made Zima at one time. Carolyn Hardy, the former plant manager, led an employee buyout of the facility in 2006. Apparently, things have not gone quite as well as they might have hoped. Unfortunate for the company, but if Yuengling does make the purchase, they have a track record of saving jobs. I don't know if the workers at Hardy are unionized or not; Yuengling took on the union workers in Tampa, and they later voted to de-certify. The release did say that no plants will be closing, and no jobs will be lost: great news.

So why did Yuengling decide to buy yet another facility, not long after expanding the newer Pottsville brewery? I thought they had capacity to spare. Apparently not:

Our three existing plants, two in Pennsylvania and one in Tampa, FL are limited in their production capabilities. In addition, the cost of freight and logistics challenges our ability to market our products at the competitive prices to our loyal consumers.

Good news for the people who've been hankering for Yuengling. The release made no promises on timing: "We can not put a specific timeline on this yet, only to say our company is working very hard to manage our growth in our usual slow and methodical manner."

Okay. What's this mean? Well, first, it means New England should finally see Yuengling, along with other parts of the country that are jonesing for an American-made, American-owned light lager beer, a beer with a real history behind it, from America's oldest brewery. Sounds hokey, but I think it's real; it's certainly worked for them in Pennsylvania.

Maybe more importantly, it puts Yuengling on the national radar. Up till now, the big boys could call it a regional brewery. Now they're going national, in their 'slow and methodical manner.' Will they continue to do things 'the Yuengling way,' feet on the street, not a lot of reliance on marketing and laptops, leaning on the beer and the story? I believe that's the way to bet.

The joker in the deck is Dick Yuengling. He's getting older, his daughters are in the business, things are good...is it time to retire? My guess is no. I think Dick wants to take his shot at a national market, and judging from how he sounded when I interviewed him last November, I think he's ready for it. I really wonder what will happen when the torch passes, and the daughters are, inevitably, offered a buyout deal from a much, much bigger brewer. Impossible to predict the result. We'll just have to wait and see.

More here from the Wall Street Journal.

New Balance MT101/WT101 Review

2010-10-08T07:58:00.000-05:00

I'd call this a heck of a good review!

New Balance MT101/WT101 Review: "

I’m an unfit Popeye and the New Balance MT101s are my spinach. The year’s not quite over, but I can’t imagine anything but the MT101 as my favorite new shoe of the year. Seriously, that’s no hyperbole. For anything shorter than marathon, there’s no other shoe I’d rather run in right now. The New Balance MT101/WT101 (MT101 from here on) is light, low to the ground, and fits like a glove. All the issues I had with the original MT100 have been ironed out. That’s why iRunFar is so excited to have teamed up with New Balance to giveaway five pairs of MT101s!

Meet the New Balance MT101

Since being launched last autumn, the New Balance MT100 has been the talk to the minimalist trail shoe world. (“Barefoot shoes” are their own thing.) Originally designed with the help of Anton Krupicka and the Skaggs brothers, there aren’t a lot of extras on these shoes. The MT101 is merely an evolution of the MT100, but the changes that were made make it a much better shoe.

Here’s a summary of the changes before jumping into an in-depth review:

Better foot lockdown by the addition of midfoot and rearfoot overlays

Improved ankle collar construction that saves your Achilles

Slightly more expensive – it costs all of $5 more

More flexible rockplate

Slightly heavier at 7.48 ounces versus 7.09 ounces for a US men’s 9

Less odiferous glue

Below, we’ll examine the MT101′s upper, midsole, outsole, and weight before taking a look at my own experience with the shoe. And, yes, there is the huge MT101 giveaway! Read on to find out why I love the MT101 so much!

[BTW, if you have an interest in minimalist shoes, New Balance, or Anton Krupicka, check out our preview of the forthcoming New Balance Minimus line designed with input from Anton.

Upper

New Balance made its two biggest improvements to the MT100 by adding overlays and fixing the ankle collar in the MT101. In addition, they tweaked the tongue a bit. Otherwise, it's the same great upper as the MT100. Here's more on the upper.

Additional Overlays

The MT upper continues to be primarily mesh backed by lightweight fabric, but now with significant and well-deserved additions. In our MT100 review, Travis Liles noted, 'the upper... does not offer much lateral support, which can be problematic on technical or switchbacking trail.' This observation was echoed by many others.

In response, New Balance completely redesigned the upper's overlays. Most notable is a significant metatarsal wrap that expands from an inch wide at its attachment point in the center of the arch to five inches wide at the top of the shoe. That results in a wrap stretching from the foremost eyelets to one and a half inches back on the ankle collar. This is a huge improvement that really locks down the entire foot as well as providing a small amount of support.

The insteps of the New Balance MT100 (top) and MT101 (bottom).

On the lateral (outside) portion of the midfoot upper, New Balance added one midsole-to-eyelet band (from four to five), but, more significantly, the company spread out the connection points of those bands from two center eyelets to five eyelets, which gives broader metarsal lockdown.

A comparison of the lateral uppers of the New Balance MT100 (top) and MT101 (bottom).

Finally, New Balance added both a medial (inside) and a lateral band connecting the midsole and the ankle collar. This change, along with all the others, makes for a much cleaner ride on technical terrain. The MT101 is better connected to your foot, which means you are better connected to the trail.

Ankle Collar

With the MT100, a small, but significant number of runners experienced severe chafing of the Achilles tendon area. I was one of those sufferers in the MT100 when the skin over my Achilles sawed to pieces in less than 3 sockless miles. For some, the problem even persisted while wearing socks! The culprit? A 2 mm high ridge of thin EVA at the top of the ankle collar. That ridge served no purpose and was merely a relic from the manufacturing process.

Well, I’m happy to report that New Balance successfully revamped its manufacturing process. I can now deem the MT100′s ankle collar problem completely eliminated in the MT101. Sure, I still get some light rubbing in the Achilles notch, but it’s minor and what I’d expect given these are the only shoes I’ll wear sockless.

The Achilles notch on the MT101 (left) and MT100 (right). Note the absence of a ridge on the MT101.

The Tongue

The MT100′s tongue was a single layer of the fabric-backed mesh that is used throughout the rest of the shoe. This thin mesh had a tendency to fold and collapse. New Balance found a way to provide structure with a minimal addition of material. On the rear of the tongue, they sewed on a thin, second layer of fabric that extends two inches down the backside of the tongue at the tongue’s edges while tapering to an inch at the center of the tongue. On the front of the tongue, New Balance bonded a half inch-wide ribbon that extends vertically two inches down the center of the tongue. These two additions can hardly weigh a thing, but they do keep the tongue laying flat against the top of your feet.

The tongues of the New Balance MT100 (top) and MT101 (bottom). I did not adjust either before taking this picture.

Other Upper Features

The MT101 still has the slipper like feel of the MT100, while retaining plenty of toe box wiggle room. The mesh upper is highly breathable, but does let in quite a bit of dust. The MT101 also retains the “sausage-like” Sure Laces.

Midsole

If you can feel an underfoot difference between the MT100 and MT101 you’ve got some pretty sensitive feet.

As with the MT100, the MT101 lacks a post for pronation control. However, the midsole is raised on both the inside and outside of the midfoot, which provides a modest amount of support.

Once again, there’s a Rockstop TPU-rockplate sandwiched between the outsole and midsole that offers decent push-through protection in the forefoot and midfoot. New Balance made the MT101′s rockplate slightly less dense, which results in more forefoot flexibility. While I’ve not been able to feel the difference in flexibility while running (Yes, I’ve run with the MT100 on one foot and the MT101 on the other.), the MT101 is hands down the more flexible shoe in manual testing.

I don’t feel that the decreased rockplate density detracts from its push-through protection. In fact, in side-by-side “jumping ’round the yard” tests, I felt the MT101 offered better rock protection as the MT100.

One other thing… according to some, the MT100 had a “horrible, long-lasting VOC stench.” This smell came from the cement that glued the rockplate to the midsole. New Balance corrected this problem with the MT101.

Outsole

New Balance didn’t change the MT100′s trail-specific outsole one bit for the MT101. Why mess with a good thing? The outsole is a scant 2mm (or so) thick at the midfoot with lugs ranging from 1 to 3 mm in the forefoot and midfoot with 5 mm lugs in the heel. There are still circular cutouts in the outsole to reduce weight. These cutouts expose the Rockstop rockplate in the forefoot and midsole foam from the midfoot through the heel.

The identical outsoles of the New Balance MT100 (top) and MT101 (bottom).

The MT101′s outsole remains perfect for packed dirt trails; however, it’s not the shoe of choice on sloppy trails. That said, the heel does provide some grip, which is why Anton didn’t shave it off before the snowy start of the 2010 Western States 100. I’ll note that, every once in a blue moon, a piece of pointy rock will stick into the heel’s exposed foam.

Weight (or lack thereof)

I found the light weight of these shoes to be exhilarating… especially, because I still consider the MT101s to be full-fledged, if stripped-down, shoes. My used MT101s in US men’s 9 weigh 7.48 ounces (212 grams). While that’s pretty darn light, it is a bit heavier than my used MT100s, which weigh in at 7.09 ounces (201 grams). Given that the MT101s still weigh in at less then 7.5 ounces, I can live with an extra 11 grams on each foot.

My Experience With the New Balance MT101s

As noted at the top, I love the MT101. I get to slip my feet into more trail shoes than I can keep track of and, at the moment, there’s no other shoe that I’d rather slip into for a quick run. These shoes feel fast and make me want to run fast. In fact, while I’m not sure if it’s a placebo effect or my need to be a midfoot runner in the MT101s, I think they do make me run faster. When I want to bust out of my running doldrums, the MT101s are a stiff breeze at my back.

In truth, most of my running in the MT101s has been on a roughly even mix of paved roads, dirt roads with some gravel, and soft shoulders. I admit I love running short road runs in these shoes. No, they are not well-cushioned, but I like the firmness. I can’t see myself ever logging 20 mile all-pavement runs in them, but I have logged up to 5 or 6 miles of pavement in a run without regretting it.

The MT101s also kick butt in the water. The mesh upper instantly takes in water, but it also sheds it like a sieve. Plus, there’s not much in the shoe that can absorb liquid. Within a minute of completing a recent half hour run in the rain, I weighed my MT101s and they weighed in at under 10 ounces. They picked up a scant 2.3 ounces (65 grams) of water for a wet foot total of 9.74 ounces (277 grams). Meet my new stormy weather trail shoes!

In my few proper trail runs, I forced sharp turns, leaped onto pointy boulders, and otherwise pushed the shoes as best I could. They’ve not failed me yet. I do find that, if I’ve not worn them in a while, I find gravely roads to be intermittently painful. However, over a series of runs, I quickly adjust to block out this transient, nuisance-level pain.

Both the MT100 and MT101 have a 10mm drop from heel to toe. Although the drop is a little less than the 11-12mm drop found in many shoes, it is not small. The numbers would lead me to believe that I could train at will in the MT101s. That would be wrong. If you have been a heel striker or have suffered from foot or lower leg issues, please slowly transition to the MT101! The MT101 has a much lower than average 18mm heel height and an 8mm toe height, so there’s not much cushioning. As a result, you will run more on your toes than many of us are used to. The shoes are an awesome tool to help build foot and leg strength and I believe they would make a great transition shoe for long-time runners who later plan on incorporating barefoot running into their running regimen.

As an aside, I speak of the above gradual progression from experience. In November 2009, I was hit with plantar fasciitis. I spent 6 months in extremely supportive shoes while mostly sticking to relatively flat runs. By the time I was symptom free in May 2010, my calves had atrophied from the lack of miles and hills. This summer, even my initial, short 4-5 mile runs in the MT101s left my feet and calves tired the next day. I loved the shoes, but couldn’t wear them more often than every other day and for no more than 5 miles at a time. A few months later, I’ve now worn them for up to 10 miles at a time and I’m holding up much better on 6-8 mile runs in the MT101s. They remain, at most, an every other day shoe. I look forward to continued progression with my new favorite trail running shoes, the New Balance MT101s.

Price and Availability

The MT101s are available now! It’s true that New Balance did up the MSRP $5 from the MT100s to the MT101s, but I think MT1010s are still a steal at $79.95! Note that you can find the MT101 and WT101 for $74.95, the same as previous MSRP for the MT100 and WT100.

New Balance MT101/WT101 Giveaway

We’re giving away five pairs of New Balance’s MT101 or WT101. To enter, leave a comment (Please do this directly on the website, not via email.) with your name and location. In addition, you must enter your email in the confidential box above the main comment box to help expedite our getting your brand new gear out to you (if you win). Your email will not be used for any other purpose. This contest, which is limited to the US only, ends at 5 p.m. PDT on Friday, October 15. We’ll announce the winners in a separate post on Monday, October 18th.

With so many pairs to go around, be sure to spread the word!

Call for Comments/Questions

While the contest is as simple as noted above, we’d love some more info from our readers. If you’ve previously worn the MT100 or WT100 or if you’ve had a chance to try the MT101/WT101, please let us know what you like about them.

As always, please ask any questions you might have about the shoes.

[Note regarding comments: We might delete all non-substantive, contest-entry comments after the contest concludes so as to make the remaining substantive comments more useful to future readers.]

[Disclosure: The Amazon link in this article is part of an affiliate program that helps support iRunFar. If you haven't guessed, New Balance is providing the five pairs of MT101/WT101s.]

New Balance MT100-WT100 Review

Inov-8 X-Talon 212 Review

New Balance Minumus Line: A Sneak Peak

The Fire Department Watches as Home Burns. Did We Learn Anything About Libertarianism?

2010-10-08T07:31:00.000-05:00

WOW!

The Fire Department Watches as Home Burns. Did We Learn Anything About Libertarianism?: "

In rural Obion County, Tennessee, the local fire department operates with a subscription model. You pay $75 each year if you want to opt in. Gene Cranick decided not to pay. When his house caught fire last week the fire department refused to come put it out.

From WPSD:

The homeowner, Gene Cranick, said he offered to pay whatever it would take for firefighters to put out the flames, but was told it was too late. They wouldn't do anything to stop his house from burning.

Each year, Obion County residents must pay $75 if they want fire protection from the city of South Fulton. But the Cranicks did not pay.

The mayor said if homeowners don't pay, they're out of luck.

This fire went on for hours because garden hoses just wouldn't put it out. It wasn't until that fire spread to a neighbor's property, that anyone would respond.

Turns out, the neighbor had paid the fee.

It's like an Onion story (actually, it's like this Onion story) but sadder, obviously, because it's not a joke. Over at the National Review online, Daniel Foster, a "conservative with fairy libertarian leanings" is trying to figure out what this story means for his worldview.

Foster acknowledges that with an opt-in system there need to be consequences for opting out, but this case is different, he says, because "Mr. Cranick ... wasn’t offering to pay the $75 fee. He was offering to pay whatever it cost to put out the fire."

Sure, they could have put out the fire when Cranick offered to pay "whatever it takes," but as I see it, according to the libertarian, the fire department still wouldn't have any obligation to. And we certainly don't want a system in which the fire department is regularly negotiating the cost of its services with individual homeowners while their houses burn, dealing with people who promise to pay "whatever it takes" but can't, or having to shut down during a good year because it's paid on a fire-by-fire basis.

I think it's pretty simple: If you're a libertarian, then there's nothing to complain about. This whole thing went exactly according to theory. Big government doesn't force you to pay for a bloated fire department. If you decide not to, then when your house catches fire, you try to save it yourself with a garden hose. It's tragic and makes everyone involved—mayor, fire department, and homeowner—look stupid.

Here's the other tragedy, though: This is an especially vivid example of why we should chip in for public services because it involves a conflagration and physical destruction. But we badly need to learn the same lessons in other areas—education, for example—where the consequences of eroding public services manifest slowly and don't end up on the news.

Moving (From) the Motherload Contest

2010-10-07T08:55:00.000-05:00

Another one!

Moving (From) the Motherload Contest: "

Not only are we thanking you, the iRunFar reader, this week for helping us reach the milestone of one million(!) pageviews, but we’re also preparing to move iRunFar headquarters out of the Sierra Nevada. It’s a long story that we’ll fill you in on later. Anyway, we’re getting rid of our entire stockpile of giveaway items ahead of the move.

Most of the gear we’re giving away in this contest is new; however, there are lightly-used items, as well. You can assume that an item is new unless we tell you otherwise. Details on how to enter follow the list of gear to be won.

BTW, here’s an index to all of our contests this week.

Packs

Salomon Minim 30 – A lightweight (675 g) 30-liter pack that is hydration compatible and trekking pole friendly. The pack is black and red.

Camelbak Blowfish – Generally a bike pack that was used for trail running. A used, couple-year-old version that’s still in good shape. About a 12 liter capacity that holds a 100-ounce bladder (not included). Goldenrod and gray.

Camelbak Flashflo – A waist-mounted hydration pack (bladder included). A used, couple-year-old version that’s still in good shape. Blue, gray, and black.

Short Sleeve Tech Shirts (medium unless otherwise noted)

Jupiter Peak Steeplechase ’10 – A good looking blue shirt from Green Layer.

Rothrock Challenge ’10 – Another blue shirt from Green Layer with small, simple front logo and sponsor-filled back.

HAT Run 50k – White shirt with black neck and small black back panel. Back features a definition of ultrarunning.

Freemotion – Black shirt with yellow accents.

Taos Up and Over Trail Run ’10 (extra small) – Blue shirt with simple logo front and sponsor-filled back.

Black Hats

Salomon New Era Cap (medium/large) – Black with small “Salomon” and logo in gray on front.

Salomon Cap (large/extra large) – Classy black cap with large gray Salomon logo and gray trim.

Mammut Cap (large/extra large) – Black cap with the Mammut logo.

Udo’s Oil Cap – Black Coolmax hat bearing “Udo’s Oil” and “oil the machine.”

Socks (sizes are noted in US men’s)

Asics Men Sorbtex Performance Low Cut Sock 3 Pack (large 9-12) – Three pairs of thin white tech socks.

Injinji Performance Mini-Crew (large – 11-13) – The classic Injinji tetrasock in “sand” color.

Merrell Quick Socks (large – 9-11.5) – Merino running socks with targeted cushioning.

Newton Ankle Socks (large/extra large 10.5-15) – Performance running socks perfectly suited to Newton running shoes.

The North Face Men’s Fire Road No Show (large – 9-12.5) – Thin-to-medium weight socks with targeted cushioning.

Hydration

Brooks Run Happy Water Bottle – A dark blue 20 ounce H2GO bottle with the Brooks Run Happy logo.

PUR Guide Water Filter and Replacement Cartridge – This is a fastpacking/hiking item rather than a true running item, but it may be useful for iRunFar readers. The filter system, which is well-used and well-cared for, comes with a replacement filter.

Nathan Flip Straw Pure Bottle – An orange 700 ml BPA flip straw bottle.

La Sportiva Bottle – A white, BPA-free, biodegradable water bottle.

nuun Bottle – A blue water bottle made by Specialized.

Mountain Trails Foundation bottle – A water bottle featuring the MTF logo.

Other

The North Face towel – A thin small-to-medium size towel that would be great to wipe off with after a workout.

Assorted flash drives – We’ve got a couple outdoor company-branded USB flash drives with from 1/2 – 1 GB capacity.

Salomon Shoe Bag – A simple black Salomon shoe bag.

The North Face Sunscreen – 50 mLs of 20 UPF sunscreen.

Green Laces Shoelaces – Show your support of the environment with these laces.

The Rules

Really, there are no rules to speak of. To enter, just leave a comment (please do this directly on the website, not via email) with your name and location. While not necessary, please include your email in the confidential box above the main comment box to help expedite our getting your brand new gear out to you (if you win). In the name of responsible shipping (and our non-existent budget) we’re limiting this contest to American and Canadian shipping locations only.

We ask that you please note in the comment only the gear pieces in which you are most interested. Your specific requests add to our work, but mean the gear goes to the folks for whom it would be most useful. There’s no limit to the number of items you can enter to win (see paragraph below), we just ask that you are thoughtful in entering the contest.

The drawing for each item will be random … for the most part. One caveat of this giveaway is that you’ll only walk away with one item. (A good reason to only enter for the items you want most.) With that in mind, there may be instances where we will deliberately divvy up prizes so that more people walk away happy.

To be eligible, you need to enter by 5 p.m. PDT on Friday, October 15. We’ll post results from all of our One Miiillllionth Pageview contests on October 18th.

A Favor

We don’t make you “do” anything to enter this giveaway. No need to fill out a form, sign up for this, or subscribe to that. However, if you appreciate iRunFar and what it does, we just ask that you spread the word. You could share news of this giveaway with others, link to iRunFar on your blog or website, or tell your buddies about the website on your next run.

While you’re at it, consider further embracing the iRunFar community through one of the following options. Not only will they keep you better informed (we share different news on the website, the Facebook page, and Twitter), but you’ll help us out, too!

Subscribe to iRunFar via RSS or via email

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Chilly Weather, Hot Contest

Earth Week Trail Gear ReUseAPalooza 2010!

Black Friday 500th Post Blowout Giveway Extravaganza?!?!

The North Face Endurance Challenge Championships Contest

2010-10-06T10:54:00.000-05:00

This one would be AWESOME! Though of course you still have to pay for transportation and accommodations... But, it'd be amazing to run on the west coast AND visit San Fransisco!

The North Face Endurance Challenge Championships Contest: "

We’re teaming up with The North Face to provide a lucky winner with free entry into his or her choice of any The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship weekend race (December 4-5 in San Francisco’s Marin Headlands), a full Better Than Naked running outfit, and a pair of TNF Single-Track shoes. All you have to do to enter is to let us know why you’d like to run one of the TNF EC championship races.*

The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship Weekend

This year, each of the five TNF Endurance Challenge locations features a full weekend’s worth of exciting trail racing. For the fourth straight year, the 50-mile championship race headlines the showcase of races. Run on Saturday, December 4, the 50-mile race through the Marin Headlands will feature what could be the US’s best ultrarunning field of the year. Up for grabs is $30,000 in prize money with $10,000/$4,000/$1,000 going to both the top three men and top three women. Oh, and there are big bragging rights on the line as most competitors head into an off-season.

If you don’t want to run the 50-mile championship race, but still want to challenge yourself on Marin Headlands trails that weekend, there are a ton of other trail race options. On Saturday, December 4, The North Face will also host a 50k, a marathon, a marathon relay, and a kid’s run. For those hoping to wrap up their season with a shorter race, there will be a half marathon, a 10k, a 5k and another kid’s run on Sunday, December 5. After covering the 50- mile race on Saturday, iRunFar’s Bryon Powell will be running one of Sunday’s shorter races.

As noted above, the winner of this contest gets a free entry into whichever race he or she wants to run. (Travel and lodging are up to the winner.)

Better Than Naked Apparel

The North Face's forthcoming Better Than Naked men's crew.

Next spring, The North Face will be launching a line of Better Than Naked performance running apparel. The line features super lightweight breathable and weather-resistant materials… that make it better than running naked. While the human body also lacks reflective features, each piece in the Better Than Naked line makes up for this evolutionary deficiency.

When released, there will be three Better Than Naked items available for both men and women: a jacket, crew shirt, and short. The winner of this contest will receive a full his or hers set that includes a Better Than Naked jacket, crew, and short well before they’re available to the public! (Note that the line will also include a women’s Better Than Naked singlet.)

TNF Single-Track Shoes

As clothes can enhance the running experience, so too can shoes. Thankfully, The North Face is rounding out the winner’s kit with a pair of the company’s award-winning Single-Track shoes. As a team of iRunFar reviewers has previously put this hybrid trail runner to the test, we’ll direct you to our The North Face Single-Track review.

Full Rules

To be eligible to win this huge prize package, you need not write a huge essay on why you’d like to run one of the The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship weekend races. A short note will do. The winner will be drawn at random. Entry is open to anyone anywhere! Be sure to leave your name and town. The contest will close Friday, October 15th at 5 p.m. PDT. We’ll announce the winner along with all the other One Miillionth Pageview contest winners on Monday, October 18th.

The North Face Endurance Challenge Championships Filling Fast!

The North Face Endurance Challenge 2009

One Miiiillllionth Pageview Thank You Giveaway

A week of AWESOME free Stuff!

2010-10-05T09:14:00.002-05:00

Check it out at iRunFar.com!

Bryon and iRunFar had their 1,000,000th page view so they're giving away stuff all week! Check it out, especially if you're a runner!

Grand Slammers

2010-09-17T09:44:00.000-05:00

Grand Slammers: "

Photo: Erin Mulder

Running a 100-mile ultramarathon is an extremely difficult feat. But, running four of the country’s oldest 100-mile races in a span of 11 weeks? Come on!

Thirteen folks completed all four—the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, the Vermont 100-Mile Endurance Run, the Leadville Trail 100, and last weekend’s Wasatch Front 100-Mile Endurance Run—this past summer, competing in what is known as the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning. Somewhere between 10 to 20 folks do the Grand Slam each year.

This year, 34-year-old Neal Gorman from Washington D.C. set a new record for the lowest combined time over the four races. Gorman’s time of 74 hours, 54 minutes and 16 seconds bested Joe Kulak's previous record of 75:07.

Gorman, who owns an insurance brokerage firm in Richmond, Virginia, is recovering from an impressive second-place overall finish at the fourth and final 100-miler in the Grand Slam series, the Wasatch Front 100-Mile Endurance Run. I caught up with him on his drive back from Utah to D.C.

“The Grand Slam sort of came out of nowhere this summer,” he says, explaining that he raced the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 in 2008, and ran part of it with Kulak. “After running the Vermont Trails 100 and then the Wasatch Front 100 in 2009, I got a better feel for running that distance, learned how to do it well, and how to feel okay. And I thought, ‘Next year, there’s so much energy around Western States. If I get in, better do the Grand Slam.’ Why not? It seemed like a pinnacle effort that would really create a lasting memory that would just be fantastic.”

Gorman got into Western States, paid the $80 fee to register as a Grand Slammer and began chasing the engraved eagle each finisher is awarded at the end, should they complete all four hundreds. “It was a fun, long-term goal,” he says. “I love those, by the way.”

Gorman says that, for him, Western States was the hardest of the four 100s. “I created a bad patch for myself. I felt fine, but I had nothing, and I just wasn’t right for two or three days after that. I just chalked it up to heat, and that it was my first 100 in a while.”

You’d think one bad hundred would make a person concerned that they’d be racing three more within weeks. But Gorman remained level-headed and optimistic.

“I trained to think about it one race at a time,” he says. “Vermont was next, and I just thought, ‘I’d like to do better the next time and have a good day.’”

He had a good day, and then he had a good race at Leadville, and went into Wastach with a goal of running under 21 hours and 30 minutes to break Kulak’s record. “I knew Wasatch would have to be a top-notch performance,” he says. “I was like, ‘You’re going to have to go after this like a prize fighter. Stay focused, and don’t relent.’”

Gorman finished an astonishing second place at Wasatch, behind winner Nick Clark, and set a new Grand Slam record with just over 12 minutes to spare.

“I felt like stars were aligning all summer,” he says, crediting good weather, great pacers, working under his running coach, Russell Gill, and his innate ability to sense oncoming injuries early and treat them accordingly. Sometimes, that meant running through pains, which seemed to work for him.

When asked if he’d do another Grand Slam summer, Gorman replied with a laugh, “Seriously, just beat me with a whip. It’s too good of an experience to pass up.”

Gorman isn't alone in his enthusiasm. "There were so many spectacular moments," says Aaron Mulder, who finished with the third fastest Grand Slam time this year after only getting into running in 2006. "The scenery of the four races was vastly more beautiful than I was lead to believe. My biggest regret might be not sacrificing just a bit of time to bring and use a camera."

2010 Shenandoah Mountain 100

2010-09-10T12:14:00.006-05:00

Pardon the tardiness of this post. I wrote most of it a while ago but...

Rolling happily up to the finishing line. Yes, I thought I was that cool that I took my hands off the handlebars.

There's something about riding in the back country... It's a totally different experience. Being out there in general is amazing, but I guess since riding in it is fairly new to me it just stands out. The SM100, while maybe not as "out there", and was certainly WAY more crowded then the Iron Mountain 100k, did it for me.

I can't really pick out a whole lot about my race (term used lightly since I never really felt like I was trying to race); I think most of it comes back as a blur aside from a few standout things. I immensely enjoyed my time riding though, and I have every hope and desire to go back and do it again; maybe next time with a solid understanding and a more serious goal for what I want to do out there.

First of all the scene is amazing. Matthew and I got out there in the early afternoon Saturday, set up camp, did some bike work with the assistance of Jonathon W (including major last minute changes generally severely recommended against... whoops!), and then joined by Evan E did a quick shake down ride out the start of the course. Over all on the ride I thought I felt pretty good, though when the other three opened it up a little coming back my legs quickly felt a bit tired and my lack of confidence on the sketchy, dusty and sandy corners glared a bit too bright for my liking. Luckily this section would be mostly uphill so at least the sketchy stuff would be somewhat less treacherous.

The race provided pasta dinner was excellent and as the weather grew chilly the DCMTB crew headed for the warmth of our sleeping bags. The next morning we woke to the sounds of a dirt bike racing through the campsite horn blaring at 5am, prepping us for the 6:30 start time. Aside from pulling on the bike shorts with cold chamois butt'r my prep went smoothly, though I felt a bit rushed as the start time loomed.

Now for my first and only major complaint of the day. The staged start, where people lined up based on their expected finish time; a great concept but like in running races, people just don't quite do it right. Matthew and I lined up at 11 hours, since that was essentially our goal finish time. It seemed like we were all alone though, with what seems like less then 100 of the starting 550+ riders being around or behind us. I have no better suggestion on how to line up the start though so my complaint here is really just more of a bicker, and hopefully next time I'll be lining up farther on up the line anyway.

So, the long fire road slog to open the race was a bit frustrating for me. It seemed like half the time was spent waiting while a group of riders four wide blocked a group of 20+ riders trying to go up faster. On the single I felt like I was wasting energy early on riding a pace I didn't feel comfortable with and putting myself behind people (possibly for a long time to come) that I didn't want to be behind. So, I wasted more energy punching it when I could to get by the big groups until finally things started to spread out a bit more.

I topped out the first climb uneventfully and began the first downhill. I don't remember a lot from the downhill over all but I did notice my rear rim making contact with rock a couple of times before we got to the bottom. So, instead of blowing through the first water aid station as I planned and like everyone else, I stopped for a pump, added a couple of quick pumps of air to the rear and went on my way just praying I didn't give myself a slow leak since I'd left my CO2 valve/mini pump sitting on the tailgate. Whoops!

The first of many long, slow, flat/slightly downhill sections for me.

Again, more of a blur in my mind as we rode Hankey Mountain for the first time, Chestnut Ridge, and Brailies (not sure in what order) though I remember a few fairly punishing downhills where I was on the verge of loosing control of the bike at times, others where i was comfortably flying, and still more where i was just squealing my brakes hoping to make it down in one piece.

On the climb between aid stations 3 and 4 I was stuck in a line of people that were all walking a fairly technical and steep bunch of trail. In the end I think we all hiked the final 15 minutes up the climb, and while I'm not quite sure how much I would've ridden without the hold up, I know I wouldn't have walked as much as I ended up walking there. Unfortunately, the hiking didn't provide the rest I might have hoped for either.

A few of the road sections proved to be some of the most difficult parts of the race for me as they continued for mile after monotonous mile. On the single speed I couldn't do much aside from a simple steady spin while geared riders flew by me on the slightly downward angled sections. This is the only time I was feeling uncomfortable on the bike the entire day since I couldn't stand to pedal with any effectiveness and likely the emotional hit of watching rider after rider pass by me only added fuel to the fire.

Eventually though the road gradually turned upwards and I was happy again. I caught up with Pooch who mentioned Klasmeier was just ahead and that added a bit of extra motivation for me. I got to the sharp right that turned quickly up towards aid 5 and MK was peeing in the bushes. As I made the turn he called out for me to wait up and as I hit the steeper slope I did for a short bit, but when I saw he still wasn't back to his bike after what was probably a few seconds but felt like minutes, I continued on my own up the hill at my pace figuring he'd understand with it being my first SM100 and everything. Upon his finish he told me, not too happily he'd needed water badly, so in hindsight my decision wasn't that of a team player and I'll be more mindful of situations like that in the future.

The climb to aid 5 was great for me. It was a steady, steep but not too steep climb and it allowed me to get in the zone and just keep going. I was riding well and still felt surprisingly strong some 70 miles into the race, passing people constantly, mostly those riding with gears. Aid 5 like all of the others was excellent and someone took my bike and filled my bottles while I grabbed some food. I was again in and out within a couple of minutes at most and the climb (apparently) continued upwards for a while though I don't really remember that.

There was a crazy fast dirt road down hill with big rollers and huge red mud puddles, one of which I of course hit and then it was the road back to Hankey mountain. Starting up Hankey I felt a slight twinge of dread, remembering from other peoples accounts how terrible it is late in the race but I zoned back out and kept pushing up. I think what made it not so bad was telling myself that it was going to get worse the entire way up the climb. When I topped out the climb I swore to myself there was more, that I was only at a false top out and I was saving some energy and mental effort for what I though was another five miles of killer rolling fire road and one final steep though not too long climb back into the camp ground.

Suddenly, I was in a random campground with the course entirely taped off, then it was a jeep road between tents and cabins and I finally realized where I was, not even a quarter mile from the finish. At that realization I started whoopin and hopping, speeding down into the field, over the rollers and up through the finish with a huge grin on my face. Best yet, I was in at 10:28, a full 30 minutes better then I hoped for and an hour and a half better then I planned for!

All in all a great experience for a first SM100 and first 100 even. Aside from the long road sections I was always comfortable in the saddle and the legs had plenty of juice. The recovery wasn't even nearly as bad as the last 50k I did and though my nutrition on the day wasn't perfect, it got me through at the effort level I was riding at with no problems.

Finished... and a bit confused.

So, in planning for my next attempt, aside from being a little better prepared going into the race, I think I want to make sure I'm strong enough to push a 32x19 and really be able to attack and enjoy the downhills. This year I swapped out to a 32x20 after planning on the 32x21 when Jonathon, who generally spins way more and better then me told me he was riding 20. Probably not the best idea the day before the race and I started questioning my wisdom midway through the race but the legs held out with no problems. The 32x19 would just be that much faster on the roads/flats and force that little extra bit of speed out of my on all the long steady climbs. Sweet.

Is This Really the Best a Man Can Get?

2010-09-01T08:04:00.000-05:00

Is This Really the Best a Man Can Get?: "

A teacher argues for the expansion of No-shave November.

An untrimmed mustache is a despicable thing. I know this because I am an American, and because it's the rules. Mostly these are the unspoken, unwritten rules of culture that everyone grows into, but sometimes they are right there in black and white.

The start of each new high school year brings a review of institutional rules, and beneath the grumbling malcontent this engenders, lie larger questions of values and culture that are rarely, if ever, addressed. And for reasons that are never clearly expressed, students are expected to unquestioningly comply with a number of broader cultural expectations—restrictions on facial hair among them.

I, on the other hand, am the art teacher. I do not like pat, one-size-fits-no-one answers to questions. So, I will take a moment to talk about facial hair. But before I do, I must admit that since the school where I teach is a private school, they have perhaps a little more leeway with the rules than do their public school brethren—and in my experience, they tend to use that leeway to allow students a bit more facial-hair self-expression than is perhaps typical. Nonetheless, “rules is rules,” and there comes a point when even at my school, the hammer gets dropped on students brazen enough to sport a pair of lightning bolt sideburns.

As a college preparatory school, we are theoretically attempting to prepare students to move into the professional world, a world that by and large thinks creatively-sculpted facial hair is something better left to the denizens of television shows and community college. It would be valid, I think, to question if this particular cultural bias is quite as relevant as it once was, but I would like to go a layer deeper and ask why we feel it necessary to scrape and shape our facial hair at all. And—despite what billions of advertising dollars have been spent to make us believe—the natural state of most faces (at least in my particular racial and cultural milieu) is to be gloriously bearded.

That is not what bothers me, though. People are welcome to do whatever weird and wooly things they want. What bothers me is that because of all this face-scraping, Americans throw away around a billion disposable razors a year. That is a lot of plastic and aluminum being dumped on and into the earth and oceans that sustain us. It is also depressingly ridiculous, given that there are sharpeners available (it’s even possible, I have recently discovered, to sharpen a safety razor on your arm hair) and that—let’s face it—straight-edged razor shaving is a dead sexy, manly skill to have.

I know that men’s faces are not entirely to blame for all that, but I cannot help but feel that it might be a good place to start fighting back against the marketing machine that demands consumer-conformity to some artificially fabricated smooth-faced ideal. You know, make them find some other unnecessary product to trick us into buying—maybe one that does not end up filling the crops of seagulls with tiny bits of sharpened aluminum. Is high school the appropriate place to begin this sort of fight? I do not know.

It is unlikely that I will be persuaded to stop slicing away at my face any time soon. I am guessing that the weight of culture and long-borne insecurities press down on me far too strongly for a drastic change like that. Plus, I love my job.

For our teens, though, there is still hope. It’s a new generation, a generation unwilling to blindly accept the market-driven traditions of its forebears. Perhaps if we were willing to stop enforcing our problems on our youth, they would find the space and freedom to start helping us fix them.

Josh Barkey is a high school art teacher in North Carolina.

Iron Mountain 100k

2010-07-12T12:15:00.005-05:00

Aside from being practically in Tennessee, the Iron Mountain 100k was probably the best mountain bike race I've participated in. The town of Damascus, VA is tiny, littered with outdoor retailers and bike shops, sits just off the AT and is nestled in the Southern most section of the Appalachian mountain range still inside Virginia. I LOVE this town!

We camped in a tiny city park right along the peaceful stream running through the town and rode our bikes from their to the start of the race a couple of blocks away. I was extremely anxious before the start, this being my first true endurance mountain biking event and my first experience riding in the back country as well; my legs were literally shaking with anticipation.

The race started out with a few miles along the essentially flat Virginia Creeper Trail before pitching steeply up a tough loose and rutted climb. Jonathon W and I, both on single speeds dropped back to within the last 5 places during the creeper trail portion but quickly began to make up spots when the trail turned up. J rode much more aggressively then I did and passed a large number of people quickly up the first bit of steep climbing while I hung back and passed when I could easily do so.

The trails were tough but beautiful and I was able to make up a lot of places by the end (when we finally reached it) of the first climb. For a while I was steadily pacing myself with a handful of other single speeders, riding most of the trail and walking occasionally when things got either too steep or loose/rutted to keep the forward momentum going. The final descent down to the first aid station was incredible, enveloped in rhododendrons and fast and flowy around sweeping turns. I led a couple of guys down this decent and managed to pick off at least 2 or 3 other guys as well. I even managed to snag a compliment on my descending "skills" from one the guys following me down! (Glad he didn't see me later on in the race...)

At AS 1 I caught Jonathon who had to stop to refill bottles since he'd left his bladder at home and we set off on a long road section before the next set of singletrack. My memory of the next few portions is already a bit hazy a day later, but we continued riding more or less close together with J and I and a couple of other guys. Eventually Jonathon and I broke away on some steeper climbs and I even managed to get ahead and away of Jonathon for a bit. Then came my complete low point for the race.

I was ahead of Jonathon, maybe by as much as 30 seconds when I hit a fast, off camber and rocky descent that straight from the beginning scared the crap out of me. The rocks threw me everywhere and I was going too fast to feel like I was under control on the steeply off camber trail and eventually I just braked hard until I felt moderately under control. Of course this meant Jonathon was quickly catching me; so quickly in fact that he got to witness first hand my roll down the side of the mountain. A washed out heavily cambered section of trail spooked me big time and I basically came to a stop and tried to put a foot down... on the down side of the trail, realized too late how far down that was and rolled wheels over helmet 10 to 20 feet down the hill before coming to a stop in a pretzeled position and with my right calf cramping hard and stuck between my handle bars and my frame. Ouch!

I told J to go on and worked my way back up to the trail while 2 more guys passed, checking that I was alright, and then slowly and tenderly making my way down the remainder of the treacherous trail. I was worried about my calf, which felt like it might cramp hard at any second but I popped an S-Cap and drank a bunch of water and just paid close attention to its condition for the next few miles.

After the descent we hit a long steady gravel road climb where I just put my head down, stayed seated and tried to pedal as efficiently as possible. I managed to reel in the two geared riders that'd passed me on the down hill and then caught sight of Jonathon as I pulled into the next aid station before he set off on the next section of trail. I grabbed some water and a cup of coke and headed on along with another SS'er I'd been riding near all day. He was riding 32x18 vs my 32x21 and was walking when necessary so I quickly rode along and set back to my goal of trying to catch Jonathon.

Again, the order of the sections is a blur at this point but I basically rode a bunch on single track climbs, some sweet ridge-line trails, some more decents and then some more gravel road. This time the gravel was deeper and harder to ride without slipping and eventually I saw Jonathon up ahead. After a long chase with him in my sights I finally managed to catch and pass him. He was having an rough day, over heating and lacking in power after a week of severe back problems. Either way I'll take it as a good day anytime I can even hang with The Sweetone!

Next there was some more climbing and some more descending and some super sweet and semi-difficult ridge riding. The down hills were a TON of fun for the most part after the one super sketchy one earlier in the race. One reminded me of the fast and flowy Rosaryville trails on steroids and I was loving every second of it!

At the final Aid Station the volunteers informed me I was in 26th place overall and they believed possibly in 2nd SS! This gave me a bit of motivation for what they said was the final 9 miles of the course (and maybe a bit of distraction while day dreaming about getting a "podium" spot in my first endurance race... give me a break, it helped get through some of the tougher sections and kept the drive alive to try and hold off the close behind wheels of J and other SS'ers!)

I rode the majority of the race after passing Jonathon without seeing a single other rider until around 5 miles to go when a geared rider (who'd stopped and back tracked a 1/4 mile on foot early in the race to retrieve a pair of sun glasses he'd dropped) caught and passed me on the climbing and flat sections. I'd catch him back on the downhills but at this point in the race I knew I was slowing on the climbs, even walking some I knew I should be riding since it felt like I was probably wasting more energy trying to muscle my way up then if I walked them.

Even still I managed to hold anyone else off, and actually passed another geared rider who appeared to be having some mechanical difficulties with his bike. Down the final descent things got loose, rocky, rough and a bit sketchy with huge water bars crossing the trail but I just held on and tried not to lose control of the bike. I actually fully believed I had one more climb and descent and between every course marker was fretting I'd gotten off course and was going to have to turn around and climb everything I'd just screamed my way down.

Then, suddenly there was a big yellow finish sign with two volunteers standing by to write my number and record my time. Sweet. From there you rode back to the pavilion via the Virginia Creeper trail though in my super anxious pre-race state I missed the official directions and continued on the trail out of Damascus before turning around and heading back to the pavilion to find Jonathon.

We went and broke down our tents and packed up the car before returning to the pavilion for some burgers and pasta, checked the results and saw I *might* have taken 3rd SS though we'll see when the results are posted, and that Jonathon was barely 2 minutes behind me likely making up a good deal of time on those sketchy downhills, collected our drop bags, which neither of us actually used and hit the road (and Dairy Queen for some Blizzards!)

All in all a VERY successful day and an amazing time riding an incredible course. When all was said and done it looks like we hit about 8500 feet of climbing and descending and my official finishing time was around 6 hours 14 minutes. Not sure of the total actual mileage but Jonathon reports it should be in the 54 to 55 mile range based on last year. I forgot to start my garmin until a few miles in and it shut off sometime before I got back to the pavilion so I'm not sure exactly what it would would have reported either though I trust the elevation profile it reported through the elevation correction on Garmin Connect.

The 6 hour drive each way was quite rough, but maybe next year Aimee and I could work it into a trip down to spend some time with her folks, a mere 2 hours further down the road. I think the race was worth it, though its a bit of stretch as a quick 2 day trip.

Garmin Connect Report: Garmin Connect

Race Results (to come): Shenandoah Mountain Touring

The right dose

2010-06-01T09:08:00.004-05:00

Its official, the perfect weekend is a three day weekend. One day to get stuff done around the house, one day to get out and have fun and do something you really want to do (thats maybe not exactly relaxing) and one day to just relax and recover from a busy weekend (best served by a Monday off, Friday off just doesn't quite measure up). That was my long weekend to a T.

Saturday I spent the day working on the house, replacing molding in the upstairs hallway and bedroom. Satisfying work that immediately adds to the decor but is still tough to find the time for amongst the usual daily grind and short but stacked weekends.

Sunday, I rode the famed Sky-Mass loop with Wheaton and Leland for the first time. Quite the ride. logging both my and Leland's longest rides mileage wise and probably logging the most vertical I've even hit before on a single ride as well. Better yet, I had enough left in the legs afterwards to kick out a couple of (very) brief sprints in the last mile or so of the ride. Encouraging to say the least and it has me feeling pretty decent going into next weekends' Stoopid 50 race up near State College, PA.

Monday was, in my eyes the perfect holiday Monday. Aimee and I got up late and drove out to Markham, VA to meet up with Matthew for a relaxing day at some local wineries. We stopped by Philip Carter first, were not that impressed and went on to Rappahannock Cellars where we spent the remainder of the afternoon sitting at a picnic table in the shade drinking 2 bottles of white wine, eating cheese and crackers and some pulled pork sandwiches. So perfect. After that, back at Matthew's place, we spent an hour or two sitting on the dock, toes dangling in the pond, just enjoying the evening breeze as the light slowly began to fade. Incredible.

Still hard to come back to work today, but knowing how amazing the weekend was certainly helps to dampen the blow.

A few extra miles

2010-05-27T09:50:00.004-05:00

Yesterday as I was riding home from work I remembered Wednesdays are Greenbelt Training series race days. I don't really think much about the GTS races much since I decided 3 seasons ago road racing maybe wasn't my thing after getting crashed out of one of the Greenbelt B races when a rider went down in the middle of the pack. But, I've been talking to a few people here and there lately and with it being 2 miles from my front door I figured I kind of had to get out and race it at least a few times this year, if nothing else then just for the hard efforts and the extra miles.

So, I stopped by, not expecting to get in last night since I was late and had no cash or license. They took an IOU though and with 5 minutes to spare I was standing on the line in the 6pm C race (no license, no B race and no I'm really not sandbagging here anyway).

I rode somewhat aggressively from the start hoping to keep the pace somewhat high and see what would happen. Didn't really do much though other then wear my already tired legs out. Felt like I was moving around easily in the pack but on the final ramp up to the finish I lost my nerve a couple times while trying to move up gave up a lot of spots well before the park exit road and seeing I was well out of contention soft pedaled in to the finish line. No sense in being the guy sprinting for 15th.

It was definitely fun to be out there and really aside from one especially squirrelly rider it was a pretty good group out there. One guy named Rob on a single speed was especially impressive I thought. Should be pretty strong when he gets his hands on a geared bike.

So, now that I've got the first one under the belt for the year I plan to try and get out as often as possible to my neighborhood crit. As usual a big thank you to Route 1 Velo for putting on such a cool and laid back series.

North Face 50 - PHT section scouting trip

2010-05-23T08:50:00.003-05:00

Around 23 miles yesterday on the Potomac Heritage Trail portion of the upcoming North Face 50k trail race. Needed a good long trail run as I've been slacking off a bit lately on long runs and getting out on the trails in general though I have been riding a bit more instead. Also wanted to see what the course will be like which from what I saw yesterday it should be pretty fast!

It looks like it begins with around a mile of paved path (which I skipped yesterday) followed by a mile of crushed gravel path before it hits the single track. That'll make it hard not to go out fast, though also means it'll be a good idea to hit this part fast so as not to get stuck too far back once we hit the single track.

The majority of the PHT section is basically flat with the very distinct possibility of being very muddy should it be wet and rainy leading up to race day. There were 3 or 4 very abrupt and steep sections where the trail was rerouted due to the Potomac river washing away old sections of trail or for other reasons. Should be mostly runable, especially early on but probably will be a good idea not to expend to much energy on these steeps.

Somewhere, likely along the way where I ran the course will leave the PHT though the runner's guide description wasn't clear enough for me to fingure it out so I just stuck to the trail down a bit past the dam near/in Great Falls park.

Slightly disturbingly, my garmin reported just over 650 feet of elevation gain for this 23 mile section of trail while the 50k runners guide states over 3000 feet for the course. Either one of these is way wrong (and the garmin has been known to be well off the mark, though Garmin Connect now has topographical map corrections included) or the 10 or so miles in Great Falls will produce 2500 + feet of elevation gain to really kill us mid-race. Hopefully next weekend I'll manage to get out and check out some of that section to see what that's like.

My 23 miles took around 4.5 hours, though I spent a good bit of time stopped, either taking pictures of/watching wildlife, trying to figure out if I was going the right way based on the course description or just generally putzing along. The goal Matthew and I have set for this race is a sub 5 hour time which based on the sections I ran yesterday and our times at the Seneca Greenway Trail 50k should be well within reach. We just need to average 9:40 for the course which should be doable on this course.

Yesterday my average was just under 12 overall but just over 10:30 "moving time" according to the garmin. That was self supported (aka with backpack filled with water and other stuff) and getting dehydrated after running completely out of water with 5 or 6 miles to go. So, there you have it, a publicly stated time goal. Now its time to live up to it.

Otherwise the run was pretty scenic with a good bit of unexpected wildlife. I caught a bunch in pictures after rigging up my cell phone to my pack strap. Unfortunately I didn't catch the huge red fox (probably 40 or 50 lbs, by far the largest fox I've ever seen), the giant red headed woodpecker, the deer, the lizards or the big turtle that scuttled into the creek as I ran over a bridge. Also should have a grabbed a picture of the guy that nearly punched me when he didn't hear me coming as he stood on the trail talking to his buddy (who saw me and I figured wwould warn his friend). He then proceeded to cuss me out. Nice. He looked like an unhealthy version of Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec so I suppose a heart attack was a real danger there.

Enjoy the rest below!

Baby frogs all over the trail near the golf course and swamp like (though likely man made) area.

A swarm of butterflies that found something tasty.

Great blue herron that was talking to me as I tried to get closer for a picture.

Great North American trailious runnerous in a typical confused pose.

The mighty Potomac River.

A very large black snake (non-poisonous I now know thanks to Matthew) plastered to the side of a big tree along the trail.

A large millipede stuck to the side of a bridge. Took this one for Aimee and I even managed not to step on any of these guys along the trail.

BTWD 2010

2010-05-21T09:37:00.001-05:00

Great day for riding and lots of people on the roads. Met a few cool folks and forced myself to actually go to work in the end. Should have grabbed a pic before I left when the freedom plaza crowds had grown but this one is from about 7:30 when I first got there.

2010 12 Hours of Lodi Farms

2010-05-07T07:26:00.005-05:00

I've been putting off this race report, though really I have no good reason why. I wasn't entirely stoked with the outcome I suppose, though it was essentially what was expected. I also, and probably more importantly wasn't all that stoked about my own performance. Enough of that already though, on to the words you've all been waiting for! Dry race reporting from an amateur sport racer!

Jonathon Wheaton, Darren Biggs and I were teamed up on a three man single-speed team, with our main competition being against another DCMTB team comprised of "Cargo" Mike Pearce, Joel Gwadz(illa) and Kent "Solar" Baake (ok I made that last one up but it seemed wrong not to include a nickname for Kent and of course, solar fits!). On paper, they had us beat, just a bit on a head to head basis. Pearce is blazingly fast, and has a history of setting the fastest laps at races like this, Kent is just wily and fit and can just always ride a bike fast, and Joel is usually found standing atop the podium in the Clydesdale class.

We took hope in the poor condition of Joel's spare bike being used by Kent riding SS off road for the first time in his life and Pearce coming in late, feeling sick and nearly pulling out of the race. But, then Kent got the bike issues sorted out and Pearce showed up so, the cards were on the table.

Jon gave us a good solid starting lap, coming in as one of the first riders, behind Mike K riding first for the DCMTB 3 person expert team also consisting of Leland and Ilana and a few minutes ahead of Kent and I was up second with Joel hard on my heels. That first lap I rode my ass off and really stuck to it the whole way through. It was hot and I was drinking a lot of water but still I could feel my head over heating in the mid-nineties temperatures. A few miles in I managed to catch Leland when he misjudged a sharp downhill left and he dropped back a bit later after hitting a root he never saw as he followed close behind me.

The one place I really felt bad about on my first lap was down in a really twisty and tight but flat and smooth section where I was able to get up a lot speed but then entered the turns too hot. This was the one place and one time during the entire race that was actually passed by anyone, so it hurt that much worse, but I was so choppy here on the first lap I was probably wasting a lot of energy while still losing time on other rider.

I freaked a bit when I got back to the start finish and Darren wasn't there to take the baton, but really in the grand scheme of things it meant nothing; just a few seconds really before he showed up. Darren, unfortunately had the unenviable task of trying to hold off a hard charging Pearce and when Pearce caught him, it was going to be tough for us to mount a comeback.

Recovery was tough after that first lap and I (along with everyone else) was showing the signs of dehydration. Getting out on my second lap I worked to ride more smoothly then my first lap. I was also noticeably riding a bit slower and struggling just a bit more on some of the climbs. I still only walked one and that was due to a poor line over rooty terrain but still I could feel the fatigue from the first lap.

I rode the tight and twisty flat section much smoother this time and really came in feeling decent about my lap time though in the end I dropped a few minutes on my first lap time here. The third lap though was where the sh*t really hit the fan.

I was struggling everywhere now and turning the cranks was way harder then it should have been. Joel had started his lap ahead of me after Cargo Mike put in another blazing lap and combined with my own physical struggles I basically imploded. The lap was still in daylight and the temperature had even dropped off a bit but the way I was struggling simply compounded my dying drive. I think here I started to get into my head a bit too much which worked against my energy as well. I lost another 5 minutes from my second lap time.

My fourth lap I had started to feel better and thought I was riding pretty well, but I suppose the damage was already done. I wasn't blazing along in the night, but I was riding much more smoothly then my 3rd lap and thought I should be coming in around the same time as my third, though the darkness seemed to take more out of my lap then I realized.

There is a lesson for me in this race, though sorting out exactly what it is isn't something I've done yet. It may simply be to not go out quite as hard on my first lap of a 12+ hour relay so I save some energy for later though I think its more then that. I do think this course provided ample opportunities for me to waste energy trying to go hard in the wrong places due to the super tight and twisty nature of it.

I also swapped cogs after my first lap going from my 32x18 to 32x20. Maybe I would have actually been better off starting with the 32x20 and not killing my legs on my first lap with the harder gearing... Who knows.

It was fun riding with Jonathon and Darren no-less and as usual a pleasure listening to the antics of the various DCMTB regulars. MK's kids are a hoot and at least Emma has taken to calling me Paperclip permanently so this one seems to be here to stay.

12 Hours of Lodi Farms Results

Pictures

Hint: go to the creek crossing gallery and check out pictures 266 and 267. Awesome!

See Darren's report here.

Paradise found (almost...)

2010-04-21T07:41:00.003-05:00

Al...most...there!!!

In a mere 24 hours, Aimee and I will be well on our way to San Jose, Costa Rica. Needless to say, the past few days have been pretty excruciating. I tend to fall into the "night before Christmas kid" category for big things like this; likely at this point my coworkers are sick and tired of hearing about my trip, and it hasn't even happened yet!

Everything is all set up though; flights confirmed, bags (mostly) packed, new goodies picked up and passports at the ready. We've got a list of things to look into but no solid plans aside from lodging and transportation and that's just how like it (though really I think we'd be fine without even the lodging set up!)

The view that will hopefully greet us into Arenal/La Fortuna tomorrow afternoon.

The first two days in Arenal will be action packed with beauty all around while it's looking like Jaco will be filled with more relaxation and beech time. Here's to cooperative weather and friendly faces! WeatherUnderground.com shows what looks like a central Florida forecast of a 30% chance of rain and t-storms every afternoon. Should keep things exciting!

Jaco Beach.

In other news, we'll be finding out tonight (hopefully) weather I'll be having a niece or a nephew! Here's hoping I get a nephew (or at least a tomboy) that I can drag into crazy mountain biking and outdoor adventures!

Another local 5k and some fun riding.

2010-04-19T07:34:00.003-05:00

Another fun filled weekend. Friday, Aimee and I had massages scheduled for 5pm though Aimee was rear ended by an older couple from NJ on 495 who proceeded to continue driving and ignoring Aimee who was following/flashing lights/etc... at them for the next few miles. Information written down and police called reporting the hit and run and 5:01 she walks into the massage shop. Ah well, a guess thats a decent way to follow up a minor car accident... Right?

Aimee's stiff neck the next morning kept her home while I went and ran in a local 5k being held down around Greenbelt Lake. Unfortunately I found out the Turkey Trot course was not quite 5k distance, missing maybe one or two tenths, so my sub-twenty minute 5k still eludes me! This race on the other hand was a USATF certified 5k course. I ran in my Montrail Mountain Masochists, since they were pretty much the only option I had around and definitely felt like I was running in some clunkers. Could also feel some lingering hot spots from the BRR race, namely my heal and pinky on my right foot.

Other then that I felt alright; not super speedy or fresh but not necessarily sluggish. I started out around 6th or 7th after one guy went out hard for his spectating daughter and wife to see him lead the way to the lake followed by some other front runners. I managed to keep my cool early there and run a more comfortable pace to the lake where I quickly caught and passed the folks who jumped the start. Worked into 4th which I held up until about a mile to go when I caught a fellow Runner's World Forum guy, Josh who was running in his VFF's! I really only caught him because his legs were starting to wear down, this being his longest VFF run to date.

From there I held on to the finish in 3rd for a 20:15 finishing time. Amazingly, this small race had nice tech shirts for all participants AND top 3 + age group prizes! I won a free personal trainer session for my third though we were all jealous of the overall winner who earned a free pair of shoes for his efforts! Wow! I really hope these guys managed to make a little money of their fundraiser for the Greenbelt Nursery School!

After the race I headed down to Rosaryville for a couple hours of trail work followed by a post work ride with Eric B during which I found myself pretty spent. I barely ate anything during the day so when 7pm rolled around Aimee and I began an emergency dinner prep as I was crashing hard.

Sunday I met Darren, Pooch, Tyler and Jamie for some spirited laps at Fountainhead as preparatory riding for the 12 Hours of Lodi Farms in 2 weeks. First lap I rode 32x18 (mostly because I showed up late) and swapped out to a 32x20 for the second. Thinking I'll probably at least start Lodi with a 32x18 since I felt like I spun out too much at FH on the 20 and climbed everything just fine on the 18. Considering FH has much tougher hills then the Lodi course I should be good to go on the 18, though we'll see if I find myself needing to spin up faster out of the tight turns found throughout Lodi.

Earth Week Trail Gear ReUseAPalooza 2010!

2010-04-19T06:17:00.000-05:00

Earth Week Trail Gear ReUseAPalooza 2010!

Another cool giveaway from iRunFar! Last time I won a small black diamond backpack and a couple of water bottles. I use the backpack almost everyday!

BRR Photos: Round 1

2010-04-13T09:41:00.003-05:00

A few pics have surfaced from a few spots along the course by Aaron Schwartzbard. Thanks Aaron for being out there all day! Pretty fun to see the pictures of everyone.

These are at mile 2. A lot of focus and we're probably still a little unsure about what the day will bring...

I'm probably attempting to smile here; its just that the runners high hasn't kicked in yet!

Mile 9: I'm "high" now! We had a good group going for a couple of miles in this first out and back section.

Mile 26: Moving along, Matthew feeling a bit playful sticking out the tongue there, dropping me as was the theme of the day!

And, this is probably one of the best "running" pictures of me I've ever seen... Actually looks like I'm running strong and moving light on me feet as opposed to just shuffling along! Plus, you can't really tell there are blood stains on my shirt.

2010 Bull Run Run 50 Miler

2010-04-12T07:18:00.004-05:00

And there it was.

The waiting seemed to take forever. Matthew and I decided on running the Bull Run Run 50 Miler sometime shortly after finishing the Potomac Heritage Trail 50k back in October last year. First it seemed like forever till the January 25th opening of registration. The wait from then till the lottery selection was then an even more excruciating wait, not sure if I'd get in or not and definitely fretting over it. Then, with the knowledge that I really was attempting this, came the wait for April 10th to finally arrive; to put myself to the test and see just what I was made of. Could I really do this? Would I crack at the mid-point? Did I stand a chance of breaking 10 hours? Much less the 9 hours that Matthew and I had been discussing?

Well the day finally arrived, and my questions could finally be answered. Going into race day I knew deep down I hadn't done quite enough in the final weeks leading up to the race. Since the March 6th Seneca Greenway 50k, my sole long run was a slow and painful slog home from work that provided me my first bruised toenail and a couple of blisters thanks to what I've come to realize were ill fitted shoes. My focus began the shift to mountain biking as the weather turned nicer and I struggled to find the time and motivation to get out for a couple of final 20 milers on the weekends leading up to the race; opting instead to get out for some fun mtb rides as the trails and weather finally permitted.

So, while I wouldn't have outright admitted any of it, I was a bit scared at what the day might reveal.

At the start Matthew and I caught up just before the send off and settled in with the group of 336 starters. We found a good tempo, targeting an 9 minute mile as an average on the flats with a similar effort level on the ups and downs and did well keeping it. We alternated the lead between us, occasionally cruising with other folks before jumping out ahead, keeping our consistent pace. I'd started the day with a long sleeve shirt over top of my short sleeve tech shirt from the Cherry Blossom 10 miler last year and ditched that around mile 16. I kept my lightweight gloves on, but that really had more to do with my lack of interest in doing the work to get them off and the fact that they were the best thing I had for wiping my nose that was draining as steadily as our pace.

We chatted with some great folks out there, many of whom were returning BRR runners. The atmosphere was great, between the cheery runners and the amazing volunteers. (I really can't stress enough how great all the support for this race was!) Everyone seemed to be having a blast!

We took our first prolonged aid stop at Rob's aid station to chat until Rob yelled at us to get a move on. From there we hit the "Do Loop" which was probably my least favorite part of the course with the continuous short but steep ups and downs that never seemed to allow any rest. It was amazing and a bit surprising though to get a view of the Occoquan River, and the boat house hosting a small race on a beautiful day.

With about 7 or 8 miles to go I was really dieing off while Matthew was feeling amazingly strong, pacing off another strong runner. He dropped back to let me know he was going to blaze through the final aid station and go hard to the finish. I told him to get going and the next thing I knew he was long gone.

From there on it was a battle of the mind and the feet, which were sore from the roots and rocks. The strategy of one foot in front of the other set in and I actually caught Matthew's "pacer" a bit after the aid station. I passed him and then he took a pit stop and for a while I thought he was gone. But he, along with another runner ended up catching and passing me (soundly) with maybe 2 miles to go and I slowly made my way in solo, getting the occasional pick me up from a random hiker or bystander.

Coming into the finish felt amazing. Folks cheered me in, as was the case at every aid station, and I cruised/stumbled up the road to the finish. I got my 1st time veteran's finishers pin, a finishers fleece and the greatest thing of all time, a green Popsicle! Chatted with Quatro and a guy who lives up the road from me in Beltsville for a few minutes before topping off my water bottle with ice water and heading for the bench to swap tales with Matthew and watch the runners come in.

My finishing time of 8 hours and 37 minutes basically smashed the goal finishing time of 9 hours and most amazingly, I felt great through at least mile 40 of this race! Meanwhile at Seneca the final 6 to 8 miles of 31 were pretty rough. Here though we hit the 50k mark within minutes of our Seneca finish times, still felt strong and were running significantly slower (though steadier) miles to begin with. Obviously, one lesson learned here is to not go out quite so hard to begin the race!

I think another lesson, which I'd say I already knew, was to not drop the mileage as hard and early as I did before the big race. Just a couple of weekend 20 milers probably would've done the trick for my finishing strength, though my base certainly served me well. Next time though, my goal will be to actually finish fast, strong and feeling good. Getting dropped was tough, and so far I have not finished an Ultra with any kick left in the legs. I want to be able to be competitive at the end, even if it's just for breaking some time barrier, like that ever so slightly elusive 8:30 mark.

Congrats to everyone out there that raced; especially Matthew for kicking my a** in those final 7 or 8 miles. Gaining 30+ seconds per mile in the final few is no small feat for sure. Also, to both the new Male and Female course record holders. It was great to share a course with these super fast runners, and even get to see them streaming by on a beautiful day.

I'll post up some pictures once they start to appear but for now you should click on the image of my shirt above for a quick lesson on why Vaseline and band aids are good things.

Results

Pearl Izumi on Uranus

2010-04-05T06:18:00.000-05:00

Watch it!

Pearl Izumi on Uranus

Ride the Ridge

2010-03-29T09:18:00.006-05:00

Mike K, Jon W, Leland and I all drove down to Dyke, VA for Ride the Ridge put on by the Blue Ridge School after Darren continually talked it up and said he'd be going. As we were
on our way down we got the email from Darren saying he wouldn't be making it after all. I'll just say the near mid-night phone call from the 4 of us at the cabin was well justified in our eyes, especially when the rain started on race morning.

Going into this race I was feeling pretty good, though overall I was unsure of where I stood. I knew my fitness was good from all the running but I've done very little biking so far this year, especially on the trails. Still though I thought if the power from running transfered as well as I hoped to the SS, I'd be in good shape and might even be able to keep pace with Jonathon; or at least stay near him.

We started off the race second, behind the expert/pros and along with the sport class racers and high schoolers and cruised across the grass fields to the start of the single track. Being on the SS was a bit of a bear here since it put me solidly in the mid-pack range which in turn led me to be stuck behind a large number of people bobbling and stopping on some pretty rideable technical stuff up to the first climb. Once things sorted out a bit I settled in and started working the climbs.

Overall I felt I was riding well to begin with and I was catching and passing lots of riders. I was rocking up the climbing sections including the first which the RD referred to as a punishing climb

but in general I began having a bit too much trouble on the rocky and technical sections of the trail. It got worse as I got tired naturally so after Jonathon had passed me fairly early on he only continued to put time between us, riding strong and likely clearing the obstacles with ease.

The downhills on the course were mush more choppy then I expected so while the additional of the front suspension was a tremendous help, I didn't feel like I was able to bomb the downhills quite as much as I'd been hoping to. The somewhat muddy trail conditions combined with near constant switchbacks led to a lack in sustained downhill speed and almost no ability to hold downhill momentum on the SS.

I ended up somewhere around 5th place SS on the day with Jonathon in 4th, though probably 10 minutes ahead of me. The garmin reported 3500' feet of elevation gain in just over 14 miles too so I feel pretty good about my climbing performance and overall power on the SS. Leland had some issues with his grips slipping off leading to some major issues on the climbing intensive and technical course (hence lots of wrenching and hard gripping on the handle bars). MK came into view a couple of times for me, pacing himself for the extra lap for expert/pro racers, but the rain, mud and cold got to him late in the race and he decided to pull out after 2 laps. Thank goodness too since we all would have been waiting around shivering for him to finish before we could leave.

Throughout most of the first lap and seemingly all of the second there was one person sticking to me that I just could not drop. They would catch up to me on a bunch of the more technical climbs and then I would drop them on some of the descents, always thinking I'd rid myself of them for good only to have them pop back up a few hundred meters down the trail. Towards the end of the second they were gaining steadily on me and then as I fumbled and stumbled over a particularly technical downhill/flat section they caught me.

Turned out it was a woman also on a single speed (whoops I'd said something to her earlier, referring to her as "man"! In my defense I didn't get much of a look at her at all so I was just assuming it was a dude since I hadn't seen many women out there in general). I let her pass quickly and then went to chasing her the remainder of the downhill, catching her on the brief road section with about a 1/4 of a mile to go.

I pulled up next to her and complimented her on her riding and catch in the technical junk. She let me lead into the short pine section before the final grassy section where she insisted we sprint for the line. I wasn't going to sprint but at her insistence I picked it up and spun in with her, not really wanting to beat her but not really wanting to "lose" either. In the end I think our wheels crossed essentially together, though likely she got the edge on me there. She was actually racing the open SS so technically in the "official" results I was likely 6th, but I'm going to say I was next after Jonathon anyway.

In the car on the way home I found out that women was actually ex-pro and mountain biking legend Sue Haywood! Wow! I know she's retired and all but still, in 2007 she set a course record at the SM100 en route to at least her 3rd consecutive win (8:11, 2nd place was 9:01) plus plenty more. I'd say its pretty awesome that I got the opportunity to ride with her in general. Good thing I didn't know who she was during the race or I probably would have been star struck and gotten overly self conscious and sucked up the technical stuff even more!

Seneca Greenway 50K Fame

2010-03-26T10:32:00.006-05:00

Some shots have surfaced from the Seneca Greenway Trail race. I was all alone when they saw me apparently so there are a bunch of me. WoHoo! Look how tired I look!

Notice the mud along my right arm and knee. Pretty sure it was on my face too but you can't see it. Yeah, I took a sweet muddy spill at a nice off camber section. One of those spots were I saw the fall coming well before I took the stride but still didn't alter my route.

Nice.

This one I like to call focus.

Sasquatch sighting!

Smile is proof that I was actually enjoying myself out there!

Matthew was cruising with a group of people so didn't get the highlight reel of photos I got. I'll go ahead and just say they took more pictures of the better looking one!

A new era of running?

2010-03-25T10:25:00.003-05:00

Nah, I don't think I'd go that far, but I will say I'm in for a definite adjustment in my running.

On Monday I used my REI dividend, 20% off coupon and an overly kind and unnecessary gift card from a friend (thanks Katie! and Aimee for letting me use it!) and picked up a pair of the Vibram FiveFingers for no money out of pocket. While trying them on I was one of 3 people in the shoe department and all of us were checking them out so I suppose the popularity is really starting to ramp up! It helps that REI just started carrying them; though they were already low on inventory when I grabbed mine...

Anyway, my initial impressions were good. Getting them on is a little weird as my toes kind of scrunch together a little bit and spreading them out to fit the toe holes was a bit of a chore. Once they were on though they felt comfortable and my little jaunt down the aisle of REI felt pretty easy and natural in them. It probably helps that I've been working over the last year plus on my running mechanics to use a midfoot strike (as opposed to heel).

Monday evening I put them on for a while just hanging around the house and then grabbed Cass and went for an easy 2 mile run around the neighborhood sidewalks. They felt great! Even more, I was cruising, and not on purpose either! I'd forgotten to wear my garmin so I was going by feel on pace, planning on a slower, easy run. Turns out I was down in the low 7's to mid/upper 6's for almost the entire way... Whoops!

Gave them a go at lunch on Thursday again for 2 miles, this time with the garmin and again had the same result! Though I didn't try to reel myself in when I noted a sub-6:30 pace, I felt surprisingly smooth and at ease with the high cadence running. Better yet, the running was down right, put a goofy grin on my face and laugh out loud fun!

Yeah, I got a few weird looks in general on this run...

Good times!

My only issue so far has been a sore left calf muscle from the slightly different running form, but that has been very minor in general. Otherwise, I can feel some additional muscles getting a workout but nothing hurts. Even running on the pebbles of the "trails" along the Mall was much easier then I expected. While large stones were felt, there was nothing that was outright painful. I can see the benefits of toughening up my feet but otherwise I think I'm in pretty good shape for using these "shoes".

For now I'll slowly build up my mileage to where I can do my usual entire 4 to 6 mile lunch run and see how things go. If nothing else the increased cadence work will benefit my speed and hopefully the focused form work will settle in permanently whether wearing shoes or not. Ideally I'll dial in my mechanics well enough that come fall I'll be able to start running in a MUCH more minimalistic trail shoe such as the New Balance 100's. Lightweight shoes that drain like a bathtub would be nice!

The New Balance 100's - Hopefully the new model out this fall will address the heel rub issue I've been hearing about so far.

Happy Feet

2010-03-18T09:52:00.003-05:00

Frustrating: Over the last 6 months I log a few hundred miles training, both road and trail, run two 50k's and my feet come out roses. No blisters or any other significant issues to report. Yesterday I ran 16 miles home on paved hiker/biker trails and roads and I end up with a blister on each foot, one sore and slightly rubbed heal and somewhat raw forefoot on both feet. What's up with that?

I'm going to chalk it up as a function of a combination of wearing my trail shoes (Brooks Cascadia 4s which I haven't worn as much as others) on the paved surfaces along with the irritating wool DeFeet socks. While the socks have certainly worked wonderfully previously, they are beginning to wear pretty heavily so maybe the worn down defeats cause more abrasion then fresh less worn pairs might? Wishful thinking that I can blame it more on the socks then the shoes. That said, I may need to stick to more trail use with these Cascadias. Of course, 16 miles on roads is probably too much for any trail shoe I suppose even if they are reviewed well for use on the road sections of trail races...

The good news is my feet feel significantly better this morning then they did when I got home yesterday evening.

On another, though similar front, I'm finally reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Really, surprisingly gripping read. Much more build and suspense then I'd have expected out of it and a very motivating book; especially to really get out and do some real mountain/serious trail running. Combine it with the volunteer time at the Elizabeth Furnace Fat Ass 50k during which the trails were running streams and the "creek" crossings were raging rivers and our 10 mile training run the prior day on the same trails produced elevation gain of well over 2000' and I'm really getting the itch! If only I lived closer to the mountains!

The book is reinforcing a slight twinge of interest in trying out some barefoot/uber-minimal shoe running. The book touts the benefits of a strengthened foot, and rails pretty heavily against modern running shoes and Nike in particular. I'm not interested in losing the running shoes, especially for my trail running; but the interest in a pair of Vibram FiveFingers is certainly increasing. (I have to admit I'd expected a little more in weight savings from these then they have listed; 11.2 ounces per shoe while my Mountain Masochists are something like 11.8 ounces per shoe. If anything I think this could just further improve my stride from the heal strike style I've been moving away from over the last year or so. Have to say I've come a long way without the 5Fingers though on the other hand with my dividend, 20% off coupon and $30 gift certificate I'd get them few a few bucks out of pocket... Enticing.

EliptiGOOOO… | Dean's Blog

2010-03-16T07:08:00.000-05:00

EliptiGOOOO… | Dean's Blog

I've just started reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and apparently he calls out Dean for overly commercializing the sport of ultra marathons and being a sell out. I haven't gotten to that part yet, but for what its worth, I'd probably believe/agree...

I assumed this was going to be Publish Posta joke, but unfortunately not. They must be donating a crap ton of money to his charity.

Seneca Creek Greenway Trail 50k

2010-03-08T09:28:00.004-05:00

This race popped up on my radar a while back but I didn't put much thought into it until I noticed it's timing relative to Bull Run Run. At just over one month before the 50 miler it was the perfect pre-race long run for me. I signed up tentatively with the RD figuring if I was feeling good and Matthew was in I'd be there.

That said, with the set backs in training, 1 week being sick at the end of January followed by a generally weak week (sorry), the February double whammy of a snowstorm and then the week long trip to Asheville and Knoxville during which I ran 3 times I wasn't feeling too great about my chances of completing this race. On the other hand, I had a good past couple of weeks, and aside from the horrendous conditions on the Potomac Heritage Trail last weekend, I did manage nearly 3 and a half hours of on the go time. Time on the feet I've heard is one of the most important parts of training for ultra distance races, so I figured it was well worth the $20 to get out there and give it a go. When Matthew came back and said he was in, I knew it was on!

We started off somewhere in the middle/front of the 350ish marathon and 50k runners and settled onto a nice long train of people. We were cruising along in the 7:30-8:30 minute mile range for probably the first 10 or so miles stuck pretty tight to the remaining train, picking our way over the frozen solid and rutted out snow on the trails. Somewhere along the way we passed some folks and leading Matthew I tried to stay with a few runners in my sights maybe 25 yards ahead. I wasn't doing it and was slowly dropping back when Matthew took over and slowly and steadily reeled the two guys ahead of us in. I was struggling there but made it up with him and did my best to continue to hang on.

We stayed with those two, one named Daryl (I think but I'm probably wrong) and the other a young guy in a VHTRC sleeveless shirt around the lake loop. About half way around the lake we caught up to Rob D(2nd 50k in 3 weeks following the 100 miler 4 weeks prior... ouch!) who'd been volunteering at the PHT 50k and I dropped back to chat for a minute or two but knew I'd be dead if I didn't hang on to Matthew and Daryl for a bit longer. It took some serious effort to catch back up to them but I got up there and followed through to the second stop at the lake aid station.

Shortly after that aid station we lost Daryl off the front and Matthew and I continued to roll along. Matthew was feeling good and I was slowly falling off his pace. I was doing what I could to keep him in my sights but he was cruising and continued to pull further and further ahead mile after mile. Eventually though, I got a bit of help when he got stuck behind some folks and I managed the slightest little second wind and finally reeled him in on a fairly steep little switch back "climb" and we stuck together for a bit after that until a long grinding uphill.

A young women we'd run with before caught up quickly up here, tried to stick behind us and then rocketed by once she saw us dying hard at the top of the climb. I offered to play rabbit for Matthew for a bit and shuffled off in front of him. I eventually separated from him over the next few miles and settled in to my shuffle jog for the final miles of running. Somewhere in here we started to see mud; mostly just relatively small patches that were pretty sloppy, though again I was surprised by how dry most of the trail was.

The last aid station came a supposed 2.2 miles to the finish but was followed abruptly by a second creek crossing (which felt GREAT!) and the steepest little kicker of the race (which DIDN'T!). The end of the trail put us out directly next to my truck and even thinking it was well under a mile to go I absolutely had to fight off thoughts of just going straight to my truck. It was especially difficult when all I could think of was how I'd already run this portion of road in the morning since we were the last people boarding the last bus to go to the race start (aka we were late...)

Around two corners and an announcement that we had a mile road run to the finish was tough, but I managed a little focus, took the smooth road for what it was and gritted out my final mile back in a reasonable (though in all reality super slow) pace. My finish time of 5 hours, 20 minutes and change was a significant improvement over the PHT 50k though I'd guess the trail is quite a bit less technical then that one was; at least at times. Matthew came in a short 10 minutes later and we headed over to the race provided BBQ for some well deserved sodas and BBQ sandwiches.

Caught up with Rob a bit afterwards and talked to a couple of the people we'd run with during the race before heading home, taking a detour off River Rd due to an accident, ending up near Catholic University (way out of the way) and finally getting home to ice baths, a quick meal of pasta and veggie sausages and heading straight to Jenny's house for her 30th birthday dinner and games party. And, yes we did both eat full meals again! Yum!

No official results though from what I can tell I was somewhere in the sub-40's for the 50k placement. A much faster race field then I think we expected, though the delusions of top 20/top 10 placements were way off base to begin with! :)

Check out my GPS report on Garmin Connect here.

Can't wait for BRR!

When it rains, it pours

2010-03-05T14:23:00.004-05:00

After weeks of radio silence, I've got a little more to say.

Seneca Creek Greenway 50k is tomorrow. Matthew and I will be tackling that one at 8am.

I got the latest in upgrades for the Jamis in on Monday including the Reba Race fork. Also included an XT crankset and some anodized green crank bros egg beater pedals. I'd like to swap out both the road and mountain bikes to these if I end up liking them for more compatibility when it comes to shoes. It'd be nice to be able to walk around without killing myself or taking my shoes off at the office when I commute on the road bike.

The new crankset and pedals.

Pedal shot. Love that green!

The bike is definitely shaping up pretty darn nice. I'm also working on getting my hands on a matching green anodized Chris King headset so once I get that the bike will be full upgraded.

At this point I'm thinking if I manage to sell off the ss ghetto cross and the Fuji Track bikes I'll use part of those proceeds to pick up a carbon White Brothers rigid fork Jonathon has at the shop and really have a sweet set up either way I go. The current Jamis rigid fork I've got is suspension corrected so it holds the front end up pretty high. With the WB it'd be a much racier front end which is exactly what I'd be looking for for my rigid set up.

Better pix to come once I get everything worked out and installed. Oh and this will about do it for the original parts off the Exile I actually bought 2 years ago. The headset and fork are the last remaining pieces. Wow.

Office life

2010-03-05T14:14:00.003-05:00

My coworkers no doubt believe I've gone a bit extreme, if not completely crazy. It started with heaps of clothing stored in the office, most notably of the running and biking variety.

Box #1

Box #2

Then it was the shoes...

Now, throw in the fitness ball seat and my "stick" which I use while reading and roll my feet on constantly...

And I think we have a critical mass.

Haw Ridge TN rest in pieces trail... And more!

2010-02-19T19:39:00.000-05:00

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The great bicycle shuffle of 2010 Pt. 2

2010-02-10T12:53:00.002-05:00

I've already sold the Scalpel. Done and gone. The old SS 29'er wheelset is spoken for and the Redline SS cross set up is back up on the chopping block. I even posted up the Fuji track bike, my fixed gear on CL though so far only limited interest. Apparently folks aren't thinking about skinny tire fixed gears during historic snow storms!?!?!

For a bit my thinking was focusing in on getting rid of these bikes and picking up a Raleigh RX 1.0 though when I looked into getting one ordered at FBS we found out they're all out, and possibly will not be getting any in that will be available! The "entry level" cross bike is a sweet aluminum frame with Sram Rival drivetrain minus the FSA cranks. Some decent though not special wheels, and a few parts I'd probably swap out to begin with.

More importantly the frame includes eyelets for rack and fender mounts, both things I am specifically looking for in a cross bike. I'd like to use it not only for cross racing and long training rides, but also for commuting and and touring (Pittsburgh to DC anyone?), hence the fender and rack mounts.

There is a possibility of the Redline Conquest Pro doing the trick, though in all honesty I really think the Raleigh is a sweeter looking ride. I'll keep thinking on this and talking with the guys at FBS and figure out what my course of action will be here. All I know right now though is that a cross bike is probably highest on my list for a new rig.

That brings me to my next topic. One, Cannondale CAAD9. I'm beginning to think about selling this bike as well. Currently it spends most of its time in the utility closet, with other, more rugged bikes getting the majority of my cycling miles. The 28cc tires help lessen the impact of the stiff bike on longer rides and the impact of the horrendous roads and trails on the bike but still I prefer the more rugged bikes to take the beating.

So, I'm not racing road anymore and the sole purpose of the road bike is for long road rides, commuting, trainer sessions and lunch rides... So, couldn't all of these things be done with a cross bike? Yeah, thats what I'm thinking too.

So why keep around the bike I have no emotional attachment to? It's stiff, which is great for racing but no the greatest for just riding so maybe a beefier ride would be more what I need. Thoughts anyone? Would I be making a big mistake selling off my road bike and replacing it with the uber versatile cross rig?

The great bicycle shuffle of 2010

2010-02-10T11:28:00.004-05:00

After finding out I'd be receiving a larger tax refund then I'd expected and talking with MK a bit about bikes in general and his attitude toward them more specifically, I started making some new decisions and pulled a slightly unexpected, though much needed trigger on a decision. The Cannondale Scalpel I picked up a year ago has been sitting un-ridden since Big Bear, despite the fact replaced the derailleur hangar and rear derailleur and chain back a few months ago and it was ready to ride. I've just come to prefer the Jamis and every time I head out I've looked past the Scalpel to my SS.

Needless to say, after over 6 months of non-riding it was time to make the decision. I posted the bike on CL Wednesday and sold it Thursday night for the same price I bought it for though with an updated derailleur, chain and RD cable.

Origin 8 spacers on the 9 speed cassette hub body with a Surly 18t cog.

Without hesitating I headed over to Family Bike Shop and picked up the Stans wheel set with a nine speed rear hub, set it up with a sweet looking Origin 8 spacer kit. These will be replacing my laserdisc/no name hub wheels that came stock with the '07 Exile 29'er and will provide the opportunity to turn the single into a 9 speed if I decide I want to by simply picking up a shifter derailleur set and cassette. These look pretty enticing too:

Rear Derailleur

Shifter

That CASH money green would look pretty sweet on the green Dragon 29'er frame...

Stans ZTR Arch rims laced to ZTR hubs. To be set up tubeless once I figure out my preferred tires.

So, the wheel upgrade leaves me with 3 remaining original parts for the entire bike from the Exile; the headset, the crankset and the rigid fork.

A new Reba Race 29'er fork is due in sometime late this month and 2 crank brothers cobalt headsets will be as well for easy swapping between rigid/suspended forks. That leaves the crankset for which an upgrade is currently being contemplated as well. The Truvativ Stylo 1.1 would be a nice upgrade from the current FireX though the Noir would be a real dandy. Not sure I want to go with carbon cranks though so unless someone has a better suggestion for ways to go with the SS crankset I may go with the relatively inexpensive Stylo set.

More to come but I've gone on long enough again.

Day 5: Snowmagedon 2010

2010-02-10T11:14:00.003-05:00

Our trash can has not yet been cleared off. The inside trash can is now full... Here we go.

I've been going a bit stir crazy to say the least. Aimee was in Sand Diego for the initial 3 days of snow lock down so I was entertaining myself with shoveling, BS'ing about getting plowed out with the neighbors and throwing snow at Cassie. I rode the Jamis with sub 10PSI in the tires all three days, the first just around the neighborhood and down to the Safeway, the second looking for the back hoe being used to clear the lots and the third I actually rode out to REI and Chipotle for a break from my daily boredom and unexciting food choices.

An interesting view out the front window. The blizzard conditions are not here right now, which is fine by me.

Beaver Dam was entirely unplowed brining my doubts about Sunday's GW Birthday Marathon running to a screeching halt and holding tight to a not so smart driver who tried to get through untouched 2-3 foot snow in a 4 door Nissan Altima sedan... Um... WHAT??? Yeah.

We finallu got plowed out Monday night; the back hoe finishing our lot up around 1o pm. Aimee got home from Dulles arirport around 11 with a parking spot waiting for her, I crashed out hard asleep and Aimee went to National and picked up her friend who'd also just flown back from San Diego and who couldn't get her car out of the lot and brought her back to our house. Who knew? She woke me up and told me but I'm pretty sure the only acknowledgement she got from me was in the neighborhood of "uuuugghhhh". I barely remembered it the next morning and I'm VERY doubtful I would have been cool with her driving her little Kia down there in the middle of the night on icey roads etc...

I took Katie back down with a shovel in the AM and shoveled/pushed her car out and then came back home and forced Aimee to go to REI with me and Brian who'd come over to escape his own case of cabin fever. I got some yaktrax (which are amazing lifesavers!!!) but they'd broken, presumably since I should have sized up from the recommended size for use with my big hiking boots. Got Aimee and pair and exchanged mine, Aimee picked up some more groceries and we came home.

Now, we're snowed back in with another solid 5 inches and blizzard conditions to remain through the rest of the day. Yum. I don't really think I want to ride the bike in blizzard like conditions...

The Jamis; reporting for duty.

FYI

2010-02-05T08:27:00.004-05:00

Just wanted to give my parents, who are off in Paris right now and my girlfriend, who is out on the beach in San Diego through Monday an idea of what they're missing.

I should have bought those snowshoes.

A month down already

2010-01-31T21:07:00.005-05:00

One month down already?

My goals for the year are to really up my consistency and mileage both running and on the bike. So far, at least one of the goals is going well. The main focus of the first half or so of the year is running so I'm not too upset with that.

This month I really worked on being consistent on my runs as I built my mileage for the February 14th marathon and the Bull Run Run in April. I think it paid off, for the most part. I kept the number of runs per week around 4 or 5 on average and built from my usual 20 mile week the first week up to a 40 mile week, which included a 21 miler in the 4th week of the year (Monday through Sunday and including the last couple days of '09 as week 1, though my monthly total includes strictly January miles).

I felt good overall and once my legs got used to the consistency they started to settle in well and feel less fatigue on subsequent days. My only issue was a sore ankle which I think was caused by some heavy ankle kicking during a run with cass where she kept tripping me up. Not a major issue but it was lingering a little bit.

Then, this final week of January I came down with a devil of a stomach bug and said goodbye to my month long consistency. It may have been a blessing in disguise as it really gave the nagging ankle soreness the time to properly heal, which I of course wouldn't have given into otherwise. Still, seems like a slap in the face after starting off the year so well and then logging the 14 mile week on 2 easy runs. Still, the monthly running mileage was a major step up from last year and if I can even match half of it for each month for the remainder of the year I'll be well on my way to my annual goal.

January Running Mileage: 127

Road: 87

Trail: 40

Treadmill: 0 (and thats where I plan to keep it for the year...)

The cycling started to get moving with some general miles as I picked up some higher volume kevlar tires and managed to motivate to commute a few days in the warmer cold days but the return of sub-twenty degree days and wind put a quick stop to that. Did get a trainer from the folks for Christmas and managed to throw a leg over it for a solid session and unfortunately that'll likely be the bulk of my saddle time for the coming weeks as the trails stay wet from snow melt and a continuing wet winter.

January Cycling Mileage: 95

Road: 80

Mountain: 15

Trainer: 1 hr 15 mins

Better late then never

2010-01-22T08:12:00.004-05:00

Some things I've been meaning to write about for quite a while that I just haven't found the motivation to put down on (e-)paper.

First and foremost; Christmas was pretty good to me!

Jenny and Brian got me (combined as my bday gift also) the truck box I've been hemming and hawing over for the past year or so. I've yet to pick it out, though Brian and I went to Lowes last weekend and looked at what they had at the store. I think I've decided on a nice Craftsman box that has a better interior then the Kobalts at Lowes with some extra small storage areas and even some trays included. Thanks guys! I can't wait to get it and mount up some lockable fork mount brackets to it so I'll finally be able to secure my bikes to the truck AND have a bunch of extra storage space!

My parents got me a bunch of cool stuff including a few bottles of my favorite wine ("Sangre del Toro" or "The Blood of the Bull"), some emergency survival type gear (following a day of mis-information that appeared to leave them believing I was lost somewhere out in the cold during our super storm back in December) and some workout gear. A cold gear under armour top and fleece are both very welcome to my collection while a pair of Salomon 3/4 running tights offer a bit more versatility to my running options. Finally a pair of REI gaitors worked wonders for keeping the snow and mud out of my shoes during my two exploration runs out in Promised Land State Park a few minutes from the folks place in NEPA.

Better yet, the seem at the crotch of the 3/4 tights started ripping open after 3 runs. When I returned them to REI under warranty they didn't have any more so I got a credit which I used online to buy the same newly clearanced pair of tights for $20 less AND a $20 packable wind/water resistant Sierra Designs jacket. Sweet!

Aimee and I had discussed her buying me a fork for my mountain bike a while back and we'd decided that could be my xmas present from her. She, at some point decided she'd rather have something to give me christmas morning and since the fork won't be in till likely late February, pushed the fork back to be my birthday gift. Christmas morning I was surprised to find a new Garmin 305 with my name on it!

I'd been batting around the idea of getting a garmin for quite a long time but just had never really been willing to spend the money on it (I'm getting much more frugal as I age here). I took it, along with my new gaitors and trail knickers out for a test run that afternoon and again before coming home and found it to be pretty great. Running trails which I didn't know and had no reasonable idea of mileage, the garmin was very helpful. Further use has helped me to dial my mileage and pace information on my usual run reviews plus allow me to better monitor my pace while I'm out there. The elevation data is good too, mostly showing me how little elevation change I actually get in my runs.

I think it helps to motivate me in my quest to log more miles this year and gives me a bit more perspective as to exactly where I am in relation to surrounding areas (I get relatively lost running on trails) on my trail workouts. It's also got the heart rate monitor which so far has NOT told me I'm dead or my heart is going to explode soon. A big step up from my 4 year old Timex HR monitor. So far I'd have to say I like my garmin even more then I imagined I would!

While I'm at it, my folks got me a trainer (basic Ascent Fluid) for my Birthday which I got last weekend. I set it up and threw the cross bike on it (since that was at home and available) though the trainer doesn't have resistance adjustments so the trainer riding will generally likely be on a geared bike. It's also a bit loud for my far from sound proof wooden frame town home but hopefully a vibration dampening pad and smooth road tires (as opposed to my cross knobbies) should help me out there.

I picked up a set of Darren recommended Forte GT2 Kevlar tires for my winter riding for $11 per at performance bikes. So far they're pretty decent and the extra volume of the 28's lets me run them soft enough that they're not as bone jarring as I was afraid of. Hopefuly this will translate into some extra riding this winter and spring as I don't have to worry as much about flats.

SO far I've started off the year right for my running. Ramping up my mileage for the February 14th marathon has me steadily increasing my weekly mileage up to around 40 miles this week with a long run planned for the weekend of around 20 miles. The last 2 weekends I ran the marathon course, though poor night and morning before nutrition (read: alcohol and coffee) left me feeling a little worse then I would have liked later on, I think overall I should be in decent shape. Better yet I should be easily able to knock off over 20 minutes from my previous and only marathon.

So far my 2010 mileage is just over 90 so I'm well on my way to increasing my annual mileage so long as I can keep up the consistency.

Bull Run Run initial registration opens in 3 days! Can't wait!

Paul Blart: mall cop

2010-01-18T12:28:00.000-05:00

Called me out for "sneaking" a picture so they posed for a better one.
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Presidential Run

2010-01-06T17:25:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I forget what I have the opportunity to see during my usual lunch runs.

A lot of people in this country (and the world for that matter) would consider this a vacation...

The year to come in racing

2010-01-04T04:00:00.003-05:00

I managed my pretty thorough twenty oh nine round up and review which naturally ought to be followed up by a goal setting entry for twenty ten. Only problem is, I haven't really come up with any goals yet. I've laid out a couple races already in my '09 round up but other then those two (Bull Run Run 50 miler and the SM100) I'm pretty unsettled. I can lay out a few that I'm pretty sure I'll hit but otherwise I'm going to be pretty general here and allow myself some wiggle room. I hate "announcing" I'll be doing a race on this here blog and not following through. If anything this blog is meant as a motivator for me to carry out the plans I set for myself.

Early this year will likely see a higher amount of base training then in years past with a bit of a focus on running as opposed to riding. As difficult as it can be to get out for rides this time of year between the cold and the general freeze/thaw conditions running will generally be an easier option. Also, with the Bull Run Run coming in April an early year focused on running long is a must.

I may try to get into a few other trail races of shorter distances as well though something like the EX2 trail running series I feel is too costly to justify doing without signing up for the entire series which I feel would be too heavy a commitment. I've also had my eye on the Washington's Birthday Marathon ever since I saw it run by while sitting in my backyard two years ago. The February 14th race date this year would give me just enough time to ramp up the mileage before the race and the $30 reg fee provides reason enough for a Boston Qualifier. Add to that the ability to run to the race start and not even break a sweat during the trip or the trip home post race.

In May I'd like to try to get out and volunteer at one of the aid stations for the Massanutten Mountain Trail 100 mile race; an idea Matthew and I batted around post snow run last month.

As the weather gets nicer I'll be looking to ramp up the miles in the saddle; this year with a focus more on road miles for bigger base. Joining Darren on his longer and hillier rides and getting out to Fredrick once a month or so would be hugely beneficial. Once the season hits I'll probably, with the exception of Big Bear for which I'm undecided for now about, do the same 12 hour races I did in 2009. Lodi and Cranky Monkey and maybe Leesburg (though its probably too early post 50 miler) and definitely 18 hours of Scouts Honor which I've only heard great things about.

For shorter races I'm a bit less excited. The EX2 races again are a bit more then I want to spend and the fast short distances don't suit my goals for the season at all. On the other hand I'd like to try some different events like the Greenbrier Challenge marathon race and the Michaux races sound pretty epic as well.

Come fall I'll probably race at least a handful of cross races this year; maybe even on a reasonable cross bike though I won't be holding my breath on that one. In general fall will likely be when things start to ramp down and I'll likely ramp back up my running and maybe look into a few Fat Ass races to run and or volunteer for.

One more thing I want to try to do this year is work races into any travel I might do. Last year I just missed a few TN races while visiting Aimee's family in Knoxville but maybe this year I can figure out some races in totally new locales to try out (Aimee willing of course).

Of course, at this point I haven't laid any of this out on a calendar and really I've just basically sounded it out for this forum so I'm not really holding myself to most of this. In the end though all of these events are things I really think I'd enjoy so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will fit nicely into the package that is my upcoming year. I'll continue to work things out for the season and try to come up with at least 3 month plans for upcoming races as the year goes on.

and of course, The Ugly

2009-12-31T16:00:00.001-05:00

Yummy!

Random cold road ride

Lodi Farms

Busted

Just Scary!

Happy New Year all. Heres hoping 2010 is everything you want it to be and more.

The Bad

2009-12-31T04:00:00.002-05:00

Despite all of "the good" I reported yesterday from the Year of the Ox (2009), the year has not been without its downsides. My complaints of course are given and should be taken with a grain of salt, considering what some have been through throughout this year and so I'll try to keep my whining to a bare minimum. Also, as a (mostly) sport focused blog, I'm going to keep the focus limited to my athletic failures and related disappointments.

First off, my consistency in training. I already mentioned this in my training wrap up a few days ago so I won't really say much more about it. I simply need to be more consistent.

The 2010 Snotcycle Race: I just didn't enjoy trying to race a short course race in these conditions, plain and simple. Oh and I didn't do all that great either...

A goal just missed: I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler for the first (and likely last) time this year and was gunning for a 1 hour 10 minute time, a flat 7 minute mile average. While I didn't miss it by much, just 15 seconds off per mile, it was enough to be disappointed about. In '07 I ran the Baltimore Half Marathon at an average of 7:20 per mile so my 5 second per mile drop just wasn;t all that satisfying.

My not quite as nasty as initially suspected ass of tea kettle crash at Patapsco. I can still feel a bump where the top of my right ear connects to my head from wear it was sliced open a bit.

Attack of the Big Bear: Part II. I don't think I actually like this race anymore. Broken bikes = no fun. I still have not ridden the Scalpel since that race, though it is now ready to ride again once I put some pedals and a seat collar back on it.

Flat tires and lots of parking tickets (yeah I fought that ticket, paid $5 in parking and $20 in court fees and another $5 for using a debit card to pay my fine. I saved $10 and lost a vacation day. I don't think I won...)! Gaaaaarrrrrr! Please leave me alone in 2010!

Accompanying one of my favorite runs of the year was of course my car being broken into. Worse, what was not realized at the time of the incident was just how much of my stuff was in the car and stolen. My newer camelback with spare tubes, lube, CO2 flat repair kit, riding glasses, Mt Hardware rain jacket and a handful of other things that I can't remember off the top of my head; all of course on top of my wallet. Jerks.

My boat sank. This was kind of fun though, despite the uncontrollable shivering.

Here's hoping 2010 brings about no more parking tickets, broken bikes or busted windows!

The Good

2009-12-30T04:00:00.002-05:00

While the mainstream media has been at it since Thanksgiving, I've just barely started the annual tradition of "the year in review". I looked a bit into my lackluster training numbers from '09 yesterday but today I want to focus on some of the positives from my year. The events, races and training sessions that stood out for me for one reason or another.

In March I managed a few buttery smooth snow rides and got Brian out on his first at Fairland.

After I joined DCMTB early in the year, my first real race as a member was 12 Hours of Lodi Farms. I'd never done the race and had only ridden with my new teammates a handful of times before this race. The race itself went well and the 2 teams we fielded placed well and took home some loot. This was the first time I'd ever placed in a mtb race and the first time I'd ever won loot for placing in anything. That, I have to say was pretty cool!

In May I got out for a great ride (on a pretty sweet bike) down in the Tennessee Smokey Mountains while visiting Knoxville for a wedding with Aimee. This was one of the first big rides I've done on real mountain roads (the trails were wet unfortunately), with sustained climbs and descents. This ride was all about fun, aside from hiding from the lightning and crazy heavy rain...

In June going into the 12 Hours of Cranky Monkey race at Quantico, my team had some fairly low expectations. I was riding the rigid SS Jamis since the Scalpel was still busted from Big Bear and neither Leland nor I really felt like we were in very good form. We managed to ride strong and hold on for 4th in our Category which included the 1st place DCMTB "A" team. The team as a whole did amazing as well with 5 of our 6 teams taking spots on their respective 5 deep podiums and claiming 1st, 2nd and 5th overall! My success was cool, but even better the team atmosphere of having so many DCMTB'ers there and doing so well was an absolute blast!

2 years ago I'd tried to make the Pittsburgh Triathlon my first triathlon. I ended up hurting my shoulder and baling on that one which I always regretted a bit. This year though I convinced two of my closest buddies from college to do it with me and this time it actually happened. The race was fun and the weekend with some of my favorite people in the world was even better. Every time I go back to Pittsburgh I'm left wishing I'd never left it in the first place. On top of the great trip I took first for the first time winning the 25-29 age group with Cole standing next to me on the podium. Awesome!

In August I started ramping up my running with my eyes set on completing my first Ultra Marathon before the end of the year. My two long trail runs before the main event were both memorable runs; just me, Cassie and some rain. One at Patapsco and one on the Potomac Heritage Trail itself. I need to do more of these, minus the jacked stuff and busted window.

The Potomac Heritage Trail 50k went better then I could have imagined. Teaming up with Matthew at the start was probably crucial to my run but the atmosphere of the race, the volunteers and fun course all made for an excellent first ultra. Better yet I met someone willing to join me/drag me out on the longer runs and hikes I've been trying to get out for with a home base out near the mountains to begin with.

I've run a few Turkey trots over the years but not too many have been very memorable. This year's was a bit different. I'd been aiming to break 20 minutes in a 5k for a while but the vast majority of my 5k runs have been the tail end of a sprint triathlon and I'd been unsuccessful at sub-20. This year I ran to super-local (less then a mile from my front door) and small, Gobble Wobble to the tune of 19:31 and even managed a 2nd place finish to boot. Thats the first time I've ever placed anywhere near the top 10 in a running only event and while it wasn't fast enough to really be something big, its still something neat to me.

A couple of weeks later I managed to get out to meet Matthew (new PHT 50k buddy) for a long run/hike up the Dickey Ridge Trail in SNP as the snow fell around us. It was great to get out and go out there despite a tweaked knee for Matthew and the heavy and deep near the top snow fall. That was exactly the kind of trip I need to do more of, especially with the climbing falling somewhere in the range of 3000' or so. Compared to my majority dead flat runs around home this was pretty epic.

And, that basically brings us to now. Over Christmas break up the NEPA I got out for 2 runs on the trails of the Delaware State Forest near my folks' house in the Poconos. There was nothing especially noteworthy about these runs on their own but the proximity to my parents house, the technical and rocky terrain and the amount of trails available there all combined to make me very excited about the area. My second run on the 27th especially left me eager and ready for my next trip to see my folks up in the mountains. Well, that and the company of course!

Goals and Milestones

2009-12-16T08:14:00.005-05:00

The other week with my regular, easy run down the mall, around the Lincoln Memorial and back, I cracked 600 miles on the year running. It's not a very big number for a year of running; its downright minuscule when compared to the typical ultra runner but for me it seems like a big milestone.

My weekly running mileage chart here shows my lack of consistency. The last 6 or so months has shown some improvement there.

In 2008 I just cracked 400 miles; beginning my training log in late March and not really running with any focus or races in mind. Consistency was no where to be found and my miles just basically came in small heaps throughout the year. Over the last few months, basically since I decided I wanted to attempt an Ultra and began running trails in June, my mileage has ticked up and my consistency has as well. I still have large variations in my weekly mileage but overall I've managed in the 15 to 20 miles per week on average. While this is still far from "Ultra" mileage, for me, it's a start.

Literally, not a single run in January of this year and less then 20 miles in the entire month of May!

For 2010 I've got my eyes fixed on the Bull Run Run 50 Miler, one of the VHTRC main event races. This means I'll need to keep my mileage up as the new year begins and really start to build into the month of April. I'd like to run a strong race and finish feeling better then I did after the PHT 50k so a solid winter mileage base is a must.

I'll be very happy if I can average a solid 20 to 30 for the first couple of months of the year. For 2010 as a whole I think I should expect to break 1000 miles, with hopefully a couple of Ultras under my belt.

As for my cycling, I'm somewhat stagnant, kicking around 1800 miles for the year. In 2008 I hit 1500 or so, probably mostly invested in my tri training, especially the 1/2 IM. This year my miles consisted more of dirt riding with some pretty limited road mileage. I've just found so much more enjoyment in the dirt all around this year. That, I don't expect to change necessarily for next year.

My cycling goals for next year will revolve around a similar principal as this year's racing with one major addition. I want to make my first attempt at the Shenandoah Mountain 100 (SM 100). This alone will require a large boost in my overall mileage and hopefully I'll be able to work in some much longer dirt rides and some long road rides with my DCMTB teammates this year to make it happen.

Call 2010 the year of the Ultra's for me if you will; thats just where I'm at right now. Short course speed races are fun, but I find myself drawn to the long course absolute tests of endurance that go with Ultra distance racing. There is something rewarding in and of itself when finishing long distance races; something that for me is lacking in the short courses.

At this point I'd say I should be doubling my cycling mileage if I want to have even a remote chance of finishing the SM100 and probably quite a bit more if I expect to perform well. Of course if the weather keeps up this amped winter we've already seen my riding may take a back seat to trail/snow running and shoveling!

Or, maybe its finally time to invest in a trainer and actually start using it...

Who needs snow shoes?

2009-12-09T07:42:00.006-05:00

What a day! While I didn't end up camping out in the snow like I was thinking I might, I did still get out to SNP with Matthew and our dogs for a long trail run/hike in the snow. It was raining when I rolled out of Greenbelt at 5:30am Saturday morning and snowing by the time I got to Markham where Matt's house was; a good sign for our run since a rainy started would have made for a much colder day on the trail. The dogs got along well from the get go and we made our way to Front Royal and the start of Skyline drive where we hooked up with the Dickey Ridge Trail around 7:30.

Once on the trail we settled into a steady jog over what was maybe a quarter inch of wet snow on the ground. The trail essentially parallels Skyline up to the AT, climbing almost the entire way from the starting point around 600 feet above sea level. We kept up a good pace heading up, running when we could and hiking when we couldn't. The snow was beautiful and I found myself surprisingly comfortable in the cold conditions.

The snow kept falling the entire way and was building fast on the ground as we broke fresh tracks along the deserted trail. Early on I saw some sort of animal which we decided was a coyote after coming up on some small paw looking tracks though we later decided it must have been one of the dogs' tracks and a deer, with the dark brown winter coat that I had glimpsed through the snow. The climb was otherwise uneventful though beautiful with the fresh snow blanketing everything in sight. At the only lookout point of the day the view was unfortunately blocked by the snow and fog surrounding the mountains but the continuous scenery we passed was good enough to make up for it.

Upon reaching the intersection with the AT, Matthew made the suggestion we not bite off more then we can chew and head back down the trail to the car. Realizing he was right and that going on any further would be somewhat foolish, we turned around and began heading back down the trail. We topped out at around 2500' and since somewhere around 1700' before a tough, steep and technical quarter mile climb to our meeting point with the AT things had gotten substantially colder.

We grabbed some food and then picked up the pace a bit to try and warm up again, which we succeeded in doing after dropping back down the long climb. The warmth lasted for a bit before a breeze came through and kept us cool for the remainder of the trip down.

At the point we turned around we'd probably been shuffling through about 6 inches of snow and the whole way down it was building, continuing to get deeper. It was a pretty cool thing to be out in this snow, and with how fast it was coming down we were making fresh tracks both up and down; our previous tracks having been buried almost entirely in fresh snow.

After dropping below about 1200 or so feet we hit some recently traveled snow, a large number of deer and dwindling snow accumulation. By the time we crossed over Skyline a final time before getting back to the trail head the trail was more of a slushy, muddy, well traveled mess. Apparently the locals know the Dickey Ridge Trail well but mostly just stuck to the first little section of it; the only other person we saw was a guy walking his dog up that short first section of the trail before heading back down along Skyline.

Back at the car we were both pretty chilled so we got a bit of a change of clothes and quickly headed back to Matthews' house with the ideas of hot showers in our heads. A power outage and well water quickly dispersed those hopes but theres nothing wrong with a little camp stove boiled water for tea and wearing more clothes inside then we did outside! After a couple of cups of tea, snacks and beer, and some pasta I eventually mustered the up the energy and motivation to head home. I knew our big down comforter, memory foam mattress topper and a warm shower at home would be well worth the long drive home in the dark. I think I was in bed by 8 that night.

A couple of additional things:

-Matthew tweaked his knee at some point during the climb. He toughed it out for the rest of the hike but towards the end I could tell it was really hurting. Once back to his place it stiffened up pretty badly on him to the point he wasn't even bending it. Hopefully its doing better now but kudos to him of toughing that out with barely even a mention of it.

-I wore a thin pair of technical somewhat fleecy Cannondale gloves for this run. For the majority of the trip they were perfect though once the wind was blowing through the soaking wet fabric my hands got seriously cold. Next time I'll need to find something a little better. Even just a thin, lightweight outer shell would probably be enough, just to block the wind.

-I wore my (10+ year old) Under Armour winter gear tights and top as a base layer.

-I picked up a basic pair of Nike DriFit running pants, similar to my DriFit shorts of preference, at REI which I wore over the tights. They were perfect until the snow was getting deeper and then the snow started building up on them around the ankles to where I had at least baseball sized balls of snow hitting my ankles every step.

-On top I wore my Celtic Solstice 5 Miler fleece over the UA and my Salomon wind/rain jacket over the top of that. That combination was surprisingly perfect, kepping my core temperature well regulated throughout the run. With a better glove combination I would have been comfortable the entire run I believe.

-Of course I wore a pair of my DeFeet Woolie Boolies along with my Montrail Highlanders. This actually worked; the socks kept my feet warm enough despite being soaked for most of the trip and the shoes handled the circumstances relatively well. Not an ideal shoe for the conditions but they got the job done. Other then some spikes or even snow shoes I'm not sure what would really do better though.

-My thin, vented running hat from finishing the Shamrockfest Marathon was perfect; keeping snow out of my eyes and keeping my head just warm enough.

-The route with elevation. This puts it a little shorter then what I think we did. The trail markers had us at 9.5 from Front Royal at the start of the Dickey Ridge Trail which includes a short little (less then a 1/4 mile on google pedometer) section of trail. We're saying 18 miles total.

-It was disappointing coming home to just an inch or two of slushy snow back in Greenbelt. I'm glad I got to enjoy a real snowfall before returning to the king of slush - DC metro region.

-I need to spend a lot more time running/hiking out in the mountains. As much fun as they are to run, there are no real "climbs" on my usual stomping grounds.

Welcoming winter, done right

2009-12-04T11:19:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago when Aimee told me she'd be house sitting (and taking Homer) over this coming weekend I quickly decided it'd be my time to get out for some winter mountain fun. I got in touch with Matt from the PHT 50k to see if he'd be up for some biking or running. Saturday looked good for him so we planned a trail run/hike for the day.

Now, after early week projections showed sun and at least mid-40's for the day, we're looking at some pretty certain snow fall and what looks like it'll be a pretty fun way to welcome in the official winter. Unfortunately I won't have my camera but I will definitely be enjoying myself out there. Its likely I'll be camping out on Saturday night as well, even if I just set my tent up in the bed of my truck. It'll be better then the long drive home after a day of running and snow plowing...

For those interested, worried or looking for me if I don't return in a timely manner, our route will look something like this, with a possible different ending point around where the AT pops out of SNP.

Races to Remember

2009-12-02T14:07:00.009-05:00

I did my first running race as a kid at the Peachtree Jr Road Race in Georgia when I was probably about 8 years old. My Dad was into road racing, especially the Peachtree Road Race, and I would sometimes go to the local high school track to run with him (when I could get myself up for the 5 or 6 am departure time). I remember one early run with him where he was just so impressed after I completed the entire 4 mile run right with him. I must have been beaming that day.

In those Peachtree Jr races I'll remember running and seeing my parents along the course cheering me on. I'd always pick it up when I saw them and do my best to look serious and hide my huge grin, although I doubt that ever worked. Really, I still do the same thing today when I see my family during a race, only now I don't try to hide the gr

in. I ran probably 4 or 5 of those races before we moved away from the area; unfortunately the old t-shirts are probably lost for good by now.

Another race I'll always remember was a 5k at a local school; still in Georgia. It was probably one of my first 5k's and I think I was in 3rd grade at the time. There was a kids race, probably a mile long that went off before the 5k and I remember watching with pride as the other kids did the short race while I waited with my Dad to run the big one. Turns out I probably should have done the miler after all as I finished the race behind even the clean up vehicle picking up the cones on the course, a solid DFL if I ever saw one. In the end though I won the raffle prize of a new boys bike from a Roswell Bike shop sponsoring the race. I believe to this day that "raffle" was rigged for the poor kid in last place.

Now, to add to my list of memories from meaningful races, I have one of the opposite end of the spectrum. I have an actual placement in a strictly running race!

On Thanksgiving morning Aimee and I walked the mile over to the greenbelt youth center for the annual Greenbelt Rec Dept's Gobble Wobble 5k. First of all, being able to just roll out of bed and walk to the race course was just great! I could get used to that. The race had a record turnout (150 strong for the race/walk event!) and was kicked off with the wobbling warm up led by a sergeant of some kind, which I swear was really just some low key tae bo.

I started in the second row, just behind the turkey lead off man and a couple of 7 year olds ready to sprint for the hole shot. After a couple hundred yards I was settled into 2nd, right on the heels of the tall fit looking guy I'd labeled as the winner before the start of the race. I stuck around for a lap then he slowly pulled away finishing up in just over 19 minutes. I managed to hold onto second AND more importantly came in at 19:31 for my first sub-20 minute 5k! (Hopefully the measurement of the distance was true though I'm not necessarily holding my breath on that).

Thats the Turkey in the middle, me on the left and the top Male and Female runners and husband and wife pair of Paul and Cara on the right. Nice folks who live just down the street from Aimee and I. (Photo from the News Review blurb)

To top it all off I'm in the local Greenbelt News Review (blurb on page 5) this week, both in picture and in name! Looks like my star hasn't set just yet since my high school days of (local) "fame" (the picture of me watching helplessly as a star CB for a rival high school football team intercepted a pass in front of me being my last big "claim to fame"). Eh, something like that. At least I set a new PR and had a good time supporting a local event with Aimee.

Where have YOU been?

2009-11-30T12:20:00.004-05:00

Yada, yada, yada... lack of posting... sorry for ignoring my fans... (I wasn't really ignoring you Mom since you were here for Thanksgiving and all)... Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

There've been a few things going on around here but not a whole lot of new stuff. Been running and riding when I can, spending less time doing each then I'd generally prefer but enjoying myself when I can get out. Went to NJ and Philly a couple of weekends ago to help out and watch a pair of regattas and support my pops, the proud (semi-new) Coach of the women's crew at the University of Scranton. These girls (and guys) are pretty impressive in that they've been operating without a coach, running workouts, race registration, logistics and equipment upkeep, purchasing etc for at least the last year.

Unfortunately a coach is a pretty useful things for rowers, especially out on the water to help improve technique and that still has not become a reality for these guys due to a lack of resources, access and other various issues. Hopefully though for spring they'll manage to work some new things out so they'll be able to get out with Coach Pat on the water for some good solid work. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for these guys to go to school, put together workouts, run their own practices, manage all of the equipment that goes with rowing, manage race registration and boat lineups etc and still get out and put in solid race performances.

Hat's off to the U of Scranton Crew team for their dedication and perseverance.

In other, family related news Aimee and I hosted our first ever Thanksgiving dinner at our place in Greenbelt this year. It was a bit of a last second thing as we weren't planning anything and we weren't going anywhere. Our plans consisted of a bit of house work for me, some black Friday shopping for her and probably an Indian dinner of thanks.

Instead I cooked my first solo Turkey (though I let Dad carve it) and we put out a large helping of Thanksgiving stuffings with plenty of veggies and mashed potatoes and wine to satiate us. Everything came out well and over the course of Thursday evening and Friday we downed at least 6 bottles of wine. Dad also helped me get some work done in the bathroom, ripping out the old flooring, yanking out the toilet and replacing the wax ring and bolts securing said toilet to the floor (who would have guessed toilet bolts can corrode completely away to nothing???) and laying a new faux tile flooring.

Saturday a trip to Home Depot provided me with the necessary tile to lay around the base of the wall and cover the edges of the new floor and a handful of other small projects including a replacement sink faucet, shower head, toilet seat, bathroom door handle and shower curtain rod. Most of it was completed and hopefully I'll have the new base tile in place by the end of Monday. Unfortunately for the bathrooms' progress I took a (I'd say much deserved) break for some Mountain Biking at the Shed/Gambrill with Darren and Chris so the remainder of the work was put on hold for the day.

Anyway, I hope your Thanksgiving weekend was as pleasant and productive as mine was.

Want to win more free stuff?

2009-11-28T08:51:00.003-05:00

If you're interested in running and winning running stuff AND wouldn't mind looking into the life of the true crazies of the running world check out iRunFar.com and the 500th post/Black Friday give away contest running through December 4th!

I personally have my sights set on that ultra-lightweight sleeping bag! Fastpacking 2010, here I come!

Wash board work out

2009-11-09T08:07:00.004-05:00

Ever just jump in the shower with your clothes on? Yeah, me neither; at least not that I remember (Mom, got any good stories?) Well, that changed last night after my 11 mile Sunday evening trail run when I did just that; socks, shorts and shirt.

Three weeks ago the pump on our washing machine died mid-load leaving a bowl full of dirty (smelly) wash water to drain by hand. The current set up has the washer in the corner in the kitchen, and its a 24 inch unit as opposed to the more common 27 incher so a quick and cheap used replacement has been a bit hard to come by. On top of that I have plans to move the laundry facilities entirely into the utility closet which will require about $2k in plumbing work which I can't really swing at the moment, so, long story short we're living without a washing machine.

My $15+ 3 load trip to the laundromat yesterday (only wash, no dry) made me realize the folly in more regular trips to said laundromat so after my run I just hopped on in the shower, clothes and all and along with a bowl of soapy laundry water I proceeded to hand wash and rinse my garments. Gotta say, it was about as wierd as I expected to get in the shower with my clothes still on and there was a nice slick tub floor as a result of the relatively thick laundry detergent soap but otherwise it seems to have worked out alright.

Anyway, I already hang dry all my technical fabric clothing and wool socks so I guess from here on out it'll be a wash board work out following up my regular activities. I do think though that from here on out I'll need to shift that job to the kitchen sink. It was kind of like shaving my legs in the shower; a whole lot of water used, without really putting most of it to use.

New style

2009-11-05T15:08:00.000-05:00

This was a long sleeve shirt this morning. Apparently my hulking body is getting too big. Looks like this one is going to be a sleeveless work shirt from here on out...

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Results and a picture of proof that I started...

2009-11-04T14:23:00.002-05:00

In case you want to see.

Results

Standing around at the pre race meeting... looking like Mario...

My First Ultra Experience

2009-11-02T17:27:00.005-05:00

I didn't really mention it on the blog or tell a whole lot of people about this since it feels like my track record hasn't been all that outstanding about following through on some of my personal races discussed this year. I also just wasn't quite sure how feasible this was and what kind of training I was going to manage to fit in before the race. I really had no idea whether I would be able to complete this and even whether I'd even start it, despite how badly I wanted to try it.

On Sunday though I ran the Potomac Heritage Trail 50k put on by the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club.

Since my 23 miler on the Heritage trail 3 weeks ago I'd barely gotten out for any kind of exercise. The first week was cut short by a trip to Florida for Mike's wedding, the next work was busy prepping for a seminar we put on every few years, the weekend filled with DCCX, and then this past week was spent off site for work putting on the seminar in a location where slipping out for a lunch run just wasn't an option. On Friday and Saturday I was lightly considering emailing the race director and giving up my spot on the 100 person deep runners list but I held off.

Sunday morning I made my way down to the house in Woodley Park for the start of the race, unsure of what to expect. A small gathering, similar to that of a house party was what I found and I stood around anxiously after checking in waiting for things to get rolling. Se eventually moved things outside to the side walk across the street and had the pre-race briefing in the cool rainy air. 5 Minutes later and we were off, heading up the street in a pack 100 strong on our way to the first bit of trail.

While standing around inside another young and equally anxious guy named Matthew struck up a conversation with me and it turned out he was in the same boat as me. He'd found the race online, knew no one and was really unsure of what the day would bring but was up for the challenge. We continued to chat as the race began and as we settled into race we kept ourselves occupied with the random chatter that goes with these types of races (at least early on them).

The first few miles were on a surprising network of trails ranging from Woodley Park to Georgetown. Some were part of Rock Creek Park but the majority of trails I'd never seen before and I was thankful to have the large group of runners around to lead the way. Eventually we popped out at Fletcher's Boathouse up along the C&O Canal and headed south back to key bridge to finally hit up the actual Potomac Heritage Trail. By the time we hit the PHT we'd covered around 8 or 9 miles and had been treated to two extremely well stocked, well manned and super friendly aid stations. A HUGE thanks to all the volunteers for spending the cold and dreary day outside helping out some fellow runners, many of which were on their first ever Ultra!

Matthew and I were still hanging together and we'd managed to get together in a group of maybe a half a dozen folks, all pretty young and most new to Ultras. We made our way along the PHT enjoying the still riveting fall colors and views of the Potomac river on the right. The rain was still falling and the trails we wet though for the most part everything was runable early on in the trail. Further along the trail got a bit more rocky and things slowed but for the most part we stayed pretty tight with the same groups. Matthew, another guy and I pulled away a bit through some of the rocks from the others and pretty soon we were bouldering our way up and into the Chain Bridge aid station. Again, awesome volunteers and offerings!

From their we headed down a brief stretch of trail before the hairiest water crossing of the day. Knee high rushing water at about 20 feet wide was enough to take some caution in crossing we we linked arms and used each other for support crossing over the uneven stream bottom. Across the stream with no issues we continued on. Pretty soon we caught a few folks grouped up ahead of us and got a new pacer. This guy, with some obvious experience under his belt was a smooth and consistent runner. Unlike many other folks he would generally continue running on the fairly steep uphill pitches and was quick on the down hills. We stuck with him for a while, through most of the rolling terrain the day's course would offer. Eventually this started to take a toll on both Matthew and I and along some constant and steep rollers up in the Turkey Run Park area Matthew lost contact of the group. A short ways on though was the final aid station before the turn around point at the American Legion Bridge (495).

There was a dart tossing contest for bonus time which I played and managed to win 2 minutes or so off my time with so I used that time wisely and waited for Matthew to catch up. I knew I wouldn't be able to maintain contact with the others for the remainder of the race and more then anything I didn't want to be running alone, especially through some of the most painful miles of the race.

We headed out from the aid station shortly after, me setting the pace on front and just settling into cruise control mode. Things were going smoothly here through about 17 or so miles and I was feeling pretty good about everything so far. We were informed we'd be DQ'd if we didn't pee on the AL Bridge so we did that, turned around and started cheering for all the folks that were coming up our way, right on our tails.

Back to the Turkey Run Aid Station and then the long slog from mile 20 to 25 or so on the rollers was tough. There was more walking as we looked to conserve our energy for the final few miles but we made it back across the stream crossing and to the Chain Bridge AS to refuel before heading out on the final leg of the race.

Instead of heading back down the remainder of the PHT we crossed over Chain Bridge back to DC and swung down onto the C&O canal for a couple of miles before reaching Fletcher's Boat house again. From here it was back into the trails, following the pink chalk markings on trees and sign posts as we shuffled along. Too many pink dots and wooden stair sets going up later we were back out for the final stretch of road, almost all uphill, back to the house.

Shuffling up the street we saw a couple of previous finishers walking who gave us words of encouragement, telling us we were just around the corner. The final right hand turn to a slight downhill and the finish was (unknown to me) in sight. I kept running past the house, expecting to see a line or person telling me I could stop. Only when I looking back over my shoulder and saw a fellow runner pealing off his shoes on the front porch of the meeting house.

Total time: 6 hours 15 minutes. With Bonus: 6 hours 7 minutes. (Hey, I'll take whatever I can get!)

Inside there was hot chili and chips and pasta and other food and beers and sodas to refuel. I grabbed a bowl of chili and beer before slogging the quarter mile uphill back to my car where I left my warm dry clothes to change into. Once warm I headed back to the party for another bowl of chili and a bowl of pasta before heading home to get Aimee and back out for some Chipotle to top of the reserves.

My legs and feet were sore though miraculously I came away without any blisters or really even any lingering acute pain. The joints were sore for a day or so and the muscles are still slightly sore though Tuesday night I managed to get out for the Night Ride at Rosaryville without too many ill effects. I'm sure the 20 minute long ice bath Sunday night didn't hurt the quick recovery time.

I have a feeling this won't be my last or longest run, though I think I'll stick to the trails. Since I started running trails, road running just seems tedious, boring and painful. Matthew, who lives out in the Front Royal area expressed some interest in a long run partner and is into mountain and road biking and fast packing as well so hopefully that'll help me to get some more quality time out in the SNP area with some pretty solid "real" (eastern) mountain trail training. I think we both will be eyeing up some 50 miler races in the coming months as possible options.

No results up yet and I didn't pull the camera out of the bag even once due to the rain but I saw a couple of flashes here and there so maybe a shot or two will show up of my run. I'll post the link to results when they're up though just in case.

DCCX Baby

2009-10-31T17:02:00.003-05:00

Maybe its vain, but I LOVE this shot. A little pain (still early in the race I'm guessing) and a bunch of concentration in the front on shot. All pics courtesy of Jason Marcella's Facebook album. Thanks Jason!

Never planned on racing but things worked out with a super cheap build on the Redline cross frame which I never managed to sell and I ended up racing the 3/4, killer B's. Felt good to be out there and the crowds were amazing! I heard so many people cheering for me and others riding through there with Kmax, Kevin, Maxblud even. Pretty cool stuff.

I started out in about the 90's (my race number was 396 and I was in the third to last row starting since I begged my way in to the race the night before at set up) so I wasn't expecting too much out of myself aside from hopefully a solid move up in the final outcome. Since Darren had so enthusiastically encouraged me to race (so he could have a teammate to beat) my single real goal for the race was to beat him. At the line I could see him a number of rows ahead of me but I was still holding on to some hope there.

Alex put in a great final race as a DC resident. Thursday the week after he moved to San Fran. We'll miss him and his ridiculous consistency and smooth riding style. He happens to be a really cool guy on top of that too.

Race started, I nearly bowled Ryan D over at the top of the first grassy climb after he rolled his second tubular for the day and then settled in to try and pick some folks off. I was going along really well and loving the course, though it'd gotten significantly mushy and slower from all the rain the day before. Still the pre-riding on Saturday was huge as I felt totally comfortable with taking inside lines and sticking to it when I knew I could.

Pretty early on I was chasing Mike S from my team and I yo-yo'd a bit behind him before finally coming up with some pop to get by and away. Right after that I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Darren just a few turns ahead of me. Apparently he'd gone out super hard then blown his back and was going backwards quick. I snuck up on him and coming up the road to the reg area I passed him with a "goochie goochie goo" (I have no idea where that came from...) and got on it to get some seperation. I figured he'd have jumped it and not let me getaway but instead me passing crushed his spirit even more and he fell back quickly. It's ok Darren, I still love ya!

Marc G put himself onto the podium with an awesome effort in the 35+ Masters race! Awesome, oh and was co-promoting the race!

After that I kept riding hard where I could, catching and passing people on the tight and turny sections while gettng dropped on some of the longer straightaways and mushy slow sections. Eventually I caught up to Corey T and said something about the slow mushy stuff. That got him going again and I lost contact there pretty solidly for a bit. Later on though I was battling out on of the straightaways, basically in a full out sprint trying to stay ahead of another guy. That reeled in Corey and put me by him though I dropped off the pace of the other guy pretty hard and fell behind him permanently.

I managed to hold Corey off by just a bit, though had there been another lap he'd certainly have pulled me back in. I did manage to hold off an NCVC guy I'd been back and forth with for most of the race also, with me passing and pulling ahead on the same little technical climb and him getting back a while later through the swampy grass just a bit before the finish. The last lap I didn't let that happen.

Now I'm again pumped to do some more cross. Hopefully next year I can get myself out there and really work it including some actual cross training and practice. That DCCX course is so much FUN!

Matty D put in an awesome effort for 13th in the 3/4 despite promoting and running DCCX!

Working the awards was a lot of fun too. Getting to be in the middle of everything and see all the happy and excited winners. Good stuff! Matty and Marc do an amazing job as race directors and it sounds like for the 3rd year in a row they've put on the top area race. Happy I could be a small part of that for the last 3 years!

Oh and to the woman who took the hand up just past the finish... That was awesome!

Weekend recap

2009-10-13T12:31:00.003-05:00

I've been upping my running miles for the last few weeks/months, capping off my build up this past weekend with a 23 miler on the Potomac Heritage Trail. I wasn't breaking any land speed records (my total run time was right around 5 hours), but considering the terrain, my limited knowledge of the trail system and the self supported nature of the run I consider my progress on this one to be pretty good. Most of the trial was pretty rooty and rocky with some sections downright treacherous including some pretty serious rock scrambling up a water fall (Cass actually swam one portion of the scramble while I went up and over some boulders in the way).

In the end I basically covered the entire PHT from Roosevelt Island out to 495 and back with a few somewhat lengthy off-shoots mixed in for good measure. In some trail running advice forums I've been following lately I've seen an abundance of the attitude, "there are 2 types of trail runners; those who have (and continue to) fallen on occasion and those that will." Being as how I'd yet to take a trail running spill I kept my mouth shut so as not to jinx myself.

Saturday's run, turned out to be the one. Ironically enough, it wasn't any of the steep or technical tough spots in the trail that got me. Instead it was simply a damp log with a slightly downhill angle to it that took me by surprise as I planted my full weight on my left foot on top of it. The resulting slam down on my knee was worrisome for a minute but once the initial shock pain went away I was left with what amounted essentially to a skinned knee and maybe a little bruise.

15 miles later I was still going strong with no ill effects aside from the occasional strange look after finishing while stopping in a gas station for a drink and some ice for the bath tub at home.

Sunday an easy ride at Wakefield with Vinny and Chris (Leland) showed me just how tired my dogs really were and Monday's cloudy day saw me stuck in a rut with no motivation to leave the couch aside from a very small bit of bike work in the morning with Brian.

Some semi related tid bits:
-the thompson seatpost on the Jamis is perfect, w/ just the right amount of layback.
-I'm feeling good with wider and lighter FSA XC-190 bars on the Jamis and felt good slipping between tight trees at Wakefield on Sunday's ride.
-The WTB Weirwolf tires are feeling pretty supple, connecting well and definitely feel better on the front end in comparison to the stock ignitor's I've been riding.
-My Hardrock's held up nicely to their longest test yet and while the roots and rocks of the run really put them to the test, they seem to be able to handle the load with minimal forefoot discomfort for me.
-The redline is being built back up, now with my EA-30 riser bar off the Jamis, some flat bar brake levers I had lying around, my spare single speed crank set from the fixed gear I also had lying around, the matching ea30 seat post and wtb saddle from the Jamis (both lighter then the other stuff I had on the bike), new cheapo brake cables and housing and a Forte single speed conversion kit I picked up at Performance. I know I'd never be able to win a cross race on my converted SS with flat bar like Jonathon but at least now I can look somewhat like him (minus the tight skeleton skinsuit and podium candy of course). (Halloween is coming though and facial hair options are being considered).
-The fixed gear is finally mostly back together after nearly a year of languishing in the bike room and shed. Once I get a new spoke installed in the rear wheel (replacing the spoke that has been busted probably for well over 2 years) I will once again have a fully operational 'fixie' though now with much less friendly terrain to ride it on (considering it lived at Aimee's place on Capital Hill up until September).

And that's about it.

This coming weekend I'll be in Florida celebrating my high school buddy's demise... I mean wedding. He mentioned going sky diving the day before the wedding. Said something about making sure God gets the opportunity to correct his mistake if necessary... Not really sure what he means there.

IMG00034.jpg

2009-10-10T11:16:00.000-05:00

Comes with the territory...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

IMG00033.jpg

2009-10-10T11:15:00.000-05:00

Running the patomac heritage trail with Cass. Perfect rainy day for a trail run.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Want to help raise a $Mill for Cancer research?

2009-10-10T07:56:00.002-05:00

Start a twitter account and add Drew Carey. I'd say it's worth it no matter what you think about twitter or Carey.

Read up on it here.

Add Carey here.

Heck, it may even make you feel cool. I just made my account two days ago, haven't even posted a single tweet and I already have 28 followers! Man I'm cool!... Tweet. @kmaxtrax

Never a dull moment

2009-10-07T19:03:00.002-05:00

This past weekend was the annual Head of the Ohio regatta up in Pittsburgh, PA. Since it's our home town race, the Duquesne crew team has always used this as our Alumni race as well, and for four of the last five years now I've managed to get up to the race for a reminder of just how painful a 5k race can be in a boat (the exception was last year when the 1/2 IM in New Jersey conflicted with the HOTO, pain was still to be found).

This year's race was looking to be a good one. The day was sunny and fairly warm with highs in the mid-sixties, though the wind was looking like it could pose some issues. After a warm up from the finish up to the start (I already had a couple of large blisters on my feathering hand), we abruptly cooled back off sitting in the chilling wind waiting for our race to start, joking with some other crews (our cox even convinced a bowman from Mercyhurst they'd be disqualified if they didn't get their bow number back on the boat after it fell off and was floating five feet out from the side of the boat. He actually climbed out on the bow to put it back into the number slot on the tip of the bow... I could see the boat breaking underneath him...)

We finally got near the shoot and eventually were heading for the course, the blare of the starting horn and CMU's alumni 8 ramping things up behind us putting us all back in the zone we'd been away from for so long. The next thing you know we hit the remnants of the recent tsunamis and water was crashing over the gunnel's from both sides simultaneously, hitting riggers, oars and anything else that stood in it's way, including Joe's (coxswain) face and open mouth, leaving him spitting and sputtering as we headed down the river.

A few hundred meters in I was thinking to myself how these were by far the worst conditions I'd ever rowed in and I couldn't believe how badly it was going. On the other hand we were walking away from CMU without a problem so we must still have been doing relatively well. Just as Im thinking that I notice a shoe and a shirt float by, just inside the reach of our oars. Then another shoe... Isn't that... Ours??? Teddy's?

Huh, now that's strange, why'd he do that? We going to see him floating by next?

Hundred or so yards further and the water pouring in from behind me filled in the blanks on that one. Teddy's shoe's floated out of the boat, Teddy himself was rowing essentially underwater and the remainder of the boat was quickly joining him. It took a few seconds for everything to happen but soon we were sitting chest deep in the shell floating 6 inches underwater waiting for the officials and rescue boats to load us up and pull the boat back to the boat house. While we were sitting there waiting at least one other boat swamped further down the course and later we heard the remainder of the races were canceled after our Men's Open 8 race.

It was an interesting thing to experience though in retrospect that was the first crew race I (we) ever started that we didn't finish. It hits a lot harder when I thought of it like that. Last year the race was called while the alumni were sitting in the starting area waiting to start so this is two consecutive years with no finish for the alum. What's even worse is we were still walking away from those punks at CMU even with a few hundred extra pounds in our boat, yet they still beat us (with their dead last finish in the race). Ouch... Next year, not only do we finish, but we beat the PANTS off of CMU. You hear that boys? I'm calling you all out!

To bad we swamped so far up river their are no pics of us sinking or sunk... Hopefully soon I'll have some bailing water shots to share. Careful though, I'm warning you now; I'm not wearing a shirt in them.

For all my facebook friends (and associates) out there...

2009-10-07T10:30:00.001-05:00

EMC OPSEC ALERT

Facebook Phishing Scam

Internet imposters are perfecting the technique of impersonating friends on social networking sites like Facebook, with lucrative results The scam involves a notice appearing on the wall of user profiles as a message from a friend, saying “Hey, I got a new Facebook account. I’m going to delete this one, so add my new profile” then with a link that appears to be a link to the new profile. The actual link goes to a URL on view-facebookprofiles.com, a domain registered (and who is protected) on Namecheap and hosted at Softlayer that looks identical to the Facebook login page:

Users fooled into resubmitting their Facebook details on this page then have their Facebook accounts hijacked and all of their contacts receive a similar message, propagating the phishing scam. . Victims are losing thousands of dollars. Emotional e-mail pleas sent by imposters, such as “I’m stuck in London and I’ve been robbed, help me,” have become so effective that the FBI last week issued a warning to consumers about social networking sites.

The scam works because personal e-mail and Facebook messages from friends carry with them an air of legitimacy that other Internet communication does not. The impersonators send the message asking for money or account information from your actual account, your photo appears beside the message.

Here’s how to avoid being a victim,

*Never send money to an individual, even a friend, using Western Union unless you are ready to never see it again. There are no security measures in place to protect those who wire money that way, and there’s no way to recover funds send through Western Union that end up in the wrong hands.

*Don’t believe your e-mail, even if it comes from a friend. Any unexpected greeting cards, solicitations, or offers you receive should be treated with complete skepticism. Before you click, call and ask “Did you send this?”

*It’s a good idea to have two e-mail contact addresses on file with Facebook, so you have a better chance of reclaiming a hijacked account if you become a victim. Criminals who hack accounts usually change the password to lock out the rightful owner. Facebook will use the secondary e-mail in an attempt to determine the real owner of the account.

Facebook has also set up a special page to deal with account hacking.

Careful people.

Office pranks IMG00032.jpg

2009-10-06T08:33:00.000-05:00

It's fun to play jokes on coworkers. This little plastic roach looks plenty realistic in the shadows. Especially in an office already on edge about roaches. Thank you bar 11.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

GamJams Reviews: Arm and Leg Warmers - Hincapie

2009-09-24T08:17:00.003-05:00

Almost 4 years ago I picked up a set of the heavy fleece Hincapie arm and leg warmers. Excellent pieces for sure. While building on my cycling gear collection they provided me with tons of options with my limited gear. These have good soft fleece on the inside, block wind well and are plenty soft on the outside as well. The grippers at the top are the rubberized strip you see on my shorts and worked well for a while. They've since gotten a bit less "grabby" though my arms may just be getting smaller... The leg warmers include a four or five inch zipper at the ankles for easier removal over shoes and what not.

After a small color screw up with Hincapie on the Racing Union team kit order, Hincapie proceeded to send us each a pair of their lighter weight arm warmers, which they printed up in the style of our team kit... SWEET! These are just like the heavier pair just with a lighter shell and fleece lining making them perfect for early fall and later spring riding. Better yet, Hincapie cared enough about the minor flap in the clothing order that they did this for us. A much better business model then Giordana which missed items in our order (including my wind vest) and then is unwilling to do anything about it. From what I can tell they are also very difficult to deal with in general. I have a vote for next year's team kit...

Knee warmers... don't have any. I'm a big fan of knickers which I tend to roll with when it's too warm for the heavy leg warmers but cold enough for knee coverage. Eventually I ought to get a pair, presumably they'll be Hincapie as well.

The custom arm warmers make an appearance at the inaugural DCCX in 2007.

2009-09-24T05:00:00.000-05:00

My heart rate monitor apparently believes I'm super human... or dead.

I've had a Timex Iron Man w/ HR for a few years now, although it's been out of service with a dead chest strap battery for the last year or so. Recently I got a new battery for it and figured I'd start using it for some targeted training. You can set HR zones based on your estimated max HR and then let the watch remind you when you leave that zone. All seems fine and dandy, if it were only so easy.

Today I decided to get in an easy run, the first since my slight muscle strain from Nation's, and set myself up to keep my HR in zone 3 which is 137 to 156 bpm. Generally my normal running puts me in the low to 160's so I'd be going a bit easier then my normal pace. For the first mile it was going alright with me going over occasionally, generally a beat or two per minute. The next thing I know I'm rocking a 215 HR and the darn thing won't shut up. After about a minute of constant beating I gave up on it turned it off and proceeded to finish up my lunch run. Of course that means I ran the rest of my run significantly harder then I planned and my legs are now nice and tired for my ride tonight.

I'm curious as to whether this is just my HR monitor being a piece of junk, or if maybe I should be worried about a heart murmur or something. Maybe of course I really am just a super human with a max of 240 bpm like my monitor is fond of reporting to me but somehow I think that just isn't it. But seriously, is there anything to my fears here or is it really just a piece of &*^@! (horse poop).

The rate, even when seemingly working will jump around quite a bit. Say from 167 to 150 and back and even after telling me I was rolling at 215 for a few minutes, it next said something along the lines of 145. What is this all based on anyway? Beat to beat? The number of beats over the last minute? The last 5?

I guess maybe its time to start thinking a bit more seriously about one of them GPS/HR watches...

A weekend away

2009-09-21T11:30:00.004-05:00

Aimee is already trying to get away from me it seems as much as possible, so just a handful of weeks after she moved in she was gone again, hopping a plane for Nashville (for a friend's wedding of course). A number of months ago Brian and I had decided to spend the weekend out at his uncle's cabin in WV scouting the miles of trails on his property via mountain bike. Unfortunately we decided a bit last minute to skip the trip since his legs/back/lower body are still in perfect working order and my calf cramp turned out to be more of a strained muscle that lasted the whole of last week.

In the interim I'd decided to try my hand at a trail race up in Gunpowder Falls State Park, though once again the calf issues kept me from trying to push it too hard too soon. So, naturally I decided a back country trip to Shenandoah National Park was (finally) in order! After some negotiations with Brian and Jenny, B agreed to join me selecting what we believed to be a beginner friendly overnighter with some nice features for our enjoyment.

Brian laughs in the background while I yell at Cassie to "CALM DOWN! DO NOT FREAK OUT!

Brian notices my not-so-subtle attempt at a sneaky shot.

Saturday morning we loaded the dogs and our packs up in the truck and headed down 211 for the Hazel area of SNP just past mile marker 33 on Skyline. The small lot was nearly full but we got the only spot available, laced up our boots and headed down the trail. Some friendly debate ensued (and if you've spent much time around the two of us together you know that means a long and drawn out serious of "debates"/arguments) and we made our way DOWN HILL (emphasis for Brian... :) for a few miles before some rolling terrain finally a long moderately steep downhill section (quad burner) took us to the low point (topographically speaking) of the hike.

One tunnel like section of trail.

Cassie looking for bears with a handful of leaves changing behind her.

The trails were fantastic with most of the summer's greenery still remaining. There was an early splash of reds and yellows, more notable of course in higher elevation areas that left us with just the smallest taste of the fall foliage to come, wishing we could get back out over the coming weeks to see the leaves in all their glory.

An interesting tree trunk along the way. An obvious favorite of many a woodpecker.

At the base of the quad burner descent we saw a black bear crossing the trail about 30 yards down from us, quickly grabbed the dogs and watched with a little bit of awe as the bear made its way across the stream and up the other bank and out of view. I always hope to see a bear and other wildlife but usually just manage to catch a few deer grazing in the woods. It was cool to see this guy out there, though I'm sure we scared him as he seemed to pick his pace up when he noticed us.

About 5 minutes after that we found a great little campsite (sweet maybe his den in nearby!) by the stream where we set up camp and had a relaxing evening including some excellent pesto I'd found in Aimee's Lip Smackin' Vegetarian Backpackin' cook book. The night was a bit rough for me since after passing out hard while I read for a bit Cassie woke up and continuously moved around and paced for the majority of the remainder of the night.

Brian entertained me with his whistling rendition of Miley Cyrus' latest hit.

The stream and a neighborhood mushroom by our campsite.

Cassie showed the local sticks she means business while B's and my matching tents sit in the background shaking their inanimate heads.

The next day after a calm and leisurely morning and some grounds filled coffee we packed up and got back on the trail. The start of day two was basically a 3/4 mile straight up climb followed by a rolling ridge trail with plenty of up hill to regain all the lost elevation from the day before. There were a number of unexpected vistas along the ridge trail and eventually we came to the popular waterfall and cave trail which was reached by a steep tall stair step trail. The area was pretty and Cassie enjoyed a dip in the falls pool before we made our way back up to the trail.

Cass enjoys a dip in the cool water below the falls.

One of the days unexpected vista's, looking North back towards where we started.

We made our way back (UP HILL) to the parking lot and my truck, with the highlight of our return trip being Kona finding a particularly appealing pile of Bear poo to rub herself in. Our reward for a pleasant and beautiful hike was, of course a stop at the Qdoba near 29 and 66 on the way back.

All in all an awesome trip, though I'm pretty certain the two routes we'd chosen first would have been significantly less effort and climbing despite their longer distances. It's all relative!

I was vary happy to have Brian along for the company and banter and I hope I didn't bug him too much to do it again. The seclusion of backpacking alone, while great just can't beat a (successful) trip with a friend.

DCCX - Get on it! - Updated Pre-Reg Link!

2009-09-20T19:10:00.003-05:00

DCCX, Presented by Family Bike Shop Bikereg.com registration goes live TOMORROW 9/21/09 at 7pm! Race date: October 25th

DCMTB

Family Bike Shop

Bike Reg

Post race blues

2009-09-17T09:55:00.004-05:00

I'm going a little stir crazy this week. That cramp from the swim during the Nation's Tri on Sunday seems to have developed more into a strain, leaving me with a sore calf muscle still 4 days later. Not a real big deal but with visions of my torn hamstring and the resulting bruise after I kept going on it for the first couple of weeks of football training camp keep me from tempting fate too much on this one.

My hopes of running my first trail "race" on Saturday are fast disappearing. Here's hoping this clears up and I can start getting back out there on it.

This is the first injury I've had in a few years and boy is it frustrating!

I've also found I've been abnormally hungry all week. Monday evening I got in an easy ride at Rosie with Alex before the team meeting at Family Bike Shop (title sponsor for the upcoming DCCX by the way! Awesome!). I think Monday in general I didn't get in enough calories in general and come Tuesday I was feeling it. I splurged on crap food a bit on Tuesday which just made me feel crummy and still hungry. I'm trying to get myself back into the groove, but not being able to get out and workout I find myself wanting just eat instead (and junk food no less).

Gam Jams Review - Winter Socks - DeFeat Woolie Boolies

2009-09-17T09:51:00.002-05:00

This one is easy... Defeat, Woolies Boolies (preferably with GamJams on the ankle) any way you slice it.

Nation's Triathlon 2009

2009-09-14T07:57:00.003-05:00

When I signed up for this year's Nation's Triathlon, both Aimee and Brian were planning on racing as well, the first Olympic distance race for each of them. Unfortunately Brian's legs, lower back and possibly sciatic nerve issues sidelined him for most of the year and put any training and racing on indefinite hold. Aimee, dealing with her big move (into my place and further from her job), tonsil removal, work and wedding travel, swine flu and the general stresses of a complicated (to say the least) relationship to a superior in the workplace was left with little time or motivation to train and prepare for the race as well.

While I continued to plan on racing, my motivation for the race was almost nonexistent. Between the Pittsburgh Triathlon and race I didn't manage to get to the pool to swim even once, barely touched my road bike (or my mountain bike for that matter) and only completed two "bricks" in the form of a mountain bike then trail run at Rosaryville last weekend and a few weeks earlier. That said, my expectations were not very high going into race day. My main thoughts were to be sure to take in enough fluid during the bike portion to avoid a repeat of last year on the run, and to beat Mayor Fenty again (last year I beat him by about 5 minutes).

I managed to keep myself well hydrated this year but unfortunately beating the (faster then last year) Mayor just was not in the cards.

The swim went better then expected and at about the half way point I felt like I really settled in to a solid pace. Aside from a kick in the right eye that suctioned my goggle to my eye harder then I ever knew was possible things were going well. At the very last buoy, turning back up river to the exit ramp my calf suddenly cramped up hard and fast and as I spun in the water to try to work it out my hamstrings began to cramp as well. After somewhat successfully working out the worst of the cramping I swam, legs dragging to the ramp and made my way out and over to transition.

T1 and the bike leg were uneventful overall though both very crowded with the race having doubled in size over 2008. Overall I felt strong and was moving well though while I was passing people on the uphill sections, others seemed to be hitting it harder on the downhill sections then I was. Possibly a result of the 10 lbs I've lost over the last month or so, leading to slightly better "climbing" but no real improvement in overall power?

Getting back to transition I heard my family (all of them with Aimee) cheering for me. The transition entrance was jammed with people and I might have been telling people to move and get going the whole way in; praising one rider I'd been back and forth with throughout the ride along the way.

The run started out a little bit rough as the calf muscles were still a bit tight and sore from the cramping. After a slow first mile though I began to feel a bit better and settled into a (probably overly) comfortable pace. With about a mile and a half remaining I picked it up after the 180 degree turn around and just kept trying to motivate myself with the I can run any pace for a mile and half. Coming into the last 2 tenths of a mile I hopped onto the coat tails of a 40+ running a brisk pace. I held there up to the last 100 yards or so where I coasted in to the finish, my family once again calling out their cheers of support from the sides.

In the end I lost about 1 1/2 minutes from last year in both the swim and the bike, but I made up those 3 minutes on the run. My transitions however were each about 1 minute slower then last year, in part probably due to the huge transition area and in part just due to me taking it a bit easier. Final time 2:27:53 compared to last year's 2:25:50 (which it should be said was a fairly different course).

bib number:	1834
age:	26
gender:	M
location:	Greenbelt, MD
overall place:	347 out of 3933
division place:	46 out of 392
gender place:	318 out of 2480
time:	2:27:53
pace:	0:
swim:	29:44
t1:	2:10
bike:	1:08:10
t2:	1:58
run:	45:54
penalty:	0:

Have to say I won't be doing this race next year since it was simply too big for me to really enjoy. Also I was a pretty big fan of the bike and run courses from last year that went around the mall and finished up Penn Ave with the Capital in the background. Apparently the overall displeasure of people with the finish being so far from transition overtook the novelty of the race being really in the Nation's Capital. Otherwise it was once again a well organized and run event with a wonderful atmosphere.

Big thanks to my family and Aimee for getting up early and coming down to see me after a late night watching the nail biter of a game that was USC vs Ohio State, a far cry from last year's romp at the Coliseum.

GamJams Review: Coffee

2009-09-10T04:00:00.000-05:00

I've said before I like the 53x11 coffees I've had. They're a bit pricey for me to use as my daily grinds, but for the special occassion brew they really do the trick!

Generally I stick to my cheap 8 O'Clock variety. I've got a (gasp!) blade grinder and a coffee press (and I don't mind the little bit of sludge or occassional bits of ground coffee that seep through) and that pretty much does the trick. Lately I've been using the Dark Italian Roast to make a super strong cup of coffee; for the really tough days...

I will never be a coffee snob.

What you're missing

2009-09-02T07:46:00.003-05:00

Despite what it looks like, I'm not entirely ignoring my blog (aside from the occasional GJ review). I just haven't had a lot to say myself.

In a new feature on the blog, I've been sharing all kinds of interesting, inspiring and informative articles from a variety of sources. Some things are simply book marks to remind myself of an article I want to read while others are things I found found interesting and thought you might to.

If one of you 5 faithful readers (hi Mom) happen to be lazy like me and use an RSS reader like google reader you can add my shared items feed to your reader. Otherwise go to my blog site and check out "Kevin's Shared Items" on the left hand side near the top. Chances are you'll find something there that interests or inspires you too.

GamJams Review: New Favorite - Montrail Highlander trail shoes

2009-09-02T06:07:00.005-05:00

If you've been reading my occasional posts or tuning in to my training log lately you probably have already noticed this. My new favorite gear is the Montrail Highlanders I picked up off S&C a few months back. Not exactly the cycling specific gear that GamJams would typically feature. However, I'd argue the merits of cross training for cycling by using running (and more specifically trail running) to strengthen a different set of muscles, prepare for cross season and just to get out of the saddle at a time when many cyclists could easily risk burn out after a long season.

So, as I've said before, my new favorite are my new(ish) kicks. Oh and the Woolie Boolie socks to go with them; which I have a feeling may be the best thing to hit my winter cycling since lobster mitts.

GamJams Reviews: Headlights - Light and Motion Stella 200N

2009-08-27T07:26:00.004-05:00

I haven't done one of these for a while since the topics are either something I don't use or something I don't really have experience with or an opinion on. This week I feel like I have a little bit to put out on the table.

For last year's Leesburg Baker's Dozen and 24 Hours of Big Bear I had a pretty horrendous lighting situation (in retrospect). I was using a cheap 10 watt Performance brand light taped to my helmet along with a big clunky NightRider road rat on the handle bars. Neither light was particularly bright or long lasting, adjustability was nonexistent and generally these lights served simply to get me home safely but quite slowly. For general commuting purposes these lights worked just fine, enough light to see and be seen and with both at under $100, relatively affordable.

This year I knew I needed more for the racing since I was likely to be racing quite a bit harder then last season. I ended up getting the Light and Motion Stella 200N a small but powerful little light. The retail price was about $180 so it was more then my other two lights but still way less then a lot of the other big time lights that are available out there. Turned out I made the right choice.

The light output is substantially better then the other two combined and allows me to easily run just the one light on my helmet with plenty of light to see what I need to see. In the future I may pick up another to mount to the handlebars for the dual light setup but for now I never really felt held back with the one. The Stella comes with a helmet mount and a simple clasp closure that makes it easy to throw on with bars with no tools or additional mounting pieces necessary. That also means it'd be easy to switch between the commuter and the mountain bike (or whatever other bike you want it on) without having to move any mounting brackets or anything.

One of the most impressive things about this light is the run time. At the highest output the stated run time is 5 hours! So far I have not ridden through the battery including a few rides of 1-2 hours without a charge in between. So, unless you'll be out for a full night of riding the Stella should be able to light your way with no problems.

My single complaint about this light goes right along with my praises for it. While the mounting clasp is great with it's ease of use and overall accessibility, it can also cause problems in certain situations. Since it essentially uses a rubber strip wrapped around a bar the light can rotate up or down around the bar fairly easily. This was never a problem on it's own, even over the extremely rough terrain at the 24 Hours of Big Bear. Low hanging branches however can cause a serious scare.

I believe it was a night ride at Rosaryville wear I found this out. In one corner of the inner loop there is some overhanging vegetation you generally have to duck under. On one of the MORE night rides The branches caught the light and whipped it straight up and I was suddenly without a light in a near 180 degree turn with who knows what coming up. I made it out of it that time ok but I could see how that could have turned out pretty nasty.

A second bar mount light could probably save me there and with the brightness, longevity and ease of use I get with the Stella I'm more then satisfied with what I've got.

For another enlightening post on "lights" go see Jim's review for today.

Some bits and pieces...

2009-08-26T11:05:00.003-05:00

A couple of random things.

First, I've been struggling a little bit with finding the perfect socks for running in my Montrail Highlander trail shoes. They fit great and feel great all around, except for my right pinkie toe. Any run over about 6 or so miles and my toe starts to get rubbed a bit too much and blister is either formed or rubbed off.

Saturday for my long run, due to all my other decent athletic socks being in the wash I decided to try the supposed winter weight DeFeet Woolie Boolies I bought specifically for winter cycling since my feet get so cold in the winter. Turns out they were by far the best socks I've got for the job! My feet felt awesome after the run and never felt over heated by the heavy wool socks. They weren't even as soggy as I would've expected considering my shoes were soaked through by the end of the run. Just a bit of body glide and these socks and it looks like I've found my magic solution.

Sweet.

Another thing. My training log on Runner's World keeps track of shoes and mileage for me so always know where I stand with my shoes. With my run last night I broke 100 miles on my Montrails which I only just bought in June and really started using more heavily over the last few weeks. In comparison, my Nike's I bought back in August of last year have just over 140 miles on them. My Asics which I bought a bit before the Nike's are around 230 miles but unfortunately are exceptionally close to retirement as they're just about broken down entirely. I've heard this is one problem with Asics shoes; much shorter life spans though they are awesome shoes while they last.

The good, the bad and scummy

2009-08-22T22:27:00.003-05:00

All week I've been eagerly waiting for this weekend to come. I had big plans and with Aimee in Florida through the end of the weekend, I had no commitments to speak of. Perfect for a couple of long days out in the great outdoors. I tossed around the idea of a backpacking trip with Brian, or maybe a fast packing trip, just me and my pup; 20+ miles on Saturday and another 20+ on Sunday with super minimal gear. Could be pretty sweet, if of course I could work the gear right. Then I was thinking long ride, Shaffer and Hoyles Mill and Black Hills and maybe more if I could figure it out for Saturday. Sunday, change it up with a sweet long trail run.

Then it started raining and any and all of those plans went down the tube. Well, almost all.

While I knew any sort of mountain biking was out for the weekend I figured I could try and squeeze in a long run somewhere. I headed up to Patapsco to see what the trails were like with the intention of heading to Columbia to run some errands if they were bad. What I found were surprisingly tacky and solid trails all around.

So, I donned a lumbar (fanny) pack with a water bottle holder, bungees for my rain jacket and pockets for cell phone and gu's and hit the trails with Cass. I stuck to trails I never ride and trails away from heavy run off and river valley areas and saw tons of areas in the park I've never before seen. After tooling around some of the different routes up between Avalon and the 195 park and ride entrance I headed out the paved Grist Mill trail searching for some different trails and different areas. I found a way across the train tracks and made it up eventually to the Hilton area and headed out further from there.

At this point we'd been out running for about an hour and a half to two hours and it was starting to rain. The trails were holding up and the rain barely seemed to be coming through the leaves so I decided to keep going since I was still feeling good. Headed out a few trails that eventually brought me back down to the paved trail (still grist mill maybe?) and a dam where I circled back around on Buzzards Rock Branch Trail. At this point the rain was starting to pick up so remembering a few key things from a park map I'd looked at back at the Hilton area I headed back in the general direction of where we came from, all the while sticking to different trails.

Eventually we made it back down to the parking area at the trail head (middle?) of Soapstone and started on the final stretch, deciding to stick to soapstone since it was about time to be finished. The cloud cover was starting to make it dark in the woods and it was getting late (much later then I realized). Soapstone was beginning to get a bit nasty though it generally is probably one of the first trails to get bad as the water tends to run and puddle on the trail there naturally.

When we finally made it back up to the trail head a bit over 3 hours later I think both Cass and I were ready to be finished, dry and fed. Unfortunately, some scumbag had decided my truck looked money and that there was probably something of value in it. They smashed my passenger side rear window with a rock (which they left me as a souvenir on Cassie's bed along with a wonderful pile of glass and only charged me a wallet! How wonderful a present.

Oddly enough they left my (outdated?) ipod player sitting in my center console where the wallet was as well as my GPS navigation device which had slid out from under the passenger side seat and was sitting in plan view when the passenger side door was opened (which they had done). Strange... apparently these guys were too good for my electronic devices! Though they did take my ipod car charger I think.

BofA had called me while I was running which I guess I'd missed hearing coming from wrapped in a plastic bag in a pocket near my dairy-aire. Apparently they spent some $70 at MacDonalds before attempting to rack up about $1000 at Walmart. Pretty easy to ID the fraudulent purchases there since I REFUSE to eat MacDonalds and haven't been to a Walmart probably since I was at school in Pittsburgh.

This is going to be a fun week. New driver's license, new work ID, NEW REI MEMBER CARD!!!, new smart trip card (which had some $80 still on it), new health insurance cards, (damn it, they stole the cross I kept from when I was young serving at my church as an acolyte! S@#$!), new AAA card, phew, I just took my social security card out of my wallet a little while back..., oh yeah new debit card, new costco card... Let's see. Anything else? I think that's more then enough. I'll be really pissed if they got my Cosi card.

Ok, I'm done. I think I've blown off enough steam for one night. If you made it this far... sorry!

At least the run was great!

We're all gonna die!

2009-08-21T11:00:00.003-05:00

The other day I mentioned my office's pan-flu briefing (you know, where I spread my swine flu germs around?)

Well, this morning while I rinsed my coffee mug in the bathroom sink, the speaker and all around emergency planner guru for our Agency came in and used the facilities. When he came up to wash his hands when he was finished he gave them a 2 second burst of water, dried them off and walked out of the bathroom.

Nice.

This is the same guy who was telling us all on Monday we should sing happy birthday to ourselves while vigorously scrubbing our hand with soap and hot water (for 20 to 30 seconds) everytime we use the facilities to help prevent the upcoming devestation of the pandemic flu!

When it happens I'm totally blaming him.

Dirty swine

2009-08-18T09:11:00.002-05:00

A week and a half ago I went to Florida for my buddy Mike's bachelor party, stretched over 4 nights in Orlando and Tampa. Pretty much went as I'd expected with way too much alcohol and high school antics for my old body to handle so my own celebrations were cut down to only 3 nights. Sunday I spent the entire day in bed listening to brain numbing bass coming from the full time DJ at the Tampa resort we were staying at.

I figured I was just tired and hungover at that point. When I came home Monday with a hgih fever and chills and the tell tale signs of the FLU I realized otherwise. Turns out at least half the group came down with some form of the same thing; Mike told me he was sitting at work drooling on himself while staring blindly at his computer screen. I was fortunate enought o have sick days I could use but my feelings of last week are about the same.

So, back to reality, after a one and half day work work I headed to PA to bring up some stuff to the folks and spend a relaxing weekend. Did a little light rowing and kayaking and very brief hike and otherwise just generally rested. Sunday when I got home I tried to run and did 5.5 miles over at GNP with Cass. I had to walk a few times and definitely ran slower then I can remember running but I'm glad I got out and did it.

I still feel like I have asthma and walking up a flight of stairs still leaves me straining a bit for breathe but every day I'm feeling a little bit better. Yesterday we had a pandemic flu briefing at work so I of course made sure to project my coughing out over the entire auditorium so we can get this ish over with; with a flair of irony.

Tonight I'm hoping to get in an easy dirt ride, maybe at Rosie to see how the lungs are progressing. With Nation's tri only 3 and a half weeks away, I'm likely going to have to resign myself to the base fitness level I'm at with maybe a couple more LT work outs thrown in before I have to cut and run with what I've got.

Fight like Susan

2009-08-06T07:10:00.002-05:00

I only knew her, and him through my enjoyment of the blog, yet this morning after reading this I'm fighting back tears; not for the first time after reading a post by Elden. This one hurts just a little bit more though.

Fight Like Susan.

At least the Nationals have some sort of entertainment value...

2009-08-04T12:54:00.004-05:00

Ok, I admit. Even though I've only been to one Nationals game and I'm still way more a Balitmore O's fan then a Nat's fan (I don't think I could handle that deep of a low without at least some semblance of a history that included some form of winning), I've really enjoyed the occassional news about the President's races at every home game. Poor Teddy...

Pittsburgh on the other hand has the Pierogies. And as we all know, Pittsburgh is known for their win at all costs style of play. (yes, the costs there are beating MY teams!)

So when I saw this, I was both livid and heart broken... Well, and laughing my ass off. What a hit!

There's more to life then sport?

2009-08-03T12:17:00.004-05:00

Between the longer then usual recovery period after the Pittsburgh Tri, (my legs were sore for 4 or 5 days after the race) general never ending house work and the added bonus of having my Father and Bro-In-Law slated to help with that this weekend and prepping for Aimee moving in at the end of the month, my workouts took a major backseat to the rest of life. Friday I managed to squeeze out a quick loop at GNP between work and a date night with Aimee but the remainder of the weekend was full of house work/prep and family time. I'm not complaining about though.

On Saturday my father came by with Brian and they helped bust out the long anticipated molding work for the living/dining room area of my house. I'd been putting this off for way too long so it was great to finally get it going. For the base board we did basic 1 x 6 for a clean and simple look. In checking out a few neighbors' houses lately I'd noticed how nice the crown molding made their downstairs areas look so I was really pumped to get this put up in my place. I'd say it turned out great!

Molding and the new light I installed last week. The place is starting to look like a home.

There is still some painting and sanding to do but the improvement is stunning and undeniable. The area is really finally coming together and starting to look great. A major thanks to Brian and Dad for all their hard work this weekend!

After all the work was done we all headed down to downtown Silver Spring for dinner at Adega. If you've never been I highly suggest it. By far my favorite place (other then Pacers of course) in DT SS.

Gratuitous dog shot.

This morning after a a rough night of sleep (an inability to fall asleep for 3 or 4 hours is never nice) I decided to turn off the alarm, wake up a bit late and get the pup and myself out for another loop at GNP, though this time at a much slower pace. Friday I felt heavy and sluggish from a week of not working out and eating too much though the legs were pretty fresh from the rest. Today the legs were tired and sore (and my pace showed it) and my upper back, shoulders and neck were very noticably tensed up and uncomfortable. It may be time for another serious message before the Nation's tri comes and leaves my muscles all jacked up again in September.

In other news got word today that the pics from the Pittsburgh Tri were ready. Generally a bit dissapointing but in the end we don't do it for the pictures.

Some decent shots of me coming out of the water. I look like I put some work in there. Search for racer 387 for the other 2.

Hot!

2009-08-01T16:19:00.005-05:00

I really only tri for the cool caps...

Sorry Cole, guess I didn't warn you this was likely to go public...

2003 Kona SS Photos

2009-07-29T14:30:00.004-05:00

For my team mate Alex who I posted before is selling his custom built SS Kona. This bike is SWEET! See link for more information.

2009 Pittsburgh Sprint Triathlon - In words

2009-07-29T07:44:00.005-05:00

You all already know I had some decent results Sunday at the Pittsburgh Triathlon, though I'd guess you're thinking I did better then I really did. So no, I did not win the overall race. I came in 6th overall but 1st in my age group, so a podium spot was mine none the less.

On top! (of the age group...)

The race was pretty fun for my first tri of the year and Cole and Teddy's first ever despite swimming in another river that the mere mention of brings cringing and questions of sanity (I really don't think its any worse then the Potomac). Standing on the shore watching the Olympic distance racers was pretty tough for some of the 1st timers out there. The long swim course went up river before turning around and heading back down to rejoin the sprint course and down river further to the water exit. Unfortunately the up river swim did not hug the shore as I would have expected but went right up the middle of the river.

Ever seen one of those swimming treadmills where the water flows and you swim to stay in place? Yeah, it was like that for a few poor souls.

Our start was good though. I got in quickly and got a very brief warm up in before the race started and we were off with the flow. I could tell I hadn't been swimming enough, but I also could tell I could have used a better warm up. Once I got settled in I swam consistently down to the exit. I drifted a bit swimming back across the river to the exit and probably lost some time trying to walk back up the slippery rocky ramp to the official exit area but overall I had a pretty good swim.

Swim:
9:51
31st Overall

Transition was quick and uneventful.

T1:
1:16

The bike was pretty cool, following the same highway I used to drive to get out to my old job at the home depot when I lived there, only in the HOV lanes. Going out was basically a false flat uphill +. I felt pretty good keeping a good cadence but still putting pressure on the pedals, and passing scores of people on the way. I battled a few people along the way, coming out on top of each one, though admittedly at least a few of them were out for the Olympic distance race which was two laps of the course. Coming back in we all were picking up some serious speed and a passing rain cell dumped stinging rain drops on us all as we topped out in the mid to upper 30's. I passed Teddy making a hard pass with a guy right behind me while going close to 40 on the aero bars down hill in the rain. I gave the slightest of a nod at that point.

Bike:
32:46
10th overall

Very quick T2, felt like I was forgetting something and stalled a moment while I decided if I was.

T2:
0:44

The run was up river along the river trail we used to run on for Crew back in the day, almost up to the island and then back. I kept my leg turnover high and just worked to keep my effort high. From the start of the run I could spot the racer ahead of me, a Pro Bikes guy (sponsors of the race) and so I set my sights on a steady catch. After about a mile I caught and passed him and shortly there after saw the leaders heading back in to the finish on the out and back course. I counted four and thought myself in a pretty comfortable position, though far enough back I wasn't catching any of them and I settled into a quick but sustainable pace. At the turn around I realized my previous pass was also being passed by another guy I'd battled on the bike. He was cruising up the path so I picked up my speed to try to hold him off as long as I could. His long gait and smooth running style got the best of me however with probably a mile to go and though I tried to stick him for the final mile he was way too fast. I settled back into my pace and finished strong without a sprint for the line since I was all alone as far back as I could see. I believe I was the 5th finisher but another competitor from the next wave I believe was faster to place me 6th overall.

Run:
21:40
16th overall

Cole and I enjoying the view from the podium!

It was a great feeling coming down into the well stocked lines of fans at the finish along the river, especially being so high up in the finishing order. Hearing everyone cheering just for me as I finished all alone there was pretty cool. I spoke briefly with the guy who passed me on the run and told him he did a great job and went back to watch for Cole and Teddy to follow. Cole came in super strong for 21st overall and Teddy came in a bit later for his first tri finish as well. All things considered here, they both did awesome! Next time Cole's going to be VERY hard to beat and well, if Teddy will actually train a little bit he'll be right there as well. The only thing that would have made this race better would have been a sweep of the podium for us Duquesne Crew boys. There's always next time...

Acknowledging the Duquesne Crew shout out from Pat's father who competed in the relay category. Sweet!

Oh yeah, and Cole at least is all about next time... Another convert.

Pittsburgh Tri

2009-07-27T08:37:00.002-05:00

Me, Teddy and Cole post race.

No words yet here on this but here are some shots for a general idea of how the race went.

Cole and I representing the Duquesne Crew team. Yes, there were a handful of Carnegie Mellon rowing alumni in the race as well. Just like the old days of kicking their butts.

Pittsburgh

2009-07-24T14:16:00.003-05:00

I haven't been back to the burgh since the Head of the Ohio in 2006, missing it last year due to the Jersey Man Half. Considering some of my best friends are here, that time seems even longer to me. Got in yesterday and was greeted by Cole and Teddy at Cole and Teresa's beautiful house in South Hills. Driving in I was taken by how beautiful the entry on 376 is in into the city. I forgot how cool this place is.

Today after a relaxing morning Cole and I took a moderate little maintenance run down along the river with Cass. Got the legs moving and the blood flowing and just got to realize how much I miss it here and miss hangin out with these guys. Tonight we're heading over to Teddy's for dinner and we'll catch up with Webster who coaching the crew team these days. Good times, good people... good stuff.

Looking forward to the race on Sunday morning; I think we're all pretty ready for it, and Cole is saying he's definitely interested in doing more races, including some Xterra races... Sweet...

Back to the (attempted) start

2009-07-23T14:58:00.000-05:00

This coming Sunday, the 26th I'll finally be participating in the Pittsburgh Triathlon. Two years ago I made a big fuss over signing up for the race that year for what would have been my first triathlon. Then, playing bike polo I crashed, hurt my shoulder and fell off my swimming and training in general pretty hard and gave up on that race.

A few years ago a couple of my closest buddies from college and I headed down to Virginia Beach to run the Shamrockfest Marathon. In the same spirit I invited them to try out the Pittsburgh tri with me this year and they were game. Their training got a bit waylaid by life (school, impending ~~doom~~ marriage, work, etc...) and we collectively decided on the new sprint distance.

While for the marathon we intentionally stuck together for the majority of the race, this time we'll be on our own once we hit the water. I'm feeling pretty good on the bike and running right now so I think I should be able to do fairly well. The swim is only 600 meters too so a sprint it truely is. Hopefully my buddies will enjoy the tri as much as I have and will be hooked and joining me for more down the road.

Charactor in question

2009-07-23T06:59:00.003-05:00

Jim put up a really good post yesterday that basically covers what I wanted to say today after stage 18 yesterday. I'm not quite as skeptical of the riders being clean, though once again I'm likely being naive. I prefer to believe things have changed, though still, we're seeing riders fall.

Basically, I've been a fan of Contador since the 2007 Tour when he showed up as an inexperienced young rider who was expected to earn the white jersey of best young rider but basically was not seen as a threat to the overall. It was cool to see him tearing people's legs off (though slightly dampened by his inability to beat Rasmussen, and only winning after Rass was kicked out of the tour) with such a punch.

Last year I was dissapointed when the Astana team was left out and was impressed when Contador went off and won the Giro and theVuelta a Castilla y Leon and Vuelta a Pais Vasco. The total domination of the "secondary" races showed he deserved a shot at the tour and this year I was excited to see him in action again at the Tour.

As I've mentioned before, I've never really expected anyone to beat Alberto in this race but I was excited about the prospect of a possible podium sweep and even better a top 4 or 5 sweep. How incredible a show of domination would that be?

Contador apparently has other plans though and showed the world the huge gapping hole that exists in his character. Chavendish, who early on in the tear and this race was an unstoppable power who had the respect of millions of people seems to have done the same. Thor on the other hand has just added to an already towering reputation and list of accomplishments with his incredible and silent answer to Chav's BS.

I for one hope to see LA and Kloden attack the crap out of the remainder of the race to try and get back on the podium. I know it can't happen but it would sure be nice to see. Lance has also earned a bit of respect in his willingness to obey team orders and ride forTHE TEAM as opposed to his usual high ambitions.

Tradition

2009-07-22T12:27:00.000-05:00

I'd say that in general, I'm pretty fond of tradition. I guess I sort of like the romanticism and comfort associated with it. For me there's a family tradition of puffed pancakes every holiday or our lunch at Taco Bell every Sunday after church (ok not all traditions are actually good ones) or even just that Saturday morning coffee to kick the weekend off right. While I don't necessarily like the high class, hoity toity pageantry often affiliated with our political system (political ceremonies should be an honor TO elected officials not in honor OF them, they are civil servants mind you... I'm getting off topic here aren't I), I generally have a soft spot for tradition.

I think I may have just found myself a new tradition.

Sunday afternoons are always a bit tough, at least that's what I think. I never quite know what to do with my last remaining hours of freedom before heading back into the prison cell they call a cubicle to stare at a computer screen for hours on end. Generally, especially on a weekend as nice as this past I'd be afraid to throw the time away inside somewhere or head out somewhere that'll keep me from getting to bed at a reasonable time, which if that happens then my entire week is screwed when I wake up tired and groggy on Monday morning. (I know, I've gotten old quick!)

The last two Sundays though, I've done things a little bit differently. The days have been generally filled with the Tour and house work leaving me itching to get back outside a bit and for some enjoyable physical activity, as opposed to cleaning, house work, moving stuff etc... So, around 4 or 5 both weekends I headed over the Greenbelt National Park to do some trail running with Cassie.

GNP has in the neighborhood of 9 or 10 miles of marked trails in it with some surprisingly varied terrain, for the location. Throw in the fact that that location is a mere 5 or 10 minutes from my house and it makes for a pretty good little wooded escape when the trail system across the street from my house gets a little old.

Cass and I headed over there the past two Sunday evenings, marking my first two times entering the park for a reason other then racing the Wednesday night Route 1 Velo training races and were pleasantly surprised by what we found. 8 miles later sweaty and happily tired we returned home for a calm and quite dinner and all in all a great end to a weekend.

Unfortunately the satiated feelings didn't quite last for Cass as I came home to a shredded Economist magazine and pepco bill on the floor. Am I just building her endurance and energy levels too much here?!!?!

A sad day for DCMTB

2009-07-21T10:41:00.002-05:00

It appears one of the other new guys for DCMTB will be a short lived teammate. Alex whose a really cool, not mention fast dude is heading back West with the wife to the sunny little town of San Fransisco, California. Aside from some of the best governing and budgeting in the country, I'm not really sure at this point what draws them there but I'm sure they'll be very happy after leaving the coolest team, not to mention coast behind.

So, what does this mean for you? Well aside from not having the opportunity to get your butt whooped by one of the most unassuming and consistent riders I know in the local race scene, it means you might have the opportunity to own the custom built and painted Kona Unit Alex rode to victory in the 3 Man Single Speed class at the 2009 12 Hours of Lodi Farms! How cool is that???

No but seriously, this bike is nice, really nice, and Alex is unloading it for a song at $600 to lighten the load for the move. If you don't know him, Alex is a freak about bike cleanliness and maintenance. This bike has been weel maintained and loved, and Alex's smooth flowing riding style and maybe 160 lb frame mean any abuse this bike has taken has been minimal.

In Alex's words:

I'm throwing the SS up on the block, so if you know anyone that wants a SS for a good price let me know. It's a 26'in bike that's been ridden hard (ie..it's got some scratches and it squeaks in spots), but for $600/obo should be a sweet ride.

Basic breakdown is as follows:

18 in Kona Unit Frame (2003'ish/True Temper Plantinum OX repainted solid white)
Pace Carbon Fork
King hubs laced to Mavic 717 rims
King Cogs (16/19)
White Bros Eno crankset
Thomson stem and post
XTR rear V-brake/Avid mech disc front (have mounts for a xtr v-brake up front as well).

Shoot him a line at apebright at gmail dot com if you're interested and I'll throw up some pictures if I can get them.