Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Nothing to Taper From
Sunday, I wondered aloud how little mileage I could do this week and be happy. The smart Squirrel pointed out that we really hadn't trained hard for this; there was nothing to taper from. So I should just run what I normally would. Monday was an intentional day off. Tuesday, rather than heading anywhere, Rick and I just ran the fields for 4.5. We did see lots of turtles sunning themselves on logs in the river and one king fisher. Today, Rick, on vacation this week, headed to Portland with me when I drove Ryan down to USM. We ran the Back Cove for 5 miles before needing to stop to eat. We didn't have any place in mind. I think we walked a few miles trying to pick a place before settling on Otto's Pizza on Congress. After lunch, more walking, and road-shoe shopping for Rick, we decided to walk around the Back Cove again (more time to kill). We ran into Joedo. We visited a few minutes before letting him get on with his run. We'll be seeing him at VC :D
Monday, September 17, 2012
Scout aBRADi
I didn't realize that Brad was in my name till Ann pointed it out. It just seems right. This weekend, was a very Brad-y one. Saturday we hosted the 2nd tour of the BBU loop. Lots of folks joined us. Andre even drove down from Caribou! The group started off together, but we expected to break into two pace groups. Ian lead the faster group (his calves were a question after the Bruiser, but they held not just for the tour loop, but for a 2nd loop with Emma!) and Scout and Squirrel handled the rest. Emma was in our group till we arrived at the "aid station" at the Brad parking lot. She decided to go ahead and catch the lead group. I love that she could just go with pretty much confidence that she'd reel them in. Yup! She's a badass Trail Monster!
We toured the east side at a decent clip; it is the easy portion of the Big Brads. I was surprised to find some of the fast boys back at the park when we crossed back (mile 7). They'd gotten separated and were unsure of where to go. I told Andy: Up Ski, down Northern loop to the Boundary, then out the Connector. Go catch them. Our group treated it like another aid station stop with port-a-potty breaks and refueling. We were all a little surprised by the humidity of the morning. At least it seemed to be moving out.
When we reached the place where the Connector heads out from the Boundary, we were surprised by the same group of guys (minus Andy). Huh? Well, I guess Andy went faster than them, but knew they had the directions; one or two of them were familiar with the trails. Well. They took the Ski to Northern Loop UP to the Boundary to the Connector adding a little over a mile to their journey, but they'd lost Brian somewhere. We waited a bit. Nathan suggested S&S continue with our group and he'd wait with the guys to lead them when Brian arrived.
At the next aid station (where the course crosses Lawrence Rd), the guys caught back up with us. Brian was still missing, but at least on the mountain. We all headed out together, but the faster boys pulled ahead. Nathan went with them.
I'd seen Theresa at a lot of races, but never really had a chance to talk to her. I loved that she loved the course. How can you not love Brad?! She runs in the Camden hills so was more than prepared for Brad's.
At the Lawrence aid station, the boys were waiting again. I told one of them the way to finish the course. I think he got it down. Back on the mountain, we picked Brian up!!! He'd been running around there the entire time. At the summit, we met Ian and Emma heading out on their 2nd loop. Emma's gonna own the 50!
We were all ready for E&Ls by the time we were done, except maybe George. He was buying goodies to bring home to Ann who was doing her own long run on home turf. I'm gonna try to add some of the pics he took (getting ready for VC) later (just wanna crank this out for now).
Saturday night, the Squirrel messaged. Was I running tomorrow? Just a few lines later, S&S were set to run another 8-10 at Brad on Sunday. Which is exactly what we did :)
Sunday was perfect. The weather was sunny and cool. Group runs are great, but I also like just catching up with the Squirrel. We had things to analyze, plans to make for VC, and puppies to pet. We decided on the BBU loop without the east side; Lunch Break would be decided on when we got there (8ish with it, 10ish without).
We saw an amazingly friendly golden who smiled so big it was almost a snarl, a mellow corgi sunning on the summit, oh!, and a salamander I need to look up. At the summit, it was a fairly easy decision to run Lunch Break. Pretty perfect run.
This may be our salamander. It looked more like the 2nd picture.
We toured the east side at a decent clip; it is the easy portion of the Big Brads. I was surprised to find some of the fast boys back at the park when we crossed back (mile 7). They'd gotten separated and were unsure of where to go. I told Andy: Up Ski, down Northern loop to the Boundary, then out the Connector. Go catch them. Our group treated it like another aid station stop with port-a-potty breaks and refueling. We were all a little surprised by the humidity of the morning. At least it seemed to be moving out.
When we reached the place where the Connector heads out from the Boundary, we were surprised by the same group of guys (minus Andy). Huh? Well, I guess Andy went faster than them, but knew they had the directions; one or two of them were familiar with the trails. Well. They took the Ski to Northern Loop UP to the Boundary to the Connector adding a little over a mile to their journey, but they'd lost Brian somewhere. We waited a bit. Nathan suggested S&S continue with our group and he'd wait with the guys to lead them when Brian arrived.
At the next aid station (where the course crosses Lawrence Rd), the guys caught back up with us. Brian was still missing, but at least on the mountain. We all headed out together, but the faster boys pulled ahead. Nathan went with them.
I'd seen Theresa at a lot of races, but never really had a chance to talk to her. I loved that she loved the course. How can you not love Brad?! She runs in the Camden hills so was more than prepared for Brad's.
At the Lawrence aid station, the boys were waiting again. I told one of them the way to finish the course. I think he got it down. Back on the mountain, we picked Brian up!!! He'd been running around there the entire time. At the summit, we met Ian and Emma heading out on their 2nd loop. Emma's gonna own the 50!
We were all ready for E&Ls by the time we were done, except maybe George. He was buying goodies to bring home to Ann who was doing her own long run on home turf. I'm gonna try to add some of the pics he took (getting ready for VC) later (just wanna crank this out for now).
Saturday night, the Squirrel messaged. Was I running tomorrow? Just a few lines later, S&S were set to run another 8-10 at Brad on Sunday. Which is exactly what we did :)
Sunday was perfect. The weather was sunny and cool. Group runs are great, but I also like just catching up with the Squirrel. We had things to analyze, plans to make for VC, and puppies to pet. We decided on the BBU loop without the east side; Lunch Break would be decided on when we got there (8ish with it, 10ish without).
We saw an amazingly friendly golden who smiled so big it was almost a snarl, a mellow corgi sunning on the summit, oh!, and a salamander I need to look up. At the summit, it was a fairly easy decision to run Lunch Break. Pretty perfect run.
This may be our salamander. It looked more like the 2nd picture.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Mountain Run Has Hills
Thursday I headed to the Brad to meet up with Xar. She remains slightly broken from the Bruiser (an achilles injury), so the plan was for her to mountain bike while I ran (not necessarily together). I wanted to nail down the 3.5ish mile loop needed for the start of the Punisher . I planned to run up the Ski Trail, up Northern Loop to the summit, then down to the school to start the mini-loop.
She decided to run the flattish part of the Northern Loop with me to warmup/evaluate the achilles. We said our goodbyes at the Ski trail. I estimated I'd be an hour. Well, I'd just crested the Ski trail when I realized I needed to ask Xar something. So, I ran back to the parking lot. Luckily she was still there, prepping her bike. OK, now I'd be another hour plus. I told Xar I'd head back to the lot via Terrace.
It was Terrace that I chose to go up this time. It was steeper than the Ski trail, but more direct. At the school, I reset my garmin, noticed how much hotter it was than I expected, and started off on the loop. I went up Lunch Break, picking up down branches and loose rocks as I went. From the summit, I went down the Terrace. At the bottom, given my mileage, I decided it was smart to just go straight to the Boundary. I stayed on the Boundary till the trail back down Lunch Break. The mileage was near perfect back at the start/finish line. Yay!
So, I had another run up Lunch Break. Not having any obstacles as excuses, I decided I needed to run up without stopping. It seemed way easier than the first time up. Made it :) From there, I headed back down Terrace. "Xar?" I caught sight of a green shirt heading down the trail. She'd been up at the top of Lunch Break but thought I might have taken a different route so headed back down. She'd ditched her bike about midway up Terrace.
I told her I wanted to check out the distance up Ski, down Northern Loop, back to Boundary and then I'd head back to the cars. We met back up on the flat return part of Northern Loop. I was pretty hungry and sweaty. I got in 8 miles with plenty of climbs.
We went to E&Ls where, after lots of thinking and rethinking, at the suggestion of Sabina, we shared the Grilled Eggplant and the Pear and Goat Cheese sandwiches. Yum. A good day out.
She decided to run the flattish part of the Northern Loop with me to warmup/evaluate the achilles. We said our goodbyes at the Ski trail. I estimated I'd be an hour. Well, I'd just crested the Ski trail when I realized I needed to ask Xar something. So, I ran back to the parking lot. Luckily she was still there, prepping her bike. OK, now I'd be another hour plus. I told Xar I'd head back to the lot via Terrace.
It was Terrace that I chose to go up this time. It was steeper than the Ski trail, but more direct. At the school, I reset my garmin, noticed how much hotter it was than I expected, and started off on the loop. I went up Lunch Break, picking up down branches and loose rocks as I went. From the summit, I went down the Terrace. At the bottom, given my mileage, I decided it was smart to just go straight to the Boundary. I stayed on the Boundary till the trail back down Lunch Break. The mileage was near perfect back at the start/finish line. Yay!
So, I had another run up Lunch Break. Not having any obstacles as excuses, I decided I needed to run up without stopping. It seemed way easier than the first time up. Made it :) From there, I headed back down Terrace. "Xar?" I caught sight of a green shirt heading down the trail. She'd been up at the top of Lunch Break but thought I might have taken a different route so headed back down. She'd ditched her bike about midway up Terrace.
I told her I wanted to check out the distance up Ski, down Northern Loop, back to Boundary and then I'd head back to the cars. We met back up on the flat return part of Northern Loop. I was pretty hungry and sweaty. I got in 8 miles with plenty of climbs.
We went to E&Ls where, after lots of thinking and rethinking, at the suggestion of Sabina, we shared the Grilled Eggplant and the Pear and Goat Cheese sandwiches. Yum. A good day out.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Night Running
I always think of R.E.M. when I write, hear, see the words "night running"; I wonder how long before I really remember that the song is actually Nightswimming? Any hoo...
Ian, Mindy, and I met with the Pownal Elementary Impact group to nail down details for the Big Brads. I knew Mindy wouldn't have had a chance to run and we'd be so near Brad... I suggested going for a run after the meeting. Of course! You can't run in the park at night so we opted to park at the Lawrence Rd monument and go from there.
It was amazingly dark. Mindy's headlamp didn't do a lot to remedy that. Hopefully, it's just a matter of new batteries, but I think she thinks it never has been very bright. My lamp was good. We decided to try the trails; if she couldn't see well enough, we'd head back to the road. We did pretty well running back up to the Boundary Trail where we turned around and headed back. It was very cool. We know that trail as well as any we run, yet it seemed so unfamiliar. There was a bit less talk than usual just from the necessary focus, but we made sure to be talking loudly we approaching stream/wet areas so that any of the night life would be alerted and move off. We really only heard one animal, perhaps some rodent, telling us we didn't belong.
Back down on Lawrence Rd, we headed off on the road portion of the BBU. The night sky was beautiful with brilliant stars. One noisy, big pickup truck bounced by. On the dirt road, I realized we'd be running by Wiccahenge at night! While there was nothing out of the ordinary, the Big Dipper was unusually large and right above the Henge. Interestingly, the hill didn't even seem like it was there. I'm sure there is a good hill on that road in daylight. We turned back at the power lines. A couple more cars passed us on Lawrence, but that was all. We heard one animal in a tree, but that was all.
At the cars, we found we'd gotten in about 4.5 miles. It was 8:36pm. Pretty good night running.
Ian, Mindy, and I met with the Pownal Elementary Impact group to nail down details for the Big Brads. I knew Mindy wouldn't have had a chance to run and we'd be so near Brad... I suggested going for a run after the meeting. Of course! You can't run in the park at night so we opted to park at the Lawrence Rd monument and go from there.
It was amazingly dark. Mindy's headlamp didn't do a lot to remedy that. Hopefully, it's just a matter of new batteries, but I think she thinks it never has been very bright. My lamp was good. We decided to try the trails; if she couldn't see well enough, we'd head back to the road. We did pretty well running back up to the Boundary Trail where we turned around and headed back. It was very cool. We know that trail as well as any we run, yet it seemed so unfamiliar. There was a bit less talk than usual just from the necessary focus, but we made sure to be talking loudly we approaching stream/wet areas so that any of the night life would be alerted and move off. We really only heard one animal, perhaps some rodent, telling us we didn't belong.
Back down on Lawrence Rd, we headed off on the road portion of the BBU. The night sky was beautiful with brilliant stars. One noisy, big pickup truck bounced by. On the dirt road, I realized we'd be running by Wiccahenge at night! While there was nothing out of the ordinary, the Big Dipper was unusually large and right above the Henge. Interestingly, the hill didn't even seem like it was there. I'm sure there is a good hill on that road in daylight. We turned back at the power lines. A couple more cars passed us on Lawrence, but that was all. We heard one animal in a tree, but that was all.
At the cars, we found we'd gotten in about 4.5 miles. It was 8:36pm. Pretty good night running.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
PBPB
Met up with Mindy and Tim early at the Brad. Tim commented on how nice the weather was. Huh?! It was more like we
needed gills to breathe the air. Still, it's always good to have some
positive vibes going on. Mindy and I were going to time ourselves on the Bruiser minus Island, Bat Cave, and O to see how long to allow before the start of the race; we are running that to make sure the flags and arrows are in place. Zak showed up early, thinking the course marking would get started at 7. When it became clear, that it was more likely at 8, he decided to join us for a few miles. He peeled off when we reached the top of the SnoMo trail to get back for volunteering.
We ran along chatting. Before we knew it, we ran into Ian about to begin marking the new part of the race (had to be put in to avoid the bridge out between the snomo trail and knights woods). We finished our part of the Bruiser then stopped at the cars to refuel. From there, we agreed on the mountain portion of the BBU for the rest of the 18 we wanted for the day.
Tim had been only been on the Connector in winter, but still recognized the trail. That's pretty good. The road portion of the BBU was new to him though. We all agreed it was going to be spectacular dressed in its fall colors. We even took the time to introduce him to Wiccahenge, knowing he'd appreciate it.
By the time we reached the power lines, we were all pretty soggy. My shoes had puddles in them. Yuck! The general consensus was we would skip Lunch Break, run the long way down from the summit and be good with whatever the mileage. We were all extremely hungry, too. I think I almost cried when Mindy reminded me that E&Ls was closed.
As we finished up in the parking lot, getting in right about 17 miles, Ian and Emma were walking back from the park office. Getting ready for the Bruiser takes a lot of time. Ian wasn't even done for the day; he'd have to come back at 2 pm when the park people could help transport the stuff to the aid stations. We said see you tomorrow and headed to Pineland Farms for food. If I didn't know what we were missing at E&Ls, I wouldn't feel at all disappointed by lunch there. It was good. We ran into Julia there. She'd just finished a four hour run there. Yuck! I repeated my Squirrel-given mantra, "I am so done with Pineland!" to myself.
Sunday, Rick and I went to the race early so that S&S could do our pre-race sweep of the course to make sure the overnight storm hadn't left lots of debris on the trails or that the marking hadn't been tampered with.
It was a good run of seven miles (others had done stretches so we didn't have to do all 12 miles of the Bruiser). The air was so much nicer than the day before. We ran easily chatting as we picked up sticks and twigs along the way.
We ran along chatting. Before we knew it, we ran into Ian about to begin marking the new part of the race (had to be put in to avoid the bridge out between the snomo trail and knights woods). We finished our part of the Bruiser then stopped at the cars to refuel. From there, we agreed on the mountain portion of the BBU for the rest of the 18 we wanted for the day.
Tim had been only been on the Connector in winter, but still recognized the trail. That's pretty good. The road portion of the BBU was new to him though. We all agreed it was going to be spectacular dressed in its fall colors. We even took the time to introduce him to Wiccahenge, knowing he'd appreciate it.
By the time we reached the power lines, we were all pretty soggy. My shoes had puddles in them. Yuck! The general consensus was we would skip Lunch Break, run the long way down from the summit and be good with whatever the mileage. We were all extremely hungry, too. I think I almost cried when Mindy reminded me that E&Ls was closed.
As we finished up in the parking lot, getting in right about 17 miles, Ian and Emma were walking back from the park office. Getting ready for the Bruiser takes a lot of time. Ian wasn't even done for the day; he'd have to come back at 2 pm when the park people could help transport the stuff to the aid stations. We said see you tomorrow and headed to Pineland Farms for food. If I didn't know what we were missing at E&Ls, I wouldn't feel at all disappointed by lunch there. It was good. We ran into Julia there. She'd just finished a four hour run there. Yuck! I repeated my Squirrel-given mantra, "I am so done with Pineland!" to myself.
Sunday, Rick and I went to the race early so that S&S could do our pre-race sweep of the course to make sure the overnight storm hadn't left lots of debris on the trails or that the marking hadn't been tampered with.
It was a good run of seven miles (others had done stretches so we didn't have to do all 12 miles of the Bruiser). The air was so much nicer than the day before. We ran easily chatting as we picked up sticks and twigs along the way.
Friday, September 7, 2012
What Do Thorncrag and Brad Have in Common?
Xar and me. Yesterday, I met up with Xar to cover Thorncrag. We ran all the trails once for right about 5 miles. She commented on never having seen a bird at the bird sanctuary. Before the run was over, we saw a pileated woodpecker fairly close up. "Hah!", said the sanctuary. We were both appreciative of the beauty of the place in the midst of Lewiston. Of course, that also makes for drug trade, clandestine meetings, etc.
Today, we headed to Brad to get the Bruiser course marking underway. We flagged Lanzo, Island, Ragan, and Ginn (the outer, not inner portion). I was amazed at how humid it was on a seemingly bright, clear day. I was also amazed at how long it took to mark those miles. By the time we ran it in, we'd covered exactly six miles.
So, the Autumn of Awesomeness is awesome : )
Today, we headed to Brad to get the Bruiser course marking underway. We flagged Lanzo, Island, Ragan, and Ginn (the outer, not inner portion). I was amazed at how humid it was on a seemingly bright, clear day. I was also amazed at how long it took to mark those miles. By the time we ran it in, we'd covered exactly six miles.
So, the Autumn of Awesomeness is awesome : )
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Two in Two
I hit my second sanctuary in two days. I planned to run behind USM in
Gorham. I loved those trails a couple of years ago when I found them
while waiting for Sam in class. Well, after some bad storms and a bout
of logging, the trails are gone. Things are overgrown and brush-piled.
So, I headed to Portland to run at the Fore River Sanctuary. It was a
great run. I wondered all around and got in about 6 miles.
Sanctuary
Tuesday I headed to Thorncrag, knowing that meant hill work; it's just unavoidable there. I always think the same thing when I run there - Why don't I run here more often. I got in a hard workout in just an hour and enjoyed beautiful scenery. I stopped to admire a hawk perched in a tree not to far from one of the trails. I thought he might be a sharp-shinned or cooper's hawk, but he had on pants (Thanks, Squirrel!) and neither of them wear any. He wasn't very big...Any whoo, he was beautiful. I was the one that left. I don't think he thought about me at all.
I am still plotting which route to run for the TWMiH event. There are so many evil choices!
I am still plotting which route to run for the TWMiH event. There are so many evil choices!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Single Track Hold the Roots
Sunday, the Middle Professor had a brilliant idea; TMs should run at Blackstrap Hell then have a cookout. I wasn't up for the full distance, especially since Rick had a scheduled day off and would be hanging out till the cookout part. Oh, and I wouldn't have been able to keep the pace with the long group. Fortunately for me, Mindy, Pete, Tim, and Xar were all of the same 4ish-mile mind. We met up to be back in time for the food.
None of us had ever run there. It was lots of fun. The trails were all single track with very little roots or rocks and a long good climb. I think we were all impressed. We just ran out two miles, then back the same way. We got back just after the TMs that ran long.
After that, there was food, beer, fun conversation, and yummy pumpkin whoopie pies (Yay! Cacky!!!).
None of us had ever run there. It was lots of fun. The trails were all single track with very little roots or rocks and a long good climb. I think we were all impressed. We just ran out two miles, then back the same way. We got back just after the TMs that ran long.
After that, there was food, beer, fun conversation, and yummy pumpkin whoopie pies (Yay! Cacky!!!).
Monday, September 3, 2012
Birthday FatAss Containing the UXB
On a run with Xar, she was musing that she'd like to be able to do the UXB since her schedule didn't allow her to run all the Brad Dirt races. The only day she seemed to have free before the Bruiser was Sept. 1st. Then she mentioned she'd be turning 31 in Septemper; it'd be cool to do a 50k for it, but she didn't think she'd have any time for it. Well, it didn't take us long to figure out to combine the two. So Xar's Birthday Fatass was born. As soon as George and Ann got wind of it, the plans for cake got under way.
However, Xar started questioning whether she wanted to make a big deal of it. Her Cinder Conk schedule was making it hard to get in any training; maybe we should just keep it low key. The unofficial birthday committee took this under advisement and, with a bit of hesitation, decided you don't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need (thanks, Mick) so made it an official FB event. Even though Xar then got her horrible chest chough illness in with her traveling, she embraced the event; she'd do what she could do.
Some last of the year (knock on wood) heat and humidity left just in time. Actually, a bit of the humidity was there for the start, but left steadily during the day.When Rick and I pulled into the parking lot, George, Ann, Mindy, and NJ Dave were already there. They'd already claimed out aid station table for the day, strategically on the path from the mountain to the east side. We oohed at the cake (!) and set up more. Soon Xar pulled in. That completed the group that were starting early to get in the extra four miles over the UXB.
Ann decided she was just gonna do her own thing since she wasn't planning on doing the entire thing; she was going to run with Linda who was arriving after she finished work. George peeled off with her, but planned to join back up with us for the UXB portion. We ran easily chatting as single track allows. I think we got back to the aid table just in time for the official start. OK, maybe slightly late, but pretty close. Here we added Ian, Amy, Michael, Blaine, Nathan, Bob, and Chandra. Kevin (not Pathfinder, in fact, not a TM but a Kevin that does some of our Saturday runs) showed up for a Saturday run and hopped on the UXB train for the Scuffle portion. The tally board shows Jeff's name and some times, but I never saw him. Jeff, were you there?
It wasn't long before the pace groups formed. I fit into the middle group, but ran back to make sure the others knew the course (dammit, I'd forgotten the course maps. I did call Linda who would bring them with her so everyone would have them available for subsequent courses). Chandra had a park map which was better than nothing. I made them repeat the trails several times before heading off to catch back up with the Squirrel, Nathan, Rick, and Kevin. Again, more of the normal chatter. On Ginn East we ran into Ann and George. They were still out from the start, sort of finding their way back. They asked the quickest way back to the start. Hmmm...we were about 1/2 way into the Scuffle. We had them stay with us till Old Tuttle Rd then sent them over and down the Snowmobile Trail to Link.
Back into base camp, we had just over 10 miles down. A little refueling, visiting, and saying bye to Kevin before we started off on the Breaker. Here we picked up Michael, who, recovering from some big events, decided a slower pace group might be nicer for a bit and George, who was back from his wanderings. Rick's knee started being a pain around here, too. By the time we were heading up the Boundary from the back of the park, he'd begun to drop back :( His fitness is back, so it's time for something to break? Hopefully not this time. Michael left for the day after South Ridge. Now our group was down to Squirrel, Scout, TT, and George. While we were refueling, Rick came in from a modified Breaker loop (skipped South Ridge). He was going to ice his knee for a while, then assess; he was a couple of miles short of his 16 mile target.
I needed to change my shirt and slather on some Vaseline; I was chafing pretty badly. Ah, that felt good. I think it was here that we saw Ian heading out on the Bruiser. He alone remained of the fast group. Our group of four headed off to finish the Breaker. When we turned off the Tote onto Northern Loop we came across Xar, Chandra, and Amy wondering if they were still on track. We showed them where they were on the map. Yup, they were doing it. They all looked like they were having fun. We stayed together till our peel off for the Terrace, while they headed for the Switch Back.
Back down at the aid station, we took a little longer to get back out. I'd been eating at least a PBJ section and a cookie or two at each stop. By Nathan Pack was pretty empty so I added some water. I wished I realized how long the Bruiser would take finishing off the 50K. I should have added more. I should have eaten more or grabbed something more for my pack. The Squirrel was contemplating S-Caps. Dave had a supply. Meanwhile, George put his persuasive skills to use; he got Rick back out on the trail to finish off his planned miles. That meant it was just Double S and Double T for our last leg. These miles would have long stretches with no talking at all. It took some pretty hard concentration to manage the trail's rocks and roots at this point. Somewhere along the course, Nathan asked me for an S-Cap. I have been carrying around several that Ian gave me. I say that's all need - to have them. I haven't bonked since :) So he dug one out of my stash that hadn't been crushed. On the Snomo Trail we took a short planned walk. I choked down my Waffle. Hmmm, wished I brought one of the HappyTots; they always go down easy. We started joking about flagging down bikers to send them back to the aid station to tell someone to put food and drink at the start of the O. Actually, I don't know how much I was joking.
Finally, the O. We walked spots only for fear of falling, we walked stretches for fear of missing the trail. I'm not sure how far in we were when we saw George! He decided to cut across to where we were. Yes! The addition brought in more energy. Finally, we arrived at the last rock-clusterf*ck and navigated it successfully!!! Off the O, on the last stretch of Knights Woods, the Squirrel said to just leave her fallen body right there if she tripped, but we all remained upright heading in. Mindy had to ask for fanfare, so we came into some cheering. Yikes! My. Feet. Hurt. Hungry. Thirsty. Done.
Mindy sprawled on the picnic table bench. Amy came in from the East side. She and Xar got separated somewhere on Fox West. Amy found her way in. Xar continued on.
After changing into non-running clothes, putting on lots of Vaseline, and figuring out some food/drinks to take in, I found a pieced of ground to lie on. The Squirrel wasn't far and we plotted what would be necessary to make the post-Virgil party more comfortable. Soon the conversation turned to Xar. She was alone on the end of a 50K on the O trail. She could be in in an infinite O-loop!!! George regretted changing out of his running gear. He was ready to go back out there. Soon, he was ready to go back out there, running shoes back on. He ran backwards on the O, while Rick went out on the Link to check the trails around there.
Then! Xar, with George just behind, finished up her birthday fatass, looking as fresh as she did at the start! No kidding, she was all smiles with no limps or complaints :D We didn't waste too much time before lighting her cool candles on her amazing cake. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Badassness abounds!
I'll get totals of the day out eventually and add some pictures, but, that's it for now.
However, Xar started questioning whether she wanted to make a big deal of it. Her Cinder Conk schedule was making it hard to get in any training; maybe we should just keep it low key. The unofficial birthday committee took this under advisement and, with a bit of hesitation, decided you don't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need (thanks, Mick) so made it an official FB event. Even though Xar then got her horrible chest chough illness in with her traveling, she embraced the event; she'd do what she could do.
Some last of the year (knock on wood) heat and humidity left just in time. Actually, a bit of the humidity was there for the start, but left steadily during the day.When Rick and I pulled into the parking lot, George, Ann, Mindy, and NJ Dave were already there. They'd already claimed out aid station table for the day, strategically on the path from the mountain to the east side. We oohed at the cake (!) and set up more. Soon Xar pulled in. That completed the group that were starting early to get in the extra four miles over the UXB.
Ann decided she was just gonna do her own thing since she wasn't planning on doing the entire thing; she was going to run with Linda who was arriving after she finished work. George peeled off with her, but planned to join back up with us for the UXB portion. We ran easily chatting as single track allows. I think we got back to the aid table just in time for the official start. OK, maybe slightly late, but pretty close. Here we added Ian, Amy, Michael, Blaine, Nathan, Bob, and Chandra. Kevin (not Pathfinder, in fact, not a TM but a Kevin that does some of our Saturday runs) showed up for a Saturday run and hopped on the UXB train for the Scuffle portion. The tally board shows Jeff's name and some times, but I never saw him. Jeff, were you there?
It wasn't long before the pace groups formed. I fit into the middle group, but ran back to make sure the others knew the course (dammit, I'd forgotten the course maps. I did call Linda who would bring them with her so everyone would have them available for subsequent courses). Chandra had a park map which was better than nothing. I made them repeat the trails several times before heading off to catch back up with the Squirrel, Nathan, Rick, and Kevin. Again, more of the normal chatter. On Ginn East we ran into Ann and George. They were still out from the start, sort of finding their way back. They asked the quickest way back to the start. Hmmm...we were about 1/2 way into the Scuffle. We had them stay with us till Old Tuttle Rd then sent them over and down the Snowmobile Trail to Link.
Back into base camp, we had just over 10 miles down. A little refueling, visiting, and saying bye to Kevin before we started off on the Breaker. Here we picked up Michael, who, recovering from some big events, decided a slower pace group might be nicer for a bit and George, who was back from his wanderings. Rick's knee started being a pain around here, too. By the time we were heading up the Boundary from the back of the park, he'd begun to drop back :( His fitness is back, so it's time for something to break? Hopefully not this time. Michael left for the day after South Ridge. Now our group was down to Squirrel, Scout, TT, and George. While we were refueling, Rick came in from a modified Breaker loop (skipped South Ridge). He was going to ice his knee for a while, then assess; he was a couple of miles short of his 16 mile target.
I needed to change my shirt and slather on some Vaseline; I was chafing pretty badly. Ah, that felt good. I think it was here that we saw Ian heading out on the Bruiser. He alone remained of the fast group. Our group of four headed off to finish the Breaker. When we turned off the Tote onto Northern Loop we came across Xar, Chandra, and Amy wondering if they were still on track. We showed them where they were on the map. Yup, they were doing it. They all looked like they were having fun. We stayed together till our peel off for the Terrace, while they headed for the Switch Back.
Back down at the aid station, we took a little longer to get back out. I'd been eating at least a PBJ section and a cookie or two at each stop. By Nathan Pack was pretty empty so I added some water. I wished I realized how long the Bruiser would take finishing off the 50K. I should have added more. I should have eaten more or grabbed something more for my pack. The Squirrel was contemplating S-Caps. Dave had a supply. Meanwhile, George put his persuasive skills to use; he got Rick back out on the trail to finish off his planned miles. That meant it was just Double S and Double T for our last leg. These miles would have long stretches with no talking at all. It took some pretty hard concentration to manage the trail's rocks and roots at this point. Somewhere along the course, Nathan asked me for an S-Cap. I have been carrying around several that Ian gave me. I say that's all need - to have them. I haven't bonked since :) So he dug one out of my stash that hadn't been crushed. On the Snomo Trail we took a short planned walk. I choked down my Waffle. Hmmm, wished I brought one of the HappyTots; they always go down easy. We started joking about flagging down bikers to send them back to the aid station to tell someone to put food and drink at the start of the O. Actually, I don't know how much I was joking.
Finally, the O. We walked spots only for fear of falling, we walked stretches for fear of missing the trail. I'm not sure how far in we were when we saw George! He decided to cut across to where we were. Yes! The addition brought in more energy. Finally, we arrived at the last rock-clusterf*ck and navigated it successfully!!! Off the O, on the last stretch of Knights Woods, the Squirrel said to just leave her fallen body right there if she tripped, but we all remained upright heading in. Mindy had to ask for fanfare, so we came into some cheering. Yikes! My. Feet. Hurt. Hungry. Thirsty. Done.
Mindy sprawled on the picnic table bench. Amy came in from the East side. She and Xar got separated somewhere on Fox West. Amy found her way in. Xar continued on.
After changing into non-running clothes, putting on lots of Vaseline, and figuring out some food/drinks to take in, I found a pieced of ground to lie on. The Squirrel wasn't far and we plotted what would be necessary to make the post-Virgil party more comfortable. Soon the conversation turned to Xar. She was alone on the end of a 50K on the O trail. She could be in in an infinite O-loop!!! George regretted changing out of his running gear. He was ready to go back out there. Soon, he was ready to go back out there, running shoes back on. He ran backwards on the O, while Rick went out on the Link to check the trails around there.
Then! Xar, with George just behind, finished up her birthday fatass, looking as fresh as she did at the start! No kidding, she was all smiles with no limps or complaints :D We didn't waste too much time before lighting her cool candles on her amazing cake. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Badassness abounds!
I'll get totals of the day out eventually and add some pictures, but, that's it for now.
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