A day in the life...

I found this on a great ultra blog I follow and thought it summed up a day in the life of an endurance trail runner nicely. Since I am down with a bit of a chest/throat bug right now and haven't ran since Saturday I find myself obsessing over training strategy and future runs I want to do. It has been brutal focusing on my studies, with the end of the semester nearly upon me I am going to just have to hunker down make it through a couple of presentations, a final, and then it will be a Summer of experiments, data crunching, field work, and running bliss. I can't wait!!! The typical day of an ultra trail runner is truly epic!

Getting to the bottom of this pain in my bottom, and more Leiahdorus

This was a good week for running. I nailed a faster time on the reverse course of Mount Doug, and shaved anther 3 minutes off my best time (54:20). You have to love the spring, where drastic changes in your fitness and times are observable almost every run.

I have had a pain in my butt for over a year now. I have self diagnosed it as Piriformis Syndrome, which is basically when the piriformis muscle is inflamed and clamps down on the sciatic nerve causing all sorts of drama in the butt cheek and down the leg. The usual cause as you read about it, is overuse in challenging terrain. Well since I only run about 50 miles or so a week and only run up and down gnarly-rooty-rocky trails I was able to conclude that my injury is not a result of overuse or strain from running too much in rough terrain. So I turned to the scientific method to actually get to the bottom of this pain in my bottom. Basically I gathered all the observations as to why or when or how my butt hurts to identify the real culprit. Plenty of people run 200 miles a week in much worse terrain than me so clearly it has more to do with my form or biomechanics than the act of trail running alone.

Observations

• It doesn't matter how long I take off from running it always comes back when I start packing on some volume.
• It hurts when I sit for too long on a crappy chair.
• My gluteus isn't very maximus (I mean no padding)
• Speed work on flats makes it worse than hills and distance.
• Often feels better during running sore after.
• Only on my right leg.

Conclusions

The observation I really focussed on was it is only in my right leg. That tells me that there is something going on in my right side that isn't happening on my left. Possible explanations are:

• I am missing a lower right ab muscle due to surgery
• there might be some asymmetry in leg length
• I always carry a fat wallet in my back right pocket

So to me any one of these three observations would explain why my right side is more prone to injury than my left.

I tend to notice in science, if there is multiple explanations for a problem, it usually isn't one or the other but a combination of all the possibilities in different proportions. So to summarize I have a pain in my butt (right side only) because I sit in hard chairs at school and in my office (terrible office chair) all day long with a fat wallet in my right pocket, which crushes my muscle and pinches my sciatic nerve. I also use the toilet with a hard seat more than the average person (a gory side effect of not having a large intestine - T.M.I. - I know!). Lastly I have a missing ab muscle in my right side which makes a generally weaker core on the right side and may be manifested in asymmetry in running particularly on long runs when fatigue sets in. All of these problems place stresses on the piriformis and sciatic nerve, which are then exacerbated by running high volume in challenging terrain but even more so by flat speed work.

Solution

If I was really taking a scientific approach I would try to resolve one issue at a time such as removing the wallet for a month to see the effect this would have and in this way I could pinpoint the exact problem. I don't have the luxury to experiment on my butt pain for the next six months so I am running a preemptive strike against my pain in my butt.

I am first removing my wallet. Next I am trying to walk around more when sitting for long periods of time (I may even start sitting on an exercise ball). I think I need a padded toilet seat, and a new office chair. Lastly I really need to do core work to strengthen my weak core and particularly ab muscle and back. There are some stretches I need to start doing to fix the existing problem. The final step is using as efficient biomechanics as possible focusing on a neutral pelvis and straight back with no hunching or slumping. This should solve the problem.

I dislike that anytime there is any sort of injury on an endurance runner, the go to answer is too much running on too rough of terrain. I can see if I increase mileage in rough terrain by 40-50% in one week, but when I am doing the same mileage that I have been for a while there is usually a different explanation. I find if I try real hard to think and analyze all of my actions and movements throughout the day, not only when running, that often times the cause is more subtle and usually not related to running per se but aggravated by running. I have already put most of these anti-butt pain measures into effect and have noticed a marked difference in my butt pain already, with my wallet being perhaps the biggest factor (nothing to do with running). I think this stresses how important it is that we are able to analyze and listen to our own bodies. Doctors don't know each individuals daily routine and frankly have no choice but to blame running but we can dive deeper and come up with additional explanations.

Yesterday was a long 11 mile easy run (when I say easy I mean effort not necessarily the course or distance since the course I chose was brutal). I wanted to run 13-14 but it got dark on me and I had to bail because I didn't have a light. I made an effort to run easy and go up and down the hills as smoothly as possible. After my usual 7 mile mark I found I had tons of reserves and ran very well the last four miles including my fifth summit of Mount Doug for the night. I really love the 1.5-2 hour runs. I should be logging 3 hour runs right now for my long runs but I am a bit behind due to school. I can't wait to start injecting much longer runs into my week.

Spring is in full bloom on the mountain and I find it super refreshing and motivating to run through cherry blossoms and delicate neon green foliage. I really love the spring. I think that running anywhere in the spring is just about as good as it gets ( I especially love running the deserts in the spring, a green lush desert is just such an oxymoron). It seems that my fitness usually finally starts to come back around about this time of year, as I am ramping up for epic Summer runs.

For this post I decided to throw in a song by Leiahdorus called "Wake". I describe a bit more about this group in a earlier post here. It is just a chill song I really like.

Some speed work, Easy/Lucky/Free, and a PR on the MDGB reverse course

Thursday was supposed to be an easy run. I thought that because it was supposed to be chill I would run the reverse course and enjoy some variability. My legs were still knackered from the previous day's hard run and PR. I tried keeping a strong pace from the start but the legs were already burning. When you run the MD gutbuster in reverse you start out with a steep assault of the southeast face of the mountain. I gave it everything I had and was tasting lung by the top. I realized that my body wanted to try and set a PR on the reverse course even though it was supposed to be a rest day. I am not one for following schedules or regiments but instead prefer to have my routine dictated by my body and my mood. I let my legs start spinning down the steep south face and began to really push my speed.

I have a small side note here in that it amazes me how many people have 3 and 4 large dogs and without fail the dogs have no concept of stepping aside and a good 5 times this week I had to come to a complete stop to get around dog blockages. I am an animal lover and have no issues with dog walkers but it does throw off your flow when you are trying to eke every bit of speed from your body. I realize it is just a part of the experience and I have to not be so selfish with what I term to be "my trails".

After my circumnavigation of several Grey hounds, Labradors and Great Danes I got back in my groove and began a longish climb to the base of little Doug. I hit my stride at this point and really made some tracks. After summiting the little diorite glob, I had a nice downhill stretch to the base of the bedrock buster. The final summit of Doug went smoothly and I couldn't run the full hill but seriously power hiked it. After the last summit I just had another two miles of easy downhill and single track. I finished up with a 57:30 which was almost 4 minutes faster than my first reverse course attempt. I feel my fitness is slowly coming around from my terrible winter due to the issues I had with my syncope. I was super happy with two PR's in two days and every night I was able to sleep peacefully knowing I put everything I had into each run and never sandbagged.

Yesterday my old running partner flew into Victoria after spending two weeks of running in Hawaii. We decided to do a 3 mile speed work drill together and catch up on things since he moved to the Mainland to take over a practice in December. The weather was perfect and we started out a little slow and even though my legs were knackered I really felt my cadence speed up within 5 minutes of running fast. I lead most of the run for 2 and 3/4 miles. Rob mentioned my form has improved drastically since we last ran together in December. That was good to hear that my mental effort and struggles with improving my running form have paid off a little. He kicked it in high gear right at the end, and I was spent, and couldn't quite keep up with him the last quarter mile. I finished 2 seconds behind him. Not bad, considering I had already ran 45 Km up to that point with 6,000 feet of elevation, and I have not done any real speed work in Months. It was fun to talk to rob and it was the first time I had ran with anyone in 3 months. I do miss having someone of similar ability to push me and force me to do speed work and run a little faster. That competition amongst running partners is a powerful tool to improve running ability. He heads back to the mainland and I will be once again a solo performer. I do like solo running though and must admit I prefer it most of the time.

I have had some Bright Eyes on my mind lately. I had a song playing in my head during my reverse course of Mount Doug called "Easy/Lucky/Free". It is a mellow song but has a cool almost surfer treatment with the guitar. I really like another song by the group that has great runability but I will save it for another post when it is playing in my head. I think the title of the song can be used to describe several aspects of running. Running really is easy, you just put one foot in front of the other quickly. It comes naturally and almost always happens within a few days of learning to walk (at least with my kids who only have two speeds, running and sleeping). I like to run easily and keep things very uncomplicated with no set distance or regime. I think that I am lucky that I discovered the fantastic treasure that is endurance trail running. Everyday I feel I accomplished something, I get to see the Pacific Ocean from the Summit of Doug and I get an hour or two with nothing but my thoughts and fresh air. Not only am I healthier but I am happier. Running is indeed a treasure each runner should cherish and find themselves lucky for the discovery. Lastly running is free and makes you free. It costs little, at least the way I do it. Sure you can dump thousands into clothes, shoes and races, but I have one set of shorts and shirt that I wear regardless of weather, and use my shoes until they are falling off my feet, I am too poor to enter races so I make my own events. Nothing is more freeing than pointing yourself toward the forest wall and then exploding into a fast run with nothing in the world but you, the wind in your hair, and the trail. Nothing is as easy, or lucky, or free!

Hard Earned PR!

I have been trying to set a new PR on the Mount Doug course since the 54:18 I set on the 26th of February, and today I finally smashed it at 52:57! I started the run feeling a bit leaden and heavy and had some sore spots in my chronic injured right hamstring and also in both lower legs (the usual aches that come with the consistent increase in trail mileage). This was supposed to be a hard run and I felt some doubt creeping in that I would not even be able to run 57:00 tonight.

I then reflected on an article in the New York Times about Matt Carpenter. Carpenter is very likely the best mountain runner to ever live. He has the highest VO2 max (a gauge to see how well the body processes oxygen) ever measured in a human save one (Carpenter's is 90.2 compared to Lance Armstrong's VO2 max of 81). The guy is a machine and I would like to make a "Titan's of Trailrunning" post dedicated to him in the future when I free up some time. In this article it mentions that Carpenter's training philosophy has always been "to go out hard, and when it starts to hurt, try even harder".

So I took Carpenter's simple advice and got down to business of getting this PR I wanted. The first summit felt forced and wasn't great. I was huffing pretty good and could feel my pulse in my neck and head. After my first summit I noticed my splits were a bit slower than my previous PR from the 26th. I knew I needed to make up some ground. I bailed off the Northwest face of Mount Doug onto the bedrock buster, a steep glacial scoured and exposed rock chute that is perhaps one of the most technical spots of the course (really bad when it is wet). I cruised on this section and made up 22 seconds on the downhill. I next summited the much smaller Little Doug and I was just hating it by the top but I put everything I had into it. Once I summited I realized I had gained another minute putting me spot on to my previous PR splits.

Now I knew that I could get a PR if I really pushed on the last half of the course. I took a deep breath a bailed off the south side of little Doug. I hit the next portion of the course which is a pretty gradual downhill grade for almost a mile. I struggled a bit on this portion of trail and the legs were tired and heavy and the lungs were not doing their job (I have had an upper resp. infection for over two months now). I finished the section of the course spot on with my previous PR's splits. I had one more big summit of the mountain, a final descent, and then a bit of flat sloppy single track to the finish. I kept repeating Carpenter's mantra in my head and when I began hurting I kicked it up a notch. I reached the summit and was a bit light headed but quickly caught my breath and screamed down the final slope. I reached the finish and stopped my watch and did a double take to make sure I had read the 52:57 right. I couldn't believe it, I had struggled for 12 days to even get near my previous PR, but tonight I passed it up by over a minute and a half. I guess Matt Carpenter knows what he's doing when it comes to winning and setting impossible course records on some of the most rugged and highest elevation marathons and ultras in the world.

I had some Frozen Plasma songs in my head tonight. FP is a synth group from Germany and could be considered futuro-pop. The song I am posting is a song called "A Second Of Life". It is kind of a dark and haunting song. Honestly the lyrics and mood of the song had nothing to do with tonight's run it was just in my head. I couldn't find any good videos to post for this song. Several versions had 9 minutes of watching people's digital avatars from some computer game wander around in some nerd environment. Another had clips from some vampire movie, so I ended up choosing this short version with a video of some fog and boardwalks and a forest. It was my best option for this post. Like I said the song has been in my head lately and though I don't expect many people to go nuts over it I think it is a cool song with a haunting vibe.

Easy 7 miler and some 7M3 - Devil Boy

Tonight was an easy run so I did a simple 7 miler at Mount Doug. It has been very cold this week and possibly colder than it has been since early December but that being said it was still 4 C or 45 degrees F. We even saw some snow flakes yesterday though they didn't stick around long. My focus tonight was just to run easy and run light with as little impact as possible and to run at a nice speed where it was easy to keep my breath. I accomplished my goal and was really amazed at how easy it really felt. I hardly broke a sweat or got out of breath even on the uphill. I was tempted to turn up the speed but with many more miles and summits lined up for the week I decided to take it easy like I had planned.

My thoughts were mainly focussed on my studies today and I thought a bit about magma differentiation and the effects of melt composition on element partitioning. Pretty heavy stuff to be focusing on during a run but I find my easy runs allow me to think more about school and other complex subjects that require my full attention. When I am really running hard I only have the brain capacity to tackle the trail and have to completely focus on the run and so other thoughts are pushed aside.

Today I had some old school Seven Mary Three playing in my head. The song that was blaring in the old noggin is called "Devil Boy" and is one of my favorite from their debut album American Standard. I have loved 7M3 since they saw popularity in the mid 90's with "Cumbersome" and "Water's Edge". I think many people stopped listening after the first album but the band has continued to create great music with many albums released since then. They are really a southern grunge band, though that is a bit of a generalization. I love the vocals and guitar riffs. They are still around and making music and playing various venues. I have also included a song from a more recent album called "Last Kiss" to show that they still make great music. Neither video is recorded in great quality but I think they are both still awesome to watch. I like their bearded look it is pretty sweet. "Last Kiss" is a great song and I like the rocky feel of it. I definitely have many fond memories of American Standard and the music of 7M3 has accompanied me throughout most of my adolescence all the way to adulthood. They often were playing as me and my brother slowly drove up many forgotten back roads in the Uintas as we pursued various treasures. For some reason that first album reminds me a lot of our prospecting trips in South Fork, Noblett's Canyon, and the Red Creek areas. Very nostalgic stuff for me. They release MP3's from their site (7MP3's) for free and I grab those whenever I can.

Transitions and The Sun and the Rainfall

I ran well today, felt strong and was motivated a little more than usual. I was able to push myself extremely well, and had it not been for the downpour I found myself in for the duration I very well may have had a personal best. It was perhaps the strongest I have ran uphill all year. So while I was chugging away I couldn't help but think I was approaching some sort of transition with my physical fitness, and as I thought about it more I think I am at a crucial transition in my life.

While thinking about my past, I realized that my physical, mental and spiritual activities have been on two year cycles for most of my life. I find that I tend to have major transitions and shifts in my entire ideals and also new discoveries about myself about every two years. For instance the last two years have been an extremely important phase of my life consisting of me figuring out my body, and settling into a running routine, and discovering why I am running. The two years prior to this current period I was still recovering from surgery and was not well enough physically or mentally to take my running to where I currently am taking it. This period has also been a time where I have adjusted to being a graduate student in a different country and I have laid a strong base for my understanding of the geosciences and grown immensely in my field. I have also made changes to diet, and have significantly changed my attitude and mentality towards life, and eliminated much of the negativity that I had built up over the years from the many challenges I was faced with. So really this last two year period has been a time of discovery and growth where I have found out many truths about myself and what it takes to make me happy. I really have had a great two year phase.

I find myself now nearing a new transition and it feels as if I am at the cusp of something even better with all aspects of my life. I feel that the previous two years were really just laying the ground work to set me up for a new and very strong direction. I feel that if I am able to breakthrough and push myself with my school, running, and family I could really achieve some amazing personal goals and live a healthier more meaningful life. The trick is making the breakthrough. I feel that it is approaching but that there will be a significant amount of work and desire needed to push me over the cusp. I hope that this breakthrough is real and I am not just wishfully thinking. I look forward to what the next two years of my life will bring and all I can say is I know it will be great because I will not accept anything less. I now know why running makes me so happy and what aspects of it I will allow me to obtain the most meaning from the experience, I know where I am heading with my thesis work and I know what needs to be done to contribute meaningful insights into the geoscience community, I know what type of diet works best with my body and leads to the most energy and quality of life, I know where my attitude and spirituality need to be to allow me to find the best balance and joy, and lastly I know what each member of my little family loves and is interested in and I am devoted to helping each pursue whatever it is they are currently interest in. In short if I can stay motivated and focussed on implementing these recent truths and realizations about my self and really apply what I have found I feel I can have an amazing next couple of years. These were my thoughts as I was running tonight. I hope this post doesn't sound too lame, self-righteous or self-promoting but instead that it relates how I was feeling tonight, and portrays my biggest concern that I take action and not sit on this information.

Well tonight saw me running in a full downpour but it was amazing because the southwestern sky opened up to let the setting sun filter in through the forest and there was a juxtaposition of moody clouds and rain with a cheerful spring like sunset. So the next thing that pops in my head is a song by Depeche Mode called "The Sun and the Rainfall". Easily in my top ten. I decided to put in a great remix of the song by Dominatrix and I think it is a great modernization of the classic song by DM. Enjoy!

February in Review and some KOL

February was a great month for my training and was much stronger than January. It still was not as consistent as I would have liked but it seldom is.

Total summits of Mt. Doug = 53

Total Elevation = 22,500 feet

Total Mileage = 135 miles

I wanted to finish February with over 60 summits but it didn't happen due to some schooling conflicts, late nights, and long weekends in the books. I am definitely going to improve on this consistency this upcoming month and keep pushing. I would love to break 100 summits this month but that is over 4 a day and I don't know if my legs can handle it. With only 11 weeks until I hit Utah, and I start bagging 2-5,ooo foot prominence runs at high elevation, I am going to need way more training in these few short months. I am a bit worried about transitioning from sea level to 5-12,000 feet as well. From what I read the first few days will be alright but after a week or so at higher elevation I will breakdown a bit. Should be a good experiment to help prepare me in the event that I run a 100 miler in the mountains while I am training at sea level.

Thursday saw one of my fastest Mount Douglas Gutbuster training runs with me coming in at a smidgen over 54 minutes. The run started fast and I felt good and so I went with it and really pushed myself the whole time. I really flew on the downhills making serious tracks and shaving most of the time off the descents.

Saturday saw one of my slowest runs of the Gutbuster course. I have never ran the course in reverse, surprisingly, and decided to give it a go. Since Mount Doug is a glacier feature known as a "Roche Moutennee" it is an asymmetric mound with a gentler slope facing the north or the direction of ice advance and has a very steep south slope where the glacier plucked rocks from the lee side forming steep ledges like the image below.

The typical route summits the mountain on the North side of Doug first, then the north side of Little Doug second, and the third summit is up the steep south slope. When you run the course in reverse you summit the steep south slopes twice and the third summit is up a gnarly steep side of the mountain known as the bedrock buster. This reverse course was a real butt kicker and I saw one of my slowest course times at over 61 minutes. I did have a bad day and was running with a stomach full of less than tasty lunch that was definitely not rocket fuel. You gotta have the rough runs to appreciate the good ones. I think I will start incorporating more of the reverse runs because of the nasty steepness, it is a nice variation on an already technical course.

I had so many songs playing in my head this past week as I plugged away at my training runs that I really struggled with picking one to showcase for this post. There were three in particular that were excellent and I decided to go with some older Kings of Leon. I really like the earlier albums from KOL and find all of their stuff great. There appears to be quite a group of people who think they sold out with their new album but I don't see it. I see a band that evolved to a slightly different sound and then saw a wave of success in the states that hadn't always been there. I like their new stuff almost as much. I think this song "King of the Rodeo" is a classic. For some reason these guys kind of remind me a tad of CCR or Seven Mary Three though all three are quite different it just has the same southern feel to it. Enjoy!

Running, Exams, and Taking a Spill

Last weekend was the worst. I slept 4 hours in three days and basically studied for my thermodynamics in igneous petrology exam the whole time. I did a few experiments as well which means heading to my lab at 2 in the morning to pour out melted rocks etc. So suffice it to say I didn't run for three days. I took the exam and I didn't do as well as I liked which brings me to my thoughts while running today.

I was cruising on the trails and was still a bit tired from the weekend cram session. The blood began pumping and I began to settle into my running groove. At that point in my run I began to think about the exam I took the previous day. Suddenly each and every question become clear and the answers came flooding into my mind. Unfortunately many of the answers that came to me while running were not the ones I put down on the exam. So my epiphany was that I need to devise a way to take exams while running. I think I would do much better on any exam if I could take it while running. The blood is flowing, the scenery is inspiring and the stress is not there (perhaps I could just dictate the answers and process for coming up with them into a digital recorder and send it to the prof). Another interesting point is that the answers didn't come to me in the time after the exam and waited to become apparent until I ran today. Even though I had been out of the exam for 24 hours the answers still weren't there until tonights run. Perhaps for the final I will go for a two hour run before the exam rather than flip through my notes for the hundredth time. I think I will do that and do better for the final.

My run tonight wasn't the best to be honest. The stress from the exam, (bad diet from sneaking some comfort food to keep me company during the sleepless nights including root beer) and my sleep schedule is still a bit wacky, which may be the main reason tonight's run lacked a bounce in my step. I was almost three minutes slower on my 7 mile run than Thursday's run of the same course. I was cruising down a fast section of trail when I stubbed the right toe on a root and it was so unexpected that I ate it hard. Luckily I had on mountain bike gloves because I landed on my palms hard. Next I rolled hard onto my left arm which would have destroyed my i-pod had I wore it today. I barrel rolled several more times before my momentum ran out and I made it to my feet. Instantly my lazy brain tried to get me to just head back to the car and call it a day. I fought the urge to quit and made my final summit and descent. I am glad I finished instead of let the fall beat me psychologically. I don't fall often but when I do they are always bad, unexpected, and abrupt. I know where that root is now and will never forget it.

I had the Bonus Track "Imperial" from Rupesh Cartel's new album "Anchor Baby" in my head. Rupesh is a synth group from Stockholm and have been one of my favorites from the genre since 2005. Perhaps because I am Swedish I tend to gravitate toward groups from Sweden like The Knife, Rupesh, Code 64, Elegant Machinery, Michigan and many more. I wonder if there is something in my genetic code that predisposed me to like Swedish Electronic music, probably not. The song is good and was in my mind when I wasn't obssesing over my exam.

Golden Hinde and Wheeler Peak

I thought I would post a few more running destinations I am interested in pursuing in the next few years.

Wheeler Peak

Wheeler Peak

Location: Eastern Nevada

Elevation: 13,063

Prominence: 7,563

Distance: Depends on how I decide to attack it but relatively short.

I decided to put Wheeler on for several reasons. First it is truly a remote mountain with the nearest town being Delta Utah. Secondly this is a monster at over 13,000 feet and number 12on the contiguous 48 states ultra prominence list at over 7,500 of prominence, and lastly another mountain oasis in the desert with terrain ranging from desolate to alpine. I think this hulk of rock is very runnable and also appeals to me just because of it's size and aesthetic. I would love to hammer this mountain in the late Fall or early Summer. You actually run through a bristlecone pine forest, some of the oldest trees alive, many over 2000 years old including the felled Prometheus a nearly 5000 year old tree cut down for research in 1962.

The Golden Hinde

Location: Strathcona Park Vancouver Island

Elevation: 7,211

Prominence: Not sure perhaps 3-4000

Distance: Once again no clear numbers on this but I assume 20-30 km one way and 40-60 km round trip

I think that this is one of my immediate goals and I hope to run the summit in the next Summer or two. The Golden Hinde is the Vancouver Island high point named for Sir Francis Drakes ship that sailed along the coast of the island in 1579. The biggest challenge with this run is the distance to the mountain (usually 2-4 days of hiking) and then the class 4 routes that must be taken to make the summit. Class 4 is un-runnable and I will be forced to climb a chute to the top like everyone else. After 6-7 hours of straight running this may prove challenging and dangerous. My goal is to do the whole trip in 20 hours from trail head back. I think it is achievable and I am not sure of the current speed record but I bet that it is more than 24 hours round trip from the trail head. I would need to hike this first before I run it and learn the convoluted paths just to get to the base. Once I checked it out I could try to run it. This would be ridiculous to attempt in less than a day but I think it is doable if it was well planned with some form of support most likely friends camping out along the way for a sort of aid station and maybe even another friend on the class 4 approach ready to lend a hand and a helmet for the final approach. It is said there is so much up and down just to get to the base that you easily cover 7,000 feet just to get to the base. I would love to summit it though.

I have a midterm on Monday so I will most likely not do much running this weekend but may squeeze in an hour or two depending on my studies. I had a super fast Mount Doug Gutbuster route time of 56 minutes which would be good enough for about 25th out of 60 runners. The winners are usually in the low 40's. I wasn't even racing and so I think I could get a sub 50 now. I will definitely race that course this year.

13 Miles and 4,000 feet in the Gowland Tod Range

Yesterday I decided to do a training run on the Half Monty course in the Gowland Tod range. You couldn't ask for better weather with temps in the low 50's, bright sun, and light breeze, conditions were perfect to run the 25 Km's from McKenzie Bight to Caleb Pike and back.

I grabbed a 16oz water bottle after filling up on my new love; corn tortillas filled with avocado, grilled onions and peppers, tomatoes, and black beans with some lime and cilantro (rocket fuel). I quickly drove to the McKenzie Bight access and set off on my lone 25km journey along the east ridge of the Saanich Inlet. My legs felt great and I had tons of energy which I quickly utilized to run to the top of the first major climb. It is about a 3 km climb of nearly 1500 feet. The climb is gradual and just about perfect for taking small light steps on your toes. Within about 20 minutes I found myself at the Squally Beach overlook, a beautiful spot with views from Saltspring Island to the north and Mount Finlayson to the south. My legs felt great and were spinning up the trails with little effort. My breathing was smooth and controlled and I could tell it was going to be a great run.

The next 5 km of trail snakes its way up another 800 feet or so and weave in and out of cool refrigerated canyons. The final push to the top of Joselyn Peak was smooth, I even passed one of my students that I got into running. He was so focussed on his run, and his music was so loud, that I don't think he realized it was me as he zipped past in the opposite direction. His form was great and he was really moving. I suggested he become a trail runner almost a year ago. I could tell he would take to it and I thought it would definitely be a better addiction then his current love of that cleverly named poison we all know as "energy drinks". It was great and inspiring to see someone I influenced, running 10 km away from anywhere, zoned out, and floating along the trails weightlessly.

I hammered up Joselyn and started my run towards Holmes Peak. I had never ran beyond that point before and so I got confused and took a trail that lead me on a side ridge and I set off in the wrong direction. When you are flying down a steep hill sometimes several Km's can scream by before you realize your error. I should have realized the mistake when the trail began to fade away and large portions were submerged. I popped out on a road and located myself on the folded map I keep in my pocket along with my emergency T.P. I talked to some hikers and found where I went wrong. I had to run up the 500-700 feet I just ran down to pickup the the main ridge. I now lost 30 minutes of time that should have been spent heading toward Caleb's Pike. I gave it one final push but with the sun dipping low on the horizon and 11 Km of tricky trail running left I had to opt out of the full 25 Km and settle for 21 (I will nail the 25 next time).

I turned around and ran the correct trail back up the ridge heading back towards McKenzie Bight and as I was approaching Joselyn again I felt a terrible pain on one of my tendons or bones on the bridge of my left foot. That was the first time I ever had an injury there. Each step began to be quite painful. I gritted my teeth and found a pace and stride that minimized the pain. I ran out of water at this point but with only a few more km's of rolling trails along the ridge I would be entering my final descent in a few minutes. It was now getting cool as the sun finally faded below the ridge. I tightened my shoes and decided to just power my way to the car. I leaned back and let my legs spin under me and gravity did the rest. Within a matter of minutes I was off the ridge and to the main bridge. The last Km or two was good and I felt strong other than the foot. I really could have ran another 10 km if I had more time and my foot wasn't killing.

I saw my car a little over two hours after setting out on my lone attempt at the Half Monty. I was super happy with the first half of my run up to the point where I took a wrong turn. I ran strong and powered up the hills effortlessly and never had to stop at all. Just 3 weeks earlier my run was more power hiking than running. All my hard work on Mount Doug and my hill repeats are paying big dividends. I can't wait to run peaks in Utah and I am so motivated to whip this wimpy body of mine into mountain running shape. I can't wait to be on the summit of my first major peak run this Spring! My foot killed for all of the drive home and I expected to see swelling and bruising when I took off my shoe but there was absolutely no sign of injury. I iced and popped some ibuprofen and within a couple of hours my foot felt great. I have no idea what the problem was and I still can make it hurt if I apply the right pressure to it so I am taking today off to make sure it is OK and will start running again tomorrow.

Anyone who knows me well knows I am a sucker for good Synth music. Most of the synthpop faded with the 80's and though Depeche Mode has hung around the majority of bands that saw popularity in the 80's are long gone. There has been a small group of artists that have continued to make this genre of music even though there is little money and a small following. I like that these artists are still making it for the love of the music and it seems a little more pure because it isn't influenced by labels etc and is generally underground. Fans of this music are scarce but I think it is a great genre and very runnable with endless sounds and directions each band takes their sound. While running yesterday I had a song called "Forget" by B! Machine in my head. It is a cool song with simple electronics and baseline and the vocals are really unique. I have loved the song since 2005 and it still gets plenty of play. I have been on a B! Machine kick lately (all though just a short one a lot of his stuff is a little melancholy) and that is why it was in my head, it really had nothing to do with my run or thoughts during the run it was just playing in my mind as I hammered out the 20 K. It might be a bit out there for most people but I dig it. Enjoy!