Moab and Arches NP Photo Blog

The following pictures were taken during the two days I spent exploring a very small portion of Utah near Moab. They are from Hal Canyon along the Colorado River and inside Arches National Park. Several small but intense storms moved across the valley and canyon, creating some incredible color variations. It was a mostly sunny and hot day at Arches, but I got out early to take advantage of the soft colors created by the morning sun.

 The internet is moving quite slowly here in Leadville, so I will have to upload more later. There are many more! Double click on them to blow them up!

From the Hal Canyon area east of Arches NP and Moab.

From Arches NP. The rock formations have white man names, I don't care about that.

Opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Checking Out the Hardrock 100

I was fortunate enough to find myself back in the San Juans July 8-10. The purpose of my visit was to check out the incredibly difficult Hardrock 100 and, originally, to pace a guy who hoped to be among the elite of the race. However, just after I finished loading the RAV I received word from the runner that he had not gotten on his flight from Seattle due to issues with his wife's pregnancy.

The vehicle was ready to go, except for the cooler, so I got a good night of sleep before heading out on Thursday morning. Thursday evening I followed a custom of eating at a microbrewery. This time it was the eleven-month-old Colorado Mountain Brewery. The meal and beer were good, but a bit pricey.

After taking CO 24 west through the front range, I camped near Buena Vista. On Friday morning I ran for an hour, getting in over 3K vertical. The legs felt great going up and down. The one-hour ride that followed was made incredibly difficult by 40-50 mph crossing headwinds as I ascended the Arkansas valley for 12 miles. The return, of course, was fanflyingtastic!! Thanks to that same wind, several miles on the moderate downslope were clocked at just over a minute! 1:08, 1:07, 1:09, 1:13 - that IS flying folks. Big fun, except for the fact that the side gusts sometimes moved me 8-10 feet and, thus, into the lane of traffic.

Then it was on to Ouray where the Hardrock 56 mile aid station was located. That was where I was supposed to start my pacing duties with Miles. Once there, I put my name in with the station manager. She told me that a French runner named Daniel would be needing a pacer. I told her that I only wanted to go one or two aid stations. This would give me up to sixteen miles and 9K feet of vertical gain/loss. She requested that I go farther, but I told her about the SR50. Then I walked and waited for the runners to arrive.

When they did come, another Frenchman was leading. Julien Chorier led from start to finish, beating a host of very talented US mountain runners. Daniel Levy was in fifth place. When I approached him I was ready to pace him. So was another pacer. And he was willing to pace Daniel all the way to the finish. So he got the nod. I waited.

More than three hours passed after Julien came through before Mike Mason of NC came through in 14th place. Only a few of the leading runners looked strong with 44 miles to go.  Most, including Carl Meltzer, did not look good at all. The sun had set when Mike came through, but he had just passed more than a dozen people. I had been asked by a crew member and pacer to pace Mike to Telluride.

I went back to the RAV with an understanding that Mike would come through at 10 o'clock. He came through 33 minutes earlier and I missed him. So, I missed to opportunities to pace.

Thank goodness! Daniel overcame early GI issues and dropped the hammer. He actually put his talented pacer, Clark Fox, in difficulty a few times when he was feeling good. And the next day, it was Clark who was gimping around while Daniel strolled as if he had not even participated in one of the toughest races on Earth. Amazing! Hung out with the two on Saturday evening, driving Clark to Ouray to get his truck before sharing dinner with him and Daniel - on Daniel's dime.

We had a long conversation during and after the meal. Daniel was impressed with our freedoms and our lands. He was shocked by our over-consumption. And, from the moment he landed in Denver, he was appalled by our, in his word, "size." Daniel did admit that French youth are also becoming obese at an alarming rate. It seems US fast (fat) foods are on the increase in that nation.

I was excited to see Diana Finkel again. She was as humble as when I first met her on Handies Peak, even after winning the women's race and finishing in 5th place overall. She had dueled with Daniel throughout the second half of the race.

What fierce competitors they both Daniel and Diana were! And they both so kind to me and everyone who interacted with them. Daniel repeated many times that he could not have finished his run without Clark's aid. He must have thanked Clark fifty times.

At the award ceremony on Sunday morning it was the race director who was brought to tears when presenting Diana with her award. The crowd of several hundred echoed his response by giving her a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. Diana, with the mike in hand, told how the aid station director grabbed her and asked, "Have you PEED?" Diana assured her that she had. She also added that she had to pee while she was on stage. Many tears flowed. (Recall from an earlier post that she nearly died and spent many hours on dialysis after suffering from rhabdomyolsis, kidney failure, following the 2010 HR100.)

Two runners who I met on my previous visit to the area also faired quite well. Dakota Jones, aka Young Money, finished second overall. Matt Hart, who had hooked me up with Miles, finished 14th. These two are just two more of the outstanding people I met on this journey west.

I also met and had long conversations with several other people while waiting out the race. Some of them, I believe, will be long-term friends. The ultra community is an uncommonly friendly group that I am proud to be a part of  - for that part of the year that I am lucky enough to participate.

I must also add that Chris Gerber, an old friend from Evansville who now lives in the Denver area, finished 22nd in this crazy hard race. What a stud!! He complained about going out too hard, but his rock-steady pacing allowed him to finish in 36 hours 55 minutes. Can you even imagine putting your feet down millions of times on near vertical ground for a day and a half - nonstop! Amazing! It was great to talk to Chris and his family, including his younger brother, Andy.

The HR100 is an unbelievable test of endurance and willpower. Several people asked me if I would try it. We'll see . . .

Some pics from the 2011 HR100.

Julien Chorier at Ouray

Nick Clark at Ouray

Dakota at Ouray

Dakota sitting for a "meal"

SJS50 Champ Joe being aided by the healing Anton

Karl Melter loading up

Julien Chorier closing fast and far too fresh!

Julien Chorier winning the HR100 by almost two hours!

Dakota Jones approaching the finish

Daniel Levy (l) and Clark Fox finish hand in hand.

Diana Finkel winning the 2011 HR100

Recovering From the Effort

This is a story of effort and recovery. It is one version of a story that is constantly repeated by endurance athletes. It is a story that we all want to have a happy ending.

I have not made a secret of the fact that I am an insomniac who sleeps less than three hours per night for five to ten nights before finally collapsing into a death sleep for a night. While this would seem likely to hinder my recovery from training and racing efforts, I don't seem to take longer than most people I talk to.

It has been two weeks and two hours since I finished the San Juan Solstice 50. That tough course, despite my efforts to stay within my personal limits, caused some serious damage to my legs. Well, the four 14ers I summited in the next five days might have contributed to that damage. A little.

My legs were certainly tired and tight and sore after the run. But those climbs seemed to loosen my legs and back a lot. With each day of climbing I felt stronger. In fact, the last climb of Redcloud and Sunshine came extremely easy to me. That was last Thursday.

Perhaps it was the overall fatigue from the daily efforts. Or, maybe, it was a result of my love of and comfort in those mountains. Regardless, I slept for seven to twelve hours for five nights in a row.

That all changed on Thursday night when the normal me reappeared. I barely slept at all for two nights before struggling through what should have been an easy desert run in White Rock, NM. The legs were tight and extremely lethargic. Not even the 6-7 foot rattler I nearly stepped on put any pep in my stride.

Back in Indiana this past Tuesday I set out on what I have deemed "the adjustment run." This is the run in which my legs have to relearn how to operate smoothly on relatively flat asphalt. Surprisingly, the pace was normalized within a mile. This encouraged me to test them with a little pace work. The relaxed effort allowed me to run a negative split 4800 meters in 16:30. Wow. That was unexpected. The ten-mile 25-minute bike ride which followed immediately after that 31-minute five mile run was an even bigger surprise. To say I was excited to have my legs back would be an understatement.

Two hours later I was certain that someone had locked a large vise on each leg. The pain! The suffering! The rigor mortise. That one hour of moderate effort had caused my legs to feel like they had the day after the SJS50. Note - Recovery not complete!

For two nights I stayed in bed for nine hours. The pain in my legs kept me from sleeping the first night, but I laid down and woke up nine hours later the second night. Sweet!

What followed in the early morning heat and humidity was a labored hilly ten mile run that I ran at a slower pace than normal. Then came an icing and a massage. The planned bike ride was postponed that evening due the visit of a relative. Thanks, Maurice!

The next morning I saddled up with hesitation and, honestly, a lot of fear. The SJS50 recovery was dragging on too long. And I had not been able to sleep on Thursday night. I fumbled around for almost an hour mulling over the planned ride. I feared possible outcomes like a big bonk, more of the intense pain, a prolonged recovery, or an injury.

With each passing mile my legs felt the same despite the suffocating heat and humidity and the hilly course. It wasn't like I was pushing hard on the pedals. I was, in fact, trying not to. Yet, Kristy and I kept turning in quick miles while I remained comfortable. Near the top of the Saints loop (catholic churches found on hilltops) I felt good enough to add five miles.

When I reached home I had completed my longest and hilliest ride of the year which was, sadly, only 34 miles. The average speed was over 22 mph. Best of all, the legs felt great all day. Boy, was I glad to have gone forward with that ride!

Today I awoke to another ozone alert and miserable conditions. Into the woods I ran for a very hilly 1:35 half marathon effort. That was followed by a shower to remove the mud and a 35 mile (21 mph) ride over a course almost identical to the one I rode yesterday. Longtime followers of this blog know I call this type of long brick training BS - Big Saturday. Sitting here now, my legs do not feel like I completed a BS today. That qualifies this BS as great BS.

The legs are back. This is especially exciting as I prepare to drive back to Silverton on Wednesday/Thursday to do some pacing in the Hardrock 100. That will be followed by a week of high altitude R&R before the SR50.

I recently came across a relevant quote. John Wayne once said, "Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway." That icon's words caused me to ride yesterday, despite my fear of dragging out my  SJS50 recovery. I recalled the same quote and posted it on FB moments before I saddled up with tired legs again this morning.

When I first read the quote I applied it to troops going into battle, but today I realized that it could easily be applied to less noble actions fittingly when those actions resulted in personal growth. Like when I threw caution to the wind at the ITU Duathlon World Champs two years ago when I rode as hard as I could in a driving rain storm to earn a silver medal. Or when I lined up for the SJS50 hoping that I would finish and do so without injury despite the fact that I had only run five hundred miles this year. Or any time I deny my fear of heights while climbing rock faces in the mountains.

When can you apply it to your life.

Saddle up!