Running the Badlands

The trip west began on Saturday morning. I stopped over in Historic Weston, MO at the Weston Brewery and Pirtle Winery. What a super unique treat! The brewery was housed above O'Malley's Pub, which was a series of underground cellars. I endured the mildew long enough to shoot a few photos and to meet one the the bands. The guitarist I spoke to claimed the band played Amish Folk music. This, of course, would go over well in an Irish Pub.

My arrival in Badlands National Park yesterday coincided with the forceful intrusion of a northwest wind. This unique landscape had been immersed in a sea of summer-hot air for days, but now it is being scathed by a loud, forceful, and fast-moving cooler air mass.

That wind limited my abilities to make a mighty fine mocha, but it did not stop me from exploring the area. I drove south to the Pine Ridge Reservation where I spent a couple of hours talking to Oglala Sioux. We spoke passionately about the atrocities of the US government, yesteryear and today, that have reeked havoc on proud Sioux Nation, leaving it with an unprecedented level of alcoholism and abject poverty. I visited Wounded Knee and the mass burial site of the 1890 massacre that basically ended the free reign of the plains Indians. If you have not yet read Dee Brown's book, I highly recommend the book that is believed to be the first unbiased account of the Indian Wars of the 1800's.

This post is being written at the spacious and welcoming Alternative Fuel Coffee House, which I came to after finishing off a tasty buffalo burger at the historic Firehouse Brewery next door.
Next, I am off to spend the afternoon and evening soaking up the emotions of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, which seems ill-placed in the sacred Black Hills that rest just northwest of Wounded Knee. Tonight I camp in Custer (spit) State Park. Tomorrow I visit the Crazy Horse Memorial.

Here are some of the photos I've taken during the first days of this remarkable westward journey. Enjoy!

O'Malley's Cellar Pub at Weston Brewery, MO

Hallway to the Second Pub room where I met the "Amish Folk" band.

Badlands NP

Running the Castle Trail through the Badlands.

Technical section of Castle Trail

Polar data from one of my Badlands Recovery Runs

Parting shot.

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. - John Muir

Bighorn 100 Training Wrap Up

Yesterday marked my final day of full volume training leading up to the Bighorn 100. That puts me in RnR mode for ten days. Its not like I really trained for a 100-mile foot race. I know better than to pretend that I did.  The fact is that I am going to need to run a judicious race, walking the steep ascents and holding back on the steep descents. I will also need plenty of luck. And well thought out drop bags. Prayers would help. The ability to remain on my feet most of the time would also help. Did I mention prayers?

I've been practicing the climbing and descending as well as southern Indiana will allow me. Dozens of local people have become accustomed to seeing me running up and down a nearby hill wearing a full Nathan vest. Twelve of those ascents and I have half a mountain of climbing! I've also made several trips to regional trails where I've logged 1K-3K feet of vertical. And, of course, I have traveled as far away as the Smoky Mountains to log ultra runs on REAL mountains. My legs do not have the frequent bouts with vertical that most mountain runners log, so my legs will suffer from the 17.5K ascent and 18K descent presented in the BH100. I am not as physically prepared to meet the demands of the rugged course so must be, in the words of my buddy Jeremy, a mental bad ass. In a phrase, I am prepared to suffer.

Why would a guy who runs 15-20 miles in most weeks of the year choose to enter a 100-mile run? Simple. Completing one is on my list of life goals. It has been on the list since 1991 after I watched a documentary on the Leadville 100. I have twice entered and twice been pulled from that race at the Fish Hatchery - mile 77. I will enter Leadville again when life permits it. For now, I'm going to knock the 100-mile event off of my list by completing another formidable race.

Yesterday I traveled to Kentucky's Land Between the Lakes again to enjoy a relaxed circumnavigation of the Canal Loop. The loop presents some footing challenges, 1100 feet of vertical, and plenty of awesome scenery. Recent rains allowed me to find a moist, lush, and dense forest. A relatively cool (66-74F) morning allowed me to enjoy that forest with minimal dehydration. Here the polarpersonaltrainer.com data for that run.

Later in the day I made a call to my friend, Drew. He asked me to participate in a 40Kish pursuit ride. Because I had planned one more hard ride before the BH100, I decided to turn the pursuit into a Z3 tempo ride. I would like to have gone faster on this hilly course, but a 13mph wind held the pace down while I kept the heart rate in the target zone. I liked the course and the people who rode, so I hope to take another shot at it with an intent to ride hard. Here the Polar data for yesterday's ride.

Three days from now I will leave for Wyoming. Along the way I will explore many national treasures, including Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, Devil's Tower, and the Crazy Horse Monument. As usual, I will use this blog to provide verbal and pictorial updates. I am also hoping to arrange for someone to use my Facebook account to give updates on my progress in the BH100, since it doesn't appear that race management will provide live updates.

There is much to pack!  Take Care - ST

Smoky Spine Dream Run

Last Friday I was able to realize a long-time goal of running the Appalachian Trail from Davenport Gap to Newfound Gap. This run along the eastern spine of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park had been on my mind for many years. I simply had not "made" it happen. My preparation for the upcoming Bighorn 100 provided an urgent and just cause for action.

The AT through the eastern half of the Smokies contains the highest sustained elevation east of the Rockies. The AT enters the GSMNP at Davenport Gap (1975 ft) and climbs Mt. Cammerer (5000 ft) in the opening five miles. After dropping to Low Gap (4200 ft) the AT climbs over Inadu Knob before ascending and staying above 5000 feet for the next 36 miles.

Highlighted elevation profile of the run.

My journey to Newfound Gap took me near the summits of six mountains as the AT meandered across an unbroken ridge line. It involved about 9200 ft of ascending and 6200 ft of descending over a distance of 31.4 to 32.8 miles, depending on which sources you adhere to. Even the signs within the park disagreed with each other. The Polar G5 gps unit I wore would have put it between those two if it had enough charge - I did not see the charge cable so I started without it fully charged. So glad it was not tied to the heart rate data when it died!

This rugged section of the AT is also the most remote section, having several 4 to 6-mile stretches in which there are not even intersecting trails. Heliports are located in a couple of these regions for emergency evacuations which, coincidently, did not make my to-do list.

Along the way I encountered numerous vistas of haze shrouded mountains, a couple dozen backpackers, a small rattlesnake underfoot, a far off bear, blooming Mountain Laurel and Catawba Rhododendron, dozens of black muddy bogs, and countless knee high wood and stone obstacles.

I used a finicky UV light to purify 8 liters of cold, great tasting water from springs along the way. A pack used for summiting 14ers carried the light, 2500 calories, and emergency supplies. I started and finished with a Polar tank, but it was too warm to wear it throughout the run. My weak and taped ankle caused me to go with the stable La Sportiva Skylite 2.0 that has given me peace of mind during my three 50-mile mountain runs.  And, of course, I wore the Polar RCX5 to track my progress. I opted not to carry a camera, since I knew the haze would be thick and the warm air would cause excessive sweating.

Polar RCX5 data file

The run went better than I expected. I climbed steadily and slowly in the early miles, keeping a curious, judicious, and calculating eye on my average heart rate. I let it climb during that ascent, but then slowed on the high ridge to gage how fast I could go while keeping the metabolism in the idle mode. My final descent into Newfound Gap found me energetic and elated. The only issue all day was a slight turn of the right ankle at mile 23. I am still dumbfounded as to why I didn't fall down because falling has become a normal part of my mountain running.

This was a practice run aimed at slowing my butt down for a long haul. Tortoise or hare? Survival or death? Finish or DNF? 100 miles is out of my league, beyond my range of motion, and certainly beyond my sense of logic, my rational faculty. I don't normally move 100 miles in a month, let alone in a little over a day. So, this run was my attempt to get a grip on the pace that I will be capable of maintaining for a long, long run.

New friends Jim (master brewer) and Donna (teacher) from AK

Sweat and mud, but no blood!