Ok, since there are some people out there who actually check on this neglected corner of the interweb, I'll leave a new blurb. I promise: I'll try to be better!
Last Sunday I was supposed to run the last race of the year. The California International Marathon in Sacramento. This race was originally not on my schedule, since I had planned to run St. George in early October. Unfortunately I sprained my ankle rather badly in early August. The training for St. G. went completely down the drain... A total mileage of 89 miles in August and September are just not enough for a good effort.
So I decided to shift the focus to CIM, and use St. G. as a long, fun, supported trainings run (flights and hotel were booked after all). Once in the Southwest, I tagged on a visit to Zion NP, where I hiked the Narrows, and some climbing at Red Rock Canyon outside of Las Vegas.
Once I was back I jumped into preparations for CIM. 140 miles in October, 120 in November. Good speed workouts, good hill work. Then... a week before the race I get a cold... Nothing too bad. I was still planning on going. Drove up to Sac on Saturday, picked up the bib, got dinner, was in bed at 8. Fell asleep...at 11. ugh! Woke up at 2! (Alarm was set for 4). At this point I decided not to run. A rather tough decision...
Even tougher is the decision to take some time off. Not to jump into planning events for next year. There are some events I'd really like to do, but I think I need some distance to be able to come up with a reasonable plan for 2011.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Angel Island 8k
After running Skyline to the Sea in April I ramped down my running a bit. Winning a spot for the St. George Marathon and signing up for the Santa Rosa 1/2 marathon in late August brought me back to a regular running regimen though.
A few weeks of relatively short runs made me itch for a race again. The PCTR Angel Island 8k seemed perfect. The previous weeks had seen a few speedy sub-10 mile runs, and I figured it would be good to try a short and fast race opposed to a long and slow one as S-2-S.
I caught the ferry from Tiburon to Angel Island at 8AM, and had some time for a little warm-up run and some stretching. The course essentially went straight to the top of the island, and back down. After a quarter mile it hit some stairs, which slowed the field down a bit. Despite walking up the stairs, I managed to pass some people, who had passed me off the starting line. The climb following the stairs wasn't too bad, but I was still glad to reach the top, and switch into cruising mode for the downhill section. The very top had a out and back section, and I counted that I was in 10 position at the summit. The 3 miles back to the finish area were quite pleasant. Nice single tracks, slightly downhill, with amazing views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge. An amazing day to be out on the island! Having run the last 1/2 mile of the course during the warm up paid off, since I caught up to some guys, who had problems finding the right trail, while I knew the way to go. I crossed the finish line after 42:44, good for 5th place overall and 3rd in my age group.
There was some time left, before the ferry left back to Tiburon, which was spent chatting with some friends and munching on the snacks provided by PCTR.
A great event on a great day!
A few weeks of relatively short runs made me itch for a race again. The PCTR Angel Island 8k seemed perfect. The previous weeks had seen a few speedy sub-10 mile runs, and I figured it would be good to try a short and fast race opposed to a long and slow one as S-2-S.
I caught the ferry from Tiburon to Angel Island at 8AM, and had some time for a little warm-up run and some stretching. The course essentially went straight to the top of the island, and back down. After a quarter mile it hit some stairs, which slowed the field down a bit. Despite walking up the stairs, I managed to pass some people, who had passed me off the starting line. The climb following the stairs wasn't too bad, but I was still glad to reach the top, and switch into cruising mode for the downhill section. The very top had a out and back section, and I counted that I was in 10 position at the summit. The 3 miles back to the finish area were quite pleasant. Nice single tracks, slightly downhill, with amazing views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge. An amazing day to be out on the island! Having run the last 1/2 mile of the course during the warm up paid off, since I caught up to some guys, who had problems finding the right trail, while I knew the way to go. I crossed the finish line after 42:44, good for 5th place overall and 3rd in my age group.
There was some time left, before the ferry left back to Tiburon, which was spent chatting with some friends and munching on the snacks provided by PCTR.
A great event on a great day!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tioga Pass opening 2010
Tioga Pass is to open 8AM Saturday June 5.
Tomorrow morning that is...
Happy times!
Tomorrow morning that is...
Happy times!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Skyline to the Sea
A few weeks ago, I joined 249 runners for the Skyline to the Sea 50k and Marathon, organized by Pacific Coast Trail Runs. I thought the route starting at Skyline Blvd and finishing at the Ocean just north of Santa Cruz would be a good choice for my first ultra marathon. Despite the net elevation loss there were still 3000 feet of climbing, which made sure that the race wouldn't be too easy.
I lined up for the start in the first quarter of the pack, judging from the pace in the first miles this was a justified position. After about 5 miles I knew though that I was in trouble... I was still cruising along with people with way more experience and lots of ultras under their belts. The slight downhill had sucked me into a 8:00 pace. It was a lot of fun though!
It didn't too long until I reached the first aid station after 6 miles. I had dreaded this moment, since the first climb of the day (2 miles, 800ft) was just ahead. To get to China Grade, the next aid station, was a long haul. Here I got my water bottle refilled, and took two salt tabs. Not knowing the trail I had been looking forward for the next section, the drop into Big Basin State Park. A drop it was! Over exposed bedrock, and technical trail. The going here was a lot slower than I had anticipated. After spraining my ankle last spring I am a little paranoid about too uneven footing, so I ended up walking big chunks of the way down to Gazos Creek. From here I joined the 50k runners for a extra 5 mile loop, while the marathoners followed the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail towards the finish. The additional loop included the second major climb of the day. I took a little more than an hour to get back to Gazos Creek, and more salt tabs and another water refill. The next aid station would be 13 miles ahead. Quite a haul in temperatures in the low 80's...
And yes, about half a mile out of the aid station was the third big hill of the day. It was a slog up there, but then something miraculous happend: All of a sudden I felt fresh and fast again! The miles 20 to 23 flew by! Never the less I realized at that point, that my goal to break 5 hours was out of reach. Well, it slipped further in the next 6 miles, which were a mix of slow jogging and walking. A couple of miles before the aid station I ran out of water, and was looking forward for my refill. Bad luck though! By the time I got there, the station had run out of water. Fortunately a hiker offered me some of her water. I was good to go the final two miles to the finish. Mostly in a slow jog... I crossed the finish line after 5:44. Good enough for 73rd overall and 31 in the age group.
In the finish area I used the opportunity to refuel on beef jerky, chilli, pretzels and other goodies provided by PCTR. The ice bath in the ocean was the perfect ending for a rough day.
After my first marathon I was sure that I would run another one. Even now, three weeks after my first 50k, I am not sure if I really have to run another one. Time will tell I guess...
I lined up for the start in the first quarter of the pack, judging from the pace in the first miles this was a justified position. After about 5 miles I knew though that I was in trouble... I was still cruising along with people with way more experience and lots of ultras under their belts. The slight downhill had sucked me into a 8:00 pace. It was a lot of fun though!
It didn't too long until I reached the first aid station after 6 miles. I had dreaded this moment, since the first climb of the day (2 miles, 800ft) was just ahead. To get to China Grade, the next aid station, was a long haul. Here I got my water bottle refilled, and took two salt tabs. Not knowing the trail I had been looking forward for the next section, the drop into Big Basin State Park. A drop it was! Over exposed bedrock, and technical trail. The going here was a lot slower than I had anticipated. After spraining my ankle last spring I am a little paranoid about too uneven footing, so I ended up walking big chunks of the way down to Gazos Creek. From here I joined the 50k runners for a extra 5 mile loop, while the marathoners followed the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail towards the finish. The additional loop included the second major climb of the day. I took a little more than an hour to get back to Gazos Creek, and more salt tabs and another water refill. The next aid station would be 13 miles ahead. Quite a haul in temperatures in the low 80's...
And yes, about half a mile out of the aid station was the third big hill of the day. It was a slog up there, but then something miraculous happend: All of a sudden I felt fresh and fast again! The miles 20 to 23 flew by! Never the less I realized at that point, that my goal to break 5 hours was out of reach. Well, it slipped further in the next 6 miles, which were a mix of slow jogging and walking. A couple of miles before the aid station I ran out of water, and was looking forward for my refill. Bad luck though! By the time I got there, the station had run out of water. Fortunately a hiker offered me some of her water. I was good to go the final two miles to the finish. Mostly in a slow jog... I crossed the finish line after 5:44. Good enough for 73rd overall and 31 in the age group.
In the finish area I used the opportunity to refuel on beef jerky, chilli, pretzels and other goodies provided by PCTR. The ice bath in the ocean was the perfect ending for a rough day.
After my first marathon I was sure that I would run another one. Even now, three weeks after my first 50k, I am not sure if I really have to run another one. Time will tell I guess...
Good to be back...
...in Yosemite. I spent the last weekend climbing in the Valley with Sam. We drove up Saturday morning, with the intend to have a mellow, relaxing weekend. I hadn't been to the Valley in almost a year, and hadn't climbed on gear since August. In fact between August and last week I only climbed outdoors once, at the Pinnacles. On the way we decided to check out the Five Open Books area and climb Committment, if the route seemed dry enough.
The conditions seemed well enough from the base of the climb, so Sam started off on the first pitch. I led the second pitch, and of course the slabby part in the beginning was wet and slippery. It took some navigation, but I managed to piece together a patchwork of dry spots... Sam finished the route leading the third pitch.
Back at the base we noticed that no one was on Munginella, so we figured we'd run up it real quick. Real quick it was! We climbed the route in two long pitches instead of three, me taking the first.
The next day we went to Pat & Jack Pinnacle, where we climbed Makayla's Climb, and the bolted line right of it, which was in neither of our guidebooks. Both of us led both routes. Neither of us had climbed Golden Needles before, so we decided to give it a shot. The first pitch follows a corner with perfect hand cracks, which I led to a huge belay ledge. From there the second pitch follows double cacks to a bulge, which was rather nasty. Sam did an awesome job leading this section. At the top we waited for the party behind us and shared the rappel with them.
A perfect mellow weekend in Yosemite! I can't believe that ithad been so long since I had been up there!
The conditions seemed well enough from the base of the climb, so Sam started off on the first pitch. I led the second pitch, and of course the slabby part in the beginning was wet and slippery. It took some navigation, but I managed to piece together a patchwork of dry spots... Sam finished the route leading the third pitch.
Back at the base we noticed that no one was on Munginella, so we figured we'd run up it real quick. Real quick it was! We climbed the route in two long pitches instead of three, me taking the first.
The next day we went to Pat & Jack Pinnacle, where we climbed Makayla's Climb, and the bolted line right of it, which was in neither of our guidebooks. Both of us led both routes. Neither of us had climbed Golden Needles before, so we decided to give it a shot. The first pitch follows a corner with perfect hand cracks, which I led to a huge belay ledge. From there the second pitch follows double cacks to a bulge, which was rather nasty. Sam did an awesome job leading this section. At the top we waited for the party behind us and shared the rappel with them.
A perfect mellow weekend in Yosemite! I can't believe that ithad been so long since I had been up there!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Hoping...
...the lottery fairy is nice!
I entered the lottery for a race for the first time: The St. George Marathon in Utah, in October.
The results will be published tomorrow morning at 8.
Keep your fingers crossed!
I entered the lottery for a race for the first time: The St. George Marathon in Utah, in October.
The results will be published tomorrow morning at 8.
Keep your fingers crossed!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Yay for Fridays!
It's Friday! Yay! And it's above 75F, the sky is blue...
The week was about as good as I expected it to be. I picked up the first farm box of the season and the first meat box, too. The meals until Monday are planned out, but I still have to figure out what to do with a leg of pork and a beef bottom round.
Dinner tonight will be ribeye steak grilled on the charcoal grill with roasted squash, and some lettuce. I've had pretty good experience in fueling for runs this way, so I am confident that it will supply me with plenty of energy for tomorrow's Pirates Cove 20k.
The week was about as good as I expected it to be. I picked up the first farm box of the season and the first meat box, too. The meals until Monday are planned out, but I still have to figure out what to do with a leg of pork and a beef bottom round.
Dinner tonight will be ribeye steak grilled on the charcoal grill with roasted squash, and some lettuce. I've had pretty good experience in fueling for runs this way, so I am confident that it will supply me with plenty of energy for tomorrow's Pirates Cove 20k.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
My Sunday morning activity
20 miles at Rancho San Antonio... good fun!
Now: Food and nap on the couch :-)
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Counting down: 11 days to go
Alright, there are several reasons I have been looking forward to the middle of March.
It being the start of the new CSA season being the main one. I can't wait to have a box full of fresh, tasty veggies from Two Small Farms waiting for me every week. I feel that I definitely eat better when there are fresh vegetables around.
This year the veggie box will be supplemented by a meat box. After reading Micheal Pollan's 'Omnivore's Dillema' and 'In Defense of Food' and after seeing 'Food, Inc.' I think trying to get locally, sustainably grown meat (beef, pork, lamb, poultry) is a good thing for me and the planet.
The box will be supplied by Marin Sun Farms. I am definitely looking forward to this new experience and the experiments in the kitchen.
On top of these two reasons is the fact that at the end of that week daylight savings starts! It will be longer bright than only 6:30.
Oh, yeah, there's also the first race of the year: The Pirates Cove 20k, put on by PCTR.
Anyway, four reasons for me to be excited!
It being the start of the new CSA season being the main one. I can't wait to have a box full of fresh, tasty veggies from Two Small Farms waiting for me every week. I feel that I definitely eat better when there are fresh vegetables around.
This year the veggie box will be supplemented by a meat box. After reading Micheal Pollan's 'Omnivore's Dillema' and 'In Defense of Food' and after seeing 'Food, Inc.' I think trying to get locally, sustainably grown meat (beef, pork, lamb, poultry) is a good thing for me and the planet.
The box will be supplied by Marin Sun Farms. I am definitely looking forward to this new experience and the experiments in the kitchen.
On top of these two reasons is the fact that at the end of that week daylight savings starts! It will be longer bright than only 6:30.
Oh, yeah, there's also the first race of the year: The Pirates Cove 20k, put on by PCTR.
Anyway, four reasons for me to be excited!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour
Last Friday I enjoyed a stop of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour in Santa Cruz. This event has become a little bit of a tradition for me. It's put on by the outdoor recreation department of UCSC at the Rio Theater. This years showing featured seven films including an episode of Sender Flim's First Ascent series they produced together with National Geographic. 'Alone on the Wall' described the free-solo endeavors of Alex Honold on Moonlight Buttress in Zion NP and on the Northwest Face of Half Dome in Yosemite.
'Finding Farley' was the main film, documenting the travels of a young family across Canada by boat to meet Farley Mowat. Although I think that the movie is a little too long, it is amazing to see a couple their two year old son and their dog travel 5000km during a five month journey.
Other films were 'Kranked-Evolution' a mountain biking movie, which made me want to dust off the bike, 'Project MegaWoosh', a short spoof made in Germany, a documentary about the restauration about monasatries in Mustang, and a short film about incredible powder skiing in Japan.
For the fourth time in a row the festival did not disappoint!
'Finding Farley' was the main film, documenting the travels of a young family across Canada by boat to meet Farley Mowat. Although I think that the movie is a little too long, it is amazing to see a couple their two year old son and their dog travel 5000km during a five month journey.
Other films were 'Kranked-Evolution' a mountain biking movie, which made me want to dust off the bike, 'Project MegaWoosh', a short spoof made in Germany, a documentary about the restauration about monasatries in Mustang, and a short film about incredible powder skiing in Japan.
For the fourth time in a row the festival did not disappoint!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Rest Days!
These are the days to pursue all the sports one can't do on days one is running, right?
Well, why all the running? After the exciting, fun, and (for me) successful CIM in December I signed up for a couple of races. The main event being the Skyline to the Sea 50k in April.
Anyway, Sundays are supposed to be rest days after a long run on Saturdays.
I took the chance to head up to Kirkwood yesterday, for a day of fantastic skiing, under blue skies. Fortunately the temperatures stayed crisp enough during the day, so that the snow conditions were perfect.
Well, why all the running? After the exciting, fun, and (for me) successful CIM in December I signed up for a couple of races. The main event being the Skyline to the Sea 50k in April.
Anyway, Sundays are supposed to be rest days after a long run on Saturdays.
I took the chance to head up to Kirkwood yesterday, for a day of fantastic skiing, under blue skies. Fortunately the temperatures stayed crisp enough during the day, so that the snow conditions were perfect.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Happy New Year!
It's been a while since I last posted.
Lots of things have been going on, and I won't try to do full reports of all of it, since that's how I fell off the wagon in late summer/fall. But here's a short recap on what I've been up to.
The races mentioned in an earlier post went well, PRing in both of them. I finished the Moonlight 10k in 47:03, about 30 seconds faster than last year. Before the CIM in Sacramento I ran another 10k, the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot in San Jose. At this point the speed workouts had paid off and I further improved my PR to 45:22. The highlight of the 2009 running season was the California International Marathon though. Despite cold temperatures and headwinds for about 18 miles it was an awesome race. Great organization, fast course, plenty of well stocked aid stations... a good experience, allowing me to improve my time from last year's Las Vegas marathon by over 31 minutes. Well, I guess actually training for this race helped a bit as well.
All the running (between 100 and 125 miles/month for Aug, Sep, Oct, and Nov) meant that I didn't get much climbing in except for a trip to the Pinnacles in November.
The day before heading to Germany I managed to get the first day of skiing in for the season.
Northstart at Tahoe was surprinsingly dissapointing... My favorite resort here is still Kirkwood, followed by Squaw Valley.
Speaking of Kirkwood, had a great day there last weekend. After a few warm-up runs Peter and I hit the trees ans chutes, having tons of fun. I'm looking forward to more days like this! Given the huge storm which is moving in to California the skiing conditions should only improve.
What else is on the plate for the near future?
I'll try to keep the running mileage up, aiming for a few races in spring. There will be more culinary adventures with the continued subscription to the CSA box (possibly extended by a subscription to a CSA meat box, depending on the outcome of tonight's cooking experiment). By the way: Food. I have been bad about keeping up with the "Castro Street Challenge", even the list of restaurants there is hopelessly outdated.
I am not big on resolutions, but I'll try to post more regularly again!
Lots of things have been going on, and I won't try to do full reports of all of it, since that's how I fell off the wagon in late summer/fall. But here's a short recap on what I've been up to.
The races mentioned in an earlier post went well, PRing in both of them. I finished the Moonlight 10k in 47:03, about 30 seconds faster than last year. Before the CIM in Sacramento I ran another 10k, the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot in San Jose. At this point the speed workouts had paid off and I further improved my PR to 45:22. The highlight of the 2009 running season was the California International Marathon though. Despite cold temperatures and headwinds for about 18 miles it was an awesome race. Great organization, fast course, plenty of well stocked aid stations... a good experience, allowing me to improve my time from last year's Las Vegas marathon by over 31 minutes. Well, I guess actually training for this race helped a bit as well.
All the running (between 100 and 125 miles/month for Aug, Sep, Oct, and Nov) meant that I didn't get much climbing in except for a trip to the Pinnacles in November.
The day before heading to Germany I managed to get the first day of skiing in for the season.
Northstart at Tahoe was surprinsingly dissapointing... My favorite resort here is still Kirkwood, followed by Squaw Valley.
Speaking of Kirkwood, had a great day there last weekend. After a few warm-up runs Peter and I hit the trees ans chutes, having tons of fun. I'm looking forward to more days like this! Given the huge storm which is moving in to California the skiing conditions should only improve.
What else is on the plate for the near future?
I'll try to keep the running mileage up, aiming for a few races in spring. There will be more culinary adventures with the continued subscription to the CSA box (possibly extended by a subscription to a CSA meat box, depending on the outcome of tonight's cooking experiment). By the way: Food. I have been bad about keeping up with the "Castro Street Challenge", even the list of restaurants there is hopelessly outdated.
I am not big on resolutions, but I'll try to post more regularly again!
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