2013 recap

Hello loyal readers! All two of you! :-)

There are a few things that make me excited about restarting my blog. Yes, I don't even call it continue to blog, but rather restart.
First, looking back as 2013 winds down, this last year was pretty adventurous! I admit the number of nights slept outside was zero, it was the first year since I moved to the US, that my National Park Pass did not pay off (shame on me!), the first year that I have not been to Yosemite since I moved here, but still it was packed with adventure.
It started out with a week of backcountry skiing in the Tetons with the awesome folks of Exum Mountain Guides in February. After that I spent most of the spring building base mileage on the trails for a great racing season in the summer and the fall.
The goal for this season was to qualify for UTMB, the Ultra-Trail-du-Mont-Blanc, in Chamonix, France. Having finished the TRT 50 miles last year, I needed another 50 miler and a 100k race this year. I was fortunate enough to claim a spot for the Waldo 100k, before it sold out in 28 minutes. Waldo takes place on the third weekend in August, so I figured I'd have enough time to recover and train for the Northface Endurance Challenge 50 miler in December. With these two events set at goal races, I looked around for opportunities to fill in preparation races, etc. Just as the planning reached a critical point I got an invitation to a wedding in Italy! A quick look on the race calendar showed that the Cortina Trail 49k, was happening in the town of Cortina d'Ampezzo the weekend before the festivities!
A trip was happening!
Coming back from Italy it was all about peaking and then tapering for Waldo. And a five day trip up to Oregon for the race. It was fun to get back to PDX and to hang out with KRay, who also majorly kicked my butt in the last ten miles of the race, so that I managed to cross the finish line just before 15 hours, and hence qualify for the Western States 100 lottery.
Having accomplished the first part of the years goals, all the focus was on the NFEC 50 in the Marin Headlands. I went up and did a couple of recon-/ trainings runs on the course, which was extremely helpful on race day. The day itself was unbelievable... not from this world! Absolutely outstanding :-)
Things just clicked, and it all fell in place. Although I have been running 'ultra' distances for over 3 years, I felt like an 'ultra-runner' for the first time. I managed to take 1:21:00 off my best time on the same course. Parts where I struggled on my first attempt two years ago, felt downright easy this time around. I am definitely looking forward for more!
This excitement for more adventures is the second point that makes me excited about sharing these experiences here, as I mentioned above.
The third point is that I was selected to be a member of the GU crew! This is a huge honor! I have been using their products for a few years now, and I wasn't able to find better race/adventure nutrition so far.

I hope you guys had a good 2013 as well, and that you are as excited about the next year as I am!

Cruising the last three miles at NFEC

Coastal 50k

WOOOHOOO!

I finished a goal race! Well, better even: I started! :-)

This may sound ridiculous, but after last December's CIM and last months Santa Rosa 1/2 marathon, I wasn't sure what to expect. I had trained well for both of these races, only to be unable to sleep the night before, and not toeing the line at all.

Not so last week! I made it to the starting line in Stinson Beach, and after 31 miles, and 5800ft of climbing and descending I also made it to the finish at Rodeo Beach 6:09:40 later. This was a bit slower than planned, but at the same time the course was a lot more challenging than expected.

I may have gone out a bit too fast as well: The first three miles were rather challenging, climbing up the Steep Ravine trail to Pantoll ranger station.

Around mile 20 I struggled with a bit of nausea, completely disgusted by the gels I had with me. Definitely a first! On top of that I had lost my little ziploc bag with my salt tabs, so that my quads were a little twitchy on the descent into Rodeo Valley... But all this aside it was an awesome event! The organization by Coastal Trail Runs was flawless and pretty much everyone had a great time.

The finish (start) was definitely good for my head, and I think I am ready for the next challenges this year.

Last Saturday I drove up to the North Bay for a long run. I planned to run around 16 miles, so I picked a 25km loop from Stinson Beach to Pantoll ranger station, down to Muir Beach, back up to Pantoll and back to Stinson.

Over the last few years I had heard and read a lot about the Dipsea Trail, but I had never actually run it. It was definitely time to change this. From the beach parking lot I started out on Arenal Rd, which leads straight to the trailhead. After about 1.3 miles the Dipsea trail intersects the Steep Ravine trail, which I chose for the climb up the side of Mt. Tam. Aptly named, the trail climbs about 1200 ft in just under two miles. Although steep and technical (there is a 10ft ladder about two thirds up the trail), this is a gorgeous trail. Lush Redwoods and ferns, and the creek make for a great scenery. At the top of the climb I turned right on the Coastal View Fireroad leading to the Coastal View trail. Leaving the forest, the Redwoods were replaced by all kinds of wildflowers. A rather unexpected view for me, since they are not around in the South Bay anymore at this time of the year. As the trail opens up it offers sweeping views of the ocean and the coast line below. The miles just flew by on the descent into Muir Beach. The next mile on the Redwood Creek trail was pretty much the only flat section of the run. It leads back to the Dipsea, which I took back up to Pantoll. From the parking area I picked up the Matt Davies trail for the last 4.2 miles back to Stinson Beach. The first two miles of this trail were rather pleasant, before the gradient increases dramatically, and turns the last two miles of the loop into a hammering of the quads through steep, narrow switchbacks.

The overall loop took me about 3:26. Quite a bit longer than expected, but I also didn't expect the trail to be as technical as it was in sections. I tried my new hydration pack for the first time on this run as well. I am not quite sure if I like it. The fit and comfort were fine, and offer nothing to complain about. The problem I had was that I was reluctant to drink constantly, since I could not see how much liquid I had left (not a problem with handheld bottles, which I usually use on shorter runs). This resulted in having about one liter (out of two) left in the pack upon getting back to the car. I'd say that's a sign of a failed hydration strategy. I guess that's the reason one tests things like this on training runs :-)

After this outing I can only confirm all the good things I heard/read about the trails on Mt. Tam, and I am sure I'll be back for more!

Los Gatos Jungle Run

Last Sunday I joined 740 fellow runners for the Los Gatos Jungle Run 10k.
It was my first road race in quite a while, since December 2009 to be exact. My primary goal was to beat my time of 45:22 from the 2009 Turkey Trot in San Jose. Furthermore it was to stay under 45 minutes. With about 200ft of climbing the course was not quite as fast as the San Jose course. Still I managed to finish in 45:03, good for 38th overall.

What's going on?

OK, yet another post starting with the remark that I haven't posted in a while.
What's different this time is the fact that there was simply nothing to write about. No adventures at all in quite a while. I realized that a few weeks ago, when I was asked at a party what my last adventure was, and I really had to think hard.
Life has been pretty busy in the last few months. Between a new job and a new housing situation there was simply not too much time to play. Even now, as things settle down I am rather happy to unwind on the weekends instead of hitting the road/mountains. A good example is last weekend. I went down to Whitney Portal, to scope out the approach to the Mountaineers Route and/or Whitney's East Face, East Buttress. I spent a rather unpleasant night, sleeping for about two hours, and when I woke up I realized that I didn't really want to be there. That was really a first! As the outdoors usually have been where I was happiest. I'm wondering what's going on, and try not to freak out about it...
On the other hand, I have been increasing my running mileage. For now the plan is to run the Jungle Run 10k in Los Gatos tomorrow, and the Santa Rosa 1/2 marathon in the end of August.
These two races will be followed by the Coastal 50k from Stinson Beach to Rodeo Beach in late September.

Alpine Meadows skiing

The streak of changed plans continued last weekend. The plan was to fly to Boise, ID for the holiday weekend and spent a few days skiing in Sun Valley with Juliana's cousin. We got to the airport well before the departure time, since we both had skis to check in. Just after we swiped the credit card and got charged for the checked baggage we were told that the flight was canceled due to a mechanical problem. Furthermore, we were told that we could not expect to be on a flight in the next two days. There went the holiday weekend plan...
We decided rather quickly that we go to Tahoe instead. While I tried to sort things out with the airline, Jules got on the phone and secured a room in Truckee for Saturday night.
We left the Bay Area shortly before 5am on Saturday morning. Getting to Alpine Meadows at 9:30. The last miles from I-80 to the resort were definitely the slowest of the entire trip.
The weather and the conditions were fantastic. The skiing couldn't have been any better anywhere else. The previous week had seen four feet of powder, and there were plenty of untouched stashes.
After a few easy runs to warm up I went to Scotts Gully, a double diamond. What a incredible run! I am not sure why, but the run just felt awesome... Either it was the new skis, or I am finally getting a hang on steep, deep runs. After a few runs here, I could not get the grin off my face.
After checking in to the hotel we had dinner at the Bridgetender in Tahoe City. If I remember correctly I was asleep by 8:30.
Sunday saw more skiing in the morning, but the temperatures dropped significantly in the afternoon, so that we left around 2. Although the second day was rather short I am absolutely happy about the skiing I got in.

Mount Shasta

This winter started out with some epic early storms in late November and early December. January on the other had saw almost no snow fall in the Sierras. Obviously this is bad news for skiing. The new Mantras with AT-bindings just got a three day work-out in Chamonix in December, but had to stay in the closet back here in Cali.
On the other hand the stable high off the Northern California coast allowed for good conditions for a winter ascent of Mount Shasta. The Casaval Ridge seemed to be in pretty good shape during the first weekend of February. Just the right thing for a quick weekend dash, similar to my previous ascent of Shasta. Or so I thought.
The plan was to leave the Bay Area Saturday morning, get to the trailhead around 3pm, hike to Horse Camp, set up camp in daylight, get an early night, set the alarm for 2am, get going by 3am, summit, descent via Avalanche Gulch, break up camp, head back to the car, make the drive back. Simple enough, right?
The first part worked just fine. We arrived at Bunny Flats around 2:30 on Saturday afternoon, got the permits, re-packed some gear and got ready to go. Just as we were about to leave two parties got back to the parking lot, who had started out that morning. Both of them tried to climb Sergeant's Ridge, but turned around due to high winds. They reached a high point of around 9400ft. One of the climbers had soloed Casaval Ridge the previous weekend, and confirmed that the conditions had been great. With these mixed news we were in our way at 3:30pm. The hike to Horse Camp was rather mellow, and eventless. By 6 we had set up camp, eaten dinner and tugged away in our sleeping bags... This is were things deviated from the plan: High winds made sleep practically impossible. It didn't help that I had a congested nose either. Given the sleepless night, high winds, a missing pair of gloves and a malfunctioning headlamp the summit attempt stopped right there.
Objective not achieved... But I still had a good time. A wonderful sunset, a night spent outside... What more can one ask for?

2011 races

I spent the past weekend browsing websites and race calendars. Here's what I came up with for the coming year:

Mar 19 Pirates Cove 20k
Mar 26 Woodside 17k
May 1 Big Bear 5k
May 21 Horseshoe Lake 21k
Jun 5 Sierra Foothills 50k
Jul 10 Jungle Run 10k
Aug 14 Squaw to Donner 25k
Oct 2 SJ RnR 1/2 marathon
Oct 23 Silicon Valley marathon
Dec 3 North Face Endurace Challenge 50 miles

Let's see how it pans out!

2010

I haven't posted much in the past year, that doesn't mean that nothing was going on. Quite to the contrary actually. So here's a quick recap:
Early in the year, I spent quite a bit of time skiing in the Tahoe area. Until then I had mostly skied in Kirkwood, but last year I explored further, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows and Northstar (which totally deserves the nickname Flatstar!).
When not skiing I was running preparing for my first ultra-marathon, the Skyline-to-the-Sea 50k.
It took me a while to recover from the race. So I decided that the next race had to be shorter, a lot shorter! It was the Angle Island 8k in June. At this time I felt quite speedy, and was looking forward to the Santa Rosa 1/2-marathon and a fast marathon in St. George. Unfortunately I sprained my left ankle on a trail run in early August, so Santa Rosa was completely out of question, and I 'down-graded' St. George to a long trainings run.
In July there were a few trips to Tuolumne. Once for some climbing (some routes on Pywiack Dome, Crying Time Again, and cragging), once for some trail running, and once for an one day solo trip to Mt. Lyell and Mt. MacLure. Rather a death march. 23 miles, 5000ft of elevation gain - 14hrs round trip.
Due to the injury in early August, my activity level that month was pretty minimal, but September started with an exciting trip to Mt. Langley. The rest of the month I prepared for St. George, which was on Oct. 2. Since I was in the Southwest already I tagged on a trip to Zion NP. Here I hiked the Narrows, and got rained out before exploring the Subway. Fortunately there was no rain in Las Vegas, where I spent the remainder of the trip climbing in Red Rock Canyon.
The next goal was CIM, so the running mileage was ramped up again, and I have to say running never felt better. Too bad that I ended up not doing the race. Despite the injury in summer and no running at all in December I ran 1050 miles, which is a lot more than I did ever before. Running is really addictive!
The year ended with a trip to Chamonix for skiing in combination with the anual trip to visit family in Germany. Cham is absolutely fantastic! Three days there were way to little, and I need to go back! No questions there!
The 'urban adventure' front was pretty active too! I saw some good classic metal shows, Iron Maiden, Exodus & Heathen, and Suicidal Tendencies. Furthermore I discovered Yoshi's in San Francisco and Oakland, where I saw Stanley Clarke (May) and George Clinton (November), and Chick Korea respectively.
A pretty packed year!
Here's to 2011 to be at least as busy!

Still alive!

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.

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!

Tioga Pass opening 2010

Tioga Pass is to open 8AM Saturday June 5.
Tomorrow morning that is...

Happy times!

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...

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!

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!

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.

My Sunday morning activity

20 miles at Rancho San Antonio... good fun!

Now: Food and nap on the couch :-)

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!

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!

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.