I guess my next post wasn't going to be the Hole to Hump Run report after all. I'll get there... just got some of the photos I wanted to use in the post from Gina and Frank. Thanks guys for your support up on the mountain! A few more photos to grab and I'll get it posted.
Go here to check out a new favorite blog of mine for some entertaining reading and videos for those who like living in the sticks and endurance. Dude, the guy has foxes for friends and flips logs! I like.
Also, Grand canyon season is in prime Fall season and I haven't heard about too much note worthy action so far. I know a ton of people have been running in there but haven't heard of any fast times or anything. I'm itching to live vicariously through some good blog posts about running down in "the ditch." Once I heal up from Hole to Hump I can't wait to take a good long run in there before Winter, maybe get in a double crossing.
Also, also, Sedona is in season now. So happy to have the trails down there to get me through the Winter. I probably won't get down there as much as last year with only one car, for Susan and I, that's a bit sketchy on big hills but hopefully I'll get in some good Red Rock running this Winter. I suspect that I will be running the Elden Lookout Road a lot instead. Bring on the Winter wonderland!
Here's to a new season!
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Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Very Inspiring!
Kilian! Wow.
Breaking Kilimanjaro Record
Breaking Kilimanjaro Record
And Karl!! Double wow.
Runs the Pony Express with a new recordWednesday, October 27, 2010
What's it like to break through the wall?
It crept up on me. I thought I could get it out of my head and move on but it was still there hiding in the recesses of my mind. It somehow found its’ way to the front and dominated my thoughts…that pesky Hole to Hump.
After trying to complete Hole to Hump in 2009 and admitting defeat about 20 miles from the finish and not finishing it the year prior either (stopping at the same point) I had basically given up on trying to finish Hole to Hump for what I thought would be many years. I figured that if I were to ever do it again it would be some day, years from now when and if I was a much better runner and it wouldn’t be such a question of if I would finish but more of a question of how fast. I just didn’t want to go through a DNF (did not finish) again on this run.
Besides, I don’t really like this run. Originally, I did it because I had never run this far and wondered if I could complete the 90+ mile monster. Also, it is a neat idea to run from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the top of Mt. Humphrey’s. So…why don’t I like this run? Well, as I learned prepping for it, the whole thing is either on pavement or dirt roads (really long, boring dirt roads) except for the 7.5 mile S. Kaibab Trail at the start and the 7ish miles of AZ Trail and 4.5 miles of the Mt. Humphrey’s Trail at the end. That leaves at least 60 miles of dirt road and 9 miles of pavement running.
I know that I may sound like a whiner to someone that runs roads all the time but I am most definitely NOT inspired by this kind of running. I LOVE single track trails and the wild places they take me and I really have a hard time being motivated by running on a surface that is made for cars. It makes me feel like I should be in a car instead of on my feet. Roads make me feel tired and slow while trails make me feel fast, energized and excited to see what is around every corner or over the next rise. Again, I LOVE single track trails.
So, why did I do this run in the first place? I did this run because of the idea of it not because of the terrain. To run from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the top of Mt. Humphrey’s (90+ miles and 11,000 ft of elevation gain). That is why I did it. I wanted to know if I could.
So, there I was a couple weeks ago, with the idea of running Hole to Hump again planted firmly at the front of my thoughts. It didn’t take long before I knew that I would have to take advantage of the fixation and take a shot before I lost the motivation it was giving me.
I asked myself many times during this fixation if I really wanted to do this to myself again. I knew that I was not excited about running all those dirt roads but I could not escape the nagging feeling that I hadn’t finished what I started with that thing. I knew that I needed to push through the wall that I had built for this run. It was just something I felt I needed to do. Unfinished business.
It was settled. I found the only weekend that I could squeeze it in (October 23, 24) and was committed.
Leading up to the start of the run I kept the whole thing under wraps. Before the other Hole to Hump efforts I blabbered all over the place what I was doing but this year I didn’t want to deal with the pressure. I just wanted to do it with just Susan and a friend Matt supporting me and no one else. Simple and quiet.
It was nice. I had no one to explain myself to before hand, no hype and no pressure. No one knew. This year I could do it for myself with a clear focus.
No one needed to know. I wasn’t doing it this year to impress anyone or feel cool. I simply wanted to prove to myself it was possible. To break through that wall and see what was on the other side.
What is on the other side?
Next post: Running Hole to Hump
After trying to complete Hole to Hump in 2009 and admitting defeat about 20 miles from the finish and not finishing it the year prior either (stopping at the same point) I had basically given up on trying to finish Hole to Hump for what I thought would be many years. I figured that if I were to ever do it again it would be some day, years from now when and if I was a much better runner and it wouldn’t be such a question of if I would finish but more of a question of how fast. I just didn’t want to go through a DNF (did not finish) again on this run.
Besides, I don’t really like this run. Originally, I did it because I had never run this far and wondered if I could complete the 90+ mile monster. Also, it is a neat idea to run from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the top of Mt. Humphrey’s. So…why don’t I like this run? Well, as I learned prepping for it, the whole thing is either on pavement or dirt roads (really long, boring dirt roads) except for the 7.5 mile S. Kaibab Trail at the start and the 7ish miles of AZ Trail and 4.5 miles of the Mt. Humphrey’s Trail at the end. That leaves at least 60 miles of dirt road and 9 miles of pavement running.
I know that I may sound like a whiner to someone that runs roads all the time but I am most definitely NOT inspired by this kind of running. I LOVE single track trails and the wild places they take me and I really have a hard time being motivated by running on a surface that is made for cars. It makes me feel like I should be in a car instead of on my feet. Roads make me feel tired and slow while trails make me feel fast, energized and excited to see what is around every corner or over the next rise. Again, I LOVE single track trails.
So, why did I do this run in the first place? I did this run because of the idea of it not because of the terrain. To run from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the top of Mt. Humphrey’s (90+ miles and 11,000 ft of elevation gain). That is why I did it. I wanted to know if I could.
So, there I was a couple weeks ago, with the idea of running Hole to Hump again planted firmly at the front of my thoughts. It didn’t take long before I knew that I would have to take advantage of the fixation and take a shot before I lost the motivation it was giving me.
I asked myself many times during this fixation if I really wanted to do this to myself again. I knew that I was not excited about running all those dirt roads but I could not escape the nagging feeling that I hadn’t finished what I started with that thing. I knew that I needed to push through the wall that I had built for this run. It was just something I felt I needed to do. Unfinished business.
It was settled. I found the only weekend that I could squeeze it in (October 23, 24) and was committed.
Leading up to the start of the run I kept the whole thing under wraps. Before the other Hole to Hump efforts I blabbered all over the place what I was doing but this year I didn’t want to deal with the pressure. I just wanted to do it with just Susan and a friend Matt supporting me and no one else. Simple and quiet.
It was nice. I had no one to explain myself to before hand, no hype and no pressure. No one knew. This year I could do it for myself with a clear focus.
No one needed to know. I wasn’t doing it this year to impress anyone or feel cool. I simply wanted to prove to myself it was possible. To break through that wall and see what was on the other side.
What is on the other side?
Next post: Running Hole to Hump
Monday, October 18, 2010
AZ trail on Humphrey's is SO GOOD!
The Arizona Trail section on the northwest side of Mt. Humphrey's is quickly shaping up to be one of my favorite trails in the Flagstaff area. There are a few reasons for this including one that makes it a shoo-in for best trail.
Shoo-in reason? It was where our wedding ceremony went down (Awesome day!).
The other reasons are as follows:
-The trail was planned out really well, meandering through the heart of some of the best Aspen Groves on the mountain.
-Also, it winds it's way through some of the most impressive, huge and oldest pine trees I have seen on the mountain.
-It is very smooth and with only a slight incline making it one of the faster trails near flagstaff.
-The the lush Summer Aspens, grass and ferns and the Fall colors are SICK!
-Up near Bizmark Lake the trail traverses a section of mountain that feels like the Cascades. Very unlike Flagstaff. You would have to check it out to understand. It feels like my favorite sections of the Brookbank Trail on steroids.
So, normally I would be running a trail like this but yesterday we chose to take a ride on our mountain bikes instead (I just got a new one so that probably played into it a bit and Susan is feeling a bit under the weather making running a bit to strenuous for the day).
Susan and I have run a few miles out this trail starting at Forest Service Road #418 and heading south toward Bizmark Lake a few times over but never make the full 4 mile distance to the lake. This time on our mountain bikes we decided to do the whole thing.
The whole ride was magical. The extremely beautiful Fall colors of the yellow aspen leaves on the trees and littered all over the ground and orange ferns and grass made for quite the setting. It was really fun to explore all the way to Bizmark Lake and we even stopped to spend some time at our ceremony site. What a place.
If there was anything to grumble about it was that I am not used to riding a mountain bike on trails at all which was obvious as I acted like a bumbly every time I hit a rock and one time whacked my left shin really hard with my pedal after my foot slipped off. I rode like a complete newby! I was excited to ride but getting pretty frustrated a few times with this machine thinga majig that I was maneuvering along the trail. I am so used to using my own feet to make my way-this was completely alien. After the day was done and my first mountain bike ride in a very long time was complete I really did have fun but think that running the same stretch is still much more satisfying (simple and free). We will have to see how I feel after a few more rides...
I will say that I am really excited they finished this section a few years ago because now it opens up a whole new section of mountain to running and I am thinking of one loop in particular that I can't wait to do when they open up the inner basin again (it is still closed due to fire damage on the access road). The loop is Humphrey's Trail, Weatherford Trail, Connector Trail that goes down into the inner basin, Waterline Road, Bear Jaw Trail, a mile or two on F.S. 418 and then Arizona Trail back to Humphrey's Trailhead (about 18-20 miles). It will open up a whole new, big ass chunk of the mountain to loop action and even make for a monster loop of Kachina, Weatherford, Connector into Inner Basin, Waterline Road, Bear Jaw, F.S. 418, AZ Trail pushing 4o miles. That will be a sweet loop! Keep building them trails, yo!
Below are a few shots from the day.
Get off that phone...let's ride so I can whack my shin!
I love this trail!
Beautiful Aspens!!! My favorite trees.
Get off that phone...how am I supposed to impress you with my mad bumbly mountain bike skills when your on that thing!
Gotta love Fall in the mountains!
Shoo-in reason? It was where our wedding ceremony went down (Awesome day!).
The other reasons are as follows:
-The trail was planned out really well, meandering through the heart of some of the best Aspen Groves on the mountain.
-Also, it winds it's way through some of the most impressive, huge and oldest pine trees I have seen on the mountain.
-It is very smooth and with only a slight incline making it one of the faster trails near flagstaff.
-The the lush Summer Aspens, grass and ferns and the Fall colors are SICK!
-Up near Bizmark Lake the trail traverses a section of mountain that feels like the Cascades. Very unlike Flagstaff. You would have to check it out to understand. It feels like my favorite sections of the Brookbank Trail on steroids.
So, normally I would be running a trail like this but yesterday we chose to take a ride on our mountain bikes instead (I just got a new one so that probably played into it a bit and Susan is feeling a bit under the weather making running a bit to strenuous for the day).
Susan and I have run a few miles out this trail starting at Forest Service Road #418 and heading south toward Bizmark Lake a few times over but never make the full 4 mile distance to the lake. This time on our mountain bikes we decided to do the whole thing.
The whole ride was magical. The extremely beautiful Fall colors of the yellow aspen leaves on the trees and littered all over the ground and orange ferns and grass made for quite the setting. It was really fun to explore all the way to Bizmark Lake and we even stopped to spend some time at our ceremony site. What a place.
If there was anything to grumble about it was that I am not used to riding a mountain bike on trails at all which was obvious as I acted like a bumbly every time I hit a rock and one time whacked my left shin really hard with my pedal after my foot slipped off. I rode like a complete newby! I was excited to ride but getting pretty frustrated a few times with this machine thinga majig that I was maneuvering along the trail. I am so used to using my own feet to make my way-this was completely alien. After the day was done and my first mountain bike ride in a very long time was complete I really did have fun but think that running the same stretch is still much more satisfying (simple and free). We will have to see how I feel after a few more rides...
I will say that I am really excited they finished this section a few years ago because now it opens up a whole new section of mountain to running and I am thinking of one loop in particular that I can't wait to do when they open up the inner basin again (it is still closed due to fire damage on the access road). The loop is Humphrey's Trail, Weatherford Trail, Connector Trail that goes down into the inner basin, Waterline Road, Bear Jaw Trail, a mile or two on F.S. 418 and then Arizona Trail back to Humphrey's Trailhead (about 18-20 miles). It will open up a whole new, big ass chunk of the mountain to loop action and even make for a monster loop of Kachina, Weatherford, Connector into Inner Basin, Waterline Road, Bear Jaw, F.S. 418, AZ Trail pushing 4o miles. That will be a sweet loop! Keep building them trails, yo!
Below are a few shots from the day.
Wedding ceremony site! Still beautiful.
Get off that phone...let's ride so I can whack my shin!
I love this trail!
Beautiful Aspens!!! My favorite trees.
Get off that phone...how am I supposed to impress you with my mad bumbly mountain bike skills when your on that thing!
Gotta love Fall in the mountains!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Rednecks and Drilled Pockets
Saturday, Susan and I went to Jack's Canyon to climb and then camp out with my parents. I hadn't been there in a while and was surprised to see it packed full of climbers. I thought that Jack's had fallen off the "cool list" years ago but here we were pulling into one of the last available camp sites available. Wow. I guess people will still come from far and wide to boost their egos with soft grades and drilled pockets. Go Jack's!
I mean, that's why we were there... it may be a disgrace how the area was developed and graded but it is a lot of fun to climb there and what is a person supposed to do? Complaining about the soft grades and chipped holds and glue isn't going to change anything about what's already been done many years ago in a different time for crag development. Climbers have learned a lot since Jack's was developed and now very, very few crags are developed in the same fashion. Now, climbers develop more with the idea of going with what the rock gives you as far as holds and not "making them" so that the route fits a certain grade or "fun" level. Oh, the boring ethics of route development...sorry for the blabbering.
We did have a good day of cragging and I do enjoy going to Jack's once in a while. It wasn't a day for crushing but it was fun to circuit some of the classics. Below are a couple shots of Susan and I climbing at the Cracker Jack Cliffs.
Later that evening, we were lucky enough to enjoy quite the beautiful sunset. The first photo below is my parents (Dick and Kim) and Susan getting camp organized to the first colors of sunset. The second photo below is my favorite sunset shot of the evening.
I mean, that's why we were there... it may be a disgrace how the area was developed and graded but it is a lot of fun to climb there and what is a person supposed to do? Complaining about the soft grades and chipped holds and glue isn't going to change anything about what's already been done many years ago in a different time for crag development. Climbers have learned a lot since Jack's was developed and now very, very few crags are developed in the same fashion. Now, climbers develop more with the idea of going with what the rock gives you as far as holds and not "making them" so that the route fits a certain grade or "fun" level. Oh, the boring ethics of route development...sorry for the blabbering.
We did have a good day of cragging and I do enjoy going to Jack's once in a while. It wasn't a day for crushing but it was fun to circuit some of the classics. Below are a couple shots of Susan and I climbing at the Cracker Jack Cliffs.
Later that evening, we were lucky enough to enjoy quite the beautiful sunset. The first photo below is my parents (Dick and Kim) and Susan getting camp organized to the first colors of sunset. The second photo below is my favorite sunset shot of the evening.
Oh yeah, the redneck part of the trip...
On the way back to camp after climbing, I remember Susan saying something about how we may want to move camp as the two young kids camped next to us looked like they might be a bit loud.
I didn't think much of it at the time but I should have. The kids, with their cammo tent and huge truck, proceeded to get louder and louder as the evening got later and they downed more liquor. The swearing heightened also and actually started to seriously annoy me.
Trust me, I can swear with the best of them if the mood and right company is present but these guys were over the top. I couldn't even hope to compete with them on one of my best days. I would be willing to bet that they used the f-word more times then they used any other word in their sentences. Early in the evening I found it entertaining, later in the evening I wanted to strangle them.
Worse yet, when we went to bed I started to hear them breaking big branches out of the Juniper trees in their site with much vigor (seriously frowned upon by local climbers and the Forest Service within the campground). After a little while of fuming while laying in bed I finally couldn't take it any more and got up to confront them.
It was the typical argument between tree hugger and redneck... I explained how if everyone in the campground cut down the Junipers then there wouldn't be any left and we would be camping in a dust bowl with tree stumps. They explained how they never usually do that but they didn't bring enough wood so what other choice did they have? They NEEDED a fire to camp right? I told them that, no, they didn't NEED a fire and that if they ran out of wood then bummer... no fire or they could get off their lazy butts and wander around and pick up down wood or drive a 1/4 mile away and find tons of down wood. They responded that they did NEED a fire to hang out, I got a bit more aggravated and then conversation degraded a bit until they finally agreed not to rip any more branches out of the trees. Finally...
I went back to bed somewhat satisfied but they had enough wood to still put a pretty impressive dent into the night of continued drinking and swearing. Oh well.
One learning point for me of the night was how I could have handled the conversation differently. I was most definitely attacking in my approach to the kids and wasn't sure if I really got through to them about not destroying the Junipers in the camp at Jack's (I'm not sure if they won't do the same thing next time they camp there...). My dad, on the other hand, walked over to their camp a bit later and was nice and conversational and offered them his head lamp and help to search for down wood. Wow...I would have never had the calm to interact with them that way. Way to go dad! Maybe I could learn something from that...or...I could REALLY ream the next redneck idiot that is acting like a moron in the forest. It's a tough call. I'll have to think about it.
Gotta love them rednecks and drilled pockets!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Flagstaff Tornado pics
On Sunday, we happened upon this section of forest that got beat down by one of the tornado's that touched down last week near Flagstaff. This area is a couple miles out the dirt road to Blue Ridge Reservoir and is pretty obvious. We stopped for a minute to wander through the downed trees and marvel at just how strong wind can be. The tornado litterally snapped full size healthy ponderosa pines in half or ripped them right out of the ground. Pretty amazing...
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Flagstaff Tornado
Yep...that's right! Believe it or not we had a bunch of tornado's touch down in the Flagstaff area today. Trucks and cars flipped, RV's destroyed, train cars derailed, trees ripped out of the ground and houses destroyed. Armageddon baby!!! All that stuff did happen but I'm making it sound worse then it is, but still...tornado's in Flagstaff?!?
Didn't feel like running today for some reason...
More info on the damage here.
Also, check out this video of some of the damage (not the best quality video but whatever...)
Didn't feel like running today for some reason...
More info on the damage here.
Also, check out this video of some of the damage (not the best quality video but whatever...)
Monday, October 4, 2010
New PR on S. Kaibab
Yesterday, I got a chance to run the S. Kaibab Rim to Rim. My parents are in town and wanted to go run on the rim so we went up there together and I snuck in tagging the river at sunrise before their run in the afternoon. The run went very, very well with some of the first cooler temps coming to the canyon and the witnessing of an amazing sunrise on the run down. I also got a new PR (bonus!).
(just before starting the run at sunrise)
(the last few steps to the rim coming back up)
(just before starting the run at sunrise)
(the last few steps to the rim coming back up) (thanks to my mom for the photos)
I remembered on this run why the Grand Canyon is one of my all time favorite places to run! It is flat out bad ass and so close to Flagstaff it's like cheating. Very lucky...
Run splits:
River-51 minutes
Rim-2 hours 36 minutes 24 seconds
...so close to 2 1/2 hours and felt really good the whole way. Probably walked about 1 mile (very loose approx.) of the run back up the S. Kaibab (definitely the least amount of walking so far). Very excited!
Later, on the run with my parents, we had a nice time exploring the south rim along the Hermit's Rest road. It was pretty cool as it is pretty much flat on a mix of asphalt and single track gravel/dirt and travels right on the edge of the rim for 8 miles from Hermit's Rest to the Bright Angel Trail Head. A good run for someone a bit intimidated by running in the canyon but wants some awesome views and some miles.
Oh yeah... I've also been exploring Observatory Mesa a bunch more, linking mountain bike trails and old two track dirt roads through the pine forest. It is almost endless the link ups and variations one can run up there and it's only 1/2 mile of asphalt from my house to get on the dirt and disappear. I'm kind of surprised that I have spent so much time running the same old loops up there and passed on exploring. Now, it seems the more I explore the more I have to explore. There are just so many options! I guess not having a car is working out so far. I'm really getting to explore all the nooks and crannies and appreciate what is close to home.
I remembered on this run why the Grand Canyon is one of my all time favorite places to run! It is flat out bad ass and so close to Flagstaff it's like cheating. Very lucky...
Run splits:
River-51 minutes
Rim-2 hours 36 minutes 24 seconds
...so close to 2 1/2 hours and felt really good the whole way. Probably walked about 1 mile (very loose approx.) of the run back up the S. Kaibab (definitely the least amount of walking so far). Very excited!
Later, on the run with my parents, we had a nice time exploring the south rim along the Hermit's Rest road. It was pretty cool as it is pretty much flat on a mix of asphalt and single track gravel/dirt and travels right on the edge of the rim for 8 miles from Hermit's Rest to the Bright Angel Trail Head. A good run for someone a bit intimidated by running in the canyon but wants some awesome views and some miles.
Oh yeah... I've also been exploring Observatory Mesa a bunch more, linking mountain bike trails and old two track dirt roads through the pine forest. It is almost endless the link ups and variations one can run up there and it's only 1/2 mile of asphalt from my house to get on the dirt and disappear. I'm kind of surprised that I have spent so much time running the same old loops up there and passed on exploring. Now, it seems the more I explore the more I have to explore. There are just so many options! I guess not having a car is working out so far. I'm really getting to explore all the nooks and crannies and appreciate what is close to home.
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