living in the NOW

You are in Boulder, run like it

2012-02-10T05:29:00.000-08:00

Bob Combs and i Met up with Mike Keller in Boulder to run up and down Green mountain. It was a fun, snowy day on the trails. Went off piste a few times to find waist deep snow. Bombing the downhills, slightly out of control, hootin and hollerin like a bunch of pre adolescent children. Micro spikes are the way to go as I was slipping and sliding all over, in a lunatic fringe kind of way. Afterwards, a stop at backcountry pizza and tap house seemed fitting. Awesome choice, great selection.
Picking the cincy boys up at the airport and off to Vail for a week. Powder, bowls, tree runs, jumps, hot tub and pool time. My life is a struggle. Get out and play.

paradoxical sleep

2012-02-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

Finally back into a normal sleep pattern. The vivid, wake you up out of REM,dead sleep dreams continue. Not nightmares just very real dreams and continue as I get back to being acclimatized. they always occur after leaving high elevations for periods of a time when i return to my oxygen deprived living. My encephalic states of excitement is off the chart, for me at least. They normally only last a few days but this time it is taking longer. The dreams are pretty amazing and I wish I could record and watch them. I need to drink more water.

Don't eat yellow snow

2012-02-06T00:55:00.000-08:00

Echo mountain
Played in the terrain park, boxes, jumps and rails for most of every run. Fell on one box and jammed my right thumb into the metal side as I was falling off. I think something in their is broken, no hitchhiking for me. Knee deep to waist powder day. Continue to learn more tricks and feeling more confident on the bigger jumps.

Eldora mountain.
Double black diamonds and tree boarding was how the day was spent. Two back to back fun days in the mountains.
With forty plus inches of snow, it has been hard to run outside. Indoor running on a treadmill is a travesty and mind numbing, at least I can see the mountains

I have an addiction to the show criminal minds. Season 6 was started yesterday and I'm dreading the day I reach the end of the episodes. Like any great addiction I will soon be going through withdrawal.

Wankers

2012-02-01T18:40:00.000-08:00

They misplaced my luggage. It won't arrive til a day later so I was stuck in the same clothes, feeling dirty and it cost me an extra 75 to ride the tube to gatwick express the next day to go pick up my bags. Ate fish and chips, had a pint. Saw the mosque that was responsible for the 2006 bombing of London rail system. Lots and lots of Muslims.
Saw big Ben, parliament and walked around Oxford circus, Piccadilly square and Trafalgar square. Hung out and watched Chinese entertainers during a celebration of the new year, the year of the dragon. Xin Nian Kuai Lei. Went shopping for an Arsenal f.c. Jersey at the official Arsenal store for my nephew.

Back to the states
Medical emergency aboard our plane during taxi to the runway, they turned the plane around and headed back to the gate, delaying us about two hours. Flew from heathrow to Philadelphia, Philly to Denver. the plus middle row, four chairs no one sitting next to me. Slept four hours watched black swan, date night and Midnight in Paris. Philly travel with U.S. Air, more of the same. We boarded the plane, no pilot and were delayed one hour. The pilots arrive and tell us we have to exit the plane due to an electrical issue. Another hour delay. This has been one long trip home, beginning at 6:00 am and making it home in the bright morning hours of the next day. 11 hours on a plane. Ouch.

Pretty much tipping is not a common practice among Europeans. They are extremely surprised and grateful.
It is hard to say which place on my European tour I liked the best, each had something to offer. Really would return to Paris though.
The food, being so fresh and from scratch I was able to eat smaller portions and not feel hungry or bloated to the point of obesity, unlike in the U.S. London was a little different story as the food was more processed but the bacon in London was 10x better than the thin strips of we find in the states.

I have a return ticket to London in March but doubt I will use it at that time. When buying my return ticket to the states, a one way from heathrow to Denver was about $800 and change. A roundtrip was $650. This makes no sense but whatever, heathrow is a grand airport and most destinations out of this airport are rather cheap although the pound is crazy expensive as is most things British.

So as great as it is to be headed home to the mountains, trails and snowboarding, a part of my brain is itching and thinking about all things Asia.

Florence Italy not Florence y'all

2012-02-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

Wonderful, clean, lovely 5 star hotel. Polite people. Booming night life, great view. Great restaurants. Saw Michealangelos David, paintings and sculptures from da Vinci and Botticello among others. Spent the day at the Galleria degli Uffizi and the Duomo. Highly recommended if you are ever in Florence.
Spent my last night hanging out with a rag tag bunch. Ate. Dinner with 4 college girls from Loyola Chicago who were studying in Rome and took a weekend trip to Florence. Then we were joined by a rabbi and his wife from new York city and a doctor and his wife from Rome. Obscenely crazy fun night. My 5:30 am wake up call came way to early, I misplaced my glasses, which were later found at the hotel and I hope are now in route to Colorado. London bridges falling down.

When in Rome

2012-02-01T14:46:00.001-08:00

Arrived in Rome via the euro rail and then jumped onto the train to get closer to my sleeping accommodations. Got lost( misplaced) for a little while trying to find the monastery turned hotel where I was staying. This monastery was emporer constantines mothers house and site of the first mass legal Christian ceremony back in the day, just after Christianity was made legal by her son. A large chapel and museo was part of the grounds which contained one of the original spikes used to hang Jesus on the cross as well as two thorns from his crown of thorns. Walked around town Sunday evening, very little was open late.
Monday Rome
Spent the day at the Colosseum and had some more great food for lunch and dinner. Walked around all day.
Tuesday Rome
Spent the day touring the Vatican and Sistine chapel. After reading the signs/rules/regulations I misunderstood the rules for picture taking and decided to check my camera with my bag at bag check upon entering the Vatican. What i I thought I read was no pics at all, what it really read was no pics inside the Sistine chapel. Ate dinner at the same restaurant as monday night. It was that good. The theme was truffle, ate a lot of pastas and pizzas that contained truffles. Rome itself was dirty and the people were not all that friendly, except at the restaurant where I ate twice and the area near the Spanish steps. The history and ruins are staggering. Lots of history and I now understand that Rome was not built in a day.
Wednesday travel day from Rome to Florence via euro rail.

Venice

2012-01-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

When the moon hits your eye like a bigga pizza pie.
Small cobble stone streets, all the taxis are boats or gondolas. From the airport I took a water taxi to my hotel, which is directly in a piazza, glass blown trinkets, jewelry and art is every where. Great views of the city and the squares. Feeling run down so I used one day to rest. Two blocks away from st. Marco square. Delicious food everywhere, kids playing soccer,
Took the euro rail to get to Rome.

Bon jour

2012-01-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

Just going to put it out in the open. I loooooove traveling. Airports, the people who I meet and the ppl i get to watch. French speaking women melt my heart, punch me in the face and call me smitten I guess. Language of love yes I believe it to be true. A couple of years ago I was ready to jump on a plane, fly to Paris and get married Now, I've chosen to travel with no crazy romantic notions Interesting how life changes make us who we are. It is so romantic, glorious and wonderful.

Started this journey in Denver with a layover in Montreal Trudeu. It is the small things that add up, Air Canada has free movies/tv and the attendants are so friendly. I chose to watch crazy stupid love and half of saving private ryan. The customs agent admired my beard. Surrounding myself with French speaking people, I am amazed at my comprehension of this foreign language. Ate dinner at a trendy French restaurant in the airport. The Bordeaux 2005 was exquisite. The plane to france is huge, this is a first for me with many more firsts to come,, i have the entire row to myself which is a major bonus and watched "The Change Up" , " moneyball" Tomorrow morning I wake up in Paris.

Arrived in Paris around 8am and got to the hotel around 9 am. Couldnt check in but was able to drop off my luggage. Headed to the Basillque du sacre coure, a brassiere for lunch and a wonderful, delicious French restaurant for dinner. Un carafe du vin rouge. Was hoping no one would see me on CNN as I observed a Muslim protest regarding a new French law and women's headgear. Cops and military in riot gear, slamming a guy from the press and a busload of protesters on their way to jail made for an interesting introduction to Paris.

Day two
Walked to the champs elyeese, Eiffel tower and a few more brassieres for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Got to see the tower all light up but did not go up it since it was cloudy and raining and the stairs were only open to the second level. Tons of statues and detailed architecture.

Cultural differences that I noticed. Fashion is king. Most men are in suits, dress shoes. Not to many people in tennis shoes and baseball hats are out. The women dress sharp and professional as well as trendy. PETA would cry over the fur coats. They are some stylish mofos. Most shops close by 7 pm and an acceptable dinner time is around 8:30pm.

Met a fun girl from Poland named Agata and a girl from Sweden.
The food is wonderful

Off to Venice with a stop in Munich.

Extra spicy with a large side of red beans and rice.

2012-01-14T20:43:00.000-08:00

Another birthday came and gone. I don't feel 40 and what does being 40 mean. If I live to be 80, it means my life is half over. Which will be the better half?

Went to a-basin snowboarding. Stopped by the Dam brewery in Dillon for a late lunch and played in the back yard on a homemade snowboarding jump that I made the previous day.

Friday was a rest day
Saturday
Got my a$& handed to me on a silver platter
Awoke at 4 am and drove to Colorado springs for the Ponderous Posterior Fat Ass run. Roughly 32 miles of one of the hardest, ascetically pleasing, no whining no fee, no aid runs I've done. The course was marked brilliantly. Did I mention it was pretty. With views of pikes peak and trails through the garden of the gods, how could it not be.
Why was it rough. Probably this climb which was at about mile 11.
http://www.hikingintherockies.com/hiking/hike%20reports/manitouincline/manitouincline.htm

What sucked about this run.
1. I craved popeyes chicken as well as red beans and rice for hours
2. I've had the hiccups for hours after the run. This happens a lot since my homeostatic balance and immune system gets jacked up.

It's on the list of runs for next year and hope to make a few training trips down that way in the coming months.

Countdown to globality

2012-01-09T21:59:00.000-08:00

Globality is a made up word I think.

Get here January 15 pretty please. That is when I leave. About to put this passport to some use.

Three days in Paris. Better start studying my French. From Paris, I fly to Venice for two days and then take the train to Rome for three days. Rome to Florence for three days and then I fly to London for four days. From London it gets kinda foggy, get it, foggy in London haha I do entertain myself but I digress. I am debating on flying home( to Denver) or heading to Ireland for a few days. Playing this by ear and seeing if I'm ready to be back in the states or continue my travels

Fun run today. Lair of the bear. 6 and change miles out on single track trail and back. The north/east side facing trails were covered in snow, the rest slushy or dirt. Good start to the week.

Au Revior
Ciao
Cheerio

Finally some snow

2012-01-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

A friend sent me this so I thought I would share.

- A mountain is not a checkbox to be ticked
- Alpinism and mountaineering are not restricted to 14,000 foot mountains
- Judgment and experience are the two most important pieces of gear you own
- Being honest to yourself and others about your abilities is a
characteristic of experienced climbers
- Courage cannot be bought at REI or carried with you in your rucksack
~ The Baron Von Bergschrund

Saturday January 7
Spent the morning snowshoeing up and around echo lake and then to my one of my favorite mexican cantinas Azteca in Idaho springs. Then it snowed and I knew that Sunday I would have my board strapped to my feet.

Sunday January 8
Up and at em early, headed to Copper mountain to enjoy 8 inches of powder. Big blue skies, snow white sugary powder, sun shining. Short lift lines as I think everyone stayed at home to watch football. Life is great.

How to become a mountain man part one

2012-01-04T20:41:00.000-08:00

as promised, Mountain man status and how you too can be as burly as me.

Before I start I must clarify that different categories of mountain men exist and these distinctions will be evident upon the conclusion of my little tid bits of knowledge and insider information regarding what I hope will become a series or when I run out of ideas to make up about this topic, which ever comes first. Maybe this information will just disappear, leaving you wondering what happened, kind of like a mountain man would do. Searching for solitude and the next adventure, or to just chop a cord of wood or two.

First break all your shaving equipment, in public with your bare hands. This is best done at a party or gathering where you do not know anyone, Announcing what you are going to become. In your best mountain voice. No turning back now. This act of raw mountain man aggression will serve a few purposes. You are putting it out there. It will also show these hipster party goers that you are not to be messed with. Standing in a circle, with bleeding hands, howling at the moon. That is what a mountain man would do.

Jeremiah Johnson is now your spiritual guide. Watch this movie over and over to learn and memorize his movements and demeanor. He will not let you down.

Flannel shirts not in a Seattle early 80's grunge kind of way but in a lumberjack, casual miner kinda way. Carhart pants work well for the image that we are going for and top it off with a good ole fashion trucker hat. Don't worry, with the right swagger, you will be able to pull it off. These are only to be worn when descending from large mountains into small mountain towns to show everyone how much of a badass mountain man you are.

If you are a little hungry, you should not order food. Mountain men don't pick at salads, they order the largest thing on the menu and devour it as if they haven't had real meat in days. No vegans allowed. If you can order a turkey leg, eat it like the barbarian, bear wrestling man that you are. Let the turkey juices run down your chin and don't use a napkin, that is why flannel is printed and not one color. Gravy is not a condiment and should take the place of vegetables. Mountain men don't converse or chat when they eat, they grunt or acknowledge by a tip of the cap or a nod of the head.

You are either First or you suck

2012-01-03T12:35:00.000-08:00

Not so fast. I am creating some hope for us yet.

A lot of energy has been placed in firsts. First white man to run this or that trail. First person to reach this or that peak. First person to horseback 10 miles, kayak three times around a pond and then walk backwards 22 steps, wearing yellow shorts with one shoe, for a new world record. No one has done that before have they? So while i am in the mood of making things up to be first in, I propose taking it to the next level. This level is called NUMBER TWO If you are "first" to complete a made up challenge, the next person completing this same awe inspiring, I'm better than you feat must take it to the NUMBER TWO level and since I am "first" to propose the notion of a NUMBER TWO, do I need to one up myself right now? Confused, me too.
Allow me to provide an example.
Bob, as i will call him, runs from one mountain top to the other in a time of xx:xx, Bill, as i will call him, wants to NUMBER TWO,his achievement. he must run the same route but Bill decides to stab himself in the leg with an UNLEADED*pencil at the beginning of the run, beat Bobs time and at the conclusion of the run, Bill will then escape imminent GRAPHITE* poisoning by removing the Broken off piece of Pencil* imbedded in his thigh with a rusty spoon hence completing his NUMBER TWO of the first achievement.

Who was the "first" to read this? Sorry you are slow,
I'm already working on taking this to the NUMBER TWO level by rereading it blindfolded, You are welcome to try and NUMBER TWO my achievement if you can.
If you are still reading this, I apologize for not writing anything of value, No I don't because while you reading this drivel and nonsense, I was out NUMBER TWOing.
Coming soon so Stay tuned as "Bill" tells you how to obtain mountain man status.

2012-01-02T18:41:00.000-08:00

2012
To do
Travel: go global
Run more: MMT, Hardrock, Silverton challenge, stone steps 50k
Climb more and become a better snowboarder.
Try something new every month of the year.
connect more, love more, live more.... Go big, no regrets, no looking back.

Happy new year

2012-01-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

The Lost weeks

2011-12-31T19:11:00.000-08:00

December 9-11
The good: spent a weekend in Cincinnati hanging out with some good friends that I haven't seen in awhile. (Arthurs, Tellers, UC VS Xavier game, Green Papaya).

The bad: while bounding up a flight of stairs like an epileptic cheetah, my foot slipped, missing the step. The result a cracked/ BBQ'd rib on my left side. now I turn to my ice packets as if it were a crack pipe, focused on the tender region 978756 times daily, trying to fix this as fast as possible so I can get back to running. I feel like a caged animal that can't sleep since every time I roll over on my side I get sharp pains that wake me from my restless slumber. Need I say this sucks.

December 17
Eff this. My rib is killing me. Tired of not coughing or sneezing. I'm Having trouble putting on a pair of pants/socks/shirt and getting in and out of bed/car. Cannot raise my arm, breathe, inhale and sleep. Ice, heat, ice, heat repeat.
Hung out at mill creek park with some of my running family for URINEO(Ultra Runners In NorthEast Ohio) Congrats to those who pushed his/her limits on the trails and the roads.
Losey family Christmas.
Talked a lot of nonsense to most of my family that I haven't seen in awhile. That's what I do.
running update
Got in MMT 100 May 12-13, 2012. Very glad to be running on these two very specific dates.
December 20
Baby steps, I can finally feel my lung and am able to take a semi full breath, with movement of my rib cage.
One entire year. Never saw that one coming. Pretty insane how changes and decisions of other people mold and shape other people's future. Craziness that pushed me to live a life I always wanted. Evaluating where i was and what i want, strengths VS weaknesses Running to the western sun and mountains in search of something and filling an unreplaceable void. Safety in change I guess.
December 21
Today was spent resting and icing. I am gaining more flexibility in my rib cage and am overwhelmed with boredom and insomnia.
December 23
Took my nephew to see "we bought a zoo" good movie, two thumbs up, with my recommendation.
December 24
Since I can't run, spent three hours this morning walking the roads of mill creek park.
Started to feel like I was coming down with something, stuffy head, morning sore throat, runny nose but after a four hour nap, false alarm....booyah.
December 25
Fun with the fam. Made it through another year. Miss you Stork. Think about you often.
Struggling with the fine line of try to run, not run and heal, when to push it and when to rest up.
December 26
Spent the evening hanging out with some friends from college that were in town for the holidays.
December 27
Oh lazy day, chilling in my forever lazy. Sleeping most of the day, trying to insure I don't get sick.
December 28
Went to the movies, saw Real Steel.
December 29
Indian food for lunch, packing up for my trip back home. The bittersweet of leaving the family and going back home. It's always great to spend time at my parents house. Am definitely happy to head out of Ohio and back to the mountains.

Empire state of mind

2011-12-06T17:37:00.000-08:00

Spent a weekend in NYC and the east village. Lots of people in the big apple. Thursday evening, i Met up with Tristan and Gina at Pravda, a cool, trendy vodka bar with all the pretty people. After that we all headed to a roaming reggae/Rastafarian club to check out some dee jays.
Friday: ate lunch at a world famous vietnamese noodle restaurant, xian house and spent the early hours of the night at Sala, a wine bar near union square with Tristan, Tamara, Carlie,and Merrilyn from there we headed back to east village for dinner at a french restaurant and to meet up with Joanna at my favorite, the 7 street bar. The service was awesome, if you get the chance, go visit Nicole and tell her I sent you.

Saturday: spent most of the day walking around downtown, ate lunch at a really good western Chinese pho house and a late lunch at the excellent dumplings house in chinatown. Road the subway back to the east village and then headed to a French restaurant that was run by French culinary school students. Food was awesome. From there I made my first trip to a hookah bar.

Sunday: yep, I'm retarded and it cost me $150.00.. I WANTED to fly home December 4th, I bought my ticket for February 4 th...... Dumb dumb dumb. Oh well, whatever.
Got in Hardrock 100, that changes my training a ton. Focused on not failing. A lot of people want my slot and I appreciate that i got one and hope to not squander my opportunity.
Signed up for MMT #6
Signed up for western states 100
Confirmed my trip to Italy/europe in January.

December: Oh joy, I'll pass on this whole month. See you next year.

Rivalry Saturday

2011-11-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

November 26 2011

Watched the Ohio state vs Michigan game at the Allen house. Food was great, good to see and hang out with a lifelong friend. Surrounding yourself with great people on a day when you miss someone seems to be great therapy. This is my favorite Saturday of college football. So many great games. Almost comparable to march madness, almost.
Adding to my to do list, attend a south Carolina VS Clemson @ Clemson football game. The gamecock crowing or cackling is annoying and I never liked spurrier as a coach. Alabama VS auburn would be pretty sweet as well.

NBA don't care that you and the owners have come to a tentative agreement. Should I be excited that you are going to start playing games on Christmas? Nope

Running: hamstring has been very tight since my ten miler at west branch so before I injure it any further, have taken two days off with only stretching. I'll see how I feel tomorrow morning and then adjust my running schedule accordingly.

1:35 pm ~~~~I hope your day was great

Go browns.

2011-11-25T16:01:00.000-08:00

Sunday vertical monster

Started a little bit after 7 am, 22 degrees out. Carried a big pack(about 25 pounds) with a gallon of water and some calories, that I dropped at a large rock cropping. This was the aid station for the loop around elephant butte. The first two loops were uneventful. The third and fourth I wondered why I was doing this, the fifth and sixth loops my legs were tired but I was getting closer to being done. The seventh was heaven and flew by. Number eight loop I did in the opposite direction to change it up a bit. The last climb up evergreen mountain it was starting to get cold and the sun was going down.
Pretty hard training run. 10 hours on the trail and 10 k of climb. Hoping to do this run a few more times

Monday/Tuesday
Spent the day wrapping up a few loose ends in Colorado before flying back to Ohio. Waited over two weeks to get my old title from Ohio DMV and it arrived a few hours before I left. Spent the night at my cousins in Denver and she graciously took me to the airport on Tuesday morning. So glad I dont have to pay for five weeks of airport parking.
A lot has been made about holiday travel. I got my ticket, through security and to my gate in about 15 minutes. Smooth as silk.
Got to Ohio in time to watch my nephew play soccer.

Wednesday
Got a 4 mile run in around the neighborhood, legs were still dead from Sunday's adventure. Turkey trot should be fun.

Thursday
Ran a 35:38 in the five mile turkey trot. Kept even splits the entire run. Ate turkey, took a nap and took my nephew to see jack and Jill. It was great to hang out with my family and not have to worry about the madness of black Friday. On the way home from the movies, Jarod wanted to drive by best buy and throw something soft at the campers haha love that kid. The line at toys r us five hours before they opened was insane. I don't get it.

You looka like a _____________

2011-11-19T21:11:00.000-08:00

Thursday
Headed to Keystone for my first day of snowboarding this season. Snow was good and it was great to finally gets some turns in and before thanksgiving is even better. Got home early enough to head to cactus jacks for the Broncos game. Two women approached me and asked if I was a runner, i wasnt even wearing one of hundreds of running shirts or shorts that I own. I asked them why and they said I looked like a runner. I'll take that any day especially living in the land of fit people. Thanks T and Tracey, you made my night.
Saturday
7 mile run today up Evergreen mountain, felt smooth.
Running tomorrow morning ( Sunday) with a lot of climb.
Packed and ready to occupy Ohio.

Dry run

2011-11-16T17:16:00.001-08:00

Wide awake at 3am. I guess my body still thinks it needs to stay up all Tuesday and into Wednesday. This is the day that I use to do inventory for work and like clock work, every Tuesday I am wide awake. I would have thought that after 5 months of not working ( wow it's been that long) my body would have adjusted by now.
Broke our upcoming Saturday run into four sections and on preliminary data collected today via gps and good old fashion math this is what I got.
First section is evergreen mountain.
1.27 miles to the top,
1,010 feet of gain
zero loss.
Second section will be transitioning down evergreen mountain to the loop trail around elephant butte
1.93 miles
337 feet gain
1,052 feet of loss
Third section is the loop Around elephant butte plus the spur to the top ( plan on doing this 9 times)
2.27 miles
944 feet gain
899 feet of loss
Fourth section is home
2.77 miles
431 feet of gain.

If I calculated correctly, our total miles would be 26.48 for a gain of 10,175 feet. Subject to change as abiding by the rules of a fat ass run.
Saturday appears on paper to be a long day.

VM FA

2011-11-15T21:16:00.000-08:00

Keeping with the family tradition, I signed up for the turkey trot today oh and ran 7 miles up and around evergreen mountain. Doing a test run of the "vertical monster fat ass" run course tomorrow to check elevation gain and miles.

Rested legs=happy feets

2011-11-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

Spent Friday struggling through a 7 mile run. My legs were tired and my brain kept coming up with excuses to turn back. Not a fun day for me on the trails. In the past this was my indicator that I was overtraining. As Friday progressed, I wanted to redeem myself on Saturday. Gung ho and ready to go I step out on the deck into an intense windstorm up to 100 mph. Back into the house I go. Bad weather does not bother me but this was insane. Off to hang out in Boulder for the day, no run and a day of rest. Yes.
Sunday. Lair o bear to Pence park. 13 miles with a small diversion to climb the panoramic trail and the meadow view trail. I could breathe and my legs finally felt rested. Nothing beats a fun run with happy feet. cheers to a new week.
The weatherman predicted 10-20 inches of snow, they got 2 inches. How are they off by that much? Thanks for getting my hopes up, my snowboard is getting impatient and so am I.

Wasted day

2011-11-07T23:18:00.001-08:00

Spent all of Monday sleeping and trying to get rid of a migraine headache.
Felt like someone was hitting me in the head with a hammer repeatedly for hours.

Mt Falcon park. Sunday funday

2011-11-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

Attempted to run with the Denver trail runners this morning but picked the wrong parking lot. So we started at the upper mt. Falcon parking lot and took the castle trail. the first mile looks more like a dirt road than a trail but as we descended it turned more technical and boom, we are on a single track. The views of the Denver skyline and red rocks became evident during this mostly four mile downhill. Standing on a overlook, i could see red rocks to my left, downtown Denver to my right, and snow covered mt. Evans behind me. Broke off of the castle trail and took the turkey trot trail that loops around to back to the base of mt falcon park. The turkey trot trail gives the best views of red rocks that I have seen. This is when we rejoined the castle trail for about a four mile up hill to the upper parking lot. Good start to the running week with some technical up tempo, long downhill and long climb back up.

Here kitty, kitty

2011-11-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

Drove to Colorado springs, bought a new car. Was hoping to get a run in around pikes peak but the car buying process took up most of the day and I needed the rest day since my legs are pretty trashed. Back at it tomorrow.

Upon returning to Evergreen and pulling into the driveway, a mountain lion was about five yards from the back sliding glass doors. Wild animals are pretty neat.
An extra hour of sleep. Yes please.

So beast you don't even know

2011-11-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

Spent the day running three sisters trail, elephant park, and buffalo park. Excited that we found some flowing single track trails that lead up and around elephant butte with some great views and good climbs. Ran into a local on horse back that explained how to get to the destination we were looking for. On top saw a large red fox with a bushy tail and the tip of the tail was pure white. I got pics but my iPad is is in a class with kids that dont read so good and won't let me upload them unless I write this blog on email and mail it to myself at blogger, which sounds like to much work. This now makes the route a huge circle instead of an out and back. Snow is ankle deep on the non sunny side of the mountains. The last time I wore my road running shoes was July 29th during a run around Donner lake in California, that is so beast(a phrase the young kids are using these days) Legs feel like wet noodles, tomorrows run should be fun.

That's pretty neat

2011-11-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

Had a fun hiking camping trip last weekend, scratched the idea of the Colorado trail due to logistics. Headed towards elephant park and the mt. Evans wilderness. Slept in a bivy on the ground, no tent. 20 ish degrees at night but was toasty warm. Heard a pack of coyotes making all kind of noise at about 4am. Saw three grey foxes, two were rather large. Pack weight was about 30 lbs and my freeze dried dinner was only 6 years expired. It still tasted great. Very windy. The whole trip was pretty neat.
No shave November, growing a beard.
Snow is falling again. Awesome.
Last timed run of the year happened yesterday. Now it is about building back a base and longer slow runs.
Hardrock 100 application is on it's way. Fingers crossed.
Just got better news about a friend who was diagnosed with cancer.
Lost a friend who was killed by a falling tree limb. Life is short.
Got an email from a friend who i haven't heard from for over a year. Reconnecting is neat.
Removed my rocket box and bike rack from my car. Engine is clean and so is the inside. Time to trade it in and get a new one.
Bought my plane tickets home for the holidays. Arrive in Ohio November 22 and will be back in Colorado December 31. Wow over a month. Looking forward to the turkey trot and some miles in mill creek park at URINEO FA( Ultra Runners In North East Ohio fat ass)

Give it a looky see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm3JodBR-vs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sugary POW happy trails oh my

2011-10-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

The morning air was cold and crisp. The skies were bright blue. Made freshies on my run up and around Evergreen mountain. it looked and felt like running through fields of granulated sugar. I had the trails to myself, which is a good thing, if someone would have seen me they would have thought i was mental. Smiling thinking mornings like this is why i moved here. Coming off the backside of the mountain I thought I saw mountain lion tracks. The first few times a large clump of snow would fall off the trees, it would spook me and make me think I was being hunted down. Oh how my mind wanders when I'm running.

She's the cheese and I'm the macaroni

2011-10-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Flew into CVG(Cincinnati Very Good) on Friday and arrived in time to head to the Colerain VS. hamilton football game with sweaty Bob and his wife. In seven years, never went to one high school game in what I consider, the second best place for high school football behind Warren of course. After the game, Bob and I were birthday crashers at pebble creek golf course, couldn't find a wedding on a Friday night.
Saturday: played 18 holes of golf at Miami whitewater, went out to eat and went to a Halloween barn party with live music and games for the kids with about two hundred other people.
Sunday: Stonesteps 50k. The goal was to go out a little slower and try to pick up some time on the last few loops, which I stuck to that plan but after two bathroom breaks, I knew I wouldn't be able to PR and enjoyed running with Brian, Kyle and Gregg. You would have thought we were teenage girls as we chatted and giggled but it made for some easy miles. 279.61704 miles accumulated on that course excluding training runs.
Spent the next few days in covington Ky hanging out, got to eat at Tim + Chee for lunch( grilled cheese) keystone(best mac n cheese anywhere sorry Mom) a stop at Arthurs( fried cheese) and played trivia at MLTs. Best team name from trivia was "my couch pulls out, I don't" I think they came in last. Back in Colorado before the snow fell and planning my next adventure, which appears to be the start of the Colorado trail, starting this Saturday, weather dependent.

One week catch up

2011-10-21T11:57:00.001-07:00

Took care of some everyday life things over the past week, paid some bills picked up mail, laundry etc. . Life is pretty simple. Had three decent runs. Hung out at the stagecoach bar and grill and watched the browns lose( nothing new) and went to little bear on Monday night to watch football. Excited to head to Cincinnati for stonesteps 50k number 9 . Only one more after Sunday and I can pull the plug on this streak. Not that I don't want to run more but since I am now calling Colorado my home, I don't see myself coming back to Ohio for a 50k. Plus 10 of anything is a nice stopping point. For example; Ten day, month, year relationship, ten tacos, ears of corn, beers, etc. All seem appropriate. Now eleven of any of those, that just seems excessive to me. Been researching new cars and will buy one when I get back to CO from Ohio. Narrowed it down to three not in any particular order. Subaru, Volvo and Audi. On a side note, I wish people would spare me his/her political bullshit right and left wing on facebook. I don't care that you hate Obama or love the GOP, or vice versa. I research who I vote for on my own and just because your church, union, chess club tells you to vote for this person or that does not mean I have to. Proud of you for copying what someone else wrote and making it your own. If I want your opinion, I'll ask. Educate yourself and stop being such a follower of the blind. Ok my box of soap has toppled.

October 13/14

2011-10-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

I find myself in Ridgeway CO, after a good run in Ouray. Twin peaks to the box canyon and camp bird road above the ice park. How many miles? Don't care. Elevation gain/loss? Don't care. Felt good to move on the trails with no goal/time/agenda. I find this happening more and more. I hope it is a precursor to my personal secret goal at stonesteps 50k in a week and some days. My Colorado legs are stronger than previous stonesteps and my lungs feel bigger but I question my "running" legs. We shall see come Ohio.

Hello chilly weather

2011-10-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

October 11-13

Spent the last few days in Silverton and Ouray CO. It is so different visiting these towns during the off season. Very few tourists, totally different vibe hanging with the locals. Getting to know people at the coffee shops by name creates more of the experience. It is getting colder in the high country with a light dusting of snow. I can see my breath when I go to sleep and the windows are frosted when I get up. Perfect blue skies by noon. Time to get my warmer sleeping bag.

Grand Canyon 2011

2011-10-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

October 9 2011

Hung out in Durango before heading to the big ditch, lost my phone and left my credit card at a restaurant before meeting up with Megan and Connie. Drove to our campsite on Saturday, set up camp, got dinner and talked with the rangers regarding water and trail conditions. Went to bed early Saturday night and got up at 5am to start our descent into the canyon around 5:30am. It was a cold night and a chilly morning. We started from South Kaibab down to phantom ranch, It warmed up fast. If you want a steak dinner at the bottom of the canyon, it is only $42.00. I hung out at blue ribbon falls, soaked in the stream, saw a snake(dont know what kind but got a pic) and scared the group hiking behind me as i jumped and squeled like a little girl. I hate snakes. The lemonade(four glasses and a water bottle filled) quenched my thirst and the summer sausage provided me enough energy for a long slow climb out from the bottom. Only saw one other person the seven miles or so back up south Kaibab with a full moon The Colorado river was muddy unlike my last trip to the bottom, in which it was a bright green Famished and starving we headed to the cafeteria for a turkey dinner and then a two dollar shower which was wonderful. Heard a few elk bugle and coyotes howling very close to our campsite. The colors of the canyon are breathtaking as is the climb. I guess that is why they call it grand

GABF

2011-10-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

Volunteering at the Great American Beer festival. Awesome. I was stationed in island "E" which was considered the Midwest. Rock bottom Cleveland and cincinnati. We served one ounce of beer in small little tasting cups. The people I got to work with were great. 433 brewers, 49,000 people attended. My friend Massie came in from C-bus which means the party would not disappoint, she doesn't allow it.
Freshcraft, pedal cab races through downtown Denver.
Falling rock tap house, Denver Chophouse, getting to meet the brewers of three floyds, back to falling rock.
Qoute worthy
"Look at those calves, makes me want to lick honey off of them"
" you smell like fried pickles and shame".

Which has intrigued me to look into becoming a pedicab operator. Ride a bike all day. That wouldn't be so bad.

If you like beer, it is a must go to.

Pain in my ass

2011-09-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

September 27

Ran 11 miles in Evergreen with Bob, found some awesome new trails. Lots of good climbing. Surprised that a two week stay in Ohio feels like I'm starting the altitude acclimation all over again. Piriformis pain is back. Spent the night stretching, sitting on a tennis ball and rolling my ass muscles around the ball. Felt like I was going to pass out. I'm sure trying to keep up with the young kids football team that I'm coaching didn't help.

2011-09-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

September 18-September 26

Ohio
Relaxing week in Warren. Slept a lot. Got to see two browns games(both wins) two WGH varsity soccer games, my dad on a horse, lots of friends and family for my dads surprise 60th birthday party. Jacob going to homecoming and two Sunday dinners. Got a few good runs in at mill creek park. Ready to head back to the mountains and climb a few more 14 ers before the snow comes.

YUTC

2011-09-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

September 17

Worked runner check, went to the start of the trail near volney rogers and enjoyed watching all the runners come through and made sure they made the correct turn. Once all the runners were through, I ran to the covered bridge and helped direct runners on which way to go. Ran back to the log cabin. It was great to see old friends and make a few new ones, a big party with a few miles thrown in for the fun of it. Another successful YUTC and I am happy to have been a part of it.

2011-09-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

September 16

Spent the day marking the YUTC 50k and 25k course.

Road runner beep beep

2011-09-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

September 15

Ran 7 miles around Warren and legs are feeling good. Slight hamstring pain but it subsided around mile two. Marking the trail tomorrow for YUTC 50k and 25k. Looking forward to getting back to the trails where my trail running started.

Coming home

2011-09-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

September 14

No drama travel from DIA to Akron. Sat next to a chatter box home schooled kid. Do not understand why travelers feel the need to 1. Stand up on the plane as soon as we reach the gate and 2. Gather around the baggage claim like that can't see their luggage from ten yards back. Love fighting my way through the crowd as they stand, looking at a conveyor belt, which is going around in circles. Makes no sense. My sis picked me up and my first stop was the Warren Hot Dog Shoppe. Hung out with la familia for a bit and got to see Jacob play soccer, WGH VS Shaker Heights.

Chili cook off

2011-09-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

September 11

Ran 10 miles with the Denver TraIl runners. Started at lookout mountain, near Boettcher mansion, down to windy saddle parking area and out on the beaver brook trail. Some nice technical trails that reminded me of the massanutens. After that, myself and the Combs family went to the Evergreen chili cook off. Fun mountain town festival. Live bands, fire fighter competitions and chili.

Cycling Littleton

2011-09-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

September 10

28 mile bike ride with Maggie, 14 miles up, 14 miles down. Deer creek canyon road to high grade road topping out in Conifer, almost 4,000 feet of elevation gain. She is a climber and I am still trying to find my legs and lungs. Cold descent. Over 40 mph on the downs is fun on skinny tires. Went to the corner bakery for lunch after our ride which is similar to a Panera but 10x better.

Well, I wake in the morning
Fold my hands and pray for rain
I got a head full of ideas
That are drivin’ me insane

Exploring Evergreen

2011-09-14T08:36:00.000-07:00

September 09

8 mile run up and around Evergreen mountain yesterday followed by a another 8 mile run bushwhacking and some rock climbing. Headed up a long dirt road with about 1,000 feet of climb. Fun climbs, legs are still tired.

Couch surfing

2011-09-10T15:44:00.000-07:00

September 7, 2011

Stopped on my way back to Evergreen in Vail. One of my favorite restaurants, a local joint called The George. It is in the basement of Vail village off the beaten path from normal tourists to the mountain. Surf and turf for 20 bucks. During this visit I met Niki and Justin who live in Vail. Niki just joined the peace corp and Justin is an avid snowboarder, tattoo artist. They participate in couch surfing and offered me a place to crash in an awesome ski chalet, which I gladly accepted. Really chill, fun people. Mixing it up with the locals.

Journey Summary

2011-09-07T16:20:00.000-07:00

September 07

U.S.A. Summer road trip 2011 is over

Starting in Evergreen CO and ending in Evergreen CO
7 states (Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho)

5,185 miles on the Subaru

Two 14,000 foot mountains ( Mt. Shasta 14, 179 feet and Mt. Rainier 14,411 feet)

One failed attempt at a 100 miler( cascade crest classic 100)

One successful 100 mile run the week after at the Silverton challenge

Three really good books

Four great family and friends opened their homes and let me crash, shower, and do laundry.

Time to start planning my Asian/European adventure hopefully next spring, summer.

Circle

2011-09-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

September 04-05

Big head Todd and the monsters
"circle"
"All life is, is really just a circle."

Beep, look up, check miles, check pace, subtract what was left to do and repeat.

This was my first attempt at a 48 hour run, located in Silverton CO. The course consisted of a 1 mile, all trail loop. 250 feet of elevation loss/gain per loop, switching directions every six hours A huge circus tent was the start finish area. A run within many runs. A 1,000 mile challenge, a 6 day, 72 hour, 48 hour and 24 hour run and by Sunday morning, all runners were out making loops. Every runner wore an anklet computerized chip and we crossed over a mat that recorded the miles. What was really cool about the run was the results were projected onto the tent wall. Beep, look up like a salivating dog as the screen showed my reward. One nice and slow mile. Winner for a split second. On to the next loop.
Started my run day with a chai latte and a breakfast burrito from the avalanche coffee shop( love that place). Run started at 9am, took off faster than normal and lead the run for the first 40 miles. Went to bed around 10 pm and got a full nights sleep.
Day two
Started the day with a chai latte and a breakfast burrito from the avalanche coffee shop(love that place). Oh the irony of repetition. Four people passed me while I slept.
My milestones and what I thought about while running.
60 miles to go.
40 miles run equals bed time
50 miles halfway and every step from here on out is "Downhill"
69 miles only a 50k left
71 miles if I was running the ring, I'd be done right now.
74 miles less than marathon to go
81 miles. I'm in the teens of mileage left
91 single digits left

I only have to climb this hill 26 ,25 ,24 etc more times.

Two runners from Marshal were running together and every time I passed them I would tell them the start of a joke, never the ending.
"two guys walk into a bar, ok see you next lap"
Next lap
" what is green and yellow and, ok see you next lap"
These turned to songs.
Me:Hey Jeremy and Zach do you want to have the best lap of the night?
Them: Sure Bill
Me: who let the dogs out
Them: you bastard, payback is coming
They got me back with tainted love the next lap.

Near the end Jeremy and I spent a few laps together chatting about we are marshal, west Virginia, women, the coast guard (who was kind enough to let him out of Irene clean up to run) his running days at western states and the university of Oregon etc. These miles flew by since 97% of the run I was by myself.

Didn't think I would like a one mile loop course or a hours event but it was great to get the miles in with 25,000 feet of elevation loss/gain. It didn't seem monotonous, didn't have to pack drop bags, carry big packs or plan for weather. The stress of normal hundreds did not apply. Run when you want to break when you want to. I only threw up twice at sunrise the second day. I would like to think the sunrise was so beautiful that I couldn't help myself but the real reason I continue to struggle with my nutritional and calorie intake.

Congrats and kudos to the Combs family for cranking out some good miles.

Many thanks to Rodger Wrublick, Nick and Jamil Coury for putting on great event. Definitely on my to do list next year, might even bump it up to 72 hours

Lil hamster

2011-09-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

September 01

Wow is summer coming to an end? Cannot wait for some snow up in them thar hills. Spent the day in Ouray and then later in the day arrived in Silverton. Going to try my luck at a 48 hour race, one mile loop,around and round in circles for two days. , Should be a fun way to spend two days and hopes it turns out a little better than cascade crest 100. Good luck to all those running the ring in Virginia. It is good to be back in Colorado

On the road again

2011-09-03T06:56:00.000-07:00

August 31

Driving and driving, from Seattle to about 20 miles from the Utah line.
What I learned. I no longer listen to rappers that put LIl, (Wayne, Kim, scrappy, b, Jon) you get the idea. Be original. Rock, use the word Theory In your bands name. Nope turning It. You are trying way to hard. I digress, more driving. Tried to sleep twice but both times I was wide awake so instead of staring at my ceiling i drove. Thank you Idaho and Utah for a speed limit of 75.

2011-09-01T01:41:00.000-07:00

August 29-30
Spent the last two days in Sammamish by organizing all my bags, gear and relaxing with Brenna, Paul and the kids. Sundays dinner was awesome, fresh salmon and a great salad(thanks Brenna) I am appreciative and thankful that I know so many great people, all over the U.S. Very lucky. I went for a run and it was enjoyable. Wondering what changed from two days earlier?

Cascade crest 100, I opted for 33 miles

2011-08-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

August 27-28
CCC 100.

Picked up Bob Combs at the sea-tac airport, headed to REI, pikes market and then to Easton WA. It was great to see some of the VHTRC crew, awesome event great trails, but my heart and my head, both not in it. By mile 3 I wanted to stop and every step to mile 33, it became very evident in my mind that I didn't feel like suffering, throwing up, pushing myself all night. This is an odd place for me to be in because in the past i have almost always been able to shut that part of my brain down and push on. I Have had a lot on my mind lately regarding life, structure, where I want to live, work, etc. And normally on long runs like this I figure it out but today I wanted nothing to do with it. I thought about steak dinners, a good night sleep, milkshakes and waking up not completely trashed. The morning after, I expected regret for stopping so early but yeah, not so much. heading back to Colorado.

Seattle area

2011-08-28T22:50:00.001-07:00

August 20-26

The summary of the week in Seattle with the Childress family. Great food, thanks Brenna, great music, thanks sterling loons. Bike ride and fun on Orcas island with Paul. Didn't get to see any Orca whales. Jack and Molly- we went to the park and picked huckelberries, played soccer, played catch, rode skateboards, read bed time stories ( don't tell a three year old " don't let the bed bugs bite" if she doesn't like bugs. ) pikes place market for good Mac n cheese and chocolate, canoeing. picnics, playing on the playground and throwing rocks. Molly was playing with a friend she met on the playground named Lucy sliding on the sliding board and at the bottom Lucy went pee, her father says "Lucy you don't pee in the park". Molly "yeah Lucy don't pee in the park, pee in the pool".

2011-08-28T22:48:00.002-07:00

August 18-19, 2011

Left RMI base camp around noon, secured our climbing permits and headed to camp muir, which is about 4.1 miles and mostly snow fields. Arrived at the camp around 5 ish and dropped some gear, repacked and laid out what we would need for later that night/next morning. Heated up some water for mountain house chili Mac and beef and went to bed around 8 pm. Hiking into muir a cloud covered the entire mountain and it was near whiteout conditions but as the night wore on, the clouds started to lift, the temp rose and the stars were visible. I was amazed at how fast the weather can change up high. We got up around midnight and was surprised how comfortable sleeping on a glacier can be. I slept great. Our goal was to get started ahead of the big guided groups and move fast up the mountain. climbing with a harness, roped up to other people was new to me and took a little bit to get used to. The glacier was glowing a vibrant blueish green from below. There were a few crevasses to step over, some small a few others large, one required a ladder. Most of them I couldn't see the bottom. I read about these in a book and it was very cool to experience these first hand. We reached the summit around 5 am and it was still dark. I could see Seattle, Yakima, mt Adams, mt baker, mt st. Helens all big, all glowing. I kept thinking people are down there, tucked in there beds and I just climbed a mountain. We skipped the cliches of that was only half of the climb or getting up is optional, getting down is imperative, took a few pics from the top. It was a little windy, somewhat cold but not unbearable. Heading back down, I tried to offer words of encouragement to the groups climbing up, most people looked trashed, focused and quiet. We ended up at camp muir without incident, got to watch the sunrise while climbing down and I got to lead a section while roped up. I hung out at camp muir for about an hour and a half, packing up some things we left in the tent and moved down to the parking lot pretty fast. It is amazing how I can move when I want to get out of the uncomfortable plastic boots. Got back to the hotel in time for a shower and a late lunch before driving to Seattle. Climbing mountains seems to put my life in perspective, it makes me feel very small and reminds me that 1. The mountains don't care. 2. The world is a big place 3. They help me reflect on what is important in my life, the people. My values and beliefs and 4. They act as a kind of reset button. The views aren't to bad either.

2011-08-28T22:48:00.001-07:00

August 17, 2011

Rest day and repack all my stuff. Rented pants and plastic climbing boots.

2011-08-28T22:46:00.001-07:00

August 16 , 2011

Climbed to camp muir, very light pack, running shoes, shorts a t shirt. It was fun glissading down the mountain.

2011-08-28T22:45:00.001-07:00

August 15 2011

Picked up a woman I met a few years ago in Cincinnati at the Seattle airport and headed to Ashton WA to meet up with her brother, who is a guide on mt Rainier. First viewing of this mountain, my thoughts are oh shit, this is a big one. I also took a step back and thought tons of people climb this yearly so why not me. What one man can do so can another. figuring out my gear, what to take, what to leave behind. Tomorrow morning heading to camp Muir for a fun, easy 10 mile hike at altitude on non-technical trails.

Thumbs, bikes and soap. Lots Of racing.

2011-08-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

August 09-14th, 2011

Spent a little under a week at a friends house, living in my own little cave(her basement) in Oregon. Went for a really fun run on Tuesday and Thursday in forest park which had some awesome trails. Monday we ate a place called sizzle pie, great tasting pizza. Tuesday after our run, we met at the lucky lab for libations, good food and thumb wrestling championships for oversized zucchini. Most of my Portland trip consisted of hanging out in the neighborhood I was residing in and enjoying the local shops. Friday
Night we went to check out the Twilight Crit, a professional bike race in downtown Portland. These boys closed the gap on the break away race leader in a quick, fast hurry. Saturday, I went to the adult soapbox derby. Very cool energy and a great scene. Headed down to the local track and ran the beer mile and had a chill night at the house. Awoke Sunday morning to the smell of banana pancakes and fresh fruit. What a great way to wake up. All in all, my stay in Portland was great but my only downside, I probably should have ventured out of the comfortable little neighborhood but this only gives me a reason to go back. Very cool city, scene, filled with stylish, fit hipsters and world class athletes. Great food great people. I could live in Portland. Got caught up on a lot of sleep and was introduced to the blog called " the oatmeal". If you are not familiar take some time and enjoy the humor.

Ocean size

2011-08-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

August 08 ,2011

"Once in awhile you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right" scarlet begonias
What I learned from driving up the coast is that the waves, earth and life doesn't stop. Wave after wave continues to crash up on the beach and continues to do so every few seconds forever. Pretty amazing to think that no matter what is going on in the world, your world , this is what will happen and it continues and you cant stop it.

In Oregon it is illegal to pump your own gas, who knew. Portland is great.

Whale of a headache

2011-08-07T02:11:00.000-07:00

August 06, 2011

Slept at bunny flats trailhead in my car and the climb must have put it to me, I went to bed at 8:30pm and got up at 10 the next day. Drove to clam beach, hung out in arcata and redwood np then crossed over the Klamath river and observed a slew of people on the bridge. A 45 foot grey whale was swimming back and forth under the bridge. Pretty spectacular to watch how elegant, fluid and massive this whale was. You can see it on YouTube as it is pretty well documented. Suffering a migraine and got my laundry done. Last day in California, heading north to Coos bay.

Shasta not the drink

2011-08-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

August 05, 2011

Mt Shasta(white mountain) 14 ,179 ft.
Departed my car at 1:00 am, it was a calm, cool starry night. I wore shorts and a t-shirt with my Montrail boots. The first 1 .6 miles is easy hiking with little elevation gain to the Sierra hiking hut and fresh spring water. From there I hiked over a few moraines and passed lake Helen on the left side. Lake Helen isn't a lake, no water This is the typical bivouac site for people doing a two day hike. The snow was hard and cold which after I put on my crampons and helmet turned into a kick step, kick step breathe and repeat over and over. Not being able to see, I stayed on the high side and traversed just below the heart and passed it on the right side. From there, it was a long climb up to red bank chimneys, two people were in the one to my right and Patrick the English teacher from sacremento was on my left so I went up the middle chimney. I caught Patrick who had started from lake Helen just below misery and we knocked out another 1000 foot elevation increase. Now the summit was in view and we passed some hot springs where according to John Muir's book he used to camp out on. It smelled like sulfur and I don't know how anyone could smell the rotten egg smell for nights on end. The steam coming from the ground was interesting to see. We were the first to summit for the day and the sky was blue, no wind and sunny. I hung out on the summit for about 1/2 hour, signed the log book with something sentimental and something funny to me. Go check it out. and then I began a fun descent. From the chimneys to lake Helen is a 2000 foot drop in elevation and I glissaded down the whole thing at what felt like break neck speed but I'm sure it was slow. Uneventful, slow climb, summit and return back to the car. This I will take over epic almost die anytime. No headache, no nausea, legs feel great, got two blisters on my heels. Btw, does anyone want a pair of Montrail hiking boots. I wore them four times and that equals 8 blisters. I'm done with those boots.

Lucky

2011-08-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

August 04 2011

Set my alarm for 4:30am for an alpine start, hit snooze a few times and then turned it off, rolled over and went back to bed, only to be woke up by the warm sun in my face. That mountain will be there tomorrow. Went into town, updated my backcountry permit. Back to my camping spot. Feeling very small looking at this mountain and a little intimidated. First climb with crampons, helmet and ice axe but I guess their is a first for everything right? Glad i decided to sleep in because I would have made a big mistake leaving so late. After talking with a few people what I thought would be a four to five.hour adventure is more like eight to ten. We will see tomorrow. I need to be heading down by 11:30 am is my turn around time summit or no summit. By noon clouds covered the entire top.

Dance on you fire dancers dance on

2011-08-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

August 03, 2011

Hung out at the pool and spa until my car was fixed which was around midday and headed to mt. Shasta. Got my permits take care of, you need two of them. A summit permit which costs $20 .00 and a backcountry permit which is free but you have to have both on your person or you get a fine and they make you turn back wherever they catch you. Got all my stuff packed up at the trail head. Couldn't fall asleep and tossed and turned all night. The stars were vibrant and everywhere, the people camping next to me put on a laser show and fire dancing which was very cool to watch with the stars, mountains and trees backdrop

The wheels on my Subaru go round and round

2011-08-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

August 02, 2011

San Fran to Napa valley( the hard way)

Visited the Presidio and China beach area. Hung out on the beach with views of the golden gate bridge and read for a few hours. Mapped out my route to mt. Shasta through Sonoma and Napa wine country. Driving through Napa my back tire fell off and rolled down the highway. My road angel named Leona was two cars behind me, saw it happen and pulled over to see if I needed help. She is an account executive for the valley yellow pages and knew who to call, gave them directions and got them there in ten minutes. Thank you Ms. Gonsalves. They got my car to the Subaru dealer just before closing and I got a shuttle to a hotel. Everything worked out as it always does.

Please don't ever poop in front of me again. Ever

2011-08-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

August 01 ,2011

San Fransico (day two)
Got up early for me 8:00am headed to pier 33, which was about a 40 minute walk. Along the way, I got to see a large number of homeless. One in particular stands out since he decided to defecate in front of me and then wipe his ass with his hand. It was like a train wreck, I would look away and then back and then away and repeat. I think I was in a state of shock. Still am. Arriving at pier 33 to obtain a ticket for the Alcatraz tour. Sold out until august 15. Denied again, way to many people on this planet. Walked to fishermans warf and hung out to watch the sea lions for awhile as well as some of the street performers and panhandlers. My favorite panhandler sign read " why lie, I need weed". Stopped off at Jacks, had a great lunch and better dinner and started to walk back to get my car and almost got threw up on by a homeless projectile vomiting all over the place. Visited Toronado brewing Co. On haight, just blocks from the corner of haight/ashbury which both were on my to-do list, hey it was Jerry Garcia's birthday Slept in my car on the side of the road

3 frenchies, an Aussie and a dumb american walk into a bar.

2011-08-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

July 31, 2011

San Fransico:
Entered into this city by way of the bay city bridge, parking was terrible, everything is so tight and tons of people due to being Sunday. Went to five different hostels to find a place to sleep but all were booked solid. Stopped into a hotel to see if they had any rooms but couldn't see spending $275.00 a night. Decided to get something to eat and got lucky with the sixth hostel that had two rooms left. My room mates (3) we're from south Korea and were flying back to Korea and stayed up all night ugh, they were somewhat quiet, after 4:30 am , when they left I finally got some real sleep. Buying earplugs for my next hostel stay. I ended hanging out with three guys from France and a girl from Australia. It was fun translating words from French to English and many times we told the very little English speaking French guy the wrong words on purpose. He wanted to purchase a California flag but didn't know the word for flag, so I told him it was "slut". Going into a gift shop he asked the worker for a California slut. Fun night of culture and learning cultural differences and I now have a place to stay in France when I go. Sweet.

Cedar point errrr I mean Yosemite

2011-07-31T12:46:00.000-07:00

July 30, 2011

No dice to getting permits for mt Whitney or half dome. They allow 400 people per day up 1/2 dome and you can only apply for permits online and yosemite valley only has internet on the weekdays, Yosemite is a very pretty park,. The landscape, big rock walls and differing habitat made it easy to see why so many people go there. Which is why I'll never go back during peak season. It was worse than an amusement park. Way to many rules, one way streets and regulations, which I fully understand. Without the park service supervision and regulations mayhem and destruction would be evident. I wouldn't mind going back in the winter time when weather would rule out the camera toting tourons who let their kids fly around on bikes in parking lots without helmets on. I tried to get off the beaten path but pretty much everything in the valley was beaten down. It was cool to watch a climber on el capitan. Just a little red spec moving against gravity in fluid motion all by himself/herself. I was a little bit envious of their solitude. Current reading "running on empty" by Marshall Ulrich very good so far. In Modesto headed to San Fran.

Eat the biggest first (Donner lake)

2011-07-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

July 29 2011

Ate breakfast at a place called the wagon train coffee shop and ran
Around Donner lake about 7.5 miles on the roads. My craving was for human flesh during the run, or maybe just a leg bone. soaked in the lake, which is a great way to do some laundry. Sacramento traffic jam for about 15 miles the motorcyclists are crazy in getting through the jams weaving in and out of cars. Sleeping in a pull off on route 120. Not what I would normally chose but my options are limited. Tomorrow Yosemite and try to get a permit for half dome or mt Whitney, hopefully both.

Goin back to Cali

2011-07-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

July 28 2011

Made the long drive across Nevada. Almost boring except for the Bonneville salt flats. They use this area for braking land speed records and the white salt made for a very bright view. Sleeping in Truckee California tonight. Ah good to be out of Nevada and great to be in Cali.

Mormons and me

2011-07-29T09:07:00.000-07:00

July 27 2011

Drove to salt lake city from Moab and stayed in the avenues hostel. A shower felt good and met a few cool people. Lisa from SLC, Haru from Japan, who was on her way to yellowstone and Alex from the Netherlands. The down side was that for a few hours, the hostel smelled of bad indian food. The upside, AC.
I'm not retarded, I just don't proofread.

Moab

2011-07-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

July 26 2011 Moab Utah

Slept up high in the Manti-Lasal national forest and got woken up at 2:30am by a nice rain storm. My perfect car camping spot was not so good in the rain. I moved my car to a spot where I wouldn't have to get a tow truck to get me out in the morning. Ran up a dirt road to squaw springs trail and back down. Very pretty Aspen forest and saw some huge cat tracks, which is way better than seeing the actual thing.

To think or not to think, what was the question?

2011-07-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

Friday July 22, 2011
So after being denied the top of gunsight pass on my mtn bike, I decided for a little redemption with my feet and ran it. Five miles up, five miles down with some wonderful views. I passed three mountain bikers on the way up. The first one seemed a little discouraged that I passed him and stopped for a rest shortly after. The second one " so much for a mechanical advantage". The third guy was waiting for his two friends reading the paper. I don't think I would have caught him if he didn't stop, he was moving at a good clip. On the way down, I started thinking about how incredible the human brain and muscle control is. The road is technical, made up of a lot of lose rocks and a stream running down the middle and winding from side to side. I would pick a line and with no thought, my feet, would end up where for only a fraction of a second my eyes saw as a good landing spot. I've run with "happy feet" before but have never really thoughtkl about the process of everything working in unison, syncing all body movements between the conscious and sub conscious. My conclusion, the human body is pretty amazing.

I got back to my car and my bike had a flat tire.

Crested butte

2011-07-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

So I've spent the last few days in CB in a Subaru down by the river. Day one, I mtn biked up towards gunsight pass, don't know the total climb or the total distance but just as my legs felt like they were going to fall off, I turned around. surprisingly I had to rest a few times coming down because my hands were numb and my fingers ached from braking so much. A lot of loose rocks on the road deterred me from opening it up. I had an awesome soak in the river and my legs felt really good after. The next day I headed to the 401 which is by far the sweetest single track trail I have ever ridden, run or hiked. Went over my Handlebars twice and lost my camera. I hiked back up to the scene of the second arial acrobatic display, that might of won me gold had I been in the Olympics, but no camera. Boo.

Whoopin it up mountain style

The missing years

2011-07-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

Worked and had some days off. Ran a few runs and went snowboarding all over Colorado, with a trip to British Columbia (whistler) thrown in for good measure. Fell into a funk of routines blah blah blah in Cincinnati and opted for a change of life. I quit my job of 18+ years and moved to Colorado. I've been living out of my car for about a month now, running trails and hiking mountains. In a week or so, I plan on taking my little private party to California and work my way up the coast to Seattle WA. You are now updated.

Living the dream

3 year hiatus

2011-07-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

After more than a few requests from my peeps who want to know what I'm getting myself into, I will try to continue what I started many a year ago but for now I gotta go for a night run. Follow me if you can. I'll try to paraphrase the missing years later. Peace

San Diego 100

2008-06-22T21:37:00.001-07:00

Flew to San Diego.
Got picked up at the airport by my friend Bob
Chilled at pizza port-A girl told me I was sexy.
Hung out in La Jolla cove(awesome)
Met Bill Ramsey and drove to the Run
Saturday: Ran and sang songs to myself.
Sunday: walked, saw a rattlesnake, heard coyotes howling and suffered in the heat. Threw up everything I ate and shot lentil beans out my nose. When I wasn't throwing up I enjoyed a good dry heave. Got sunburned, blisters and dehydrated, finished 100 miles and got a belt buckle.
Hung out in Coronado and ate a chimichanga while enjoying a margarita(delicious)
Flew home.

Recovering for "Hardrock 100"

Runnable course, great volunteers, nice race t-shirt and well organized.
Second hundred of the year!!!

life, wisdom and smelly toenails

2008-06-01T22:25:00.000-07:00

How about a real blog for once?

See title and relate as you will.

Ran and finished MMT 100. Glad I finished, happy for a three hour PR on the course, am capable of a faster time. I had a lot of issues that I worked through and am very proud of my finish.

Wisdom toothless a few days after the run and have been loopy ever since. 4 wisdom teethless later and the oxycodones are almost gone which means I should be back to normal very shortly. Not so much. Describe normal and how I can relate. I just bought three tickets to the New kids on the block concert in Cleveland. I think if my wits and wisdom teeth were still about me, I would have never been hoodwinked. Damn the lil sisters and their obsession with boy bands. Damn be to reunion tours.

On a more refreshing note, I just ripped off my big toenail on my left foot and smelled it. Guess what??? just like a belly button. Who knew?

Awesome note as I ate lunch at subway today.

The subway that I go to near work is owned by Indians (from India). I enjoy, laugh and almost choke to death as I listen to customers ordering his/her sub. They think that if they yell louder the poor, stupid immigrant will understand AMERICAN CHEESE and LETTUCE. This one lady yelled OLIVES twice and the poor little immigrant india terrorist politely said I don't think any more OLIVES will fit on your sub, I've put them on twice.

no wonder the world thinks we are stupid AMERICANS.

Leave Thursday for San Diego(Whales vagina) Running the San Diego 100. fingers crossed and wish me luck. Can't spell fun without FU.

Don't yawn, it hurts!

2008-05-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

MMT 100 is around the corner. I've had major pain in my jaw the last week so I went to the dentist and he said I need my wisdom teeth out. Bad timing, Yes. Don't really feel that removing four of my teeth a week before a run that I have been looking forward to for a few months is in my best interest so I get to suck it up and play tough. Can you keep your wisdom teeth to put under your pillow? If so, what do you get for them? Damn the wisdom, to hell with logic. Monkey wrench, not by Edward Abbey.

I like soup bring it on.

April

2008-04-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

End of March and the beginning of April put me in Frozen Head TN. Didn't get to play on the Barkley course this year but did get to enjoy most of the candyass trails around the park. Great single track, rolling and runnable. Passed up a trip out west snowboarding. POOP. Ran a local trail race called the Ault park switch back and won a free pair of shoes. Yeah for free shoes. Ran the John Bryan 50k yesterday as a last long training run for MMT 100 next month. Felt good all the way and feel really good today. Debated on running the flying pig marathon but have no desire to beat myself into submission on pavement. Run along and enjoy life!!!!

March

2008-03-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

I've run some this month and will run some more. I am going to watch some hoops and then I might run some more. I ate a burger tonight, it was good. Life is good.

Bill

February

2008-03-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

BLAHHHHHHHHHHH. Consider my blog updated.
Barkley-Waitlisted
HRH-accepted

Reverse Ring completed
Land Between the lakes completed

And know you know!!!

January

2008-01-09T21:44:00.000-08:00

Thank goodness the holiday season is over. Work gets crazy around the holidays and now I can get back to running routines, less hours at work and a great 2008. Happy New year everyone!!!!
Been getting some junk miles around the roads with some up tempo stuff mixed in but hit the trails today.
Got waitlisted for The Barkley Marathons and just mailed my Hardrock 100 application(Waitlisted that last two years) so maybe just maybe I get lucky in 2008. Time will tell.
Heading to Virginia next weekend for MLK training week. Back to Back to Back long days in the MMT 100 mountains. Always a good time with great people.

Bring on the mountains, these roads suck.

AH December

2007-12-20T03:23:00.000-08:00

So after signing up and getting into MMT 100, It is time to start running again. After a week hiatus in November and the first week of December, I am currently building up my mileage and have added a weekly spin class, stair stepper and treadmill walking into the mix. I am fairly confident that the spin class and treadmill will help me on the climbs of the upcoming runs that I have planned or at the very least, I'm burning some calories. Happy holidays!!!!

Slim Pickings 70

2007-11-19T08:03:00.000-08:00

The real start of the Slim Pickings 70 starts at the seventy mile mark of the Laurel Highlands Hiking trail and runs to the zero mile mark in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania on Friday morning. This is in the reverse direction of the LH ultra trail race held in June. Since I only get one weekend off of work every month, It is easier for me to get days off in the middle of the week and being of the Fat Ass format, I decided to start on Wednesday. I informed Gombu of my plans and he joined in on the fun.
I left work on Tuesday evening and drove the 5 1/2 hours to Seven springs ski resort. Slept in my car and met Gombu at Seven springs on Wednesday morning. He had just dropped off Moose's car at the top of the resort as Moose was running from the start to Seven springs. They had dropped aid at the 11 mile mark the night before and we would use Seven springs as the next aid around the 26 mile. Back to Ohiopyle we go and we started running around 9:30ish. To summarize the run, windy, snowy and slow. I had no time goals just fun trail time. A bear got into the aid cache and left us some scraps. We were going to meet up with John DeWalt at 26ish miles but missed him and we spent the next hour or two wondering were oh were could Downhill Johnny be. I was supposed to bring my cell phone but forgot it in my car at the start so we had no way to get in touch with him. Around this time, the snow really started coming down and the trail was beautiful. FRESHIES. A few miles before the bridge crossing we see a light coming towards us and lo and behold it's John. John's phone was operational and we spoke to Jim Harris who was dropping aid for us and the runners the next day. Thanks Jim but we missed it and spent the next couple hours going off trail(not on purpose) and getting soaked by the large bushes that were weighted down by snow and covering the trail. We ended up stopping at John's van with about 50 miles logged. It was fun playing in the mountains and catching up with a few of my favorite trail partners. What is next? I am taking some time off to heal up. Small little achy, nagging pains have made me decide to take a week or two off of running.
Congrats to all finishers and Way to go Brian on a new PR distance.
Happy Trails

Stonesteps 50k-

2007-10-21T00:18:00.000-07:00

Five years and going.

Started out fatigued. Ran TWOT 50 miler the week before so I would see what my legs have left.

Errors:
1. Went out on the first loop almost two minutes faster than the previous year!!! crazy
2. didn't take any gels or food for the last lap(5.3 miles)

Positives:

1. Drank a bottle per loop(20oz)
2. shut off my mind to push through a couple rough times.
3. pushed the steps for three out of four loops

Summary: Had fun and one of only a few runners that have run all of the Stonesteps 50k every year. Was only five minutes slower than the previous year. Pissed all of it away on the last lap. If I would have taken some kind of calories, this paragraph would be different. Stored all my gear(H20 and gels) at the finish of the second loop, this worked out well as I spent about a total of less than a minute in every aid station. Colder at the start: Gloves, Shorts, sleeveless, Hand held and later picked up a 1 water bottle pack. C-divides and injini toesocks.
I should be able to cut some time off of this course. Probably not next year as I plan on running the TT252 in the fall.
Thanks to the RD's and volunteers. This run gets better every year!!!!

A day later, I got my Montrail Vitesse in the mail. YEAH for an awesome looking shoe.

Into the wild is airing and will see it today.

Peace
Bill

Skydiving

2007-10-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

Went skydiving.

Jumped at 10,500 ft. pulled at 5,500. I am glad I went tandem since I forgot all about pulling the cord to open the chute. Maybe next time I will remember this small but very big detail. Nothing like jumping out of a plane about two miles up.

WAHOOO

Bear 100 DNF

2007-09-29T20:28:00.000-07:00

So, I chalked up a Did Not Finish:
The whole story is this. I got to CVG airport a few hours early, got standby on an earlier flight and had hopes to arrive in Chicago early for dinner. I sat on the plane for about three hours since Chicago was experiencing bad weather and we were "wheels down." Headed for takeoff and another hour delay. Being the laid back traveler that I have become, just another bump in the road. I knew Chicago would be backed up so I didn't even worry about my connection. Quiznos burnt my sub and made me another one. Onward and upward to Salt Lake City. Arrived a few hours late and met a friend,Bob Combs, who saw that I would be delayed and decided to nap, read at the baggage carousel that my luggage would be arriving. Touchdown in SLC and off we go to Enterprise rent a car. CLOSED. We found a comfortable spot underneath some stairs, unpacked some camping gear(sleeping bags, z-rest, makeshift pillows) and got to bed around 1am. We were rudely awaken by a cleaning lady around 7:30 am whom I think she thought we were homeless. She launched a chair towards our general resting place and was yelling at us to get up and that we weren't allowed to be sleeping there. Funny since she wasn't going to clean that area anyways. We saw her in the same area on the return flight.
Enterprise: These salesman crack me up. We let them know of the inconvenience and sleeping in the terminal. They tried to sell us an upgrade. We insisted that the upgrade should be free since no one was present to greet us(the closer left a few minutes early). I had reserved an economy car and he agreed to upgrade us for our troubles. Corolla. While we are doing a walk around of the car(dents, etc) Bob asks what car we would have gotten if we would have gotten the economy? Oh, we don't have any here. Nice, we would have gotten the corolla anyways. This is why they crack me up. Do they think all patrons are stupid? I did appreciate his selling technique and we made up for that later. Kicked around Salt Lake City for a day and hit up some gear shops(patagonia outlet, REI and Black Diamond). Headed to Park City, hiked a few trails with grand views, Idaho, tacos, prerace check in and found a camping spot at the start.
The RUN:
Awesome trails, wonderful views, great volunteers, low key-let's keep it that way, tons of studs, ran through a controlled forest burn and the potato soup at 13 miles was great. I know this since this is were I wanted to stop.
If you have ever had a bad day at work, multiply it by let's say 3 and this is where and why I wanted to stop. My run sucked. Everything around me was beautiful and I was being a bitch. Not in the womanly sense just done. Thinking things would get better, you push on. Had an ok spell going out of the 13 mile aid station for about a few miles and back into the funk. This is the first run that I could care less whether I finished or not. I don't know where I got it, maybe my nonchalant approach to a hard 100, maybe life, maybe mentally I was done before I started. maybe this was just hard. I am a predominately happy runner. I could care less who passes me, I rarely race against individuals, only me, the course and as fast as I can go on a given day. On this day I tried everything. I tried to get pissed at people who passed me as a means to motivate me to some form of uprising. Nothing, nada zilch, Zip to mile 66. The big fork, stick it in me and turn it. I am done. Hell, I was done before it started and o the relief.

I digress.

Ate more tacos, enjoyed seeing running friends, watched the awards ceremony and cheered for the finishers.
Happy trails
B

The Bear 100

2007-09-24T22:51:00.000-07:00

Off to Utah and Idaho for a week. Running the Bear 100 on Friday and Saturday on little training and recovering from an injury. Don't really know how smart that is but we will see. Looking for a finish as this will be my second hundred of the year. It's all training for Barkley, Hardrock and life. I look forward to getting in some real down to earth trail time. Ye Haw and wahoo. Stress at work has been mounting and I am so looking forward to getting the hell out of dodge. I work for vacations. Enjoy your life, I do.

roads suck

2007-09-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

Ran my normal Ault park loop which from my house and back is 5.2 miles. I have no idea how long and at what pace since I didn't have a watch on or time this run. I stopped wearing a watch when running roads around my house since I tend to get to caught up with time and run harder than I should which leads me to injury. I will only time myself once a month to gauge speed and see were I'm at fitness wise.
During my run, I was thinking about two young ladies that work for me who have downs syndrome. I hired both about a year ago and these two ladies are on time to work, show up everyday they are scheduled and always have an awesome attitude. The more I thought, the more I started getting irritated at the people who call off work for any hangnail, toothache, and stubbed toe. It is a shame that "healthy" human beings do not have the work ethic and attitude of my two young ladies that bring their A game everyday.
Anyways, by the end of the run I was no longer irritated and felt strong hammering up and down some hills.

Miami Forest

2007-09-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

Met a few runners this morning for a twenty mile run on a mix of single track, horse trails and paved bike path. Didn't want to roll out of bed but glad I did. This is first back to back double digit run I have had in a month or two and I am glad to be injury free once again. Taking a break tomorrow.

Mt. Airy Loop

2007-09-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

Joined up with a small group for one big loop at Mt. Airy Yesterday, Saturday September 15th, Two others joined in on the fun for the second loop. I logged 10.6 miles and was very tired at the start. Working to many hours last week and have been dragging. I get to sleep in Monday Hooray for sleeping in.

Today

2007-09-14T20:51:00.001-07:00

Worked, ate cheese and drank wine.

Life is good.

Groundhog fall 50k

2007-09-12T19:27:00.000-07:00

September 08th,2007. Punxsutawney PA. Car camped in the parking lot the night before. The weather was hot and humid. I hadn't been running a lot of miles due to a shin splint and ankle injury. Goal time was under five hours and I ended up with 5:33. I had fun, good to see some friends and the race was well organized. This is the second time I have run this and look forward to going back. Now I get ready for The Bear 100 in Utah. Yeah.