Running in Scotland #3: Ben Nevis and West Highland Way

June 10, 2016, 2:23 pm

≫ Next: Running in Scotland #4: Glen Etive and Glencoe

≪ Previous: Running in Scotland #2: Looking for Nessie along the South shore of the Loch Ness

Oh no, I didn't run the whole 96-mile long West Highland Way this Tuesday! Actually, including the ascent of the Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Great Britain, that would make quite an epic 100-mile event.

Staying at a B&B just a few miles North West of Fort William, I started by climbing to the top of Ben Nevis, about 10 miles out and back from the Glen Nevis visitor center. There is certainly nothing technical on the main route which is actually called the Tourist Path or Mountain Track, yet it's quite some slope to climb from sea level to 4,400 feet in less than 5 miles! The trail is quite rocky, alternating sections with large rocks and others with small lose and sharp rocks.

The climb actually corresponds to a race, each September. The course record for the out and back (not sure if the race starts at the visitor center) is 1:25:34 for the men and 1:43:25 for the women!! I wasn't racing of course, yet I did sweat a lot despite making to the summit in 1:35 plus about an hour to run back... Yet, even with this pale performance, I passed many many people on both ways!

Here are 4 shots taken by Agnès who climbed Ben Nevis too, despite her hip issue (which made the descent even more difficult for her...)!

After this great warm-up (it was chilly at the top but very sunny otherwise), I continued on the West Highland Way toward the South, on the Fort William-Kinlochleven segment. This trail too is the course of a trail ultra marathon race, in June. The 15-mile section I ran had everything from some asphalt while going through Fort William and Kinlochleven, to smooth fire/forest roads, to very narrow single tracks and quite a few miles of exposed and very rocky jeep roads. I didn't see any other runner but quite many hikers including a few with their fully loaded backpacks. I'm in awe with this way of traveling for several days, I so much prefer to run without carrying anything. Yet, as I had left with only a chocolate bar and 2 small packs of GU blocks, I ran out of energy, hit the wall and wished I was carrying more myself... With that, I was relieved to find a Co Op food store in Kinlochleven to refuel after these 28 miles and 6,250 feet of cumulative elevation. Also glad that I got enough coverage there to text Agnès to pick me up (needless to say, there isn't any GSM coverage between Fort William and Kinlochleven so you are on your own on the trail, except for a few fellow hikers and many sheep).

Here is a large map of Scotland to situate the run:

And a closer look at my run from Fort William (actually 2 miles North, at the entrance/start of the Caledonian Canal) to Kinlochleven, via the top of Ben Nevis:

And a few more pictures (my camera stopped working at the top of Ben Nevis due to the humidity of the cloud at the top and/or my sweat...).

The first locks of the Caledonian Canal in Corpach

A kids race in Caol:

The crossing of the River Lochy between Caol and Inverlochy:

The beginning of the trail to the top of Ben Nevis

The cloud around the top of Ben Nevis (9 days out of 10!)

The smoothest section of the trail at around 2,000 feet

The lake which you can see half way is called Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe (must be some Gaelic)

A large patch of snow which was fun to cross with my slick Brooks Launch running shoes...

View of the summit

Did it!

A few scenes of Harry Potter were shot here! This is also a most arduous route for real climbers (I saw two on that face)

Another view at the top

One 1/3rd of the way between Fort William and Kinlochleven, the West Highlands

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Running in Scotland #4: Glen Etive and Glencoe

June 12, 2016, 8:24 am

≫ Next: Running in Scotland #5: Callander and the Great Tossachs Path

≪ Previous: Running in Scotland #3: Ben Nevis and West Highland Way

After Fort William and the Ben Nevis, our tour of the West Highlands continued with a 2-night stop in Ballachulish, a good place to explore the nearby valleys of the Glen Coe area.

Following the recommendation of our host the night before, Agnes dropped me just after the pass of Glencoe so I could run along the Lairing Gartain toward Dalness while she would take the next road along the River/Glen Etive. The beginning of the trail was very nice, but easy rarely lasts for long on trails in Scotland!

The trail was only 5 miles so I took a detour to climb along the torrent coming down from the high ridge called Buachaille Etive Mor.

Once I got to the ridge, I veered to the right to climb the closest peak, the Stob Coire Atrium (941 m, 3,087 ft). Not much higher than the 2,800 feet of Black Mountain in my Cupertino backyard, except that the trail was less than a mile and it took me about an hour each way, that killed my average pace, I don't recall ever moving that slow, at 23 min/mile... Short of time, I missed the opportunity to climb another 1,000-meter summit. I was quite close to the top of the Stob na Doire (1,011 m) but that seemed like another 30 minutes with all these lose rocks.

Did you know that there are 282 of these summits over 3,000 feet in Scotland and they are named munros after Sir Hugh Munro? And a challenge is to climb all of them of course: the Munro bagging!
With this climb I'm done with two (Ben Nevis on Tuesday), better not aiming at this challenge or I'll regret to have missed that other reachable one as number 3!

Here is a nice detailed view provided by the Hill Bagging web site which lists more than 19,000 hills in Great Britain!

The rest of the trail down to Dalness was also very narrow, technical and slippery, so much that it took me about 2 hours to cover 10 kilometers, making Agnès wait much more than she wanted...

In contrast, I covered the next 7 miles on the uphill road in 44 minutes! This road is one single lane but the traffic was quite reasonable, even in this second week of June. It offers amazing views of the Glen Etive valley and a few opportunities to cool down in the river which has a few falls and pools (opportunities to stop on the side of the road may be sparser in the high season of July and August). Here is my Strava activity in case you are looking for a run in the Glencoe area.

That made for a good tour of what is called the Royal Forest on detailed maps although, like many other places, the forest must have been heavily harvested because that didn't look much like a forest to me. For one thing, trees don't grow over about 500 meters, so all the peaks are just covered with grass. And rocks too, a lot actually.

And to illustrate how the weather can quickly evolve, here is a view of Stob Dearh hill (1,022 m) on Thursday afternoon (the first hill of that National Forest range).

And the next day, from the same spot.

Not quite the same shape and view of that mountain, nor the same climbing conditions!

Indeed, after a week of sunshine, we finally got some good rain on Friday while driving to Loch Lomond, a much more typical Scottish weather!

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Running in Scotland #5: Callander and the Great Tossachs Path

June 27, 2016, 2:23 pm

≫ Next: Marathon du Mont Blanc: the other huge ultra running party in Chamonix

≪ Previous: Running in Scotland #4: Glen Etive and Glencoe

Callander is one of the doors into the famous Loch Lomond and the Tossachs National Park, not far from Glasgow and Edinburgh. For us coming from the Northwest and finishing our tour in Edinburgh, it was an exit of that park where we spent our last night in Scotland this time. We actually entered the park in Tyndrum and drove down along the whole West shore of Loch Lomond, the largest pool of freshwater in Great Britain (by its surface).

If you visit the area, make sure to get this map, it shows 8 major trails:

John Muir Way Cycle Path
West Loch Lomond Cycle Path
West Highlang Way (the one passing by the bottom of Ben Nevis and finishing in Fort William)
Rob Roy Way
Three Lochs Way
John Muir Way (not the same I ran on from Edinburgh!)
The Cowal Way
The Great Trossachs Path

It's that last one that I ran 13 miles on, Saturday morning before driving to the airport. A few steep and long hills but a super smooth trail on the 6.5-mile section from Callander to Brig 'o Turk, with great views over Loch Venachar.

We had stopped by Loch Katrine on our way to Callander on Friday afternoon and walked along the Loch for a couple of miles of asphalt so it seems that this trail is very runnable overall. All in all it covers 30 miles from Callander to Inversnaid on the shore of Loch Lomond.

Great way to conclude our trip. As you can see from this post and my previous ones in that series, Scotland offers hundreds of miles to hike or run. Most of them are hilly though. In Scotland, they don't talk about hikers but... hill hikers! Likewise, this is an amazing place to do some serious... hill running. Highly recommended destination then, rain or shine!

By the way, here is a brochure available for free at the many Scotland Tourist Offices, which has a few pages on each region from an hiking standpoint. Some good information to help you plan although most of the highlighted trails are walks a few miles long.

Of course, there is a lot of information available on the web too and I hope these posts help you planning your own tour of the West Highlands!

Again, I highly recommend visiting Scotland for its amazing trail running opportunities but also very welcoming people! And, hopefully, they will decide to remain in Europe...

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Marathon du Mont Blanc: the other huge ultra running party in Chamonix

June 27, 2016, 3:05 pm

≫ Next: 3 days, 3 (short) ultras: last tune up before TRT 100

≪ Previous: Running in Scotland #5: Callander and the Great Tossachs Path

6 races, 65 nations represented, 7,000 trail runners, what an ultra party! And it was this weekend, and I was in Chamonix, what a great opportunity! Yet I didn't race, oops!

Of course, this has to see with my stroke of March. As soon as our summer plans started taking shape in February, I had applied for a preferential entry which I was eligible for but got the reply a few days after the incident. While the medical investigation was in full swing, I was already wondering if I could run again, even more so racing again. As the various tests kept coming back negative, I started forming hopes again but Agnès put that race on the not-negotiable list (I wanted to run the grueling 80 km which has more than 6,000 meters of cumulative elevation!). Besides, I would have had to get the medical release required to race in France which was unlikely back in March in the midst of that medical investigation.

Fast forward 3 months and I'm actually very glad I didn't enter. While the weather was amazing for that race, on the hot side as a matter of fact, and missed a huge storm which stroke a few hours after the last runner got in, I was able to test some of the hills and, like on the UTMB (Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc), these are some very serious trails! Not only am I behind in my hill training compared to my best years but the thing I'm mostly struggling with are the rocks and roots which make even hiking up difficult and tiring. No wonder most of the trail runners here use poles and that also explains why most of us, Americans, struggle in races in the Alps: much harder physical and mental challenge!

Back to the title, the event started a few years ago with the marathon distance and, given the popularity, added a few shorter distances and an ultra, the 80 km (50 miles). Another highlight of the weekend is the explosive 'kilomètre vertical' (vertical K) which consists in climbing 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) in the shortest time possible (the trail follows the straight line of the Plan Praz gondola!).

I was able to run the first part of the 80K course which starts with a big climb to the Brévent via Bel Lachat, that is 25% of the total cumulative elevation in less than 6 miles (11% of the overall distance)! Quite a warm-up to wake you up, better taking it easy given what's ahead in the race!

I left at 8 am, that is 4 hours after the start of the race (4 am) and it was already quite warm. To my surprise though, I discovered there was still a lot of snow on each side of the Brevent and I wasn't well equipped with my road running Brooks Launch shoes, oops!

Thankfully I wasn't racing as it took me 2 hours and 10 minutes to reach the top which the top runners get to in 1:20... But, for a change, I also took the time to enjoy the breath taking views of the Mont Blanc on the other side.

I've never seen so much snow on the Brevent this late in June, there was so much that you could have skied almost down to Plan Praz! It was good that the snow was transforming with the heat, that helped keeping my sliding under control. Yet, I never took so much time to get down to Plan Praz from the top and I was putting so much on the brakes that my quads got quite tired afterwards. Good hill training though but my hope to catch-up with the tail of the race (1,000 runners in that race!) had faded away. I made it to La Flégère where I decided to run back to Chamonix on the rocky ski run (another steep descent on the brakes some quad strength training!).

The next day I stayed mostly in the bottom of the valley and ran up to Col des Montets and Vallorcine, along the Arve river. Between the melting snow and glaciers, and the heavy rain of the weekend, I was impressed with so much water flowing from everywhere, with hundreds of creeks and falls merging into the raging Arve toward Genève and the Rhone river. You probably have to live in a dry region like California nowadays to realize the blessing of such an abundance of fresh water. Let's enjoy it while it lasts, but be appreciate for it to be more respectful of our planet and reverse the course of global warming.

On Saturday night at local friends' house, I met Laurent, one of the 80K finishers. It was great to get some first hand insider tips about that race which he ran three times and this gave me even more respect for the level of difficulty of trail races in the Alps. Once I'm done with my local Pacific Association Ultra Grand Prix (year 10 this year!), I know where in can turn my energy to...! ;-)

Here are my two runs on Strava: Chamonix-Bel Lachat-Brévent-Plan Praz-Flégère-Chamonix and Chamonix-Argentière-Col des Montets-Vallorcine and back.

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3 days, 3 (short) ultras: last tune up before TRT 100

July 4, 2016, 9:32 pm

≫ Next: TRT 100 2016: still a beast for me

≪ Previous: Marathon du Mont Blanc: the other huge ultra running party in Chamonix

A short post because I didn't take any picture while running, nor did I discovered new places this weekend. Additionally I contracted an eye infection, probably on my flight back from Europe this Friday, and the pharmacy was closed on this Independence Day celebration so I can't wait tomorrow morning to get the prescribed antibiotics drops and get my clear vision back...

After running 304 miles during my trip to Europe (110 in Scotland, 92 while in Paris and 102 in Chamonix), I wanted to leverage this long Independence Day weekend to log a few hilly miles as the last tune up before Tahoe Rim Trail 100-mile in 2 weeks.

On Saturday I went to the top of Black Mountain by the back side, that is on the REi/Tony Lookout Trail through Stevens Creek Park, then Canyon Road and Bella Vista trail, back via the Waterwheel Trail loop and Montebello Road. 29 miles and close to 4,000 feet of cumulative elevation.

On Sunday, I wanted to get back in time to watch France-Iceland, one of the quarter finals of the Euro Cup, and went for a flat and fast 50K, from Cupertino to Palo Alto through Shoreline and the Baylands. Unfortunately, less than 2 miles in the run, I had to stop at the Safeway to take case of some acute diarrhea business and, from there, it got worse but I persisted until it became so painful to run at mile 18. I made the mistake of running without my cell phone (something I'm now doing most of the time since the stroke) and asked someone to call the house but Greg didn't pick up. Short of a pick-up, I went on albeit slower than I had hope to. 29.2 miles, still at 8:03 min/mile pace (not counting the numerous stops to the bathrooms...).

Then on Monday, I went bold for a PG&E 4-peat at Rancho San Antonio. I had done this only once, at the top of my form when training for my first Western States (and first Miwok, and first win at Ohlone 50K). I didn't check how fast I had gone 9 years ago, my goal this time being only to having the mental stamina to finish it. I started at 7 am under a thick layer of cloud/fog which made the temperature perfect. Typical for Rancho there were a lot of people on the trail who had started even before 6:30 am. To my surprise I reached the fence at the top just under 40 minutes and thought I won't do as well for the next ascents. My first round ended up being 1:11:42 and I stopped the watch to make sure I wasn't rushing my aid station stop.

I clocked 39 minutes for the next climb and went down faster for a total of 1:09:59. Broke 40 minutes again on the 3rd climb and 1:07:37 for the third rotation. And was super pleased to be able to break 40 minutes again in the 4th climb, flying down with a 1:07:30 final lap. Super stoked that I didn't walk at all. Granted, at 9:00 min/mile my pace was one minute slower than in 2007 (not to forget I stopped the clock between the repeats this time) but given the circumstances and my lack of hill training this year, I'll take it as a final prep for TRT, keeping in mind that I won't be as prepared as 10 years ago so better run much more conservatively this year.

In lieu of pictures, here are the three Strava traces, below, and the activity links: Black Mountain, Palo Alto Baylands, Rancho San Antonio PG&E).

And, with that solid weekend and June, time to taper, yeah!

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TRT 100 2016: still a beast for me

July 16, 2016, 7:04 pm

≫ Next: Post TRT DNF: amazing tales of the tail of the pack

≪ Previous: 3 days, 3 (short) ultras: last tune up before TRT 100

It was the third consecutive year I entered and toed the start line of this event. With two DNF (Did Not Finish) in 2014 and 2015, my main goal was to finally finish it and tame the beast as a redemption. There are two ways to look at a third attempt when the first ones failed. Of course, I like the optimistic American angle much better: "third time's a charm", meaning that luck will finally come on you if you keep trying three times. In France, we have a way more pessimistic view on that, the saying is "Jamais 2 sans 3" which means that if you failed twice already or there has been two catastrophes, then get ready for a 3rd one in the series. Amazing how our cultures think differently and, assuredly, this permeates trough all aspects of our society.

I wasn't sure about the luck, and there is nothing easy in ultra running, so I thought to myself that I was indeed hoping for some charm but it was going to be a tough charm... With that, I didn't have much of a flight plan but was hoping to break 24 hours, or 22 hours in the best case. My main goal was then to start slower than the previous years, and be conservative on the first loop. Not a very elaborate plan.

Speaking of planning, the check-in on Friday was closing at 3 pm and I made it by 3:02 pm (Mark Tanaka beating me with a 3:03 pm!). Google sent us on backroads (88 over the mountains) without considering quite a few road maintenance projects which slowed down our progression considerably. Thankfully, the volunteers were cool and quick, so it worked out, just in time to drop my Victory Sportdesign bag for Tunnel Creek too!

I also liked the fact that the briefing was held outside instead of the cramped amphitheater of the State Capitol. Here is Race Director, George Ruiz, and his wife, head of the volunteer organization:

It was exciting to meet with Simon Mtuy again.

Simon is from Tanzania and, every year, spends a couple of months, between May and July, on our ultra running scene in California, running races such as Miwok, Ohlone and Western States. He has run Western Sates 10 times (2002-2013) and that's where I got to know him. When in Tanzania, he guides expeditions around or to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro (see his company website, SENE - Summit Expeditions & Nomadic Experience).

I went to sleep just before 9 pm but unfortunately woke up before midnight and couldn't get back to sleep before my 2 am alarm. Yikes, after a few short nights during my business trip to the East Coast this week (I flew back on Thursday night from North Carolina), just 3 hours of sleep were going to make a day running in the mountains even more challenging...

Agnès drove me to the 5 am start. It was just on the chilly side, with a sky super clear and blazing with millions of stars!

Following the Race Director's suggestion, I didn't start with a headlamp. Since I had to start slowly anyway, I was perfectly fine letting 50 runners or so go ahead and staying behind a group with a couple of headlamps and a more reasonable pace as we climbed the Marlette Lake trail. The pace looked fine although we passed a few people on the way. I had no idea how many people was ahead but didn't really want to know anyway not to get caught into competition.

The bad news is that my GI system was still giving me quite a hard time. I've had some diarrhea from time to time these past weeks and I was bummed that kicked in again today, really bad timing, no charm, yikes... I had to stop in the bushes after 1 mile down in the Red House loop and saw a handful of runners passing by. I did caught up with them eventually and tied along them on the way up to make sure I wasn't going too fast. This group included Chris Zurbuch (#244) from Pomona, CA, and Ian Grettenberg from Davis, CA, who paced me last October at the inaugural Folsom Lake 68-mile.

Yet, despite all my efforts to not run as fast as the previous years, my splits were about the same. But at least this time, I wasn't in the lead...

Back to Tunnel Creek, mile 18.5, I went straight to the portapotty and spent about 10 minutes at the station. With this long stop, quite a few runners from Excelsior caught up and I even saw Simon in the station as I was returning my drop bag. I followed a few Excelsior runners and tried to stay behind Paul Broyer but lost him before the Bull Wheel aid station as I couldn't keep up the pace in the uphill sections. Paul was the 9th runner to complete the first 50-mile loop, he is on a roll!

We were less than 22 miles in the race and I had already lost most of my stamina... The next 8 miles to Diamond Peak became quite depressing. I got passed by a few runners, my guts were super painful with any pounding and that prevented me from even running the 5 miles down to the ski resort, and my mental will was fried. I had pretty much decided that this was still not worth continuing through 70 miles and 35 hours of hiking but, after crying of disappointment, decided to give some time to see if I would heal enough to rebound. Agnès and our host, Janet were very supportive and patient in the process. Ann Trason took care of me and really wanted me to continue, sharing one of her stories when she finished second to last, but finished.

The medical staff gave me a pill of Imodium but that wasn't enough to get rid of the GI pain. We waited for almost 2 hours for teammate, Frederic Garderes, in case I could help him getting back to Tunnel Creek. But Frederic also had a bad day and decided to drop too (he didn't train much these past months due to his recent move to San Diego).

With that, TRT remains an untamed beast for me and, as I write these lines in the afternoon of the race, I don't think this 2-loop format is for me. At least not until I have taken care of some bad stress I'm getting at work and which most likely contributed to the TIA in March. You need quite some balance to effectively compete in ultra running, and I didn't have it this weekend to say the least.

The race is still on as I write and UltraSignup put up quite a good live tracking to follow the progress of runners (when the input data is accurate...), and the updates give me mixed feelings. The list of drops is steadily growing and that breaks my heart. I see a few runners striving at the front, and others struggling in middle or the back of the pack and can imagine their pain hiking over the numerous slippery boulders on the trail. I'm in awe of the many runners who will finish and have finished this beast over the years.

A huge shout out for the overall organization of this race. Between remote aid stations, the extended hours, the workload at Tunnel Creek which is traversed by all the runners of the three races including 6 times by the 100-mile finishers, this race requires many super dedicated volunteers.

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Post TRT DNF: amazing tales of the tail of the pack

July 17, 2016, 10:27 pm

≫ Next: Running in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan: follow the river...s

≪ Previous: TRT 100 2016: still a beast for me

Mind the valiant runners who finished this 100-mile beast in 30 hours or more, after a good night of sleep thanks to a painful early DNF/drop for me, my first wish when I woke up at 6 am this Sunday morning was to run up to Tunnel Creek and do that second Red House loop! And get a glimpse of the tail of the pack and the closure of an aid station which I'm not so accustomed to since my captain years at Last Chance in 2005-2006 (Western States aid station).

While the Hobart aid station remains opened even longer, it only sees the 100-mile runners 4 times, versus 6 for Tunnel Creek. And Tunnel Creek also gets the visit of crews which Hobart doesn't. That makes Tunnel Creek the busiest and hardest aid station to manage in my view, not to mention the hardest to track runners at with 3 ways to get in and 3 ways to get out. For instance, speaking about the time span of the station: on the 3.4-mile up to the station, I crossed one volunteer from the medical team who had been working for 30 straight hours! At the station, I got to know the doctor leading this team who was all smile after being up at the station since Friday 6 pm (42 hours total). Here is Andy with his wife, Joann Ellero, and mother in law, Mariza.

The other fixture of this station for the past years has been the amazing Noe Castañon, who volunteers everywhere if not running an ultra himself. Noe welcomed us, the front runners, before 7 am on Saturday morning and here he was helping the last runners still on the course at 11 am on Sunday. Seeing him yawning I teased him "Are you getting tired, Noe?" and he replied, with a big smile, that it had been a long day indeed, but so rewarding and exciting. But when I thanked Andy for all he did to keep the runners going, he turned to Noe and said that Noe was the man, and he was just doing what Noe said... ;-) Here is Noe listening to Chuck Amital.

I arrived at the station at around 8:25 am, just in time to see John Brooks taking a short break on a chair. John is part of our Quicksilver ultra running team and it was a delight to see him smiling with such great spirits before embarking on the final and still grueling 15 miles to Spooner Lake. John completed the two loops in 31:46.

John had run the whole race with Chuck Amital who, at 57, competes in our Grand Prix in my age group, like John.

Chuck is with Pamakids and was followed this morning by a couple of teammates whom I saw going through the station after I completed and swept the Red House loop.

Speaking of teams I want to point how friendly our team competition in the Grand Prix has become over the years. In the first years, starting in 2007, it was quite competitive between our club and Tamalpa, then Excelsior. But now, I find it completely flipped upside down: at the image of the ultra running community, it is much more about emulation and friendliness. We encourage each others though our struggles, our hearts our broken when anyone of us drop or get behind, and we enjoy seeing others striving. For instance, I was bummed to hear that Chikara Omine and Karl Schnaitter had dropped mid way. Our team had our fair share of misfortune with Stuart, Frederic, Marco, Joe and my DNF. With 138 finishers and about 80 DNFs, the outcomes of the race were very different across the board. Special congrats to teammate Mark Tanaka for completing his 6th TRT 100, screwed (without a crew!), and Jill Cole for taking 4th in the women division in 27:26. Big shout out to Paul Broyer (Excelsior) who finished 5th overall in 22:41, he is the one ramping up the fastest among our Bay Area ranks in my opinion. And, on the women side, I was blow away by the win of Roxanne Woodhouse who finished in 23:38 and 8th overall, at the age of 53!

Back to my recovery run, before going down the loop, I asked the night captain of the aid station if they needed me to take off the ribbons and marking and he replied that it had all been taken care of. Well, 1 hour and 20 minutes later, look at what I came back with! 4 ribbons, 2 flags and 7 direction signs, not a bad harvest! ;-)

Despite her hip pain, Agnès did hike up to the aid station with our friends Todd and Janet, to get my drop bag. With the time I spent sweeping and connecting with the volunteers and runners, they had already left when I finished the Red House loop. Before flying down, everybody at the aid station was treated with a cool visit of a guy hiking the whole TRT (Tahoe Rim Trail) with 3... lamas!

Elite ultra runner, Jennie Capel, was among those enjoying this zoo experience!

On the way back, I met my club mates Karen Bonet and Nattu Natraj. Nattu was pulled out by the medical staff at his second passage through Hobart yesterday. He was suffering from asthma, couldn't get his heart rate to slow down and had a low level of oxygen in his blood. At mile 40, a bummer. Karen is also an accomplished ultra runner, and right now preparing for 2 more iron(wo)mans.

With such a perfect weather, the views of the lake going down were breathtaking (a matter of fact when running at this altitude anyway)!

Big thanks to Agnès for carrying my drop bag, allowing me to run down to Incline Village and get such a great 18-mile recovery run before driving back to the Bay Area.

One day has passed and I still think TRT 100 isn't for me but we'll be back in the area for sure, and maybe run one of the 'shorter' ultras. It is such a scenery and event and, again, I'm so in awe with the back of the pack runners I saw this morning toughing it out to get to the finish line under 35 hours. And grateful to all these volunteers who gave us their entire weekend so we could enjoy these trails and ultra challenges in a safe way. More amazing and personal tales were formed throughout the weekend thanks to all of you!

PS: more pictures of this valiant runners fighting the 11 am cut-off at Tunnel Creek

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Running in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan: follow the river...s

July 27, 2016, 5:50 am

≫ Next: Running in Japan: Noboribetsu Onsen in Shikotsu-Toya National Park

≪ Previous: Post TRT DNF: amazing tales of the tail of the pack

I like discovering cities by foot, I mean running. To share my experience for others to do the same. Nowadays though, there are so many runs already documented, I don't feel much of an explorer. Yet, I may contribute my ultra bias as a complement to the many shorter runs posted on the web. And it's super cool to receive from time to time an acknowledgement that such a 'Running in..." post helped a runner out there.

After an overnight layover in Seoul, long enough to tour the city but not practical to run, our first stop in Hokkaido, Japan, was in Sapporo, most known for the 1972 Winter Olympics and the beer of the same name. As a grid pattern of North-South and East-West streets, the layout of the city is quite easy to figure out and you can easily find free maps at the airport (information booth) or in the hotel lobbies. However, the trouble comes if you need to figure out an address in Japanese, unless you read kanjis and kanas of course... Having visited Tokyo several times, this confirms that English isn't as pervasive in the rest of the country, starting with signage.

Between this challenge of not being able to read street names and the numerous intersections where locals patiently wait for the green sign to cross (no jay walking here!), I aimed at running along the river where I spotted a superb bike road on both sides. Besides, we were going to roam the city by foot with Agnès later, so better put some good running before breakfast! Not only are we 16 hours ahead of California here but sunrise is much earlier, 4:20 am at the end of July (with sunset before 8 pm), so better get up early.

By river in the title, I mean the Toyohira River which flows by the south east side of the city.

On Tuesday I went 8 mile to the south from the place we were staying at (Art Hotels, near the Nakajima Koen subway station), the tall 25-floor building on the right:

It was sunny and perfect for a great 19-mile run. On the opposite, Wednesday was pouring rain but I still went out and 10.5 miles to the north, to the confluent between the Toyohira River and a much larger one, the Ishikan River which ends a few miles farther in the Pacific.

There isn't much to say and share about the course; like I said in title, as you just follow the river. Although, when you get to the South and run on the right bank (that is on the left side of the river, going against the current), you'll get to a fork at the Makomanai Park (open air stadium) with the small... Makomanai River, which, like the previous river, has a nice bike path on its right bank.

To be honest, I didn't know which river I was then following but I had checked on Google Maps before leaving and couldn't see a trail continuing south of the Park along the Toyohira River so I was glad this bike path went for a few more miles, and turned back in Tokiwa after the bike path ended anyway.

Quite an impressive public library for such a small suburb (Tokiwa).

I found a few toilets and water fountains about 6.5 miles south of my starting point on Tuesday. Here is the one at the end of the Sapporo Minami trail system.

On Wednesday though, I did see a few porta-potties outside the city, but no drinking fountains so I was glad to have 2 water bottles with me for this 21-mile run. Also, after about 4 miles on the northern side of the city, you are pretty much on your own, in the country side, and I only saw 2 cyclists in 2 hours. Better not need anything while you are up there (I was running with my phone but, in the rain, didn't get out to check if there was cell coverage or not).

Overall, amazing bike paths to put some serious mileage, albeit some flat one (my Tuesday run shows 500-feet of cumulative elevation but I barely noticed the elevation gain). the bike path along the city section is so smooth and flat that it turned into many large puddles on Wednesday and I came back to the hotel quite soaked.

Here are my runs on Strava, respectively to the South on Tuesday and the North on Wednesday. In case you pass by Sapporo...

Early long runs, hot spring bath in the evening to sleep like a baby, some beer tasting at the Sapporo museum, yummy and super fresh/tender sushi and sashimi, I could get used to this life... ;-)

PS: as an alternative run, to visit downtown Sapporo, I found this 12-km one interesting.

↧

Running in Japan: Noboribetsu Onsen in Shikotsu-Toya National Park

August 1, 2016, 3:04 am

≫ Next: Running in Japan: Noboribetsu Onsen in Shikotsu-Toya National Park

≪ Previous: Running in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan: follow the river...s

I'm not sure this is going to be a very popular or useful post. First, this Japanese National Park is really not on the beaten paths for foreigners, least so for runners and likely not for my blog followers. Second, we had such a bad weather for our whole stay, we couldn't see a thing which is quite unfortunate given the exceptional scenic landscapes this active volcanic area has to offer. Yet, I found so little help to prepare my runs while we stayed in this Park, I hope this will be useful to some people... And to provide a nice virtual visit of this part of Hokkaido in case you don't have the opportunity to visit, I even included a few videos for once. Now making for a long post by combining 3 long runs...

The Park is given as the 14th largest of Japan's National Parks and is the closest one to Sapporo in Hokkaido. There is even a direct bus shuttle from the New Chitose International airport to Lake Shikotsu and numerous trains riding along the Pacific Coast of this western Peninsula of Hokkaido. With some persistence, Agnès even found a shuttle between downtown Sapporo and our first hotel in Noberibetsu Onsen.

Our first stop in Noboribetsu was at the tourist center when I asked for a map of the trails. We were helped by a Japanese person speaking a perfect English which has been quite rare during our week in Hokkaido. While she was very nice, the indications she gave me were quite disappointing as she kept pointing to the 'trails' of the Hell Valley, trails which length were given between 229 and 599 meters (Japanese like precision, don't they?). When I mentioned that I had run 30 kilometers the day before, she almost rolled her eyes and added that that's all it was in the area, that even the road going up to the famous Lake Kuttara was closed because of the bad weather and danger of mud slides.

Well, a couple of hours later, I left the Hell Valley and hopped on that road which was actually better than any of our roads in California. The asphalt was so slick it made the climb up that first volcano quite smooth and easy, it felt like being on a Formula 1 road circuit! However, yes, the weather was quite bad, alternating between pouring rain or fog; so long for the view and the pictures... Here is the view I got of Lake Kuttara, from the shore of the lake and from the ridge of the crater. I told you, I couldn't see a thing...

Not quite as nice as the picture of that lake you can find on Wikipedia:

I was also excited to run in circles around this almost perfect round shape (see below on that terrain map from Wikipedia too), but I was disappointed that there wasn't any trail along the ridge as a matter of fact. No wonder why the water of this lake is so pure, humans can barely access it, that's the way to protect the environment and the key to sustainability!

With that, this lake remained mysterious indeed to me, like the posting was indicating anyway...

As for the fire danger posting, that looked really weird; I'm really not convinced any fire could start in such a lush vegetation which looks more like a rain forest! Mind the observation of a Californian who feels sad for the terrible wild fires going on in California this summer again...

Anyway, after the initial 3 miles to get to the lake, I continued for another 36 miles on this road and turned back at the large gate protecting me from any car and bus traffic which I imagine would be important on a nice day.

From a running recommendation standpoint, there are a few narrow sections on that road where you'd have to be careful if two mega buses cross each other. But otherwise, there is a good marking on each side which leaves some room for foot and bike traffic.

And the danger doesn't seem to be bears in this area, but fox! ;-)

On my way back down, I found a few signs, in Japanese, indicating a trail passing by another lake (from the picture), and a 4.4km distance.

Too tempting to pass on the invitation, I went on that trail, which looked really nice, at the beginning...

I was already soaked from the rain, humidity and sweat but that got worse: running creeks, wet leaves on each side of the trail and mud swamps got the soaking to another level! I had to spend some time in the evening drying my running shoes with the hair dryer at the hotel...

With the approximate picture of the above trail map in my mind, I ended up on the wrong trail and turned back when my GPS watch indicated that I had missed my target by at least a mile. On my way back, my phone got coverage and I was able to send a Whatsapp text message to Agnès to tell her I was still ok and on my way back. To be honest I had no idea about the way to get back to the hotel at that point and glad that, short of showing a trail, Google maps was showing me which side the onsen was. After some wandering, I got back to the wrong turn I had taken and on the right trail.

Uploading my Garmin data on Strava, I could see what I did on the map and what to do to get to this lake, Lake Tachiba, the next day...

Overall, with more than 3,200 feet, some good elevation for 20 miles.

With dried shoes that Friday morning I went back in the... rain and got drenched again as I approached and did a loop around Lake Tachiba. The trail was easy to find this time but quite damaged by the heavy rain which fell all week. Luckily, as I was finishing the one-mile loop, the fog opened up a bit so I could get a glimpse of the amazing turquoise color of the shallow water.

While the nearby Lake Kuttara is said to be the second cleanest water in Japan with under water visibility up to 20 meters, Lake Tachiba has a flat bottom and the depth doesn't seem to exceed 3 or 4 feet so the water looked crystal clear. I was surprised to see quite a few fish enjoying this super quiet place. Here is a short video, sorry again for the lack of sun and blue sky...

And a few pictures of that area which must look even much nicer with more light.

In this weather, I certainly didn't see anybody during my run but, given this looks like the only major hiking trail in the area, albeit 4 mile-long, I assume a few hikers must go through this area when the weather is better. At least, and despite the obvious recent damage due to the rain, the trail looked somehow maintained.

90% done with the loop I actually found this sign indicating another trail to climb out of the volcano's crater, toward another nearby onsen (in Japanese onsen means a resort with hot springs).

And this map again which is a key resource if you want to explore the area:

This other onsen though, Karurusu Onsen, was a tiny one with only one hotel. I was looking forward to finding a 7 Eleven to get some water and ice cream, but there was not a single shop to be found around. I did stop by the tiny post office where the nice owners accepted to fill up my water bottle. I came back to Noboribetsu on the road, yet another very smooth asphalt with ample room on the side to run safely against the traffic.

Back to Noboribetsu, I joined the flocks of tourists and ran and stopped by all the recommended spots, starting with the famous natural foot bath (natural spring of sulphur water between 100-110F, 40-43C):

The sulfurous Lake Oyunama:

The picturesque Hell Valley where the sulfur prevents any vegetation to grow.

And the episodic geyser Tessen-Ike with boiling water and steam:

Here is some live action in this short video! ;-)

Are you getting confused with my report yet? Here is an annotated map of my second run, mapping out some of the aforementioned names and locations...

On Saturday, our third day in the Park, we spent 3 hours to switch places, to Lake Shikotsu Onsen, on the Eastern entrance of the Park: 1 bus down to the Noboribetsu train station, one train to Tomakomai, another train to Chitose, and a bus for the remaining 25 km up to Lake Shikotsu. Same drill, a stop by the visitor/tourist center to get local maps on which I quickly spotted an interesting challenge, running to the top of Mt. Tarumae which is a volcano still in activity, exhibiting some flumes. With a detour though the Morappu campsite, it took me 9.5 miles to get to the bottom of the volcano but, again, not seeing a thing due to the dense cloud. What a disappointment for the missed picture opportunities, yet I was glad I was able to do this quick climb before night fall as we were visiting the place for less than 18 hours...

Quite a spike on the elevation chart, up to 3,200 feet! Not for much of a view again at the top, the visibility on the edge of the crater was barely 10 feet...

And two more videos to give a better feel of the foggy experience...

You see, not much to see up there this Saturday...

Here is view situating my run on the East side of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park:

Indeed, glad to have squeezed this 18-mile run in as we had to leave early this Sunday morning to fly to Narita (Tokyo International Airport) to join Max at his Gakko camp.

90 miles in 5 days while on Hokkaido, not too shabby given the bad weather we had, and the public transportation commutes between the three places we stayed at. My reports would have surely been different would have we enjoyed blue skies and stunning views of this volcanic area. Overall, the trail running and hiking opportunities weren't as abundant as in Scotland for instance. For one thing, the Japanese are very serious about security as you can see from the road marking and the comments from the visitor centers' staff advising against venturing off the beaten paths. Second, there is obviously the language barrier which prevents asking for directions or even reading the signs, all in Japanese. A bit disappointing in a country so addicted to ultra trail running. Speaking of which, I had considered running an ultra race last weekend but the web site and registration process was all in Japanese and the race director never replied to my emails. Yes, Japan is quite a special place to visit, and not an easy one with this language barrier. More than anywhere else, you have to ask a lot of questions here...

↧

Running in Japan: Noboribetsu Onsen in Shikotsu-Toya National Park

August 1, 2016, 3:04 am

≫ Next: Running in Las Vegas: well, what about the LAS (airport) loop?

≪ Previous: Running in Japan: Noboribetsu Onsen in Shikotsu-Toya National Park

The Park is given as the 14th largest of Japan's National Park and is the closest one to Sapporo in Hokkaido. There is even a direct bus shuttle from the New Chitose International airport to Lake Shikotsu and numerous trains riding along the Pacific Coast of this Western Peninsula of Hokkaido. With some persistence, Agnès even found a shuttle between downtown Sapporo and our first hotel in Noberibetsu Onsen.

Our first stop in Noboribetsu was at the tourist center when I asked for a map of the trails. We were helped by a Japanese person speaking a perfect English which has been quite rare during our week in Hokkaido. While she was very nice, the indications she gave me were quite disappointing as she kept pointing to the 'trails' of the Hell Valley, trails which length were given between 229 and 599 meters (Japanese like precision, don't they?). When I mentioned that I had run 30 kilometers the day before, she almost rolled her eyes and added that that's all it was in the area, that even the road going up to the famous Lake Kuttara was close because of the bad weather and danger of mud slides.

Well, a couple of hours later, I left the Hell Valley and hopped on that road which was actually better than any of our roads in California. The asphalt was so slick it made the climb up that first volcano quite smooth and easy, and felt like being on a Formula 1 road circuit! However, yes, the weather was quite bad, alternating between pouring rain and fog; so long for the view and the pictures... Here is the view I got of Lake Kuttara, from the shore of the lake and from the ridge of the crater. I told you, I couldn't see a thing...

Not quite as nice as the picture of that lake you can find on Wikipedia:

With that, this lake remained mysterious indeed to me, like the posting indicated anyway...

As for the fire danger posting, that looked really weird; I'm really not convinced any fire could start in such a lush vegetation which looks more like a rainforest! Mind the observation of a Californian who feels sad for the terrible wildfires going on in California this summer again...

And the danger doesn't seem to be bears in this area, but fox! ;-)

On my way back down, I found a few signs, in Japanese, indicating a trail passing by another lake (from the picture), and a 4.4km distance.

Too tempting to pass on the invitation, I went on that trail, which looked really nice, at the beginning...

Uploading my Garmin data on Strava, I could see what I did on the map and what to do to get to this lake, Lake Tachiba, the next day...

Overall, with more than 3,200 feet, some good elevation for 20 miles.

With dried shoes that Friday morning I went back in the... rain and got drenched again as I approached and did a loop around Lake Tachiba. The trail was easy to find this time but quite damaged by the heavy rain which had fallen all week long. Luckily, as I was finishing the one-mile loop, the fog opened up a bit so I could get a glimpse of the amazing turquoise color of the shallow water.

And a few pictures of that area which must look even much nicer with more light.

In this weather, I certainly didn't see anybody during my run but, given this seemed to be the only major hiking trail in the area, albeit 4 miles long, I assume a few hikers must go through this area when the weather is better. At least, and despite the obvious recent damage due to the rain, the trail looked somehow maintained.

90% done with the loop I actually found this sign indicating another trail to climb out of the volcano's crater, toward another nearby onsen (in Japanese onsen means a resort with hot springs).

And this map again which is a key resource if you want to explore the area:

Back to Noboribetsu, I joined the flocks of tourists and ran and stopped by all the recommended spots, starting with the famous natural footbath (natural spring of sulphur water between 100-110F, 40-43C):

The sulfurous Lake Oyunama:

The picturesque Hell Valley where the sulfur prevents any vegetation to grow.

And the episodic geyser Tessen-Ike with boiling water and steam:

Here is some live action in this short video! ;-)

Are you getting confused with my report yet? Here is an annotated map of my second run, mapping out some of the aforementioned names and locations...

On Saturday, our third day in the Park, we spent 3 hours to switch places, to Lake Shikotsu Onsen, on the eastern entrance of the Park: 1 bus down to the Noboribetsu train station, one train to Tomakomai, another train to Chitose, and a bus for the remaining 25 km up to Lake Shikotsu. Same drill, a stop by the visitor/tourist center to get local maps on which I quickly spotted an interesting challenge, running to the top of Mt. Tarumae which is a volcano still in activity, exhibiting some flumes. With a detour though the Morappu campsite, it took me 9.5 miles to get to the bottom of the volcano but, again, not seeing a thing due to the dense cloud. What a disappointment for the missed picture opportunities, yet I was glad I was able to do this quick climb before night fall as we were visiting the place for less than 18 hours...

Quite a spike on the elevation chart, up to 3,200 feet! Not for much of a view again at the top, the visibility on the edge of the crater was barely 10 feet...

And two more videos to give a better feel of the foggy experience...

You see, not much to see up there this Saturday...

Here is view situating my run on the East side of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park:

Indeed, glad to have squeezed this 18-mile run in as we had to leave early this Sunday morning to fly to Narita (Tokyo International Airport) to join Max at his Gakko camp.

90 miles in 5 days while on Hokkaido, not too shabby given the bad weather we had, and the public transportation commutes between the three places we stayed at. My reports would have surely been different would have we enjoyed blue skies and stunning views of this volcanic area. Overall, the trail running and hiking opportunities weren't as abundant as in Scotland for instance. For one thing, the Japanese are very serious about security as you can see from the road marking and the comments from the visitor centers' staff advising against venturing off the beaten paths. Second, there is obviously the language barrier which prevents from asking for directions or even reading the signs, all in Japanese. A bit disappointing in a country so addicted to ultra trail running. Speaking of which, I had considered running an ultra race last weekend but the website and registration process was all in Japanese and the race director never replied to my emails. Yes, Japan is quite a special place to visit, but not an easy one with this language barrier. More than anywhere else, you have to ask a lot of questions here...

↧

Running in Las Vegas: well, what about the LAS (airport) loop?

February 25, 2016, 6:50 pm

≫ Next: Skyline 50K 2016: the 10th time's almost a charm!

≪ Previous: Running in Japan: Noboribetsu Onsen in Shikotsu-Toya National Park

The first time you visit Las Vegas, and you like running (which isn't for every casino player...), it's exciting to get on the Strip and run along these humongous hotels or resorts. I am a big fan of visiting and discovering cities by foot, and Vegas is no different, you can run quite a few miles on each side.

Well, that what it looks like on the map. In reality, running the Strip is more of an obstacle race. First, there is the crowd, at least from 9 am to way past midnight. And not any crowd: you have people smoking (after all it's sin city...), drinking, begging, yelling, people of all shapes and sizes, large groups, etc. And better not touching someone when slaloming the sidewalks. But even if you beat the crowd by running at dawn in the early morning, there are the numerous road crossings and don't even think of jay walking because the car traffic never stops here. Then there is the convoluted overpasses going from casinos to casinos.

Bottom line, once you've discovered the city, and I've been here more than a dozen times already, you'd better find other routes. This time I stayed in the Southern section of the Strips (MGM, Tropicana, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, New York New York) and when looking at the map, I realized how close all these hotels were from the airport, code name LAS. From a quick look at the Google Map, I estimated the route around the airport to be between 9 and 10 miles and here I was, last Thursday evening, starting my run at 7 pm after a busy day of (work) training.

The route is a rectangle with the Tropicana (Hilton) in the right lower corner, opposite the MGM Grand. But you can start from any point across Mandalay Bay of course. It's right 2 miles between the Tropicana corner and the intersection of the Las Vegas Boulevard (the end of the Strip) and Sunset Road. The pavement on Las Vegas Boulevard if very smooth, all concrete. As you turn onto Sunset Road, there is no pavement on the left side, along the airport. It's quite uneven and lose gravel so, but there is some street light to help with the footing. However, if you aren't used to running on trails, you can cross Sunset and run on the right side. I chose to stay on the left side as I prefer running against the traffic. Depending on the time of the day, the traffic isn't too bad, for instance at night or early morning, and you can take the (your own) risk of running on the pavement.

It's exactly 3 miles on Sunset Road before turning left on South Eastern Avenue, so it makes for quite a simple geometry quiz to compute the perimeter of a 2 by 3-mile rectangle!

There are a few road crossings on the 2-mile long segment on S Eastern, but not too bad. The pavement is not as smooth as on the other side, but okay. In the second mile you pass a shopping mall and few fast foods in case you need water for instance.

Then you are back on Tropicana which has also quite a worn out sidewalk but, more importantly, a few major road crossings with the heavy inbound and outbound airport traffic (so many cabs!).

Overall, a great 10-mile loop if you want to log a few miles while in Vegas and keep some sanity between parties or meetings. I ran the loop on Thursday and Friday night, then twice on Sunday (2:23:06) and improved the course record on Wednesday morning (1:05:59 elapsed time and 1:04:54 of moving time, that is without the waits for green lights at the major crossings on Tropicana). Actually, my Garmin gave 9.95 miles for the loop and Strava rounded down to 9.9.

So, while, like me, you'd certainly rather run on trails in the surrounding mountains, if you don't have the time to drive and leave the city, and you are staying on the South part of the Strip, here is a very reasonable option to log a few consistent miles away from the crowd. Still with views on the mountains, plus the distraction of the planes taking off and landing. At least it worked for me, I managed to run 5 loops (50 miles) during the week despite the craziness of our annual InterConnect conference. Not quite my average weekly mileage, but still much better than running on a treadmill!

Run, baby, run!

↧

Skyline 50K 2016: the 10th time's almost a charm!

August 8, 2016, 12:44 am

≫ Next: Post-ultra recovery: resting or... pushing?

≪ Previous: Running in Las Vegas: well, what about the LAS (airport) loop?

10th consecutive year I toed the line of this early August event: I was so excited I had to post something on Facebook the night before. And what a night... After flying back from South Korea and Japan where we stayed for 13 days, and with the 16-hour time difference, I was seriously jet lagged this weekend. On Friday, I worked at the office from 8am to 12:30am, went to bed on Saturday morning at 2am and woke up at noon, oops! I always like to put a few hours of sleep in the bank, 2 nights before an ultra, at least I had this taken care of. But with that, I barely slept 4 hours the night preceding the race which isn't that good. Apart from that, I was feeling great after logging 123 miles while in Japan, including a few hilly long runs. And I was so much looking forward to a redemption race after the DNF at TRT, this time with a distance which is my sweet spot: that was my 58th 50K race today, in 10 years. And in these 10 years, I've ran each of the Skyline 50K edition, an event which is said to be the longest running 50K event in the US with 35 or 36 editions (co-race director, Adam Ray, wasn't sure, and Gary Wang has 32 years on his RealEndurance reference website, but Stan Jensen 36 years indeed on his run100s.com page).

With 269 running races in my log, I've given away many t-shirts, but there are a few events I like collecting Ts of, like Ohlone, my fetish race, Miwok, Western States of course and this one.

After this hectic night, the day started early as I arrived at the Chabot Lake Marina in time to see the 6am early start. I apologize for not staying until the last runner gets in, but I like this opportunity to see the ones who are going to battle the cut-offs and leverage this opportunity to start earlier, a nice option offered by a few race directors.

Here is Race Director, Brian Wyatt, giving his pre-race briefing/instructions before sending a dozen or so runners on the trail.

Meanwhile, there was this wonderful volunteer who was handling the bib pick-up all by herself! (Here seen as serving our very own John Brooks.)

The venerable Quicksilver ultra racing team members, Jim Magill and John Brooks ;-)

We started right at 7am but going on the North shore of the lake this year because of some construction at the dam. I had looked at the map but admit that I'm not familiar enough with all these trails to have internalized the course and was going to rely on course markings. Fortunately, there were plenty of these pink ribbons, plus a myriad (maybe 20 total) of Park volunteers at major intersections, that was very helpful to remove any doubts.

A bunch of runners from Excelsior were at the front when we started (Brian, Karl, Jason, and more), two other runners with blue tops whom I didn't know, and Chris Calzetta and I from Quicksilver. I've seen way faster and even crazier pace in the past, so the 6:50-7:00 min/mile we were at didn't seem unreasonable. I actually pushed the pace a bit in the first climb and Chris was the only one to respond and follow. I've such found memories from running these trails with Chris back in 2011 (Skyline and Firetrails) it was a delight to run a few miles again together, although I had no illusion that this would last for too long as he got stronger and faster these past years. But, between my faster speed in the downhills and his stops at the aid station (and me not stopping), we kept going on and on until we arrived together at the turnaround, the Skyline Gate aid station around mile 14.5. The excitement of still being in the lead about half way in the race even doubled as we got welcomed by Greg Lanctot, our Club President, always providing a ton of motivation and encouragement through his radiating energy. Here are 2 shots he captured of us at this station which, I learned later, was manned/hosted by our Quicksilver Club; thank you club mates!

With the third runner on our heels, we did not have the luxury of spending much time to recover and were quick to leave. I had planned on refilling my GU2O bottle but I had only used half of it anyway so not the right time. But that showed that I hadn't not drunk enough electrolytes, and even less water, despite a good sweat as I was still wearing my arm warmer/compression sleeves. A few people had told me it was going to be chilly but the temperature was actually quite nice despite the overcast. Sure enough, the low fluid intake translated into some cramps as we were flying down French Trail and, on the next steep uphill, I told Chris 'go for it!', meaning I couldn't keep up with his pace anymore. I drank much more in this section and took 2 more S!Caps plus a pouch of Vespa concentrate. I didn't mention above that we reached Skyline Gate in 1:45 which appeared to me like a slow time compared to previous years. I was so confused with the new trails we took in this first part that I couldn't figure out if and how much that first section was harder. Passing through mile 16 after 2 hours of running, I started to doubt that I will break 4 hours today, which was my biggest objective today (out of 9 editions, I missed 4 hours only twice but for injury reasons). Better keep pushing for the last 15 miles then and, the cramps persisting, I could predict some trouble and suffering...

This time, I arrived at Big Bear (mile 20) with empty bottles, having forced myself to drink much more than in the first half. A few volunteers helped me refill them, and I also drank a large cup of Coke, getting some sugar before the next big climb. I was very pleased to have the stamina to run/jog the whole hill, still no walking so far! I had to stop at the top of the hill though because of a severe cramp in my calves, but was able to keep the cramps under control in the descent to Bort Meadow (mile 23) where I didn't stop again (sorry George Rehmet and team...). I felt good when the volunteers told me that, like at Big Bear, I was just 2 minutes behind Chris. With this boost, I maintained a good pace until about mile 25 where I realized that, unless the end of the course was cut short, it was going to require running sub 7 min miles to break 4 hours, darn! I did walk a bit but not too much, however my running had slowed down. When I finally reached the final aid station, welcomed by ultra volunteer Stan Jensen who was recording our splits, I realized that I had less than 18 minutes to cover 3 miles, which wasn't going to happen. Yet, I flew through the aid station to keep moving and protect my second place, telling to myself that, to balance the deception of missing the 4-hour mark this year, I should at least cherish these podium opportunities given my age (and it surely helps that the faster and younger dudes typically popping up at this event didn't this year!).

I had not seen anyone behind Chris and I for 15 miles since the turnaround but, bingo, one runner passed me at mile 29. I had no intention to counter, still content with third place but when, a mile later, I saw a runner with a yellow singlet (Excelsior) closing on me, this gave me a kick and got me to sprint the last mile this time. Oops, does that imply that I'm competitive? Yes, some times... ;-) Well that worked, I managed to finish in 3rd place overall, in 4:07, and I'm glad I did because 3 Excelsior runners crossed the finish line within the following 2 minutes! Dang, so long for the Grand Prix points because Loren was third for our club but quite behind. [Photo credit: Eileen Francisco]

Chris had won the race this year in 3:55. Here is the 2016 men podium:

When I shared my disappointment about my finish time with Brian, he said that he thought the new course had between 1,500 and 1,800 more feet of elevation, that surely counts. I look forward to hearing about what others have found from their GPS recordings. And that being said, I know that I may have to live and start accepting slower times, especially with my stroke hiccup of last March...

3rd place earned me a nice cap from event sponsor Victory Sportdesign. Although I was sorry he couldn't run today because of a cold, it was great to meet and catch-up with Victor again (and Lorna and Lucy). Hope everybody stopped by to check Victor's latest invention, a super organized and handy sport bag/luggage which can be carried as a backpack. If you missed the opportunity, make sure to check his website!

Special mention for Joe Swenson, another Quicksilver teammate, who becomes the second runner with 17 Skyline 50K finishes, equaling Barbara Elia's record. At the finish, Joe said he is going for 20! (Assuming he keeps running consecutive years, in two years he'll have run half of the editions...)

Big kudos to Brian and his Scena Performance team for perpetuating this great tradition and maintaining the very high standard of this event. As a side note, I chatted with two runners who were visiting from France and were impressed with the quality of the markings, the number of course monitors, the quality of the food at the aid stations and also blown away by the helpfulness and the kindness of the volunteers everywhere, their ears not believing the loud encouragements that they received when entering and leaving the aid stations. Great testament to the quality of our local races from a fresh perspective. Indeed, volunteers, you rock!!

What I also like in this event is that it marks for me the start of the second half of our ultra running season. Indeed, there have been so many great ultra accomplishments by many already this year, but we are barely half way, Summer isn't even over yet, let's keep running! And see you on the trails then...

↧

Post-ultra recovery: resting or... pushing?

August 15, 2016, 4:03 pm

≫ Next: Tamalpa Headlands 50K US Trail Nationals: ok with being chicked!

≪ Previous: Skyline 50K 2016: the 10th time's almost a charm!

After running ultras for 10 years and having logged 42,000 miles since I moved to the US, I wish I had the assurance of elite runner and coach David Roche to tell you, and assure myself, that I knew what I was doing with my training. Well, as much as I have respect for the youngsters shaking the ultra establishment, if there was any, I think it's fair to say that the saying "ultra is a big experiment" still applies. After all, we still see shooting stars, over performing for a while but sometimes burning out after too much intensity in racing or training. Therefore I have to admit that I'm myself struggling on training strategies, especially taking into account the aging factor. Not only we are all experiments of one in general and, surely in my case, there aren't that many 50+ runners keeping improving their time and pushing the envelope as much as I do.

When I started running marathons, my sister and best medical doctor, Marie, gave my this wise advice: "no more than a marathon race a year!" At the intensity that the Kenyans or Ethiopians are competing, in the red zone, it makes sense that they put all their bets on one race. Fortunately, I don't have to run to make a living, pretty sure I couldn't handle that competitive pressure and stress. Although the corporate world has its own version of these... Nowadays, I typically run 32-37 ultra marathons a year, more than half as training runs!

Anyway, after racing Skyline 50K last Sunday, relatively hard, what did I do this week? If you recall, I had cramps for the last 11 miles and didn't do much stretching after the race, so I was quite sore when I woke up on Monday morning after a very short night (working and blogging late on Sunday evening and waking up for a 6 am conf call with the East Coast, just to find out it had been cancelled 15 minutes earlier, grrrr).

Monday. Following Dean Karnaze's tip of recovering by resuming training the very next day after an ultra, at least with an easy recovery run, I did put my Brooks shoes on. The calves were so painful, I almost turned back after a few hundreds yards, yet decided to keep going as I was still capable of running under 8 min/mile. While the pain remained the whole time, the muscles eventually loosened up enough to keep up the pace. I completed 2 of my neighborhood 5K loops (6.2 miles total) with splits of 7:46, 7:23, 7:16, 7:15, 7:11 and 6:59, all that without watching my GPS, just by the feel.

Tuesday. I was bummed that my calves were still so painful, 2 days after the race, but went for another run anyway, albeit starting at a moderate pace. 3 loops this time (15K), with another nice acceleration in my miles splits: 7:29, 7:14, 7:03, 7:03, 7:00, 6:50, 6:53, 6:41, 6:32, and 6:19 min/mile on the last 0.3 mile.

Wednesday. The pain and soreness were mostly gone, but I could still feel some fatigue, so I started slow again to warm up. 4 laps this time (20K) with miles ranging from 7:32 for the first one to 6:35 for the last one and an average of 6:58 min/mile.

Thursday. Couldn't run in the morning and was trapped with work until late in the evening so finally took a rest day. It didn't feel that good because it wasn't a rest by design, but it was a good/reasonable outcome.

Friday. Not much sleep during the week but at least I felt my legs were well rested from the day off. I wanted to run 5 loops this time but had just enough time for 4 fast loops between two conference calls. With that, I started faster, the first mile at 7:06 to warm-up then progressively gaining speed with the last mile at 6:20 and an average of 6:32 min/mile for 20K, leaving 3 minutes to catch my breath and sweep my sweat as it was 84F outside!

Saturday. Work got in the way again, not leaving enough time to go up Black Mountain so I ran along the rail tracks down to Winchester Boulevard, a 16.6-mile out-and-back, 2/3 of dirt trail for a change. I didn't have much expectation for killing it but I happened to run my third fastest time on this route at 7:04 min/mile average.

Sunday. Again, got caught between work and family obligations and ended up having only about 3 hours for my long run, not leaving enough room for a hilly ultra. Decided to maximize the distance by selecting a flat course and went on the Stevens Creek trail toward Shoreline and the Palo Alto Baylands. First mile in 7:13 but I quickly picked up the pace and got under 7 min/mile pace for the 4th mile. When I saw that I ran the first 9 miles in 1:02, I thought of going the marathon distance around 3:10. As I was running through Shoreline Park, I passed a fast runner who recognized me from the Trailblazer 10K race. I was on a 6:35-6:40 pace throughout the Park and pretty happy to be able to maintain that pace in that heat (84-86F), with some breeze helping getting through this exposed area in this early afternoon. On the way back, around mile 18, I started getting some doubts on my ability to maintain that pace and settled down imperceptibly to a 6:45-6:50 pace, managing to going through the wall without bunking. However, passing my a MacDonald's at mile 23, I have to admit that I stopped my watch a few minutes to get some iced water to cool my core down. I ended up running 27 miles in 3:04:25 and around 2:58 for the marathon mark (again, not counting 12 minutes of stops for main road/street crossings and the lengthy stop to get iced-water). With the heat, I was drenched from the sweat as soon as I stopped running and quite tired with this sustained effort. I drank about 30 oz of water upon getting home, and rushed to make a smoothie with some Go Recovery brew (mango), milk, orange juice, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream: yummy cocktail which quickly got me back to my feet!

With the 50K Trail Nationals in 2 weeks, I wish I was able to squeeze in some hill training this weekend. Maybe next weekend then if I'm not on a plane again (I was supposed to go to Saudi Arabia again, but it looks unlikely as of Sunday night), before tapering more the following week.

Well, as you see, between resting or resuming training right away, I've chosen the latter this time, even pushing more than I had anticipated or thought possible. And I'm still wondering if that was the best thing to do this week, training wise. An 84-flat-mile week at an average pace of just below 7 min/mile following a 50K race, here is another data point, a drop in the global experiment that ultra running is... Although we lack data and formal analytics overall, but Strava, RunKeeper, Garmin Connect and many other sites are silently amassing that wealth of data from those willing to share. To this point, although I'm still keeping my Microsoft Excel running log up to date manually, which is a good way to remain independent from changes happening to all these platforms and software tools, I finally took the Strava plunge at the beginning of 2015 so all the above data is available on line. Surely, it's also nice to get some cool predefined dashboards such as this one, showing that I also know to take some time off or taper around bigger/longer races.

I'm sure that this level of details and analysis look futile for some. I agree that it's not good to fall overboard in over (or ultra!) analysis, but I'm a believer in the adage "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it!" (Edwards Deming) or "If you can't measure it, you can't improve it!" (Peter Drucker). So, putting some introspection into your running is important from time to time. Or all the time as a matter of fact to listen to your body, and your mind. That's what a coach can help on I assume and, at least for the tracking, motivation and (over) analysis parts, I seem fined with self-coaching... ;-)

With these random thoughts about post-race recovery and training strategies, I'm looking forward to keeping experimenting as long as I can, and reading and learning from others as well. We are all in ultra running together, aren't we?! :-)

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Tamalpa Headlands 50K US Trail Nationals: ok with being chicked!

August 28, 2016, 11:04 pm

≫ Next: NorthCoast 2016 US 24-hour Nationals: a runner's diary

≪ Previous: Post-ultra recovery: resting or... pushing?

Ah, being chicked, what a concept... When I started running ultra marathons 10 years ago, I had no idea what this meant, it was just me against the challenge of getting to the finish line. I think I first heard the expression from Dr. Mark Tanaka who still have too much pride for not finishing ahead of all the gals. Since then, the years passing, Mark has made a name for himself for 'just' finishing what he starts, mostly grueling 100-milers and screwed as he calls it, that is without a crew. Not worrying about the gals ahead of him anymore! ;-)

As for me, I'm too old to compete elbow to elbow with the youngsters and speedsters when they toe the line as it was the case this Saturday, just happy to still get to play with the top gals in our field! So what does 'being chicked' mean...? For a guy, that is finishing behind one gal! (Not sure which expression was used when Ann Trason for instance ended up first overall, that is beating all the guys... ;-)

Speaking of top gals, I first met Camille Herron at the Mad City 100K Road Nationals last year in Madison, WI. Despite a brilliant career in marathon running, with many overall wins, she wasn't known yet in the ultra world. That was her first ultra and she took the win which gave him a ticket for the 100K World Championships... which she won outright! She also won the 50K Road World Championships last year and came to Lake Sonoma in April for her first ultra trail race, but took third, missing a golden ticket for Western States.

This Saturday was going to see quite a duel between her and our local Meghan Roche from Sunnyvale, another world-class runner, both on road and trails. And then there was Kasie Enman, a Salomon Team runner from Vermont and used to get on the podium in the super competitive SkyRunning race series. Then Caitlin Smith of Oakland.

The competition was even deeper on the men side, with more than a handful of runners pretending to the win, if they were not killing each others by falling in the technical downhills of this course. Here is Will Gotthardt who had a big crewing responsibility for several of the elite runners today: Scott Tummer, the winner of Ohlone 50K this year, and Caitlin.

As for Alex Varner (yellow top, Nike ultra racing team), a local legend for his blazing times on the Dipsea course, and second fastest time on this course (3:41:49!), he has other big goals this year so he wasn't going to go all out this Saturday, at least that's what he told me before the start.

The race is directed by Tim and Diana Fitzpatrick from the local Tamalpa Running Club, who bring their own ultra running expertise and experience to make this race a Marin County tradition with an outstanding organization which is key for a National USATF Championship. They also manage to get additional prize money for course records and that has attracted more elite runners from other States these past years. Mind our Ultrasignup rankings which are sinking deeper with every of these super fast races...

After a 5-minute briefing, Tim sent us off at 7:30 am. The weather was overcast with mild temperatures, perfect racing conditions. 15 seconds before the start, I realized that I had forgotten my pouch of GU2O in the car. I typically use one bottle every 15 miles so need one refill on a 50K. I thought of getting back to the car but instead, decided to keep calm and not worry about it. That I will use for once the electrolyte served at the Cardiac aid station. I had my S!Caps, 4 GUs, and one Vespa concentrate, that should do it. Actually, that will have to do!

I actually started in the middle of the pack to check who was in the M50-54 age group. Indeed, in every National Championship, we have to run with a bib on our back indicating the division we are competing in, either Open (under 40), or by 5-year age groups. I had seen in the list of registrants that there was William Emerson, 52, from Oregon, with a higher Ultrasignup ranking than mine, so I was wondering how this will play out. William had a very impressive ultra running resume in his late 30s and early 40s including an overall win at HURT 100, a couple of overall wins at Chuckanut 50K and Quad Dipsea, and many other podiums. But these two charts show us on different aging trends... By the way, I'm desperately and ambitiously trying to get to 90% and got quite close after Skyline with 89.95%, but this race was going to get this score down again...

Moving my way up toward the front of the race, I stopped by a runner wearing an M50-54 bib and asked if he was coming from Oregon. He replied that he had been there a few weeks ago as a matter of fact, but just for vacation. And he must have wondered why I was so interested in Oregon all of a sudden... Then I chatted a bit with another runner in our age group, Mark Murray, who pointed me to that other M50-54 runner he didn't know either, but that we could see about 200 yards ahead. I picked up the pace and caught up with him before the first big climb on Coastal Trail, out of Muir Beach. There he was, William Emerson, and we chatted a bit. He had actually run this race more than 10 years ago when it started at Rodeo Beach, like Miwok, and asked me if we were still running the same course, which I confirmed. I thanked him for visiting and, after I introduced myself as a local runner, he thanked me for hosting, so giving back the credit to our Tamalpa friends. He started alternating walking and running in the steep hill so I decided to keep running and passed quite a few other runners on that hill, catching up with Excelsior runners, Jason Reed and Karl Schnaitter, and Caitlin too, as well as Stanley Peng.

After the top of the hill, we can spot a few miles of the Coastal Trails but the leaders had already disappeared into Pirate Cove, amazingly fast runners! With that, I had little clue about where I did now stand but wasn't caring too much anyway. My first goal was to get my age group win, hopefully breaking 4:30 again this year, especially if that was what was needed to defend my title of last year, and also hoping to make the top 20 with such a deep competitive field. Oh, and not being too much chicked either... ;-)

Jason was flying in the long descent toward Tennessee Valley, I could only pass Caitlin and barely catch Karl, but I passed them and a few other runners in the tough climb up to the ridge over Rodeo Beach. I was now seeing three runners ahead: Kasie, and two runners with black tops which I thought were both from the West Valley Joggers & Striders Club. The first one, Edward Randolph, was, but the second one was from the Sacramento area and Edward's friend. I was able to pass him and got close to Kasie and Edward just before the Rodeo Beach aid station, but Edward faded away in the subsequent climb on Miwok Trail. Caitlin caught up with me in that climb and I decided to tie in to her effort to close her gap with Kasie. Cailtin has a short stride but a much faster leg speed than me, so it was a completely different rhythm but did the job quite well indeed. I followed her as we flew down to the Tennessee Valley aid station at mile 11.5. She flew through the aid station quickly thanks to Will's help, while I had to lose a few second in order to have a cup of Coke filled in, but I caught up with Caitlin before Coyote Ridge, with Kasie still in sight.

As we were now going down Miwok Trail toward Highway 1, it was super exciting to see Camille being chased by Meghan, a minute or so ahead of us. I still had no idea what was going on on the men side, but that meant I was right in the women battle for the lead! I stayed with Caitlin until the bottom of Cardiac, the famous section of the Dipsea trail. A volunteer at the Highway 1 crossing told us we were just 30 seconds behind Kasie and, indeed, we could still see her. But she disappeared after a few turns, so I kept pushing the pace and left Caitlin slightly behind, yet couldn't close on Kasie before the top. Devon Yanko was at the top and told me "I'm not telling you that there is an aid station just around the corner because I know you know", and she was right... ;-)

We were at mile 19.5 and that was the time to refill my GU2O bottle which whatever electrolyte they had the aid station. Fruity and artificial taste but it had to do because we were far from being done yet. Grabbed a piece of banana and off I was before Caitlin reached the aid station. We were still in the cloud and wouldn't see the sun today. I got a very personalized welcome and encouragement from Jerry Flanagan and Christine Chapon who were volunteering to get us through Pantoll and off we were on Matt Davis Trail after crossing the busy Panoramic Highway. After a few turns, I saw a runner with a white top and I was quickly closing on him. Oh no, it was Camille who was falling apart. I told her what was ahead and gave a few words of encouragements as she managed to follow me in beginning of the steep and technical downhill but I lost sight of her after a few switchbacks as I was focused on not falling with all the hazards of this section: roots, some muddy and wet sections, sharp rocks, irregular and steep steps and many hikers trying to navigate this horde of runners (really a bad day to hike a trail on race day...).

Not knowing what was happening behind, I kept pushing and flew through the Stinson Beach aid station. This time, as opposed to Tennessee Valley, Will had still Caitlin's flask in his hands! As I walked a few steps at the bottom of the Dipsea Trail to get an S!Caps and a GU, I saw Caitlin behind and that motivated me to run, well jog, all the stairs on that section, phew! A mile later, I could now see Edward, about 1 minute and a half ahead. Yet, I couldn't push the pace in the infamous Steep Ravine. It was weird to think that I climbed the ladder which marks the marathon distance on this new course at the time that leaders must have already finished, that is around 3:40 of running... But what can you do... I actually walked much more than what I wanted but managed to still close some on Edward and Joseph Rivera. I passed Joseph just before our second passage at the Cardiac Aid Station, then started chasing down Edward.

At the top (Pantoll/Cardiac), I was really surprised that Devon told me that time "wow, you passed about 20 people!" because I had only passed Camille and another runner since I saw her. It just shows how confusing it is to track runners at that point of the course which sees all of us twice.

Anyway, it took me less than a mile to catch up with Edward and pass him, without even realizing that this has happened before, as he told me later at the finish. I kept pushing the pace all the way and badly twisted my left ankle as I was trying to avoid a mountain biker, that reminded me that everything could still happen with 2 miles to go and I had to remain super careful. We finish with almost a mile worth of super sharp switchbacks, maybe 30 or so, and that seems like taking for ever to negotiate all these turns, so much that I could hear Tim announcing Kasie's finish down in the meadow. As I was getting to the finish line 4 minutes later, Tim saluted with the word legend I think (oops), then an interesting "Here is the only runner carrying two bottles" which kind of surprised me (well, I saw a bottle in the bushes in the switchbacks, so maybe some elites throw their bottles on the course like on the Tour de France... ;-). As I was trying to catch my breath, Tim also kindly asked me for my time (4:27:28) and told me that I had improved my age group course record by 10 seconds! Well, I had not checked that but, indeed, I ran 4:27:36 2 years ago, so 8 seconds faster this year, I'll take it, especially given this year's circumstances. (I barely broke 4:30 last year too with 4:29:24.)

As expected though, the top guys had finished for a while and had changed already. What was less expected is a few of them were covered with blood, yikes! Meghan had won and broke the course record by 5 minutes, with a blazing 4:20:51 (Kasie taking second in 4:23:47), a record worth a $2,000 bonus this year! But her usual smile was showing a very bloody lip. Meghan's husband, David Roche, finished 2nd but with even more blood, and dirt, on his face. David has a weekly column in Trail Running Magazine, and I can already imagine the next article being something like: "If you don't have blood on your face, you haven't tried hard enough..."

Scott Trummer took 4th and had 3 bad falls, with cuts and blood on both is swollen knees. I haven't checked everybody else but heard about other falls and I saw a picture on Facebook of Sam Robinson, from Inside Trail Running with blood all over his face at one of the aid stations (he went one for 11 more miles before dropping eventually). I've never seen this before, such speed on technical trails is becoming insane, apparently some people don't read the speed limit postings, duh.. ;-)

The top 10 runners on the men and women side got an official award ceremony and below are a few pictures. As for the age groups, we were handed the medals individually and confidentially, so no pictures this time.

Top 10 men (from Cody Reed from Arizona with the check on the left, to Jorge Maravilla, 10th):

Top 10 women (missing one on the picture):

The podiums with Tim and Diana:

Here are two very special spectators of this award ceremony, our Mountain Ultra Trail Grand Prix co-chairs, Hollis Lenderking and Bill Dodson.

Stats wise on my side: I got 16th overall, 14th men, 2nd Masters (1'59" behind Nate Bowen, 40) and, yes, winning my M50-54 age group for my 7th National title and 2nd this year. It was my 133rd ultra race and 59th 50K race. Again, given the circumstances, quite a great day and outcome! Except for the 80%-worth performance in Ultrasignup...

All the results were promptly posted on the race website.

After a bad race last year, Scott Dunlap was happy to run 4:44 this year (good for 2nd in the M45-49 age group behind Edward). And I look forward to seeing all the pictures he might have taken with his iPhone during the race!

Mark Murray catching his breath at the finish (3rd in our age group in 5:01, behind William Emerson who finished in 4:53).

And, among more than a dozen running this race, 2 Quicksilver teammates, respectively Brian Boyer (5:45) and John Brooks (6:34).

And another teammate, Bree Lambert, got a National Champion title in her W45-49 age group, while also winning the Masters division! Didn't catch her with my camera at the finish, but here she is, running to get ready before the start... ;-)

To summarize I'd say that: most people had a great day thanks to the weather conditions. A few ran, if not very fast, at least faster. A few had bloody falls. And a handful even managed to both have a bloody and very fast race, still managing to avoid major injury despite falling on their face... What a day it was yesterday for trail racing... (in addition to watching the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc live throughout the weekend!)

Perfect race organization, from registration, pre-race emails and directions, parking monitoring, porta-potties (yes, that counts too! ;-), ample course marking and monitoring, aid stations, chip timing and prompt publishing, the drinks at the finish (I'm not a beer fan but I did see so many happy faces around the bar), the age group winner and finisher swag (super soft t-shirt fabric!), the sponsors (special kudos to Cliff Bar for spoiling us with their products) and... the delicious pizzas from firetrailpizza.com, made on site! I'd be curious to know how many hundreds of pizzas they made for all of us this Saturday afternoon! They were so busy that I couldn't get them out of the tent for a team picture this year, so here they are, in different shots.

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NorthCoast 2016 US 24-hour Nationals: a runner's diary

September 24, 2016, 9:06 pm

≫ Next: Running injuries: let's see the good in them!

≪ Previous: Tamalpa Headlands 50K US Trail Nationals: ok with being chicked!

4 weeks without posting on my blog, I don't think it ever happened since I started blogging in March 2007. I'm getting close to 500 posts, maybe it's a sign I and you have had enough, what do you think? ;-) Have I not been running these past weeks? You bet I have, 332 miles since Tamalpa Headlands 50K. But there has been so many updates on Facebook, you already heard what I did last weekend.

Yes, at the last minute, I decided to enter the 24-hour road Nationals as I had customers to visit in Ohio. I was actually supposed to be in Saudi Arabia instead but that trip got postponed to first week of October now. For once, there was quite some serious competition on the roster in my M50-54 age group: Serge Arbona and Ed Ettinghausen, both having run way more than my PR. Serge even made the Team USA and the World Championships a few years ago, and Ed has covered 144 miles on a track a couple of years ago. But I thought I had a shot at that distance which represents our age group American record on the road.

Training had gone well in September, but the weather was giving high chance of rain showers throughout the day and the night, damned! Sure enough, it rained during the night and the course had large puddles when we started. It started running cats and dogs again just 30 minutes before the start, that looked like awful conditions. One of my biggest fear after what happened here 2 years ago was chaffing, and being soaked right off the bat didn't look good. By some miracle, the rain stopped 10 minutes before the start and that was it for the next 24 hours! I teased the event management team about how much they must have paid to get us this dry weather agains all odds. Few people know, IBM (yes, I'm an IBMer!) has purchased weather.com a few months ago (we cut quite a big check for that) because weather data and forecast are so important for most industries. Well, I wish I had gotten the memo that the forecast was wrong, because I would have followed a different race strategy.

Indeed, fearing the rain all night, I decided to start relatively strong and take a shot at our 100-mile road age group record which is 15 hours and 2 minutes (Brian Teason). Of course, I knew that would kill me afterwards but if the weather was going to turn bad anyway...

To recount my race, I was really counting on the data and splits recorded by my Garmin. Like Bev Anderson-Abbs, I sometimes hate my Garmins, although I keep buying and using them. The features are good but it's the upload capability which sometimes if not often sucks. Once again, the device recorded everything, but I lost all the data when the data transfer hung up. And since I'm writing this post a week later, after an exhausting and stressful work week, I have lost track of some details and numbers. Besides, running on the same 0.9-mile loop for 24 hours is a recipe for a boring race report so I'll spare you the details and, since an image is worth a thousand words (at least!), I'm offering a visual diary of 2 days in my running life! (You can also click on the picture to enlarge it.)

As you can see, it wasn't an eventless weekend! To hit the 100-mile mark under 15 hours, I just had to average a 9 min/mile pace. And to hit the 144-mile mark (our M50-54 age group record) in 24 hours, just 10 min/mile. So what did I do? Start way too fast, under 8 min/mile of course, everything you shouldn't do in a 24-hour event... A few pictures from the first 6 hours I believe (credit to Andy Noise for the first one, and Pat Dooley for the next 3):

Although that looks crazy, if not stupid, in retrospective, the thing is that I wasn't even in the lead! Well, I actually had no idea because I didn't have a crew (yes, I got screwed again!), and the display with the current standings was quite far away from the course. Running between 8 and 8:30 min/mile actually felt slow and easy. I did hit the 50-mile mark ahead of schedule, around 7 hours and 15 minutes if I recall. But it was hot and super humid so I started to slow down and lose faith in my initial goal, so much that by mile 80 I think, I started to walk, yikes!

As I often say, what I like in ultra running is the running part, certainly not the walking. After many laps under 8 minutes, it killed me to complete laps between 16 and 19 minutes! At the end of the afternoon, it was uplifting to see the legendary Mark Godale visiting us. Here is a picture he took as I was trotting along side another local ultra running legend, Connie Gardner (wearing Brooks Launch shoes too!):

As the night had fallen and the last clouds of the day were dissipating, the rise of the full moon was amazing. Yet, despite the good weather, I had serious trouble maintaining a sub 10 min/mile pace at this point. I had drunk a lot, and taken quite a few GUs (one an hour) on top of a Vespa pouch every 3 hours, plus a few potato chips and cups of Coke once in a while, and an S!Caps every hour, so I didn't think I was dehydrated but the heat and humidity definitely had their toll. After 12 hours of racing, I decided that it was time to catch-up on calories and made more frequent stops at the aid station. The hot food kept changing so you weren't sure of what you'll find at your next passage: I was so much looking for mashed potatoes but I had to first eat some macaroni and cheese, then some chicken noodle soup, some cheese pizza (made on site, yummy!), then the mashed potatoes finally came around midnight if I recall. I wasn't sure about that, but I even did eat and enjoyed French fries, a first during a race!

Without my GPS recording, or the race timing splits, I'm not sure exactly when I did my first stop at the medical tent after even walking slowly got painful; I think around midnight. There, a Med School student, Brent, provided me with a massage and leg stretching which got me back on my feet. I must have stopped for at least 20 minutes and got cold, although the temperature was still high throughout the night. Brent ensured that I put some layers on and I went back on the course, walking 2 laps, then resuming running to finally pass the 100-mile mark in a time close to 18 hours I think. Quite far from my initial goal but at least I was still moving and we had 6 more hours to kill... A selfie with Brent:

I'm very grateful to Brent for having fixed me this way and allowed me to get back on the course for more running. And it was cool to meet his wife and their three young children at the end of his 24-hour shift on Sunday morning.

I jogged for a while, maybe a couple of hours, but then had to switch back to walking again. I stopped by the medical tent around 5:30 am and Brent did the same magic except that my mind wasn't into it anymore. 110 miles completed but Serge was now way ahead and looking good, I wasn't going to catch him. Actually, this is the time that I discovered that I had 8 laps on the next M50-54 competitor, John Bertram, whom I saw passing by the medical tent twice as I was resting there and contemplating to stop for good. At 6 am, I went to the car thinking it was over, but I set my alarm clock for 7:30 am in case I had something back in the tank for the finish. Exhausted, I slept like a baby for 90 minutes which represent 2 sleep cycle for me. Interestingly, I even woke up 2 minutes before the time I had set on my watch and decided to check on the leader board. My legs were quite fried after such a break but when I discovered that John had just tied up with me, that kicked my ass (or my ego, rather... ;-)) and I got back on the course, where I left it 1.5 hours earlier, for a sprint which took the breath away of everybody, on or along the course. The sun was back and I got a good sweat out clocking sub-7 minute laps but I was determined to catch John and pass him. 1 lap, 2 laps, 3 laps, 4 laps at this pace, and still no sign of a M50-54 bib except for Serge who was now down to walking. I could not find this John Bertram anymore and that became an obsession, the weird feeling of chasing a ghost. I started thinking that he had bounced back too and sprinting behind me. The heads of the Women Team USA selection even offered to help me with my bottles but what I wanted the most is an update on the leader board with regard to John's position. When she told me that he was 2 laps ahead I replied it was impossible but I kept pushing in case she was right. At least I was logging some distance now... At the next lap she admitted that there had been an issue with lap counting or reporting, so she didn't know better...

Around 8:20, I finally found John who had changed his outfit during the night and was now wearing a bright orange rain jacket around his waist such as it was hiding his bib. Apart from being a potential disqualification in a championship, that was explaining why I couldn't find him... I kept sprinting until the very last second of the 24 hours and ended up with a distance of 124.3 miles (137+ laps), by pure luck right on 200.0 kilometers! Far from my original goal, far behind the winner's 148.6 mile mark (Olivier Leblond), even shorter than my 133 miles of 2 years ago on this course.

While I had found out I was in 10th place overall when coming back on the course at 7:30, it's only at the award ceremony that I discovered that I had finished 6th overall, 5th in the Men division, and secured that 2nd place in my age group behind Serge (4th overall, 3rd Men, with 136.9 miles). During our first laps together, Serge had joked that he had the feeling there would be 3 French guys on the podium, but we took 1, 3 and 5 instead, not too shabby. Well, we all run for the US anyway now...

After being up for 30 hours, I was so much looking forward to getting to my hotel, shower and crash in a bed by noon but the ultra race continued much longer that afternoon. Indeed, as I exited the highway and was a mile away from the hotel, I got a flat tire which I had to change but more importantly get repaired before driving down 120 miles to Columbus on Monday morning. Instead of noon, I went to bed at 6 pm, after being awake for 36 hours (minus the 1.5 hours sleep break in the morning). Great endurance training...

There is many more details I could share from running for 24 hours or staying up for 36 hours, but I probably exhausted and lost your attention at this point. So, before leaving this post if you don't mind, let me conclude by commenting on a few pictures and of course by thanking all the volunteers which made this event possible, notably allowing the tradition started by Don Horvath and his own team 7 years ago! Can you imagine the number of shifts required to keep an aid station open for 24 hours and serve all sort of foods through the heat and humidity of the day, battling these nasty yellow jackets, and through the night? I don't have pictures of you, volunteers, but be sure you come first in the images I keep in my mind from this event.

2 years ago, I settled with my simple plastic bags on the gras next to Mary Skelton DaSilva's tent. This year, my neighbor hosts were Suzy and David, from Michigan. (Post-race picture.)

It had rained the night before the race but weather was looking better just after sun rise:

Oops, you can't see much on this picture but it was pouring rain 30 minutes before the start!

An event organized by Vertical Runner Race Management

Overall winner, Olivier Leblond, receiving his awards (first place overall medal and trophy, first place M40-45 medal, National Champion patch, a $1,200 check, and a ticket for Team USA and the World Championships in 2017!):

Second place, Adrian Stanciu (144.94 miles)

Third place Serge Arbona (136.91 miles):

And my fifth place medal, and 2nd M50-54 medal

Serge with his buddy Paul, who helped me by refilling my GU2O bottles throughout the afternoon and most of the night:

2014 Champion Isaiah Jazen who had a much tougher day this time: he had broken his hand a week ago, in a bike fall during a triathlon. Isaiah is also a super accomplished mountain climber and did submit Mt. Everest a few months ago this year, he knows quite a lot about endurance!

Race Director Brian Polen, offering a Garmin fenix watch at the raffle!

Here I am among many ultra legends! On my left is Roy Pirrung who covered 100 miles and won his M65-69 age group. He has earn more than 80 US National titles so far and still counting... And that was his 200 ultra race finish out of more than 1,000 races. Like he told me during the race "I only started running ultras in 1985..." and when I replied that I had already completed 130 ultras in 10 years, he replied "oh yes, but my ultras were not 50Ks". Pun intended, 60 of my ultras are 50Ks...
On my right is John Geesler who, according to Mark's post is a former 48-hour American record holder and has completed 30 Boston marathons!

Last look at Lake Erie before leaving the site around 10:30 am on Sunday:

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Running injuries: let's see the good in them!

October 23, 2016, 3:40 pm

≫ Next: Foot injury: the verdict

≪ Previous: NorthCoast 2016 US 24-hour Nationals: a runner's diary

I was going to use a more catchy title like "Running injuries: the good, the bad and the ugly" or "Why are running injuries such a pain" because it's so much easier to think about them in a negative way. Let me try the other side of the half glass, which isn't so natural for me...

Why talking about injuries in the first place? Well, because I've been grounded by one for a while now... I didn't share that in the post I wrote in September but, after my 200 kilometers at the North Coast 24-hour Nationals, I took 2 days off running and resumed training with a slow 10K the following Wednesday. I could feel some pain under the ball of my right foot but still went for 15 more kilometers on Thursday. That Friday, I stopped after 10K again: the pain was bearable but still sharp enough to think that it wasn't soreness anymore but a real foot issue. Walking was very uncomfortable on Saturday and Sunday and I was very happy to get x-rays taken on Monday and a referral to see a podiatrist on Tuesday, himself an active athlete (running and triathlon!). While his prognosis is a fracture of one of the two sesamoid bones in the right foot, the x-ray wasn't conclusive enough and an MRI was needed to say for sure. In the meantime the recommendation was to stop running...

I must say that, with 43,500 miles in my running log, I've been very lucky with injuries, or lack thereof, so far... In 18 years, I had 3 major episodes:

a. First, while it happened as I was running hard, I wouldn't call last March's TIA stroke a running injury. It was more an accident, and likely rather caused by stress and fatigue.
b. I had a major injury at the end of another training run when I tripped, fell and broke my shoulder 4 years ago after covering 40 miles of the Tahoe Rim Trail. I had never realized how the upper body was so engaged when running. Indeed, while I had always thought running injuries occurred in the lower body, that one prevented me from running for 6 weeks.
c. Then there has been the exercise induced asthma occurrences but that's more a condition than an injury. And I managed to keep it under control for the past 5 years by taking Singulair.

Back to the title, I surprised myself by coming up with more than 1 reason injuries are good and beneficial to us! So I pushed the exercise to list a few, but please leave a comment if you can think of others; let's admit it, injuries suck because they prevent us for doing one thing we love, running. Yet, injuries allows us to...

1. Discover and know our body, learn about our amazing and complex anatomy. Every time there is something wrong, I'm in awe by the sophistication of our body. With my shoulder fracture I realized how complex a joint it was, I learned that our skeleton was regenerating itself entirely several times during our lifetime, I discovered how much flexibility our muscles can lose when unused for a few weeks. This time, I learned that we have even more bones in our feet than I thought, with two little sesamoids under the ball of our feet to gain stability. That sesamoid bones were not attached to the skeleton, that the patella was the largest sesamoid and that we could have up to 42 sesamoids in our body (here is a very good article from MRI Web Clinic). As a matter of fact, I also discovered that not all of us even have these four sesamoids under our feet, and that some may form, or not, at puberty. So intriguing, isn't it? Well, great news that these little bones help our balance except that, given their location, these particular sesamoids in the foot are extremely solicited when running a 24-hour race in particular, each receiving something like 100,000 shocks in a day; of course, being bones, they may break, and being under the foot, they are very long to heal when/if broken because of the lack of blood flow in this area. Yikes...

2. Listen to our body. Better knowing our own body allows us to better listen to it, and follow that famous and wise adage. There is so much noise from all parts of our body when we push the envelope in ultra running, thousands of insights which clash in our mind and even conflict with our willpower or stamina. Unfortunately, in this occurrence, I don't recall a single sign during the race and I'm not sure we can really listen all the time to every bone, or ligament, or muscle all the time either.

3. Uncover and understand our own limits and respect them. I so wish we were indestructible, that the only limits would be breathing, heart rate, leg speed and mental strength but it is obviously not the case as we are reminded all the time on social media. Truth is, we each have our own limits and it's almost an art to push the envelope but remains just on the safe side. Not in the artistic and creativity sense, but the needed skill developed through practice and empirical discovery or exploration.

4. Work on our life balance. Not all of us have an issue with running too much but that's a frequent issue in our sport which has no limit in its definition ("anything longer than a marathon..."). Running injuries may be like road warning signs indicating that we may be overdoing it.

5. Be More appreciative of our gifts. I was driving by one of our local churches the other day and there was this inscription: "Count your blessings, not your problems!" A good reminder to enjoy our abilities to run when we are not injured, but also the myriads of other things working when we are set back by only one temporary injury.

6. Put things into perspective, re-evaluate priorities, relativize our situation. You just need to turn on the TV, or connect to the Internet, to see that there is so much life tragedy which billions of people are going through. Non-runners must not be feeling so sorry for our little running injuries...

7. Make time for others and other things. You can call it "injury... time", the time an injury frees up from running and training. Time to spend more... time with others, catch-up on movies, books, or other hobbies. Or work...

8. Teach us how top cope with (some) loss. Injuries vary a lot in their importance or consequences: some may disappear after a few days or weeks, others may have long lasting effects. As I admitted above, I'm lucky and haven't been affected by the latter ones, and I'm not even talking serious sickness or trauma here, yet, I feel it's fair to say that even the smaller injuries are difficult to accept. In that sense, they teach us or train us to follow the classic steps describes in the figure below (CycleOfAcceptance): some denial, anger, depression and bargaining, before acceptance. In this sense, minor injuries are a way to experience this cycle in a less traumatic setup.

9. Prepare for a potential end. That's probably the hardest thing which an injury can do to us, make us realize that there may come a time when we may not be able to run anymore, or at least not with the same intensity, not as far, not as fast. Pun intended with regard to my blog title, not indefinitely farther faster... In March, I had sincerely no idea if I was going to be able to run again, less so to race again. While I was feeling completely fine, physically, the doctors were not so optimistic or sure about it and that was frightening. I was very fortunate that all the tests came back negative but, for these first 4 weeks after the incident, I had to think a lot about what my life would be without running...

10. Come back stronger, healthier. Getting injured is an opportunity to switch to another activity, do some cross-training, or strength training. And get more rest that what we may allow ourselves when preparing for big goals. Work on your core for instance, which is so essential in avoiding injury in the first place!

11. Come back smarter and wiser. Smarter about the intensity in races or variety in training sessions. Wiser with more patience, more reason which, in turn, will make us more resilient. Last but not least, wiser by keeping our ego in check... After all, 99.9% of us aren't making a living of running, it's just a hobby so not worth killing ourselves in the process...

Did I smoke something to be so prolific when looking at good aspects of running injuries and being philosophic about them? I swear not, must just be that I'm aging, if not maturing. ;-) At least, not having run for 5 weeks now gave me some time to think about the matter...

Hope you are doing fine and, if that's the case, you cherish all the injury-free time you are gifted with. Otherwise, if injured from running, that you are able to find some life wisdom while dealing with the setback, then recover and bounce back as quickly as nature and your body allow.

PS: again, please leave a comment if you see other positive aspects of running injuries!

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Foot injury: the verdict

October 30, 2016, 6:59 pm

≫ Next: Santa Clara County Heroes Run 5K: running, service and... politics

≪ Previous: Running injuries: let's see the good in them!

One post in September (the US 24-Hour Nationals race report) and one philosophical discussion about the benefits of injuries [sic], I haven't been very prolific lately. It's hard to talk about running when you aren't, well, running... Hard to recognize that some dreams may fade away, like running very long distances for ever. Or even hard to complain when you see much worse situations around you. For instance, this week, top ultra runner Dave Mackey decided to get his leg amputated as it isn't healing after one year of pain and multiple surgeries.

So, what's the verdict about my little foot injury? Well, the jury is still out as we say, and they must be in a hot deliberation and arguing. Let's start with the good news first: according to the doctors, radiologist and podiatrist, it isn't a fracture! This is a big relief as it might have required between several months up to a year of rest otherwise, phew! It is just an inflammation of the sesamoids, a sesamoiditis. See for yourself...

Or, for those of us who can't read an MRI, here is the detailed report:

Technique: Axial T1, axial T2 with fat-saturation, coronal T1, coronal T2 and sagittal STIR images were obtained through the right forefoot.
Findings: Skin marker was placed over the area of symptoms in the plantar aspect of the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe.
The tibial sesamoid is unremarkable. Bipartite fibular sesamoid is noted with increased T2 signal abnormality in the fibular sesamoid, across the syndesmosis. No fracture line is seen. No soft tissue edema. Minimal degenerative changes of the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe identified. The remaining forefoot is unremarkable.
IMPRESSION: Bone marrow edema in the bipartite fibular sesamoid consistent with sesamoiditis.

Hum, so that's an impression, not even an opinion... But the bad words here are 'bone marrow edema.' Not a good combination of words; that means the bone itself got inflamed, a condition potentially leading to a fracture: I'm so glad I did listen to my body on this one and stopped before it was too late!

Now, the prescription was 4 to 6 weeks of rest. This Saturday marked 6 weeks after the race and looked like the right time to give it a try. I did run 15K just below 8 min/mile and it looked ok yesterday. I'm not sure actually as, after such a long break, I have so many strange sensations throughout the foot, including around the ball of it. This Sunday, I went for 25K, still at a slow pace. No major pain, but still some doubts about the incriminated area. Every time I come back after a break, either forced or planned, I'm surprised how I forget about some of the pain involved in running. Or, not to discourage new comers, let's say discomfort.

To conclude, and for the sake of keeping learning about our body anatomy (see my previous post), here are a few pictures highlighting these infamous sesamoids. Small things, yet essential... And really in a tough place with all the ponding involved in ultra running...

No particular or sharp pain as of Sunday evening, I'm hoping I'm good to go for another round then...

Take care all!

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Santa Clara County Heroes Run 5K: running, service and... politics

November 5, 2016, 5:48 pm

≫ Next: Back to the top! And a great escape from the current turmoil...

≪ Previous: Foot injury: the verdict

I was attracted by this race for three reasons. First, like the Big Bunny Fun Run on Easter Saturday, it is the closest race from home, with a start and finish just a block away in Cupertino. Second, since I'm still uncertain about the state of the sesamoiditis under my right foot, 5K seems like a reasonable distance to building up the training. Last but not least, I missed running and racing for 6 weeks...

When I say that 5K is a good distance to build up, I'm not being honest: I did log 100K this week with runs ranging from 10 to 25K and taking Thursday off. Yes, I could have gone more gradually but I needed to see where my foot... stand on the recovery matter. After a week, I'm still uncertain about the state of the inflammation as I estimate that I feel too many things through the extremity of my foot, yet not the acute pain I had under the ball 7 weeks ago. Maybe I'm getting too obsessed with the listening of that part of my body. Also, I have to admit that my legs got quite sore, which is a proof that my body is relearning to run...

Speaking of which, I wanted to use this short race as a fitness test, see what was left or lost after this month and half break. I had finished my 10K training run yesterday by finally getting under 6 min/mile but it didn't feel comfortable at all.

The race was quite an interesting cocktail. Part of it made it look like a serious race for instance: registration on the pricey Active.com, chip timing, several road closures, street signage announcing the event days before, lead escort by two Sheriff motorcycles and a few fast-looking runners at the start. Then there was the normal focus on the groups serving our Santa Clara County which is the main theme of the event: fire department, medical response center and the Sheriff department. This event aims at recognizing them although the main goal is to raise money to provide health services to under-privileged kids at the Santa Clara Medical Response Center. Third, that was a post Halloween social party with a costume contest attracting many kids and families.

With that, the start was quite an experience. First, the event was advertised at 8:30 but the bib pick-up only started at 8. Sure enough, people were still in line at 8:30 and we actually started at 9 instead. After several warm-ups, and the temperature rising, I was definitely warm and eager to get going. Now, about 25 police staff in uniform were on the course between the lead vehicles and the start line and the started jogging when we took off, forcing us to go around them when reaching the first sharp turn on the course. Oh, and there were a couple of baby strollers trying to get to the front before the start. Fortunately, we managed to avoid a fall and, running around 5:15 min/mile, we were about 10 runners by the second turn but that aggressive pace quickly took its toll and spread our group.

Kevin Pierpoint (40) and Jason Gomez (16) were leading, then Ernesto Aristeo (37) close behind. At this rate I was happy to be in 5th, behind Peter Trudelle (31). Before the end of the first mile, Ahmet Gokcek (48) caught up with Peter and I before I took the lead for the next 1.5 mile, albeit slowing down our average pace from 5:30 at mile 1 down to 5:43. They both passed me as I was losing steam but we finished within 7 seconds. I was actually quite pleased with my time of 17:08 given the circumstances and lack of specific training, before realizing that the course was short (3.0 miles on my GPS). But still an encouraging solid sprint and the satisfaction to get back to some speed!

The local attraction, Elliot Daniels, crossed the line in 17:31. Quite a phenomenon as he already owns a few age group world records (it took me 50 years to get one, and he is only 13...)! He is so skinny though that you have to wonder if he isn't pushing too hard too young. I had discussed this with his coach, Joe Sanders and when I mentioned this again to his father at the start, he replied that he knew better because they were 3 generations of Olympians. Well, then it must be in the gene clearly, no need to worry! ;-)

After chatting with a few other finishers, I went back on the course for another loop and caught up with the festive back of the pack, mostly walking and enjoying the amazing weather we had today. To continue on the multi facet aspect of this race, the award ceremony was rather odd: they distributed a plaque to the top 3 men, top 3 women and top 3 boys under 16. And 3 best costumes. An eclectic and unusual selection. But the big deal seemed to be the team competition between the Santa Clara Fire and Sheriff Departments, the latter taking the cup home.

Indeed, an opportunity to honor all these heroes serving our local community!

After that ceremony, I went back on my usual local training loop to log 7.5 miles of cool down and stop by the event area again to approach the Sheriff Department's helicopter which we often see circling above our heads.

Back to the title, what about politics then. A couple of speakers on the stage noted that everybody was tired about this election, but it's not a done deal until Tuesday... And Sand Hill knows it, pouring so much money to brain wash all of us with an average of 4 fliers each day in our mailboxes. As much as we all agree that something has to be done for our nearby Vallco shopping center, the developer's project maths don't add up: too many office space at a time Apple is going to free up when moving to their space ship, too many apartments in an area when schools are already over crowded, too much traffic already when Apple hasn't even open its doors to more than 11,000 employees. I'm disgusted by the dynamics this has created within our local community, with the richer residential part happy that all the development projects asphyxiate the other side of the city... So here is my sign on my virtual lawn... See bettercupertino.org for more information.

If you live in Cupertino and don't like C, at least please vote no on D, so Sand Hill revised his project in something more sensible for all.

Run Cupertino Run, and vote for a sensible growth!

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Back to the top! And a great escape from the current turmoil...

November 7, 2016, 10:02 am

≫ Next: California and Cupertino, I'm proud of you!

≪ Previous: Santa Clara County Heroes Run 5K: running, service and... politics

Oh no, not back to the top of my form/shape yet, that would be a big claim and certainly not reflecting the long period of questioning and doubt that it has been since March 6's TIA then again since September 18's sesamoiditis and a few other side effects...

No, just a short update to share the delight of getting back on the trails and to the top... of Black Mountain. 28 miles today, just under 4 hours (not counting several stops to refill my bottles or take pictures). Last time I ran on a trail was on September 10 when glowsticking the PCTR Headlands Hundred course. 8 weeks of trail deprivation...

When I look at the map on Strava, I see a great escape from the the turmoil of the city and valley, in the midst of this agitated, frustrating and confusing election time, in our wonderful nearby green hills. We certainly DO NOT need artificial hills at Vallco! Nature is so resourcing, let's enjoy it while it lasts, and vote toward sensitive growth everywhere we can through choosing our elected leaders, selecting the right measures on the ballot and our daily actions...

With that, it makes 100.7 miles since I resumed running 9 days ago. Including this good session to prep for Quad Dipsea in less than 3 weeks now (not to forget the Turkey Trot 10K 2 days before). The sesamoids seem to behave, but I now feel a pain higher up the 2nd metatarsal articulation, go figure... If it's any indication, I think I'm either finally aging, rusting or relearning the pain it takes to run that much.

Nonetheless, it was a great day to run again, seeing bikers and hikers at the top of Black Mountain, enjoying the warm Fall we have so far and just a bit of drizzling on the way back. We may not have much of seasons, but that still looks like Fall to me, doesn't it?

These shots were taken on the Waterwheel trail which runs between the top of Montebello Road toward the summit of Black Mountain. One of my favorite trails around!

As for this rather cloudy, foggy and aerial one, guess what is the large white/gray structure at the center of the picture? Apple's coming space ship, whose structure is finally completed. This is really big... the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story movie will soon be upon us...

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California and Cupertino, I'm proud of you!

November 13, 2016, 11:12 pm

≫ Next: Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 2016: thankful for being back on trot!

≪ Previous: Back to the top! And a great escape from the current turmoil...

The result of this Presidential election in the US has been an amazing shock for everybody on this planet: an unbelievable positive outcome for the Trump supporters and, ironically, even for the conservative Republicans who agreed with others that wasn't a suitable candidate to lead such a super power. And an unbearable news for those who couldn't accept the hate in this candidate's speeches, denigration of numerous minorities and lack of consistent program. Well, with all the power on one side, and a potential far right one, many Americans are trembling about the thought of going backward in the coming 2 years, so far that it will take decades to recover. Not just on the environment side but social progress too.

I know we are blessed in California with so much diversity and entrepreneurial spirit. But, really, the Mid West sending a message this way? Like if protectionism was the solution... Take automotive for instance: should Toyota close their 6 plants in the US, all of them in so called red states? Nissan its plants in Tennessee and Mississippi? Hyundai its plant in Alabama? Honda its plants in Ohio and Indiana? The irony is to see all the Republican establishment now super excited to take full control, see the big Oil magnates ready to break more ground, devastate more of our American Federal soil. What about big Pharma companies whose stocks surged on the news that they will be under less regulation and able to apply the prices they want? And Wall Street which should see the post-2008 crisis controls waived. Really, that's what the blue collar class of the Mid West voted for, thinking this will improve their lives? I doubt they benefited much from this week's Dow Jones record high... How ironic, and sad, it's going to see them become the first victims of such policies... Maybe they weren't so attentive to the facts and news, for instance that many things had improved in our country these past years.

With that very bitter intro, I want to highlights a few things which I found remarkable closer to home because they show how much more responsible and altruist people are here. Ok, not a perfect picture, there has been quite a few protest votes (Clinton only clinched 73% in our 875,000-voter strong Santa Clara County, versus 93% in DC), and we still didn't managed to repeal the death penalty in California, but I was blown away, positively, by the passing of Measure B, which consists in an additional 0.5% sales tax in order to fund infrastructure projects (roads and public transportation). You see, here, we are not waiting for the Federal Government to fund our infrastructure, we stand up and everybody is going to chip in because this is just the right thing to do. Additionally, we also overwhelmingly agreed to get our property taxes increased in order to fund housing for low income families. Again, not because we are all socialists or communists (!), but because this is the right thing to do.

Locally, our Cupertino city population had a big debate about sensible growth and, here as well, we stood up to the developers who had come up with a gigantic project which would have put way too much pressure on our local road infrastructure and schools. See for yourself: they had proposed to replace 600,000 sqft of retail space with 2,000,000 sqft of offices PLUS 800 apartments PLUS 188 hotel rooms. And all the required parking space of course, all that, a block away from the new Apple Campus which will welcome more than 11,000 employees in a year! A great example of unsustainable growth.

The irony is that, blocking the views of our nearby hills with 95-ft high buildings, they came up with the ingenuous idea of topping the project with a 24-ft green cover to give our hill views back, how convenient... Needless to say, the cover was green on the project brochures, although we aren't supposed to water our yards with the recurring drought.

To celebrate this local victory, I ran yesterday in these nearby hills and below are a few pictures to show you that we definitely don't need artificial hills at Vallco! All this nature right accessible less than 2 miles from downtown, this is paradise on earth, no need to alter it! Here is my route on Strava:

I'm so glad to be Californian this week. There is a strong feeling that we might have come to a point we should quit the Union on such a cleavage of opinions... I would never thought of this before but I'm sure many have looked at the YesCalifornia.org's CalExit website this week. On one hand, I'd feel sorry that the answer to an isolationist propaganda triggers more egocentrism, like I'm afraid this will be the case in Europe with such British then American examples. On the other, how much more positive progress we could accomplish by taking for instance the whole West Coast with us (we need some water and I'm sure the NorthWest wouldn't mind sharing some of the rain they get... ;-). This way, we can keep our borders open with Mexico and Canada, and the rest of the World through the Pacific. This may not save the planet from global warming and other insanities but, you have to admit, this could be a way to remain free and preserve our rich diversity and positive spirit from the many chains trying to slow us down, no?

In the meantime, my fellow Cupertino residents, we must enjoy our natural hills while they last...

Garrod Farms vineyards and horse stables:

View of the South Bay from Parker Ranch Trail (Saratoga)

Fremont Older Open Space Preserve (pdf map), overseeing Cupertino

The entrance at the end of Prospect Road

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