Dry Wash Runners

There is this hump that I'm starting to crest. Sometimes it seems like an insurmountable mountain. Sometimes I feel the weightlessness of the downhill side. And now it's November 16th, cold and dark, and after a tub of Ben and Jerry's I'm struggling to find motivation to do the activity I love most. Lately the thing that has gotten me out the door and onto the trail have been my entries into trail races. No matter how out of shape I am these days 20mi on Cougar Mountain ain't all that hard. I recently ran the last Cougar Mountain trail run of the year hosted by Seattle Running Club and before that thoroughly enjoyed Candice Burt's, Cle Elum 25k (aka 28k). Now that Candice has punched the sky with her audacious Tahoe 200 I find myself dreaming and pining for the open trail...and trying to will myself to do the training that will get me into some of the longer races. First stop will be a few more 25k and 50k races, then a 50mi, then a 100mi, then hell ...

In short my story of running has been essentially a story about me getting out of the way of myself. But before I could learn about getting out of my own way I had to get rid of the technology that was getting in the way of me discovering myself. And if that sounds like nonsense I won't be surprised, for in some ways sense had nothing to do with it. This story like all the best stories started with a girl. It started with a girl I once liked and the shoes she wore. Enter the five figured Vibram. Vibrams When I first donned Vibrams, my first pair of minimalist running shoes I had no idea they were even made for running. Nor did I have any inkling that this weird guy named 'Barefoot Ted' (who lived only a few miles to my south) had a hand in persuading Vibram into making a running 'shoe'. At the time I hadn't even heard of ultra-marathons or running Tarahumara Indians or crazy Eat and Run vegans named Scott Jurek. No, I just liked a girl who ran b...

After my failed attempt to complete the Leadville Trail 100, I've gone back at the drawing board. I had an amazing time at the race and I learned a lot. Primarily I learned that besides the ass-kicking difficulty of breathing at +10,000 feet I was just too slow to complete a 100 miler. Contrary to what you may be thinking I'm not just talking about my splits. In the months following Leadville I've determined that my splits weren't my primary problem. My primary problem was efficiency. It's not just that I need to run faster, I need to run faster while also learning to run with less effort. I need to learn how to run further and faster all the while using less and less oxygen. I need to get my average heart rate down. I need to learn how to make running fast easy. To this point my running training programs have largely consisted of...well I hate running programs so I haven't actually done one. I tend to dislike structure in general and all the more so ...

Just ran the White River 50 . I love this race. It's my second time doing it. The White River 50 is in my opinion best started at 5.3o in the Am. In this case I am starting it with the predawn cover of West Coast stratus/fog/goop...part of the annual Summer tradition in these parts. I wait to start the run with my new friend Jess of the Mas Loco Tribe. We are both stoked to try out our new Luna Sandals . Barefoot Ted has given them new names but I can't remember what they are... Wierdly it's as if Ted is with us, his Monkey Spirit Alter whispers in our ears... Chill man... Take it easy.... Run like a human... Try out these sweet all natural coco nibs... we deem your new sandals the El Chupacabra...it means the soul sucking goat ... I snap back to reality and Scott our race organizer and everyone's friend starts us off. My fiance standing on the side of the runway waves at me and wishes me good luck. I wave goodbye. She crashes back into our tent and sle...

Update: Oct 23rd 2012- Race Review In the end I ran 43 miles of the course and 46 miles total. Race organizers told me on the way up to Hope Pass that I had no chance of making the next cutoff. That and I was dead tired, a thunderstorm was moving in, I had no appropriate clothing for such an eventuality, and I hadn't eaten sufficiently or filled up my water pack. With injured runners needing help getting back to twin lakes I elected to not try for Hope Pass. It had been an amazing experience and I now had the knowledge that much more training would be needed for a Leadville finish; I saw no point in risking life or injury just to find out what I was made of when there was no chance of finishing. In reviewing my experience of Leadville the first thing I'd say is that I can't wait to go back. I'm currently re-tooling and working on my 'chi-running' to get faster and far more efficient. What did me in at Leadville was the elevation. The course itself I f...

I spent the weekend in Spokane, WA and took the time to explore 21 miles of waterfalls, riverfront trails, and hot desert sun. Whatever else Spokane doesn't have going for it, it DOES have ample opportunities for outdoor recreation. Additionally for tourists it has many beautiful places to hangout at, sight see, and picknick. Having formerly lived there I can also vouch for its abundant back-country and in-resort skiing opportunities as well as several in-city rock-climbing routs. I heard the figure thrown out that Spokane boasts some 500+ established and documented climbing problems on its abundant basalt and granite formations that rim the city. Spokane even has, as I discovered on my run, a nice well-established hippy/hipster enclave in it's Peaceful Valley district. Now, back in my days when I was a self described evangelical going to Whitworth University I had only heard of Peaceful Valley as the 'ghetto' and a place you would 'avoid at all costs after da...

15 Miles of Pure Bliss. My soul was at such peace on this run that the thought of leaving the busyness and noise of Seattle for the quiet more contemplative Portland environs has grown to a distinct possibility. For a map, check check out Green Trails at your local REI or try to download something at Portland Parks and Rec.