Race Report: Vermont 100

It is all a fog now....here is what I remember.  Start time for the race was 4am, light drizzle going on, forecast hot and humid both >90%.  The course heads out on hardpacked roads, 70 miles of the course are on these type of roads.  These are nice in the dark because they are smooth (less likely to trip in the potholes and twist ankles on the bigger rocks), however they are firm and sure caused a beating to my stomach and hips.  It seemed like there were a lot of roads at the beginning and the end.  About 27 miles of the course is on single track trail, jeep roads, and packed down grass.  These areas can be slippery with the rock and roots, there was a lot of puddle jumping, and the mud can suck your shoe off.   Only 3 miles of the course is pavement, short increments, not bad at all.  The terrain is hilly, if you are not going up you are going down.  The gentle hills were a nice break from the steeper, longer, more technical Wasatch course.  A couple of climbs are named Heartbreak Hill and Agony Hill, neither really affected me......but that is the advantage of being a Wasatch runner, however the downhills did seem to go on forever.  Overall there is 14,000 ft. of elevation gain/loss compared to 26,880 for Wasatch.  

The course starts and finishes at Silver Hill Meadow, which is just north of Brownsville and west of Windsor, and basically does 3 different loops.  The first and longest loop goes up to Taftsville, tops out at Pomfrey, and comes back down west of Woodstock to Camp 10 Bear AS which is just north of Hammondsville.  The second loop dips southwest to Cavendish and there is a short repeated section out and back from the Camp 10 Bear AS.  The third loop starts out by finishing the bottom part of the first loop and then gets very close to the finish but instead heads east towards Windsor.  The course crosses familiar roads (the one that we drove to the Silver Hills Meadow) so near the end I had this FALSE impression that I was closer to the finish, but Noooo (this is where my attitude plummeted).  The course heads north and brings you back to Silver Hill Meadow from the opposite side.....aahhaaa said the disoriented runner a quarter mile from the finish.

This is the upper section of the course.  The star on both maps is the Silver Hill Meadow (the

 start and finish lines).  Taftsville is located on the intersection of highway 12 and highway 4.  I know these maps are difficult to see, you can go to Mapquest and put in the location "Silver Hill Meadow" with the state "VT",  and then you can pan in and out of the area.  Try clicking on this Silver Hill Meadow.

This is the lower section of the course, Camp 10 Bear is at the "g" of Reading center and loops down to Cavendish.  The last loop goes just above Brownsville and almost to the interstate and then north of the star.  We stayed in Claremont, New Hampshire which is on the lower right corner.  It was about a 40 minute drive to the start.

The funny thing is that the VT 100 website does not have a map.  When I corresponded with the race committee, they told me that I would just get a map when I got there.  Post race, I feel that the only thing the map would have help me with is maybe realizing the false impression of the finish.  I did get the map the night before, but I guess didn't study it enough.

Around mile 15 the course goes thru the Taftsville Bridge, it is one of those covered very quaint bridges.  Two runners were taking photos and I offered to snap a pic of them in front of the bridge, I was very sad that I didn’t have my camera (alas, sorry no photos on this blog entry).  I don’t know what was going on, I felt ok but I was slow (I am afraid this is a recurring theme in my races that I struggle at the start and I don’t come alive until ~mile 30).  The first time I saw Sophie and Tina was at Pretty House AS, mile 21. I was ~30 minutes past my goal, bummin’ and I didn’t even notice the pretty house.  

The plan was to switch out packs, I have 2, at each handler aid station.  I planned to see my crew at 7 aid stations.  At this first exchange of the pack I forgot my electrolyte tabs....yikes because it was hot and humid and I needed to take a tab at least every hour if not more.  Nevertheless I did OK during the 9 miles of no tabs, my fingers were a bit puffy but nothing else.  Almost more important than salt tabs during this humid race was “Glide”, which is a deoderant looking stick that you rub on your skin to prevent chaffing.  I used the Glide in generous proportions at each handler station, however I still incurred chaffing wounds.

I remember the U-Turn AS, mile 25, there were locals cheering us on along the road.  We crossed over the river and I saw the Race Director (RD) pulling up to that AS.  During the pre-race meeting a woman who identified herself as the 2007 Course Nazi said "No headphones/iPods or you will be disqualified" (probably because of the horses, but tough for me because I like tunes when I run), but then the RD said that he would OK them if we could prove that “it would be a hardship to our run”.  Now I typically do not ask for special favors and I didn’t want to risk DQ, so I thought buck up and be a good sport and follow their rules.  However, when I arrived at the U-Turn AS another runner was asking the RD if he could wear headphones.  Desperate, I immediately piped in on the conversation....the RD said OK with the stipulation that we could only wear one ear piece.  Phew, no problem, I couldn’t wait to get my shuffle at the next handlers AS.

Out of Stage Rd. AS, Mile 30 (I did replenish my salt tabs, had a Red Bull, and grabbed my tunes) we started climbing up a grassy hill, the humidity was thick, thick, thick.  The dew on the grass created steam under the hot sun.  A fellow runner, who had run the VT 100 numerous times, informed me that once we reached the top of the hill the terrain would “look just like Julie Andrews had run through it”.  When I reached the top, the heat and humidity was so high, creating in an inverse relationship with my attitude... and it was all I could do to not pop the guy with “This is NOT the Alps” as he was humming the theme to Sound of Music.

I was pleased to get out of the sweltering grass and back on to the pounding road.  There was a really cool section in this part that was single track trail and it reminded me of our local Millcreek area.  I came upon this guy who was chatting with 2 girls, of course Ultras was their subject and then he started talking about the Bear 100.  As I was passing him he got to the part about how he dropped out of the Bear.  Hmmm.  I piped in to the conversation and inquired about where he dropped out.  Once he answered, I said “oh, yeah, I drove you back to the finish line”.  Whoa, what a coincidence that I would pass this guy at that moment in their conversation.  His name is John Taylor and he is from Minnesota, he will try the Bear again this year and his buddy Al is a fellow slammer - I met Al too during the run.  

Some time mid day, who knows when or where, we got into this wild weather pattern.  It started by the humidity rising beyond all limits and then a downpour with spectacular thunder.  The rain was cooling but I sure got sick of being drenched.  This overwhelming humidity and then heavy shower cycle happened at least 3 times.  The odd thing is.... this was a mentally tough aspect of the run for me, go figure but I did quite well during that section.  

The next time I saw my crew was at mile 47, Camp 10 Bear.  I came in strong and had really started to cruise and pick up time.  I brushed my teeth (felt like a new woman) and I left in good shape, I started to pass a lot of people along the next 5 miles.  There were a lot of hills and I could either power up them and even run some hills.  One of the hills is named “Agony Hill”, I really didn't feel a distinction as it was no problem for this Wasatch runner, maybe it was a bit longer than the others.  I started meeting lots of fellow runners and slammers during this section.

Margaritaville AS was mile 62.  Here was a crazy party.  They were grilling and serving up margaritas with Jimmy Buffett blaring.  The one person I saw partaking in the ‘gritas was Springtime’s rider.  This guy was so friendly and I saw him numerous times during the run/ride.  Tina was helping to deliver his margarita but Springtime was ready to hit the trail.  The course circled back to Camp 10 Bear over the next 8 miles.  This started out with rolling dirt road, then some trails with required puddle jumping after the big rains and then we repeated one small section of the course back to the AS.

I arrived at Camp 10 Bear, this time mile 70, feeling strong.  I was soaked, essentially had been wet from the start, and with no hopes of drying out in this humidity I opted for a full change of clothes.  Tina noticed that the back of my left knee was red (first sign of my tendonitis), and yes it was sore.  I had my crew slather on “STOP Pain”, which is this roll-on glucosamine and it works great for any knee pain but in the end I think that it aggravated my hamstring.  Per my request, the race committee arranged for a pacer for me, Tamar from Burlington.  She had never ran an ultra but was psyched for the adventure.  Headed out, we climbed up a trail (I think this was Heartbreak Hill, but no problem for this Wasatch runner).  As nightfall came the humidity created fog.  The moon started out orange and then it was pretty full.  The night was warm and the fog made the muddy, slippery rocky and rooty trail more technical.

By the time I arrived at West Winds my pace slowed way down and I was getting the stiff body aches.  I realized my goal of sub 24 hour wasn’t going to happen, unless there was a miracle and I could run again.  My left hamstring was painful and my body had taken a pounding.  I heavily debated the issue...the little devil on one shoulder said “you can do it” but I thought about the consequences.....I had this horrible vision of pushing my hamstring only to finish just after 24 hours with or without a major injury.  The little angel on the other shoulder said “save it for the rest of the slam”, I knew I was going to finish under 30 hours and I had to remember that the ultimate goal was the Grand Slam.  A buckle from Vermont wasn't reason enough to blow the Slam.

Bills AS, mile 88, was in a well lit nice barn.....too nice, all I wanted to do was hang out in the barn.  I had a cup of broth but my coffee was too hot to drink.  I passed the weight test, I don’t remember a BP check, but I do remember a conversation with the physician - and I passed his neuro check.  I had to force myself to leave the barn.

The terrain was mostly roads to the next AS @ Pollys.  This is the last time I would see my crew before the finish.  Tina and I decided that I should of had a Red Bull at Bills, so here I revved up with powerfood because it was obvious that I should have chased the broth with coffee or some other form of caffeine.  Now it was time to finish this bad boy and I headed out for the last 5 miles.  No problem I thought...but the last 5 miles was tough.  This is where knowing the course helps because every mile seems 3 times as long.  About 2 miles to the finish I could hear cheering, I got excited but I knew that the closest person in front of me was at least 20 minutes away.  There was a sign for the "one mile to go" point....and the the "half mile to go".....and then how absolutely comforting to see the finish line @ 26:44:31.  Sophie recorded my finish on video (unfortunately I wasn't able to upload the video), we all had hugs, and I just wanted to get back to our little bed and breakfast.

Overall, I liked the Vermont 100:

1.  Tina and Sophie were an awesome crew.  They worked hard, every handler AS was smooth, getting to the AS was challenging, they didn't sleep either, and they kept my spirits up.  Tamar was a hoot, poor thing probably wanted to run in the woods and hide but she stuck with me and was positive every step

2.  The entire course was beautiful

3.  The course was more runable, I did get a PR

4.  It was really fun to run a different 100, and it was a challenge to fly across the country to do so.  

5.  The Vermont race committee were well organized, fun, and sure put on a top notch production (except for the map but maybe Peter and I could make that our contribution).

6.  The endurance horse race was a nice twist.  Sophie and Tina had fun watching it and they would both love to do it.  Their plan is to do the Vermont 100 horse endurance ride in 2011, when Sophie is 16.  I would love to be their crew.

What I would do different:

1.  Use my one earpiece headphones earlier.  I did get looks by other runners and AS people but I didn't get disqualified.  I was super aware of the horses and I chatted with people and I turned it off at the AS.

2.  Wear above the knee spandex shorts, not super tight.  I have not had diaper rash for 40 years and I don't plan on having diaper rash for another 40 years.

3.  Force myself to take in caffeine all night long.  I am not a vampire and I definitely poke along when the sun goes down.

4.  Some how get a really good low down on the last 30 miles.  This is the heartbreak section for me and I need details.  I asked the race committee but it was vague and the map wasn't too great either.  We have the map though and I am sure Peter can make a better one.  One the course I asked the Sound of Music runner about the last 10 miles..... now we must have run 2 different courses because his description and the course I encountered were not the same.  If I had the time I would arrive early for the race and run at least the last 10 miles.

5.  Get a buckle, the plaque was cheesy (sorry race committee but all the other races give buckles to the finishers, just nicer ones for times under 24 hours).

You can see the image of me taking the photo, it is black and the wood veneer is chipped

26:44:31

Tough race, this westerner got spanked.  High humidity.  Tendonitis.  Beautiful course.  Race report to come.

On to Vermont

Confined on the airplane, time to catch up on the blog.  I have been quite busy these past weeks, training, working, painting, birthdaying, etc.  Got the bills paid and packing for Vermont was like a marathon.  So far, don’t think I forgot anything..... so far.

My last training runs were in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  Saturday I headed up thru Brighton resort to Catherines pass, then played in the snow on the way over to Supreme at Alta, decided that probably wasn’t true “training” so I went up to Sunset peak and enjoyed the view and breathed in that high altitude air!   I had planned to run down Dry Creek to Ant Knoll and then turn around but I just couldn’t get myself headed in that direction, probably because we had just run that last weekend.  So, I mosied back to Lake Mary and then headed out for Twin Lake pass and circled back to the Silver Lake area.  Overall a boring run, too many people out and it reminded me not to run in this area on a Saturday.  

The wildflowers are abundant on the north facing slopes (~1 month behind this year). 

 Peter took this photo of the Columbine

 in Millcreek canyon.

Saturday night we were invited to a backyard concert at our friends home - Ronda and Roger.  This was a really cool concept....invite 50 friends, byob, light dinner, and enjoy your own personal folk singer.  Ronda had heard Beth Wood sing also at a yard concert and planned her own event.  It was a perfect evening in SLC, Ronda and Roger’s yard was a fun venue, and Beth Wood was fabulous (vocals and guitar).

Sunday I went back up Big Cottonwood Canyon.  This time I parked at the trailhead on Guardsman and headed backwards on the Wasatch 100 course.  This starts with a rutted out road thru pine trees and you get to a saddle that is the border of Park City Mountain Resort, it is so easy the interconnect the Wasatch mountains - they are long but not wide.  I didn’t go into PCMR but headed north up “puke hill” to the Wasatch crest.  I imagine that mountain bikers named puke hill.  It’s ~100ft. of a steep and loose rocky road.  A strong and technical (or lucky) mountain biker can make it up, I can’t.  Anyway, when I started at the trail head there was a group of mountain bikers who started with me.  I wasn’t far behind them to the saddle and then I passed 3 of them on puke hill.  The first guy didn’t say anything, the second guy said “well there goes my ego” when I passed him, and the third guy got off his bike and was really trying to beat me to the top....but I passed him too.  Their buddy was at the top and reminded me that they would pass me on the downhill.  I thought about reminding him of gravity and the physics behind a runner vs a biker on the downhill, but I just smiled and went on my way.  The trail then goes along the Wasatch crest which is again is the divide between Big Cottonwood Canyon on the west and the east part is Park City resort and the Canyons resort further north.  After ~45 minutes of running the trail splits and you can do a loop.  I chose to do the loop clockwise so, headed downhill to Desolation Lake and then down further to Mill D and then up to Dog Lake.  This is a very busy trail and a few years ago they had to designate Odd days for dogs ok to be off leash and no bikers and Even days for bikers and dogs must be on leash.....everyday is a runners day!  I like to run on dog days, much less traffic.    I got up to Dog Lake and just as I was cresting a big German Shephard was chasing a black lab, the lab was intimidated and for some reason headed straight for me.  I took ~140 lbs of dog into my knees.  Fortunately my legs are stumps and took the impact well.  I continued on up the Great Western Trail back to the Crest and had a great run back to the car.  A guy passed me and asked if I was training for Wasatch.  This would be his first Wasatch and he asked for advise.  I told him to 2 things:  A.  brush his teeth at Brighton, and B.  don’t quit until the sun comes up.....because no matter how bad you feel at 5:30 am, the morning sun turns you into a new person.

I am not the best flyer.  Tina is watching a movie, Sophie is watching cartoons and my little TV doesn’t work.  I always seem to get the broken seat assigment, the light, the air, the TV.  Back in the days I was flying to England and was in non-smoking.  However, I was in the row just in front of the smoking section.  The smokers seated up front would come back and swap briefly for a smoke....totally unfair.  One time I had a woman panick because baby Sophie and I were seated right next to her.  She made a big fuss about not wanted my baby to soil her white pants.  Sophie promptly fell asleep for the entire flight and the woman worked the beverage service for extras (people regress to their worst behavior for the airline snacks).  She then spilled her orange juice on her own accord.  I wanted to fuss back to her that I didn’t want her to soil my baby, but I held my tongue.  I am sure she still blamed the sleeping child, but it was her own belly that she had to work around.  One time baby Sophie and I were upgraded to First Class.  She wailed thru the entire dinner service and the flight attendant passed out headphones.  I had to pee really bad and the nice professor next to me offered to watch her, so I layed her down on the seat and Sophie immediately stopped crying and was a cute and cooing baby.  I sat on the floor for the rest of the flight....poor thing, she just wanted to sit in her own First Class seat.  

Happy 13th Sophie

0659 July 9, 1995 my bundle of joy arrived, Sophie Marias..... 2008 the year of the teenager.

We celebrated downtown at the Little America hotel with 3 of Sophie’s Alta rippin'  ski friends:   McKenna on top of Katelyn and Sophie on top of Mackenzie.  They are all on Peter’s Picassa site under AFD competition.  

Beautiful cake, Thanks Gerry!!

Fun in the pool

I spent a lot of time on my computer.... planning for Vermont and lots of cleanup (250 emails down to 150!).

Girls run July 6

Sorry for the delay between posts...this should have been posted ~July 7th.

Colleen, Deborah, and Lori arranged this run on July 6th.  Mentally, the last 25 miles of the Wasatch 100 course is daunting.  I try to run this section in training a couple times before the race, I guess because having the mental picture of this section helps to ease the pain.  Because this section is such a challenge, I will designate this blog to  the last 25 miles of the Wasatch 100 course by sharing a description.

  The base of Brighton resort is @ 8790 ft. elevation and will forever be known to me as simply "Mile 75".  During the Wasatch  a small A-frame building at the Brighton resort is used as a major aid station.  At the very least,  you must enter the building for a weigh in (you are weighed before the race and 3 times during the race, too much % weight gain or loss signifies problems and they will hold you until your weight stabilizes).  This building is well known as "the Morgue".  Runners typically don't look their best at this point,  moreso looking like they should be taken to the morgue.  A fair amount of runners drop out here.  I don't mind going in the building, I do not want to cool down and get the chills because I arrive here in the cool brisk morning hours.  My favorite parts are the donated toothbrushes, makes you feel like a new person, and utilizing an actual toilet seat, also makes you feel like a new person....or should I say civilized!  Remember that this year the dentist will also provide warm washclothes.

Out of Brighton starts a steep climb up a nice single track trail up thru the resort to Lake Mary.  One year we saw a moose having breakfast here. The climb mellows a bit thru shaded switchbacks to Lake Catherine, and then a quick march up the boulders to Catherines pass.  On the other side of the pass (southwest) is Alta!  Sunset peak and Rocky point are the mountains that surround the southeast aspect of Lake Catherine.  During ski season we frequent this area....very easy access from Alta and fun little powder shots.  During an early season ski tour Peter proposed to me atop of Sunset peak....ooolala!!!  The trail continues up from the pass, winding around the north side of Rocky point.  Here is the sandpit, yes, fine sand that has been blown from the west desert, pretty wild and every time I try to walk so carefully so the microsand doesn't infiltrate my shoes or my lungs.  At the top of this saddle is point Supreme, which is the highest part of the Wasatch course @ 10,450 ft.  From this point is a super cool view....you can see Midmountain, which is the most southern part of the course - Rock Springs mile 87, Heber is off left looking east with the Uintahs behind, and Alta and Snowbird are right looking west.

The trail takes a 1000ft. decent down Dry Fork to Ant Knoll.  This is a technical downhill and not much fun during a training run, let alone on race day.  Last year I was on this section during my 4 am sleepy time.  My brain was cooked and I had no depth perception, I was quite slow.  The Ant Knoll aid station (mile 80, 9000 ft.) is at the bottom of Dry Fork.  I try to stay away from this station because they are cooking up a great breakfast with pancakes and sausage and I am afraid that.....well, I would not want to leave.  The trail winds up thru aspens and then there is a short but steep (380ft.) climb...here at the top of this climb is where I like to stop for a look at the view....you can almost see the finish!  Oh, and for a long ways you get an awesome view of the Mineral Basin and Mt. Baldy  to the west, which is the back of Snowbird and Alta.   The trail gently rolls and traverses thru aspen meadows (one year I hallucinated a Penguin hanging out on this grassy slope!), then heads down via fun switchbacks to Pole Line pass - a very nice section of trail that you can run well.

The Pole Line pass aid station (mile 83+, 8925ft.) is located at the crossroads of a graveled access road intersected by the Great Western Trail.  Out from the AS,  trail #157 continues south first through a dusty sand pit and then cruises along a pine tree shaded west facing trail.  I really like this section and last year Greg and I saw big moose tracks.  Not too far from Pole Line Pass you reach a really, really tough spot...... I call it the Shortcut Fork.  It is located at the north part of Midmountain and one could take the shortcut left, which means ~ a mile or so and meet back up with the Wasatch course.  However, the course goes right ~10 miles all the way around Midmountain, and we are talking a tough 10 miles.  Continuing on the course, there are short steep sections but overall a fun contour to Forest Lake.  Forest Lake is just runoff water and not much of a lake on race day.  What is interesting is that there is a ton of tree debris, would be surprised if an avalanche caused this but I don't know.  Another short climb to get over a rocky ledge and then a cool traverse to the best view of Timpanogas and Box Elder peaks.  The trail comes out of the trees and this section is very exposed but the air always feels clean, and the flies and bugs hang out here too.  Just a short contour to Rock Springs aid station (mile 87, 9445 ft) enjoying the view of Timp and the mountains by Provo canyon (that's the Squaw Peak course).    Rock springs is the southern aid station of the course, and then the trail heads due east and then around north, now on the Wasatch back!  Oh, and watch out for the metal fence posts partially buried on this short section.  

Here we snapped a photo.

Lori, Carolyn, Colleen with Timpanogas in the background

 

Now the fun starts.  The Dive and the Plunge.  These are righteously named,  steep downhill ~600ft, climb back up and do it again.  Next is the section that I named the "Endless Aspen Traverse".  Essentially the trail contours north around the mountain and you are stuck in this vortex of aspens where you are sure it ends just around the next corner, but it doesn't.  I found that I can get thru this section by counting hills, I start counting from the first meadow, some have a double hill (I think it is 1 and 3) and there are 6 in all..... and when I do this, life again seems fair and the Endless Aspens Traverse will end after hill 6.  Oh, and it ends where the Shortcut meets up with the course (see..... if you take the shortcut you would miss out on the views, the Dive and the Plunge, and the Aspens).  So, where the trails meet, the course heads straight down the drainage to Pot Bottom, steep and dusty and rutted at the top and a nice cruiser thru shady pine trees at the bottom.

Pot Bottom is mile 93 elevation 7380ft.......2 climbs and 2 decents to go!  It starts out with a dusty jeep trail and a jump over a creek, then up thru dry creek beds (dry by race day) up thru the shady aspens switchback and then to the upper jeep trail for a low angle climb.  I have heard of bear droppings/sightings in this area (not hallucinations).  At some point there is a single track trail off to the right which starts the downhill.  The first half is nice soft trail but somewhat rutted and the last half is full of ankle twisting rocks on a jeep trail.  The ankle twisting ends at a gravel road intersection and the course goes left over a rolling hardpacked gravel road and then down to the private property gate.  Then you get to trespass...... not really but it does say Private, and up the last climb to the water tank.  How high is this last climb?...only 80ft. but it is so bitter and then sweet on race day.  

The last down hill is pretty fun.  Starts with more rocky ankle twisting rocks and then takes a sharp right thru the scrub oak.  By race day the colors of the scrub oak are amazing.  Thru the oak and then the grassy fields, and then the oaks, and then the grass, it is a fun soft dirt roller trail but watch out for the roots.  This is the one section that I really try not to look ahead at the golf course or the road because it is false feeling.... you can see them and then you can't and then you can and then you can't.....it just works better to watch where you are steeping and then, magically, the paved road appears.  The last mile of the Wasatch 100 is pavement, makes a mountain trail run anticlimatic, but then the finish line is at the Homestead resort (5720 ft.) and it is quite a nice lawn area for everyone to hang out and cheer all the runners in.  There is a short roller on the pavement but the top of the roller starts the descent into the finish line area and it basically gives you a big of momentum to be lookin' good after your 100 mile adventure!

Now, on the day of the training run, the girls started @ 6am on the Spiro trail in Park City and came over Scotts pass into Big Cottonwood Canyon.  I was just rolling out of bed when they started and I met them on the Guardsman Pass road ~8:15.  I am not an early riser for a training run...... my alarm went off at 6, I enjoyed my coffee and morning routine.  Peter and I jumped in the car @ 7:30, that is my version of going for an early morning training run.

We all suffered injury.  I clocked my forehead on a tree because I was too busy watching Colleen’s shoes while we ran and chatted.  After that I kept my distance and practiced running solo and without tunes for VT.  Colleen and Lori hit the dirt, Colleen drew blood.  Deborah suffered from jet lag as she had just returned from Portugal.  However, these gritty girls were still able to have fun.   

Water:  We stopped at the Brighton Store and the girls filled up with water. Thanks to Deborah for planting water at Pole Line Pass......which is key to ensure enough water for the remainder of the run.  There is a spring at Rock Springs and we found it to be was running strong, but there had been reports of vandalism on the PVC pipe.  There is also a trough filled by another spring on the way down to Pot Bottom, careful because you have to contort your body around the stinging nettles to fill up your bottles from the running pipe water.

I didn't bring my camera, sorry I didn't enhance my description with photos.  Maybe some day.

Where's Arkansas

The Grand Slam committee has made the official ruling, we can:

A.  Forfeit this year and rollover to next year.

B.  Continue with the Slam by running the Arkansas Traveller 100

Forfeiting would not get my fees back from Leadville, I think Vermont would rollover to next year....but we have plane tickets to Vermont.  Peter made a good argument to continue on and then if I do run the official Grand Slam next year then I would know 3 of 4 of the runs rather than 1 of 4.

I did have to reorient myself to Arkansas on the US map.  I hope not to offend any AR fans, but I probably would have never crossed the state line had it not been for this race.  The race is 4 weeks after Wasatch, perfect.  I scoped out the course a bit, 30 hour cut off and it starts just above sea level.   Colleen has a friend who has run it before and she gave 2 pieces of a

dvice:

1.  watch out for Tarantulas at night 2.  the bug noise at night is deafening.

So I am back on the Slam track.  During these past frustrating days I have made progress on the

 painting.  Sputnik got plum worn out by the flurry of activity.  

I am headed up to Millcreek canyon for a run.  Today is July 1 and the gate should be open.... I will go up to the Upper Big Water Trailhead and run the Dog Lake - Desolation Lake - and down the Great Western Trail loop.  I am curious to see how much snow remains.

Race Report: Logan Peak Trail Run

The next morning after the WS cancellation fiascal, I was online trying to figure out a new game plan.  I needed to pull up my boot straps and keep up the training.  I basically needed a long run around either June 28th or July 5th, or both.  I can do ~6-7 hour run on my own, but it is really nice to have aid stations that have drinkable water.  I found the Logan Peak Trail Run.  Logan, UT is located 1.5 hours north of our home, and is on the back side of the Wasatch range.  The run would be 28 miles (not an official ultra distance) however, the peak elevation would be 9,700 ft., not a sissy run to have total elevation gain/loss of 7,200 in 28 miles.

My pre-race prep. consisted of painting my living room ceiling and drinking margaritas on the front porch.  I started priming Thurs. afternoon after arriving home from Elko.  By Friday afternoon I was 3/4 the way into the 2nd coat of paint “blair gold” and I ran out of paint.  I zipped over to Wallpaper Warehouse (I use them because they sell Benjamin Moore paint and they are just down the street from home) and got the second can, finished the job, and removed the tape.  That evening Peter and I realized the second can had a glossier finish and was streaking.  I looked at the paint cans again and realized they were slightly different.  I started foaming at the mouth and left 2 messages on the WW answering machine - I wanted them to deliver a correct can because we would be gone on Sat. and I wanted to paint on Sun.  I was so upset because I knew I had to retape but I was worried that I would have to reprime and do 2 more coats at least on part of the ceiling.  I slept very little that night.  No prerace jitters, just intolerant of incompetance.  The last time I looked at the clock was 12:30 and we had to get up @ 3 to drive to Logan.

I was up before the alarm, threw my stuff in the van and Peter curled up in the back.  I was still upset but I thought a nice run out of the SL area would do me good.  Then the lights of the trooper were flooding the back window.  Busted..... 73 mph in a 55 mph construction zone.  Fortunately, this trooper was equiped with sattelite internet and was able to see my impeccable driving record (well in the past 10 years).  I got off with a warning, and not the $282 construction zone fee.  Phew.

We made it to the race on time.  A relaxed atmosphere.  There were ~40 runners.  My race number was 86, Peter thought it was appropriate because I had gotten 86'd from WS.

The race started 6am at a park on the east bench of Logan.  The first .5 miles was through a neighborhood and then we got on the Bonneville Shoreline trail for ~.5 miles.  I was blown away that Lake Bonneville went up and over the the Logan area.  We then headed up Dry Canyon, going up the drainage for ~5 miles.  The terrain was lush and cool.  At the first aid station I saw a fellow runner Greg.  We have done trail work together the past couple of years, he was taking photos today.  He saw me and realized there was something wrong.....no Western States no Slam.  The two other AS guys were sympathetic and then invited me to run the Bear 100, part of this Logan peak trail is used for the Bear.  The course turned right, and the trail went up to the ridge that still had the remainder of a north facing cornice.  Then we started a long up and down traverse all the way around the mountain (looking into Providence canyon) to the east side of Logan peak.  The trek up to Logan peak was an out and back from AS mile 11/15.  Not a super steep climb and some snow fields to cross.  I stopped on to to look around and snap a photo of my foot on the summit, beautiful view of the Bear River Range to the east. 

On the way down I had fun glissading down the snow field.

I could slide a lot longer without the camera

  I noticed a runner wearing a Western States shirt.  I stopped to ask if he had run WS, he hadn’t, and then he asked me if I had run Wasatch.  He then asked if I had used the donated toothbrushes at Brighton.  I immediately blurted out “yes, they are the best, I look forward to brushing my teeth.”  Turns out he is the dentist who donates the toothbrushes.  I thanked him. 

I was stiff on downhill but was able to catch up to a couple of runners.  We passed a lake, and I suffered a few mosquito bite.  This time I stopped at the AS 11/15, these guys got up there with their jeeps, they were so gnarly and muddy that I had to snap a shot. 

The next 6 miles was  rolling jeep trails and then we got back onto single track.  This was getting into the heat of the day but a lot of the trail was nicely shaded.  At some point I could look back at the north face of Logan peak and saw two very ski-able shots....that would almost take you back to the trail I was standing on.  That would have been a really fun shortcut. 

 

As we came up over the shoulder and looked down into dry creek I saw my favorite photographer.  Peter had hiked up and was enjoying the view.  He would then run down to the finish with me.  I stopped at the last aid station, which was also the first, and downed a RedBull. 

 

Peter and I had a nice mellow downhill chatting the entire way.  At the pre-race meeting we had been warned that there may be cattle near the end of the race, sure

 enough we were jumping over fresh pies on the trail but thankfully didn't slip.  As we neared the mouth of the canyon the temperatures were rising.   I was so happy that the finish line was only a mile from the canyon because the sun was intense. 

I chatted with the RD (race directory) Kelly after the race.  First of all, compliments to the race as it was well marked and nice trails.  We talked about how mental and emotional these races can be.  I was physically trained but the 3 days prior took quite the toll on my body.  I was stiff and I spent most of the time just thinking.  3/4 of the way thru the race I thought, was is the theme song.  I chose “refugee” by Tom Petty.  When Sophie was little she loved my Tom Petty CD and would repeatedly ask “mommy, what is a refugee”.  I was really missing her (Sophie is in Oklahoma until July 7th) and so a Sophie song sure cheered me up.

On the way home, once I got my ice packs situated, I called the paint store WW to check on the status of my delivered paint.  They didn’t listen to their voice mail.  I proceeded to get into quite an arguement and basically I wouldn’t settle for anything less than having them come over and repaint my ceiling.  So when we got home, Peter volunteered to go to WW.  Turns out the first can was actually a discontinued finish and the second was the new style flat.  But I liked the first can better.

I believe there is a mug shot of me hanging in WW that says”Do not serve this bitch”.  Yeah, I probably took my Grand Slam frustrations out on the paint ladies....but painting a ceiling is tough and who wants to do extra coats?

So what is going to happen with the Grand Slam?  No official ruling yet.  I have received several emails, the committee is meeting Sunday, today, and I will report their decision when I hear.