Monday, July 26, 2010

Death Race Scares Me

The great Canadian Death Race is coming up this weekend (July 31).  It's "only" 125km through the Canadian Rockies in Alberta.  I've run farther.  They give you 24 hours to finish.  I've run longer. There are 7 aid stations along the course.  I've run unsupported races before.  So why am I scared of this darn race?  It's the rugged terrain and three mountain summits we have to climb!  I am not used to running at high elevation, or mountain climbing, or technical terrain.  THOSE ARE REASONS TO BE SCARED...and I am.  Little time to worry.  I have trip planning to do.  Before I can worry very much, I'll be on a plane to Canada.  Wish me well.  Gregg will need a few extra prayers as he is recovering from a nasty rib & back injury.  Hope his body holds up over the 125km.  Is it too late to switch to a relay team? 

Karma must be on my side...we finally found a place to stay in Grande Cache, Alberta!  The race has a billeting program that matches runners with townspeople.  We are now staying with a couple that live right in town...no "tent city" for Gregg and me!  It'll be nice to sleep in an actual bed before and after the race.  Not to mention having access to bathrooms and showers.  Should be fun to meet a local family too.  Let's hope this positive karma thing keeps going during the race.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Canadian Death Race Videos

After reading several race reports and a couple of magazine articles on the Canadian Death Race, I searched for YouTube videos.  There are lots of them out there, but my two favorites are from 2009 and are of high quality.  Check them out here:






A little early to trust weather forecasts, but the current forecast for July 31 in Grande Cache, Alberta has a low of 44 and a high of 73 with a 30% chance of rain.  Not too bad.  Considering we are in the mid-90s with high humidity and sun here in Illinois...I'll take the lower temperatures of Canada!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Treadmill Versus Mt. Hamel

I'm still trying to sneak in whatever hill training I can get before the Canadian Death Race.  I have been doing maximum incline treadmill runs (OK, they are actually fast walks) each morning for one hour without break.  Will one hour on an inclined treadmill prepare me for Mount Hamel...or Flood Mountain...or Grande Mountain?  Probably not.  But, it's all I got!  At least I feel like I'm getting a good workout.  I am sweating like a mad man and I'm only going 3.5 miles per hour on a treadmill set at 15 incline.  Since most hills around central Illinois are less than 100 feet in elevation gain, I'm using the treadmill to simulate the climbs up the three summits I'll face at the Death Race.  I don't feel ready...but I feel better than if I simply ran around the local trails each day.  I need to start planning what I'll stash in the one drop bag and what I'll carry in my running backpack. I'm reading whatever race reports I find, plus a couple of articles in running magazines...and, of course, watching a few YouTube videos from the race.  Here are two very good race reports from last year:

Sean and Sascha's Adventures (August 3, 2009 blog post "Canadian Death Race...125kms of Gnarliness")

Monumental Effort (February 9, 2010 blog post "The Canadian Death Race 2009")

The two reports give you a nice sense of what this race is about--and they are motivating me to train harder.  I should have read these reports a couple of months ago.  Little late now.  In 2009 they had a drier, but warmer, year than usual. Often there are multiple stream crossing and mud bogs.  I look forward to finishing the race and writing my own race report.  Hope to have lots of pictures and even a digital video to share.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Canadian Death Race Training

Well, I don't have much time left to train for the Canadian Death Race (12 days to go), but I figured I can shift my focus to hills in preparation for the Canadian Rockies.  Being from central Illinois, I don't have access to natural hills like the photo on the left, so I need to devise a more artificial plan.  Every day this week and next (until I depart), I am starting the day with a 1-hour fast walk on the treadmill set at the maximum incline.  It's pretty hard!  After the treadmill "hill walk," I'll go for a 3-mile run on gentling rolling local trails. For the morning treadmill incline and trail run, I'll alternate days of having a full running backpack (like for the real race) and no backpack. In the afternoons, I plan on short trail runs (~5 miles) in the trail shoes I'll use for the race (not minimalist)--but no pack. At the end of the afternoon runs, I plan on short (~1 mile) barefoot walks to stretch and strengthen the feet.  With only 12 days to go, and even less days for training, I have faith I can follow this more intense schedule.  The treadmill isn't a mountain, but at least I'll get acclimated to walking fast uphill for an hour at a time with no break.

After the Canadian Death Race, I have 2 weeks to recover and get ready for the 8-Hour Howl at the Moon race in Danville, IL!  At least the Howl race is close to home and familiar to me--this will be my 10th Howl at the Moon run.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Canadian Death Race in 16 Days

My first, last, and only attempt at the Canadian Death Race will occur in 16 days (July 31).  I was very excited when I first heard about the race about three years ago.  When I signed up with my friend Gregg on January 1 of this year I was nervous, but excited too.  Now, I'm just wanting to get this thing over...and survive.  The race is 125km through the remote Canadian Rockies around Grande Cache, Alberta. There are three mountain peak summits.  We start in town at an elevation of about 4,000 feet, the highest peak is around 7,000 feet, and several valleys go as low as 3,000 feet.  Lots and lots of elevation change--over 17,000 feet across the full 78 miles--with very little steady flat running.  The picture above is the "main street" highway through Grande Cache.  Nice mountains in the background.

If you've never heard of Grande Cache, you are not alone.  The town is about a 5 hour drive west from Edmonton.  It's in the middle of nowhere.  The pictures and video from the race web site and town tourism department look great.  It's a beautiful location for a race.  I hope to take some digital video and lots of photos.  Stopping for pictures should allow me to catch my breath on the long ascents. This sucker has lots of elevation change!  Being from central Illinois doesn't give me any advantages for mountain racing.  I've lost interest in long runs, hill repeats, speed work...I run a little each day and hope that my overall fitness will carry over to a slow, but satisfying, finish.  I'm not injured and I feel healthy.  I just don't feel fit for a mountain race.  Oh well.  I paid a lot of money to register for the race, get a flight, and rent a car.  I better finish this thing.  I do save on hotel costs since WE DON'T HAVE A HOTEL for the darn race!  Gregg and I will be in the race's "tent city" for three days. Not sure how bathrooms and showers work in this tent city.  Sure would be nice to be freshly showered and "expunged" of human waste material before the start of the race.  I suppose we'll all be sweaty and smelly once we are just a few miles into the race.

I'll post some training updates over the next 2 weeks...and lots of photos when I return from Canada.  Wish me well...I'll need it. I'm not going back...so this is my ONE concerted attempt!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Mt Monadnock Annual Hike

I recently visited my mother in New Hampshire.  As of last summer, she lives with my oldest brother and his family.  This trip was a quickly assembled family reunion.  My mother was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer and the whole family wanted to get together while she was still in reasonable shape.  It was great seeing my mom, brothers, their wives, and all my nieces and nephews. I also enjoy the New Hampshire landscape...it's lush green and filled with hills and distant mountains. Near my brothers house lies an intriguing lone mountain: Mt Monadnock.  It is supposedly one of the most frequently climbed mountains in the world (most likely due to it's reasonable elevation, access roads to the base, multiple trails to the summit, and proximity to Boston).

On my last trip to NH, I hiked to the top of Mt Monadnock with two of my brothers and a niece. It was a lot of fun and also challenging.  New Hampshire is very different from central Illinois...it has lots of rocks...and elevation changes! This year I used my newly zero-dropped Nike Free shoes.  They worked okay, but are not really designed to run on uneven rocky surfaces.  The upper is too flexible and doesn't keep your foot in place when you are on very uneven and steep terrain.  No rocks poked through the bottom of the shoe...I just felt unstable.  I'd prefer my New Balance 790s or Inov-8 Flyrocs.

I've "done the mountain" two years in a row now...maybe this trip to Mt Monadnock can be an annual pilgrimage?  I also like the idea of running the Clarence DeMar Marathon (Keene, NH) in September.  I suppose the hike and the marathon could be done on one trip.  I don't think I'd want to hike the mountain and THEN run the marathon.

Friday, July 9, 2010

No ATY for Me

I have decided not to run this year's "Across the Years" 72-Hour race.  I signed up for the race lottery (thinking I wouldn't be selected), then I got selected to be in the 72-hour event, then I waffled between excitement-anxiety-uncertainty, then I decided this wasn't for me.  I received a nice reminder phone call and e-mail from the race director saying it was getting close to the deadline for accepting the invite and paying the registration fees.

The last 2-3 weeks I've been behind in my training and also had serious family medical problems to deal with--it just didn't seem like a good time to commit to yet another expensive, out-of-town race.  I'll try my best at the Canadian Death Race at the end of July, then do Howl at the Moon 8-hour in mid-August.  Then...no plans.

I hope whomever gets my vacated ATY spot enjoys the race.  Best of luck to all the runners in all three events (24-hr, 48-hr, and 72-hr).

Friday, July 2, 2010

My Zero Drop Nike Free


Now that I've been running in more minimalist shoes (like the Vibram FiveFingers), sprinkled with some true barefoot running, I can't stand big shoes with built-up heels and extra support and cushioning.  I just want shoes that allow my foot to work without interference.  A little protection is fine, but I want a low heel, wide forefoot, no motion-control features, flexibility, and lightness.  The Nike Free shoes I've used in the past seemed OK except for their high heels.  They are lightweight, flexible, have virtually no arch support, and the upper material in sort of stretchy.  The toebox could be a bit wider, but it's not too bad.  Lately the big heel has been keeping me from using them for almost any run.  OK for walking when I heel strike anyway, but almost useless for running.

Through the Google minimalist runner group, I started to read--and see photos about--people altering their shoes by "zero-dropping" them.  Essentially, a zero drop shoe is one that has no differential between the heel and toe. They are flat across the bottom.  Sometimes there is still significant cushioning (midsole material), other times, almost nothing but a thin outsole.  Looking at my Nike Free 5.0 shoes, I thought they could be quickly zero dropped.  I found a local cobbler, and after a brief conversation, I left my Free 5.0's with him.  A few days later I picked them up.  Now I have "new" Nike Free shoes...sort of a Nike Free 2.0 (still has some cushioning, but zero dropped with no extra heel rise).  I should have taken before & after photos, but I only have the "after cobbler" photos.  I've only done one 5-mile trail run in them...they felt good.  I could land on my forefoot and run with a short quick stride.  I'll see how they perform on roads, treadmill, and more difficult trails.  If they do well, I may have my own path to personalized, minimalist shoes.  The Nike Free line of shoes has a lot going for it--wide availability, flexible, lightweight, moderately wide forefoot, and comfortable upper.  They have one big disadvantage--a big cushioned heel.  Find yourself a cobbler, and that disadvantage can be removed.  It cost me $5 (original estimate was $10, but it was easier than he thought so I got a discount).  Sweet!  I wonder what other shoes I have lying around that can be converted to a "new minimalist" style.

One of the members of the Google minimalist runner group has excellent before and after pictures of his recent Nike Free Run+ conversion. Check it out on his July 1, 2010 blog post.  He's also had a pair of Nike Free 3.0's zero-dropped with success.