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Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 9:37 PM
Subject: Incline Club V5 TH18 LR37
What a great trail work day last Sunday! I think we really made a dent in that evil rocky section above the cirque and as you will see from a couple of e-mails below others were busy at other sections as well.
In running news there is perhaps one real week of training left before the big taper for the PPA/M. However don’t make the mistake of going overboard. If you have been training all year there is no need to take chances — you can do more harm than good at this point.
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Thursday, August 2, 5:30 p.m. meet at Soda Springs Park.
Warm-up to the Hwy 24 bypass. 10 repeats or 40 minutes whichever comes
first. 4 X 100 yard skips and kneelifts in the grass. Cool-down back to
park.
Sunday, August 5, 7 a.m. meet at the Pikes Peak Hwy Toll Booth.
Carpool to Elk Park. Run over to Barr Camp then up to the top. 2 — 4.5
hours.
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Richard B writes:
After taking a week off after the BTMR I was back on the trail again for
some high altitude exposure. I rode up to
the top and did a challenging run down to A-frame and back. I spent 2.5
hours working on our mile and succeeded in removing a large boulder from the
middle of the trail about a 100 meters ahead of the section where a large
number of incliners were working to improve the very rocky section. I had
been able to loosen the boulder and a helpful trail walker with large
muscles assisted me in finally breaking it loose. the section has one less
rock we’ll have to step on or over. I wish I had a jackhammer to wack of
the large rock sitting near the top of that section. It’s the only spot
that is somewhat of a tight squeeze. Just past the 16 golden stairs sign I
added a couple of flat rocks to the trail to reduce the 12"+ step that was
originally there. I packed them in with wet dirt from a water trickle
nearby and allowed the sun to bake it dry. Hopefully it will settle and be
more permanent.
It’s been fun working on the trail this year. Next week I’m going to start
my taper for the PPM and run the Waldo Canyon loop once or twice. I want to
be fresh for my first PPM race.
####
Robin F writes:
Sunday I put in an hour and a half on trash pick-up on
the top of the mountain. I spent about 40 minutes on “The Barbed Wire.” We
have been looking at it for weeks. It is now gone. Thanks also to Kelly E,
who assisted in my hauling it up to the truck.
####
Kelli L writes:
CLUB BREAKFAST FOR THE MOVERS!
Incliners who helped me move into my new apartment (back in June) are
invited to have breakfast there after the run on Sunday, August 12.
Pancakes, cinnamon rolls, juice, coffee and milk will be served. Sorry, no
bacon and sausage!
The address is: 1143 Manitou Ave. #2 (a big green building with a front porch)
Thanks to everybody who helped me move. It was greatly appreciated!
####
Tom K writes:
Laura K and I had a typical day on the Peak on Sunday. However, most of this
report deals with the atypical events that followed.
The typical activities (may be skipped)
We drove to the top of the Peak and did a round trip run to Barr Camp and back to the top. As is typical, I seemed to run better above tree line than I did below, and Laura felt better below tree line than she did above. Laura and I each put in a solid 1.5 hours of trail maintenance, then headed back down in the Pathfinder carrying Jim F, Mat, Andy and Richard.
The atypical activities
A mile or two past Glen Cove, where as usual my brakes checked out fine, I felt/heard a “clunk” in my transmission, and discovered I could no longer change gears. I pulled over to a turn out area that fortunately happened to be off to the right, and we all piled out to look under the hood and underneath the vehicle to see if we could find anything obvious, e.g. engine/transmission parts hanging out, etc., but saw nothing. Jim F thought that the hydraulic powered transmission might just have overheated, and that my gears might come back if given time to cool. We waited about 15 minutes, then tried the gears again. Though they still did not work, we were angled downhill and so I managed to jam it into 1st gear and we continued down a little further, but we could only go so fast in 1st gear. We were going so slow that even people from Kansas and Missouri were passing us, so I tried to jam it into second gear. No such luck. I couldn’t put it back into first and we were again without gears, and again I managed to “drift” to another turnout located at the “horseshoe” turn a mile or two up from the reservoir, where two other distressed cars were parked. Jim, Mat, Andy and Richard with our encouragement, all managed to find rides down (thanks to the IC members and others who stopped), while Laura and I decided to wait and see if further cooling would help the situation. The PP Rangers stopped to help us and the other stranded motorists. They offered to call a tow truck telling us it would take them an hour or two to get up, but we decided to take a chance that the transmission would eventually come around. The Rangers said they would stop back by in and hour in case we needed a tow truck called. So we waited, enjoying the sunny day, alone now that the other two distressed cars had resolved their respective mechanical problems and headed down. After an hour, we were ready to try it again and... still no transmission. Our gamble had failed. We waited and waited, and wondered when the Rangers did not turn up after an hour, how long we might be stuck there. They were evidently having a busy day on the Peak, as we ended up waiting over 1.5 hours before one of the Rangers return (Thanks to Ranger Stan for checking on us, and helping us out. It turns out Stan has done the Ascent the past couple of years, though his favorite race is Imogene Pass). He started to call for a tow truck, when one magically appeared and pulled in to the turnout. It turns out this truck had been called up the mountain to help out another stranded motorist, and could not find them. After consulting with the Ranger and their radios, they located the other stranded motorist, and so there went our chance for a quick salvation, or so we thought. That driver called a second tow truck before he went off to help the other car, and so Laura and I settled in for what we thought would be another 1-2 hour wait for a tow. But less than 30 minutes later the same tow truck driver came back down. It turns out the other stranded motorist only needed a “jump.” Or maybe he said they jumped. We didn’t care! We were elated that we might make it off of the Peak before nightfall after all. No, we wouldn’t have to resort to the dried GU I had spilled on my shorts earlier to keep from starving (we were already sick of the Oat and Honey Granola bars we still had tons of).
We made it home just fine by around 5 PM, after a pleasant $76 “taxi” ride in the tow truck back to town. The vehicle “post-mortem” determined that the clutch was in fact broken. Pending a miracle, there was no way it would have ever come back. In fact, it will cost me over $800 to get a new clutch. Ouch! But we are happy that we and everyone with us made it down without physical harm.
After several trips ferrying people up and back this year, we decided to retire the Pathfinder from service. We will be happy to hitch a ride up with someone else the two remaining weeks of training we have left before PPA/M. We have a “Friends of the Peak” pass we will pass back to Matt to let someone else use. We will, of course, continue to help with trail maintenance, and will also be glad to help out with any auto maintenance that might be required on the trip back down.
####
R reports:
Randy L reports:
- Race: Mt. Fuji Climbing Race (Fujisan Tozando Kyoso), Fujiyoshida, Japan,
7/25/01
- Length: 21 km, 3006 m (9770 ft.) altitude gain to top at 12,383
- Course: Well, the level parts where we ran across the patios of the
mountain huts were really, really welcome. The steep 8 km hike down from
the summit to the bus kind of sucked.
- Checkin: Not to be missed is having 15 smiling teenage girls
simultaneously shout “ohio gozaimas” (good morning) as you approach the
registration tables. I could have run for free, except I was too far into
trying to force my 5,000 yen (about $40) upon the 15 teenage girls before I
figured this out (the Japanese runners had to prepay).
- Water stops: Every 5 km until the last road, then you’re on your own.
Some runners bought something at one of the huts.
- Organization: Geared for elite runners, with a cutoff time that only
allows 1/3 of the runners to finish officially. No age group awards.
Champion chip for results and splits. Nicer buses than Pikes Peak Ascent.
- Shirt: You can buy your own. But they gave us a nice “Lucky Bell,” plus
a keychain and certificate for finishers.
- Expo: Parking lot in the rain.
- Post race feed: Outstanding! They gave us a bento (box) lunch after we
hiked down to the bus. Then soba (noodles in miso soup, sort of like ramen
only much more robust) back at headquarters. Plus fruit and this really
awful vitamin B drink.
Well this may be the first R report for a Thursday run! The race was on Wednesday, 7/25, and since it was out of state that should count, eh? My summary in a word: “relentless.” This mountain never lets up. Margie Allison described it as “21 km of the 16 Golden Stairs.” It wasn’t really that bad. I think only the last half was that steep. Sorry if this is too wordy for some...it is my first “memory dump” after returning to email.
At the start I was about in mid pack, but everyone ran like it was a 5K. I could barely keep up! We ran about 1/3 mile level to the center of town, then commenced the uphill. It never let up from there, steadily increasing the gradient until it maxed at about 25% for the last quarter of the distance (the average for the whole race is 14.3%). I know I went too fast in this stretch, but I just couldn’t believe I should be letting mid-packers go. I settled on a heart rate of 168 as an aggressive compromise for the first 7 km, yet people were steadily passing me. I didn’t reach equilibrium with the pack until the gradient steepened to the point where most began walking.
At the second water stop, Umagaeshi, the official splits show I was in 876th place out of 2,100 starters. This was about an hour into the race and half the distance, but only 22% of the elevation gain. At least I think it was Umagaeshi. Since I can’t read the Japanese Kanji characters, I was pretty much in the dark as to location the whole way.
By this point everyone was walking most of the time, so I turned to my power walking mode and began steadily passing people. The trail soon narrowed to single track, much of the time running straight up the mountain in a V-shaped ravine 15 feet deep, cut by hundreds of years of erosion on this ancient trail. We were in deep forest up to the 5th station, which provided welcome shade on a clear morning. Passing became a constant challenge with a lot of sweaty body contact, accompanied by “sumimasen” (excuse me) and “domo” (thanks). I constantly reminded myself to take the tangents, frequently passing 3 or 4 people by sticking to the inside of each curve. By the 5th station, I had gained 200 places to about 675.
After almost 2 hours I began to run out of gas. At the 5th station, there was a welcome spread of food including empan (rolls filled with sweet bean paste), bananas, grapes and lemons (there were lemon slices at every water stop). I took a couple of minutes to wolf down a lot of food and water, miraculously feeling much better after that. This was to be the last real water stop until the top, despite having over half the elevation still to gain.
After the 5th station we joined the mainstream hiker’s trail to the top, since there is bus access up to that point via a different route than ours. We also broke out of the trees into a tilted volcanic moonscape of variously colored gravel. The trail became wide enough for 3 or 4 people side by side, with enormous highway-grade embankments to hold back the slopes. There was a solid line of people switchbacking up the mountain as far as I could see both up and down. Clouds were streaming across the slopes above us, but it never rained. We spent the entire day surrounded by clouds, never able to see up or down more than a couple thousand feet or so, but frequently in sunshine. I wondered if my sunscreen would be effective after so many hours of soaking wet skin, but the only sunburn I got was 3 little dots through holes in my watchband where I didn’t put any on.
With the humidity, my clothing was completely soaked after the first half hour. I’ve never felt a Coolmax shirt dripping wet from sweat in Colorado! My favorite mark of distinction now is the rust spots on my shirt from the safety pins. I carried a single-use camera in a mesh pocket in my shorts. The viewfinder was always too fogged to see through, although by keeping the lens facing out it stayed mostly clear. I’ll post some photos on a website after I get back.
At one of the 7th station huts, a young woman was yelling my name. I guess she picked me out as a “gaijin” (foreigner) and found my number in the race booklet. At least it got me running across the stone patio of that particular hut. Interestingly, I was listed as “L. Randy” which is in keeping with Incline Club tradition. Most gaijin got the same reverse treatment for their names, since Japanese typically write the family name first.
By the 8th station, I was in about 600th place, having gained another 75 places. I was starting to be concerned about the cutoff time, a new experience for me. I had 45 minutes to climb the last 1,200 feet, and it was looking like a long way up there — I still couldn’t make out the top. It had been rock scrambling since the 7th station, and I was having to use my hands to prevent balance errors. But around the 9th station, the rock turned back into gravel and the gradient began to ease slightly (to 18%). Finally I could see the top and my confidence increased.
I reached the summit in 4:16:05, 14 minutes ahead of the cutoff. I was in 538th place, and another 200 made the cutoff behind me. Looking down from the summit, I could still see a solid line of racers who had no chance to finish officially. It seemed sad to me that the race couldn’t be more accommodating to regular people. We didn’t have the Pikes Peak Ascent’s cheering crowds and announcer at the top, but we did arrive into a highly commercial, bustling city street atmosphere. Vendors were hawking their wares as we walked past a line of huts offering food, drink and accommodation. The race supplied water here, and I bought a 16-ounce bottle of Pocari Sweat for 500 yen (about $4) to drink on the way down. My 1000 yen bill was still soaking wet when I handed it to the unfortunate salesman. Glad I didn’t try to feed it into one of the vending machines.
After a detour to see the crater, I headed down the descending trail (separate from the ascending trail). I can see why they don’t include the descent in the race, although it makes for kind of a bummer to have to hike down after you finish. There’d be a lot of dead hikers knocked off the trail by runners if we were racing down. This trail is MUCH busier than Barr Trail. I jogged most of the way through loose soil and gravel, reaching the 5th station in an hour. There I collected my spare clothing bag (marked with permanent ink after last year’s rain-soaked debacle) and a bento (box) lunch of rice balls wrapped in seaweed. I was soon on a chartered bus filled with chatting, laughing runners, arriving at race headquarters by 2:15 in a driving rainstorm. Last year’s winner was just presenting his 3 trophies (6 feet tall) back to the organizers in exchange for smaller, but still impressive, permanent trophies. After a meal of soba noodles in miso soup, I walked the 2 km to a train station and my ride back home.
In retrospect, I didn’t give this race enough respect beforehand. I thought it would be a slightly longer version of the Pikes Peak Ascent, ending at only 12,380. But I wasn’t prepared for the steepness, and the lack of breaks. I’ll really value that stretch before Barr Camp in the future! Although the average gradient is only 14% compared to Barr’s 11%, it doesn’t account for the long, gentle stretch at the start. Thus for the last half, the gradient averages 23%.
Given that I only have 7 more years before I hit the age cutoff of 55 for this race, I think I’ll obey the traditional Fuji credo, “A wise man climbs Fuji once, but only a fool climbs it twice.”
####
Louise E reports:
Seeing that the Summer Roundup Trail counts for a “R.” I would give my report as well.
I kind of went to fast and it is easy to make a mistake like that in that race because the first section is very flat and easy running. I realized the mistake very quickly and then eased in a comfortable yet not to slow pace. Even with all that I did very well. Took again 7 minutes of my time last year. Came in 16th overall of the women and 3rd in my age group.
####
Keith L reports:
Guess I’ll add my belated race report....the things one will do for an R!!
This year....slow @1:04:57. As I just posted on the forum, I’ve slowed
about 10% this year, probably due to overtraining(?), so I was nearly 6
minutes off my last year’s pace. I basically took June “off” in hopes of
recovering and have done no speedwork since April--and it really showed on
the hill--egads, I had to walk some it. Goal now is to finish the Ascent,
then start working towards the fall series.
####
“?” reports:
Craig H reports:
Latest report. Since we had our discussion the other day and I found out I
wasn’t overly familiar with the club by-laws, I’m submitting this for
approval from your council of elders.
If in fact the “R” rules state an out-of-state marathon must be within one day of a Th/Sun club event, that leaves Tuesday as the only day ineligible to earn an “R.” I think the powers that be need to reconsider. :)
However odd it is to run a marathon on a Tuesday, it occasionally happens. The Salt Lake City Marathon is always held on Pioneer Day (July 24). No exceptions apparently. Not sure why...could be a religious thing. Am I to be penalized because Brigham Young came through Emigrant Pass and spotted Salt Lake in 24 July? Doesn’t the Incline Club believe in separation of church and club? (Although I’m sure there are some ICers that consider their club AS their religion.) I’m sure there is some legal precedent here. I would hate to bother the Supreme Court as their docket is so full already. Bad ju-ju for club rules to override major religions. :)
Anyway, relying on the collective wisdom of the elders.
Salt Lake City Trip Report
Crunch time. Four marathons and the Pikes Peak Ascent within 69 days. The first one went well. I’ll take the 3:29 considering the course was called the 6th most difficult in North America. I’m not sure I’d agree with that ranking. It’s WAY behind Pikes Peak and Wyoming.
There was certainly nothing too standout about this event except maybe the 0245 wake up call to catch the 0330 bus to make the 0500 start. But there is something neat about having completed a marathon by 0830.
The biggest surprise was the “supposed” incentive to hit mile 25 by 0830 so you could run down the Pioneer Day parade route that had tens of thousands of people lining it. The actual big surprise was that it appeared the crowd was clueless to that fact that the marathon was taking place. They were totally oblivious to the run.
The side trip was to Moab, Utah and Arches National Park. Really impressive landscape. Definitely worth the short detour. Awesome rock formations and geology!
Seven down, five to go. Course info follows.
Salt Lake City Marathon — 24 Jul 01
Entry Fee — $30
Link — www.desnews.com/run/one.htm
Course — Point-to-point. Semi-mapped but not too accurate. No course
profile to be found. Hilly. Better part of the first 11.5 miles is all up
hill. All downhill after that with a very slight uphill on the last mile.
Best tip — Throttle back at the crest of the course. The next two miles are
VERY steep downhill, and I saw so many blow their quads in this section. I
ran with a local who warned me about that section. From 13.5 miles you can
cruise. This may be the only race I never got passed in the last 13 miles.
Passed tons of folks who made the big mistake on the steep downhill.
Expo — Negative.non-existent
Medal — Weak.
T-Shirt — Weak.
Crowds — Pretty lame but then again it was pretty early.
Cliff Shot Stops — 3. Water every other mile.
Start temp — Cool (for the first mile) and VERY dark. Reasonable temps
overall but some years you can bake out there. Finish by 0830 and you’ve
got darkness or shade at least half the way.
Overall impression — Decent small event (about 750 runners) but surprisingly
lame for a big city like Salt Lake.
(Matt C adds: OK, all those in favor of counting a Tuesday out of state marathon as an R reply with a “yes.” All those not in favor reply with a “no.")
####
WWW posts:
7/29/2001 The Barr Trail saw 51 Incline Clubbers today most of whom started
from Elk Park. A large group of us concentrated our trail maintenance
efforts on the rocky section above the Cirque. It is getting nice through
there. Also Friends of the Peak has contractors working on the section
around the Bottomless Pit sign and the Pikes Peak Marathon Committee had a
group working on the 3rd mile from the top which is their adopted mile. All
and all a lot of trail work is getting done and many of us agree the trail
is in the best shape it is has ever been in!
7/26/2001 53 did a 30 minute tempo run up the Barr Trail from Hydro Street. The recent rain made for perfect footing on the trail and several set all time PRs. It was good to be back to hard training after the last 3 weeks of either tapering, racing or recovering. Even the Hydro Street Hill repeats once again finished off the day.
####
Go out hard, when it hurts speed up...
Matt Carpenter
www.skyrunner.com
Barr Trail Mountain Race
www.runpikespeak.com
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