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Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2002 4:23 PM
Subject: Incline Club V6 LR #7
Happy New Year!
We all know you can do some amazing things on the Internet. Take for example the Incline Club. We are as virtual as it gets except of course for the actual runs which are about as physical as it gets. Where is this going you ask? Simply, thanks to speed of the internet my bike has been recovered before it had a chance to disappear for good:-) I want to thank Laura Kelecy for hanging my “stolen poster” at the Colorado Springs Police Department. Detective Newbury saw it and in a curious mode ran some numbers by some pawn shops and BINGO! I had filed with the Manitou police so it may have been a while — if ever — before the right person got a hold of it. No matter how it was found however I want to thank all of you for being out there. Even Craig Hess wrote that he was keeping an eye out for my bike thus covering south central Turkey!
In other exciting news I am happy to report that a striptease bar did not believe in the Internet enough to pay $35 to renew their domain name. The end result? www.inclineclub.com is soon going to be the Incline Club’s new home! I have been watching the site for several years now (someone had to do it;-) and this last time around I got, um, lucky! www.skyrunner.com/incline.htm has worked well however this is not “my” club, it is “our” club and our club deserves it’s own home!
Finally, with the new year it is time for new resolutions. I hope all of you set a couple aside that are running related. Yes, the internet is great but virtual runs don’t cut it!
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NEXT RUN:
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Sunday, January 6, 8:00 a.m. meet at Soda Springs Park
Run out the Ute Pass Trail and turn right and then cross Hwy 24 and do the
Waldo Canyon lollipop loop in the clockwise direction. Cross back over Hwy
24 (be careful) and CONTINUE UP LRR and return via the Barr Trail using the “J” pipe option. 2.5-3.5 hours. If it would take longer skip LRR and return
via the UPT.
Notes: Yes you read correct. Every January we bump things up a notch and it is time for the long runs to get longer. I have always believed that building a great base in the winter is the key to a great summer. In fact those of you that have been around awhile know that the long runs we do in the summer are never as long as the ones we do in the winter. We get the hard sick stuff over with while everyone else is at home in bed waiting for the snow to melt. The longer runs also mean we can add a few more courses into the mix as well. In the next three weeks we will be visiting Barr Camp and Rampart Range Road.
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ICers WRITE:
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Several wrote in effect:
You can’t hide your time from us Tom and Laura!
Tom Kelecy — Overall Time = 3:14:54, Net Time = 3:14:21, Overall Place =
105, Age group = 16
Laura Kelecy — Overall Time = 3:47:40, Net Time = 3:45:47, Overall Place =
425, Age Group = 26
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Nancy Adams-Hobbs writes:
After almost two months of pain in my left thumb with the accompanying
swelling resembling a bunion; coupled with several different diagnosis from “scar tissue build up, I think we’ll just massage it out — massage
therapist” to “dislocation, let’s just yank it around and get it back into
place — chiropractor” to “gee that looks swollen, take 9 Ibuprofen per day
and see a hand specialist — our doctor” to the final stop “you need a cast
right away — hand doctor.” I was able to pick my cast color — purple was my
selection since it goes with everything — and will wear the cast for the
next 6 weeks in the hopes of avoiding surgery to fuse my knuckle (according
to the hand man, “You don’t really use the knuckle anyway.”) Running with a
cast is not much fun especially since it’s not to get wet. Someone please
tell me how to keep my arm from sweating?! Plus, it has been raining out
here daily — torrential rains. Until tomorrow, I’m running on the roads. I
still see animals from deer grazing on the hills with the cattle to slugs
and salamanders along the roadside — no they aren’t resting. Tomorrow is the
14 mile round trip to the summit of Mt Tam and back. We’ll let you know how
that goes. It is due to rain 3 inches or so. Hopefully my cast will drain
the water. Until next year, Nancy and Jeff just above sea level
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Mike Kolesnik writes:
2:48.15 of D.U.R.T.
After leaving Colorado (and the beloved IC) for the riches of Silicon Valley
I have been searching for an IC type environment for me to run in here.
After 8 months I finally found it: DURT, as in Doug’s Ultra Running
Training.
DURT shares a lot in common with the IC:
1. Both run by charismatic competitive runners.
2. Group runs on different trails.
3. No prima donnas or snobs.
4. Group runs are “fun” (a wild understatement)
5. A chance to run with elite ultra runners (well for at least a mile or so)
6. Not a fat person in sight (except for in the mirror)
7. DURT leader has a sheet with everybody’s name on it before the run.
Things DURT does differently (not a criticism of the IC!):
1. Group runs are split into teams (3 on this last run) with a leader in
each team.
2. Each team goes off at their own pace with the leader directing the
turns and keeping track of the runners in his group (it is VERY
easy to get lost as there are many logging roads and trail
offshoots that are not on the map.
3. At various places on the trail the team stops and waits for everybody
to catch up.
4. Team leaders hand out maps of the course.
Run Report: Today’s run was a 13 mile run thru Castle Rock Park
(California).
Click here for a map/course description: www.durt.org/runs/cr.html
It was cold , rainy, and windy but there was not a complaint in sight.
We all met at the staging area and divided up into groups, with the leaders
announcing the classifications. I foolishly decided to go with the lead
group and ended up paying for it.
I took my GPS along (which was a mistake because your really need both
hands free at times) and I got a good elevation profile
(it looks much more impressive when you compress the distance)
As we started I found out that Doug was not kidding about the Ultra
part. Almost everybody I talked to
was an ultra runner of some sort. Mud, downed trees, creek crossings,
slippery rocks, cable hand holds were part of the course
but I loved every minute of it... well almost. After about 5 miles of
having my a** severely kicked by the lead group, me and another
runner dropped back at a non life threatening pace. We continued on and
joined up with a group that had taken a shorter run.
We finished the loop run and arrived back at the parking lot and I was
completely soaked and covered with mud. Time 2:48.
Doug then announced that next week’s run would be a little more competitive...!!! UGHHHH.
(MC adds: I was curious about how the groups work and asked Mike for more details and he responded as follows:)
There were probably about 60 runners today with 16 of them being in the full course faster group. Then there was a semi fast group with about 25 that did a 10 mile run. The third group was composed of slower runners and that whole group took walk breaks. From what I understood, the runners decide at the start which group they are going to be in based on the latest course conditions, pace etc. In fact, several runners changed groups after hearing what each was going to do. So it seems to be a flexible system. At the start of the run the group leader counts the runners and keeps track. Whoever is last in line (as was my case) remembers that they are last and notifies the waiting leader so the leader doesn’t have to count everybody at each turn. Then when the team re-groups they have a count just to make sure. If somebody is way too slow then they can drop back to the next group after notifying the current leader, as was my case. This way one or two runners don’t slow down a whole group. In each case the leaders knew the trails very well and waited at each of the confusing intersections to make sure everybody made it. What was really astounding was that the first two group leaders had run the entire course the day before to check out the trail conditions! I think the best way to pick/get team leaders is to find someone in each speed group that would volunteer to do it. Then they would run at their regular or slightly slower speed. You could also get a rotating leadership system. I have read enough of the IC reports to know that you a huge pool of possible volunteers. I think pace groups are a good way to keep people interested/motivated. I used to ride bicycles with a group of guys and there was no mercy at all. If you got dropped you were on your own. Since these guys were a magnitude of ability ahead of me I got dropped on every ride. Needless to say it was very discouraging. I would hammer myself just to keep up with them and then suffer the rest of the way on my own. That is not the right way to have a group run or train. One amusing announcement at the start of today’s run was that “This is not an organized event, all these runners just happen to be here at the same time." Apparently you have to have special permits to have group events in the parks here!
Also, I really enjoy the IC newsletters and I make time to read every one of them. I like to think of them as my link to the PP so I will not forget about it. I really like the race reports, especially the marathons/ultras. These are real people telling us their stories, stories that you would not normally hear. One way to make the newsletter more manageable for readers in my opinion is to put up huge banners so they can get to the section(s) they want. Something like this:
(MC adds: I removed Mike’s banner examples and just started using them. I looked over the DURT website — the RUNS section with some descriptions having maps is impressive and long overdue for our club and since we soon will have a new website would make for a great project. One thing of interest is that Doug says that DURT is NOT a structured training program but just friends running trails together. That is awesome but I feel strongly that the IC is a set training program with most of us pointing towards one or two specific goals. There are times to run together as groups (and wait for everyone) but I don’t think hard training days are one of them. By definition it would mean that all but the slowest runners in each group would have to sacrifice their training. That is fine on social runs but not on a training run. However it is amazing to read Doug’s thoughts about DURT and I feel like he is somehow a friend to all runners and indeed DURT is so much like the IC — or vise versa — that it is almost scary!)
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BIKE STUFF FOLLOW-UP:
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Matt Carpenter writes:
First, if you did not read the top intro I got my bike back:-) I got 23
replies from ICers on my stolen bike e-mail and another 11 “Out of Office”
autoreplies. That is a pretty good hit rate considering that most will not
even see the mail (or this one) until tomorrow. Point is, if you need help I
think the club is a great place to turn to -- Thanks:-) I debated posting
the replies in the newsletter but since several shared stories of their
stolen bikes I was not sure if they would want it made public. However in
summary most agree that:
1) Having your serial number is key. When I filed my report with the MSPD
they said that the police are getting better at sharing data and since I had
my serial # the case would go across the country so even if the bike ended
up in California I might get it back. If you don’t know your serial number
go get it now. It is under the crankshaft. For that matter go write down the
#s for all of your other toys too!
2) Tell everyone one you can. It is amazing how the word can travel. It
turns out several ICers or ICer family are in the police department and
others ICers were forwarding the info to schools, B&Bs, fire departments and
bike shops. In fact one of you reported that you got your bike back when
someone brought it into a shop for servicing. For my part I gave flyers to
the mailman to give to his co-workers because I know they have to go
everywhere! I also made a flyer for each police car in Manitou. Finally,
besides the IC list I emailed the photo to the triathlon club and several
other groups I thought could help. Bottom line, I was pretty comfortable
that if someone took a ride on my bike it was going to be a short one.
3) Call the pawn shops! Again this is where my bike was found as well as
several others who reported getting their bikes recovered. However be
forewarned that there are a ton of them and I got some reports that some
shops may not share the same info with me that they might share with the
police. At any rate, I was going to start this fun task tomorrow when they
opened back up. However I should have started that as soon as possible
because it turns out my bike was pawned within MINUTES of it being stolen on
Friday. It could have been sold and gone for good or an innocent person
could have been caught on my bike.
4) Buy a bike that stands out! Ok, not much of an option here if you already
have your bike but everyone I spoke to said that mine would be an easy bike
to spot.
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NON R REPORTS:
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Craig Hess reports:
ONW Christmas Marathon
There I was...cranking out 26 miles in this garden spot in south central Turkey...palm trees lining the course...gorgeous belly dancers handing out Gatorade and GU every mile...on track for a sub-3:00 marathon...and then the alarm goes off...reality sets in. Ugh. Dark skies and cold. Hmmm....
Injuries and deployment just seemed like such lame excuses for not completing my 12-marathon goal this year. And so the run began...slow and steady just working off the holiday eats. It wasn’t that bad really. And for those who run quite a lot on airbases, it’s a perimeter road paradise. All sorts of great aircraft to look at. Lawn darts, heavies, recce, you name it...they’re all here. None of that dusty vintage aircraft you see at the AF Marathon finish. (Nothing personal Col H, Tom F.) :) Plus miles and miles of mud and barbed and C-wire. Tough to beat.
My TAC-certified course came complete with shift-on-the-fly course alterations. My course ran by what we affectionately refer to as the “crackhouses.” Dwellings that make the ‘hood look good. Anyway, the crackhouse next to Tent City caught fire. From a mile out I saw this enormous cloud of smoke and all these fire trucks near where my Gatorade stash was. The wind was in my favor though and I was able to get a refill. (As for the lodging, and for those that have been to ONW, the good news is that we only lost one crackhouse. The bad news is that we only lost ONE crackhouse...and the rest still stand.) Remainder of the run was uneventful.
Finishing time: Classified — Need to know basis only.
Twelve down. Mission accomplished. Details below.
All the best in 2002,
Craig
ONW Christmas Marathon — 25 Dec 01
Entry Fee — $0
Link — www.notworthrunning.com
Course — I need a synonym for boring to the Nth degree. 3+ laps around the
flightline area. As flat as it gets with the exception of the 5 vertical
foot drop as you run through the airfield drainage area.
Expo — Overcome by Turkish bureaucracy.
Medal — Awesome! (As soon as I design it and go downtown and have it
minted.)
T-Shirt — All participants voted against it.
Crowds — Slightly less than a 1:1 ratio between runners and spectators.
H20 — Only the finest imported water. The threat of drinking the local
water had the race director worried. Should Attaturk’s revenge strike
during 26 miles, you’re doomed. Race director carried water and sustenance
for all runners. Refills at the rubble pit on the far side of the airfield.
Start temp — Started at 0900-ish. (Race director was very flexible.) Upper
30’s climbing into the 40’s. Near perfect.
Overall impression — Entrance visas into this part of the world can be
difficult. Not sure it’s worth the hassle. Was quite impressed with
director’s organization and flexibility during the entire event. While I’m
not sure this race will become a mainstay event, I am confident it will
outshine the Kabul Marathon for decades to come.
(MC adds: Craig, I for one love your writing so please send in reports 9, 10 and 11 that we missed during the off season!)
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WWW POST:
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12/30/01 The cold, the snow, the holidays all combined to produce the lowest
turn-out so far this year but it was still a large group of 51. Only one of
the 26 who had perfect streaks did not show and it dropped them 28 spots on
the workout board! The clouds were intense and low and it was awesome to
ascend into them on the way up Longs Ranch Road. On the way down the Barr
Trail we passed the AdAmAn club heading up the mountain. This is the first
time in six years we got to see them. We thought because we headed out UPT
first we would also miss them this year but they must start later than we
do. They had a lot of American flags which was kinda neat.
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USELESS BANTER:
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Go out hard, when it hurts speed up...
Matt Carpenter
www.skyrunner.com
Barr Trail Mountain Race
www.runpikespeak.com
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