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Sent: Friday, December 31, 2004 11:47 AM
Subject: Incline Club V9 LR #4-6
Hi ICers,
I hope you are having some great holidays! I know this is one of my favorite times of year not just for the holidays but because we have turned the corner on the amount of daylight we are getting. In fact, our days are already 4 minutes longer - that’s a quarter to three quarter of a mile in runner speak:-)
Next, I want to apologize for the lack of newsletters the last couple of weeks. To make a long story short and as I have mentioned before, we have been buying one house and selling another. That, and little Kyla is so much fun these days — how can I resist when she comes up and says, “Daddy you want to play we me?” Those hours just fly by and I want to live them to the fullest!
So with that let me remind you that the upcoming workouts are ALWAYS posted on the club website. www.inclineclub.com However, I should directly appolizge to Dave Sorenson and Harald Fricker who both sent me something to post in the newsletters in a very timely manner that I have not gotten out. So Dave and Harald, I am sorry! All you ICers should 1) run or volunteer at the Rescue run tomorrow and 2) send Harald any neat Pikes Peak stories you know in the next day or so so you have a shot of being in the Pikes Peak 50th anniversary book. Details on both of these are below.
##
See you Sunday for a trip to Barr Camp and back - don’t forget your screw shoes!!! www.skyrunner.com/screwshoe.htm See the 12/12/04 www post below to see what we encountered ice-wise last time we went to Barr Camp.
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NEXT RUNs:
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Sunday, Jan 2, 8:00am — Memorial Park
Barr Camp and back via the Barr Trail. Bring $ if you need water at Barr Camp.
Sunday, Jan 9, 8:00am — Memorial Park
Run out the UPT and take a right and head over to do the Waldo Canyon loop in the clockwise direction. Head all the way up LRR and return via the Barr Trail. 2.5-4 hours, if it would be longer skip the LRR.
Sunday, Jan 16, 8:00am — Memorial Park
Run out El Paso Blvd and turn right before Hwy 24. Take the dirt shortcut to Crystal Park Rd. Run Intemann Trail until it connects with Section 16. Head right and run that until taking a left down High Drive to connect back to Section 16. Finish the loop and return via Manitou Avenue. 2-3.5 hours.
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ICers WRITE:
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Dave Sorenson writes (or rather wrote):
New Year’s Day is just around the corner which means that the Rescue Run
will soon be here. This race features challenging courses (i.e., there are
good hills) in Palmer Park. Both a 5K and 10K are offered. There are also
kids races. Race day is January 1st. The kids races start at 9:30 AM, and
the adults take off at 10:00 AM.
The race is jointly organized by the Pikes Peak Road Runners and the El Paso County Search & Rescue. All proceeds benefit the El Paso County Search and Rescue. This is the organization that provides rescue services for people that need help on the mountain trails in our backyard. They also assist stranded motorists when we are hit with severe weather. They never charge for their services.
The El Paso County Search and Rescue also supports the local running community by providing on-course medical and communications support for several races. This includes the PPRR Winter Series, Barr Trail Mountain Race, Pikes Peak Ascent, Pikes Peak Marathon, and American Discovery Trail Marathon.
So please consider participating in the Rescue Run. The entry fee is $18 for pre-registration, and $20 for race day registration. The shirt is a long-sleeve mock turtle neck (heather gray). The artwork is eye-catching and there are no ads on the shirt. You can register online via active.com, or at Runners Roost, Colorado Running Company, or Boulder Running Company (all in Colorado Springs).
Also, I still need some more volunteers for the water stops and the finish line. Please let me know if you are interested in helping out with this.
Thanks,
Dave Sorenson (e-mail removed from web posting to prevent spam)
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Harald Fricker writes (in the 3rd person):
Harald Fricker, author of the upcoming 2005 50th Anniversary Edition of
“America’s Ultimate Challenge / The Pikes Peak Marathon” is looking for your
help to find some “UNTOLD STORIES” for inclusion in the book,....so if you
have a great story in any way related to either the Ascent or Marathon
please send it to him at (e-mail removed from web posting to prevent spam). Harald, a 5 time finisher
will also be a participant in CNN’s New You Revolution — an 8 week program
that follows 5 participants in their efforts to kick a bad habit or to get
back into shape via some lifestyle modifications. The program begins
Monday, January 3rd (Note from Matt: the show has been delayed because the show’s head doctor is CNN’s chief medical correspondent and he is covering the Tsunami crisis) so be sure to watch because Harald’s big goal is to once again complete the
Pikes Peak Marathon in the 2005 race, which he hasn’t done since the first edition of
the book was published in 1995. Although he has never completely stopped
running (he goes out for 3-5 miles at 4am every morning) he still managed to
gain quite a bit of weight, which he attributes mostly to the fact that he’s
a late night snacking workaholic with a desk job and a young kids ;-) He’ll
be mentioning the PPM a whole lot during his 8 weeks of TV appearances.
There will be a 6 month follow up of all participants and if all goes well with Harald’s training CNN will be coming to the PPM to film his attempt to finish. You’ll also be able to follow him at http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/ (Click on the NEW YOU REVOLUTION link). He’ll have an online journal so you can follow his progress there and he’ll keep a video diary throughout the 8 weeks which will air frequently on his follow ups on CNN’s American Morning show.
Harald may also be coming to Manitou to shoot a segment with the CNN crew in January or February,.. so smile for the camera’s if you see them. BTW - excerpt from Harald’s book recently appeared on an anti-smoking website - check it out at http://www.tobacco.org/news/183787.html. You’ve gotta love that!
Most importantly though, get him your stories this week. We don’t want him to gain any more weight stressing out on content and an upcoming deadline for this chapter!
(Matt C adds: Some examples that made the 40th anniversary book: a runner getting lost at No Name Creek, a runner’s jeep dieing on the way to the race, a runner feeling on top of the world when her son cheered her on from the side of the course near the finish, a male runner being rude to a female runner and not letting her pass, a runner who made it to the A-Frame by means of “self-propulsion via projectile vomiting,” a runner who wrote a letter asking if he should carry a gun in the race in case of wild animals, a runner (an ICer no less) who encountered a mountain lion during training on the peak, a runner who saw a Bull Elk, and on and on…
In other words, all kinds of crazy things so if you have a story don’t worry if you think others will find it neat or not! Just whip together a short paragraph and send it to Harald (e-mail removed from web posting to prevent spam) and let him decide. He can write you back for more details if need be. This is a great chance to have your story in the 50th anniversary book!!!)
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Neal Taylor writes:
I was thinking that one more piece of information could go out to the runners about the Barr Camp water situation. It is up to you whether you want to post this or not.
Barr Camp does not want to see anybody get in to trouble with dehydration. Iodine tablets will be given at no charge — just ask.
So, there is still free water available. It is safe, just not all that pleasant to drink.
Don’t come off the mountain dehydrated!
Drink Responsibly,
Neal
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Jamie McMillin writes (very inspirationally I might add)
Until last Sunday, I had all but given up hope of ever again being thought
of as a member of the Incline Club for the obvious reasons: (1) You’ve got
to show up and sign the book every Sunday, and I’ve been negligent; (2)
You’ve got to have a goal, usually scaling the Peak in one the August
races, a circumstance that has been noticeably absent in my life since I
went under the knife last November; and (3), you’ve really got to want to
do it, and I didn’t think that I did, ever again.
It’s not that I haven’t been out among ‘em, as many of the veteran IC’ers will attest. While I have tried to give my life a little more balance than it had when I was focused on the Peak races by trying organized religion (for the umpteenth time), the lure of the mountains remains as powerful as ever. Do you recall the deep, deep blue of the sky last Sunday morning? A pew and a sermon remain a distant second to that every time, for me.
So what happened last Sunday?
As I crested hill number two on the Ute Pass trail, bound for LRR, I was stopped by a lady who asked “Are you a member of the Incline Club?” Before I had a chance to respond, she added, “Is this the way to Longs Ranch Road? I’m supposed to meet someone.”
Thrilled that someone had mistaken me for an IC’er, I virtually gushed details of the UPT and Longs Ranch Road, filling her with so much detail that not ten seconds passed before I instinctively knew that I had achieved overkill — her half ass smile and “uh huh” told me everything that I needed to know — she hadn’t absorbed a word that I had said but was too polite to tell me so.
From that point on, throughout my 3 hour and 15 minute circle up LRR and back down to my car at the Barr Trailhead, all I thought about was, maybe I can do the Peak this year, for real, no kidding.
As my enthusiasm mounted, I saw myself in the faces of IC’ers that passed me on the trail, (going the other way). Sweating, focused, sometimes in pain, in pursuit of their individual goals, joined with the others by the journey they share and the love of the place where they are sharing it.
Now, it’s five days later. The enthusiasm hasn’t waned. And, even though I told the lady that “I used to be” in response to her initial question, I fully expect to see you and the others this Sunday on the way to Barr Camp, (you’ll be coming down as I go up, of course.).
(Matt C adds: Jamie wrote this about 3 weeks ago and has been to all 3 IC runs since:-)
####
Several write along the lines of:
Thanks for the “no dogs” comments last Sunday and in the email today. I
have twice had dogs poop in the street right in front of me, and the
owners don’t even attempt to clean it up.
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R REPORTS:
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Craig Hess Reports (his intro and other race report are in the Non R Reports section):
Honolulu Marathon — 13 Dec 04
Entry Fee — $90-120 ($15 for on-island military)
Link — http://honolulumarathon.com
Course — Basically starting a mile west of Waikiki, head west toward the
Aloha tower circling back through Waikiki, then around Diamond Head, east
toward Hawaii Kai and back to finish in Kapiolani Park. A very flat course
with the exception of some small hills around Diamond Head.
Expo — Horrible.
Goodie Bag — None.
Medal — Below Average but on a string of puka shells instead of traditional
cloth material.
T-Shirt — Average.
Crowds — Not many but all the Japanese banners along the way added some
color. Great water/electrolyte support along the way. No more Gatorade
though. JAL is the new sponsor and we now have some Japanese Amino
something or other drink along the way.
Start temp — Decent — mid-60’s. Much cooler than last year.
Overall impression — Over-rated and expensive. same as last year. I can’t
vouch for the other marathons on the other islands, but unless you’re dead
set on vacationing on Oahu, I’d almost gamble and give the other marathons a
shot over Honolulu. Honolulu just didn’t seem to have much atmosphere going
for it considering it is the sixth largest marathon in the world. But the
Japanese sure seem to think it’s the greatest event on earth.
####
Justin Chaston reports: (thus becoming our fist ever Olympic R report:-)
Race = Olympic Games
Location = Athens, Greece
Date = August 21st, 2004
Distance = 3000m
Goal = Make the final
Results = 5th — missed the final
Website = http://www.athens2004.com/en/AthleticsMen/results?rsc=ATM033903&frag=ATM033903_C73G
General = Mostly flat course. A little wet on the top corner. A rough race with some rather unsporting conduct from the Portugese and an unfortunate collision with a barrier for the American. First three laps run too slow for 5th place to make the final — oh well, what’s another 4 years?
Right = Built a superb base with the incline club in the summer of 2003. Transformed the strength to speed in the spring of 2004. Got the qualifying time in the warmth of California in April and won the British Trials in June.
Wrong = Born too long ago.
Other Stuff = Despite the considerable skepticism from the press as to whether the Greeks could pull off an Olympic Games, they did a really good job capturing the Olympic spirit. Athens, for anyone interested in visiting, is not a good city to run in. The pollution is as bad now as it on my last visit, 20 years ago. August is the month that Athenians vacate the city and head to the islands to deal with the heat. Had I not had a track meet to go to, this is what I would have done!
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NON R REPORTS:
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(Non R: Off season report)
Doug Laufer reports:
Race = Philadelphia Marathon
Location = Philadelphia
Date = 11/21/2004
Distance = marathon
Goal = ideal 3:20, expected 3:30, but even if 3:50 enjoy the process.
Results = 3:30:16
Website = http://www.philadelphiamarathon.com/
General = Race day: Ideal, grey 50 degrees. Easy logistics.
Course: Closed city course (no traffic :-); all asphalt; city streets than city park, decent hill at 10; bit of grade in park; nice course but not as flat & fast as other city marathons.
Finished 1128/6193 overall; 59/381 age group.
8:01 pace, pretty even but faded some last 4 miles (over 8:30 but under 9:00 pace). Legs not ready for turn over if pace dipped below 7:40 — need more sub 7:30 pace workouts.
Right = Did it — state #37, marathon #81. Enjoyed the adventure, the city. Some good long runs in preparation, mentally prepared — mentally the glass was half full; did not let difference between planned training and actual training become an excuse, mental issue.
Wrong = Not enough PMP or , speed work. Was in tourist mode Friday & Saturday (Concrete sidewalks are not nice to legs) not exactly resting up for race — at least avoided Philly cheese steak until after the race.
Other Stuff =
####
(Non R: First club run can not be an R)
Michael Robbert reports:
Race = HUFF 50K
Location = Huntington, IN
Date = 12/18/2004
Distance = 50K
Goal = Go sub-4:00 in my first 50K
Results = 4:29:20
Website = http://www.huff50k.com
General = I didn’t make my goal times, but I learned some valuable lessons that I hope to use in the future and I am still glad that I did it and was able to finish with a smile on my face. The course is 3 x 10.8 miles loops which makes for a slightly long course. I had splits of 1:16, 1:22, and 1:51. I think that I actually picked up a place on the second loop showing that even though the time was slower the effort was higher. Unfortunately by the end of that loop I had exceeded my limit and the final loop was a struggle to survive. My legs started to tighten up and even though I went through a whole laps worth of calories before the first aid station I didn’t seem to be coming back. I feel that if I had truly conserved my energy on the first loop I would have had enough to make a decent run of the third loop and kept my time under 4 hours.
Right = Preparation for this race seemed to be the best I’ve ever had. I knew what I was going to wear and had options for pretty much any weather conditions. I knew how I was getting my calories and had practiced on many long runs and other races. I got a great night of sleep before the race and felt like I had tapered properly in the past couple of weeks.
Wrong = Got sucked into the competition at the start. The course was 3 loops and I had a plan to run them progressively faster only looking to compete for place on the last loop once I knew where everybody was, but I saw people taking off pretty fast and even though I didn’t go with the leaders I did try to stay near the front. The oxygen at sea level allowed me to do this without feeling it in my breathing, but eventually my legs would be the ones feeling the effects.
Other Stuff = I thought that since the course is in the heart of the midwest so how difficult can it be compared to the trails we run in Colorado. I was wrong even though there weren’t any mountains or even large hills the small valleys that we went in and out of took there toll when combined with the surface that was difficult to run on. No snow this year, but the ground was frozen(at least on the first lap) and provided an uneven surface that did crush slightly on impact. With over 300 runners plus relay teams and the fact that temps probably did rise above freezing the frozen ground started to turn into mud making each lap physically tougher than the last.
####
(Non R: Saturday in state < 1/2 marathon)
Elyse Karpel reports:
Race = Beaver Creek Snowshoe #1
Location = Beaver Creek
Date = 12/11/04
Distance = 10k
Goal = top 15
Results = 13th
Website = http://bcsnowshoe.com
General = 10k snowshoe race at Beaver Creek
Right = Brought water this time.
Pushed it on the groomed downhills:)
Wrong = Shoud’ve brought goo and drank more water!
Other Stuff = I need to be more aggressive on the deep powder downhills!
####
(Non R: Off season race report)
Craig Hess reports:
Bend, Oregon and Honolulu Marathon Reports
I’m falling behind on my marathon reports along with many other things these days it seems. The past two months in particular seem to have been very hectic and included two marathons and a Half-Ironman. The Air Force sent me to a course in Norfolk, VA for three months (Jul-Sep) and while down there I decided to train for the Bend, Oregon Marathon that I could hit on the way back to Hawaii. I had a great marathon/triathlon training partner there and felt as though I could run a 3:20 comfortably on the right course. I picked the wrong course. I trained in heat and humidity on the extreme flat surface at sea-level and then ran a marathon with nothing but hills for 21 miles at 3,600 feet. The altitude wasn’t the issue, but the non-stop hills took their toll. I was hoping for at least some cool temperatures. The weather gods over-compensated and arranged for a start temp. of 31 degrees. Turned in a 3:33. Best thing about this race was seeing lots of new family at the finish line. (And the massage afterwards was pretty good too.)
As for the Honolulu Marathon.déjà vu all over again. Near exact same splits along the way and I ran out of gas at the same point as last year. Nonetheless I beat my goal of finishing ahead of last year. I crossed the line just one minute faster at 3:44. The field grew slightly this year and we had almost 26,000 runners. Plenty of company for a training run. This run was in preparation for Ironman New Zealand next March. Sunday always seem to be some 3-6 hour event these days. (My wife is great!) After March though I am looking forward to ankle surgery, the associated downtime, and giving up my short-lived, yet distinguished extreme amateur tri-athlete career; at least the Ironman distance.
Marathons #38 and #39 are in the books. I still have 24 states to go. It looks as though although I leave Hawaii this summer, I’ll only be headed farther from the US mainland. The 50-states goal will be delayed by another two years it seems. I hope 2005 is a great year for you and yours. Basic course info below.
Aloha,
Craig
Round the Bend — 10 Oct 04
Entry Fee — $40
Link — http://www.thebendmarathon.com/
Course — Basically a huge loop. Partially through town and the rest out in
the country side. Some very beautiful stretches with mountain views. Very
few flat stretches and mostly at the end. I’d say over 21 miles had a
decent incline.
Expo — Another easy one on the wallet. No expo.
Goodie Bag — Nada.
Medal — The absolute smallest I’ve ever seen. About the size of a nickel.
T-Shirt — Decent long sleeve T.
Crowds — N/A.
Start temp — Cold! Start temp was 31 degrees.
Overall impression — Decent, albeit very small event. This was the
inaugural Just Around The Bend Marathon. With a few improvements it can be
a very respectable event.
(Honolulu report is in R reports section)
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WWW POSTS:
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12/26/04 Sun: It was the day after Xmas and not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.
But 58 ICers woke up and left their house.
They headed out Ute Pass and on to Longs Ranch
where a veteran was singing, “have fun now for its your last chance,
ahead are the hills that will give you the chills."
A newbie replied, “we are already going up, you mean there is more?"
and with that the pack gave out a roar.
They took a right turn and all that was heard were gasps and sighs
as the newbie proceeded to put his hands on his thighs.
It was the last they saw of him until the run was done.
The newbie had just had his hardest run!
12/19/04 Sun: 82 showed for our 2nd trip out to Waldo Canyon. Great weather combined with 3 runs under our belts resulted in quite a few people reporting significant improvements in their time.
12/12/04 Sun: 86 ICers came out for a run up to Barr Camp and back. Along the way we were “treated” to every kind of trail condition known to runnerkind. There was black ice, white ice, crunchy ice, rocky ice, slick ice, sticky ice, dirty ice, hidden ice, snowy ice and even some ice ice. We have not had a lot of snow so what little we had has been packed into — yes, you guessed it — ICE:-( Quite a few commented that in many winters of running to Barr Camp they had not see this much ice. Indeed, above No Name Creek was just not a lot of fun. Bottom line, if you got through this run without falling on your butt you are either talented or lucky or some combination thereof.
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ACCOUNT SETTINGS:
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####
Go out hard, when it hurts speed up...
Matt Carpenter
http://www.skyrunner.com
Incline Club
http://www.inclinclub.com
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http://www.runpikespeak.com
presented by Pikes Peak National Bank
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