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Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 7:10 PM
Subject: Incline Club News V13 LR #4
Good Evening Incline Club!
This week, the feedbag returns! See below for details. We also have the longest ultra crew report in recent memory and notes on the Barr Trail conditions.
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NEXT RUN:
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Sunday, Dec 21, 8:00AM — Memorial Park
Head out the Ute Pass Trail until it intersects Longs Ranch Road. Take TWO lefts and head UP LRR. Try to smile when you hit Poppa Bear Hill;-) Connect into the Barr Trail at No Name Creek and run back down. Take the J Pipe trail for a shorter run. Add Bobs Road for a longer run.
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THIS WEEK’S QUOTE:
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There’s no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.
— Bill Bowerman
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FeedBag:
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Back by popular demand, this weekend we will kick off the monthly feedbag tradition. This Sunday, December 21st, if your first name starts with “A” through “J” please bring enough food and drink for you and 3 other people. We will once again stick the food in the back of a car and have at it after the run. As a reminder by food, I mean if you like a banana and a Gatorade after your run then bring 4 bananas and 4 Gatorades etc. Anything goes!
We will try and schedule the feedbag to coincide with the first “short” run of the month. This way I have a chance of actually getting there before all of the food disappears :-)
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News & Notes:
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John Courtney Writes:
“If the run next Sunday comes down the Barr Trail please advise that screw shoes or equivalent are recommended. There is significant ice on the trail making it dicey with naked running shoes.”
There is a link to how to make screw shoes on the main Incline Club Website. Other popular options are Yaktrax, Kahtoola Microspikes (not for hard surfaces, trust me), STABILicers (just get the replacement spikes and see the screw shoe article). For those who like idea of screw shoes but want to spend more money, the Hobnails from La Sportiva look like a fun option.
One word of advice: If you are going the screw shoe route, pay attention to what you are screwing the spikes into. Gel and ‘air’ pockets are not very receptive to the spikes.
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Administrivia:
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In order to make Matt’s life easier, the deadline for *’s from missing the sign in is 24 hours after the run. The deadline for *’s from race reports is 2 weeks after the race.
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Weather Report:
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Currently, the weather is anybody’s guess. The local news stations indicate that we will have a high that day of 4 to 8 degrees. The National weather service is calling for 8 deg at the start with a high of 17 by 11am. Expect 30% sky coverage and low (5-8mph) winds.
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Suggested Course Overview:
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Go out UPT, take a few left turns, up a hill that never ends till you get to the top. Then go back down.
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Race and Crew Reports:
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Rock Canyon Half Marathon — Pueblo — December 06, 2008
XTERRA Trail Running World Championship — Kualoa Ranch, Oahu, Hawaii — 12/07/2008
Tucson Marathon — Tucson, AZ — 12/07/2008
North Face 50 Mile Endurance Challenge — San Francisco. CA — 12/01/2008 (Crew Report)
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Rock Canyon Half Marathon — Pueblo — December 06, 2008
Tim Steffens reports:
Distance: 13.1 Miles
Goal: Under 1:40:00
Results: 1:35:16
Website: http://www.socorunners.org/races/raceinfo/RockCanyoninfo2008.htm
General Summary:
What a great day for a race! The weather was perfect and the course was dry.
Things Done Right:
I kept my pace under 7:30 for a majority of the race.
Things Done Wrong:
I slowed during mile 11 letting my HR drop and my pace as well. It was difficult to recover from but I increased both..
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XTERRA Trail Running World Championship — Kualoa Ranch, Oahu, Hawaii — 12/07/2008
Larry Rosenkranz reports:
Distance: 21K
Goal: To Finish
Results: 2:02:59, 4th place in my age group M40-44
Website: http://www.xterraplanet.com/xduro/index.html
General Summary:
More than 800 runners from 32 states and eight countries participated in the 5, 10, and 21km events.
Near perfect running conditions with cool breezes, cloud cover, and temperatures in the mid-70’s greeted runners for the 13.1 mile championship race that featured 3,000 feet of elevation gain while weaving up-and-down the verdant cliff faces in Ka’a’awa Valley and into the dense rainforest of Hakipu`u Valley at Kualoa Ranch.
There was far too many dirt roads and not enough single track on this race course, but there was some really fun, muddy, and slippery downhill single track where I landed on my butt at one point. I came in 69th place overall out of 357 runners and 4th in my age group M40-44.
Things Done Right:
Took in plenty of fluids at all the aid stations.
Things Done Wrong:
The accidental fall on my butt when coming down the muddy, slippery single track downhill section must have caused me to pull or tear a muscle in the side of my torso. I thought it was a stitch when it developed about 3/4 of the way through the race, but realized it was an injury when it didn’t go away after the race. I have not been able to run since the race since it is still quite sore.
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Tucson Marathon — Tucson, AZ — 12/07/2008
Matt Laubhan reports:
Distance: 26.2 miles
Goal: To complete
Results: ~5 hours
Website: http://www.tucsonmarathon.com
General Summary:
Despite having a partially-swollen ankle, I tried the Tucson Marathon on Sunday, December 7. My buddy and I both had “questionable” ankle conditions--so we decided to do an “easy” 11-mile trail run (Phone Line Trail in the Sabino Canyon area) to “test the water.” Coming out of the run OK, we both decided to stick with the full marathon the following morning. I had some major problems after mile 14 in this marathon (see below for reasons). I honestly had no preconceived expectations for this race other than to finish given the circumstances. I ran so poorly, I believe Oprah Winfrey actually beat me (burying my head in the sand)! But the 11-miler warm up was a fun run the day prior! ;)
Things Done Right:
* Appropriate amount of training to run a sub-3:40:00.
* Took water at every aid station to avoid dehydration.
* Started at a good (normally maintainable) pace.
Things Done Wrong:
Everything. ;)
I ran a 3:41:00 in the San Antonio Marathon 3 weeks prior. Although I don’t think the proximity of this marathon relative to San Antonio had anything to do with my poor performance, the following factors did have a major impact:
* Too little sleep.
* Partying (boozing) the night before.
* Not enough carb loading.
* Swollen ankle.
* No tapering.
I also need more distance training to mitigate the impacts of “hitting the wall” after 20-some-odd miles. Although I know everyone hits this limit at some point, I think I get it worse than most.
Comments on Calculator:
GPS is nice.
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North Face 50 Mile Endurance Challenge — San Francisco. CA — 12/06/2009
Yvonne Carpenter reports:
Distance: 50 Miles
Goal: Remove Aid Station delays from last year
Results: Objective achieved! Matt spent less than 30 seconds on all aid stations combined!
Website: http://www2.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge/
General Summary:
CREW REPORT for Kyla and Yvonne
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The drive to San Francisco was uneventful. We got there Thursday, Dec 4, at 4pm in time for Matt to go for a very short run at Tennessee Valley (part of the race course) before it got dark.
That night Matt asked me a question he never asked before during the 11 years I have known him: “My hamstring is really tight — I am not sure I can run 50 miles on this — I might have to drop out or not even start if it feels like this race day — so, what should I take? 4 Aspirins or 2 Ibuprofens??????” To which I answered: Hummm. WHAT? What do you mean? We drove for 2 days and you are NOW saying you might not race at all? Are you crazy???? Get in the tub and soak the leg! I don’t know what you should take — maybe 2 aspirins and 1 Ibuprofen!!!!!! How the heck should I know? Want me to massage it or something? Gee, how did it happen? Did you pull it during the run today? His answer was, “I got it from PACKING! And then sitting in the car for 2 days. I don’t do well in the car.” All right. I guess not!!!!!!!!!!
The next day (Friday) we drove to downtown SF to pick up the race package, I accidently ran thru 2 red lights, but no one seemed to notice or care except Matt! We then drove to the race start so I would know the way the next day. We headed back to the hotel to drop Matt off and Kyla and I went for a “dry run” of the crewing route. I had no issues finding the aid stations, but I had no clue where I had to stay to crew. I decided to do another dry run, but this time I got out of the car and tried to find the trail markings and take pictures of the places I “thought” I had to be at! We headed back to the Hotel and got confirmation from Matt we were at the correct locations. Phew.
Saturday, Dec 6, race day started very, very early (3:45am) — Kyla described it best as “middle of the night.” I dropped Matt and Kyla as close to race start as possible at ~4:30 am and parked the car 1/2 mile away. I met them back at the race start after a few minutes. Matt did his warm-up and did not say a word about the hamstring so neither did I!!!!! And just like that the race stared — a stream of lights dancing in the dark.
My main job had started too.
Tennessee Valley (Aid Station #2, 9 miles) is the first aid station we can crew at. It was still pitch black — good thing I drove that 4 times the day before in daylight! There is no way I would have found that place in the dark for the first time. A few minutes of waiting and 20+ lights showed up on the dirt road heading down towards us. A short time later there were 20 guys dashing thru — there was no way to recognize anyone until they were right at your face! I started calling out real loud “Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt...” in the hope Matt would see/hear me because there was no chance I was going to spot him! He switched camelbaks and was gone without missing a stride. I have to admit that I was quite surprised to see so many guys together at that point of the race. Matt was probably in 7th or 8th but itt was really hard to tell.
Next stop: PanToll Station (AS #4, 18 miles). I decided to skip AS #3 at Muir Beach as it was still going to be dark and no crewing is allowed so we would have just stood there only to watch Matt zoom by in the dark and then have to rush to the next AS. Not very appealing and very cold so Kyla and I took our time driving to PanToll and got a good parking spot. That is where I met Uli Steidl’s wife, Trisha. Uli won the race last year so needless to say Matt and Uli were running together or pretty close together for the entire race. Therefore, Trisha, Kyla and I were together the entire day as well! Matt showed up first at PanToll going out. He grabbed a small bottle and dashed out — no time wasted there. One minute later Uli and some other guys trickled in one by one, still very close to each other (~1 min apart).
Next station was Stinson Beach (AS #5, 21 miles). The first runner out of the trail was not Matt, but some guy flying down the trail in a tank top and asking where to go! (It was cold — not exactly tank top weather!) He did not even grab anything — just continued his flight in the direction pointed out by the aid station crew! I think 5 or 6 guys including Kyle and Uli came in before Matt. As soon as Uli went buy Trisha told me Uli had reported Matt had stopped to “relieve” himself!! A few seconds later Matt went by, grabbed his stuff and went on his away. He did not look rushed or worried about the guys taking off on the downhill they just came off of. Neither were we — we knew most of those guys were not going to be around for long. “Tank Top” guy btw I heard dropped out of the race soon after this station.
Back at PanToll (AS #7, 30 miles) Matt grabbed more Gatorade and gels and headed off. He lost a few seconds as he wanted to lose the jacket he had tied “real tight” around his waist! Matt actually looked great and that was the first time I was a little calmer as it is nerve wrecking to watch so many runners battling it out and so close that late in the race. Next runner into PanToll was Uli and another guy (that ended up 5th) 2.5 minutes later — so Matt had a little cushion. Uli left the station with his wife screaming encouragement saying he should not give up and that “the steps are yours, the steps are yours.”
Kyla and I drove back towards TV for the last crew accessible Aid Station of the race (AS #10, 44 miles). But before getting there, we stopped halfway to watch the runners go by. We followed Trisha as she was there last year and knew some good watching spots. We just watched and cheered as that is not an aid station but just a viewing point! Uli had closed 1.5 minutes already — he was only 1 minute behind Matt now! Phew...Stress? What Stress? I guess the steps were his after all!!! Kyla wanted to run with “Dada” so she waited for him at the top on a little hill and took off after him like a mad dog for about 30 yards or so after he went by — I got a picture — it is hilarious — both of them with their hair flying in the air! She surprised Uli too as she went back up the hill to chase him as well! Kyla met Uli when he stayed with us for a month 2 years ago for the PPM.
Once we saw the top 5 go by (Matt, Uli, Japanese guy, 5th place guy, Kyle Skaggs that got 4th) we headed back to TV. That one was really stressful. We can see the runners at the top of the hill — they look like little ants on an ant hill!!! Since Uli had closed up the gap to a single minute last time we saw them, there was no way to tell who would show up first at TV. So we waited, and waited, and waited. I had to get away from the other people because the conversation about this race and other races was making me even more nervous! So I stood right next to the aid station table and Kyla went to climb a tree. I don’t remember the exact time but ~ 6h 10 min into the race, Matt showed up at TV looking as fresh as a daisy, he took a small bottle of diluted Boost and headed up the hill out of TV. Not a second was spared. I was sure Uli would be on his heels so I told Matt (well, I yelled as he was getting away fast!) that Uli had closed most of the gap by the spot on the trail where we were. I told him not to hold anything back and just go as hard as he could to be on the safe side. But... he never listens to me, well, except for the Aspirin vs Ibuprofen deal two night before! Uli finally arrived at TV 3 minutes later with some stomach issues. He was desperately looking for Coke. He finally got some and dashed out of there with what looked like a canon in his hands! The Coke had a lot of carbonation and he was shaking the water bottle to get rid of it, but when he tried to drink it sprayed out like a hose!!!! Very entertaining! But, they were now gone — and so were we. It is only 6 miles from there to the finish so no time could be wasted or we would miss the finish!
We arrived at the finish line, but again had to park 1/2 mile+ away. Kyla and I ran to the finish line just in case. I asked the guy behind the computer if the 50 miler winner was thru already. His answer was that the 50K and 50M runners were not expected to finish until 12:15pm. It was 11:45am at that point. Four minutes later, Matt crosses the finish line winning the race! So, so cool — the job was done! His and mine! Uli finished second about 5 min later.
We stayed for the awards ceremony, chatted with old friends that were there, and later on went out for dinner with Uli and Trisha. We drove back home the next day after a “little” detour thru Yosemite Park and Las Vegas spread out thru 3 days of driving.
Ironically, I did not run a single mile race day nor the 4 days before or the 3 days after, so the race “weekend” was a massive taper for nothing! Kyla and I had a great time though. And just like that we both got our stars!
Things Done Right:
Scouted the aid station locations twice — it would have been really hard to find where to go on race day.
Things Done Wrong:
Put the camelbaks in the same basket as the extra race clothing — the camelbaks leaked overnight soaking up one of the shirts and a pair of socks! Ooops! Fortunately, Matt never asked for anything that was wet!
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IC BIRTHDAYS: 12/17/2008 — 12/23/2008
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Angela Cassidy:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Angela%20Cassidy
Brett White:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Brett%20White
Elizabeth Shelton:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Elizabeth%20Shelton
Emily Adcox:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Emily%20Adcox
Greg James:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Greg%20James
Hartley Pohjola:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Hartley%20Pohjola
Jim Hendricks:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Jim%20Hendricks
Peter Liehr:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Peter%20Liehr
Rick Hough:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Rick%20Hough
Todd Norman:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Todd%20Norman
Tom Castle:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Tom%20Castle
Tom Kelley:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Tom%20Kelley
Wesley Paulson:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Wesley%20Paulson
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NEW IC MEMBERS: 12/10/2008 — 12/16/2008
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Joe Galioto:
(About Me page was not filled out)
Wes Thurman:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Wes%20Thurman
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UPDATED ABOUT ME PAGES: 12/10/2008 — 12/16/2008
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Anita Bower:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Anita%20Bower
Brenda Cowell:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Brenda%20Cowell
Elizabeth Wilson:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Elizabeth%20Wilson
Fred Wright:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Fred%20Wright
Greg Stock:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Greg%20Stock
Jennifer Stock:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Jennifer%20Stock
John Mills:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=John%20Mills
Kerry Page:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Kerry%20Page
Kevin Kinney:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Kevin%20Kinney
Lee Moss:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Lee%20Moss
Matt Hopper:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Matt%20Hopper
Melissa Eichers:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Melissa%20Eichers
Phil Goulding:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Phil%20Goulding
Scott Suter:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Scott%20Suter
Sergio de Lourenco:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Sergio%20de%20Lourenco
William Keller:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=William%20Keller
Willie Alexander:
http://www.inclineclub.com/show.asp?name=Willie%20Alexander
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NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS:
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Additions to Incline Club News from IC members are welcome and encouraged. Submit a Newsletter Item at:
http://www.inclineclub.com/newsletter.htm
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WEBSITES:
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Incline Club
http://www.inclineclub.com
Barr Trail Mountain Race
http://www.runpikespeak.com
Presented by Pikes Peak National Bank
Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon
http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org
Training for the Ascent and Marathon on Pikes Peak
http://www.skyrunner.com/guide
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ACCOUNT SETTINGS:
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