Climbs and Crossings

Here's the idea: You pay actual money to run around in a circle for either 6, 12, or 24 hours. This is how you choose to spend your New Year's Eve.  That's it. That's the course. Just keep turning right until midnight.  Each time you complete a lap, you pass under the finish arch, that is never actually the finish line, and over a timing mat that tracks the number of laps you've done and displays it on a screen. This should actually say, "KEEP GOING FOR MORE HOURS" You're looking at the same people lap after lap. It's the Golden Gate Bridge over and over again. You're not actually getting anywhere.  What is the point of what we are doing. That question is exactly why I love this race.  Here are hundreds of people, lap after lap, living entirely inside their own heads for hours and hours, each with a different answer to that question.  Last year I ran because I just wanted to find out if I could do it. I wan...

Advantage: I know this course backward and forward. Disadvantage: Something's up with my knee, and something's up like I'm getting sick plus my head's not in the game because I'm worried about the first two things. The few days prior to taking off for Pacifica, my plan was to just pretend everything was fine.  Even when we got there and my throat felt crummy, and I had no idea if my knee would hold up for one loop let alone 4... Everything is so totally fine.  I thought, I'll wake up and get ready and feel fine...I'll get to the park and warm up and feel fine...I'll start the race and feel fine. I woke up, and my throat still felt crummy. I warmed up, and my knee hurt. I started the race, and I wasn't sure how far I could make it. GeNene had said to me, in my pre race pep talk, "You know your body, and if your knee is hurting or you're not feeling good, you know when to stop." I smiled. I nodded. She gets me, I thought. She...

The wind, though... Especially when you also have to deal with all of *this* A little drought relief finally came in the form of a few days of total downpour across Central California just in time for  Coastal Trail Run's  Golden Gate trail race in the Marin Headlands. Chance of rain on Saturday morning was Infinity%. Traffic directing volunteers: much respect.   The start had the group of us standing on the road under an angry sky, waves crashing next to us onto Rodeo Beach, listening to Wendell's ribbon instructions (polka dot means a turn is coming up, blue is bad). Some wore rain jackets. Some wore garbage bags, and some wore ponchos. I chose a light rain jacket and a hat to keep the rain out of my face (fat chance). The morning air was warm. The rain was light but steady, and the wind was threatening to make things interesting. We took off up the Coastal Trail on the first big climb. A couple miles and 900 feet uphill later, I was welcoming t...

The Course: Just keep turning right until 2014.   I ran 41 laps for 43.7 miles in 12 hours. I made 164 right turns. I saw at least twice that many people taking selfies with the Golden Gate Bridge.  I made two mistakes.  The recap: Lap 1. Hour Zero - High Noon - The Start - Current Mood On Top Of The World - The grin spread across my face as the group of us, everyone with their hands on their watches, waited for Wendell to count us down to the start. "Norphel came out yesterday and ran the course, so he knows where he's going...follow him." And then we were off, "Have fun out there" . I had never faced a start line like this one. There was no finish line in front of me, only time. Lots and lots of time.  I didn't realize it was possible for Runner's High to kick in three seconds into a run but WOOOO-WEEE! The earbuds went in, the music went on, and everything was beautiful...the air, the sun, the bay, the bridge.....

Let's just get this out of the way: I got my first ever Did Not Finish last Saturday at Coastal's Cinderella trail run in the Oakland Hills. I don't like really like the idea of seeing DNF after my name, but maybe we can petition to officially change it to OMGWTFDNF. Takes a little of the sting off. Here's me walking to my doom, I mean the start.  It just wasn't my day. It was a series of unfortunate events. Almost ate it a few different times right off the bat due to some steep descents and gnarly footing On one of those times, my foot slid underneath me causing me to fling my arm out and catapult my phone out of the zipper pocket of my handheld into oblivion. Lucky for me, the girl behind me saw where it landed in the foliage.  Saw a girl get completely mowed over in front of me by one of the lead 10k runners that came barrelling up behind us on single track.  Saw a turkey. Pointed at it and said "heyyyy" with what was probably an idiotic s...

Chapter 1 - RACE REPORT My 4:30am last Saturday and every Saturday.     8 hours of work later, I was shoving Gu and tape into my gear bag in a frenzy so that we could blow town and head for the ocean. Allison came with us because she's NEVER BEEN TO PACIFICA. I know, right? There was a slight detour to REI in San Francisco before we made our way down the coast to Rockaway Beach. I just started watching Lost and I'm on season 5 so I pretty much have a whole different perspective when looking out at the ocean. Shenanigans ensued during the evening. I've discovered Vine and took way too many videos, but I was in bed by ten...thirty...ish to be up in the morning for the 8am start of Coastal's Montara Mountain half marathon. The lot at the park filled early, so everyone coming in was directed to park along the streets- the neighborhood streets, like sleepy Sunday morning neighborhood streets. Streets with houses full of people that in no way expected to wa...

A light mist was falling as I wound my way up King's Mountain Road to Huddart Park last Saturday morning. Running again in Woodside, the race company was different, but the course was exactly the same with an out and back added to make it a half marathon. My plan was to run steady and conservative on the first half of uphill and then cruise on the downhill. The start is downhill across a wide open field to the start of the trail. Within a hundred yards there is a sharp turn around a fence that brings the pack to a dead stop as we funnel out down the single track. I knew I was running the first mile fast, but I like to think of it as taking advantage of the early downhills...plus it was fun. I flew, and then I began the long 5ish mile climb. About a third of the way up my legs decided they were done. Like DONE. I felt like I was crawling. The week before I had plowed uphill steadily feeling strong, but now, my legs felt like cement blocks. Finally reaching the top after a final ...

To say the week preceding the race was an emotional roller coaster would be an understatement. What I didn't know, was that it would be nothing compared to my experience out on the trail. I had said going in my goal was a sub 6 hour finish, and, unknowingly foreshadowing my race, I added, "but you never know what can happen out there." My decision to run ultras came long before my actual ability to run them, so after collecting a couple years of trail running under my belt I finally felt ready to take the plunge. Skyline to the Sea came at just the right time providing a net downhill course with just over 3,000 ft of elevation gain. If you're not aware of the on again off again drama that ensued surrounding this race, refer to my previous post  here . Race morning, standing at the trail head with over 200 other runners, a collective feeling of gratitude hung in the warm air as Wendell counted us down to start. Spectators lined the street above us, and the runners e...

Five days before the fifth annual Skyline to the Sea 50k, entrants received an email from race director Sarah Spelt that knocked the wind out of us all: I am beyond sorry to announce that I am forced to close the doors at PCTR, effective immediately... It's been no secret to the Northern California trail running community that Pacific Coast Trail Runs has experienced quite a bit of turbulence, especially in the last year, resulting in some cancelled races and even a no show. 2012 boasted a handful of successful races, the most recent being the Diablo Marathon and 60k just three days prior. Things seemed to be on the upswing, especially with the upcoming Skyline to the Sea Marathon and 50k being completely sold out. I'd been through the disappointment over previously cancelled races, but this time was different. I'd carefully chosen this race to be my first ultra. I was brokenhearted and angry, but it didn't take long for a runner coming from Illinois specifically for t...

I had some very important business to take care of Friday evening at 4pm just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Since we planned to stay in San Francisco that night, I looked into registration for the Coastal Trail Runs Canyon Meadow run Saturday morning, a race company I hadn't previously run with. Immediately and halfheartedly I clicked my way through the links to check out the half marathon distance course map and elevation profile. The last couple of races I've signed up for, I'd toyed with the idea of graduating from the 21k to the 30k distance, but it never took. This time, it was time. What I didn't know is that 4 inches of rain would fall in the area before race day. Looking at this profile, I could see only one point that could be my demise: right at the half marathon point when I'd have to head out for another loop and repeat the initial 500 foot climb in a half mile. The rest of the course was completely runnable. As long as I could get ...