Friday, August 9, 2013

Summer Slam

View from White Baldy

Speed Goat Party

I was super stoked to run my first Speed Goat for lots of reasons.  It was my first 50k race, Race Director Speedgoat Karl is a stud, the steep and gnarly terrain around Snow Bird is amazing, and lastly it is an internationally well-known race and quite stacked with elite runners vying for the large prize purse.  One week before the race I rallied my ankle running down Mount Olympus (messing up my fast C2C not just the ligaments in my ankle, I was 1:16 to the top, trying to go under 1:50.)  The ankle started to look better around mid-week and I was able to jog on it a little. So, Friday night Izzy and A and I drove up to Snow Bird and checked into the Cliff Lodge (It is over an hour drive to the Race start and I did not want to do it at 5 in the morning…and who doesn’t like staying in a nice resort lodge for the heck of it.) That eve we checked out the fun playground with A, chatted it up with some elite runners, and ate awesome steak tacos.  Some buddies met us at the pool and we ended up chatting it up with another cool runner, Steve Jones, who just set the FKT on the 83 Mile Uintah high line trail. Leidy peak to the Mirror Lake High Way in 27 hours!

The next morn I taped up the ankle, put on a brace, then headed to the start. I stayed with fellow Davis County runners all the way up the first climb to Hidden Peak.  I was pushing it, but keeping it under lactate threshold.  32 miles with 11,500 ft of climbing is a long way and no point burning up right out the gate.  I topped out about an hour after the leaders, Sage, Max, and Anton, and then started flying down into Mineral Basin. Holy Cow the flowers were amazing and the single track was fast. I loved running down fast and started passing runners like crazy.  Cool temps and light sprinkles kept the rest of the decent and climb back up pleasant.  The whole climb back up to Mount Baldy I continued to pass several runners.  My friend Steve N. had an orange hat that came into view ahead once n awhile and I decided to make it my carrot. It took till Mile 25 before I caught up and then we stayed neck and neck to the finish.  Izzy and A met me near the Tram at Hidden Peak and then we raced to the finish line. Me on boulder fields and trails and them back down on the Tram.  I don’t know how but my lungs, leg, and ankle stayed together, and I finished in a solid 7:40…An hour or two faster than I expected.  
             













The winner Sage coming into the finish


Me Finishing
Pfeifferhorn and White Baldy
My sister has a huge nemesis in the form of a mountain, its name is the Pfeifferhorn.  Many of her summit attempts have been thwarted by weather, tough terrain, and mischievous mountain gods.  I agreed to help her win the war and finally summit the darn thing.  Izzy came along and the three of us started up the crisp cool White Pine Trail.  It felt nice to take it slow and actually hike, not run so hard my lungs wanted to explode.  I snapped tons of pics and gathered berries along the trail for breakfast. We got a little off trail around Red Pine Lake but it was no biggie and rejoined the trail on the “rib” as the basin joins the ridge between White Baldy and the Pfeiff.  In no time we gained the summit and enjoyed some of the best alpine views in the state.  On the way down I decided to get some training miles in and ran across the ridge and scrambled up White Baldy Peak.  There is not really a trail up White Baldy and the scrambling is fun.  I considered dropping into the other drainage and meeting the girls at the car.  A tender little mercy arrived and I got cliffed out on my decent multiple times.  So, I dropped back down Red Pine and slowly picked my way across a half mile of boulders the size of houses.  My glee as I hit the single track by the lake vanished as I tripped over the only rock on the trail. SLAM!  I hit the ground with a surprising amount of force.  No blood just the wind knocked out of me.  So I got up and kept running.  With-in two minutes I came upon my sister, alone on the trail, sobbing.  She too had fallen hard and my wife had run to go find help.  She tripped on a mild section of trail and appeared to have jacked her knee real bad, she could put zero weight on the knee without screaming.  Some other folks gathered to help and we weighed our option.  We had 4 strong guys and three women, one being a nurse.  Izzy ran the 3 miles to the cars and called my sister’s husband.  I splinted and padded the knee with the entire role of medical tape I had in my bag and we carried her out on our backs. It was extremely difficult for her and us guys, but far better than any other alternatives.  We made it to the cars exhausted, but fine.   The leg was broken in two places (tibia and fibula) so it was crucial that we did what we did and not let her weight it.  That night, (after a sweet climbing comp in Park City) I drove up to the Uintah’s.  As I lay down on my pad I realized how tired I was and how much my chest hurt.  My little fall cracked or at least severely bruised my rib cage.  The mountains are brutal.         










Kings Loop From China Meadow:

I awoke sore, but with energy, and Spence and I headed off up the Red Castle Drainage towards King’s Peak.  I started dragging early on in the run.  The labors of the day before did not wash away with one bad night of sleep on the ThermaRest.  Despite the slow going, I thoroughly enjoyed the terrain and massive peaks.  I did not think I had it in me to make the Kings summit and make it back to the cars, but I stubbornly tagged the top, ducking around the gaggle of folks at the top. My watch read 19.2 miles.  I found Spence sleeping on the pass and we started off down into Painters basin.  I took the cut-off and Spence stayed on the trail.  We met back up in Henry’s and slogged our way on.  My entire body hurt and I was utterly exhausted.  I am strangely fascinated by these dark outer-limits of ultra-running.  Despite the pain I am deeply intrigued by how far the body can go.  We made it back to the cars by dark and then home in time to hang out with the family.    35 miles, 10:20 hrs.  6,400 feet of vert. Not a fast day but a great mental training day and a phenomenally beautiful trail. 
 1 month to Wasatch 100 Mile Endurance Run!!














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