David's Confusing Blog

Turning To Go Back Out

2012-01-15T22:41:00.001-06:00

My Bandera 100K Trail Race, January 7, 2012

My 2012 Bandera 100K belt buckle.

Like many other ultra trail runners, I do not think about the entire distance I am undertaking at the starting line of a long trail race; that is just too overwhelming. I mostly focus on the immediate stretch to the next aid station in front of me. That way, whether I am running a 25K or, in this case, my first 100K; it just seems like a bunch of 5 milers strung together throughout a fun-filled day (and possibly night). But, there is one aspect that I think is key to looped courses... the mental game of turning to go back out on the course at the half-way point. Such was the case for me at Bandera a week ago. I covered the longest distance in my life on foot in a single day that Saturday, and got my first belt buckle. :-)

I find my race reports getting shorter as I return to courses; not because I am any less motivated for the event or satisfied by accomplishments. I am more inspired to write about other interesting aspects of the race rather than repeat a detailed account of periodic miles (especially if I have written that kind of report once before for a course).

Bandera will always be special to me, as I'm sure the first one is to just about everyone. It is where I ran my first ultra trail race / 50K two years ago. For those interested, I wrote a long-winded, 3 part series about my journey there.

Bandera 50K Journey part 1
Bandera 50K Journey part 2
Bandera 50K Journey part 3

It seems to me like that was a life-time ago. So much has happened, I pinch myself wondering if I've been dreaming.

Friends Make Miles Evaporate

Brian Kuhn (right) and I,
2012 Bandera 100K first loop.

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not one of those individuals who runs but, deep down, hates to run. I love running, I love being outside, I love both beautiful and ugly courses, I think it's all good. I don't resent the miles and wish they weren't there. But, in a race, a "let's get this done!" obsession seems to slowly take over the mind (which may be the reason why some long training runs are more satisfying). But, running with a friend helps the miles slip under the radar of the psyche, and keeps this obsession at bay. And don't get me wrong, I don't literally recommend running an entire race alongside a friend; I've learned from other experienced runners that everyone should be free to run at their own pace, have their own ups and downs at their own times, etc. Nor do I consider myself constantly chatty either. But, in a big trail race like Bandera, it's almost guaranteed that you will catch or be caught by an old or new friend, for a little or maybe even a long while. I had a blast that beautiful morning joking around with the 25K crowd, seeing friends like Shannon Mitchell and JoAnna Brand, and pretending, for a short while, to be faster than friends like John Kuss, Heimi, Scott Smith, etc. It was a pleasure starting the first 50K loop and being dropped by my now old friend, Brian Kuhn, who helped get me through Cactus Rose 50 Mile past October (can you believe he ran a 72 hour race the weekend before?!). It was a pleasure to be caught by my fellow Tejas Trails trainee Sam Placette and discuss random subjects like how most of the power transmitted across a power line actually travels in a magnetic field outside of the actual metallic cable, and how Nikola Tesla is still ahead of our time, etc. (I'll give fellow Bandera runners one guess what part of the course we were on while discussing this topic); those 15 miles evaporated. My friend Ben Phenix chatted with me for a few while he was tearing through his 50K. I got all sentimental yo-yo'ing with my mentor Diana Heynen through Chapas and X-Roads on the 2nd loop; she is an angel who helped me get started trail running. And I especially want to thank my new friend, Kevin Paladino (Note: Kevin won the 2011 Run Like The Wind 6 hour timed run), for pushing through most of those last 15 miles of the 2nd loop at night with me, when both of our running muscles were shot. There is something about mutually suffering through these endeavors that bonds us trail runners.

Always Be Ready To Adapt To The Weather

As usual, the weather played a critical role in many Bandera competitors' race this year. And, unsurprisingly, on the opposite end of the thermometer. The day got surprisingly warm (not unlike 2011 Wild Hare). Many 50K'ers and runners trying to go fast had cramping issues. I did not. Possibly because I was not pushing it; mainly focusing on conserving, surviving, and finishing. But, I consumed a ton of salt in the afternoon, and the beginning of the second loop.

Getting The Hell Out of The Lodge

Joe P. told me there was one main strategy for my 100K race; "...to get the hell out of The Lodge." Basically, that is where he sees most 100K'ers drop on that course. It's easy; you're half-way done, you can drop down to 50K, your car is right there, there's a big party of 50K finishers going on, burgers on the grill, etc., etc. "You need to get your shit and get out of there!" So, I had been thinking about this the whole first loop. Friends would later tell me how good I looked half-way, and was in and out. But, the way I had programmed my brain, if I had come into The Lodge with a severed leg dangling by a piece of skin, I probably would have smiled, claimed "no issues!," and crawled out of there. :-) This mental game of stacking the odds in favor of "Turning To Go Back Out" at the half-way point in a looped course works well, in my opinion. It seals that commitment of getting started on the 2nd half, and you ultimately start thinking about "how much less there is to go" as opposed to "how much further you still have to go." Never-the-less, it was awesome seeing friends like Emily Howell, Lisa, Manny Gonzales, Mike Sawyer, and the elite 50K runners rooting for me as I headed back out. My Tejas friend and asst. coach John Kuss wasn't feeling great at The Lodge, he almost considered dropping. I think seeing myself and Diana Heyen go back out inspired him; he ended up smoking the 2nd loop and having an excellent performance.

The 100K Loop Ends Sadistically

Ending the 100K loop with the hills of Lucky's, (then Last Chance aid station), Cairne's, and Boyle's did not seem to be that big of a deal to me... on the first loop! Of course, at the end of loop 1, I had conserved energy for beginning the 2nd half, and was primarily focused on "Getting The Hell Out of The Lodge" after Boyle's (see above). I remember Scott, Olga, and Roger telling me at the first Last Chance aid station pass that I was looking good, Roger making some sort of crazy-talk prediction like a 15 hour finish ;-), and Olga pre-scolding me not to walk too much (she's so prescient).

But, finishing the 2nd loop with this hill layout was particularly tortuous; especially for those who have run Cactus Rose, which ends its loop after Lucky's. Granted, Getting over the Three Sisters on the 2nd Loop took more energy out of me than I expected. My friend Dave Silvestro said it showed on my face the last time through X-Roads AS on the way to Lucky's. But, in my head, I couldn't forget the wishful thinking that "gee, at Cactus, I'd be done now" at Last Chance. And, so, the brain jumps to a cruel lie of a conclusion; "You're at Last Chance, this is in the bag! Just a short little romp over Cairne's and Boyle's and you're in!" While it may be true that finishing the 100K is inevitable at this point, getting over Cairne's and Boyle's after 55 miles, at night, is the furthest thing from "short." "Short" little Cairne's becomes as long as Boyle's, and Boyle's goes on for frickin' EVER! It's three false tops morph into fifteen. When I started the descent down to Boyle's cabin, I thought it was a lie, and would not have been surprised at all if it started going up again. This must be a taste of what Cactus Rose 100 milers go through.

Always Ways To Improve

It was quiet and peaceful finishing under the beautiful full moon at ~ 12:30 PM. I'll take around 17 hours for my first time. Of course I immediately know how I could have improved, but, it's a new distance for me. I tend to eat well in the first half of these ultra distances, and slowly start to neglect it as I get into "rush mode" in the later miles. I try to make up for the lack of eating at the aid stations, when I really should be eating more between aid stations.

Having a post-finish beer under The Lodge heater with Joe Prusaitis, Diana and Rob't Heynen, Brian Kuhn, Justin and Tania Lincoln, Brenda Baker, and other friends was about as perfect a finish for me as 1000 person cheering crowd. Saw my old friend Kevin Saul head off to bed, and proud of him for completing his first trail race 50K. It's amazing how fast the core body temperature drops, and that long walk to my van and waiting to get its heater warmed up turns into another endurance test of the day / night. I heard my good friends Shannon Mitchell and Jeffrey Linwood finished their first 100Ks later that night.

It's all just a dream now. But, sometimes I rub my 100K belt buckle just to remind myself that it really happened. :-)

David Jacobson,
2012 Bandera 100K

P.S.

As usual, many thanks to Joe and Joyce Prusaitis, Henry Hobbs, and all of the volunteers that make this race awesome!
The new peepers worked great!
The NB 110s from Chuck Duvall at Rogue Equip. worked great!

New Peepers

2011-12-23T11:56:00.003-06:00

Both eyes LASIK corrected for distance...
after a lifetime of horrible distance vision.

After 44 years of severe nearsightedness, horrible distance vision, and stubbornly wearing glasses while doing everything from trail running to scuba diving to rock climbing, I finally decided glasses were for the birds.

So, What Took You So Long?

LASIK surgery has come a long way in the past 15 years or so. The science accounts for most of the complications reported in the earlier years of Radial Keratotomy, and can correct most unique eye-shape conditions, astigmatisms, etc. But, still, they're my eyes! Who wants to have their eyes screwed with?! And, with my sister being an optometrist in Houston, I have always had the luxury being supplied with awesome glasses. In fact, that was probably the biggest factor in my procrastination: a pair of titanium framed glasses, light as a feather, felt like they weren't there. But, as usual, life gradually changed my opinion (it might change yours as well). Here are the proverbial dominoes that fell:

My not-so-new passion of trail running, and doing it in exotic places, certainly made me consider the convenience of sans-glasses.
The inevitable loss of nearsightedness. Explanation: One of the few benefits (OK, the only benefit) of being severely nearsighted is that I have enjoyed almost perfect nearsightedness (about 1 ft away, book-reading distance) for most of my life. Well, in the mid 40s to 50s, that inevitably declines. At the age of 44, I was starting to put my glasses on top of my head to read. We all lose our ability to focus on near objects as we age towards 50 and beyond. There is little one can do about it. LASIK does not stop it. We will all eventually be using the reading glasses to read the menu at the restaurant. Accept it. I figured "OK, thanks for the good times perfect nearsightedness, it's been nice knowing ya, you're leaving me anyways, time for me to enjoy some perfect distance vision for a change; even at a loss of my excellent near sight (which, again, is in the process of leaving me anyways)."
A decreased fear of surgery and the LASIK procedure. Explanation: We're all living longer. We're all going to need cataract surgery in the 60 to 80 yr range. It's inevitable. Get over it and accept it. BTW, cataract surgery is a science even more mature and mastered than LASIK, performed extremely routinely. But, replacing the natural lens (CLE) still carries a few more risks (and about 3x the cost) than correcting vision by changing the shape of the cornea (LASIK). So, the policy remains that cataract surgery will not be performed unless you actually have a cataract and that cataract impairs vision to a specific degree. Also, having had LASIK does not change anything about needing cataract surgery later in life; it just changes the mathematical calculations they use to choose the internal cataract lens replacement. Which, interestingly, is why the eye physicians need both your pre-LASIK and post-LASIK eye mapping measurements... for accurate cataract surgery later in life. I sure hope they store that data in a safe place. :-) Incidentally, I've had laser retina repair surgery earlier in my life (in case you have also, and were curious about the topic, please feel free to contact me with any questions).

Dual Versus Mono

One choice the LASIK specialists completely put onto the shoulders of the patient is "dual versus mono." It is basically a choice between having both eyes corrected for distance (Dual) versus one eye corrected for nearsightedness and one, the dominant eye, corrected for distance (Mono). Mono sounds weird at first, but, the brain completely gets used to it and naturally balances the vision between the two different prescriptions. It's completely a "life-style" choice and both work well for many. Mono does allow for some nearsightedness without the use of reading glasses, but, keep in mind, it does not stop the process of declining nearsightedness. The physicians can give you contacts to compare between the two results to help you decide before the LASIK procedure. It's important because it's a permanent choice. I chose to go with Dual (both eyes corrected for distance) because the Mono made just about 5 inches worth of the difference in the near range for me, but, I saw a noticeable difference in depth perception in distance, especially at night, compared to Dual. Again, that's just me... my choice.

The Procedure

I chose Dr. Pierce with Eye Physicians of Austin to perform my LASIK. All of the physicians in his group are excellent. Eric Fine, the coordinator, was especially helpful. There are many other accounts of the procedure online, including ones from fellow trail runners: Seeing Trail Running Through New Eyes. Suffice it to say, people fall on various sides of the spectrum from it being "scary" to "a big yawn." I thought it was simple and painless. It literally only takes about 10 o 15 minutes! You're given some Valium (to keep those nervous types calm). Some might find it a little claustrophobic, but, if you've ever had a MRI, it's less so. It is a little freaky to have a ring suck onto your eyeball, see a light show, and then be told "all done." But, keep in mind, there are three different types of procedures (including PRK), all of which have different recovery periods. The main difference between them is how the cornea is cut, depending on factors like corneal thickness, etc. The laser work done under the corneal flap to correct the sight is pretty much the same. Luckily, I qualified for the the standard LASIK procedure, the quickest recovery period.

The Results

Results were almost immediate for me. Note: this is not the always the case, some procedures take 1 to 3 weeks for the eyesight to fully stabilize. I did experience some mild burning an hour after the procedure. I napped through it. Then, I simply sat back and watched my eyesight improve hour after hour. You are kept on a regimen of specific types of eye drops for a week after, while the cornea heals. I was amazed at how clear the HD TV looked, better than I had ever experienced with glasses.

Me Being An Idiot...

So, being an ultra trail runner, I have been training for my first 100K at Bandera 2012. Naturally, I wanted to have my cake and eat it too... be able to run Bandera with my new eyes, and run it well. Of course, the only scheduling option for the LASIK procedure fell right during the window for my last long training run before taper, I couldn't squeeze it in the day before the procedure, ya da, ya da, ya da. The doc told me I could safely run 3 days after the procedure. He did tell me that my eyes would be susceptible to dryness (I didn't quite appreciate what that meant exactly until later). So... I planned a 40 mile training run with friends the following Tues after that Fri. I planned to wear cool, Iron Man, wrap-around shades and bring my eye drops with me. The run was 20 miles of road hills around Austin with Stephanie Huie and Scott Smith, followed by 20 miles on the Greenbelt with Scott. It was chilly and windy. Felt GREAT on the run, we all did. But, with each passing hour, my eyesight started to get a little more hazy. At the end of the road run, and starting the trail run, thing started to get a little blurry as well. I was concerned enough to call my eye doctor in the middle of my trail run. He said what I was describing did not sound serious, probably dryness, but, that he would like for me to come in today or tomorrow morning to have it checked out. Well, me being an idiot, I decided to go ahead and finish my long run. My eyesight did get progressively worse. Thanks to Scott, I was able to follow him at a decent clip. Heck, we completed a leisurely 40 mile training run in under 9 hrs. And, yes, I was concerned that I had damaged my eyes and was quietly screaming "you idiot" at myself in my mind. I know, I know, Joe P. also informed me how idiotic that decision was.

Well, immediately after the run, I got my butt to the clinic (I won't discuss how). Dr. Dai looked at my eyes and told me they were fine, no corneal damage... they were just extremely DRY. It was not because of the run, but, the wind probably made it worse. It's not a common flare-up, but, not a rare one either. The eyes are susceptible to extreme dryness the short healing period after LASIK, where the cornea even becomes kind of bumpy. Vision goes completely to hell without a smooth cornea and a tear film. I think I may have noticed the signs of it the morning before the run, but, didn't know what was happening. I got on an aggressive regimen of lubricating drops and my eyesight was back to normal that evening, better than normal the next morning. Whew! :-) It's an interesting lesson because I am now interested in the topic of; if and by how much former LASIK patients deal with eye dryness over the long term. The docs say it's mainly an issue during the corneal healing period, but, others deal with it a month or two afterwords. It's not a big deal, luckily, unless your stranded in the middle of a long trail run. ;-)

Cool Shades for a Change...

Even though I don't need to wear corrective glasses any more, I will still wear sun glasses to protect my eyes, as well as clear glasses during specific night trail runs to protect from tree branches, etc. Do you know how hard it is to find clear, non-shaded sunglasses, much less a wide selection of them?! Generally, the running and sports stores don't have them. But, guess who does... motorcycle shops, plenty of them. Makes sense for riders needing wind protection at night. I got the light-weight pair on the right at Cycle Gear. I find the slight yellow tint also pleasantly increases the contrast of objects in the headlamp, and, they are excellent for driving with at night.

Anyways, looking forward to seeing all my friends and family with my new peepers. :-)

David.

Fast Bunny, Dead Bunny, Happy Bunny

2011-11-20T20:53:00.001-06:00

My Wild Hare 50K Trail Race, November 19, 2011

WARNING: Some times, the sport of ultra trail running defies all logic. Be happy.

2011 Wild Hare 50K start in front of
the barn. I'm the one with the bunny ears.
(all pics courtesy of Susannah Jacobson)

I look forward to the Wild Hare trail race, exquisitely hosted by Tejas Trails, every year. Mainly because it is Susannah's and my anniversary weekend; our excuse to rent a room at the Las Brisas Farm B&B in Fayettville TX, let the grand parents watch over our daughters, Susannah run one our few trail races together, and pig-out at Royers in Round Top for post-race dinner. And, I'm convinced, spending an awesome day with running friends adds years to your life.

But, this race course has taught me an incredibly painful lesson. I should respect it more.

Quick Race Summary

I'm going to make this quick so I can get to my completely speculative reason-for-performance analysis. Disclaimer: Please don't let my critical analysis of my own performance rain on anyone else's achievement. Anyone out there running / hiking / walking at whatever pace is a superhero to someone, some where. I mainly go through these mental exercises as part of an endless battle with "Devil David," who rattles around in my head trying to make me do stuff I regret later, like quitting a run before I should, etc.

First Loop: Felt awesome! Great morning! I'm going to wear the bunny ears this whole race, damnit! Went out too fast, but, who cares.
Second Loop: Um, is that my right quad tightening up?
Third Loop: Holy Crap! My legs have become one entire cramp. I've gone from running to hobbling. What's happening to me?!
Fourth Loop: F.U. "Devil David," I am not dropping (even though Joe would have graciously given me a 25K medal). I'm going to salvage this disaster into some kind of lesson... I just don't know what yet.
Finish: That was the most painful run I've done to date. WTF?! It was supposed to be an easy, flat, romp through the woods for you Mr. 50 miler?! Cramps?! Seriously?! You're supposed to know how to handle that crap by now. ...what... happened... ??? Please hand me a burger and a beer and I will pretend not to sulk.

By the way, did I mention I set my 50K PR. :-)

I can hear it now; running friends telling me "well, you wouldn't be able to tell that you PR'd with all your bitching moaning." Allow me to explain. Even though I've run five 50K's and a couple of 50 mile races, I don't really compare my current self to that past; I've since lost quite a bit of weight, am a different kind of runner, I have set new expectations for myself, etc. Please don't misunderstand me, my philosophy is still healthy, there's no such thing as a bad run, any day running is a good day, etc. I completely admit that my disappointment in my performance is a greed thing. Yes, I finished in ~ 7 hrs, but, I'm capable of finishing in 6 hrs, or maybe even 5 something. Hell, my 50K during the Cactus Rose 50 Mile three weeks ago was faster than my 50K here, and on much more technical terrain! (BTW, this sentence is the key to the mystery, IMHP) Yes, it's greed... but, greed for life! If I ever break 6 hrs in a 50K, or 4 hrs in a road marathon, or whatever, it will partially be because of a small portion of a healthy kind of greed.

Allow Me To Shoot Down Your Cramp Theories

Electrolyte shortage?: Nope. Most experienced runners would tell you that most leg cramping issues during a run are due to an electrolyte shortage from excess loss of body fluids (i.e.: sweating), of which ample supplemental fluids and salts should resolve. And most of the time I would completely agree. But, this was not my case on this run. I started out with two S-Caps, was draining a 24 oz bottle between each aid station, swallowed practically four additional Endurolytes at every aid station. I've heard the debate about Endurolytes having much less sodium than S-Caps, but, come on! ...when I was done with my run, my arms were caked with salt. Besides, I've felt heat-related cramps slowly subside when I got back on top my salts. There was nothing "slowly subsiding" about these type of cramps. I personally did not think it was a very warm day; there was a nice breeze, it even sprinkled a little bit ...sure, I was sweating. No, something a little more significant was going on here. (UPDATE to this topic below)

Going out too fast?: Nah (well, not a reason by itself, but, possibly related to the ultimate answer). I've gone out running 8 and 9 min miles before and have practically always recovered into my nice, slow, rest-of-the-long-run pace. It never really bothers me. I have this little, fictitious, dream that one day, I just won't slow down. :-)

Diet?: Well, even though I have been on a low-carb diet, and I've read somewhere that it could cause cramps, I don't think that is my case. Besides, I had plenty of carbs pre-race, day before, etc. Nope.

Your screwed-up shoulder?: Well, it is true that I slammed my left shoulder pretty hard while falling during a recent night trail run. I had an MRI; nothing torn, a slight, non-displaced fracture on the clavicle. But it doesn't really bother me at all running and, no, I don't think it affects my gait. It might have if there had been more climbing and descending (i.e.: if this were Bandera).

Conditioning and training?: Ahh, now we're on to something. But what exactly? The course is the key. Allow me to explain by way of comparing my Wild Hare run profile to another recent race:

Cactus Rose Partial Run Profile

run, climb, run, run, skip-skidaddle, descend, skid, walk, run, piss, jump, duck, run, run, climb, walk, run, run, walk...

Wild Hare Run Profile

run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, EXPLODE!

Um, yeah, 4th loop, c'mon legs...
Yes, I had a few people ask
what the bunny ears were for.

See the subtle difference there? Yes, Wild Hare has a couple of nice climbs, but, even though that first section winds through the trees (forever), and most of the 2nd half is flat except for some fun rollers; it's all runnable, all of it, running all the time, no stopping for anything, nothing on the course to make you stop running really... I think I'm a little rusty at that. :-) Coming off of Cactus Rose training, I had been almost exclusively been putting all of my miles on hills, over rocks, through dry creek beds, etc. Joe did have us do one flat training run before Wild Hare, but, that probably didn't cut it for me. I now regret that I had stopped doing my once a week, 7 mile road run since some time before Cactus. It would have really helped me at Wild Hare. Trail runners are typically paranoid about training for hills and rocky terrain, but, it seems like some of us forget about flats. They are challenging in their own way. I have no idea how someone like my friend Mike Wilen can sustain a consistent pace over such a long distance. I will allow this pain to teach me not to make that mistake again.

UPDATE (11/23/2011): I'm going to rename this race "Cramp Fest" after reading so many race reports where fellow runners struggled with cramping. Race director Joe Prusaitis had a great explanation (as he always does), including Larry King in the comments section below. FYI, Joe said he usually has more runners drop from races during "nice" days than bad weather days. I'll do my best to para-phrase him: During bad weather, most people expect it. During a "nice" weather day, a change in the weather always takes a bunch of runners by surprise. What happened on Saturday was a nice, cool, sprinkling shower came through the area. BUT, it was short. Only the 10K to 25K'ers finished before the shower stopped. What happens when it STOPS raining? ...the humidity shoots through the roof! This caught all of the 50K'ers and 50 milers. It definitely corresponds to when my cramps came on. So, it was a tri-fecta: Conditioning for a different type of run, surprise humidity, probable lack of hydration / electrolytes right when the rain stopped (start of the 3rd loop). I gotta be better prepared for weather changes on long runs and races.

GPS track.

Why I Will Always Return To This Race

My explanation on why I will probably always return to run Wild Hare every year (assuming Susannah agrees) is best explained in photographs. It has become a tradition. Susannah had an awesome 10K, I am so proud of her having started trail running this year. Yes, these events always seem to have a roller-coaster of emotions attached to them for me, but, that's what makes them so exciting, alive. Thank you to Joe and Joyce Prusaitis of Tejas Trails for putting together such a special race, and to all the volunteers (who, BTW, are mostly personal running friends sacrificing an awesome day that they'd love to be running just so I can have a great day running, and who I need to payback soon by volunteering... I need to).

More Bunny Pics by Susannah...

Well, now on to training for Bandera 100K. Even though it's back to rocks and hills, it does add the HCSNA flats and field back in (removed from the Cactus course). I think I'll add that back to my training.

Susannah and David Wild Bunnies

Justin and Tania; volunteers,
100 milers, friends.

Joyce and Joe Prusaitis

Las Brisas Farm B&B

In case you were worried our
daughters weren't having a good time
while mom and dad were running...

Fresh pomegranates make
a good recovery food.

Putting Together A Rock Puzzle

2011-11-02T12:20:00.000-05:00

My Cactus Rose 51 Mile Trail Race, October 29, 2011

HCSNA Park near Bandera TX,
Cactus Rose Trail Race 2011

Running a long ultra is sort of like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. It involves lots of pieces that some times come together quickly, smoothly; and other times, not so much. Attempting to run one in a place as enigmatic as the HCSNA park near Bandera simply multiplies the intrigue, the complexity, the beauty. How is it that these rocky trails and hills can deliver so much pain and happiness at the same time? ...appear so desolate yet come alive with so much energy from fellow running friends? ...present you with an impossible task yet gradually reveal how the pieces fit together as you persist? All of the good ingredients were present this past Saturday; the cool weather, the awesome people, my butt at the starting line. I put the pieces together and had my best trail racing performance to date!

Having Fun Going Out Too Fast

It doesn't matter the distance. I go out too fast (relative to me, of course). It's what I do. I don't even fight it any more. I figure I'll have to recover 10 miles up the trail anyways, whether I ran slow or not (Note: some times it makes me wonder how fast a 10 miler I could run?). So I have fun with it, take the opportunity to chat with friends that are way faster than me and they inevitably pull away mid-topic, etc. Cactus Rose's first 10 miles accommodates this habit nicely, with a flat, smooth first 10 miles which couldn't be more opposite from the majority of the rest of the course. I had a blast chatting with friends; Sue Levitan, Cris Strong, John Kuss, Lindsey Waddell, JoAnna and many others during those dark morning hours; tripping over a root and laughing about it with the guy behind me who proceeded to trip over the same damn root even after watching me do it, trying to set a PR for going #2 in the woods at mile 9, etc. You know, regular trail running stuff. The cool, 30 - 40 degree morning was exhilarating. I don't think I added any water to my bottle until Nachos (mile 10). I was wondering when my training buddy, asst Tejas coach, idol, and friend John Kuss would pass me. He did earlier than I expected, at ~ mile 8, clearly going out too fast himself.

This 50 Mile Run Really Starts At Mile 25

Even though during long runs you should be prepared for anything to happen, and adapt, you can also tell early on how things will be shaping up later, small problems can become big, etc. In my case, everything was awesome! Stomach was fine, fuel choices working. My downhill running was working. I was able to hang and chat with Chris Russell for a few minutes until his 35 foot walking stride inevitably pulled him away. Yeah, I could tell; this race would really begin for me at the halfway point; The Lodge (Note: a surprise to me because, I originally thought the critical point might be Boyles at miles 20 & 30). How I recovered at The Lodge would really determine my final outcome. The other interesting puzzle piece about this course is that it reverses direction each loop, as well as placing the two biggest hills in the park, Boyle's and Cairn's, at the end of loop 1 + beginning of loop 2; ...thus, 10 - 15 miles of hills right smack in the middle of the 50 mile course. But, this is where I was again surprised... as long as I walked up, these hills had large runnable sections on top and were very runnable down. These climbs weren't the hamstring burners that I found The Three Sisters and Ice Cream to be later that afternoon. Rather than focus on saving energy, I made good time over Boyle's and Cairn's. Started yo-yo'ing with my good friend and awesome 100 miler runner, Brian Kuhn, on the way into The Lodge; something we would continue to do for the rest of my day. I love that this race reverses directions. I saw many good friends and even got a couple of hugs up and over Boyle's and Cairn's.
(Note to self: I was doing 2 to 3 Honey Stinger or Roctane gels about every 1.5 hrs supplemented by a banana at the 5 mile aid stations, apples later in the day when it got warmer, bites of wafers & PBJ bites & salted-oiled nu potatoes at the aid stations later, a ton of S-Caps that afternoon).

When A Wrong Turn Turns Into The Best Turn

I got into The Lodge at just under 6 hrs. Probably a little too fast (for me). Didn't change my shoes, but, a change of socks felt great. I was a little tired and in a little bit of denial about it. So, I headed out of The Lodge kind of zoned-out. *MISTAKE* (the reason for the "51 Miler" in the title of this race report). About a half mile up the dirt road from The Lodge is a Y intersection, where the Last Chance aid station is located during the Bandera sister race in January. It is the frickin' most obvious, blatantly marked intersection on the entire course. A blind man would not miss this intersection. Yet, in my negligent, auto-pilot, zoned-out state, what did I do? Yep, I kept on going right rather than reversing the loop 2 direction. It wasn't like I was lost because, when I finally woke up about a half mile down the dirt road, realizing to myself "boy, it sure is quiet"... I knew EXACTLY where I was and what I had done. The thing is it's not like I was going to see any wrong-way signs or absence of trail markers; yep, it could have been a lot worse. I yelled some choice curse words and then, extraordinarily, sprinted back to the Y like I had just started the race all over again. I was a new man! A new, pissed-off, embarrassed, elated-with-my-new-found-source-of-energy, pissed-off, mostly embarrassed man. Joe Prusaitis tells a story when he lost his wedding ring during a 100 mile, got pissed-off, and it lit a fire under his butt that made him fly through the rest of his race. This wrong turn was my "wedding ring." I ran past another runner named Andreas as I headed back to the Y who was in the process of making the same mistake as I was. He thought I was coming in from my Loop 1. I tried to convince him we was going the wrong way, and then kept on trucking. This new reservoir of pissed-off energy got me back over Cairn's and Boyle's like they weren't even there (I would pay for this later, of course). I was now obsessed with racing "shadow David" in my mind; a separate version of myself who existed in an alternative timeline where he actually made the correct turn at the Y. I caught Brian Kuhn at the Boyle's aid station and started a long debate with him during our upcoming yoyo'ing; he said "you should be like a mile in front of me." I explained to him that, no, he was running awesomely and most assuredly would have passed "shadow David." And Brian also spends about 2 seconds in aid stations. I contended that this version of David, in our current timeline, actually caught up to Brian where "shadow David" would not have. Brian was doubtful. I got further evidence backing up my theory when I passed a runner in the next few miles that I recognized passed me out of The Lodge *before* I made The Mistake. Also, I was very pleased to hear someone behind me, coming down Boyle's, telling me "thank you" repeatedly. It was Andreas who obviously thought there was a reason I was yelling at him back on the The Lodge road, and reversed his direction (whew!). I saw Wade (Dalton Wilson) laying down at Boyle's. He wasn't having the best of days. My heart wanted to lift him off the ground and give him a piggy-back ride because he helped me when I was in a particularly awful place at The Grand Canyon early this year. Next time my friend.

It's Nice and Cool Outside, Why Am I Cramping?!

The Loop 2 stretch from Boyle's back to Equestrian, ~ miles 30 to 35.something, was the stretch I was most concerned about before the race. It is the longest between aid stations, almost 6 miles, with some serious, rocky climbs in it (Big Nasty, Three Sisters), mostly exposed. I was mostly correct although, I found the next Loop 2 stretch from Equestrian to Nachos difficult as well. I started feeling cramps creeping up in my hamstrings while climbing Big Nasty, or up to The Saddle... I forget. I knew this was due to a lack of electrolytes / salts and started consuming more S-Caps more frequently. This helped the cramps to subside. But, WTF?! I just finished training through the most brutally hot summer in Texas history. My core temp was fine, with a nice breeze bouncing off my chest the whole day. Why? Well, the body doesn't care what the actual reason is behind sweat / electrolyte loss, be it heat, effort, stress, etc. It's muscles will cramp up with an electrolyte shortage, period. As Brian and I head out of Equestrian, yoyo'ing our way to Nacho's (mile 40), he forgets to fill up his water bottles, an easy thing to do at this self-supported race, and heads back to Equestrian aid station a quarter mile out (oops, I told him I wouldn't mention it to anyone, sorry Brian). He stops giving me a hard time about "shadow David." But, the not so funny thing I found is that my little bone-headed mistake back at The Lodge kind of shook my trail navigating confidence a little bit. This section of the course goes along a road for a while and course markers are rather sparse. The race is spread out and I see hardly any other runners. A little voice would creep up in my mind and say "David, are you *sure* you didn't miss some turn back there. Because, I wouldn't put it past you, dumbass! You zoned-out at The Lodge, how do you know you didn't just zone-out back there a ways?" I would stubbornly yell at this newly emergent "devil David," "shut up! shut up! SHUT UP!" and continue forward until I saw the next God-must-have-placed-it-there-himself trail marker; or, saw Brian's bright orange top on a hill behind me (because he is immensely smarter than I and most assuredly would not miss a turn).

Racing The Sun

A few people asked me before the race if I had a time goal. I did not, maybe I should have. I just wanted to test myself, see how much I had improved (I knew that I had) by running more in the later 30 - 45 mile range as opposed to walking so much. But, I secretly wanted to beat one entity; The Sun. I wanted to cross the finish line before sundown / nightfall. But, I didn't want to admit it out loud, nor even start to race it until I had a 35 - 40 mile head start because, I'm convinced, if I would have tipped it off, it would have cheated by causing the Earth to rotate faster and setting minutes before my victory. The Sun cheats you know. My stomach was giving me a hard time now, but, not because of nausea. I had painful gas that refused to exit on demand, just kept building up. Very distracting. Brian said he didn't want to be behind me when it blew. I wondered out loud if BeanO would work during an ultra run on this kind of gas, and then we contemplated what kind of chemical was in BeanO. I walked more than I wanted to from Boyle's to Equestrian (~ miles 40 to 45). At this point, I knew the finish was in the bag, it was now just between The Sun and I. I got into Olga's Station (aka Equestrian) and was on my best behavior. Those who have met Olga learn to behave themselves around her. Earlier in the day, when she was giving my friend Brian a hard time, I told her "I still love you Olga." She said "I know you do. You have to." Even though this race is officially a self-supported ultra, I was amazed at how many helpful volunteers filled up my water bottles for me, etc. Olga lovingly told me not to eat anything, I only had 4.something miles left, and to get the hell out of her aid station. It was fun and energy-charging seeing friends like Larry King, Bridget Clark, Gordo (Gordon Montgomery), etc. at Equestrian. As Brian and I *walked* out of Equestrian on my last stretch (Brian just about halfway through with his 100 miler), something occurred that only ultra runners would understand. Brian was about 20 feet in front of me as we were *walking* out, friends yelled "congrats!" and "good luck!"... and I yelled back "Thanks! I have to catch Brian!" I heard laughter and Ben Phenix yelled "pace yourself David!"

The last stretch through the peaceful woods and up and over Lucky's was wonderful. I realized I had forgotten to grab a headlamp back at Equestrian, then I looked up at the Sun and saw that it was clearly intimidated by that. I saw amazing friends heading out on the 3rd loop of their 100 miler during this stretch. Diana Heynen congratulated me as I descended Lucky's. I sprinted it in across the much too familiar Lodge road and beat The Sun. It didn't stand a chance. ;-)

Time: ~ 12 hrs 58 min
Distance: 51 miles :-)
GPS Route

Other Things That Worked For Me

Awesome, light-weight, not-too-big, not-too-small Coolers
Bananas in the AM, Apples in the warmer afternoon
Running belt with two hand-held water bottles
Changing socks halfway (not for typical mud reason, but for new clean, cushy feeling)
Downhill running technique (saved time and injury. This is a topic in itself)
One wrong turn

Thank you

Thank you Tejas Trails, Joe Prusaitis, Henry Hobbs, Olga and Larry King, and many other volunteers for organizing this incredible race. Although it is officially self-supported, some people do not realize much work it takes to organize, setup, and take down a race like this. It's what makes life-changing events possible.

Post Race Fun and Inspiration

It was amazing watching HCTR prez and ever-so-humble Steven Moore break his 100 mile course record. He finished his 3rd loop, 75 miles, shortly after I finished my 50 miles! I hung out under the heater with friends at the start / finish and watched Chris "Flash" Haley grow increasingly impatient to start his 25 mile relay leg (I apologize Chris, I was cracking-up inside watching you get really silent and pissed-off). I suspected he would take off like a bat out of hell when his team-mate came in. He did and ran one of the top 5 fastest loops; ~ 4 hrs 20 min!

I decided before the race to sleep both Friday and Saturday night in my van at the park because, if I attempted to drive back to Austin after my run, I probably would have ended up in a ditch somewhere. But, I find it difficult to sleep after these long runs. I woke up in my van at ~ 2 AM, fruitlessly able to go back to sleep, and headed over to the start / finish line. I was promptly recruited by John Sharp to grill cheese sandwiches and make ramen soup. These items, while normally unimpressive, were like gourmet food to the 100 milers coming in from their 3rd loop, starting their 4th and final in the middle of the night.

It was a huge inspiration to see my friends Brian Kuhn and David Land finish the 100 mile that morning. And, of course, my good friends Tania and Justin Lincoln completed their first 100 miler. They are all superheroes to me.

Cactus Rose 50 Miler,
29 October 2011

Pacific Views

2011-08-16T23:13:00.006-05:00

A Run Up The Lahaina Pali Trail, Maui, August 12, 2011

View Southeast on the
Lahaina Pali Trail

The day before I left paradise, two awesome Maui runners, Matthew Fober and Dylan Rist (MEAT), agreed to take me along on one of their favorite training runs. Matt described it as a "hybrid" run, "some roads, some trail"; I describe it as the best of both worlds. :-)
(See also, my run up and across Haleakala)

Of course, my packed vacation itinerary with the family only freed me up for the second half, hottest part of the day. But, Matthew and Dylan were still game. We started at the Circle K at the intersection of 310 and 30, and ran along the Lahaina Hwy, part of the Maui Marathon route, through the famous OloWalu Tunnel, for about 4 miles. Above us to the right is a small ridge which used to be the old road to Lahaina. Matthew and I agreed how hard it must have been for Model T's and horse carriages to traverse. Matt bends my ear on a dozen fun topics the entire way. :-) Even though I had been training in the sweltering Texas heat, the direct sun on this road, at this time of day, made my core temp rise more than I liked; especially since I was trying to skate by with two 24 oz hand-helds. I had practically sucked my first one dry and we weren't even half way. Luckily, I wouldn't even finish my second bottle once we climbed the trail and it cooled down considerably. I went ahead and jumped in the ocean at the beach across from the trail head to cool the engine down... it worked nicely. We climbed up to the old road... and then, climbed, and climbed some more.

Dylan Rist, Me, Mathew Fober

The Old Road to Lahaina

Molokini out there...

Climbing...

The trail climbs up to Maui's now famous wind farm, over fine dirt and lava rocks much smoother than the Kihei side of the island. Dylan explains the smoothness is due to this side of Maui (part of the West Maui's) being about 1 million years older than the side of Haleakala. I suspect these two guys could, and have, run up this route much faster than we are now. But, I really appreciate their hospitality and patience with my camera stops. As we reach the peak, and start heading down the return section of the trail loop back to 30, I of course feel like running at a little more respectable pace... it feels like Fall (in Texas) up here! We reach a gate that Dylan decides to do a flip over, scurry down to the highway, and cruise back to our cars at the Circle K. What a perfect last run on Maui until I return! Thanks guys.

Aloha, David.

The GPS route

Dylon Rist on the
Lahaina Pali Trail

Maui Wind Farm

Matthew Fober climbing
the Lahaina Pali Trail

Kahoolawe,
the "forgotten island"

Chasing Ho'alohaloha Ao, 'opua

2011-08-12T04:51:00.007-05:00

Amazing colors in the
crater of Haleakala

A Beautiful Run Across Haleakala National Park

Maui, Hawaii, August 7, 2011

I lie on my back, cool water running down my shorts, staring through a blanket of ferns, moss, and twisted tree roots painted the greenest of greens; dark slick rocks serving as a temporary bed on an insanely steep slope that could be described just as well as a jungle cliff-face as it could a "trail." I had actually slipped and fallen on my butt, and was listening for Matt or Ryan's voices. But, I paused there for a minute, grinning. Only in paradise can the act of falling on one's butt be so joyful. Alright, time to get up and chase that cloud.

Haleakala National Park Trail Map

New Friends
I may be exaggerating slightly, but, keep in mind, most of my trail running occurs in the rugged, Texas Hill Country; where everything either bites, scratches, pokes, or is poisonous; or all of the above. You gradually grow numb to the various wounds you collect. But, here in paradise, everything caresses, cools, and literally invites you to eat it (as you will see below). Well, that lava rock can cut you and your shoes up pretty seriously but, other than that... I had the opportunity to visit Maui this August. My new friend Matt Holton's run report on the Haleakala crater captured my imagination, and I needed to squeeze in a long run (which is pretty much always the case :-). After an 8 hour plane ride, a 5 hour time change, I drove up to Matt and Cristina's cabin / studio gallery in the "up country" town of Kula bright-eyed and ready to go at 5:30 AM (Note: Hawaiian time, that's already 10:30 AM TX time... no wonder our girls were up watching cartoons at 3:00 AM). I had pre-packed my CamelBak. There is no "drinkable" water during this ~ 19 mile run so Matt, Ryan, and I would be hauling a fair load of water on our backs. I would later learn that Ryan, and his girlfriend Kendal, run cross-country for San Francisco State and, of course, Matt grew up in Maui and runs the crater about every week... I'd do my best to keep up with them. We would begin our run from the tiny town of Kaupo on the famous "Road to Hana," (~ 1000 ft elev.) climb the steep "Kaupo Trail" up the back side of the park to Paliku, run across the crater, and climb out to "Park Road" (~ 8000 ft elev.), where our friends had driven the rental to pick us up. Very nice of them, BTW, because I know they'd like to be running all day with us. :-)

Kendal, Dan, Ryan

Matt Holton & Cristina Pineda in
front of some of his amazing art.

Ryan, Matt, & David at the
Kaupo Trail head

You Can Eat Stuff!

The Pacific behind you on the
Kaupo Trail climb.

The climb from Kaupo to Paliku was tough; steep, no switch-backs, relatively humid in the morning (still, about 20 degrees cooler than TX at this time). But, all you have to do for inspiration to keep climbing is turn around and look at the view of the Pacific. I saw small, misty clouds stroll up the mountain with us. Hawaiians have about six different names for various clouds (hint #1 at the title). We top the climb off at the official entrance to the park, ~ 6 miles into the run and ~ 2 miles from Paliku. This is where we enter a beautiful forest with a smorgasbord of snacks growing along in the wild, along the trail; Avacados, mountain raspberries, and various other fruits I can't remember the names to. If a runner hit the trail at just the right time of season, when everything was in bloom and ripe, there would be no need to carry gels, bars, etc., etc.

Avacado tree

Matt carving up an Avacado

Mountain Berries

Akala berries
(Hawaiian raspberries)

Matt picking Mi'lei (sp?), a
fragrant leaf used in making traditional
leis. It smelled kind of coconutty to me.

Ryan holding ? fruit. I still
tried to eat it.

A Little "Side Excursion"

Paliku on the Kaupo trail.

We bounced over cushiony grass, through the park entrance, over to Paliku cabin ~ 9 miles into the run. It was at this point that Matt had warned me we would be taking a little side trail. "Just a half mile. Um, you don't really want to know what the elevation change is in that half mile, do you?" After we dropped our packs, Ryan and I had the same questionable look as we peered up the jungled cliff which is essentially the back side of the crater rim of Haleakala. This was hand-over-hand, grab onto tree roots or anything else you can find, climbing. I would pay for this little diversion. But, as Matt said, "every step was worth it." The view across the crater was breath-taking. You could see small clouds float across the valley (hint #2). It was sliding down this cliff "trail" where I fell on my butt in the intro paragraph. I actually mistook a small waterfall for the actual trail... believe me, easy to do.

The Paliku cliffs.

Climbing the Paliku Cliff
"Trail"

View from the Paliku Cliffs
across Haleakala crater.

Follow that cloud!

Park boundary on the cliff. Forest
reserve on the left, which drops down
to The Seven Sacred Pools.

Across the Crater
We put our packs back on and got ready for the exposed 9 mile run from Paliku, across the crater to Holua cabin, and the final climb up to Park Road. Matt and Ryan took off. I was trying to deny it to myself that I was wiped out from our little side excursion. It would take me a good 3 miles before I got my running legs back. This was an entirely different run now, across lava rock fields; surprising contrasts in colors of reds, yellows, browns, and blacks striped down large domes; surrounded by a ring of mountains. It would be fascinating to have a geologist explain the different minerals responsible for the visual feast. This stretch is why you need to haul so much water with you; it's a dry one. As I get near Holua, I see more hikers who have come down from the Park Road side. For some reason, it's kind of hard for them to comprehend what trail runners do; "You ran from from the other side?! In one day?! That's 30K! (obviously foreigners :-)" They confirmed for me a couple of things; 1) I was on the correct trail (Matt's clear Kimodo Vibram footprints in the grey lava gravel also served this purpose), and 2) as I suspected, Matt and Ryan were about 30 mins ahead, and I figured I'd be about 45 mins to an hour behind at the finish. Oh well, time to take some more pictures.

The Halemauu Trail across
the crater.

Colors in the crater.

Silversword cacti, apparently
only found in Haleakala crater.

I had one bottle of water left when I made it to Holua cabin, where it felt good to wash my feet off after traversing the crater. I knew I had a decent, 2.5 mile climb of switch-backs out of the crater left to go. But, I know switch-backs very well now, and I was feeling quite refreshed, motivated by the cold beer that was waiting for me, and friends. The views from this climb across the crater were, once again, spectacular. It was neat to reach the entry way of those loitering clouds I saw from afar in the morning, and climb above them; from ~ 1000 ft to 9000 ft over the day. As usual, there was a false top, but, I eventually saw the glimmering cars in the parking lot above; greeted by whoops and cheers from my Hawaiian friends. Cristina had placed an authentic lei made from grass and flowers from their garden on the dash of the rental car. An incredible ~8 hour day in paradise! Although I would soon be boogy-boarding with Susannah and the girls in the surf, I would periodically look up at Haleakala and think "I never did catch that friendly cloud. I wonder where it went?"

Mahalo!

- David. :-)

Approaching the climb to
Park Road after Holua Cabin.

Looking down on the
switch-backs.

David, Matt, & Ryan. Mahalo!

Haleakala Park Road trail head.

GPS route

Elevation Gain: 9,678 ft
Min Elevation: 1,043 ft
Max Elevation: 7,982 ft

Running In The Heat

2011-07-23T12:35:00.017-05:00

A week ago I ran my third Capt'n Karls "The Lake" 30K, 16 July 2011; an awesome, extremely rocky, "night" trail race in the Texas Hill Country which, unfortunately, does not start its first 10K loop at night... it starts at 7PM, when it's still broiling hot. "WHY on earth would someone want to run in the Texas heat?" you might ask. Well, a few reasons:

Capt'n Karls
"The Lake" 30K
16 July 2011

You live in Texas, as I do.
You've blown your vacation budget, as I have.
If you're training for an early fall race, as I am for Cactus Rose 50 mile, you're not going to be able to avoid training in the months leading up to it (...assuming you like showing up at the starting line of a 50 miler well trained for it.).
If you can manage the heat safely, and condition yourself in it, it does add an extra oomf to your fitness. This is not backed by any scientific studies that I know of, but, a ton of empirical and anecdotal evidence.
I am not an expert on running in the heat. Runners that train for and race Badwater are. I am talking about relatively short runs and I didn't even run the 60K into the night, as others did (I might bump up to that though at The Shoe)
Having a beer(s) with friends at the end of a trail race, in the middle of a full-moon night, is more than worth it.

I had a decent 30K for me! (64th in the 30K) I've gotten used to running over rocks in Austin. I have also learned that, much like the pilot of a large airliner, unless I follow a specific pre-flight checklist before take-off, I will probably crash. Following the checklist does not guarantee a successful flight / run, but, it seems to increase the odds of having one. Most of this info comes from nuggets of wisdom I've collected from running friends and coaches...

One of the rocky climbs
on the course.

WARNING / DISCLAIMER: Heat exhaustion is a seriously dangerous beast to flirt with. Suffice it to say, if you get dizzy / light-headed, STOP what you're doing and get your butt in the A/C, or in the shade, or dive into a body of water. Permanent damage or death could result. Also, wear sunscreen and protect your skin. Get regular checkups, have that weird mole looked at pronto, etc., etc. If you are interested in a technical explanation, this NPR presentation is worth a listen:

What Happens to The Body When it Overheats?

There is a Difference Between Dehydration and Over-Heating

Even though these two syndromes definitely affect one another, I think they should be treated somewhat separately, with an emphasis on keeping body temperature down. I've learned during R2R2R in the Grand Canyon and past Texas summer runs, you can drink gallons of water and STILL get over-heated (especially if the temperature of the water you are drinking is lukewarm). This can result in the "water-logged" affect, where you're full of water, can not drink any more, or eat any more calories, and even if you've been consuming salts, they're probably diluted. You crash. The bad thing is that all of the water sometimes hides the fact from your brain that your core temperature is still climbing. I've seen a couple of unpleasant ways to fix this; 1) wait it out, which will take a good while, definitely no PR for you; 2) make yourself throw-up and start from scratch on your hydration / nutrition (I've never been any good at this violent technique, some runners can do it and continue on like nothing happened). I find the best approach is to stay hydrated, keep the core body temp down, without water-logging yourself. Luckily, if I can find a way to keep my temp "relatively" down, hydration usually comes back into balance.

Use ICE! (or anything else you can find)

So, HOW do you keep your core body temperature down on a 103-4 F, extremely humid day, while running a race in the rugged Texas Hill Country? That's literally a million dollar question; a cottage industry has formed developing all sorts of sports products attempting to crack that nut. But, a few ol' school tips from friends helped me with this.

Well, first of all, you could run slower. That'll keep your temp from climbing so fast. And this is definitely a wise strategy for the 60K'ers, who have much of the night to run, and had better find a way to survive that first sunny loop, and survive it well, or all kinds of issues will arise. If not heat exhaustion, nausea and calorie consumption issues. But, who wants to slow down during the 30K? :-)

From Steven Moore in 2010: "Use ICE!" And did I ever. I even brought my own cooler, paranoid that, as the other runners discovered the usefulness of this magical substance, there would be a run on it, at exactly the critical time that I needed it; and there was. I put it in my water bottle, I chewed on it, I sprayed that cold water on my head, I put it on my neck, I held it in my free hand, etc., etc. (Note: a Badwater ultramarathon athlete discovered that just holding ice in one hand actually indirectly decreased the core body temperature by a small amount and, thus, he started wearing one; yep, just one... running glove that he filled with ice.)

From John Kuss in 2011: "Spray ice cold water right on the Carotid arteries on your neck. That blood's going straight to your brain man!" Yep, did it. Helps immensely.

Also, from Kuss: "Run with your shirt off." For women, this translates into a sports-bra. To hell with modesty when it's this hot, there's something extremely valuable about the air-cooling effect. While many tech material running shirts are breathable enough to allow this, I believe there is a temperature / humidity threshold somewhere around 101 F and above where they are simply useless (except to guard prolonged, hours of exposure to the sun, i.e.: Badwater). Again, wear sunscreen and protect against skin cancer.

But, the absolute best way to bring your core body temperature down with lasting effect is to fully submerge it in cool water. At Inks Lake, the lake was a little ways from the Start / Finish line. But, there was a part of the course where the lake butts right up against the trail. To hell with the snakes; next year, I swear I'm jumping in it. I'm convinced the diversion will result in a faster overall time. Hell, Joe might as well route the course straight through it. The other Capt'n Karls courses don't necessarily have the luxury of such near water. With this years' drought, Lake Travis might be miles away from the The Shoe Start/Finish line. ;-)

Stay On Top Of Your Salts

Again, empirical evidence, but, whenever I've experienced cramps it's been because I got low on salts (electrolytes). This, like running nutrition, is a topic full of diverse opinion and probably somewhat different for everyone. I'm just going to tell you what I do:

I prefer capsule supplements so that I can drink regular, cold water and not fuss with any fancy electrolyte drinks.
I prefer a supplement with a REAL dosage of sodium, and some stomach buffers to get that sodium past my stomach, i.e.: guard against nausea. I like S-Caps for this, but, there are other good brands (Note: not necessarily the ones served at aid stations, so, you better bring your own.)
I take 2 or 3 S-Caps at least 45 mins BEFORE the start of my run, because that's how long it takes to hit the blood-stream (I remember this little tid-bit from a presentation Shannon Mitchell gave on the topic at an HCTR meeting ~ a year ago). I take 1 or 2 more every additional hour into the race. Heck, I do this even if I'm going out for a 3 mile fun run; basically, any time that I know I'm going to be sweating gallons and, thus, losing salts like nobody's business.

You WILL Get an Upset Stomach; Yoga breathe

It's just a matter of to what degree. Heat is the biggest monkey wrench when it comes to running nutrition. What I tell myself when I experience this: "Think about what your core temperature is, now think about a bunch of gels, Gatorade, trail mix, a piece of banana, salts, and water bouncing around in there. Do you actually think your stomach likes that?!" Of course, you need the calories or you'll crash. Another conundrum. In most of these cases, I've learned how to literally "gut it out." ... endure the nausea until it inevitably passes. I know all to well the tinge of heartburn I expect right after eating a gel on a hot run, it is an old nemesis now. But, my friend Jeanette Spears gave me a nugget of gold advice: "When you feel the nausea coming on, Yoga breathe." In other words, slowly breathe through your nose and exhale through your mouth. It has a calming affect on the nerves connected to your stomach. I did this at Inks at the start of my second loop. It works! (at least for me). Thanks Jeanette.

Well, that's all I got until the third one, The Shoe. I'm unfortunately out for the second one, The Falls. I'll be running up a volcano in Maui. Hope everyone has fun running in the heat while I'm gone.

:-)

David.

Shrinking Into the Earth

2011-05-11T09:26:00.013-05:00

My Rim to Rim to Rim run, May 7, 2011

The Grand Canyon, AZ

The Grand Canyon, May 7, 2011

“You cannot see the Grand Canyon in one view, as if it were a changeless spectacle from which a curtain might be lifted,
but to see it you have to toil from month to month through its labyrinths.”

- John Wesley Powell

Peering across the Grand Canyon from atop one of its rims is too vast for the human senses. It seems as if the earth is larger than the sky, and the two agree to exchange positions. Your feet leave the ground and you begin to float over this surreal chasm of misty grey and red. Thus, descending into the Grand Canyon is an exercise in the abstract, requiring both shrewdness and denial; without either, one risks literally being consumed by this geology like a grain of sand. But, this canyon is also a bountiful imagination spring; for an extra helping, one need only climb down there and get a scoop... while in denial of the inevitable price; climbing back up.

For my birthday this year, I decided to follow the footsteps of friends before me and complete a single-day 'double-crossing,' Rim to Rim to Rim, ~ 48 miles, and get me a scoop.

Getting There and Disclaimer

I started getting interested in running The Grand Canyon after a few of my Austin trail running friends ran it in 2010 and reported on their adventures; Mike Wilen, Joe and Joyce Prusaitis, and Josue Stephens. But, I didn't really consider it a "family" vacation due to the logistics of such a long run; more of a fly-in, git-r-done, only worry about yourself, fly-out type of event. And I felt a little guilty just taking a trip for myself. But, Susannah convinced me to do it for my birthday, and reminded me that we'd be taking a family vacation in August. It didn't take much arm-twisting (she's awesome). Then my running buddy from the 2010 Guads trip, Lino Mendiola, called me and said he was in... and then most of the usual suspects started chiming in. Woo hoo! But, Joe P. was quick to point out that this was an unofficial, not-sanctioned-by-the-park event. Everyone was responsible for themselves; we were just a group of friends who happened to meet at the canyon for a pleasant run. :-)

Margaret Bradley poster

Suffice it to say, however, you do not attempt R2R2R without a plan. Several of us shared a very entertaining book titled Death in the Canyon during the trip, which chronicles the majority of deaths that have occurred in the park, from people committing suicide by stepping out of the tour helicopter, to people falling to their deaths by backing up to take photos, etc. But, it does give you an appreciation of the deadly mistakes hikers make. That combined with the numerous warnings like the following poster at all of the trail heads. We could not help but speculate on the specifics of what that runner did wrong. A hiker / runner must respect this place, wear their big boy / big girl pants, and be responsible for them self. I also think that having the regular experience of dealing with issues on the trail, fixing them for yourself, and getting moving again; a skill that many experienced trail runners and hikers hone during hot summers and cold winters... immensely helps in this place (as will be pointed out). As Joe mentioned, you can not blame the park rangers for frowning upon R2R2R runs at all. But, they rescue far more hikers who simply stroll down to the river, without water!?!

Making Hay While The Sun is Down

David, Lino - Morning on
South Kaibab

The entire group plans on starting early, at around 3:30 AM Saturday morning. But, most are staying at lodges right outside of the Bright Angel trail head, so, it makes sense for them to take that route down. On the other hand, Lino and I are staying at Yavapai, equidistant between Bright Angel and South Kaibab trail heads. So, we decide to park the rental car at South Kaibab, run that different route down, and come back up on Bright Angel. Lino had decided earlier that he would not be going up to the North Rim but, instead, turning back at Cottonwood (~ 18 miles), enjoying a swim at Ribbon Falls, and then returning. Part of me was very jealous over his relaxing sight-seeing, but, make no mistake, he had a big 31 miler ahead of him, and he'd be climbing out on Bright Angel in the hot sun. We wake up, get our gear on, park, turn on our head lamps, and sleepily get started running down in the dark. The trail does not reveal itself to us until 3/4 of the way down. The view of the canyon, river, and Black Bridge is breath-taking.

Black Bridge

Lino in "The Box"

After our 2 hour descent, and topping our water off at Bright Angel camp ground just over the bridge, we agree that the morning is beautiful, cool, we are running good, no need to stop at Phantom Ranch, let's proceed on to Cottonwood before the sun starts heating up the canyon. Lino says "Let's make hay while the sun is down." He would also describe our run to Cottonwood that morning, through the narrowing canyon of Bright Angel Creek, named "The Box," as one of the most enjoyable runs he's ever had. I could not disagree.

The North Rim is some where
around and up there...

A sign of what flood
waters can do...

Rim of the Flies

Cottonwood is exactly as it sounds; an oasis of cottonwood trees alongside the roaring Bright Angel Creek. This is where we refuel for our North Rim ascent. Most of the rest of the group catch Lino and I here, having run ~ 2 miles longer than us down Bright Angel. I have late breakfast / early lunch consisting of a turkey and cheese sandwich and an avocado, I get some much needed "business" done, tell Lino goodbye, and head out for the North Rim; knowing full well many of these fast runners / walkers will soon be passing me up.

Lunch with Jonathan, Dawn,
Joe & Joyce

Joyce and Joe - I'd end up climbing the
North Rim these two good friends...

Bright Angel Creek
near Cottonwood

North Rim waterfall

By the way, there's no water on the North Rim. The last water stop is Pump House (aka Art House), just 1 mile up the trail from Cottonwood. You need to carry enough water with you for a 7 mile climb / descent. I had enjoyed running with a back pack of empty water bottles and just two hand-helds the entire morning. Now my back already ached from the additional ~ 16 lbs of water. Fascinating how much of that water would be gone by the time I returned to Cottonwood. A quarter of the way up, I get passed by good friend and incredible trail runner Steven Moore... he takes my pic by this beautiful waterfall shooting out of a hole in the cliff.

North Rim bridge

The North Rim trail is a beautiful red hue and is amazingly carved out of the cliff in spots. It artistically weaves its way up this greener side of the canyon to the forest above.

North Kaibab Trail,
North Rim

This climb was long, relentless, and hot... although there was ample rock and tree shade to duck under. I actually decided to take an Alieve at this point, mainly for the pain in my shoulders from carrying the extra pack weight. But, what was even more relentless was the flies; black flies, horse flies that would swarm around you, bite, and would not be removed by simple shaking or blowing. I had to literally rub them off of my skin. I confirmed with with my new friend Les and fellow North Rim climber that I wasn't the only one being slowly consumed. They were worse the higher we ascended. I actually decided to copy Joe and Joyce, and eat lunch after the summit, further down where it was windier and more likely to stave off some of the flies. But, I didn't leave the summit until I got myself some water... Oh, did I say there wasn't any water on the North Rim? Well, maybe not in liquid form. The snow was delicious, tasted great in my water bottles, regardless of the jokes I heard from friends about it looking yellow (thanks for mentioning it Rob Clark, fellow snow-eater).

Water stop, North Rim style

North Kaibab trail head,
North Rim summit

The Return Trip Begins

Going down hill is more fun...

At the North Rim summit, I do not actually think of this point as only halfway. Why? Because I'm running down hill! It is absolute heaven, I feel like a new man. The friends that are still climbing can see the look of elation on my face, no matter how hard I try to suppress it. By the way, it was a treat seeing so many friends up and down this climb. Never-the-less, pictures from this point on start to become a little more sparse because we have now started the serious business of getting the hell out of this canyon. A group of us, including JoAnna and Wade, fall in behind Joe and Joyce and we chat all the way back down to the Pump House, with a couple of breaks in the shade. Joe and I continue to speculate over the puzzling differences in our GPS's (Note: most of our GPS's lost satellite reception repeatedly on the switch-backs of the North Rim and, what some GPS devices are programmed to interpolate during those blackouts until reception is regained can be quite bizarre at times. If you're a geek and curious about this kind of stuff, zoom-in on the North Rim / North Kaibab trail on the Garmin Connect link at the end of this article. It's freaky the triangulation and guessing it tried to do without satellite reception.). It's hot now outside of the shade, but, there's a breeze. Outside of Cottonwood, we stop to feel the wind spray the water of Bright Angel Creek across the trail and collectively sigh "ahhhh".

Hello Prickly Pear

As we break at Cottonwood, ~ mile 31, I am quite pleased with my performance on the North Rim; able to stay with Joe and Joyce that long, two excellent runners, something I have not been able to do before. However, everyone knows that the upcoming 7 mile stretch in The Box, from Cottonwood back to Phantom Ranch, albeit flat, is halfway exposed and infamous for its heat during this time of day; everyone "knows" it but, probably, doesn't quite appreciate it. I've filled up 3 water bottles and finished half a sandwich, when Joe looks at me and says "ready to go David?" It seems to me that they are in a bit of a hurry, but, Joe does not like to dilly-dally at aid stations, prefers to get back moving down the trail, which is a wise thing of course... and I don't want to miss this train. Little did I know about the difficulty about to descend upon me. Joyce starts to pick up the pace and, for some odd reason, I can not stay with them. What's wrong with me? The problem with the heat at the bottom of the canyon is that it is a high desert, dry heat, even sporting a slight breeze. It deceives you into thinking that it is not really 108 to 110 degrees. Little do you know that heat exhaustion is setting in until the symptoms jump on you; dizziness, nausea, etc. It doesn't matter how many gallons of water you have with you, it's about core temperature, and mines been sneaking up. My running stretches get shorter as I finally approach the alternating shadows of The Box cliffs. I then come to the realization that I better park my butt in the shade and fix this (keep it from getting any worse). I see a steel structure to lean on right before a sunny stretch; don't breach the shadow! I don't know how much time I spend there; 10, 15, 20 minutes? It feels like an hour. A couple of friends pass me. JoAnna and Wade come around the corner and ask if I'm alright. I understate it a little and say I let the heat get to me and am taking a little break. They tell me they've been purposely walking in the shadows (to prolong shade time). Sounds good to me, and I'm inspired enough to follow them into Phantom Ranch. Even though it was probably only 3.something more miles, it felt like 6 to me. One turn in the box after another. The miles would get even longer later. It was ~ 5 PM when I followed JoAnna and Wade into Phantom Ranch; too late to mail a mule post card home :-(. Joe and Joyce were about to leave and had similar problems with the heat, along with many others. I feel a lot better after a break and run out of there with Charlene, Pam, Guy, and Murali on our 6 mile climb up Bright Angel Trail to Indian Gardens; "only" a 4 mile climb out of the canyon from there. We knew it would be in the dark. But, here's the thing about heat exhaustion; it doesn't quite completely go away in a short time period. If you haven't completely gotten your core temp down for a good while, its affects will almost certainly come back to haunt you.

This Can Not Be Four Miles!

Our small group has a blast running back over the river, chatting, ignoring the flat sandy part of Bright Angel Trail; before it starts zig-zagging up that is. The sun is getting lower and will probably be setting right when we get to Indian Gardens. The late day light shimmers across the river making it appear smooth and calm.

Bright Angel Suspension
Bridge

Charlene

Guy and Pam

The Colorado River at Sunset

Ravens near Indian Gardens,
harbingers of things to come...

As we start climbing, I start falling behind again. I notice that I haven't been eating, and then my stomach starts to turn sour. I then start negotiating with myself; "C'mon David, just get to Indian Gardens and we'll fix all this up." So, I keep climbing, without taking in any calories. I catch up up with Joe and Joyce, JoAnna and Wade, and Joe tortures us by talking about his cravings for an ice cold coke, a Slurpee, etc. The miles get longer as we weave through the quiet trees of Indian Gardens. We see two very large ravens in a tree and we all suspect them as a harbinger of things to come. We finally get into a dimming Indian Gardens and JoAnna and I immediately lay down, both suffering from stomach issues. It is really difficult to eat anything, and demoralizing to know that we have the second hardest climb of the day awaiting us, in the dark. "C'mon David, it's just 4 miles!"

This part of the long day gets a little hazy. It's kind of like drunken driving, stumbling through a death-march up those endless switch-backs after 40+ miles. As Wade pointed out in his report, "It's only 11,000 ft of elevation, but, all of that comes in two climbs." But, the stomach nausea and inability to consume calories is what makes it ridiculously slow for me. I stop, sit on a rock, and get realistic with myself and acknowledge the vicious cycle I'm in. "Look, I better find a way to get some calories down because I'm starting to get cold even with a jacket on (hypothermia); I can only get warmer if I get moving; I need some caloric energy to get moving." I force myself to eat a gel, and then throw it up. I never throw up! Strangely, throwing up actually gives me a surge of energy. :-) But, not for very long, good for maybe 3 minutes. It felt kind of good, so, I decide to do it again... easy, all I have to do is think about that gel. But, there's nothing left. I have got to figure something out or I am going to die sitting on this rock (the mind can get a little melodramatic in these circumstances). I decide to try some left over Perpetuem powder in one of my water bottles and, woo-hoo!, it stays down! That would be my ticket out of this "hell hole." During the dark climb up, I could see head lamps of other runners above and below me. Of course you can't help but be jealous of the ones above, and a little demoralized by the perceived distance yet to travel, and worried about the friends below, knowing how long it took you to traverse from where they are at... but, it is a comforting feeling knowing I was not alone out there, in a community of fellow sufferers.

I see two hikers' head lamps ahead of me, one with walking poles, and I mention that I sure hope we are close to the end. One says a confident "yes," puzzling me. I then see that I am approaching the second tunnel, which means I am very close to the South Rim summit. When you exit the tunnel, you see all of the South Rim building lights almost level with you, looking like a quaint village perched on some mountain in the Alps. It is an emotional experience for me, knowing that I will make it out. There is no one at the trail head at 11 PM, no party, everything is quiet. I find my way over to the Arizona Room lobby, which is the only thing that is open, to warm up. I text Lino; "Done. Come get me. Need hot shower!"

I have to agree with Charlene. It still seems surreal, like it didn't quite happen... completing Rim to Rim to Rim.

- David.

The mysterious GPS route:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/84638063

Also, a few friends have asked me to try to sum up my caloric in-take for that 19 hour day. Here's a thumb nail so far:

10 gues / gels (at least that was what I counted in my trash pocket the next day)
Almost two turkey cheese sandwiches
1 Avacado
A couple of small Slim-Jims :-)
Cliff bar for pre-run breakfast
1.5 24oz bottles of vanilla Perpetuem
almost 1 bottle of orange Succeed Ultra
2 to 3 S-Caps per 2 hours
Lots of water.

A Day Among the Trees with Friends

2011-02-13T15:29:00.019-06:00

My Rocky Raccoon 50 mile trail race, February 5, 2011

Huntsville State Park, TX

Rocky Raccoon 50 mile
Loop 1, David J.

"And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything."

- William Shakespeare

What an unusual situation to find one's self in; criss-crossing soft trails under beautiful tall pines, passing or being passed by hundreds of smiling faces ecstatic to be running 50 or even 100 miles. There is a positive energy at this race, which a couple of trail running friends attempted to describe to me a while back; it fills you up like a warm bowl of oatmeal and sends you on your way. The stars and planets aligned on this Saturday, and I completed my first 50 mile trail race. :-)

As I've mentioned before, it takes time for ideas to migrate in my mind from the realm of dreams to that which is completely possible. I also spend a lot of time admiring other people and trying to be like them. It never occurred to me that Bandera 50K in January is an ideal training run leading into Rocky Raccoon 50 mile in February; not until my friends Justin and Tania Lincoln quietly did it in 2010; so quiet, I barely noticed... but, that's just their style. That little idea became a "bee in my bonnet," constantly coming up in my thoughts over the next months, "...hmm, maybe I could do Rocky after Bandera." I was also inspired by how my running buddy at the 2010 Guadalupe Mountains trip, Guy Morin, seemed to acquire super-powers from that point, continued improving, and ran his first 100K at 2011 Bandera. ...And how my Tejas class-mate (now assistant coach) John Kuss knocked out his first 50 miler at Palo Duro in 2010. They are all now Bandera 100K finishers!

I am going to resist the temptation of changing my story based on actual events. I could lie and say that I was training for Rocky Raccoon all along. I was not. I was planning on having a stellar Bandera 50K, improving on my 2010 time by over an hour, and I was feeling fast going into that race. First-time stomach nausea, all day long (of which my current theoretical excuse is based on dude ranch tap water), foiled that plan but, I feel good about literally gutting it out and finishing. So, umm, yeahhh, Bandera was just a training run. ;-) It was a relief to be going into a race where the last thing I had to worry about (theoretically) was the terrain, where there was essentially no cut-off for the 50 mile (which is the same as the 100 mile cut-off, 30 hrs), aid stations just 3 miles apart except for two, no major climbs, and I just basically had to worry about my nutrition. Mike Ruhlin, my trail running buddy from Tejas Trails, was in the same boat as me; a 50 mile DNF in 2010, but now relaxed and ready to "git-r-done." As he so eloquently put it at our camp site the night before the race, melting our shoes by the camp fire; "Yeah, it's gonna to take a lot to make me drop this one." (Mike Ruhlin is also a friend of few words ;-) But, as my most recent race showed me, there's a lot of variables that factor into a good or bad day of running; there's always a touch of nervousness in the back of my mind.

Man, was it cold! (20.someth'n that night and in the morning) OK, not 2010 Bandera cold but, still cold. We were on the tail end of a record-breaking winter storm that crossed Texas the week before. But, there seemed to be signs leading me to the race; roads were clear and fine between Austin and Huntsville, not so for people driving in from Dallas and Houston. And Saturday was going to warm up during the day and be beautiful. I make no apologies for sleeping in my toasty warm "spa van," I found it more practical than getting a hotel. And when it's cold, that's when course records fall. This was a unique year for this old race; some "celebrities" in our ever growing sport of trail running became interested in coming down; Anton Kuprica, Scott Jurek, Hal Koerner, etc., setting up an exciting race and even compelling another participating ultra running legend, Karl Meltzer, to lay down odds. But, relatively unknown ultra runner Ian Sharman, paced by two incredible local Austinite runners, Meredith and Paul Terranova, would run one of the fastest 100 mile races ever recorded. Not to mention our local favorite from San Antonio, Liza Howard, winning the female field and 6th place overall! All of these elite athletes were the nicest people in person and repeatedly told me "good job!" on the course.

Mike Ruhlin and I,
RR 2011 50 mile starting tent.
pic courtesy Dave Silvestro

Mike and I built a small camp fire that race eve and discussed race nutrition, geek software dev crap, etc. I learned I needed a thicker mixture of Perpetuum and decided to go with to hand-helds, one Perpetuum and one water, because I didn't feel like carrying a CamelBak, and I wanted both of those liquids all of the time. I small a small wood pecker above my mini van. In the morning, on my first loop around the dam, I heard a little bit bigger one, which sounded like a jack-hammer. It was probably one of these.

Huntsville SP camp site.

In the dark of the morning, Mike and I woke up, said "let's go knock this baby out," and drove the 1 mile to the Start / Finish parking lot. The sun slowly came up, and we were off and running. About 5 miles later, my gloved fingers finally thawed out and stopped stinging. There was ice on some wooden bridges, which was treacherous. I slipped and fell on butt descending on one of those, and, would make very effort to go around them the rest of the day. I would later learn that good friend, fellow Austin trail runner Leah, was not as lucky as I was, had slipped and broken her leg on one of those bridges in her first 100 mile attempt. It broke a lot friends hearts to hear that, knowing it could have happened to any one of us, knowing she was ready, trained, and pumped to do it. It just goes to show you that anything can happen in a race. Survive, recover, and start planning for the next one. This made me think of my good friend Emily Howell, an incredible Austin trail runner, who is currently winning a battle against breast cancer. When times get rough, I think of people like this.

I don't particularly feel like boring you with an account of every step of the three 17 mile loops that make up the 50 mile course out there. I'd rather talk about the people and friends I saw out there, which, in my opinion, is actually the most important part of this race. It's what got me through the day. It also makes me wonder / respect how hard it is on the 100 milers at night. I imaging those loops get a lot longer in the dark, cold night. I was impressed by the performance of my fellow Tejas buddies in the 50 mile. While I got it done in just over 13 hrs, Mike Ruhlin finished almost 2 hrs ahead of me in 11 hrs someth'n, and Rachel finished 2 hrs ahead of him, in 9 hrs someth'n! I saw Mike coming in from the "Damnation" loop on our 2nd loop and, we didn't have to exchange many words at all. He simply said "yeah, my legs are sore." I agreed. But, we were both happy. I would periodically catch up to another training-mate, Brett Buetner, at aid stations, we'd exchange fist pumps, and be on our way. Trail running friend, Jazzy Stalworth, was close behind me (normally faster than me) running 50 miles on an IT band injury! Good friend Gordon Montgomery and 100 miler extraordinaire, insisted on giving me bear-like man-hugs as we passed during my first two loops. Gordon would have a tougher night; the last time we passed in the dark as I was coming into to finish, all I heard was a growl. I ran with a Grizzly-Adams-looking character by the name of Alan, who told me all about his adventure at The Barkleys Marathons. ...and a state trooper from Beaumont TX named Larry (aka Laz) who started running to inspire his co-worker troopers. Did some fast power-walking with Austin trail runner Robert Lott. Saw awesome Austin trail runner Larry King at a few aid stations, on his way to a smokin' 50 mile PR. But, I'd like to point out, regardless of the particular race each of these running friends and others were having, all of them seemed to to be glowing with happiness about being out there. Yes, even amidst the physical pain and suffering. And it's contagious. It's really something a runner should experience first hand.

Stripping some layers before
second loop, with some help.
pic courtesy Shannon Mitchell

The aid stations were amazing, devilish, sit-and-stay-a-while magnets. For example, as I was running into the Damnation on 2nd loop, I was passed by an ATV with stacks of pizzas bungee'd to the back. A spectator yelled at me "Did you see that?! You're going to get pizza!" I replied in a very serious tone, "Yes. Yes I am." But, I managed to get through them pretty quickly. It helps when they are operated amazingly by friends who know what ultra trail runners need. Joanna and Dalton got me fixed up with some warm Ramen noodles at Visitor Center as I was going out on my 3rd and final loop, right when it was getting cold again, right when my body needed it. Except for the Start / Finish transition, this was the longest I stayed at an aid station and, it was worth it. Running friends Shannon Mitchell and Mike Sawyer helped me immensely at the Start / Finish area between loops, when I was moving like a stiff old man trying to change clothes. And, good to see Dave Silvestro, Diana Heynen, and of course, Joe and Joyce Prusaitis at the Start / Finish.

Scott Jurek on right,
David J.'s first 50 mile finish.
Thx for taking it Henry.

Some self physical observations I made. In my current state, I slowly lose my ability to run somewhere after mile 30. But, it's improving. I believe I'm slowly building a better base, while avoiding injury (taking it slow, backing off, etc.). This race had an interesting effect on me. The trails were soft enough that, everything from my knees down (calves, ankles, Achilles, feet) felt like nothing really happened. I've had more feet and ankles issues after my long runs on the Barton Creek Green Belt. But, my quads were absolutely shot! It was kind of sad when I realized somewhere in my 3rd loop, "Gee. I'm walking faster than I'm running!" Which kind of made me decide, "Gee, maybe I should walk these last miles and git-r-done?!" The good thing was that, boy, I somehow got my walking gear like I never had before. I think I might have been walking as fast as my friend Gabe Ayeson; but not quite. Maybe my body / mind was excited that I found a set of muscles that were relatively OK at that point. I started passing people walking. Of course, pure adrenaline allowed me to run the last 2 miles to the finish (as it does for most of the runners when they can smell the finish line). It was neat seeing the elite 100 milers recovering in the tent. No, it does not surprise me that they could finish 100 miles a little faster than I could finish 50 miles. You would say the same if you could see these guys run. And I was able to get a picture with one of my heroes Scott Jurek.

And thanks to Joe Prusaitis, my coach, mentor, friend, and one incredible race director. It's a family operation with Joe, Joyce, his daughters and son. And Henry Hobbs always seems to be there helping, year after year. They take a lot of pride in their races and it shows. And without the support and love of Susannah and my Jennifer and Lilian, I would be nowhere. I don't get the Life Balance Equation right all the time, and for that I apologize. But, I love them more than anything. And to my mom and sister, of course I thought of dad in the midst of all those beautiful, tall trees. He dug many a hole, and planted many a tree in his days. This one's for him:

"He that planteth a tree is a servant of God, he provideth a kindness for many generations, and faces that he hath not seen shall bless him."

- Henry Van Dyke

2010 My Year of Transformation

2010-12-31T13:16:00.003-06:00

"So long as a person is capable of self-renewal they are a living being."

- Henri-Frederic Amiel

If time and space were a mountain that we all were continually climbing, I would take this moment to stop and wave at my past self to yell "Keep climbing and smiling! You'll never believe where I am, where you're going!" Could that be some version of a Guardian Angel? Well, without getting too philosophical, I simply felt the need to briefly reflect on an amazing year in my life, and emphasize those things that have become and remain important to me.

A Rare Opportunity

In 2010, I was presented with an opportunity that many people never get (and I realize that); I was able to take a 6 month sabbatical from my professional career. Granted, it's not retirement but, it was a substantial, meaningful, break.

What Should I Do With It?

I had some vague personal goals that I believe helped me not to squander (at least in my mind) this gift; Maybe not so much as goals, due to some lack of specificity, but more like ideas, i.e.: make some great memories with my family, explore this new found passion of trail running, reorient and and get enthusiastic about my profession again, expect some surprises along the way. With these nebulous concepts in mind and Susannah's help, a plan started to gel, i.e.: A trip to Disney World, a Trip to Yellowstone in conjunction with a trail race in the Big Horn Mountains as well as other trail races, a host of technology experimentation an tinkering, etc.

What Happened?!

Now that 2010 is a memory, I can only express amazement in how much can happen in one years time. All of my personal goals came true but, it's those things I didn't expect, the surprises, that give me pause. Let me list a few:

Watching my 5 year old twin daughters rapidly turn into young ladies before my eyes.
Regardless of improving as a runner, making so many new friends while doing it. I plan on keeping these friends for life.
Gained some perspective on my career.
Became even closer to my partner in life, Susannah.
Never really considered myself much of the spiritual type, but, getting lost in the woods on a regular basis reintroduced me to that subdued part of myself.

And, for some reason, after this amazing year, I do not find it difficult to make certain life-long commitments that would have sent me fleeing just a few years ago. Granted, they're still select commitments, mostly to myself but, ones that still surprise me... things like "I will continue to stretch my Achilles for the rest of my life," and "I will jump at the chance to have lunch with a friend for the rest of my life," and "I will continually search for ways to be happy for the rest of my life," etc. Does that come with age? Maybe it's some sort of mid-life crisis (anti-crisis)?

For some more details, read my other entries at your leisure:

Running

Considering that before 2010, the longest distance I had ever run was a half marathon, I believe I can chalk 2010 up to the best year of running I've ever had. I promise to keep this in perspective, allow for future seasons and/or years of recovery and just simple maintenance but, I'm taking a moment to enjoy this first-timer perspective. My friends and coaches at Tejas Trails, HCTR, and throughout Austin helped me get here; and, of course, my family. As I prepare to return to Bandera in 2011, and then attempt 50 miles at Rocky Raccoon, only one phrase comes to my mind: Thank you.

2010 total miles run, training + races + etc.: just over 1500 miles
Of those 1500 miles, ~460 miles were on roads, ~70 miles were barefoot, the rest of the miles were on trails.

2010 Races:
Three 50K's (All trail. Yes, I'm counting my Big Horn 50 mile attempt as a 50K :-)
Three Marathons (one road, two trail)
Two 30K's
One 25K
Nine training runs greater than 20 miles in length
100% of the races were fun

I hope all of my friends and family's 2010 delivered more than they could have wished for. And, I hope every year from here on out is a year of transformation!

Happy New Year,

David.

Inspired by Bighorn

2010-07-03T19:20:00.022-05:00

My Attempt at the Bighorn 50 Mile Trail Run, June 19, 2010

Bighorn 50 Mile Trail Run 2010

Ever since I started trail running ~ 3 years ago, I had been dreaming about running a race in the mountains. I did not really know where or when the opportunity would present itself; just that I had this image fixed in my mind of running in the cool mountain air, majestic views of forests sloping up and down around me. My dream came true this past June in the Big Horn National Forest, Wyoming.

Note: Click and Zoom-in on pictures does not currently work in the IE browser due to a bug in the Blogger template. Either right-click on the image and choose "Open Link" in IE, or, use Chrome or Firefox if you'd like to see the hi-res photos closeup.

Why Bighorn? Why 50 miles?

For many of the popular trail races in beautiful places (excluding the races that require qualification), a runner needs to decide early whether to commit to a particular race or not to; often months in advance. Most trail races can only facilitate a relatively small number of runners (in the hundreds) and registration fills up quickly. For a beginner trail runner like myself, who had just completed his first 50K at Bandera close to home in January, it was a bit intimidating making that mental leap and registering for a race that I was nowhere near being in shape for, had never been in that level of shape in my life, but had to speculate that I would be by June. Most runners know that you need to show up at the starting line of a race with absolutely no doubts in your mind, ready to leave everything you have out on the course and, in my opinion, have fun doing it (the most important factor to me). Training before the event is where you work to eliminate those doubts, one by one. For this reason, many runners conservatively change one variable at a time as they step their way through events in a season, methodically increasing the distance, or trying a more advanced course per event, like one at elevation, or targeting a faster finishing time, etc. Yet others take an almost opposite approach, making aggressive leaps in difficulty. Normally, I believe in the conservative approach. So, why was I effectively attempting the opposite, changing multiple variables at once?!? ... 1) my first 50 mile distance attempt, 2) my first mountain race, 3) on an infamously advanced, muddy course out of state, which I would not have the luxury of training on before hand, 4) a course with strict cut-offs where they expect participants to keep a "reasonable" pace throughout, all the way to the finish line. Why David, Why?

Sometimes a reason surfaces that trumps all of the other arguments against it. I've had a unique and wonderful privilege to take a few month professional sabbatical this year. My personal goal was to take full advantage of it, become closer to my family, retool and reassess my career, etc., etc. I had already decided to take Susannah and the girls to Disney World and... someplace else... hmmm... during the Spring, before the summer vacation rush, right before my break would be coming to an end. A family vacation to Yellowstone National Park (still writing that trip report) combined with the ideal June date of the Bighorn Trail Race seemed to reach out from the web browser and slap me in the face. My mountain race. But 50 miles? I knew by June I would have completed a handful of races and training runs in the 50K or more range. I also knew that I would be able to complete the Big Horn 50K. But, how disappointed would I be in myself if I didn't take the opportunity, possibly the only time in my life I might be in that part of the country, to at least attempt the 50 mile run? I had to go for it. Practically everyone I asked for advice agreed.

"Enjoy Bighorn ... It's the most beautiful course I've ever puked on."

- Dalton Wade Wilson via my Facebook wall

Getting To The Starting Line

I'm not going to burden this report with a lengthy log of my 2010 training. Suffice it to say, I had an incredible 6 months training with Tejas Trails, filled with 4 marathon distance or more races, memorable training runs with friends, a long run with climbs in the Guadalupe Mountains, I didn't miss a single long run, set a 202 mile PR for monthly mileage in May (the month before Bighorn "taper"), and felt fortunate to avoid injury, albeit narrowly (stayed on top of some Achilles tendinitis while turning up the hill training in May). I benefited from some incredibly valuable advice from a handful of friends who had done both the 50 and 100 mile races at Bighorn; Joe Prusaitis, Mike Sawyer, Gabe Ayeson, Dalton Wilson, Diana Heynen, Charlene Janiak, Henry Hobbs, and John Sharp. I had some great training runs with my coach this 2010 spring season, Roger Davis, and running buddies Lino Mendiola, Guy Morin, Gordon Montgomery, as well as all of my Tejas Trails, Hill Country Trail Runners, and other trail running friends. Could I have trained and prepared even more, even better? ...always.

Map and Elevation Profile

I was not concerned about elevation for this race. Even though the 50 mile starts at 9000+ ft, most of the course hovers around 6000 - 7000 ft or below. Elevation or abundance of oxygen was not an issue for me. And I had even purchased a nifty waste pocket for my camera so that I would not be slowed down a bit taking photos. Even though the mud was expectedly challenging, my main issue would be that obvious spike in the upwards direction on the elevation profile, immediately after the Foot Bridge aid station at ~ mile 18. It is affectionately named "The Wall"; it is the hardest climb I have completed at this point in my life (albeit, I am still a beginner and I know there much bigger mountains out there).

Porcupine Ranger Station, 50 Mile Start, Elevation ~ 9000 ft.

The girls and I were staying at the Bear Lodge Resort, up the mountain pass from the starting line in Dayton. I felt a little silly driving the rental minivan all the way down to Scott Park just to catch a 4 AM bus, which would be driving back up the pass to Porcupine. But, Susannah and the girls would be retrieving the minivan for their own use later that day, and I'd rather it be parked in Dayton rather than on some unknown, snowed-under mountain road. When the bus finally arrived at 5:45 AM, it was chilly; high 30s maybe? But, most knew it would be warmer on the course and were doing their best to get away with as little clothing as possible. The campfire helped immensely waiting for the start. While shivering with some fellow runners, I told them I had come here to escape the heat and humidity of Texas. They told me I had certainly accomplished that goal. We were all also crossing our fingers that the weather would hold out. It worked; it turned out to be a perfect, blue sky day!

When the race director learned I was from Austin, TX, he could not help and ask about Gabe Ayeson, who suffered a serious leg injury on his 100 mile attempt a couple of years earlier. I told him Gabe was fine and running trails better than ever. :-)

Then the race director showed off his baritone rendition of the National Anthem, and we were off at 6 AM sharp!

Almost immediately I started to learn lessons about the unique terrain of the Bighorn course. As much as everyone warned me about and I expected it, the mud was unlike any Texas mud I have encountered; thick, sticky, suck-your-shoes-right-off-of-your-feet mud. Actually, the packed snow at the top was much easier to run on than the mud (as long as it's packed... too bad there wasn't more of that). Bighorn had an unusually wet winter, the streams were really flowing, and the 100 milers and most of the 50 milers ahead of me had really trudged up the mud. All of the runners naturally tried to avoid the mud, so the muddy spots just kept getting wider and wider, until there was just no feasible way to go around them. You get to a point where you just give up and trudge right down the middle of it. But, you can't be too careless or you will literally lose your shoes. I'm convinced there is an efficient technique to "mud running" that some of those regular mountain runners know. I stomped through like an elephant and avoided losing my shoes out of sheer luck.

Having a fresh pair of socks and a clean pair of shoes to change into at my Foot Bridge drop bag, in my opinion, was an absolute must for this race. But I also slowly noticed something else about the dry, non-muddy trail sections that may or may not be unique to me; it was really hard. And I'm not talking about rocks, of which I've run on plenty on Texas trails; I'm talking about dirt. I'm speculating that decades, maybe even centuries of wetting, packing, and drying of some of those old, single track, mountain trails makes them cement hard. Not a big deal, just for future note. I did end up with a deep bruise in the arch of my left foot, which was on the upper side of where the trail seemed to constantly slope. But, I'm still investigating the root cause of that injury.

Other than those details, I started to become overwhelmed by the pristine beauty around me. I was warm now, shedding a couple of layers of cloths I would never see again, enjoying the 18 miles of decent down to my 11 AM appointment at Foot Bridge.

Foot Bridge and The Wall

This race presented a dilemma for me, for the current level of my abilities. I knew that I needed to conserve energy if I hoped to save enough for later in the day, when I really needed it. But, I also knew I needed to get ahead of the cut-offs. But, I had heard of many runners bombing their quads on the first 18 mile descent to Foot Bridge trying to go fast. And I had heard horror stories of how slow the climb up The Wall was immediately after Foot Bridge. As I made my way through The Narrows approaching Foot Bridge, I felt a tinge of pride realizing I was not going to be one of the unfortunate few who would miss the Foot Bridge cut-off.

I made it out of Foot Bridge and started my ascent up The Wall with about a 20 minute buffer. This would be my primary misjudgment. Had I known how slow I would be climbing The Wall, I probably would have tried to get myself an hour buffer. But, was I capable of doing that? Or would I have just ruined my climb that much more? Just me arm-chair quarterbacking after-the-fact...

The pictures below don't do this climb justice. I wish that incline in the photo was due to the camera angle. It just keeps going and going for about 4 miles straight, zero switch-backs, parts of it muddy, parts of it literally a stream, some of it steep grade, some of it gradual, but rarely a level respite. And much of it is exposed, little shade. I climbed a big section with an older gentleman named Bob; an inspiration. He told me he had started the 50 mile race 13 times, had finished it 8 or 9 of those attempts. His personal name for The Wall was "5 Mile Hill." Bob held a large tree branch in his right hand and climbed like a machine. I was in awe of many talented climbers there, who zoomed past me

When I finally made it to the top of The Wall, I was treated with a beautiful view and a shady trail on the way to the next aid station, Bear Camp at ~ mile 23. But, I knew I had lost a lot of time. It is exactly this section, where you need to recover and methodically coax yourself back to running again, where I discovered the effect The Wall had on me. It took me far too long, far too much hiking, to start running again. Also, my left foot was beginning to bother me; not blisters, and not the regular foot swelling I was used to in previous 50Ks. This was something deep and sharp.

Joe P. had given me a valuable nugget of advice that I am glad I followed. In Joe vernacular, he said "...the Bear Camp aid station doesn't have shit for food. So, stash a bunch of food in your pockets at Foot Bridge for you to eat up and over The Wall." Very true.

On To Dry Fork

After Bear Camp, on the way to Cow Camp at ~ 28.5 miles, it started to become clear to me that my day would probably be done at Dry Fork, ~ 35 miles and the next cut-off point. It would be a stretch for me to make the 4 PM Dry Fork cut-off, unless I pulled a world record 10K out of butt somehow. So, I relaxed and took a few more pictures of the beautiful mountain meadows leading into Cow Camp.

Pictured to the right is the descent and ascent into the Cow Camp aid station. I think it gives a nice perspective of the typical distances you see on this course.

All of the aid station volunteers at this race were super nice and willing to joke around with me. They asked me if I needed anything; I told them I needed a rocket engine to make it to Dry Fork. The aid station director at Cow Camp consented that I would not make the cut-off at Dry Fork. I asked him if I could continue trying to run there and make that my stopping point. He said "absolutely!" and as long as I was over the hill before they were packed up, they'd let me run into Dry Fork. He said I'd most likely be able catch a ride with one of the Dry Fork volunteers back into town.

So I continued to jog some spurts, hike some spurts, and took some more pics.

The road to Dry Fork.

My shadow.

Me realizing my day is done at Dry Fork.

Blue Bells (kinda look like Blue Bonnets... but they're not).

Another beautiful meadow and forest.

On to Dry Fork.

Dry Fork at last, ~ 35 miles, 50 mile DNF.

Jerry, with the shades on the left in the Dry Fork pic above, informed me that Bear Lodge was right off the road on the way back, and he could easily drop me off, no need to drive all the way down the pass into Dayton. Score!

So, even though it was a DNF, I feel like I accomplished some things out there, on that beautiful day:

I had a blast!
I traversed the mud.
I made the infamous Foot Bridge cut-off at ~ mile 18.
I climbed The Wall.
This DNF still sets my current PR for distance.
I coordinated this race with one of the best vacations my family has experienced.
I had a blast!

A Word About the Race Management

Bighorn is a first-rate trail race, superbly managed by a bunch of fun, passionate people. They've been holding this race for a long time, and it shows. Some volunteers fly into Wyoming simply to work at this race, and there are plenty of lodges and hotels to stay at in Sheridan, Dayton, and the surrounding communities. The event attracts some much needed tourism to a lesser known part of Wyoming. And I hope some of my pictures express to a small degree how beautiful the area is.

Pursuing Childhood Via a Theme Park

2010-06-09T01:46:00.021-05:00

Our Family Trip to Walt Disney World, Orlando FL, April 19-26, 2010

Jacobson Family,
Magic Kingdom 2010

We were buckling ourselves into what I would consider to be a typical modern amusement park ride accelerated by a linear induction motor, in this case Disney World Epcot Center's "Test Track" ride. I was concerned, as most parents would be, how my two 4.5 year old daughters would react; Lilian sitting next to me, Jennifer sitting next to my wife Susannah in the front row. The mundane section of the ride slowly completed, and then the passenger car rapidly increased its velocity into a circular banked turn, soon to reach 50 to 60 MPH on the subsequent straight-away. That familiar ticklish feeling in my stomach grew with the G forces, and I looked at Lilian. What I did not see was a look of horror, panic, sickness, dejection, or even uncontrolled excitement. Her eyes momentarily glanced to the side at me, a slight smirk curled her mouth upward, and she nervously chuckled the phrase "Woh," as someone might who temporarily lost their balance and regained it while walking along the top of a backyard fence. In that instant, it was as if I were looking into a mirror. After the ride, Susannah said Jennifer had a similar ear-to-ear grin on her face; no screaming.

Some people venture to theme parks like Disney World for a rare peek at life through their kid's eyes, while others seek to stimulate that inner child directly. Regardless of the reasons that propel us to open our wallets and pay hefty ticket prices, race hoards of fellow travelers for a spot in line, and generally exhaust ourselves trying to squeeze more activities in one day than a typical week; we are all still children at heart trying to realize that illusive dream.

The Planning Phase

Susannah and I had decided the previous year that we would take advantage of my sabbatical and "do the Disney thing." It made complete sense; 1) going at a theoretically less crowded time, April, while older kids' schools were still in session, 2) the girls still young enough where taking them out of school was not a big deal, and 3) the girls still young enough to be in that "window," to "believe." This "window" can be vaguely defined as an age from 4'ish to 6'ish where, although a child is perfectly aware that a human hides under that Mickey Mouse character costume, she freely allows reality and imagination to ebb and flow between it being a giant talking mouse, or not, depending on her mood. This is not to say that a teenager or adult is not capable of thoroughly enjoying the experience; just that the natural mental chasm separating and isolating the imagination has grown more pronounced by then.

How the future should look.

The extent of my contribution to the planning phase was to contact the travel agent and choose the resort hotel. I wanted to be in the park and have convenient access to the monorail; pricier but, we wanted to make the most of our rare visit. Also, monorails are an engineering marvel and, in my opinion, regardless of their expense, really should connect every single city in our nation; this was my small way of paying reverence to them. I chose the Grand Floridian, one monorail stop away from the Magic Kingdom. Being first timers, we decided we would be busy enough touring the theme parks during our seven days that we did not need to visit any water parks this trip, and the hotel had two enormous pools. Susannah, however, quickly discovered the remaining planning was as complex as preparing a college term paper. Several resources that she found useful included:

Using these guides, Susannah sorted out what attractions and restaurants were highly rated, what things appeal to what age groups, what rides to ride and when, etc. While at the park, each night before our fun filled day, Susannah would jot down the three or four rides / attractions that we absolutely had to see. This allowed us to perform an intricate timing maneuver where, once the park gates opened in the morning, 1) Dad would hurtle the girls in the stroller towards the first attraction and, concurrently, 1.1) Mom would sprint to get a Fast Pass for the second, and then 2) Mom would meet back up with us just in time to enter the first ride. Susannah and I would perform this maneuver two to three times per day flawlessly. But, in general, I was both confounded and in awe of Susannah's masterful planning skills. Below on the left is a map of Disney World but, to the right is roughly how I remember it.

Disney World

How I Remember It

Other Disney World "games" that Susannah mastered included the Disney Meal Plan maze, "counter service" vs. "table service," what counts as a "snack," and making reservations months in advance for three dinners and one breakfast with Disney princesses. We had one suitcase dedicated for carrying princess dresses.

Susannah tip: I bought Disney t-shirts for the family on sale at The Disney Store in Austin. For some odd reason, you can not buy the autograph books at The Disney Store - only at Disney World. Sun screen is 2X more expensive at Disney World.

Magical Arrival

Disney World has human logistics down like no other facility on planet earth. They are in control of you and your kids bodies and luggage from the airport until you return home. Their buses transport you from Orlando International, your luggage arrives in your room, and your vacation begins like clockwork.

Lady Tremaine,
Lilian, Jennifer

Monday evening the girls dressed up for a princess ball at our hotel, The Grand Floridian. Jennifer and Lilian were not shy about posing for their photo-ops, and never ceased to impress celebrities like Snow White, Aurora, Belle, and of course Cinderella. But, for some reason, Daddy has a thing for the evil ladies (i.e.: Lady Tremaine). And typically, it is the small things in life that parents get the most mileage from; the girls were fascinated with the glowing ice cube that came in Mommy's GlowTini cocktail... including Daddy; the water-tight, plastic cube has two exposed metallic leads of which submersion in a liquid completes the circuit. Absolutely ingenious design.

Highlights from The Magic Kingdom (Tuesday)

Adventure Land: Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Swiss Family Robinson Tree House
Fantasy Land: Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella's Carousel, Mickey's Philharmagic, Peter Pan's Flight, It's a Small World
Frontier Land: Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster
Tomorrow Land: Stitch's Great Escape, Buzz Lightyear, Monster's Inc.
Evening: When You Wish Upon a Star fireworks show
Wednesday Evening, 5:30PM Dinner with Cinderella at the Royal Palace, Cinderella's Castle!

We discovered the most efficient travel path to The Magic Kingdom from The Grand Floridian: take the monorail there, take the ferry boat when returning (due to the one-way circular route of the monorails). This avoids the massive crowds exiting the park in the evening as well. Susannah tip: It's also nice to carry different colored markers with you so that characters signing the kids signature books can switch colors.

It's a Small World

It was a given that Susannah and I would put the "It's a Small World" ride on the schedule for sentimentality reasons, both of us remembering it from our childhood. We were pleased to see that Disney had obviously rebuilt and refreshed all of the displays, dolls, lighting, etc. Jennifer, observing Mom's enthusiasm with the camera, began insisting "Mommy, did you get a picture of those dolls? How 'bout that? ...and that?!" The Magic Kingdom is the crown jewel of Disney Theme Parks, managed by a complex system of underground tunnels called Utilidors, which Disney even offers tours of.

That secret, black art of audio-animatronics is alive and well at Disney World, dexterously demonstrated by Sergeant C4703BK2704-90210 in the "Stitch's Great Escape" attraction. It's one of the few attractions that I can remember forbidding photography of any kind with no apparent "distraction" reason; I'm convinced for trade secret concerns. In fact, we heard that type of announcement enough at dimly lit plays and night rides that, while play acting in the bathtub back home, Susannah and I overheard the girls telling their imaginary audience "no flash photography please!"

Swiss Family Robinson Tree

The girls loved the shady maze of staircases winding around the giant Swiss Family Robinson Tree so much, I lost count of how many laps we walked.

Fireworks at Magic Kingdom

Of course we ended our day at The Magic Kingdom with the "When You Wish Upon a Star" fireworks show above Cinderella's Castle. Everyone was surprised when Tinker Bell "flew" off of the Castle roof and over the crowd, clearly on a zip line as pointed out by Jennifer and Lilian (Note: they're both zip line veterans), wearing a green Christmas-light Bustier and a too-too. The fireworks show was loud, beautiful, visible from all over Disney World, and Jennifer would repeatedly ask "Mama, are we going to see fireworks again tonight?"

Stealthy, techno-music
unmanned night dragon
barge thingy.

During our sleepy ferry boat ride back to the hotel, leaving the mass exiting crowds behind us, we enjoyed a laser light show barge flotilla on the lake. The disco music it auto-played sounded spastic but, at the same time, faint, distant, and oddly cozy; like a bizarre techno lullaby before bed.

Hollywood
Studios

Highlights from Hollywood Studios (Wednesday)

Muppet 3D, Playhouse Disney Live on Stage, Voyage of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast

After our previous late night, the early morning bus ride to Hollywood Studios caused Lilian to arrive just a tad fussy. A nice man Disney park employee noticed, and told Lilian that "Disney is the happiest place on earth; you can't be unhappy." Lilian smiled and he handed her a free Fast Pass to the Toy Story attraction. Which brings up a common lesson Susannah would repeatedly remind us all of; it pays to be nice, it pays to be a good Samaritan (and the not-as-often-mentioned clause, it pays to be cute). For example, Susannah picked up someone's obviously valuable convention pass off of the ground and turned it in. Impressed, the park staff gave her a free Royal Fast Pass (good for any one ride, any time).

Beauty and The Beast

Beauty and The Beast was like a mini Broadway show and had the girls transfixed.

Inside Cinderella's Castle

By Wednesday, we had hit our rhythm. We were so efficient with hitting the "can't miss" attractions in the first half of the day, Jennifer and Lilian were usually ready to return to the hotel and play in the one of the Grand Floridian's massive swimming pools after lunch. But, we had a dinner reservation back at the Magic Kingdom Wednesday evening, actually inside Cinderella's Castle. Jennifer and Lilian weren't going to be late for this one! The Royal Palace features just as beautiful architecture on the inside as is displayed by its famous exterior. Pictured is its ornate vaulted ceiling. And the meal, in Mom and Dad's opinion, is second in quality only to Germany at Epcot, in all of Disney World. (The one downer being that No Alcohol is served at Magic Kingdom, not even at the Castle to pair nicely with your prime rib dinner.)

Susannah tip: Stop by at The Princess Coutoure Shop just outside the Royal Palace reservations desk. One of the sales attendants hair-sprayed "Pixie Dust" onto the girls' hair. Unfortunately, it took almost a month to get all of that glitter out of their scalps!

Highlights from Epcot (Thursday)

The Seas: Nemo and Friends including Turtle Talk with Crush
Future World: Spaceship Earth
Land Pavilion: Soarin, Living with the Land, Test Track
Universe of Energy: Ellen's Energy Adventure
World Showcase: Germany, China, etc.
Evening: Illuminations fireworks show

Epcot

Unlike Magic Kingdom, Epcot allows the sale of adult beverages. Thank goodness, because, Daddy doesn't think his beer and strudel at Germany, in the Epcot World Showcase, would be the same without the beer. And the food is so good at Germany, we returned there for lunch and a show another day. Hands down, the best food in all of Disney World.

Germany, My Favorite

Impressive Bell
Dexterity

Mary Poppins after an
obviously successful day!

You know you've had a successful day at Disney World when the kids are this exhausted. Mary Poppins insisted on taking a photo anyways.

Susannah tip: A rare disappointment at Disney World (Epcot), avoid the character dinner at Akershus Castle. Oddly, the appetizer buffet was excellent, but the main course was horrible. Lilian took one look at her plate and said "I'm not eating that!," and Mom and Dad could not blame her. So, back for more appetizers! :-)

Another Epcot tip: If you do the Maelstrom ride (Epcot, Norway), avoid the movie at the end; walk right on through. It's a trap. The film has not been updated by Norway's Ministry of Tourism in 30 years, and it's painfully obvious.

Since we completed our tour of Epcot early, we decided to return to the Magic Kingdom that evening and see some sights we might have missed (it being so close to our hotel). And we stumbled upon a neat scenario. About an hour before the park closes, and right before the "When You Wish Upon a Star" fireworks show starts, most of the crowds rush to the middle of the park to grab viewing spots. So, what does this mean for those visitors who have already seen the fireworks show and don't mind skipping it? It means you can get on and off, and back on again all rides with practically no waiting during that last hour! Jennifer and Lilian were absolutely hooked on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster and rode it three times in a row. Adding to the awesomeness, it turns out that many parts of the roller coaster track are excellent vantage points for the fireworks show, and watching a multi-color starburst in the night sky as you are hurdled over a steel track curve is unforgettable.

Highlights from Animal Kingdom (Friday)

Breakfast at Tusker House
Tree of Life: It's Tough to be a Bug
Camp Mickey: Festival of The Lion King
Theater in The Wild: Nemo, Dino Land
Kilimanjaro Safaris

We started the day at Animal Kingdom with a character breakfast at Tusker House.

Mickey Mouse,
Jennifer, Lilian

Donald Duck
and the Jacobsons

The Lion King

And then it was off to explore the Animal Kingdom. The Lion King show was fabulous.

...as was Nemo's Aquarium.

And the Kilimanjaro Safari truck ride was bumpy and fun.

Pound It!

In another example of Mom's "turn up the cuteness and manners and you score!" lesson, after purchasing stuffed "Minnie Mouses," the girls were given two free game coupons at Dino Land. Using those coupons to play the "pound the ground hog with the stuffed mallet" game, and barely able to lift the utensils much less bring them down with any significant force, the attendant decided that both of the girls should "win." Lilian and Jennifer walked away with two additional stuffed dinosaur toys.

Susannah and I had planned on getting at least one date night out during the week. The Grand Floridian offered a Mouseketeer Club for kids (babysitting). We dined at Narcoosee's, both walking distance from our room. Talk about convenient and relaxing! Excellent meal too.

Highlights from Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground (Saturday evening)

The Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue and dinner is an example of a show that we probably would have missed if it weren't for Susannah's Disney guide research. It is rather out-of-the-way, unless you are staying at the Fort Wilderness Campground, requiring the two ferry boat rides across the lake, and a bus ride upon return. But the show was highly rated, and deservedly so. It was a blast! Everything was choreographed to an old-fashioned western stage show; from the plopping down of a metal bucket of delicious fried chicken on your family table, to the dance line presentation of dessert, the entertainers were extremely talented and kept kids and adults alike riveted. The Fort Wilderness Campground is a beautifully designed facility nestled in the trees along Bay Lake at Disney World, with a nice lakeside beach that the girls took advantage of before the dinner show. Definitely something to consider for a little different experience at Disney World.

Veg'ing at the Pool (Sunday)

By Sunday, Susannah and I knew we had achieved a successful trip when Jennifer and Lilian requested "Can we just swim at the pool and make new friends?" The girls exhausted, and happy. Daddy proceeded to play our contrived game of "bus" (basically, the girls jump on my back and I submerge) for hours. Mommy relaxed, reading a book poolside.

"For most of us, dreams come true only after they do not matter. Only in childhood do we ever have the chance of making dreams come true when they mean everything."

- Lois Wyse

Parade of Princesses and Friends

Cinderella, Jennifer
and Lilian

Sleeping Beauty,
Lilian and Jennifer

Ariel, Lilian
and Jennifer

Snow White,
Lilian and Jennifer

Anastasia, Lilian and Jennifer

Drizella, Lilian
and Jennifer

Goofy, Jennifer
and Lilian

The Incredibles and Susannah

Tigger, David,
Jennifer, Lilian,
Susannah

Sticky Situations Make For Sticky Scenes

2010-05-20T14:07:00.016-05:00

I am no self-proclaimed movie critic; just a fan who prefers to comment about things I like rather than criticize. (Note: after watching and agreeing with the points made in Jamie Kennedy's Heckler documentary, I'd prefer to point out specific things I like in movies, rather than trash them in a vain attempt at sensationalism) But, there are some special scenes from various movies that seem to "stick" in my brain over time. And I do not necessarily favor the entire corresponding movie, just a specific scene or two. I suspect this is true for many people for their favorite genres but, I wonder what percentage of favorite movies or TV shows can owe their acclaim to an story line versus a few, if not one, well played scenes? This is why I propose that the Academy and Emmy Awards merge, and proceed to give out acting and writing awards based on scenes rather than entire movies or TV series. Incidently, this would also translate well to Internet syndications.

I know what you are going to say; "But the whole must be considered with the part. One can not take subject material out of the context of a story line and judge it singulalry." I partially agree. The masterfully written and acted scenes that I replay in my mind would be meaningless to me without the knowledge of the entire story line in which they fall. But those great talents and works of art rarely sustain themselves for the entirety of a given media content format.

Allow me to describe several examples, admittedly chalk-full of my personal preferences. :-)

Note: If you are interested in seeing the video clips described below, please email me at david.blogger@jacobsonhome.com

My friend Jim Martin once told me that a tried and true formula for a good movie or TV show was to "take an ordinary person, put them in extraordinary circumstances, and watch them squirm!" I emphatically agree; this theme categorizes many of my favorite "sticky scene" flics. This type of plot device offers so many opportunites for suspense, humor, irony, poignant and humanizing drama, etc.

For example, the AMC TV series Breaking Bad (AMC web site) takes a struggling, terminally ill high school chemistry teacher (Bryan Cranston) and desperately places him in the middle of the illegal and dangerous methampetamine drug industry. But, the scene from the Pilot where he accidently ends up in the middle of the desert in his underwear with a broken down RV turned into meth lab is wildly hilarious, and sets up the entire series for similarly ingenious scenes showing his haphazard stumbles through his new life.

In a scene from The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, the local sheriff Belmont (Dwight Yoakam) is placed in a position where he must shoot his friend since childhood, Pete (Tommy Lee Jones) because he is on the run with a kidnapped border agent. Belmont is probably the only person with the skill to track his friend down across West Texas and Mexico but, with Pete in his sights, he can not pull the trigger. He rolls over exasperated and contemplates a hawk flying overhead. At that moment, his cell phone goes off and his girl friend Rachel (Melissa Leo), who ironically is also dating Pete on the side, yanks Belmont back to the earth's surface; Rachel: "Whatcha doin'?" Belmont, slowly, annoyed: "I'm at werrrk." Life moves on, even after such a powerful moment. This scene always makes me laugh.

The ending of No Country for Old Men has been discussed, analyzed, debated by many people. You either love or hate the Coen brothers' ending. Some people protest how the ending served the rest of the film but, I prefer to focus on the scene itself, with the rest of the story serving as its context. The dream, poignantly described by Ed (Tommy Lee Jones), paints a picture of something impending to me. Whether we are ultimately victorious or defeated by what lies ahead, the dream poetically describes the universal anxiety of approaching it. Whether the outcome is certain or uncertain is irrelevant. I find it an incredibly humanizing moment.

And lastly, to drive my point home about awarding specific scenes as opposed to movies, Mike Judge's Idiocracy is not one of my favorite movies in its entirety. But, this movie's cynical depiction of the future of mankind summarized in its introductory sequence is ingeniously hilarious. If scenes could be singled out, even comedies might get some props now and then.

A Climb for the Legs, Some Friends for the Heart, a Mountain for the Soul

2010-05-02T22:26:00.014-05:00

My First Trail Run in the Guadalupe Mountains
April 15-18, 2010

“Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way.”

- Dr. Seuss

Guadalupe Peak

It is difficult for me to comprehend that the highest point in the state of Texas, Guadalupe Peak standing at 8751 feet, was once an ocean reef. The ancient Permian Basin sea bed, which is now the vast plains of West Texas, is scattered with odd mesas and mountain chains abruptly jutting out from a seemingly flat earth surface across hundreds of miles of expanse. But the "Guads" are uniquely mystical. For three days I would follow in the footsteps of many other trail runners and hikers before me and scale the rocky trails that meander this majestic plateau. Why? Technically, to expose my legs to some long climbing that simply cannot be simulated anywhere less than a plane flight away from Austin in preparation for my Bighorn race in June. But, little did I know such a transcendental reason would reveal itself to me during the traversal with my friends.

Somewhere on HWY 62

But first, one must get thy butt there. Those who have never endeavored to drive across West Texas will not know what it is like to squint at a ruler straight highway disappearing over the horizon, set their cruise control on 90 MPH yet still feel as if they are crawling, contemplate whether their urinary bladder might outlast their vehicle's fuel consumption, and drive for eight hours across "flat" country yet gradually gain over 2000 feet in elevation. And be prepared for incidental costs; even though no off-roading is involved, the trip is hard on vehicles. Our Tejas Trails group lost one RV transmission (John Kuss), one pickup truck rear end (Joe P. a day earlier), and I had to replace our cracked minivan windshield upon return.

My traveling Sarcophagus

I was fortunate that Susannah lent me the much roomier Honda Odyssey minivan to use as my sleeping quarters for this trip. She made it clear to me, though, to get my butt back promptly on Sunday for our family trip to Disney World the following week (strategically scheduled by me as a "rest" week :-) ). And yes, I've spent many a night in a tent since I was young but, I've come to value a good night's sleep during these intensely physical excursions over "connecting with nature." Nature and I converse plenty during my waking hours. And SCORE again! The minivan features a 110 volt outlet in the back. So, I brought a few extra treasures along; namely, my foot massager and "The Thumper," which would soon be working on my swollen, protesting, legs, feet, and back. The Honda also has an "ECO" drive mode which it switches into at cruise speeds, allowing it to get excellent gas mileage on long drives like this trip.

A Long Drive

A big part of what makes this training trip such an enjoyable experience is the couple that organizes it; Joe and Joyce Prusaitis. They educate all participants on what to expect and bring, provide the amazing culinary cooking of Mark "Crash" Johnson, setup large tents at the base camp site for dinner and socializing, provide maps and options for various training objectives, and coordinate the run pairings. Because, it is not wise to venture off into these mountains alone (unless you're Roger Davis). I would be running with my friend Lino Mendiola (Lino and I plan on running Big Horn together), and new Canadian friend Guy Morin. Even though Lino had been nursing an injured ankle since his Jemez 50K, he is a natural running talent, and a joy to be around (not to mention his card tricks). We three turned out to be a great match.

Devil's Hall, Lino, and David

After heading out early Thursday morning from the "Y" in south Austin, and meeting for lunch in Van Horn; Lino, Alicia and Layla, and I arrived in our vehicles at the park together and helped setup camp. Lino and I decided to grab a short, flat four mile jog / hike to "Devil's Hall" to stretch out our legs after the drive, and pass the time before an awesome "Crash" spaghetti "carbo loading" dinner. This hike follows the base of the canyon and ends at a beautiful feature where you can reach with your outspread arms an touch two opposing cliff walls. I decided against the ~ 2 to 3 hour Guadalupe Peak hike opting to save my energy for the all-day run tomorrow, Friday. I planned to bag the peak the as a recovery hike / run on Saturday. We saw what were probably a couple of hawks cruising around; a hiker we met said they were Golden Eagles but, it's doubtful.

Devil's Hall Looking Up

And then many of my Tejas Trails running buddies start trickling in. At dinner under the two big tents, we discussed the next day's run. Joe P. stressed the following rules:

This run is all about water; you need to carry at least one 100 OZ hydration pack with you because there is no water on top of the mountain plateau. We would happen to luck out on Friday, with it being slightly cool and foggy, no rain until Saturday. Others had been here when it was much hotter.
You need stick with your buddy(ies) on this run. "If someone messes up on these trails, they can mess up real bad." I.e.: fall off of a cliff, get eaten by a mountain lion, or, most likely, get really, really, lost.
Laid out were options for 30 to 40 miles, 28+ miles, 20 and less. Lino, Guy, and myself would be doing the 28+ option. At several points along the routes would be sign-in/out books. Don't miss them.
For those of us doing 28 miles and more, Joe made it clear that, after the halfway point at the bottom of Dog Canyon, our only chance to refill on water and a good place to have lunch, and immediately after the subsequent climb back out of Dog Canyon (~ mile 16+ for us), would be the point where we would reevaluate our running day. :-) This would be true for me.

Our basic 28+ mile route would be: 1) head over to Bear Canyon from the camp trail head, 2) climb up to Pine Top, 3) check out the view at Hunter Peak (aka Pine Top), 4) around the Bowl Trail, cross the ridge and over to Bush Peak, 5) over to Blue Ridge and Tejas Trail, skipping the Marcus Trail loop where those crazy 30 to 40 milers would be heading, 6) down into Dog Canyon and the corral, 7) eat lunch and refill water, 8) climb back up out of Dog Canyon, 9) bitch about the climb out of Dog Canyon, 10) head straight down Tejas Trail back to camp... oh yeah, with a 11) final, unavoidable, everyone-seems-to-forget-about climb back up and over Pine Top through an enchanted forest to start the switch-backy descent down to camp.

And soon it was bedtime. I convinced Lino to sleep on an air mattress in his car as opposed to a tent; it worked out well for him. And in the blink of an eye, my iPhone alarm was singing, and I was off to the trail head in the dark, cool morning for a 6AM start. Others running less than 28 miles would be starting later. This was my gear setup:

Hydration pack with one 100 OZ bladder filled with water; an additional empty bladder squeezed in there in case I had a blow-out or needed it for some other reason.
Two 24 OZ hand-held bottles, one filled with water, one filled with Heed, both have one built-in bathroom kit. I've been training with handhelds so am quite accustomed to them now.
Food: Two small turkey sandwiches, five gels, two trail mix baggies. I was lucky because this would turn out to be a slight underestimate of required calories.
Rolled up rain jacket complexly attached to hydration pack.
Wide brimmed hat to protect against the sun.
Top: two thin layers, shirt and medium thick long sleeve running top, running gloves, a headlamp.
Bottom: Regular compression and running shorts, and Brooks Cascadia 5s.
Next time, I'm bringing a cigarette lighter, light weight solar blanket, and a pocket knife.

The climb up Bear

And we were off; slowly... except for two awesome athletes, Dalton Wilson and Melanie Fryar. Melanie is the current female 50 mile course record holder at Rocky Raccoon, has a chance to represent U.S. in the 100K distance at the next Olympics, and runs like a bunny rabbit over rocky trails. Yes, their definition of "slow" is a little different than mine. Right before the climb up Bear, the three of us caught up to Diana Heynen and Joyce Prusaitis; both incredibly talented, experienced endurance athletes and super classy ladies. We would end up running most of the morning together until Joyce and Diana turned off onto Marcus. And it was almost as if we had called each other on the phone the night before and color coordinated our outfits because, we were all wearing blue tops; causing the faster merged groups behind us to refer to us as the Blue Team versus the Grey Team (Mount Everest humor). I noticed that I had forgotten to start my GPS so I figured I would need to add about .4 to .5 miles to the resulting distance. We could hear our good friend John Sharp's voice pretty much all the way up the canyon, along with Gordon's periodic "Kaw!" Sharpie, a crazy fit ultra runner from San Antonio who has the physique of a body builder, is one of those people whose battery is recharged by conversation, and whose mind rarely pauses between topics ranging from Libertarian politics to economic theory. I heard Sharpie complain about never seeing any wildlife and all I could imagine, unbeknownst to him, was a wake of wild birds and mammals fleeing the forest far ahead of him. During the climb, Lino decided to playfully engage Sharpie in a debate about the current administration's policies and not five minutes later did Joe yell to Sharpie that he was putting him on a "word limit."

Top of Bear

~Mile 2.5: The early morning view was spectacular at the top of Bear, even though the valley below was cloud covered. Far off, a lone small mountain poked out above the cloud tops. Joyce said it looked like a shark fin gliding on the sea surface.

~Mile 3: We dropped our pack and bottles for the quick, sight-seeing loop up Hunter Peak. Joe, Gordon, Allen, Sharpie, Brett, Jon, and Bhavesh were already heading down. I tried to tackle Sharpie but he escaped using a tickle move. The elevation was 8368 feet, the second highest point in Texas, with the highest being Guadalupe Peak just across a couple of canyons. None of us three were experiencing any altitude sickness issues, and I found out later we were fortunate, since a few others in the group did.

Pine Top, or Hunter Peak

Diana, Joyce, Guy

~Mile 6: After we climbed Bush Peak, we took a snack break in the shade with Diana and Joyce. It was at this point that I made an observation that others concurred with after the run; I was hungrier than I expected to be at this point. And Lino, Guy, and I were flabbergasted at how long it was taking to cover the mileage; and we weren't doddling either! Later, after the run, my new friend and phenomenal ultra running athlete Allen Wrinkle, current record holder for the solo 203 mile Texas Independence Relay, would give me some simple, valuable advice (good advice always seems to be simple): "mountain miles are different." Most trail runners are already used to the "no consistent pace" difference from road running but, calorie consumption can accelerate rapidly during the ascents and descents on mountain trails. When you look at a course elevation profile, it is still hard to tell whether you will be averaging a 10 minute mile or 30 minute mile on some sections. You just need to be prepared for the worse.

Dog Canyon

~Mile 13: After Diana and Joyce turned off onto Marcus Trail; Lino, Guy and I kept a pretty steady pace to the top of the Tejas Trail descent into Dog Canyon. It was becoming apparent to me that Lino and Guy were climbing faster than me but, I was holding my own on the down hills. We met up with Alicia and Elizabeth whose 24 mile route brought them to this point quicker, and they followed us down. The Dog Canyon trail is the most exposed section of the entire route (no shade). Near the bottom, we saw Dalton and Melanie beginning their climb back up. They had already finished the extra Marcus loop on the 40 mile route and looked as fresh as they did at the start. We also saw Jonathan and Bhavesh, ahead of us on the 28 mile route, heading back up. We would notice in the sign out books that we were chasing them by about 30 minutes all day long.

~Mile 17: At the rangers station at the bottom of the canyon, there was a mule in the corral that I am convinced brayed solely at the lady runners. We sat down at the picnic bench to have lunch, where my calorie miscalculation started to become apparent to me. Even though we were over halfway done, I had half a turkey sandwich and a couple bags of trail mix left to fuel me through the rest of the run, including the massive climb back up Dog. And then Lino, my savior, pulled out of his pack a huge plastic bag of pasta with olive oil, left over from last night's Crash dinner, and said "there's no way I can eat all of this." Normally, I would have forced myself to live with my mistakes as a principle, to teach myself a lesson, and decline his generous offer. But, we were in the mountains! So, I ravenously crammed my mouth full with spaghetti noodles. Alicia also insisted that I try one of her homemade, spicy, vegetarian quesadillas; which was delicious. Right when we finished lunch, the Gray Team 30+ to 40 milers came tromping in, led by Joe, Gordon, Allen, and Brett, with Mike Sawyer not far behind (I've lost track of how many mountain races Mike Sawyer has knocked out; he's one tough runner). We sang happy birthday to Alicia, and Lino, Guy, myself, Alicia, and Elizabeth began the climb back up Dog.

"Mountains cannot be surmounted except by winding paths."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

David, A long climb
out of Dog Canyon

The Dog climb was brutal for me. I started to fall behind. It did not feel like the calories were hitting my bloodstream yet. But, you just keep putting one foot in front of the other, "worry about your own damn self," don't worry where you are in relation to others, just keep moving forward. After a break, Gordon caught us; he was having a great day. At the top, I was relieved to stretch my legs out and actually run a relatively flat section.

Gordon, "resting"

~Mile 21.5: We came up to Gordon, taking a break waiting for Joe and the others at the 30+ to 40 miler turn toward McKittrick Canyon. He takes his resting quite seriously. Whew! Only about 6 more miles just cruising the Tejas Trail back down into camp. But then Joe arrived and said "no, you guys have a couple more climbs back up to Pine Top before the descent." Oh well, how hard could they be?

Lino napping in Pine Top forest

The back side of Pine Top is a beautiful forest and completely shaded. In fact, there were odd circles of hail in some shady spots, left over from a storm a few days earlier. We came to a "Y" in the trail that looked like two creek beds. It was almost indiscernible which way the trail went; we could not see any footprints, markers, etc. I would learn others would have similar problems at this point. Luckyily, we guessed right and found the trail resume further ahead, on what started the final climb. I think it was this long, final insult of a climb that ruined our legs for a fast descent into camp.

Climb back up to Pine Top

Pine Springs Canyon down to camp

~Mile 25.5: The descent on Tejas Trail down through Pine Springs Canyon toward camp would normally look like an absolute blast, with its fun switch backs, quick rollers, not-too-steep grades, etc. (This would be a bitch to climb, though.) And we did our best to run as much as we could, which turned out to be only about 3/4 of a mile. Our legs were completely shot. It turned into a slow jog at best the rest of the way down.

~Mile 29.somethin': And we finally were done, 11 hours somethin' for 29.somethin' miles. We took our "victory lap" in the dinner tent with friends like Crash, Jeanette, Diana O., Rob't, Dawn, Layla, Roger, Shannon, Ann, JoAnna, Dalton, Murali, and Melanie congratulating us. Damn! We were tired. I got cleaned up and sat in my chair with my bare feet on the foot massager plugged into the back of my minivan with a cold beer dangling from my hand. Other friends would trickle in from their runs as we got ready to devour an incredible Crash dinner, and recount the exhausting, exhilarating day. There is something extraordinary about sharing an experience like this with friends; moving. As I slung my aching body onto my cot futon to go to sleep that evening, I understood what Joe had meant by people "so desperately wanting to return to this place, with this group."

Finished! Lino, David, Guy

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountain is going home; that wildness is necessity; that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”

- John Muir

Here is my GPS playback of the route Lino, Guy, and I took. Add about .4 to .5 miles to the distance. My Garmin 310XT performed flawlessly (recently replaced my absolutely horrible Garmin 405). Some data points of interest:

Elevation Gain: 7,295 ft
Elevation Loss: 7,236 ft
Min Elevation: 5,780 ft
Max Elevation: 8,603 ft

David's Spa

Right when we sat down to dinner that evening, my coach Roger Davis came into the big tent completely dressed in black tights, a black cap, etc. We all joked that he looked like a Ninja. He had ran with Shannon earlier, who had experienced altitude sickness. We were all surprised to hear that he was planning to go up to Pine Top and over to Marcus to retrieve some of the sign in books, which meant a lone night run. We also knew he was itching for some more miles. But, the clouds were moving in, and more than a few of us were worried for him. Not that he'd get eaten by something; I'd like to see the cat or bear willing to try take down big Roger. But, these mountains were a formidable place, especially in weather. When I woke up at 2AM that night for a bathroom break, I swang by the tent and saw he had signed in around midnight, and would learn the next day that he had a run which he could only describe as "epic."

Guadalupe Peak Morning Recovery Run

It is always a good idea to follow a long run the next day with a "recovery run." It really helps to re-loosen and clear the acid out of the muscles. A typical formula says that it should be half the distance of the previous day but, as long as you do something. I had hoped to see the top of Guadalupe Peak before I left the park. Others were discussing various short runs. Groggily, Lino and I decided to bag the peak because we weren't sure how much more energy we would have the following day (Sunday), and we knew we would probably be in a hurry to get on the road anyways. We started the hike up with some extremely talented runners; Dawn Banka, Jonathan Hicks, and John Kuss. However, Lino and I knew our fatigued legs would be moving at our own pace. We had also been warned that Kuss would be tearing up the trail because he was incredibly pissed off that his RV transmission had broken on him the 2nd year in a row, on this trip, and forced him to miss yesterday's long run. Yep, he left a cloud of dust behind him. We saw early birds Emily H. and her hubby already on their way down.

View from top of Guadalupe Peak

Even though the clouds were closing in, the ~ 5.5 mile trail offered some spectacular views of the plains below. There were a lot of hikers but, very courteous and let us pass on the climb. Regardless, Lino and I struggled up this ~ 3 mile climb.

Mounted on the peak is a beautiful, stainless steel pyramid placed there in 1958 to commemorate the Pony Express mail service.

David, Jon, Dawn, Lino, John

Gordon joined us later on the peak while we were snacking and motivated Lino and I to follow him down; it was exactly what we needed. Gordon got moving downhill at an excellent pace, and he relished the duty of clearing out hikers in our way with outbursts like "Kaw!" and "Toot! Toot! Train coming through!" etc. One teenage boy froze in front of Gordon like a deer in headlights, and Gordon had to wrap him up in a huge bear hug, and gently deposit the youngster on the side of the trail. Poor little fella. And it was a good thing we were running down; rain and thunder were moving in fast. We passed JoAnna and Dalton on their way up. They would have an adventure in store for them being on the mountain in an electrical storm. We barely beat the storm to camp, as we climbed into our cars for a long, post recovery run nap.

Cloud Computing and the Ever Evolving Service Level Agreement (SLA)

2010-04-01T23:06:00.005-05:00

Businesses that provide customers, or just about any people other than their own employees, with software or computer resources for use over a private or public network have been drafting up paper contracts to clarify their obligations for decades now. Furthermore, a debate has often raged between the provider of the service(s) and its users over the responsibilities implied at the time of purchase, especially when things go wrong later. Thus, these contracts, or "service level agreements (SLAs)," have varied in their wording as widely as the as the web sites, applications, data centers, and computer equipment they intended to cover. Although some SLA standards and patterns have gradually evolved, the new "Cloud Computing" trend of expanding use of business software over the Internet to never-before-seen volumes stands to throw the proverbial "monkey wrench" into this fragile business agreement.

Traditional SLA Flavors

Originally (circa 1995 - 2000), "web hosting" providers simply offered space on a shared web server for individuals and businesses to upload a web site, at the time consisting of a simple set of files, for public access. These companies mostly grew out of the older public Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The SLA for this type of "shared web hosting" service was typically a detailed replica of the purchase invoice (i.e.: amount of disk space the user was authorized to use, amount of bandwidth cap, etc.) During the early web era, businesses were simply happy to get a glorified version of a marketing brochure published online; business did not come to a screeching halt if the web server was down for a while, as opposed to if the office telephones went dead.

As web sites grew in size and complexity, and evolved into full-scale business applications (circa 1998 - 2005; the evolution of Intranets and Extranets), businesses and IT organizations increasingly required full control over the Internet-connected computer systems they ran on. As an alternative to shared hosting, service providers offered leased space in the racks of their growing data centers for equipment fully owned and controlled by business customers. Essentially, this type of "co-location" service package consisted simply of delivering reliable electricity, air-conditioning, Internet bandwidth, and physical space for the computer equipment owned or leased by the business (dedicated, not shared with other customers). Fortunately, co-location services mainly provide resources that are easy to measure and quantify (i.e.: electricity and bandwidth use VERSUS hosted software use). This allowed for more sophisticated and competitive billing arrangements to become popular (i.e.: the introduction of "Burstable" Internet bandwidth packages; primarily an accounting term describing dynamic billing for Internet use based on a running average time window, such as every two months). But these co-located systems were different beasts from the simple marketing web site brochure; these servers now hosted web sites and applications accessed regularly by an increasing amount of businesses' coveted customers, performed more and more tasks critical to business operations, and were generating real revenue through e-commerce. So, inevitably following these advances came negotiated warrantees, or at least resolution commitments, for those unfortunate times when customers were denied the online service(s). The SLA paperwork dramatically grew in size.

Limiting Liability Before Guaranteeing Service...

Naturally, SLAs were first written to protect the service provider from any damages claimed by a customer (liability). After all, the Internet is an unreliable, uncontrollable medium on which to deliver business services, and managing a large data center stacked full of computer systems is complicated and risky to make any guarantees, much less warrantees, over service continuity to customers. Customers are always free to go elsewhere if they are not satisfied. In fact, there was not much of a difference between an early business SLA and a "Terms of Service" statement made to individual users of public-wide services like AOL or free services like Google's GMail:

Example of Google GMail's "Limitation of Liability" Statement (Free version):

15.1 SUBJECT TO OVERALL PROVISION IN PARAGRAPH 14.1 ABOVE, YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT GOOGLE, ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES, AND ITS LICENSORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR:

(A) ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES WHICH MAY BE INCURRED BY YOU, HOWEVER CAUSED AND UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY.. THIS SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, ANY LOSS OF PROFIT (WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY), ANY LOSS OF GOODWILL OR BUSINESS REPUTATION, ANY LOSS OF DATA SUFFERED, COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSS;
...

But, as the business web hosting market grew, and providers got better at managing and building redundant, highly-available infrastructures; competitive "service guarantee" features tailored for business users started to creep into SLAs, such as credits for usage corresponding to unplanned down-time over a specific threshold, guaranteed response time to outages, etc. However, as business use of computer systems hosted by these 3rd party providers exploded after 2004, the stress of this rapid growth and inability to scale-up systems fast enough started to exercise the section of SLAs providers hoped never to have to visit; "...in the event of service disruption." These service outage situations often led to a 'cat-and-mouse game' between providers and users over SLA clauses; from outages being categorized as planned or expected, to response time being emphatically decoupled from resolution time, to custom tailoring of the definition of down-time itself. And keep in mind, I am only referring to computer hardware and, at most, the operating system software only; not the many additional layers of application software heaped on top of all computer systems delivering online business service(s). In many cases, a hosting provider need only guarantee that some platform is running and "ping-able" from their local network, not the Internet. And, as many business users know, this is a far cry from an online business service actually being fully functioning and available for use.

GoGrid.COM SLA Limiting Liability Example

"Problems related in any way to the Customer server operating system or any other software on the customer server, or to the actions of Customers or third parties, do not constitute Failures and so are not covered by this SLA."

Guaranteeing Web Applications? The Known Before The Unknown...

As commercial online application use flourished, interest in securing guarantees covering this increasingly important application functionality grew. But initially, these new "Application Service Providers (ASPs)" did not want to go anywhere near SLA-style service promises for applications. And understandably so; where hardware and operating system software could be somewhat controlled and managed with steady configuration and investment, and those technologies followed a digestible set of standards; applications, on the other hand, were similar to the "Wild West." A typical online business application tied together multiple databases, files, web servers, and specialized software consisting of hundreds of thousands of lines of code completely cost-prohibitive for even the world's largest QA departments to test out every feature to every permutation a user might stumble across. Only in recent years have robust web application load testing systems been constructed, by those ASP providers that can afford them, to help predict how some applications might behave under the stress of simulated mass concurrent web users, before exposure to actual real users. And only mature, well tested applications, whose functionality is well known and modeled, have journeyed into the realm of application-level SLAs. Business users typically pay a premium for this level of service guaranty as well, but, the price can be driven down if the volume is high enough. For example, Google App's GMail Premier service offers some warranty in the form of credits (for an arguably extremely mature application; e-mail) for a reasonable annual price:

Google Apps Premier SLA

Keep in mind that this software is hosted on massive "grid computing" systems, which span hundreds of thousands of computer systems hosted in many global data centers. However, extremely successful commercial and free services like Salesforce.com and Google Apps can be credited with attracting and growing business "in the cloud," despite the lack of a traditional SLA. And many businesses, especially small ones, choose to accept the risk of running some operations on free, non-SLA systems. The low cost is hard to resist, and there is some perceived safety in the massive number of users using the system, although service outages are no less disruptive.

Microsoft Live (includes Office Live and SkyDrive) Service Agreement Warranty Section

"13. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY.
We provide the service 'as-is,' 'with all faults' and 'as available.'"

But what about custom tailored applications, or even commercial applications highly configured for a specific business's needs, like online CRM and ERP sites? ...still no SLA love? The risk to the provider and the cost to mitigate that risk has historically been too great.

Breaking Applications Apart; Software As A Service (SaaS)

A relatively new approach to creating online applications that are more apt to be resilient, and possibly warranted to some extent (eventually) is to break them apart into the smaller components that make up the overall web application, and offer those components as stand-alone, reliable, measurable services by themselves. In the ideal version of this "Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)," a web application would primarily be an aggregator of separate, distributed services; each being a specialized expert in a particular business function with a stake in the successful delivery of that specific service to many users, not just that single application. SaaS has become realistic now that market demand for these "horizontal" services has grown enough to sustain their businesses, and web service technology standards have made their way into main stream development tools. Commercial application component examples such as "Databases As A Service (DaaS)", online storage grids such as Amazon's very successful S3 service, and Microsoft's new Windows Azure Platform are increasingly being used to construct new online web applications. Although some form of an SLA might be available for purchase for each one of these services separately, a business would not currently find an SLA that spanned its coverage across multiple services used to create an entire web application. Some research is being conducted in the area of creating multiple-party SLAs (SLA at SOI). However, it is apparent that SLA advances will depend on a new generation of applications and services which make their performance fully transparent, publish Quality Of Service (QoS) metrics, and are designed to support an SLA's objectives.

Changing the Focus of the SLA

When I managed a large data center which hosted a large-scale data acquisition application suite for corporate customers, and we suffered the a catastrophic power outage due from an unpredicted scenario that our many redundant systems did not cover, there was one thing I would have appreciated in addition to operations credits from our data center provider; assistance with managing the aftermath. The majority of my customers were technically knowledgeable, understanding, and entirely reasonable. But, they wanted from me the same things I wanted from my provider; answers to questions like "What exactly happened? Please provide us with a clearly written play-by-play of how and when the issue was detected and escalated," "What was done to resolve the issue?," "What is the plan for ensuring this issue never occurs again?," etc., etc. Salesforce.com was one of the first large CRM application providers who recognized this desire amongst their business users and addressed it by creating an online status console of the systems that made up their grid. Some CRM analysts criticized this as a ploy to avoid an actual application SLA. But, this type of real-time information came in quite handy for business customers who in turn supported many users of their own. Google Apps also provides an application status dashboard, which most assuredly relieves some of the support pressure from their hundreds of thousands of users during unplanned outages. And they acknowledge the customer communication need as well:

Google Apps Premier SLA credit and commitment to communication

"3. In cases where your business requires an in-depth dialogue about the outage, we'll support your internal communication process through participation in post-mortem calls with you and your management team."

There has also been some investigation into possible methods of guaranteeing the application users' "experience," by abstracting away the systems and application services used to deliver that experience, and somehow covering an applications "use cases" in an SLA. Few concrete examples have surfaced in this area and, in my opinion, would inevitably lead full circle back to applications being designed from the ground up to support SLAs, QoS metrics, monitoring, and all of the tools needed by the provider to ensure service delivery.

Businesses continue to assume the risk of depending on critical Internet hosted software without SLAs; they have been operating this way for years. But, as these applications become even more critical to business operations, the absence of the SLA is becoming one of the biggest hurdles to conducting big business "in the cloud."

Nueces 50 Trail Race (Marathon), March 6, 2010

2010-03-17T16:15:00.014-05:00

Nueces River at Camp Eagle

On the western edge of the Texas Hill Country; amidst vast, sparsely populated ranches; at the headwaters of a river considered by Mexico to be the original border of the state before the Texas revolution; is concealed a little-known, resort-like playground called Camp Eagle. Although the site's rugged, picturesque trails are no stranger to mountain bike races, trail running races had only been introduced to the camp a couple of times before Tejas Trails was asked to organize and direct a full-scale event on March 6, 2010. The combination of beautiful photos from the web site gallery, a strong curiosity, and sneaky suspicion of this developing into a extremely fun race weekend caused me to make this part of my trail race plan as early as November the previous year.

Pictures courtesy of Joe Prusaitis

Camp Eagle

Two things strike the first-time visitor to Camp Eagle; #1: Its' remoteness. Driving west from Austin on 290 until you hit I10, small towns already begin to disappear. And then you drive west of I10 another ~ 40 miles. Even though the roads are good quality, this is not an area where you want to get lost or run out of gas; both of which are likely based on the long distances one can drive out there without seeing civilization. When you spot the dirt road entrance into Camp Eagle, you drive another 8 miles (not 2, not 4, 8) before reaching the Camp entrance. During this drive, it becomes clear by the growing hills and cliffs that you are descending into a beautiful river valley. And then the second feature shocks you; #2: Who / How / Why on earth did a resort of such a grand scale come to be constructed in such a remote area of Texas?! From two story hotel wings, to luxurious cabins, an ample RV park, tennis courts, a game room, a large cafeteria and kitchen, and scenic decks masterfully perched on the stone cliffs overlooking the Nueces, etc.; the place is almost overwhelming at first. While I don't have the exact answer to its origin, rumor has it that the facility was an attempt at a true vacation resort, which failed business-wise (ya think?). The Christian group that owns it now was in the right place at the right time, and Camp Eagle was born. Since then, it has been a popular destination for Boy/Girl Scout troops, church retreats, band camps, and other associations. Our state and national parks should be so lucky. But, the trails crisscrossing this vast, hilly acreage is what brought me, and 70 other trail runners to this oasis this weekend.

A quick note on my ongoing Life Balance Equation tuning: I bantered back and forth the decision of bringing my family out with me, and the handful of runners who did bring their kids had a blast. However, I knew this time of year would be too cold for any of the fantastic looking water activities (i.e.: the cliff-high water slides, water trampoline, water decks to jump from, canoeing, etc.), and I wanted to scope-out the facilities myself first (...to review, it is counter-productive to bring the family to any race only to have them be bored). Now that I've visited the location, if were a kid, I'd want to spend all summer there. It only lacks horses. I will definitely bring the family along next year.

With Friday off, I was able to leave early in the day and make the 4pm trail briefing in the game room, which is adorned by about 20 stuffed exotic game heads. Most runners could not make it out of Austin or San Antonio until after work, so, about 10 of us got an intimate trail briefing from Joe while playing table shuffleboard and air hockey. The main instructions that stuck out:

Don't run too far past a wrong way marker or off trail because you might fall off of a cliff.
Don't run off the camp's property because you might be mistaken for an exotic deer and shot.
Also, this place has more rocks than Bandera... believe it.

And then it was off to a delicious spaghetti dinner.

As I had engineered while training for Bandera, I am able to comfortably stretch out on a wide cot in my SUV. I find I get an excellent nights' rest using this configuration, as opposed to the many variables associated with communal sleeping arrangements. It might also be that the comfy confines are similar to a "womb," supporting the theory that male ultra runners suffer from "Childbirth Envy" (theory)... maybe not. I parked directly across from the bathrooms and showers.

My iPhone alarm went off at 5am, giving me ample time to get dressed, conduct my necessary pre-race business, consume a breakfast taco in the cafeteria, and loiter around the Pavilion to watch the 50 miler start. I had brought two stocked mini coolers (my version of drop bags) but, since aid stations were 5 miles or closer apart on this course, and so well stocked, I would not touch my coolers the entire day. Oh well, better to be over prepared than under. The aid station proximity underscored another lesson I have since learned; when to use a hydration back pack versus hand held water bottles. As pointed out by my trail running friend Mike Ruhlin, over a marathon distance or longer, the weight of a hydration pack does start to take a toll. And it's just not necessary on a course layout like this one, where two hand held bottles would easily last me between aid stations. Another unique feature of this race was the fact that 99% of the runners had never set foot on the course before. It was like everyone was opening a huge Christmas present. Luckily, Joyce Prusaitis had marked much of the course, using more trail markers than Joe typically used on courses twice the size. It was the best marked course I had seen. Unfortunately, I heard a few runners still missed a couple of turns. As Mike Sawyer pointed out, on some of the "new" trail wooded sections, without the incredibly explicit "police tape" chutes, it would have been impossible to see the intended route.

2010 Trail race course map

The marathoners started up a dirt road in order to cut the first of two loops short (to make ~ 26.something miles). Note: Joe P. was keeping the "marathon" distance to maintain the traditional distance set by the previous two races. Also, there is a theory that the word "marathon" itself might attract some more runners, who would possibly shy away from the incredibly foreign term of "50K." Never-the-less, it may be changed to a 50K in the future. I ran with Stephanie and then JoAnna and Layla S. for a while, and even saw trail running champion Liza Howard for a couple of minutes, maintaining my haphazard tradition of starting out too fast.

After a run on top of a ridge with a beautiful view of the river, and then some switch-backs descending down to a springy-fun suspension bridge crossing the river, we ran by the first aid station Armadillo (~ mile 2), significant because of what follows shortly after it; the climb to the Windmill. This steady, rocky climb is a little over one mile but, it feels like 3 miles. With a couple of false tops, you can see the windmill in the distance; it just refuses get any closer. This hill is scattered with beautiful flint and geode-like rocks; pleasant because I spent a lot of time watching them slowly pass under my feet that day.

At the end of the marathon's first shorter loop, approaching the start/finish Pavilion aid station (~ mile 8), the trail runs along the river on what I consider to be the most unique, and fun features of the Nueces course. First, you cross the river on the cement bridge crossing you drove over when entering Camp Eagle; it is impossible to keep your feet dry at this point. Luckily, I have never really minded having wet shoes but, it apparently drives some other runners crazy. Then you pass through a sandy beach area where what looks like the van from Scooby Doo has been parked for years. Then you run along a narrow rock ledge at the base of the cliff below Camp Eagle's lodge, climbing up and down stair steps of granite, stepping over canoe tie lines, focusing on not slipping and going for a cold swim. I thought this section was a blast.

The funnest / weirdest thing
I've ever run over in my life.

Immediately on exiting the Pavilion aid station (~ mile 8), the course travels over the large river overlook deck (a great place for race spectators, BTW), and then crosses Camp Eagle's large, wooden, pedestrian suspension bridge over the entrance road. Even though this bridge is probably built strong enough to support the weight of a car, it sways up and down with a funky harmonic motion while traversing it that is unlike anything I've ever experienced. Runners would describe their failed attempts at synchronizing their gate to it, or just giving up and walking over it. I thought swinging my hips back and forth in a pseudo salsa rhythm worked quite well. For its shear weirdness, this bridge is one of my favorite parts of the course; I don't care what any other runners say. After this bridge, runners are sent on a two mile, switch-backy loop before returning to the opposite side of the Pavilion to head out on the second full loop. I call this loop "the final insult" because runners head out on it again right before the finish line but, I honestly like this part of the course. Its wooded, winding trail reminds me of Austin's Bull Creek "Ken's Loop" trail I run every Sunday with my HCTR buddies.

After leaving the Pavilion, some fairly typical rocky terrain leads to the Moon aid station (~ mile 12). The following switch-backy section exhibits the "mind-tease" characteristic of this course, described by 50 miler and Traverse Team member Dalton. Being a relatively small crowd for this race, I felt like I was the only person out there at times. But, at other times, and especially in this section, I would hear voices from indistinguishable directions; aid stations that aren't really ahead or behind you but on a separate side of the loop. It was kind of spooky. Marathon runners then arrive at the Texas aid station (~ mile 14.5) for the first time, since it was cut off by the shorter first loop; again, significant for what immediately follows it. The next section of the course winds its way up a steep, wooded, rocky slope in an up and down neurotic manner. Parts of this half mile section have no clear trail, just trail markers on trees above or below you, and its steepness makes it difficult for even the elite runners to run. I'm in awe of the 50 milers who negotiated this insane section three times during the day.

Lots of rock on this course.

After bouncing off trees and lumbering up to the top of the ridge, you are rewarded with a smooth dirt road downhill that you can run as fast as your heart desires; assuming you're in the mood to run fast at that point. You then go through a rocky creek bed and back over to the Armadillo aid station (~ mile 18.5) to begin the second endless climb to the Windmill (~ mile 22). The weight of my hydration pack was starting to take its toll on my back at this point.

A tortuous smell of hamburgers
is wafting from The Pavilion.

I have a "doddle at aid station" issue I need to work on. Well, not really every aid station, just the "second to the last" aid station in races of this distance. When I finally got to the Pavilion (~ mile 24.5), and started the "final insult" loop, I was feeling stiff. I could tell my loitering at that one aid station might cost me my below-7-hour goal. But, I really focused on my form again through those lonely wooded switch-backs and hauled my butt across the finish line in 6 hours 40 something. Not a bad days' work.

Before the race, I had bragged about being willing to jump off a ~ 1.5 story tall deck into the river, which was clearly constructed for that purpose, within ear-shot of the race director. Joe made it clear that I had thus committed to doing so. At the Pavilion finish line, he suggested that I might as well get it over with while I was still warm from the run. He followed me down the steps with a camera to document the event.

Post race dip.

The clear river water was very cold. But, on my scale of "cold water I've been dared to jump into," it was not "stinging cold," like the trail lake in Rocky Mountain National Park my brother-in-law frequently dares me to jump into during our family summer vacation. Never-the-less, I made a B-line from there to grab a hot shower. JoAnna also took a dip. I'm surprised more runners didn't treat their aching muscles to the frigid therapy.

Awesome zip line!

While waiting for the rest of the runners to trickle in, a group of us partook in some zip-lining fun. Two cables stretch down a massive hill, at the bottom of which passengers must be hitting speeds around 40 to 50 MPH. Needless to say, a must do. Cheri W. and myself are pictured on our way down. (Picture courtesy of Shannon Mitchell)

The post race activities at Nueces are as much fun as the race itself. From enjoying muscle replenishment beer therapy around the huge campfire ring, to hot-off-the-grill burgers under the Pavilion, it's almost silly to pack up the car and leave too soon. Much thanks to Joe and Joyce Prusaitis and family, and all of the volunteers for organizing this trail race fiesta. And thanks to Chris McWaters and the Camp Eagle staff for hosting and feeding all of us ravenous trail runners so well.

I was again in admiration of my current coach, Roger Davis, and friend Gordon M. for knocking out the 50 miler that day, and Paul N. for completing his first 50 miler. They have expanded my imagination for the upcoming goal that I'm training for...
Joe Prusaitis, Nueces Race Director's race report
Congrats to the super friendly husband / wife trail running couple of Brenda and John for 1st and 2nd in the 10K.

My Austin Marathon, February 14, 2010

2010-03-11T16:39:00.006-06:00

Austin Marathon 2010

Even though I had already run my first 50K trail race at Bandera (January 9, 2010), I had never really completed a traditional road marathon. My home town Austin Marathon on Valentine's Day seemed to be a perfect way to "check that box," and transition into my trail running training for the year. I don't really consider myself a long distance road runner any more but, heck, why not? ...I had most of my long run training under my belt, and there are a lot of things to like about this race!

Austin Marathon web site, The race course

Let me start by describing the "vibe"; I've never been around thousands of runners so excited to run! (the Capitol 10000 probably my closest) So many of these people had been training precisely for this race, a major event in their lives. I felt a little bit like an odd duck, in that regard; my objectives being only to take the marathon slow, avoid injury, and enjoy myself. I decided to wear my trail CamelBak just because I was used carrying it for those distances (for Heed and food, not just for water); kind of like my "safety blanky." Because of that, I would be passing by most of the aid stations; you'd think that would make me faster? And I wore my Newton running shoes (report on that later).

It was a crisp, cool morning, low 40s in front of the Texas Capitol on Congress Avenue. A typical fall pre-race; everybody was shivering at the start but, everyone also knew they would warm up rapidly once running. The temperature would also steadily climb throughout the day. I chatted with my Catapult colleague Eric Russell (he was planning a half marathon PR), and then happened upon some trail running friends; Paula Stevens, her sister Abigail, and their mom. Paula's fiance', Josue', an extremely talented trail runner, was up further in the start crowd. The horn went off, and it took us ~ 10 minutes to get under the starting gate and begin running.

Before I proceed with describing the tedious mechanics of my marathon, I'd like to highlight sights that I found delightfully amusing throughout the day. Because, that's why I was here, to enjoy myself while putting in a decent days' work running a marathon as close to non-stop as possible (sorry, no time goals). Even though it has dramatically grown in attendance over the years, this race still has a home-town feel to it. As the marathon winds its way through neighborhoods in the mid-miles along Great Northern and Shoal Creek, multitudes of residents throw lawn parties, offering runners home-made treats, and even beer! Here are a few of the sights I remember:

A music band at ~ mile 3.5, where the course was turning north onto S. 1st, had incorporated a children's choir into a really jammin' tune. I was tempted to just stop and listen.
On the front porch of some house on Shoal Creek, a little boy (~5-6 yrs old?) had setup up his trap-set and was rock'n-out all of the runners with his high-hat skills.
My trail running friends of Hill Country Trail Runners club (HCTR) had setup an aid station at mile 22. By far the best aid station on the course. Of course, those ultra-runners know what runners need at that point; fatty foods, sugary drinks that are different from what you've been drinking all day long, hugs, a kick in the bootie, etc.
It being Valentine's Day, I got a kick out of seeing assorted roses and flowers handed to the lady runners during the day and at the finish line.
My favorite part of this race had to be running up to and around the Texas Capitol building at the finish. It was kind of majestic.

And now for my race. As usual, I started out too fast. When it is cool, I find that I am impatient to warm up. And then I feel too good to slow down, even though I know I should be conserving energy. But, I did learn something from this mistake; I ran a decent first half marathon (for me), about 2 hours 20 minutes. I sustained a 10 minute mile pace or less for practically the entire first half of the marathon; I did not know I was capable of doing that. Maybe I could maintain that pace for an entire marathon one of these days... ??? And then I slowed down, way down. I had to drop some unwanted weight (gastro-intestinally speaking) at mile 12. I held it until I saw, as Frank Livaudais describes them in his blog, a "blue box of miracles" on 35th street that didn't have a half hour waiting line in front of it. Even though I dutifully take care of my business pre-race, this seems to happen to me often around miles 12-15; I need to watch my sugar in-take. I took the opportunity to take a couple of bites of half a turkey sandwich I was carrying with me (coach Roger Davis' endurance running advice: eat early, eat often).

The slowdown at the halfway point seemed to hit me in a series of waves. I noticed that I have an ankle that starts complaining when I run over 15 miles on asphalt. I say that because it stays relatively quiet when I run the same or greater distances on the trail. I usually can make it go away by simply adjusting my running form for a little while. I'm also used to the achy feeling in the feet; long distance runners' feet naturally swell up after a few hours of running, which is why it is important to wear shoes that are not too snug. But, I was not used to my feet aching this early in a run (~ mile 15 and on). In retrospect, I'm chalking these ankle and foot issues up to not running enough long runs on asphalt during training (regardless of having completed a 50K trail run the prior month). Having been warned about this by Joe Prusaitis, I put in two asphalt 20 mile runs the two weeks prior to the rest week before the marathon, and maintained the rest of my regular trail running schedule. But, in my opinion, that was not enough time on asphalt (and, even though I run an asphalt 8 miler weekly, a road marathoner needs to do long runs on asphalt). Many people blame the hard surface of the road but, I think the repetitive motion contributes just as much to the issue. And, although a road runner can train to be a more resilient asphalt runner, I believe they need to do significant cross-training and exercise to avoid repetitive motion related injuries.

It warmed up quite a bit during the last half of the marathon. I needed to consume quite a few Thermolyte tablets to stay on top of cramps in my "hammies." But, those tablets did their job for me. I saw a lot of runners stopped, trying to stretch out their hamstrings that day. I think a lot of them do not realize the cramps are typically related to an electrolyte shortage, or, mistakenly think they can get enough electrolytes from the Powerade served at the aid stations (at least it's not enough for someone of my ample body mass). But, aches and cramps in my feet and lower calves started to take their toll on me in the last 6 miles. The HCTR aid station at mile 22 was a god-send but, I was down to a turtle-like jog going through the UT campus on the way to the finish in front of the Capitol. I think some runners complain about hills in the last 6 miles of this course; sorry, I really didn't notice any. :-)

The last mile proved to me how unfamiliar I am with this race. Ironically, even with my aching feet and calves, I think I had too much at the end. I was able to pick my knees up and sprint it in once I saw the finish line. Which always makes me think, "Hmm, maybe I should have been running stronger 2 to 4 miles back??? ... hmm..." Oh well, I always have those questions at the end of races. It's what makes you register again next year. :-)

And now to scratch that itch of some road runners reading this article: What was your time?! What was your time?! What was your time?! ;-) I finished around 5 hours. Yes, I probably could have broken 5 hours had I done any number of things differently that day but, I'm happy. I think I managed my race well based on my objectives. No injuries, and I can work on improving my pace over later miles (15 and on) in the next few months. But, honestly, that race hurt! It took my legs 4 to 6 days to fully recover, as opposed to 2 to 3 days after a trail marathon over rugged, rocky terrain. I did mention that I'm primarily a trail runner, right?

Feeding The Birds

2010-03-09T17:00:00.023-06:00

Our house sits on the slope of a hill with the windows in the back peering out into the tops of some oak trees. I found the kitchen breakfast area window, in front of which our family enjoys most of its meals, to be a particularly good vantage point to place a bird feeder... or two. Little did I know that this would become a "never ending project"; a seemingly simple lawn feature that I would, never-the-less, tinker and fiddle with year after year in an obsessive effort to attract the charming little creatures.

Update 7/20/2010: New high-resolution photo of the Black-chinned and Allen's hummingbirds (still trying to get even better shots).
Update 6/30/2010: Photos of the Rock Squirrel, and Brewer's Blackbird.
Update 3/21/2010: New high-resolution, close-up photos of the House Finch, and Mourning Dove.
Update 3/18/2010: New high-resolution, close-up photos of the Red-bellied Woodpecker, Lesser Goldfinch, and Fox Squirrel.

Disclaimer

Even though it is recommended by the Audubon Society, some people do not believe in feeding birds. A credible argument can be made that doing so is making the birds over-dependent on the feeder, and weaning them from their natural foraging and survival skills. Another criticism states that feeders propagate invasive bird species, like Blue Jays, Cowbirds, etc. But, as I will explain, much of this can be controlled with fine-tuned bird seed mixes, innovative feeder devices, reduced ground foraging, etc. I have minimized invasive species feeding, and the native species I do feed (i.e.: Finches, Titmice, Chickadees, Woodpeckers, Cardinals, etc.) are hearty and winter in central Texas (are year-round inhabitants) so, I don't feel guilty feeding them. I also don't mind being a pit-stop for the occasional migrating visitor; always a treat to see.

Risking My Life For The Cause

I can be an idealist at times, to my detriment. When I see an optimum way of arranging something, especially when it captures my interest , I can become obsessed with implementing that exact configuration. Such was the case with the bird feeders. In my opinion, there existed no better view of the birds but from that exact window; the spectator is practically four feet away from the unaware subjects. I could sneak along the side of our kitchen undetected and pop out from the side of the window for photo-ops. The fact that I would be risking my life to climb a 30 foot extension ladder (borrowed from my neighbor), to install several chained loops, pulleys, and ropes in a tall oak tree above the roof line was irrelevant. All events in my world would be placed on hold until those pulleys were there (melodramatic pause as David intently stares at a silly tree). I learned a few lessons from this task, as I do from just about everything in my life. Tip #1: The best way to secure an extension ladder for a climb into a tree is to straddle its feet across the base of a trunk of another close tree. This makes it difficult for the ladder to slip at the base and twist, provided the top rests on a "Y" branch that is secure (won't break). Tip #2: Large extension ladders are heavy. Watch out when handling them by yourself, especially near windows. Tip #3: Make sure to never wrap anything tightly around the trunk or branch of a tree, which can harm or even kill the tree; instead, create a loop with slack. Tip #4: Be very careful! I have no idea how those tree-trimming guys do their job, hanging upside down from ropes while holding onto chainsaws, etc. Is anyone crazy enough to insure them?

I also found a use for some nifty components called "Figure 9s," available at REI. Mainly used in rock climbing applications, these devices make frequent securing and loosening of a weighted 1/4 inch rope easy.

Squirrels Are Intelligent Beings That Shall Inherit The Earth

Soon after I raised my first bird feeder, it became clear that I was entering into an escalating chess match with an animal that has graduated from its rodent heritage to something much more diabolical; the squirrel (Fox Squirrel pictured right). If allowed, they will rapidly consume not only all of a bird feeders' finely tuned mix of seed, but help themselves to its storage location(s) as well; using beaver-like teeth to gnaw through bags, containers, and even walls. I should have predicted this years ago, having lost an entire hammock to a squirrel that had acquired a neurotic taste for rope. But, I consider myself lucky since the same critter(s) has literally been eating its way into my neighbor's primarily cedar house. Squirrels will spend every waking hour methodically analyzing three dimensional routes around every obstacle between themselves and a feeder's seed. Make no mistake; underneath that cute, bushy tail and beady little eyes, they are mocking us.

However, after trying assorted tactical experiments, from lowering the feeder nightly into an aluminum trash can, to mounting various hoods, and sacrificing three feeders, I have settled on a Squirrel Buster (they may have changed the model name). It was recommended by my co-bird-feeding colleague Brett Hopkins, purchased from the knowledgeable folks at Wild Birds Unlimited. A lot of newer bird feeders have some type of spring-tripped mechanism designed to close off the feeding openings under the weight of a squirrel and not the weight of birds. But, many are shoddily crafted, falling apart after prolonged exposure to the elements, and few have an adjustable spring like the Squirrel Buster, even allowing it to close under the weight of loitering Doves and invasive Blue Jays. This well designed feeder, combined with a hanging height that makes even a squirrel think twice, has granted me a strategic arms freeze with my furry adversary for the time being. Also, quality seed helps ensure mostly empty shells drop to the ground, reducing ground feeding. Sometimes, if I get a swarm of Cowbirds, I will resort to not putting any seed out at all for a little while, until they leave.

Speaking of squirrels, we've had a family of these unusual black-headed squirrels living in our backyard for years now. I believe they are Rock Squirrels (Hill Country sub-species), but have found little identification information. They are larger but not as pesky as the regular tree (Fox) squirrels, feed mainly on the ground, and leave the feeder mostly alone. But, they can be aggressive about dogging into flower pots, sneaking into the garage, etc. Generally, we like to watch these fellows though (but, we're not big gardeners).

I have raised other contraptions into our upper echelon viewing portal, including a finch-only feeder, hummingbird feeders, a mealworm dish (for the Wrens), two small bird houses my daughters hand-crafted at school, a log with bark butter on it (for the Woodpeckers), etc. But, everything still revolves around the main feeder.

In The future

Crazy as it might sound, I would like to "mic up" my bird feeder area. Basically, install a microphone in the attic above the exterior eave, and run the audio cable to my home theater amplifier and speakers. "Why don't you just open the window?" ...you might ask. Well, that tends to scare the birds away, and unpopular during the Austin, Texas scorching summers.

And thus begins a list of images of birds that I will gradually update over time as I sneak up on them. I just got a higher resolution camera and promise to replace all of these pics appropriately (it's pretty obvious which ones have been taken with the newer Canon). Enjoy.

Parade of Native Birds (in order of sighting)

The Carolina Chickadee
These bandit masked petite birds feed in groups and perch for a minute or two, not easily phased by motion behind the glass. They are one of the most enjoyable birds to watch feed.

The Black-crested Titmouse

Unmistakably identifiable by their "Mohawk hair-do," these medium sized birds are dive bombers. They perch for mere seconds but, at least feed in group waves allowing for frequent views.

The Lesser Goldfinch

Some of these tiny fellows have a brilliantly yellow chest, and perch for a nice long time.

The Painted House Finch

The male looks like it's had a cup of red paint poured on top of its head and slowly dripped down its back. It might be mistaken for a Cardinal from a distance but, it is smaller in size and definitely has that finch beak versus a Cardinal beak.

The Northern Cardinal

This Central Texas stalwart, the male red Cardinal look very different when it is young, just growing into its red color as in this photo. They also have one of the most distinguishable songs.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker

This guy comes around periodically and typically just hops up and down the tree trunks, looking for morsels hiding beneath the bark. This picture of him feeding from the feeder is a rare sight to see. I am experimenting with a new feeder, which intentionally has no perches, just slits and seed openings, filled primarily with nuts, to see if it tickles his fancy better. I have experimented with Jim's Birdacious Bark Butter spread on a log and raised with little success. It seems I spend a lot of time trying to attract this illusive friend.

The Bewick's Wren

A cute little ball of a bird, whose tail sticks straight up, I often saw him hopping around the plant pots on the deck, looking for worms. Only recently did I decide to raise a small glass dish filled with mealworms for him in front of the window. Man, that worked like a charm! Sometimes he'll park his butt there for 10 minute stretches, especially when it's cold and rainy. The Titmice like the mealworms too but, that's about it.

Parade of Migrating Visitors (in order of sighting)

Hummingbirds

Feeding hummingbirds is a sub-science of its' own in the world of bird feeding. Online forums will track the little buzzers as they make their way from Mexico back North during the Spring. Our feeder doesn't get mobbed like ones in Colorado and other places I've seen. Instead, we get a handful of loyal residents for the summer. They probably aggressively chase off the other hummingbirds. They can be difficult to identify; I believe I've seen a couple of Black-chinned hummingbirds (right) and either an Allen's or a female Ruby-throated hummingbird (below). Do not fall for the marketing scam that is the hummingbird food sold in the store; contrary to popular belief, the food does not need to be colored red, the artificial coloring is bad for them, and it is easier, cheaper, and healthier for the hummingbirds to make your food. A simple 4 to 1 mixture, using pure cane sugar, with the secret being to boil the water before adding the sugar (recipe). Also, it seems the old-fashioned, simple design hummingbird feeders work the best at attracting them. And once you've got a loyal audience, they suck that stuff down pretty fast during the summer! The main inconvenience that follows hummingbird food is ants. A water ring dish on top of the feeder can help for a short period of time. But, I have a theory that hummingbirds actually eat an ant or two for protein. Literature say that they eat spider parts and various other things, but, those little turbo wings need something more than just sugar and nectar to energize them. It's just a theory.

The Baltimore Oriole

These brilliantly orange-yellow-black colored birds delight us for a few weeks every year as they pass through. Prepare yourself for an amazing display of blazing orange when the male open its' wings to take flight. And, oddly enough for a medium sized bird, they absolutely love the humming bird food! So much so, they will peck to pieces the plastic protection screen just to get it out of the way, much to the envy of the hummingbirds. Lucky I use cheap hummingbird feeders and have many replacement parts.

Unwelcome Visitors

The Brewer's Blackbird

Some blackbirds are a joy to watch feed, such as the Red-winged Blackbird. But, these Brewer's bad boys will hang out all day long on the feeder and scare away all of the other birds.

The Blue Jay

Blue Jays aggressively crowd out other birds from a habitat and attack nests. Actually, these birds seem to me to be the most sensitive to any kind of motion whatsoever. I really have to be still to photograph them. Maybe it's their big eyes?

The Cowbird

Cowbirds are the worst. They lay their eggs in other unsuspecting bird species' nests, kick out the original eggs, and trick the victim bird into raising its young, harming the reproductive chain of the victim species. They are truly a parasite bird.

The Mourning Dove

Well, I have mixed feelings about listing Doves as "unwelcome" per se, which is why I was specific to Mourning Doves. There's just so many of them. If they could, they would park there butt all day long on my bird feeder, clean it out of seed, and scare off all other birds. Which is why I adjust the spring weight to close on the weight of the doves. I still enjoy watching them, and they still perch near the feeder. They obviously like to be around other feeding birds for the dropped seeds (it's funny how they are barely phased by the squirrels). And I would jump at the chance to feed more rare species, like the Inca Dove. So, I really don't have a current issue with the Doves.

The Kitty Cat

Luckily, Max (pictured) is an indoor kitty. And the Coyotes in our neighborhood make sure very few stray cats are around to bother the birds.

Put A Server In My House... Why?

2010-02-25T15:43:00.020-06:00

"Making it easier for consumers to manage media across a home network ... is one of the biggest challenges in consumer electronics."

- Richard Waters, Financial Times techblog

Most people own at least one desktop or laptop computer located at home, which they undoubtedly use to browse the Internet and run a handful of other "home office" type of applications. This computer is typically separate from a computer provided for them for their daily work life. It is also safe to assume that most would rather simplify their personal lives as opposed to adding complexities in the form of additional computers in the home that they must babysit and maintain, with the obvious exceptions of computer hobbyists, professionals working from their home-based offices, software developers working remotely, etc., who may have unusual circumstances causing the over accumulation of computers and IT equipment in their guest bedrooms, game rooms, kitchens, cordoned-off foyers, garages, etc. So, why would a regular person ever want to invest in and install an additional computer, whose sole purpose is to serve other computers in their house (a "computer server"), not even intended for them to use directly, in their home?

Note: I do not work for Dell, HP, or Microsoft and in no way profit from additional sales of equipment or software licenses those companies pitch, regardless of how nice that might be. Nor am I a SlashDot addict, obsessed with installing Linux on every possible computing device, be it appropriate or not.

Let me start by admitting that the following conclusions are certainly not the case for everyone, and a single computer, server-less household proves sufficient for most people today. However, times are "a change'n," and I predict that the following driving forces are likely to affect the technology in many of our homes, sooner rather than later.

"Cloud Computing" Is Here To Stay (But Needs Help)

Now that high-speed Internet connections (broadband) are practically commonplace in most homes, apartments, condos, etc., the use of inexpensive or free Internet web sites and services as replacements for what we used to use software locally on our PCs and Macs for has exploded (this method of software usage is popularly referred to as "Cloud Computing"). And even with the personal information security risks associated with accessing the Internet, using a web service instead of purchasing and installing a software "package" will continue to be a more attractive alternative for most. IT professionals have known for years that a computer whose "role" is simplified, software configuration minimized to only those applications needed to do its job, is practically guaranteed to be more reliable over the long run. And many consumers who have owned a few computers and laptops over the years understand this concept implicitly; "the more apps I install on my PC or laptop, be it Mac or PC, the more headache I'm going to have upgrading to a new one" (even with some of the migration utilities provided by manufacturers over the years, a "clean install" has almost always been the recommended "ideal" upgrade path). Even with the risks inherent to the use of an Internet browser (i.e.: "malware" and "spyware"), people understand that a computer primarily used to access the Internet is a lot simpler and easier to maintain, upgrade, recover from a disaster, and even share with trusted others than the personal computer of a decade or more ago, littered with tens or hundreds of locally installed software applications. But as the "personal Web," or Cloud, grows out of its infancy, some areas are surfacing where the Cloud satisfies consumers' desires poorly. But, as I will discuss, this first generation of Cloud services will help those best who help themselves first. In other words, Cloud services augment home networks and servers quite nicely.

One Computer To Rule Them All (In The House)

When a modern household grows kids, it grows computers (plural). And users in multi computer homes share files with each other, share printers, etc.

But I use the Cloud for that!: "My family and friends share files and documents online, using Google Docs, or Microsoft Office Live, etc."...

Granted, the traditional need for setting up a LAN (Local Area Network) in a multi-computer household is rapidly diminishing to just providing wired or wireless Internet access for all personal computers due to the introduction of low cost or free, innovative, online personal office software. But the security risks, storage capacity limitations, and risk of data loss still connected to these services causes most people to use online personal document storage in a "mixed" approach; for example, they will store commonly needed but "not-so-private" documents online (i.e.: scanned receipts, proof of insurance forms, etc.), while keeping private documents stored on their local computer (i.e.: health records). A reliable, trusted, centrally shared folder is still typically desired for this remaining private document repository, located on a file server.

And where there are multiple computers, there are multiple backups. Most responsible computer owners backup the files that are important to them on their computer hard drive(s). Some people backup their entire hard drive contents, some just a small set of folders, some backup to USB thumb drives, some to CD or DVD discs, some to (now much cheaper) external USB hard drives, and some still to old-fashioned tape drives. But, when a household has multiple computers, the amount of data to backup can increase dramatically. Therefore, a central computer that manages and consolidates multiple computer backups over the home LAN can simplify this task immensely. Excluding photos and videos, the actual size of a family's critical documents is typically small (100MB or less). But, losing control of or losing changes to these files when they inevitably get copied across multiple laptop and desktop computers becomes a common problem in a multi computer home, which again, can be resolved by using a single, shared, regularly backed-up, virus-scanned folder on the home network.

But I Use The Cloud for That!: "I use an online backup-over-the-Internet service like Mozy or JungleDisk, and one of a hundred Internet 'file sync' services for sharing documents... "

Online backup web sites, and simple Network Atached Storage (NAS) devices as well, currently just provide file-based backup and synchronization, but do not offer the "native" full system backup and restore option, important in "disater recovery" situations, that a home server can. But, these online backup sites are a good example of Cloud-based services removing the headache from a cumbersome task disliked by many home computer owners. Almost invisibly behind the scenes, theses online services, in conjunction with a small background application, slowly trickle the files that you wish to be backed up securely to their web site (and massive data center). Gone are the worries of having to remember to change out a DVD disc, or checking if an external hard drive might be full. And because these companies are able to spread their storage costs across many users, their storage capacity is very reasonable (i.e.: 50 GB of secure, backed up space for ~ $50 per year). But, the more data you choose to backup, the slower it will take to move that data over your high speed Internet connection, especially when conducting "full" hard drive backups (i.e.: a 50GB transfer can take as long as 1.5 weeks to complete when using one of these services). Granted, after the initial transfer, only files that have changed are backed up after that making for much faster subsequent backups. But, this initial transfer size poses a dilemma when upgrading computers, restoring a crashed hard drive, and especially when considering the next trend below, "Bandwidth will increase in cost". On the other hand, these Internet backup services are ideal when combined with a home server. If setup on the home server, an Internet backup and/or file sync service can optimally create a redundant backup of all of the computers in the home with one transfer, rather than one for each computer. And an Internet file share sync'd with a home server share can securely grant access to a set of files strictly controlled across all of your home computers.

A centralized computer, provided it is more than just a file server or NAS device, can also be used to remotely access and manage other computers, laptops, netbooks, etc. in the house. It can even turn a computer on and off remotely, if the computer supports the Wake-Up-On-LAN standard.

Your Family Photographic History Is For You To Keep (And To Share At Your Prerogative)

A centralized, backed-up repository on your home network for all of your digital photographs will help insure that they will never be lost, and provide for creative in home access and presentations.

But I Use The Cloud for That!: "I use Flickr or Kodak Gallery to store all of my photos, I use Facebook to share them, and I have backup of my photos scattered across many USB Flash thumb drives and/or DVD discs. Why would I need to store them on a share on my network, much less a server?"

Internet photo sharing sites are now the de facto standard for uploading, sharing, ordering prints of, and even creating albums of digital photos. And these companies have scaled up their massive storage requirements elegantly... so far. But, with the steady increase in camera resolution, and thus picture file size, increase in users, and the sheer passage of time, these photo sharing sites are starting to show the effects. In 2009, Kodak Gallery's management announced a new policy to its users stating that the company would not be able to continue to store photographs for users unless they purchased some sort of product or services of a specific value from Kodak Gallery at least once per year. In other words, they cannot continue to justify their storage costs except for valued, active customers. But photos are supposed to be forever, regardless of your current business activity status, considered by some to be a family photographic history. And other Internet photo sites will eventually adopt similar policies out of necessity. Note: Google has yet to figure out how to make YouTube pay for itself. Which is why you should always be in control of your digital photograph and personal video originals, in their raw, full resolution quality.

This brings up an old debate of "exactly what type of media should you use for long-term storage of digital files?" In other words, what should you place in that fire-proof safe in your closet, or safety deposit box, or relative's house, etc.? Rather than delve into that tangent topic, let's just assume that the recommended long-term, storage media type changes about every 10 years or so (currently, I believe popular use stands at USB thumb drives for convenience, followed by external hard drives for performance and capacity, and DVD discs declining in usage). But, if these files were consolidated and stored in a central storage area on the home network first, switching to a different long-term storage media would be easy. And having the entire library constantly available to the home network makes it much easier to stream slide-shows to nifty gadgets like wireless digital photo frames, DVRs or game consoles connected to flat-screen TVs, etc. The same technology can be used for streaming music, but is not typically, since music is not generally perceived to be owned in the same way as other personal content.

Your Home Entertainment Will Increasingly Rely On Your Internet Bandwidth, And Your Home Internet Bandwidth Will Increase In Cost

Broadcast television, as we know it today, will become obsolete well within our lifetime (not to mention the traditional telephone system as well). Current college-aged and younger generations have little loyalty to cable or satellite TV broadcasters, and do not hesitate at replacing the television screen in their living room with a large computer screen and Internet browser. Add to that the slightly contradictory trend that everyone will eventually own a home theater. For example, even people who claim that "watching too much TV is bad for you" will jump at the chance to have a commercial-free, National Geographic and educational documentary-stocked video library instantly available at their fingertips; ready to project in 61 inch, High Definition, Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound glory in an audio-insulated, climate-controlled, throw pillow dominated cocoon located just a stroll away from their bedrooms and kitchens. I believe desiring this may be related to some common primordial human instinct. A home server gives a family more instant video entertainment choices on their home theater(s) as well as their mobile computers, phones, and other devices.

But I Use The Cloud for That!: "I have a Netflix account, or iTunes, or Time Warner On Demand, which allows me to purchase and watch movies almost instantly, and I can access Hulu for archived TV shows wherever I have Internet access. Why would I need a server?"

Again, the point is not about replacing these Cloud-based video entertainment services, which practically everyone uses now, but supplementing them with something faster and cheaper in the long run. Creating a home network based video library allows near instant access (via streaming) to those video titles you choose to own. Also, downloading more and more HD movies over the Internet is placing a heavier burden on home Internet bandwidth provider networks, while taking more revenue away from cable and satellite TV providers; the problem for consumers is that these are the same companies (i.e.: Time Warner, Comcast, etc.)! So, if you think Time Warner or Comcast will sit idly by and watch their business models crumble, while consumers cancel their cable TV subscriptions and continue to download cheap movies over cheap Internet connections, I'm sorry to inform you that you will be disappointed. They will replace that lost revenue by using new financial instruments like Internet bandwidth caps and usage fees. It is just a matter of time.

But I Use DVD Discs for That!: "I have a bookshelf full of DVDs and Blu-ray discs that I can play whenever I want. Why would I need to store my videos on a server?"

The main limitation with DVD discs is that they are typically your sole copy of a given video in your house. This may be fine for a title that you watch occasionally, and only in one location (i.e.: just one flat screen), but DVDs tend to get lost when taken on vacation, scratched when handled by children, and are incompatible with some computers or laptops that might not even have a DVD or Blu-ray disc drive, etc. But, software products like AnyDVD or HandBrake can be installed on a home computer which can "rip" the movie title off of a DVD disc (even a Blu-ray HD) into a large digital file of various formats (i.e.: Mpeg4), in much the same way music CDROM tracks can be ripped into MP3 files. This process of converting the DVD movie format is referred to as "trans-coding". A user then has many more choices for distributing the video file, such as transferring it to their smart phone to watch on the road; copying it to their laptop, netbook, or Sony PSP; "streaming" it to a light-weight DVR (i.e.: Tivo), an Apple TV extended with Boxee, a game console (i.e.: XBOX 360, or PS3), or a multimedia PC directly connected to their home theater flat screen. Not to mention that it is easier to choose from an onscreen menu of movie titles than it is to fumble through a stack of discs. Unfortunately, the current limitations of the speed of wireless networks and the sheer size of video files means that the concept of "mobile computing" translates to "prep-and-go" rather than "stream-as-needed" most of the time for consumer videos. However, using an efficient, dedicated home server on which to trans-code and store your video library is an ideal setup for reasons explained below.

A Desktop PC or Simple Hard Drive Does Not A Good Server Make

Installing a dedicated computer server on your home network (a home server) not only allows you to remotely manage other household computers, and create online photo and video libraries; it is also an optimum location to host a handful of services or applications that may need to constantly run, even when you are away from home.

But I Can Use My Current Computer For That!: "My home office desktop PC, or Mac, or Network Attached Storage (NAS) device could perform most of the tasks mentioned above; Why should I bother with a dedicated computer server?"

As explained above, simplifying a computer's software configuration is a proven method of making that computer more resilient and perform better over the long run. Separating the typically interactive roles of a home office PC (i.e.: browsing the Internet, working remotely / VPN, email, social networking, instant messaging, photo / video / music editing, word processing, personal finance, game playing, etc.) from the typically background roles of a home server (i.e.: rock solid network file share service, local computer backups, scheduled backup-to-Internet tasks, shared file virus scanning, video streaming, print server, home automation applications, etc.) makes for both a better desktop and server. Dedicated home server products are also typically designed to easily add additional storage to, which not only differentiates them from desktop PCs, but multimedia PCs connected directly to televisions as well. While Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices specialize in providing simple to use storage to a home network, they lack the ability to run applications and thus cannot relieve a desktop PC of server typical roles.

Do I Really Need Yet Another Appliance Raising My Home Electric Bill?!:

Professionals and consumers alike have become more concerned with "Green Computing," or minimizing the energy consumed by their computing devices. The good news about running a separate home server from a desktop PC is in how differently those computers can be designed and operated. A desktop PC or high-end laptop typically features higher power consuming components like faster, multi-core microprocessors, high-performance graphics cards for 3D gaming and desktop publishing, larger power supplies, and extra or larger fans for cooling. But, if configured optimally, a desktop PC should typically be turned OFF (or at least placed in "power stand-by") when it is not being used by a person. And it's hard to get "greener" than a device which is powered down. Although home servers are always running, they are typically designed with lower power consumption components, such as low-power processors, (i.e.: Intel Atom processors, commonly powering netbooks, are popularly used in home server products as well), minimal graphics, smaller power supplies, smaller fans, minimal peripherals, and sometimes even lacking a monitor and keyboard and accessed exclusively remotely. Some server products draw less power than a 40W light bulb when idle. And, in some cases, home servers can be used to monitor the energy consumption of other appliances in the home, helping make the entire house "greener."

So What Does One of these Home Servers Look Like Anyways?:

Home server equipment can take many forms; some good, some not as good. Although there are plenty of products available from reputable manufacturers like HP, ASUS, Acer, Dell, and others; this field is very popular amongst computer hobbyists and Do-It-Yourselfers. Some individuals see the minimal hardware specifications of a dedicated home server as an attractive option to repurpose leftover personal computer equipment. As in all DIY projects however, knowledge and experience should be relied on heavily in order to construct a reliable system, as opposed to something that will break down and jeopardize important data. I've included some general categories, with their main trade-offs, below:

• A shared home office desktop computer in the office
Pros: Cheap
Cons: Mix of software will most likely grow to be unstable and system will develop issues and/or crash over time

• An old, hand-me-down, "used to be a" home office desktop computer shoved into a corner under some magazines and boxes
Pros: Cheap, and software more stable than a shared desktop computer
Cons: Hardware possibly unreliable, higher power consuming (hot), not necessarily designed to run efficiently for long periods of time

• A "Multimedia PC" product connected directly to your television, acting as both a pseudo-DVR and file server
Pros: Software stable
Cons: Not necessarily designed for easily expandable hard drive storage. If expanded to more of a "server" role, rather than just a streaming device, could become loud, hard to cool, and unwelcome in a home theater environment.

• A dedicated home server product, stored in a clean, out-of-the-way, cool location of the house, *wired* to the home network
Pros: Ideal

• A home-built home server
Pros or Cons: It depends on how well it was built (of course)

A handful of operating systems software choices are available for home servers depending on the personality and preferences of the user. Computer hobbyists and individuals comfortable with operating Linux-based systems can choose from several freely-available supplemental software tools like MediaTomb or MythTV to add multimedia management features to the native file server services of Linux. For mainstream users, I recommend a product based on Microsoft Windows Home Server (WHS). WHS comes with a built-in graphical console for managing the system, computer backups, user accounts, etc., and automatically makes itself securely accessible via an Internet URL during setup (i.e.: http://myserver.homeserver.com/), allowing you to easily remotely access and manage your home server while on the road.

A Smart Home Has a Brain

In addition to the basic, "bread and butter" uses for a dedicated home server described above, these general purpose application and file servers are being creatively used for many other purposes in the growing area of the digital "smart home." Since these systems are typically always running, and considered "part of the house," some enthusiasts install software and interfaces on them to monitor energy usage of home appliances, automatically turn lights on and off (see Home Automation), view remote cameras and record surveillance pictures, stream fun photos and videos to wireless picture frames, etc., etc. I believe this area of creative use is one of the strengths of the Windows Home Server (WHS) product. Similar to the Apple iPhone's wildly successful "there's an app for that" approach to expanding usage beyond just a cell phone, the WHS "Add-In" feature has enabled developers to create clean, professional-looking, easy to install graphical extensions to the management console for all kinds of purposes (i.e.: Disk Management Add-In, D-Link D-View WHS Video Camera Console). Granted, there are higher-end products that specialize in many of the same niches as these Add-Ins but, these free or inexpensive software modules typically enable users to experiment with less expensive equipment and software versions of digital home technologies.

My (Unique) Home Server

Let me preface the following with the explanation that I personally would qualify as a computer hobbyist / enthusiast, not really a mainstream user. So, I did choose to go the "build it yourself" route, as opposed to purchasing one of the many excellent home server products available on the market. But, I did a fair amount of research, used a brand new computer system and components, and I am pleased with the results.

I went with a rack-mounted 1U Dell R200, for a couple of reasons. I had a half rack left over from an office. I have a high ceiling in my master bedroom closet, which happens to be air conditioned and has a lot of wasted space high up, so... I built a custom deck / platform. The base Dell R200 system cost less than a laptop, and it was hard to beat that 3-year hardware warranty. Then I just added a special eSATA 2 controller and some external eSATA drives. The processor, being an Intel Dual Core Xeon, does not exactly qualify as low-power, like an Atom processor but, I had other development uses planned for this machine (again, the hobbyist exception :-).

Processing specs: Dell PowerEdge R200 1U rack mounted server; Intel dual core Xeon E3110 @ 3.0GHz w/ 1333MHz front side bus; 8GB memory DDR2 of 800MHZ 4X2G dual ranked DIMMs; 3yr Dell warranty

Storage and I/O specs: 500 GB SATAII hw RAID1 mirror (Primary SYS:) controlled by an LSI PCI-Express SAS6iR; ~2 TB eSATAII JBOD WDC drives (DATA:) controlled by an Addonics 4-port PCI-X ADS3GX4R5-E

Purpose: Hybrid file/app server, media server, DVD transcoding, home appliance automation, etc.

Clients: 2 kids' netbooks, 1 laptop, 1 gaming PC (currently dead), 2 iPhones, 1 Tivo S3, 1 PS3, 1 Wii w/ Wii Fit, D-Link GB switch & Gamer Lounge GB router

Software: Microsoft Windows Home Server + various Add-Ins

My Home Theater

Resources:

We Got Served
WGS WHS Hardware product Reviews

Microsoft Windows Home Server