Pamelia Lake Loop

Thursday Mom, Jacob, and I ran the Pamelia Lake loop.  The route we take starts at the Pamelia Lake trailhead, climbs past Pamelia Lake and Milk Creek, then on to Coyote and Shale Lakes.  This time we cut cross-country from Coyote and Shale Lakes down to Hunt's Cove because we ran into a lot of snow.  The snow was pretty slow and I'd guess it will be a few weeks before it will all melt.  Fortunately we only had snow for the upper sections of the loop.  We probably made it 80-90% of the way to Coyote and Shale Lakes before we saw any snow, but by the time we reached the lakes it was pretty deep.

Rhododendrons in bloom

Mt. Jefferson from Milk Creek

Paintbrush

Snow on Milk Creek.  Its been a long time since we've seen snow this low at Milk Creek

Mom and Jacob on the climb up to Shale and Mud Lakes

Grizzly Peak

This was new.  When I came around the corner it looked like the hillside had been clearcut.  The avalanche must have pushed all the trees to the sides or carried them to the bottom because there were no trees left in the middle of the avalanche's path.

The first patch of snow

Snow ahead

Looking back at Grizzly Peak

Looking back down the drainage toward Pamelia Lake

Lots of snow now

The outlet of Coyote Lake

Mt. Jefferson

Mom and Jacob walking the end of Shale Lake

Shale Lake

Three Fingered Jack poking out over the ridge

Looking down on Hunt's Cove

Hunt's Cove

The rock outcropping toward the upper left of this picture was all sticking straight up.  It was pretty cool, but the picture makes it look like the side of a hill.  I guess you'll have to get out there and see it for yourself.

Looking back down the trail

A shooting star

After a short cross country descent we made it down to Hunt's Cove

Lots of creeks because the snow melt

Hank's Lake

Ducks on the ice

Trillium

The falls on Hunt's Creek

Trillium by the falls

Mt. Jefferson

A big falls near the top of the brown section on the far ridge

Another view of the falls

I zoomed in the get this shot of the falls.  There's a lot of water coming down!

Almost back to Pamelia Lake

Past Pamelia Lake and just a few minutes from the car

After the run we took advantage of Pamelia Creek to wash off before we made the drive back to Corvallis.  The creek was a little cold, but it was certainly refreshing to cool off in the creek after the run.  Hopefully the trails will melt out soon since it would be fun to do the whole loop.  I'm sure we will go back later this summer as some of the best views are on the section that we skipped.  If you want to go you'll need to get a permit which you can get here: Permit

Memorial Day Snowcamping

For Memorial Day weekend, we headed to Pole Creek trailhead and climbed up toward North Sister.  We've done this trip for the last few years so its always interesting to see when we will hit snow.  This year the snow was a little bit earlier than usual which was nice because we didn't have to carry the skis as far.

Climbing through the burn on the way in

After leaving the trail and putting on our skis we were able to follow track for quite a while leading up toward North Sister.  Unfortunately these track took us around the ridge we usually tent on instead of leading up to it.  Once we realized this we had to traverse across to the ridge and climb up to reach our tent site.

There was rain in the forecast so one we reached out tent site we tried to pitch the tent as quickly as possible to avoid setting up in the rain.  We could see clouds rolling across Middle Sister and it was obvious there was a bit of precipitation up there, but we didn't get any rain in the afternoon.

After pitching the tent we made dinner, melted some snow for water, and tucked the packs under the tent in case we did get some rain.  Right as we were getting into the tent a light snow started to fall.  It wasn't too much, but we were glad we had the tent set up so we could get inside and stay dry.

Thick clouds below South Sister

Looking up toward Middle Sister

The snow starts

The snow kept falling all night and by the morning we had 3 inches of fresh snow.  The snow was  easy enough to knock off before we got out, but the tent was getting a little drippy inside.  Three inches of wet snow sitting on the tent probably caused some water to start to leak through.  Still, this was pretty disappointing since we didn't have this tent for long and our old tent did much better in the rain and snow.

With the tent a little leaky and the wet snow still falling, we planned to ski a little ways up toward North Sister and then head out.  Typically we spend Saturday, Sunday, and Monday in the mountains, but this years the conditions were really not great.

As we started skiing up toward the base of North Sister, the clouds were really socked in.  Near the bottom there was still descent visibility, but the higher we climbed the harder it was to see.  I've really never seen any fog or clouds this thick so that was pretty cool.  On another note, the snow sucked.  It was really heavy and wet and occasionally our skis would start sticking.

Just starting out from the tent with Mom, Jacob, and Dad up ahead

Once we reached the top of the snowfield we decided to just follow our tracks down the mountain.  It was pretty hard to see so we just switchbacked across our track and made sure to stay together.  We've skied this slope many times, so I'd be surprised if we got lost getting back to the tent, but it was sure socked in up there.

Half snow half ski...or something like that, it was a little hard to tell

Mom and Jacob on the climb up

Fresh snow on the trees

The way the wind blew the snow on the trees was awesome

Looking toward the basin below North Sister.  We were hoping we might see that bottom, but that wasn't happening.

Just before we started down

After we got back to the tent, we packed up and headed out.  It had stopped snowing at this point, but the forecast was for more snow Sunday afternoon and Monday.  Plus, the tent was getting pretty wet and we couldn't see a thing.

Once we got the tent packed and the packs ready we took off for the car.  Mom and Dad started out walking in their ski boot while Jacob and I opted for skis.  The first mile or so is fairly steep and can be tough to ski with a full back.  Walking was probably just as fast as skis, but not nearly as fun...at least if you don't mind crashing a few times.

Soon enough the slope leveled off and we were all on skis.  This year we were able to ski a bit farther than in years past which was fun.  Plus Dad lead us straight to the trail on the way out.  All we had to do was take off our skis and start walking.  Usually we spend a bit of time searching of the trail as well.

We were all a little surprised to see how low the snow was on the way out.  There was still snow from Saturday night all the way to the car.  This snow was good because it had mostly all melted on the trail but it really kept the dust down.  The last few years, the final miles to the cars have been really dusty and usually pretty hot.  This year it wasn't hot at all and as we looked back up at North Sister we could see that it was still completely socked in.

Shooting stars in the snow

Looking back toward North Sister

We reached the car in the middle of the afternoon, loaded up our packs and headed back to Corvallis. It was a little disappointing not to spend the whole weekend up by the Sisters, but it with lousy weather and a leaky tent there wasn't a whole lot we could do.  All in all though, it was a fun trip.  It's always nice to get to spend some time in the mountains even if the weather doesn't really cooperate.

Cruel Jewel 100

Just a couple weeks after the Mac I headed east to Georgia to run the Cruel Jewel 100.  This race has been on my radar for several years and after my brother ran it last year, I figured it was time for me to give it a go.

Cruel Jewel starts at noon on a Friday, so we headed out on Wednesday so I'd have a little time to loosed up from the plane flight.  Wednesday evening and Thursday were mostly spend relaxing in the cabin at Vogel State Park.  Coming from the west coast, I was able to sleep in until about 9 am Thursday and Friday which was good given the noon start.

Friday morning was spend getting all my stuff together and making sure my parents would have what I wanted at the aid station.  Since the race starts at noon, I knew I'd be going through the whole night so I made sure to have a couple lights lined up.  Also, it tends to be a little humid in Georgia so I made sure to have lots of lube for the aid stations.  In the past I've never put lube on during a race, only before, but somehow I figured this race might be a little different.

Anyhow, with all the last minute preparations taken care of I headed to the start line.  The start was less than 5 minutes from our cabin, but in that short time I already noticed the humidity.  The temperature was pretty moderate, but it was muggy!

At noon, we all started hammering down the road out of Vogel....just kidding.  Actually it was the slowest start to any ultra I've run and for good reason.  Only one dude, Nick Hollon, has gone under 24 hours, so we all knew we'd be out there for a while.

On the short climb out of Vogel, I made sure to start out slow and ended up hiking and chatting with a few guys before the gentle descent to the base of Coosa Bald.  I knew my training was decent, but I didn't get in many runs that really taxed my legs so I wanted to try to save my legs as much as I could.

I would have liked to do a few more challenging runs this spring, but I had a lingering shin injury which didn't fully clear up until 2 weeks ago at the Mac.  I was certainly glad to be healthy, but also was very tentative to push too hard early on out of fear of trashing my legs too quickly.

After the initial few miles of gentle hills, we all began the long climb up Coosa Bald.  The climb is about 2000 feet and I made sure to get behind some runners who were wisely hiking nearly every step.  I settled into a hike and slowly chugged up the climb.  I was sweating a lot but the pace felt easy and I was happy to be in the north Georgia hills again.

After cresting Coosa, there's a quick descent down to the aid station.  I filled up my bottles and headed out of the aid station and left the aid station pretty quickly.  No need to waste time stopped.

The next few miles consists of some fairly easy rollers and some steeper sections of trail.  I made sure to hike all the uphills, despite wanting to run more than a few of them.  As for the downhills, I mostly just shuffled along trying to make my quads use the least effort possible.  I wasn't worried about my pace at all.  I figured that it doesn't matter how fast I go at the start if I have to walk to the finish because my legs are shot.

Somewhere in this section I saw a heard a crash in the bushes below me and was lucky enough to see a black bear a couple hundred feet away.  That was pretty cool.  I didn't get much of a view, but its always fun to see wildlife on the trail.

Soon enough I rolled into Fish Gap aid station.  Once again I filled my bottle and headed down the trail.  Leaving the aid station we hopped on some fresh cut trail.  I was a little surprised to see this because I've been on the Duncan Ridge a few times before and there's a trail the whole way.  I figured that maybe there was short reroute and kept on running.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a short reroute.  It was more of a long reroute which contoured around the hillside for a few miles instead of heading straight along the ridge top.  This was actually pretty disappointing because one of my favorite aspects of the Duncan Ridge trail was heading straight up one knob on the ridge, dropping down the backside and doing it again, mile after mile.

After running around the hillside for a while, I reached the climb up to Rhodes Mountain.  This is probably the steepest section on the Duncan Ridge and at least it wasn't gone...yet anyway.  I hiked up this climb, then began the descent down to Skeenah Gap where I'd see my mom, dad, and brother for the first time.

The descent went by quickly and soon I was rolling into the aid station.  I was excited to see my parents and brother and they seemed pretty happy to see me as well.  I got some food, new water bottles, told them about the bear I saw, and headed up the trail.  I'd see them again in just 5 miles.

The next 5 miles was less steep than the previous 20 and had some nice sections of trail.  I kept eating, kept drinking, kept moving forward.  Coming into mile 25 the pace still felt easy, but I could start to feel my legs getting a little sore.  I had hoped my legs would feel a little better at this point, but thought that it was maybe just a little stiffness from moving for several hours, more than actual soreness.

Mile 25 I saw my family again and made sure to put on more lube.  In all the years I've run, I've never had to put on anti chafe during a race before, but the humidity in Georgia made it necessary.  After lubing up, I took some water bottles, some food and set out for the next 5 mile stretch.  Again I'd see my family after this section, but then not until the turnaround about 20 miles later.

Looking good in the early miles

Mile 25-30 was about the same as the previous 5 miles.  For the most part, one significant climb and descent and quite a few rollers leading up to the top of the climb and also on the descent.  I believe it was in this section that someone did a lot of brushing which really cleared out the trail.  Whoever that was, thanks!  It sure make running more fun when you can see what you're stepping on.

As it was starting to get a little later in the day there were a few times when the sun was in my eyes and I had to slow down a little bit so I didn't kick rocks.  That was fine though, it was pleasant to see the setting sun and gave me hopes of cooler temps and lower humidity for the night.  I got one one the two, but its was muggy all night.

At Old Dial Road, I saw my parents and brother again.  I lubed up, got bottles and food, and made sure to take a light at this point as well.  Pretty soon I'd be heading into darkness.

There was a short section of trail leaving Old Dial Road then a few miles of paved road and a little bit of gravel road before Stanley Gap aid station.  I felt good running up the road to Stanley Gap, but made sure to start hiking as the road got a little steeper near the aid station.  It was still a very mellow grade, but I didn't want to start running hard at this point.

I passed through Stanley Gap aid station where I saw my friend Susan Brock and headed back on to trail.  At this point it was starting to get a pretty dim, so I was contemplating when to turn on my light.  While there is something magic about running in the half light just before night, it sure sucks to fall because you can't see.

Pretty soon I was running by light.  Running into the night is always pretty cool.  There something different about it than starting in the morning when it's still dark.  I guess it's the fact that if you start in the dark, it'll probably be light in a couple hours at most.  Heading into the night, it won't be light until you're done or the you've made it through the whole night.  At Cruel Jewel, I knew I'd be heading through the whole night.

After a gradual climb from Stanley Gap, I started the descent down to Deep Gap.  The trail seemed pretty smooth and wide as I descended into Deep Gap.  I focused on running easy as I could feel my quads getting sore, but I felt like I was moving along pretty well.

I reached Deep Gap and started out on the loop from the aid station.  I started out hiking a bit at the start of the loop, but soon found myself running because the trail was mostly flat with only a few short uphill pitches.  I knew that I needed to punch my bib at the bridge on the loop to verify I actually did the loop, so every time I heard a creek I though that I might be approaching the bridge.  I think I went across 3 creek before I actually reached the bridge and punched my bib.

From the bridge back to the aid station was much shorter than getting to the bridge to I was soon back to Deep Gap.  Leaving the aid station I couldn't help but hear that I was in second place which was the first time I really knew where I was all day.  That was kind of cool to hear!

I left Deep Gap on the a short stretch of trail and soon hit the two mile road section to the turnaround at Camp Morganton.  The road section offered some easy running and along this stretch I passed Paul Terranova who was leading the race.  The road to Camp Morganton winds along and feel much longer than it is.  I kept expecting to see that aid station around the next turn, but it took much longer than I though to get there.

Camp Morganton

At Camp Morganton, I saw my parents and brother again.  I got some food, new water bottles, and some lube and headed out.  I overheard that Paul had come through at 10:17 and checking my watch I saw it saw 10:52, 35 minutes back.

There were a few fireflies in the meadow leaving Camp Morganton which were pretty cool to see.  The return trip to back to Deep Gap seemed much quicker that the trip out.  On the way back I realized that there was only 2 or 3 turns along the road on the way to Camp Morganton.  It felt like a lot more on the way out.  Regardless, I passed a few runner on the road between Camp Morganton and Deep Gap and soon found myself running up the trail to the aid station.

From Deep Gap, we run the same loop we did 5 miles earlier.  Knowing that the loop was quite runnable, I stored my poles for the whole loop and ran most of it.  I did hike a few of the short uphills along the loop, but mostly ran.

The second time around the loop felt shorter, which was probably because I knew that there were three creek to cross before the bridge.  Instead of expecting to be at the bridge every-time I heard water, I just kept running knowing that the bridge wasn't for a while.

Leaving Deep Gap, there's a longer climb up to the ridge.  I was happy for that since I was ready to get in some more sustained hiking.  I felt like my hiking had been strong all day and I hadn't really got a chance to hike in quite a while.  The Deep Gap loops were very runnable and so was the road section to Camp Morganton.

Climbing up to the ridge on the way to Weaver Gap I saw a lot of other runners coming down.  It was certainly cool to see everyone else out there!  Usually I could see their light a ways off and soon enough we'd pass each other, give a few words of encouragement and head our separate ways.

The climb up to the ridge seemed pretty short and soon I made the right hand turn to Weaver Gap.  The descent down to Weaver Gap started out slightly overgrown, but soon we dropped below the grass that seemed to grow only on the ridges.  I knew that I'd see Paul Terranova somewhere in this section so I was hoping that it'd be pretty close to the aid station.

The descent was broken up by a short climb followed by more descending down to the aid station.  I believe it was shortly after this climb that I saw Paul climbing back up from the aid station.  He still looked strong and we exchanged some quick word of encouragement as we passed.  I continued down to the aid station which was farther than I'd hoped.  However, I thought that I may have gained a little bit of time, but since I didn't check my watch, this was purely my own estimate.

Climbing back up from Weaver Gap felt good.  I was still feeling strong hiking and was glad to get a chance for more sustained hiking.  I was able to run few level sections and the downhills, but still tried to keep from pushing too hard.  Soon I made it back to the junction where I'd headed toward Weaver Gap and continued to Stanley Gap down the trail I'd run many hours earlier.

Descending to Stanley Gap didn't feel as great as I'd hoped, but once I got rolling on the downhill my legs seemed to be okay.  I least I was making descent time and was stumbling on anything.  I passed a few more runners in this section who were on their way to the turnaround.  I'll admit, I was quite happy I wasn't still on the way to the turnaround, but seeing those runner gave me a big appreciation of how hard runners near that back of the pack have to work and how long they are out there.  Lots of respect for this guys!

At Stanley Gap I saw parents, got some water bottles and a fresh light and headed out of the aid station with my brother.  As I left Dad told me that I was 23 minutes back from Paul and had picked up about 7 minutes in the last section.  This got me excited so I tried to run the paved road section to Old Dial Road a little faster.  I told my parents I might be able to do it in an hour.

The first mile out of the aid station is on a gravel road and Jacob and I chatted a little about the day.  Soon we hit the road and I had to tell Jacob I wasn't really in the mood for talking.  Sorry.  Sometimes  I just like to shut up and run.

I had a few checkpoint along the road that I remembered from the way out.  I checked off each one as we passed and soon we hit the main road, where its probably less than a mile to the trail.  I was surprised how quickly the road section went by.  As we hit the trail, I got out my poles and started hiking again.  The ups felt good, but my quads weren't feeling too hot on the short descent down to Old Dial Road.

At Old Dial Road I saw mom and dad, got some food and water and learned I was now only 13 minutes back.  All right!  That last section felt good and I was ready to roll.  Still, I wanted to save a little bit for a strong finish on the Duncan Ridge, which makes up the last 20 miles of the race.  As I left the aid station I checked my watch, 61 minutes from Stanley Gap.

The trail climbs up from Old Dial Road and I started hiking along with Jacob in tow.  My hiking legs still felt okay, but not as strong as they were earlier.  I kept moving pretty well on the climb, but was starting to struggle a little bit.  There are a few sections where the trail dips momentarily and you can run for a few steps, but I wasn't doing that anymore.  I knew my quads were hurting and I think this is why I didn't run them short downs.  In hindsight I think it was mostly a mental block.  I knew that my legs weren't doing well and I knew that I had a long way to go still.

The descent down to Wilscot Gap was rough, but I was still running.  On any of the big step on the downhill I was particularly ungainly and the steep sections I could barely shuffle, but I was still running.  I came into the aid station feeling fair and tried to leave as quickly as I could.  I got some water and food, but was feeling pretty demoralized about my legs being toast.

Leaving Wilscot Gap, I though maybe I could rally between there and Skeenah Gap.  Leaving Wilscot Gap I didn't get a split on Paul, but I'm guessing I lost some time.  I wasn't moving very well from Old Dial to Wilscot.

I tried my best to hike quickly on the uphills out of Wilscot Gap, but it was starting to get hard to make descent time.  My legs had taken a beating from the downhill and now it was starting to affect my climbing legs as well.  At some point in here the day started to lighten and I wondered when I'd be able to turn my light off.

Light finally came as I began the descent down to Skeenah Gap.  I was doing okay on the flatter sections of downhill, but could barely run the steep sections.  Somewhere in here I started walking the steep downhills.  My legs were so shot I could barely shuffle, and I realized it was just as fast to walk as to try to run.  Needless to say walking the down into Skeenah Gap wasn't what I had in my and by the time I reached Skeenah Gap, I realized the "racing" side of things was over.  Its hard to race when you can't run.

As I walked the last down into Skeenah Gap, I could tell my parents had realized things had gone downhill for me.  They tried to lift my spirits, but I was pretty cranky.  Walking the descent down to Skeenah, I'd accepted that I'd be death marching to the finish and was just ready to start walking.  I knew it was going to take all day, but the sooner I started the sooner it'd be done.

I didn't spend long at Skeenah Gap, but long enough for Meredith Terranova, Paul's wife, to come and see how I was doing.  She offered me some sort of cream that might help with sore muscle and initially I just said no thanks I'll just walk it in.  My parents convinced me to try some and I did.  I think it actually did help a little bit and in hindsight I feel bad that I wasn't more appreciative.  But, that how ultras go.  They bring out the best of you and the worst of you.  And at that point Mr. Hyde was making an appearance because Dr. Jekyll had been left behind many miles earlier.

The first couple miles out of Skeenah Gap is steady uphill.  About 1 minute out of the aid station I told Jacob that maybe I could break 10 hours for this section.  Now there was some positive thinking. Jacob was encouraging and told me that maybe I'd start to feel better and be able to run again.  I didn't really respond.  I already told him that he should just stop at Skeenah Gap and see me at the finish because the only thing that was happening between Skeenah and the finish was a lot of walking!

Maybe 5 minutes up from Skeenah Gap, I thought my legs might feel slightly better.  Maybe the cream Meredith gave me was helping.  I tried to hike a little quicker.  I didn't feel great, or even very good, but it seemed like I could hike a little faster.  By the top of the climb I was feeling about the same as at the aid station, but thought that maybe I'd be able to run downhill.  Nope.

I walked the first downhill on the Duncan Ridge and realize that I was in for a very long day.  I did my best to walk at a descent pace, but that didn't always happen.  Some of the downhill section got really tough and I was barely moving.  As I grumped along, moaning at every opportunity, Jacob kept a positive attitude and offered words of encouragement.

Eventually we walked into Fish Gap.  I got my bottles filled and a piece of a quesadilla.  I wanted solid food, but they didn't really have much solid food out.  In hindsight that made sense.  Its a pain to get up on the Duncan Ridge so those aid station would certainly has less food that other aid station with easier access.  Plus, I don't think the volunteer were expecting the first few runner to want much solid food.  Had things been going as planned, I don't think I'd have taken anything more than water.

Regardless, I left the aid station without wasting too much time and kept on hiking.  I was in a fairly cynical mood, but kept on moving.  A couple miles out of Fish Gap the Duncan Ridge crossed a road and here I saw hundreds of lady slippers.  I mentioned them to Jacob and we both got to enjoy the flowers for a few moments.  The flower picked me up temporarily, but that didn't last too long.

Getting to Fire Pit was more of the same.  I walked, I complained, and the whole time Jacob kept a good attitude and encouraged me along.  Honestly, I feel pretty bad for being such a whiner out there on the trail.

I got some water and a little food at Fire Pit and began the climb up Coosa Bald.  Its less than a mile to the top from Fire Pit and I made it to the top fairly quickly.  Many miles earlier I was looking forward to the descent, but now I was not.  I knew that walking every step of the descent would suck. And it did.  It was certainly more the mental frustrating that physical pain, but with that said there was no way I had legs to run downhill.  I did try walking backwards a couple time in hopes that would be quicker, but it was too hard to stay on the trail.

After an eternity, we reached Wolf Creek with 3.7 miles to go.  I could help think of my Georgia Death Race split to Wolf Creek and quickly computed that I would probably triple it.  Oh well.  I tried to really a little bit on the climb up from Wolf Creek and walk faster and I do believe I was able to do so.  However, I think this was mostly the fact that trail was pretty gentle in this section.

After the climb, there's about 1 mile of downhill and half a mile of flat on pavement.  I walked the down, I walked the flat.  I saw my parents about a quarter mile from finish and kept on walking.  My brother's girlfriend and one or her friends had FaceTimed my parents to they could tell me good job on finishing the race.  I didn't say a word...I was done.  In hindsight, I felt quite bad about that, but at the time I just wanted to be done.

A quarter mile to go.  As you can see I've started my finish kick

I walked to the finish line and it was over.  I had unrealistic hopes the day would have gone a bit better so I was a little cranky about how it all went down.  Plus I was tired.  Plus I was happy to be done and get to sit down.  In some way it was one of the most frustrating moments in my life and already, just a few moments after I finished there was some sort of joy in the experience.  Something that really got me motivated to get out there and to it again.  But not right away, at that point I wanted to sit on my butt, put down some solid food, take a shower, and sleep.

Done!

Thanks Jacob!

I was waiting for this moment for a long time

When I woke up the next morning, something had changed.  My legs still felt terrible, but there was an excitement in me that I haven't had in a long time.  Something happened out there that I can't really explain.  There's something special about racing 100 miles.  Even slogging to the end now seemed to have some sort of joy in it.  And the way I felt from 50-75 was pretty awesome.

It's been almost 3 years since I've run a hundred miler and a lot of that time was really frustrating.  But I realized, even though my training this year wasn't what I had hoped for, I still have it.  I still can run 100 miles.  I still can race 100 miles.  And that has got me more excited about running that I've been in many years.

Anyhow, I should thank Mom and Dad for doing an excellent job crewing me out there.  Even when things went south you guys kept me going.  And thank to Jacob for doing a great job pacing me.  You put up with a lot of grumping and kept me going and that really means a lot.

Also, thanks to the RDs for putting on such a great race.  It wasn't my best day on the trails, but I'll be back.  There was too much that sucked about the race to keep me from coming back.  The bugs, the humidity, not one darn breeze all day....yeah I'll be back.

Also, thanks to my sponsors Injinji and Squirrel's Nut Butter.  I really appreciate all the support you've given me over the year.  I know that the last couple years haven't been great, but you've stuck with me through thick and thin.  At Cruel Jewel I used some Run Lightweight Crews socks and made sure to lube up with a stick of SNB (like, the whole thing) beforehand.

McDonald Forest 50K

A couple weeks ago I ran the McDonald Forest 50k for my 6th time.  I hadn't run the race since 2015, so I was excited to get back out there and see how fast I could go.  My training this spring was decent, but I did very few fast efforts or long runs because of a lingering shin injury.  Regardless, I still had high hopes for race day.

The race started out on an easy road climb and right away I noticed my shin.  Actually it was the lack of pain I noticed.  As we all cruised up the road, I kept waiting to feel something in my shin but it never came.  Honestly it was kind of weird not to have any pain because on every other run this year my shin was bothersome to various degrees.

Mile 1
Photo: Patrick Means

Just over a mile in we turned right down a gravel trail and I jumped in front.  I'm typically a good downhill runner so I wanted to be able to cruise down this initial downhill without having anyone in my way.  However, I still wasn't convinced that my shin would be one hundred percent so I took the first few steps on the descent a little easy because downhill usually is more bothersome for my shin.

Rounding the first bend in the trail I knew my shin was good to go!  With no pain on my mind it felt like I was floating down the trail.  I still can't get over how smooth and effortless the descent was.  My legs felt sharp, I was quickly pulling away from everyone else...it was going to be my day!

After the initial downhill, there some rolling trails, roads, and then a descent climb.  I kept moving well through this section focusing on running easy and not giving too much of an effort early on.  I made sure to drink a bit as the day was going to be hot, but mostly I was just pumped to be feeling healthy and fast.

As we reached the next section of trail a couple other runners started to catch up but I soon pulled away again as the trail began to descend.  Not that I was really concerned about other runners this early on.  I was aiming for the race to feel easy as long a possible and then push hard at the finish.

A few more miles of gentle single track brought us to a mile long downhill leading into the first aid station.  As I floated along on this downhill I started to noticed the outside of my quads down near my knees were a little stiff.  Kind of weird, maybe my IT bands were a little tight or something...I figured that was something I should take care of after the race, but no worries now.

I quickly passed through the saddle, aid station 1, at mile 9.7 and started the short but steep climb up Ridge trail.  I ran it all, but did my best to keep holding back.  I was so ready to get rolling, but I knew I should hold back for a while longer.

After a short section of road we hit one of the longer downhills on the course were I began the fast descent down a wide gravel trail.  I was ready to open it up but I could really start to feel my quads now.  I guess that wasn't just some minor issue a couple miles earlier, my quads were already getting beat up.

This was certainly a little demoralizing, but I tried to maintain a solid pace on the downhill.  Maybe I could just run the uphills a little harder and save my downhill legs for the final descents.

I reached the bottom of the downhill and began the climb up to Dimple Hill.  The initial uphill felt a bit tougher than I hoped and seeing the mile 12.7 sign was not too encouraging.  Barely 1/3 in and my legs are already trashed.  I tried my best to push on the climb up to Dimple Hill, but the downhill pounding had taken a little bit of spring out of my legs are I was really struggling to get moving.

About halfway up I stopped trying to move faster and just settled into a steady effort.  I figured that maybe I'd feel stronger later or that the different terrain later in the race would suit me better.

As I crested Dimple Hill I stopped to fill my water bottle at the aid station.  Meanwhile Lindon Powell blew right past the aid station and took the lead.  I left the aid station just a few second back from him and now was trying to chase him down.

Mile 15 or so, with Lindon up ahead
Photo: Patrick Means

I didn't want to work too hard to catch up since I knew the next few miles of the course were a bit flatter which doesn't suit me as well.  Still I didn't want to get too far behind either so I kept pushing a little bit to keep Lindon in sight.

I fell back a little ways on the initial road section, but I hoped that I would be able to make up some time once we hit the trail.  Fortunately that was the case and soon I was just a few steps back.

Near Hydra at mile 16
Photo: Patrick Means

Still feeling easy although my legs were a bit tired
Photo: Patrick Means

Photo: Patrick Means

Photo: Patrick Means

Leaving the trail, there's a long gentle descent on a gravel road.  This section is probably 1.5 mile long and I knew that I'd have to work pretty hard to keep up with Lindon.  He's got way more road speed than I do, so I tried to settle in behind him and not fall too far back.  I did a pretty good job of staying on his heels, but he started to get away on the last half mile of road.  That was okay since I figured I could close the gap as we entered the maze and began the rooted descent down Baker Creek.

It took me a bit longer than I thought to catch Lindon on Baker Creek, but I caught back up with him before we started climbing again.  I wanted to stay on his heel on the climb and was able to do so although it was getting hard.  I hiked a few sections as we neared the end of the maze, but was still able to stay right behind him.  As we left the maze, Lindon pulled away on the short section of gravel road before the descent down Extendo.  That was okay because I knew that I could run down Extendo fast and should be able to catch up.

The top of Extendo, around mile 19, is mostly rolling trail and I started to fall back even farther.  I was struggling a little bit, but still wanted to save enough for a strong finish so it was okay to lose some ground.  Plus, I knew I could run the downhill section on Extendo very well so I planned to catch up there.  But when the downhill came, I struggled to get it in gear.  My legs were shot so I had a hard time running quickly or smoothly down Extendo.  I soon lost sight of Lindon, but didn't think he was too far out.

I left the Extendo aid station probably 30 second or a little more behind, but was still able to see Lindon up ahead.  There are some long sight lines on this road section so it was a little encouraging to be able to see that I was still close.  With about 11 miles to go, I figured that I needed to start to push hard and try to catch up.  I ran well on the climb, but my legs were beat up enough I really couldn't get going very fast.

By the top of the climb, I was well out of sight and didn't really know how far back I was.  I headed into the maze for the second time with hopes of making up some time there.  There is some steeper, more technical running in the maze which I tend to run well on.

On the initial climb I never was able to catch sight of Lindon so I hoped that I'd be able to close the gap on the downhill.  Only, when I reached the downhill I realized my legs were in really rough shape.  I was able to run the smooth gentle sections, but the steeper more technical section were a struggle.  Honestly I was just about walking in spots.

Coming out of the maze, there's a fairly steep climb up a trail called Knucklehead.  It's got one switchback and is there's not much underground so I figured that I'd be able to see a couple minutes ahead.  I had hopes that I'd be able to see Lindon somewhere up ahead on Knucklehead, but once I reached that trail there was no one to be seen.

After climbing out of the maze I did my best to run the downhill to the saddle, but at this point, downhill was pretty rough.  Unfortunately the lack of long runs or fast runs this spring was kind of catching up with me and I was really starting to hurt.

I reached the saddle aid station, filled up my water bottle, and headed out for the final few miles.  The initial climb up Vineyard Mountain wasn't too bad as it's a gentle uphill and I could run decently well.   It was slow, but I was still moving.

After Vineyard, the next couple miles are smooth gentle downhill.  As I hobbled along through this stretch I couldn't help but think that Lindon must have been flying through here.  That's how it goes....at this point all I could do was focus on getting to the finish line.

I love this time of year in McDonald Forest because its just so green
Photo: Patrick Means

Because I felt like crap for the last 10 miles, I had plenty of time to enjoy the the views
Photo: Patrick Means

Shuffling off of Vineyard Mountain
Photo: Patrick Means

No legs at this point, just a sheepish grin
Photo: Patrick Means

As I shuffled along Dave's trail I ran into my friend Emile who was out for a run on the course.  It was good to see him and to share a few minutes on the trail with him.  I'm was feeling pretty demoralized so it picked me up a bit to see him out there.

With about 2 miles to go I saw someone catching up.  I figured I'd get caught sooner than later since I wasn't moving too well and I was curious to see who it'd be.  Turn out it was my friend Doug who was running his first 50K that day.  We hiked together for minute to the top of the last climb then I told him to take the lead on the last downhill.  My only goal was to not walk it.

It was good to be done, but reaching the finish line was bittersweet.  I was glad to be done running, but I really had hoped for a bit more.  I guess that was probably a little unrealistic.  My training really wasn't that great, and I probably went out far too fast for what my fitness allowed.  Still, the way I felt on that first downhill, I thought it might be my day.  That was just pure joy...to feel so effortless and have nothing hurt...it was probably worth running it way too fast.  Thinking how good that downhill felt still makes me smile a couple weeks later.

Well, even though my training wasn't great I don't want to take anything away from Doug or Lindon's runs at the Mac.  They both beat me fair and square and I'm for both of them for having such strong races.  I'm sure they probably prepared better than I did and probably ran smarter races as well, so good on them for putting together such good runs on a hot day.

Anyhow, the best part about a 50K is you can hang out at the finish line and see everyone come in.  I love hearing everyone's stories and unique experiences on the course.  By the finish line, whether you're first of last, you just want to be done, and really that's what it's all about.  Just go out there do the best you can and you'll finish when you finish.

I guess that was a good lesson to learn going into Cruel Jewel 100, which I ran last weekend, because I sure needed to eat a big slice of humble pie as I stumbled to the finish.  But, that another story for another day.

Anyhow, thanks to all the volunteers who were out there on race day.  Seeing you guys out there make it so much fun.  That's why the Mac will always be one of my favorite races.  Also thanks to Mike and Mom for putting on the Mac.  While there's a lot of volunteers who are needed to make the race happen, you two are the ones who make it happen and deserve a special thanks.  Seeing what you guys do first hand really gives me a new appreciation for how hard race directors work.

Also a quick thanks to my sponsors Injinji and Squirrel's Nut Butter.  All the support you've given me over the years is really appreciated.  At the Mac I used some Run Lightweight Crews socks and made sure to lube up with a stick of SNB beforehand.

Want to do the Mac next year?  Here's a link to the website: http://www.mac50k.org
Want to see more of Patrick's pictures?  Go here: https://trailhousephoto.com
Want to run the next local race?  It's Run for the Hills on June 9:  http://gltrunforthehills.com

Peterson Ridge Rumble

Leading up to last weekend it had been a long time since I raced.  I did Condor 25K in October and the Georgia Death Race in March.  The last couple years I really haven't raced much and that's largely because I've had a few injuries.  While I think everything is finally on the mend, that doesn't change the past.  And the past couple years have left me really missing trail racing.  Not just the competitive aspect, but the community aspect of spending all day on the trails with friend and then getting to hang out at the finish line.  And that's what lead me to run Peterson Ridge Rumble 40M last weekend.  I should say thanks now to Sean Meissner for putting on such great event (and for letting me sign up late).  Also, thank to all the volunteers out there helping with the race because it wouldn't happen without you!

My main goal for the Rumble was to have fun.  Its been a while since I've raced so I really just wanted to experience the race day atmosphere again and get a chance to explore a new place.  My training this spring was decent although I hadn't been able to do exactly what I've wanted due to a nagging shin injury.  If you want to know more about the specific on my shin issues, here's a previous post I made focusing on that issue: https://andrewpaulmiller.blogspot.com/2019/03/early-2019.html  The short version is my shin has been bothersome, but is getting better.  It turns out all the troubles are starting in my back.  Its likely my back in the source of all the injuries I've had over the last couple years.  Regardless, my training wasn't what I hoped for but I wanted to have a fun day none the less so I settled into an easy pace early on and aimed to have a fun day on the trails.

Fortunately I was lucky enough to spend the first half of the race chatting with Ashley Nordell (who went on to win and set the course record) and Dirk Renner, who I met in the early miles of the race.  Conversation flowed easily and we quickly ticked off the miles.  The trails on the east side of the mountain are a bit different that in the Mac, so it was fun to experience some place new.  The gentle rolling nature of the trails lead to easy running, but there were also a few rocky section to keep things fun.  What I was most surprised by was how desolate the forest seemed.  Right now nearly all the flowers are out in the Mac and everything is starting turn green.  At the Rumble, that was not the case.  Chatting with Ashley and Dirk, I found out that there was a lot of snow on the course only a week or so before the race.  Fortunately that was not the case come race day!

By the time we reached halfway, it seemed like we had barely started.  I guess that's what good friends and good conversation do.  Around halfway, the three of us started to spread out so I got to enjoy most of the second half of the race alone.  This was fine with me since I really enjoy running by myself.  Its fun to be alone with my thoughts and just soak up a new place.  That's not to say I didn't enjoy the first half.  Sharing those early miles with Ashley and Dirk was one of the best parts of the race.

Early in the second half of the race there a climb up a red cinder road where I could see quite a ways ahead.  I started to catch sight of a few runners in front of me so being competitive, I started to run a little faster to catch them.  Racing was not my goal for the Rumble, but I knew my competitive spirit would catch up with me sooner than later.  Fortunately, I didn't really get wrapped up in the competition and spend most of the second half just having fun on the trails.  Anyhow, I caught a few people on the climb, passed through and aid station, then entered what I though was the coolest part of the course.

For those who ran the race, this was between the 2nd to last and last aid station.  The course followed an old road bed coated in long ponderosa pine needles.  The miles here were soft and quiet and slowly lead into burned section.  Judging by the trees I would guess the fire passed through there in the last few years since the burn seemed fairly fresh.  However, the road was not at all dusty as one would expect passing through a burn.  The course popped out on a more established road momentarily where I caught my friend Mike Rosling.  We exchanged a quick greeting and continued on our way.  After the short section of road, there was several miles of trail which clearly has seen minimal use.  These trails were coated with long pine needles and offered some awesome running.

Somewhere in here a passed a couple runners, including my friend Yassine Diboun from Portland.  Yassine is a great guys to I chatted with him for a couple minutes before we separated.  He will be running Western States in June and then CCC in August.  CCC is one of the sister races of UTMB, which I hope to be run this year!  Soon I rolled into the last aid station and saw my Dad and my friend Mark Wright who had been following me around the course all day.  It was fun to see them out there!

I continued on to the finish and was surprised how quickly the race finished up.  The last section had some great running in it and I guess I was just enjoying it so much the finish line snuck up on me.  That was fine with me since I already had a great day of running on the trails.

One other point to mention would be my shin.  I guess it will be part of the conversation until the pain is completely gone.  The first few miles I could feel my shin a bit which is not what I was hoping for.  However, my shin improved throughout the race and by the end I could barely feel it at all.  Kind of weird how it improves with running, but consistent with how it's felt all year.  Hopefully I'll be feeling 100% soon!

Hanging out at the finish was a blast.  Its always great to see runnings finishing up and getting to chat with everyone who ran that day.  Out of the many great folks I got to talk with, I should mention that I shared a short conversation with Mario Mendoza who blazed through the race in 4:08 to set the course record!

Anyhow, I'm planning to run McDonald Forest 50K on May 4 and Cruel Jewel 100M on May 17.  My main goal is to get my shin 100% before those races.  My training leaves a little to be desired, but I've been having fun on the trails all year so that's all that really counts!