Bruegger's Halloween 5k

Here's an entry that I forgot to past from back in October ...

October 31st was the Bruegger's Halloween 5k at Beaver Lake. I took Josh, one of his friends (T, for short), Elizabeth and one of her friends (H, for short). H's dad ended up bring her brother (A, for short) along also, so there was a gaggle of kids that I was interested in. The weather was great - a bit on the cool side, but not cold, with some sprinkles, but nothing serious. It was a typical late October autumn day in good old CNY. Nice and crispy. Just like the leaves when you step on them.

The 2 Eds were also there (S and L, for short). "S" had some family members there while "L" was by himself. There were 563 runners. That's alot of people to cram onto that trail around the lake. Josh and his friends "A" and "T" were so excited that they couldn't control their energy. They spent the time between registration and the start by running around and playing. I kept telling them that they were gonna pay for that when they are out on the run. But they didn't give the old man any attention. I let them be since they were having a good time and were not bothering anyone.

The kids all lined up and started ahead of me in the crowd and I didn't see any of them for awhile but sure enough, I ended up passing each of the boys during the race. Elizabeth was slow and steady, just like she always is; running smartly, within her abilities. She's all smart like that. I ran with her for a short distance. I asked her if she was gonna be ok if I picked up the pace a little bit. She said yea, and I didn't see her again till she finished. I never saw "H". She did very well; she is on the cross country team and their season just finished so she was in great shape for the race.

The trail is very well groomed and even though there are a few little speed bumps, it isn't hilly at all. The biggest challenge (aside from the sheer numbers of people on the trails) was the wooden, raised platforms in the swampy areas that were very slippery. Dome people slipped and feel on them - "L" had a girl take a tumble right in front of him.

I ended up with a 28:01 for a 9:02 pace. The first mile was marked so I was able to take my split there and I had exactly a 10 minute pace. So I was pretty happy to end up with a 9:02 average pace for the 5k. Not too awful shabby for old Mr. Flabby.

I ran the race with a new pair of Asics off road shoes Ii just bought the day before at Fleet Feet. I know that you should break in a new pair of shoes before racing in them but it was only a 5k and it isn't like I'm going for the win :-) Anyhow, I'm thinking I will wear them on the trails near work and when the snow covers the roads. We'll see how that goes. Ii also picked up a new pair of my regular Asics running shoes. The pair I'm replacing has about 350 miles on them and are in really bad shape, so it was time. I'm gonna bury the old pair in the back yard, that's how bad they are. Even after they are buried, I'm afraid the dog will dig them up if he gets a sniff of them. He might think it is a yummy dead animal.

Wellsville Ridgewalk and Run

I survived. Sort of.

Sunday, the 17th, was the Wellsville 14 mile trail run. It is part of the Ridgewalk [www.ridgewalk.com] series of events. Here's the map of the 14 and 9 mile course at the Ridgewalk site. It does a good job at showing the elevation changes. This was my first year and I'd like to go back again next year. This is a well organized event. I grew up in Salamanca, not too far from Wellsville, and I am familiar with the region's terrain; the Allegany mountains are a prominent feature. The pull of a "local" even was very strong for me and I am so glad I took part in what I hope becomes an annual event on my running calendar.

I registered online at active.com and I think just beat the cutoff. They limit total registration numbers to 900 for the 6 events that take place at the same time. I'm just guessing that I registered just in time because after I completed the registration process at active.com, I bopped over to the event web site and it said that registration was closed.

Saturday before the race, the family and I drove to the in-laws to spend the weekend; I drove back and forth to/from the race from there. Saturday night, I watched the NASCAR race with my brother-in-law and didn't get to bed until nearly midnight. I woke up at 5:00am, got everything together and got on the road at 6:00am for the 7:45 packet pickup. I was not exactly sure how long it would take to get there but maps.yahoo.com said 90 minutes, so I wanted to give myself enough time. As I drove through the early morning dark, I noticed the bank thermometers were all in the 39 to 41 degree range. I thought I heard it was going to be warmer than that during the day and I was hoping it would warm up soon. Also, the wind was very strong. I could feel the gusts as I drove along in the mini van. I stopped and picked up a bagel sandwich and a cup of coffee for the road. I also had lots of water - so much so that I had to stop on the side of the road and return some to mother nature.

The packet pick up location is on the SUNY Alfred campus at Wellsville at 7:45 to 8:15am. It seems like a nice little vo-tech campus. The race numbers were upstairs in the activities building and the packet was downstairs (as are the bathrooms). The usual assortment of paper stuff and product samples (including a yummy Clif bar and GenSoy snacks) are distributed in a small backpack with event logos on it. This was a first for me. Usually that stuff is in a plastic grocery bag. The white cotton tees have an attractive logo on the breast and the usual sponsor logos on the back. Another thoughtful service (probably based on the previous 11 years of experience) is a clothing transport to the finish line. You can put warm, dry clothes in a sealed paper grocery bag and they will have it for you at the finish line. My voice of experience here: take advantage of this service and pack warm, dry clothes if it looks like it is going to be cold - you will need it. I decided to wear shorts, a long sleeved running shirt and my running ball cap. I probably should have worn warmer clothes; even though there were times when the perspiration was dripping off the bill of my cap, there were also times when the wind cut through me like I was naked.

The busses for the 14 mile runners and hikers depart from behind the activity center at 8:25. I was out front waiting for the busses at 8:20 and was wondering where they were when I noticed a bunch of warmly dressed runners and hikers walking around the side of the building. I followed them and discovered three busses sitting there. They left promptly and I do not know what happens if you should miss them. The busses took us south on River Road (Rt 29) along the Genesee River and west on Rt 39 to Alma. Alma doesn't look like much more than a small collection of houses and trailers just set along the side of a little rural road.

The busses dropped us off in Alma on a road that comes off of Rt 39 and heads back to the north and up into the hills. It is a "seasonal use" road where we sort of milled around and then lined up while two men said a few words. One man read a short passage from the bible that had a line that was ironic at the moment but which as long since escaped me. He said a short prayer before the other man said a few words about the trail and then we were off. I immediately had to go to the bathroom but I was able to wait for about 15 minutes. We ran up this limited use road with a creek on our left and a hill raising sharply on the other side of it and another hill raising sharply on our right. There are several "hunting" cottages/trailers along the road; many of them look like they haven't been used in several decades. This part of road was a moderate climb but I just couldn't get into a groove. I don't know if it was due to the bladder pressure or the cold weather or both. This road was one of the very few moments when the course was on pavement. There are other sections on dirt, but most of the course was on barely groomed trails or no trails (just ribbons hanging from trees to show the way).

Shortly after the start, a man directed us off the road and onto the trails. To be honest with you, most of the rest of the course is lost as many of the sights merge together in my mind. But here are a few snapshots that I still have tucked away in the far recesses of my memory:

• Hills.
• Beautiful scenery - Autumn in this part of the country is simply unmatched by any season anywhere in the world.
• The hills.
• I fell. But only one time. Considering the angle of some of the descents, I consider myself lucky to have fallen just once. It was somewhere on the 5th mile, prior to the second aid station. I was running along with a fellow just behind me and no one in sight to the front. I felt like I was traversing the steep, rocky path with a pretty good pace and was really full of myself. As a matter of fact, mere seconds after I thought about how cool this was, I found myself tumbling head over heals down the hill. Water bottles everywhere. I banged my knee on the way down but didn't get any "trail burn" on my palms cuz I kinda rolled from my knee onto my shoulder in a kind of a perverted somersault. The fellow behind me asked if I was OK as he passed me by. He and I spent alot of time near each other for a good portion of the race before I lost track of him later on. I was worried about the knee because it bothered me when I stood up and continued on down the path. Eventually, it stopped occupying my mind. A short time later, on the same descent, the race organizers put up a little sign that had one word on it: "steep". Considering that I had just fallen on what I considered to be a steep descent, I found it extremely ironic when I came across that sign. I couldn't help but smile at the irony.
• The climbs up the hills.
• Much of the course was through the forest where there is not any path and the only way to navigate through it was to follow the blue and white ribbons that hung from the trees. The organizers did an outstanding job at marking the course. Even with the excellent markings, some people went off course. None of the people that I talked with who had gone off course were mad, so that was a good thing. They all seemed to take it as part of the experience. Ya gotta love 'em!
• Steep hills.
• One section of the course had a little sign that said something about a wire. For a brief moment I was perplexed by the sign until I realized what it meant. There was an electric power cable that hung low across the trail and I had to duck low to get under it. I found that to be a funny thing. I bet I'll never encounter that on a 5k road race :-)
• Da hills.
• There are many natural gas wells in this section of the state. The course goes near several of them. You can smell the natural gas as you go by them. I thought the gas company introduced a smell into the gas so that the consumer can detect a leak with the nose but I didn't know where that smell was injected. I'm guessing it is injected out at the well sites cuz I could definitely smell the gas. As we passed by one particular smelly well, I wanted to ask the runners in my area if anyone had a light. I wasn't sure if anyone else would appreciate the attempt at humor, so I kept the comment to myself. Another observation is that there seem to be electric cables running up to these wells. The cables are encased within metal pipes that sit on or just above the forest floor. As they run up through the forest, there appear to be wooden markers for those that are off the surface of the ground. We crossed over many of these and, again, thanks to the organizers, they were well marked with ribbon to prevent us from tripping over them.
• Those damn hills.
• Some sections of the course cover rocky areas of the hills. And I don't mean that there are rocks strewn about on the path. I mean the surface of the path is on the top of small boulders that are sticking out of the ground. So the challenge becomes running (hopping) from boulder to boulder. There isn't any real height to the boulders and no real gap between them, so you can't fall between them (like the giant boulders at Rock City Park in Olean, NY) but you could certainly twist your ankle if you land wrong on, or between, one of them.
• Hills. Lots of them.
• At the top of one of the climbs, the course briefly goes onto a paved road and past a couple of houses. One of the houses has a giant deck off of the back. The hill descends steeply away from the back of the house and you can see for miles and miles and miles and miles out across the hills and the valleys. I wish I could locate that on a map so I could study it on the map and maybe revisit in a car. As we passed by the house, there was an odd, cold, white, precipitation falling down from the grey, cold, cloud-filled sky. The wind was really cutting through my thoroughly soaked clothing. I asked a fellow that was near me if that was snow. When he replied that it was, I couldn't help myself and I let out a loud "yee-haw". I was totally caught up in the beauty of the moment: the wide open view of autumn in the northeast, the strenuous effort required to get to that point in time and the extreme weather all made an imprint that I hope stays with me forever. Of course this was relatively early in the race. Back when I was still young, naive and full of youthful vigor.
• Have I mentioned the hills?
• Somewhere during the second half of the course, several other trails from the other events all merge together. The organizers decided that this was a good place to put up some placards describing the surrounding area. I didn't really do much more than glance at some of them but I did notice a couple of them. There was one near a maple sap collection area. There was a bunch of that blue plastic tubing running from many of the maple trees in that area and I think the placard described the process. There was another one that said "Highest point in Allegany County". Several hikers from the shorter events were taking their photos at that spot. I enjoyed running by them and sharing ever so slightly with them as they celebrated their own personal victory of climbing up to that spot. Hopefully, when they look back on their own accomplishments, they will think of that crazy, underdressed runner who stumbled by, looking half-dead as they took a photo.
• Some sections of the course were very muddy. As muddy as some of the Alpine Classic. Also, there were two stream crossings. One had a bunch of rocks that I stayed on and another had a rickety wooden bridge. I contemplated running across the stream and avoiding the bridge but I didn't want to unnecessarily add the additional water to my running shoes. And, it wasn't like those few saved seconds would have helped me win the event. But, I did think about it (and the Alpine Classic) for a second.
• Freakin' hills. Whose stupid idea was this, anyhow?
  
• The aid stations were fantastic. The volunteers that manned them are angels. If we runners and hikers are crazy for being out there on a fall day with the temps in the freezing range, what about the volunteers standing in the middle of the forest filling up cups with water, gator aid and trail mix? What does that say about the human race? They could be home eating pancakes and sausage for breakfast or going to church or reading the Sunday paper or listening to the NPR fall fund raising drive or sleeping in or playing with their children or grandchildren. But they elected to volunteer. They decided to go outside and provide assistance to total strangers. Just when the world's events have beaten me into submission and I hold slim hope for the future of the species, I go and do something like this and get slapped in the face with a healthy reminder of the grace, goodness and compassion that we display for one another when we want to. I only wish we would do more of that on a daily basis.
• How long has it been since I mentioned those hills?
• During the later part of the race, I was in trouble. I was just plain worn out from the hills. Have I had a chance to talk about the hills lately? I was walking up anything that even closely resembled a hill. A fellow ran by me and said some encouraging words. I don't even recall what they were. I decided to piggy back onto his enthusiasm and started running behind him. I told him I was going to ride off of his energy. As it turned out, he was the man who verified the snow for me early in the run. His name is Scott and he is from the Buffalo area. This was his second year. Last year his friend won the event with an average pace of 9:20 per mile (at least I think that is what he said the pace was). Just to show you how challenging this course is: I can do 9:20 miles on the road for at least 10 miles. I would guess that a 14 mile road course winner would be down in the vicinity of 5 minute miles. When Scott told me about his friend and his average pace, I was astounded. I decided that I was ignorant to not look into the results from previous years before signing up for this event. But, in a way, I'm glad I didn't. I might have frightened myself and not given myself the opportunity to enjoy this great event. Anyhow, I hung with Scott for a couple of difficult miles. We walked the inclines and ran when we could. Eventually, I told him that I needed to slow down again and I didn't want to slow him down. He wanted to finish in under three and a half hours and even though I was jeopardizing that goal, he stayed with me and kept asking if I was ok. At some point, a woman who came down from Buffalo with him, came by us and he told me he was going to stick with her. I seriously appreciated his help but was glad that he decided to go with her and try for his time goal. He was a great help and inspired me to run during a stretch when I would have walked had I been alone. Scott, where ever you are: thanks. I didn't get a chance to say thanks afterward because I was freezing, very low on energy and just wanted to get on the bus.
• I hate hills.
  
• At some point, after Scott departed with his friend, within a mile of the finish, near the bottom of a small descent, both of my thighs cramped up. I had struggled down the trail and finally, they just said "ENOUGH". I really thought I was in serious, deep trouble. "How in the hell am I going to get out of here and to the finish area if my legs won't move?" I kept walking (limping is more like it) and eventually was able to start running again the rest of the way to the finish line.

The finish area was a small farm out in the middle of nowhere in a valley. At one point we are running along in the forest, up and down hills and then all of a sudden we drop out of the hills into this farm on a dead end road. They had tents set up for food (fruit, cookies, chili, hot dogs, apple cider they made there, wine, cheese) and kids activities, a small stage with a guitar and keyboard duo and a horse barn to pick up your bag of warm clothes. As I walked up to the barn, a young lady asked "Last name?" I was a little out of it at this point. As soon as I stopped moving the cold descended upon me like a ton of bricks and I was damn cold. Shaking. Shivering. Teeth rattling. Can't talk. Goose bumps on my goose bumps cold. My fuel was low. Too low. I was running on empty. All I could say in response to her query was "Mine?" Duh, Larry.

At the finish area, I had a banana, chili and a peanut butter cookie. I was very hungry but had no appetite. Plus I was so very cold. My nose was running faster than I had all day! I had no tissues and was sparsely dressed. I was eager to get to warmth. So, I walked over to the field where the fleet of busses parked, hopped on one and when it got filled up, it took us back to the SUNY Wellsville campus. I shivered my way across the parking lot to the van, fell into it, turned it on and turned the heat up. I covered myself with a blanket that we had in the van and reclined in the driver's seat. I was still shaking. I don't recall ever being so cold. As I tried to warm up, my legs started cramping up. Eventually, I was able to warm up enough to take a little nap before heading back to the in-laws.

Overall, this was a fun event. It was like the Alpine Classic "times two". I'd like to do it again but with better training next time. Otherwise, it is too punishing (I'm here two days later and it still hurts to go up and down the stairs). The challenge, the beautiful area and time of the year, the volunteers and the organizers all make for one hell of an event. Have I mentioned the hills?

Fall running is WONDERFUL!!!

WOW, I can't believe how time fast time goes by ...

It has been a couple weeks since my last blog, so I need an update. Running has been going well. I'm really enjoying the cooler fall weather. So much so, that I have a busy running schedule for the next couple of weeks :

10/17/2004: An event that sounds great and has me a little anxious: "Wellsville Ridgewalk & Run (www.ridgewalk.com) is a combination of walks (2 mile, 6 mile and 9 mile) and races (5k road, 10k road/trail and 14 mile trail) all taking place at the same time and ending at the same finish. It is a very exciting event which takes place at the peek of the autumn leaf change in Allegany County."

10/30/2004: Welch Allyn Health Expo 5k with Joshua and Elizabeth.

10/31/2004: Bruegger's Halloween Run 5k at Beaver Lake with Joshua and Elizabeth if Saturday doesn't do them in.

11/06/2004: Mendon Ponds. If I go to this one, I'm thinking of entering the 20k. They also have a 10k but that's a long way to drive for a 10k :-)

11/07/2004: Town of Geddes Grunt Run 5k/10k. This depends on what happens with the Mendon Ponds race.

11/21/2005: Jungle Bell Run for Arthritis at Onondaga Lake Park. 10k (Joshua and Elizabeth doing the 5k??)

11/25/2005: Baldwinsville Turkey Trot 10M (Joshua and Elizabeth some other distance??)

"Less Sleep More Energy"

I recently read in the October Reader's Digest (in an article titled "Less Sleep More Energy") about a drug called Provigil (modafinil is the generic name) that has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of narcolepsy. It is being prescribed more frequently for fatigue caused by other conditions. In 2000 there were 350,000 new and refill prescriptions. By last year the number rose to 1.7 million. The author indicated that there is controversy over using this drug. I'm curious about how this compares to caffeine usage. I'm a coffee drinker. I "need" that coffee every morning and I get a headache when I don't get my caffeine. How is that better or worse than a low dose of Provigil?

The article contained a sidebar written by someone who was taking Provigil and writing about his adventures on the pill. He was very productive at work: "the two most productive days I've had in years". So, I'm thinking that most companies could offer Provigil as an alternative to coffee. There could be a pill dispenser right next to the coffee machine in the lunch room. Deadline approaching? No problem, just secretly bump up the dosage and WHAM instant increase in worker productivity.

I think we can expand upon this idea even further. I say we increase productivity by this approach and then work a 4 day work week. Hell, if the increase is large enough, that extra day off won't even matter. The increase could totally offset the day off, and then some. If the idea is wildly popular we could even pull the economy up and out of the doldrums on the shirt tails of a Provigil addicted work force! I'd like to see the politicians in Albany (NY) on Provigil. After all, they haven't been able to pass a budget on time in something like 853 years. A little kick in the ass from this pill might be just what they need.

So, I'm thinking all of this and seriously wondering if I would take a Provigil once a day in order to be more productive at work and run a workout faster with less fatigue and be less tired at home when I make dinner and help the kids with their homework and clean up the kitchen and do some work around the house and a couple loads of laundry and some work I brought home on the laptop and write in my blog and watch "CSI" or "NYPD Blue".

I'm actually thinking that Provigil doesn't sound so bad after all. Actually sounds like it could be promising. And now I'm thinking of the outrage I felt when I read about world class athlete's taking performance enhancing drugs. Wow, now I'm stuck!

Playlists - 9/23 - 9/24

I liked the idea of posting my playlists. Not for any particular reason, cuz I'm the only one who will read this, but just because. Maybe it will influence my listening choices. "Hey, I'll listen to X cuz then I can blog it and it will look like I'm cool! (yea right)"

Anyhow, here's what I've been listening to at work the past several days:

Thursday, September 23rd
Moby, Muddy Waters, A Blues colletion, The Donnas, Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd, Rammstein

Friday, September 24th
Beatles all day

Saturday, September 25th
Harry Connick Jr, Chris Isaak, Norah Jones, Louie Armstrong, Frank Sinatra

Plus, when not listening to NPR (wrvo out of Oswego, NY) in the car , I've been listening to Bruce's first two albums: "The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle" (originally released September 11, 1973) and "Greetings From Asbury Park NJ" (originally released on January 5, 1973). If you know Bruce only from "Born In The USA", ya gotta check out these two CDs. Although I can't believe they are over 30 years old already. I'm sure Bruce feels the same way :-)

Well, that's it. Not exactly Pultizer Prize winning writing but how many people can claim their writing is?

Week of Sep 20 - 25 Lunch time running

There are a couple of us at work that get out at lunch and run. We are lucky enough to work for a company and for people who let us have a flexible schedule. We can come in a little early and stay a little late in exchange for a lunch time run. Here is a description of a noteworth (because it isn't the normal course) run from this week.

Wednesday, Sep 22nd
Evan and I went "on the trails" today. What that means is some high tension power line trails, mud, water, grassy fields and wide dirt paths near the office. We went "to see the osprey" - there's a nest on one of the power line towers. As it turns out, we didn't see them today (now I'm wondering when the last sight occurred). The course is a 6.5 mile loop.

We ran the course in the "reverse" direction today. We leave our building and head out as if we are on the beginning of all of our normal road courses. We run through a residential area and just after the half mile mark, we cross under Route 481, turn right and continue running past houses. Eventually we come to a busy 4 lane road and cross over it. Shortly after that intersection, we come the the power line trail, just before the entrance to a construction company. We turn to the right off of the road and onto the trail.

This is where we start running on crushed rock that has been recently put down on top of the dirt trail. In some locations, the rocks are a tad on the larger side, so it is a mental and physical challenge to run on them without turning an ankle. In other locations, some heavy equipment has compacted the rocks so it is a little easier to run on. Adding the crushed rocks might have been an improvement for the power company equipment but not for us runners. Today, towards the back end of the construction company property, some of their employees are practicing moving dirt around. Evan says that is not uncommon. When I first heard the heavy equipment, I thought it was on the trail but that turned out not to be the case. After we run next to the construction company's property for a short distance, we turn sharply to the left.

After the turn, this section is fairly level and straight, as you can imagine a power line trail would be. Evan was out here recently and saw some heavy equipment working. He thought they might have done something about a portion of the path where there is alot of the water. But, that wasn't the case and soon we get to the water. After thinking about it for a second, I decide that I'd go through the water and continue on with the course with Evan. He said that is what he'd do if I wasn't with him and that is what made me decide to do it. So, we wade into the muddy knee high water. Along with the water, there is heavy brush on both sides of most of the trail with some open areas off to the left and an Route 481 on the right. Between the trail and the expressway, there is heavy brush and/or reeds (in the swampy sections). The brush and reeds are taller than we are and being in this section makes it easy to imagine what it is like to be wading through water in the jungle holding our rifles above our heads. After approx 300 to 400 yards (Evan's estimate - he's much better than I am at estimating distances. He's an experienced trail runner, a prominent member of a local running club and the race director for a couple of races a year) we come out the other side of the water. As we clear the water and start to run again, we are under and slightly off to the side of the power lines and I can hear them hum. We pass the tower where the osprey's nest is, veer sharply to the right, hit a road at roughly the half way point and leave the crushed rock surfce behind (thankfully).

This road isn't as big as the four lane we crossed earlier (and will cross again later), but it is still very busy. It is a potentially dangerous section as cars and truck fly down the two lane road. Everyone's in a hurry. Gotta get out to lunch, run a few errands and get back to work. Oh yea, and drive like an Earnhardt along the way. Even though they are going fast, the vast majority of them give us wide clearance as we run along the shoulder. I do appreciate that. After a short distance on the road, during which we cross under 481, we turn to the right and enter a field. At this point, we are about a mile and a half from the end of the course, at our office building.

The field we are now in is behind a large church off to the left. We are on the far end of the field, next to 481. There are some ruts in this field as if a heavy truck (construction equipment?) has driven through it when it was very wet. The church is one of those newer church buildings with modern lines. It looks very expensive. I'm not in this area on Sundays, but I can easily imagine a parking lot full of new cars and SUV's belonging to a suburban, upper class congregation. The course goes through a small swampy area with shorter reeds and no dry path. Both feet end up getting into the mud. The course veers slightly to the left and finds itself running in the grass with 481 directly on the right and trees on the left. On some occassions, when we run along here with some of the women from work, vehicles will beep their horns at us. If someone is trying to carry on a conversation at this point, I have difficulty hearing them with the noise of the traffic moving along at 65 mph and faster. Also, along this section of the course, there are a couple of spots where there are dips in the path. They've been all muddy this summer and we have to hurdle them to cross over. Some are narrow enough to hop over. Some are too wide for me to clear and I land in the mud with one or the other foot.

There is a slight turn to the left as we move away from 481 for a short distance and then we turn back slightly to the right. At this point we are still running parrallel to 481 but at a slight distance away from it. Along this section, there is a little knoll that signals we have 1 mile left to run. Both sides of the trail are bordered by swampy areas and there are frogs, snakes, birds, geese, deer (I haven't seen deer here yet but some others have) and other smaller mammals. One other time, we came upon a flock of geese, with some young, who ran away from us while staying on the path. We were headed back toward a busy intersection on that day and worried we were going to force the geese into it. So, on that day, we stopped and let them continue around a bend where they "ducked" into the brush. On Wednesday, there were no wildlife sightings except for tons of grasshoppers. I'm not a city slicker, but I'm also not a granola guy, so the experience of having my legs constantly bombarded with jumping grasshoppers was initially a bit wierd. They "land" on your legs but quickly jump off, probably when they realize that isn't the best place for them to be.

We break out of the trail at a busy intersection for the entrance to our office park. There's a red light for traffic coming and going into the office park. This is the dangerous part of the run. Cars are flying in both directions. There are 4 lanes separated by a grass median. I'm really shocked by how fast the cars travel and by how many drivers push the limits of the yellow light, even to the point of running the red. Once we clear the intersection, it is a short sprint to our building.

We don't run this every day or even once a week but it is a nice change of pace to get off the roads that we normally run on. Some people will not join us on this course if they know there's water and mud involved. That's fine, some days I don't feel like dealing with that either. It was enjoyable this day.

Forge The Gorge

Here's an email I sent to a couple of friends. The race took place on Thursday evening, August 19, 2004 at Fillmore Glen State Park in Moravia, NY. Now that I have this blog, I felt compelled to add this report. My only concern is the order of these posts in my blog. This report of an "older" race will appear above a report of a "newer" race. That might be confusing. So, if you've gotten this far (yea, like anyone beside me and my family members got this far), please note that there's another "newer" report of a race (The Alpine Classic) following this one.

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the race started out in the grass. nice level, soft grass. then you turn sharp to the left, cross over a wooden bridge into the forest and take another sharp left along the bottom of a freakin steep hill. i mean steep. very steep. oh sh*t steep. and at this point i'm looking up the side of this hill and thinking that i'm screwed. and i was. so, its a very hard right hand turn to the bottom of a flight of stone stairs that go straight up to heaven. and i know that's the only way i'm getting to heaven cuz i was swearing alot when i saw that. oh yea, it was also getting dark, it was hot, muggy and everything was very slippery due to the heavy rain from earlier in the day. everyone in my section of the pack walked up the steps. i don't know what the front runners did but anyone who ran up that hill gets my total respect. i'll have to ask evan what the fast guys do. so finally, at the top of this hill [about 18 lung busting hours later :-) ], it evens out as we go along the ridge of this gorge. here's the mental image: heavily forested, lots of roots (slippery roots), and a severe drop on the right hand side of the path. not only do you have to worry about twisting your ankle in the fading light (made even darker due to the heavy foliage) but you also have to worry about going down and then rolling over the edge and down the slope/cliff.

somewhere along the top end of gorge, we crossed over a dam that i wouldn't normally have dared to even walk across without ropes attached to me. god only knows how deep water is on the left (with steam/fog drifting off of it up into the trees - very beautiful if i would have been in the site seeing mode instead of the survival mode) and a very high fall off the dam to the right with just a hip-high wooden rail separating the very sweaty, tired, fat, old, what-did-i-get-myself-into, white guy running on slippery concrete from falling to his untimely demise. after more stairs to get past heaven into whatever is above heaven, we finally turn to head back down towards the starting line. so there was a slightly downhill portion on a road (thank the merciful gods for smooth roads) before heading back into the forest. the path stayed on a slight downhill grade for a good portion at this point and was the smoothest path i can recall out of the whole trail. so between the road and the smooth path, i finally got into a groove (if my slow shuffle can be called a groove). then, everything fell apart again as the path plummeted into the depths of hell. trust me, i know hell. that's where i'm gonna spend eternity. i had to walk down some spots cuz when i get this fat body moving too fast down a slope it ain't gonna stop for something so minor as the impending doom of going over the edge of a cliff.

so, finally, back near the entrance where we started, there's a water table and a chance to bail and only do half the course. by now i'm totally soaked and really sucking oxygen (since there wasn't any in the air - it had all been replaced by water). so i keep going for the full course. i had to. i had no choice. besides, it was too much fun. also, imagine how boring this description would be if i had only done half!

the second half runs back into the gorge but down low along the water with bridges that cross back and forth over the stream. there's rock pathways, crumbling shale, the bottom of the cliff with the accompanying risk of getting killed by falling runners, a path eroding away to like 6 inches wide, pools of standing water and mud. but thankfully, no roots cuz no tree is stupid enough to live there; they are all up on the the "hospitable" section we just left where they get at least some hope of getting sunlight. the last time the sun got down into the bottom of this gorge was back before god invented trees. that was a long time ago. but, it is nice. i actually take a chance to look at the scenery since the potential fall is only about 10 feet versus the 30,000 foot potential fall from earlier in the course at the top of the gorge. now i'm thinking this isn't too awful, at least the climb back into the gorge isn't as severe as the initial climb was. i even passed a couple of runners on this section! so, what do i get for being so damn smug? right. another stairway to heaven that felt even steeper than that first rise at the beginning of the race. this is true: if i had stood still and put my arm out in front of me at a 90 degree angle, i could have touched the ground in front of me. now, that's what i call steep.

finally, i get to the top of that killer and there's another water table manned by the race director who informs us that after the next short climb, it's mostly down hill for roughly one and three quarters of a mile to the finish line back along the portion of the path we started out on. for most of that distance, the only thing i had to worry about were the tree roots that were even more slippery (since all the other runners had already covered them twice) and harder to see (cuz it's getting darker by the minute) than the first time on that section. then i get to the section that we climbed up originally after the start. i walked back down those treacherous stone steps that we climbed out on, carefully crossed the first wooden bridge and sprinted across the grass into the finish area.

syracuse has the mountain goat? utica has the big bad boilermaker? ha, what a joke. i'd like to see some of the people who run those races go out on these trails. it would make them cry. curl up in a ball and sob. get into the fetal position and cry for mommy.
what a trip.

i can't wait till next year :-)

Jordan Alpine Classic

All -

As some of you already know, last Saturday (September, the 18th), I ran in a great race out in Jordan. It was a great challenge and a ton of fun, so I wrote up a little race recap. I hope you like it.

First of all, let me give you a little taste of the event with a direct quote from the description of this 8.5 mile run from their web site:

"If you want a real challenge this fall and don't mind getting muddy and wet, run the Alpine Classic at the Jordan Fall Festival.

It's an endurance test. After the traditional cannon start, runners climb over steep hills, maneuver through woods and fields, and wade across a stream.”

[NOTE: They re-routed the course this year so that there was no stream crossing because the stream was too deep from all of the rain that we've recently received. We also lost the rope climb.The new course was rumored to be longer at 9 miles, but I don't know what the final distance turned out to be.]

“They even climb a 12-foot vertical bank using a 1-inch thick rope.

Mid-way in the race, the course goes down a very steep path, similar to an expert ski trail. It is recommended by some you don't run this part, but rather just sit down and slide.

The race ends at the Jordan Fall Festival grounds near the original Erie Canal towpath."

Some key words that I'd like to point out to you from their description: "real challenge", "endurance test", "steep", "hills", "woods", "fields", "muddy". Those words come close to describing the course. With all due respect to the "Forge the Gorge" run and except for the two marathons that I've attempted, this was the most challenging run I've ever done.

The run started in Jordan at the Fall Festival right next to the chicken barbecue. The wind was blowing the smoke directly off of the chicken and right at the starting line. That wasn't too bad but later, after the finish, when I needed to suck in all the oxygen I could get, it was a bit of an inconvenience. But I digress, lets get back to the start. A fellow on a microphone did a count down. "Two minutes". "One minute". And then the cannon went off signaling the start of the race. I had read about the cannon so I sort of knew what to expect, but still, having a cannon go off in your immediate proximity does get the heart beating. I started with Mike as we headed off on the original canal tow path. It was nice and flat and a good way to warm up for the rest of the race. After a mile, the course did a little jig with a couple of 90 degree turns, some bush whacking and then crossed the road.

On the other side of the road, the course went into the hills at the foot of the first drumlin. We ran up a logging trail to a corn field and turned hard to the right to follow the border between the corn field and the trees. The path kinda snaked up towards what appeared to be the crest of the hill. If you've ever been out in a farmer's corn field, you know that it isn't the smoothest surface to walk on. The corn was probably planted earlier in the spring when the ground is soft; the tractor's wheels leave ruts in the ground. Add some rocks, downed tree branches and mud and you get the picture. There was only enough room for single file running but if you really felt the need to pass, people would step off into the trees to let you. I did pass a group of four or five people and I couldn't help but notice a slight grin as they watched me go by and continue on up the hill. At the time, I was still young and naive and I thought they were just being nice and acknowledging a far superior runner. Later, I'll come back to those smiles.

The course left the corn field and went onto a driveway/private road and then onto a road. This was one of the steepest portions of the course as the road continued on up the hill. As I was running along, I looked up at the crest of the hill and really concentrated on getting up to it. Huffing and puffing and shuffling up the hill to the peak. Keeping my eyes focused up towards the end of the climb. Repeating over and over: "Don't stop, almost there. Don't stop, almost there." Sweat already dripping off my forehead and into my eyes. "I should have trained harder for these hills. I could be in trouble. After this race, I quit running forever. Almost there. Fat and stupid isn't really a bad way to go through life, after all." Then, I realize, I'm almost there. "Don't stop. Don't stop. Don't stop." I keep repeating in beat with my stride as I push and will this old, fat body upwards against all the forces of heaven and earth and gravity that the gods can muster against me. There it is the summit of my climb, the peak of this hill, the crest of the drumlin.

Just as I reach the top, the horizon opens ahead of me and I see it. The damn hill just keeps going. I’ve only gotten to short, level section purposefully placed here to beat me into submission on this early fall morning. Thousands and thousands of years of geological events converge right then and there to align the entire weight of the universe against me and my mission. The hill is trying to turn me into its whipping boy. But I ain't gonna have any of this. Time to suck it up. And as I continue running, I realize heaven isn't up ahead in those clouds, hell is up there. Heaven is back down in Jordan at the chicken barbecue. So I keep going. Keep running. Up and further up this highway to hell.

What's that I see up there? Is it an ambulance? Yes, it is. Oh, the race director sent it out here for me as a little preemptive strike. He thinks I'm going to melt out here on Crossett Road. Not today, dude. My family will not have to hang my used running shoes from a sign on the side of this particular road as a make-shift memorial to the place where I went to the big marathon in the sky. But as I approach the ambulance, I can see that it is mostly there for traffic control and to show us where we leave the wonderful confines of this road and enter the briar patch. So, we head off the left side of the road and onto a path into the trees.

The path has been hacked out of the trees. Wide enough for only one person and thick with mud, it was a wild ride. Now, those of you who've run with me know that I don't run fast, but, because of the limited sight distance, this path felt like an out of control car careening through the forest. Somewhere in this section is a hill called "Science Hill". I think I know why. By running, we are participating in some sort of cosmic, X file-ish science experiment to see exactly how much pain we are willing to pay for the luxury of experiencing.

On this section, you can't see much ahead of you due to the low overhanging trees and the trees and bushes pushing in from the side onto the narrow path. This section leads us to what the organizers claim is similar to an expert ski trail. They talk about going down it. But what they oh so conveniently forget to tell you is there is no chair lift to get to the top of that black diamond. By the time I get there, the path up is a muddy, rutted, slippery SOB of a cow path. I have to walk up sideways so that I can dig the edges of my running shoes into the side of the hill. At one point, I slid back down about five feet but somehow I managed to avoid falling down on my butt.

At the top of the little ski trail, we have to do down the other side. It was a challenge and it was hard on my legs but at least gravity helped me out a little. I mostly walked down it, being careful to not fall. After all, I did have on my good running shirt and I didn't want to soil it.

So, now we're somewhere in Elbridge running on village roads and sidewalks. I'm sure the people who saw us were amused. Mostly mud from our feet to our knees, with some people covered even more than that, we must have looked like we crawled out from under a rock. I hope they know the truth. I do have a reputation to keep up.

Some of the remaining details are nothing but a blur at this point. I do know that, in general, we turned and headed back towards Jordan. I'll attempt to recount a few of the things that I do remember. Shortly after turning to the north, there was a climb up a steep field (next to a private home) that eventually took us to a water tower. When I saw that tower, I couldn't help but think: "A water tower. Damn. Why does there always have to be a water tower?" (A little inside humor for those who've run the Mountain Goat. BTW, The Mountain Goat, as I’ve recently discovered and mentioned, is a totally misnamed event.)

Somewhere further along, there was a short but extremely steep climb up Crego Road. Remember those people who smiled at me when they let me by in the corn field? They passed back by me as I stopped to walk up the hill and to take a stone out of my shoe. It was then that I realized what the earlier smile really was. It was the classic "we will see you later in the race when we pass back by you cuz you used up too much energy too early" smile. How often do I have to see that one before I smarten up? After the race, I located this road on a topography map on the internet and the elevation lines are so close together they almost look like one thick line. Nice touch, adding this hill, don't you think?

Here are some additional highlights that are fighting there way through the fog of my memory:
* There was another section through a different rolling corn field on the side slope of yet another drumlin, along the edges, next to the trees.
* A section that went through someone's back yard and a small sign containing an orange, spray painted arrow indicating a sharp turn to the left and into the brush.
* A long, slow curvy path around a newly mowed hay field that allowed me to see the ten or twelve people who were immediately in front of me.
* A much needed biological break on the side of the road. I held off as long as possible, but some of the downhill sections really caused alot of bouncing around, so I decided to take that short walk off the side of an isolated section of road in order to avoid an accident on the next downhill.

Finally, the course goes through someone’s back and side yard and pops out on the streets of Jordan for a four tenths of a mile sprint to the finish line. At that point, I was in direct contact with the two people in front of me. One was a woman who I had passed earlier as we wadded through a mud bog. The other was a man who I didn’t recognize. For a brief moment, I considered kicking it for the final dash to the line. I don’t know if I could have passed either one of them, but I decided not to try. Finishing behind them was an accurate representation of how we had run during the previous eight and a half miles and it didn’t seem fair to try to alter that over the course of the final couple hundred yards. To try to improve my placement at that point of the race seemed to violate the spirit of this race. So, I stayed in line as the three of us crossed the finish line. My time was 1 hour, 32 minutes. Not great but I had fun. Back at the start/finish line, the smoke from the chicken barbecue was still blowing across the finish area. The festival lunch crowd was picking up a little bit. There was lots of food and drink available from the festival vendors. Most of the early finishers of the race were long gone but a couple of us “back of the pack” runners hung around for awhile soaking in the festival atmosphere.

I am planning on doing it again next year.

NPR Rules!

This afternoon on the way home from work, I was listening on NPR to a story about the company that bakes "Wonder Bread". They are filing for Chapter 11. Part of the story was a discussion about how the term "wonder bread" has evolved into a term for bland and boring. The NPR sound button, after the story was complete, was "Baby I'm A Want You", a bland and boring song from the 70s by a bland and boring band called Bread. Bob Boilen is awesome.

Today's Playlist

So far this today it looks like it is gonna be Suzy Boggus. I have a disc with her albums "Give Me Some Wheels", "Nobody Love, Nobody Gets Hurt" and "Simpatico" with Chet Atkins. I just might leave this in the player all day.

Hey

So. Here it is. I'm blogging. Like anyone will actually read this. How many blogs are created and never used after day one? How many blogs are looked at by someone other than the blogger?

OK. My plan. Blog about my running. And other stuff if I really feel it is necessary. I may blog a race report once in a while. Or not. We'll see ...

I took a quick peak thru some blogs. I didn't even scratch the surface before it became clear that there are some very creative people blogging some very creative blogs. This ain't gonna be one of them. But who cares? Who will even notice?

I spent a good 5 minutes trying to come up with a title and a URL. Ironic for a blog that will get no traffic.

Gonna go ahead and publish this. My first post. This is a "Kodak Moment". I can hardly contain my excitement.