Ultraworm 50k...

ok, not really official or a race, but i thought Ultraworm had a nice ring to it and though the map says otherwise, i can guarantee that it will be at least 31 miles.


it is a rough route, much of which i have run before, just not all at once or strung together in this order. their are two sections of the route that i haven't been on. one, top of near point to Williwaw Lake via Long Lake and two, the Middle Forks trail from it's intersection with the Williwaw lakes trail to the Wolverine Trail. i'm not too concerned about this b/c there is plenty of info out there about these sections.

looking at the route one will notice that the only bail out options would be very early on (Hilltop) or very late (Glen Alps or Hilltop again). i'm pretty pumped on this route. would like to do it as soon as most of the snow is melted up high (early June?). hopefully there will be a gang of us. wanna come?

the hill behind Dave's?

was invited last minute for a sunset snowshoe hike up into the Chugach behind Dave K's house. Dave lives up on Basher drive and Chugach State Park starts right outside of his back door. He, Trevor, and I set out on a snowshoe packed trail i presume put in by Dave himself. we wove through the trees, climbing higher and higher into the beautiful early evening light. the further we went, the better the views were.
when we reached our turn around, within striking distance of Near Point, the sunset was in full effect. the lighting was beautiful. we could see all of Anchorage, the volcanos Mount Redoubt and Spur, Susitna, Foraker and the Great One, Denali. all were bathed in a warm orange glow, with the best light reserved for Denali. it looked like it was on fire as it glowed with a phosphorous pink hue.
as we ran back it just kept getting better. in the photo above you can see Mount Redoubt on the right. the small cloud to the right of the summit is actually a little bit of volcanic activity. our God is Awesome and i'm thankful he blessed us with an amazing jaunt up the 'hill behind Dave's house.'

quickie

peak 1 and 2 can make for a quick workout on a Sunday afternoon, but this time was super quick. snow conditions were great on the way up, only needing my running shoes to propel me the 1500 ft./.6 mile up the back of Flat Top. the inversion layer meant the 9˚ at my house turned into 27˚ up high. perfect weather for a run.
after tagging the top of 1 i hustled on up to 2 passing a would be paraglider near the top of one. thought i might get the chance to see him take off but i was up 2 and barreling down before he even got his chute out. their was a great glissade trough coming right off the top of peak 2. i jumped right in, tested the snow conditions to make sure i would be able to stop, and let 'er rip! it was a blast sliding about 80% of the 1500' back to the trailhead. the dogs were 'swimming' though the snow at top speed. it was our new dog O'Malley's first experience on a peak.
the glissade made the down portion so quick that we were up and down in about 54 minutes of total movin' time. wow. boy are my dogs tired, literally...

PDX

spent the last weekend in Portland with the Alaska Northstars at the Portland FC Winter College Showcase. i was coaching the 92 boys. we did pretty well beating the best team we played, tying twice, and losing once.

it was rainy most of the time we were there but not too cold so it was ok. the weather cleared up yesterday for our last game.

went for a 4.72 mile run with Brian, another coach and good friend, while we were down there. just good to get out even if it was on pavement and in the rain. we ran along the Rock Creek Trail (paved path) for most of the run. no soreness pain or anything the next day. good to see that i've been able to maintain fitness with just a run or so a week. i'm hoping that this keeps up as i start preparing for races this summer. there are a few i would like to do if i can stay injury free. the more minimal approach to my footwear choices seems to be working.

can't wait to hang out with the little guy this afternoon. i really miss my family when i'm away...can't imagine my life without them.