no planes fly on Thursdays...

or so it seemed yesterday as i ascended the backside of Flat Top. after 3 weeks in a boot to heal the tendonitis in my left ankle, i have spent this week testing it a bit. Tuesday i ran an easy mile and a half, followed by a couple hundred yards of barefoot running and yesterday headed up Flat Top.

i'm taking the 'shoes are evil' approach in trying to build my foot/arch strength. this is in direct opposition to what the doctor told me i should do, which is to always have my foot in a shoe with custom made orthotics. after much research i really believe that our feet are designed in such a way that they work best naturally, but years of 'supportive' footwear has softened them to the point that they don't know how to do this. by going barefoot as much as possible, wearing minimalist shoes, and barefoot running i think i can get them to perform better than they ever have. there is tons of info on this online. the bestselling book "Born to Run" is another good starting point for research on the subject, and is also a great read.

but back to Flat Top...about 15 minutes into the hike i noticed how deafeningly quiet it was. it was surreal and i wondered at why. then it hit me, there was no air traffic. typically planes are flying directly over the ridge line on their approach to the airport, passing overhead every 10-15 minutes. but i guess not on Thursdays.

it was magnificent. the sun was struggling to break through the clouds as a light wind blew in the 40˚ air. i strode strongly up the mountain, wondering how much of my fitness i had lost during my forced inactivity. not much in the way of cardio i discovered as i hit the top in a record time for me, 24 minutes. my previous best had been 28. the way down though was a different story as my quads turned to jello half way down and i was forced to walk because my stride was uncontrollable and sloppy. still managed to lop 30 seconds off my best time down with an overall time of 37:30.

report today is no tendon pain, praise God, only sore quads.

above the clouds

yesterday we had cloud cover in Anchorage all day, and i mean in Anchorage literally...there was a ground fog covering everything all day long. it is not uncommon for a low cloud cover to settle in, but a ground fog all over town is a first for me in 13 years of living here.

i decided to try and get above the clouds by driving up towards Glen Alps trailhead. i knew it was a long shot as the cloud layer is typically around 2500-2800 feet and the trailhead parking lot is around 2200 i think.

when i got there i was still in the clouds, but i noticed the krumholz in the corner of the parking lot. sometimes it's not always best to get where you're trying to go.

the little boy and the worm

once upon a time there was a little boy. he was a very content little boy and there were many things that made him happy. one of those things that made him happy was discovering new things in the great wide world outside of his house. mommy and daddy called it the backyard, but to the little boy it was the whole world.
one day he was playing outside after the cool rains of fall had washed the earth. as he romped around the yard he looked down and discovered something he had never seen before. it was long and shiny and wriggled across the wet ground. being an adventurous little boy, he did not hesitate to make friends with it.
reaching down he gently grasped the thing by the tail and lifted it up. "what's this?" he asked, but his new friend made no reply. hmm, thought the boy as the friend wiggled in his hand. i have never seen anything like this, maybe it wants to play.
the little boy had all sorts of adventures in mind for he and his new little friend, but first maybe it wanted to slide. the boy place the worm on the top of the slide, but the worm just sat there. maybe it was scared because the slide was so big, the little boy thought to himself.
the little boy thought that maybe his new friend would prefer something lower to the ground. he spied the teeter totter out in the yard and took the worm over to it. "here you go," he proclaimed, placing his friend on one end of the totter.
"right here," he emphasized to his new friend. the worm slowly wriggled back and forth across the seat as the boy delightfully gave it rides up and down. after a while, the worm seemed to be tiring of the teeter totter. the little boy picked up the worm and brought it near. "you go in there" the little boy told his friend, thinking it needed some encouragement, but the worm seemed to say it'd had enough fun for one day.the little boy decided that maybe it was time for his new friend to go back to where it lived in the leaves. he looked around and around and found some other wriggly friends. he placed it down as he said, "bye bye, night night."

what a great day in the wide world, and what a great adventure.

summer recap

the summer came and went; fast, furious, and fun. one of the best on (my) record weather-wise. i'll present some highlights as it would be mind boggling to try and go back and remember all the awesomeness.

it was amazing to only work minimally this summer. only guided one trip, coached on a 5 day nw college tour, and reffed a couple nights a week. what was amazing was the time i was able to spend with my wife and child. waking up each day and having the entire day to play in the sunshine with them was the #1 highlight of my summer. that being said, here are some more rapid fire:

14 mile run on the Kenai's long lake trail, which parallels the lost lake trail near Seward.

10 mile run to Eagle/Symphony Lakes in the south fork valley. awesome swim in Symphony. 86˚ temperature when i returned to the truck.

8 mile rabbit lake run.

ran the Crow Pass Crossing for the third time. though it was my worst time yet, i learned much from this race and was blown away by what is possible, ie. Geoff Roes' sub 3 hours, wowzer! next year i may even train seriously for this event.

camping and canoeing at a 'secret' spot for the 12th anniversary of marriage to my sweetpea, Tiffany.

swimming in the kiddie pool with my little guy.

northwest college tour with the Alaska Northstars select soccer team. we hit 9 colleges in 5 days, from Seattle to Portland and back.

guiding another awesome Kenai Multisport trip for The World Outdoors. a sampling of some of the best day trips on the Kenai.

....this is what i can think of right now. fun times, great summer.

and oh yeah, i'm injured again. it'll heal though, just no running for a while.

the bird ridge race...

officially known as the Robert Spurr Memorial Hill Climb, occurred yesterday. there were roughly 250 racers who took off in three waves. the first wave was made up of competitive racers who expected to finish in under 50 minutes. the second wave was for those who thought they would finish in 45-65 minutes. the third wave was for the youth racers who would be racing to the halfway point (a new addition to the race this year) and for all other racers who were out to run at whatever speed they liked.

being my first attempt at this race i situated myself near the front of the second wave, taking off 5 minutes after the first wave. going into the race i had no idea about what kind of time to expect. i've only been to the very top of the ridge (the race's end) once (in the winter) but i'm pretty familiar with the lower trail. i set my sights on 1-3 hours. i was pretty certain i would fall within this time frame.

i was able to stay near the front of the pack for the first 25 minutes or so but began slowing down after that. about 40 minutes in there was only one guy directly in front of me and a woman about 80 yards behind me. this became my race: to pass the guy in front of me and not let the woman behind pass. a small world, but a manageable one.

the weather was cold; raining and blowing on the ridge. that sort of weather is able to isolate a person even when other runners are in sight. i focused on one steep step at a time, head down, pushing into the wind that pushed back against my right side and drove frozen rain straight through my apparel and into my skin. it was especially easy to fall into the trance while on sections of the open ridge where the wind steadily howled, pulling at my number and causing the windshirts of racers ahead of me to flap loudly and violently. i tried my best to ignore the cold until i had the odd sensation of losing feeling in my chest. it was strange but from above my stomach to below my neck i couldn't feel anything except the tightness of my breath.

at about 50 minutes in i began to see the race leaders on their way down. typically the winners finish in around 40 minutes or so and as they began to trickle by some gave encouraging words, others a smile, and still others passed with arms wrapped tightly around themselves and glassy stares. the cold had taken it's toll on some runners. my brother-in-law reported that his time was "terrible" as he passed me on his way down. i asked what was up and as his voice blended into the wind behind me all i heard was something about the cold.

i turned my focus ahead and felt strong as the trail's angle started to lessen. i by no means have any kind of illusion that i will be competitive in these races. i do it for the sole purpose that i want to see what my body and mind are capable of. that, and the camaraderie of the trail running community. right before the false summit a down climbing racer encouraged "right over this this rise it flattens out and you can jog again." unless you've been power hiking uphill for almost an hour you may not realize how much of an encouragement that is. at this point, any leg movement other than the single leg squats you've been doing is welcomed. it did 'flatten', meaning become less vertical than it was, and i was able to air out my legs a bit.

i had passed the guy that was in front of me on a similar short section several minutes ago and no was focused on an older woman in front of me that had passed me much earlier in the race on a steeper section. i wasn't going to pass her in these last 100 yards or so to the endpoint, that's just bad form, but i did want to catch her. i did in the last short climb and we finished roughly together with a time of 1:08 something...

the official results will be posted here at some point.

i took a shot of gu. guzzled a bit of water that someone offered at the top as i hadn't brought any, and began the hike down. i sipped on a can of Coors Light that had been handed to me at the summit with a declaration of "Happy Solstice!" oh yeah, this is not only Father's Day but also the longest day of the year was my thought as i had received it. heading down i now did my part to encourage the racers still coming up: staying out of their way and shouting words to spur them on. i poured out the remainder of the beer and put the crushed can in my pocket. this wasn't because i didn't want it but because i couldn't really feel my fingers. well, i could feel them but they felt like frozen hot dogs. i attempted to re-warm them and continued down. the rest of the way down was uneventful, just a slow slog on tired legs.

overall the race was exactly what i had imagined going into it. on the way up it hurt terribly, upon finishing there was that sense of elation, and then coming down i wished it would end quickly. though it wasn't the sunny version of the race i envisioned, it was just as well. another AK experience recorded in my mind and body.

rabbit lake

the clouds hung low over the peaks of the front range of the Chugach, as my trusty trail running companion and i headed back towards Rabbit Lake for a training run. because of the weather there was one thing i knew for sure, i wouldn't be overheated, but there were other issues in my mind as i began down the trail.

it has been a busy couple of weeks and this was my first serious run since o'malley. i knew that i would still be able to run the 8 miles to Rabbit Lake and back, but didn't know how i would feel afterward. i am also nursing a pulled leg muscle that throbbed with every step. but the weather was great for running and i quickly settled into a groove on the initial 2 mile climb.

as we leveled off the view of the suicide peaks came into sight. typically this is where one would get a view of the tops of these impressive peaks, but not today. just a snowy headwall and the far-off view of the last rise one climbs before dropping down to the lake.
it is a gradual, rocky uphill trail from the halfway point, and we arrived at the lake in under an hour. there was one tent on the northern shore and the lake was as beautiful as always. i've visited the lake in sun, wind, rain, and snow and it always impresses me with it's alpine beauty.

we only stuck around long enough to eat a granola bar and snap a picture, it was a 'training' run after all. bouncing back down the trail was much easier as it is all slightly downhill on the way out. we passed a couple of hikers on the way and exchanged pleasantries. it's always refreshing to me that the further you are back on a trail, or the rougher the country, the nicer the people are that you encounter. i venture that if you saw the same people in the grocery store you'd get the same responses.

the weather held on the way out, but i could see sun over parts of anchorage. we made it back to the car in 1:41. a decent time considering i thought it might take 3 hours. another great day mucking about in the Alaskan frontcountry.

Spencer Loop

last night i went on a bike ride. it had been raining lightly and i had been putting off a run but finally convinced myself to get out of the house at about 9pm. had my sights set on Spencer Loop.

Spencer Loop was one time (years ago) rated as one of the top ten trails in some mountain bike publication. i wonder if the person who wrote the article ever rode the trail. it is a great trail if you like double track with long steep climbs and short non-technical descents. i've ridden on parts of Spencer Loop in the past, but this was my first time riding the entire loop. it was the workout i expected.

in fact, even the dog got a workout. he has been 'on loan' recently as we have farmed him out to friends who want a companion on their various runs. he had been up Bird Ridge earlier in the day so a 13 mile bike rode really wore him out.

all in all it was a good outing in spite of the rain, which had gone from a slight drizzle at the beginning of the ride to a substantial soaking by the end. good times.