dirt mountains

took the little man hiking today (check out his killer imitation designer shades). it's been a while since i've been out, what with spring break in Texas and all. it was great. hiking with the little man is like having running narration. he talks a ton, describing in detail what is happening.

as we drove up canyon road he saw Flat Top and stated, "That's a big snow mountain. Can we go up there?" i let him know that's where we were headed. as we swung around to the back (south) side the rocky slopes were exposed. "Dad, that's a big dirt mountain. Can we go up and kick it DOWN!" i said we could try.

as we headed up the little man called out "Hello Mountains!" and later declared "Daddy...I live on a hike." as i haven't gotten out in nearly 3 weeks we only made it about 1/2 way up but the little guy was restless and wanted to get out anyway. he proceeded to send as many rocks down the mountain as possible while we sat there.it was sunny, about 42˚ or so and amazing. i was using the Vasque Transistor shoes i won on the irunfar blog. there not really designed for hiking with 35 pounds on your back but the fit and feel was great and the footing secure on the snowy/muddy slopes. i'll get out more in the next couple weeks and get some real runs in.date: March 29
mileage: <1
elevation: around 600'
time: 40min.

details: peak 1 w/ R, Jax, Mals; 42˚ sunny, vasque transistors

oh AK

so, one awesome thing about AK, it was light out when i got to work at 7:16...but unfortunately it's still only 30˚ and i'm parked next to a snowbank two times as tall as me...please spring, i'm ready for you

little man in a backpack

been hiking a few times this spring with the little guy in a backpack. he really seems to love it and now almost every time we get in the car he says "we're going on a hike" or asks "we going on a hike?" it's great that he gets such a kick out of it. it's good exercise for me to as he weighs about 35lbs. now. i can run if it's level or a downhill stretch but i don't think it's too comfortable for him so i haven't done it much. maybe when the snow is off the trails it'll be a bit smoother ride.

the first time a couple of weeks ago there was a lot of snow on the little spruce trees and he thought it was hilarious for me to knock it off and watch it fall to the ground. since then we've hiked (w/ Mom and friends) on the Winner Creek Trail in Girdwood, and he and i on the Turnagain Arm Trail (last week).

today though we hit up the Wolverine Bowl Loop, my still 'new' favorite. it is quite a bit longer than anything we've done so far but we had a great time. towards the end i had to keep him distracted with looking for the yellow blazes (that mark the trail) on the trees and pull out a few fruit snacks (his favorite), but overall we looked at the trees ("Dad it's a giving tree"), the birds ("God made the birds too") and the mountains ("I love the mountains"). it was really a blast to be out with him. i can't wait to hit up the trails with he and Tiff this summer. yeeeeeeeahhhhhh!

date: March 1
mileage: 3.95
elevation: 585
time: 80min.

details: wolverine bowl loop w/ R, Jax & Mals. vasque boas. 40˚, overcast, occasional snow flurries

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.