Bandera and Beyond

I started toying with the idea of running the 100K trail run in Bandera about a week before the race, and 3 days before the race I decided it was a go and signed up. I've been running fairly consistently since Ultraman, but nothing had been longer than 2 hours or so and most of that was done on a treadmill. I guess I was hoping that Ultraman fitness would still be lingering. Since I was already on the road driving to Texas seemed a logical choice. Little did I realize how big Texas really was, and I only had to drive halfway into it. The rest of my trip so far had consisted of 3-4 hour drives broken up with a stop at a national park or a friends house. Bandera is about 500 miles from the New Mexico border. Fortunately the van is a comfy sleep and most McDonalds and Starbucks have free wifi. At nearly every exit off the I-10 I could stop, connect to the internet from the convenience of the drivers seat, and plan the rest of my day. One of the rest stops in Texas even had free wifi.


Somewhere in Arizona..... The van setup. Sleeping bag on right, crates full of gear all neatly organized, and the dog kennel just behind the drivers seat. I might be the most organized hobo out there.

The drive was uneventful with unchanging scenery for about 500 miles. Bandera is a small town that is mainly comprised of dude ranches. I didn't start getting nervous about the race until I arrived at packet pick up the night before. At the pre-race briefing they talked about how rough the course was and some cactus that looked like an aloe plant that we shouldn't touch. There were some chuckles about there aren't switchbacks in the Texas hills and we'd go straight up and down the steep hills. The nerves were building. 62 miles is a long way to go in a car let alone on foot, but I was excited about the new challenge. This was going to be the next step into building towards hopefully my first 100 mile run in the next year or two.

Hill Country Texas was more scenic than I had pictured and had actual hills. Really great views on the run.

The race itself was much more than anticipated. It was 2 laps of 31 miles. I had Bliksem with me so I was stopping after lap 1 to check on her and let her out for a bathroom break. Coming from the Sierras the "hills" in Texas didn't scare me, but they did go straight up and down as promised. It was also really rocky and loose in some places. The cactus was much eviler than I had thought. Their branches reached across the single track interlacing with the plant on the opposite side of the trail. We really had no choice but to run through them. At first my legs were cold enough that I didn't really feel them, but when I looked down about 5 miles into the run I had blood running down my legs from 100s of tiny little cuts. For the first lap the rocks, cactus, and hills were a piece of cake, but round 2 on the course really worked a number on me both physically and mentally. Lap 1 went really smoothly, but I didn't take enough calories in. This caught up with me on lap 2.

photo by Enduro Photo. Lap 1 as I'm still looking fairly coherent.

Finished the first lap in about 5 hours, stopped and took the dog for a short walk, changed my shoes, and headed back out for round 2. Bliksem was not impressed as she got shoved back in the van. The toughest part of lap 2 was the mental aspect. It was a USATF Championship event so there were no pacers, no ipods, no HR monitors, and no GPS. As I left or lap 2 I passed 2 other runners and then didn't see another runner for the rest of the 30 miles. Every time I would stumble into an aid station I'd be so happy to see people that I wouldn't want to leave. I'd have to focus on grabbing some quick food and getting back out on the trails. I usually enjoy running solo, but something about this run was really tough for me. Running through the cactus became a dread as my legs felt more and more raw. I was still running flats and uphills quickly, but my legs turned to baby giraffe legs and each loose downhill became a battle to stay upright. As I came through the last aid station the last of the sunlight faded and it was time to break out the light. The last 5 or so miles were slow...... real slow. As I approached the finish I could see the clock at 10:59, and I hustled through to get in under the 11 hr mark. Tough day, but I'm glad I gutted it out. Immediately passed out in the van only to wake up starving at 3am. I promptly polished off an entire bag of trail mix.


Evil cactus that looked kind of like an aloe plant but with hack saws for blades.

photo by Enduro Photo
Rick Kent from Ultraman was at the finish doing the photography for the events. It was great to see a familiar face!

Awards were Tarahumara pottery that I actually managed to not break during the road trip. I also got my first belt buckle. As you can see the bed is super comfy.

Next up my trip though Big Bend National Park

Eastward Bound

Bliksem and I are enjoying life on the road. After leaving Huntington Beach we spent a morning in Palm Springs, more so that I could get a swim and shower than anything else. From there we headed to Joshua Tree National Park and spent the rest of the day. The hard thing about NPs is that you can't have your dog on the trail, so we did our run on a dirt road instead. I'd love to come back here and spend some time without a dog, but it is nice to have a travel companion. Even if she growls at me when I leave her in the car to go on a dog prohibited trail.

Sometimes I still wish I was into rock climbing.....

Sunset in J Tree

From J Tree we hurried on to Tucson where it was kind of cold so I only stayed there long enough to do a run. I probably would have rushed on, but after leaving the lights on in the van during my run I was stranded for a while. When I got to the park earlier in the day there were a dozen vehicles in the parking lot, but by the time I got back from my run there was just one left. I waited and waited hoping it's owner would return. After getting the car jump started I did get a pleasant surprise. The check engine light which has been on for a couple thousand miles was suddenly off. Apparently by killing the battery I fixed the engine. Woohoo! Onwards to White Sands.

Sunrise in White Sands was stunning.




If you check in the bottom right corner there is a coyote. Getting up early means the critters are still roaming about.

Kind of looked like snowbanks and they do plow the sand. It was cold enough this morning for snow.

People headed out to go sledding in the "snow".

Bliksem and I opted for a run on the Alkalai Flat Trail. It was about 5 miles, but anything but flat. The first 5 minutes were flatish, but then we headed up and over dunes. It was a lot of fun.... especially going down the dunes. I finished up about an hour later with shoes full of sand. From there we headed to Las Cruces, NM for much needed shower..... errr I mean swim.

Next up my trip to Texas and the Bandera run....

Slowtwitch link

Performance of the year!!

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Opinion/2010_Tri_Year_in_Review_1849.html

Road Trip part 1 of many.....

With Reno high temps in the 20's I loaded up the van and fled town with no real plan in mind other than head south until the temps were at least in the 60's. The van is fully pimped out with a cozy bed, dog crate, and ice chest. I drove as far as I could on I5 south the first night. I wasn't sure how comfy the setup in the van would be, but I slept a solid 7 hours.... in a rest stop. Sweet!! Woke up and finished the drive to Huntington Beach. I had fully intended on camping in the van the entire week, but got an invite to stay with some friends that I met at Ultraman this year. Thanks Keevin!! I also got invited along on a little ride. I hadn't been on the bike outside since day 2 of UMH and had only managed 2x45 minutes inside on the trainer. I heard that we were jumping in on the Long Beach New Years Day ride. I was told the pace would be fast and there would be 500+ people. We planned to regroup part of the way through the ride at a Starbucks along the course. In spite of knowing before hand the logistics of the ride, I was in no way prepared for the sight or sound of the peloton as it rounded the corner. I started pedaling to meet their speed, but felt like I'd never be going fast enough to latch on. Finally I merged into the group, but found myself towards the rear of the 600+ riders. It was really amazing to see and be surrounded by the riders, but really nerve racking. It took a lot of concentration to stay away from the rift raft and keep up when the group surged. I heard that we were doing 30+ during sections of the ride, and the one time I managed to peek at my HR monitor I saw an unbelievable 178. I don't think it's ever been that high on the bike before. There was a police escort we were blowing through most stoplights, but stopping at others. The slow and then sprint surges finally got the best of me and I was relieved to get spit out the back. I sat up and cruised into the coffee shop to regroup with everyone. After that the ride mellowed out and we headed to Dana Point for breakfast buffet. The return trip entailed a little more suffering with a stuffed belly. Breakfast in Dana Point with Keevin, Monique, and Rick A fantastic way to spend NYD! Monique and Slater Fletcher
The rest of the weekend included some beach runs and taking Bliksem to the dog beach for her first ocean experience.


Bliksem playing in the waves

Freedom from the leash

This is my super cute growl that says play with me please

I got sand everywhere...

Next up a quick trips to Joshua Tree NP, Saguaro NP, and White Sands NM......

On the road

With winter temps in the 20s in Reno I jumped in the car and headed south. With no job and no home there really wasn't a reason to hang around in the snow and suffer. I'll get a proper blog up tomorrow about NYE fun, but for now here are a couple of links to recent interviews I have done.

This one is to the local Reno paper
http://www.rgj.com/article/20101230/SPORTS/12300324/1018

This one is on Competitor Radio with Bob Babbitt
http://competitorradio.competitor.com/2010/12/amber-monforte-with-aj-acosta/#disqus_thread

Enjoy!

Winter Fun

Reno isn't a whole lot of fun during or immediately after storms. The dirt in the mountains around town isn't used to a whole lot (or any) precipitation, so when storms hit our dirt turns into sticky mud. The kind that builds like stilts on the bottom of your shoes or turns your mountain bike tires into sausages. The only way to avoid it is to get up really early with the hopes that the mud is frozen. With this strategy you just have to make sure your run isn't too long and everything melts on the return trip.


The only way to stay sane or keep the dogs sane is to escape 30 minutes up the hill to the snow. We've gone skiing a couple times this week. Mostly just the tromp around and play variety skiing. I packed up my skate skis with the good intention of getting out there, but it's a bit intimidating. It's something I picked up last year, and I never get up there enough to get to be any good at it.

There isn't a ton of snow in the mountains yet, but there was enough to get out and play. Kona and Bliksem ran flat out for 2 hours and then slept for the next 24.

At Prosser Lake near Truckee

Snoooooow!!


At Mt. Rose Meadows above Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe


The view were impressive and it's such a new perspective after running on this trail in the summer. Amazingly every time I think about leaving Reno I have a day like this and reevaluate. This is 30 minutes from home. It doesn't get much better than this.

Shades of Gray

In reflecting over the past couple months a topic has come up a time or two. The average person I talk to wants my perspective on if my sport is clean, and by this they mean doping. Lance Armstrong has been making major headlines all summer and this is often the only connection these people have to cycling or sport. As far as Lance is concerned, others will have to decide his guilt or innocence, but it did bring up the topic of cheating in sport. Most athletes I know all are vehemently opposed to doping, but what about other forms of cheating. We all say that we want a clean sport and to participate on a level playing field. What about the gray areas? Where do we draw the line? Does deliberate acts like drafting count? or how about prescribed medicines that can potentially increase performance?

During the last couple Ironman races I've participated in there has been rampant drafting. In Kona this year I was passed by a peloton of at least 30+ riders. I watched a woman draft off a man as they passed me. She continued to draft as they pulled away from me. When the referee flashed a red card for drafting she proceeded to argue with the referee. I passed her as she was serving her penalty in the "sin bin", but was later passed back as she drafted off yet another guy. Talking with people after the race I learned that this is indeed a race strategy some use. They figured that the 4 minute penalty they receive is well worth the time advantage of drafting. It's basic risk versus benefit. They hope to not get caught, but if they do they still gained time and saved their legs. As frustrating as it is to get passed by these people I know that my time is the result of my effort. I don't know if there is an easy way to solve this problem at Ironman. It did seem like there was a good amount of referees, but what do you do with a pack of 30? With 1800+ athletes on the road it is crowded, and those that choose to draft can. Only their choice of doing what is right will keep them out of the draft zone.

Another gray area is the use of inhalers by athletes. If an athlete has asthma then go ahead and use your inhaler because you need it. What I think is interesting is that a much larger percentage of elite athletes have asthma when compared to the general population. Why is this? There has been much debate whether use of inhalers in people without asthma does or does not improve performance. Do these give an actual boost or just a mental one? I guess my issue with the use of inhalers by athletes NOT having asthma is the intent to cheat. Whether or not they get a boost, their reason for taking the medicine is to improve performance. They can "legally" do this by applying with USADA for a therapeutic use exemption along with a doctors diagnosis and script. Is this the "gateway drug" to trying other performance boosters? Where do they draw their line or do they?

At the end of the day we all have to look ourselves in the mirror and face what we are. I never have understood cheating on any level and don't have any idea how someone can accept an award (or take it away from someone else) knowing deep down that they didn't come by it fairly. It makes you a morally/ethically bankrupt person to cheat at whatever level. What I would like most of my non athlete friends to know is that most athletes are clean and fight fare. It's a shame that the few among us that cheat are the ones that are remembered by the masses.