A few readers of this blog have kindly commented that they were awaiting my Kettle Moraine race report, and I apologize for being so late with it. Although I was on vacation the rest of the week after the race, I couldn't blog much (or even read blogs--I'm so behind) due to competition for a very slow computer at my in-laws, in the few moments I wasn't out running around (actually hobbling is more accurate), usually entertaining my older son and his cousins.
When I got back, I had to work 3 overnight shifts over the weekend, which was more painful due to mismanagement of my daytime sleeping. I did get a little bit of Father's Day, with a trip to the Oakland Zoo in the late afternoon, before my last graveyard shift.
Today (Tuesday the 17th), would've been good to finish blogging, since my older son was back in daycare/school, and I had the day off. Yesterday I ran home 100 minutes on trails from the Toyota dealership after dropping off our Prius for routine 45k mile maintenance after power sleeping 3 hours. So you'd think that, only 9 days after a 100-mile race and no urgent need to get in any long training runs, and having already done a decent run yesterday, I'd be content to stay home, play with the baby, and blog, right? Hello?
REI in Berkeley has been calling us, asking when we were going to pick up these backordered Black Diamond trekking poles that we bought a few months ago using our 20% discounts. They finally came in last month, but with all the races, work, and our vacation, we had no chance to drive out there, much less do the greener option of picking them up on the way to my brother's in Marin. If we didn't retrieve them today, they were sending them back. They are such hardasses up there-- I guess they're tight on the storage space.
So this morning I am thinking, since we have to drive up there anyways, maybe I can do a point-to-point trail run... it's such a nice day.
I'm still recovering, and probably shouldn't be running so much this soon, so this was totally gratuitous. Run long, run far, for no good reason except that today I can.
Right after noon, I set out towards Chabot with my Ultimate Direction bottle, a squeeze bottle fuel of powdered Gu2O, two gels, my cell phone and trail maps of Redwood Park, Tilden Park, and a road map of Oakland/Berkeley, most of the above stuffed in a trophy Fuel Belt Del Fuego hydration pack without the bladder.
So Yahoo weather said it was going to be in the 70's. "YAH! I screwed yOO" is what Yahoo must stand for, since it feels like it's 85, and I didn't bring any electrolyte tablets. In Redwood, a connector trail to the West Ridge Trail that is supposed to be there isn't, and I have to backtrack half a mile as my fluids run out. Near Skyline Gate at the northern tip of Redwood Park, I resume the Firetrails 50 course along the Bay Area Ridge Trail past Sibley to Steam Trains at the southern end of Tilden. Luckily it is mostly shaded after Skyline and little less hot. Unfortunately my wife left her cell phone in Chicago so I am worried that she'll pick up the hiking poles and show up at the restaurant at which we decided to meet long before I can make it, but have no way of calling her.
In Tilden, after Steam Trains, I take Grizzly Peak Trail for the first time down, before zigzagging on my knees, still sore from Kettle, down paved switchbacks into Berkeley proper.
Over 30 miles in 5 1/2 hours including bottle fill-up stops and map checks.
I get to the restaurant, this Nepalese restaurant in Berkeley we had never tried before. I showed up 3 minutes before my wife and kids.
Lucas kept screaming for the lentil soup, which totally hit the spot after more than 120 increasingly sickening ounces of Gu2O.
Peter couldn't wait for the tandoori shrimp and the other things we ordered. So yummy! Gotta love the food in Berkeley.
first posted Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 10:35 pm
11 comments:
Mark. I don't understand how you continue to function. I get tired just reading your blog.
That looked like a fantastic run! I really liked how you imported your map (seriously, it's simple and quick). But knowing you use a Garmin 305 (not sure if you use Motionbased tho), I was curious if there was a way to embed traces. Found a way, so I wrote a quick blog in response: http://got-to-run.blogspot.com/2008/06/test.html
There are other ways to annotate GPS data, but Motionbased is really easy.
Oh and I also meant to mention: You take really great kid-pictures!
" Run long, run far, for no good reason except that today I can."
That's a good reason. I'm getting back into the routine myself. No 5.5 hour runs for me as of yet, soon I hope. Been biking and that has been good. Hit the track last night and that went well too. See you on the trails soon.
You must have smelled terrific at dinner(?)
Will G.
Will, good point. My wife is the first to complain if I'm unacceptable. I mitigate the effects (which are already minimized with a high eccrine to apocrine ratio) through frequent douses of water at drinking fountains where I refill my water bottle, fresh clothes I pre-pack in the car, picking ethnic restaurants with fragrant aromas in the air, and a generous tip.
Then I splash on half a bottle of Brut and then I smell so sexy at the end of this my wife and half of the customers (both sexes) can't keep their eyes or sometimes their hands off me while I'm trying to eat (!)
Yeah OK I always wondered what that small green bottle was in your waist pack.
That's good news however about your integument ratios.
Looking forward to your KM recap, great effort on the race as always, well done.
Will G.
Hope u had a good Father's Day & back to it...nice long run!!
I am feeling great and my feet are good to go, left Big toenail is off & the other one soon to follow :-)
I have 2 solid months to gear up for the Grand Tetons 100 miler, just a little 20,000 climb & altitude that reaches 10,000 ft four times :-) going to be fun & very tough & yes this is my Hardrock race--haha
Have a great week!
C’mon, Man. Curious minds want to know! Get that report out!
I have at least one days-worth of the life that is Mark, with some interesting details of his pre-Kettle preparations.
Hope to see you again next year, buddy.
Kirk
My Kettle Report
I become ever more appreciative of the spouses who pick up smelly tired runners, enabling long and wonderful point-to-point runs. Last week (while on vacation) my husband drove over an hour to pick me up at the end of a 6 hour run. We have to count our blessings, for sure!
Great job at Kettle, looking forward to hearing aobut it.
DUDE! I just ate there on Monday night. That place is literally a block from my new home! Are you stalking me?
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