So my aunt was watching Cantore Stories about the Badwater Ultramarathon on The Weather Channel yesterday, and happened to catch a quick glimpse of me on screen. In 2009 I was out at Badwater crewing/pacing for Pam Reed. Little did I know they were filming for this show. I actually didn't even realize this show existed until yesterday, however, I was able to find it online with some quick help from Google. No big surprises that Dean Karnazes found his way into some serious face time on this one. If you are interest in the piece, here it is in two parts. And my cameo is at 1:54 on part 2.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Dear A$$hole(s),
(to steal a category from coach cane's humble blog)
When there are only four lanes at the pool, all the lanes are already being shared, and multiple people waiting for lanes, it's not a good time for the two of you to stand in the pool at the end of the lane and talk about the shiny new watch one of you just bought. It would have been one thing if the two of you were having a brief conversation resting between sets, but when you are still talking almost five minutes later, don't get upset when something is said to you. You are worse than the idiot hanging out on the machine/bench in the weight room. At least there, someone can do alternate exercises.
Sincerely,
Me...and the other people staring daggers at you last night at the pool
When there are only four lanes at the pool, all the lanes are already being shared, and multiple people waiting for lanes, it's not a good time for the two of you to stand in the pool at the end of the lane and talk about the shiny new watch one of you just bought. It would have been one thing if the two of you were having a brief conversation resting between sets, but when you are still talking almost five minutes later, don't get upset when something is said to you. You are worse than the idiot hanging out on the machine/bench in the weight room. At least there, someone can do alternate exercises.
Sincerely,
Me...and the other people staring daggers at you last night at the pool
Monday, March 12, 2012
Full Goodwater Loop
Yesterday I went back up to Lake Georgetown to tackle a full pass of the Goodwater Loop. Although there are extended sections of the the trail with nice footing, much of it is jagged, rocky, and capable of turning your feet into hamburger. Since the footing wasn't challenging enough, I decided to trip and fall at mile two. And it wasn't fall. I was able to target some small thorny vines that were hiding under the verdant foliage covering the ground. I landed first on my leg and then rolled over to sufficiently cover the other side of my body. The thorns on this particular plant were small enough that they were not visible to the eye or noticeable to the touch. However, they felt like fire under my skin with every new footfall.
I briefly contemplated turning around and heading back to the car, but going home wasn't going to make the spines hurt any less. A couple miles later, I approached the first creek crossing, so I was able to wash the mud off my hands and attempt to cool the burning sensation with the water, to no avail.
After three days of rain, I was expecting sloppier conditions. Nevertheless, I found enough mud and water to splash through that it kept me happy. I honestly went out of my way many times to trudge through the mud. I made a quick stop at Crockett Gardens and Falls to take in the waterfall and snap a couple pictures.
I completed the south side of the trail and made my way over the dam, where I passed more people than I'd seen the entire day to that point. Once I passed Overlook Park, I only saw one group of boy scouts that I'd previously encountered shortly after starting my run. My energy levels were falling quickly as I finally made the jeep road on the north side. There's little cover along this part of the trail, so the sun was sapping what little energy I had remaining. I hobbled through the final 4 miles or so, alternating between a quick walk and a slow run, both of which were likely the same pace.
Almost twenty-four hours later, the crawling, burning sensation has finally subsided and given way to soreness. I'll take the soreness over the pain from those tiny vines. I have no idea what type of devil those vines grow from, but I'm pretty positive they contained poison of some sort. Still, I completed the 26+ mile loop, so vines didn't defeat me.
Next time maybe I'll dive into prickly pear.
I briefly contemplated turning around and heading back to the car, but going home wasn't going to make the spines hurt any less. A couple miles later, I approached the first creek crossing, so I was able to wash the mud off my hands and attempt to cool the burning sensation with the water, to no avail.
After three days of rain, I was expecting sloppier conditions. Nevertheless, I found enough mud and water to splash through that it kept me happy. I honestly went out of my way many times to trudge through the mud. I made a quick stop at Crockett Gardens and Falls to take in the waterfall and snap a couple pictures.
I completed the south side of the trail and made my way over the dam, where I passed more people than I'd seen the entire day to that point. Once I passed Overlook Park, I only saw one group of boy scouts that I'd previously encountered shortly after starting my run. My energy levels were falling quickly as I finally made the jeep road on the north side. There's little cover along this part of the trail, so the sun was sapping what little energy I had remaining. I hobbled through the final 4 miles or so, alternating between a quick walk and a slow run, both of which were likely the same pace.
Almost twenty-four hours later, the crawling, burning sensation has finally subsided and given way to soreness. I'll take the soreness over the pain from those tiny vines. I have no idea what type of devil those vines grow from, but I'm pretty positive they contained poison of some sort. Still, I completed the 26+ mile loop, so vines didn't defeat me.
Next time maybe I'll dive into prickly pear.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Climbing
I've been climbing at the gym once a week for the past few months. Over the years, I always loved to go rock climbing when i got the chance, but I'd never been able to go on a consistent basis, so when I joined Pure, I figured I'd take advantage of the rock wall. Its a good upper body workout and its definitely helping to strengthen my core. Climbing inside has nothing on climbing outside, but I still enjoy it. Additionally, its still fairly challenging, as most of the climbing I've done over the years has been crack climbing, which is quite different from an indoor wall. I've been working on a specific route for a couple months, and I'm finally getting close to mastering it. Once I get under the ceiling, I keep losing it at a certain point, but I'm getting close.
Katie and I are hopefully going to hit the rock gym in the near future to get more variety and challenge ourselves a bit more.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Mammoth Weekend
I threw down some serious mileage this weekend, doing my first back-to-back long runs in a very long time. I did a combined 8.5 hours of running between Saturday (4 hours) and Sunday (4.5 hours). I really have no idea where I get my endurance from, or more importantly, my tolerance for the endurance. For some reason, I can just go. And go. And go. What I lack in speed, I more than make up for in endurance.
Anyway, on Saturday, I simultaneously reminded myself whey I don't run at the greenbelt and why I need to run at the greenbelt more often. The interstate highway of a trail that is the main artery of the greenbelt is ridiculously busy on a nice Saturday. Its not my idea of a good trail run. However, I went and explored the trails across from the Hill of Life. I'd always known there were some trails over there, but I had no idea of the extensiveness of the trail system over there. I spent just over 4 hours on those trail and rarely retraced a step, while not even covering everything out there.
Yesterday, I went back up to Lake Georgetown and explored the south side of the Goodwater Loop, after a quick three mile out-and-back on the north side to scout out a low water crossing. I've previously covered almost the entire north side of the loop, and I have to say, the south side is definitely the more scenic, interesting, and fun side. There were sections that made me feel like I wasn't even in Texas. With all the recent rain, everything was green, so short sections reminded me of being in the Catskills or even the Adirondacks. As usual, traffic away from the trail heads was extremely light. Crockett Gardens and Falls was a nice little treat to see. I did miss a trail marker on my return, which lead me down the wrong path adding mileage to my run. It wouldn't have been that bad, but it caused me to run out of water before I finished.
Overall, a great weekend of running, but I'm glad to have a day off from running to let my legs recover. Sometimes it hurts to go long, but it's a good hurt.
Anyway, on Saturday, I simultaneously reminded myself whey I don't run at the greenbelt and why I need to run at the greenbelt more often. The interstate highway of a trail that is the main artery of the greenbelt is ridiculously busy on a nice Saturday. Its not my idea of a good trail run. However, I went and explored the trails across from the Hill of Life. I'd always known there were some trails over there, but I had no idea of the extensiveness of the trail system over there. I spent just over 4 hours on those trail and rarely retraced a step, while not even covering everything out there.
Yesterday, I went back up to Lake Georgetown and explored the south side of the Goodwater Loop, after a quick three mile out-and-back on the north side to scout out a low water crossing. I've previously covered almost the entire north side of the loop, and I have to say, the south side is definitely the more scenic, interesting, and fun side. There were sections that made me feel like I wasn't even in Texas. With all the recent rain, everything was green, so short sections reminded me of being in the Catskills or even the Adirondacks. As usual, traffic away from the trail heads was extremely light. Crockett Gardens and Falls was a nice little treat to see. I did miss a trail marker on my return, which lead me down the wrong path adding mileage to my run. It wouldn't have been that bad, but it caused me to run out of water before I finished.
Overall, a great weekend of running, but I'm glad to have a day off from running to let my legs recover. Sometimes it hurts to go long, but it's a good hurt.
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