Kelly Canyon Trail Race

Saturday I drove to Idaho Falls (Ririe, Idaho to be more exact) to run the Kelly Canyon Trail Race. Kelly Canyon is one of the many races which make up the Trail Runner Trophy Series. Knowing this and the strength of some Eastern Idaho runners, I was anticipating a good turn out and a strong field. I would be disappointed.

Information upon registering was limited. I had to contact the organizers for things like directions to the start. Upon arrival, the start / finish area was organized as runners started to arrive. I was told a briefing would happen fifteen minutes prior to the start, and sure enough it did. All three distance groups were briefed on their course. As I looked around at the different groups, there were maybe 30-35 runners in total.

We toed the line right at eight o'clock with myself, La Sportiva teammate Luke Nelson, and Pat Bragassa taking point. The opening mile or so headed up and Luke and Pat instantly took the lead. I fell into my own rhythm and let them go. They quickly gaped me but I was playing the patience game. Once the opening single track climb was behind me the course turned onto a double track. Running alone, I stayed steady and before I knew it, I caught a glimpse of Luke but he was alone. Either Pat turned on the five mile course or he had pulled away from Luke. As I gained on Luke, the course took a turn through a gate onto a single track. But our course flagging didn't exist. Instead, it was marked with the five mile color. I saw Luke go straight where there was no flagging, I chose to take the right following the flagging. I yelled to Luke and he came back. We the bombed the single track downhill and finally came to our course markings, reassuring us that we were on the correct route. Noting the time, I mentioned to Luke that I thought the course was short. We were approaching the end and our time was smoking.

Luke and I would continue to run together following confusing course markings. Luke is a really strong climber and would pull away on the upshots and I would reel him in on the descents. Luke finally got a good gap on me at the final climb which was a gnarled service road dropping runners onto a cross country section overgrown with grass. We were told to be careful of these sections as they contained hidden hole and rocks. As the finish was quickly approaching, I ran out of course to bring Luke back to me. Pat would take first, Luke would take second at 54:05 (i think) and I crossed with third at :54:25. We questioned the distance and was informed that the course was cut back to 8.7 miles due to a washout the week before. I think the course was even shorter than that.

I was pleased with my run. More pleased not to have any knee pain. Really happy to awake this morning with no knee pain! It was great to see and run against Luke (he is becoming quite a strong runner). We hadn't run together since last years Elephants Perch Backcountry Run. I was disappointed with the poor/confusing course markings and the lack of turnout (although it was July 4th), oh well, it was great to race!

Gear for the day: La Sportiva CROSSLITE shoes w/deFeet trail 19 socks, Sugoi 42K short, Sugoi team shirt. Prerace fuel: 1st Endurance EFS drink and a GU shot. Post race recovery drink: 1st Endurance Ultragen Cappuccino.

Another Form of Suffering

This past weekend I needed a competition fix, so when I was asked to join a relay team for the Redfish Triathlon, I gladly accepted. Bob Rosso, owner of our local Elephants Perch outdoor shop would be the 1000m swimmer, Kris Thorsen would be the 40K cyclist and I would run 10K to wrap things up. Bob hammered the swim in 54 degree water in about 15 minutes, Kris stayed upright through the wet conditions on his TT bike to come in right near an hour and I was able to run under forty minutes for the run leg. We took first for the long course relay. A ton of fun! The knee held up pretty well. No pain during the run but I was definitely sore from the waist down.
I wasn't to concerned about the soreness because the next day would be the Town to Summit bike race. The brain child of one of the Perch employees, the course would take riders from downtown Ketchum to the top of Trail Creek; a 12.4 mile hill climb. The kicker is that at about mile 10 the pavement ends and the road becomes dirt. The dilemma, road, mountain, or cross bike. I chose my road bike (because I no longer have my mountain bike) as well did most others.
The start was a rolling neutral start followed by a good pack ride until about mile 9 when the grade increased dramatically. The pack quickly turned into a string of riders with a couple of young local ski phenoms leading the way. They held everyone off to take first and second. I was able to stay somewhat up front and finished 14 out of 53 riders. I was quite pleased. After a brief BS session at the finish, we all slowly rolled down hill to the post race festivities.
In all, a fun weekend. With only about five days of running I was able to hold a sub 40 10k and follow up the next day with a brutal bike hill climb race. Its all good!

Time to Start Running Again?

Yesterday marked the end of a six week lay off from running. I had been waiting for this day for, oh, about six weeks. It has been a tough spring/early summer watching my friends jet off to races or knock out great training runs only to be wishing I was there to share in the camaraderie and trash talking. I have been able to stay connected by keeping the group showing up to the track and helping them with their speed work. That has been fun but tough as I'm not running; I'm the watch guy and the encourager. But I have bigger plans at this point and they are to focus on getting healthy so I'm ready to go for next season. Having an "overuse" injury has got to be on of the worse because the fix is to stop doing what caused the injury, for me, it's my running. To make this even more frustrating is that even after seeing three different Orthopedics, a top PT, and a massage therapist, having an MRI and xrays nothing shows up as an injury; just pain in my lateral knee after about 40 minutes of running.
Not being able to run has forced me to look at other forms of training to help keep my edge. I instantly shifted to my road bike and have ventured into the pool. By combining the two, I have managed to stay in good shape and provide great therapy for my knee. In all accounts, my knee feels good, but I haven't run and that is the trigger.
As yesterday approached, I had those feelings I get before a race. It was weird. All I was going to do was take an easy trail run at lunch to check the knee. I was nervous it was going to still be painful. I was also a little concerned because about two weeks ago I crashed on my road bike and slammed my lateral right knee, right in the area where I have pain when I run. But I was also just plain jazzed to get on the trail and run through the blooming lupine and balsamroot. It was great to have those feelings back, they make you feel alive. The lunch hour hit. I put on my La Sportiva Crosslites, walked out my door at work and in two minutes was running the Dollar Mountain Loop (this will soon be a 10K trail race course). The minutes ticked by with no pain. I was really excited to be able to run all the sections of this trail that I usually have to walk in the early spring. I took the downhills really easy and cruised the flats and climbs. It was amazing to be out, how I have missed it! I ran for about fifty minutes and was pain free when I got back to work. A sigh of relief. The key now was to stay mobile and not let the joint stiffen.
When I awoke this morning, I took a mental body scan. Stretched the legs and the knee felt fine (another sigh of relief) but my legs were sore. I hate DOMS! And I am a victim every time I take time off. So, the plan for today is to figure out a means to stay dry (because its fucking raining AGAIN!) and try to spin out a solid fifty miles. No swimming today, which would feel great on sore legs, because the swim team has a meet. Tomorrow will be another easy trail run followed by swim laps.
Hopefully, I'm on track to getting healthy as the season continues. I have shifted my focus to possibly running a series of shorter trail races. No ultras this season and in all honesty I'm not sure ultras will be in my future. I just might not be cut out for the pounding. But that is not something I'm quite ready to accept just yet, although I have accepted that Wasatch will not happen for me this year and withdrew my name.
For now, get out and do something. I hope your weather is better than ours!