Friday, July 15, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Hoka One One, Mafate Unisex Trail Shoe Review: If you're gonna go for it, go for it
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Dust Storms: A hint of wild weather yet to come
In 2001, as my wife and I prepared to go to Mexico for 9 months, we put our car in storage in a rural Arizona storage lot. Being a cheapskate, I didn't want to pay for security cameras, gate codes, and razor wire. We ended up finding a storage lot on the edge of town. It was, in all respects, a bare-bones operation. There was a guy in a trailer living in an ocean of old boats, cars on blocks, and rv's. The land was unimproved, with sloping desert terrain and brush growing up everywhere. To gain access to the lot, you parked on a nearby cross street, walked up to the chainlink fence and screamed, "Ed!" If Ed didn't hear you, you just had to walk along the fence shouting his name repeatedly until he did show up. After most of a year in Mexico where things like Ed's lot aren't unusual, we returned to the secret garden of automobiles and shouted his name once more. He had to think for a second about where our car was, but finally remembered and found a way to get the gate open. After having been parked for 9 months in the open desert, our gray and red 1989 Chevy Corsica looked like a military vehicle prepped for Iraq. The entire car was a solid sheet of sand.
Last night, in Phoenix, we had a dust storm that was so ferocious, an entire city was coated within minutes as if everything in this capital had just spent a year on Ed's lot. As I went for an 8-mile run this morning, I jogged across a small city park on my way to the Arizona State University campus. When my foot hit the manicured lawn, plumes of dust-smoke billowed from the blades of grass. There was a heavy layer of dirt on everything in a city of 1.5 million people. The Lotus, Maserati, and Ferrari dealership down the street from me, which always boasted the shiniest lot, suddenly looked like the target of nuclear fallout. This must be a hint of what something like Katrina was like, except this was a flood of dust. And it can be washed away, doesn't cause mold, and life goes on after a good workout with a garden hose.
Still, it reminds me of what could await next week as I cross Nevada. We were safe and clean inside our house as the storm raged on. The windows and doors mostly sealed out the storm creating patterns of dust on our bbq grill and patio. In a tent in Nevada, I won't likely be so lucky. But at the same time, I look forward to experiencing such weather, without the safety of home. At last report, the snowpack in the Nevada mountains was melting so fast that high clearance vehicles were sinking up to their axles in the runoff. That will be fun to run through, I think.
Bring it on! My family is packing and moving from Phoenix to Tucson tomorrow, then next Wednesday, I fly to Vegas to begin experiencing weather, basin and range topography, and the limits of my body. Sounds pretty great.
Last night, in Phoenix, we had a dust storm that was so ferocious, an entire city was coated within minutes as if everything in this capital had just spent a year on Ed's lot. As I went for an 8-mile run this morning, I jogged across a small city park on my way to the Arizona State University campus. When my foot hit the manicured lawn, plumes of dust-smoke billowed from the blades of grass. There was a heavy layer of dirt on everything in a city of 1.5 million people. The Lotus, Maserati, and Ferrari dealership down the street from me, which always boasted the shiniest lot, suddenly looked like the target of nuclear fallout. This must be a hint of what something like Katrina was like, except this was a flood of dust. And it can be washed away, doesn't cause mold, and life goes on after a good workout with a garden hose.
Still, it reminds me of what could await next week as I cross Nevada. We were safe and clean inside our house as the storm raged on. The windows and doors mostly sealed out the storm creating patterns of dust on our bbq grill and patio. In a tent in Nevada, I won't likely be so lucky. But at the same time, I look forward to experiencing such weather, without the safety of home. At last report, the snowpack in the Nevada mountains was melting so fast that high clearance vehicles were sinking up to their axles in the runoff. That will be fun to run through, I think.
Bring it on! My family is packing and moving from Phoenix to Tucson tomorrow, then next Wednesday, I fly to Vegas to begin experiencing weather, basin and range topography, and the limits of my body. Sounds pretty great.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Preparing for a multi-day ultra
Busy days lately. Since last updating, I went for a group run with Tony Krupika. He just barely edged me out on a grueling mountainous course. OK, it wasn't a race and he was not even winded. He did offer some advice for my upcoming trip across Nevada. "That shouldn't be too hard. I could probably do that." Thanks, Tony. All kidding aside, he was excited for me and gave me loads of encouragement which made me feel pretty great.
A few sponsors have now come on board. The American Discovery Trail Society is providing major funding for marketing efforts in Nevada this year and my trip is one piece of that project. Kahtoola, the maker of awesome running gear for snow conditions heard about what I'll face on those mountain passes and they happily set me up with a full line-up of their gear. I'll have micro-spikes, running snowshoes, and KTS steel running crampons to choose from when the snow gets deep. Thanks Kahtoola. This is the second trip they've helped me out after supplying me in northern Arizona on the Arizona Trail.
Red Rock Running Company has stepped forward to provide my running shoes and pack this year. Red Rock is based out of Las Vegas and they'll be poised to get some good local exposure from my trip. When I contacted them, I knew the clerk's name sounded familiar but it wasn't until after we hung up that I realized I'd just been helped out by Josh Brimhall, four time winner of the Pemberton 50k and regular finisher with Karl Meltzer and others. He was classy when I was trying to brag about my 40 mile, 10 hour runs (not realizing at the time that the guy who was listening on the other end could do 50 in 7).
Another exciting development: I'm going to have my own personal EMT on the trip! Hewett Brown is a lead instructor for Backcountry Rescue Institute. Hewett and I have done some adventure running together in the past and he'll be on hand to inject the Perpetuem by I.V. or spear a bloody blister, should the time come. Hewett makes this Eagle Scout jealous when I recall how he confided in me on a trail run in Mexico one day that he had packed along his dental surgery kit. I guess since I had two root canals this spring, his services may be rendered.
Speaking of teeth, I've been reading online that there are some studies looking at tooth decay and ulra runners. I've never seen such degredation in my teeth as I've had this year - and it's interesting that this is a year of big running for me. The theories are that the sugary foods, coupled with dehydration and dry mouth rapidly break down the enamel. If anyone is studying this, feel free to send me your info.
On a 30 miler today in Flagstaff, I found a check for $400. That's the third time I've found a large sum of money while running, fourth if you count biking.
A few days of packing, some sleep and hydration and it'll be off to Nevada. Start date is July 14 at 5 am in Baker, Nevada. Hoping to finish at Lake Tahoe on July 24.
A few sponsors have now come on board. The American Discovery Trail Society is providing major funding for marketing efforts in Nevada this year and my trip is one piece of that project. Kahtoola, the maker of awesome running gear for snow conditions heard about what I'll face on those mountain passes and they happily set me up with a full line-up of their gear. I'll have micro-spikes, running snowshoes, and KTS steel running crampons to choose from when the snow gets deep. Thanks Kahtoola. This is the second trip they've helped me out after supplying me in northern Arizona on the Arizona Trail.
Red Rock Running Company has stepped forward to provide my running shoes and pack this year. Red Rock is based out of Las Vegas and they'll be poised to get some good local exposure from my trip. When I contacted them, I knew the clerk's name sounded familiar but it wasn't until after we hung up that I realized I'd just been helped out by Josh Brimhall, four time winner of the Pemberton 50k and regular finisher with Karl Meltzer and others. He was classy when I was trying to brag about my 40 mile, 10 hour runs (not realizing at the time that the guy who was listening on the other end could do 50 in 7).
Another exciting development: I'm going to have my own personal EMT on the trip! Hewett Brown is a lead instructor for Backcountry Rescue Institute. Hewett and I have done some adventure running together in the past and he'll be on hand to inject the Perpetuem by I.V. or spear a bloody blister, should the time come. Hewett makes this Eagle Scout jealous when I recall how he confided in me on a trail run in Mexico one day that he had packed along his dental surgery kit. I guess since I had two root canals this spring, his services may be rendered.
Speaking of teeth, I've been reading online that there are some studies looking at tooth decay and ulra runners. I've never seen such degredation in my teeth as I've had this year - and it's interesting that this is a year of big running for me. The theories are that the sugary foods, coupled with dehydration and dry mouth rapidly break down the enamel. If anyone is studying this, feel free to send me your info.
On a 30 miler today in Flagstaff, I found a check for $400. That's the third time I've found a large sum of money while running, fourth if you count biking.
A few days of packing, some sleep and hydration and it'll be off to Nevada. Start date is July 14 at 5 am in Baker, Nevada. Hoping to finish at Lake Tahoe on July 24.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Would You Run For 236 Hours For One Minute of Airtime With Bob Barker?
A Blast from the Past
I did just that ten times over when I visited CBS Television Studios for a taping of The Price is Right at the end of my solo run across America on trails in 1998. I ran for roughly 140,000 hours in my run across the country and was rewarded with 10 minutes of airtime with Bob Barker on the show. During the taping, he stopped the show three times to ask me questions about the trip. It was over so quickly; I was in complete shock the entire time. No one knows who will be picked when they sit down in the frigidly cold studio audience after waiting outside for hours. Everyone hopes they will hear their name but in each show, only 9 out of more than 300 get called to "come on down". I was the first in the second half to get to jog down the aisle.
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