Gaining more than you lose

2012 BairGutsman

This race is just stupid...It really is. Yet is the sheer stupidity and recklessness of it that seems to draw people to come and do it. The race starts at a church in Fruit Heights, takes you about a mile on the road, where you then hit the trail and climb another 4+ miles and 4000+ feet to the top of the mountain, just north of the Francis Peak communication towers. In years past, you would continue on the road and down part of Farmington Canyon, where the finish line would be waiting. With the canyon being closed the past two years, the race has instead turned you right back around and down the trail, the way you came. While I have only run this race these past two years, at the pre-race meeting they were talking about the possibility of returning to the original course after the canyon road is fixed...I think that would be a shame - how can you finish off such a brutal climb on a dirt road? It's only fitting for a race that claims "No False Bravado - You're going to bleed!" to NOT take the path of least resistance. Anyway...

Since I only live a block from the church, I was able to sleep in till about 5. Said hi to a few people from the neighborhood that were running it, and then headed on over to the start. Told myself to start much slower than I did last year, since I felt like I pushed it too hard and paid for it later. Settled into a nice barely sub 10 minute pace and just tried to get warmed up. Hitting the dirt I was feeling pretty good and quickly hiked the first steep section, passing several people here, and on the other climb before the first crossing. From there it's a bit of a run/hike mix, as the trail is at a more gradual incline. After the third crossing it really starts to get steep, where the 'real climbing' begins - just prior to that I was starting to feel a little fatigued, so I tried to eat and drink some before it picked up.

I started feeling better and felt like I was moving pretty well, but would occasionally be passed by faster hikers - I just don't seem to have that gear. Cruised through the ferns, and as I started to get above the trees into the rocks, I started feeling the fatigue coming on. Shortly after this I thought to myself  "this is about where Twinkies passed me last year" - which prompted me to do a shoulder check, and sure enough, not too far down the hill was Twinkies, just cruising along. It was also somewhere around here that the first place runner (Camdog) came blasting back down. I wasn't expecting a runner this early, no one said anything, and I didn't even have a chance to move out of the way - he just came tearing down through the bushes - amazing. A few minutes later Twinkies caught up and I let him pass - I kept him my sights as you begin the killer part of the climb, a nasty quarter mile trench that just goes straight up the face of the hill. An overhead view of the map shows a series of switchbacks - these are long overgrown and now unusable - though I think it would be nice, for the way up at least. By this time I was slowing down but still moving, getting passed now and then by faster hikers, and moving out of the way of those coming down. Hitting the road I was able to switch over to a nice trot, which actually felt kind of nice. Passed Twinkies coming back at the same place as last year, giving the same high 5 as we passed. He was probably only a minute or two ahead of me at that point, which means he made up some killer time on the way down.    

Hit the top aid station at almost exactly 2 hours, and spent less than a minute drinking three cups of water and getting an aid station worker laughing. Then it was back down! That first section down is killer - steep, washed out, dusted out and full of people trying to come up! My quads were already feeling kind of tired by the time I got to the bottom of that, but you've got only one way to go! Passed a lot of people on the upper section, some moving out of the way, others waiting for multiple request...Spent a good amount of time pretty much by myself going down. Could see a guy in red every now and then ahead of me that was moving well, I finally caught him and passed him right around the third crossing - then I really started feeling it. My stomach was turning, legs were heavy - I was finally getting to the section where you can actually get some speed going and I had nothing there! I felt like I had been fueling pretty well, but obviously not enough. So I decided to dial it back a notch, ate some jerky, a gel, some salt and some water, and figured that I had a couple miles to get it back together so I could at least finish strong. Guy in red passed me back somewhere during all that, and went to finish 3 or 4 minutes ahead of me, all gained in that last couple miles.

Finally hit the road and started to feel better. I knew I wouldn't hit sub 3 hours, so my goal was to beat my 3:06 ish from last year. The steep downhill road was slower than I would have liked, but once I hit Mountain Road my legs started to come back and I was able to pick up the pace, especially when I was able to see the finish line. Crossed the line in 3:04:30 with my wife and son cheering me in. After a minute or two I felt just fine, was able to catch Twinkies as he was leaving - he had finished more than 10 minutes faster than me, also improving by a couple minutes from last year. I asked some of the front runners if they wanted to go for a double - but they didn't seem too interested. :) That would have been super slow!

Stupid as this race is, and as hard as it seems while you're out there, I couldn't help but walk around with a smile on my face. The views are incredible, and the trail - as rocky, overgrown and steep as it is, is a lot of fun! 

5 miles on the BST with a couple of brothers. Quads were still sore and a little heavy from Saturday, but it felt good to shake 'em out. My brother decided to push the last stretch down into the 5:30's, so I just tagged along for the ride right with him. 

Quick run out the front door while there was a little light left. Lots of smoke in the air it seemed. First run in the new Altra Instinct 1.5, first impressions are really good. Feel like they run slightly smaller than the last iteration, and are a bit more firm which made them more responsive. Killer good looks. :)  

The fabled Quest for Kings Marathon...

Two years ago I was probably still shaking my head thinking these guys were crazy for trying such a thing. Last year I wasn't able to make it since we were out of town. Finally, I was going to be around to hit the highest point in Utah - a place that I had never been before.

I really had two concerns going into this run - First, I had never run higher than Timp, so I just had no idea how I would deal with the elevation (what with all of Scotts horror stories...). Second, my recent training has been less than I would like (new job and all), and I hadn't had a run over 20 miles for 3 or 4 months (yikes!). Nonetheless, I was really itching to get up in mountains and run.

The crew (Jun, Josh, Scott & I) all met up Friday afternoon and made our way up. In Mountain View we stopped for a burger and when I pulled up to the Maverick to run in and grab a lighter so we could have a fire, Craig said "I need two things, a lighter - and if someone buys me one of those hats, I'll wear it to the top of Kings" - pointing to a rack of trendy cowboy hats visible from the window. I ran in and took a look at the hats, and Craig (from the car) pointed out the one he wanted. I had shown him ones with eagles, swords, bullets, and mudflap girls - the one he picks out? a simple hat with a nice green, pink and white beaded band, complete with a heart charm...Ha, once I showed it to him in the car he ran back into the store and exchanged it for a different one. We had a good laugh in the car anticipating him wearing the hat for the entire duration of the run. Turns out, he actually liked it quite a bit. :)

Spent the evening setting up camp and getting to know some of the other runners that had shown up to run and hike the trail. Had fun hanging around the fire for a bit, and then we turned in for the night. 

Scott and Josh headed out bright and early around 5am to get an early crack at the triple crown, with other runners starting at 6. About 5 of us started around the start time of 7am, with Jun and I starting a little after as we waited for one runner to get situated. 

Enjoyed the morning running, got to Elkhorn Crossing in little over an hour, where we stashed our jackets. I loved breaking out into the open (after running through the forest) and seeing Kings, our destination, looming far far ahead. With a brief pit stop (and some hikers probably seeing more than they bargained for), we made our way up to Gunsight pass, taking the switchbacks up. Once there we just kept moving over to the cutoff trail and began climbing. From below, this trail looks like you climb a cliff face, but as you go through it, its really not bad at all, just the standard scrambling that pretty much the rest of this route is full of. Getting to the flats I was certainly starting to feel the elevation, but only in the sense that I couldn't move very fast. I otherwise still felt pretty good, which I was very happy about. Just as we started climbing the ridge to the summit we started running into people coming down that had started an hour before us. We also ran into Josh and Scott as they were making their way down after summiting Kings, South Kings and Kings again - in pursuit of the Triple Crown. 

Hit the top in about 3:41, spending about 10 minutes hanging out and enjoying the scenery. A couple of hikers with our 'group' were there and hooked us up with an orange and some carrot sticks....yum. Making our way back down we caught up to Scott and Josh at the bottom of the ridge taking a quick lunch break. It was fun to run with them for a few miles and get an update on their journey and just have a good time laughing while we run. We went straight down the trail from Gunsight, and I think I definitely prefer that over the switchbacks - from the bottom it looked like you had to scramble up through huge boulders, but really there's a decent trail winding through them.

A couple miles later Scott and Josh peeled off to go and tag Gilbert peak, so Jun and I were on our own again. Felt like we kept a decent, but never pushing, pace as we made our way back to Elkhorn crossing. We were slowed for a minute at the bridge, where a woman was holding the hands of another as she walked backwards, leading the other across the bridge. Once clear, Craig and I bounded across in a couple of steps...we didn't dare turn to look back at them. At Elkhorn we grabbed our jackets, and as Craig was stashing mine in my pack for me, a Scout leader and a couple of scouts were sitting across the trail getting ready for lunch. Craig noticed he was cutting open a big ol' beef stick, and said something about "now that's how you do it!", so the guy offered us a couple of meaty pieces, which really seemed to hit the spot and get us moving along.

For the most part, I actually enjoyed this last stretch. While the rocky, technical terrain makes it difficult to move extremely fast, it does keep your mind focuses on what you're doing. I ate my last gel with about 4 miles to go, and think I probably could have used one extra for the last couple miles. I had made some mental checkpoints earlier in the morning around certain distances, so I had a pretty good idea of how much distance I had left, but it sure did seem like it was farther. :) The last mile stretched on for quite a while, but I just kept running, knowing that I'd have to keep moving to get in under 7 hours. Craig had shot ahead with the camera so he could catch me coming in, so I was flying solo. Started to get some cramping in my calf and hammie, so I'd stop quickly and stretch, and then kept moving. Pushed hard at the end and came in 6:58.31, and feeling really good. Followed it up with an awesome dip in the river, cold Pepsi in hand. 

I was really happy with having completed this run for many reasons. First and foremost - its just a freaking awesome run. Secondly, I felt like my fueling and hydration was spot on. I never once bonked or had stomach issues. I actually focused on eating more and drinking less...weird, I know, but I think I tend to drink more than I need to, which can cause all sorts of other problems. I was also really happy with how I felt I responded to the altitude. Sure it slowed me down, but I never felt dizzy, nauseous, or any of that other nastiness that can sometimes hit people (also took Davy's advise of breathing deeply and eating plenty). Maybe I've just heard Scotts horror stories too often...:). Gotta hand it to Jun for sticking with me and giving me the complete guided tour - that certainly helped me learn the area and keep on pace. 

We ended up hanging out for several more hours for Scott and Josh to come in from the Triple Crown. It was great to see them as we were just starting to get a little worried. They were happy as can be, with Scott looking completely punch-drunk from the beating that the winds on Gilbert had given them, but still joking around and having a grand ol time. 

I definitely love those high alpine trails!

Neighborhood nighttime run - hot. 

Ran a couple miles up Farmington Canyon with my brother. Cooler in the canyon - probably be hitting that up fairly often pre-Pony Express. 

Giving myself a couple miles just for fun - this was a lunchtime workout at work. Started with 8 reps of 20 seconds airsquats (10 secs rest), then 10 minutes running stairs. Our building goes 15 floors, I made it to the top on my 3rd trip when the time was up. Air squats killed my legs/hammies - need to do more of those...

Evening neighborhood route.

Jun brought the kids up for dinner, so we hit the BST for a quick run. Had some good conversation and just kept it pretty casual with Jun being sick and all. 

Evening run with my brother and cousin. Hit the BST at Baer canyon and ran south. On the way back it was getting dark and I nearly ran over a snake, but he actually started rattling before I got to him, so we waited for him to slither off the trail - little bitty guy. 

Quick morning neighborhood run. Tried to keep it a little speedy.

BST Kaysville evening run. 

Morning neighborhood run, felt pretty good. 

AM - Neighborhood run - did some 1 min fast/1min slow drills for most of it. 5 miles.

 PM - BST Kaysville with a neighbor friend. He hadn't run for several weeks so we took it nice and easy. Headlamp run showed us lots of peering deer eyes.  5.1 miles

Mueller Park run with a couple brothers and cousin. Tons of bikes and dogs out there tonight. Ran fairly well to the top, casual most of the way down until some crosfitters who had gone up halfway came barreling past us, so I couldn't just let them blow by like that! :) Gave me something to chase, so me and my brother turned it on for the last mile or so. Came in 1:01 which I was happy with considering we really ran the first 2 miles of the downhill really slow. 

Staircase Thursday:

- Tabata air squats (8 reps of 20 sec on, 10 sec rest) 

-10 min of stairs  

I made it to the top of our 15 stories for my 3rd time when the time ran out. Not a long workout, but on the limited time I have today this is an awesome workout that really does a number on your legs in a short amount of time. You can substitute air squats for just about anything (lunges, push-ups, kettle bell swings etc) to mix it up.