Tiger Mountain TMT Run

Ran the TMT Sunday morning in a group of six runners. The TMT (Tiger Mountain Trail) starts at the Tradition trailhead, snakes around West Tiger to the east, up & over the saddle between Tiger West 1 and Tiger West 2 and then winds its way south toward and around Middle Tiger. It's a beautiful, plush, single-track trail with far less traffic than the other Tradition trails seem to have. There is also a lot of opportunity for side trips as you cross a lot of other trails.

The shame is last week was my first trek onto the TMT and it was just to get us to some other trails. Today we spent our time "out" exclusively on the trail. Even better I had a pretty good idea where I was since I'd looked at the map in between visits. We did run into a bridge that is "closed" although I think it's been like that awhile and we just hung to the side to cross. Trails were a little muddy to this point given the recent storms but not too bad.

We hit snow about 1700-1800' and saw a fair amount of blowdown along the trail (especially on the east side) due to a wind storm the night before. We lost two runners by this point so it was just four of us for the remaining run (the other two found their way out fine).

Of course once you hit the snow you have to play. We were on pretty good trails and had some nice ups & downs to push through. Above you'll see Ben taking off and me trying not to crash into a tree while holding my camera phone (note the video isn't all that great).

Me, Lars, Aaron & Ben at the top of West Tiger 3

We ran all the way to Dieter Springs which is a fresh water spring between West and Middle Tiger and those that needed to refueled. On the way back we ran into a Barkley finisher and chatted him up a minute or two - he was headed all the way down to Middle Tiger. We got back to the W2 / W3 saddle and humped up to W3 and back down to the trailhead via T3 (well, I did. Ben & Aaron took off down Cable Line). T3 is the most popular route on the mountain providing direct access to the peak of W3 and there were plenty of hikers out today. It also unfortunately has a boatload of embedded rocks which makes running down most unpleasant.

This was my first run in new shoes - the Inov-8 F-Lite 233 which is billed as a "fitness" shoe as I think the line has a lot of loyalty in the CrossFit market (from what I hear - don't quote me). Regardless the F-Lite 195 is my go to road runner but I wanted something with a bit more cushion for Badger Mountain so I thought I'd give this a go (I have not been happy so far with the Montrail Rogue Racers). The fit is great and they handled well with a non-lugged tread even in the snow and mud although I was certainly not pushing the issue in several spots that I otherwise would have. And since it was so snowy I only got to muddy them up just a bit. Based on first impressions I really like them.

Another great day of running on the trails around Seattle - Tiger is the mountain I may be least familiar with so it's good to get some new scenery running with a new group of runners.

Orcas Recap and What's Next

A couple of follow-ups on Orcas. First, the elevation profile. I have it around 7600' which is "close" to the course description of 8000' of gain. I generally don't trust my Polar much but the start / finish altitude seem to be similar so this all seems reasonable. Overall the profile is just sick looking at it. I would not have thought the Mt. Pickett climbs were as high as they were but it seems so. This just confirms to me that I took it a notch too hard up Powerline and didn't save enough for Constitution. I was fine at a pedestrian clip up Pickett.

Second is a funny story I didn't relay in the race report. I had joked with Glenn T (photographer extraordinaire) that I needed a new profile pic. You know how race photos are out on course - especially in trail running. One minute you're minding your own business making sure you don't trip over the trail and the next there is your photographer. Sure enough I was plodding up Constitution, head down, in trail thought and next I hear "Hey. HEY. HEY!!!" and it's Glenn pointing his camera at me. He did his best - it's not a great shot solely due to me looking surprised and trying to fake a run. But it was pretty damned funny.

OK, so enough about Orcas. Next up is Badger Mountain Challenge (March 30-31), which will be my first 100. I'm running with friends Des & Jeremy while my friend Karlee and my brother Jason will be crewing. Really looking forward to it, and trying to keep my wits about me as I try to figure out how to run 100 miles. This is the second year of the race and there were issues with course markings last year which we all hope have been figured out (poor RD has been pestered endlessly about this). I was fortunate to carpool to Orcas with a guy that's done ~25 100's (I guess you lose count after awhile?) and I picked his brain as much as I could. Long story short: the next 5-6 weeks will be about packing on miles, training some downhills, and continuing to wrap my head around this.

I've also got the following on my schedule, registered or tentative:

• Yakima Skyline Rim 50k - April 21 (because I need a seriously challenging 50k three weeks after my first 100)
• Redmond Watershed Preserve 12 Hour - May 19 (who's who of Seattle runners - should be fun & need to pack on the miles!)
• Taylor Mountain 50k - June 23 (I have some retribution here)
• Grey Rock 50k - July 7? (my first ultra, some retribution, the Eastern WA Triple?)
• White River 50 - July 28 (classic 50 in WA)
• Cascade Crest 100 - August 25-26
• Cle Elum Ridge 50k - Sept 15 (let's assume I can still walk)
• Carkeek 12 Hour - Oct 27 (glutton for punishment)
• Seattle Marathon - Nov 25 (a road race!)

That'll keep me busy, right? I might have to find 1-2 more races to fill in some gaps.

Oh, wait, did you see what I did there? Yup, I put in for the Cascade Crest 100 lottery and (gulp) got in. Pretty excited about this although I'm not sure what I'm doing signing up for two 100's before I even run a 50 miler (bass ackward). I'm actually more nervous about CCC than BMC and not sure why - maybe because it's quite a bit more profile, it's a qualifier for races like Western States / Hard Rock, and because there are other runners who didn't get in which makes me want to run hard to show I deserve my place.

I hope by the time I'm done with BMC that I've learned a lot and can apply that learning. I'm hoping to get up to logging 200-300 miles a month (in the 150-160 range right now) and really want to improve my mountain trail running fitness.

For now I'm going to focus on Badger and let the chips fall where they may after that. There's a lot of running to do this year but there's a lot of running to do the next month or so. It's kind of like being on the trail - it's ok to think 3-4 miles ahead but you'd better be paying attention to the next 10 feet or you're going to do some damage.

Orcas Island 50k - One Beautiful Race

Views of Mt. Baker and surrounding islands from
Mt. Constitution
photo courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama

Orcas 50k is put on by Rainshadow Running and this is the event that they started with (I believe) and has been on my list for a couple of years. I had to DNS last year due to lingering ITB issues so I was raring to go this year. The race is itself just an excuse to hang out on Orcas Island (a couple of hours + ferry ride from Seattle) with a bunch of ultra runners for a couple of days. There is food (potluck) and fun the night before and we all camp out in bunkhouses at Moran State Park then night before (or all weekend for many).

Shoes before & after. Guess the course was a little
muddy in spots.

The weather promised to be great all weekend and it was. A bit chilly on the morning of the race but you knew that wouldn't last long. I decided on a short sleeve shirt under the long sleeve shirt and gloves that I could ditch at aid as I pleased. I left the stocking cap behind and chose the regular brimmed hat as I figured I'd be over the cap once I started the climb to Mount Pickett. I also like the brim rather than sunglasses which I ultimately just get frustrated with later in races. When I pulled out my shoes I noticed I had a dime sized hole in the upper by my pinky toe (left shoe) but I didn't bring another pair. Time for new shoes and just suck it up and deal - ultimately this was not an issue.

The first loop takes you up Mt Pickett and back to the start and Aid Station #1. My goal here was to start slow and not blow my race early which happened in several races last year. This loop was supposed to be 10-11 miles so I figured 2:00 - 2:15 would be a good time. I took it easy, starting in the back with several Seattle runners (Ben, Michael, Simon) and we got in place in the middle / back of the conga line and started the day. The sun was gorgeous rising through the trees of the old growth forest as we ran south & east toward the climbs. The herd inevitably thinned out but it was nice to not feel overexerted early on. We stayed in line as we marched up the mountain and we picked up several other runners I know (Yitka, Daniel, Candice). It was nice to be in a line where I knew so many runners and I realized I'd been running and racing for a long time.

Cascade Falls
photo courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama

Once we got to the top the single track broke onto service road for the mile descent. Overall I felt really good here and I let the other guys take off as I hung back with Candice to conserve. It seems I've always blown by her early on in races and then paid for it late and with her coming around me at mile 28 or so. This wouldn't happen today as she unfortunately caught her foot on a root and twisted her ankle while we were chatting (for which I feel guilty for distracting her). I made sure she was ok as she got up and tested it out (it was pretty tender - was glad it was not broken) and she gave me the ok to take off. I caught back up to Simon who had passed me during this incident and we paced for awhile but I let the legs out ever so conservatively on the descent. Got my photo op at Cascade Falls and rolled my way into aid at 1:59. I didn't feel that was too fast; in fact I felt pretty good. Got through aid in 2:35 and took off feeling pretty good.

Camp Moran - start / finish / aid #1 / party venue

We had a little out & back from here to the trail so the customary "good jobs" to those coming into aid and I saw Candice wasn't too far behind which relieved me. She did unfortunately drop here as she said she had no strength for the descents (her ankle post-race was pretty swollen). I took it easy as we rounded the lake to the north to start the first big climb of the day - The Powerline. This is aptly named after the service road running under the powerlines that work their way to the top of the mountain. There were some muddy parts as we got up to this climb (not a good time to be messing with my food I realized) and the road up was a pretty rutted out road. The line of people up was the typical humorous sight and I dug in to settle on a pace. The climb had steep sections - hard to get a heel plant but necessary as I didn't want to burn out my calves. I focused on that. I was catching early starters by this point and got into a good rhythm and notched it up a half step thinking this was a good place to test myself. I was passed by a few and caught a few so this all seemed reasonable.

Thankfully the top came and the running started again in earnest. I had a good open pace going and a wonderful floor on the old growth single track and opened it up to 4th gear (out of five). This felt pretty relaxed but with a slight push. Ran with a couple of guys for awhile and got down to the lake in no time. This was a section we'd repeat coming back up for the final descent so I was happy to get through this without seeing any leaders. The journey around the lake was nice but a bit of the bumpy up and down so I started to pace back to save something for Constitution coming up next. I took a slight spill at the south end of the lake on the rocks and banged my knee but seemed ok (although I think I ruined my big toe here) and eventually turned north and started to head up.

Near the top of Constitution
photo courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama

I knew I was a bit spent so eased it off a bit - slight jogging or hiking on uphills. Hit the "water only" aid station at mile 18 in 3:58 (1:56 split) so that seemed pretty good. I only took water here as I had plenty of fuel (and had been fueling well all day) and had a short bio break - 2:35 aid time. Given that I was a bit wiped I told myself that I was taking it easy up to Constitution to get a little energy back. That stretch was tough - steep switchbacks with slight running opportunities that made you think "I have to run this." Got passed a lot on this section but that was ok - I was in my zone which was none too fast. I got up to Aid #2 - mile 22-ish - in 5:06 (1:05 split) so that was a slow four miles! Got refueled at aid, rested a bit, and got some vaseline on my thighs as things were starting to chafe down there. I was pretty tired but it was time to go and recover on the run.

Mount Constitution from the road - doesn't look
too bad from down here

Started down and I didn't have a lot of push in my legs so I took the opportunity on this downhill to rest up a bit. This was a shorter section (thankfully, as that meant the next up was not going to be as long a climb) and eventually turned uphill onto previously run path to start back up. I had recovered so ran / power hiked my way up. Hit "mile 26" in just under six hours so I was happy about that given that I thought I could hit sub 7:00 - not bad for me on this course. There was a bit more to climb to get to the top then the descent started. I pushed a bit on the downs which was easy at the start but fatigue and more technical trails loomed. I broke out into some sun and rocks and did some knee damage as I skidded against a rock wall (oddly I banged up my opposite hand here too). This slowed me down for a stretch but I hit better trails down low so still pushed on.

Finishing with Simon
photo courtesy of Martin Taylor

Hit the bottom at the lake at 6:35 and figured I was within striking distance. I then saw a sign for 2.7 miles (a state park sign, not race) and "knew" I wasn't going to run sub 10's around the lake (it occurs to me now this was the full lake loop, not just to the camp). I stopped & walked and ate something then took off. It was pretty hilly for an "around the lake" run so there was plenty of hiking followed by running. I was probably not running as quickly here as I could and probably not starting my runs as early after a climb and I was pretty done at this point. Came out of this and toward the start and Simon caught up to me and we ran in together. I saw 7:03 and instantly scolded myself for not pushing harder around the lake but what was done was done.

Post race - a little dinged up but happy to be
finished and having a beer
photo courtesy of Yitka Winn

Post race was great to catch up with everyone on their runs, grab some beer & food and then take a shower. Overall I ran a hard race save for the last couple of miles. I may have still pushed the issue too early although I don't feel that I pushed too hard up powerline or down off it. Like everyone I always feel my training lacks on the ups & downs when I'm going through the suffering of the race. My fueling felt good although I was sweating early and often and may have been "over electrolyted" on the first loop as my shorts were full of sweat and salt later on thus causing the chafing. I tolerate Nuun well but should have had it cut a bit rather than full strength. I'm pretty satisfied with my race and have some things to work on the next few weeks.


Shoes: Inov8 X-Talon 190s
Socks: Injinji Performance
Fuel: Mostly Perpetuem, some aid, margarita bloks, sport beans, GU, Chips Ahoy Reese's Cookies

Post race with Ben, Michael & Glenn
photo courtesy of Yitka Winn

The Two Hour PR - Tales from Grand Ridge 50k

Trail runs and 50k's are a funny thing with respect to personal records (PRs) - the trail conditions, elevation gains, altitude and even distance can vary widely from race to race. But when you get a two hour PR on a trail 50k it's more than just a difference in course conditions - it's a reason to be proud.

Happy to be finishing!

Grand Ridge is one of my favorite parks to run - it's just outside Seattle so it has a bit of altitude and quite a bit of up-and-down and is really good single track.

The Grand Ridge Trail Run is put on by Evergreen Trail Runs. The 50k course consists of two loops with a double lollipop and an out-and-back to cover the distance. One aid station near the start of the out-and-back provided four stops while on course plus aid (and drop) at the halfway point (and finish).

From a "race" perspective I feel like I'm starting to nail down my plans headed into a long run like this - with what and how much to fuel, what gear to wear and carry, and how to pace early and late in the race. I was not at all nervous going into the race - after two marathons, one 50k and a four week training cycle in the nine previous weeks I knew I could cover the distance and was strong and ready for the run.

I had the following goals in the following order:

1. Finish (iow "be safe")
2. Finish under 7:00 (iow "have a fun race")
3. Finish under 6:25:29 (checkout White River to know why I chose this time)
4. Finish sub 6:00 (run really, really well for 30 miles)

I honestly had no idea how I'd do given my previous effort at Grey Rock but figured 6:15 - 6:25 was a reasonable time given that I'd run 11 1/2 miles out here at an 11:30 pace.

In Search of Espresso Part III

This is the third part of a likely four part series. In short I'm attempting to try a new coffee shop each day in July. You can read Part I here or Part II here.

July 12 - Elliot Bay Cafe
Previous home of the Elliot Bay Book Store (a Seattle stalwart which recently moved locations ... after changing owners) this little coffee shop is underground. It's also famous for being the model for the shop in Frasier although it's been remodeled since.

In Search of Espresso Part II

This is the second part of a likely four part series. In short I'm attempting to try a new coffee shop each day in July. You can read Part I here.

July 5 - Original Bakery

This is the nearest coffee shop to me so I've been there a few times. It is definitely a bakery so the espresso quality is not as consistent as other places. I actually had a really nice cup on this day (last time the owner put water in my drink so I preempted the possibility this time) and mean to come back here at least for the great looking baked goods they have.

July 6 - Zeitgeist

This is the nearest place to work for me and I've been here a couple of times. I honestly find Zeitgeist a bit pretentious so admittedly my opinion was biased coming in. They have good baked goods and the space is open so has a "I could get work done here" feel; it is a bit of a meeting place however.

In Search of Espresso Part I

I was recently talking with a couple of online peeps (@RagDoll_Inc and @dorthybitestoto) and I was ... well let's say scolded for taking by business to Starbucks rather than one of the local coffee shops. Let's forget for a moment that Starbucks is local to Seattle (yeah, they know this).

Admittedly I am a creature of habit - don't know the last time I didn't eat Phad Thai at a Thai restaurant or eat enchiladas at my favorite Mexican joint and so on. I do love Starbucks espresso and they tempt me with "gold status" which I guess saves me 6.25% of my drinks in the long-run.

So I decided to test my boundaries and try a new local espresso shop each day for the month of July. I'm no critic and I don't have a sophisticated palette with respect to coffee but I figured I'd find out what else was out there.

My only task for myself was to order my drink (five shots over ice) and see what happens. What was the groove of the place? Was the espresso good? Was the staff service-oriented? Did the shop seem to have embrace stewardship (organic, fair trade beans, cup discount for my own cup)? Overall, what did I think?

The only other rule I gave myself was to go to "coffee shops" which does not include espresso stands or restaurants with an espresso machine. Around here bakeries count as coffee shops - at least for the purposes of my project.

The following list is from the first half of my month and centers around West Seattle (where I live) and Pioneer Square (where I work). In fairness I have gone back to Starbucks twice during this month - once while traveling for my 50k and once because I needed to scoot into the office in a hurry. I've gone back to one of the shops twice. After about a dozen shops you start to lose options within walking distance even in Seattle!