Kitt Peak

Who in their right mind decides to run in the Arizona desert in June 100 degree temps and full on sunshine?

Well I guess my mind is nowhere near being right because that’s just what I did. The Kitt Peak ascent is a 10 mile road race that takes place on the highway to Kitt Peak. Kitt peak is a very isolated mountain 50 ish miles southwest of Tucson. From the desert flats an uber steep mountain juts strait out of the ground and up 7000 ft. The University of Arizona chose this isolated mountain island as their preferred location to put its world famous observatories.

 So why not have a race to said observatory from the desert floor.  The road is very steep, winding, and very scenic with 3250 ft of elevation change the cactus and mesquite transitions into junipers and granite peaks. So along with 250 or so runners we all toed the line at 6pm for a nice little run. There were your normal super fit amazing athletes that were destined to finish before 7:30 but alas I was not among that crowd.  I started out at leisurely pace finishing my first mile in less than 8 and a half min and slowed down from there. As the miles progressed so did the steepness of the road.  After mile 3 my stomach started giving me issues along with the intense heat. I was cramping up something fierce. For a while every sip of water made me want to puke. 

 At mile 5 I ever so quietly asked a station worker if they had any tp. To my extreme relief they did. I loaded up and headed out (there are no facilities available) I found a less steep cliff and took care of business . Much Better. So I picked up my pace a bit yet I did a lot of run walk run walk. At mile 8 the sunset was beautiful and the views of the shiny white domes of the observatory were pretty stunning. As I crept closer to the finish I picked up my pace once again stopping only to get a glow stick from one of the race workers. It never got dark enough to use my head lamp but it was getting close. At the final turn and climb I saw the finish wow that wasn’t so bad. As I crossed the line a photographer flashed a pic and temporarily blinded me. So I just about plowed over the guy taking the timing chips. The finish was dark windy and awesome. I had a great run with great new friends thanks Mona for the invite and Thank you Karen for the ride I had a blast!

One fine day

With my tri plans in the trash I wanted to have an adventure. My new bike was giving me an itch for a long day in the saddle.

I mapped out a 90 mile traverse through some beautiful high country.  Most of the trip would be on forest service roads that normally are full of Quads trucks and people but being a Thursday I had it pretty much all to myself.  I left the cabin and hopped on the 504 rd. to the edge of Chevelon canyon. I saw elk in the meadows and in the cedars everything was going just peachy when out of nowhere a coyote bolts out right in front of my wheel.  

I don’t know who was more freaked out, him or me.  I missed running him over by inches or less.  After my skid stopped we both looked back at each other like WTF just happened. I only had been on the trail an hour and my adventure was already pretty cool.  After the coyote, I humped along to the edge of Chevelon Canyon about 20 miles in. the canyon is steep and deep the ride down was a blast. What a cool place, anytime a desert rat like me sees running water we just stare in amazement. I snapped some pics then started my climb out from the canyons depths.

 Pumping away in granny gear while looking at the beautiful scenery made the time fly by and the weird sense of becoming mountain lion food was over whelming.  I made it to the top of the canyon and I was slapped in the face with 25mph+ gust of wind and I needed to pedal right into it. Now was a good time to take out the MP3 player and crank up the tunes. Up until that point I was averaging 14 mph now with the wind and slight incline I dropped down to 6mph.  Slowly plodding along I looked up the road and saw a few black ball shapes walking on and off the road. I stopped and readied my camera as I quietly pedaled toward them. It was a group of Javelinas happily eating the fresh shoots of greenness along the roadside.  From 150 yards I crept to around 15 yards, the wind was still in my face and my 29inch wells were silent. I took some pictures and was planning on sneaking by them when all of a sudden mama Javelina decided she did not like strange fool in spandex on a bike with a camera pointing at her family. She swelled up popped her teeth and charged. I screamed like a little school girl on the play ground, turned my bike around pedaling like a mad man. She followed. She was fast but alas my legs won the day. But she would not leave the middle of the road and now the rest of her clan stood by her with their hair all bristled up and ready for a street fight. Quick tip to all, throwing rocks does not work it just makes them come closer. So I yelled at them like an idiot until they finally got board and went back into the forest.

I waited until they were out of site and hauled ass down the road.  After a while the smell of smoke was filling the air and I could see smoke rising from Chevelon canyon. Soon I was being passed by forest service wild land firefighters in their big off road trucks.  At the turn off to Chevelon Lake the forest service shut down the road to all vehicle traffic.  After some soft begging they let me through I guess they felt sorry for me having to back track 40 miles. So I kept moving forward towards the Mogollon rim and the closer I got the stronger the wind was ripping. I was 50 miles into my ride and the wind was really wearing me down. The road was dry, dusty; full of sand and gravel I was pretty much done. I called Becky and asked her to meet me at woods canyon lake 10 miles down the road.  Once I got to the rim I was met with huge logging trucks fully loaded and flying down the dusty road it was pretty scary.  I pulled off the road and took a break. When I was ready to go I looked up and there was the general crook trail. SWEET SWEET single track that led me to Woods Canyon Lake, with new found vigor I took to the trail with fresh legs flying over the logs and rocks. The trail ends where it meets up with the woods canyon meadow trail system. Now it was all downhill and paved. I bombed down the road to the lake and the store. I walked into the store grabbed a snack and an ice cold Coors light. I took my prize down to the lakes edge took my shoes off and relaxed as I waited for Becky.  What a great day!

I suck

WOW I really suck for some reason I seem to have lost my mojo. For the last month or so my desire to run has slipped from my grasp.  After I ran the Grand Canyon running hasn’t felt the same and I don’t know why. I ran Tillman and spur cross in April. I actually came in 8^th place on the spur cross run, last year I finished 50 something. Still my training has fallen by the wayside. May 1^st I rode the Wiskey 50 in Prescott and had a blast. I signed up for 2 marathons, a 10 hill climb, and a 100 mile mt bike race. I’m hoping my drive comes back soon.  I love to run, I love the feeling I get from it, the sense of accomplishment, endorphins flowing through my veins.  So you would think training would be a no brainer but it’s tough.  This week the family and came up to the cabin for a little break from our reality. The real reason was for a triathlon in Show Low but alas I’m dropping from the race. Not to sound like a wuss but swimming in 48 degree water with 30 MPH winds does not sound like fun. So instead of the Tri I’m going to bike and run my butt off this weekend.  So on Thursday I knocked out 6o miles of forest road on my bike.  But I’ll write more on that later. I also have to update everyone on my past races. While we take a pause from life I’m going to do some serious blogging.

Full Circle

Wow it’s been a full year since I set my goal of doing 1 event a month for a year. Tomorrow will be the anniversary of my very first race. I ran a 5k in 33 min. I plan on beating that time by a minute or two. The first time I ran the spur cross race I was terrified my nerves were on edge and I was very worried I would not be able to finish. Today one year later, multiple marathons, 25k’s and ½’s  I am nervous once again. My life has changed so much in the last year that it’s hard to comprehend. I am looking forward to what the next year will bring to my life.

Story pt1 The Down

We are back from our little Spring break fun time adventures. I think we all had an awesome trip. Even Rex enjoyed his stay at a kennel in Flagstaff, where he took over the job of exercising the other dogs until they cried “NO MAS”. Well I arrived at the Grand Canyon on Tuesday afternoon driving in from the east side of the park was very cool. It was my first time coming this way and I think it’s a much more scenic a quicker way to go.  The route follows the Little Colorado River from Cameron on the Navajo Res.  A beautiful view of the little canyon can be seen for most of the way.  Once at the park I took my time getting to my campsite I stopped a pretty much all of the scenic pullouts and viewpoints. I was amazed at the amount of people at the park especially Texans it seemed like every plate was from Texas.  I got to my campsite to find a giant pile of snow and mud right in the middle of it, good thing I brought my hammock to sleep in. With camp set up in less than 5 min.. I went to the market to buy some food, snacks and a trail guide book; I also checked out some trekking poles but talked myself out of them.  I took everything back to camp and made the mistake of leaving my bananas on the picnic table. I was then off to explore the park. One cool feature the park has is a shuttle service to take you to all of the high light spots and it’s free.  I hopped a bus and went for a cruise to the Grand View look out. From there I hiked the paved trail to the El Tovar lodge to make dinner reservations; it was my Birthday and all. Then I hopped the bus to take me back to my camp. Once there I saw the Giant ravens had pretty much devoured my bananas dirty bastards!  I had a ton of time to kill so I made a campfire and read my guide book until it was getting close to sunset. At about 6pm I walked back to the canyon rim to find a suitable spot to watch the setting sun vanish over the horizon. It was amazing! It was also getting cold out. So I hiked back to the El Tovar and read in the lobby until dinner time.  Dinner was good but it was late, I wanted to wake up at 4:45 in the morning to start my hike. I got back to camp at around 10:00 but I seemed to be the only one in the camp ground ready for bed. People talked and laughed for hours by 1:00am things quieted down. Then my alarm went off ,I crawled my sleepy self out of my bag, ate my last banana stretched a bit, packed my bag and set off to catch my ride to the trail head.  I was at the South Kaibab trail parking lot at 5:50 shivering in the cold and supper windy conditions. The bus driver warned of an icy trail and he wasn’t kidding. The first 100 yards or so were pretty bad but then it dried out to a very silty dusty trail. I ran the first 2.5 miles in the dark using my head lamp. My eyes were burning!  I got to Skeleton point just as the horizon was starting to brighten I stopped took some pictures and enjoyed the sunrise. I don’t know how to describe it in words, it was one of the most beautiful jaw dropping sights I have ever seen. In amazement I returned to the trail that was rapidly falling down the canyon. The last few miles of the trail are steep and winding. The beauty of the canyon in the changing light is an amazing spectacle the steep cliffs seem to transform right before my eyes, dark shadows turn into bright green patches of grasses. The next thing I know I’m standing in front of the Kaibab tunnel leading to the Black Bridge that crosses the Colorado River. Wow the scenery helped make the run feel nonexistent. It took me 1 hour 10 min to make it from the trail head to the river.

UP

DOWN

Bright Angel and South Kaibab trails

Trail head dark and icey

28 deg. 30mph winds= painful eyes

The trail follows a ridgeline 100 ft falls on either side of the trail.

View from the Tip-Off

At the river it took 1.5 hours