Countdown to Leadville, Part Deux

                 OK, let's review:

         This is all you need to go out for a run in Indiana:

            

  This is just some of the stuff you need to go for a run in the high mountains in broad daylight, in good weather:

                                                            
     In fact, you probably don't even need the shorts in Indiana, depending on your speed and your level of modesty. We're learning, however, that the mountains are not as forgiving. The preceding post covered the requirements for a daytime run, or at least most of them. This post will cover the essentials for running through the night. But, before doing that, there's one very important thing that applies at all times. The need to carry water. I am old enough to remember when people simply said "Drink plenty of water." These days that just won't cut it. It seems to be a law that all the experts must say "Remain sufficiently hydrated at all times". If you are one of those people who insist on saying "hydrate" when you mean "drink" I won't judge you for employing that stupid, supercilious, pseudo-scientific affectation. As you read this you are free to mentally substitute "hydrate" or  "consume replacement fluid substances" or "infuse facial orifice with liquid" whenever you see the word "drink" or "water". However you say it, you can't do it if you don't have it and if you want to have it, you've got to carry it with you.  That's where these things come in:



The gizmo on the left is a CamelBack 50 oz fanny pack and the
one on the right is  Nathan backpack that holds 70 0z.

                                                               
                Whether you wear your water on your fanny or your back, it gets to your mouth the same way. There's a tube that runs from a plastic bladder in the pack around your back to a clip that attaches to your shirt up by your head. When you want  a drink you detach the tube from your shirt and raise it to your mouth and suck out a mouthful of water. Not only is it an efficient way of drinking without stopping, sucking on a tube while running at altitude allows you to see some very interesting hallucinations.  I prefer the Nathan backpack because it has pockets of various sizes  in the front that hold about anything you want from power bars to little things, like say pharmaceuticals, if the altitude hasn't already altered your mind enough.  The Camelback has pockets in the back, which means you have to run along holding a tube to your mouth with one hand while reaching around to your butt with the other, all while running along cliffs. I have enough trouble remaining upright as it is.

                So much for thirst. Now on to a couple of problems specific to night running: Cold and Dark.

                First: Cold. Not much mystery here. The higher the elevation, the lower the temperature. Add in the fact that, after 18 or so hours, all of your energy is being spent just putting one foot in front of the other and there's not much left your body can do to generate heat. Hence the advice we've gotten that if the temperature is expected to be  about 30 degrees,  you'd better dress for 10. Here's how I intend to do that:
                

Base Layer: Nothing new here. Polypro turtleneck, fleece vest, gloves, half-tights, warm pants, wool socks.
Pretty standard stuff.

        Next is the outer stuff:

Outer Layer: Knit Ski Mask/Hat, kerchief/scarf, Patagonia waterproof jacket

                  Again, nothing really different from what you might normally wear for a winter run in the mid-west. As always, additional layers can be added or, in Jim's case subtracted. (There seems to be little doubt that Jim will end up in Hell because his body was specifically designed for it. His normal body temperature seems to be just short of the boiling point of water. Often when we run in Indiana I will resemble the Michelin Man and he will be shirtless. Concerned people have actually stopped and yelled "Put a shirt on!", although they may have simply been  commenting on his body. It's hard to tell.)

       Having now addressed the cold we now turn to the dark. Sure, you can carry a flashlight but here's the problem. As you recall from the previous post, there are sections of the course where we will use hiking poles (Black Diamond Carbon Cork, Flicklock---I just like saying "Flicklock" for some reason). Then the question becomes how do you carry a flashlight when you've got your hands wrapped around your Carbon Cork grips? Use your head--literally:

                 Continued. Click "read more".
                                                            

Countdown to Leadville

     As Jim has reported accurately, we are in Leadville getting ready for the race.  Where he has not been accurate is in his slanderous allegations that I spent the month of July in Michael Jackson's oxygen chamber.  I would never waste money on anything so frivolous.  The fact is I had a lung transplant from Lance Armstrong. It was expensive but the performance enhancing substances which saturated the tissues were thrown in for free so all-in-all it was a pretty good deal.
     Jim may have gotten the details wrong but his main thrust is on point--this mountain trail running requires more stuff than just throwing on your running shorts and heading out the door. In fact,  the more we get up in the mountains the more we realize that there are things you've just got to have if you're going to finish. In what follows I will describe some of the gizmos and gadgets that I never before knew I needed.  Some are necessary at all times and others others just at night. (Hint: it gets dark and cold at night in the mountains--who knew?).

                DAYTIME--ALL THE TIME

     Here is a picture of some of the daytime gear that's needed:

                                                         

                                                    
     From the top down, what we've got here starts with a hat that sends the message to the world that you no longer care whether everyone clearly sees the inner dork you have been desperately trying to conceal since middle school. It has a curtain around the back like Rommel the Desert Fox, only on anyone else it makes you look like Norman the Desert Numbnuts. A picture says it all:



The opposite of cool is not warm--it is this.

      Anything this ugly had better be functional and this actually is. It not only keeps the mountain sun, which can burn you to a fritter, off of your ears and neck; it is made of "Icefil" material, which wicks away heat. The manufacturer claims that it lowers skin temperature by 11 degrees. I don't know by how many degrees, but I do agree that this material does keep you cooler, as we shall see when we consider the rest of this ensemble.
     Next up is the sunglasses. I have long been a follower of ZZ Top, who, as we all know, advise "Get yourself some cheap sunglasses". However, while that advice may have always gotten them sharp-dressed women with pearl necklaces, it won't work in the mountain sun. You need good sunglasses because the rays are super intense. One Experienced Mountain Runner warns that if you don't wear good sunglasses during the day you will burn your retinas and won't be able to see at night. Not being being able to see while running down dark, steep, rocky trails is what Experienced Mountain Runners apparently called "being screwed". Fortunately, I didn't have to wrestle with my inherent Scrooge-ness because my lovely wife cashed in some rewards points and got me some Oakleys.  Oh man, just wearing them makes me feel like a really cool athlete-Dude. Too bad the hat completely trumps everything else.

  Next is what appears to be your run of the mill T-shirt. Au contraire, technology Bozos.  That is not just what is referred to as a "Tech Shirt" in that it is made of completely synthetic fibers not found in nature, no, not by a long shot.  These  fibers  happen to be the aforementioned IceFil material, which means that in addition to the "I'm an idiot" hat, your shirt is also working to keep you cool, although in a much less ridicule-inducing way.
     Continuing on with this theme, notice that it looks like someone has cut off the sleeves of the shirt but neglected to throw them away. Once again Icefil makes an appearance. I think like Vonnegut's Ice-nine, Icefil is slowly going to cover the globe. When I first saw these I thought they were supposed to be arm warmers and were every bit as much an affectation as the leg warmers all the disco chicks wore to jazzersize in the 80's. Once again Icefil proved me wrong. Not only do they make your arms feel cool, they block the sun and eliminate the need to slather sun screen up and down your appendages.
     Diverting from clothing for a second, directly below the sleeves are my new Black Diamond  Alpine Carbon Cork, Flicklock ultra-light hiking poles. They're expensive but what can I say? They had me at "Flicklock".
     The running shorts are RaceReady. They have several pockets all across the back where young hotties have "Juicy" across their posteriors--not that I've ever noticed. This allows you to stuff in numerous Gu packets which will not only keep you going but give quite an unexpected sensation if you plop down somewhere and burst a few of them all over your butt.
     The kinky-looking black things below the shorts are Zensah compression thigh sleeves. I know. They look like they should be made out of fishnet and be found on masked men in grainy videos. The theory is they help prevent the blood from pooling in your legs and they facilitate lactic acid removal. What can I say. I'm desperate. I'll try anything. After the hat, what does it matter? Continuing on with this theme, below the thigh sleeves are calf sleeves. Same rational plus, once again, the sun protection without slimy sun screen.

     On the left calf sleeve is a  black band that velcro's around my lower left leg. It is supposed to add stability and help keep that old devil Pes Anserine Brusitis at bay.
  
     Under the calf sleeves is a pair of "Dirty Girl Gaiters". You've seen the hat. Do you even have to ask if I feel less than manly wearing something called Dirty Girl? Anyway, they really work to keep the little pebbles out of your shoes. If you've ever tried to ignore a little pebble in your shoe for a few miles you know how soon it can become a LARGE GODDAMN ROCK.  I chose the always tasteful Rattlesnake pattern since it was guaranteed to match absolutely nothing else.  For a hoot go to the Dirty Girl website. They look like people who know how to have fun.

     Moving on: SmartWool socks. I've never worn wool socks before but, once again some Experienced  Mountain Runners (the woods are full of them) recommended them and, based on the last couple of weeks' running, I'm hooked. They say they are the best for blister prevention.

     At last, two pairs of trail shoes. We'll run through water several times and won't change wet shoes during the day because it's so dry here. But, after the last river crossing just before dusk when the temperature drops down into the 30's you want to change your shoes and socks. Kevin,  also a very Experienced Runner at the Blue Mile store in Indianapolis recommended Brooks Cascadias and I liked the first pair so I bought a second. They're a little heavier and stiffer then running shoes but on the rocks and rubble that's a good thing. The tread is also better for traction for those places where, as yet another E.M.R. said, "you'll feel like you're surfin' on snot". A very vivid picture.

     OK, that's about it for the stuff you need in daytime. This is getting too long so I'll cover the rest of the technology (yes, there's more--much more) in the next post. In the meantime, just to tide you over I'll surrender all my pride and show what all this looks like in practice. Remember, be kind. I know what I look like. I just can't help myself. I'm obsessed and I admit it. I'm also desperate for any small assistance I can get. I'll buy anything that promises to help and, if the devil makes anywhere near a reasonable offer, I'm willing to sell too. But you knew that as soon as you looked at this picture:



I warned you.

                                                             
                                              

Ice, Ice, Baby

Well, Cory and I are in Colorado. After a stop in Hays, Kansas (temperature - 108 degrees; city motto: "We're So Nice, It's Spooky"), we arrived here on Tuesday, August 2nd, giving us 18 days to prepare for the race.

Our first full day here, we hiked up to the top of Hope Pass, which is the highest point on the race course, and ran down. We figure that will be one of the main challenges of the race and we wanted to establish a base line for how long it takes us to make the ascent and to make the descent. If things go well, after we've been here a while, we will get more adjusted to the altitude and the trails, but now we have what we hope is a worst case scenario--2:39 to ascend to Hope Pass on the outbound part of the race and 1:30 to descend the same stretch on the inbound part.

It also gave us a test of whether Cory's sleeping in a Michael Jackson bed (see below)

did anything beyond confirming that he is a disturbed and perverted individual.

It turns out that the bed did pay off. Or something did. Cory went up the trail like a mountain goat. And not just any mountain goat. Like a mountain goat being chased by Michael Jackson. (Okay, I'll stop the MJ jokes--for now.) It was very impressive, especially since we can still remember how much we were debilitated by the altitude when we first got here for the training camp in June.

There are still two weeks to go until the race, so we have ample opportunity to do something that sabotages all our training and preparation, but at this point it's hard to point to a reason that this plan of Cory's to do both the Comrades Marathon and the Leadville 100 can't be done.

I will say that I still worry about race temperatures. Even on our climb on Wednesday, with the sky overcast and the temperatures in the 50's and 60's there were times when I was uncomfortable.

Actually, I should say, I was still worried about race temperatures. But then as I was listening to the greatest song of all times, the answer came to me. Any time I'm feeling warm, I can dip my shirt, my arm sleeves and my bandanna in ice water. Let the musical genius Robert Van Winkle explain this strategy:

"Yo, VIP, Let's kick it--

"Ice, ice, baby; Ice, ice, baby

"All right, stop, collaborate, and listen; Ice is back like a brand new invention; When its cool grabs ahold of Jim tightly; He'll flow like a harpoon, daily and nightly [because it's a 30 hour race so part of it is during the day and part of it is during the night].

"Will he ever stop? yo, I don't know [actually, Jim will stop eventually, but it will seem like he's running forever to him while he's doing it]; Turn off the lights and he'll glow [because he'll be wearing a head lamp and carrying a flashlight, plus the trail will be marked with glow sticks--sort of like a rave without any of the fun].

"If there was a problem, yo, I'll solve it; Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it;

"Ice, ice, baby."

Now that I've got that going for me, I've got nothing to worry about. Well, except for fans of Michael Jackson catching up with me.