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".
                                                            

            This is a Petzl headlamp. It does just what it looks like it does. The one thing you have to remember when you face another runner is to not shine it directly in their face or you'll blind them---a frowned upon competitive practice. Pretty cool, huh? But wait, there's more. Take a look at these babies:                                       

     KnuckleLights! Are they cool or what? They strap around your hand so you don't have to hold them and instead of one flashlight you've two. For a night-blind Geezer like myself, this is a meaningful benefit. I just love these guys, if for no other reason, they make me feel like I'm armed in some way, although I'm not sure a hungry bear would necessarily be intimidated. Blinded maybe, but that would probably only piss him off.


     OK, are your ready? Here is the Full-Monty:

Running Geek from Outer Space

    
     I realize that this picture is blurry but that is simply as a kindness to you, dear reader, and because Jim was laughing so hard when he took the picture ( and, frankly, I refused to put all that crap on again--it will be bad enough to have to strip down naked in the freezing cold when it's time to put it all on. Although, that may be just the trick to scare the bears).

     So, there you have it. It's taken two posts to describe the technology we've acquired and I didn't even mention the hand warmers or the Flux-capacitor (but I'm sure Jim will because it gives you a lot of numbers and he becomes peculiarly aroused when people talk numbers---yes, it's spooky). Will any of this help? Who knows? All I know for sure is that if I'm going to keep going for 30 hours at altitude I will need all the help I can get. Hopefully, none of it will hurt and, besides, finding it all has kept me occupied.  Now that the acquisition part is done there's  nothing to do but wait and that's the part I hate.

      It's Monday and the race doesn't start until 4:00 am Saturday. I'm going to have to find something else to keep me out of trouble until then. Maybe I can get Jim to explain the math behind the Flux Capacitor again. Either that or spend the time trying to understand what the people of Iowa see in Michelle Bachmann. Both make the same amount of sense to me.