Stagecoach 100 Relay - A Day/Night/Day to remember

"Too many trees!" It is very seldom that I find myself complaining about the presence of trees. They are inspiring organisms that have given me places to play, air to breath, food to eat, shade to rest and homes to creatures I adore. They are vital to our global climate and imperative to most soils. They are even a future adornment to my body in the form of tattoo. But right now, there are just too many damn trees!

I am in the middle of my 13 mile relay leg of the new ultra-marathon race, officially called the "Flagstaff to Grand Canyon 100 Mile Stagecoach Line Ultra & Relay". You can't wipe the smile off of my face but the reason that I would willingly cast away these looming Junipers, if only for a while, is that somewhere out there in the sky just behind my right shoulder is a giant gorgeous high desert full moon. Oddly enough, this is coming from a guy who loves and respects the hell out of the juniperus genus.

Juniperus osteosperma

Their stubbornness to survive on the most crumbling of erosive cliff faces. Their bounty of food, fiber and materials that sustained the hardy indigenous peoples of the Southwest. The shade and talking points that they give me as I lead my group tour of foreign visitors along the South Kaibab trail. Their "no way I'm growing in a straight line" attitude that always seems to frustrate me when an axe is above my head. And the warmth I feel and smell each Flagstaff winter night as the wood stove crackles and radiates the remaining embers from their bark. Yep, the Juniper has a place in my heart, but for now they are merely casting stubborn shadows along my path.

 I'm not sure what is it about me that seems to draw in night runs but here I am again, running along a dirt path, headlamp bobbing along and my mind trying not to remember the large variations of carnivores out here. To say I am alone on this section is an understatement. From the time that the snap bracelet hit my wrist, there has not been a single peep in the woods, light on the horizon or voice in the distance. In fact, there will not be a soul to count until I make it to the Moqui aid station...and none after till the next exchange. I am not sure if this adds to the experience but at least it is something that I am used to. I am experienced in running alone in the dark in everything from the Ragnar relay in the middle of Sonoran desert nowhere to 13 mile Grand Canyon loops. So... I am happy.

GC at night

This is the race's inaugural year and I have no doubts that success will soon be this events pacer. Ian Torrence has taken on this long time goal and put together a course that not only has beauty in it's physical surroundings but an aura of AZ history that intrigues runners both before and after the event. It follows a section of the Arizona Trail from just Northwest of the city of Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon Park entrance town of Tusayan. This route is nothing new though. It is at the same time the path chosen for the brave tourists that dawned stagecoaches on a bumpy, usually multi-day, romp from Flag to The Canyon. Although I am on just a 13 mile piece of the path, 26 brave Ultra-maniacs had the entire course to finish (of which I believe 17 actually did in the 30 hour time frame).

Relay Teams Getting Set!

Eventually I finished my leg with a smile on my face and dreams already of next year. My teammate David was off like a bolt and I hobbled into a truck and drove around to the finish where I passed out in said truck for a couple hours of sleep. I was awoken by the last of our team, Charlie, who had just finished (can't believe I missed it) and we had won the men's relay division! Although like Neil said, "We only had ourselves to beat". None the less, we celebrated our victory and celebrated runners as they came across the line. It was a great race, a beautiful run and an experience that injected me with a little bit of Ultra fever.

The Author Getting A Fan Shot With Ian Torrence

** A HUGE thank you to all of the 100 braver than the runners volunteers for enduring their own ultra challenge of below freezing temperatures! Your night was many factors harder than mine and you made the event a complete enjoyment and success.

* Thanks to Kristin Wilson for the great pictures         

Who knew there was a "Beer Pace"?

Wow, who knew that having a few too many IPA's on a Friday night would effect your Saturday run? I jest of course, but that is just what happened this morning. At some points I could actually feel my liver doing its' processing. Now, don't get me wrong, the run couldn't have gone much better and I had a smile on my face most of the way. But each glance down at the Garmin showed a pace that was a little bit embarrassing.

This was my first "official" 50K training run. Although my 20 week training plan does not really begin until Tuesday I could not give up the chance to get started on this beautiful breezy and cool morning. So with my wife at my side, handheld attached, and heart-rate monitor strapped, we headed out the front door to the rolling reclaimed road behind our house.

Let's talk real quick about the heart-rate monitor, or as I like to call it, my Biofeedback device (shmancy huh?). I have decided that because I am looking to start endurance running, I will be taking the advice of Dr. Phil Maffetone. No, not THAT Dr. Phil. His thoughts are that your training should always be in the aerobic zone. If your heart-rate is above a certain point (for me it is 140 bpm), you will suffer consequences to your endurance and having listened to him speak and being a Biology major... I agree! So with the Biofeedback device leading the way, we pushed at the blistering speed of 13:30 minute miles! Wow, it is really hard to run that slow. But, it was a very comfortable pace and 10 miles seemed like much less. And after a few weeks of doing this, I should be seeing pretty dramatic drops in that number.

Ok, so looking at that pace again, let's talk about the IPA's. I had tested out this aerobic threshold idea a few days ago and was able to maintain a 10:45 pace at 140 bpm. That's a significant difference huh? So we will just have to see if my next run, hopefully not after another beer fest, goes back to that lower pace.

All in all, we're off I guess. Hittin' the ground running and ready to see my endurance gain speed and power. Now, off to the Halloween party... ah crap