Team Inov-8 came through with several stellar performances this weekend. Amber Moran had a spectacular race across the water in the UK and took the womens field at the Chichester 10k with an amazing time and PR of 34:46. She clocked an equally amazing 17:03 for her second half split. I'm guessing that's a 5K PR as well! Great job Amber. Mark Lundblad fought through the rain swollen course for 1st place overall at the Uwharrie 40 mile with a winning time of 5:31:55. The course was changed slightly on the last 5 miles due to the rain from sloppy single track to sloppy forrest service road, but that's a pretty speedy time, nontheless, on a tough course that typically holds racers above 6 hrs. Speaking of speedy times, Chris Reed laid down a very fast time at the Superbowl 10k. Chris bettered last year's time on this hilly and snow covered course crossing the line in 37:11, good for 7th overall. Good runnin' you guys.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
TEAM Granite
Team Members: Chad Denning/ Dave Lamb/ Dave Romilly/ Jenny Johnson/ Melissa Coombes/ Erik Grimm/ Aliza LaPierre/ Eric BowkerBios: http://www.teamgranite.weebly.com/
1) Primary sport (s): Adventure Racing, Endurance multi-sports
2) Team member since: 2008
3) City/state of residence: Mostly New Hampshire/ Florida/ New York
4) Occupation: Various occupations listed @ http://teamgranite.weebly.com/team-members.html
5) Goals for 2010: To win 2010 AR National Championships and qualify for the World AR Championships in Spain
6) Notable achievements/memories/PR’s in your sport: 2006 & 2009 USARA National AR Champions. More results: http://teamgranite.weebly.com/previous-results.html
7) Favorite inov-8 gear: WE ALL LOVE 295’s!
8) List one thing others may not know about you: We really love to take advantage of the seasons and excel in many different disciplines of FUN! From skiing, paddling, biking to RUNNING!
9) Favorite energy drink/food: Nestle Boost
10) Your favorite race and why? Races over 36 hours… really test your all around ability!
11) Advice to other athletes: Never Stop Adventuring!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
This Weekend's Starting Line
This year's racing season is hardly started but we have a few runners testing their early season form this weekend. Mark Lundblad, our 'Director Sportif', is hoping the epic weather will pass by Saturday before the start of his Uwharrie 40 mile trail race, in central NC. He got shut out of his last ultra attempt because of bad weather. Lets hope this one brings better luck. Also on Saturday, Yassine Diboun will be on the left coast's beautiful San Juan Islands competing in the Orcas Island 50k. I've been there and it would be an awesome venue for an all day run!
Sunday's lineup has Chris Reed burning off pre-football party calories at the Superbowl 10k road race in PA. And, Amber Moran is taking it across the pond to mix it up with the Brits at the Chichester 10k in England. Good luck everyone!
Patagonia Race Training
T minus 10 days till day one of the hardest race any of us have ever encountered. We promised each other, that after today we are tapering. No more 15 mile runs or 45 mile bike rides. Only smaller workouts, lots of sleep and lots of good food until we begin the most amazing suffer-fest of them all.
Our morning started at 7 am with a wake up call from Daniel. After rolling out of bed, filling up our water bottles with accelerate and Nuun, and stuffing our Ibex jerseys with raw rev bars, Gu and chomps, we were out the door and onto our bikes. It was a beautiful morning to be riding up into the mountains. It has been raining here for the past couple of weeks so all of the flora and fauna are at there best. I love California when its like this. At the top of our first 10 mile climb we ran into some local riders. Dan, being the friendly guy that he is, asked them where they were riding. They told us and then asked us the same. Dan spouted out our route and they returned with "uh, that's ballsy", which turned into the quote of the day. k
For a good portion of the ride it was hard not to talk and day dream about our upcoming Patagonia Race. However, as yogis we of course make a consiouse effort to be in the present moment, with the help of the beautiful green, lush Santa Barbara mountains, amazing single track descents, grueling up hill climbs and amazing sights from the top of the mountain- it wasn't hard to get back to reality. The ride, one of Daniel's favorites, was very much like a bike leg in an adventure race. There were never ending hill climbs, countless river crossings, Jason's shock blew out causing him to crash on the technical downhill, we stopped for some very scary, exposed acro play and Dan broke his chain. All of this and more is what we expect to happen when we race, making today a very successful training day! 45 miles and very tired lactic acid filled legs later, we arrived at Daniels house. After a recovery aloe vera smoothie and a hot shower, (two luxories we will not be experiencing during our race) Jason and I went out to walk the boardwalk and eat an amazing meal. A few hours later we returned to our race staging headquarters (aka Daniels house) to widdle away at our "to do" list. Us YogaSlackers love lists, with out lists and google docs I don't know where we would be right now. It is now 8:30pm and I feel like it is midnight, tomorrow is another full day starting with a 6:30am mysore yoga practice and then it is off to the ocean for some kayak rescue and dry suit practice. I have no doubt that it will be comical.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Scott Williamson
Current Pacific Crest Speed Record Holder
1) Primary sport (s): Unassisted/autonomous long distance hiking
2) Team member since: 2006
3) City/state of residence: Truckee, CA
4) Occupation: Tree climber
5) Goals for 2010:My primary goals for 2010 are to break the Pacific crest trail speed record Adam Bradley and I set in 2009; I feel that more time can be squeezed out of this record with some careful planning and luck. This is dependent on what kind of snow year California receives this winter.
6) Notable achievements/memories/PR’s in your sport: Over 50,000 miles of unassisted long distance hiking in the past 20 years. Twelve time PCT through hiker, as well as Appalachian and Continental divide trail through hikes. First yo-yo of the PCT in 2004. PCT unassisted speed record 2009- 71d, 2, and 41m. Co-hold PCT overall speed record set in 2010- 65d, 9h, and 58m, done without any assistance i.e.- ‘unsupported’ in Flyroc 310s.
7) Favorite inov-8 gear: Flyroc 310 Hands down!
8) List one thing others may not know about you: Staying in shape and training for my hikes is a real challenge living in a place that receives 400+ inches of snow a year while working full time at a job that tests my endurance daily. Most of my pre hike conditioning takes place on snowshoes wearing a loaded pack
9) Favorite energy drink/food: “Green” shake/ “BINK” bars both my own homemade creations.
10) Your favorite race and why? Favorite race that I have not been part of: Badwater ultra, because the mental aspect of knowing you will suffer seems to create a really unique challenge.
11) Advice to other athletes: In challenging ones self or others to me it always distills down to these three words, Physical, mental and luck.
Craftsbury Ski Marathon
I have always been of the opinion that as athletes, we should constantly try new things, push the boundaries, get outside our comfort zones, and have fun! This couldn’t be more true than when I decided to sign up for the Craftsbury Ski Marathon. Cross country skiing is a wonderful cross training for running, and a way to enjoy the winter months. I had been a cross country ski racer (in a former life), but hadn’t ever raced longer than 15k, and hadn’t put on a race number in about a decade. What better way to challenge myself? Of course, Mother Nature decided I needed an extra challenge – from the time I decided to do this race to the race date, there was only one day with enough snow in a 1-hour radius of my house to ski on – so my training consisted of running and some weights (although I’m sure I got some cross training strength from my constant snow dances!). Photo by Jim Rodriques/NENSA The course was rolling, and went through a mixture of fields and wooded trails. We happily cruised along, staying clear of the pile-ups that were prevalent with 100 people starting together, and only two tracks to ski in. My hands were numb, despite the thick gloves I had on – it took about 4k to warm them up. Photo by Jim Rodriques/NENSA After the wax job, my sister and I headed out for the second loop. It had warmed up to about -1 at this point, but it felt warmer except for my feet which turned numb as we waxed. I was pleasantly surprised, as we pulled into an aid station, that the volunteers had heated up the drinks – and decided that warm HEED was the best thing to drink. They even had heated energy gels, but I passed on that for another 4k.
A ski marathon is actually a 50k race – and this particular race was the classical technique (which is ‘striding’). The Craftsbury Ski Marathon is one of the bigger ski marathons in the nation, and was serving as the Masters National Championship race this year, so it drew in a highly competitive crowd which included several current and former US Ski Team Members and Olympians.
Due to the snow conditions, the race was altered to 4 laps around a 12.5k circuit, rather than the two large 25k loops that were planned. That meant that the 600-700 racers were all packed onto one small loop, which made things a bit chaotic.
I showed up at 7:30 to pick up my race number, and was instantly frozen, even with so many layers I could barely move. The outside temperature was approximately -8 degrees (wind chill put it below -20). I moved quickly from the car to the registration area, and then jumped on the bus to be transported to the start/finish area. A quick run into the warming yurt, which was a balmy 20-degrees and did little to warm me, and I was applying layers and layers of kick wax to my skis – hoping the temperature would somehow rise up.
It warmed up to -4 (wind chill of -14) at the start, and my sister and I, decked out in more layers than we typically wear unless planning to be stationary, lined up behind the majority of the field. My sister and I had decided to do this together, but we were treating it as a training day – a way to get in a long ski, get to catch up, and have some aid along the way. My only rough goal was to try to ski the 50k faster than I could run it (which should be logical, right?). The cowbell rang, signaling the start, and we were off.
After about 4k into the loop, we passed through the start/finish area, and then started the ‘downhill’ section of the course. I could already tell that the hills would be in poor shape by the end of the race, since patches of ice were already beginning to show. We survived the downhill and started the long, gradual climb back up to the touring center. I tried to kick, and tried to kick, and realized that the 10 layers of carefully applied wax were already gone – it was like I was trying to ski on ice. I tried to ‘muscle through it’ for a few kilometers, but eventually my sister and I pulled over for a quick rewax of the skis.
At some point in the first lap, I noticed that my foot felt loose in my boot, and looked down to see that my boot zipper had broken, so my foot didn’t have the stability of the boot outer to control it. There is nothing to be done about this mid-race, so I just had to accept that downhills would be trickier for me, and my control with steep uphills would also be compromised.
The new wax lasted for most of the rest of the first lap, but coming into the lap zone, we peeled off to where my sister’s wax area was to melt some binder wax into my bases to hold the kick wax better. It was frustrating to pull off a race course momentarily and watch skiers going by, but knew that in the long run it was needed to be sure that I could actually use my skis (otherwise it was going to be a long day!).
I was pleased with my new wax, and my sister and I set off to cruise the lap, trying to catch a few of the folks who got by us during our waxing. We stopped at the aid stations, had warm drinks and gels, and were able to enjoy the second lap. I was happy to be able to feel all of my appendages and to not have any aches and pains. The third lap was equally enjoyable, as we enjoyed the warm treats along the way, the waxing held up (I did switch skis at one point to use up any available wax on the skis), and we were able to chat about upcoming races. I was starting to think ‘this isn’t so hard!’. It had nearly broken into positive temperatures, and the sun warmed us on the open fields.
The fourth lap proved to be as difficult as the first. My wax was starting to wear off, and the aches and pains of not doing any true ski training for this, were starting to pop up. My back hurt, my hands were cramping, my elbows shot pain with every pole plant, and I was starting to get cold. To make matters worse, the course was starting to deteriorate a bit – with ice patches cropping up on all the downhills. I realized that similar to running an ultra, I had hit the time in the race where I start to question why I do this, and if it was worth the pain. Luckily I had my sister with me, so she provided conversation to distract me, and kept me moving forward. I started counting down the remaining kilometers in the race with each marker that I passed. We did stop for another rewax after the downhill, so that I could stride it out through the finish.
Luckily, we were headed up the last hill before I knew it, and headed through the finish lane (not the lap lane!) at last. I provided a bit of excitement for the volunteers as I ‘sprinted’ with my sister for the finish line. She was kind and let me have the win. It had warmed up to 2 degrees by the time we finished, but considering the temperatures we started in it felt downright warm. I think we both paid that evening and the next day for the long ski – aches and pains have been creeping in every time I move, from muscles that don’t get used during running. I feel as gimpy as when I finished my first running ultra.
I learned (or remembered) a lot about ultras (running and skiing) during this event, and was glad for the experience. First, there is no better training for what you are planning to do than actually doing it – my sore body is directly related to the fact that I had only skied about 4 times this year, and never got to classical ski. Second, it was a great reminder that fueling was key – I took the time to take in gels, HEED, and granola bars during the race, and my energy level was even throughout the race. Third, in an ultra event, you always have to expect the unexpected – whether it be wax not working, equipment breaking, extreme weather conditions – and then do your best to deal with them during the race, but not let them defeat you. Fourth, you always have to deal with a bit of pain – everyone is going to ache a bit, have muscle cramps, feel uncomfortable, but that’s part of the experience and part of the sport to overcome adversity. Lastly, I was way down on the results, but for me, to finish is to win – and it is important to not compare yourself to others, only judge yourself on what you know you can achieve and how you personally exceed your expectations. I am proud to have finished my first ever ski marathon.
The volunteers at Craftsbury were amazing, and should be commended for their effort. Even with about 2 inches of rain a few days before the race, they pulled off a course that held up amazingly with hundreds of skiers going over it many times. The volunteers also stood out in the incredible cold for hours – a feat I might not be capable of doing.
My quest to finish a skiing marathon, snow shoe marathon, and running marathon this year is now 1/3 complete. And the bottom line I determined – apparently I am faster at running a 50k than skiing – but I know that I could ski significantly faster if Murphy’s Law wasn’t conspiring against me! Keeps me hungry for next time…
Monday, February 1, 2010
31 Day Challenge - Complete!
I started 2010 with an ambitious goal: to do some kind of orienteering training every single day in January. It wasn't my idea, I blatantly stole it from others who had attempted to do it in the past. And I stole the name, too - the 31 Day Challenge. Before I get into the details of the Challenge I feel that, as Team Inov-8 USA's only orienteer, t I owe a bit of an explanation of orienteering!
Most of you have probably heard of orienteering, and many of you have probably actually gone out and done it. But to many people the term conjures up an image of taking compass bearings and pace counting in Boy Scouts or in the military. I can assure you that I have no interest in such activities, and that competitive orienteering is the adrenaline junkie's answer to 'just running'. Orienteering is essentially a maprunning race. We use a detailed topographic map made specifically for the sport and run through the forest (or desert or swamps), through streams, up hills, across steep slopes... you get the idea. The map has a series of 'controls' (checkpoints) that you must visit in order - but it's up to you to get there as fast as possible, navigating cleanly on your own. It's true cross country running, except you have to find your own way! You can see more examples of maps in my map archive.
Now, back to that 31 Day Challenge...
The idea was to get out on a map - any map, not necessarily an orienteering map - every day. It didn't have to be long, but I had to navigate every single day. That can be pretty tough in Tucson, where I usually only orienteer on the weekends, so it took a little bit of creativity. But I also got in a lot of training that I wouldn't have done otherwise. It was such an awesome month!
According to my records, I ran (or skied) 37 distinct orienteering sessions for a total of over 27 hours of orienteering. I found approximately 365 controls, either real or map only, and used 21 different maps.
Five of the sessions were in Massachusetts and involved snow, and two of those involved skiing. Two maps were actually aerials from Google Maps and one was a street map with a line drawn on it. One was a ski trails map and one was the map of my front yard in Sudbury. The rest were real O maps, 10 in Tucson, 3 in MA, 2 in California, and 1 in Phoenix. I wore a headlamp for two sessions. I was attacked by a dog once.
I learned a few things. For one, getting on a map every day was easier than I thought it would be. Not easy, but I didn't have to go crazy. Of course, it helped tremendously that for two weeks I had orienteering guests in my house and I took leave from work... But the rest of the time I was generally able to get in some productive sessions around town despite work. I also feel that getting in map time each day gave me better "map feel". I believe that a little bit of O frequently is better than a lot every once in a while.
