Antelope Canyon

Making new friends is always a benefit of stage racing and at the Grand-to-Grand Ultra last year I made many.  Several were interested in doing the Antelope Canyon Ultra for fun and it quickly became a reunion event.  Everyone was intent on the 50 miler or 55K so I threw in with the plan of a long training run.

As it turned out this event is a great train-up for the MDS!  While there was little elevation change to speak of (coming from the mountains) the 50 miler course offered 12 miles (19+ km) of single track, 8 miles (13 km) of broken slickrock and 30 miles (48 km) of nothing but soft fine SAND.  The scenery was absolutely gorgeous too!  The 50 and 100 milers offer the added benefit of allowing you to run through one of the most iconic slot canyons in the world (in addition to two others).  Thanks to Ken Letterle for taking the time to snap the pictures below.

Antelope Canyon

I decided to break in the new MDS shoes and use the race gaiters for the event.  This was a very wise decision since I didn't have to stop to empty my shoes several times like most racers.  It was also refreshing not to have to run with the pack for a bit!

NO Pack - Oh what a feeling!

While the course was difficult, it was also fast.  All the G2G'ers exceeded their expectations and pulled down some great times.  Post race pizza and beer at the finish line hit the spot and old stories were rehashed as we caught up with each other.  The next day we were off to the four winds and our own race schedules, I'm sure we will see each other soon!

Happy Valentines!

As departure draws near the training is increasing.  But time is needed to spend with your Valentine.

This last weekend was spent with my lovely wife Lisa at the Caza Ladron Hunt event in the Santa Fe area.  While Lisa was out riding with the pack (of hounds) and looking for coyotes to chase (no foxes to speak of here in NM) I was able to get in some quality miles with my own pack.  Additionally there was lots of recovery feasting and general good times.

The trails outside of Santa Fe were relatively snow free and the temperatures were cool so the running was a pleasant break from the road miles and ice trails up on "The Hill" in Los Alamos.
One day I was able to get in a good stretch of sand training up Buckman's wash to the entrance of Diablo Canyon.  The best part was that the Hunt's "Woopie Wagon" was at mile 7+.  You don't find too many aid stations/check points that offer port or champagne!  They didn't even punch my ration card.

Coming up next is Antelope Canyon Ultra with some of the Grand-to-Grand crew.

Nuts!

Most ultra racers and stage racers know the benefits of nuts in their race diet.  High in calories, protein and fat these little wonders bring nutritional support in a small package.  Salted they also help satisfy the need for electrolytes.  High on the calorie per gram list are Macadamia nuts, Almonds and Pine nuts (Pignolias to some).  While I have always carried Almonds during stage races, for this year's MDS I intend to mix it up and bring some of all three for variety.  With respect to the Almonds I intend to use Marcona Almonds this time around since they are less dry and have a mild flavor making them more like peanuts.  Pine nuts will most likely be pinon pine nuts from around the local area here in New Mexico if I can find some.  The harvest this year was not very large!  You can also spice up any nuts with sea salt or other spices.  Many varieties of Almonds already come per-flavored.  An once and a half a day will bring you over 350 calories and some snacking enjoyment!

Immunizations

For those that travel abroad to the ends of the earth you may already be familiar with the need for various vaccinations/immunizations.  In our more modern world many disease scourges have been minimized if not eradicated over the last century.  Unfortunately many still exist and one should seriously consider taking precautions against them.

My current job assignment requires many immunizations such as Yellow Fever, Polio, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Typhoid and others.  This list while quite extensive is overboard for the everyday stage racer.  Talk to your health care provider well in advance to departing (3 months) as to what vaccinations he or she recommends.  At a minimum a Tetanus shot should be seriously considered.

It is also a good idea to keep a copy of your immunizations record with your passport and other medical documents just in case.

Climbing Out of the Hole

After some time off (about two and a half months to be precise) I am starting to climb out of the hole and get my training going.  Of course winter has set in and has made the world cold and dark.  My training plan for the next three months is based on what I did leading up to Grand-to-Grand in September with some slight modifications.  Hopefully I will remain health and motivated to follow it.  In summary I am looking at around 600 miles before heading out to the desert including over 5,000 lb-miles of pack running.  One "B" race is also on the calender - Antelope Canyon Ultra (50 miler) in February.  Some cross/strength training is also going into the mix just for balance. 

I hope your training is going well and you are staying healthy.

Happy New Year!

Gaiter Modifications

Previous posts have outlined my design and performance for over-shoe gaiters.  These have worked out quite well under extreme circumstances, in fact I used the same pair of gaiters for both my 2013 MDS run and my 2014 Grand-to-Grand participation (this event also having large amounts of sand) along with various training runs and a trail marathon.

Bataan Memorial Death March 2013

2013 MDS

2014 Grand-to-Grand

In total this equated to over 350 miles of very hard use.  Some peoples shoes don't last that long!  Towards the end of the Grand-to-Grand the front end of the gaiters began to show some wear and fraying.  This was to be expected and was the main reason I went with a more rugged material for the lower portions.  With the rest of the gaiter in such good shape I decided to modify the design slightly for further use. The obvious and simple solution was to add a small leather patch to the nose of the gaiter to take the beating that inevitably occurs there.

Modified with leather toe cap

This modification only added a small amount of weight but should extend the life of the gaiter by at least two.  Look for them in Morocco next year!

Canyon de Chelly Ultra 2014

With my "A" race behind me (the Grand to Grand Ultra) and a couple of weeks off for rest, I recently participated in my end of season fun run.  The Canyon de Chelly Ultra is only in its second year but what a race this is!  Race Director and former High School cross country coach Shaun Martin has pulled something real special together.  Proceeds go to help Native American runners (over $7,000 this year) and the whole community pitches in to help.  The prize table and participant awards are all representative of Native American crafts and most are hand made.  The logistics of this event are also impressive since it entailed over a year of planning and coordination with numerous federal and tribal entities.

Prize Table (Jacqueline Smith photograph)

I met Shaun back in 2012 during my first foray into stage racing at Desert RATS.  Being from the same general location (southwest) and with my youngest daughter a former XC runner there was much to talk about over the days.  Shaun is a great guy and very proud of his Navajo heritage.

Shaun at Desert RATS 2012

My first exposure to Canyon de Chelly was also back in 2012 while accompanying my wife on an equine expedition (ie hunt club trail ride outing).  I also got in a little training for my first MDS.  Here is a link to an older post.  Having only seeing the upper portion of the canyon I definitely wanted to go back.  This was my chance.

Tim White, my brother Dirk and myself made a road trip out of it (one had to since you really can't fly into Chinley AZ).  This was also a big event for Dirk since he was starting to picking up some experience for his first attempt at the Marathon des Sables next year.  We used this opportunity to go over his gear and packing tips as well as starting to coordinate our travel logistics.

Race check in was low key but the program that evening was intense.  Native song and lore were presented explaining the Navajo connection to running and why it is so important to them as a people.

Race day began early and with a little bit of fall nip in the air.  The race start was only about 300 yards from the hotel which was convenient.  A big bonfire was on hand to take some of the chill off and spirits were high.

At the start (Dirk Reader photograph)

As we prepared for the start, a traditional Navajo blessing was installed upon the group.  A representative male and female runner were chosen to receive this and to my surprise Shaun tapped me to stand in for the male part.  This was quite an honor. 


As the sun peeked over the horizon we started the race with a Navajo tradition of yelling to announce our presence before making our way into the canyon.  Heading east towards the sun we crossed the first sandy miles.  Fortunately it was not too sandy since there had been some rain a couple of days before.  In addition to the sand there were numerous water crossings (only ankle deep) and one steep climb out of the canyon at the turn around point.  Local runners were manning the aid stations and were quite cheerful and helpful even for us grumpy cats towards the end.  The pace was quite fast.

Sand and scenery early in the morning

Overall the race went OK for me.  I was there to have a fun time and see the sights.  I was still not totally recovered from Grand to Grand and while the first half was fast for me the last five miles were tough and saw more walking than I cared to.  Dirk and Tim both finished and were pleased with their performances. 

At the finish

One needs to understand how special running in this canyon is.  Not only is the scenery a knock out (even by southwestern standards) but we were allowed to run unescorted.  At any other time if you wanted to go into Canyon de Chelly you needed to be accompanied by a native guide.  This exception was due to Shaun's hard work and dedication to this race.

Wild Horses (Jacqueline Smith photograph)

Spider Rock from below

I am definitely coming back to this next year!