"It's Always a Good Time!" - Waldo 100K Pacer Report

[Revised 8/21/12 -0745 - see italicized]

Over the course of our short friendship, Jake and I have been there for each other in some pretty important and memorable experiences:

• Along the shores of Folsom Lake
• Hitching a ride to Michigan Bluff a month from my first Western States
• Suffering together from Tahoe to Michigan Bluff
• Pushing each other at North Face
• A couple hundred miles of spring training, then 38 big ones at Western States, '12.
• Me bestowing a new and amazing nickname to Jake - "BGD"!

So when it came time for Waldo, it was clear that the priority was getting Jake a spot in the Big Juan.  As AJW put it last spring, Jake's been engaging in a "two-year devotional" to the greatest trail hundred in the world.  It was time to get a spot.

As for me: I've wanted to run Waldo since I'd heard about it.  But post-WS, my body - or perhaps more accurately, my mind - has rejected it.  I rested for several weeks, post-WS, then put in a solid weekend of training with Jake and Connor at the end of July, but neither body nor mind responded in kind.  I thought, "Maybe it's as honorable to not start a race you shouldn't run, as it is to finish a race you can run."  And when it occurred to me that I could be of greater help to Jake as pacer, that cemented the decision.  I'd do my best to return his grand favor at WS with what we both hoped would be his own berth into the '13 offering.

I awoke on Saturday morning with just enough time to escort Jake to the ski lodge and watch the start...then went back to sleep.  A couple more luxurious hours of z's, then Sara and I rolled out of our tents, around the time that Jake and the fellas were descending Fuji.

We rolled up to Charleton Lake (mile 30) shortly after 9AM.  No one at the aid station had any firm data.  One person arrived and said, "Tim Olson and Jesse Haynes were up front...".  No mention of Jake, though few probably knew who he was in the Beaver State.  I thought for a bit, then turned to Sara and said, "You know, Jesse and Jake look very similar - it could be him!" 

We didn't have to wait long to find out.  Within minutes, shortly before 9:20AM, Jake flew into the AS, solo.  Leading!  Awesome.  I doffed my jacket, donned the jet pack, and I sprinted to catch up to Jake, who'd bolted from the AS.

After a minute or two of catching up, and catching wind, Jake filled me in on the mornings's events:  No Hal, leading hard up the ski hill, getting reeled in by EEN ( "Ian?" "No, EEN!" ), the being first to summit Fuji.  No one knew for sure, but he'd heard he was several minutes up on Tim, and Ian had fallen back.  No word on Yassine or the real Jesse Haynes. 

We made quick work of the gently rolling but mostly downhill 5+mi section to 4290 AS.  Though he didn't need them, I peppered Jake with form cues - "staying forward" in his trunk, quick turnover, using the elbows, ad nauseum. 

Near as I can tell, a pacer has two primary tasks: timely and course-specific dispensation of:

1.) mechanical cueing
2.) 1980s-to-present Pop Songs

Besides the form cues, I asked Jake about the "Brain iPod".  He said he'd started with one brutal song, then a pretty good one we were singing the night before - a nifty duet with Owl City and Carley Rae. 

I offered up a new one, a whistle-while-you-work tune appropo of the benign terrain we covered to 4290, then back south toward The Twins.  The latter section represented the first real work of the second half - a lot of grinding up mild, but relentless uphills: no sooner would you finish a minute-long climb, then you'd hit another. 

We rolled along, but for the first time all day, I felt our pace weaken.  Not that I could do a whole lot about it - I was hurting!  For reasons unknown, I had some significant gut rot, so I pulled off trail for the first of three stops in the second half, then quickly caught back up.

Past Charleton Trail, we began the real climbing to the shoulder of The Twins.  Jake did terrific work of keeping his feet moving - I feigned great energy and encouragment, though I continued to struggle.  We moved, but not too quickly.  


Like us all (OK, maybe not Jimothy right now), Jake's got his weak spots.  One of them was eating and drinking while running uphill!  On the first ocassion up to Twins, I advised against it - given that we were running at altitude, and losing but a single breath on a tough uphill is brutally tough to regain.  But he kept doing it!  "C'MON!"

As we trudged along, I reckoned it was time for us both to have a bit of fun, to get a bit of pick-me-up: between gulps of breath, I did my best La Bouche impression to keep the beat moving uphill...  He liked it.  Momentum was gained.  We rolled on.

Just at the summit of the shoulder of the Twins, Jake said, "I'm bonking".  He'd been fueling (uphill) liberally, so I recommended a salt tab and implored him to make the most of the prolonged downhill to the Twins AS.  There, I pushed soda, grabbed some gels, and we continued downhill on the detour that took us to Waldo Lake Rd.

For the first time all day, I led the downhill, running ahead, hoping to pull him along.  He wasn't descending too great (I later learned that his quads were pre-cramping), but before long the trail ceded to the mercifully gentle downhill road section to the Bobby Trail.

A kilo later, we were back on the trail.  There, Keira Henniger told us that we had ten minutes on Jimothy.  However, that must've been old data, as she was last at Charlton.  I reckoned we might've gained 2-3 minutes to 4290, then lost at least 5-6 minutes of that on our Twins up and down, so we pushed it as best as we could down the Gold Lake Trail, in hopes of having some comfort before the last big climb up Maiden Peak. 

After a day filled with clouds and rain, the skies opened up and sun streaked through the Doug Firs as we descended the gentle downgrade to Gold.  Another deuce stop for the pacer, and we were in at Gold.

And there it was: the Long, Lonely Climb of Loneliness. 

The original Waldo course proceeds due south on the PCT from the Twins Trail junction to Maiden Peak Trail.  It is very gentle downhill and one mild uphill to the AS.  The detour, besides taking us an extra three miles around the trail closure, would also carry us nearly a thousand feet lower.  From Gold (4900'), we had six+ miles and nearly 3000' to go to get to the top of Maiden (7800'). 

I fell back at the AS and had to haul to catch back up to Jake along Gold Lake Road to Maiden Peak Trail.  That's a nice problem to have as a pacer, but it didn't make my job easier.

The 2.6 miles to the PCT and Maiden AS were just plain tough.  For me!  I was low on sugar, warming up, and feeling flat.  I didn't say much.  Jake didn't need it; he machined his way up the grinder climbs, and only when we reached the steep switchbacks up to the Maiden AS did he walk - for the first time all day. 

For me, something also switched on those 'backs: competitiveness.  We were at mile 53, only one climb and a bunch of downs 'til Jake has this race in the bag.  We made quick work out of the AS plugged our way uphill.

The climb up Maiden Peak is - brutal.  At first, it resembles Fuji and the Twins: short cilmbs with tiny but well-appreciated flats interspersed.  Then it gets beastly: relentless climbing for at least a mile before leaving the tree line...then more tough uphill.

We ran, then shuffled, then hiked.  The going was honest but admittedly slower than I knew Tim was capable of.  He was gaining, it was just a matter of how quickly.  Finally, we reached Kelly-Roy at the Maiden/Leap of Faith junction and pushed our way to the top of Maiden, to the cheers of T-Bag and Bili.

Near the top of Maiden - Courtesy Kelly Woodke

We weren't more than a switchback down the peak when we nearly ran into Tim, chugging fiercely up the grade like a steam engine. 

"F###!"

I cursed.  A lot.  "I guess it's ON!" I didn't need to say much to Jake, but I did: a few comments about finishing what he started, interspersed with language resembling this.

We descended the volcanic scree of Maiden and onto Leap of Faith, frantically picking our way past Michael Lebowitz, eager to get on the more runnable singletrack, when Jake hit the dirt, yelling and grabbing his calf. 

He was cramping.  I really didn't care.  Actually, I did - which is why I yelled for him to get up and keep moving.  The worst thing for a cramp is to stop, so we rolled.  Remarkably, he did. And equally remarkably, Tim hadn't yet caught up. 

It was extremely "on".  Tim was coming.  This is why we race. 

I ran up front again, trying to magnetically pull Jake down the hill, but there wasn't much stopping Tim.  He rolled up on Tim while I was about 20 meters ahead.  The consummate nice guy and sportsman, I heard him chat with Jake, giving both information - EEN had dropped out - and encouragement, that he had a firm hold on a top three/Western States qual spot. 

I seized upon this as an opportunity to both motivate Jake and stave off complacency:

"Don't you be talking my runner into not wanting to win this race!", I said...half-kidding.  Less than half.

We wished Tim well (no kidding) as he rolled past.  Jake put on a nice push to stay close as we rolled into Maiden Lake AS just as Tim was leaving.  More quick soda shots, more gels, a refreshing sponge, and we were off. 

The first mile out of Maiden Lake AS was fairly lackluster, but when I stopped to "TCB" for the third (and mercifully last) time, it took forever to catch back up to Jake.  He was flying!  We made quick work of the rollers and downs along Maiden Lake to the PCT.  I, too, was feeling strong, and ready for a big-time push from the Rosary Lakes to the finish, only four miles to the end.  I knew both Jake and I were stronger flat-landers than Tim, and I felt like we had a shot at reeling him in.

I painted the scene: "OK, we're not running an ultra - we're back in Rocklin, doing a road tempo - four miles in, four to go".  We pushed a strong pace along Upper and Middle before coming across a photographer, so told Jake he was but three minutes behind Tim. 

"Should we try to get him?"
"Let's go for it!  I'll lead".

We pushed away from Lower Rosary, down the flowing ribbon of singletrack.  I spat form exhortations to Jake.  The pace was strong but it wasn't going to reel in Tim. 

No matter.  We passed "The Root Wad" - signalling about 2.5K to go - and it was, indeed, in the bag. 

I'd been holding onto one last song for the moment.  So, with no one's ears but Jake's and the trees, I did a solid Grandpa Joe impression and crooned my best "Golden Ticket" rendition.  It was an awesome moment. 

We popped out of the woods to the clearing.  I let loose a few "B-G-DEEEEEEE"s as Jake rolled to the finish line in 9:56 for 2nd overall. 

LB administers Last Rites to a spent BGD, Waldo Finish - Courtesy Long Run Pictures.

A hell of a run by BGD: a rare sub-10 performance on a course that was 3.5 miles longer than usual, and finishing a scant four minutes behind Tim. (For comparison's sake, I've been beaten by Tim by an average of an hour in our last two match-ups).

...and the only rest Jimothy's had since Tristan's birthday...

Post-race: lounging about the finish line, taking in the afternoon sun, some suds, a warm washing-machine shower, catching up with a lot of great folks, and some - but not nearly enough - thank yous to all who made Waldo happen - and kept it happening. 

Congrats to "The BGD" - can't wait to start training together for WS '13!

Sara and BGD show off the spoils of the Waldo 100K: a Golden Ticket, not to mention a sweet demin shirt! 
 Might we see this in the WS '13 swag?

Hal Koerner - the David Puddy of the Ultra World

I don't have cable.  I don't even have broadcast TV.  I don't even have internet at home.  And no Netflix either. 

All I've got are a few movies.  And Seinfeld.

That's all I watch.  Mostly just Seinfeld: Seasons 1-9, I'll pop in a DVD and casually watch while I go about my business - before and after work, and running.

AJW recently wrote an insightful piece about the ultra icon and 2012 Hardrock Champion, Hal Koerner.  In it, he and others reflect on their first encounters with Hal, and of his place in the ultrasphere since he began racing, over a decade and a hundred-plus ultras ago. 

But in the ensuing comments, the discussion turned to his place in the Community: "under-rated", "maybe now he'll be noticed".  Indeed, even our discussions over post-run beers after the "Tuesday Night Hunt" in Eugene turned to the same topic.

I began to reflect, myself, on Hal's place in ultrarunning, past and present.  Indeed, he's a star...but not as hyped as others.  He's talented, but is he as talented as the "Young[er] Guns"?  He's accomplished, but do those accomplishments shine as brightly as others (who, arguably, have acommplished much less)?

Who is Hal?

It hit me: Hal is David Puddy.

David Puddy, played by Patrick Warburton - the consumate chill.

A youthful Hal Koerner, Chill-Plus, at Rogue Valley Runners.  Photo credit: Ashland Daily Tidings.

Anyone who's watched more than one episode of Seinfeld knows David Puddy: the tall, dark and handsome auto mechanic (who later progresses to saleman) love interest of Elaine.  Played admirably by Patrick Warburton, he is described as such:

"...Unflappable and calm, yet can be a surprisingly passionate individual at times"

(*courtesy Wikipedia)

A spot-on description of Hal Koerner.  Some other comparisions:

Honest and conscientious.  In Seinfeld, David Puddy is referred to as "the only honest mechanic in New York".  Hal as a runner, business man, and ultra community member, is equally honest and noble.  Hal would be willing to give you the shirt off his back (as, it seems he might've, during Hardrock).

Hal, sans shirt, but warmed by the skull wrap, at the 2012 HRH.  Photo credit: iRunFar.com

The emobodiment of cool, counterbalancing those around him.  David Puddy was the perfect contrast to the silly, high-strung characters around him.  So is Hal.  In a sport comprised of both attention-seeking showmen and repelling introverts, Hal is the perfect balance of friendliness and casual.  The consumate "chill". Even in the heat of an ultra battle, Hal is eternally cool, sharing the same blood lines as predecessors like Trason and Twietmeyer.

Prone to the outrageous that, with the backdrop of his cool, only multipies the effect.  Because he's so laid back, when David Puddy does get excited or acts out, its effect is tremendous.  And for both Puddy and Koerner, those acts are typically in the realm of fashion:

Carly: What is that?
Hal: My visor is tilted egregiously to one side.
Carly: (still in disbelief): You're tilting your visor?
Hal: Yeah.
Carly: Why?
Hal: You know, support the team.
Carly: Well, you can't walk around like that!
Hal: Why not?
Carly: Because it's insane?
Hal: Hey, you gotta let them know you're out there, this is Western States!

Whether it's visors, or color-coordinated racing outfits complete with matching "leg panties", or the post-race khaki capri pants, Hal does what he does. Not to garner attention, but because...well, that's Hal. And so it goes with David Puddy.

Can Hal rock the sideways cap/visor better than anyone?...  Photo Credit: Craig Thornley/Facebook

..."All signs point to YES!"

Talented and skilled at many things, yet not driven by ambition.  David Puddy, besides being an honest professional, is extremely skilled - among the best auto mechanics in NYC.  And only when he tires of the garage does he move into the showroom to become a car salesman.

Hal has talents that go beyond simply running fast or far.  He's proven successful as a businessman, community organizer and race director.  Yet his persona belies those talents.  Hal, I believe, does what he does - not because he can, or should, as self-promotion - but only if and when his interests and passion are sparked.

The consummate Every-Man.  What draws the viewer to "man-love" Puddy as much as they do is his persona of The Every-Man: talented and charismatic, yet incredibly approachable. 

I don't think many folks in the ultra community really know Hal Koerner very well.  Neither do I.  That's because you don't need to in order to engage with him.  Ultra runners - from the DFLs to the very top - frequently comment on how approachable, friendly, and - surprising to almost all - how familiar he is of them! 

I think, that combination -- his talents, his relaxed personality, his lack of self-promoting ambition, and his degree of approachability -- what makes Hal who he is - and isn't - in the Ultra Community. 

Will he ever be the most hyped runner character?  Probably not.  But I don't think Hal wants that.

Ultimately, Hal wants what he wants: a place as a giver in the community, an accomplished ultra resume, and the ocassional skull wrap and mango-colored arm panties.  :p

A Champion's embrace. Photo credit: iRunFar.com

Cheers, Hal, to a tremendous HRH victory.  Keep it up. All of it.

Post-WS: Afterglow & Aftermath



Meteorological Afterglow. Photo credit: http://drjeffadams.com

Has it been three weeks since Western States?  Time flies.  But it also seems like a long time ago.

Recovery from the 2012 edition has been slow and measured; it took at least ten days until the bulk of the orthopedic damage to heal, namely from the perpetual left leg overload.  Indeed, I still feel significant tightness in the left quad when I deep squat.

The neurological fatigue is always fascinating; my energy level in the days post-race was better than the carnage of 2011; however, I still felt tired and "jumpy" until just recently. 

My overall running legs and energy are gradually improving; I've run perhaps 30 miles in the past week (and no more than twenty the week before).  My legs are feeling heavy, which make me hesitant to ramp up miles. 

The relative slowness of recovery is okay; I plan on it.  Western States is the end of my spring season.  Indeed, I don't really have a summer season (which, compared to most outdoor sports, is an odd concept).  Instead, I use this time to rest and reboot - in both body and brain - for the "fall season", which kicks off with Waldo 100K on August 18th.

However, I do feel the tug of "FOMO" when I hear about Jorge running "back to normal" within three days post-race, or when I see the fellas cover some amazing ground outside Silverton.  But I'll be the first to admit, my talents as a runner end at "recovery time"; I just take forever. 

That said, rather than lament the snail's pace of restoration, I lounge in it: more beers, more sleep, more golf (three times in the past three weeks, after zero times in the past two years), more writing, more catching up with non-ultra friends.  I'm also branching out into some other athletic avenues, including my first-ever yoga class at a terrific studio in Eugene.  Felt good to touch my toes!  I've also returned to the gym for the first time in months - in hopes of trying to shore up weaknesses in my core and hips...and to try to reverse the egregious upper-to-lower body asymmetry!

In "Deep Survival", Gonzales talks about the brain's need to "relinquish the survival struggle" for periods of time.  For the acute situation, this ocassionally means sleeping, or self-distraction.  For me, it means a period of time where I'm not logging big miles, where I'm not grinding up mountain trails, and where I'm not thinking a lot about training or competition (or at least trying).

BUT...I do continue to reflect...so here's some interesting reflections, three weeks out:

...The front guys ran FAST.  Why?  Maybe because conditions were historically cool.  But last year was also cool.  Here are some interesting stats between 2011 and 2012 Western States:

For how much cooler 2012 was - eleven degrees - the sifferences between 2012 and 2011 are relatively small: finishers and rate are nearly the same, the field as a whole ran 25 minutes faster (1.6% improved).  The "fast end" was relatively similiar in the "near-top": 35 vs 29 in the sub-19, 15 vs 14 in the sub 17. 

The most substantial difference was in the top ten: 15:48 versus 16:11 a year ago, 2.5% faster than 2011. 

Why were the top ten 2.5% faster in 2012, compared to 1.5% across the whole field?  Two reason, I believe:

1.) The Montrail Ultra Cup.  Faster folks wanna run WS, and they're being drawn to the MUC races.  The MUC races, themselves, are seeing a surge in competitiveness and depth.

But perhaps more notably:

2.) No one was afraid of each other in 2012. 

Since...forever?...there have been dominant runners at Western States: Jim King, Tim Twietmeyer, and Scott Jurek in the "Pre-Boom" era.  Then there's the "Unbreakable Era":  Hal Koerner, Geoff Roes and Kilian Jornet between 2007 and 2011. 

There were always these guys - only a handful, sometimes only one - that dominated the field, both on the clock and in our heads.  They took off and no one went with.  It was suicide for the rest of the field to try to run with these guys.  So often times, they didn't. 

But in 2012, with the absence of the Unbreakable guys, namely the late DNS of Kilian, blew things wide open.  Though steeped in mutual admiration and respect, there was fearlessness: of the pre-race favorites, Tim Olson and Mike Wolfe didn't fear Nick Clark or Dave Mackey,  Dave, Nick and Ian Sharman didn't fear Tim, Mike or Ryan Sandes.  Of the up-and-comers, Jorge, Dylan, and Zeke laid it all out there, with [only relatively reckless abandon. 

And so it was: everyone ran fast as hell.  That they ran as fast as they did was more a testiment to their pure desire and fearlessness than the weather.  And the numbers tell us that.  If it was just "the weather", you'd see the entire field run an hour faster, and 175 silver buckles. 

I wonder if you would've seen the fast times up front if Killian raced.  If he pushed out front early, would the entire top ten have gone with him, or let him go, out of respect for his abilities and resume?  But he wasn't there, and suddently there were at least ten guys in the field with thoughts, dreams and the ability to win that race, outright. 

I hope that continues, because it made for one hell of a race.

...It pays to DOPE!  "DOPE"...amine, that is!  It's notable that Jimothy listened to music over the last twenty miles this year.  As it turns out, he was doping!  Research has shown that listening to your favorite tunes releases significant boosts of dopamine in the brain, which results in "boosts" to both brain and motor function! 

I've known that music plays an important role in "giving the brain something to do" -- that pattern of neurological "play" that makes "having a song in your head" so pleasurable.  But given this new insight - the research and Jimothy's experience - is highly motivational, and is worth a try in future long ultras.

Moreover, listening to an iPod Shuffle will avoid having to be at the mercy of the "Jacob Rydman iPod", which includes some less desireable tracks (see below). 

...Here was my "playlist" for Western States.  As stated before, I never run with an actual music player; rather, I have my "Brain iPod", where I get certain songs "in my head" that'll play over-and-over - usually with some degree of self-control.  I often have an idea of what songs I want to "listen to", but others will pop in - and get stuck - at random.

Here what was on tap, and when:

Into the Wild - LP# - (Start - mid-Lyon Ridge)
Walking on the Moon - The Police (mid-Lyon Ridge - Robinson Flat)
Payphone - Maroon 5 (Robinson Flat - Foresthill)
Drive-By - Train* (River - Brown's Bar)
Give Your Heart a Break - Demi Lavato* (Brown's Bar - Finish)

# aka "the Jimothy Song"
*courtesty of Jake, who would sing these, on and off, non-stop over the course of our 38 miles together. 

As you can see, some good song, some randomly...not great.  But they all helped, and now, they're all memorable.  Next year, I'll have a Shuffle in the drop bag at Green Gate...

...Putting in a lot of attention and time into my mechanics.  Seriously...how can be an experienced physical therapist who specializes in running mechanics, and have such brutal form at the end of the race?  That's a pessimistic view point.  The flip side is:  I've never been "really good" at running, so I've used my amazing PT prowess to "clean up" my mechanics enough to be competitive.

Either way...they sucked at WS.  Here's my laundry list of issues that I have to work on, going forward, and how I plan to work on it:

Lateral trunk shift.  This has been an issue for >4 years.  I've tried a lot of things, but I'm now going to try using some kinesiotape on my trunk (L shoulder to R hip) to see if that'll give me some instantaneous feedback when it happens, because right now it's damn hard to perceive until it's too late.

Michigan Bluff - getting out-run by both Nate and Monnnnnty.  Obvious trunk-left.  Notable that my left quad felt completely trashed out by this point.

Flexed trunk.  I've tweaked a lot of things during the last two years, and one of them has been my overall posture.  Unfortunately I went overboard, from "too arched" to that all-so-attractive "crippled old guy" look.  Sheesh.  I'm planning on doing less "form focus" and more work on my core stability, which really tanked this spring.

Lateral foot strike.  This is Public Enemy #2, behind the left trunk.  Since starting to trail run, I've started to land on the outside of my foot, quite excessively.  It causes a myriad of problems: sore, achy feet, blisters, tib anterior pain, ITB/quad trash, and overall power loss.  I've been making great strides on this in the past three weeks, via: 1.) barefoot running on the fake turf fields in Eugene, and 2.) literally cutting off the outer soles of my running shoes. 

The new Asics "This Little Piggy Gets None"

Both techniques have been effective at adopting a more "whole foot" strike pattern, which should save me a lot of pain and suffering, and hopefully make me faster. 

Floppy arms.  I've had this problem....for ever!  For some reason, I don't move through my shoulder blades; instead, I "flop" up and down at the elbow.  So rather than gain leg power and propulsion with a firm scap plus elbow back, all my upper body energy is lost with a forearm flopping up and down.  I'm trying to correct this with some new exercises in the gym ("runner arm" using the cable pulley) and focus. 

While dismayed at these issues, I'm excited about the idea that, if I can fix even one of them, my potential to run faster is great...

...Looking forward.  Waldo 100K is coming up quick.  I'd love to run well there, and look forward to spending some trail time with Jake again.  Looks to be another barn-burner, with the recent additions of Ian Sharman and Jimothy to a field that already has Hal, Yassine and others. 

Best keep resting so I can start working!  Speaking of...time for a beer...