Into December...

The Lottery within the Lottery

Week Summary (12/9/2012)

Tuesday

Lakeview Hill: 6.4 mi (+881 ft); 11:07 pace

Thursday

Mexican Ditch: 6.1 mi (+200 ft); 10.10 pace
Friday
Empire OB: 4.2 mi (+22 ft); 10:40 pace
Saturday
Cool Lottery OB: 10.3 mi (+1,923 ft); 11:38 pace

Weekly Totals: 27.0 mi (+3,046 ft); 4:54:42 on trail

I was met with rain-soaked trails this week. Because I'm fortunate to have a number of trails the course through hillsides of granitic rocks, I can sort of mitigate the mud by choosing trail treads of decomposed granite (DG) or trails that have been specifically constructed, like along the Carson River, of DG. Also, it was a Reset week so the shorter trail time meant less chance of getting into too much trouble.

Starting easy along the V&T trail of west Carson, I happened on a single-track that I realized I had seen on the ccrunners.com trail page. It was spitting rain mixed with a little snow so I though it would be an interesting diversion. It turned in to a bit more of a hill-climb than a Tuesday Base run should be, but it was very fun. Perfect switchbacks to a rocky summit and then on to a stair-step bouldery descent back to the V&T; very nice.

I stuck with easy Base jogs for the remainder of the week while look forward to my chances in the Western States Lottery. Darren and I were up early and over the hill to Auburn to gain an extra ticket (4 and 3 of Diamonds, respectively) in the "lottery within the lottery." We both still had an extra entry in the main lottery due being "one-time" losers from last year's draw. This gave us two entries and something like an 18% chance of getting selected.

Over the course of a couple hours, the retiring Race Director Greg Soderlund had Board Members and various race celebrities draw 10 picks. He read each one and gradually the 270 open spots were filled. Once in a while an exuberant cheer would rise from the audience as a name was drawn and a lucky winner would run down the aisle (think The Price Is Right gameshow) only to gain a ballcap and a few high-fives from the audience. Most of the draws weren't in attendance of course, but even those got a little reluctant applause as another spot was taken and local chances dwindled.  Alas, Greg eventually reached the 270 mark and then picked a few paid raffles spots before getting to the local lottery. When the first card was drawn, a 4 of Hearts (or something) three people jumped from their seats. But, of course, there were more than 52 local entries, so the name on the card got the draw. Two people crumpled back into their seats. We had pretty much given up hope (or gained relief) when the very last card drawn was a 3 of Diamonds, my card...

The Hills above Cool - the Western States Trail

We left the building empty handed but for an extra ticket for the 2014 Lottery and an extra free weekend in our schedule. Right card, wrong name. Time to start considering a summer without a Western States entry, which seemed likely all along.  We gained extra tickets for next year, and I expect we'll be doing some Aid Station work with the Striders nonetheless.  Leaving Auburn, we headed to Cool to hit a portion of the Western States trail and had a great muddy time going east of Highway 49 for a few miles. While we won't be on the trail for WS this year, this did give us a preview of parts of the American River 50K, our first 2013 ultra coming in February. I think we'll be back before then, these trails are plain fun.

A day of errands on Sunday kept me off the trail. Probably OK for a Reset week, but I don't much like that to happen.

A shout out to some crew from Far Western doing the Running with Rudolf 7.5M in the Winter Trail Series. Sarah and Gene getting out for some trail in west Carson. Keep going...

First snow runs, and back in the Lottery

First snows at Washoe Lake

Week Summary (11/11/2012)

Tuesday

Goni Trails East: 5.7 mi (+776 ft); 11:52 pace

Thursday
Ash Tracks - Easy Hills: 6.6 mi (+1,095 ft); 10:18 pace

Saturday
Whites Canyon OB: 9.5 mi (+1,175 ft); 10:05 pace
Sunday

Duck Hill at Washoe Lake: 9.3 mi (+1,616 ft); 12:03 pace

Weekly Totals: 31.1 mi (+4,662 ft); 5:45:35 on trail

Goals and focus events can seem very far away as the days grow short and you wake up to snow falling on your favorite trails. Working on the beginning sketches of next year's race schedule can change that, and dropping my name in the Western States lottery can lift the gloom and bring each training day back into focus. Buffalo 100 is the focus now, but I'm hoping to make every snowy stride a big step for the upcoming season, regardless of my chances in any lottery.

Speaking of gloom, I began the week in a funk, feeling over-extended, over-whelmed, and under-fit. I knew killing the latter would help with the former two. "Fun" runs while resting, the goal of October, are good in theory and in practice, I'm sure, but missing the intensity of effort and/or distance grows into a zombie-like existence were everything seems difficult. This lethargy culminated on Tuesday as I could barely make it through a normally easy tour of the Goni Hills, I couldn't get going even though I was simply targeting an 11-minute pace. Turned out it was the last day of warm weather too!

Things changed on Thursday with the arrival of Winter Storm Brutus (the Weather Channel, but not the National Weather Service, has taken to naming these things). As the sleet and wind hit Eagle Valley (i.e., Carson City) I laced up for some easy hill repeats above Ash Canyon. The 50-mph gusts buffeted me until I hit the canyon where I could bump up the effort for some hill-climb strides. In an instant the cobwebs cleared and neither the wind nor sleet could deter me. The effort was therapeutic, invigorating, and just plain fun. Good to blow out the gaskets once in a while. Let's just say, I'm back.

After some core workouts on Friday, I met Darren at Whites Creek Trailhead in south Reno and we moved through spotty snow. Darren's fighting a cold, but it was good to up into the Mt. Rose foothills for a run. Again, I felt great. We went at a slightly higher effort than I had planned but we didn't push hard on the climbs and the downhills were smooth. I think this was our first run together since our jog to the starting line at Pine to Palm.

First snows in Grand Junction, CO; go run you two!

Carson Area Runners -- Making tracks near Duck Hill

Snowy pictures from Mom and Dad's at Grand Junction on Sunday morning were matched by 10-degree temperatures at Washoe Lake where I laced up with the Carson Area Runners. I'm usually not a group runner, but I thought I'd mix it up a little and get to know some of the other local trail runners. Shannon had sent me a link to join the Carson Area Runners group on Facebook and soon I received an invite from Abbey. As a result, eight of us braved the morning chill and were soon tracking up the snow-covered two-tracks on Duck Hill between Eagle and Washoe valleys. Crisp, cold runs in new snow are a pleasure and it was fun to share it with like-minded people. Although I would typically only get in a bit of Base or Recovery on a Sunday, the camaraderie was great and we followed Abbey's wanderings through the hills at an easy pace for almost two hours. Felt great and I look forward to more group runs.

In what is to surely become an annual tradition Darren and I are, as he called it, "in the race to be in the race." We are in the Western States lottery, again. San Diego was my qualifier for this year, as was Darren's finish at Pine to Palm. So here we go again. Let the snows come and the clouds clear... we'll keep going...