Thursday, September 12, 2013

Wasatch Pacing and Bear Recon

It is finally happening for me.  I took a solid 2 months to recoup from Western, but I have just hit my stride. I had begun to think the entire season was a bust from the damage I sustained to my endocrine system and my torn left Posterior Tibialis.  All water under the bridge now.  I am looking forward to exploring my new limits in 15 days.  Bear 100.

Lyon on the Serengeti.  Photo Credit: Derrick Lytle.
Trying for 3 miles to swallow that huge buttered roll I took from the Scott Peak Aid.  Nick has hit his stride and we are cruising along the ridge before the drop to Brighton.  Ummm, maybe 2 marker ribbons in the 5 mile stretch.  Pretty much par for the course:(  Good thing he knew where we were going.  Photo from the iRunfar Twitter feed.
Lambs.  It's really hot out there. Wish I had more pics from the day.
Anatomy of a road trip.  Tony Grove back country trailhead camping area= FREE.
Typical Bear 100 scenery.  
Beaver Mountain Ski Lodge.  Aka "The Beav."
Idaho beach vacation.  Bear Lake State Park.
On the right: the last mountain to climb (Ranger Dip Liftoff hill) before dropping 3k'+ into Bear Lake.

RECAP Sept 4-10, 2013: 115 mi, 25000', 2 days off

Weds 9/4:  13mi, 2500'.  Finished cleaning up IMTUF course and decided on my first "fun" run in weeks.  Upper Payette Lake to Granite Lake and back. Legs feel like lead, after a rest day.

Thurs 9/5:  Off, drive to Wasatch 100 to pace.

Fri 9/6:  36 mi, 7hrs, 9000'.  Incredibly fortunate to watch the Master paint his masterpiece.  I did what I could to motivate him through the nasty and hot day, but what do you to help Nick Clark run 100 miles?  It's like a rookie telling Babe Ruth he should choke up on the bat a bit.  Went from Big Mountain to Brighton.  Last stretch along the ridge at Scott Peak was good, the rest was a hot and monotonous grunt.

Sat 9/7: Off, drive to Logan, slept in Walmart parking lot.  Lots of big 4WD's doing burnouts all night long.

Sun 9/8: Bear 100 course.  22 mi, 5000', 3:15.  Start to 1st aid station (Logan Peak Aid, 10.4mi, 1:55), then took a wrong turn on the way back and entered Providence Canyon.  Ran down to the Logan valley, then took a right on a rolling and hot trail along a big metal fence back to the truck.

Mon 9/9: Bear 100 course.  21 mi, 4000', 3:30.  Around Tony Grove Lake a few miles, then drove to Franklin Basin.  Run up Steam Mill Canyon, Peterson Hollow and down to Beaver Mountain Ski Resort.

Tues 9/10: Bear 100 Course.  24.8 mi, 4000', 3:07 (7:32 pace).  Beaver Mountain Ski Resort to Bear Lake Finish Line.  Let the legs go on this one.  Ups going at 8-10 min pace, downs at around 6 min pace.  Last 1.4mi on the final gravel road into Fish Haven in 8min.

Off to hunt...

7 comments:

  1. Stoked for you to take on the Bear this time of year, Jeremy. What inspired you to do Bear instead of RRR?

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    1. Good choice of word...inspired. Because that is what it came down to.

      RRR pros: Competition, $
      RRR cons: bad reports from last year, confusing and contrived course with lots of out and backs that looks like they just tried to add up enough jeep roads to make 100 miles, timing is right in the middle of hunting season and still too close to Western and IMTUF exhaustion.

      Bear pros: point to point finishing IN IDAHO! Cool and scenic, the later in fall for me the stronger, after hunting season- so I get that fitness and leanness in there too. No hype, just a good low-key race. I've always wanted to run the Bear.

      That's why. When I ran there this week, it felt right. I could really use the RRR cash, but that is just not enough to not follow my heart. See you there.

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  2. Yes! Go boy go!! We're rooting for you for the Bear. You've got what it takes ;)

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    1. You know- I could use another pacer. But only if he wears his Tarahumara footwear!

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  3. That would've been awesome. It'd be ablast to help you out! Grandma's coming into town, and Chloe is riding with me on the medic unit on the 27th (we finally get to run som calls together :) Chloe has been bumping up the mileage lately though, so we will be partaking in your guys' races next summer up in McCall (for real this time)! Maybe we can help out with another race in the future...

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  4. FOR THE WIN! WAHOO!. Well done well done!

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