Wilderness Running Company

Date: Saturday, September 3, 2011

Time: 7:00 AM

Route Description: The Virgin River Rim Trail (VRRT) is a point-to-point trail along the south rim of the Markagunt Plateau (Cedar Mountain). We will run it from east to west, starting at Strawberry Point and ending at Woods Ranch. Expect cool temperatures, mostly smooth trails, and awesome views.

Stats: 30 or so miles, 4,100 feet of elevation gain, 4,800 feet of loss. The maximum elevation is 9,800 feet near Navajo Peak and the minimum is 8,200 at Woods Ranch.

Details:

- Standard Fat Ass policy (no entry fee, no support, no whining). It’s not a race just a good time.
- Shuttle will leave Woods Ranch for Strawberry Point at 7:00 AM. Woods Ranch is 12 miles east of Cedar City on SR-14. From St. George, plan on the drive taking an hour.
- Anyone wanting a shorter option can tackle the Cascade Falls to Woods Ranch portion of the trail. About 20 miles.
- Camping is not allowed at Woods Ranch, but Cedar Canyon campground is basically right across the road.
- Water will be available at Cascade Falls and Te-Ah trailheads. Plan to carry enough water to cover 10 backcountry miles between refills and enough nutrition (and whatever else you think you might need) for the whole trip.
- Since there is no registration, please RSVP by email so we have a head count for the shuttle.
- If you have questions, fire away in comments or by email. In addition to answers to your questions, I will update this page with any information that occurs to me as relevant.

Other Resources:

-  Trail Brochure, Dixie National Forest (6 MB pdf)
-  Route Map with Elevation Profile (opposite direction)
-  Photos (full screen recommended)

The Whipple Trail

Three things made an impression this past week.

The first, obvious thing was Western States. Not much I can say that hasn’t been said better by others much closer to the action, but I’ll make a quick comment anyway. Ellie Greenwood closing like a freight train à la Geoff Roes last year was awfully cool, as was Kilian’s ability to respond to each move from the three guys who finished right behind him. The champions and challengers were amazingly impressive.

The second source of inspiration was my first run of the year in the Pine Valley Wilderness (pictured above). I’ve never seen even half the amount of deadfall as there is this year above about 8,500 feet. “Running” up there is a slugfest right now. This week it really beat me up and the big bruise on my sternum proves it. I love this little mountain range.

The final source of inspiration was the young man who hopped out of the desert a bit ahead of me to cross the road as I was approaching on my bike. His shirt was off, his hair was disheveled, and he had a firm grip on a snake of indeterminate species he had apparently just captured. He gave me a funny, sideways grin as I rode past. I love being reminded that there are still members of the same species as me nearly as wild as any animal I might see on the trail.

Emptying My Shoes

-  “I should have told her I didn’t want to talk about it and buried my face in my hands.” Liza Howard is a national treasure.

-  Black Hills 100. An alternative for Western States shut-outs. Ends on a track and everything. Something to consider for 2012.

-  Another, more exotic alternative to WSER, and a teaser of the really huge mountain ultra in August: Mont Blanc Marathon Weekend.

-  Pre-race photos from Squaw: “You’re lookin’ skinny like a model…”

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(Photo: Taylor Duo)

It seems like I’m seeing just a few more runners on the trails around St. George this year. It reminds me a bit of what road cycling was like here 5 or 6 years ago. At that point, I was pretty sure I knew almost all the other enthusiasts by name. Lots of “starter bikes.” That sort of thing.

If trail running follows a similar trajectory to cycling, within a few years there will be a vibrant scene here. If anything, trail running is a more natural fit than road cycling. The popularity of the St. George Marathon means there are already many enthusiastic runners and the area trails are as good as trails get.

Anyway, I think it’s long overdue that I do something to help boost the process of getting runners off the SR-18 Treadmill of Doom™ and onto southwest Utah’s slickrock and singletrack. So I’m going to throw out the occasional invitation to make runs I’m planning to do a group thing. Some of these will probably be of purely local interest, but others are certainly worthy of travel. For runs in that latter category, I’ll try to provide a bit of advance notice in case anyone from farther away would like to arrange to join us.

In that spirit, the first “Destination Fat Ass” will be the Saturday of Labor Day weekend (September 3). On the agenda is a point-to-point run of the Virgin River Rim Trail (pdf). The trail takes in spectacular views from the headwall of the Virgin River. Hoodoos, Zion National Park, that sort of thing. Heat won’t be a problem, as most of our time will be spent at an altitude above 9,000 feet. It’s a 50K (about 32 miles).

Emptying My Shoes

-  Good luck Western States runners!

-  Meghan Hicks offers some great advice to the injured.

-  “It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again.” Buffalo Bill goes uptown: The Airborne Toxic Event covers Goodbye Horses from Walt Disney Concert Hall…

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My recent running exploits pale in comparison to what most of you seem to be up to this time of year, but it’s coming along. I did have a couple of particularly good outings in the past few weeks. One on the dirt mountain road where I spent a large amount of my running youth and one this past weekend on a lovely ribbon of Zion singletrack.

Before the finale of Heima, Jónsi describes the feeling of being onstage when the sound and everything else is really good as one of being “empty-headed.” Even if most of us will never experience it in quite the way he does, I think most human beings recognize the feeling he’s talking about instantly. That’s how the Zion run was. As I was headed home from the trailhead I tried and failed to think of a single mental thread I had followed — or that had followed me — while I was on the trail. I love that.

Emptying My Shoes

- Noteworthy new mountain race on the calendar. (Or at least I hadn’t heard about it.) Pikes Peak Road Ascent.

-  Strange for any coverage of the minimalist revolution to omit any mention of footwear, don’t you think? And yet, here we have it.

- I like hearing or reading about the experiences of newcomers to trail running. Among other things, it’s just nice to be reminded of the simple yet unexpected pleasure of it. For example, trail running is better than doing laundry. I knew that, but it’s good to remember.

-  Old home movies paired with lo-fi dream pop straight outta Boise, to lovely effect:

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We now offer “my” socks.

When it comes to running, I like thin socks. Check that. I really like very thin socks. Different people have different preferences of course, but the perfect feel for me is just short of barefoot. Actually, I like the sensation of socklessness, but not the results I tend to get once my feet get a little warm and moist inside my shoes.

I’ve experimented with a variety of socks of course, including every sock we stock. (There’s a Seussian riff just begging to bust out of that last sentence, which I’ll resist.) Even fairly thin socks like, say, Darn Tough’s Merino Mesh are a bit thicker than I prefer.  And yet, for whatever reason, we haven’t stocked a very thin sock until now.

Drymax Hyper Thin Mini Crew

Drymax Hyper Thin socks are just what you’d expect from the name and do just what thin sock lovers like me hope. That is, they keep my feet cleaner and drier inside my shoes than they would be naked and otherwise disappear. Hyper Thins also produce minimal friction and keep what friction does occur more between sock and shoe than foot and sock. At least for me.

In my opinion, Hyper Thins also pair really well with all the newer, skimpier shoes seen this season on runways from Paris to Milan, er, trails from Barr to Bright Angel. (Especially in the No Show height.)

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One of the earliest and closest allies and friends of WRC is Donald of Running and Rambling fame. It’s been a great association, both professionally and personally.

Most ultrarunners are inspiring, but Donald takes it to another level. He’s a busy professional by day. He’s also a great family man. He also trains relentlessly. And blogs prolifically. And co-writes a running column for his local paper, the Monterey County Herald. And probably fights crime when the Commissioner flashes the Bat Signal. (I know, right? Judging by the time stamp on some of the email I’ve gotten from Donald, I think his secret is that he doesn’t sleep. Tricky.)

Apparently, all of that didn’t keep him busy enough so he and his newspaper column co-author, Mike Dove, decided to compile a selection of their writing for a book, The Running Life.

Anyway, I’ve read The Running Life and liked it a lot. It might be worth noting that it’s written for a bit different audience than his blog. More tailored to the general running crowd and the run-curious, as opposed to R&R’s harder core ultra/trail/minimalist focus. One of the recurring thoughts I had as I read The Running Life is that every town should be so lucky as to have a column in the local paper like it. What a great addition it would be to any running scene.

One reason I’m mentioning this now is because Donald and Mike are offering a 20% discount on their book for the rest of April, to coincide with this year’s running of the Big Sur Marathon. So now’s a good time to go here if you’d like to pick yourself up a copy.

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Until recently, we limited our Black Diamond lineup to just the Spot, the Sprinter, and the Icon. The less powerful BD lamps, like the Cosmo, were borderline adequate for dark offroad excursions and, after briefly stocking the Cosmo, I decided borderline adequacy wasn’t good enough. I also felt that the three lamps provided a good spectrum of can’t-miss choices for different needs and tastes, with each lamp offering a strong, unique proposition in terms of power, weight, convenience and, of course, price.

My thinking, and our lineup, have both changed a bit over the past couple of months to take account of BD’s complete overhaul of their compact lighting lineup. The reconsideration started with the new Spot — a headlamp I like a lot for its nearly irresistible combination of impressive power, light weight, attractive design, and reasonable price — and continues with the update of the Cosmo and the release of the new Storm.

The new Cosmo gets fresh aesthetics and a big power boost to 55 lumens. That output is comparable to the Spot of a year ago, but at the same price point as the old Cosmo ($30). What was a fine headlamp for dawn’s early light on the roads is now also suitable for much deeper forays off the road and into the night. I no longer have the slightest qualms about selling it to serious trail runners.

Black Diamond Storm

As for the Storm, it is the new alpha of BD’s pack of compact headlamps. Its design and dimensions are similar to the Cosmo and Spot, and it costs just $10 more than the Spot, but it pumps out a big 100 lumens. Put simply: it’s light and very bright.

In fact, after my first few runs with a Storm I find I’m more careful about the direction I’m looking. That’s because during one road run I became aware I might be inadvertently blinding and/or angering approaching motorists. That’s good feedback on the brightness of the Storm, I suppose, but not really the end result you want.

Just a few other observations. BD’s compact lamps have bells and whistles that extend their application well  beyond running. Naturally, the list of specific features gets more extensive as you move up the price range. One other (perhaps) small thing I like about all three of BD’s new compact headlamps is that the headband is easily detachable from the lamp casing, which makes cleaning the band as easy as tossing it into the wash from time to time.

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The direct effect of an injury doesn’t bother me that much. Let’s be honest, for pack fodder like me, missing a bit of training mileage and a race or two is pretty small stakes. Plus, you have to sort of expect it. In life, bad stuff will happen. What I really and truly struggle with are the secondary effects.

The Machinist
Christian Bale as Trevor Reznik

For example, I chronically struggle with insomnia and running helps me manage it. If I can’t wear out my body, it’s much harder to calm my mind at night. Just the habit of getting up early-ish to run also helps in this regard. When I’m run-deprived, I quickly become sleep-deprived. I feel exhausted, but it’s not the contented exhaustion of heavy training. Instead, it’s the exhaustion of being under siege.

And so, toward the end of February, after a full month off my gimpy leg, I went for a test run. I needed to. I felt okay during the run and for a few hours afterward, but by that night my leg was very sore again. A couple of days later, George Zack wrote a great paragraph:

Also recognized this week that I can sort of feel a bunch of my old injuries under the covers. They are not injuries right now, but little niggles I can sense in there. I could feel the hammie a touch at the end of the run yesterday. The PF occasionally in the morning. The sports hernia thing on a good sneeze. A touch of Achilles tendonitis on the stairs. Toenails falling off. Some days it all hurts a little. Some days none of it hurts. Some days I feel one of them a little. No points for ending this life with a beautiful frame as far as I concerned … I will see if I can ride it in to that final parking spot with wheels falling off. Maybe they will say, “damn, this dude used this thing.” Ha!

Timely. One of the things I really like about it is a bit between-the-lines: one problem with a new injury is that it’s new. It takes time to figure out the meaning of different types and degrees of pain; what can be managed actively and what has to be more or less left alone before it will improve. After my discouraging late February test run, I decided I would be better off putting running away for awhile. Mentally if not physically. It was just a little too frustrating to try and fail to run and, fortunately, I was able to pedal without trouble. So that’s how I spent March. Around 900 quality miles in the saddle on the month. My sleep (and other stuff running helps keep aligned) improved.

I capped off the cycling binge with a fun trip to the Phoenix Valley this past weekend to ride the Tour de Mesa. I was able to nip under three hours, comfortably below the 3:05 “Platinum” qualifying time for the 72-mile route (sort of like a B.Q. cutoff time for preferential start line placement at Perimeter Cycling events). So I’m pleased with that.

Oh, and I also ran twice last week to get a sneak peak of what I might expect from my hoped-for transition back to my preferred run-ride mix. I felt good, better than expected. Thank you, everyone who offered encouragement over the past few weeks whether in person or by Twitter or email.

Workbench: the top of Snow Canyon

Another workbench: Utah Hill (aka Beaver Dam Mtns, background)

Homestretch: the small climb to Shivwits

Two-hour traffic jam north of Phoenix

Not pictured: cows in body bags. Unpleasant.

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Post-ride, Stucki Springs

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My next timed event is a bike ride in Phoenix on April 2. I had hoped to both run and cycle in preparation, but I’ve jettisoned those plans.

I went for a run on February 24. I felt okay during the run and for the most of the day afterward. But that evening my leg really started to ache and it continued to hurt for the next couple of days. So I’ve decided to just pedal my little heart out for the next month and give this thing more time to mend.

As for that, based on the sensations around the injury and a few observations of other people, I’ve reached the working conclusion that I’m probably dealing with some sort of soft tissue problem and not a stress fracture after all. I’ve also reached the working conclusion that the irritation probably relates back to May of last year when I destroyed my high ankle. Either way, a full two months of little or no running and a lot of cycling miles should be pretty effective rehab.

Since neither my head nor body are immersed in the running life, blogging here will probably continue to be light.

On the bright side, the days are now long enough and the time to prepare for the Phoenix ride short enough that I’m mostly off the indoor trainer and really enjoying my time en selle. I had a particularly great time at Snow Canyon last evening. The air temperature was close to 60 and there was no wind and virtually no one else in the canyon. I did hill repeats as the shadows got longer until my legs were jelly and the canyon was dark.

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