Summer B-Sides: The Almost-Lost Photos of Summer 2011

Over the past week, I ran a short photos series on the Run Junkie Twitter feed that highlights some of the frames I captured over the summer that didn't make it into my singletrack:photos portfolio or on to Run Junkie proper.  Until now. Since there's not perfect overlap between my Twitter followers and my regular blog readers, I thought I'd post them here as well.  Hope they have something to offer.

Summer B-Sides:
Brad and AJW (@ajoneswilkins) showing how it's done on Lanes Trail in Sun Valley: http://moby.to/te20ix

KB showing why it's called the high lonesome (Devils Bedstead West, Idaho):http://moby.to/qk4xe1

Brownie leading the way on the Lake Creek Connector, showing us just how easy it can be: http://moby.to/86rk2f

Brad and Tizz near the top of the Adams Gulch big loop, wondering where summer went:  http://moby.to/nl5yog

Opening it up descending down Harpers in early summer green (Sun Valley, Idaho): http://moby.to/slylzt

Cruising through the Snowyside notch leaving Twin Lakes behind (Sawtooth Wilderness, Idaho): http://moby.to/ca4n98

KB working the "airy traverse" to the summit of Devils Bedstead West: http://yfrog.com/gzhfpgdcj

Brad getting ready to parachute down to the headwaters of the East Fork of the Big Wood:  http://moby.to/brd7op

Photo Biathlon and November's Running Times

To anyone who frequents Run Junkie, it's apparent - perhaps painfully so - that I enjoy taking photos on my long runs.  I have little actual technical ability, mind you.  I'm all point and shoot, but I do what I can to try to capture some of those great moments on the trail we all experience - even if it means taking 130 bad photos to get 3 decent ones.

Perhaps the best way to characterize what I do is "photo biathlon," since for the most part the shutter falls either while I'm actually running, or when I've quickly stopped but my heart is still racing.  What I like most about this distinction is that it seems to absolve me a bit when my photos lack the niceties of great trail photography - like framing, lighting, and...focus.

Still, I continue to click away, addicted sometimes as much to capturing images on the run as actually running - a sad state my training buddies will attest to.  But at times it pays off with some memorable frames, like these samples from the summer:  near the top of Johnstone Pass, at Pioneer Cabin, and looking down on Twin Lakes.

Running Times recently did nothing to curb my enthusiasm when they ran a photo I took during last fall's Trail Creek 12k in Sun Valley for their November photo essay, The Wide World of Racing, which focused on the crush of races that always fall between the last weekend in October and first weekend in November.

Sure, it's not a perfect photo, but I still recall how hard I was breathing when I took it, trying to catch up to Medusa & friends as they made their way up the Proctor draw - and all while dressed as a shirtless Tarzan on a 28 degree morning.

Score one for photo biathlon.

Running Times - Nov 2011

Original: Medusa & Friends at the 2010 Trail Creek 12k, Oct 30

2011 Foothills 50K Frenzy

Brad Mitchell (Scott) and Joelle Vaught (Montrail) took the top men's and women's spots, respectively, in Saturday's inaugural Foothills 50k Frenzy in Boise.  Mitchell covered the challenging (6,000 ft of vert), largely singletrack course though the Boise foothills in a quick 4:13, with Vaught coming home in 4:32 to also claim second overall.  Vaught kept Mitchell in her sights through the mile 14 turnaround on Ridge Road, but by the mile 18 Orchard Canyon aid station, he was able to gain some separation - and a couple broken ribs from a hard tumble - and hold his lead through to the finish.  Full results.

For me, the race was a bit of a triumph, as it marked my return (if just) to ultrarunning following a two year hiatus after a rough fall on my knee just before Wasatch in 2009.  To be honest, I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to toe the line again at marathon-distance, let alone anything beyond. But, as my injury was kept at bay by a very conservative approach this season, I was able to stitch together just enough long-run miles to make a hard 50k both possible and enjoyable.  And that's exactly how it turned out.  It wasn't a barn burner, but I was able to come through the finish feeling strong in 18th (5:23).

Though the Frenzy was a first year event, it came off with the clockwork precision that many seasoned races could only hope to have, and it's a great addition to the fall racing schedule in the west.

Some photos:

6:00 am start.

First 90 minutes or so via headlamp on pretty buffed out trail.

The Run Junkie at the high point - Ridge Road turnaround.

Descending Ridge Road, making the way toward top of Robie Creek.

Idaho traffic jam.

Hard to beat open country in the last third of race.

Joelle Vaught - First (2nd overall).

Brad Mitchell - First Overall.

The Autumn Short List: Adams Gulch Big Loop

Hard to believe it's come to this:  whittling down the list of envisioned long runs to those select few you have a realistic chance of getting in before the snow falls. No matter that it happens like clockwork every year, it's always disappointing to have to table those great plans until coming seasons.

One run that made the short list in these closing days - and one that got pushed off the list last year - was a trip around the Adams Gulch big loop in Sun Valley.  One of my favorite runs in the area, I love how the route quickly leaves the populated lower gulch trails for the solace of true backcountry, with soft singletrack and great views of the Boulders and Pioneers.

A quick photo tour from yesterday's outing with Brad and Tizz.

On the Connector between Adams Gulch and Harpers.  Dry grass.  New snow up high.  Autumn.

One of many great overlooks.  Trying to figure out exactly how we got here.

Evergreen holding court, as Brad passes through.

Curvature: Cruising the ridge, not too far from the top of the climb.

Things are looking up...

...at this.

Long shadows on new snow in the Castle Rock burn.

Tizz questioning my nutrition choices.

Where's mom?  We kept on the move.

Coming off Lanes trail.  Fall in full swing.

Back to the now-full trailhead.

RJ Review: Haruki Murakami's "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running"

"Nothing in the real world is as beautiful as the illusions of a person about to lose consciousness."

"Most of what I know about writing I’ve learned through running every day."

"To exaggerate a bit, it was as if by completing the over-sixty-mile race I’d stepped into a different place."

Last week my wife couldn't contain her excitement about the English language release of Haruki Murakami's new 1,000 page novel, IQ84.  It's swept Japan and, given the buzz in the lit world, is set to do the same in the US and England.  Though I try to keep up on things literary, I admit the IQ84 phenomenon passed me by, but Murakami's name did ring a bell, and a quick Google search reminded me why. He wrote a non-fiction book on running released a couple years ago, called What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.

Intrigued, I downloaded it to my Kindle and started clicking away.

At just under 200 pages, it was a quick - and I have to say enjoyable - read.  Murakami writes from the viewpoint of a dedicated mid-packer who simply loves to run and whose running suffuses his life, influencing his writing and driving his thoughts.  It is a portrait I dare say most people reading these words can fully connect with.

The majority of the book revolves around blog-like essays on his training for and running of a number of road marathons (including New York and Boston), with some triathlons thrown in, and one 100k ultra, which gets set up as the book's antagonist - one possible reason the author's previously un-assaulted love affair with running begins to fray.  (Anyone who's suffered through a bad 100k plus can hardly blame him for doing so.)

What was very strange to me as I made my way through this book was how often it seemed to echo my views of running and my running life.  From his time in Boston and Cambridge spent running by the Charles River, to his drive to excel even when well behind the lead pack, to his views of the relationship between running and writing - this seemed like a book I could have written - if of course, I were a smart, dedicated, and accomplished novelist.

Yet, this familiarity was in some ways a disappointment of the book.  As much as I loved to see myself in the pages, the book didn't transport me to a higher place.  Great essays - those by EB White or Adam Gopnik, just to name two - will take you from a place you know and lift you up to reveal something grander than you'd previously considered.  And given Murakami's reputation, I admit to expecting that sort of experience.  But it wasn't there.

This may not really be fair, of course. He says in the afterward that the book should be viewed more as a running memoir than a true collection of essays, and it does have that feel to it: A tap-tap-tap of thoughts on paper that mimics the sound of a marathon stride.

Still, it's an engaging rhythm, and I could hardly put the book down until I was finished with it.  Murakami certainly isn't an everyman writer, but he is close to being an everyman runner, and it's great to have a book that is essentially a paean to the passionate mid-packer - to those who rarely win races but whose passion and love for the sport is no less rich and no less grand.

More RJ Reviews

The Agony and the Agony: 33rd Annual Baldy Hill Climb

Today was the 33rd Annual Baldy Hill Climb in Sun Valley, Idaho - A true all-comers affair that doesn't seem to favor athletes from any one sport.  All you need is to bring a will to suffer and, if you want to be at all competitive, a training regimen and VO2 max in line with the past, present, and future Olympians who always toe the line next to you.  The course is 1.9 miles straight up the Warms Springs run on the Sun Valley ski hill, climbing just under 3,200 vertical feet and offering no where to hide.

Michael Tobin of Boise - at age 48 - took top honors in the men's division in 37:08. Chelsea Holmes of Ketchum won the women's side in 42:36.  Full results.

My race was more modest. I finished in 47:03, about 20 seconds slower than my PR in the event, set in 2006.  And I felt pretty solid throughout, but, I had trouble pushing beyond the hard-but-within-myself level.  Any time I really worked to pick up the pace a bit, I shot quickly into the red zone and had to dial it down so I wouldn't blow up and limp home in 60 minutes.

Lost in the pain cave. Exit, 1,000 feet up. (this & top photo: KJB)

But, 47 is respectable.  I'm generally happy with it.  It's two minutes faster than a good training effort a week ago, and fully seven minutes faster than an attempt two weeks ago. So it would have been unreasonable to have expected much more.

To cap the day off and to get some extra miles, I took the long way down to the base, following the 11 mile Broadway/Warm Springs trails from the top.  After the single file sufferfest up, it was an easy, sunny, and beautiful cruise home.

Cruising home. Fall in the Castle Rock burn.

Meta-Post: Run Junkie on Flotrack's "Run Junkie"

I've had a few false starts to this post - opening sentences rightfully abandoned for either lack of clarity or richness in sniveling.  For example:

#1  After posting a few tweets on this topic over the last few days, none of which found any purchase on the collective interest (sample), I should probably have heeded the people's choice and just let it go. 

#2  I can't say I don't feel a bit put out by Flotrack (www.flotrack.com).  

Finally, though, I think I came up with a good opening that definitely didn't bury the lede:

What the hell?  Flotrack snaked the name of my site for their new Run Junkie video web series.  

And that pretty much captures the facts and my feelings.  Initially, I had thoughts of waxing nostalgic for losing the originality of my site's name, for taking time to build the "brand" only to see Flotrack's Run Junkie bump up immediately against my Run Junkie in Google search rankings.  But that all seemed somewhat petty - and more than a little bit sad.

Though the name sharing could sew some confusion in the marketplace, in reality each Run Junkie comes from a different running world.  They're covering track and field.  I'm covering mostly trail and ultra.  They're a video series.  I'm mostly static content.  They're a touchstone of running news.  I'm a niche site (to spin it kindly). They're young and vibrant.  I'm.....Well, I think the point's been made.

Who knows, I could even garner a few extra visitors from those distracted trackies mistakenly clicking on the wrong Run Junkie link, and it's not like they're sullying the Run Junkie name.  The Flotrack content is good.  It's infectious.  And the hosts strangely look a bit like I did in my college days.

When it comes down to it, though, I guess what truly irks me is that in my few tweets on the topic (they follow @run_junkie), they haven't even acknowledged this Run Junkie's existence or better yet offered me one of their very cool RJ t-shirts (see it here) as a peace offerring.

To see what this site's up against, here's Flotrack's energetic Run Junkie episode 2:


Watch more video of Run Junkie on flotrack.org

Winter Replay - Eiger Speed Ascent (Video)

The link to this video made the rounds this winter, but I had to take another look at it with summer coming to a close, and the snow getting set to fall before too long.  Ueli Steck free climbs the Eiger in 2:47, in nothing short of amazing fashion.  The videography is great; the climbing is great, but what I'm always astounded by is how fast he moves once he hits the snow fields.  It's worth a viewing if you haven't watched it.

Photo of the Week - "Reflection at Sawtooth Lake"

Crossing the northern cirque of Sawtooth Lake on the way to Observation Peak; Sawtooth Wilderness; Idaho

Crumbling Will or Smart Racing - Today's Harriman Trail 10 Miler

There's a scene in the fantastically campy 1985 bike racing movie American Flyers (montage) where Kevin Costner's character - in leather hairnet, mustache, and the twilight of his pro career - shows his younger brother a video of the imperceptible moment in a previous year's stage race when he lost his drive - where he essentially handed the win to someone else.

I was thinking about this scene on-and-off this morning as I made my way through the Harriman Trail 10 Miler.  While on paper I had a great race - finishing 5th overall and only a handful of minutes down on the winner - I was left wondering about my will - not to win, per se, since that's rarely a chance I have, but to suffer and to excel.  

What really brought this issue into relief for me was the lead woman who paced off me for much of the race.  Now, she was suffering, and to a much greater degree than I knew I was. Yet she hung in there, huffing and puffing, right on my heels, until the last couple miles, where she barely lost contact.  

Despite a few surges, and a few tests, I just couldn't put myself through that today.

And maybe it was simply smart racing.  A hard, uphill 10 miles is on the edge of my fitness with the reduced miles I've been putting in, and one of my main goals was to race hard but also not to blow up and have the wheels fall off.  So I was constantly doing the self-checks - taking stock of all the sensations to make sure I had the legs, lungs, and energy to finish well.  

I accomplished that, which feels great - but not without concern that something's changed inside, that I've turned some corner when it comes to the will to excel, that I've become Kevin Costner in American Flyers.  The horror.  The horror.