Lord Hill 20-mile

Can I just say that it is awesome to run healthy? The more I talk to fellow runners, the more it seems that most of them are usually operating anywhere between 50-90%, RARELY are they at 100%. Today I was feeling like I was 90% percent and rising! Here's to some awesome summer goals.

The race I ran today was the Evergreen Trail Runs Lord Hill 20-mile. True to its name, this run incorporates a big hill (Lord Hill) that you need to climb once per 10-mile lap. And it's a legit climb, as in hiking. I ran this race for the first (and only other) time back in 2012. It was fun to be back. And good to see I was able to go seven minutes faster this time. :)

This race is known for mud. Lots and lots of mud. Lord Hill is usually a slip & slide going up and sometimes worse going down. It's the kind of race where you attempt to tiptoe around the puddles for a bit until you realize it's fruitless and eventually you just end up running straight through the water. This shot speaks volumes.



I signed up for this race totally fortuitously. Friday I posted to the SMRG Facebook Group that I was looking for a 20-mile run this weekend and Jerry Gamez replied letting me know that because I had volunteered at an Evergreen Trail Runs event last year, I had a free entry. Nice! Done and done.

I showed up at 7:15 for an 8:00 AM start. This was perfect as I got a good parking spot and I was not too early. I got my number, pinned it on, used the bathroom and warmed up. Zero stress. There was a racer's meeting at 7:50 where Jerry basically said it's muddy and the hill is hard. Thanks Jerry.

This course has a unique feature. About 100' from the start is a swamp followed by a creek. If one doesn't get your feet wet, the other will. Somehow I managed to hop, skip and jump my way through this mess without soaking my shoes... what a relief. In 2012 my shoes were dry for exactly 100'.

I started near the front - primarily to get a clean line through the swamp and creek - but in short order, people were passing me as the trail started to climb. I didn't get worried, not knowing what my fitness was like I had resolved to take it easy for the first 10-mile lap and then (hopefully) negative split the second lap. About one mile into the course you head up Lord Hill. It was here that Jenny Easterberg (who is a freaking Energizer Bunny!) passed me like I was standing still. I figured that was that.

Luckily, once you crest the main hill, the trail levels off and you can run again. And on the plateau, there are a couple of great single track sections! Although my climbing is not stellar currently, my descending and my ability to navigate slippery trails is not so bad. About halfway through the first lap, I caught Jenny (to my surprise!) and after that, we swapped positions about two or three more times during the race. It sure was nice to have motivation out there!

The 20-mile runners and the 50k runners all started together so it was impossible to tell how I was doing but I knew there were only about 5-8 people in front of me so each time I passed one I felt like I was moving well. It got tricky after we finished the first lap. All the 5-mile, 10-mile, and half marathon runners started at 9:00 AM so I was suddenly working my way through tons of traffic. Some of whom were really fast! At this stage in the game, I only have perhaps one or two hard efforts in me during any race. I had to dial in my pace and hope that people came back to me instead of speeding up to catch them. Lucky for me most of them did come back. It was supremely satisfying (in a very shallow way of course) every time I caught a half marathon runner.

I ran the first lap in about 1:36? For a while, I fantasized about finishing in sub 3:00 but it was not to be. I did manage to negative split and ran the second lap in something like 1:28. Ouch! I really had to push and those last three miles were a chore.

The last mile of this loop is all downhill. And it's FAST! The last few hundred yards are on a dirt road and I was flying! I was going so fast that I thought I might not be able to keep my legs moving fast enough to keep them under my body... You know when you have visions of a major wipeout? I am SO glad I kept it together.

One way I know I am really 90% is that after finishing my body felt pretty good! I absolutely hammered that last descent and my quads were fine. I also had zero feet or back issues. Nice! I did feel my stomach going south the last three miles but that was because I was pushing the pace beyond my current fitness and it went away once I crossed the finish line and slowed down.

After the race, I grabbed my recovery drink, some recovery chili and tried to walk a bit while cheering on finishers. The sun was out! I could not believe it.



Here are all my pictures.

Results

• 1st - Men 50-59
• 3rd - overall
• official results

Nutrition (before)

• Water
• Hammer Gel 10 minutes before start

Nutrition (during)

• Hammer Gel
• 2 large bottles, each w/1.5 scoops Perpetuem, 3 Endurolytes, 1 Race Caps Supreme, 1 Anti-Fatigue Caps, .5 scoops Fully Charged

Nutrition (after)

• large bottle w/3 scoops Recoverite

Gear

• Topo Athletic Terraventure shoes
• Sealskinz socks
• Ultimate Direction Race Vest 4.0
• Knickers over compression boxer briefs and under baggy shorts
• long sleeve Patagonia top
• long sleeve tech shirt
• Patagonia Capeline hat
• Nathan convertible gloves/mittens

how to sync Instagram, Twitter and Facebook posts

There are about a million different ways to sync posts between various different social media platforms and no doubt there are several that are better than this one but I didn't really want to start using a new tool like Buffer, etc. and I was already using IFTTT so here is what I did and why.

Some history.

In the past, I used IFTTT the send my Instagram posts to Twitter and linked my Twitter account to my Facebook Profile. But I started noticing recently that the picture I would post to Instagram was not showing up on Facebook. Instead, you would get just the text of the post and an annoying link like this. :(

Pictures are much more engaging than text so this was not going to fly. Here is what I do now. And so far it's working great!

• I turned off the Twitter/Facebook connection in my Twitter settings.
• I turned off the IFTTT applet that posted my Instagram photos to Twitter.
• Now when I post to Instagram, I just toggle on sharing to Twitter and Facebook in the Instagram app.

What about when Instagram is not involved and I just want to share a Tweet on Facebook? For this I went back to IFTTT and use an applet that posts to Facebook when I use a specific hashtag (which I can specify), it even strips the hashtag from the Facebook post.

This works for me but any/all comments are welcome if you have a "better" way to sync these three social media platforms. And if you know how to add Google + let me know!

UPDATE 16-04-2019

Turns out Buffer really is the way to go. When I share an Instagram post to Facebook and Twitter, the image or movie is not displayed in Twitter and instead, you just get a link. But in this age of record short attention spans, if people can't see the image they won't click the link. If I share a picture or movie using Buffer and share it to Twitter/Instagram/Facebook, all three services display the picture. Yes!

As of this update, Buffer will unfortunately not share to G Suite Google + pages meaning if you have a Google + page that is using a custom domain like mydomain.com, Buffer can't share to it. You can only share to Google + if you use Gmail (myname@gmail.com). Hopefully, that gets resolved soon.

pacing Lucca at the Seattle Marathon

Five times! I have run all or part of the Seattle Marathon with Lucca five times. How cool.



I've said it before and I'll say it again; it's so nice to have common interests that bring you and your family closer together. For my sister and I, this interest has been running. In addition to this Marathon, we have also run a couple of ultra trail races together, started two more together, gone on a running "vacation" and I suspect there will be many more. Especially if I can convince her to enter TransRockies with me...

Lucca always seems to have a goal, even if she won't admit it. Today it was to PR on this course and to run sub 3:45. Long story short, we came up short. Looking back, we were due as every previous run here has been a PR and my head was starting to swell from my (self-attributed) pacing skillz. To her credit, once it was obvious the time goal was out of reach, she didn't waste energy dwelling on it and she didn't throw out the anchor either; she just continued at a manageable pace and still got 3rd in her age group. Damn.

I think I was the only participant wearing a running vest. My excuse is that I was carrying all of our nutrition and a camera. Not having to stop at aid stations is huge when you are gunning for a good time. And it paid off in other ways, the weather was unexpectedly nice and as we shed clothing I had a place to stow everything.

Here are some highlights, from my perspective anyway.

Dropping off our bags of clothing at the start. It is VERY nice to have whatever you want at the finish. Kudos to the Boy Scouts for showing up to help with these drop bags.



My personal favorite, the pre-start raingear shot.



In the BRIGHT sun starting to round Seward Park.



Coming up the Lake WA Blvd switchbacks. I suspect this was not Lucca's favorite section but it sure is a pretty section of road.



Entering Interlaken Blvd with less than six miles to go.



Turning into the headwind after crossing I-5.



Special thanks to Lucca's friend Robert (running next to Lucca above) for showing up to share pacing and photographer duties the last six miles. And congratulations Lucca for toughing this one out! You are an inspiration. Here's to a few more events together.



Here are my takeaways from this new course.

• It's' harder. Be ready for more hills in the first half and that out-and-back in the Arboretum felt like it was all uphill on the way back.
• I like this course! Climbing the switchbacks on Lake WA Blvd and coming back in the Arboretum isn't easy but it sure is beautiful. And I was never a huge fan of that concrete stretch on I-90...

Here are all my pictures and videos.

Lucca's results

• 3rd - Women 50-54
• official results

Nutrition (before)

• water
• Lucca had some coffee
• we both had a Hammer Gel 10 minutes before the start

Nutrition (during)

• 3 large bottles each w/1.5 scoops Hammer HEED, 1/5 scoop Fully Charged, 2 Endurolytes
• Hammer Gel

Gear

• Topo Athletic Ultrafly shoes
• Stance crew length socks
• long sleeve Craft undershirt
• long sleeve Topo Athletic shirt
• Topo Athletic running hat
• long finger gloves (that came off)
• wind vest (that came off)
• Ultimate Direction PB Adventure Vest 3.0

White Pass to Chinook Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail

How do you turn a six-hour run into an eight-hour run? Add 2' of snow.



Two new friends and I went for a "run" from White Pass to Chinook Pass and guess what, the seasons have changed in the mountains.

Friday I posted in the Seattle Mountain Running Group that I was looking for a group to tag along with for a run Saturday and within minutes Ghislain Devouthon invited me on this adventure. I love community. We met his friend Christophe Fiessinger and hit the road.

This piece of the PCT is the beginning of "Section I" and under normal/summer conditions would be very runnable. On this day we had to walk/hike/posthole for roughly 10 miles. Let's just say it's a good thing I have gotten into the habit of carrying extra food/water/clothing. And that the day turned out perfect. Nasty weather would have made this a horrible death march. As it was, the worst we had to deal with was some mild dehydration and muscle cramps. Not because there wasn't enough water, just because we didn't drink enough...

We started out all smiles and full of enthusiasm.



And we were able to run (slowly) the first 10 or so miles. Then we hit a big climb. And then the snow got deep. 16 miles in our pace was about 25:00/mile and we joked lightheartedly about what time we were going ot finish. By mile 23, and realizing that our pace had not sped up appreciably, the jokes got a little dryer.

In a nutshell? WE COULDN'T STOP TAKING PICTURES! There were so many amazing sights. Here are a few highlights.

















I need to come back here in the summer!

I'll say this, we got lucky. This is not a short run and had the weather not cooperated, this would have been much, MUCH less fun. Dangerous even. As it was, the sun was out all day and in spite of the ambient temperature being cold, as long as you were in the sunlight you were quite warm.

There is plenty of water on this route but you need a filter or something to purify the water.

For most of the run we were making first tracks in the snow. The exceptions were when we met a group of equestrian campers and as we got closer to Chinook Pass, it seems lots of people start to hike from there and do an out-and-back to their cars.

If you look at my Strava track below, you will see there is a significant climb about halfway into this run. Because of the steepness of the trail and the snow, this was pretty much one, long hike. Plan on slowing down here.

The Pacific Crest Trail is well marked and even in the snow we did not have a problem finding our way.

My Sealskinz socks saved my feet! I usually get very cold hands and feet and when they are wet it's terrible. My feet were in the snow all day long and were fine. So great!

Here are all my pictures.

Nutrition (during)

• Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem
• Hammer Bars
• peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
• water

Gear

• Topo Athletic MT2 shoes
• Sealskinz socks
• 2XU knickers
• Craft long sleeve undershirt
• Hammer Nutrition short sleeve running shirt
• Patagonia wind shirt
• Sealskinz gloves
• knit hat
• trucker hat
• sunglasses
• Ultimate Direction PB Adventure Vest 3.0