Olivia Arrives!

Olivia Karlin McDowell Roberts was born on Saturday, June 27th at about 8:00 in the morning. Not too long after the start of the Western States 100. Karlin is Gaelic for "little champion", according to my daughter. Hmmm.... In any case, Olivia weighed 6 lb. 15 ounces and was 19 1/2" long. Both mom and baby are doing very well and went home from the hospital on Sunday afternoon. The lower photo shows Aunt Larisa on the left, mom Andrea in the middle, Grandma Dalia in back, Aunt Kelsey on the lower right, and Aunt Meghan on the upper right. Let the spoiling begin!!!

Cascade Woodworking?

With a total of 13 miles logged for the month of May and none on trails, I should probably change the title of my blog. I have been getting some wood working done, however. With daughter Andrea due any day now, I worked to complete a convertible crib for her. I wanted to have the crib done before Olivia arrives. Yes, another girl for the family. At least we know how to deal with girls (I think).

I have also added another old tool to my workshop. I found an old DeWalt radial arm saw on Craig's List for $25.00. As near as I can tell from the serial number, it was made in late 1953. Lots of heavy cast iron for a small saw. The following photos show a before and after of the saw.

I have just finished a potting bench for my wife and will start on a dressing table to match the crib for Andrea next. I need a much bigger garage or to move to a house with a separate shop. Hope all your running is going well. My picks for Western - Scott Jurek for the men, Krissy Moehl for the women. It is going to be a great race as far a I can see.

By semi-popular demand

tc, this one's for you.

This weekend I actually was out on my bike for just over two hours.  I have signed my daughter Kelsey and myself up for the Seattle to Portland bike ride this year.  We will be doing the ~200 miles in one day.  Hopefully, she will be doing some training while she is at school in Ellensburg.  Sunday was the first time I had gotten my bike down since last summer.  

As mentioned before, Kelsey is running XC for Central.  She is also trying her hand at pole vaulting.  While she comes in with a typical distance runner's upper body strength, she is working hard and her technique is improving.  She won't ever win any events, but she is having a good time and is showing progress.  

Daughter Larisa has gotten past her issues with a stress fracture in one heel.  One of her volleyball teammate's father is a podiatrist and he fitted Lari with orthotics which have made a big difference. 

After only one tournament in April, we are looking at 3 different tournaments in May, plus a potential two day clinic.  Add in some birthdays, Mother's Day, and our wedding anniversary and May looks to be very busy.

I'm not a grandfather yet, but eldest daughter Andrea is 7 months along and is doing great.  I have been working on a convertible crib and day bed and will start a dressing table when the crib is done.  Need to find some more shop time.

Daugher Meghan and her fiance have located a home in Marysville and have had their offer accepted.  When they get married at the end of July, they will already have a home to move into.  It's a great market for first time home buyers.

Life goes on, whether I'm running or not.

This is a test

Obviously, I don't blog very frequently.  Only slightly less often than I seem to be running these days.  The test part is to see if anyone is reading this or not.  If you read this, please drop me  a note.  If I don't receive any responses, I will likely delete the site.  If I do get some response, I will try to put more effort into providing some updates of my life.

Been a while

Wow, no posts since May. Guess I should post something. Daughter Kelsey didn't ride STP with me, but I rode with some other friends and it worked out okay. I didn't run a single ultra over the summer and struggled to run essentially two 10k's and a 5k as a part of the Ragnar relay. My left hip continues to be a pain and my enthusiasm for running still isn't back.

On the other hand, I have been doing some woodworking and have added to the tool collection in the garage. At this rate, we will never fit a car in the garage.

Daughter Kelsey walked for the Central Washington XC team and ended up running with the varsity. They had a small team and also some injuries, but she worked her way up to the top five any case. Daughter #2 Meghan is now engaged and will be married next July, after graduating from WWU in June.

Life continues, even without much running.

Got Wheels

Well, I backed down from the 50 mile to the 50k at Mt. Si. It was a wimp out, but the right thing for me to do, given my mileage. That is old news at this point in time. I have slipped back into not running once again, but am putting in some hard work in the spinning classes and spending some time on my bike. I also purchased a road bike for #3 daughter as a HS graduation present. She hopes to ride STP with me in July as a one day ride. Today we one lap of the Lake Stevens Half Iron Man bike course - about 30 miles for our total ride in around two hours, give or take. The course has some good hills, so Kelsey got an honest workout. We'll see if she can pull things together for STP in a month and a half or not.
Along with the 30 today, I road a significantly faster 55 Saturday that also included some decent hill work. I seem to have a bit more enthusiasm for the biking than the running, at any rate. That's all for now.

It will be ugly

Having managed to finish Chuckant, I had hoped to up my mileage in preparation for the Mt. Si 50 mile run. It hasn't happened. Work has been in a major upheaval and my running has been inconsistent. Worst of all, I haven't been able to fit in the long runs necessary to build my "time on my feet" endurance. And to add insult to injury, I have come down with a nasty cold. So, instead of being out for a long run this morning, I am sitting here with a box of tissues and a fountain for a nose. This will be my 10th run at Mt. Si and all but last year have been the 50 mile distance, so I want to stick with the 50 again this year. Good friends Carol O'Hear and Mark Hartinger will not be running this year. Probably for the best, I expect to be walking quite a bit. I just hope the weather is decent and the usual assortment of other friends are present.

Mud but no rain at Chuckanut

After DNF-ing last year with a poor attitude, I finished this year's run in a personal worst time of 5:44:52. This is 15 minutes slower than my previous slowest time and 53 minutes off my course PR. I'm not surprised by the time, nor really disappointed; I simply haven't been running enough to have any endurance. My calves were cramping quite a bit on the downhills and I never felt smooth or comfortable when running. Part of that was due to my footwear selection - my trail shoes had the soles falling off and I wore an old pair of road shoes. I should have looked to see how bad the tread was when selecting the shoes. There was nearly no tread left under the balls of my feet or the heels. This didn't help my progress in the mud, either uphill or down.

Enough negativity. I got to see and chat with a great number of my running friends and ran a fairly smart run, given my current fitness level. On the important score card, I got multiple hugs from Krissy, Olga, Ronda, Karen, Cheri, Chris, and Christel. I hope I haven't forgotten anyone. You can see I had my priorities straight. I also left my watch in the car and had no idea of my time until I crossed the finish line. Glenn T. was everywhere on the course and took several photos that actually look like I was running. This photo is one of his. Next up - Mt. Si for my 10th running of the event. I hope to have my miles up a bit before the 50 miler. After logging my race, I realized that this was my 80th marathon or ultra and my 9th running at Chuckanut (with 8 finishes).

Invest in Youth Fund Run Results

The fifth annual running benefitted from some of the best weather conditions yet. We had 28 runners finish at least a marathon in the 6 hour time slot. Fred Johnson edged out Tony C for top honors in the last half hour of running. Both ran over 40 miles, but Fred finished about 5 minutes ahead of tc. Linda Barton was top finisher for the women; completing a 50k in 5:29.

Invest in Youth Fund Run

I will directing the 2008 Invest in Youth Fund Run once again. The 2008 version will be held in the same location as was done for 2007 - with the start and finish at the Machias trailhead on the Centennial Trail. Located between Lake Stevens and Snohomish, WA, the trail is a converted railroad grade that is flat and paved, with a gravel horse path running parallel to the paved portion. The Machias trailhead has ample parking and offers bathrooms with running water. There is also a covered area for the aid station. We will have hot food and drink.

All proceeds will go to the YMCA Invest in Youth Program. The run itself will be an out and back of approximately 2.5 miles. The course will be open for six hours, starting at 8:00 AM.

E-mail me for more details and a copy of the entry form.

Great day for a run

In contrast to many previous Seattle Marathons, this past Sunday was a beautiful day for running. It was a little on the cool side, but sunny and clear with no wind. Kelsey (white top and bun hugger shorts, no tights) waited a bit too long to get ready and ended up in the Sani-Can when the horn blew to start the half marathon. It didn't matter. We jogged to the start area and joined the throng in dead last position. With ~10,000 people in front of us, we didn't reach the starting line for quite some time and even then, couldn't really run.

Kelsey ran pretty well, although I think she wasted a lot of energy weaving through traffic at the start. We had a few short walking breaks, but she managed to improve on last year's 2:06 a bit, running 2:03:38 chip time.

Kelsey was disappointed in having to walk some, but a lack of training will do that to you. She has also indicated a desire to run at Tiger with me in the Dumb Ass run on December 15th. Should be nice and cold/wet for that one.

Seattle (half) Marathon

Daughter Kelsey does have a little common sense. She has realized that without any long runs, finishing a marathon might be a bit of a stretch. So, we will be shifting to the half at Seattle. Last year she ran 2:06, largely running by herself. She also ran dead even splits for the race. We are hoping to get her to the finish line this year in under two hours.

I have been running fairly consistently on the treadmill at lunchtime, doing a bit over 6 miles in 45 minutes with some rolling hills dialed in - or at least rolling uphills. Somehow, the treadmill never gives me any downhills after the ups.

I have also been cross training in the weight room, following a program put together by my oldest daughter Andrea. Andi has a degree in exercise science and is a certified personal trainer and a certified strength and conditioning coach. She has also been coaching gymnastics for over nine years. The exercises she has me doing all involve core strengthening - lots of twisting and using stability balls. I've also come to learn than planks are a lot harder than they look. The work-outs must be doing me some good, I'm sore in different places than usual. KRK

4A State Follow-up and Running Update

The weather was great at Pasco on Saturday and some of the Lake Stevens runners had great races. Other team members were not so pleased with their efforts. Our star runner, Joey Bywater, had been one of the favorites to win state this year after finishing second last year. Joey had been battling injury for much of the second half of the season and did not run like he is capable of, finishing 13th. Kyle Van Santen, usually our number 2 runner was 14th. The #3 runner for most of the season, Scott Larson, ran very well and finished 10th. Scott's twin brother Drew finished 84th overall and our fifth runner finished 115th. The boys team finished tied for 5th; ending up 6th on the placement of our #6 runner. The top three boys all qualified for the Nike Border Clash.

Having taken a team to state for the first time in 27 years, the girls were not expected to do much. They were not ranked in the final coaches poll. Our two freshman runners (Lacey Wagner and Cia Bywater) ran probably their best races of the year and finished 7th and 10th overall. The sophomore who was our #1 runner for most of the season had an off day and finished 59th overall. Runners five and six finished in 82nd and 116th respectively. The team finished 7th, just two points behind 6th and 13 points behind fifth. Not a bad showing at all. Both Lacey and Cia will also be going to the Nike Border Clash.

Today I managed to run 6.4 miles in 45 minutes on the treadmill with some small rolling "hills" thrown in. The best part was my ankle didn't bother me. Perhaps I have finally turned the corner on this. KRK

On to State

Well, both Lake Stevens XC teams qualified for state. This will be the first time in 27 years the girls will have taken a team to state. I will be present and yelling my fool head off, even though Kelsey will not be running.

Kelsey is still pressing to run the full marathon at Seattle. I have managed a total of 44.5 miles for the month of October. That should be adequate for running 26.2, shouldn't it? It would be prudent for me to talk her into running the half marathon, but since when does common sense enter in to my running? Honestly, I am thrilled to have her wanting to challenge herself and run the full marathon. I suspect it is simple ignorance on her part of how tough it will be, but getting to spend 4 to 4.5 (or more) hours running/walking with Kelsey is too good an opportunity to pass up. Anyone want to join us for a very conversational pace? - KRK

Back to running - sort of

It's slow at work right now, so I thought I would take the opportunity to write something about my running, or lack thereof. Since the first of July, I have run a total of 81 miles. August had one entry of 4.9 miles. Not exactly an ultra-runner at the moment. I have been running a little in recent weeks, but am still dealing with some ankle pain and a complete lack of motivation. I can't figure out where my desire to run has gone, but it has certainly disappeared.

Daughter Kelsey's high school XC career is over. She wasn't able to work her way back onto the varsity team this year which was a big disappointment to her. She certainly took the season more seriously, but simply didn't have the mileage coming into the season and never was able to find the speed she had as a freshman and sophomore. Hopefully, she will continue to run and prepare for her senior track season. She doesn't like running in circles too much, however.

Both boys and girls teams at Lake Stevesn are poised to make it to state. The boys team has finished 4th each of the past two years. I can't recall the last time a girls XC team qualified for state. The key for both teams is where the 5th runner places. Both have strong 1-4's, but a bit of a step to #5. I'm hoping to travel to Pasco to cheer on both teams November 3rd.

I'm also hoping that I can get my sorry butt out the door and do some actual running.

And now for something totally different

Along with my trail running and biking hobbies, I also do some woodworking. As a part of this woodworking, I have obtained some old machinery, including a Hammond G4B Trim-O-Saw and a Powermatic model 45 Lathe. I also work for a heavy machinery manufacturer who formerly had an operational foundry and associated pattern shop. The following photographs are of some of the equipment to be found in the pattern shop. While all of the equipment had been in working condition, I don't believe many items have been used for some time and currently sit idle, collecting dust.This is the Hammond saw before I cleaned it up and got it operational.

This is a 36" American band saw.



This old drill press has some labelling on it - W. F. & J Barnes Co.


This second drill press is an American Woodworking Machinery No. 2 model.


This machine is an old American jointer. I forgot to bring my tape, so I am unsure of the size.

There are a number of old lathes in the shop, all operating from an overhead pulley system.


There is also an Oliver thickness planer.


Lastly, there is an old American Woodworking Machinery tablesaw with unique drive system and sliding table.




I have more pictures that can be e-mailed if you are curious about any of the machines.

WS 2007

I wanted to post a few of the photos I took at Dusty Corners and figured that this was as good a place as any. I don't have a shot of Hal as he came through just as we arrived and were getting positioned to shoot. He looked very relaxed and apparently maintained that relaxed focus all the way to the finish. An awesome run.

Meghan Arbogast looked to be having a good time.

Mr. Burke also was cruising right along.

Bill Thomas has had faster days at Western, but kept it going to complete his 10th and get the 1000 mile buckle.

Marty Fagan has been running very well and continued to do so at WS. He pushed his pacer Carol O'Hear pretty hard. Be nice to Carol, Marty- she's a doctor and knows lots of ways to hurt you.

Ronda Sundermeir was as cheerful as ever and looked to just be on a nice jog when she came through.

In stark contrast, I have never seen Jamshid so focused. He was moving well and pushing the pace early on. Jamshid also earned his 1000 mile buckle.

Unfortunately, not all NW runners had a succesful outing. Clem ran into problems and missed a cut-off. At Dusty Corners, he looked good and was running well.

The last photo I have at Dusty Corners is of Tony C. We had to leave after this and continue our crewing and pacing duties.

Tony struggled some with the altitude and the dust. He was frustrated with his pace at Dusty Corners, but had a much more positive outlook at Duncan Canyon. The steep downhills and rocky terrain were not tc's favorite and took their toll. He hung tough, though and regrouped to continue running. At Foresthill, I started pacing duties and did my best to keep Tony moving toward the finish line. I truly enjoyed pacing Tony and hope that my being there helped. With Glenn Tachiyama and Bill Cotton crewing, tc had an ace support crew backing him up, even if they were asleep on their feet at Hwy 49. Tony had a fine finish time of 25:43 and was 121st of 270 finishers and ~400 starters. My desire to run ultras may be coming back...

Improving Workouts

Since the start of May, my workouts have been improving. The log so far this month:

5/1/2007 walleyball
5/2/2007 6.3 0:45:00 Treadmill level 5 random
5/4/2007 6.0 0:45:00 Treadmill level 6 random
5/5/2007 9.4 1:14:28 Easy run around Lake Stevens
5/7/2007 4.9 0:32:28 Lunchtime run, faster pace than expected, felt heavy and slow
5/8/2007 4.9 0:33:17 Little easier than Monday, decent pace, hip/hamstring achy at desk
5/10/2007 walleyball
5/11/2007 9.5 1:10:00 House to just past Machias and back, solid run
5/12/2007 8.0 1:41:36 Lord Hill with Kelsey
5/14/2007 4.9 0:31:54 Better time than expected, tried to run relaxed and smooth

Not exactly a lot of miles, but generally low in the pain factor while running. Now if I can just work on my endurance and some hills. KRK

Time to check in

Since my last post I managed to finish the 50k version of Mt Si relatively pain free. I ran steadily through about 28 miles, before running out of gas and deciding with Steven Yee that we were both good with walking and jogging the remainder of the distance. It was great to see so many friends out running at Mt Si and I very much enjoyed the run.

After running on Sunday it was off to Wenatchee for a couple of days of bike riding at the Seattle Randonneurs Northwest Crank event. Friday was 67 miles with a good amount of climbing. This year I opted out of the climb up to the Mission Ridge Ski area. It sounded like I made the right decision as other riders complained about lots of sand and dirt on the road (steep downhill with sharp switchbacks coming back) from road construction. Saturday, was a 63 mile ride. As we needed to be back on the west side by 5:00 PM, we short circuited the ride; missing out on a 20 mile out and back to the top of Badger Mt. At least there was one photo that proved my presence.

Yesterday, I ran a rolling 10k on the treadmill in just under 45:00. This used to be an easy workout, but not any more. At my current level of fitness, the 7:00 pace was tough to maintain late. My butt and hamstring were achy all afternoon. Hopefully, I can continue to improve conditioning as we approach Western States. I'm sure tc would prefer this. KRK

Injury Update

First, I went to see a Sports Medicine doc who ordered x-rays and an MRI to rule out a stress fracture in my hip and re-evaluate my pre-existing back condition (spondylolisthesis). The x-ray was negative, but based on the radiologist's evaluation of the MRI, I was sent to a Spine Center Specialist. The spine center doc didn't feel the spondylolisthesis had progressed significantly and scheduled me with physical therapy for my right glute area and piraformis issues. I like the therapist quite a bit and he seems to be working the right direction. The deep tissue massage and some other therapy has not been comfortable, but then neither was any of my 19 mile run last Saturday. So far, I haven't noticed any change in my running discomfort, but the therapy has been only going on for a short time.

I have decided to not run the 50 mile distance at Mt Si this year. I couldn't conceive of running another 31 miles after finishing last Saturday, but did feel that another 12 was doable. My time wasn't too bad, I did manage to finish under 2:30, but it wasn't comfortable. I want to get on top of this thing soon so that I can actually keep up with tc at Western States while pacing him. - KRK