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

DNF

I knew I was undertrained for Chuckanut and that my hip and right glute had been bothering me for some time, but I figured I could run slow and still muddle through. And in hindsight, I probably could have stuck it out and finished. I simply wasn't having fun and wimped out.

The run started out on a bad note - we were two cars from pulling into the parking lot when we were turned away. The lot was full. With four runners in a single vehicle, the was particularly disappointing. With the extra poplularity of Chuckanut, I would like to see some parking priority given to those who do make the effort to carpool. On a positive note, it was typical Chuckanut with old friends at every turn. I need half a day just to say hello to everyone and catch up with their lives.

The run started okay with Mark Hartinger and I pledging to run slow and easily together. We both commented on how this year the enthusiasm for running just wasn't there. The first 10K was longer than ever, but went okay. Our group of runners joked and chatted while we kept moving along. I felt okay, if a bit tired as we started up Cleator Road. The road had more mud on it than any previous year that I can remember. It is commonly wet, but hadn't been muddy before that I can recall.



It was on Cleator Road where the wheels started to come off. Mark hung with me and was tremendously encouraging and supportive; I simply had no gas in the tank. Normally, I am able to pass people along the ridge trail. The technical conditions suit me and I can bop along pretty well. Not this year. My calves started cramping pretty early on the ridge, in spite of drinking and taking some electrolyte capsules. By the time we reached the back side mud fest, I was dragging. My hip and butt were sore and I was not having fun anymore. I finally convinced Mark to go ahead and continued to walk. After being passed inumerable times, I finally made it over the crest near Lost Lake and tried to run the downhill. The mud made it slippery and every step was uncomfortable. Not a sharp pain, just a large discomfort. When I reached the gate at the bottom, I went straight through instead of turning right and heading up to Little Chinscraper. From this point, I hiked down to the last aid station and begged a ride to the finish.

I had plenty of time, reaching the gate about 3:40 into the run. Why didn't I go ahead and finish? Bottom line - I just didn't want to enough. I wasn't having fun. I was battling some discomfort that my lack of enthusiasm used as an excuse to bail. As a result, my first DNF in the 9 years of ultra-running that I have done.

I have started some follow up on the hip and glute pain. X-rays show nothing abnormal. An MRI is up next. Most likely, the issue is related to a back condition (spondylolithesis) that I was first diagnosed with in high school. I guess we'll see what the docs say.

Hopefully, I can find my lost enthusiasm and get back on my horse soon. I need to be in good shape by the end of June to be able to keep up with tc at Western States. It would be bad form for a pacer to not be able to keep up with his runner. - KRK

Ready for Chuck

NOT - no, I am certainly not ready to race at Chuckanut, but I will definitely go and run. My plan is to take my wife's new camera (Canon SD600 purchased by me for her for Christmas - good thinking huh) and use the old I'm taking pictures excuse for going slow. I am looking forward to seeing all the familiar faces at Chuckanut. Perhaps seeing a large group of enthusiastic runners will rekindle my desire to run. I need to start putting in some decent miles or Mt. Si is really going to hurt again this year.

Our lap puppy is now eight months old and around 70 lb. Jackson ran two five mile segments with me at the Invest in Youth Fund Run, with a long break between segments. He was ready for more at the end and never did seem tired. Hmmm, I wonder if Jackson would like to pull me up Little Chinscraper on Saturday.... KRK

Another Infrequent Post

Since I haven't posted for a while, I figured it was time once again. Although, I suspect my readership is quite small. While I am still battling some hip and hamstring issues, I did have an enjoyable time on the trails at Lord Hill with Bob Maxwell and Dave Dutton on Saturday. We ran easily and talked the entire 4:24 we were out. It was very good to spend time on the trails with friends once again.

I have also been trying to do some woodworking in my garage again - this time turning a few small bowls. I want to have these to give away as prizes for those who run the most miles or raise the most money at my March 3rd Fundraising run. I also need to make a stand for our new TV. So many projects, so little time.

The thing that inspired me to post again is this recent spate of listing 6 weird things about yourself. I am pondering what to list.

I enjoy trail and ultra-running, but among my friends, that isn't weird.

I like red beer - red because of the tomato juice in it. Not all the time, but a nice change of pace.

I can eat all I want and whether I am running a lot or very little, will not gain any weight. Is this weird or just lucky?

I have a strong tendency to focus heavily on the current activity of choice; to the exclusion of many other things. ie. I used to do Solo II racing (generally street cars with special tires driven in a large parking lot around a course for time), I then moved to the Pacific NW and got into hiking. From hiking, came the Everett Mountaineers Scrambles and Climbing classes. Faster scrambles gave way to trail runs. I bought a road bike last year and then bought a second bike. Lastly, I have started spending a bunch of money and outfitting my garage with woodworking tools.

I'm from Kansas and proud of it.

I'm so boring that I can't come up with a sixth item.

KRK

Running Partners

I have been trying to get back out and do a few miles again. I have two running partners; one of whom is showing great promise. The big black dog is Kuma, our 2 year old rottweiller/ lab mix. Kuma is a big girl, weighing ~105 lb (pre-holidays).

The picture of the two of them is about two months old and the puppy has changed substantially. The little guy is named Jackson. He is now between 5 and 6 months old. Last week, he weighed 45 lb. My wife had been looking for a "lap" dog and picked Jackson up at the pound. He was a cute, tiny puppy. They told her he was a shepherd/lab mix. As his coat has filled in, we have been guessing shepherd/golden retriever mix. The vet said, "Yeah, maybe 1/3 shepherd, 1/3 golden, and 1/3 great dane - look at those feet and legs". The vet estimated 90-100 lb. when fully grown. Some lap dog.

In any case, I have been taking the dogs out for short runs. We did 5 miles both yesterday and today. Kuma pulls a bit to start with and then settles in to a heavy gallop. She is not light on her feet. Jackson just glided along. I never heard him breathe or pant and he was ready for more at the end. As he is pretty young yet, I don't want to do too many miles with Jackson, but he seems much better suited for long runs than Kuma. The problem will be she is a very jealous girl.

So, I am trying to get in some running over the holiday. With any luck, I won't have to walk the majority of the single loop I will be doing at the Western Washington Fat Ass run.

Long time no post

It has been a very long time since I updated this blog. I have been running very little, biking very little; just drifting a bit in my physical activities. I struggled through a slow White River 50 run at the end of July. My August log has 34 miles of running and 223 miles of biking - with 150 of that in the Hot August Days ride. September had 61 miles total of running and 44 biking with the biking being done in a spinning class. For the month of October, I had a total of 46 miles of running, including the Baker Lake 50k. Four spinning classes yielded a total of 45 miles of biking. November saw similar totals with 57 miles of running and 42 miles of spinning.

Needless to say, my fitness and endurance levels are very low. I am signed up for Chuckanut in March and will need to start increasing the miles if I hope to run respectably there. On the plus side, I did get to run some with my daughter and a friend at the Seattle half marathon. Kelsey is also looking forward to running one loop at the Western Washington Fat Ass run on January 6th. This will be her first experience with a longer trail run and I am looking forward to it as much as she is. Hopefully, I can pick up my running enough to consider myself a runner once again. - KRK

An Unusual Week

Well, this week started off with my driving daughter Kesley to White Pass on Sunday for a cross-country camp. I dropped her and her friend Kendra off at the ski area and learned that they would be running up the ski slopes in 2 hours. I was more than a little jealous. My stomach was bothering me some and I ended up not eating until late that evening; going from breakfast to dinner with nothing in between. This is always a bad thing for me. Monday arrived with my stomach continuing to bother me and was the start of our annual company sales meeting. Four days of continuous meetings with no opportunity to run at lunch. Tuesday, my stomach was still not good and I couldn't even enjoy the free meal at the dinner Tuesday evening for the sales staff.

Wednesday, I decided to go into the Walk-In clinic and see what was up. I get to the clinic and after an hour wait, the nurse gets my blood pressure and pulse rate. The blood pressure is border line high and because my stomach ache is located high in the abdomen, she orders an EKG to check my heart. Having just done a 102 mile bike ride on Saturday, I figure my heart is in pretty good shape, but know she is just going down the check list and don't object. As luck would have it, there is an abnormality in my EKG. They get a bit excited, give me baby aspirin to chew on and move me into another room where they can monitor me better. All the while I'm trying to tell them that my heart is fine; you people don't have a clue what I do for fun. They draw blood and send it to the lab for analysis to determine if I have indeed had a heart attack. Well, my wife actually works in this lab, so I call her to let her know where I am and to assure her that I am fine. The blood work comes back - no heart attack. What a surprise I think. The Walk-In Clinic doc consults with a cardiologist regarding the abnormal EKG and determines that the abnormal spikes could occur with a very thin invidual who had an extremely fit heart. Duh, that would be a picture of me on the poster for that description.

So having ruled out the heart attack, the doctor decides that I likely got dehydrated on my bike ride the previous Saturday and aggravated a slight gastric ulcer. I received a prescription for Prevacid and was sent on my way. Started the medication on Wednesday afternoon and by Thursday, was feeling much better. Friday was better still and on Saturday, I was good to go for the Seattle to Portland bike ride.

My friend Desmond and I left the UW stadium at 5:15 AM and arrived at the finish in Portland at 6:03 PM. According to my bike computer, it was just shy of 204 miles and I had 11:09 of actual ride time. Ended up averaging 18.2 mph for the trip. I was rarely ever in a pace line, usually riding at the front of one. I did get to ride for a while with John Pearch which was a pleasant surprise. Overall, I felt strong for the entire ride. I do need to change shoes/pedals however. My left foot felt like someone was driving a spike up through the bottom toward the end of the ride. MUCH easier than running for 12 hours, however.

Guess it's time to train for White River now. KRK

Weekly summary July 2-8

It was a varied week for me. After a 45 mile bike ride on Saturday, Sunday I got out for my first long run since mid-May. 32 miles on the CCC course. It went better than expected - having Tim bonk probably saved me. If I had pushed more, I am certain I would have felt worse on Monday.

Tuesday I got up early and helped to set up the 5k and 10k courses for the YMCA Yankee Doodle runs. Then ran the 5k with daughter Kelsey. Our times were slow, but it was great to finally get to run with her again and she had a strong kick to finish. Spent the afternoon and evening at a the home of one of my wife's co-workers who is a MAJOR pyromaniac. He spent several hundred dollars on fireworks and we were happy to watch him set them all off. I took my camera along and actually managed to get a few photographs to turn out.

Thursday was Walleyball and Friday was 45 minutes on the treadmill - 10:00 min/mile at 10% grade. I was thoroughly soaked by the time I got off. Finally, on Saturday I put in my last long training ride prior to STP. I put together a hilly 102 mile loop in Snohomish county that took me from Lake Stevens to Snohomish to Monroe. Then it was on to Granite Falls, followed by Stanwood, then Arlington. From Arlington, it was onto the Centennial Trail past Lake Stevens to Machias and then back home. I am certain that STP will have far fewer hills. KRK

St Helens in the Sun

The highlight of last week was a ride from Toutle to Mt. St. Helens on the Spirit Lake Memorial Hwy. According to my trip odometer, the round trip was 83.5 miles. This included a significant amount of climbing on the out leg, with some additional short climbs on the return leg. I peaked out at 43.5 mph, but was passed by a recumbent rider doing ~50. The sun was out and the day was warm. All I had to do was think about the temperatures at Western States and suddenly I was quite cool.
After a long climb to Goat Rock, you dropped elevation and then ascended some to Coldwater Ridge. This was followed by a short, fairly steep decent and long climb to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. Great day to be out. More photos are posted on my photo album connection.

Week of June 12-18

As I have little to write about, I will post a summary of last week's physical activities, such as they were:

6-12 45 min. spinning class
6-13 45 min. treadmill run, level 8 random - 6.3 miles
6-14 lunch with my wife (not much physical activity, but important for harmony at home)
6-15 three games of walleyball
6-16 two long games of racquetball
6-17 bike ride - 38.75 miles on Centennial Trail 2:02
6-18 bike ride - 31.75 miles on Cent. Trail and back roads around Lake Stevens 1:48

Of note: On Sunday's early morning bike ride I was returning from Arlington and saw a cougar on the trail. Very cool! Hope I didn't look too much like a deer;-) KRK

PS - Good luck to everyone headed to Western States. Wish I were joining you.