WAR - Ha, Good God Ya'll

WAR II, the Warner Adventure Race took place at beautiful Percy and Edwin Warner parks last Saturday.  Two outdoor rec coworkers and friends and I chose to participate on a bit of a whim when our boss suggested it.  We had done an awesome adventure race for staff training earlier in the year, and this seemed like a great chance to get a taste of the real thing and to have some fun.

The great WAR volunteers and RDs instigated a costume contest, in which we immediately chose to participate.  We donned green tees with safety pinned yellow bellies (complete with pecs and abs), head and arm bands, and turtle shell covered backpacks in our representation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  I was also sporting my new Rayhawk hairstyle in support of the home team in their world series bid.  We looked great, got lots of compliments, and WON the competition, winning some recovery drink.  

The race was tough but a lot of fun.  It started with all the teams running (I chose to sprint) across a field to get our maps, which were cut up into pieces.  As one teammate assembled the map, the other started plotting our UTM coordinates (he learned how from ~15min of web browsing the morning of), and I began transferring the points from the topo to the trail map.  We then set off.  The first half was all on foot.  We were very quick and efficient and easily found all pts.  We returned to the start, switched maps, and hit the bikes.  It was soon realized that biking was the nemesis of some teammates.   :)  I navigated the first couple pts (sometimes reading the map while riding hands free).  Our pace slowed some and we lost some time on the bike but stayed steady throughout.  Feeling strong on the bike from my past cycling experience, I tried to keep the morale high with bantering, singing, and even some bike seat surfing (standing up on the seat on a downhill).  Throughout the bike portion, we all took turns navigating.  

One neat part of the race was that there were intermediate challenges along the way.  We completed an obstacle course complete with a wheelbarrow push and dizzy-izzy(spinning around a baseball bat followed by attempting to run), tried to find points from memory, and tested our compass skills, all for extra pts.  I learned that my compass skills from high school NJROTC orienteering are a little rusty.  We finally got going on the right track after I pointed us in the direct opposite direction.  

When we came in, over the five hr mark, we were all adequately tired and glad to be off the bikes.  We laid around in the sun, ate candy, and then refueled on some pizza.  The awards ceremony yielded a 3rd place Coed finish, 10th overall, a nathan steel bottle, door prizes (socks and a wallet for me), in addition to the recovery drink.  

A big thanks to the Trailblazers AR club and the Heichels for putting on the race.  It was a great first taste of the AR scene.  I think I'll be back.  I really enjoyed racing with my two friends.  

Things I learned:

- take adequate food and water in a well-secured pack

- must be efficient in use of effort, time => balance haste & planning

- trust teammates

- stay cool and collected

- pay attention to the needs and pysical and mental status of partners

- try to fully utilize strengths of each member

- have a well balanced team = only as strong as weakest link

Linville Gorge Climbing

Last Saturday through Tuesday I was at Linville Gorge, NC, with the Vanderbilt Outdoor Rec camping and climbing.  We drove the 6 or so hrs out there Saturday morning, set up camp and had a little skills clinic/review session on anchor building, rope systems, and multi-pitch climbing.  It was cold and windy up at the chimneys.  We then came down to camp, cooked dinner and decided to boulder some near the parking lot.  We started on this one problem about 15ft tall or so that had a sit start on sharp little crimpy holds.  After a couple attempts, I decided to skip the first move and just work on the rest.  It took about 8 tries, but I finally got it smooth.  It felt great to top it out with my buddy.  That was my first outdoor bouldering.  

We were all so jacked from bouldering (mind you that we had Tupac going in the background), that we decided to go for a night climb.  I teamed up with a real experienced young climber who soloed El Cap last summer to climb the North Ridge with another 2-man party.  We hiked out there, wandering through the woods to finally emerge onto a very exposed, windy, and probably 10 degrees colder ridgeline.  Quickly we got our gear together and set off trailing the other party.  About 20ft up, the 2nd guy's head lamp fell off (fotunately right down to me at the belay), so he did the first pitch by moonlight.  Even more of a bummer was that I left my partners first piece of pro.  Really cold with numb fingers and in a hurry, I figured we could always come back rather than spending a long time screwing with it.  That, I admit, was the wrong decision.  I will not leave a piece of gear again unless it is completely hopeless.  When I got to the first belay, it took three repititions to convince the guy that I really did leave his cam.  He just kept saying, "No you didn't.  Give it to me."  My bad.  He did get it back fortunately.   For whatever reason, he then blasted through both the 2nd and 3rd pitches of the climb, taking every bit of the rope to reach the anchor, which was a very untrustworthy steel pipe sticking out of the ground.  After topping out, all I wanted was to hit the trail back.  My fingers were so cold that I could barely feel the rock.  At least I didn't need any chalk.  The moon and stars were incredible.  I only wish it had been a smoother and warmer evening so that I could have taken it all in more.

On Sunday we went multipitchin.  I climbed in a party of three, and we completed Hidden Crack and Jim Dandy, two easy routes with great scenery.  I even got to lead a sport pitch of Jim Dandy, my first lead on a multipitch route.  

Monday we headed down into the Gorge (we had mostly been on Table Rock) to climb the Mummy and the Daddy, two classic mutlipitch trad routes overlooking the gorge.  After the tough scramble of an approach, my 3man party hit up the Mummy first.  It was really good.  At the top, we just sat and soaked up the sun and scnenery for awhile waiting for another party to top out the Daddy.  Together we rapped down the sketchy gully and switched routes.  I didn't enjoy the Daddy as much but that was probably due to mental anguish.  See, I was planning to lead the 3rd pitch, an easy 5.3 mostly traverse sort of thing.  Well, we thought we were a little belay the 2nd belay so I was planning on going through the 2nd belay and onward to the 3rd pitch.  It turned out that we were at the correct belay, so I started going a little off route.  An onlooking friend corrected me (from a climb on a neighboring cliff - The Prow) and I got back on route.  Well, not realizing I was at the 3rd belay, I continued onto the fourth pitch.  All this involved about 20ft of climbing up to the right, ~30ft traverse left on a ledge and then about 40ft more climbing up to the right.  As you can imagine, the rope drag was similar to hauling a dead body up behind you - not fun.  I was getting pretty flustered not knowing where I was and almost just stopped where I was to set up a belay but couldn't find good placements.  Finally, I found the 4th belay, set up the anchor, and belayed my partners.  So I ended up doing 2 pitches of trad leading (my first trad leads) on a great classic climb, and my partners said the pro was great = overall success.  The sun went down as we topped out the Daddy and we hiked the long trail back to camp to enjoy a delicious, well-earned dinner.  

On Tuesday, most of us headed back to Table Rock to set up some tougher top ropes.  We had a 5.9 crack and a 10d face adjacent to one another.  For whatever reason, crack climbing is close to my heart.  I have not done very much and am not all that good, but it fascinates me.  In fact, I dream about climbing in Indian Creek one day.  So I really enjoyed the 5.9 crack and felt completely comfortable.  I didn't bother trying the 10d - out of my league now but it was great to watch my buddies do it!

Overall, Linville Gorge & Table Rock are great destinations.  You have to work for the climbing - long rough approaches, heavy vegetation, but it's worth it.  The plethora of good routes - especially for beginner leaders - and good views make it an exceptional weekend (or longer) trip.  I'm sure to return.  I'd really like to wander farther into the gorge to try the NC wall and some of the untouched, but heavily forested, other walls.

Be sure to check out pics on my shutterfly site (in the links section).

Shut Down

Lights out.  That's how my 20mile attempt ended on Saturday.  Here's how it went down.

My running partner and I met at 6am to run from VU to Percy Warner Park, around the 6mi loop in PWP, and back for ~20mi.  Neither of us were feeling particularly motivated at the start.  We were both tired, and I figured I would have to be the cheerleader today.  The first 6-7mi to the park went well - nice and slow, through the dark and sunrise.  Towards the end of the run to the park, though, I was feeling impending trouble in the nether regions.  There was a stirring in the intestines going on.  Being a well-bred young man, I chose to hold the gaseous discharges in around me lady friend.  MISTAKE: better out than in!  When we got to the park, I dumped my electrolyte drink in favor of water, hoping it would help.  At that point, she probably could have done the 6mi loop but I suggested the 2mi scenic loop.  Midway, I watered some flowers and let out a couple toots without relief.  The following 2.5mi down Belle Meade Blvd to West End were not fun.  I was getting bad stomach cramps, getting chills, and generally feeling very poorly.  Although I really wanted to stop and walk (and to go drop a deuce in some rich man's mansion), I pushed on, getting my energy from having my friend running next to me.  When we got to West End, though, it was lights out.  I stopped, and headed directly to Kroger.  I let my friend continue on back to campus.  After 10-15mins of being doubled over expelling the demon from within, I went back outside.  My face was pale with sunken eyes - not looking good.  From there, it was long and very introspective 3.5 mile walk back to campus.  During that time I had a very nice, comforting, and convicting confession and dedication chat with the Lord.    I just admitted and reminded myself that I will not be defined by and seek my worth from running, academics, friendships, etc.  I will be a child of God first.  Despite my daily failures in all of those, I will always have His unfailing love and grace.  

It was definitely a learning run.  A reminder of my priorities.  Also, I learned to respect the distance.  20miles is no joke, and I did not treat it as the marathon preparation run it should be.  I will try again in 3 wks.  I plan on putting in some good steady mileage this week.  I will be at Table Rock, Linville Gorge, NC, Sat through Tues climbing with the outdoor rec for fall break.  Should be good.

OCMS

Old Crow Medicine Show is INCREDIBLE!  Just figured I'd share that with you all in cyber space who might have missed the concert at the Mother Church this evening.  One of the most fun nights of my life I think.  Infinitely better than ChemE homework and biology studying which is what I should have been doing.

I'm Whooped: Stump Jump & More

Yeah, it was a very physical weekend.  Here's the story.

-Stump Jump

A buddy and I headed down Friday afternoon to Chattanooga.  We checked in, pick up our packets and had a great dinner outside of RockCreek.  The food was very good and the loot is just crazy.  I got a very fine Mountain Hardware tech tee, a little TNF bag, some samples, some SmartWool Trail running socks.  In addition to that, a raffle was held for shoes, clothes, packs, and all sorts of other gear.  Two of my friends won some Hammer Gel and a running jacket.  I caught a frisbee!  After dinner, my buddy and I headed out to find a camping location up at the school, which was open for racers.  Not really knowing where to go, we fortunately pitched our tent about 200 yds from the start line.  Unfortunately, I managed a maximum of 5 hrs of sleep.

In the morning, we chowed down on some oatmeal, drank some Gatorade and broke down camp.  The 50k started at 8am, the 11mi at 8:45 so we had some time to wake up, relax, and see some friends start the big run.  I chose the same old gear I've been wearing all summer: some Nike DryFit shorts, poly tee, headband, SmartWool light socks, and Brooks Cascadias.  I also opted for a 20oz handheld bottle full of Gatorade.  

At the start line I lined up near the front and headed off at a moderate pace at the gun.  Almost immediately, a fast lead group formed and I well into the 2nd group on the stretch of road before the double track started.  Once in the woods, I tagged along with some older runners who were discussing previous races.  I wanted to just sit in, watch and learn, while keeping a good pace.  I wanted to see if I could keep a 9:00/mi pace, but it was hard to gauge on the trail w/o markers.  After following for awhile and passing a good number of people, I felt good enough to bomb a downhill and break away from the older guys.  I ran solo for a little bit before coming up to another runner right before the first steep climb.  At that point, I sat in and hiked the steep sections with him.  The trail was narrow preventing passing, and I didn't want to push anything this early on.  Once on flatter section, we ran and started passing the leaders coming back from the halfway turn around.  Going into the aid station/turn around, I figured I was in about 15th place and felt confident and strong.  Since I had the handheld and was feeling good, I quickly downed a cup of water and headed out.  The runner ahead of me decided to stop, so I gained one stop.  I ran the steep sections for awhile before setting my sights on two runners up ahead on a climb.  Being patient, I still walked this steep uphill leading up to an aid station.  They stopped; I didn't, hence two more places.  The next few miles were all solo on mostly flat terrain.  It was here that I kicked it in.  I didn't want to get caught and was eager to catch another runner.  I bombed the downhills and pushed the ups.  The longer I pushed, the closer I wished the road to finish was.  Finally, I spotted a runner, and he looked to be struggling.  It was right at the turn onto the road that I caught him.  Then for a couple hundred feet we chatted.  After realizing he was not in shape to battle, I accelerated the last uphill and flew into the finish.

Final time: 1:49:19 for 9th place

I was and am still stoked to have finished in the top ten (out of 170)!  This was my first trail race, and I LOVED it.  Rock/Creek and the Boonies did an awesome job!  The trail was nice, the event was well run, and the people and environment were super friendly.  I will be back!  

Congrats to my friends Mike and Justin who ran strong races in the 11mi and 50k respectively!

-The Game:

We booked it back to Cashville after the 11mi awards ceremony.  After eating some food, showering, and napping, I headed over to the Vandy v. Auburn football game.  IT WAS AWESOME!  I don't know where all this has come from, but the Dores are on fire this year!  We came from a 13-0 deficit to hold onto a 14-13 lead.  The most impressive things were the hardnosed determination of of defense, which started the game by stopping AU on 4 straight plays inside our own 10, and the stellar play of back up QB Adams.  After the game, the students just hung around soaking it up, and the team came back on the field for an encore celebration.  Not a bad Saturday!

-Climbing:

EARLY Sunday morning I met up with other students and faculty to head over to Foster Falls with the Vandy Outdoor Rec program.  Although a trip coordinator, I was a participant on this one.  Foster is a great area and there were a lot of climbers enjoying the nice day and rock.  I just need to climb more.  I also need to learn to warm up, for both a mental and physical benefit.  I started on this dihedral crack and had a lot of trouble getting the lay back technique down, so right off the bat, my arms and attitude were thrashed.  Fortunately, I succeeded on the neighboring face climb, which gave me good practice edging and using small features.  On down the trail, I did manage to do a good pumpy crack route, so that was good, but again had trouble on another climb.  What really frustrates me is how long I take to climb.  I don't know what happens, but when I get to a hard section, I get slower.  If I have any trouble on it, it just gets worse, and I end up just hanging there and burning myself up.  That happened over and over Sunday.  On one climb, I tried this one section maybe 5 times unsuccessfully, hangdogging between attempts.  THEN, I just crank it out and do it no problem.  What the heck?!  Maybe I need some endurance work or practice on attacking the difficult sections, but most of all, I just need to climb more!  In the meantime, I'm going to try to focus, keep breathing, and learn from my mistakes and frustrations .  

I did get to lead some more.  I did a 5.6 and 5.7 no problem, and also cleaned some routes.  Leading is pretty neat.  I enjoy the feeling of not being restrained by the rope.  For one, I can't lay on it.  My moves are more intentional that way and I think I feel less fear.  So right now I am top-roping 5.9s and leading 5.6/7 sport.  

Despite the frustrations, it was a good day.  We left Vandy about 7:30am and returned about 8:30pm - long day.  I got back, ate, and showered and then attempted to study some environmental chemistry.  Fail.  I could not hold my eyes open.  Even after taking a 20min nap, I still could not hold on, so I curled up and called it a night, despite others hanging out in the room(they had no effect whatsoever).  It was good night sleep!  Unfortunately, I am feeling sick with a runny nose and all.  Hopefully I can get over it quickly.  I will be taking it pretty easy this week.

Goodnight.

http://www.rockcreek.com/stumpjump/

Hop, Skip and Stump Jump to Chattanooga

Getting ready to head down to Chattaboogie Friday afternoon.  A buddy and I will pick up our packets, eat a nice meal, and then camp out near the start.  I'm excited for it.  I'd like to push myself this Saturday both to guage my fitness and to not sell myself short.  I want a good glimpse at what a tough trail race is like.  

Running this week has not been the best.  I had a test last Friday, this past Tuesday morning, and just tonight.  I did get the good 18miler on Sunday and made it out to Percy Warner Tuesday after my test as well.  There, I ran 3 laps of the white Warner Woods trail (~2.5mi).  The first two laps I averaged just about an eight minute pace (and that trail is no joke).  I dogged the 3rd loopt.  It was a good run and a good preview for this weekend.  However, I have not run since then.  So that is 7.5mi for this week.  This time last week, I had 19mi under the belt.  Oh well, I will run Sat and climb on Sunday and make do.  

Sunday I will be climbing ALL day at Foster Falls.  It's a great place and I hope to really build some skills and learn how to place some protection (I love trad climbing).  I'll update this as soon as possible after running SJ and climbing.