Road to Nowhere

Okay, I finally have time to update this blog.

I spent the better part of this week at La Pine State Park on Central Oregon's high lava desert (about 4,200 feet). We have been going there every summer, renting a "deluxe" (read: it has a toilet) cabin and enjoying the ponderosa pine and lodgepole pine forest and desert scrub. It also has some terrific trails for walking, biking and, of course, barefoot running.



That photo was taken not far from our cabin on our first evening. We didn't plan any big activities - other than driving into the La Pine Public Library so Alita could apply for a permanent job as a paraeducator back in Vancouver (crossing fingers, toes and everything else). We played games, read, walked, ate and generally hung out.

I did take advantage of the trails to vary the sensory diet for my feet. I hadn't tried desert sand and pine needles, but it worked out pretty well.

Here's a quick recap of the week:

Mon: Walked about a mile, barefoot, with Alita and Alec.

Tue: Ran barefoot about 4.9 miles. I started off along the Deschutes River and looped my way up to a great viewpoint. I started heading back toward our cabin but was surprised by a phone call from Alita and Alec. They had decided to take a walk, and had decided to track me. My footprints sort of, um, stood out. I doubled back to find them - making the run longer than planned - but it was a hoot seeing Alec goofing around like a wildlife biologist "darting" me to take back to camp. Fun. We walked back the rest of the way.

Here's what the trail looked like.



That night, we had a campfire and did a little stargazing.



Wed: Took a 2.4-mile walk with Alita and Alec, enjoying the trails at the park. We headed up a rise above the river then looped back around and read about the local flora on the nature trail on the way back to camp. It was a nice walk. We toyed with going barefoot but decided to put on some protection to as to not end up filthy. (Irony alert!) We wore our sandals, and ended up with far dirtier feet than when we went sans shoes! I guess sandals make the feet more sweaty and trap the grit so it grinds into the skin. Whodathunkit?

More trail:



Thu: I went for a quick last run of 2.4 miles, ostensibly to find out how far we walked the day before. I also wanted to play a little bit more. I'm still trying to root out the cause of some hip (and knee) irritation. I think I've let my core get weak, and that's putting too much strain on the lateral hip. Maybe. It's kind of driving me crazy trying to figure it out and resolve it. Anyway, it was a nice jaunt. Any more would have been too much. I didn't wait long enough after eating, and the coffee didn't sit well, so I sloshed most of the way and barfed a little. Bleah.

One other note: I saw one other set of barefoot foot prints out there.. and what looked like prints from VFFs. It would have been fun to have encountered each other out there, but alas...

Here are a few more photos:


Here's one of our campmates, a chipmunk.


And another, a golden mantled ground squirrel.

Here I am (speaking of squirrely) out on a run.



And here are my tracks in a nice dusty road.



And, just to prove I wasn't the ONLY one barefoot out there...



And finally, Alec chills out waiting for lunch at a local DQ.



I think it capped off a pretty good summer for him. And us.

(Wife-mandated postscript: I had a LOT more photos from my cell phone camera, but they're mostly of my feet in different situations. She's thinking an intervention might be necessary soon if I don't contain myself.)

Okay, I can't resist. I need help!



Ah, summer.

Gorgeous! That looks like it could be really fun! How far from civilization, might I ask?

As for your fabulously fat folder of foot fotos on your fone, your female friendmate is factual: you need help JK.

E Greenie

EugeneGreenie wrote:Gorgeous! That looks like it could be really fun! How far from civilization, might I ask?

As for your fabulously fat folder of foot fotos on your fone, your female friendmate is factual: you need help JK.

E Greenie

Absolutely, awesomely, alliterate of you, Greenie! Though my feet aren't fat.

Let me post a photo to prove it! Oh, wait...

La Pine is about 20 miles south of Bend and a fairly short drive from the resort community of Sunriver. The state park is in the middle of the forest, but areas around it have great views of Paulina Peak, a huge volcanic caldera, Mount Bachelor, the Three Sisters, Broken Top, etc., etc. Quite the volcanic wonderland!

My earlier post has a link to the Oregon State Parks website for La Pine State Park. Here's the link again.

Barefoot Run: 6 miles

Weather: Sunny, cool, a few patches of ground fog. 49 degrees. Gear: Bare feet, shorts, T. Fuel: Coffee and rice milk.

Back to the roads this morning for a slightly longer barefoot run with my training partner. I'm wondering if a nice smooth run on even surfaces will help my twitchy hip calm down a bit, and besides... my feet needed the stimulus.

The run included concrete, asphalt and chip seal. The chip seal surface was by far the most challenging.


(Look! A photo without a foot in it!)

If I can learn how to run gently on that rough/pointy a surface, I will consider myself on the way to really understanding how to run barefoot. Yowza.

Another highlight on the run was seeing six deer (does that qualify as a herd?) about a mile from my house. There was a yearling buck, at least two doe, and three younger deer - including a fawn with spots just starting to fade. Amazing.



The run was not fast, but I didn't care. My body wasn't in the mood for speed and my feet wouldn't let me go fast on the rougher pavement, anyway - but my heart rate was nice and low throughout. That'll be a good stimulus for the slow-twitches, while helping refine my form. Besides, it made the conversation easier.

Walked first five minutes and the last minute or so. Average HR for entire run: 126 (!)

Deer and Deschutes. It's too bad their beer doesn't just run through the river. You could've made a killing bringing some back from that trip. Do you guys have any wild turkey (the birds, not the bourbon!) up there?

Mike MacLellan wrote:Deer and Deschutes. It's too bad their beer doesn't just run through the river. You could've made a killing bringing some back from that trip. Do you guys have any wild turkey (the birds, not the bourbon!) up there?

No beer in the river itself, alas. Though I probably drove near THE Mirror Pond (Pale Ale) in Bend, and drove past Black Butte (Porter) on the way home.

As for the wild turkeys, I had to look that one up. Yes, we do have some in Washington. They aren't native to the state but were introduced as a game bird. They seem to be flourishing, as are the wild turkeys (who may partake in Wild Turkey) in the state Legislature.

So our house is getting a little more crowded this week. We've adopted two kittens from the local animal shelter. One is here already (and she found a way to burrow into a box spring set) and the other will arrive mid-week after he gets, well.. you know.

Here they are:



This is Callie. She's the little burrower. She'd been abandoned, fostered, adopted and returned. We hope we can get her comfortable enough to be happy here. She sure seems happy to find all sorts of out-of-the-way hiding places, that's for sure. Once she settles down, I think it'll be great.



This is Hunter. He's the one still in custody at the shelter. They won't release them until they're fixed and microchipped. He's extremely playful - he's for Alec - but a little shy sometimes. Very cute.

The irony is, we settled on just one cat - Hunter - yesterday, after we couldn't find a second cat that didn't want to kick his little furry butt. We got a surprise today when we came back to visit the kitty in the clink, and a volunteer just happened to stop by with Callie in her arms. Suckers that we are, we thought we might as well see how those two got along... and they got along pretty well. And after hearing Callie's backstory, well... we were doomed.

Ah well. It will be good to get the little guy home. He should be a kick.

Cute kittens! Congrats on the new additions to your family!
Your end-of-the-summer vacay looked wonderful...GREAT trails.

KathyK wrote:Cute kittens! Congrats on the new additions to your family!
Your end-of-the-summer vacay looked wonderful...GREAT trails.

Thanks, Kathy! Callie was using me as a trampoline/backboard at about 3 o'clock this morning as she played on the bed, which at this point is still adorable. Not so sure about her running a mad dash across my neck, though...

Hunter is done with his surgery, so we can pick him up later today. That should be fun to get those two together.

The trails WERE fun. Almost too easy. When I did my 6 miles on pavement of various grades on Sunday, my feet were slightly puffy the next day. I took today as an extra rest day to let everything rebuild stronger.

It gives credit to one barefoot running guy who says that a 1:3 ratio should apply to barefoot runs as you're learning how to do it: treat every one mile barefoot like three miles in shoes. I'm trying to keep that in mind as I work on this and try to avoid falling victim to "overexuberance syndrome."

Speaking of overexuberance, God help me, but I am starting to consider whether to run the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run next April. (No, not barefoot. I'm not ready for something that crazy, yet.) It lines up perfectly with our various school schedules and is in the perfect place, with relatives eager to provide lodging, companionship for the rest of my family, and whatever support I possibly want. Hm....

Next = 2013? If so, you've got a pacer for some of it

Mike MacLellan wrote:Next = 2013? If so, you've got a pacer for some of it

Yeah, 2013. And that thought occurred to me. Which is what makes this such a frighteningly good idea...

(chanting) Do it! Do it! Do it!

Mike MacLellan wrote:(chanting) Do it! Do it! Do it!

If that's what you're planning to do for the last 12 miles, you might not survive the experience.

Nah, I'll just channel my inner trail-running champion and pass it on to you, since the last 8-9 miles are the "out" of the out-and-back I won last year up in Auburn.

Hm.... are pacers allowed to tow runners up the "dam hill"? If so, we may have a deal.

Dam hill? Literally. You climb to the top of Auburn Dam before ending.



Yeah, they put the biggest climb of the whole 50-miler in the last 2.5 miles. Giddyup.

good lord...THAT hill at the end of 50 miles?
And you'll PAY to do this?

Whew!

Yup. Crazy, huh?

I think that ridiculous, last-gasp ascent is what gives this event its cred among ultrageeks, even though a good portion of it can be run run on asphalt bike paths (here's the URL, if you're interested - American River 50 Mile Endurance Run).

What's crazy is that this has a relatively minor elevation change overall, compared with other ultras, which makes it a fairly popular first 50-miler. It also tends to be faster (as you're not climbing three mountain ranges mid-race), so it's popular as a qualifying run for the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. (This does not mean I'm angling to run Western States anytime soon. That's a totally different animal.)

Just so we're clear, there's no dam. Nor was there ever. There were PLANS for a dam, but that would've been at the river, so the hill would've started directly next to it (alternately, you could've crossed the dam and gone up towards Cool). But it was never built. So, ADO (Auburn Dam Overlook) Park is also a misnomer. Hell, you can't even see the river from it. But, y'know, old habits.

Anyway, I'm not positive if the course takes you on the asphalt or up Cardiac, but either way, they're not too bad.

Mike MacLellan wrote:Just so we're clear, there's no dam. Nor was there ever. There were PLANS for a dam, but that would've been at the river, so the hill would've started directly next to it (alternately, you could've crossed the dam and gone up towards Cool). But it was never built. So, ADO (Auburn Dam Overlook) Park is also a misnomer. Hell, you can't even see the river from it. But, y'know, old habits.

Anyway, I'm not positive if the course takes you on the asphalt or up Cardiac, but either way, they're not too bad.

No dam? Huh. And here I've been billing myself as some expatriate Northern California expert.

Wait... this is Cardiac? Oh well, I don't think anybody in the pack is going to be running up that bad boy, anyway.

(Now that you mention it, I do now vaguely remember some Auburn Dam controversy many years ago... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn_Dam )

Back to our current realities...

Walk: 3 miles

Weather: Sunny, slightly warm. 77 degrees.

I had time to take a walk during lunch, so I headed over the Interstate Bridge from Vancouver into Portland. I got a view of a shuttered hotel/resort that burned in a spectacular fire over the weekend. It looks like a war zone.

With kittens, school and shuffled work schedules, I have no goal for this week other than try to sneak in some sort of activity when I can. It's a crazy week.

No wonder you were a sucker for those little fur balls. They are just so adorable. 9 yrs ago we went in for 1 and came out with 2 as well.

That is one crazy climb on that race....impressive indeed.

Hey, Joel!

Yes, they're extremely cute, but they have pegged our household crazy meter already. Callie took out our WiFi hub yesterday and tried to take a chunk out of my foot overnight, and poor little Hunter is meowing his head off in protest for being on lockdown to let his "vasectomy" heal properly. It will be quite the show when those two start to actually interact.

It's funny about that hill. It sure looks intimidating after 47 miles... but I'm less concerned about that than I am the 17 or 18 miles that are run on an asphalt bike path. What sort of shoes would you wear that would handle both the bike trail and the single track in the second half of the race?

Barefoot Run: 3.1 miles on moderate asphalt

Weather: Sunny, warmish. 69-73 degrees and warming fast. Gear: Bare feet, shorts, T. Fuel: post-breakfast

It's been a busy morning, but I was determined to squeeze in at least some sort of a run if I could. I did three miles of laps around the neighborhood, trying to keep the effort level down and focus on form without having to worry about being taken out by a pickup.

The run went well, though it felt a lot warmer than the low 70s. It's supposed to get into the mid-80s today, and I'm not surprised. The sun felt pretty hot. At least for me.

I wanted to do at least 3, and that seemed about enough for today. I'm still working on the foundation.

Average HR for entire run: 137

Kittens are cute, Mark. My first dog (after marriage) was name Cally - made me tear up a bit. Oh and I almost forgot that I really hate you because where you get to run is to die for! (Keep up the good work, you'll need it for that hill in April).

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Kittens are cute, Mark. My first dog (after marriage) was name Cally - made me tear up a bit. Oh and I almost forgot that I really hate you because where you get to run is to die for! (Keep up the good work, you'll need it for that hill in April).

Aw. Those first pets leave a big hole in your heart, don't they? We're still missing Rocky and Lucky.

If I am actually going to do this crazy thing, I will be spending a lot of time in this area's less-than-ideal conditions of fall-winter-spring getting ready. I'll be all pale and mildewy when April comes. So don't hate me too much.

Ah the first few days of kitten life in a new house. Sounds about right. Sorry to hear the loss of your wifi...go for the expensive stuff early....smart kitten!

As for the type of shoe, not sure what to tell you but I would say a trail shoe of some sort is probably your best bet and you could switch shoes mid race if that is possible. Oh the heck with it, go barefoot....I kid, I kid, I kid. I know you aren't THAT CRAZY YET!!