Jonah and the Brown Mountain

DNF marathon dream

2008-10-03T09:57:00.001-07:00

I had a dream last night that I was running in a marathon - or trying to, anyway. The dream took place in and around the start/registration area. I was trying to get a bib number and start the race but every time I made contact with a race official I would be led off somewhere to help with some kind of set up or course maintenance or something – somehow they kept thinking that I was a race volunteer rather than a runner. It was frustrating because I always had to run back to the starting area and I was wasting all my energy before I even started the marathon. I kept seeing all these runners going along but I couldn’t join them. I ended up running all over the place and saw a lot of the course which looked pretty good – sort of like a Disneyland/theme park kind of course with lots of little bridges and waterways and twists and turns. Later I saw some friends gathering after the race talking about it and their times and they wanted to know how I did and I tried to explain to them that I hadn’t even started.

another poorly planned eighteen

2008-10-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

I went out for a long run last night. It got up to around 100 degrees during the day but had cooled off to about ninety by the time I started the run. I planned to run to the drinking fountain at the trailhead. It started getting dark by the time I was about half way there. The planning for this run was not excellent. I think I need to get a light. I saw several people running with lights. Light would be especially nice through the creepy parts of the trail like when you take the pedestrian tunnel through Devil’s Gate Damn. The run was going really well but I kept telling myself to turn around because I didn’t have a light and the terrain I was running over was pretty uneven – basically a trail/path through the Arroyo Seco. Just as it was getting totally dark I saw two coyotes out for an evening stroll. At that point I was still a couple miles short of my turnaround destination but I figured that it was already dark so there was no point in turning around anymore. But there’s dark and there’s dark. Running through the Arroyo it’s pretty easy to see because there are a lot of distant light sources (high school practice field, freeway, etc.) but as you enter the forest at the canyon bottom it gets dark-dark and there are hooting owls and scary lurking creatures around every corner. At that point it was very dark. I couldn’t even see the ground I was running on. That was actually a pretty interesting out of body sort of feeling to run/float through the forest night. I made it to the drinking fountain then turned around and remembered that I had to run through all that darkness again to make it home, but I still felt pretty good and strong so it was fine – that’s the way it goes on a long run. Then I saw some headlights approaching from behind. I figured it was a forest service truck but it turned out to be a guy on a mountain bike – wow, those were some incredibly bright lights. Then I saw two more bikers with big bright lights. I had no idea night biking was such a deal up there. And then there was more darkness and creepy tunnels and river bottoms. It was a bit of a relief to make it back to the Rose Bowl area where there were lots of people still walking/running/riding. It was probably at about this time that Hilary was starting to get really mad at me for not telling her what time I’d be back. It was probably about eight pm and I still had about six miles to get back home. But all I could do was keep on running. With about 2 miles to go I stated getting a little tired but focused on form and kept cruising along. At that point Hilary had decided to start the hunt for me by car. Someone pulled up next to me in a car and said Hi, Hi but I couldn’t stop to give them directions because I couldn’t stop and restart – the fatigue was setting in - physical and mental. Well, clearly the mental, it turned out that person in the car was Hilary who was out to rescue me but I was clueless. Eventually I stumbled home and even then things seems relatively okay… until they weren’t. Apparently I had gotten totally, totally dehydrated and I crashed hard. I’d never experienced anything like that before. I was nauseas and my legs were cramping and doing their haunted legs thing but the strangest part was the hands – it was like they were filled with moving/rolling marbles. It was crazy and cool at the same time but I was way too wrecked to appreciate it – I was sprawled out on the floor unable to do anything – I really needed an IV and was moments away from heading to the hospital… Thank you, Hilary, for caring for me. I just don’t seem to learn my lessons very well. It was the same story a year ago and I haven’t made food and water a priority on my runs. How am I going to make myself get on top of that? Finally by about 1am I was able to get some gummy energy snacks and fluids down. Surprisingly, (in Floyd’s defense) this morning I feel totally fine and kinda feel like going for a run.

Daisy Bell, 1892

2008-09-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

Remember that song? It’s a nice one to ride to. It tends to slow down its rhythm a bit as you go up a hill and starts sounding a bit more like HAL’s version, but mostly it provides for some nice leisurely bike time…

never let ‘em see you sweat

2008-09-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

I’m sure you remember that ad campaign from a while back. I’ve been thinking about that phrase lately and how it’s probably had a really big negative impact on our lives. Not allowing ourselves to sweat means not allowing ourselves to be active which means allowing ourselves to be unhealthy and miss out on other benefits of an active lifestyle like seeing the sun set over the red ocean from the top of Brown mountain.

Today I went out for a ride in search of a new burrito. On the way, I ran into Joseph. I joined his ride out to a bike shop to pick a few parts. It was a rather warm day. Probably in the nineties somewhere and this was about midday. It was actually quite a pleasant day to ride. Keeping the pace up keeps you cool. By the time we dismounted a walked into the bike shop, though, we were about as drenched as you can get. Of all the places in the life where it is certainly okay to let them see you sweat, a bike store should be high on the list – it should maybe even be a badge of accomplishment there. Still, though, I had that thought in my mind that I was sweating way too much to be in a public area.

But if we can’t sweat in public then it makes it pretty hard to ride your bike to work or the grocer or the library or the pub. But these are places that we need to be riding to. So we need to break this whole misplaced psychological phobia by sweating it out. We really ought to be more wary of those people around us that show up cool and dry and smelling lovely. Maybe the saying should be reworked to go a little more something like this: Never let ’em see you coifed. That just might help to solve some of our energy/transportation challenges (by my precise calculations an ounce of sweat equals 4 ounces of gasoline.)

On a happy note, we did end up continuing on to a great new burrito place followed by several rounds of afternoon beers at the pub.

wheels!

2008-09-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

The old cassette got a deep tooth brushing – look at all that plaque! Needed a spacer to put old seven-speed cassette on 9-speed hub.

These wheels are solid – and they spin for-ev-er…

Mindful Mule - ready to ride around the earth… some more...

HAL is back

2008-09-17T20:09:00.000-07:00

What's an inverter? I don't know but my computer's (HAL) got a new one now and it's up and running... whew. It's nice to be back on a normal size keyboard - as opposed to the tiny little laptop pad for which you need chopsticks to type.

The following text is related to the photos in the post directly below:

This started out as a small project – rotate the tires. The rear tire was getting a lot more wear (as usual) so I figured I’d flip them and extend their lifespan.

However, when I removed the rear tire, things changed. Remember when I was wondering how long a rim will last once it’s started to get concave? Well, I still don’t know for sure, but I think the best advice is to replace the rim when you start to wonder about it.

Removing the rear tire put just enough stress on the rim to reveal/open this crack. Believe it or not, it goes almost all the way around the circumference of the rim – on both sides!

So, Mindful’s out of commission for a while, but new wheels are in the works...

up on blocks

2008-09-15T18:45:00.001-07:00

Shoeless Mindful Mule

The Crack!

cool running

2008-09-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

This morning it was nice and cool (68 at 9am) and cloudy. It's been like this for a few days now. It's such a nice change from the mid-ninties we've had for months. Still I had a hard time getting out into the day but after just enough coffee I decided to try for at least an easy three miler. Once I was out there running, I felt pretty good so I headed toward the bridge. Then I remembered that the AC 100 started in Wrightwood this morning and that gave me the motivation to push myself a little further. I ended up running to Johnson Rock/Field where the AC 100 fininshes making it about fifteen miles roundtrip for me (an amazing one hundred miles for the AC 100 runners - go Catra!) I thought there might be some people already there setting up the finish line but it was totally empty. I guess no runner was expected for another 14 hours so there was plenty of time to set up sometime this afternoon/evening. The run felt good. The sun came out about halfway through. I haven't run that far in a long time so I was surprised that my form and strength held up pretty well. Hopefully this will lead me into a solid fall running season.

Mindful Mule's rear rim is totally destroyed - the concaving side wall cracked all the way around on both sides - overhaul coming soon - had a post all ready to go when my computer died, will post more soon, don't feel like retyping...

mechanical and technical difficulties

2008-09-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

with bike and computer... please stand by...

pretty bars

2008-09-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

“Totally Eighties” got a quick/cheap/easy makeover. I was tempted to leave the bar tape half and half, but feared it could lead to the eventual fracturing of communication pathways between the left/right hemispheres of my ocd brain. So it’s all blue. Added brake hoods, too.

mixed frequencies

2008-09-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

I was on my bike last night as it was starting to get dark so I flipped on the lights. A few minutes later I noticed that my odometer/speedometer had stopped counting – it was displaying 0mph. Then I noticed that one of my lights was low on power. (I have two headlights. One of my friends asked me once why I have two headlights on my bike as if it was extravagant or something. There are stupid questions.) I flipped the headlight to a different setting and the speedo started working again. Then stopped again. Then I turned the light off completely and the speedo started again. So apparently my light was interfering with the wireless signal for the speedo. But there hasn’t been a problem between these two before so I’m wondering if maybe at lower battery charge levels the headlight gives off a slightly different frequency/radiation that interrupts the speedo. Will the problem correct itself when I recharge the batteries? We’ll see…

getting into shape for fall

2008-09-02T19:02:00.001-07:00

Well I finally managed to get up to Brown over the weekend. It was sunny and hot but I made it and was exhausted after the ride. I’m not used to being so exhausted after riding Brown. I guess that’s what you call “out of shape.” And, of course on the way home I was starving and every other house I passed was grilling up some kind of delicious Labor Day meal. I’m a vegetarian, but let me tell you those steaks smelled really really really good.

It was nice to get back on the suspension bike – Metamorphosis. As it turned out, she was a little out of shape as well. As I started up the climb the handlebars came loose. Luckily I brought my tools so it was simple to tighten and continue. On the way down the front brake was making some scraping noises. I couldn’t fix that on the trail but made it home okay.

Today I replaced the front brake pads. The old pads were basically down to the metal on one side – hence the scraping sounds. As I was assessing the repair I also noticed that one of the spoke nipples was broken. A guy at the bike shop tried to sell me one nipple for one dollar even though I had just spent $30 in the store for the brake pads. His coworker had way more sense and was like “dude, he’s wearing a Bike Week Pasadena t-shirt, I think we can float him a nipple.” Actually he didn’t say it in words so much as snort it out his nose while shaking his head at his coworker – enough not said.

end of a slow summer

2008-08-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

In the past four days I’ve run a total of 20 miles. 8+3+3+(3+3)= 20. I ran twice today - once in the morning, once in the evening. I haven’t had a 20-mile week since May 19 – 25. Three months! Now you see what I mean when I say I haven’t been running much. However, this week I’m slowly getting back on track. The second run today felt better than any of the rest of the runs from the week. The cherry bomb is very slowly getting diffused. I’d like to get in at least one more medium length run this weekend. If I can just keep this 20 per week thing going I could potentially do 800 by the end of the year, so I’m now aiming for that (revised from 700 in the last post.)

Also: It really is feeling like fall. I know officially fall won’t start until September 22, but I’m gonna go ahead and call summer over. It seems to make more sense to me that a season would overlap the solstices and equinoxes anyway. I’d say a month before equinox/solstice should mark the boundary between the seasons.

Tomorrow: I really want to ride Brown Mountain! (It's been 7 weeks!)

finally running (again)

2008-08-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

It seems like I say this all too often throughout the year, but I think I’m finally getting back into running again.

I went for a run yesterday evening in the shaded canyon creek trail – a great place to go in the summer when it’s still 90 degrees in the late afternoon. The first half-mile of the route is exposed to the sun, but then you enter the shade of the canyon and it stays that way for pretty much as far as you want to run/walk/bike/go.

Hilary started teaching her kickboxing class again yesterday for the first time after her a.c.l. – about six months ago. The trailhead is on the way to her class so I hitched a ride with her. This felt a little like cheating, but it was also nice to not have to ride all the way up there and then run. Maybe we’ll continue with this Tuesday night carpool scheme.

Anyway, my running miles are way down this year. Everything was going pretty well up through my training for the Mount Wilson Trail Race. Then I took a little break and did some traveling and had/have the whole cherry bomb nagging issue and never really caught back onto a good running schedule. Yesterday I ran eight miles – the farthest I’ve gone since Mount Wilson – two and a half months ago. Running is hard again. I need to get back on track so it will be easy and more fun. Then I’ll be able to enjoy the scenery a little more when I’m out there instead of just trying to make it through the ordeal.

It’s also a little bit hard to train for nothing. There’s a trail race in December out on the coast that looks nice – Lasse Viren 20K. Maybe I’ll sign up for it to give me some motivation. Why it’s named after Viren I don’t know, although he did run in it once.

Hopefully the build up toward a competition and cooling temperatures for the rest of the year will help me get out there. I think I’ve missed my chance at 1000 miles this year, but it would be nice if I could at least recover to around 700 – I would be satisfied with that.

bad good run

2008-08-21T09:28:00.001-07:00

Last night’s run was horrible. I rode up to the trailhead and ran from there. But I could barely run at all. It took all I had just to keep from dropping down to speed walking pace. I had no energy and little drive. I’ve been reading a book about Prefontaine, and a magazine article about Meltzer so I figured I’d be able to tap into some of their spirit for motivation, but it didn’t work that way.

Of course, there are plenty of reasons for this drop in performance. The primary factor is just that I haven’t been running much due to all the other reasons/excuses.

The good part, though, was that I somehow managed to drag myself out there and even though my body and spirit wanted to quit immediately, I got in about an hour of running on the creek trail – there’s probably a better name for that creek – I’ll look it up – maybe.

Also good and bad… while I was on the run, all I could think about was mountain lions. One of my friends recently reminded me that they like to hang out in trees. So the whole time I was scanning through all the trees looking for sleeping lions and wondering around which bend they would pounce.

Two f’r Tuesday

2008-08-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

Went up towards Brown this afternoon with both my mountain bikes (Mindful Mule, the quasi-vintage rigid ‘94 and Metamorphosis, the full suspension/disc ‘04). No, I didn’t ride them both at the same time. I’ve learned my lesson about that. Lately my roadie friend, Dan the Man, has been thinking about heading back up the mountain trails on the bike. So, today we went for a test ride so he could get the feel of suspension and disc brakes and be reminded of how awesome it is up in those mountains. I ran out of water at the junction road to Millard (about 2/3 of the way to the top of the Brown route) so we turned around. I hadn’t been up on that trail with Mindful Mule since Metamorphosis arrived on the scene a year ago. It seems like much more than a year. I can hardly remember riding Mindful up there. But, she performed quite well today. She’s a little heavy and noisy with all her lights and racks and general urban utility getup, but other than needing to take the downhills a little slower than normal, she pretty much still rocked it.

After the partial Brown route we refilled water bottles and headed up the creek trail for some shady, light technical riding and stream crossings. It was a nice warm day again (but not hot – we’ve had a very mild August) and the water felt great on the feet as we crossed. My toes even got cold – summer must be ending.

The ride was a blast and it was great to be up there with Dan again. I think he liked it, too (maybe he’ll post a comment).

As for the cherry bomb, well, it was bombin’ pretty hard the whole ride, but it was worth it. I do think it’s getting a little better everyday, but I just can’t wait around any longer for it to completely go away.

Roots Ride

2008-08-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

I rode up the creek trail through the upper Arroyo Seco this morning. The Cherry Bomb has still got its claws sunk pretty deep into my scapula, but its grip is starting to loosen up a bit so that I can at least get out for some moderate riding - still not quite ready for a ride to Brown, though – at least I can visit its watershed. The creek trail is a lot easier physically but a lot more technical, too. It was a pretty warm and sunny day, so the creek trail was perfect for its shade and stream crossings. It’s always nice to get your feet wet on a summer ride. When I first started riding bikes on the trail, back when Mindful Mule was just a baby, this was the trail I rode. So, today’s ride was sort of a reunion of sorts for me and Mindful and the Upper Arroyo.

Tart Trail Food

Mindful Mule's Sexy Waterfall Shot

Not so much of a waterfall really as a dam

more deferred maintenance

2008-08-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

I’ve been considering getting Mindful Mule’s rims replaced for a couple of years now. The sidewall on the rim is starting to get a little concave. I suppose this is from the pressure and friction caused by the brake pads against the sidewall of the rim – especially old pads that have hardened. I have no idea how to lace a wheel. I’m not sure it’s even worth learning although it might be fun. Until I learn how to build my own wheels I could either get Steve at Open Road to rebuild them for me or I could buy a new wheelset altogether – given the age and condition of the hubs, this latter option might be worth it. I’ve put this off for a long time. I keep saying it’ll be fine, it might last another few years for all I know. I’ve heard (on the internet) that wheels can eventually come apart if this concaving is neglected for too long, but how long and how concave does the sidewall of the rim get before it splits and what happens if it splits when you’re riding? And maybe more importantly, if I do get a new wheelset should I get black or silver?

cherry bomb

2008-08-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

All I want to do today is ride to Brown mountain. All I’ve wanted to do all week is ride to Brown mountain. I haven’t been up there for a month! I’m in withdrawal. But I’m still not going because I have a pinched nerve – affectionately known as a cherry bomb because it feels like there’s a slow release cherry bomb wedged under my scapula. I’ve been able to do a little bit of riding around town this week but can’t seem to go more than a dozen or so miles – and forget about running.

oregon souvenir

2008-07-30T09:09:00.001-07:00

driving driving driving

2008-07-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

In the first 6.5 months of the year I drove 1483 miles in the car. In the last 2 weeks I drove 3334 miles. I don’t think I’ll be able to ride more than I drive again this year.

Highlights:

Big Trees in Mineral King, Ca.

An evening meditation walk in Grass Valley, Ca.

Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, Ca.

A dip in Lake Shasta, Ca.

A perfect running path in Ashland, Or.

A bonfire on Gleneden Beach, Or.

Another great running path in Renton, Wa.

Another great running path in Missoula, Mt.

A (borrowed bike) trail ride in The Rattlesnake, Missoula, Mt.

Getting back home to Mindful Mule (and all the other bicycles)…

riding riding riding

2008-07-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

Still trying to build up a surplus of bike miles to carry me through the next few weeks away. I have the feeling, though, that all this riding is only going to make things worse. It feels good for now, anyway. I think I’ve ridden more this week than I ever have before - at least since I’ve been keeping track of mileage over the last couple years. Whenever I’m consciously making an effort to make it to a certain weekly mileage I’m reminded that the numbers are pretty irrelevant. Much more significant in my memory of the week are the other riders (and runners) and bikes, and the heat and the raindrops and the high clouds, and the patches of sand at the side of the road, and one unusual corkscrewed Yucca flower stalk on Brown, and grease-fingers, and horse flies on Brown, and the crinkly sound that rotten asphalt makes as you ride over it, and blinding sweat in my eyes, and white buckwheat flowers slowly rusting across the foothills, and the slow power-crawl up that last stretch of climb and the transition into smooth fast downhill speed flight, and the spinning spinning spinning whir of the drivetrain…

july

2008-07-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

It’s been cooling off nicely in the evenings the last several days so I’ve been able to get in a lot of road riding. Last night we even got some big raindrops – not nearly enough to measure, though. I like summer raindrops.

I haven’t been able to run much recently due to an electrical storm in my back/spine. Riding, though, seems to be at least neutral if not somewhat therapeutic. I’m hoping to get in two hundred miles this week because for the next few weeks I’ll be traveling north in the car with no bike. Hopefully I’ll be able to get in some running.

Hope you’re enjoying Le Tour…

leftover shoes

2008-07-05T08:58:00.001-07:00

I have a lot of running shoes. I tend to retire them after about 400 or 500 miles of running. One pair went 600 and still felt great. A couple pairs only made it to 300. It’s hard to know when a shoe is done. You just sort of get a certain feeling - a dull feeling.

It’s amazing how good and new a pair of shoes can look after a few hundred miles. I usually keep wearing my favorites as regular around-town shoes. Recently, though, I’ve been wondering if this is not such a good idea. Running shoes are designed to be worn while running. In particular, they have a high cushioned heel to absorb the shock of repeated heel-strike impacts.

Maybe a high heel isn’t the best sole for standing and walking. Maybe it doesn’t allow for proper stretching/lengthening of hamstrings and calves. I’ll keep this in mind but I’ll probably end up continuing to wear old running shoes around just because it’s easy – because they’re all over the house.

end of June notes

2008-07-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

half the year:

run 379
bike 1699

car 1337
alc. 260

full rain season 2007/2008:

rain 59.5cm (as forecast!)

Seasonal Rainfall Totals for South Pasadena, California
2004/2005 - 56.5” (143.51cm)
2005/2006 - 26.25” (66.68cm)
2006/2007 - 6.25” (15.8cm)
2007/2008 – 23.4” (59.5cm)