The Road Less Traveled

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

~Robert Frost

This weekend I'm attending a family reunion in Fresno, and I headed out this morning on a 20 mile run along a new (new to me) bike trail along the San Juaquin River. I noticed a nice dirt trail leaving the asphalt so I decided to give it a try. After about a half mile the trail got smaller and smaller and smaller until there was no trail. I was determined to plod along hoping to be rewarded by my persistence with a nice meandering trail. The trail never came to fruition but the reward was the beautiful wildlife. Five deer, a bobcat and numerous birds all around. Yes, the road less traveled has a lot of rewards.... and, also a lot of stickers that get caught in your shoes and socks.

Trot, Smile, and Wave

Have you ever stopped at an intersection, crosswalk, or parking lot for a person to make their way across wherever they are crossing? It's what we should do when we are in our cars... stop for pedestrians. It gets a little annoying when someone is crossing where they shouldn't but you still wait and let them cross. With all the bad rap drivers get, in general I think most are pretty polite. For some odd reason I seem to be bothered by the unwritten rules out there; such as, why is it pedestrians seem to think it is okay to walk at a snails pace when a car is waiting? Have you heard the riddle? Why did the human cross the road? Answer: To take a long time getting to the other side.


Cindy and I live by the philosophy that when a car has stopped for us, we pick up the pace to a trot, flash a friendly smile and a wave of the hand, not only does it create better kharma, but burns a few more calories. We are not the only ones... other people do this and I am always aware and appreciative of these actions. Within those few seconds I always think, "that is someone I would like as my friend". Don't you think this world would be a better place if everyone always did at least one of the three (trot, smile, or wave) whenever they crossed the road?

Coyote Ugly.... Not

Running on the trails this evening I came over the top of a hill and was face to face with a coyote. What a great moment. For a split second the coyote and I were one, and I entered into a Vision Quest in which we could read each others thoughts. No, not really but it was pretty cool. Where is my camera when I need it?

Trail Work and Training Run For AC100

The weekend started at 7:00 A.M. in a parking lot at Hahamongna Park in Pasadena. Unfortunately I forgot the camera at home. From there we carpooled up to a section of the AC100 in the San Gabriel Mountains to work on improving a section of the Pacific Crest Trail. Still no camera. I enjoyed hearing about the eclectic backgrounds of a dozen or so people that had come to spend the day helping work on the trail, and fulfiling their 8 hours of trail work that is required to participate in the AC100. Still no camera. Not much else to say, hiking down a steep hill with heavy tools for 3 miles, stopping now and then working in the hot sun, pounding and scraping dirt is not a lot of fun. Only to hike back up the 3 miles carrying the same heavy tools. The day ended about 10 hours later at 5:00. My hat goes off to the guys that are regulars on this work.

The next day (Sunday) started at 7:00 as well. A couple dozen runners met at the Visitor Center at Chilao Flats and carpooled up to Islip Saddle for a 27 mile run along the AC course.

It wasn't a big surprise to me that I forgot my camera again, but fortunately there are people out there much smarter than myself. In this case a big thank you to Christina H. for ALL the pictures and helping at all the aid stations along with Hal Winton, one of the AC100 Race Directors.

--- Hal giving a pre-run briefing ------------>

Just before departing for 27 miles -------->

I was fortunate enough to run with Dan (married to the smart lady Christina) who was much more familiar with the AC trail.

Dan and I around mile 23 ------------>

Another guy that ran along with us part of the way was Barefoot Ted. Ted belongs to the ideology of running barefoot (or as close as possible) is much better for the body than man's oppressive shoes. Today he was running in a new sandal that he had made himself.

<------Imagine running 27 miles over rocks, dirt, etc. in these

Full shot of Barefoot Ted ----------------------->

After looking through Christina's pictures she had posted online I decided I needed a name like Ted has, and the best I could come up with was "Sitting Chris". I realized whenever I arrive at Aid Stations I immediately had a seat, and probably would never get up if it weren't for "Slavedriver Dan" getting me going.

<------------- Sitting Chris

Sitting Chris -->

Sitting Chris ------->

<--------Chris (only guy sitting)

What a great day in a beautiful place....

--------What's this????? -----Chris Standing?----------->

Are 2 PB&J's Better than 1?

Every day at work I eat the same thing.... one Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. I have noticed that every day I come home from work, rather than head out the door and go for a run (something I was planning on do a few hours earlier) I am hungry and therefore get something to eat and sit down and watch Oprah. This begins the vicious cycle of getting tired, which results in a nap, and if I'm lucky I eventually get out for a run much later than expected, followed by not getting as good of sleep at night.

Today, I decided I had it all figured out... the secret is to eat Two Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches! Therefore, I won't be hungry when I get home resulting in an energized run and renewed vigor. You'll never believe what happened ... having two sandwiches for lunch, I was just as hungry, but, instead of watching Oprah, I watched Ellen. I can't wait for tomorrow, I'm going to see what happens when I eat three PB&J's.

Slow Ride

It's great when pieces of a puzzle can come together.

My wonderful and beautiful wife Cindy had surgery yesterday, and a growth was removed. Everything went well, the tumor was benign and by 1:00 she was resting in her hospital bed. We passed the time talking about how well the surgery went, and all the things we were going to do this summer. Traveling to San Diego, Palm Springs, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Morro Bay, "the cabin", Bodie (ghost town), Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Arnold, etc. To have a growth removed in a hospital and actualy call it a good day is a very good thing. Now, I don't know if these are the exact sentiments of Cindy, seeing as she is the one operated on, but I would like to think she would at least partially agree.

This morning I didn't get up until 6:00 and I was feeling quite sluggish. Moving around slowly I got the newpaper and had a snack with my coffee. Since visiting hours aren't until 10:00, I knew I needed to get in a run no matter how sluggish I was feeling. Jogging out the driveway my legs were tired and stiff, moving slowly up the streets to get to the aqueduct. As I jogged along my mind was flooded with all the positive things to be thankful for... the successful surgery, all the travel plans, a day off of work :-), the sunrise, getting to see Cindy in a few hours, etc. Again, it's amazing when things start to come together. Running has done that for me, not only have I lost some weight, but I eat more healthy, think more positively, and make fewer excuses. Back to the run... just as great things are merging together in my mind it happened; "Slow Ride", by Foghat comes on my IPOD playing in my ears. My legs were energized, my mind was running on all cylinders, and all was right in the world. By the time I got to the top of Bunny Hill I had a new P.R. at 29:10 beating my best time by about 20 seconds.

Life's a big puzzle, and I hope I never feel like all the pieces come together otherwise slow or fast it wouldn't be much of a RIDE.

Mind of a Goldfish

Studies have shown that exercise helps the mind think more creatively and solve problems due to better blood flow in the brain. Tonights run is a perfect example, as I ran along the trails thinking about ideas to post on my blog the thoughts came pouring in to my consciousness far more rapidly than my 43 year old legs up Bunny Hill. The problem is all the things I think about are forgotten by the time I return. They say a goldfish can only remember for 3 seconds, I am pleased to say that is a myth, so it gives me hope that if a goldfish can remember longer than 3 seconds perhaps I can aspire to my bowl living friend.

I am trying to organize thoughts for my 100 days. Starting June 7th, when I plan on posting a new topic every day that will me help organize and prepare ideas for my run in September, and perhaps give some insight to others that may wish to try a similar endeavor.

Before continuing... a big thanks to my buddy Jeffo for leaving a comment the other day. Only time will tell if he ever checks back again. Perhaps one day I will have readers that number in the double digits, but for now I am thrilled to have peaked at two.

Here are a few ideas for some of my 100 posts when I start one a day June 7th. If anyone ever comes across this and has some suggestions for a short topic, I would appreciate hearing them.

*Drop Bags - Are they more hassle than they're worth
*Shoes - Can't live with 'em can't live without 'em
*Band Aids - Also known as your nipples best friend.
*Feet Protection - The smelly truth
*Poison Oak - Your friend and Mine
*Men in Tights - Why your non-running friends might get the wrong impression


Jeff, hopefully one of these days we can bike/hike/jog up Bunny Hill together . I'll leave the tights at home.

Parent Ratings

Recently I received an email from my mom (hi mom!) letting me know she enjoyed reading my blog. But, hearing about all of my injuries (i.e. broken toe, poison oak, swollen ankle, etc.) was difficult to take. I started wondering if I should post a rating system just like the movies do. The ironic thing that I am writing about my mom in the third person is, I think she is the only one that reads my blog. If someone is reading this and you didn't give birth to me leave a comment, I'd like to know you're out there.


How does this rating sound.


G = Content is GOOD, happy and pleasant.

PG = Content has POSSIBLE GIMPINESS like somethings broken, swollen, etc.

R = All parents RESTRICTED from reading. I may we writing about thinking of moving to Nepal, or a career change to become an Ultimate Fighter.


Todays rating G.

My day started at 4 a.m. I knew I would be going for a run today, but was not sure when. Sometimes I wake up early on a weekend and I am too impatient to fall back asleep, rather I am ready for this great day to start ASAP. The wind was howling a little but the moon was full with an eerie ring around it and that was all the motivation I needed. I strapped on my head light and before heading out the door by 4:30 a.m. I decided to take a self portrait before I left. Cindy is in Morro Bay on a girl weekend so I had to use the self timer on the camera. Don't worry I wouldn't have been foolishness enough to wake her up even if she had been here.





I took my favorite route up Bunny Hill on the backside of the California Aqueduct up the fire roads and single track trails. It is amazing how well one can see with no light except for a full moon and a head lamp. The air is so fresh and everything is at peace, although the cotton tailed bunnies (no relation to why they call it Bunny Hill... see earlier post) would disagree as they scurry to avoid this strange alien with a light on the top of his head.



After 7 or 8 miles I was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise as I ran along the ridges of the Antelope Valley. I love sunsets just as much as anyone, but the freshness of a sunrise is difficult to beat, especially when you are out for a run.





By 7 a.m. I was done with a Double Bunny (up and over and then looping back around to traverse Bunny Hill one more time on my way back) and ready to start my day. The only downside was I had hoped to tack on a few more than the 13 miles I had run, but my swollen ankle was giving me trouble the last few miles. Uh oh, perhaps this post should have been rated P.G.

The Point of No Return

Barring a serious injury, there is no looking back. I have started putting together ideas for my plan of recording a training idea for each of the 100 days (which starts June 7th) leading up to my race in September at the AC100.

After completing my 50 mile qualifier and sending in my check, the only thing I have to do is fulfill my 8 hour trail maintenance service and run, run, and run.

I normally do not keep an accurate count of my weekly mileage, but I plan to start. If anyone who wants to run their first 100 mile race ever reads my 100 day countdown I want them to see what my weekly mileage is like in order to maintain a comparison. I ran for the first time yesterday evening for 8 miles (since my ankle injury at Leona) so I figure it is as good a time as any to start keeping track. Along with my ankle about healed, my poison oak is also healing up as well (I may not have mentioned that earlier).

The results were posted yesterday on the Leona Divide site and I came in 54th out of 137 finishers, with a time of 10:01:17. Although I had hoped to do better I think it is more of a motivator and will give me a little more push. I don't know if other middle of the pack runners like myself do this, but I was comparing times from people that ran in Leona and last year's AC100 to get a comparison of my time and proportional amount. Although the data I entered is minimal, I still think the results are interesting.

Data I Entered from Leona ('97) and AC100 ('96)

------Leona / AC100
KH 7:57:10 / 20:35:49
GM 7:35:22 / 21:05:25
BP 7:26:52 / 23:32:13
RM 9:57:23 / 25:14:47
DO 11:56:02 / 26:27:18
LC 10:29:53 / 28:20:51
AK 9:25:46 / 30:19:37
XW 11:14:05 / 31:03:45
LD 11:08:49 / 32:27:25
CJ 10:01:17 ----- ? ----

Running a Linear Regression (this is a mathematical estimate see line in graph above) the linear equation comes out to be y = 1.93x + 7.6 which projects me to have a time of 26:54. (it's what math teachers do for fun) . I have heard that a good estimate is to multiply your 50 mile time by 2.7 and that is a good estimate of your 100 mile time. Although variables of difficulty would definitely be a factor, it turns out that my estimate of 26:54 is pretty close to right on the 2.7 times mark.

This is in itself a motivator to me, since I perceive ultra running to be competition within myself and I now have a time I am racing to beat.