The Chubby Mexican

Spooked

Made the big mistake of telling Chris that I've been running at Highland lately.  He, of course, had to instantly tell me that apparitions have been seen in that park.  Apparently a guy that worked there when Ford owned it hanged himself.  This didn't seem to bother me on past runs until yesterday.

I had passed an unmarked trail many times and wondered where it went.  The general direction was up to the top of Haven Hill where the Ford estate was.  As I ran up the unmaintained trail I just had this weird feeling and I started to think of the suicide and where it probably happened.  I figured, right or wrong, that it probably happened near the estate. The day was dark and drizzly and the place was desolate, this could of aided in the feeling of freakiness.  I don't really believe in ghosts but, given the right circumstances, your mind can play tricks on you.

The trail dumped me back on the normal two-track and I felt more at ease.  The GPS read 8 miles by the time I was done.  I think the next time I decide to explore that area I will make sure it isn't so gloomy. 

The barely make it home ride

Chris and I started the ride with tired legs...and very little food.  Harding was on his game.  Fifty-five miles later Chris and I are at Addison trying to find any vending machines that are still on.  One was found but they had turned it around and wrapped it with a film.  Neither one of us had the energy to attempt to turn it and see if anything was inside. 

Next to it the pop machine was lit-up.  As I slide the dollar in I prayed that it wasn't just a mirage, that it was real.  As I hit the button the pause that usually happens seemed a bit longer, and then,  it dropped.  A beautiful Minute Maid Lemonade loaded with simple carbs dropped into pan.  I was saved.

Pain

Tired legs.  5 miles.  Every footstep radiates through my body and causes every muscle to spasm.   Stopping to stretch every mile.  Sometimes it just happens.  

The overcast skies kept the trails clear.  The whole 5 were all mine for the taking.

Only 3 weeks

With the December Chill only being 3 weeks away I've stepped up my trianing.  I've put a fair amount of base running miles in over the last couple of months.  What I haven't put in was any bricks.  Dub and I were able to get out for a 30 mile road/trail ride.  After that I ran about 3 miles at Addison.  I was in so much pain....from my back to every muscle, joint and tendon in my legs.  I think my skin even hurt at one point. 

On Thursday Biz and I were able to get a 20 mile ride in.  I had no intention on running after but I decided that it was the right thing to do.  I ended up with about 3 miles which included Drahner...both ways.  The legs felt way better than on Sunday...but my lungs were just as bad.

Today I was able to get a nice 5 mile run in at Highland Recreation Area.  I love running there because they don't allow hunting at the main park which is east of Duck Lake.  Plus the loop there is really cool.  It takes you on the Chief Pontiac trail which is a trail that the Boy Scouts use as part of some program.  That trail dumps you onto some of the horse trails before taking a right turn and heading into the Haven Hill nature area.  The trail through that section crosses over many creeks and has a wood boardwalk that is probably a couple thousand feet long. 

From there it's onto some narly, tight, sweet singletrack.   Running that section almost makes you feel like you are biking it.  After the singletrack the choices are endless.  Today I ran a different horse trail to my car.  A couple of weeks ago I ended up taking the long horse loop to the south that totaled almost 9 miles.  The next time I run out there I plan on hitting another narly singletrack section that I found today.  It's not on the map but it looks like it follows the road and heads up to the top of Haven Hill.  For those of you that don't know the Ford family had an estate at the top of the hill.  The state ended up buying the property and turning it into the park. 

I hope all this training isn't too much too late.  I remember reading an article about a training plan that incorporated really hard, heavy training before a race.  They were saying that your body ends up overcompensating after the intense efforts.  They did caution to be careful and not extend the period too long or you can actual do more damage than good.  The plan for the next couple of weeks is bricks, bricks, and bricks. 

Straight up Orienteering

Adventure races are won and lost in the orienteering.  I try to get out and practice it as much as I can.  A good way to practice is to get out and do one of the meets that SMOC puts on.  After many years of looking at their spring and fall meet schedules I finally decided to attend one of them.  This particular meet was at Pontiac Lake.  I've done a couple of Adventure Races at Pontiac Lake and I also run out there fairly regularly so I figured I would do fairly well.  Also I couldn't pass up the chance to get out in the woods at PL since the terrain is amazing.  

The meets usually consist of 4 courses in which all control points (CPs) have to obtained in the order specified on the map.  Their is uaually an easy course in which CPs can be obtained by running the trails.  The hardest course has the most CPs and covers the most distance.  The controls are also placed in harder to find locations.  I decided that I would attempt the hardest course because I was mainly doing the event for training.  I figured that I would maximize the effort by going for the most points.

All courses started at the campground.  From there the first CP was fairly easy to get.  I was feeling good because I wasn't making the usual mistake of having trouble with the first point and then getting flustered.  The second control was a different story.  I realized that for the Red course all control descriptions were in symbols. It took me until midway through the course to match the symbols to the correct terrain feature.  So not understanding where CP2 was made it a little harder to find.

So up until about CP7 I was taking it fairly easy.  I was attempting to read the terrain while running.  Doing this takes a lot more time than you actually think.  I also kept stopping to double-check my location.  The distance between CP7 and CP8 was pretty big.  As opposed to bushwacking directly between points I realized that the easiest thing to do was follow the trails to the west campground then take a bearing from there to the CP. The map had all the trails on it but, unfortunately, it was hard to make out some of the less used trails due to the fallen leaves.  I somehow ended up just north of the gravel pit because I missed one of those trails.

I decided to hike up to the top of this hill.  Upon getting to the top I realized exactly where I was at because I run that section all the time.  From there I was able to easily get to the campground and take the bearing and find the next point.  CPs 9 and 10 were also easy to find.  CP11 was a different story...It was located between a couple of swamps that were hard to make out and I didn't quite understand the symbol for that CP.  It took me a while to read the terrain and figure out where I was and get the CP.  The symbol, a triangle, is used to signify a rock garden. 

From there the next two CPs, 12 and 13, were fairly easy to find.  CP14 was again located a fair distance from CP13.  For this I did the same type of planning as I did for CP8.  I was able to get to the campground and follow a trail to the edge of a clearing.  From the clearing I took a bearing and was able to find that control point and the final one, CP15, without out a hitch.

Overall I was satisfied with my performance ( Results ).  I was able to run the majority of the race and I learned a lot about reading the terrain.  Above all I think that I'm getting better at not panicking when I  F#@k up a CP.  I'm learning to sit back, concentrate on the map, and plan how to get out of the mess.  My route choices were okay.  Looking at the map right now I realize that there were a couple of control points I could of hit differently and probably found a little quicker. 

I am planning on doing a couple of the SMOC meets in the Spring.  The people that run the meets are nice and helpful.  The events are also low-key so the normal nervousness I get during a race wasn't there.  

Around the World

And I thought my commute to work was long.  Check out this Guy.

This dude is one lucky man

I can't imagine the stuff that was going thru his mind.

 

Avalanche Skier POV Helmet Cam Burial & Rescue in Haines, Alaska from Chappy on Vimeo.

NCT Field Trip 2009

Somehow we finally got the NOSS group together for a little mountain biking weekend.  Everyone except for brother Wayne and (everyone else's brother) Jay.  Man we had a blast!  Everything from the weather to the lack of ANY mechanicals made out for a perfect weekend.

The majority of the group couldn't make it out until Saturday morning so Biz and I ended up driving up Friday afternoon and we're able to get a ride in.  Since it would be late in the day I decided that we should hit the Baxter Bridge section since the best part of the ride is the first 5 miles or so (on an out-and-back).  As soon as we pull into the lot we are greeted by a couple of pu$$ies.  Damn they were cute.  To bad I'm allergic to 'em. 

 

The first couple of mile of singletrack are, I think, some of the most "technical" the NCT has to offer.  They are super tight bench cut with some steep sections, with just the right amount of roots and rocks thrown in.  After that section is the monster climb up to the top and to the lookout platforms.  Not a bad view for Michigan.

 

There was also a couple of hike-a-bikes in this section.  It's hard to ride up 6 inches of sand...on an uphill.

Saturday night Biz and I ended up camping at a nice, semi-new campsite located on the Hodenpyl Pond.  The guy at the office said that we definitely couldn't stay an extra night because some sororities were coming in for the weekend.  You can imagine the thoughts that ran through my head about some wild, crazy stuff going on.  Too bad we had to go :-(.  I will revisit the sorority thing in a latter twist.

 

We met up with the guys the next morning at the Marilla trailhead.  The next 16 miles of this out (-and-back) are the best singletrack in Michigan.  It is mostly off-camber and tight and either heading up or down.  Not to many flat sections to bore you..unless you are the Biz and hate anything that isn't flat.  The coolest part of the ride was listening to C-Dub say "God this is amazing" over and over again.  It's nice to have someone that gets as into the experience as much as you do. 

After the ride we sat in the parking lot and threw down a couple of cold ones and had some nice laughs.  While we were relaxing a guy that we had met on the trail earlier appeared.  After talking to the guy for a while we come to find out that he is the guy that is pictured on the cover of the Glacier Gazette.  Further inspection of the bike revealed that it looked like it was the same model, however full verification couldn't be made because the picture was taken from above and only showed his back.  After the autograph session we also ended up finding out that he was camping at the same campground that Biz and I had camped it.  And that he was chaperoning a bunch of sorority girls.  Biz and I both had to hold back on any sexual comments..trust me...it was very hard.

After the 32 mile ride we headed into Cadillac and ended up staying at the Holiday Inn.  For a Holiday Inn I can say that it was actually quite clean and nice.  The mexican place a couple blocks north isn't that bad either.  Unless there is a big party in front of you and you have to wait 1.5 hrs for your food... this does give you ample time to seriously load up on the free chips.  The only thing I could think of at dinner is I don't want to breath the air in a room inhabited by 5 mountain bikers after inhaling massive amounts of mexican food. 

 

 The next day I took the group out the NCT just west of Baldwin.  No one else had ridden this section so it was cool.  I love showing people some new trails.  We ended up taking it out to the Freesoil trailhead for a total of 40 miles.  Biz cut it short due to a migraine.  He did make it back alive so we were happy.

 
There was talk of making this a mandatory yearly fall trip.  I hope we can make it happen because there is no better way of spending a weekend than riding the NCT.

 

Hapenings

A summer adventure race.  A nice trip with the guys.  And a bunch of work filling in the rest of the space.

More to come...

A good day to restart

Way to many people been on my A$$ to continue what I started...death threats are scary.  A birthday is a good way to start things over again.