Tucson Marathon and Half Marathon

Kirsten and I are finally running an event this weekend....The Tucson Marathon and Half Marathon. The Tucson event is one of the fastest marathons in the country with a total elevation drop of circa 2,200 feet. Although it is mostly downhill, there are some very hilly roller-coaster portions near mile 2 and again at 7.

I've just completed an 18 week training program and will try to qualify for Boston with a 3:14 finish. I'm not nervous, i never get nervous before races, because there is really nothing at stake. I've already won. How? I'm in great shape, lost 12 lbs, and feel great. However, it would be nice to visit Boston next year :) Oh yeah, did I mention I'm back down to my weight at the finish of the Pacific Crest Trail? How many thru-hikers can match that? 159 lbs.

This year the course has been slightly modified. They removed the out and back section on the Biosphere Road and added an out and back section in the town of Oracle, AZ. I drove up there last weekend for my final long run to check out the change hoping it would be flatter than the old Bioshpere Rd. Nope. From mile 5 it's a steep drop to mile 6.5 and then you have to climb steeply back out of the hole you just ran down. The steep downhill will help trash your quads more than last year and the steep climb out will be a mental challenge to those who are not ready for it. I generally run 7:30 minute miles for marathon pace, but on the climb out I was running 8:45 miles to keep from burning too much engery.

Here's my strategy. I think it's sound and worth reading if you are running this event:

Run the first 5 miles at or just slower than your race pace. It is roller coaster so you should be able to make up on the downhills what you loose on the ups. At mile 5, let gravity pull you down into the hole, but try and not go too fast because it's steep and you will trash your quads for later in the race. Make up some time if you can but be careful cuz you don't feel the pain yet but your quads will be screaming later when you need them most. You bottom out at around mile 6.5 and on the 2 mile climb out and back to the main road, plan on a slow grind to save energy. I'm planning on loosing around 2 minutes of time on this climb to conserve energy. Once back on the main road and mile 9, it's a long downhill cruise to mile 24. I plan on making up the 120 seconds 8 seconds per mile over that 15 mile downhill. Then cruise at goal race pace to the finish.

If you run this event, I wish you luck. Check back after Sunday for an update.

Adrian

Sedona, Mountain Man Tri and a little green guy

In an effort to catch up on our summer adventures, I have combined a trip to Sedona, a triathlon in Flagstaff and a visitor to our casita.

Adrian tore is ACL back in May in the last 10 minutes of soccer practice. That pretty much ended his soccer league career for the season.

He was unable to keep off his knee for long and within a few weeks had started excising again. He focused on swimming and biking and figured why not sign up for the Mountain Man Triathlon, which I had planned on participating in months before.

We headed up to Flagstaff for the weekend and stayed with our good friends Meghan and Craig -- also known as the Craigen.

The Olympic distance course started in the Lake Mary reservoir and the bike and run was along Lake Mary Road. The bike was hillier than expected, but I managed to shave about 15 minutes off my Wildflower bike time back in May.

Adrian kicked ass - especially on the run - and finished about 30 minutes before me. Adrian finished the 1,500-km swim, 25-mile bike, and 6-mile run in 2 hours 42 minutes. I finished in 3 hours 19 minutes.

After the tri, we left for Sedona. Here are some photos of Sedona and later when we returned home, this toad snuck his way into the house.

Hello, Old Friend

Damn. It's been awhile.

Life, as it always does, kept right on with its gifts and sneaky tricks. I just managed to avoid to jot it down these past few months.

Which brings me to today and the sudden inspiration to share.

I'm not going to try and catch you all up in one long-winded Faulkneresque blog post. But you can all look forward to some photos and snippets in the coming days.

In short, Adrian and I are still in Tucson. We haven't completely eradicated the travel and adventure bug from our hearts or minds. And that can make life in the "real world" semi-complicated and quite honestly, boring.

But we're survivors. To cope with the horrible conditions of having jobs, we've turned our attention to mini-adventures, namely races, hikes, climbing and a few jaunts out West.

There is still a little bit of vagabond in us - possibly to the chagrin of the parentals. We've settled in nicely to our 500-square-foot casita situated amongst the horse stalls and within view of the house I grew up in.

It sounds more primitive than it is. Unless you consider the parade of ants that have plagued us this summer or the gopher that somehow managed to chew through the ceiling at 3 a.m. last month. Ahhh. The wonders of duct tape.

Kirsten Tri's Wildflower

Kirsten finishes!!! So cool and I'm so proud. This was a great event. We camped near Paso Robles (read, good wine country) at the event with about 5,000 other athletes. Being the photographer and not the athlete allowed me many luxuries I'd otherwise not be afforded. It was fun, but next time I'm competing.

Looking strong 3:30 into the event.

The work crew was awesome. Kudos to all their hard work.

The 10k run begins.

Out of T2 in good style.

Starting the bike.

Kirsten out of T1.

Kirsten into T1.

The start. It's a wave start, so they start in waves of about 30 athletes every 3 minutes.

The swim officials ride paddle boards.

Photographers line the course, snapping away at the triathletes. I try and compete with the best of them but it's hard. They take really good shots. This spectator business is tough stuff.

Kirsten gets marked for the start of the race.

This chick was flying but most everyone passed her.

This is it. The swim start.

OK, so this trip starts out with a stop in Joshua Tree National Park. We hiked, bouldered and soloed some stuff. We even met Squeak, from NH, who hiked the PCT southbound last year. We met her in Sisters, OR., and of course Kirsten recognized her....spooky. She was laying down on a rock in our campsite when we rolled in; I thought she was a nymph, K recognized her as PCT hiker. The pic below was taken at sunset from the top of some rocks in the Hidden Valley Campground.

Pepper Sauce Revisited

This is how we looked coming out of the cave. Notice how clean K is compared to me. The difference? I sweat...alot! This cave is not cool, rather it is very humid. We went through very tight passages, climbed vertical walls and descended mud cliffs with fixed ropes.

This time wee made it all the way to the very end of the cave. There, we found a register, not unlike those that are found on many mountain summits. We read the posts of people that came before us and left our own words. I descended into what is called Hell's Hole. It is a 2 foot wide passage that drops vertically into the abyss. I dropped down as far as I could and did not see the bottom. I assume it continued to...

Shades of Nagawicka

Our summer residence is on Lake Nagawicka. Of course, we can't afford to live there in summer, but it is our residence in summer (and spring, fall, winter), even if it is rented out to others :)

I love this shot.

Fossil Creek, AZ

Fossil Creek is located in north-central Arizona near the towns of Payson and Strawberry. The creek originates from springs that gush out a million gallons per hour! We hiked to the source but were thwarted by high water and a washed out trail. The area was very crowded being Memorial Day weekend. Even though, we managed to camp creekside with great swimming. The water was perfect. Our friend Craig was stung by a white scorpian 4 times! It crawled up his pants while sitting next to the fire and started going off on his calf. Turns out scorps are not that bad and you are fine even if stung 4 times. He drove up to the top of the rim tp get cell coverage and call poison control to get that info. Good to know...

The Payson area is also home to one of the hardest 50 mile runs in the country called the Zane Grey Highline Trail 50, held in late April. The trail traverses the famous Mogollon Rim.

Bouldering in Joshua Tree National Park - Aiguille de Joshua Tree

A fun little route in the Park. Rated 5.6 X.

Wiley Javalina, Table Dome, Mendoza Canyon, Coyote Mountains

Trevor and I climbed a super fun 5.9, 6 pitch face climb on Table Dome in Mendoza Canyon about 1 hour southwest of Tucson. The climb featured semi-runout face climbing on exfoliating granite. It was somewhat well protected at the cruxes and then 20-30 foot between bolts on the easier stuff. The summit was very nice and views amazing. 5 rappells down the route to the right called Table for Two 5.10b (which I climbed a week after Wiley Javalina), deposited us on terra firma. Overall, a highly recommended climb in a somewhat backcountry setting. Here are the pics:

Forty foot runout to the first bolt. I had Trevor lead that :) Further up P1. It's a long way to the top.

P2. Fun adventure sport climbing.

P2 climbs up sweet chocolate granite that has good edges with the occasional friable flake.

P3.

Grass tuffs dot the cliff. Very beautiful. The line zigs and zags so bring long runners.

P4. We climb through different aged granite so the color and type of holds change as the route progresses. Here we are climbing knobs as opposed to edges down below.

Longer runouts up high on P5.

P5 is turning into plate and rib climbing. Further up on P6 I'll be slinging chickenheads with shoulder runners. Edging, flakes, ribs, knobs, chickenheads...all in a day of climbing on Table Dome.

P6. Topping out on the climb and Trevor is looking at about 800 feet of air below his feet. The hike and drive out to the east is obvious across the awesome desert landscape.

A quick ropeless scramble finds us at the summit and the register. Elephant Dome looms behind Trevor with the 7 pitch 5.7 Elephant's Trunk climbing the ridge. More desperate free and aid routes ply the chocolate vertical face. Thanks for joining us on the climb!

Peppersauce Cave Recon

Welcome to Peppersauce Cave. This last weekend I took a solo trip around the backside of Mt Lemon, through the town of Oracle and up the Fire Control Road to the hair pin curve where you park and begin the short approach hike to the cave. This sign marks the spot where Hope Cave is and a bit further up you can see the entrance to Peppersauce.

I entered Peppersauce. A bit of graffiti marks the entrance. It gets tight quick, but never very desperate. These are called the "Fins" and they allow access to the larger rooms.

The Peppersauce Cave has been vandalized and many formations have been stolen or ruined but there are some neat features still if you can find them. These are cool Draperies, or Curtains, sometimes called Flows. The cave is living, so these are growing.

You must crawl through a small hole to get to the Fins. I took my rucksack off and slid it through in front of me to get through. Bring old jeans and a t-shirt...you will get sweaty and dirty.


This is a cool Stalagmite that reached the ceiling. I think it is called the Grand Tower or something to that effect. I turned back here but I know it goes much deeper to an underground lake, some ladders and a register book to sign if you make it that far. I only had one light and a lighter so I only went about a quarter mile in. It goes about a half mile deeper from what I've heard. Next time I'm going back with three lights, more water and a partner. Who's in?