So I've blown my goal of training every day this year. I got the flu, and after one day of attempting to moderately exercise to stay on track I was flat on my back feeling as though I'd gone 15 rounds with Macho Camacho.
"I'm an idiot," I'm thinking as I lay there.
Ya see, I know the physiology of what happens to the body when you're training and what happens when you're sick. Therefore, I had no business trying to do any sort of exercise once I was sure I was getting sick.
In it's most basic sense, what happens to your body when you exercise? Breakdown. Hence, the key to effective training is effective recovery.
What happens to your body when you're sick? Breakdown. The key to recovering quickly is focusing your immune system on the task at had. There are only two things that can help at this point, rest and nutrition.
Since illness causes breakdown, adding further breakdown to the equation will compromise an already stretched thin immune system leading to an almost certain exacerbation of the symptoms of the desease.
The variable is recovery. Anything you can do to increase this will decrease the effects of your illness. Your body recovers best during sleep. Far better than at any time while you're awake. Therefore, it makes sense that the more you can sleep when you're ill the quicker you'll recover.
At least I got back to my senses quickly. I spent 99% of the next 30 hours in bed and cracked my fever. The next day I spent back and forth between my computer--working--and bed. By the following afternoon, after two 'tube' days (A tube is a day when you don't leave your house. It's was named after a rather cylindrical dog we knew whose owner never took it anywhere, resulting in his tube-like physique), I was ready for a test hike.
A "test hike" is a fitness test. Towards the tail end of an illness you can often "blow it out" by doing some mild cardio exercise that increases your breathing and blood flow. It's important to pay attention to warning signs though because heading out too early can land you back in bed and regress your recovery.
Mine went well, thankfully, and this afternoon I should be back to training as normal. Not too bad considering a bunch of folks around here have been down for a full week with this bug.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Feb Training Update
More base training.
Unfortunately, my streak of training daily came to an end due to a quick bout with the flu. Ultimately, it was a decent month of adding to my base. I didn't do as many long days as I wanted, though I did manage to tick a few summits and a couple of ridge traverses. Bike riding was minimal. Climbing was dismal, though I managed to do a couple of 5.12 in my few days outside. "Only" 44 to go.
Since I had nowhere for Tuco to hang out, I axed the Red Hot 50 from my list and ran in support of Sandee instead. It was still a decent day out in perfect Moab conditions. Tuc and I did 12 miles. Then I added another 10-15 on my own running around looking for and photographing Sandee. All in all, it was a beautiful day in the desert.
The big stat to report is injuries: 0.
March has started well with my two biggest rides of the year. I'm sore, tired, and plan to get back on the bike again today. I'll be the guy out suffering on some mountain pass.
Cheerio,
Steve
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
The Hardest Endurance Events on the Planet
“Grown men also cry.”- Jeffery Lebowski
“You look like you need your ass kicked.”
- Some guy named Chuck, in a bar
There are times in life when hard just doesn’t cut it; when being miserable just isn’t quite enough; and when the travails of living require higher octane. This is a list for just those times.
After receiving some feedback, here's what I've come up with as the hardest recreational endurance events in the world. My definition of recreational is that anyone may enter. You may have to qualify but that standard isn't based on natural ability. This eliminates obvious events, like riding the Tour de France, but also things like age group world championships and races like Hawaii Ironman. I wanted to a list that anyone could think "I want to try that" and then, with enough motivation, have a chance to do it.
This is my first attempt and it comes to you in no particular order as to difficulty. And I think you’ll see that assigning difficulty in order would be a hard—and somewhat random—task. I've tried to encompass as many different disciplines as possible though with hard and endurance in the same sentence they all generally consist of some sort of human powered locomotion over various types of terrain.
All feedback is welcome.
Badwater 135 (or 146 since you SHOULD continue to the summit once you've come all this way) - From what I can tell, this is the world's must rugged foot race, mainly because it's held on what's supposed to be the hottest weekend of any particular year. In temps that nearly always exceed 120 degrees F, you run through the desert from the lowest point in the United States to the highest (in the lower 48). The entire race is on pavement, adding to its nastiness, since runners must stay on the white lines of paint to keep their shoes from melting. Oddly enough, this race is so popular that it's hard to get in, so get creative with your resume.
Race Across America - This event could also count as the most boring but no one will argue its grimness factor. Just sitting on your bike for 3,000 miles is daunting enough. But you've also got to pedal, and at a decent pace to not get kicked out. Add lack of sleep in extreme heat, cold, snow, rain, wind and then throw in the occasional tornado and you've got the perfect recipe for sheer misery. To give you an idea of what you’re up against, consider multiple-times winner John Howard’s statement “When I can sit on my trainer staring at a blank white wall for five hours straight, I’m just about ready for RAAM.” Anyone can enter but you've got to complete a qualifier of, at least, 400 miles within a respectable time of the winner.
The Norseman - Billing itself as the world's toughest triathlon, it's certainly hard to argue. While it’s only slightly longer than a traditional ironman, the course profile alone looks like an entirely different animal. This is before accounting for the fact that you’ll be swimming in sub 60 degree water and that the run is a rocky ascent (no trail from what I can tell) to the summit of a mountain.
Iditarod Trail Invitational - Dogs? We don't need no stinking dogs! This human powered version of the famously grueling Iditarod really needs no description. It's February in northern Alaska. It's dark. It's really really cold. And you get to ride your bike 1100 miles across the ice. Good times.
The Hardrock 100 - The trail runners Holy Grail, this 100 mile jaunt across the top of the Rockies is a shoo-in. Many life long ultra runners never finish this extreme test of will that features nearly 70,000' of elevation change over rock and snow at an average elevation of 11,000'. Numerous ultra record holder Karl Meltzer calls it "the hardest ultra on the planet."
Climbing Mount Everest – Sure, sure, K2 is heaps harder, as are many peaks, but none of those are available to the recreational athlete. But Everest, most notoriously, is. If you're rich or good at schmoozing pretty much anyone can get themselves a shot at standing on the world's rooftop. But cash and cocktail partying aside, you've still got to get yourself up the sucker and no guide, fixed rope, oxygen tanks or Sherpa can do it for you. Most that try don't make it. Those that do come down changed. And some don't come down at all. Commercial as it gets, high altitude roulette is still a dangerous game.
Primal Quest - According to Rebecca Rusch, one of the sports elders, adventure racing ain't what it used to be. "I'd say, for sure, the old style Raid Gauloises would be on this list. In those days even the organizers didn't know what to expect. It was truly adventurous. Now they run it in stages." Commercialism and a "safety first" attitude aside, AR is still a tough test of the limits we can endure. And none, currently, is tougher than the Primal Quest.
Crocodile Trophy - This 10 stage, 1400 kilometer mountain bike stage race through the Australian Outback is the antithesis to the Iditarod. It crosses Oz through what is famously some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world. From rain drenching rain forest to the bleakest desert, the course profile doesn't begin to do this race justice. Most of the competitors are elite, if not pro, yet the most common quote heard throughout the race is "I expected it to be hard but completely underestimated it." Probably why the organizers have dubbed it "the toughest test on two wheels."
Patrouille des Glaciers – “Ski Mountaineering Racing is said to be one of the hardest sports in the world and the Swiss Patrouille des Glaciers is perhaps the hardest of them all,” according to the race web site. This tradition, which began in 1943, may not be as crazy as many modern sufferfests but pageantry and tradition should still count for a lot. And, as anyone who’s familiar with ski mountaineering can attest, it’s not a sport that attracts the meek. Sure, this race is a ‘mere’ 53k with an altitude change of 7,000 meters, but expect every step to be either laborious or scary.
The Nose in a day – What Everest is to the mountaineer, Yosemite’s El Capitan is to rock climbers. The Nose, a plumb line up the most famous rock face in the world, is not only the world’s most famous rock climb, it’s the most sought after and, arguably, the best. So much so that when asked about his future climbing goals, Touching the Void author Joe Simpson stated “to end ones career with having never climbed The Nose would be a travesty.” Style is everything when it comes to climbing and, these days, less than 24 hours is de rigueur for those aspirants of an elegant ascent. Yet it’s still not regularly achieved. The Nose in a day is a rite of passage for an “elite” recreational athlete.
Jungle Marathon – This 6-stage 200km race through the Amazon doesn’t promise that it’s one of the great epics of our time. But this could be a ploy that’s due to the anecdotal reputation of the area and the race organizers not wanting to scare away participants. I dunno, I sorta think “See piranhas, anacondas, the last vestiges of headhunting, and a completely unknown quantity of as-of-yet undiscovered diseases and human parasites!” has a nice ring to it. Regardless, you don’t have to scour the fine print to see that the challenge “isn’t the distance, but the terrain,” that “common sense” is a prerequisite, that your hammock “should include mosquito netting and a rain fly” and that one of the finishers wrote an entire book about the experience to get a notion that your not signing on to an episode of Survivor.
Yukon Arctic Ultra – Apparently, the Iditarod isn’t the toughest dog sled course because, according to the race web site, this one is tougher. Now you can try it via skis, bikes, foot or whateverthehell “skijorer”-ing is. Regardless, it’s supposed to be “the world’s coldest and toughest ultra”. All I know is that the course reminds me of a Jack London novel and those always sounded pretty dammed tough to me.
Everest Challenge – Billed as the hardest USCF stage race it likely also has the highest drop rate. It’s also a “fun” ride for those who want to test themselves on back to back rides that are both as hard as any stage of the Tour de France. This race climbs 30,000’ in its two stages but is even tougher than the elevation gain total would suggest. Hardly a meter of its 200 miles are flat and three of the six climbs are over 20 miles long, at grades up to 20%. Adding to this torture test is the knowledge that the hardest bit you’ll encounter is the final 10k of the last climb. It’s a Sword of Damocles that hangs over you the entire two days. Said former winner, Pam Schuster, “At the end of the first day you’re so wiped out that you think there is no possible way you could ever do it again, much less the next day. But, somehow, you find a way to make it.” Somehow, but not always. Each year many riders who’ve finished the first day don’t even bother with the second. “Mainly due to fear of injury,” adds one its victims, Aaron Baker. “Look up the word ‘suffer’ in the dictionary and I’m sure it will be defined ‘Everest Challenge.’”
Arctic Circle Ski Race - “The ultimate challenge to cross-country skiers” sure looks appealing upon perusing their web site. It features many stunning pics of beautiful landscapes and smiling well-dressed skiers sauntering along at what looks to be a quite civilized pace. It’s only 160km over three days, so why that bit about competitors featuring a “stable mentality”? But, wait a minute. Isn’t it dark most of the time in March in northern Greenland? And isn’t it cold? And if these people are all so happy then why are there quotes like this on page one? “I had to fight myself, my pain, cramps and exhaustion. I came here to win the race. Instead, I have won a personal victory.” Hmm.
Tour de Afrique – Is it a race, a tour, or an expedition? In reality it’s all three. Participants can choose between whether or not they’d like to race so, in theory, it’s can be leisurely and, hence, not all that tough. However, it’s a 96-stage bike ride (yes, 96) dissecting 9 countries in Africa so there is no denying its expedition status. And considering both the physical and political climates of the region there is little chance of not experiencing adventure on the grandest level. If you’re in the position of being able to take six months off and living out of a tent, this is probably one that you don’t want to miss.
La Ruta de los Conquistadores – This 3-day stage mountain bike race across Costa Rica appears, at least on paper, not to be anything special. Due to lack of paper, they hold the actual race on Costa Rica’s less stable terrain which has resulted in a tag line stating it’s “more than a race; it’s a personal journey.” According to US 24-hour mountain bike champion Rebecca Rusch, there’s not a lot of hyperbole in their claim. “The Trans Alp and Trans Rockies both have much harder looking profiles, but it’s my understanding that in those races you get to actually ride your bike. In La Ruta, you often have to carry your bike. And not just on the up hills. I can’t even begin to say how difficult it is but it features brutal mud, intense heat, tough cut off times…. I almost dropped out on the first day!”
The Barkley Marathons – This one’s hard to explain but first just consider the stats. It’s not a marathon as in “26.2”. It’s 100 miles, more or less, with nearly 55,000 feet of elevation gain, and it’s only had 6 people finish within its 60-hour time limit since 1986. Next, consider a format that includes no real trail and check points where you need to tear a page out of a book that’s personally assigned to you. Oh, and there are the briars to consider. Lots of ‘em. Everywhere. And rain. Usually lots of it, too. It’s quite common for sub 24-hour runners to not finish. Some don’t even find their way through one lap and retire “with legs that resemble uncooked hamburger”. One runner, on this eleventh attempt, is targeting two and a half laps as his goal for 2007. That’s about half way. There’s also a shorter “fun run” option. Hardly anybody finishes that option either. And it’s hard to get in. But you can. If you want to badly enough, you can find a way. You just have to really want to. Bad.
“You look like you need your ass kicked.”
- Some guy named Chuck, in a bar
There are times in life when hard just doesn’t cut it; when being miserable just isn’t quite enough; and when the travails of living require higher octane. This is a list for just those times.
After receiving some feedback, here's what I've come up with as the hardest recreational endurance events in the world. My definition of recreational is that anyone may enter. You may have to qualify but that standard isn't based on natural ability. This eliminates obvious events, like riding the Tour de France, but also things like age group world championships and races like Hawaii Ironman. I wanted to a list that anyone could think "I want to try that" and then, with enough motivation, have a chance to do it.
This is my first attempt and it comes to you in no particular order as to difficulty. And I think you’ll see that assigning difficulty in order would be a hard—and somewhat random—task. I've tried to encompass as many different disciplines as possible though with hard and endurance in the same sentence they all generally consist of some sort of human powered locomotion over various types of terrain.
All feedback is welcome.
Badwater 135 (or 146 since you SHOULD continue to the summit once you've come all this way) - From what I can tell, this is the world's must rugged foot race, mainly because it's held on what's supposed to be the hottest weekend of any particular year. In temps that nearly always exceed 120 degrees F, you run through the desert from the lowest point in the United States to the highest (in the lower 48). The entire race is on pavement, adding to its nastiness, since runners must stay on the white lines of paint to keep their shoes from melting. Oddly enough, this race is so popular that it's hard to get in, so get creative with your resume.
Race Across America - This event could also count as the most boring but no one will argue its grimness factor. Just sitting on your bike for 3,000 miles is daunting enough. But you've also got to pedal, and at a decent pace to not get kicked out. Add lack of sleep in extreme heat, cold, snow, rain, wind and then throw in the occasional tornado and you've got the perfect recipe for sheer misery. To give you an idea of what you’re up against, consider multiple-times winner John Howard’s statement “When I can sit on my trainer staring at a blank white wall for five hours straight, I’m just about ready for RAAM.” Anyone can enter but you've got to complete a qualifier of, at least, 400 miles within a respectable time of the winner.
The Norseman - Billing itself as the world's toughest triathlon, it's certainly hard to argue. While it’s only slightly longer than a traditional ironman, the course profile alone looks like an entirely different animal. This is before accounting for the fact that you’ll be swimming in sub 60 degree water and that the run is a rocky ascent (no trail from what I can tell) to the summit of a mountain.
Iditarod Trail Invitational - Dogs? We don't need no stinking dogs! This human powered version of the famously grueling Iditarod really needs no description. It's February in northern Alaska. It's dark. It's really really cold. And you get to ride your bike 1100 miles across the ice. Good times.
The Hardrock 100 - The trail runners Holy Grail, this 100 mile jaunt across the top of the Rockies is a shoo-in. Many life long ultra runners never finish this extreme test of will that features nearly 70,000' of elevation change over rock and snow at an average elevation of 11,000'. Numerous ultra record holder Karl Meltzer calls it "the hardest ultra on the planet."
Climbing Mount Everest – Sure, sure, K2 is heaps harder, as are many peaks, but none of those are available to the recreational athlete. But Everest, most notoriously, is. If you're rich or good at schmoozing pretty much anyone can get themselves a shot at standing on the world's rooftop. But cash and cocktail partying aside, you've still got to get yourself up the sucker and no guide, fixed rope, oxygen tanks or Sherpa can do it for you. Most that try don't make it. Those that do come down changed. And some don't come down at all. Commercial as it gets, high altitude roulette is still a dangerous game.
Primal Quest - According to Rebecca Rusch, one of the sports elders, adventure racing ain't what it used to be. "I'd say, for sure, the old style Raid Gauloises would be on this list. In those days even the organizers didn't know what to expect. It was truly adventurous. Now they run it in stages." Commercialism and a "safety first" attitude aside, AR is still a tough test of the limits we can endure. And none, currently, is tougher than the Primal Quest.
Crocodile Trophy - This 10 stage, 1400 kilometer mountain bike stage race through the Australian Outback is the antithesis to the Iditarod. It crosses Oz through what is famously some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world. From rain drenching rain forest to the bleakest desert, the course profile doesn't begin to do this race justice. Most of the competitors are elite, if not pro, yet the most common quote heard throughout the race is "I expected it to be hard but completely underestimated it." Probably why the organizers have dubbed it "the toughest test on two wheels."
Patrouille des Glaciers – “Ski Mountaineering Racing is said to be one of the hardest sports in the world and the Swiss Patrouille des Glaciers is perhaps the hardest of them all,” according to the race web site. This tradition, which began in 1943, may not be as crazy as many modern sufferfests but pageantry and tradition should still count for a lot. And, as anyone who’s familiar with ski mountaineering can attest, it’s not a sport that attracts the meek. Sure, this race is a ‘mere’ 53k with an altitude change of 7,000 meters, but expect every step to be either laborious or scary.
The Nose in a day – What Everest is to the mountaineer, Yosemite’s El Capitan is to rock climbers. The Nose, a plumb line up the most famous rock face in the world, is not only the world’s most famous rock climb, it’s the most sought after and, arguably, the best. So much so that when asked about his future climbing goals, Touching the Void author Joe Simpson stated “to end ones career with having never climbed The Nose would be a travesty.” Style is everything when it comes to climbing and, these days, less than 24 hours is de rigueur for those aspirants of an elegant ascent. Yet it’s still not regularly achieved. The Nose in a day is a rite of passage for an “elite” recreational athlete.
Jungle Marathon – This 6-stage 200km race through the Amazon doesn’t promise that it’s one of the great epics of our time. But this could be a ploy that’s due to the anecdotal reputation of the area and the race organizers not wanting to scare away participants. I dunno, I sorta think “See piranhas, anacondas, the last vestiges of headhunting, and a completely unknown quantity of as-of-yet undiscovered diseases and human parasites!” has a nice ring to it. Regardless, you don’t have to scour the fine print to see that the challenge “isn’t the distance, but the terrain,” that “common sense” is a prerequisite, that your hammock “should include mosquito netting and a rain fly” and that one of the finishers wrote an entire book about the experience to get a notion that your not signing on to an episode of Survivor.
Yukon Arctic Ultra – Apparently, the Iditarod isn’t the toughest dog sled course because, according to the race web site, this one is tougher. Now you can try it via skis, bikes, foot or whateverthehell “skijorer”-ing is. Regardless, it’s supposed to be “the world’s coldest and toughest ultra”. All I know is that the course reminds me of a Jack London novel and those always sounded pretty dammed tough to me.
Everest Challenge – Billed as the hardest USCF stage race it likely also has the highest drop rate. It’s also a “fun” ride for those who want to test themselves on back to back rides that are both as hard as any stage of the Tour de France. This race climbs 30,000’ in its two stages but is even tougher than the elevation gain total would suggest. Hardly a meter of its 200 miles are flat and three of the six climbs are over 20 miles long, at grades up to 20%. Adding to this torture test is the knowledge that the hardest bit you’ll encounter is the final 10k of the last climb. It’s a Sword of Damocles that hangs over you the entire two days. Said former winner, Pam Schuster, “At the end of the first day you’re so wiped out that you think there is no possible way you could ever do it again, much less the next day. But, somehow, you find a way to make it.” Somehow, but not always. Each year many riders who’ve finished the first day don’t even bother with the second. “Mainly due to fear of injury,” adds one its victims, Aaron Baker. “Look up the word ‘suffer’ in the dictionary and I’m sure it will be defined ‘Everest Challenge.’”
Arctic Circle Ski Race - “The ultimate challenge to cross-country skiers” sure looks appealing upon perusing their web site. It features many stunning pics of beautiful landscapes and smiling well-dressed skiers sauntering along at what looks to be a quite civilized pace. It’s only 160km over three days, so why that bit about competitors featuring a “stable mentality”? But, wait a minute. Isn’t it dark most of the time in March in northern Greenland? And isn’t it cold? And if these people are all so happy then why are there quotes like this on page one? “I had to fight myself, my pain, cramps and exhaustion. I came here to win the race. Instead, I have won a personal victory.” Hmm.
Tour de Afrique – Is it a race, a tour, or an expedition? In reality it’s all three. Participants can choose between whether or not they’d like to race so, in theory, it’s can be leisurely and, hence, not all that tough. However, it’s a 96-stage bike ride (yes, 96) dissecting 9 countries in Africa so there is no denying its expedition status. And considering both the physical and political climates of the region there is little chance of not experiencing adventure on the grandest level. If you’re in the position of being able to take six months off and living out of a tent, this is probably one that you don’t want to miss.
La Ruta de los Conquistadores – This 3-day stage mountain bike race across Costa Rica appears, at least on paper, not to be anything special. Due to lack of paper, they hold the actual race on Costa Rica’s less stable terrain which has resulted in a tag line stating it’s “more than a race; it’s a personal journey.” According to US 24-hour mountain bike champion Rebecca Rusch, there’s not a lot of hyperbole in their claim. “The Trans Alp and Trans Rockies both have much harder looking profiles, but it’s my understanding that in those races you get to actually ride your bike. In La Ruta, you often have to carry your bike. And not just on the up hills. I can’t even begin to say how difficult it is but it features brutal mud, intense heat, tough cut off times…. I almost dropped out on the first day!”
The Barkley Marathons – This one’s hard to explain but first just consider the stats. It’s not a marathon as in “26.2”. It’s 100 miles, more or less, with nearly 55,000 feet of elevation gain, and it’s only had 6 people finish within its 60-hour time limit since 1986. Next, consider a format that includes no real trail and check points where you need to tear a page out of a book that’s personally assigned to you. Oh, and there are the briars to consider. Lots of ‘em. Everywhere. And rain. Usually lots of it, too. It’s quite common for sub 24-hour runners to not finish. Some don’t even find their way through one lap and retire “with legs that resemble uncooked hamburger”. One runner, on this eleventh attempt, is targeting two and a half laps as his goal for 2007. That’s about half way. There’s also a shorter “fun run” option. Hardly anybody finishes that option either. And it’s hard to get in. But you can. If you want to badly enough, you can find a way. You just have to really want to. Bad.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Victory and Why You Matter
We tend to feel insignificant when it comes to policy issues. This is why we shouldn't.
In the legal battle in San Diego county over climbing access the climbers have won round one. This was a purely grass roots victory and would not have happened without your input. It's only round one, with a lot of work left to do, but this is why you should stay informed and involved in issues that matter to you.
A quick recap:
The Forest Servce proposed bird closure rulings that would affect many climbing areas in San Diego county.
These are supported by local climber, guidebook author, and Access Fund representative Dave Kennedy.
Local climbers dig into the issue and find that some of the cliffs involved in the closures are not nesting habitats of the birds involved. San Diego activist Jeff Brown aided by his wife, wildlife biologist Keli Balo, publish fliers calling for community support.
Kennedy counters, calling for commnunity acceptance. The Access Fund, the only national organization for climbing access, supports Kennedy initially.
Brown finds that the proposed closures are not only sloppy but illegal. Furthermore, he finds evidence that Kennedy "swapped" crags with the USFS, essentially in order to keep "his" cliff open in exchange for closing others. None of these actions have anything to do with birds. Furthermore, Kennedy--in his latest guide--stated various crags were closed and that offenders could be fined $10,000, a complete fabrication.
A letter writing campaign overloads the USFS server and crashes it.
Brown goes on the local PBS station in a debate over the issue.
Kennedy resigns that day.
The Access Fund completely revises its position.
Access Fund revised letter to USFS
The USFS tables the proposed closures and is re-evaluating the situation in an open dialog with the Access Fund, which is being led by a local climber collective.
A web site is being built but, for now, find the latest access information at:
http://www.birthdaychallenge.com/access.html
In the legal battle in San Diego county over climbing access the climbers have won round one. This was a purely grass roots victory and would not have happened without your input. It's only round one, with a lot of work left to do, but this is why you should stay informed and involved in issues that matter to you.
A quick recap:
The Forest Servce proposed bird closure rulings that would affect many climbing areas in San Diego county.
These are supported by local climber, guidebook author, and Access Fund representative Dave Kennedy.
Local climbers dig into the issue and find that some of the cliffs involved in the closures are not nesting habitats of the birds involved. San Diego activist Jeff Brown aided by his wife, wildlife biologist Keli Balo, publish fliers calling for community support.
Kennedy counters, calling for commnunity acceptance. The Access Fund, the only national organization for climbing access, supports Kennedy initially.
Brown finds that the proposed closures are not only sloppy but illegal. Furthermore, he finds evidence that Kennedy "swapped" crags with the USFS, essentially in order to keep "his" cliff open in exchange for closing others. None of these actions have anything to do with birds. Furthermore, Kennedy--in his latest guide--stated various crags were closed and that offenders could be fined $10,000, a complete fabrication.
A letter writing campaign overloads the USFS server and crashes it.
Brown goes on the local PBS station in a debate over the issue.
Kennedy resigns that day.
The Access Fund completely revises its position.
Access Fund revised letter to USFS
The USFS tables the proposed closures and is re-evaluating the situation in an open dialog with the Access Fund, which is being led by a local climber collective.
A web site is being built but, for now, find the latest access information at:
http://www.birthdaychallenge.com/access.html
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Gym Jones
At the climbing gym the other night, a friend asked if I knew Mark Twight and sent my to his training facility's page:
Gym Jones
Twight is famously a completely different in person than in his musings. So much so, in fact, that one of his climbing partners stated, after reading an account of an epic they'd shared, "That's not the same person I was on the mountain with."
At any rate, this gym looks intriguing when you get past all of the macho horseshit on the front page. Now, if the guys are actually this serious it would suck. I mean, c'mon, it's just training. But I'll bet, like Twight is when you meet him in person, they're just some regualar folks who like to get after it a little bit.
Anyway, prior to heading over the "wait on the doorstep" for acceptance, I need to do a little homework. First off, I'm not near prime pull-up shape. But since the company I work for just happens to have a perfect solution to this (P90X, a program I helped create that's essentially the home version of Gym Jones), that shouldn't take too long.
Furthermore, I'd like to smoke a few of their diciples PR's before "appying", so I thought I'd do a test run on Grandeur's west ridge to see what I was up against.
Twight's 56 minutes seemed pretty fast. Given its winter and that the trail would be a combination of slush and snow, onsighting it didn't seem prudent. Plus, if it was a recon trip the Rat could come. So instead of Twight's PR, we went in search of that fastest winter onsight ascent by a 12-year-old Malamute mix.
The route was gorgeous but a little tendious. I can see why Twight and his masocistic tendencies would like it. It's like an hour long stairmast session at the higest level. The trail actually was in decent shape, for the most part, and in spite of a couple of water stops to make sure the little guy was doin' okay, we were still with in striking distance of 56 m, or at least breaking an hour, when we hit the summit ridge and just a bit o' snow. While fun, the ensuing post holing was slow going. We hit the summit at 68 minutes.
Tuco was awesome. On our first ascent of Grandeur, via an easier line, I had someone take out pic because "he probably doesn't have too many summits left in him." Well, we've nailed quite a few since then and his fitness is fine. He's limping less than he was last summer, for sure, and he's taking far less Rimadyl.
On the way home I though about going after Twight's 36.42 on Beachon Hill. Unfortunately, I didn't know where it was. When calls to a few friends proved fruitless, I joined my friend Dustin for a ride up Little Mountain instead and got smoked so bad that I guess Grandeur had taken a bit of zip out of my legs, even at the Rat's pace.
All in all, a pretty decent training day.
Trust Your Local Pharmaceutical Company
I really see no need for comment. More fun from Big Pharma, courtesy of Dr. Jay Rowen, MD.
Inventing a Disease
You've got to admire the chutzpah of the marketers at pharmaceutical giant Glaxo-SmithKline PLC. They've figured out how to increase sales for one of their most popular drugs by more than $300 million a year. All they had to do was invent a disease for it to treat.
The name of the drug is Requip. It works by regulating the brain chemical dopamine, which is responsible for controlling body movements. It's effective enough that it has become the drug of choice for doctors treating patients with Parkinson's disease.
Then someone at Glaxo had an "ah-ha!" moment. There are millions more people who suffer from leg twitches at night than Parkinson's. What if Requip became the drug of choice for them? Only problem was, "leg twitches" isn't a disease. So HMOs and insurance companies won't pay for prescriptions to treat it.
The wizards at Glaxo decided on a three-step campaign to change all that. First, they spent millions of dollars to educate the medical profession about a new disease. But not "leg twitches." No, "restless leg syndrome" sounds much more serious. And "syndrome" is almost the same thing as "disease," isn't it? Glaxo's ads in medical journals started carrying the tagline, "GlaxoSmithKline: A Leader in RLS Research."
Next, Glaxo hired dozens of "sleep-disorder specialists" to go around the country, pitching local doctors about the seriousness of RLS and the wonders Requip could work in treating it. They invited the docs to lavish meals at country clubs and four-star restaurants, with Glaxo picking up the tab. They attended by the hundreds.
Finally, Glaxo spent millions more on TV ads aimed directly at consumers, to tell them that their pain has a name - and a drug to help treat it. Before you could say "gimme some of them pills," Glaxo's sales of Requip increased by more than $300 million a year. As they say, that ain't hay.
But before you rush off to your doctor and ask him to prescribe a bottle or two of Requip for you, here's a suggestion from one of my favorite health writers. Dr. Robert Rowen, editor of Second Opinion newsletter (www.secondopinionnewsletter.com), says if you're bothered by leg twitches at night, chances are you're suffering from a potassium deficiency.
He suggests eating a banana or two before you go to bed. Or get a bottle of potassium supplements from your local health food store. You could solve your problem without spending a fortune … or taking a fancy new drug with who-knows-what side effects.
Inventing a Disease
You've got to admire the chutzpah of the marketers at pharmaceutical giant Glaxo-SmithKline PLC. They've figured out how to increase sales for one of their most popular drugs by more than $300 million a year. All they had to do was invent a disease for it to treat.
The name of the drug is Requip. It works by regulating the brain chemical dopamine, which is responsible for controlling body movements. It's effective enough that it has become the drug of choice for doctors treating patients with Parkinson's disease.
Then someone at Glaxo had an "ah-ha!" moment. There are millions more people who suffer from leg twitches at night than Parkinson's. What if Requip became the drug of choice for them? Only problem was, "leg twitches" isn't a disease. So HMOs and insurance companies won't pay for prescriptions to treat it.
The wizards at Glaxo decided on a three-step campaign to change all that. First, they spent millions of dollars to educate the medical profession about a new disease. But not "leg twitches." No, "restless leg syndrome" sounds much more serious. And "syndrome" is almost the same thing as "disease," isn't it? Glaxo's ads in medical journals started carrying the tagline, "GlaxoSmithKline: A Leader in RLS Research."
Next, Glaxo hired dozens of "sleep-disorder specialists" to go around the country, pitching local doctors about the seriousness of RLS and the wonders Requip could work in treating it. They invited the docs to lavish meals at country clubs and four-star restaurants, with Glaxo picking up the tab. They attended by the hundreds.
Finally, Glaxo spent millions more on TV ads aimed directly at consumers, to tell them that their pain has a name - and a drug to help treat it. Before you could say "gimme some of them pills," Glaxo's sales of Requip increased by more than $300 million a year. As they say, that ain't hay.
But before you rush off to your doctor and ask him to prescribe a bottle or two of Requip for you, here's a suggestion from one of my favorite health writers. Dr. Robert Rowen, editor of Second Opinion newsletter (www.secondopinionnewsletter.com), says if you're bothered by leg twitches at night, chances are you're suffering from a potassium deficiency.
He suggests eating a banana or two before you go to bed. Or get a bottle of potassium supplements from your local health food store. You could solve your problem without spending a fortune … or taking a fancy new drug with who-knows-what side effects.
New Diet Pill
This goes into the Friday dump, since that's pretty much were it belongs:
Diet Pill okay'd by FDA
Funny thing is, you don't even have to read the fine print. Right up front they say it only works with diet and exercise, and if you were eating well and exercising you wouldn't need it. They're also saying it could cost $60 a month. This is equal to a gym membership, payments on a super nice bike, a bushel of fruits and veggies or, hell, a round of drinks for you friends as a reward for all those improvements in diet and exercise you've been making since you decided to just do that part of the equation and skip to drug.
Also, if this supplement sounds interesting to you, consider trying chitosan first. It's cheaper and, more or less, does the same thing with less gastric stress. I've seen it be effective in certain circumstances but, in general, it's no major player in ones fitness transformation.
Diet Pill okay'd by FDA
Funny thing is, you don't even have to read the fine print. Right up front they say it only works with diet and exercise, and if you were eating well and exercising you wouldn't need it. They're also saying it could cost $60 a month. This is equal to a gym membership, payments on a super nice bike, a bushel of fruits and veggies or, hell, a round of drinks for you friends as a reward for all those improvements in diet and exercise you've been making since you decided to just do that part of the equation and skip to drug.
Also, if this supplement sounds interesting to you, consider trying chitosan first. It's cheaper and, more or less, does the same thing with less gastric stress. I've seen it be effective in certain circumstances but, in general, it's no major player in ones fitness transformation.
The Hardest Endurance Events on the Planet
After receiving some feedback, here's what I've come up with as the hardest recreational endurance events in the world. My definition of recreational is that anyone may enter. You may have to qualify but that standard isn't based on natural ability. This eliminates obvious stuff, like riding the Tour de France but also things like age group world championships and races like Hawaii Ironman. I wanted to make a list that anyone reading could think "I want to try that" and then, with enough motivation, have a chance to do it.
This list is my first attempt and in no particular order as to difficulty. I've tried to encompass as many different diciplines as possible. All feedback is welcome.
Badwater 135 (or 146 since you SHOULD continue to the summit once you've come all this way) - From what I can tell, this is the world's must rugged foot race, mainly because it's held on what's supposed to be the hottest weekend of any particular year. In temps that nearly always exceed 120 degrees F, you run through the desert from the lowest point in the United States to the highest (in the lower 48). The entire race is on pavement, adding to its nastiness, since runners must stay on the white lines of paint to keep their shoes from melting. Oddly enough, this race is popular enough that it's hard to get in, so get creative with your resume.
Race Across America - This could also count as the most boring but I don't think anyone could argue its gruel factor. Just sitting on your bike for this long is daunting enough. But you've also got to pedal, and at a decent pace to stay in the race. Add lack of sleep in extreme heat, cold, snow, rain, wind and then throw in the occasional tornado and you've got the perfect recipe for sheer misery. Anyone can enter but you've got to complete a qualifier of, at least, 400 miles within a respectable time of the winner.
The Norseman - Billing itself as the world's toughest triathlon, it's certainly hard to argue. Only slightly longer than a traditional ironman, the course profile alone looks ridiculous. This is before being told that the swim is in 60 degree water and the run is a rocky ascent (no trail from what I can tell) to the summit of a mountain.
Iditarod Trail Invitational - Dogs? We don't need no stinking dogs! This human powered version of the famously miserable Iditarod really needs no description. It's Febuary in northern Alaska. It's dark. It's really really cold. And you get to ride your bike 1100 miles accross the ice. Good times.
The Hardrock 100 - The trail runners holy grail, this 100 mile jaunt across the top of the Rockies is a shoo-in to make the list. Many life long ulra runners never finish this extreme test of will that features nearly 70,000' of elevation change over rock and snow at an average of 11,000'. Record holder Karl Melzer calls it "the hardest ultra on the planet."
Climbing Mount Everest - Sure sure, K2 is heaps harder, as are many peaks, but none of those are available to the recreational athlete. But Everest, most famously, now is. If you're rich or good at schmoozing pretty much anyone can get themselves a shot at standing on the world's rooftop. But cash and cocktail partying aside, you've still got to get yourself up the sucker and no guide, fixed rope, oxygen tanks or Sherpa can do it for you. Most that try don't make it. Those that do come down changed. And some don't come down at all. Commercial as it gets, high altitude roulette is still a dangerous game.
Primal Quest - According to Rebecca Rusch, one of the sports elders, adventure racing ain't what it used to be. "I'd say, for sure, the old style Raid Galuouse would be on this list. In those days even the organizers didn't know what to expect. It was truly adventurous." But commercialism and a "safety first" attitude aside, AR is still a tough test of the limits we can endure. And none, currently, is tougher than the Primal Quest.
Crocodile Trophy - This 10 stage, 1400 kilometer stage race through the Austrailian Outback is the antithesis to the Iditarod race. The race crosses Oz through what is famously some of the most inhospitible terrain in the world. From rain drenching rain forest to the bleakest desert, the course profile doesn't begin to do this race justice. Most of the competitors are elite, if not pro, yet the most common quote heard throughout the race is "I expected it to be hard but completely underestimated it." Probably why the organizers have dubbed it "the toughest test on two wheels."
This list is my first attempt and in no particular order as to difficulty. I've tried to encompass as many different diciplines as possible. All feedback is welcome.
Badwater 135 (or 146 since you SHOULD continue to the summit once you've come all this way) - From what I can tell, this is the world's must rugged foot race, mainly because it's held on what's supposed to be the hottest weekend of any particular year. In temps that nearly always exceed 120 degrees F, you run through the desert from the lowest point in the United States to the highest (in the lower 48). The entire race is on pavement, adding to its nastiness, since runners must stay on the white lines of paint to keep their shoes from melting. Oddly enough, this race is popular enough that it's hard to get in, so get creative with your resume.
Race Across America - This could also count as the most boring but I don't think anyone could argue its gruel factor. Just sitting on your bike for this long is daunting enough. But you've also got to pedal, and at a decent pace to stay in the race. Add lack of sleep in extreme heat, cold, snow, rain, wind and then throw in the occasional tornado and you've got the perfect recipe for sheer misery. Anyone can enter but you've got to complete a qualifier of, at least, 400 miles within a respectable time of the winner.
The Norseman - Billing itself as the world's toughest triathlon, it's certainly hard to argue. Only slightly longer than a traditional ironman, the course profile alone looks ridiculous. This is before being told that the swim is in 60 degree water and the run is a rocky ascent (no trail from what I can tell) to the summit of a mountain.
Iditarod Trail Invitational - Dogs? We don't need no stinking dogs! This human powered version of the famously miserable Iditarod really needs no description. It's Febuary in northern Alaska. It's dark. It's really really cold. And you get to ride your bike 1100 miles accross the ice. Good times.
The Hardrock 100 - The trail runners holy grail, this 100 mile jaunt across the top of the Rockies is a shoo-in to make the list. Many life long ulra runners never finish this extreme test of will that features nearly 70,000' of elevation change over rock and snow at an average of 11,000'. Record holder Karl Melzer calls it "the hardest ultra on the planet."
Climbing Mount Everest - Sure sure, K2 is heaps harder, as are many peaks, but none of those are available to the recreational athlete. But Everest, most famously, now is. If you're rich or good at schmoozing pretty much anyone can get themselves a shot at standing on the world's rooftop. But cash and cocktail partying aside, you've still got to get yourself up the sucker and no guide, fixed rope, oxygen tanks or Sherpa can do it for you. Most that try don't make it. Those that do come down changed. And some don't come down at all. Commercial as it gets, high altitude roulette is still a dangerous game.
Primal Quest - According to Rebecca Rusch, one of the sports elders, adventure racing ain't what it used to be. "I'd say, for sure, the old style Raid Galuouse would be on this list. In those days even the organizers didn't know what to expect. It was truly adventurous." But commercialism and a "safety first" attitude aside, AR is still a tough test of the limits we can endure. And none, currently, is tougher than the Primal Quest.
Crocodile Trophy - This 10 stage, 1400 kilometer stage race through the Austrailian Outback is the antithesis to the Iditarod race. The race crosses Oz through what is famously some of the most inhospitible terrain in the world. From rain drenching rain forest to the bleakest desert, the course profile doesn't begin to do this race justice. Most of the competitors are elite, if not pro, yet the most common quote heard throughout the race is "I expected it to be hard but completely underestimated it." Probably why the organizers have dubbed it "the toughest test on two wheels."
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Groundhog Day
So some rodent named Phil doesn't see his shadow (nice 'stache, btw) and, voila, it's instantly spring around here. I'm surprised the Bush administration hasn't blamed Phil and his kind for global warming and declared war on groundhogs. Regardless of our impending demise, folks around these parts seem to be enjoying it. With all the shorts and tank top being sported, you'd think it was summer and not in the high 40s. It even inspired me to tick the year's first 5.12, complete my first ridge traverse, take my first road ride, and wash the salt off of my car (that's right, it's black).
Alas, there is snow in the forecast. So I'd better wrap it up and get out there while I can.
Monday, February 05, 2007
The State of Cycling
Oh, dear.
From an article in Velo News:
Sadly, Hamilton's last day as a pro serves as a painful reminder of just what the sport has suffered through in recent years. That day's stage was won by Roberto Heras (stripped of the 2005 Vuelta title and suspended for EPO), who knocked Floyd Landis (facing the loss of the 2006 Tour de France title on a testosterone charge) out of the leader's jersey. Finishing second that day was Santiago Perez (suspended for blood doping), who finished ahead of third-placed Francisco Mancebo (named in Operación Puerto and ejected from the 2006 Tour).
From an article in Velo News:
Sadly, Hamilton's last day as a pro serves as a painful reminder of just what the sport has suffered through in recent years. That day's stage was won by Roberto Heras (stripped of the 2005 Vuelta title and suspended for EPO), who knocked Floyd Landis (facing the loss of the 2006 Tour de France title on a testosterone charge) out of the leader's jersey. Finishing second that day was Santiago Perez (suspended for blood doping), who finished ahead of third-placed Francisco Mancebo (named in Operación Puerto and ejected from the 2006 Tour).
Great Article on Doping
For your Monday morning reading pleasure (I mean, what else are you going to do at work?) This is an interesting piece about an aging recreational cyclist who tests modern doping procedures. It ties in well to blog I wrote last month on doping in sports and some of the other stuff from the tour. One thing to consider is that this guy is, probably, in his late 40s and the performance boosting difference between him and someone in there physical prime is huge. He's saying 10 to 15% (based on feel), whereas it's much less for someone younger with higher hormonal levels. Then there are the yahoos from Extreme Bodybuilding who chide his regement ("What are you, afraid to get strong?") These knuckleheads have and always will exist. They might, and I mean MAY, get more performance out of themselves but are also the ones getting themselves dead.
This is long, but if you're interested in performance-enhaning doping it's worth you time. Enjoy!
Drug Test
This is long, but if you're interested in performance-enhaning doping it's worth you time. Enjoy!
Drug Test