Like the canyon

Allright...alright. Kept waitting to upload my pics before posting, but I'm in cell phone data purgatory and after days of trying have given up on uploads until I can find at least 3G coverage. I got a few to partiallly load, you'll see below. 

Been on Kauai with the fam for a little over a week and have had some incrediable runs once again.  A week ago Friday I repeated the 22 mile Kalalau Trail.  Confirmed once again 22 miles can't get much more difficult to run than that trail.  My Garmin recorded 12,000 ft of climb for the round trip, same as last time.  I thought there was no way, but after some online research...maybe it is.  According the the H.U.R.T. blog they measured it as that much too.  It doesn't come in the form of big climbs, just lots and lots of 200-800 footers over and over and over again. 

The first 2 miles of trail, the part all the tourists do, is rough, but the trail is wide and easy to pick around the worst parts.  After leaving Hanakapai Beach the nature of the trail changes dramtically to very rough footing, narrow, over-grown trail, lots of up and down, and significant consequences if you're not paying attention.  Add to that 75-80 degree temps and lots of humidity, and no wind and its a tough, tough outing.  5:40 RT, not including a few minutes at the waterfall on Kalalau Beach.  Within minutes of my time last year, and, regardless of fitness, I don't think I could run it much faster without taking signifigant risks to life and limb. 

Tuesday of this week was one of  those all to rare days I wish I could live over once a month or so. To satrt off, I left early to run a loop I've never been on in Kokee State Park. The trail starts at an elveation of 3500 ft and is an 11 mile loop from car to car that includes several undescribably beautiful overlooks of the Napali Coast, running along steep, narrow ridges with multiple thousands of foot drops into lush, green canyons on both sides, and gorgeous forested single track. Great run, not in a hurry, took my time and enjoyed the whole thing.  Didn't see a soul for 10 miles, passed a few right before the car.  Injury acted up abit on this one, Hip and ITB ok, but the inner-quad, groin is still touchy....getting there though.   

(Pic of one of the views along this morning's run.  Looking East down the Napali Coast and the area the Kalalau Trail traverses.  No roads or hotel/resorts on that part of the island)

Post run I spent and a few hours playing with the kids at the pool and then paddled out to a surf break that has always intimidated me everytime we come here.  It's a rocky, shallow point break with a reefy/rocky section inside.  Basically you make the wave, go right or left or get pummeled, pushed inside and washed into the rocks. (ok maybe a little dramatic, but possible none the less)  I have paddled out there before, but usually just sit outside on the shoulder and let waves go by, nervous about pulling into a wave and somewhat intimidated by the local presence. 

This time was different. I felt confident and strong and paddled for peaks and caught waves smoothly and in control.  It was a total break through session.  Surfing is by far, absolutely with out a doubt the hardest thing I have ever tried, and I have along way to go before I would call myself a surfer, but it felt good to have all the little things I've learned along the way come together at the right time and place. Perfect shoulder high glassy rights at sunset with whales breeching in the distance and a couple of turtles cruising around just outside the break.  Un-freaking-believable. Out for a nice dinner and ice cream with the fam after.  Bottle that one up for another day, because they just dont get better.

(The surf break from above a few minutes after I paddeled in.)

Yesterday was surfing some big, steep and fast closeouts at Hanalei Bay on the North Shore.  Scary! But I nailed a couple and almost got drowned by a couple others. 

Today, a very enjoyble exploratory run along the coast from Shipwrecks Beach in Poipu.  7 miles or so along a rough and secenic trail with a mix of smooth dirt, sand, deathly rough lava rock and  a mile or two along the beach where I was almost mauled by a Monk Seal, not kidding.  Gorgeous! Took easy, leg felt 85%. 

Oh, and one 6.5 mile road run that seemed to bother my leg more than any of the others. Kept it comfortably under an 8 minute pace. First time running on the road on purpose in over 2 years. Uninspiring for me, even in paradise. 

One more week of island living......

6 miles on the trails doing something that approximated running.....Mix of it all, snow, 6 inch deep slush, ice, dirt, but mostly a substance that was something between ice and slush that made forward progress something akin to running on a bosu ball. Beats the TM though I suppose.

6 miles that felt like 10, some hills.

Back from the easy island living.  Kept up my 7-8 mile beach cruiser most days.  Surfed everyday.  Surfed until my arms would move the last 3 days.  Last day I paddled out to a bigger North Shore break and managed to snag a couple of 8-10 footers.  Pretty cool, but watching guys pull into 20-25 foot faces makes me realize how far I have to go. 

Couple more pics from the trip:

Looking down on the Kalalau Valley from Kokee State Park.  The Kalalau Trail ends there, down where you can see the waves breaking.  The last section of trail goes through the red dirt area just above the ocean, center right. 

Heading out to the Lolo overlook on an 11 mile loop I ran in Kokee Park.  This section of trail dropped 2000-3000 on both sides of the trail into deep hanging valleys.

Looking East down the Napali Coast from the same spot the above pic was taken from.

Looking across to the spot the above pics were taken from.  I was standing on the red dirt section toward the end of the ridge. 

Section of my 7-8 mile daily run.

Steep, fast shore break. Pine Trees, Hanalei Bay. Got some great waves here, got pounded by a few waves here too.

Oh, and an easy 40 minutes on some soggy trail above the house tonight.  Arrggh, sucking sea level wind. 

7.5, 1250 vert on the 'mill. EP

Skied 3 hours moring, then work, then 75 minutes bike, 200-240 watts. Skiing takes it outa me, Sat, Monday, Tues, Legs felt hammered, but the good kind of hammered.

Finally sucked it up and went for an outside run on the snowy trails.  Very enjoyable hour cruising around above the house.  Injury feeling good....it's gotta be that magic heal'en balm.

6 miles on the trails doing something that approximated running.....Mix of it all, snow, 6 inch deep slush, ice, dirt, but mostly a substance that was something between ice and slush that made forward progress something akin to running on a bosu ball. Beats the TM though I suppose.

6 miles that felt like 10, some hills.

AM 9-2 Suprisingly good moring on the hill.

PM

Wouldn't have thought the trails could have been worse than last night but yesterday's slush is today's frozen nightmare. Trails are almost totally water ice and were not even really runable, resorted to running off trail in the fresh snow for a few miles.  Trail up the first part of Indian was managable and quite enjoyable.  Followed jack rabbit tracks through the sagebrush back to the car to avoid the bobsled run on the trails. Tough one.

1 hour

AM: 11 icy and rough miles on th BST north.  Broke trail out to the end. Spikes pretty much mandatory.

PM: Kiddo skiing at Snowbasin.  Little dude's first run on the big boy lift. Good times.

Very enjoybale 1:15 cruiseing around above the house. Felt much better than Saturday's slugfest. Came to the conclusion I really dislike running in Microspikes. It's like having a pound of mud on each shoe, guess it beats slding down the trail on my back side.

Really great post from a Tri coach's blog (Chuckie V)

The Art of War -- Triathlon Style

The Rules of Engagement

1) If you want post-race peace, be ready for war. You must prepare accordingly and carry out what the race and your race goals demand of you. As it is in the original Art of War, the will to win means nothing without the will to prepare. Victory belongs to those best prepared. Come to terms with this before you come to blows, or you will blow your chances.

2) Be sure you have secured the proper army of supporters to back you: confidants, guides, medics, scouts, and the like. Though triathlon is contested amongst individuals it is generally those with the greatest support network who rise to the top. Build your forces to the utmost or you will be fighting a losing battle.

3) Concern yourself only with yourself and your forces. Disregard the politics of war or what your adversaries claim to be doing, except when it furthers your cause (rarely does it further your cause). Utilize scouts if groundwork is deemed essential; focus upon your personal responsibilities.

4) Strive to be ego-free and humble. Laugh at yourself more than you do at those arrogant souls who take themselves too seriously and incessantly sound their battle cries. Then, so as to obtain the last laugh, be sure to quietly kick their ego-ridden ass. Let your performance stand on its own ass-kicking legs as you batter their battle cries into them.

5) Divulge nothing (e.g., training details; race plans; secrets; beliefs; principles, practices, etc). Reveal only that which returns to assist your cause. If a training partner can be of benefit, forge an alliance and share with them as they do unto you, and not a scintilla more. If not, abstain from the "assistance", as he may be an infiltrator.

6) Be intimately familiar with your competition, particularly that which lay inside you, but also in others. (This may sound incongruous with Rule #3 but it is not; you must know your competition's capacities and believe them to be comparable to yours.) Cultivate relationships in accordance with the aforementioned rule (Rule #5), with the understanding that ours is an 'every-man-for-himself' affair once the cannon is fired and war is waged.

7) Whether you win, lose or draw, respect your rivals. For it is when you least respect them, so too is it when you least expect them. In a historical perspective you must also respect those who've fought the hard-fought battles long before you. (This relates to the first seven words in the last line of Rule #9.) Moreover, you must absolutely respect those who will come to replace you; for if not, they will come to do so that much sooner. The bottom line: respect your competition, for without them, there can be no winner.

8) Be intimately familiar with every element of the battlefield: the rules, the swim currents and/or tide, the transition areas, the wind, the potholes, the layout of the land, the finish chute, the element of surprise, the potential problems, the possibilities...or you may end up a causality in the medical tent.

9) Nourish yourself accordingly: nutritionally, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, and cognitively. Put the "stud" in study; be a student of the sport and all that it entails. Learn from those who have "been there" and from those who have not.

10) Choose your battles carefully. Fight when all your reserves are in place. Entering a war ill-equipped to defend yourself may precipitate your demise, if not engender post traumatic stress disorder. Know precisely why you are fighting and what you are fighting for. If you fight merely to preserve ego (by "cherry-picking" for example) know that you're ego is not prepared for the true hardships of battle. (See #4 above.)

11) Choose your weapons wisely. Be intimately familiar with each of them, but do not overestimate their need. Use your internal weaponry and aim high.

12) Play fairly when winning or while being monitored by race marshals! Humor aside, you must strive to fight the good fight, both in deliberate practice and on the battlefield.

13) NEVER apologize for waging war. Whether victory is all but lost or completely secured, be sure to fight for all you are worth. The corpses of your enemies always smell sweet. Pummel them all.

14) Limit your mistakes, for they may be fatal. Understand too that he who has committed no mistakes has not fought for very long; exploit him.

15) Finally, you must come to terms that the war will not---and does not---last forever. It is an ephemeral affair, and one day (soon) you may come to miss fighting the good fight. Fight hard. Fight well. Fight to the bitter end. (Do all this and there shall be no bitter end.)

Nice run from the house tonight. Caught up to the H.U.M.R. group going up North BST. Awesome group that is getting to be quite the gathering it seems. Ran with the go-fasites for a few miles while they put the hurt on me. Oreo threw the hammer down. Running really strong! We got back to Rainbow right at dark, said goodbye to the group and headed up the icy hill home. Felt good overall, hip/quad was good, still fighting a slight cold, but noth'en too serious. Good to see everyone out!

13-14 miles, ?? vert, 2000ish, monster blisters on each arch credit to new footbeds...