June 30th, 2009
About a month ago I signed up for a trail race (running on hiking trails rather than streets). Since the bottoms of my delicate feet are so sensitive, I invested in a pair of off-road running shoes with a nice stiff sole. Thinking that I better break in the shoes at least a little, I took ‘em out for a couple laps around the neighborhood. Turns out that running on pavement in shoes designed for dirt isn’t such a good idea… My left IT band got itself all inflamed and stayed that way for several days.
The internet says that IT band issues are pretty common in all runners (novice and pros alike) and it’s basically a over-use injury. Dr. Internet recommends rest and stretching so I took the week off from running in an attempt to nip this injury in the butt.
At the end of this week, hoping for the best, I went ahead and did my trail race. The event was a lot of fun despite the soaring temperatures and long slogs up and down cliff faces. It’s amazing how much beautiful scenery there is in Texas. I kinda wish I had stopped more often and longer to take in the vistas, but heck, it was still a race… None the less, I still enjoyed them as they went by. In the end, I got to see 6 miles of really nice scenery in just over an hour… let’s see TV compete with that!
Alas, the knee is still hurting. I’m more diligent about stretching this week, and I got new (street) shoes in case the wear on my old shoes was contributing to the problem. We’ll see how this next week goes and hopefully I’ll be able to avoid asking a real doctor for advice.
None the less, I think this trail-running thing may be more my style then the road races. Not only are the races smaller and less claustrophobic, but they’re a lot more laid back. For example, the start of 10K’s in downtown are signaled over a 10 gazillion watt PA system with pop music blaring down upon every racer. This race started when the race director shouted “go” from the top of a ladder.
Simple is better.
Posted in Running, Texas | No Comments »
June 13th, 2009
A buddy of mine is attempting the Texas Water Safari this year, so we headed down to San Marcos this morning to watch the big start. As luck would have it, we met up with Aaron (my buddy) and his boat-mate Josh (here on out “our heros”) on the highway and followed them right into the starting area… that’s got to be a good omen, right?
Our heros are using a plastic Hobie kayak, something that makes them a bit unique is this crowd. Most of the boats are either aluminum canoes or highly customized canoe/kayaks made of fiberglass, Kevlar, and other exotic materials… not bright red plastic. None the less, our heros are undaunted by this fact and are pushing ahead. The ace up their sleeve is the Mirage Drive which, if they make it to deep water, will allow them to use leg muscles instead of back muscles to move the boat.
Mirage drives
Front Mirage Drive installed
After the start, we made our way down to the first interesting part of the race… about half a mile or so down river. Everyone had to get out and portage around a damn in the river. Some went right, some went left, but everyone get a little wet… 
Out heros seem to have made it through this section without incident, and still looked strong.
I think they’ve got their work cut out for them, but if they can make it to deep water without injury… well… they’ll make it all the way!
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Mirage drives
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Front Mirage Drive installed
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Post Script
Due to a hole in the hull, Our Heros had to haul extra water down the river which was already running really low. As a result, they had to drop out just before the second checkpoint after 33 miles or so. They put in a hell of a performance and really had a good running if you ask me. Can’t wait to see how they do in the next race…
Tags: Texas Water Safari
Posted in Kayaking, Texas | No Comments »
May 31st, 2009
Tags: Gold Ribbon Rescue
Posted in Austin, Pets | Comments Off
May 22nd, 2009
Since I had to actually do some work for a couple days, my runs have been limited to the West End of Vancouver. All of the runs were very pretty, and exactly what I needed to wake up in the morning. The first run (orange) is the sort of traditional “go around Stanley Park” run for 6.9 miles. The second (green) was a venture out to see False Creek and the little island of stores for 9.6 miles. The third was a “ok, let’s do something a bit shorter this time” for just 3.6 miles.
All totaled, I got 48 miles of running and hiking into just 6 days. Add in 3 full days of academic conference and I’d say it was a pretty darn good trip!
The last three runs of my trip
Links
- gpsies.com: Stanley Park Track
- gpsies.com: False Creek Track
- Google Earth: Stanley Park Track
- Google Earth: False Creek Track
- Garmin: Stanley Park Track
- Garmin: False Creek Track
Tags: Canada, False Creek, Running, Stanley Park
Posted in Canada, Running | Comments Off
May 19th, 2009
A view of our hike to Norvan Falls
Today Tim joined me for a hike up to Norvan Falls. I had originally thought about running this trail, but after yesterday’s experience I’m less interested in running on what are clearly hiking trails…
As always, the hike started out on a nice wide trail. A rushing river nearby filled the air with sound and mist which in turn filled the forest with moss. I think the moss was the most defining characteristic of the day’s scenery. I knew moss came in different varieties, but this was like walking through someone’s moss collection… Bright green, dark green, blue, navy green, olive green, even forest green…
Snow!
In retrospect, it’s hardly surprising, but we stumbed on quite a bit of snow along the trail. Some of it was deep, but the hikers before us had packed down a proper trail for us. Deep shoe-shapped holes showed where other people had strayed from the beaten path… but it wasn’t a problem at all.
By far the most exciting part of the hike came near the end of the hike when we both heard a loud crack from the forest. Tim and I both (incorrectly) assumed that the other had stepped on a stick and thought nothing of it… for about 3 seconds. Then, with a bunch of snapping, splintering, and crashing, a very tall tree fell across the trail about 10 feet behind Tim. With as much speed as we could muster on a rocky downhill grade, we ran as fast as we could to get out of the way, but there’s really no chance that we could have outrun the tree… had it fallen in our direction. Lucky for us, it landed off to the right somewhere and not on top of us. Tim should have some photos of the tree, so I’ll post those when I get them.
That’s all I’ve got for now… gotta run.
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Funny lettuce looking plant
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Lynn Creek, more of a river if you ask me.
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Lynn Creek
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Hi Tim!
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Odd contraption on a nearby creek (a dam or lock?)
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Nice wide trail to start
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One of many bridges on the trail
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Lots of sceneary to photograph
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Some direct sunlight… not much though.
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Tim
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Some bridges were in better condition then others
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“Potential” historic site?
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Snow!
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More bear warnings.
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Trail’s getting a little steaper…
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Norvan Creek… must be close to Norvan Falls, eh?
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Stupid sign. Bridge looks totally fine!
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I don’t think Gwen would like this…
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Moss everywhere
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Really?
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Hey, there’s the falls.
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Another bridge
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A bit muddy on the way back
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Note that dogs are allowed off leash everywhere but the parking lot.
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This little dog was being trained…
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A view of our hike to Norvan Falls
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A view of our hike to Norvan Falls
Links
- View or download this track from gpsies.com: Norvan Falls Track
- View the track in Google Earth: Norvan Falls Track for Google Earth
- Use the track on your Garmin: Norvan Falls Track for Garmin
Tags: Canada, Hiking, Norvan Falls
Posted in Canada, Hiking | Comments Off
