Happy Birthday Wawa!

On Wednesday I made a last minute decision to go to Wawa Preserve for a run. Wednesday was WaWa's 50th birthday and it seemed appropriate. I left the parking lot shortly after 6pm after taking a shadow picture. 

Six O'clock Shadow

It was a gorgeous evening even if it felt more like January than April. But the sky was blue and the sun was shining bright. I was out for a total of an hour (not running for an hour just out for an hour) and as the sun started to set the birds came alive. Combined with the water rushing down the creek it was a very peaceful sounding place. I saw a lot of deer but they were not happy to see me. 

The Rocky Run trail starts from Valley Road at route 1 and follows the creek of the same name up to route 352 near Fair Acres. Despite being between a bunch busy roads it's amazingly quiet and peaceful. At 352 the trail crosses over and eventually fades into Tyler Arboretum. 

It was a nice evening and I enjoyed being out and moving.

But I didn't really enjoy the running part :(. I'm not sure if I'm done with it for good or not yet. There's nothing wrong with walking and hiking and I love both so it makes sense to stick with those. But I miss my running buds. 

On to more happy thoughts. I posted to my FB page again about my 27 things and go an offer from Dan to teach me ballet and from Alexis to learn how to care for a Polish Chicken's crest feathers count. "I've got haircuts to give my polish hens so they can see better. You are welcome to join me and give me a hand!" I told her yes. I have no idea what's involved but that kind of makes it all the more intriguing! I hope it works out that I can help her with this. 

Have a great weekend! I'll be around ;) 

If the Shoes Could Talk ....

These are Ken's shoes and hydration pack. On April 12th 2014, Ken's shoes and hydration pack completed 31.1 miles on the Horse-Shoe trail. Of course they didn't do this alone. Ken was there along with 30+ friends (or soon to be friends) either running or supporting the run. This is a story about how the shoes, their owner and the friends got there.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....  Wait, wrong story. Yet it does feel like it all started that way. On October 23, 2013 Ken Dorris typed

"I wish I was a faster runner... I can not qualify for anything longer than a marathon times b/c I dont meet time requirements.. sigh.. No 50 or 100 in my future.. Was looking at Tussey 50 as my first 50.."

And before Ken could delete his statement from Facebook it was decided that an event would be held to give him the opportunity to complete a 50. You see, Ken belongs to a group called Misery Loves Company (MLC) and true to the name they rallied around determined to get him through training and his first ultra marathon. Within minutes of his initial statement and for the next 11 days there were over 39 replies with suggestions and encouragement. Including this exchange:

Pete White: How about we create an MLC race, the Do This Dorris 50M? Who's in? 
October 23, 2013 at 10:28pm 

Ken Dorris: I love you Pete White!! im in! how about we run it in march? Say the 22nd?!!

October 24, 2013 at 8:52am 

And with that, preparation and training began in earnest. At least that was the intent. Training would take place mostly in Winter and Mother Nature was not on the MLC team. The Philadelphia area had it's third snowiest Winter (since 1872) with 62.9 inches of snow and record breaking low temperatures. Some of the participants traveled miles and miles and miles and miles south of the area just to have the chance to run on ice-free and snow-free surfaces.

Initially posted to MLC FB page
by Destrie Cossaboom

Photo credit: Randy Hall

Randy Hall: Motivated and on schedule, tho finding a good place for a long run this weekend may be a challenge.

Destrie Cossaboom: The map shows rain in Dover. I'll most likely end up back at the beach for my long run again!

So the runners either traveled distances or trudged throw snow & ice. One group was heard to refer to their outing as "an advanced training course in slogology". But train they did. Even if it meant frozen beards; wind burnt faces and eyelashes that stuck together. Ken's comment on the photo below "... but it was AWESOME!!"

Meanwhile work was underway to set up support staff; identify a location & date; and to name the event. In short order the RD lined up an Admiral of Aid Stations (Maggi); Viceroy of Volunteers (Paula); Minister of Money (Mike) and Sergeant of Selling It (Sara). OK so that last one is made up because I cannot remember the name of Sara's role but my made up one does accurately define it.

After considering a variety of dates from March through April and locations including Valley Forge, Coventry Woods and Lums Pond a group vote settled on April 12th on the Horse Shoe Trail. Naming the event was a bit more involved and a lot more fun :). From the first day of Ken's infamous - but often misquoted - FB post, names for the event flew across the Internet. Here are just a few of the suggestions:

The Militant March? The Militia Mash?

OGWIWTA which stands for "Oh god, whose idea was this, anyway?"

The Peoples Ultra

Thought you were lucky

KEN CAN RUN

The Ken Dorris Dash

The Dorris 50
Stega-Dorris

The final vote came down between 50 Shades of Sore and Everyone KEN Run. 50 Shades of Sore won and the event became an option between 50k (31.1 miles) or 50 miles.

As the Winter gave way to Spring the days lengthened. The snow and cold weather, however, were much slower to move out. Yet the runners continued to train and sign up. Some unfortunately had injuries and had to drop out. Many of those signed up to support the runners. And as with everything else in life some had difficult decisions to make:

Michael Mitchell: Dilemma... 50 shades of sore, or 50 shades of sun. My wife just asked me to go on a trip with her that weekend to sunny Tucson, AZ. 
(In the end he stayed home and signed on to be one of the support staff as well as run 13.1 miles on race morning)

Speaking of volunteers - Misery Loves Company is an amazing supportive group. A couple of emails and that quick we had a full roster of aid station managers and extras to spare. They made it easy to organize. They were willing do anything and everything that was asked of them. Many stayed all day (12 hours +) and more than a few stayed well beyond what they had originally signed on for as the weather played a bit of havoc on the runners pace.

On the night before the event Maggi, Sara and Mike took this (and some other stuff)

and turned it into this for each of the aid stations:

PB &J sandwiches; Bananas; Grapes; Cookies; Peanut M&Ms; Hard candy; Trail mix/granola bars; Potato chips; Pretzels/PB pretzel bites; Chicken broth/soup (limited; later aid stations); Water; Gatorade; Coca cola; Electrolytes (Succeed S! Caps); Vaseline; Wet wipes; Hand sanitizer; Basic first aid kits; Duct tape; Bug spray; Bear repellent (just kidding although bug spray might have been useful)

Also, on the night before the event, race director Pete White had this to say,

"We have 23 registered for the 50K and 13 for the 50 miler; runners are coming from 4 states and as far away as Pittsburgh and northern Virginia; (the) group has collectively finished nearly 320 recorded races, including 138 50Ks, 76 50 milers, and 23 100 milers; 100M finishes include Western States, Pine to Palm, Mohican, Hallucination, Oil Creek, Burning River, Pinhoti, New Jersey, Massanutten, Indiana Trail, Rocky Raccoon, and Umstead; finishes include 18 overall or gender first-place awards; Ken Dorris will finish the 50K, even if we have to carry him"

Ken Dorris: Crap
Paula Tansey: Ken Dorris, YOU are the reason some of us are getting up a 0 dark thirty to make this event happen. You will NOT fail. Keep smiling and keep moving .... 
Maggi Buckler: ... OR ELSE!
Ken Dorris: Double and triple crap! question of the week... how many 50 milers beat me to the finish line?! lol
Ryan Schannauer: Ken .This entire run is your fault.
Pete White: Yeah, Ken, what were you thinking? 
Ken Dorris: I am not talking to either of you tomorrow!!! Ryan Schannauer, Pete White
Critter Alexis: I am going to attempt to get my drone going so I can get some drone footage of the runners coming through the Northside road aid station. I promise I won't drop it on any one. 
Pete White: I think the drone has a "Ken will finish" custom program--luckily, Ryan is a computer programmer and kindly donated his time to create it

On April 12th the sun rose at 6:36 a.m. and would be shining for the next 13 hours and 11 minutes. The race was scheduled to start at 7:00 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. We would just make it.
As I've said, Mother Nature is not on the MLC team and she (I wish my gender could disown her quite frankly) continued to throw curve balls at the runners. After a cold wet winter and continued chilly weather in the weeks before the race, April 12th brought bright sunshine and temps that ran from low 40s at the start to low 70s by midday. Gorgeous by some standards but not so much to run in when you haven't had time to adjust. With little and no leaves on the trees the sun beat down on the runners. Many of the runners struggled with hydration as a result. The rough winter weather dropped numerous trees and other debris along the course making the already challenging course even tougher. As a result, most ran slower than they ever have for these distances. Of the 12 runners planning to go for 50 miles, only 2 completed that distance.

And quite frankly, the day was

50 SHADES OF SUCCESS!

I think Gary Peterson captured the feeling of the day best: Yesterday was a really great time.......I had a really great day and once again achieved my goal that I have at all events, which is to have fun. Had a blast!!!! Another up side is that I got to meet a whole bunch or people who I only previously knew via fb.

Whether you ran or supported the run, I think we all agree it was a day of fabulous "company" and there wasn't anything "miserable" about it. (OK maybe that hill at mile 23 but you know what I mean!)



For captioned photos I took at the event click here.

**********************************************************************

As I researched this post I found a photo of the shoes fresh out of the box. 

Witness Protection

My running mojo has gone into hiding. For awhile there I had glimpses of it but lately I can't find a trace. So I've decided the best strategy is to stop looking.

On Tuesday I went walking from the Betzwood Trailhead out on the Schuylkill River Trail with my friend Elaine. We put in a good 4+ miles in just over an hour. The weather was just about perfect. Toward the end I wished I had worn my head band. It was just cool enough to bother my ears but not enough for a headache fortunately. Here is me on the picnic bench waiting for Elaine to switch into long pants. The sun was really very bright even at 6 PM. Yay for DST, Spring and Summer. :)

On Wednesday I posted a walk for Inner Line Drive at Valley Forge. No one took me up on it so I went alone. Inner Line drive goes nowhere but in a misshapen horseshoe inside the park from Route 23 just west of the Chapel back to Route 23 a little farther west of the Chapel. I think most of us never see what's there unless you've been there for a grade school field trip or take the bus encampment tour given by the park. I can't remember the last time I was up there. The road meanders around and up Mt Joy.

When I came to these stairs I had to see where they went. The led to a dirt trail that climbed to a clearing at the top of Mt. Joy. I wonder if this is where the observation tower used to be. If so, there is no sign of it now. Not even a base for it. It was a nice climb though. There was a trail on the other side of the clearing that likely comes out on the Drive on the other side or possibly goes all the way to the bottom of the mountain. I'll try that next time. I wanted to stick to the drive this trip and see where it went exactly. As you continue on the Drive you can see the other trails that climb Mt Joy. I'm glad to see them open again. For a period last year they were closed.



On the far side of the Drive I saw the monument for the New Jersey Brigade. If you look closely just to the left and behind you can make out the mama deer giving me the evil eye for stopping there. Her fawn was just off the edge of my photo.

I had a great time on both walks. Tonight I was hoping to join the Suburban Cyclists Group on their ride out of Collegeville. I need to get over my fear of riding in groups but decided tonight was not going to be that night.

I'll leave you with a few more photos from the Inner Line Drive walk.

For Molly. I know how you love sun photos.
This was just about 6 p.m. before my walk. 

Looking out across 23 and 422 at St. Gabe's as I came down
off the mountain. 

#3, 4, 5, & 6: Bike Maintenance

The goal - 27 instances of Learning Something New From - OR - Trying Something New With - Someone Else. 

During the month of March I spent my Thursday evenings (well 2 hours of them anyway) at Cycle Sport of Media learning how to take care of my bike.

Week 1: How to change a flat tire. Sounds easy enough and truly it was but I've never had to actually change a tire before and I was nervous at the thought of having to do it on the road. I've watched many how to videos but it's not quite the same as actually doing it. I felt much better after this class. I need practice still but I least now I feel confident to try it at home.

Week 2: Gear shifting. We learned how and why gears worked and replaced our own cables. I only did the rear ones on my bike. I was so intimidated by it that I decided not to try the front during class. I had trouble getting the cable tight enough on the rear. My fingers would not cooperate. :(

Week 3: Brakes. I did mange to replace both front and rear brake cables this week. I also think I understand better how they are supposed to work. I learned that it's more than just brake pad on wheel.

Week 4: Drive train cleaning. Part of our tuition for class included a bike maintenance book. Mike Allen, our instructor, highlighted the parts we would need to know for each class. And yes, I did read the appropriate sections before each class. I was more than a little intimidated by the drive train sections. However, after reading it, listening to Mike explain things and removing, cleaning, replacing and lubricating my own chain I feel rather impressed with myself! (Even if my chain does have the easy link piece. We all watched while Mike took the sprocket set off one wheel.

Of course the trick is remembering all of what I learned.

I really enjoyed the class. It was fascinating to learn all these things but also to see the different bikes that each of us had. Mike explained and sometimes demonstrated the differences. Mike is obviously very knowledgeable about bikes. I'm sure he could have done a lot of what he showed us in his sleep. He has a ton of patience and then some.

I'm counting my 4 weeks at Cycle Sport as 4 of my 27 things. Because well, it WAS 4 different things. And also because I really do need to pick up the pace!

Horseshoe Trail Hike: Opperman's Corner to French Creek Elementary School

A 9+ mile hike in early March on snow packed hills when one has done almost zero miles since the second weekend in January probably was not the brightest idea I've ever had. It's probably not the worst either. And now that I'm home, showered, fed and comfortably ensconced under an afghan on my couch I can say that all in all it was a great day! Toward the end of the hike, though, it was difficult to keep smiling, keep moving and not whine. 

The date was originally chosen after checking in with Mike K. We had done the first two sections together (with others on each section). Unfortunately, Mike was not feeling well today and had to skip. And for various reasons from illness to child care issues our group went from 10 to 3 before it began. 

Maggi, Russ and I met at French Creek Elementary School at 9 am then carpooled to a parking spot lot on 113 just west of 401. The first 4.5-5 miles were mostly on the aptly named Horseshoe Trail Road. Not all that exciting from a hiking perspective but there were some nice views and ridiculously large houses. And if I had known what awaited us when the trail would go off road later I might have been a tad less anxious to get off the road. 

At Green Lane we went off road for good. After a short more or less flat section the trail began climbing and descending. The snow made for some slow going. Where others had gone before us their tracks were slippery. In new snow it was tough to get a good rhythm going. If your feet sunk it was ok until the one step when your foot didn't sink and then you were thrown off balance. At some points the snow was mid-calf deep on me. My hip flexors - which have always been a weak spot for me - were not happy. Climbing over the many downed tree branches became a real chore for me. 

Despite all that it was a real adventure and I'm glad we did it. An argument could be made that I was wearing the wrong shoes. I opted for sneakers over hiking boots. I don't like the boots they are too heavy and I end up with shin splints. Yes my feet were numb by the time we were done but Russ said his were too and he had hiking boots on. Given all the high stepping we ended up doing I think I made the right choice for me. 

We crossed a few creeks which were swollen from run off. All were manageable until the last one. Russ jumped and Maggi one hopped it. My shorter legs were so tired and by that point I knew if i tried to jump I wouldn't make it. My feet were getting pretty numb by now too so trying to balance across the narrow branch was not going to happen either. I couldn't feel enough to balance well. so I crawled over and under brush to a narrower point. Russ found a tree branch and three it across the width. Maggi stood on the end to hold it relatively still and I was able to get across.

Trying to cross the creek and struggling through the last two miles or so of the hike made me feel really old. But I made it - there wasn't much choice, LOL. I'd like to think that the long period of inactivity and the snow were more significant factors than my age though. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

Looking forward to part 4. Maybe in May.