Up and Around and Back Again! [NM & CO]

32 days. 32 crazy days full of adventure, of pushing limits, of exploring new places, of living life to the fullest. 32 days alongside my mister with no expectations other than to get in there. Our summer was cut in half because of grad school commitments, but we made up for that once we were able to hit the road.

We finished up a course in the History and Philosophy of Education on June 26 and were on the road by 9AM on the 27th. There was no holding us back. We had places to be (well, not really, but the idea of taking seven days to make it to Nebraska as opposed to one was too much to ask for) and sights that we wanted to see on our way there.

Our road trip began with a visit to Aztec Ruins National Monument in northern New Mexico. We learned that these ruins are neither of the Aztec persuasion, nor are they considered ruins by the Puebloan people or the Navajo who later inhabited the area. Rather, they are a home to the spirits of those who once lived there. Shortly thereafter we crossed the state line and said good-bye to New Mexico and hello to colorful Colorado.

Aztec Ruins National Monument

We buzzed through Durango and picked up a couple of things at the visitor center (and checked to make sure we weren't going to encounter any road closures due to fire) before heading north to Silverton. The sights were amazing - forests and water seem to be in abundance as soon as you leave New Mexico and we soaked it in. 

At one mountain pass we couldn't take it any longer and climbed out of the car to enjoy an overlook. That overlook led us to a trail, which led us to an exploration of trails leading up Engineer Mountain, through wildflowers taller than Chris, and eventually into afternoon thunderstorms. Having spent plenty of time in storms, we decided to turn around when we saw our first bolt of lightning in the distance and got in some trail running on our way back to the car.

Tarah Running

Chris Running (This one is especially great if you zoom in!)

We made it off of the mountain safely and then drove into Silverton. We wandered around town and checked out the train depot before heading into the national forest for some free camping. We ended day one of 32 with cans of beans and some bread followed by a sunset hike up to a high meadow lake. We crossed over rivers, found ourselves embraced in a warm red light that covered the mountain after the sun went down, and eventually found our way back to our trusty tent.

Red-tinted Skies in Colorado

The next morning we worked our way north on the million dollar highway between Silverton and Ouray. It was incredible (especially at 7AM when hardly anyone was on the road). We stopped at a small pullout before Ouray and were blessed with the sight of a majestic waterfall that we didn't even know that we had crossed over. A little further down the road we pulled over for good to try our hand at high altitude hiking on the Bear Creek National Scenic Trail.

Rim Hiking on Bear Creek Trail

Rock Hopping on Bear Creek Trail

We picked our way through shale fields as we made a quick ascent, and then we kept right on climbing. I pushed as hard as I could and still my feet did not want to leave the ground. As we wound our way along cliffside trails we were granted more views of the previously mentioned waterfall, the river that it came from, and the mountain streams that fed into that river. We passed old mining camps, rock hopped across some streams, encountered a porcupine eating lunch, and continued climbing until we lost the trail about a mile before coming out at Engineer Pass. Feeling exhausted, I did not have the energy to search for the trail and so we turned around and made our way down. Each step was remarkably easier than the previous and it felt like a weight was being lifted off of my shoulders (or lungs, rather). 

Grizzly Bear Mine (Bear Creek Trail)

After returning to the car we drove through Ouray and made our way further north to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We drove around the canyon rim and admired the beauty of nature. We paid for a night of camping in the park so that we could get an early start on a hike down into the canyon. The next morning we got our early start, but the descent freaked me out a little (okay, a lot), so we turned back and did a more moderate hike on top of the canyon before heading east toward Grand Junction and Colorado National Monument.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

We were unsure of what to expect of Colorado National Monument, but we were pleasantly surprised. From the forests of the Rocky Mountains we found ourselves thrust back into our desert landscape. The red rocks had me in awe, and then I realized that we live amongst the same types of formations. We hiked the old monument road, the serpent trail, which was once one of the curviest roads in the United States. We drove along the park road and observed a canyon that was vastly different from that which we had been at in the morning. Instead of dark striated rock, we had a painted desert of rich reds, golds, and oranges in front of us. Monuments reached for the sky and we roasted under the sun. That night we hiked to the base of one of the monuments and camped out under the stars (and a couple of climbers that had begun their ascent of the monument at dusk). With the exception of some noisy night hikers that came through the trail junction in the middle of the night, we had a peaceful desert sleep.

Our Camp Was Surrounded By Monuments

The following morning we drove east to Boulder where we got some much needed sibling time. We stayed with Sarah and James for a couple of nights and spent our time in town exploring trails, eating good food, and observing the oddities that exist on Pearl Street. We made it to Chataqua Municipal Park where we climbed Green Mountain (a goal of Chris's for the summer trip) and did a little more trail running.

Wildflowers Were Abundant 

Our Colorado visit ended with a trip to Red Rocks Amphitheater and Dinosaur Ridge. Both places were incredible for different reasons. We hiked around, took in the sights, and learned a little more about the geological and archeological history of the area. In the early afternoon we had to call our short stay to an end and we drove north into Nebraska where the next phase of our summer adventure took place.

twenty twelve running recap

Last year I set a goal of running 300+ hours from January 1 to December 31, but unfortunately I didn't come anywhere close to that number. Apparently moving to a new country, becoming a teacher and starting graduate school take a lot of time and energy.

Despite not logging as many hours as I had hoped, I logged a bunch of very awesome hours, in a bunch very awesome places, with a bunch of very awesome people.

In 2012, I ran in the jungles of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, I climbed (and descended) two volcanoes on Isla Ometepe, I ran to and from a not so nearby village in the campo to raise funds for disaster relief, I ran to the highest point of Costa Rica (12,533 ft.) (and some other nearby peaks), I ran a 50 miler in our tico county two days before saying hasta luego al pais y nuestos amigos, I ran in the deserts of New Mexico, the forests of North Carolina, and the streets of my home town, I ran in Rocky Mountain National Park, I ran "A Real Mountain Race" put on by a legend, I ran into the pages of TrailRunner magazine, I ran my first half-marathon(s), I ran on roads, I ran on "roads," I ran on trails, I ran on "trails," I ran in cow pastures, I ran in brutal heat, I ran in freezing temperatures, I ran in sun, rain, and snow, I ran at dawn and at dusk, I ran with Ticos, Nicas y gringos, I ran with new friends and old friends, I ran with my wife, I ran alone.

In 2013, I don't have a long-term goal, but I want to complete my first hundred mile race, and quite possibly a 24 hour run, I want to traverse Petrified Forest National Park, I want to run up and down the highest point in Gallup (~3 miles with 900' of climb) in under 30 minutes (36:39 is my current best), I want to continue to explore new places and meet new people.

Running in the High Desert

One week later

Hello Fall! Nice to see you again! (October)

Life hasn't slowed down since the last time I sat down to write, in fact it may have gotten busier. The first quarter of the year was wrapped up, we held our first parent teacher conferences, have been out observing other teachers, have been busily reading for grad school, and perhaps squeezing a little bit of fun in here and there.

October flew by, and for me was marked with a much needed trip back to North Carolina to see my best friend Megan get married. Sadly, it didn't seem financially responsible for us both to make the trip, so while I was busy being pampered at the Grove Park Inn Spa, eating chocolaty treats, and playing with some of our adorable nieces, Chris was hard at work here in New Mexico.

My trip was quick and nowhere near restful, yet it was rejuvenating at the same time. OK, you got me, spending a day at the spa was certainly restful, but I was on the go, go, go, trying to get as much as possible crammed into the three days that I was back east.

Thursday: Spa Day, Rehearsal Dinner, and a Chocolaty Bachelorette Bash

Pedicured toes, Ready for walking down the aisle

Enjoying as much chocolate as is humanly possible (in some cases, too much)

Friday: Wedding Day!

Sarah, Melissa and Susie helping Megan get ready

Beautiful fall bouquets

The First Dance

Saturday: A run at DuPont State Park and an afternoon with the girls

Hula Hoop Fun

Goofy Gabby

Mischievous Maddie

September!

Yes, I know, it's the middle of October. But that doesn't mean that nothing happened during the month of September! Life is crazy here between teaching, being grad students, and trying to have lives. Sure, you may think that that is no excuse (and generally, I agree), but sometimes I just want to go to bed at 8:00 and the blog gets put off for another day.

Some exciting things that happened in September:

* I (Tarah) finished reading a book for pleasure, if you know me then this should not be exciting, but considering that I started the book in June it was a very big deal.

* We went running and hiking two weekends in a row! Again, this should not be a big deal if you know us, but this new lifestyle keeps us pretty busy.

* We had a day off of school! Thank you holidays (this also contributed to us being able to go hiking two weekends in a row)!

* Chris ran a half marathon and got first in his age group (though was awarded third since they did not separate out the overall winners in their awards ceremonies)!

Yes, you may consider our lives lame now. 

Here are a couple of photos from those hikes and Chris' race:

Church Rock

The trail leading to Pyramid Rock

Horny Toad

Chris running on Pyramid Rock Trail

Some hoodoos on the way up to Pyramid Rock

The view from Pyramid Rock

Beautiful sunset

Desert flora and Church Rock

Chris running to the finish line of the Squash Blossom Half Marathon

July [a whirlwind of travel, fun and adventure]

August is already here. It's hard to believe that school will be starting soon and that our summer adventures will be coming to a close very, very soon (read two days ago). We took full advantage of July, visiting three National Park sites and six different states. We visited with friends in Nebraska and Wyoming. Went to a rodeo (thanks again Julie and Rob!). Did a little shopping and enjoyed some cool (very cold at times) mountain air.

Here's a peek into our July:

El Morro National Monument, 

Ramah, NM

El Morro is located about an hour south of our new home. We had talked about making a trip out there and then it spontaneously happened one morning after a run. We had almost a full tank of gas, no other plans for the day and a dirt road that seamed to be heading in the right direction ahead of us. We drove past the "WARNING: PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. ROAD NOT MAINTAINED BEYOND THIS POINT" sign and made it to Ramah without incident. Granted, we'll take the paved road in the future, but sometimes the best adventures are unplanned.

This historic landmark was a place of relief for travelers making their way west. From the early Americans to Spanish conquistadors El Morro was the place to stop for a break from the desert sun and a drink of cool water. Passersby marked their presence by carving their names and stories into the smooth stone walls. We happened to talk to a park ranger who actually had ancestors who had carved their names into the rock. We crossed paths on the trail and he happily pointed the names out to us! Just another reason to love our National Park Rangers!

Petrified Forest National Park, 

Apache, AZ

Petrified Forest is another pretty awesome location located an hour away from our lovely new home in Gallup. This time we had to travel west into our lovely neighboring state of Arizona. This adventure was planned with an annual National Parks pass in hand and a longing to be reunited with our tent after too many years without it.

The petrified forest is not a forest (just wanted to point that out - a ranger told us of a disappointed visitor that demanded his money back after a drive through the park because he did not see a forest anywhere nearby). In some ways it is much cooler than a forest. Billions of years ago the earth looked much different. What is now desert in the southwest was once a tropical forest. Then things changed. The earth's plates shifted, mountains formed, and those tropical forests were quickly covered up. After an unknown period of time in the right conditions (pressure, minerals... think about the formation of diamonds) the lovely trees of said forests became stone (or petrified). The National Park protects the remaining bits of petrified wood to the best of its ability. Unfortunately visitors still carry about one ton of this precious material out of the park each year. Instead of leaving it behind for future generations to enjoy they want free souvenirs or to make a profit by tumbling the stone and selling the beautiful end product. 

One of added benefits to visiting Petrified Forest (aside from seeing science at work, taking in the painted desert, and listening to fun ranger talks) was that we were able to camp for free in the back country! The requirements are simple - register and then hike at least a mile away from your designated parking location to a place where you cannot be viewed from the road. No problem! We had a lovely afternoon exploring the parts of the park that most visitors do not see and had a peaceful sunset tucked in a little canyon.

Rocky Mountain National Park, 

Estes Park, CO

Rocky Mountain National Park is a national treasure indeed. It is a place that we have visited twice, yet have not yet had ample time to explore. There are an abundance of hiking trails that are calling our names, yet we have hiked few. In a lot of places that would drive us crazy. However, even from a car this National Park can steal your heart. The landscape is incredible. The animals are amazing. And, while we didn't talk to any of them this time around the park rangers are full of interesting information that makes you excited about learning new things.

This trip we were able to drive along Old Fall River Road with Chris' parents. Along the way we spotted several marmots out sunning themselves (and seemingly posing for photos), some young fawns, gorgeous wild flowers, and determined bicyclists. Once at the top we checked out the views and then headed back into Estes Park for the most important event of the day...

Sarah and James Get Married, 

Estes Park, CO

After our lovely drive through Rocky Mountain National Park we spent the afternoon and evening welcoming James into the Hall family. Sarah and James chose an amazing location on the outskirts of the park and had one of the most beautiful backgrounds that you could imagine. The event was made complete with the mooing of cows in the pasture between the ceremony and the mountains and a coyote catching rabbits (which Sarah saw at the beginning of the ceremony). 

We were so glad to be able to join in the celebration of their marriage and to continue celebrating with them the following Saturday in Ogallala.

The Reception, 

Haythorn Ranch, Arthur, NE

The reception was beautiful and was held at the Haythorn Ranch (which was established in 1884!) in the sand hills of Nebraska. It was an opportunity for friends and family alike to eat delicious home cooked food, dance as much as they wanted, and to enjoy wonderful cake (of course!). 

Henry Doorly Zoo,

Omaha, NE

For us the party continued at Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. We are agreed that it is one of the most amazing zoos on earth. With the aquarium, desert dome, rainforest, butterfly garden, swamp, gorilla house, Madagascar center, and sky tram it is more than anyone could ask for. Notice how I didn't mention the big cats, lemurs, and other amazing displays that they also have? That's because everything is so intriguing that you lose track of time and before you know it the day is done and the zoo is closing. (We also didn't get there until lunchtime, but we still wouldn't have had enough time to do it all. Our advice, plan two days!)

We decided to hop on the sky tram on this trip because it would provide a little bit of shade, be a new adventure, and give us a different perspective of the zoo. We were able to spot leopards that were hiding in the shade and out of other visitor's line of vision, flew over the heads of giraffes and ostriches, and had a bird's eye view of the rhinos. It was a real treat! (You should go, really!)

After the zoo we were able to spend the evening with our friends Jeremy and Kim who have just relocated to Omaha. We went out for delicious food and then made some delightful chocolate cherry almond chocolate chunk ice cream. You can have fun ice cream flavors like that with a little elbow grease. It's worth it, I promise!

The next day we continued our journey in eastern Nebraska to meet...

Baby Alice Hall, July 24, 2012

Blair, NE

Our newest niece (and the first Hall niece) was born in the wee hours of July 24. We received a call on our drive to the zoo that Heather was in labor and we awaited news all the day long to see if Alice had joined us in this world. We went to bed that night without a new family member, but had texts awaiting us in the morning when we woke up. 

We were excited to be in the area to meet this precious one since we have missed the births of our last three nieces and weren't sure when we would be able to make it to eastern Nebraska again. We spent a couple of hours cuddling this little beauty before we had to head back west for the next adventure.

Speedgoat 50k,

Snowbird, UT

Our final adventure for the month had us in Utah where Chris ran his first stateside ultra marathon. He chose a doozy of a race, one that the race director himself calls a nightmare. It is also called "a real mountain race" and that it is. I joyfully enjoyed this race from the top of Hidden Peak, watching runners as they pushed off of their knees for added momentum during climbs. 

Chris completed the 50k in about eight and a half hours, but I'll let him tell you more about that when he has time. It was an adventure that is not to be forgotten any time i the near future.

*****

It makes me tired just thinking about our last two weeks in July. That's right. All of the above adventures took place in just two weeks. Talk about getting the biggest bang for your buck!

School starts Monday, so stay tuned for A WHOLE NEW ADVENTURE. This time in teaching!

Unrooted Forests

This past weekend, Henley, another Peace Corps Volunteer, and I headed over to Cerro Chirripó the highest peak in Costa Rica for a little fun run. Like most good adventures this one had plenty of early rising. I got up nice and early on Friday morning to catch the 4:30 bus out of town and then the 5:30 to San José and was able to secure one of the remaining two seats on the 7:30 to San Isidro de General.

Once I got to San Isidro, I walked to the center plaza to hangout and get in touch with Henley. That is where the only negative part of the trip happened. As I was digging the phone out of my bag, I set our camera on the park bench, found the phone, and dealt with the sunscreen that had exploded in my bag. Unfortunately, in dealing with the sunscreen, I forgot about the camera and left it on the park bench and didn't realize it was gone until hours later. (for those of you keeping score at home, that is the second camera lost to adventuring in Costa Rica) I got a hold of Henley and we hungout at a coffee shop where Jake, another volunteer, was wrapping up an interview over Skype. We eventually headed over to the Peruvian resturant for lunch. After good food and great conversation we grabbed some foodstuffs for the hostel, said goodbye to Jake, and hopped on the bus to San Gerardo and the base of Cerro Chirripó.

In the hostel, we chatted about a plethora of things and Henley taught me how to play dominoes. Eventually the hostel filled up with two families from France and a few hikers. We made our dinners, camotes (a type of sweet potato) and garbanzo beans for me and bean burritos for Henley, and got things laid out for our run the next morning.

After a wonderful night's sleep in the cool mountain air, we got up a little after four and prepped for the big adventure. Just after five, I hit start on my watch and began the epic climb from 1520 meters (4986 ft.). At almost a mile above sea level, I was sucking wind pretty hard from the get go. The altitude, steep climbs, windy trails, and muddy conditions made the first couple of kilometers pretty difficult, but eventually we found our grooves (Henley more so than me). We hit the shelter at about fourteen and a half kilometers and 3400 m (11,154 ft.) in just over three hours. Since we weren't planning on staying in the park overnight, we hadn't bothered to register to enter the park, but it so happened that the ranger was out crushing cans, when we ran by, and he stopped us and asked for our tickets. We explained that we didn't have tickets, but would pay the entrance fee. He told us that it was $15 for extranjeros, we told him we were Peace Corps Volunteers and had paid the fee for nationals last time we were in the park, he asked for Costa Rican identification cards, we said that all we had were our Peace Corps IDs and 5mil ($10), thankfully he gave us the rate for nationals and after signing-in and getting a couple of photos taken we were back on the trail.

From the shelter it was another 5.1k (~3 miles) with about 500 meters of climbing. All but the last push, was pretty runable and we caught a couple of parties before getting to the final ascent and passed a couple more before getting to the summit. Henley was a bit ahead of me and I heard him being called Forest and posing for photos as I caught up to him a couple hundred meters from the top. We paused together for more photos with complete strangers and then pushed to the top together. We reached the top of Costa Rica in a little over four hours. We took some photos, chatted with hikers, signed the summit register, and ate some granola bars.

On the way down, we were intercepted by some more Ticos and asked where we were from, but before we could respond, the man who asked the question answered that we were extraterrestres, then he asked if we were training for the Olympics. We told him we were from the U.S. and were just out for a fun day of running. When we got to the next junction in the trail, despite feeling pretty beat and battling pounding heads from the altitude, we decided to climb Cerro Terbi which laid another 265  meters (869 ft.) above the trail head. As we were struggling up the trail, I commented to Henley that I was sure that we were suffering from altitude sickness because our decision to go higher with nasty headaches was definitely irrational. At the top we enjoyed the views, signed the summit register, and then cruised over to the Crestones, the symbol of the park. We stashed our bottles and did a little scrambling. Our aching heads were clear enough for us to not attempt the final high class 4/low class 5 slab to the very top with shaky legs and ungrippy shoes. After soaking up the views and chatting with a Polish woman and a few more Ticos, we made the descent to the shelter.

We paused at the shelter to refill bottles and then started the final fourteen and a half kilometers of our outing. The first section after leaving the shelter is actually a climb, so our descent had to wait a bit longer. We cruised along pretty well for about seven or eight kilometers, then the pounding from descending caught up with us and we slowed to a crawl. Eventually, Henley got his legs back and started moving pretty well. With about five kilometers left I started chanting "the-shu-ffle" over and over again and made myself start shuffling down the trail, I eventually overtook Henley for a bit and then we finished the last three or so kilometers together.

We ran/hiked/walked for eight hours and forty-eight minutes (we spent another hour chilling on summits and taking care of business in the shelter) and covered around 40k (~25 miles) with more than 10,000 ft of climbing (and descending).

Back in the shelter, we ate pan-bon, drank hot beverages, and washed off the grime. After a bit, the French families returned from their adventures and we talked to one of the couples for quite a while. The two men were actually mountain ultra runners and had participated in UTMB and another ultra in the Pyrenees. We eventually went in search of a box of wine to go with our bean burritos, but we came up empty handed. After super delicious burritos (hunger is the best seasoning), we called it an early night since we had another early morning on the horizon.

We got up a little after four and hiked down in the dark to the center of town to catch the 5:15 bus to San Isidro. When we got to San Isidro, we bought bus tickets to San José then headed to Henley's favorite soda where we chowed down on pinto and (platanos) maduros. We then took the 7:30 bus to San José, and I caught the 11:30 to Puerto Viejo.

As great as the running was, it was the moments that we were stopped, chatting with Ticos that I'll always remember. I loved the looks on people's faces when they saw two crazy Gringos (bothers/twins/extraterrestrials?) with beards longer than their shorts running towards them.

I am looking forward to our 50 miler in a couple of weeks and hopefully lots of running/climbing/camping trips in the Southwest.

I'll post photos as soon as Henley sends some my way.

Photos from when Tarah and I visited Chirripó last year. 

Some days...

...Are just meant to be rest days. Today was one of those days.

Today is El Día de Juan Santamaría so there isn't any school so I thought I would take advantage of that fact and get in a nice long run. I got up a little before 5:00 and was out the door a little after 5:00. It was cool and misty, it felt like it was going to be a perfect day. I decided that I was going to do two loops of my favorite route here, a route that goes through the small community of El Progreso then along Río Sucio and then cuts through a cow pasture before coming back into town. However, about thirteen minutes into my run, before I even got to the turn for El Progreso, my foot, which was pretty tender from running for four and a half hours in my Minimuses on rocky roads on Saturday, made me stop running and turn around to walk home.

When I got home, I poked around on the internet for a bit and then decided to get ready for a long bike ride. One of my cranks has been loose, so I tightened that up, filled my bladder, threw the bike pump and multi-tool in my pack, and headed out at about 8:00. I decided that I would do the La Gata route, the route that I ran on Saturday. The first part of "road" is pretty rough, so I was pretty slow, but after about 6k it got relatively smooth so I was able to get into a good rhythm. I hit La Gata, about midway, in a little over an hour. I figured I had about an hour and a half left (about a half marathon with a bunch of hills). I stopped to put a little air in my back tire and tighten up my crank. I knew that I would have to grind on the upcoming hills so I wanted to make sure everything was in order. 

Things were good for a couple more kilometers then I could feel my crank getting loose so I stopped tightened it up and got after it once again. A little further down the road, I again felt my crank slipping so I pulled over and discovered that the nut for my crank was missing. I walked back down the road a bit, but I didn't see anything. I threw my crank and pedal on rack on the back of bike and started pushing. Luckily this section was super hilly so I could coast down and part way up the hills. Eventually I made it to Los Arbolitos (15k still to go) where I found a popsicle stick and using the Leatherman, I was able to create a fastener that kept my crank on for a few more kilometers. I knew I couldn't torque on the precariously attached crank, so I was still hopping off the bike to push it up hills. One of the times I hopped off, the crank inexplicably fell off, so I threw it back on my rack and pushed some more. Then on one of my bumpier downhills the crack and pedal fell off my rack and I wasn't about to back track for a useless bike part.

About 7k out I decided that I would run with my bike. With a couple of good hills to coast down, I made it back home from that spot about as quickly as I normally do running without pushing my bike. On that last stretch I decided my new mantra is going to be, "I might not be strong, but I'm tough."

So my bike ride that I thought was going to be between two and two and half hours ended up being closer to four with an hour and 19 minutes of actual bike riding, but I did get an extra thirty-five minutes of running in.

I think tomorrow I might just sleep in.

Un Árbol outside of Los Arbolitos

From the Colony to the Village

Yesterday, I finally delivered my service offered in the PCV charity auction to benefit Billy, a fellow volunteer, whose home was destroyed by a fire in October. Well I mostly delivered it. For the auction, I offered to run to Billy's site (~30k away) and "deliver a hug" from the high bidder, as well as buy Billy lunch. To my amazement, my item ended up raising the most for the benefit thanks to a very generous volunteer who bid 50,000 colones (~$100) for me to run over 35 miles round trip and give Billy a super sweaty hug. Unfortunately, Billy wasn't in his community yesterday, so I couldn't give him that hug (I'm sure he's okay with that), but I did make the trek out to Aldea.

Friday night, I laid all my gear out then went to bed even earlier than normal. I was up before 5:00am, ate a little homemade bread, and was on my way a little after 5:00. The run to Aldea was beautiful. The dirt road wound through cattle ranches, banana and pineapple plantations, and stands of trees full of tropical birds and howler monkeys.

starting nice and early

I cruised into Aldea a little after 8:30. I found a bench in the shade and started getting things squared away for the back of my out and back. While I was refilling my handhelds with agua dulce, a gentleman for the community approached and we started chatting. He either remembered me from when I rode my bike to Aldea a year and a half earlier, or he figured any gringo that came to Aldea on foot had to be a friend of Billy. The conversation quickly turned to the new EBAIS (clinic) that the community is building and he asked if I could donate to construction. I told him I could not, we shook hands, and I gathered my stuff and started back to La Colonia.

I made it

Getting out of Dodge - Aldea in the background

Despite being before 9:00am, it was excruciatingly hot already. I was starting to worry that the over three liters of water I brought for the journey wasn't going to be enough. I kept moving forward, nursing the agua dulce in my bottles and the fresh water in the bladder in my backpack. About 10k out of Aldea, I was feeling pretty horrible. I was sure that I had picked the hottest day in Sarapiquí's history to run to Billy's site. I started using the utility poles as markers and alternated running and walking between them. In addition to the heat and dust, my stomach wasn't feeling quite right. I knew that if I threw up, I'd be in really bad shape since I wouldn't have any way to replenish the fluids and fuel I'd lose. Thankfully I didn't throw up, but with about 11k left, my initial fear of running out of fluids was realized. Luckily I knew there was small community with a corner store only about a kilometer ahead.

Views from the road

I cruised into Las Marías and the pulpería where I bought two Powerades, a Coca-Cola, and what I thought was water with a hint of citrus, but turned out to be light 7-Up. I drank half of the Coke while I dumped the Powerade in to my handhelds and the H2Oh! into my bladder. Slightly refreshed I startd the final leg of my run. A few kilometers down the road, I was able to go to the bathroom, but my urine looked more like coffee than lemonade, so I was pretty worried. I ended up finishing both bottles of Powerade and good bit of the 7-Up by the time I got back to La Colonia

My saviors

When I got home, a little before 2:00, I drank a bunch of iced tea and ate some leftover taco pizza before taking a wonderfully cold shower. Out of the shower, I ate and drank some more, and then tended to my sunburned thighs and chaffed hips.

During my struggle back from Aldea, I was getting pretty worried about my upcoming 50 miler, but today I feel great, I even went for an hour and fifteen minute bike ride this morning. It seems that most of my distress during yesterday's adventure was due to the crazy heat and not enough fluids and fuel, not physical shortcomings, and, once again, I was able to mentally battle through.

DNDNF

This past weekend I ran my third ultra marathon, a 100k race on the Island of Ometepe in Nicaragua. For more info on our adventures before and after the race checkout Tarah's post.

I definitely had my apprehensions concerning the race right until the launching of the bottle rocket to start the race. My training had been almost nonexistent since the Panama City International Marathon in December, I had been battling injury/pain in both of my knees and the back of my right leg, and the week before the race I could hardly walk. In hindsight, I should have changed to the 50k distance as soon as we got to the island, but I didn't, and at 4:00am on Saturday I was toeing the line of my biggest running challenge yet.

gearing up

waiting for the gun

My plan was to go out super conservatively and listen to my body. The sun didn't rise until about 6:00 so we had almost two hours of running by headlamp. The first section wasn't very technical, but since it was difficult to see, I managed to twist my ankle before we got to the first aid station. At the aid station (9.1k), I checked in (there were only a couple of runners behind me) and got my first of nine bracelets for the day. We had short sections of pavement before and after the aid station so I was able to run a little more smoothly in those sections. Shortly after leaving San José del Sur, the community where the aid station was located, the course moved back to trail and eventually beach and banana fields. Through this section, I chatted with some other back of the packers and found out that a bunch of runners had missed a turn and lost a fair amount of time, so for a bit we were actually towards the front of the pack. Pat, the runner that would eventually take second, caught back up to us just as we were entering the banana fields. There was a small wall and some large roots obstructing the trail, but Pat charged past us and by the time we (the back of the packers) managed to navigate the obstacles, Pat was out of sight.

the 32 photos of the inside of my hip pack

Shortly after running through the bananas, I reached the second aid station (22.57k) where I topped off my bottles of agua dulce, drank some water and PowerAde, and ate a little bit. The next section was rolling hills on pavement. I found a comfortable pace and cruised along pretty well, I passed a few people, but was still trying to conserve energy so I didn't run very hard and even power walked quite a bit. I hit the third aid station (31.52k) about 20 miles into the race right around my marathon PR so I was a little worried about how fast I was going. This aid station was located at the base of Volcán Maderas so a number of runners were changing shoes and/or grabbing trekking poles. I grabbed some energy sources from my drop bag and headed towards the climb. Despite not having gone up any real hills or mountains in over two years, save for Challenge Irazú and Chirripó, I found my groove and charged up the volcano passing a number of 50k and 100k runners. About half way to the crater, I took one of my nastiest falls running/hiking ever; as I stepped on a wet root, my foot slid sideways, like I was grinding a rail and I fell super fast and super hard. My upper lip smashed across another root and I was sure that I had lost my two front teeth. Luckily my teeth were still there and once I gathered my handhelds I was back to climbing. Shortly after my crash, I caught some more racers that were in pretty nasty shape and then made the final trek up and over the lip of the crater with Bookis, the man behind Luna Sandals. At this point of the race, running was pretty much impossible due to trail conditions. Pretty much the only solid things underfoot were roots and we were post-holing in mud that went almost to our knees. When we got to the aid station (41.13k) next to the lagoon, we chowed down on some potatoes with salt, topped off bottles and headed into the area dubbed "The Jungle Gym" - a section of trail where it is impossible to not use your hands as much as your feet to propel you forward. Shortly after the leaving the crater, my stomach started giving me fits so I bid Bookis farewell and sat for few minutes. After a few swigs of agua dulce my stomach settled and I was back on my way. With my pit stop and my cautious approach to the downhill a few of the runners that I had passed on the climb caught me on the descent, but I was still able to finish the first half of the race in pretty good standing.

I hit the aid station (50.68k) at Hacienda Merida in about 8 hours and 15 minutes. There I cleaned up my feet, changed into fresh socks, ate and drank some more calories, and dipped my kerchief in the lake. I felt pretty good leaving the station, I was tired, but the wheels were still on the track and I had gotten in and out a chair no problem. Although the next section was probably the least technical, it was still one of the most difficult. I left Merida around 12:30pm and the sun was absolutely brutal. I decided to bribe myself by allowing myself to walk when there was shade and run when there was no cover. Unfortunately I ended up walking in the sun and the shade. Eventually I made myself run more and more, but I was pretty sure I was going to drop at the next aid station. After a while, I could see Stephane, a Frenchman that I had chatted with earlier, coming up behind me. Seeing him got me moving a little quicker, but I really got going once he caught me and we were able to encourage each other to run the flats and downhills and march up the uphills. Stephane told me I couldn't quit and shortly before the next aid station (63.24k) I got my legs back and left Stephane as I was able to run the uphills too.

At Ojo de Agua, a resorty swimming hole where the aid station was located, I saw a number of runners who had decided to trade their running shorts for swim trunks, their gels for real food, and their PowerAde for Toña. Not exactly encouraging. When I sat down and started to get fueled up, a local started telling me how I didn't need to keep running, how I was going to get so sunburned, how I looked bad, that I didn't need to suffer anyone, on and on and on. Eventually I shouted  ¡Yo entiendo todo, no más por favor! and thankfully he shut up and left me alone. By then Stephane and a couple of other runners had arrived at the aid station, got their needs met and headed on down the road. After climbing and descending the hill to bathrooms I too was on my way. Even though I heard the volunteers say multiple times "left at the road" and I could see Volcán Concepción off to the left, I managed to turn right. A little ways down the road, someone asked if I was going the wrong direction, I asked a local which direction to Altagracia the site of the next aid station and turned around. I couldn't believe that I had made such a stupid mistake.

covered in maderas mud

Once I got going in the right direction, the section between Ojo and Altagracia was pretty straight forward. I moved along pretty well, alternating between running and walking and could see  Stephane, Christian and Martin in front of me, though I couldn't quite reel them in before the aid station (71.26k) at Altagracia. At the aid station, I met a Peace Corps Volunteer who serves on the island and was working the aid station. I fueled up and set off to try and catch the three guys in front of me and get to the aid station that Tarah was captaining.

En route to La Flor, I caught Christian and Martin so we chatted off and on and I also had some conversations with a couple of Nicas. My first Spanish conversation was with a third grade boy as he pushed his bike up a hill. We talked about his family and the race, he asked me if the two guys in front of me were my friends and how many other runners there were, then he asked me about using camionetas, but I was so tired that word didn't register so I had said that some of the other runners had used camionetas but I hadn't. That statement ended up being semi-true, though not how I had intended. After we had bid each other adio I realized that camionetas meant trucks, not trekking poles (bastones) so the statement that I hadn't used them was correct and since the runners that dropped had used them to get back to the start/finish line my statement that some of the runners had used them was also correct. A little while latter, a gentleman on a bike rode up beside me and we started talking about the race and faith. I explained to him the race course and how I had already climbed Maderas and how, Si Dios quería I was still going to climb Volcán Concepción. We agreed that nada es imposible si tiene fe en Dios, then I sped up to catch Christian and told him how after running for over 12 hours speaking in Spanish was exhausting. Eventually Christian pulled away from me and I came into La Flor aid station (80.96k) by myself (actually Tarah met me about 100 meters out and we ran in together).

T and I at La Flor

At La Flor I was ready to throw in the towel. I had already traversed more than 50 miles, the sun had set, and I was facing a 1200 meter climb (and descent). Tarah was awesome. She told me to sit for a minute, eat some food (pizza), drink some water and think about it for a bit. She called Josue, the race director, to confirm that there was still plenty of fuel at the top; he said that the aid station was still well stocked and that I had time if I wanted to give it a go. I ditched my headphones (my ipod shuffle died between Altagracia and La Flor), one of my bottles, my cap, my glasses, and my waist pack. I  stuck Tarah's headlamp and extra batteries in my key pocket, put my headlamp on, grabbed my bottle of PowerAde, a pack of Gu Chomps and a handheld light, and headed up the volcano. I'm sure that Concepción is gorgeous and probably not even that tough of a hike, but in the dark and with 50 Fuego y Agua miles on my legs, I hated almost every minute spent on it. On the way up, my headlight shined on a snake in the middle of the trail, it resembled a terciopelo/fer-de-lance but I'm not sure if they are on the island, luckily it moved on and so did I, but for a while after that every curvy stick looked like a snake. I eventually met Martin, Christian and Stephane (all individually) as they were making their ways down. I jokingly asked Christian if I was going to die on the volcano, he assured me I wasn't, but told me it was super exposed and windy at the aid station. I continued to crawl (literally) to the aid station (87.88k) and got there a little before 9:00pm. I ate a candy bar and downed some fluids and started the slow painful descent.

I met Mary, the only female runner still on the course, when I was 35 minutes from the top. I struggled down, staying upright and easing down the drops by grabbing trees along the trail. At one point during the descent, I heard rustling in the bushes next to the trail and then felt something brush against my leg, I tried to shine my lights on it, but I couldn't spot it. Eventually the trail forked and I knew that I was getting closer. Just as I was getting to the end of the trail, a pickup full of volunteers on its way to collect the volunteers from Concepción passed me and yelled encouraging words. A couple of minutes later, I came to a four way intersection where someone had removed the course markings. I headed in the right direction, but didn't see any markings ans heard some super vicious dogs so I turned back. Back at the intersection I decided to head straight for a bit, but didn't see any markings, and the road was turning into trail, plus I could hear the dogs from earlier trying to head me off. Once again I headed back to the intersection, I found the pickup and got directions. I headed in the direction of the dogs once again, but at least this time I was confident that I was going in the right direction. The pickup passed me once again and asked if I was okay I said yes, but I was worried about the dogs a little way up. They drove on ahead, and I had to yell ¡Pare! ¡Espere! as loud as I could multiple time to get them to stop and keep the dogs at bay while I motored by. Shortly after the dogs, I could "feel" lights on my back. Mary had crushed the downhill and was now right behind me. I was moving at a pretty good clip (given the circumstances), but she eventually caught up to me. We talked for a while (she too had gotten lost at the intersection). It felt like we were going at 5k pace. It felt both great and horrible. Eventually she broke me and I couldn't keep up anymore. I kept "running" for a while longer but with the poor light and road conditions I tweaked my ankle again and had to slow way down. As I approached town, the dogs got thicker and I ran the final stretch with a rock in my hand. Just before I entered town, I faced my final obstacle. I was confronted with a trench about four feet deep and three feet across, the community was installing a culvert under the road. Under normal circumstances, such an obstacle would have hardly made me break my stride, but at that point it looked like I was staring at the Grand Canyon. I surveyed my options, I knew that I couldn't get over the chasm, I thought I could get down into the trench (it wouldn't have been pretty), but I didn't think that I could climb back out, then I saw that I could walk around it if I went off road. I skirted around the hole, climbed the little hill back up to the road and was off once again. Shortly thereafter I was met by Tarah and we ran towards the finish line and then I sprinted the final few hundred meters by myself to the finish line, where I was met with thunderous applause and cheers from race staff, volunteers and fellow runners.

At the finish line I was presented with my metal and a liter of Flor de Caña rum. I was the last runner to cross the line, but I was received with as much enthusiasm as if I had won, and in a sense I had because I Did Not Did Not Finish.

all the bracelets from the aid stations

me and my mud

me with the best aid station captain ever

Bonus Tracks:

1) My gear: Homemade handhelds made from disposable water bottles and old bike tubes and a $3 fanny pack from a local store. (instructions for handhelds)

2) My fuel: Agua dulce (pure sugar cane "juice")

3) Time spent running: Jan. 1 - Feb. 17: 11hours 55minutes

4) Time spent running Feb. 18 -19: 20hours 21minutes

5) 100k starters: 19 (17men, 2 women)

6) 100k finishers: 10 (9men, 1 woman)

7) Winning time: 13:08 (Way to go Ben)

8) My time: 20:21

9) Feel good moments: Being complimented on both my running and power walking form by two different runners