Good luck, bad luck, switching things up

Running wise 2013 has been a strange year.  At first, early in the year, I felt all the luck in the world was on my side with an incredible line up of summer racing to train for- Western, Hardrock, UTMB.  Then I got sick- blah, blah, blah- and *boom* all of a sudden I was 0-3 on list of planned 100 mile races.  Fast forward to now and Grindstone was my plan.  I'm fired up and ready to run and *pow* Grindstone is postponed, thanks to the Government shutdown.  If our elected officials somehow manage to come together and re-open Government by next Wednesday evening we will still have a Grindstone event next weekend.  (Fingers crossed!)  Otherwise, it's bye-bye Grindstone for 2013, and I'll be 0-4.  Fast forward to November and as it turns out Pinhoti is a no-go for me this year unfortunately.  0-5.

What luck...  Come this time next month I won't even have a qualifier under my belt for the Western States lottery.  What to do... What to do...

If Grindstone doesn't happen next weekend there is always Hot TWOT.  One loop, two loops, three loops, four.  Pick your poison.  27 miles, 54, 81 or 108.  For me, it would be either all or next to nothing.  So, either one really fast loop or four not-so-fast loops.  The silver lining on the year is that Gaby and I are both registered for The North Face 50 in San Francisco in December so getting the legs turning over this fall is a must.  The opportunity to run Grindstone next weekend would still trump everything, of course.  In lieu of that, should it be four TWOT loops or only one?  One loop is an easy recovery, then it would be off to the road and track to find some speed.  Four loops might help solidify my name in the annals of [crazy] Virginia ultra running lore, but it would definitely require a bit of recovery, taking much needed time away from speed work.  What to do... What to do...

Tying up loose ends

When returning to running a few months back my two primary goals were to run care and worry free as much as possible- free from life, from work, from CMV- and get my ass back in 100 mile condition as quickly and as smartly as possible.  Thus far I have succeeded in reaching these goals I’m proud to say.  Each day I feel stronger and lighter.  Each day my legs feel ready to run.  Each day I run free and without worry.  Better still, each day the weather is turning cooler now that we’re into September and the final days are counting down to what seems like my first race in pretty much a year where I will show up with enthusiasm and a high confidence level in both my physical and mental fitness.  Grindstone is less than four weeks away.

There are a few loose ends still I intend to tighten up prior to Grindstone, in terms of my training.  A long night run being one of them.  Some really fast, long, downhill running being another.  One loose end that has been on my mind for a while has been clocking a decent time at running The Wild Oak Trail (TWOT) in western Virginia in Augusta County, near the West Virginia border.  TWOT, a rocky, technical, rugged, partially over-grown-in-the-summer 27 mile, 7,500 ft-ish loop located west of Charlottesville, on the other side of the Shenandoah Valley, a 70 minute drive from home.

TWOT is one of the local trails made famous for running by Dennis Herr and the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club (VHTRC) and the many events and training runs that the Club hosts on the trail and in the general area throughout the year.  TWOT also happens to take up a portion of the Grindstone course, including the notorious climb up Little Bald at mile 37, as well as the quad-trashing decent down Little Bald at mile 59.
This past week was my birthday.  On September 5^th I turned 37 years old.  As a present to myself and to celebrate the occasion I awoke at 0’dark-thrity and drove to the TWOT trailhead.  The plan was to run the loop hard, surrender myself to the dirt, the rocks, the climbs, the overgrowth, run with no cares and let the mountains tell me if I were in shape or not and ready for Grindstone.  I ended up running the loop in an elapsed time of 4:21:19.

For those who know the trail and who might care here is a link to my GPS data and below are my splits:

-1:13:17 – from the TWOT parking lot trailhead sign, counterclockwise on TWOT, up Little Bald to the summit sign post at the trail intersection.

-23:28 - the road crossing at Camp Todd on other side of the North River.  I waded the river, by the way.  No bridge crossing for me.

-1:00:20 - FDR96 road crossing after Big Bald descent and before Hankey Mountain ascent.

-23:18 – Hankey summit sign at the trail intersection.

-1:20:45 - Finish at TWOT parking lot trailhead board.

The climb up Little Bald is a classic.  6.7 miles of rock-strewn, single track ribbon coursing a ridgeline 3,200 feet up (with 550 feet down) to the summit.  It’s not that the climb is so big, it’s just that on the ascent one is rewarded with endless mountain views of one of the largest wilderness tracts on the east coast sans roads.  Basically, it’s a good place to run in the wild with big climbs if that’s your thing.

1:13 to the summit sign from the parking lot trailhead board is strong not but it’s not great.  Great would be sub 1:10.  But I’ve never known anyone to run under 1:10.  Then again, I don’t know of anyone who has run under 1:13 either.  Though I’m sure some have.  Sub 1:05 would be sick.  Sub 1:00 is never going to happen.  Not because it isn’t humanly possibly but because anyone who I think could actually do it has no reason to come and give it a go.  They’re too busy getting paid for their running.

The summit of Big Bald was overgrown as I expected.  I didn’t get too beat up fortunately even though I ran shirtless but my left eye did get poked by a branch.  While attempting to bomb the descent my eye teared up like crazy.  I could barely see out of it as I constantly whipped away a river of tears.

I ran with one bottle and filled up first at the stream at the base of Big Bald after crossing North River and the dirt road.  The second and only other time I filled up was on the backside of Big Bald at the stream located by the trail next to the two car-sized earth water traps.  At the second fill up I guzzled nearly two bottles since I had 11 miles to go several of which would be exposed under a warm sun atop Hankey Mountain.  The last few miles of trail after turning off the jeep road on Hankey Mountain were make or break for me.  I kept my foot on the gas while descending the last section of rocks mixed in with trail before crossing the North River for the second and final time, this time on a suspension bridge.  Along this section I hammered so hard my vision went a bit blurry.  The 4:22 FKT cut off time was just oh so tight.  As I crossed the bridge I looked at my watch and it read 4:17:xx.  Damn it!  I was terrified that I wouldn’t make it under 4:22- Dave Frazier’s TWOT FKT from two years back.  I’d run hard and was disappointed (to say the least...) that my effort might not be good enough.  Still, I continued running hard.  Believing.  I banged the final right-hand turn off the trail and pounded the 200 hundred yards of pavement.  That’s when I realized I would actually finish under 4:22 after all.  I sprinted into the parking lot, tapped the trailhead sign board and stopped my watch.

As mentioned, Dave Frazier’s TWOT FKT was 4:22:xx. Mike Morton’s previous FKT from several years prior to that was 4:23:xx.  Both very fast times indeed.  Funny thing, Dave would lower Mike’s time by a minute, then I would come along and lower Dave's time by only a minute as well.

I admit, I envied Dave’s time ever since I learned of it and thought that I might like to get to know TWOT.  Perhaps Dave felt the same way of Mike’s previous time which must be the reason why he decided to run a fast loop in the first place.  Well, that plus Dennis Herr pushing him.  Perhaps Dave or someone else will be inspired by my recent run and work to lower the TWOT standard all over again.  In fact, to Dave or anyone who might consider it I envy you as well.  It is exciting to have energizing running goals to work towards.  However big or small they can be life changing.

NY Times article: Doping in Track & Field

In case you missed it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/23/sports/research-finds-wide-doping-study-withheld.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&emc=eta1

Alarming article.  The percentage of suspected elite Track and Field dopers is staggering.

I am sad to say it is likely only a matter of time before we read articles like this about trail/ultra running.  Seems no sport is immune to the pressure of getting ahead (or keeping up) by the use of PEDs.

Back in action

It’s been a while since I’ve posted to this blog.  I’ve missed communicating little bits and pieces of running adventures, thoughts and news with readers.  Now that I’ve been running consistently again for a while and feeling like my old self it’s time to bang on the keyboard and open my mind to this blog once more.

Regarding my objectionable experience with CMV, for which I take full responsibility in bringing down upon myself by not getting enough rest, I would like to say how awful, awkward and confusing it was being a victim of this virus.  The mysterious, inconsistent symptoms including fatigue, brain fog, apathy, anxiety, fluctuations in motivation, etc., shook my confidence and made me wonder if I might ever again return to a high level of fitness or even if I wanted to put in the work once I was healthy to get back to such a level.   It was as if the loss of motivation somehow converted to apathy and the apathy made me question future desire.  Mostly I attempted to tune the whole thing out and instead focus on my family, work and sleeping more each night.  Even though deep down I was anxious to get back into the swing of things running wise.

A CMV diagnosis can only be confirmed with blood results.  Once diagnosed complete rest is the only prescription for healthy adults.  Cross training or much physical activity of any sort is a definite no-no.  Nor with having CMV are there any follow-the-pain guidelines back to health once the symptoms begin to dissipate.  Follow up blood work is the only way for one to know if they are cleared from the virus manifestation.

Fortunately in my case I decided to seek a diagnosis in the first place, to find out what on earth was going on with me (before I ever knew that CMV existed) and not train through the symptoms so I could toe the line at Western States, Hardrock and UTMB.  Who knows how deep that rabbit hole would have lead had I continued training?  If I didn’t eventually begin to suffer from additional symptoms or cause potential harm to myself then certainly in the very least my head game for competition and possibly running in general might have all but vanished.  I would like to think not but I suppose it could have happened.

It was a happy day in late May when I found out from Dr. Wilder in Charlottesville that my liver functions and white blood cell count were back to normal (a sign of a healthy immune system) and I had no more signs of CMV infection.  In June I began running but more or less sputtered along slowly and inconsistently and at times worried that I might be relapsing with CMV, which turned out to be nothing more than an anxiety hangover about getting back to running in the first place.  Towards the end of June I tripped on a road run and banged my knee; causing a (self-diagnosed) contusion.  The pain was a bit too much to run on so I took even more time off.  In the end I decided the additional time off was probably a good thing.  The big three races were out anyway at that point and figured I may as return to running when I felt good and I knew my health was 100%.  So instead of focusing on running I spent several weeks gardening and planting trees in our yard.   It was good cross training anyway and the results (I hope) will satisfy my family and neighbors for years to come.

It wasn’t until the second week of July when I truly felt ready to come back and began running every day.  Day by day my runs grew longer and my body began to feel stronger.  Since then I’ve been feeling like my old self: motivated, energetic, optimistic, hungry.  Two-a-days a few times per week became my staple, including a few barefoot runs per week on the track under a vanishing sun in the warm evening hours.  I began nailing a few fast-paced workouts as well.  Eventually I found my down hills legs during a few VHTRC fast ass runs in the mountains in Virginia.  And now, now that we’re in Vail, Colorado enjoying the remaining blissful, cool-temperature, sunshine-filled weeks of summer high in the Rockies, I’m finding my climbing legs (and lungs).  Things are coming together.  I couldn’t be happier.

As bizarre as it was coming down with CMV and dealing with all of that it is just as interesting coming back into fitness and relocating and recalibrating my identity as a runner.  As I regain form and confidence I try not to compare my current self to how I was, in terms of fitness, last year or years prior.  The first half of last year I was in good form- probably the best ever for me in general terms.  Currently, I’m still getting there.  It’s not fair or wise to expect that fitness will simply come back quickly now that I’m healthy.  I realize even with a good base, the years of miles my legs have under them, I still must put in the work.  Fortunately, training and working is something I enjoy; for being able to work is a privilege.

The fact is I’m not the same runner as last year.  I’m not a slower or weaker or more cautious runner.  I’d like to think I’m a smarter, more proud runner, and I believe my best running days have yet to come.  Bouncing back from CMV feeling motivated, hungry and as strong and light as I do has taught me many things.  So has being a Dad.  My little boy, Trail, turns one year old in a few weeks and in addition to my renewed status as a happy-go-lucky, carefree runner I’m a proud papa.

My racing calendar for the remainder of 2013 will basically be a replay of last fall and include running Grindstone and Pinhoti.  I would like to run Hellgate as well in December.  Sure, it stinks to have missed out on Western and UTMB but deep down low-key, mom-and-pop races like these, where I know people who I look up to, are truly what inspire me.  Hopefully in November at Pinhoti I’ll punch another ticket back to Western in 2014.  That's the plan.

At the Leadville finish.  BIG M, little m, what begins with M?  Mountain Man in the Making.  M...m...M.

 

Running with Cytomegalovirus

The obsessive side of my personality construct is something I consider a strength.  When I want something or feel like I need something I work towards getting it.  It doesn’t matter much what it is, if I want it badly enough generally I’ll do whatever I can within my power to make it happen.  Work, work, work.  That’s usually all it takes.  For me, putting in the work is not a problem.  Often the fallout for my obsessive, workaholic tendencies comes in the form of getting less sleep or missing out on social events with family or friends, but such is life.  We all choose to make sacrifices in one form or another.  My Mom, one who is no stranger to keeping herself busy, says she will sleep when she is dead.  As her progeny, I’ve mostly adopted this motto as my own, for better or worse.

Something else I consider a strength which dovetails with my restless nature and seeming inability to relax- a definite weakness- is the bottomless energy well from which I draw to complete tasks.  Go, go, go.  That’s what I do.  I like it that way.  I don’t know where this energy comes from, it’s just there.  It always has been.  Now, at 36 years of age I’m wondering how much in reserves my energy well contains and for how many more years from it I will be able to make liberal withdrawals.  Decades I hope.  What actually got me thinking of this is my recent bout with injury.  I have Cytomegalovirus (CMV).  For some having CMV might be a condition.  For me CMV is an injury because it has kept me on the sideline.

Last winter there were many wonderful things going on in the Gorman household.  Our son, Trail, the most wonderful, who is a beam of light shinning upon my life in an area that I never realized before was shrouded in complete darkness, had yet to begin sleeping through the night on his own.  During the winter months is when Gaby and I began “sleep training” him.  For the uninitiated, sleep training is what new parents attempt by coaching their little ones to sleep through the night, on their own, without Mommy nearby and usually unswaddled.  The process can often be tough on parents, possibly even tougher on the parents than on the little ones, as the sleep training parent(s) is awake much of the nights.  Sleep training Trail this past winter was my job.  Gaby did enough.  During the training, which in reality didn’t take that long, when Trail was up so was I but even when he wasn’t up I often was anyway.  I’m not a nap taker either.  I couldn’t take a nap if I tried.  The cumulative nights of lacking in sleep added up.

Santa was good to me in December also and over the winter I began sleeping in a Hypoxico altitude tent.  When sleeping in an altitude tent it is better to up the altitude bit by bit over a few weeks or months because the quality in one’s sleep is lacking during the initial stages.  However, each night, late, I crawled into our tent set straight away at 6,000 feet.  Looking back, that probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do.  At least for me.  Compound the sleep training and altitude tent with the myriad house projects I tasked myself with, a busy work schedule and about 60 to 75 mile base building weekly miles I was running at the time- sometimes at night- and a perfect storm developed where my immune system became severely compromised.  Only I didn’t realize it at the time.

All I knew is that some time towards the end of January and very beginning of February my energy levels began to fall off.  It was tough getting out of bed in the morning.  My motivation was way off.  I was tired during the day.  At times I experienced “brain fog” where my memory failed.  And my runs were so very spotty.  At first week to week I felt good, then bad, then good again while running.  Then it became run to run where I felt good during one run then bad on another.  Then my symptoms became much more acute where during the first 10 minutes of my runs I felt awful, the second 10 minutes felt good, then five minutes felt awful again, then 10 minutes would feel good, until finally the remainder of the run would feel terrible.  This went on for about two months.  Other than complaining to Gaby and threatening to seek blood testing I kept these issues to myself because I was scared to tell anyone and admit that there was something wrong with me.  I knew there was something wrong but I had no idea what it could be.  Over training?  I didn’t think so- in fact, I knew so- because I hadn’t been training that much and I took a full month off completely after Pinhoti in November.  What then?

Anxiety crept in.  Prior to every run I worried whether I should even go out because I would probably either feel terrible, that I might be hurting myself, or that I might actually have a good run and give myself false hope to continue on.  Western States, Hardrock, UTMB loomed on the horizon after all.  An epic summer if there ever was one.  I faked my way through TWOT in February.  I bailed on trying to bang out a hard half-marathon effort in DC in March.  I had zero desire to sign up for additional races leading up to Western States.  By the time Terrapin rolled around, the only other race I was registered for, I was at a very low point.  Moments before the start at Terrapin I confessed to Dave Hryvniak, eventual race winner, that I felt only half there.  A few days prior to Terrapin I confessed to my friend Drew that I had never felt so underprepared for a race.  That should have been a huge red flag and I should have come clean then and there but I was in denial and did not want my Terrapin registration funds to go to waste.  Seems silly to think about now.  From the gun I suffered at Terrapin.  At mile 20 at an aid station I ran up to Horton’s truck, grimacing “DNF”, and before I could even muster the words and ask for a ride Horty said with a smile “No rides.  No rides.”  Ugh.  I continued on to the finish.  Terrapin was a sufferfest.  At that point I decided to schedule an appointment with Dr. Robert Wilder, distinguished sports med and rehab doctor at the University of Virginia, hoping to get to the bottom of my issues.  This was on March 23^rd.  Fast forward to April 12^th, with three more weeks of mostly questionable running under my belt, two appointments with Dr. Wilder and two rounds of blood tests, the diagnosis was in.  I had CMV.  No running for three weeks.  No cross training.  Complete rest is what my body required.  “Wait…Cytomega-what?” is all I could think of.  I had never even heard of it.

What I now know of CMV is that it is a respiratory virus claiming between 50 to 80 percent of American adults by 40 years of age.  Says many medical publications I’ve read, most people don’t even realize they have CMV.  CMV is opportunistic and its symptoms might only surface when a host’s immune system becomes severely compromised, like mine was.

Three dreadful weeks crept by where I didn’t run a step or do much else other than work, eat, play with Trail and purposefully try to sleep a lot.  This was hard on me.  Sure, knowing I had CMV and coming to grips with the fact that my summer running dreams were becoming less likely with each passing day was no walk in the park but for an obsessive, over-energized guy like myself, who always follows doctors orders, to be prescribed complete rest was hell.  After the third week I ran a few times before my follow appointment with Dr. Wilder.  Additional blood analysis revealed my liver function levels had come down 50 percent but they were still elevated; a signal that I still had CMV.  Dr. Wilder prescribed two more weeks of zero activity.  This was on May 8^th.  He also said to forget about running Western States and Hardrock.  Attempting to race 100 mountainous miles at altitude, back to back, soon after recovering from CMV was too risky.  Calling Craig and Dale to withdraw from the events was a regretful experience.  Like most individuals in their positions, both of these race directors care deeply about their events and the athletes who participate in them and the least I could do was call and pay my respects, rather than write to them an impersonal withdrawal (DNS) email.

For the past four weeks I’ve been getting back to running nice and slow.  For four days for 15 minutes per day during the first week that I ran I felt strong and light on my feet.  Five days for 20 minutes per day during the second week I ran and I continued to feel good but I also began to realize how out of shape my body felt.  Six days for 30 minutes per day last week is what I was prescribed to run but I cut out two of the days because I was worried that I might be relapsing with CMV.  My breathing felt labored.  I no longer think that is the case, I am not relapsing, and anxiety and my body simply reacting to being out of shape is more likely what I felt.  Today I finished a complete week by running for 40 minutes every day.  Plus, I’ve been busting my ass with work over the past several weeks, working long hours, and working in the yard quite a bit, getting flower beds ready for several trees I would like to plant soon.  Despite having experienced a few off days last week I’m feeling good overall and confident that I am getting back to normal.  Energy wise, I feel like my old self.  My motivation is back.  My confidence is coming back too and my body no longer feels like it needs sleep constantly like it did while I was in the throes of having CMV.  Mornings now I can’t wait to get out of bed.  On June 25^th I have another appointment with Wilder and I suspect he will want to perform another round of blood work to determine for sure if my CMV (and elevated liver functions) has abated.  Hopefully I will get good news and the green light to begin ramping things up.  It will be interesting to train with a mind towards peaking in the fall.  For the past several years my goal races have taken place in the spring and summer.  There are  so many good events to choose from in the fall.

This summer my primary goal is to return to full health and get back to enjoying carefree running with no worries or anxiety.  I have also decided that whatever comes this summer weather wise- heat, humidity, derechos or whatever- I will use as the block to hone my training edge and just enjoy it for what it is.  More than anything, healthy running is a state of mind; a free place in one’s head and in one’s heart that does not feel pain, or pressure, or anxiety brought on by outside circumstances.  This is the place where I want to be.  Therefore, even small stuff, like not complaining about the heat is how I want to roll.  As soon as I get a clean bill of health on my CMV issues I intend to ramp up smartly and make the most of summer.  Moving forward I will be more mindful of protecting the health and strength of my immune system which of course starts by getting proper rest because once an individual has CMV it stays with them for life and I want my fight with CMV to go only one round.

The Rivanna Trail Time Trials that wasn’t

Don’t let the title fool you.  Sunday's Rivanna Trail Time Trials produced a quality turn out of runners. 15 runners in total showed up to bang out a full loop of the Rivanna Trail (RT), and run in the counter-clockwise direction around Charlottesville starting and ending at Riverview Park.  The conditions- cool, mostly dry and overcast- made for a good day for fast times though only a few out of 15 actually came to the Trials with the intention of busting out a true personal best effort.  Not wanting to overdo it on a tender knee, at the last minute I bailed opting instead to work the Trials and not run it after all.  In lieu off huffing and puffing my way around town on muddy trails I recorded the day in photos and set up two water stops with Clif bloks and gels.  Though in reality, mostly I just sat around, waiting on runners while enjoying coffee and a warm spiced apple brioche from Albemarle Baking Company.  10 runners started in the 7:00am wave, one at 7:20am and four more started at 8:00am.

Part of the beauty and mystery of the RT is that sections of it often change, mostly due to construction projects or private property easement issues.  A new trail section is re-routed or improved here, a road section is added there, yet somehow the Rivanna Trails Foundation and its army of volunteers always find a way to keep the loop intact.  Thank goodness for that.  In its current formation the Trail is slightly different than when I ran it hard one year ago this month.  There is a little more pavement for starters but it is all hills.  There are a few new sections of trail as well, some of which are only new due to construction and the path more or less remains the same.  All in all, mileage wise, the entire loop is probably about the same as last year but I wonder if it is slightly harder now due to the changes.

Drew was the only runner to bust out a true loop in a personal best effort style finishing in a blistering 2:22.  Eric gave chase, in route to a final marathon countdown training run but instead of following all Green RT signage he added bonus miles for himself on the Willoughby section.  Andy Head-Not-In-The-Game Jones-Wilkins- AHNITGJW for short- was one of the favorites for the day but it was reported that he took a minimum of four wrong turns and added at least three bonus miles to his Trials run.  Same with Barry.  Not knowing the Trail, it is easy to take a wrong turn.  Know the Trail, Gents.  Everyone else came out mostly to have fun and socialize.  That they did.  The 7:00am crew started and finished together, minus a few runners coming in moments later.  There was only one DNF, reportedly due to old-age-syndrome.  Sophie was a DNS; it was reported that she stayed out too late the night prior at her sister’s concert.

So what does all of this say about the CAT crew?  Are we lions or are we just a bunch of kittens?  Aside from Drew, we may have to hold a makeup exam after all.

Most of the 7am starters.

Drew crushing it through Barracks.



Same with Eric.



Stephen at Moores Creek.

A clip of the mostly intact 7am crew at the creek:

Usually more graceful, here is a funny clip of Drew at the creek:

When not running

The evolution of this blog has varied somewhat from its birth yet one thing has remained fairly constant: the emphases of writing in it lop sides more generously towards trails versus tales.  Therefore, in the spirit of fairness the following is a slightly different tale.

As much as I enjoy slipping on running shoes, roping my wrist in GPS and hitting the trails (and roads), I’ll fill you in on a little secret, from time to time I rather enjoy not running.  In addition to a passion for running which life has generously afforded me there are other hobbies I enjoy pursuing almost equally that in some ways seem to come to me just as naturally.  Woodworking is one of these hobbies.  Specifically, designing and building furniture.

Similar to running, to develop one’s craft as a woodworker time is the most necessary investment.  Working with wood for only a few hours per week generally in the evening hours or on weekends, one or two projects at a time, it can takes years to master even the most basic skills.  And for me, like running, to pursue woodworking as a true passion and something more than mere a hobby is the only way, where much of the satisfaction comes through self-improvement.  It is important to develop my skills not just on the trails but in the workshop too; therefore, it is necessary that I devote time- a lot of it- to woodworking.  When not running I can do this.  And like the journey of running, a purposeful approach to woodworking, which follows the path of self-improvement both in style and in technique, both as a practitioner and as a human being, is an endless path of self-discovery.

When not running, or working in my career to produce ends meet, or spending time with family, I am often doing something construction-like with my hands.  Woodworking is just the tip of the iceberg, really; I am no stranger to working with tools in general, whether they come from the workshop, the garage or the garden.  Still, within the working-with-tools genre, woodworking is my favorite.  There exists a primal satisfaction in me that is resurrected with each incarnation from wood I create.

Some of my earliest childhood memories are working on projects in my parent’s basement workshop.  I remember rushing home from the kindergarten school bus and using a coping saw to cut names and patterns out of scrap wood clamped to a vice on my grandfather’s tool bench.  This while shaking my hips to the raspy sounds of Joan Jett signing “...put another dime in the jukebox, Baby,” crackling from the small, one-speaker alarm clock radio sitting at the far end of the bench with an antenna fashioned from a metal coat hanger, the manual FM dial set to Richmond’s “Q94”.  What I do not remember, though, is anyone ever really teaching me how to work with wood.  There was a workshop in my parent’s basement.  In the workshop there was wood and there were tools.  I sort just picked it up and ran with it.  I was always down in the workshop, banging away on this or that.

As time went by I got away from woodworking during my teen years.  To this day I’m not really sure why.  While on winter break during junior year in college I built a dresser to take back with me to school.  That was one of the few, pure woodworking projects I had worked on in several years and it would be the last for a few years more.  Then, roughly nine years ago the well from which I’ve received the vast majority of positive encouragement in life, my Mom, suggested I pick back up woodworking.  Anyone who knows my mother knows she’s a crafty one, and that she can be very persuasive.  She immediately registered the two of us for an adult education course in woodworking through the local county school system.  At the time I was in Richmond anyway a few days per week for work and the weekday evening schedule worked out perfectly.  In class, it was very laid back and though lacking entirely in any sort of teaching curriculum, we basically had carte blanche to planers, joiners, table saws, drill presses, mortis and tenon jigs, lathes, and all sorts of other goodies.  For my project I chose to build a queen-sized cherry bed frame.  During each of the fall and spring semesters since my Mom and I have continued attending woodworking class on Thursday nights.

Getting a hand recently applying linseed oil on a full-size bed frame for my Mom.  The second bed making project of my woodworking career.  This one also out of cherry.

The finished product.  My Mom and I worked on this puppy together.  Goes nicely with the matching end tables we made last year, the lamp she turned (on the left) a few years ago and the quilt one of my sisters made, spread over the mattress.  We're a crafty bunch.

Another angle.

End table drawer joinery on display.

Tapered inner faces of the head/footboard columns- to match the end tables- required slightly more complicated joinery.

Recently, when not running that much, in addition to finishing up a few existing woodworing projects I’ve taken on a handful of home-improvement projects as well at our new home in Charlottesville.  (Home improvement: another hobby).  A remodeled bedroom here, a remodeled bathroom there and our house is really coming together for our taste and style.  One particular room in our basement I’ve taken on as a project recently reveals the dichotomous relationship my running and my woodworking often tango over for my attention.  The room, an old workshop with a photography dark room off the side, I am near complete in renovating into a home gym with a half bath.  Strange, I know, me, a woodworker, converting a basement workshop into a home gym.  (Is it ironic?  I'm not even sure.)  And involved is a hell of a lot of carpentry, electrical, plumbing and painting to make it happen.  Just so we can work out.  I guess it makes sense if you’ve seen the treadmill that we purchased recently.  It is sweet.  Now with a baby, a treadmill proves a useful tool as a runner.  And I love tools.  Plus, if you’ve seen our treadmill then I probably would have showed you our garage- my man cave- which is where I will eventually house a proper woodworking space.  One fit for making furniture of all shapes and sizes.  So, though choosing to get rid of the old basement workshop was not an easy decision to make all things considered I'm pretty sure it was the right call. 

It is difficult sometimes to juggle competing passions outside of daily life responsibilities.  I am a person who loves the idea of going all in on something and I truly believe one’s best can only be achieved by focusing whole heartedly on one thing at a time.  If true, lasting greatness is the goal, either as a runner, a craftsman or whatever, then sacrificing all things in life for the greater good of focusing on a singular mission and squeezing every drop of blood, nectar and marrow out of it and holding on for as long as it lasts is the only way.  After all, what is the fastest way to get from one location to another if not in a straight line?  Returning home from a 30 mile mountain run and retiring to the garage or basement to work on a project until late into the evening is fun and perfect for the obsessive minded like myself but it does not always lead to the best results with the project at hand.  Nor does is do justice to the run.  But that’s the rub when you have competing passions.  There is only so much time and pulling doubles on weekends is often the only mechanism for getting things done.

Running TWOT recently I took a hard fall at mile eight of 27 while descending Little Bald.  I was hauling ass down the mountain over the rocks, content with the morning thus far, despite my general lack of fitness, frigid temperatures and slow going snow on top of Little Bald.  That week, not having run much recently, I still thought I might be able to show up at TWOT and run the way I knew I could run and how I wanted to run on that day, which was no holds barred.  I was mistaken.  Suddenly my big right toe clipped a rock and my body folded instantly to the ground at full speed.  First my knees struck the ground.  Crash.  Then my chest.  Bam!  There was no time whatsoever to tuck and roll.  Once my chest hit the ground my body slid across the frozen rocks and dirt.  I came to a halt in complete shock, stood up and screamed at the forest all around me looking up towards the tops of the trees in terror.  I figured for sure I had just inflicted a lasting injury upon myself; a broken bone or two in the very least.  A moment or two of self-diagnosis later and aside from bloody knees, scrapped thighs and abdomen my body seemed to still be working.  After another moment or two of standing around, deciding whether or not it was safe to continue on, I began limping down to Camp Todd where Dennis Herr, TWOT director, was waiting with food and water.  At Camp Todd Drew Krueger pulled up behind me as I struggled to open my hand held thanks to the frozen water inside of it.  Turns out Drew took a bad fall on Little Bald as well.  We limped out of Camp Todd together and I eventually pulled away on the way up Big Bald and finished TWOT solo.  I’m happy to have successfully completed a hard effort of a single loop of TWOT and definitely enjoyed the camaraderie and hospitality of the mostly-Harrisonburg crew in the parking lot post-run.  Unfortunately I missed Keith Knipling’s beastly return from his fourth loop but I needed to get home.

Looking back, I probably should have stopped running TWOT at Camp Todd.  My body was so numb from the cold that I didn’t realize at the time how badly my knees, particularly my right knee, hit the ground.  After taking the Sunday off after TWOT in the six following days I ran for a total of 75 miles.  Day by day the swelling in my right knee continued.  There is some edema surrounding the knee still.  I’m pretty sure I have a contusion just above the knee cap from banging the hell out of it when I crashed.  To say I'm not feeling 100% is an understatement.  I’m not feeling down and out, at least not yet, but I admit my mood is starting to sour with each passing day that I do not run.  Because now, as the season builds I want to be running more.  I want to devote more time to running, the time it requires and get back in shape for this summer's big events.  A few more days I hope and I will be back at it- I'm still planning to run the Rivanna Trail trials Saturday.  In the meantime, not running means I can get the gym room complete.  Rubber floor goes down this weekend.  Then it’s on to the next project.  Trail needs a bookshelf for his toys and books.

If interested, here is a solid SNL version of Thinkin Bout You by Frank Ocean.

Rivanna Trail Turn Sheet

For those interested, Nick Hamblet was kind enough to excercise his fingers and draft a Rivanna Trail turn sheet.  See his write-up I copied from an email immediately following this post.  The turn sheet content is also published on the Charlottesville Area Trail Runners (CAT) site but I thought I would go ahead and push it on to the web also just in case there are folks out there who check this site and not the CAT site and who might stand to benefit from Nick's good work.

15 runners in total came out for the Rivanna Trail time trial training run number two yesterday.  A few runners couldn't make it out that I know are running the trials a month from now.  And I know not everyone who ran yesterday will be running in a month.  Word on the street is there are a few fast roadies in town who want to come out but their training and racing regimen won't allow for it.  Bummer is all I have to say about that. So at this point I have no earthly idea how many folks are planning to show up on February 23rd.  At first I thought it might just be me, Drew, Sophie and Andy.  Now I thinking well over a dozen will show up.  I sure hope so; the more the merrier.  It would be kick ass to have enough runners and friends come out for the run and post-run festitivities to warrant reserving the tented patio area at Beer Run after (if that is possible) and have our new friend from New Belgium greet us at the door.  (If that too is possible.  Though something tells me Andy could make that happen.)

Without further ado... here's Nick:

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"This is a bit late for folks hoping for some descriptions this morning, but hopefully it'll still be useful to somebody some day. Also, hopefully, I'll work to incorporate useful bits into the RTF's map - so if you've got comments, questions, suggestions, corrections please let me know. Please don't get mad at me if you get lost while trying to follow these directions. And these are just my notes, not anything official from the RTF.

I'll start at Riverview, and generally go around counter-clockwise, finishing back up at Riverview."

Riverview - River Rd: At Riverview Park, there are two trailheads out of the parking lot, both heading out on paved footpaths. One would be if you continue straight, the way you came in to the parking lot, the other goes off to the right, heading toward the playground area and Rivanna River. You can take either, they both meet up after a short while, and there are some un-paved cut-throughs between them. The trail will be a paved walkway for a few miles, and basically follows the river (which'll be on your right), passing under route 250 at one point. Eventually you'll pop out at a field with some soccer goals set up. You can continue following the trail, or you'll see a parking lot off to your left - you can head up there and turn right on the road that's there (River Rd). If you stay on the trail, it'll go just a short bit through an area with some small trees, close to the river bank, and then there will be signs pointing you to the left. That trail heads up a hill, then runs along a fence at a VFW building until you get to the road (River, same road), on which you'll turn right.

River and Locust: Head up the hill on River, and at the stop sign at the end of River (at the top of the hill), turn right on Locust Ave. That'll head downhill a little bit, and come to a T-intersection. Turn left at the intersection, onto Locust Lane, and then take your first little road to your right, Megan Ct. At the end of that short little road is a sign for the RTF, on the right.

Locust - Holmes: From there, the trail heads downhill for a short bit, to get down to Meadow Creek. Once you get there, you'll continue along with the creek on your right, eventually popping out of the woods into a clearing with the creek on your right but curving left in front of you, and houses up the hill on your left. Follow that clearing, staying between the houses and the creek, with a few hops across some drainage areas as you go. In this section, keep to the right side of the clearing. Shortly before getting to Holmes (the first and only road crossing), the trail and clearing generally veer right, and once they do you'll be able to see Holmes ahead of you.

Holmes - Melbourne: After crossing Holmes Ave, pick up the trail in the gap in the guardrail. This trail follows the Meadow Creek (on your right), with a cleared strip of land on our left. The single track eventually dumps out onto the cleared stretch, and you continue on, keeping the creek on your right. Once the creek turns left, the clearing ends and you go left into the woods, back on single track. This continues for a short bit, eventually crossing under Park St at its intersection with Melbourne. Just after crossing under the road, the single track is closed, and you must go left, up to Melbourne Rd.

Melbourne - Meadowcreek Parkway: Once you get to Melbourne road, looking left you'll see the intersection with Park. However, you want to go the other way, heading instead to the light at the Meadowcreek Parkway. You'll make a right at the parkway to get on the paved footpath following the parkway.

[[McIntire spur: Instead of turning right at the parkway, you can continue straight on Melbourne. You'll go up a hill, and over a bridge across the train tracks. Just after that bridge, there's a Rivanna Trail sign on your left, leading down some stairs, and you'll see Charlottesville High School in front of you (with the baseball diamond the closest thing to you). If you head down those stairs, and stay generally left, there's a patch of trees between the railway and the baseball diamond. You can either hop on a short bit of singletrack in that clump of trees (which quickly comes back out into the grass), or just stay between the trees and the baseball field on a trail that heads down the hill. This trail shortly crosses into the woods, followed at the bottom of the hill by a creek crossing (where there's concrete pillars, so you wouldn't expect your feet to get wet). Continuing to follow this singletrack, you'll eventually get to a spilt where you can go left past a bench, or stay right. If you go left, you'll go up slightly to a paved footpath, which you can take left to get into McIntire park, or take right to cross the creek and get to Charlottesville High (or stay straight to reconnect with the singletrack). If, instead, you stay right on the singletrack, you'll cross under this bridge, and when the two trails reconnect you go right, and cross another creek (where you might, actually, get your feet wet). After that crossing, stay right for the singletrack (or go left, and shortly come to the new paved trail, which will reconnect with the single track after a short distance), and continue following the singletrack through the woods. You'll cross a few small wooden bridges, and eventually get to a cement pad, right near where the paved trail comes back in. Continue on, and the trail will narrow slightly, and head up a little hill, with 250 above you on the left. This trail comes out where 250 and Meadowbrook Heights intersect, with the "Whale Tail" installation of the Art In Place in the clearing. If you continue on, following 250 (with it on your left), you could cross Hydraulic Rd, and then pick up the Rivanna Trail again there.]]

Meadowcreek Parkway - Railroad: Continue on the paved pathway, with an eye to your right to hop back on singletrack. If you end up going uphill on the paved pathway, you've gone too far (but the two meet up again, so it's ok). The trail here stays basically along the Meadow Creek (on your right), and there's a short steep hill to get you back up to the paved pathway when the two meet again. The singletrack and paved path meet at a large bridge for the parkway (above the trail) with a smaller footbridge for the paved path off to the right. If you were to go right on the paved path, it would wind its way uphill, eventually ending at the intersection of the Parkway with Rio Rd. However, to continue on the Rivanna Trail you do not want to do this. Unfortunately, at the intersection of the paved path with the singletrack, under the bridge for the parkway, what you do want to do is somehow find your way to the other side of the railroad tracks. Standing on the paved path, with your back to the singletrack, you'll be looking at the bridge for the parkway. Just past that is the train tracks, at the top of a quick hill, and the creek is on your right. The creek passes under the train tracks through a culvert, and generally the water is not more than 2-3 inches deep, and the creak bed is even. Alternatively, steep trail can be found which goes up the steep embankment to the railroad tracks and back down the other side. Unfortunately, neither of these options is condoned.

Railroad - Brandywine: If you should happen to find yourself on the west side of the railroad, north of the creek (looking away from the railroad, the creek is on your left), the trail follows another cleared strip of land, which has a few bushes and things planted. After a little wooden footbridge (the second), you find yourself on the creek bank of the newly completed creek restoration project. The trail is not well defined here, and the footing is a bit uneven and over a netting, but you just want to follow the creek. It'll cross a paved pathway, running perpendicular to the creek at one point - going right would take you to Greenbrier Dr, going left would take you across the creek and to Jamestown Dr (where you could follow brown RTF blazes back to Charlottesville High, if you wanted (quickly: Jamestown becomes Lester Dr, which T's at Kenwood. Turn right on Kenwood, follow it around to the right, up a hill, then turn left on Melbourne Rd)). However, to follow the RTF loop, continue straight, with the creek on your left. Before long, you'll get to the three-way intersection of Brandywine Dr (going left, or straight-right-ish) and Greenbrier Dr (going right, sorta back the way you just came).

Brandywine - Hydraulic: At the Brandywine/Greenbrier intersection, the trail continues in the cleared strip of land, sort of like where Greenbrier Rd would continue, if it didn't end at that intersection, with the creek still on your left. A few hundred yards down that strip, look for a rock-hop creek crossing on your left, which has a cable strung up between the trees to aid your balance. You want to cross the creek here, and then veer right (so that the creek is now on your right). The trail moves a little bit away from the creek at this point, with woods on both sides of you (and houses up your hill on the left). There are no real trail intersections here, although some re-routing as the creek restoration project was in progress has provided some options at one point. As long as you're continuing on with the creek on your right, houses up the hill on your left (and aren't getting in people's yards), you're still on the right track. Just before the trail gets to Hydraulic, you can either go left, and up a quick hill to get to the road, or stay right, pass over a short rocky section, and then walk through a tunnel underneath Hydraulic Rd.

Hydraulic - Morton: After crossing under Hydraulic Rd, continue on the singletrack (creek on your right), coming to a set of stairs which take you up to near the intersection of Hydraulic Rd and 250. At the top of the stairs, go right, following the concrete sidewalk, until just after crossing the bridge, where the trail turns left and heads down to the creek where it passes under 250. Underneath 250, you'll be walking on some cement blocks which are starting to deteriorate, so watch your footing. After coming out of the tunnel, the primary (green) trail basically follows the creek (now on your left), eventually coming to the RTF tool shed (which will be on your right) near the Meadowcreek gardens. An alternate (brown) trail will branch off to your right, but reconnects with the main trail before the RTF shed. The trail is close to the creek after the shed, and parallels a gravel driveway. The two come together at Morton Dr.

Morton - Barracks: Turn right on Morton, and continue to the light at Emmet St (the intersection where Bodo's Bagels is). Cross Emmet, and continue straight on Earheart (Cavalier Diner on your left, Asian market on your right). Near the end of that little road you'll see a sign on your left for the RTF, at a wooden bridge. Crossing the bridge, the trail continues for a few yards and then crosses a chain link fence at a gate. The gate is rarely locked (though it is, occasionally). Once in the fenced area (if the gate wasn't locked), turn right and follow the gravel path. While you're still in the boundary defined by the chain link fence, there will be a right hand turn leading you out of the fenced in area, which you should take. Just after coming out of the fenced area, you'll cross a little wooden bridge, and will see a road ahead of you (or to your right, depending on how quickly you look for it after you get off the bridge). Go out to the road (Cedars Ct), turn left, and follow it to its intersection with Barracks Rd. The trail continue straight across Barracks Rd from this intersection.

Barracks - Leonard Sandridge: At the trail head off Barracks, you'll go up a short flight of stone stairs, and then the trail goes to the right. It veers left shortly after that, then right across a wooden bridge (which can be fairly slick in wet conditions), and left again. It then follows the creek (on your left), for a little while. When you get to another wooden bridge (with "monkey bars" overhead), you can cross it and go left to hop off the trail at UVA's "The Park" at North Grounds. Alternatively, you can cross the bridge and go right to follow a spur trail, which connects with the main trail again in about a tenth of a mile. The main trail, however, doesn't cross this bridge (the monkey bars bridge), and simply continues on with the creek on your left. After curving to the right, it then does cross a different wooden bridge, this one with some flower pots built in. The trail then continues on a sort of gravel access road, eventually going up a short hill at a land bridge over the creek. The primary trail, at this point, continues straight. [[However, you could cross the land bridge. If you did, you'd come to the intersection with the trail from the monkey bar bridge (coming in from the left), and would also have the option of going right, to follow the trail up the hill. This trail is marked with green RTF blazes, and is parallel to the primary trail, which stays lower, and closer to the creek. If you decide to take this trail up the hill, the trail is easy to follow, and staying right at all the trail intersections will keep you on track.]] The primary trail and the alternate (hilly) route meet back up after a few tenths of a mile, and then continue on until a short steep climb up to Leonard Sandridge Rd.

Leonard Sandridge - Old Ivy: Cross Leonard Sandridge, and cross the wooden footbridge to continue on the trail. There are no trail intersections in this next section to worry about, just continue on until you get to the next road crossing, which is Old Ivy Rd. The final hill before Old Ivy can get quite muddy.

Old Ivy Rd - Ivy Rd: Unfortunately, there's another train track in the way of what you want to do to follow the trail. If you were to cross Old Ivy and then turn into the second driveway (for Ivy Stacks, not UVAs Printing and Copying Services), and then follow that driveway straight/right, then just before it went left behind the building, you'd be able to look across the train tracks at the light which is the intersection of Ivy Rd and 29. Just next to the fire station, across Ivy from where you're standing, is where the trail picks up. You might even see a little trail leading you across the tracks and down to the road. The shortest road detour at this point is to turn right on Old Ivy, cross over 29, left at the stop sign, under the train tracks, and then a left at the light onto Ivy Rd.

Ivy - Fontaine (O-Hill): If you find your way to the fire station, on the south side of Ivy at its intersection with 29, the trailhead will be on your right (looking at the fire station, from the road), ducking immediately into the woods. From here to the next road is one of the longest uninterrupted sections of trail, if not the longest. Largely the trail is well marked, but there are numerous side trails to distract you (and you're certainly welcome to wander). If you are following the trail (which parallels 29 (in a windy manner), generally off to your right) and come to an intersection and see no trail blazes, turn right, and you'll be set. You may end up on a side trail briefly, but will connect with the RTF loop in short order. Eventually the trail comes out to Fontaine Ave, with the research park across the street (entrance at the light up the road to your left), and route 29 to your right (over Fontaine Ave).

Fontaine - Stribling: The trail picks back up directly opposite Fontaine Ave, in a patch of woods. It winds up a hill, and then back down, in an area with lots of evergreens, and a nice soft surface. Owing to the lack of undergrowth, the trail may seem ill-defined at times, as it meanders through the trees, but it's usually pretty easy to follow. On its way back down the hill, you'll end up crossing a fence on a wooden ladder. The trail then climbs back up to the road, and you want to continue on the road down the hill. Just after crossing a creek on the road, look for the trail on your left. Head down the embankment, and follow the trail, which keeps the creek on your left. There's a spur to your right that will take you up the hill, and comes back in and connects with the main trail just before the trail crosses the creek. At the creek crossing, the creek will head through a tunnel under some railroad tracks, and you can either rock-hop across, or walk across the black pipe. On the other side of the creek, the trail continues through a bamboo grove, and you should watch your feet for bamboo that was cut a few inches above ground level. The trail comes out to Stribling Rd, which is a dirt road, in sort order.

Stribling - Sunset: At Stribling, turn right to go under the train tracks, then take an immediate right on what appears to be (and is) a gravel driveway. Take another immediate right onto the trail leading down into a grassy field. The trail generally follows under power lines, and then hits the gravel driveway again. When it does, turn right on the driveway, and then look for an immediate left to continue on the trail, before the driveway crosses a little wooden bridge. The trail then makes a left to follow the creek (on your right), and in short order goes right at a rock hop to cross the creek. On the other side of the creek, you go up a short little hill, and then the trail goes left (where the power lines overhead continue straight). The trail then follows the creek (now on your left), and just before coming out on Sunset Ave there's a small creek crossing with a rock hop (but the main creek will still be on your left).

Sunset - Azalea Park (on roads): At Sunset Ave, turn left and follow the road. It will eventually come to a bridge with some barriers that only permit foot traffic. Cross the bridge, and continue straight on Sunset Ave (the trail DOES NOT turn right and go into the woods again here). Continue up the hill on Sunset, eventually taking your first right on Brunswick Rd. Follow green RTF signs along Jefferson Park Circle (basically clockwise along the east half of the circle), and then onto McElroy. Continue down McElroy, and it will eventually hook around to the right, where you want to turn left on Middleton Ln. Cross Old Lynchburg Rd on Middleton Ln, and then make your first right on Mobile Ln. Then look for a narrow pathway on your left, between the first two houses (or second and third, depending on where you start counting from). The trail then turns right on the paved footpath and continues downhill. Just before the paved footpath pops out in Azalea Park, look for the trailhead on your left, where you can continue on some singletrack before entering the open fields of Azalea Park. This trail will come out near the community gardens.

Azalea Park - 5th St: At the end of the (newly) paved parking lot, with the community gardens in front of you (and Moore's Creek to your right - which you'll basically be following until it hits the Rivanna River, almost back at Riverview Park), a gravel driveway continues along the gardens. Follow this driveway, with the gardens on your left. At the far end of the gardens the driveway goes left, but the trail turns right, down an embankment to the creek. The crossing at this creek has some cement pillars and some rock hops, and a short, steep set of stairs at the far end. At the top of the stairs, turn left and follow the singletrack, with the creek on your left. This will eventually take you out to a clearing, and you want to basically aim for the far left side of the clearing. Near the end of this clearing, watch out for a bit of a pothole in the ground! At the end of the clearing, the trail continues underneath 5th St, through a culvert with loose sand footing.

5th St: After crossing under 5th St, the singletrack continues away from the road for about 10 yards, and then turns left on an old paved path. It then crosses a wooden bridge and makes a right, continuing as single track through a short section of trees, and then a bit of grass and weeds, with the creek on your right. The trail pops out behind a gas station, and crosses Bent Creek Rd, continuing to follow the creek. After crossing the road, you continue under some power lines, and at the third power line the trail heads left, up the hill to 5th street (a trail does continue straight, but this is not part of the Rivanna Trail). At 5th street, turn right, cross Harris at the light, and stay on the sidewalk along 5th. At the bottom of the first hill the road crosses a creek, and just after the creek crossing the trail turns right, taking you away from the road.

5th - Jordan Park: The trail away from 5th street follows the cleared strip of land, with the creek on your right (at the moment there's construction vehicles at this trailhead). There's a little wooden bridge over a drainage creek at one point, and the trail (and clearing) goes to the right from there, with houses up the hill on your left. Shortly after this, the clearing goes around to the left, but the trail veers off to the right down a little incline, and then turns left to follow the creek (still on your right). After a little bit the trail meets back up with the cleared strip of land, but then in about 100 yards there will be a wooden footbridge to your right, and the trail will hop back into the woods. Eventually you'll come to another rock-hop creek crossing, and then pop out at Jordan Park.

Jordan Park - Avon: The trail stays on the edge of the clearing of Jordan Park, keeping the park on your left. As you get closer to the road (6th St SE), look for the trailhead ahead of you, a bit on the right. Singletrack takes you between the creek and a collection of mobile homes. Just before coming to another road (Avon), go left to go up to the road. There, turn right and take the road as it crosses the creek, then cross the road. There's a trailhead just a few yards up the hill, shortly after the metal guard rail ends.

Avon - Riverview Park: Follow the trail away from Avon, back down towards the creek, and then along the creek (now on your left). At one point the trail makes a sharp right, away from the creek, and then a slight hairpin to the left, heading up a hill. Toward the top of the hill you may find some trail intersections, but following the green blazes will keep you on track. Taking trails which head left, down the hill, will take you to a bridge, which you can cross to get into Quarry Park (this bridge is being replaced, so this crossing may not be available at the moment). Following the green blazes, and skipping Quarry Park, the next road you come to is Rt 20. The trail crosses under Rt 20 at this point. After this, you just continue following the creek (on your left), eventually crossing under Moore's Creek Ln (for the water treatment plant - you may notice a smell in this section), and then coming to an apparent dead-end at the train tracks. This is the wet part. Cross the creek, going through the water, under the train tracks high overhead. On the far side, the trail goes up the hill slightly, and then around to the right. In about a hundred yards the trail goes left up a little hill to put you on E. Market St. Turn right on Market, then take your first right on Riverside Ave. After going down the hill and through the road narrowing, the entrance to Riverview Park is on your right.

It’s official. 2013 is going to ROCK.

Western States in June.  Hardrock 13 days later in July.  And now, its official, UTMB in August.  Bam.  Bang.  BOOM!  2013 is going to kick ass.  2013 is going to kick my ass, to be more specific.  To assist with the altitude factor at each race- mostly at Hardrock- the good folks at Hypoxico were kind enough to set me up with an altitude tent.  Right now it’s still sitting in a box on the living room floor but pretty soon I’ll be sleeping high and training low.  I’ve heard over and over from stud runners who live at altitude and travel low for races how the “extra” oxygen makes them feel beastly.  I can attest to this feeling from my own experiences when returning to sea level after weeks spent at altitude.  It sometimes can be hard to compete against guys (and gals) who live and train high, in my opinion.  When I look back at my 100 mile race results not always but often I see those who finished ahead of me live at altitude or train at altitude or both.  I’ll be very curious to see how experimenting with an altitude tent pans out.  Hopefully in the very least it can help provide that extra 1% to 2% that I need, or that I think I need, to better compete at long distance, mountainous runs.

As per usual each year, running in January is beginning to feel really good.  Not too long ago it seemed difficult to shake the soreness from my legs.  From the knees down they simply did not want to cooperate.  They felt tight.  (I winced.)  They ached.  (I whined.)  They felt sore.  (I groaned.)  That is to be expected after a long year of running followed by a full month off I suppose.  Now I’m feeling fairly springy from the bed as soon as my feet touch the floor.  Better still, after a run I feel strong and hardly sore at all.  Hopefully I can ride this feel-good state all the way through to the end of August but I realize that is simply not possible- definitely not with the 100s I have lined up at least.  I also think the shoes I ran in mostly during December were too worn down.  Note to self: stop running in shoes the first time you think they’re worn down, not the tenth.

The spring schedule at this point is wide open.  Next month I will run a counter-clockwise loop of Dennis Herr’s TWOT (The Wild Oak Trail), followed two weeks later by another speed attempt on the Rivanna Trail.  Speaking of which, folks, I have received confirmation from nine runners who plan to show up for the Rivanna Trail time trial.  Honestly, that is about double the size I expected so it’s shaping up to be a fun morning about town.  Next Sunday, the 27^th, we’re running another loop from Riverview at 7:00am.  Again, for those who wish to run it is a good idea to get to know the loop.  C'mon on out!

Other than TWOT and the Rivanna Trail, event wise, not much else is piquing my interest for this spring.  Certainly a return to Promise Land in April would be epic but we will be soaking up rays in Hawaii that week.  Running the Appalachian Trail from point-to-point through the Shenandoah National Park is the only other thing that really gets me excited when I consider running options for the spring.  I'm seriously considering doing that.  I’m pretty sure all of this will soon change and I’ll be adding events; in the very least a few local short distance events, like the Montalto Challenge.  Sadly, we'll also be out of town the weekend of the Charlottesville 10 miler.  Damn it.