Run. Hike. Poop.

Race Report: Pilot Mountain Payback 2014

April 14, 2014By y2kemo

two runners at the finish line — Post-race PB&J

Back in the fall my buddy, John, asked me if I was running Pilot Mountain Payback again. I told him that I would run it provided I was able to train for it. If I learned anything from last year’s adventure it’s that the marathon isn’t really a marathon. It’s a come-to-Jesus journey in which you run up and down a mountain with the hopes that you don’t come to Jesus before you cross the finish line.

Flash forward to the first week of January when I found out I had a kidney stone. Pretty awesome, right? Well, a week later I ran a 15-mile trail race. Pretty smart, right? Over the ensuing few weeks I ran a grand total of 40 miles which averaged out to about “not enough to run a trail marathon” miles per week. That’s when I told John that I wouldn’t be participating.

Then Mother Nature intervened…

Passing a Kidney Stone: The 51-day journey of a magic pebble

March 4, 20142 commentsBy y2kemo

kid·ney stone
noun

a hard mass formed in the kidneys, typically consisting of insoluble calcium compounds; a renal calculus (i.e. a pebble in the kidney).

In the past 7 years I’ve had 2 kidney stones. The experiences were painful, but they were quick to resolve. My latest stone was less pleasant, a lot more painful, and took forever to pass.

Backpacking Dolly Sods in February

February 25, 2014By y2kemo

Overnighting at Dolly Sods — Relaxing at the campsite after a long day

My buddy, Coop, and I have backpacked during the winter months for a few years now. Shining Rock in Western North Carolina, Roan Mountain along the Tennessee-North Carolina border, and most recently Dolly Sods in West Virginia.

We hadn’t traveled north for a winter hike, and it’d be a test for us as Dolly Sods is notorious for year-long crazy weather with an average annual snowfall of 55″. As he always does, Coop researched potential routes and came across White Grass Cross Country Ski Area, a cross country skiing and snowshoeing business in Davis, WV. He emailed Chip, the dude in charge, who kept Coop in the loop about weather and gear (including $15/day snowshoe rental).

Our intent was to park at White Grass and take the Timberline trail to Forest Road 80 where we’d huff it up to 524 Rocky Ridge. From there we’d head east on 511 Blackbird Knob, camp at the intersection of Blackbird and Upper Red Creek, and then head up to Dobbin where we’d join up with Rocky Ridge which would take us back to our car. A fairly straightforward 3-day, 15.5 mile trip. However, thanks to the wintry weather, the actual route we hiked was a slightly different.

Running a 5K pushing the Polar Express

December 15, 2013By y2kemo

Christmas is a special time of year. Setting up the tree, spreading holiday cheer, and running in a costume in the Reindeer Romp 5K in Jamestown, NC. The tree is easy, my wife and I bought a fake one. Holiday cheer is also fairly easy. The latter, however, is somewhat difficult.

In the past I’ve run as a Christmas present, the Grinch (with a sleigh), and a Christmas tree. This year, I wanted to go as something completely ridiculous (well, ridiculous-er). I thought of something awesome, was all gung-ho, then had to change it due to unforeseen circumstances requiring my son to join in on the fun. So, I asked the little guy what he thought we should make and he went with the one thing he loves more than anything else—The Polar Express.

Race Report: Army Ten-Miler 2013

October 24, 2013By y2kemo

This past weekend I ran the Army Ten-Miler (ATM), a fantastic 10-mile road race in Washington, D.C. that starts and finishes at the Pentagon, passing by landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and the Capitol Building.

Since the inaugural race in 1985 the ATM has grown from a humble 1,379 finishers to 25,925 finishers in 2013. Nearly 300,000 runners have participated since the race began, and only one man, U.S. Army Col. (Ret.) Lew Goldberg, who has run every Army Ten-Miler since 1985.

While I’m no Lew Goldberg, I have run the race three times before. I ran the race with shoes in 2006 (1:13:05) and without shoes in 2011 (1:17:29) and 2012 (1:12:06). This year, for my fourth running, I opted for Vibrams thanks to my ongoing battle with plantar fasciitis.

My First Ultra: 40 miles later

October 8, 20132 commentsBy y2kemo

trail runner — Coming out of Little Loop

In 2012, my buddy John joined the Blue Ridge Relay GO FAR team. I’d later learn that he was using the relay as a training run for an upcoming ultramarathon. I thought, what an idiot. Then I thought, wait, what’s an ultramarathon?

In short, an ultramarathon is defined as any running event longer than the traditional marathon length of 26.2 miles (42 km). Good gravy, that sounds awful. Yeah, John is definitely an idiot.

After the BRR, John talked me into running the Pilot Mountain Payback Marathon. As we trained for the Payback and as we ran the race, John kept talking about running ultras. Eventually I fell victim to his persuasive tactics and signed on for the Triple Lakes Ultra 40 miler. Then I thought, I’m an idiot.

If you’ve run a marathon, then you’re pretty familiar with how to train for an ultra. You just have to run more. Between May and October I logged 600 miles. Most of my runs were on the road, about 100 miles were on trails, and my longest run was 29 miles. Beyond that, I didn’t do much more to prepare myself. I just ran, a lot.

Blue Ridge Relay 2013: A coin flip, an injury, and a goat’s leg

September 10, 2013By y2kemo

Two years ago I was frantically figuring out how I would participate in the Blue Ridge Relay, a picturesque 208-mile relay stretching from Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia to downtown Asheville, North Carolina.

In the three years I’ve been running with Team GOFAR, 11 of my fellow runners opted for early retirement, and only a few offered up repeat performances. In fact, only 4 runners from the first year’s team have returned each year.

With that said, the BRR2013 Team GOFAR was comprised of a great group of athletes ranging in ages from 2 to 12 (in dog years). And, in the end we rocked the relay in 31 hours 16 minutes and 45 seconds.

Camping in NC: Fire, Fishing, Centipedes, and Swings

April 30, 2013By y2kemo

I was planning a backpacking trip to Roanoke with a buddy of mine when our plans were altered by unforeseen circumstances. Not wanting to completely forgo my outdoor plans I opted to hit up a local campground near the base of Pilot Mountain.

Day 1: I walked the campground and nearby trails with my dogs followed by fishing with a little luck catching sunfish.

As the sun set I warmed by the campfire to replace the night chill, and took in the full moon.

How to Poach Eggs

April 8, 2013By y2kemo

One of my favorite things to order from a breakfast menu is Eggs Benedict. Not just for the muffin, Canadian bacon, and Hollandaise sauce, but mainly for the poached eggs. Seriously, I order the Eggs Benedict whenever I can not simply because it is delicious, but because I couldn’t eat them at home as I had no idea how to poach eggs. That is, until I gave it a shot.

On my first try I made the perfect poached egg. Since then, I have repeated the process and can now enjoy Eggs Benedict without having to hit up a culinary establishment. The worst part? It is so friggin’ easy to make poached eggs I’m kickin’ myself in the pants for not trying sooner.

Now it’s your turn. Break out the eggs, a pot, some vinegar, and a few other things and let’s get to the good part!

Race Report: Pilot Mountain Payback Marathon

February 17, 2013By y2kemo

If you’ve ever said to yourself, “I’d love to run a trail marathon up and down a mountain in the dead of winter” then I have a race for you. It’s called the Pilot Mountain Payback, and you can expect your bum handed to you when you cross the finish line.

The course is a mixture of technical single track, rocky bridal trail, with a bit of roadway for good measure. There are six stream crossing, and just so you don’t get comfortable, calf-burning climbs and quad-busting descents (check out the elevation profile: 3,588′ gain and 3,584′ loss).

Well, because I tend not to consult common sense when choosing a race, I decided to sign up with a buddy of mine, John. Together we would conquer this little North Carolina hill.

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