Running From….And Into The Snow

March 23rd, 2009 Posted in Story, Training

Well I planned my Tour dee Western trip to Northern California to train on the Western course and get away from the snow upon which I’ve been running since November.  The sight of seeing dirt under my feet on my first trail run last week was, well, emotional.  Who ever thought dirt could bring you to tears?!

So for the past week I’ve been eating up the opportunity to run again on my home turf - the foothills of the Sierras and the WS course.  The weather has been ideal - 50-60s, sunny and dry trails.  That was until yesterday………

I had met Matt Keyes at the Auburn Running Company - the best running store for ultra runners in the world - where he works.  Matt invited me to join him and Derek Semanski, his long-time ultra running partner (both WS finishers) for a long run in the canyons Sunday.  We had planned to run from Michigan Bluff to Last Chance and back - about 25 miles through two of the toughest canyons - back and forth- in the race.

Plans changed on run day when we were hit with a springtime snow storm down to 2,000′ elevation.  We decided to drive to Michigan Bluff to see how bad it was, before making a game-time decision.  Driving into Foresthill we ran into

white out conditions.  We got behind a plow that made things a bit better.  Then Matt’s car slipped and next thing we knew Derek and I were outside pushing it out of a ditch - good NorCal warm-ups I figured :-).  After Matt made some comment about showing his California roots to a Bostonian - we pushed on to MB.  The Michigan Bluff road is a steep downhill so we punted, turned around after surveying the 3-5′ of snow, and parked at the Foresthill Elementary School lot, 2 miles back and at a little lower elevation.  From there we decided to run north and east towards Last Chance on the WS course.  So we headed off towards Bath Road and Volcano Canyon.  We encountered snow immediately but it was runnable.  It started to snow more steadily in Volcano, making the climb out of the canyon beautiful.  We were all fairly prepared for the elements.  I of course, being the token Eastie, wore shorts with my shell, gloves and wool cap ensemble.  Derek and Matt had shell tops and long pants and wool hats and gloves.  Interestly, because there was no ice underneath the snow and it was too deep, we had no need for foot traction (i.e. Yaktrax or Katoolas).  The snow was fresh powder, crunched under our feet and provide good traction.

As we reached Michigan Bluff it began to snow harder.  Upon reaching Eldorado Creek it warmed up as we dropped about 1,500′.  Then we bagan the ardious 4 mile climb out of Eldorado Canyon up to Deadwood.  We were rained on, then snowed upon all the way.  All three of us had numb hands by the time we summited but our feet were toasty - surprising given we were in 3-6′ of snow the enter time - and the rest of our bodies were warm.  The elevated heart rate from the climb keep our “heat pumps” working well.  We stopped to get water from the water pump that was installed a few years ago between Deadwood and Devil’s Thumb.  There I found my hands were so numb that I had to find a way to get circulation flowing again so I could open my Gu packet and refill my Camelback with water.  So there I was, at 5,000′ elevation, in the middle of a snowstorm standing in about a foot of snow with my hands shoved down my shorts!  Yes, I did get some grief from Matt and Derek who were both at this point popping Cliff Margarita Shot Blocs.  Whatever - a man has to do what he has to do when the digits are frozen and the warmest spot on the body is…..

I defrosted quickly, refueled and off we went back down the mountain towards ElDorado Creek.  We felt like we were floating on air.  The snow was soft and deep and so we didn’t have to worry about rocks, roots or poor footing.  I think we made it from Deadwood to ElDorado Creek in 35 minutes.  At this point we were a good 5 hours into the run.   We climbed 2.5 miles up to Michigan Bluff and as we did, it started to snow again AND hail.  I commented to Mett that all we needed was a thunder storm and we would have had the weather trifecta.

We refilled the water bottles again at Michigan at Carl’s house (been an ultra refueling station forever) and headed off to Volcano.  The footing in Volcano, which is a canyon with tight switchbacks, was a bit dodgey at times but manageable.  We reached the bottom of Bath Road about an hour after leaving MB - again, not bad considering the circumstances.  The walk up Bath Road was satisfying.

I’ll tell you, I’ve been running trails a lot of years but I’ve never had an experience

like this one.  7 hours, 28 miles, 4 canyons, 3-12′ of snow, rain, snow, hail, sunshine, mud - all mixed in and plenty of elevation gain and drop.  One for the record books and memory banks.  This is the kind of training run that reminds me how tough Western States is - the rugged and brutal terrain, ever changing weather and endless, relentless climbs and decents.  But this run did wonders for my confidence.  I will vividly recall the day we trudged up to Michigan in the deep snow and glided over the cutbacks on Volcano during race day when the tempetures break 100 degrees and the legs have endured 55+ miles.  This memory will help me endure - allow me to play games with my mind when it’s most needed.  Bacause with Western, the real battle is between the mind and the body…..and the heart is the tie breaker.