New stuff

Me and Blogger have been fighting a bit lately. B seems like a temperamental old woman--with Alzheimer's. It throws different problems in the mix almost daily, shrinking my header picture space allowing only a small pic instead of the wider one I have now. I fixed this prob--or so I thought--by switching to Google Chrome. But even now, it keeps giving me an error message when I sign in to post, and then covers up the tool bar so I can point and click where the picture icon ALMOST is. Fun stuff.


The actual fun new stuff is the old camera look from the Hipstamatic camera app on iPhone.


This app takes pictures that look like old snapshots. There are a lot of different "films and lenses" that you can select that give each shot different quirky looks. Sort of like "worse is better?"


I like it though. A diversion to things, slightly different from the everyday TZ goes running and so on. Now I have purposely flawed photos. (Or are they???)




It's late and I am wiped out--and tomorrow is a 20 mile day. Nite all!!

A Little Tuesday Excitement

Yesterday afternoon, I was pondering my evening running activities. It was Tuesday, and a usual TOT run was on the slate. I thought about just going at 6:30 instead of doing bonus miles at 5:30. I'm still a little tired from last week. Then I got a FB message from a friend who said he just saw a mountain lion on the yellow trail. My running plans just shifter into high gear!! I was on the trails at 4:15, heading down to--well, you know where I went running.

The odds of seeing the cat were 1 in a thousand. It would be far more likely it would see me than me seeing it. There are a lot of people who doubt there are big cats in this part of the country, but while they are few and far between, they occasionally are here. I do not think they are a danger to runners, hikers, or bikers. There are lots of other food choices for them. The mountain lions roam--and one you see today might be 10-20 miles away tomorrow.

I saw a big cat here back in 2009. Of course, I did a blogpost on the sighting. Click here if you wanna read it. 


I also decided that I had time to hunt for a couple of geocaches. The ones I have not found on Turkey Mountain are harder ones, although there was a new one that I notices on the website, and I tackled it first. It was added to my found list in short order, and then I headed for the Oklahoma Rock. The one there, is still on my did-not-find list. :-(

But I DID find Ernie's house. The Keebler Elf was NOT home, but I left a note saying I was there.

By that time, it was time to head back to the parking lot. I met a few bonus mile friends on the way back, and we rolled into the parking lot right at 6:30--barely on time.


These Tuesday night groups are getting HUGE. I think there were 70-80 people out to run with us. We broke into FOUR groups, and headed out.My group pf SUPERMEDIATES ran 3.8 miles, and I did not spare the rocks. We did enough rocky trailz to get my dogs barking. My NB MT110s, which are less than a month old, are nearly worn out. They are getting more "minimalist" all the time.

Heading down a hill just west of the Spider/Sitting Rock, we came to a dead stop. This guy had set up a roadblock, and was giving NO PASSAGE. Russell and I gently urged it to get off the path with sticks, and it would slither right back on the trail. After about 2 minutes of picture taking, and stick corralling, it retreated just barely off to the side, and no doubt returned to it's spot when we got through. We need to keep a watchful eye out. These snakes are not aggressive, but I am pretty sure if you stepped on one, they would bite. This snake is a copperhead, and they are venomous. I have heard they often do a non-biting strike, or a dry bite, but I would prefer to have neither.


Today is National Running Day. You know what I'll be doing.

Angel Fire Endurance Run Preview

It's less than 4 weeks out from Angel Fire Endurance Run--by far the hardest 100 I have tried since Western States 2007,where I was WAY in over my head.

Out of 17 starts, I have 10 finishes.

My last attempt was a very muddy Rocky Raccoon where I waved the white flag after 60 miles.

The course has been revised, and the route seems like it might be easier--if nothing else, simpler to follow. Now it's four out-and-backs, but if its semi-scenic, it's good by me. After 25 miles, I doubt I'll care what anything looks like. 75 miles in, and I'd be happy to trudge on a treadmill for the last 25.


Angel Fire is a nice ski resort.

I've been there a couple of times in the summer months, just passing through.

If the course goes straight up one of the ski runs, I'm in trouble.
The course elevation is a bit scary. Just one climb--but no, you have to do it coming back, and then 3 more times. My math tallies the 1900 foot climb, then adding in the 1142 feet you ascend on the way back and multiplying by 4 equals 12,168 feet. Factor in the altitude, and it should be "interesting".


So what am I doing about it?
Well, running a few long runs on hilly courses for one. This past week, I've got in almost 95 miles. I've ran hills, ran in heat and humidity (it should not be humid there), and ran quite a bit on rugged terrain. I am not entirely sure how much of the trailz there are super-technical. A full arsenal of shoewear will accompany me to New Mexico.



Finally, it would not be a hundred if I were not going head to head with my favorite competitor.


Both Kathy and I are gunning for our 11th finish.

48 mile long run

Angel Fire is 4 weeks out, and I am woefully undertrained. Still, with a month to go, in theory--it is possible to improve my chances of finishing by squeezing in another couple of long runs. I have eyed this loop for a few years now, running Prue Road to Cleveland, and coming back on the service roads of 412. I really did not know for sure until doing a MapMyRun map.Circling the larger part of Keystone, it did not actually have a view of the lake except in a few places. What it DID have was HILLS!!

Dennis Crosby, Charlotte Lindley, and Caroline Glen joined me for this little jaunt. The weather was PERFECT. It was 52° to start--a welcome change from the 90-something days we had been having. I don't think it ever made it out of the 60s all day long. A gentle north breeze kept us cool, along with overcast skies and a light rain for the 2nd half of the day.

The only way it could have been better--if it had been a Tuesday.

The hills early on were gradual, but long. We ran most of them, but still took a few strategically placed walk breaks.

I did not know I had a road named after me. :-)

One of the most scenic lake crossings is just ahead.

I see these hills and wonder if there might be trailz out there?

And HEY!! I have a STORE too!! It is a store/bait shop/hunter checkpoint. We refueled here, but quickly got down the road.

Just as it started to warm up, overcast skies moved in.

Dennis had drove the course and set up some aid station drops for us. I had posted this picture on Facebook, and it got a few interesting comments.Actually, the contents of the trash bag was a bucket with ice, water, Gatorade, and snacks.
Dennis is an aid station god.

The route from the end of Prue Road to Cleveland was on the shoulder of a busy highway,, and it was raining. Semis roaring by, and cars driving 70+ made it nerve-racking. This part sucked.

Near the end of this section, my friend Wes had spotted us running, and met us to cheer us on. He then drove ahead to our next aid stop, and handed me a cold beer. WOW! I needed that!!


The rest of the run was along this service road to 412. This service road had a wide shoulder, and was a more peaceful run. Crossing the long bridge across Keystone was on a shoulder of the main highway. I was worried the large trucks might blow us right over the edge, but it was not all that bad.

We finished in a little over 12 hours, and I had 10:32 of running time, which took our our prolonged stops for aid and a sit-down lunch.

Thinking about all my friends racing here and there this weekend. Good luck to those at Tail Twister, Catsmacker, Hospital Hill. (or congratulations, as some of them are already through.)

Wednesday Night Ride Run

I gave thought to riding my bike this evening--but I worked a little bit to late to meet up with my friends--and besides, I am concerned that my unconditioned tush would be hamburger--since it has not been plopped down on the bike saddle for over a year. Good excuse to run.I treated myself to a circling of Lake Bixhoma. There are a few hard-to-find geocaches there, but with my legs being chigger-bite ridden, I decided to stay out of the deep woods. These caches will have to wait til late fall for me to find them.

I love this run. Even on an overcast day, it is a postcard view from any point around the lake. I took the south route first. Mitch and I had found that someone had started extending the trail--maybe all the way around the south end of the lake. That was back in December--might they have finished their project??

No. This was the end of the line. It is rugged terrain from this point of. Lots of rocks, lots of briers. Bushwhacking around is doable, but it's tough. I did not have an hour to kill, so I headed back to run as far as I could on the west side.

I did not go far when I saw a furry little guy lallygagging across the trail. I could have steeped on him. But if I had, he probably would have tossed me to the ground.HUGE. This was the biggest tarantula I had ever seen. He must have weighed a pound or more. There was enough fun on him to make a pair of gloves.
He just laid there and looked at me. I am guessing the black shiny circle near the head were his eye(s)? He jumped and exited quickly when I reached down to pick up the dollar I had placed beside him.
I picked up the pace on the way back. With the added bit of trail, an out-and-back up the south route and the west route nets 3.6 miles. I added a hill repeat (well, maybe a one-peat) to get an even 4 miles.

The fishing here is good. There are a few picnic areas, and even a beginning photographer can look like a pro with pix from here.

Poison Ivy

I have a lot of friends who have been battling poison ivy recently. I also notice that a lot of people are not sure what poison ivy looks like.
Some think any green vine is the dreaded plant.
Others say leaves of five are PI.
Serated leaves-yes or no? Click here for the best website I have found identifying the plant (what is and what isn't PI), the symptoms, the differences between Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac, and also several remedies AND remedies to NOT USE. Bookmark this website for future reference.



I also recommend these drops from zombierunner.com.
I used to get poison ivy if I looked at a Field and Stream magazine with a picture of the vines. I'd itch for weeks, and always ended up at the doctor's office to get shots or steroid packs. It was awful. I started using these drops a few years ago, and I have never got so much as a blister. (I wish they had something like this for chiggers!) I use the drops from early spring to late fall. One bottle lasts all year. I do not have any financial interest in this product, other than I want them to ALWAYS make it.

Book Titles

DAY RUN

1. On The Run (end of Red Trail)
2. Pathfinder (1/4 way down Lo-Chi Trail)
3. Climbing (base of I-Want-My-Mommy-Hill)
4. Now You Can Cry (top of I-Want-My-Mommy-Hill)
5. The Long Walk (mid way back on the Yellow)
6. Dean Man Walking (under the last wood bridge)


NIGHT RUN
1. Heart of the Night (Ezekiel saw the ______)
2. Voices in the Night (Toss a penny, Make a wish)
3. Walking toward Your Fear (The troll left a mess!) (EEWWW!! DEAD FISH!?!?!)
4. Book was missing when I went to pick it up (No troubled water here)
5. The Dying Place (Walk the line--but not this one)
6. Fatal Amusement (Death of many bikers)
7. Spell of the Mountains (Another bridge and aid station)
8. Midnight Memories (No more Pepsi deliveries)
9. Crack of Doom (Old Homestead)
10. The Gates of Hell (Me Caveman)
11. The Torment of Others (In deep dark places--Say NO to Crack!)
12. Cliffhanger (Cave City)
13. Fatal Terrain (Going UP!)
14. Marathon Man (Top of the morning mountain--but going down)
15. Midnight Run (Down Down Down)
16. Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex (You've never been this far south)
17. Devil Take All (Old Homestead)

RD's Notes 

I was amazed that over half of the night runners found all the books.

The book at the YMCA was missing when I went to pick it up, as were books 14, 15, 16.

I am pretty sure that the titles listed on 13 and 14 are correct--might be switched.

I am less certain that I am remembering the correct title of book 16.

I had an even dozen ticks yesterday and today. Anyone top that?