Volunteering at Races

Running, unlike the 'big' sports which pay employees, runs on volunteers at nearly every level. Almost all the workers at local XC meets are volunteers, as are the ones at most marathons. Even the high school coaches work nearly free - certainly under minimum wage given the hours they keep.

One exception is the Snake River Half-Marathon (filling fast, so enter soon!) which has been very generous in paying the Asotin XC teams to man the water stations at the 4- and 6-mile marks.

Generally, I figure that a race averages one volunteer per one hundred runners. Small local races actually have an easier time gathering volunteers as the spouses or parents of younger athletes jump in. I think bigger races come with a presumption that everything is paid for, so volunteers are less necessary. Certainly, the relays I've run have put their collective feet down and part of the entry is to provide two volunteers or cash to hire someone.

In Asotin, we have a core group that shows up to help and we've come to depend on them. But every race could use more help. The gentleman who does all the starting for the local HS track and cross country events has been doing it for nearly three decades.

The same thing happens at the club level. The same core of people tend to manage the group and the events year after year.

They could use a smidge of help, so I have a favor to ask of you. If you're a parent of an athlete, can you volunteer one time next year to help out the program? If you are in a running club, can you help with one race instead of running?

It doesn't take much but your fellow runners will appreciate it and, if my experiences are any indication, you will, too.

Time out on timing this summer to lick a granddaughter's popsicle. It was her first 5K.

Oxygen is NOT overrated!

I did a workout years ago with a friend as we prepped for the Portland Marathon. He was supposed to be pacing me on a marathon paced run. Unfortunately, he's loads faster than I am (he ran a a sub-3:00 marathon to my 3:28) and the pace gradually drifted up to the point where I couldn't breathe. 

Not that I entered oxygen debt. I mean it more in the literal sense - I have exercise-induced asthma, the temperatures were in the low 30's, and the pace all combined to trigger an attack. 

Since I have my own little issues with breathing, I think it's important to pass on the knowledge to the junior high school kids I coach. Not the asthma part, the breathing part. 

Every year, I lead them through some exercises on breathing. Depending on how long the kids have been with me, we'll experiment with different things. This year, I had two runners that had been with us since the sixth grade and the rest were new to the sport. So I co-opted Thing 1 and Thing 2 to help the younger kids. 

First, at very low speeds we sent them around the Chief Looking Glass park with instructions to count how many steps they took per breath. A breath was a full cycle of inhalation and exhalation.

Then we sent them out to do it again, because combining activities for junior high kids leads to mass confusion - most of them lost count. And their form fell apart because they're not to the point where they can do two things at once - run and count - without one of them getting a little sideways.

At idling speed, Thing 1 (Carmen) was taking six strides per breath and Thing 2 (Maia) was taking eight. This was consistent with their training levels - Maia has been training hard for two years while Carmen is just starting to transition from running with sisters to training for races. 

The younger runners reported an average of four strides per cycle with a couple at six. 

We repeated the drill at several different speeds so they could get a feel for how their breathing changes at given paces. For a lot of them, it was an eye-opener. Natalie, one of the sixth-graders who also does martial arts, adapted the fastest. 

This comes to mind because I came across a book, Running on Air, that proposes to teach a runner how to breathe to maximize speed and endurance. Obviously, I've ordered it and it's on the way. I'll do a review once I read it.

The part that caught my attention was a proposition that the way we breathe and run is incorrect. Specifically, the use of even numbers which means that we always begin a breathing cycle on the same foot. Since belly-breathing loosens the core during an inhalation, this creates an imbalance that taxes the leg/side that begins the breathing cycle. 

Interesting idea, hence the ordering of the book. 

The other claim that was interesting was that the average runner uses about 60 percent of their lung capacity. Since breathing is always my limiting factor, it's an area where I have the greatest potential for improvement. I suspect that this is true of the kids I coach. 

The downside is that I don't think I can fully teach the ideas to the kids in the short junior high season. I can, however, introduce it to them and start the process. 

Might have to give up on a novel . . .

I'm in the midst of writing a couple of different novels. One, The Lonesome Mile, I had planned to set in Colorado. One of the  underlying themes of the story was the struggle that an aging miler faced with his own professional demise - and the allure of PED's to extend that life.

The coach in the story is a piece of work, a do-anything-to-beat-the-Kenyans type of guy. I don't know anyone like that, but that's why I write fiction.

Unfortunately, that whole story line blew up in the last month. First came the stunning announcement that Rita Jeptoo tested positive on her A sample. Then, the implosion of the Russian Federation athletes' doping scandal.

In a reprise of cold war rhetoric, Russian Athletic Federation president Valentin Balakhnichev said, “The federation believe the documentary was a provocation aimed at discrediting Russian sport.” 

So, national events have overtaken the basis for my novel. I can't claim to be surprised. I wrote about different aspects of the doping problem in This System Fails Kids. I also hinted at it in a more recent article, Here's how to get more media coverage for running - if you dare.

What I have to figure out now is whether this is still a story worth writing. My first guess is 'yes' but I'll have to do some modifications of the plot and perhaps shorten it to a long short story instead.

I do expect an avalanche of non-fiction to hit the shelves in short order. They'll give us the why's and how's, but I wonder how deeply they'll look at the emotional motivations of the cheaters and the systemic abuse of trust by the coaches of those athletes. If they don't, I probably will.

In the meantime, I'm working on a story that a pair of young ladies from Mead High School have asked for.

And we'll see. I really wish my story idea had stayed the stuff of imagination and fiction, not tawdry headlines, tarnished reputations, and tainted accomplishments.

Palouse Road Runners Book Club

Well, it seems a natural fit. The Palouse Road Runners, along with the Beer Chasers, have a book club that meets, I think, monthly. A while back I saw that they were tackling "Once a Runner" by John L. Parker. This month, the book is "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Mirukami.

I'm reasonably sure that this is the first time that I have heard of a book club affiliated with a running group. That is a bit of surprise, because most of the runners that I know are also readers. (Yep, I know, anecdotal evidence and a small sample size.)

I read a lot of running books - this one has been on my list, so I should pick it up and perhaps join some other folks with aligned interests. 

Anyone else's running group have a book club? And, if you want to join in on the PRR club, they're meeting at The Daily Grind in Pullman on January 19th at 7PM - everyone is welcome.

End of the World Run, 2014.

'Tis the season and all that jazz. The End of the World run, which started with the Mayan prediction of a gloomy Christmas in 2012, is back. Saturday, December 20th at 10 AM. You have a choice of 2 and 5 miles. Click here for race entry forms. The race benefits Asotin Cross Country.

Yours truly will be handling timing duties. I may or may not have an assistant.

We usually have some prizes, too.

Huffington Post Live

I'll be on HuffPost Live at 9:30 AM this morning, yakking about stress and the holidays.

If you have time, I hope that you can tune in.

http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/holidays-stress-family-holiday-travel/547db6312b8c2a618a000008

Ice- It's not just dangerous for cars

Long ago, in a body quicker and more nimble, I went out one Sunday for a long run. I got exactly as far as the front porch before hitting the ground.

Clearly I wasn't still living in SoCal where a 'winter' run involved a long sleeve shirt. Bruised ribs weren't going to stop me from getting my run in, though, so I took off from my house in Moscow, ran across town and the University of Idaho campus.

I picked up the Chipman Trail at the edge of town and headed for Pullman. Hah! Nothing stops a determined runner.

Two more hard falls on the trail and I came to the stunning realization that I just wasn't that frickin' dedicated. I called my wife from the Chevrom in Pullman and she kindly fetched me from near-certain injury. As it was, it took a week for everything to heal.

Fortunately, nothing was broken. A friend of mine, Lance, wasn't as lucky and finished with a concussion on his run.

Running on ice is more than tricky - it can be downright hazardous. So, a couple of thoughts from a guy with memories of bruises.

First, decide if there might not be another way to get the run in. We runners are creatures of habit. If the long run is supposed to happen on Sunday morning at 7am, by golly, we're going to make it happen. Consider that at 1PM, the ice might have melted. Opt for changing your schedule instead of trusting to your luck.

If you do have to go at 7AM, try running in Yak Trax. I've never used them but friends that have say they work well in crappy conditions. All the sporting goods stores have them this time of year or you can snag them on Amazon.

The last, and least desirable option, is the treadmill. Given that 15 minutes feel interminable on the 'dreadmill' for me, all I can do is wish you good luck. I forget which US marathoner (from Alaska, I think, and female) did all her long run training for Boston on a treadmill about a decade ago. It can be done.

If all else fails, skip the run. Sacrilege! But a better option than breaking an ankle, a hip, or our noggin.

Good Luck, run gently, fall more gently if you happen to go down.

Evergreen Aerospace Museum

I made an interesting discovery while in the Portland area. They have an aerospace museum. More accurately, McMinnville hosts the Evergreen Aerospace Museum.

A short digression - the museum sits next to the waterpark. The entire gang, minus me, went and all the kids had an absolute blast. Dozens of slides and pools. Four of the slides start in the body of a 747 set on the roof. The youngest ground-mobile granddaughter floated the wave pool while a pair of nieces went dare-deviling all over the place. 

Why didn't I go? Opted for a trip to the Portland Running Company. Love those folks and, since I don't have a running store close, I try to make an effort to swing into PRC when I'm in town. Left with new gear to replace some of my older (more than a decade older) stuff. 

Back to the museum. From the instant you enter, the Spruce Goose dominates the rather large hall. 

For scale, look at the people on the gangway. The windows that you see along the fuselage are passenger observation windows. The actual cockpit sit on top of that - see the little windows waaaay up there? 

Inside, it feels like a whale swallowed you and your companions in one gulp, except maybe a little roomier. Though the ribbing appears to be metal, the majority of the airframe was constructed of wood. Birch, not spruce but I can't think of any birds that rhyme with birch and I guess neither could the original reporters. An amazing piece of engineering. 

The exhibits left plenty of maneuvering room and it never felt crowded. Most exhibits had signage with historical information about the pieces. 

I loved that my  grandson, Jeffrey, got intrigued enough to look over the boards. A first-grader, the verbiage was a touch of his head, but the combination of pictures got him to stop and assess. Very smooth production by the museum. 

Over course, the big kids lingered too. Two of my sons-in-law were there and, at various points, we would scatter like quail, each heading for a different part of the exhibit. 

I found a little aircraft, built from a kit by a Moses Lake man, that stood scarcely taller than an average Duffau grandchild. I'm now lobbying Jeffrey's dad to build an airplane for the kids. The four of us, three adults and one child, decided it would be a 'good' thing, educational even. I'm betting I can get a couple of granddaughters on board. The wives might take a little persuading. . . .

I found a P-38, a World War II aircraft that has always been my favorite for reasons I can't explain. They also had an engine for one, a V-12 brute. Apparently, the engines came in right and left rotations to reduce the torque on the airframe. Interesting stuff to the nerds among us. 

The Evergreen Aerospace Museum also owns a DeHaviland DH-4 that still holds an airworthiness certificate. These aircraft started as single-engine bombers in WWI and were adopted by the US Post Office for the original Air Mail service.  I'm guessing that when I'm pushing a hundred years old, I won't be nearly as able to fly high. Of course, the DH-4 is seeing much better maintenance. 

We hit the theater - they have multiple shows every day - for a documentary on D-Day. I think Peter Jennings narrated but didn't catch the credits. The show was well-done and in 3-D.

We only covered one building of the exhibit as  Jeffrey started to wear down, plus we had to get back for a surprise birthday party. We didn't get to look at the more modern planes, some arranged on the exterior, F-16's, F-18's, an F-4. Inside the other building where we ate a reasonably priced lunch, were drones, including one that I think, if I am recalling my old comic books correctly, was a V-2 rocket. 

On the way out, Will noticed that not only do they have a tank exhibit outside but you get to climb in. Gonna have to come back. 

Warehouse Beach - Taking a break on the drive to Portland

Once I got older, which corresponded nicely with the kids growing up and moving out, road trips became much more relaxed. Without the need to get from Point A to Point B at warp speed before one of the kids - or all three, in series or parallel - had a meltdown, I schedule with a little more driving time. I also schedule a run.

On the way to Portland, I diverted through Walla Walla and dropped down into the Columbia River Valley. Sadly, the temps dipped down with me. It was partly sunny with the mercury sitting in the 60's. Short sleeve weather in late November. Yay!

Instead, a cloying fog attached itself to the river and the thermometer showed about 42 degrees. Fortunately, by the time I got to Warehouse Beach, the sun had melted some of the fog and got it back to short-sleeve weather, in just barely.

I did end up with an audience watching as a ran up one of the sharp short bluffs. The deer posed for a picture, then dropped over the edge far more gracefully than I will ever manage.

Once you leave the old rail bed, single track extends in a dozen different directions. Some are well developed, some are not much more than deer trails, and all of them are sandy. If you're thinking of turning a fast five miles out here, forget it. Plan on a slow but pleasant five. 

Ducking down towards the river puts you on a narrow trail surrounded by scrub. 

If you head to the river, vistas up- and down-stream greet you. I ran out here the last time under brilliant blue skies. The view, sharp-edged with the basalt cliffs across the Columbia, combined with the sky and clouds, is worth the price of admission. Which, by the way, is free to the park. 

Warehouse Beach is about 12-15 miles east of Umatilla along Highway 730 at Landing Road. Next door is Hat Rock State Park. That's my stop on the return trip.

Running vs. the Holidays

I don’t know about the rest of you, but the month coming up – from Thanksgiving through Christmas – traditionally stresses me out, especially with my running.

For most people, the holiday season is one long party, starting with the traditional stuffing of turkeys on Thanksgiving to the final gluttony of New Year’s Eve. In between, parties at work, or at church, family get-togethers before everyone scatters for the actual holiday, the needs to go shopping . . .

For runners, every bit of that cuts into time for running. If you are anything like me, your inner Grinch stomps out if you don’t get your run in (for me, a double-whammy if I don’t also write.) On top of the “did-I-get-the-right-sweater?” stress, you have the internal stress.

The body only does so much with stress before starting to go into failure mode. Let's avoid that, shall we?

I have two pieces of complementary advice:

First, de-prioritize your running. Unless you have a major race very early in the year, going into maintenance running for a month isn’t going to wipe you out and, if you’ve been training at a very high level for a while, might even help. If you do have a major race, you’ll have to hit your key workouts, but some of the easy runs can be truncated or even eliminated without too much damage to your race performance.

The latter approach worked well for me when I ran a January marathon in San Diego. Probably my best effort at the distance, though not my fastest, I came through the holidays without the five pound penalty, put in another pair of high quality weeks after Christmas and hit the taper. The result was a PR with a one minute negative split and a totally fried pair of legs at the end. Success, in other words.

The second piece of advice? De-prioritize the holidays. I know, it sounds like sacrilege. The fundamentals of the holidays do not require us to race from mall to specialty shop in search of the next big thing in gifts. Nothing says that you have to attend every single party. As a matter of fact, you don’t have to go to more than a couple – one for work if they have one, one for your kids if you have any.

I am not saying you can’t go to more, just be consciously selective of the activities that you choose. You’ll lose runs to the holiday activities, but the reverse is acceptable. It’s okay to say no to an activity with the reason of, “I’d rather go for a run.”

If they accuse you of not being in the Christmas mode, you have my permission to offer this additional explanation:

“I’m going to run this evening in a neighborhood with terrific Christmas displays. I would rather celebrate the season that way than in a stuffy room where I will over-indulge in food and drink. I will be happier, healthier, and more appreciative at the end of that run.”

Or you could tell them to go pound sand. I prefer the tactful approach, at least at first.

People that know and like you will accept the first answer. The trick is finding the balance that works for you. Running vs. holidays? How about both, in moderation?

How far are you really racing?

Treadmill running? Thank goodness for basketball!

Some people can hop on a treadmill and, an hour later, feel that warm glow of a great workout.

I hop on a treadmill and whine, which is why I do it as little as possible. It can be twelve degrees from zero (on the positive side, mind you) and, if the sun is shining, I'll opt to go out the door rather than mount the treadmill in my office.

Still, there are occasions when I'll put the belt in motion and try to get some running in. Tonight will be one of them. I'm babysitting a dog and the weather outside damp, so I'm going to run indoors. For a little bit.

I seem to have a built-on regulator that recognizes the fact that I haven't gone anywhere in fifteen minutes and hits the boredom switch in my brain. I'll spend two happy hours on trails, constantly moving but blow up in minutes indoors.

So, I've learned to trick my brain. Unlike a friend who re-watches the original Star Wars trilogy to death on the treadmill, I use college basketball. I put a monitor on the wall and have it set to stream games from the computer. (Yes, cable might be less complicated - I don't have cable or satellite.)

I've tried movies. Nope, doesn't work. Neither does standard TV fare.

But basketball games do. The action flows continuously except for commercial breaks, so I use the breaks to do fartleks, the game time as recovery. Doing it this way, I get some running in, even a bit of intensity if I want it. I still wouldn't call it pleasurable, but it can be survivable,  except in loose ball situations. I have been known to get so involved in the game that I try to go after loose balls. The family knows the sound, me crashing into the side rails, then muttering about my own foolishness.

They think it's funny. Mostly so do I.

Because I get involved in the game, time passes much more quickly and I get a much better run than if I tried to grunt it out on the treadmill.

 Still doesn't beat outside but it's much better than nothing.  Sometimes running, like politics, is the art of the possible, not the ideal.

It's a good day for the dog

Our old guy of a dog looks his age. He's a Chesapeake Bay Retriever who the vets predicted would be dead by age eight. As a pup, he got badly mauled by a neighbor dog/wolf cross. Thousands of dollars later, Stitch looked like Frankendog and developed a severe paranoia of both vets and the car that took him to the vet.

Then he went in for x-rays and exited with more sutures, this time to remove tubes that got missed on the first round of surgeries. That's when the vets told us that he had bad elbows, messed up hips, and a life expectancy of seven, maybe eight years.

Stitch was still in puppy phase and didn't care. He was my middle daughter's dog, though he adopted me as well. He retrieved tennis balls since he couldn't go into the field, and smiled, happy to be 'productive'.

He still retrieves the same paper every day. We don't have it delivered, so my wife tosses it out when she gets up. Stitch waits until I get up to get the paper so he can bring it back to me. For a fee, of course. A cookie for good work, a smile from the dog. Happy to please, he is.

Same with retrieving tennis balls. He wants to, but yesterday, after fetching a couple, did the doggy version of "Hey, boss? I'ma hurtin' and could use a break." Inside we went and he got his treats.

The treats are important - he's hungry all the time. At seven, he developed Cushing's disease and the options are to poison him until he's cured or has Addison's, or to let the Cushing's follow the normal course.

Cushing's makes him hungry all the time, and thirsty. His weight ballooned so we put him on a diet. Clearly a first-world type of problem, but we cook his meals now. It's nearly as cheap as the dog food was and he lost most of the excess weight. Ten minutes of prep twice a week to make the food and Stitch supervises, hoping for something to fall from the cutting board.

Someday the Cushing's will kill him, or a heart attack, but today he fetched the paper. He moved with a gimp but it was better than yesterday. Yesterday we gave him an extra pill, an aspirin, which seems to help sometimes more than the more powerful medications he gets daily. For the first half of the day after trying to retrieve and asking to be relieved, he laid on his bed and watched us instead of following us around.

The aspirin helped.

Today was a good day for the dog. He didn't seem to hurt as much, and ran for the paper instead of walking. At one point or another, he brought all his toys for approval - and a treat, always a treat. He's a working dog, and expects his pay.

Stitch is closing in on twelve years old now. Some days are hard on him, but he's proved the vets wrong and keeps proving it every day, not that he cares. He's simply living, completely in this moment and appreciating it.

But we know it won't be too much longer. The signs are there, and the balance of good days and hard days is beginning to tip away. Still, he meets the day with a smile, and an eagerness to try to please. So until the inevitable, he gets an extra treat, a few more minutes of belly rubs, and slow walks that don't tax him too much.

As long as it's a good day for the dog, it awfully hard for us to have too bad a day.

Hells Gate State Park

I keep intending to get pictures of Hells Gate State Park since I run there at least once a week. Finally, some follow-through. For those visiting the Lewis-Clark Valley, Hell's Gate State Park is up the Snake River about two miles from town.

Depending on your mood, you choices include single track trail, jeep trails, and even a bit of pavement.

You also get a variety of routes. I typically start at the trailhead by the archery range where the horse trailers normally park in the busy seasons. In the picture, that would be off to the right side.  If you blow up the picture, you can see my blue FJ down in the parking area. From there, I follow the single track up to the jeep trail you see.

Once you reach this little plateau, you can head up towards the power lines  or running more of a rolling hills route to the back edge of the park. For those that want all flat, all the time, stay down by the river.

The single track to the left runs at about a 30 degree slope.

I used to go up a bomber climb on the face of the hill but the Park Service decided to close the trail for restoration. Instead, you switchback up. Not nearly as challenging.  

There is also a trail that branches off the edge of the switchback to the right. Definitely a treat to run as it bops up and down on short rollers. None of the ups on that side-trail will leave you winded while the downhills encourage some fast playful footwork.

Today, I looped out to the back on the jeep trail, switching out to single track to head deeper into the park. The total distance on this run is about 4.4 miles and none of it qualifies as challenging, though a few stretches have a little bit of technical running involved. Most of the time, a second fork gets created by the horseback riders who don't want to risk their steeds. When I night run out here, I usually slide down to the easier path.

If you follow the switchback up to the top and head out on the ridge, you have a couple of choices coming back down. One is Devil's Slide which is pretty runnable if you are careful and the footing isn't wet. When the dirt turns to mud, traction drops to zero. You may find your velocity increasing rapidly though. Running up it is an adventure in a "three-steps-forward, two-steps-(sliding)-back kind of way. Fun.

Devils Slide to the middle, the technical trail tracing through the ravine just to the left, and another side trail that loops back to the jeep trail.

The second choice is a technical trails that winds down through the ravine. In the winter, it gets icy. In the summer, it gets overgrown and rattlesnakes like to hide and shock the unwary.

All these trail come together at the bottom, so if you're in the midst of a group run, you can set out in different directions depending on how sprightly everyone is feeling and still meet up later for some of the other stretches.

Some day, in the not too-distant future, I want to GPS the hill version of the run and get a semi-accurate distance on it.

The views from the top of the ridge extend to Oregon. When thunderstorms roll in, you can watch the sky light up with the flashes as you trace the progress of the storm on the horizon. Of course, sitting totally exposed to weather on a regional high point is going to earn you questionable looks from loved ones.

The footing is pretty good except when it's wet. Most of the trails have a sandy feel to them though you need to keep your eyes on the lookout for the stray toe-catching rock. Some of the trails have deep sand. Not my favorite running surface but easy on impact force. The main trails stay pretty clear of vegetation, so you can see your footing. After a major windstorm, the trails tend to collect tumbleweeds, and the ravines capture a lot of them, too.

If you really need to have pavement, there's a paved trail in the camping area of the park that will lead you to the greenbelt levee trails of Lewiston and Clarkston. You can, if you want, get in a marathon length long run without ever having to go up a hill steeper that a bridge over the river. All sorts of variations exist.

For those interested in visiting, cabins and camp spaces are available year round. The cabins line the river. The camping spaces (shown in the picture) include wonderful open spaces. The park does allow dogs but would not qualify, in my opinion, as being very dog friendly.