2014 Cannondale F29 5, 1st new bike in a decade

 

It's nice to have a new bike to hit the trails. This is my 1st Cannondale and Lefty. Now with about 50 miles on it and really enjoing the ride. The stiffness and responsiveness of the Lefty is amazing. Prior to this I tried out a Scott Scale 710. A full carbon 27.5" hard tail. l feel the 29er is the way to go. Felt more in control and stable on this platform. Plus my riding consists of laps at Harbison. This is a 29er kind of trail., flatish, wide, and fast. Then I find myself exploring the dirt roads of Lexington County. With miles of sandy dirt roads just waiting for a 29er to take control.

Green Diamond 10x10

Lately I do not speak too much about what I do for exercise. Just that I am trying to stay in shape. So when a workout comes up that excites me like this I have to mention it. Now back up to March when I began trying some Crossift type workouts at home. Mostly body weight dynamic movements and higher intensity efforts. The sporadic nature and diversity of the movements helps fight off boredom. Now onto the excitement part.
I came up with this workout while suffering through another 5:30am workout at North Side Middle Ball Fields. The Green Diamond 10x10 is the name. It goes like this. Four stations, six movements, and two sprint intervals. Starting in the outfield by the foul pole (yellow pole in pic), 10 push-ups.
 

Then perform lunges toward 1st base to next station. Roughly 100' in length. Station 2 is burpees, 10 of them. Then run (sprint 70%) on a diagonal across the the filed to the foul pole in left field. Now 3rd station, 10 air squats then bear craw up the foul line towards 3rd base (about 100') to the fourth station. Here at station 4 you knock out 10 situps, then sprint to the start. Now repeat 9 more times. WOW! Totaling out with 100 push-ups, 100+ lunges, 100 air squats, 1000' bear craws, 100 sit-ups, and 20 sprints in 49 minutes. I am happy with this an will try to improve on the time.

An Ole' Friend: 32x19

It's been a real longtime, oh yes it has. As it hung in the garage for over three years. I just could not bring myself to clean the caked on Pisgah soil from it's last adventure at PMBAR. So the time has come to dust the ole' Rig off! Happy Father's Day to me with a ride around Harbison. It's been bitter sweet this year for many reasons but we have to move on. Sometimes it just takes an old friend to help clear your head.

It's been a long long time.....

 

 First ride completed over 30mi since May 2011. Wow has it been that long since I've graced the roads of Lexington County with my presence.

New Years Day Ride 2009

Epic 24 22013

  My my where has the time gone? Well it's been a few years of trail running mostly. Looking forward to seeing more saddle time in 2014.
 

Harbison 50k Report

Yay finally made it back to the finish line of an Ultra distance trail race. The finish at the Harbison 50k this year ended a 2 year layoff. Finally over coming some iffy fitness and a reoccurring ankle issue.

50k PR 5:12

The course layout was two laps of 16ish miles. Including a portion of Lost Creek, X Connector, Stewardship, Midlands Mountain, Spider woman and The Bluffs trails. A good mix of many types of trails and very familiar trails to say the least.
 
My plan was to average a 10 min pace overall. Now the big question was to go out quick, build a bank on time then survive over the second half. Or go out with some sense and build over the second half. Luckily with this being a local course and knowledge of where the difficult sections will be was key. Plus the addition of having friends to run with.

So from the get go I paired with Rick for a an even pace run (option 2).  We kept each other in check. This was a critical point for me to keep in mind. With my longest run of 20 miles coming just two weeks prior to the event. I had some real concerns after the 3 hour point in the race.

First lap was steady. This would sum it up. Steady through the aid stations. Just keeping up with the calories and fluids. Knowing the 20 mile mark was lurking ahead. Steady through Spider Woman. Had to really hold back the excitement here. I slipped off the pace a bit but hovered just outside of my goal pace.

All is well? Yep! Onto the second lap. Still paired with Rick. We picked our way along. Passing a few runners here and there. Meeting folks from all over. Really cool to see where folks have traveled from to experience Harbison.

As we neared the exit of Lost Creek I mentioned to Rick that we had just passed the 20 mile mark. So from her on I was in uncharted waters. Not sure as to how I would hold up. Stayed the course on the overall plan. Luckily Rick is a seasoned vet at this distance and he took the lead from here on. The goals began to change a bit. Now I was just trying to run the Connector and Stewardship trails. Don't walk till the switchbacks. Goal accomplished. What a relief it was to walk a bit.  

I began to slow a bit from here. Spider Woman was up next. Managed to convince myself to run the downs and walk the ups. It seemed to work out well. for me. By the time I exited Spider Woman I had a little peep left to conquer the Bluffs in a similar fashion. Onto the final fire road sections I wanted to run the entire bit. Not an easy feat but the end was near and I really wanted to stick the goal. 

Finishing was the icing on the cake for me. To find Erin and Wesley waiting at the finish was such a treat. I know he will not remember it but I will never forget it. A mini milestone I guess.

2012 Review - Shocker

Hello all - Yes I am still here. With 2012 in the books, it's been a heck of a year. So I just wanted to document some stats from this past year. Ha the Garmin facts say it all. Seven trips out on the bike for the year 2012. That's right less than 100 miles on two wheels. Probably the first time in over a decade WOW! Shocker indeed, but there was more important things to attend to. 

2012 Outings, Dis,Time
Run - 163, 750.9mi, 117:45
Trail Run - 24, 234.1mi, 37:04
Bike - 7, 97.0mi, 8:20
Blog - 3

2011
Run - 157, 972.7mi, 158:57
Trail Run - 39, 453.8mi, 77:35
Bike - 22, 411.4mi, 39:11
Blog - 6

2010
Run - 176, 1212mi, 197:10
Trail Run - 66, 723.7mi, 122:10
Bike - 36, 780.16mi, 68:56
Blog - 14

2009
Run - 126, 745.9mi, 114:43
Trail Run - 30, 305.3mi, 49:57
Bike - 18, 448.39mi, 30:57
Blog - 14

Saluda Mountain Passage - Preview

Great news on the trail front for the state of SC. It seems the diligent folks at the Palmetto Conservation Foundation have been hard at work extending the Palmetto Trail in the upstate. The Saluda Mountain Passage is a 9.1 mile section starting at Orchard Lake Campground. It looks to be a continuation of the Blue Wall & Poinsett Reservoir Passage.  
Last fall I teamed up with some trail running buddies and explored the Blue Wall & Poinsett Reservoir Passages. The out and back combination made for an 18 mile journey through the leaf covered trails. Cool to have a trail system like such in place around the state. This combo could become an Ultra distance run in the future. Looking forward to exploring this section come fall.

Related Article

Fall 2011 in Review

10/22/11 - Blue Wall Preserve, SC - Palmetto Trail Section
In a desperate attempt to get in some climbing prior to Shut-In. This trail was easy to get to from the Columbia area. So a group of Harbison Trail Runners loaded up and headed to the Tryon area of SC. Plan was to hook The Blue Wall and The Poinsett Passage Trail together for an out-back route. So you have a trail section on each end with a gravel road section in the middle. Made fro a great 20mi trail run warm up for Shut-In. There will most certainly be a return trip in 2012.



























11/05/11 - Shut-In Ridge Trail Race, Bridge Parkway NC
Felt ok just not great for a PR attempt. Started out in the top 25. Rolled an ankle 6 miles into race. Collected my thoughts and emotions to carry on. After failed attempts to run on. Watching over 100 runners go by. I had to hobble/shuffle 6 miles to Bent Creek AS. At this time minutes in front of the sweep I had to pull the plug and drop here.

Group Shot of Harbison Trail Runners

Injured and crippled

11/30/12 - DNR Heritage Preserve, Calhoun County
A quick 3mi rehab jog/walk on a trail I've been eying for a while. Trail is short with a lot of fire break style. Some lush bits with very little traffic. Not a wise trail choice in the summer or hunting season.

Panorama View from observation deck

12/17/12 - Trip to the ER.
Who gets injured feeding the dogs? Well me of course.
Eight stitches to close my index finger on a Friday evening.