Monday, July 30, 2012
By The Numbers - TDG is The Toughest Mountain Ultra on the Planet
CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS...
I was supposed to go to this race as a supporter. I still don't know how I ended up being registered. I guess it was the idea that this was a new challenge...a chance to test myself in an environment that was unfamiliar to me as an athlete.
I am glad that I took on this challenge. It has been a very steep learning curve so far...but I think it will ultimately make me a better runner. I have become stronger and have enjoyed some new training drills. I am anxious to see how this will improve my performance in desert racing.
Everyone who has done this race has told me that it is tough...really tough. I decided to take a look at the numbers and see how this race compared to other mountain ultramarathons. Numbers don't lie. And the numbers show that this race is...BY FAR...
THE TOUGHEST MOUNTAIN ULTRA IN THE WORLD!
TOR DES GEANTS....Courmayeur, Italy
Distance...200 miles/330 km
Elevation Gain...24,000 meters
Time...One stage, 150 hours
****************************************************************************
ULTRA- TRAIL du MONT- BLANC...Switzerland, France, Italy
Distance...104 miles/168 km
Elevation Gain...9,600 meters
Time...46 hours
TRANSALPINE- RUN...Germany, Italy, Austria
Distance...198 miles/320 km
Elevation Gain...15,000 meters
Time...8 Day Stage Race
TRANSROCKIES RUN...Colorado, United States
Distance...120 miles/193 km
Elevation Gain...6,000 meters
Time...6 Day Stage Race
HARDROCK 100...Colorado, United States
Distance...100 miles/160 km
Elevation Gain...10,360 meters
Time...48 hours
BARKLEY MARATHONS...Tennessee, United States
Distance...100 miles/160 km
Elevation Gain...18,000 meters
Time...60 hours
LA PETITE TROTTE A LEON...Switzerland, France, Italy
Distance...180 miles/290 km
Elevation Gain...22,000 meters elevation gain
Time...138 hours
DEFI DE L'OISANS...France
Distance...124 miles/200 km
Elevation Gain...12,000 meters
Time...8 Day Stage Race
CANADIAN DEATH RACE...Alberta, Canada
Distance...77 miles/125 km
Elevation Gain...5,181 meters
Time...24 hours
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Hallucinations I Have Known and Loved
CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD, TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS.
There are certain things in life I just love. I love food....I Thank God I was born to run so that I can eat. I love ice cubes in my drinks...anything from milk to beer. I love hot showers. After a race I can stand under a hot shower forever and savor every second. And I love to sleep.
I am a master sleeper. Since I was a child I have loved to sleep. I used to be able to control my dreams. My favorite thing to do was visualize a map and I would pick out a country and literally fly there in my dreams. I have the gift of being able to fall asleep within seconds...and nothing wakes me up. With all the training I do I need my 8 hours or I am not 100 percent.
This is why I think I will suffer in this upcoming 200 mile non-stop race in Italy. It is the longest race I will have done to date. It is going to be a very tough race. My main goal is to finish the thing under the cutoff time of 150 hours. That is just short of 6 days. To finish...I have to keep moving because I am not fast in the mountains. This means I have to get by on as little sleep as possible...and yet get enough sleep to function. I am fully expecting to have hallucinations.
I know I will have hallucinations because I have experienced them in the past when I have become deathly tired. Let me share a couple of them with you.
HALLUCINATION #1
The first major hallucination I experienced was at the 2002 Marathon des Sables. It was my third time doing this event. I was suffering from an IT band inflammation and I had slowed down considerably by day four...which was always the long day of approximately 80 kilometers.
We woke up in our tents on Day Four and there was a major sandstorm brewing. The wind was whipping the sand around and people's tents were collapsing around them. Organizers were trying to decide what to do. Hold the stage as usual...delay the stage...or cancel the stage. It was decided that we should push ahead. As it turns out...this was the first time that the long stage would be held through the sand dunes. We were heading into trouble.
The winds raged all day long. It was a long slow day that slowly turned to dusk. As night settled in athletes were being given safety instructions as they headed back into the storm. We were given information on what to do should we get lost and were advised to only head out in groups. As luck would have it I hooked up with a group of burly British guys, some of whom were soldiers. One guy was the designated navigator. He knew the compass like the back of his hand. He led the way, and the rest of us followed in a line.
As we came to a huge dune, he would decide if we were going to go around it or climb up it. Climbing it was hard. I would get 3/4's of the way up and then the wind would knock me down. I would crawl on my hands and knees to the lip of the dune. As my head crested the top I would get blasted in the face by the wind and sand. It felt like staring into a blowdryer while someone was throwing a bucket of sand at you. The sand was like a million needles pricking the body and stinging the flesh. At the top we would get up and we would do a head count to make sure we hadn't left anyone behind. This had gone on for hours and hours.
It was early morning darkness...the witching hours. We had made it out of the dunes and had a few miles to go before getting to camp. After awhile we could see the lights off in the distance. They were so close, and yet so far away. I was completely physically and mentally exhausted. I was power walking behind a guy who kept me moving. He was using poles and in the shadows thrown by my headlamp, it looked like his fists were really huge and the sticks were really short, kind of like both hands holding daggers. Each time he planted a pole in the ground, it looked like a stabbing motion.
The old movie, "The Shining" leapt into my mind. I could hear the words being chanted from that horror film saying "REDRUM...REDRUM" which is murder said backwards. I kept whipping my head around to see who was behind me trying to stab me in the back. Part of my mind was telling me there was nothing there...and yet the other half of my brain was saying "Look out...someone is trying to kill you" Let me tell you...it sounds ridiculous, and yet to me it was very real. It scared the hell out of me.
We made it across the finish line that night and immediately made our way to our tents and collapsed. I fell asleep as soon as I hit the ground. In the morning I shared my hallucinations with the guy I was with. He confided to me that he too had hallucinated. It looked like he was so confident leading the way. But as it turns out...he said he was just following the fish that were swimming up ahead of him in the sand.
HALLUCINATION #2
This too was at the Marathon des Sables. It was in 2008, my 9th consecutive year participating in my favorite race to date. I have always loved this event, but for some reason I always have had bad luck here. I have never had a good race at MDS...I have always had better luck at every other competition I have done.
This year my feet were destroyed. I mean they were literally torn up by the sand and looked like raw hamburger meat. I have no idea how this happened. None. I felt like I had done everything the same as I had always done...and yet for some reason this happened. By the long stage I was in severe pain. It was Day Four and I was heading out yet again into the night.
I didn't know it, but I was dead last. I was in agony putting one foot in front of the other. It felt like my feet were literally on fire. I would actually hesitate before setting each foot down because I dreaded the ensuing pain. I had tears in my eyes, but I wasn't crying. I came to a rocky field and my feet screamed at the pain of molding to the uneven ground beneath. And then it came. Relief.
I began to hallucinate or envision that I was taking off all of my clothing and gear. This was completely an involuntary state-of-being. I stood naked in the moonlight and lay down on the rocks, but felt no pain. I placed my pack over my privates and crossed my arms over my chest. I knew this would be how I was found in the morning. I saw my energy form leave my body. I watched the glowing energy particles rise like a fog in the darkness...hovering and then slowly making its way into the night. I let myself go. It was all over.
I don't know if that lasted one second, or minutes or hours. But the next thing I knew is that I was aware... and that the camels were upon me. The last person in the race is always accompanied by two camels and their handlers. People in camp called them "Camels of the Apocalypse". They had caught up to me after watching me weave for hours. I was beginning to go off course. They were there to help me reach camp. They couldn't understand much English...and I couldn't speak their language, but we managed to get by with hand signals, a few words and gestures. They knew I was in pain and I felt they were there to comfort me and help me.
At last I could see the finish line. All the organizers had come out to greet me and they were yelling and encouraging me forward. A competitor that was still up came running out to get me and help me in. I crossed the finish line and Patrick Bauer came forward and gave me a big kiss and a hug. I love that man. He is so great. He was always so cheerful and full of energy. I asked him if I had made it in under the cutoff time. He didn't answer my question directly. He just looked at me and said not to worry...if I wanted to continue in the race...if I was able to continue...I could go on. I thanked him, and I thanked everyone around me. I looked back and smiled at the camel handlers and waved. And then the competitor (I wish I knew who it was) helped me to my tent. I collapsed and fell asleep.
CONCLUSION...
So, now you know why I am expecting hallucinations during this next race. I know I am going to be tired...and I know I am going be physically spent. I have heard of people getting so exhausted during the Tor des Geants that they fall asleep during midstride. There are stories galore of people collapsing and getting broken and bruised and scraped up. I just hope that I have worked out a strategy that will have me getting enough sleep that I can continue to compete, but not oversleep that I can't make it to the cutoff points and get disqualified. It is all strategy Baby! Here is hoping I get it right!
There are certain things in life I just love. I love food....I Thank God I was born to run so that I can eat. I love ice cubes in my drinks...anything from milk to beer. I love hot showers. After a race I can stand under a hot shower forever and savor every second. And I love to sleep.
I am a master sleeper. Since I was a child I have loved to sleep. I used to be able to control my dreams. My favorite thing to do was visualize a map and I would pick out a country and literally fly there in my dreams. I have the gift of being able to fall asleep within seconds...and nothing wakes me up. With all the training I do I need my 8 hours or I am not 100 percent.
This is why I think I will suffer in this upcoming 200 mile non-stop race in Italy. It is the longest race I will have done to date. It is going to be a very tough race. My main goal is to finish the thing under the cutoff time of 150 hours. That is just short of 6 days. To finish...I have to keep moving because I am not fast in the mountains. This means I have to get by on as little sleep as possible...and yet get enough sleep to function. I am fully expecting to have hallucinations.
I know I will have hallucinations because I have experienced them in the past when I have become deathly tired. Let me share a couple of them with you.
HALLUCINATION #1
The first major hallucination I experienced was at the 2002 Marathon des Sables. It was my third time doing this event. I was suffering from an IT band inflammation and I had slowed down considerably by day four...which was always the long day of approximately 80 kilometers.
We woke up in our tents on Day Four and there was a major sandstorm brewing. The wind was whipping the sand around and people's tents were collapsing around them. Organizers were trying to decide what to do. Hold the stage as usual...delay the stage...or cancel the stage. It was decided that we should push ahead. As it turns out...this was the first time that the long stage would be held through the sand dunes. We were heading into trouble.
The winds raged all day long. It was a long slow day that slowly turned to dusk. As night settled in athletes were being given safety instructions as they headed back into the storm. We were given information on what to do should we get lost and were advised to only head out in groups. As luck would have it I hooked up with a group of burly British guys, some of whom were soldiers. One guy was the designated navigator. He knew the compass like the back of his hand. He led the way, and the rest of us followed in a line.
As we came to a huge dune, he would decide if we were going to go around it or climb up it. Climbing it was hard. I would get 3/4's of the way up and then the wind would knock me down. I would crawl on my hands and knees to the lip of the dune. As my head crested the top I would get blasted in the face by the wind and sand. It felt like staring into a blowdryer while someone was throwing a bucket of sand at you. The sand was like a million needles pricking the body and stinging the flesh. At the top we would get up and we would do a head count to make sure we hadn't left anyone behind. This had gone on for hours and hours.
It was early morning darkness...the witching hours. We had made it out of the dunes and had a few miles to go before getting to camp. After awhile we could see the lights off in the distance. They were so close, and yet so far away. I was completely physically and mentally exhausted. I was power walking behind a guy who kept me moving. He was using poles and in the shadows thrown by my headlamp, it looked like his fists were really huge and the sticks were really short, kind of like both hands holding daggers. Each time he planted a pole in the ground, it looked like a stabbing motion.
The old movie, "The Shining" leapt into my mind. I could hear the words being chanted from that horror film saying "REDRUM...REDRUM" which is murder said backwards. I kept whipping my head around to see who was behind me trying to stab me in the back. Part of my mind was telling me there was nothing there...and yet the other half of my brain was saying "Look out...someone is trying to kill you" Let me tell you...it sounds ridiculous, and yet to me it was very real. It scared the hell out of me.
We made it across the finish line that night and immediately made our way to our tents and collapsed. I fell asleep as soon as I hit the ground. In the morning I shared my hallucinations with the guy I was with. He confided to me that he too had hallucinated. It looked like he was so confident leading the way. But as it turns out...he said he was just following the fish that were swimming up ahead of him in the sand.
HALLUCINATION #2
This too was at the Marathon des Sables. It was in 2008, my 9th consecutive year participating in my favorite race to date. I have always loved this event, but for some reason I always have had bad luck here. I have never had a good race at MDS...I have always had better luck at every other competition I have done.
This year my feet were destroyed. I mean they were literally torn up by the sand and looked like raw hamburger meat. I have no idea how this happened. None. I felt like I had done everything the same as I had always done...and yet for some reason this happened. By the long stage I was in severe pain. It was Day Four and I was heading out yet again into the night.
I didn't know it, but I was dead last. I was in agony putting one foot in front of the other. It felt like my feet were literally on fire. I would actually hesitate before setting each foot down because I dreaded the ensuing pain. I had tears in my eyes, but I wasn't crying. I came to a rocky field and my feet screamed at the pain of molding to the uneven ground beneath. And then it came. Relief.
I began to hallucinate or envision that I was taking off all of my clothing and gear. This was completely an involuntary state-of-being. I stood naked in the moonlight and lay down on the rocks, but felt no pain. I placed my pack over my privates and crossed my arms over my chest. I knew this would be how I was found in the morning. I saw my energy form leave my body. I watched the glowing energy particles rise like a fog in the darkness...hovering and then slowly making its way into the night. I let myself go. It was all over.
I don't know if that lasted one second, or minutes or hours. But the next thing I knew is that I was aware... and that the camels were upon me. The last person in the race is always accompanied by two camels and their handlers. People in camp called them "Camels of the Apocalypse". They had caught up to me after watching me weave for hours. I was beginning to go off course. They were there to help me reach camp. They couldn't understand much English...and I couldn't speak their language, but we managed to get by with hand signals, a few words and gestures. They knew I was in pain and I felt they were there to comfort me and help me.
At last I could see the finish line. All the organizers had come out to greet me and they were yelling and encouraging me forward. A competitor that was still up came running out to get me and help me in. I crossed the finish line and Patrick Bauer came forward and gave me a big kiss and a hug. I love that man. He is so great. He was always so cheerful and full of energy. I asked him if I had made it in under the cutoff time. He didn't answer my question directly. He just looked at me and said not to worry...if I wanted to continue in the race...if I was able to continue...I could go on. I thanked him, and I thanked everyone around me. I looked back and smiled at the camel handlers and waved. And then the competitor (I wish I knew who it was) helped me to my tent. I collapsed and fell asleep.
CONCLUSION...
So, now you know why I am expecting hallucinations during this next race. I know I am going to be tired...and I know I am going be physically spent. I have heard of people getting so exhausted during the Tor des Geants that they fall asleep during midstride. There are stories galore of people collapsing and getting broken and bruised and scraped up. I just hope that I have worked out a strategy that will have me getting enough sleep that I can continue to compete, but not oversleep that I can't make it to the cutoff points and get disqualified. It is all strategy Baby! Here is hoping I get it right!
Friday, July 13, 2012
Everest in Banff?!
CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS...
My training week in Banff, Alberta, Canada was a huge success! After weeks of rain in the area, the sun popped out when I arrived and brought out warm temperatures for perfect climbing conditions the entire time I was there. I landed in Calgary on Friday night and my parents were there to welcome me...I had not seen them in a a year and half! It was a great reunion and we headed home to catch up on lost time.
Calgary has sure grown and changed...Wow! I love this city, I always have. I could not be here at a better time. I enjoyed Canada Day, the Calgary Stampede (The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth) and it was my Mom's Birthday...all in the same week!
It is about an hour or so drive from Calgary to Banff. I love Banff...it is such a pretty town! As you look down main street you can see Cascade Mountain off in the distance. Banff National Park draws people from around the world year round. There is so much to do here! Hiking, skiing, climbing, snowboarding, dogsledding, horseback riding and for the less adventurous...shopping!
The park is actually a United Nations World Heritage Site. Of course, the main reason for the park is for the preservation of the wilderness and the wildlife of which we saw plenty of! There are big horn sheep, elk, moose, bears, mountain goats right down to cute little chipmunks and all kinds of birds.
Banff is the highest town in Canada...at an elevation of 4,537 feet (1,383 metres) Right on the outskirts of town is the mountain I would end up spending all of my time on...Sulphur Mountain. There are so many peaks to explore in the Rockies...but I wanted to keep track of my training and Sulphur was the perfect mountain to train on.
Sulphur Mountain derives it's name from the sulpher hot springs at the base of the mountain. Unfortunately I never had time to enjoy a soak. Here are some facts about the mountain...
Starting Elevation.........5,200 feet
Top................................7,484 feet
Total Elevation Gain.....2,286 feet
Distance One Way........3.4 miles / 5.5 km
Total Switchbacks.........28
I was able to get in 5 days of climbing during my holiday. Every morning I would get up at 3am or so and be out the door by 4 or 5. The drive and prep took about an hour-and-a-half. I would usually be on the mountain by 6am or so. I would spend anywhere from 3 hours to 9 hours a day on the mountain. My plan...go up and down. That is how people have described the Tor des Geants to me. You go up and then you go down...over and over again for 6 days or less. As you can imagine, by the end of the week I knew every twist and turn on that trail!
The view from the top is spectacular! It provides views up and down the Bow Valley...the surrounding mountains, the town of Banff, and the famous Banff Springs Hotel. For those who don't want the climb but desire the view, there is the gondola which makes the trip in 8 minutes!
EVEREST IN BANFF?
Altogether we climbed Sulphur Mountain 12 times, which is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest from sea level. (8,848 metres)
Number of times up the mountain......12 times
Number of metres................................8,848 metres or so
Total mileage.......................................40.8 miles / 65.6 km
TOR DES GEANTS
The Tor Des Geants is 24,000 metres of climbing which is the equivalent of climbing Everest from sea level 3 times. The race is 330 kilometres long and you have 150 hours in which to do it in.
CONCLUSION
I have derived a huge amount of confidence from that week of training. I basically did 1/3 of the race elevation gain, which showed me finishing the race is doable for me. I am at a huge disadvantage from other competitors because I am training for a mountain race living at sea level in Florida. The week has shown me what I have to do to continue building on what I have learned. More stairs, more tire dragging, and more strength training! And for me, that means in temperatures of 90 degrees or more! As I write this, there are 57 days 10 hours and 10 minutes before the race starts...time to get back to work...building on the success of my great week of training in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Banff, Alberta, Canada.
My training week in Banff, Alberta, Canada was a huge success! After weeks of rain in the area, the sun popped out when I arrived and brought out warm temperatures for perfect climbing conditions the entire time I was there. I landed in Calgary on Friday night and my parents were there to welcome me...I had not seen them in a a year and half! It was a great reunion and we headed home to catch up on lost time.
Calgary has sure grown and changed...Wow! I love this city, I always have. I could not be here at a better time. I enjoyed Canada Day, the Calgary Stampede (The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth) and it was my Mom's Birthday...all in the same week!
It is about an hour or so drive from Calgary to Banff. I love Banff...it is such a pretty town! As you look down main street you can see Cascade Mountain off in the distance. Banff National Park draws people from around the world year round. There is so much to do here! Hiking, skiing, climbing, snowboarding, dogsledding, horseback riding and for the less adventurous...shopping!
The park is actually a United Nations World Heritage Site. Of course, the main reason for the park is for the preservation of the wilderness and the wildlife of which we saw plenty of! There are big horn sheep, elk, moose, bears, mountain goats right down to cute little chipmunks and all kinds of birds.
Banff is the highest town in Canada...at an elevation of 4,537 feet (1,383 metres) Right on the outskirts of town is the mountain I would end up spending all of my time on...Sulphur Mountain. There are so many peaks to explore in the Rockies...but I wanted to keep track of my training and Sulphur was the perfect mountain to train on.
SULPHUR MOUNTAIN.........................
Sulphur Mountain derives it's name from the sulpher hot springs at the base of the mountain. Unfortunately I never had time to enjoy a soak. Here are some facts about the mountain...
Starting Elevation.........5,200 feet
Top................................7,484 feet
Total Elevation Gain.....2,286 feet
Distance One Way........3.4 miles / 5.5 km
Total Switchbacks.........28
I was able to get in 5 days of climbing during my holiday. Every morning I would get up at 3am or so and be out the door by 4 or 5. The drive and prep took about an hour-and-a-half. I would usually be on the mountain by 6am or so. I would spend anywhere from 3 hours to 9 hours a day on the mountain. My plan...go up and down. That is how people have described the Tor des Geants to me. You go up and then you go down...over and over again for 6 days or less. As you can imagine, by the end of the week I knew every twist and turn on that trail!
The view from the top is spectacular! It provides views up and down the Bow Valley...the surrounding mountains, the town of Banff, and the famous Banff Springs Hotel. For those who don't want the climb but desire the view, there is the gondola which makes the trip in 8 minutes!
EVEREST IN BANFF?
Altogether we climbed Sulphur Mountain 12 times, which is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest from sea level. (8,848 metres)
Number of times up the mountain......12 times
Number of metres................................8,848 metres or so
Total mileage.......................................40.8 miles / 65.6 km
TOR DES GEANTS
The Tor Des Geants is 24,000 metres of climbing which is the equivalent of climbing Everest from sea level 3 times. The race is 330 kilometres long and you have 150 hours in which to do it in.
CONCLUSION
I have derived a huge amount of confidence from that week of training. I basically did 1/3 of the race elevation gain, which showed me finishing the race is doable for me. I am at a huge disadvantage from other competitors because I am training for a mountain race living at sea level in Florida. The week has shown me what I have to do to continue building on what I have learned. More stairs, more tire dragging, and more strength training! And for me, that means in temperatures of 90 degrees or more! As I write this, there are 57 days 10 hours and 10 minutes before the race starts...time to get back to work...building on the success of my great week of training in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Banff, Alberta, Canada.
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