Pursuing the Sub-Nine Kasugi

Pursuing the Sub-Nine Kasugi

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." -Albert Einstein

    The Einstein quote has always resonated with me. I saw it first in the folds of a coaching clipboard belonging to one Bruce Gunderson.  I coach High School Track and Field with Bruce.  He is a sage beyond his years and is never too far away from his coveted yellow clipboard.  It is filled with an eclectic mix of notes, sketches, and other fabled coaching lore. I think there's even some hieroglyphics and moon runes in there. I digress.
 Way in the back, on the last page is where the quote can be found and for me, it’s a reminder that if you aren't satisfied with your current results then something has to change. There are no shortcuts or quick-fixes in this life;  Buck-up cowboy.  

    Finishing last year’s Kasugi Ridge Traverse for me was a gratifying personal accomplishment.  It represented the longest run of my life.  It was thirty miles and with an elevation gain of over five thousand vertical feet it is nothing to snub noses at.   Essentially traversing the spine of Denali State Park, the trek was a chance for me to link together three shorter hikes that I had done previously, multiple times each.  

     That year I wanted to quit at the halfway point at the top of Ermine Hill.  My entire lower body felt like it was about to cramp with one misstep or ill-word. But for reasons rooted in stubbornness and maybe even stupidity I pushed onward, over the hill beginning the second half of the course.  Why not? I only had fifteen miles to go. Trudging-on with the baggage of accumulating lower body pains, I managed to finish the damn thing in nine hours and thirty minutes; Dead last. I have to admit that my mommy actually helped me remove my running shoes and gaiters at the truck because I was so stiff I could not bend over. Thanks mom. My dad drove me home and provided special recuperative goodies such as cinnamon rolls and even a few fat tire amber beers! Despite my enjoyable recovery post-race, I missed the nine hour cut-off so I didn't get an official time for the race.

Near the Ermine hill cutoff

 

    Although I was thrilled to have finished such a long and arduous trek, it didn’t take me long to decide that I would have to do it again.  I decided that I wanted that coveted official time but Einstein was right, I had to do something different.  Cue-in the Rocky music.

    The summer prior to my first Kasugi race I had been focused on climbing Denali and it was on a whim when I decided to enter the race three weeks beforehand. Although it would certainly qualify as an off the couch entry, I didn't care; I was excited. I wanted to check out Kasugi’s ridge in its entirety.  I filled in the blanks in the on-line registry and after a long pause and with at least some reluctance I pushed the send button sealing my fate.  

    I have enjoyed distance running my whole adult life but my patterns have been sporadic at best.  I’d pick up the mileage for a few months at-a-time and then something would come up and then I'd think to myself: should I go running?.....meh.  Summer always presents a cornucopia of recreational options and along with my set net obsession, hunting addiction, and family camping it seems that running would always take second-fiddle.  This year will be different-I told myself.  Make time-I thought.

     I reasoned that staying in good running shape must be easier than having to gain it back time and time again.  

     As a Physical Education teacher, Track and Field coach, and cross country runner I have always believed that the hardest part of running is taking those first few steps out the front door.  Even if it is raining, snowing, or 20 below, once outside,  the run itself is always rejuvenating, invigorating, and even refreshing. Sometimes running doesn't come easy.  Sometimes the struggle to keep going is overwhelming but it always feels great to complete a run and not once after a run have I ever regretted doing so.

      I decided to keep track of my running efforts over the course of the year in the form of a running-log.  I set up a spreadsheet to keep a running-total of my mileage.  Along with the miles, I also noted pace (when possible), time of the run, and other information such as location of the run and even how I felt.  I included a column for other exercise (weight training etc.) and nutrition.  I thought that it might provide insight and possibly inspiration to review my training efforts as the year progressed.  It was fun to watch the numbers add up over the weeks and months that followed.  I found myself looking forward to logging-in to add my latest numbers.

    By late October I had reached 200 miles of running and to get me through my usually lazy Christmas break, I signed up for the Willow Winter half-marathon.  This race was on Dec. 12th and it gave me a goal to train for.   Although it was only a half marathon, the snow was super soft and as-it-turned-out, it was a pretty tough slog.  I finished in 3:23 locking down fourth place out of 23 which turned out to be my highest race-finish to date.  Boo-yah!

At the finish of the Willow Winter half

      In February I was able to compete in a race in San Diego.  The Mission Gorge 15 K was a beautiful mountain run and I finished in the top half of my age group.  By the 1st of March I was at 400 miles of training and I decided to commit to the Mayor’s Marathon in Anchorage on the Solstice in June.  I kept up my miles through our commercial fishing season the best I could and by the start of this year’s Kasugi Ridge Race I had accumulated 722 miles of running. Hah! Off the couch my ass.

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    “Hi Katie!”  I was surprised to see her there.  She had hiked up the Ermine Creek trail and was tucked into the bouldered scree on the mountain-side.  Katie and her husband Tom are good friends of mine and fellow teachers at Susitna Valley School. She was cheerfully greeting each of the racers as they passed.  She took some photos of me as I stopped and gave me a good slug of water.  She was taking full advantage of the glorious weather to pick blueberries between glances of the jagged and glorious vistas of the Alaska Range.

Thanks for the water and photography Katie.

    Two miles later I arrived at the Ermine hill cut-off and I was 25 minutes ahead of last year time.  I was ecstatic.  Carrie Sayer handed me a cookie.  I didn't stop until further up the next rise.  A group of super-cool hippy runner-types had set up an impromptu aid station.  They offered-up power bars, goos, gels, and even a couple of almond joy candy bars.   Cheering commenced when I grabbed an Almond Joy off the pile.  Apparently there had been bets on whether anyone would take it.  I ran over the hill slightly refreshed clutching a fistful of gummy-chews, Carrie’s homemade cookie,  and a full sized Almond-Joy.

Near the fabled rock pillars

    I ran between the rock pillars of the Ermine hill pass en-route to the skids of the steep back side. Over the course of the next ten minutes I would lose 900 vertical feet of elevation.  Not soon after in the marshy lowlands, I slowed considerably.  I had hit the wall.  I bonked.

      The uphills I had to hike but even on level ground I was struggling to maintain the slowest of jogs; I’m a long way from the finish I thought. Shit.

    I knew I was ahead of several other runners at this point but I realized that at my current pace they would soon catch me.  Fearing another nine-plus hour finish, I tried to focus my efforts on the only thing I felt I had control over;  my eating.

    I began to slurp down goo after god-awful goo hoping to regain some energy.  Along with these super sweet, syrupy goos you can also buy little gummy chews that come in a pack of fifteen or so.  I kept one going in my mouth for the remainder of the race.  Slowly but surely I crawled my way back out of Bonk-ville and by the time I reached the rounded summit of Golog ( 2970 ft.) I was able to begin running again.  In fact I ran the rest of the way, another ten miles or so stuffing my cheeks with ultra sweet goos and chews for energy.

   About four miles out I noticed that I was not only going to beat last year’s time I was going to crush it!  So with as much of a kick as I could muster I picked up the pace at the end and finished in 8 hours and 21 minutes.  I beat my time from last year by an hour and nine minutes securing my spot in the official results of the 2014 Kasugi Ridge Traverse.

Doing my best to fake a strong finish