Adventures in Onionism

Here are a few photos from IMTUF 100. I spent Sunday evening after the race and all of Monday and Tuesday at my friend's adorable cabin in Donnelly, Idaho. It was amazing. The only bummer was that the road to the fire lookout was way on the other side of the mountain. Otherwise, it was completely dreamy and a great way to relax before heading to Utah for the Bear 100. Day before Morning of, ice in the beard Snow up high Top of the first big climb Box Lake, I think More Box Lake Loon Lake Someday, ICT, someday. I died and went to my friend's cabin. Where I didn't leave the breakfast nook for two straight days. Heaven.

I got a grant to do research on food stamps. This is my second from UKCPR. I'm pretty happy about it. I also ran 400 miles in three races in two weeks, but I'm sure you already knew that. I'll post photos and a race report from the Bear when I get a chance. I am busy with work and more running and making salsa. Thanks, Jason.

So what's it like to run 100-mile races on consecutive weekends? I don't know, because I ran 200 miles last weekend. But let me tell you about that. After fun at Tahoe hanging out with the other runners, I had a lame (birth)day evening trying to find Altras or Hokas in Reno that ended with a splitting headache (the lack of sleep chickens coming home to roost), and then I drove through the Black Rock / High Rock National Conservation Area in NW Nevada Wednesday. I took route 34 and honestly, it was pretty disappointing scenery-wise. Thursday I arrived in Idaho at my friend's amazing, amazing cabin. Friday I went to the pre-race meeting and camped out near the start. I met AD, the econ prof married to a triple crown backpacker running (and winning!) the race--she had offered to watch George for me while I ran. I also talked some final smack with Jeremy, who I beat at both the 4MPH Challenge and the SF 24 this year. Tongue in cheek we had agreed that it was double or nothing o...

Some general thoughts on running 200: You probably want to use caffeine wisely. I don't what "wisely" means other than to say "to your advantage," but I think that cutting back before the race would be good, then not using it until you need it during the race is likely beneficial, because then you'll notice its stimulating effects more. I didn't take any until Sunday evening, and then I definitely noticed its effects. I think not drinking Coke at aid stations for the first day and a half makes sense. You probably want to go with maximal shoes. The pounding in my feet, especially on some of the paved sections, or the rocky sections, got so bad that I would stop and stand still and could my pulse in my feet, and the pain radiating up through my entire body, like the pain from a horrible roadwalk on a thru-hike. I started with a fairly new pair of Lone Peak 2.0s, which have a pretty substantial amount of padding, but I think their somewhat boxy fit doesn...

Ah, Vanilla Ice . Not mine Start Anyway, after running sixteen 100-mile or 24-hour races, I ran my first 200-mile race. I hadn't planned on it for very long--it came about because Plain was canceled due to fire. The RD Candice Burt offered everyone who was registered for Plain a 50% discount into Tahoe 200, which is significant. I had to sign up by Sep. 1, and I was busy with a work trip to Kenya, but I decided on the Tahoe 200 over a solo trip up to Washington to run the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier. I'm sure that would have been awesome too, and now that I have had my misperception corrected I definitely need to go do that someday. (For some reason I thought that the PCT covered some of the Wonderland, meaning I had already done some of it, but that's not the case.) But not this week. This week I ran around Lake Tahoe. If you take the pavement, it's only 72 miles. (Meaning I have to bike that some weekend as a leisurely ride. Amy, you are on notice...

I went to Kenya for three days to teach research transparency. Finding Nemo on the in-flight entertainment system cut out right when Marlin got to Sydney Harbor, so I don't know if he saved Nemo or not. Thanks for nothing, KLM.   Then I went to Minneapolis for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Gf met the family. Now everybody likes her more than they like me, but that was a foregone conclusion. We went the to Walker Art Center, rode bikes all over town, went bowling, and went to the Minnesota State Fair. I was back for two days of work, I missed a meeting, I was a little sad because my teaching evaluations from the summer weren't great, and now I'm off to run 400 miles of races in 14 days. First up starting Friday is the Tahoe 200, then IMTUF 100, then The Bear 100.  I haven't packed my drop bags, and I don't have a pacer for Tahoe, but George does have a sitter. Anyway, I have to leave by 10 or 11 tomorrow morning to get the pre-race meeti...