dretblog

Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim

after running from the north rim of the grand canyon to the colorado river and back three years ago, doing the whole thing (north rim to south rim and back or reverse) has been on my bucket list. this year i finally found the time and some people to join me on that adventure, and very fittingly, we did it on may 21st, the day the world was supposed to end (which disappointingly did not happen, but we still have high hopes for october 21st). on the final climb to south rim, it actually would have been very convenient to be lifted to the heavens, but unfortunately we had to do all the climbing ourselves.

after looking at the trails and the weather the day before we got there (picture [1]), everything looked fine, and we decided to start at sunrise, so that we wouldn't have to to the descent with headlamps. our was to use the bright angel trail from and to the south rim (less steep and water midway, as opposed to the south kaibab trail), and the north kaibab trail at the north rim (there is no other option anyway). when we arrived at the bright angel trailhead, we were greeted by the most spectacular sunset when we arrived at the rim at 5am [2], and after the obligatory photo [3], we started running at 5.15. getting to indian garden was surprisingly quick and easy, and this was our first short break to eat and drink. looking back up to the south rim, it was already lit by bright sunshine and the moon was hovering above it [4]. the thought of having go back up there later today did not seem too bad at that point in time, since we were still feeling pretty good.

after that, there's quite a steep descent down devil's corkscrew [5], followed by a shorter not-so-steep section. after that, we quickly got to the colorado river for the first time [6]. this is where it got a bit tougher, getting to phantom ranch was easy, but the way from there to cottonwood took as longer than expected, as it's all a slight uphill and it already getting a bit warm. cottonwood was the last place where we stopped together [7], two of our group were turning back from there, while three planned to go all the way to the north rim.

shortly after cottonwood (after the pumphouse residence) the trail starts climbing, and we walked most of the steeper part up to the supai tunnel and eventually to an overlook not too far from the north rim [8]. from this overlook, you can see most of the trail you've just climbed in this side canyon of a side canyon of the actual main canyon. from the overlook it's only another mile to the north rim trailhead, where we arrived just at noon, after 6:45 of travel time and about 5:00 of moving time (we had way too many stops along the way).

another group of runners who did the south-to-north run and finished at the north rim had a group of people waiting for them who had brought a nice selection of drinks for the finishers [9]. they were kind enough to offer us drinks, so we had nice cool drinks at our halfway point, before descending into the canyon again.

the second downhill was quite a bit tougher than the first one, but since we had been saving our legs on the uphill, we were able to run all of it, which saved us quite a bit of time. the part between supai tunnel and roaring springs is probably the prettiest and most spectacular part of the trail, first descending in the red supai rock, then crossing over to the other side [10], and then snaking along a pretty steep part of the canyon.

after getting down to the bottom of bright angel canyon, we realized that it was already pretty hot, and the plan was to get to phantom ranch as fast as possible. we packed some water at the pumphouse residence and then made the strategic mistake of not briefly stopping and refilling at cottonwood. the part from the residence to phantom ranch is about 9 miles, and we were tired, and it was hot. we moved very slowly and eventually ran out of water. luckily, we made it back to phantom ranch at 3.40, just before the cantina closed, and got a nice big lemonade.

the part from phantom ranch to the start of the climb, along the colorado river [11], showed us how tired we were already, and at that point the group fell apart fro good, with everybody going at their own pace to make it back up to the south rim. the climb up devil's corkscrew wasn't too bad, and the not-so-steep sections before and right after indian garden were the last opportunity to run a little.

from indian garden, the way back is nicely structured into 1.5 mile sections between the resthouses, so there always is something to get to that's not too far away. i tried to not stop at all, but eventually ran out of calories and had to stop for a final gel (had enough for quite a while) and some water between the rim and the first resthouse.

when i got to the rim, the sun was just setting, creating a very beautiful scenery for that last couple of switchbacks up [12]. i got to the trailhead at 7.45, after a total travel time of 14:25 and a total moving time of 10:48, very exhausted and very happy to be done [13]. this is definitely not something i'll be doing again anytime soon, but the feeling of accomplishment was pretty great, especially the next day sitting on the south rim, looking over to the north side, and thinking: we ran there yesterday. and back.

lessons for next time? not all that many. take better care of the feet, eat more calories, drink water at each and every water source, spend less time sitting around. if you're planning to do this, feel free to get in touch. some things to keep in mind: conserve energy, eat, drink, eat, drink, and take it easy on the downhills to make sure that the quads are still in working conditions after two major descents. if you're interested in the GPS track, it is available at garmin connect, but since quite a bit of the run is in very narrow canyons, the quality of the track is pretty bad in those parts. it's still fun to look at in google earth, though, in particular with 3d terrain. my GPS went completely crazy because of reception problem and reported 400 miles (600km) in the end, which probably is not quite accurate. from other reports it seems that the route we took is 47 miles (76km) long. after doing this, my idea of maybe doing a 100 mile race one day does not look all that appealing anymore...

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and just in case you're looking for some other reports about running rim-to-rim-to-rim, here are some of the reports i found interesting and helpful to get an idea of how it's like:

• Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim Run, Davy Crockett
• Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim Route and How-To Information, Andrew Skurka
• The Canyon Challenge: Running Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim in the Grand Canyon, Meghan M. Hicks

Mavic Ksyrium ES Cracked Rim

after a bit more than two years, the rear wheel of my pair of Mavic Ksyrium ES (now sold as Ksyrium SL) wheels has basically completely disintegrated. the back wheel has 10 drive-side spokes, and eight of them looked like the one shown here, with severe cracking in the rim. i am surprised that none of the spokes pulled out, i was probably getting very close to that. i noticed that the back wheel became untrue, and a closer look then revealed that the complete rim was in really bad shape.

the wheel is a bit over two years old and has no more than 5000 miles on it, probably quite a bit less. i am 185lb, and i ride a forgiving carbon frame, and there is no weight limit for these wheels. i specifically bought them because everybody said that for a pair of light-weight wheel, these would be the ones to get in terms of durability. they were $1200 for the wheel-set retail price, which i consider to be expensive enough to also expect good service from a company.

my bike dealer sent the wheel to Mavic and eventually i had a lengthy conversation with the Mavic Man. to me it seemed clear that with the rim cracking almost everywhere, there must be a problem with the aluminum, maybe temperature or material issues during production. however, even though this wheel clearly did not perform as you might expect from a high-end wheel, and was showing clear signs of production problems, the Mavic Man was in no mood to compromise. it was pretty clear that he never even looked at the rim, neither.

so now i am getting a rebuild of the back wheel which replaces everything except the hub, and that costs $350. pretty expensive, but hopefully worth it. it doesn't seem to be the case that many of these wheels are failing the way mine did, so i hope the new one will last longer than the one i had. it's a great wheel to ride as long as it doesn't break. regardless of that, this was the last pair of Mavic wheels i bought (and i have bought a couple of them before, and all of them held up well). if there's enough choice, i try to avoid rewarding bad customer service.

if you also have problems with Mavic rims, please leave a comment, and if you are lucky enough to have Mavic helping you out, please let us know how you did it!

Running Smith Rock

for most people, smith rock is best known for its climbing. it was home of the hardest route in the states for quite a while, the notorious east face on monkey face. however, because of its scenic location and easy access, it also is great for trail running. the trail around smith rock itself can be a bit crowded, but the trails a bit further away are empty and the highest peak in that area, gray butte, offers great panoramic 360 degree views of central oregon.

for an easy run inside smith rock state park, you can take the trail around smith rock, and then the aptly named misery trail over misery ridge, which ends right ar the bridge where you started. this loop will take about 40min of easy running, from the bridge to the bridge. we ran it clockwise, but it may be nicer to run counterclockwise, because the east side of misery ridge is quite steep and slippery, and running up this terrain is probably nicer than running down. either way, it's a great loop and even though the trail to misery ridge is steep, it only takes about 10min to get up, so it's not all that hard.

for a longer and more remote experience, there is the trail to gray butte, which is the highest peak in that range (the one with the antennas on it). we started at the day use parking lot, ran down to the bridge, and then headed right. after a couple of minutes, the trail climbs pretty steep up to the canal, and from there it's a long and steady climb on a fire road (the one you can clearly see from the day use area). it took us a little less than 30min to get to the top of that road. from there, you take the first trail on the right, and that will take you along the eastern slopes of sherwood canyon all the way to the saddle between gray butte and the range south of it (looking back, it seemed that there also is a trail on the ridge of that range, but getting there would add quite a bit of elevation to the run). from the saddle, it's fire road again all the way up to gray butte. we reached the summit after 1:18 of running from the parking area. from the summit, we took the fire road back to the saddle, and from there we took the fire road into sherwood canyon. this takes you all the way down to crooked river, and from there you'll find the trail heading south towards the park. we stopped running where the first trail to misery ridge starts climbing, and then continued up to meet some friends who where climbing on the wall south of monkey face. the run all the way to monkey face took us 2:03, with 850m/2800ft in elevation gain/loss. after resting for quite a while, we easily ran back the trail around smith rock, which is about 20min of really easy and very scenic running.

the trail run to gray butte is highly recommended, the most beautiful section is the trail on the eastern slopes of sherwood canyon. we only met three other people on the trails outside of smith rock park, and the views from the summit are really worth the trip. here's a map with a description of a slight variation (without the summit and starting at the canal, not at the parking area), and as you can see, there are many variations you can do if you want a longer or shorter run. enjoy!

2:56 min/km × 42.195 km = 2:03:59

today, haile gebrselassie set a new marathon world best in berlin. officially, there is no world record for the marathon, there are only world best times, because courses are hard to compare and thus the time greatly depends on the race. berlin is as flat as a pancake, and thus this was the fourth world best accomplished in berlin (the last one was last year, also by gebrselassie).

i ran my first marathon in berlin in 1984; it was a painful disaster ending after 4:39:40; i was unable to walk down stairs for a couple of days after the race (i could do it backwards, though). back then, the world's best was 2:08:18, and i remember having discussions if and when the first runner would be able to break the 3 min/km pace, which would be a 2:06:35. this actually happened in berlin in 1998, when ronaldo da costa finished in 2:06:05.

being metric, i think about speed in min/km measurements. for a long time, my goal was to be able to run a marathon at 4 min/km pace, which is a 2:48:47 marathon. knowing that i would never get even close to 3 min/km land, i was happy when i finally got to that point. shaving off another minute per km still is something i cannot fully fathom, running this pace for more than 1km is really hard, doing 42.195 of these kilometers back to back is simply unbelievable.

today, gebrselassie posted the first sub 2:04 time, he finished in 2:03:59 (last year he did a 2:04:26). this is a 2:56 min/km pace, and i am really starting to wonder when we will see the first sub-2h marathon. this would be a 2:51 min/km pace, and i guess it is just a matter of time until somebody will do it.

the world of marathons probably looks a bit different to non-metric folks. i never got hold of the min/mile paces, i guess the 6 min/mile mark (2:37:17) is what separates the men from the boys in the non-metric world... or is it already the 7 min/mile pace (3:03:29)? anyway, what those elite runners are doing is so far beyond what mere mortals can do that it is sufficient to just watch them running to get a feeling for how fast they really are...

Gravity Sucks

recently i picked up a pair of lunaracer+ shoes at niketown, thinking that nike maybe finally is getting back into the business of producing running shoes. after years of designing non-functional rubber-pillar-infested fashion sneakers, the lunaracers look like real running shoes. more importantly, they are super-lightweight, 200g/7oz per shoe (and that's for my size 13!). so i hoped those would make good racing flats, with a less harsh ride than the usual racing flats which usually simply omit any cushioning to reduce weight.

finding lightweight racing shoes is not easy. lightweight trainers are usually not that light, and real racing shoes are usually too lightweight. for triathlons in particular, when you are not really starting all that fresh, and you are not one of those gifted individuals who can still run a sub-3h marathon, you need a bit of cushioning to get you across the distance. on the other hand, every gram/ounce counts, so you want lightweight shoes and not those bricks that are sold as cushioning shoes.

today i took them for my first run and they are absolutely amazing. they run a bit small, i think, but apart from that, the comfort and cushioning you get in a shoe of this weight is fantastic. the reebok shoes i have been racing in for the past couple of years (pretty light at 280g/9.8oz, but still much heavier than the lunaracers) feel very different; the lunaracer has a more sponge-like feeling. my guess is that this shoe is not very durable, the lunarlite sole will probably loose a lot of that cushioning pretty fast. but as long as it lasts, the weight/cushioning ratio is far better than any other shoe i have tried. i would not take these shoes to a hilly course, though. on downhills, the heel feels like hitting the ground directly, there are limits to what such a lightweight sole can do, i guess. however, i am 84kg/185lb, so if you are lighter, you will probably not have that problem.

for the record: i paid full price for those shoes and i am not in any way affiliated with nike, but i do appreciate well-designed products. so if you are looking for a super-lightweight shoe for racing anything up to a marathon, in particular in a triathlon where your tired legs will need some cushioning, and you don't like the harsh ride of racing flats, you might want to check out the lunaracers.

Glacier Point Panorama Trail Run

the loop via the 5-mile long four mile trail to glacier point, and via the panorama trail to the nevada falls and down to happy isles was one of my favorite yosemite trail runs last year. yesterday i did the same loop again, but this time i hopped off the valley shuttle at stop #7 (camp 4); from there it's only 6 minutes to the trailhead, and you also have the opportunity to cross swinging bridge (simply take the bike path). once again, this run was just stunning, at some of the vistas you cannot help but grin from ear to ear because everything is so perfect. it took me 1:14 to get to the glacier point overlook, and the view from there is just breathtaking, in particular if you just ran up from down there and in fact are a little short on breath... there are drinking fountains at glacier point, so you can refill your bottle there (there also is a shop, so if you take money with you, you can get snacks and drinks).

from glacier point, follow panorama trail for a perfect downhill run to illilouette falls, along the way you can see a silhouette of half dome that most people don't have in mind when they remember it, you can see it sideways and suddenly it looks much steeper than usual. after you reach the falls, there is a little bit of climbing until you descend towards nevada falls. make sure to visit nevada falls, even if you are running down john muir trail, the falls are only 2 minutes from where you get onto john muir trail. i chose to run down john muir because the mist trail would have been much too crowded on this perfect weekend, and it is too narrow to easily pass people. the final stretch of the trail is very crowded, because everybody has to take it, but it is faily wide so it's not too hard to pass people. in the end it was 2:55 of running to upper pines campground (starting at camp 4), and the total elevation gain/loss was 1250m/4100ft.

this run is approximately 15 miles, so it really is not all that long. if you like running and are in yosemite, do it. you'll love it. the initial climb up to glacier point is long and hard, but it is runnable all the way to the top and the effort is well worth it.

Solid Gel Gourmet

first came the sports bars, which were good. then people discovered that the bars are not ideal for all kinds of activities, and that they also can be pretty hard to eat (powerbars are notorious for turning into concrete when it's cold). then came the sports drinks, but they were too heavy, because they contained too much water. then came the gels, which were pretty useful (high energy density and easy on the stomach), but pretty messy. a more recent appearance on the sports food market are solid gels, basically gummy bears, but much more expensive (and hopefully because they contain better ingredients than just corn syrup and gelatine).

i have been using clif shot bloks for a while for biking and running and like them, because they are not messy, are easy to eat, and are sufficient when you want to have energy for a couple of hours. there even is one flavor with additional salt (luckily it does not taste salty, though), so even if you are out in the heat, you can survive on these cubistic gummy bears. power gel blasts is another variety of the solid gel theme which appeared on the market very recently. i decided to give them a try and was surprised how different these things can be made. i recommend the power product if your goal is to develop jaws like michael douglas. if, on the other hand, your goal is to eat food which contains more energy than you need to chew it, then maybe the clif product is the better choice...

Gold and Green

last weekend, we biked from san geronimo to the point reyes lighthouse and back (here's the route on google maps). this must be one of the most beautiful rides in the bay area, the diversity of the scenery is really fascinating (mount hamilton is longer and also very pretty, but you don't get all the coastal scenery). the ride was 110km (68 miles), starting from the intersection of sir francis drake boulevard and nicasio valley road. the ride is reasonably flat, but there are many rolling hills, in particular once you get to point reyes. riding time was 3:40, your time may vary, but you can assume to be as fast as for other rides in the bay area. water is available in nicasio, in point reyes station, in inverness, and at the lighthouse.

starting from sir francis drake boulevard, you first make your way up a small hill and then through some forest to nicasio. from here it's rolling hills and open landscape (everything in california golden shades, i.e. it's sun-burned dry grassland) next to some lakes, among them nicasio reservoir. then a short descent and towards point reyes station, a small town with many highway 1 travelers and bikers showing off their hardware. then it's a couple of flat miles towards tomales bay, a bit alongside the bay, and then up a pretty steep (but short) hill towards the lighthouse.

from the top of the hill, it's a long gradual downhill and the vegetation changes a couple of times, from forest to bushland and then grassy openings, but its always green out here because of all the fog. from here on it's a constant up and down, but thankfully the road has been recently repaved (only to the turnoff to drake's beach, though). you pass several historic farms, which make you think how it must have been out there before motorized vehicles came along. for some reason, the roads at these historic farms are also in historic condition, but in most cases it's only a short stretch of bad road.

the last hill is by far the steepest (including a dinosaur-proof cattleguard), but not too long. this part of the road is really rough, the last farm and the final climb are not very pleasant, but the scenery makes up for it. after the final climb you ride along the ridge with the ocean to your left and right. you cannot really ride all the way to the lighthouse, because that's a really long staircase, but you'll be able to ride past the parking lot to the visitor center, which is just a small shack. the lighthouse is on the eastern tip of the hammer-shaped peninsula, there also is a road to the western tip, but i did not try it. very likely more beautiful views over there, give it a try...

GPS and Altimeter

my current everyday watch is a suunto observer; it has a built-in altimeter, pretty basic stop watch functions but good enough for what i want, is not as hideously ugly as polar's creations of the past 10 years, and does not suffer from the almost unusable interface mess of newer suunto models. i am pretty happy with it, but sometimes (for example for hiking trips) it would be nice to have a GPS. carrying an extra GPS (or an iPhone 3G) often is not very convenient, and wrist-mounted GPS units have been around for a while now.

garmin has been the trendsetter in that area, first with the definitive nerd instrument, the Forerunner 201. this wrist-mounted brick was replaced by the Forerunner 205/305 models, which still give you that decidedly nerdy look, without being quite as bulky. the recently released Forerunner 405 now actually resembles a watch, and it seems that the quality of the receiver was not compromised by the smaller for factor. the one downside of the Forerunners is that they don't have barometric altitude, and GPS altitude measurements not only are very imprecise, they also consume a lot of battery power.

suunto made their own entrance into the GPS market with the X9/X9i models, which were widely ridiculed for the absurd complexity and bad design of their user interface. i remember one review which detailed how you can set a waypoint on a garmin with one key press, whereas the suunto required 19 key presses. i have an X6 and while being far less complicated in terms of functionality than the X9, it suffers from the same interface problems. the hardware is really nice (much prettier than polar's giger-style nightmares, which on the other hand is not all that hard), but as soon as you start using it, it just drives you crazy.

so i am not having very high hopes for the recently announced suunto X10. it finally has all the functions i am looking for in a watch, most importantly GPS and barometric altitude, but carrying the X letter is definitely not a good indication that using all this functionality will be a pleasure. if only one could merge suunto and polar and get polar's software people to make the software for suunto's hardware...

Running Forest Park

today i've been running for a while in forest park in portland, oregon. it's just a local park (no major attractions apart from abundant greenery), but it has to be among the best trails i've ever been on. maybe it was also because i haven't been running for a while, but still, it really was a great run.

starting from the parking lot on germantown road where leif erikson drive starts, i was running on leif erikson drive for 50min, then heading up the hill on koenig trail (it's a single trail, but there's a sign near mile 5), and then returning on wildwood trail. after being on wildwood trail for a while, i decided to head up gas lane all the way to skyline boulevard, ran on the road for maybe half a mile, and then headed down water lane, running it down all the way to leif erikson drive.

all the trails were almost perfectly level trails (apart from the connecting ones between leif erikson, wildwood, and skyline), there were almost no people, and i realy liked the coastal rainforest atmosphere. it would be worth flying to portland just for running this trail and visiting the powell book store. or maybe doing this for a couple of days, bookstore browsing in the morning, running in the afternoon.

here's a map of the park, but unfortunately, all the single trails are not on it. you can get a simple paper copy of a better map for free at the tourist information office at pioneer place, it's ideal to take with you on the trail.