Beach Week... sand in the toes and salt... everywhere

Slumming it... Kure Beach, NC

Last week was summer vacation for me and my family. Lynnea and I packed up little Sylas into the family vehicle and drove east to the Atlantic Ocean.... specifically Kure Beach, NC. We had accommodations at a friend's home and we weren't too sure of what to expect but when we were given instructions on the elevator and pool we figured it couldn't be too bad. We were not disappointed.

We arrived after 6 hours of travel to a home with an ocean view, a ginormously comfortable bed and a full refrigerated drawer of tasty beverages. Arriving a half a day before the rest of the family meant we got some bonus time to check things out and play around a bit... and pick our room... more specifically, pick our floor of the house. Ultimately we resided on the top floor with master bath (larger than our living room at home) with views of the rolling ocean swells. But enough of the Better Homes and Gardens tour...


Beach Running

Sylas having a laugh

While at the beach I laced up my Inov-8 Roclite 295s and headed out to see how versatile these trail shoes are. I've made the mistake of running barefoot on the beach... 20 mins okay- 22 minutes- blisters on every contact surface you didn't even know you had- what was powdery soft becomes harshly disabling in a flash of a threshold. Having learned that last summer, I was prepared this time around. The Roclite's allowed me to feel the sand as it held or crumbled under my stride. When bombarded by bellowing breaks- these trails shoes did their thing managing moisture, a few soggy steps and then back to the norm, making few extra salt crystal in toe. So, with a week's worth of sand running on the beach and at Carolina Beach State Park trails, I give another ringing endorsement to the Inov-8 Roclite 295's... my official Mountains-to-Sea shoe.

Running along the beach is an exercise in patience and in the deception of vision. Trying to guess how far something is can be disheartening. Piers in the distance can seem 5 minutes away... and maybe they would be on a paved surface or hard packed trail- but out there the wind and waves have a way of putting you on the moon; taking all relativity away. This was an escape and I just allowed myself to experience this giant sandy treadmill, focus on good form and take in the sights of the morning.

There's Single Track Here!
My second run of the week was out at Carolina Beach State Park. When I read their was single track on the island you know I was there first thing in the morning, so quickly that I forgot my watch... so I told time by- how my water remained in my bottle, gauging squiggly maps with diminishing volume to meet at my car.

Chatting up the locals

Setting out from the trail head at the marina I chose to run to the right and make a 6 mile loop with additional mileage on spur trails to see everything in the park. Right away I was running on seldom used trail, I imagine where only trail runners or birders venture along the coast. There was tall grasses and boggy areas with crabs everywhere, the ground was a literal scurry  of sideways scuttling. Bridges were... condemned, out here- I balanced along the remnants of planks and thought this couldn't possibly be the way- not anymore, but a little investigation proved that it was my route. A pause on the primitive white sandy beach and back on the run.

Hills... well, Hill
I found the "big climb" of the week soon after as I approached Sugarloaf... a 55 foot outlook atop a mound of  sand... this location was/ is used by water as a landmark for navigation. I explored the social trails in the area, met a few hand-sized spiders and their cable like webs before returning back to the trail and onward to the bog with its dark mud and stumps and...  a few Venus Fly Traps, a native species.

Having the opportunity to run through such diverse habitat made this morning run very rewarding. The bog was still sandy but more firm with moisture and I began spotting some larger wildlife. Squirrels and chipmunks scurried about and then a bounding deer crossed the path. She was here and gone in a flash as I awaited additional, though non-existent hoofed traffic.

Bringing it all Back Home

Surprise! Me & Sylas are drenched!

Running on the beach for the week brought back times passed when I lived on the Gulf Coast in Fort Walton Beach, FL. I remember the diverse running terrain there too, the flatness of daily mileage and the oppressive heat of the day dictating the running routine. For a week at least, I was a morning runner.

The last day of vacation I headed back to the beach to run southward... Meeting me were storm clouds and heavy mist with gusty winds.

I relished the fresh rain water on my face and lips as I ran to the end of the island and back home again. It is always great to get out of the routine and for me- even better to return to it.

An hour on rocky, muddy, wet trails. Climbing gnarly, steep hills, with stinging plants, biting bugs and slithering snakes. I'll knock my head on branches, trip on roots and bleed and sweat and love it. Soothing songs of the woods and plunging into the river pools brings me a smile. It's good to be home.

The family: Lynnea, Sylas and The Sean

Happy Running!

Local Runner taking on the World

Just wanted to pass along some great news from local High Country runner Ryan Woods. Ryan is extremely talented, fast and tough... and a kind person on top of it... or at the heart of it. Anyhow, Ryan is headed to Worlds and we couldn't prouder! Check out the details here. and here too.

I'll be having a giveaway for some sweet new headphones in the next week so check back often and for goodness sake, follow In Clean Air!! It just makes sense. You want to make sense don't you?

Happy Running!

Dupont Forest 12k Race Report

A strong field and a snot rocket...

Runners woke to dreary conditions on Saturday morning with damp trails underfoot and the looming threat of opening skies. It was chilly and sloppy- a great day for racing!

After a quick warm up out onto the last mile or so of the course and back on its final climb I stripped down to the racing threads and met with some very fast runners on the starting line. Seems the wet conditions brought some of the Asheville area's top runners to test their fitness on slick trails and rolling hills. At the sound of "Go!" we were headed down into the Dupont State Forest on a double track gravel and muddy pit of a trail. The minerals were flying off of flats and up into faces and chests. Early on we had some laughs about the cross country feel of this race with a strong pack and the sloppy conditions. I settled in remembering that I had gone out too hard last year and has paid the price.

Hanging around on the gravel road.

At 10 minutes we reached the first sustained climbing of the day. I was in 4th and had to relent to the the 2nd and 3rd runners, including Scott Williams who has all the strength and speed to go along with it. His easy going running style is deceiving as he is able to pull away with little effort being seen. He eventually finished in 2nd overall behind a disappearing act from the overall winner who ran a good 3 minutes faster than the rest of the field.

Reaching the midpoint of the course the climbing continued and I was sensing that this was not one of those zippy and quick days. I went from 4th to 6th in this stretch as two very strong runners pushed ahead of me on the gravel road. We entered the single track in a strand of 2-6 running in a strong train at 6 minute pace. I sensed that I had been forgotten by the pack, considering the ease they had gone by me and the complete lack of response I was able to generate. I did know though that there was a lot of trail left and that if I could just run with strength that I might be able to hang around and move up near the end on the final climb.

With 10 minutes to go the course gave back a big dose of elevation. We screamed downhill in the soppy clay doing what could be done to stay upright and fast. I think it is these fast downhill sections that take away the most time on days like this as you just need to be less aggressive to stay upright, of course, had I not been racing in road flats I might have had more leeway... but more to come on that...

Decision Time
Entering the final mile I was still in 6th but just a few paces back from the 5th place runner and I was trying to gauge what the best course of action would be. It was tough to tell what his condition was. I couldn't hear him breathe above the rain and the splash underfoot but figured he might have overextended a bit during the single track climbing. I felt rested at this point so I moved up and waited for a sign.

The trail gradually elevated with some undulations and was really getting sloppy with standing water everywhere. I ran the shoulder through this section as we reached the first big spike in the terrain. I saw that I was feeling a lot better right then but was still hesitant to go on ahead. I stayed where I was for the moment until we flattened out and had a bit of running room for two abreast on the trail. I made a decisive move and figured if I was going to go, then I'd better make it good. I dropped in a good surge of a minute or so leading into the next good hill and really had no idea whether I still had company or not.

I reached the finish after a final steep and sustained hill with a respectable 45:52 a little slower than last year (7 seconds) but all in all a solid effort on a tough day for me. The top runner was in the 42's and then 2-6 were all within about a minute of each other from low 45 to low 46.

No More Slip n Slide
Following the race I set out to FootRx in Asheville to find some trail shoes (Monday I tested them in extreme technical conditions... stay tuned) and came away with a great experience there. The staff was extremely happy to be of service to each customer although the place was super busy. It was a real pleasure to have such a high energy, positive experience at a running store and feel like the staff cared about my needs. I know typical running store experiences include snobbery and pulling teeth... In short, when I require running gear, I have a new headquarters at FootRx. I recommend that you WNC runners all stop in and see what they have to offer you for the road and trail!!