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August 21, 2006
The Test: Passed
Well, The Test is over, and I passed. I think I'm exhausted. I deem myself prepared to run my first trail marathon in, oh, say, 13 days. Now I get to taper (Incidentally, I don't like tapering. I get all giddy and stiff and stuff. But, I'm treating myself to a massage after this weekend because I worked hard and it is my birthday this week.).
Here is the rest of the story:
Day 2
On Friday evening, I found myself camping at a forest service campground near the trailhead for Saturday's hike. It was a cold evening, and my bold self wanted to sleep out, without a tent. The temperatures were below freezing and my sleeping bag was covered with a delicate layer of frost when our alarm clock went off at 5:15 am (5:15 am, by the way, is an ungodly hour for those of us night-shifters who are usually going to bed around that time.).
We were packed up, well fed, and on trail by 6:15 am. It was a cold morning, but I underdressed myself, preparing for the heat later in the day. Right away we saw fresh bear tracks, imprinted only in the last few hours in dust on the trail. Then, two piles of some hella-fresh bear scat. However, we never saw the bear who left his or her mark, nor any other bear for that matter.
Simply said, the entirety of the hike was beautiful. From tall, grassy meadows to thick spruce forests, from high point sweeping views of the mountain range to close-up interactions (think: swimming) in high alpine lakes with c-c-c-o-l-d water. The whole day was truly remarkable.
I felt great in the beginning of the hike, and I continued to feel good beyond the halfway point. I even felt good climbing over 2 tall mountain passes, way up there in the sky. I felt fatigue coming on in the middle of the afternoon, but I caught a 20-minute cat nap on the side of the trail while my two friends went out for a little while on a side trail. This nap made all the difference.
We finished the hike in the late afternoon, and I spent about 15 minutes soaking my lower legs in a creek at the trailhead. The water was icy cold, nature's ice bath. All in all, we think this hike was 21.5 miles total.
Day 3
If you think my weekend is a little bit wild, please consider the fact that an acquaintance of mine ran/hiked the entire length of the Teton Crest Trail, which traverses the length of the Teton Mountains, in one day. The trail is 38.6 miles in length, crosses 3 tall mountain passes, and descends into canyons between each pass. What he did is amazing.
I was only present to "pace" him for the last portion of the hike, which never actually worked out. He ended up running alone for the entire day, and I ran alone as well. The goal was for me to run about 8 miles out on the Teton Crest Trail, to the top of the last and tallest mountain pass, to pace him to the ending trailhead. I ran this trail out, nearly to the pass, but gave up on going to the highest point as dark clouds were threatening things in tall places. Instead, I perched myself at a place on the trail about 500 vertical feet below the pass, waiting for him to come down. When our designated meeting time plus 30 minutes came and went, and I began to get cold in my sweaty running clothes at over 10,000 feet elevation, I began running up and down the trail to stay warm. An hour passed, then 90 minutes. After 1 hour and 45 minutes, I gave up and ran back to the trailhead. By that point, I figured something had gone wrong. I decided I needed to get back to my phone so that I could be more useful should he be in real trouble. Besides, there is only so much time that you can hang out at 10,000 feet and not get cold wearing sweaty running clothes.
In the end, he was fine, just running very, very late. Apparently, he decided to take a short nap, and woke up a significant time later. He arrived at the trailhead after 10 1/2 total hours, including rest breaks and a nap of an unknown length of time. I'm rather impressed.
As for me, I had a great trail run. I'm guestimating about 16 miles total in a place called Paintbrush Canyon. Paintbrush Canyon is a narrow u-shaped, glacier-carved valley complete with hanging glaciers. It's truly fabulous up there. I think I started at 6,800 feet elevation, and topped out just over 10,000, still below the mountain pass at the top of the canyon.
I predicted that I would be slow-moving, easily-winded, and just plain fatigued on this third day of hard work. I felt great, though. Up high, I could feel the elevation in my lungs. Down low, at the end of the run, I really slowed down as I started to get tired. However, I aqcuired a second wind in the last 1.5 miles, and I flew back to the trailhead.
Thus, I have completed The Test and I'm feeling really good about it.
Posted by Meghan at August 21, 2006 6:33 PM
Comments
Dealing with bears and staying warm sounds like it was equally challenging as the physical part of your weekend. I have to think that no one else will have trained for the trail marathon quite like you have, but what do I know.
I am constantly amazed by your adventurousness!
Posted by: Alison at August 22, 2006 5:49 AM
Happy early birthday!! Good luck in the trail marathon. It sounds like you are definitely ready.
Posted by: barb at August 22, 2006 10:32 AM
That's one crazy weekend! I'm glad you passed your test with flying colors. Happy birthday!
Posted by: Beth at August 23, 2006 9:41 AM
While I love picturing you out there in the wilds, I'm also very jealous. Excitement for me is taking a train up to the 'burbs for my long runs where I get to see wild animals like cows, horses and geese. I'm totally going to show up on your doorstep one day.
Posted by: chelle at August 23, 2006 11:15 AM
happy b-day! i can't believe you are still standing after your adventures!! they're unbelievable!
Posted by: Audrey at August 24, 2006 3:45 PM