Running The Grand Canyon: Rim To Rim

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The-Grand-Canyon-Bright-Angel-and-Kaibab-Trail

The Grand Canyon: Bright Angel and Kaibab Trail

This weekend I ran the Grand Canyon rim to rim. I started on the North rim on the North Kaibab Trail. On Friday afeternnon my brother and I left the Orem/Provo area to drive down to drive to the Kaibab trailhead. Before getting to the trailhead we stopped at Jacob Lake‘s Cafe to eat. It has a nice sit down place with great people working there. They didn’t have any high carb dinners on the menu so I just order Salisbury Steak because it came with a baked potato which was the best I could get.

After dinner at Jacob Lake, we jumped back in the car and headed to the trailhead. Once there we just slept in the car until 2am and then got up to get ready for our run. It was a cold morning…the temperature dipped into the low 30s. As we filled up our water bottles our hands quickly became numb. It was tempting to put on a jacket before starting our run, but we knew that the temperature would warm up quickly as we descended into the canyon and it did warm up as dropped in elevation.

My brother and I were both excited to run, but unfortunately my brother sprained his ankle 10 minutes into our run. It was the type of sprain that caused him to fall to the ground in pain and it didn’t look good. We talked about it and decided since we were still close to the North Kaibab Trailhead that he would turn around and go back and he would come around to the South Rim to pick me up. We did not want to take chances of anything else happening with his ankle. When injuries like that happen the Grand Canyon can be unforgiving.

My brother went back to up to the trailhead and I started down the trail. I felt really bad and started to think that maybe I should not be doing this alone and that I should make sure my brother was okay. after these thoughts went through my mind for a few minutes I decided to turn around to be with my brother. When I got to the trailhead my brother had already left and so I had no choice but to head on do the trail and run to the South Rim. All of this added up to about an hour and fifteen minutes before my real run began.

As I ran down into the canyon I decided that I would just going take it easy. I was alone and it was still dark out, I had a headlamp, but I didn’t want any kind of injury from a fall or an accident to happen. As I made my way down the canyon I ran into some friendly hiking groups and I decided to hike with them for a bit. They were talkative and so I talked with them for awhile. Doing this slowed my pace considerably, but this was good and it helped me take it easy in trying to lessen the potential of falling and/or spraining an ankle. Besides the group of hikers I was with for awhile were great people and it was fun to talk with them.

After a bit, when it began to get light out, I broke away from these hikers and began to run, which is what I was really there for. This is when the real fun began for me! The trails are so runnable in the Grand Canyon especially when you get done with the major decent from the North Rim and the trail becomes relatively flat (there still is a slight decline as you continue towards the Colorado River from the North Rim).

There are a few things that make this run so enjoyable and runnable. The trails are well maintained and are built well, relatively flat (equals very runnable), and relatively rock free…at least on the Kaibab Trail just before Cottonwood Campground to just before Indian Springs. Also, the lower elevation makes this run really nice (you feel like a running god) especially if you live and train at higher elevations than the average elevation of the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Another factor and the main reason doing this is possible is that drinkable water is piped into certain spots on the trail. Water is a must have to make this possible. If it wasn’t for the water there is no way I would attempt running the Grand Canyon.

The not so runnable sections of trail are the sections of trail going up the North and South Rims. They are rocky and have logs and stones laid acrossed the trail to prevent erosion (equals not very runnable). This can make up hill running more difficult then it already is and makes injury more likely when running down from either rim.

Probably the most enjoying part of the whole run for me was just getting into a running grove and enjoy the scenery and being in the moment of it all. It is a lot of fun to think that you’re in the Grand Canyon running!!

Crossing the Colorado River was fun and I was able to get to Indian Springs quit easily (at least with no fatigue). But something happend during my ascent up to the South Rim. My energy levels plummeted and for the last 3.5 miles I was slowed to a slow hiking pace. I had done this run before and I remembered that I was able to run/hike this section of the Bright Angel trail up to the South Rim. That time most of my ascent to the South Rim was done in the early morning without the sun hitting me.

Probably the main factor that caused my low energy was the sun. For most of my run the sun was not on me until just past Phantom Ranch and then for the remainder of the time I had the sunlight on me. It wasn’t super hot like it can get in the middle of the summer time at the Grand Canyon, but it was hot enough that it was effecting me. I was drinking and eating so it wasn’t hydration or calorie issues. But non the less I was able to get to the South Rim okay. Once at the top I meet with my brother and then we jumped into the car and headed back home to Utah.

It was a fun run, but I wish I could have done it with my brother. Perhaps this fall or maybe next year we can make another attempt at doing it together. I still want to do a rim to rim to rim run of the Grand Canyon. This was actually our original plan until my brother’s sprained ankle. With all that said, the Grand Canyon is a a great place to do some trail running and I plan on go back often to run it again.

 

For further blog reading on a “rim to rim to rim” run of the Grand Canyon read this post titled  “Grand Canyon Double Crossing” from Davy Crockett’s Running Frontier blog. Davy’s blog is a great resource to learn about ultra running.

Alex Honnold Free Solo Climb of Half Dome

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My intent with this blogs is to write posts about running, but I also want to highlight stories about adventure. I came across this 60 Minutes segment of Alex Honnold’s free solo climb of Half Dome and thought it would be worth a video post. Check it out…it’s really fun to watch!!

Ultra Marathons: Remaining In The Moment

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Gate-Hinge

What do gate hinges and running have in common?

An Ultra Marathon is a big, huge event to rap your mind around. Most ultra marathons range any where between 30 miles to 100 miles. Whatever the distance, how does a runner wrap his or her mind around such long distance race?

Remaining in the moment, I believe is one of the keys to mentally getting your thoughts and mind around tackling an ultra marathon. This means, if you are at mile 4 of a 100 mile race, that you keep your thoughts at getting through mile 4-not the 96 miles that are a head of you. With time those 96 miles will come, but at the moment it is important to focus on mile 4.

Why is this important? In my experience the miles that are ahead of you in a race are too much to think about. When focusing on the moment there is enough to think about and thinking about the whole 100 miles can be too overwhelming. Some of  the things that are important to think about while in the moment are hydration and calories. If you are contending for a first place finish, you need to think about your competition and where they are at. If your goal is to PR then you need to worry about your pace and your time. All of this is plenty and important to focus on while in the moment.

Think of remaining in the moment this way. Remaining in the moment is like the hinges of a gate. At the hinges of a gate not much space is covered when the gate is swung open and closed. But at the perimeter of the gate, the greatest distance is covered as the gate swings. If we can focus on the hinges or remain in the moment then everything will take care of itself and you will be able to cover the distance and finish the race.

Remaining in the moment may mean focusing on covering the distance between two aid stations. I find this the best way to think about running ultra marathons. If I can only think about getting to the next aid station.

Remaining in the moment may also mean dealing with issues such as being sick. If this comes up, then focus on what it takes to get feeling better. Think about being sick and not the remaining miles between you and the finish line. This is too much to think about especially when dealing with a sick stomach. It is easier to just think about getting better.

Remaining in the moment can mean different things at different times during a race, but whatever it is, try not to think about the whole ultra marathon, but to think about it as journey that takes one step at time and the best way to do this is to remain in them moment. The sum total of all the “remaining in the moment” moments will then hinge on finishing your race.

Hot Temperatures and Running

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Hot Sun

Hot Temperatures and Running

Most years at the start of the Wasatch 100 miler just about everyone has a jacket on because it is often cold, but in 2009, the year I ran Wasatch it was very warm at the starting line and through out the whole day.

After twenty miles of running, I began to get a headache and my stomach started to feel nauseous. I realized that I was getting dehydrated and when I got to the first aid station (mile 20) I drank as much fluids as I could. This was a good and bad thing. “Good” meaning that if you are dehydrated you should drink. “Bad” meaning if you have a nauseous stomach then you should not start gulping down fluids fast. A quarter of a mile down the trail after the aid station I paid the price for gulping down too much water too fast and I throw up.

After throwing up, I was worried because I needed all those fluids that I just throw up. I still felt nauseous and my head seemed to hurt even more. I decided that as soon as I saw a stream, a spring or any source of water that I would soak my hat, shirt and handkerchief in it. The first source of water that I came up on was a spring and it had ice cold water flowing from it. I quickly wet everything down and then headed on down the trail. The water was so cold on my head from my wet hat that my headache got worse. But within 2 or three minutes my headache pain decreased significantly and I felt much better.

Drinking enough fluids is the most important thing to do, but the next thing to do to beat the heat is to soak yourself down whenever possible. To do this I have found it very helpful to wear a handkerchief around my neck that I can wet and a hat that I dip in streams. Having a wet handkerchief around your neck helps you stay cool because lot of blood flows through your neck and a wet handkerchief cools that blood which then helps in cooling your body down.

On hot days running in the mountains, if I come across a patch of snow, I’ll take some of the snow and put it underneath my hat. I will also tuck in my shirt and then put snow down my shirt. Tucking in my shirt keeps the snow right at my waist line and then melts slowly keeping me cool from the heat. Doing this helps a lot to stay cool during hot days. I would recommend this to anyone who needs to cool down on hot days.

Also, here is a post from irunfar.com about heat acclimation. Great post about how hot temperatures effects our running performance and how to deal with hot temperatures.

Ultra Marathon Training

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Training-and-Running

Training and Running

I believe a ridged training schedule is not good. I know that many runners when they read that will disagree with me.

I do believe that some kind of training schedule is important and to be ready for a race there needs to be constant training. But to follow a schedule that says to be ready for a race you have  run a certain amount of miles on a certain days is not good in my opinion.

For ultra marathon training, I gage my readiness to run based on how many miles I can run in a week and not feel tired. To be ready for  a 100 mile race, I feel that I need to be able to run 10 miles everyday (Monday through Friday) and not feel tired afterwards. Then on the weekends be able to run between 20 to 30 miles and still have energy after putting in those miles. If I can do that, then I know I’m ready to run a 100 mile race.

The key to getting to that point is to gradually build up miles. And building up to it doesn’t mean following a rigid training schedule. The reason I don’t like training schedules is that schedules does not leave room for a runner to listen to his or her body. If you feel an injury coming on then you should back off from running. Once the injury is healed then you can begin to increase your milage again. This is what I mean by a gradual build up to 10 miles a day and 20 to 30 miles on weekends.

I also believe that if you need to take a day off from training that, that is a good thing. The reasons my vary on why you need to take a day off. It may be because of other commitments in your life, or because of injury, or because  you just simply feel that you need to rest your body. Whatever the reason, I think it is good to rest. If you’re in really good shape, one day off will not hurt your fitness level. In fact I believe it helps a runner with his fitness.

With all that said, I do believe setting training goals are good and necessary. At the beginning of each week, I feel that it’s important to plan out your training and decide how many miles you want to run in the form of goals. Your goals may be to increase your miles or you may feel that even need to decrease your miles. Doing this gives your running a rhyme and a reason.

Remember gradual build up and rest are good. Set weekly goals to help with your gradual build up, but do be so rigid with your goals that you don’t listen to your body. Not listening to your body, when it needs rest or if an injury is coming on, can slow your progress.

Questions:

What are your thoughts about having a rigid training schedule?

Is taking a day off from training a good thing, why or why not?