Tim Burke Uphill Run ... a new PR for me

The best guy's time for US Biathlon team is 13+ minutes, and for the gals 15 minutes and change. My 26:09 was about 90 seconds better than my previous PR.

Heading out for a long run ... and going to listen to the aging athlete podcast

https://www.uphillathlete.com/podcast-aging-athlete/

Garmin is coming back online

It's not fully up to speed, but some of my Garmin workouts from the last four days have been uploaded to Strava. Rumor is that they were a victim of a ransomware attack, and were asked for $10 million ... yikes.

Diving into running novels ...

For my recent 68th birthday, I got a copy of Running To The Edge: a band of misfits, and the guru who unlocked the secrets of speed.  A terrific non-fiction book by Matthew Futterman! 

I was not interested in binging on a re-reading of all the books I devoured this fall while training for an ultra-marathon.  So, I am going to re-read a bunch of novels about running. Thus far I have feasted on Following The Flame, Parker's trilogy (Raining The Rain, Once A Runner, and Once Again To Carthage), Race Across The Sky, and The Purple Runner. 

Next up will be Finishing Kick, The Longest Fall, The Olympian, 100 Miles To Destiny, and The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner (which I have never read). 

Garmin withdrawal ...

Their server may have been hacked, and it's been 24 hours without my data display. Not that I am in danger of losing "local legend" status, but I do sense a growing addiction to this training data.

Waiting for an oil change ...

The first time on the track in several years. A 6k workout with 2 X 1000 meters. A rude awakening but a nice change of pace getting the heart rate in the 130-150+ bpm zone.

A one week UTMB virtual challenge

Obviously this is very much a long shot; but in the next seven days I will upload 40k of trail running for the UTMB virtual challenge. This means that maybe I can win the lottery for a free entry into the 2021 MCC race, as well as room and board in Chamonix.

Yesterday, with that in mind, I did a 19k hike/jog with well over 600m vertical gain.

Biathlon training is going well

Lucy, also had a strong effort in a recent 10k time trial at Crosscut Mountain. I am hoping the US Team selection races in October will not be cancelled.

Spectacular picture of Whiteface and Comet NEOWISE



Longest contested battleground in the world ...

Since the first military conflict in 1965, the 2100 mile contested Himalayan border between India and China, has been a tension filled hotspot.  A military conflict broke out again in 1975, and the tensions have periodically erupted, as they did in the early 1980s when my climbing permit was cancelled by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, just a month before my flight.

Last week there was another flair up in this region. Obviously, when two nuclear powers go head-to-head for half a century, there is cause for concern!

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/18/world/asia/china-india-border-conflict.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=World%20News

A new toy ... the garmin forerunner 35

At the low end of their price points, after a couple of days I am pleasantly surprised. The battery life of the GPS-HRM smart watch seems good. It is easy to work, and although it doesn't do all the things an Apple Watch or one of those $500 Suunto watches ... it does enough for me. Sync's seamlessly with Strava, let's me know if I am spending too much time in zone 4 or 5, and mostly the HRM (using data from wrist) is accurate.

This is a read-out from a 5k run, with four intervals.

Mountain biking laps on the Olympic Biathlon Trails ...

Also of course, remembering to dismount, and close our pasture gate so the cows don't get out.

Pico Peak

A good day hike over in Vermont with two college buddies.

Heading out to see if I can spot the comet

Great Adirondack view from our deck

Street and Nye on the horizon.

2020 Whiteface Vertical Kilometer Cancelled



Oh well, not a great surprise considering the continued surge in Covid cases. 

Indoor ski training facility ...

In Europe and Scandinavia, nordic racers use ski tunnels for training in the summer. (Of course, they also ski on glaciers or travel to New Zealand.) As for learning how to alpine ski, people have learned on indoor slopes in Great Britain or even Abu Dhabi.

I am exploring off-hour usage of the Big Snow facility at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey, and using it for week-long nordic racing camps.  It could be perfect for summer training ... .3k loop with 50 meters of climbing, an hour away from a New Jersey alpine ski area summit with 1000' vertical for bounding in the afternoon.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-future-of-american-skiing-may-be-inside-a-new-jersey-mall/2020/01/06/ddb22850-227a-11ea-a153-dce4b94e4249_story.html

Lots of vertical feet this week ...

I also managed 50k running and 33k on my mountain bike.

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... cordillera blanca

It seems like only yesterday, but a year ago I celebrated my birthday running trails in the Peruvian Andes with my daughter Lucy. We spent two wonderful weeks between 10-16,000'. Needless to say I couldn't keep up.

However, I did get myself ready to guide the Cordillera Huayhuash trek, in the latter part of July 2019.

Hot and humid in the ‘dacks ...

But still good training! An early morning (cool temps) trip up Owls Head, followed by 30 minutes on the ergometer. In the late afternoon I did a 65 minute run on the Olympic Biathlon Trails.

Whiteface Vertical Kilometer

The domestic and international Sky Race series, often contest what they call a Vertical Kilometer. I did this gut and lung busting event maybe 3-4 years ago on Whiteface, and one of these days I would like to do the event at Squaw when I am out climbing in the Sierras.

Yesterday morning Stash and I hiked up the lower half of the course for some exercise ... great views ... but steep climbing. I won't be absorbing the views during the race, that's for sure!

Bridger Range

At just under 10,000 feet, Sacagawea is the highest point in this range, just outside of Bozeman. Lucy and a few nordic teammates ran up it on July 4th, and ran into some resident mountain goats just below the summit.

Lucy's Crosscut Team is also pulling together PR for the elite group. Meet the team at the link below ...

https://www.crosscutmt.org/programs/elite-team

Another good training week ...

Which included some nice trail running, hiking some easy summits, a bit of top roping, a couple of strength training and ergometer sessions, as well as over 45k on my mountain bike.

Mental as well as physical preparation ...

My physical preparation for a fall climbing/hiking trip to either the Tetons or Sierras seems to be going well. I am trail running, hiking, bouldering, stretching, and strength training. 

Slowly but methodically I will need to begin the mental preparation for this coming trip, where the objectives will be multi-day alpine hikes, as well as some third class and easy technical summits. As I begin this part of the process, I turned to this Steve House video which is a good conceptual overview of what I need to think about.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=emb_title&time_continue=334&v=3uzyHMSCCOc

A climbing sabbatical and aerobic capacity

A very experienced climbing couple, on a climbing sabbatical, decide they need to increase aerobic capacity if they are going to successfully tackle the Eiger North Face. Be sure to watch the video, and follow the links to Steve House's training plan and beta.

https://www.uphillathlete.com/aerobic-capacity-for-the-eiger-north-face/

News from Montana

My daughter Lucy is settling in nicely: training is going well, she got a job working for a local political campaign, and she got her first sponsor to sign on and help her get to the 2022 Olympics. 

Take a look at her blog, where you can hear more about her climb up Sunlight Peak and other adventures that fill out the training week of an elite biathlete.

https://lucyhoch.wordpress.com/2020/06/30/adventures-at-the-ranch/

Nice bouldering session

A couple of days ago, I spent a pleasant hour bouldering on the summit of Owls Head.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... from John L. Parker



I am re-reading the nove, Racing The Rain which is the prequel to the cult classic, Once A Runner. In the very first chapter, Parker seems to capture the essence of childhood summer days, as two buddies see a rain storm approaching, and decide to try and out run its approach.

" And they were thrilled as only children can be thrilled to exist for a moment at the very edge of things, at the buzzy existential margin of all possibilities ... All they knew was that for this moment in time they were racing the rain, and they were laughing, laughing, laughing."

A great read, and this novel trilogy is a must for anyone interested in running or endurance sports. 

Continuing quest to solve mountaineering’s biggest mystery

It seems that only finding the camera will ever "truly" solve the mystery, of whether Mallory and Irvine made it to the summit of Everest. 

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2020/06/filmmaker-renan-ozturk-on-the-mission-to-crack-mountaineerings-biggest-mystery/

If you love winter sport ...

This is a pretty incredible study, finding that within 30 years, only ten of the past 19 host cities would have a climate able to host a Winter Olympics.  It is clear that those winter sports I love are in danger. 

But more to the point - outside the scope of this topic - this means, that because of climate change millions of people are in danger of dying from famine, catastrophic weather events, lack of drinking water, and dislocation from homes due to a rise in sea levels.

So of course, support Protect Our Winters (POW) and other similar organizations, but know they are the canaries in the mine, the real horrific devastation comes after we can't enjoy nordic or downhill skiing. 

https://www.rapidtransition.org/resources/playing-against-the-clock/

World University Games

Globally, one of the larger sporting events, in terms of numbers of participants, is the FISU, or World University Games which Lake Placid will host in a few years.  I am hoping to do some volunteering for the host organization. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PtyHvyb399s

One of my favorite Zermatt huts open for business But ..

It looks like the EU may not let Americans in this summer, because we have not got our act together on Covid 19. Hopefully, that will change next winter when I may travel across the "big pond" to see my daughter race in Europe, as well as do some ski mountaineering.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=FJxR4SbB7nA

The mystery of Mallory and Irvine ... a 12 year-olds remarkable school project

Take a look ... well worth eight minutes! Truly impressive.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=emb_title&v=RidVHxFdQTw&time_continue=497

Getting some exercise?

I started the day with an easy row, heading out for a trail run with my dog, and maybe this afternoon try a new strength regime.

The beautiful weather continues ...

Despite yesterday's forecast of an afternoon filled with rain and thunderstorms, we only had 30 minutes of precipitation in the early evening.

I had a great morning hike with Stash. He took advantage of the trail's proximity to Slide Brook to wade into every pool possible. In the afternoon we went for an hour-long run on the Olympic and technical MTB trails.

Betty Woolsey ... an all purpose outdoorswoman

A current day backcountry ski guide shares her thoughts on the post World War II women who led the way. Woolsey was best known as a skier, and her participation in the 1936 Olympics is worth an article in itself. What is not mentioned in this article is that Woolsey was also a leading force in the pre-War climbing scene. Before she moved West she frequently climbed with John Case, Fritz Wiessner, and Bill House.  My first lead in the gunks fifty years ago, was the still classic climb ... BETTY.



https://backcountrymagazine.com/stories/the-woolsey-way/

Another fantastic adirondack day

The weather has been incredible for so long, you almost begin to take it for granted! This of course, hardly is ever the case in the 'dacks.

Yesterday, Stash and I enjoyed the easy hike up Baxter Mountain with its fabulous views.