Monday, March 7, 2016

Discovering A Deceptive Larrabee Paradise

Running West Beach at Deception Pass
I took the Sunday after Fort Ebey Marathon off and then Apryle and I put in a soggy 10.5 miler in Paradise Valley Conservation Area. This was yet another densely wooded area to run some very twisty trails. From what I have gathered, this is a relatively new natural area that was acquired in 2000 from a family which homesteaded the property in 1887. It sits on 793 acres and features 13 miles of trail, and is only a half hour drive from Shoreline.


Larrabbe State Park Run

The remainder of the week was low key, I ran some neighborhood miles and commuted to and from work each day with my backpack. For a break in the midweek running ennui, I began a new Thursday evening tradition, which consists of a driving to Mukilteo to run with Adam Braddock, a new friend that I met at the Fort Ebey Marathon. 


Larrabee State Park Run

He resides in quite a strategic location for optimal trail running, near the Japanese Gulch. We typically run a solid 10 to 11 miles in the darkness. Luckily Adam knows his way around the trails and has a far superior headlamp or I am certain I would be wandering around the woods with an ATFL sprain.





Clayton Beach; Larrabee State Park

It is great to once again have some camaraderie on the trails, and Adam and his family are always quite hospitable. Additionally, Japanese Gulch happens to be quite an interesting place, and from what I have read, would not have existed without the citizens of Mukilteo. 






Arroya Natural Area
Essentially, after its beginnings as a lumber company in the early 1900’s, a development company was interested in turning the property into an industrial park around the turn of the 21st century. Fortunately in 2014, the city of Mukilteo purchased the 98 acre wooded ravine for 5.4 million dollars. And after running the trails a few times now, I am thankful that they saved this hidden gem from destruction.

Apryle & I at Clayton Beach

The last two weeks of February and first week of March were challenging because I was working at Sky Nursery Sunday through Thursday and Big 5 on Fridays, thus relegating me to a one day weekend. However, I managed to get in some solid weekday miles. Highlighted by some hill repeats around Shoreline, trail runs in Japanese Gulch, and mile repeats at Lake Ballinger. 


High School XC Race in Wynford
I rather enjoy the 42 acre Ballinger Park because it reminds me of a high school cross country course in Ohio. Probably because Ballinger Park used to be a golf course, and many of our cross country races in Ohio were run on golf courses. At any rate, I set up a mile repeat course in the park and have run one solid workout on it so far (3 x 1 mile in 5:29, 5:28, 5:28).
Every Saturday since the Fort Ebey Marathon has been a memorable adventure. 


Ebey anxiously awaiting his
arrival to Deception Pass
February 20th, Apryle and I celebrated the beautiful weather with a trip up to Larrabee State Park. We split up and she trudged through a tough 11 miler while I gutted out a top heavy 20 miler. Following a logging road to a vantage point near Lost Lake, I ran 2000 vertical feet over four miles and then bombed back down to the trailhead. With an additional 12 miles yet to cover I ran the scenic but flat Interurban Trail to Arroya Nature Reserve and Chuckanut Village. The trail was ideal; it was tree covered, soft surfaced, offered beautiful views of the ocean and most of all was flat.

Peering out onto Bellingham & Samish Bays
We met back up at the car with serendipitous timing and decided to hike the Clayton Beach trail as a cool down. We shared stories of our two hour independent adventures and decided that we missed exploring a new place together. We watched as the sun moved into the western sky, and reflected on how lucky we were to be enjoying each others company in such an idyllic vista.


Coach Apryle running West Beach
Saturday February 27th was slated by coach Apryle to be a very long run for me. We decided to both run some loops around Discovery Park in hopes that we would see one another. I ran the first five laps clockwise and the sixth and seventh laps counter clockwise. Although the day started off gloomy, by the time I hit the trail at noon, it was a beautiful sunny day. 



Apryle hiking Goose Rock
The first lap was sluggish but the next four, I began to feel very comfortable. I did not take my first drink of water until the fifth lap and did not eat a thing over the first 20 miles. I switched directions and the same route began to feel a little more difficult. Additionally, the superior/medial aspect of my left patella began to give me troubles.


Through the trees at Deception Pass

I hit 20 miles in about 7:18 overall pace and as I was running into the parking lot to get a drink and saw Apryle was just getting ready to hit the trail as well (explaining why in over 2 hours on the trail I had still yet to see her). Once again, the serendipitous timing prompted us to decide that I should finish the final third of my long run together. 




View from Goose Rock
We decided to switch locations to Green Lake for old times sake and complete three laps. It was great to have some company, but my knee really began to give me some troubles. I finished the day with 29 miles and we hobbled back to the van.








Running North Beach at Deception Pass
Coach Apryle had planned a down week for February 28th to March 5th, so the injury was well timed. I nursed the knee all week and we went for a moderate Saturday run at Deception Pass. Deception Pass was quite aptly named due to confusion on the part of Joseph Whidbey on the Vancouver Expedition. In early exploration, it was thought that Whidbey Island and Fidalgo Island were one long peninsula. 


Eastward from Goose Rock
Because Whidbey was first tricked by the passage connecting Skagit Bay and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Vancouver referred to the waterway as Deception Passage back in 1792. During ebb and flood tide, there can be standing waves, large whirlpools, and roiling eddies creating class two and three rapid conditions within the pass.






Apryle framed by the Madrone at
Deception Pass State Park
Deception Pass State Park exceeded my expectations and offered some trails that were rich in vegetation and pleasantly/surprisingly sparse in humans. We ran several miles along a beautiful coast line, then carved inland through dense forest and even pitched upward to the top of Goose Rock which featured a half mile climb at 19% grade. The only regret we had in our trip to Deception Pass was not having two kayaks with us. It is hard to imagine that we were lucky enough to enjoy three beautiful Saturdays in row in three unique and beautiful parks.

Stats

Month
February
Days
14 to 20
Mileage
73.24
Time
10:41:02
Pace
8:45
Long
21.79
Vertical
7913
February
21 to 27
88.63
11:33:22
7:49
29.1
7215
March
28 to 5
46.48
6:29:12
8:22
10.15
3885


Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Fort Ebey Trail Marathon & Training Block

Leading out the Fort Ebey Marathon
The month of January ended with couple of lower mileage weeks in an effort to recover from the high mileage early on. I continued to alternate my runs between the Shoreline and Union Bay/Arboretum. I also threw in some half mile repeats on the University of Washington track. It was not until after I finished the workout that I realized I was sharing the track with the Brooks elite track team. I made the uphill transition into February with hill repeats. I became quite obsessed with vertical gain in each run. Hill repeats in Carkeek, eighteen laps of 198th street in Shoreline, and a 30 miler at Bridal Trails State Park.

Apryle Dawn at Sky Nursery
While studying for my board exams I picked up a job at Big 5 Sporting Goods and Sky Nursery, which slowly began occupying more of my time and making running no longer front and center. However, Sky Nursery definitely provided me with much needed cross training, allowing me to utilize more of my upper body and core to lift heavy trees and shovel mulch and soil. It was also nice to be in a greenhouse/nursery setting one last time before launching my career as a Physical Therapist.

Near mile 11 and 24 on course
Also during this time Apryle and I became quite obsessed with acquiring a bookshelf and dressers to furnish our new apartment. Thus many of my runs correlate with the random location with which we traveled to obtain the furniture. For instance, one morning I was able to run in both Forest Park and Howarth Park in Everett and then finish up with a run through the arboretum in the afternoon.


Staring down the Bluff on course
My mileage began to creep up once again in the early portion of February, hitting mid to high eighties in the first two weeks. I tried my best to taper into the trail marathon Coach Apryle scheduled for me on the thirteenth. I was actually not feeling the best before the race, my legs were heavy and I was overcome with a feeling of malaise. Then to complicate matters further Apryle and I were in the emergency room until after midnight the day before the race. Fortunately an issue we thought to be quite serious was false alarm and we were off for Whidbey Island before dawn.
The Olympics to the west

Apryle drove while I slept and we arrived well before the start. I could not believe how soundly I slept en route, and as a result I felt much better prior to the start of the race. I observed it to be a beautiful overcast morning as I scanned the landscape. There was no rain and we were treated to a spectacular view of the Olympics to the west as the clouds lifted. The race was the Fort Ebey Kettles Trail Marathon and it was to feature 5500 feet of elevation gain through a geographically unique landscape.

Nearing the finish
I started off running a solid pace, but with the tight switch backs and steep bunny hills, I began to labor more and more and my pace suffered. I was alone through the first lap, only stopping briefly to slurp down a water and eat an orange slice at the two aid stations. However, near the last two miles at the end of the first lap I made a wrong turn and tacked on a few minutes getting back on course. It was here that I caught a glimpse of my chasers.

Fort Ebey State Park near Start/Finish
I ran the second lap quite nervous, I continued to spot my pursuers at various locations on course where we were afforded views of previously run trail. The course was quite unique and beautiful, in some portions the forest was so dense and canopied that it seemed like dusk, then in other portions there was a wide open exposed bluff that overlooked the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympics to the west. Every time I have the opportunity to run through such an impressive backdrop I am reminded of how privileged I am for the amazing opportunity.

My mascot sloth, Ebey
With that said, I wish I could say winning or losing is immaterial, but the competition in me takes over. I skimmed over the bluff barely looking at the beautiful view, only focused on one thing… winning the race. I made the turn around into a stifling wind, climbed the last hill back up to the bluff and darted back into the woods to finish out the last kilometers of the course. I did not catch a glimpse of my competitors but did not lay off the pace. I finished in 3:28:33 with Apryle and my mascot sloth, aptly named Ebey cheering me on.

Upon finishing I was happy to see that I even split or even perhaps negative split the half marathon. I also met up with the twenty miler top two finishers John Berta and Adam Braddock. We exchanged information and plotted out some future trail runs. Apryle and I headed home, stopping by the beautiful Deception Pass and a Dairy Queen to grab a Blizzard our favorite ice cream dessert. The sixth post of 2016 will highlight my adventures in the latter half of February.

Stats

Month
January
Dates
10 to 16
Mileage
82.98
Time
12:59:15
Pace
9:23
LongRun
18
Elevation
10052
January
17 to 23
83.72
12:49:50
9:11
17.42
12025
January
24 to 30
64.91
8:53:01
8:12
14.32
8874
February
31 to 6
89.12
11:39:46
7:51
30
7454
February
7 to 13
84.82
11:03:20
7:49
26.25
9436








As a side note this was my highest mileage January of all time.

Year
January
February
March
April
May
June
2005
42.5
2006
126.15
155.81
199.04
83.41
94.42
253.16
2007
156.04
173.27
207.91
112.63
131.71
229.81
2008
197.28
208.53
194.04
135.52
111.66
126.61
2009
172.42
181.54
236.22
215.62
192.06
288.06
2010
308.36
297.69
387.33
354.61
217.61
393.5
2011
335.72
330.39
388.63
379.79
252.47
341.13
2012
345.59
329.53
370.29
257.02
269.9
442.25
2013
391.4
362.49
366.28
391.21
401.95
372.38
2014
326.51
299.23
374.94
280.51
274.93
290.34
2015
273.25
305.14
236.58
285.64
256.22
302
2016
400.16
305.81

July
August
September
October
November
December
Total
40
134.33
113.34
113.33
133
75
347.5
265.24
155.83
137.32
143.9
172.97
219.27
2012.77
230.82
184.07
100
134.5
116.49
174.42
1951.67
207.65
206.91
232.65
198.78
138.89
201.11
2159.63
318.47
336.41
312.99
293.39
175.58
252.14
2974.9
393.5
404.94
382.72
389.07
228.03
271.59
3955.69
370.79
402.91
383.55
243.31
102.45
276.45
3771.04
487.99
351.32
316.19
351.24
431.21
405.86
4358.39
391.62
359.03
365.12
353.61
378.24
276.04
4409.37
295.99
287.61
312.09
330.58
218.45
283.28
3574.46
285.55
291.4
292.47
351.33
286.63
303.22
3469.43

Additionally this was my sixth straight win (counting relays) dating back to the Habanero Hundred on August 22nd. My fourth straight solo victory dating back to the Country Run 5000m on October 11th.


Race
Habanero Hundred
Distance
100 mile Relay
Time
12:33:30
Place
1
Country Run
5000m
16:52
1
Ragnar Relays
120 mile Relay
16:03:29
1
Franklin Mountain
50000m
4:57:45
1
Bridle Trails
50000m
3:25:00
1
Fort Ebey Marathon
26.25 miles
3:28:33
1