Feb 15-20: Running a half marathon in Austin

Made the last leg of my eastward journey Friday morning and arrived in Austin. Got in a nice workout at climbing gym, then headed to McKinney Falls State Park, where I was camping for the night. It was a holiday weekend and the place was packed, but I managed to grab the last campsite online a few days earlier. My uncle and cousin also arrived in Austin on Friday, so we met for dinner. Had some time to kill before I could check in to my hotel on Saturday, so I took a spin on the two bike trails at the park, each about three miles. Both were hilly, but the particularly fun part was carrying my bike across a creek to get to the Homestead Trail. While the campground was nice, I was very happy to check-in to a hotel for a couple of nights, particularly one that was within walking distance of the start and finish lines for the race. Not sure the bacon cheeseburger and fries I had for dinner was the most optimal meal for performance, but given that it was too late to carbo load, I figured why not.

I got up nice and early to grab some breakfast and the all important cup of coffee and gave myself plenty of time to walk to the gear check station and starting line of the Austin Marathon and Half Marathon. The forecast wasn’t ideal, with a starting temp of 41 and a projected finish temp of 49, making it more difficult to decide what to wear (although much easier than the marathoners, who’d be finishing with the temps climbing into the 60’s), but I picked an outfit I hoped wouldn’t leave me too toasty at the end.

Once the gun went off, it took about five-and-a-half minutes to reach the starting line. I didn’t want to go out too fast and I didn’t, but missed the one mile sign and by the time I got to the second, I was 40 seconds behind my goal pace. Given how hilly the course was, this may have been normal. By mile six, I was another 40 seconds off. Finally, we got some relief from going uphill in miles 6-8, which were flat or downhill Yay! I picked up the pace, making up the 1:20 I was behind off my goal time. Unfortunately, the course started going back uphill, but I kept pushing. The last three miles were pretty tough. There was a big hill at mile 12 coming up 15^th toward the Capital, which had a gospel group singing at the top, which seemed appropriate, because if I had felt any worse I would have been convinced I was about to meet my maker. I really wanted to go sub-2 hours, and had to push the last few hundred meters to break the barrier at 1:59:59. While this was slower than my goal time by a couple of minutes, I was pleased with the result on such a hilly course.  My time was 100^th in my age group and 2732 overall.

The finish area was in the shade, so I was freezing in my sweaty clothes until I retrieved my hoodie and winter cap from the gear check station. I wasn’t too cold to grab some tatsty post-race cookies, though. Headed back to the hotel, where the staff had set up a table out front and were passing out water and cold towels to the returning runners. Very nice. I was sore within an hour after the race ended; I don’t recall that from Columbus, where I think it took a day to feel sore but perhaps I have just blocked it out. My Achilles were particularly bad. After a shower, I grabbed some migas and Mexican coke at nearby place and the stairs I had to climb about killed me. I’ll admit that my post-breakfast activities of sitting in bed surfing the web, watching TV and drinking coffee probably weren’t the best was to aid recovery. Staggered out later for a lunch consisting entirely of dessert (chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream), then met up with later with my uncle and cousin for dinner.  Once I got back to the hotel, I set an alarm to remind myself to get up and move every fifteen minutes while I watched TV, so I had a decent chance of being mobile on Monday.

My legs were still pretty sore on Monday, but I was mobile enough to walk to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. Checked out the local REI and finally purchased the windbreaker I wished I had on several occasion in J-Tree, and got it for 50% off! Drove to McKinney Falls SP for two more nights of camping and discovered the problem with camping the day after running a half marathon is having the leg flexibility to get close enough to the ground to pitch the tent. Ouch! At least the weather was great (sunny and in the 70's) and there was no urgency to get it up quickly. Had some delicious Tex-Mex at Trudy's; thanks L and M for the suggestion. 

I felt much better on Tuesday morning, so my worries about not being able mobile enough to get out of my tent were unfounded. Went for a bike ride, then scoped out the bouldering area. Most of the stuff is pretty hard, but I found a nice area for traversing. Lots of chalk on the rock made me feel right at home.

Packed up the campsite Wednesday morning, but not until it started raining. Maybe someday I will learn this lesson and break camp while it's still dry. Drove to Houston, since I was flying out of there the next morning. The weather was warm and windy, which dried my tent very quickly once I hung it from the railing at the hotel. Worked up a good appetite climbing at a local gym then enjoyed some tres leche for dinner. Mmm. Went to bed excited for my trip to DC to visit my friend J.

Feb 9-14: Phoenix area hikes and driving east

Dragged myself out of bed and did my last long run before the half marathon on Saturday morning. It only took thirty minutes for my legs to loosen up, but I got the mileage in, perhaps somewhat inspired by the thought of all the food I was going to eat at Waffle House afterward. (For the record, I devoured the All-Star Special.) I headed over to the Tonto National Forest  to check out what the website claimed was a bouldering area near the Oak Flat campground. I didn’t travel too far into the area, but all I found was some cool looking really easy stuff (I could climb it in my approach shoes). Went back into town to get some firewood and other supplies for camping. I made a very nice fire, but I guess I either should have started it later or bought two loads of wood, because everything was burned by eight.

The Boys hanging out by the campfire

After breakfast, I packed up the campsite and headed for civilization, by which I mean some place with a Starbucks. Caught up with my friend J on the phone, then consumed some more coffee while charging my computer and meaning to get some stuff done, but I didn’t. I drove back to the Tonto National Forest and hiked for a couple of hours on the Arizona Trail  starting at the Picket Post Trailhead. The Arizona Trail runs the entire length of Arizona north-south. Maybe someday I will hike the entire thing, but today a couple of hours was enough. As I headed back to my car, I ran into some cows grazing. I wasn’t quite sure how to behave, but the cows seemed friendly enough so I just took some pictures. 

Mooo!

Picket Post Trail

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Camped at the Oak Flat Campground again, but waited a little longer to make the fire this time. Woke up to a bit of snow, but I was out of it as soon as I got to a lower elevation – that trick doesn’t work when you live at sea level!

Continued the drive eastward, although not by much, as my next stop was Picacho Peak State Park, off I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson.

Monday wasn’t the most ideal for a hike, but the afternoon was dry enough to do some hiking in the afternoon, so I took on some of the easier trails – Calloway, Nature and Children’s Cave. The Boys joined me for the Children’s Cave hike, excited by the promise of seeing a cave. They enjoyed sitting in the cave and climbing on it. Could see rain approaching from the west, but still had time to get a three-mile run in before it arrived. However, there wasn’t enough time to do the run and get in and out of the shower, so I passed the downpour hanging out in the bathhouse. The shower I used had outstanding water pressure, so I got some bonus exfoliation.

On Tuesday, I finally had a chance to break out the hiking boots and poles I brought as I tackled the two-mile Hunter Trail, which was described as “difficult…steep and twisting, with steel cables” and ends at the top of the peak. Also in that two miles was an elevation gain of 1400 feet. There were some challenging moments, particularly when I found myself off trail (oops!) but I made it to the top, glad that some sections had those steel cables. Getting to the top was just half the battle, so I headed back to the car, with visions of dinner at Waffle House in my head. I definitely picked the right Waffle House to stop in for dinner, because what I was craving (bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on Texas Toast, hashbrowns and coffee) was the manager’s special, so I saved a couple bucks. Since it was my birthday, I treated myself to a night in a nice hotel (Hampton Inn) instead of my usual “cheap, but not fleabag” and that bed and all those pillows felt luxurious! After surviving the day’s hike, I almost injured myself when I tripped getting out of the shower. Smooth.

View from the top

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I enjoyed my hotel room until checkout time, then got back on the road. I crashed for the night at the Hueco Rock Ranch, bummed that I didn’t have time to stay and climb at Hueco Tanks this time. I drove a good chunk of the remainder of the distance to Austin, making it to Fredericksburg before stopping for the night. Since there was a new episode of Person of Interest airing that evening, I got a hotel room at the Peach Tree Inn, a quaint hotel with actual room keys, individually decorated rooms and carports. It was different, but in a good way. Only “problem” was the neighbor’s dog grabbed Baggy when I was loading the car the next morning. Poor Baggy’s head was completely engulfed in the dog’s mouth, but there was no damage, thank goodness. He described the experience as “dark and saliva-y.” After breakfast, we headed to Austin to get ready for Sunday's half-marathon.

Feb 4-8: J-Tree and Heading East

After a fun weekend of climbing in New Jack City, I packed up camp leisurely on Monday morning and then set it up again once I returned to Joshua Tree. Took a short hike in the Black Canyon area of the park, then hit Las Palmas for Dollar Taco Night. Mmmm. 

Black Rock Canyon

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Tuesday was a great day to do some more bouldering in Joshua Tree. I hit up the Trash Can Rock area first, and had fun on the twenty-five foot Gripper Traverse (V0+). Checked out some of the other easy problems in the area, but none appealed to me - too high, no idea how to get off the boulder, bad landing zone, you name it, I found it. Got a few questions about the bouldering pad and someone suggested it looked like you could take a nap on it, which I ended up doing later. I checked out a couple more problems then called it a day, since I was still sleepy after my nap. I spent Wednesday scoping out a more remote area to see if it would be worth the effort of coming back to boulder. Most of the problems really weren’t suitable for doing on my own, mainly due to the “how do I get off this thing” issue.  Oh well, it was a good workout hiking around.

Started Thursday with a run, then packed up the campsite and headed to a hotel for the evening, since a new episode of Person of Interest was airing that night. Unfortunately, my usual hotel was booked, so I ended up at the Motel 6 over in 29 Palms. It was fine, and definitely fresher than the Hi Desert, but the microwave and fridge in every room at the Hi Desert makes it a better value. The bedspread at the Motel 6 was definitely more fabulous, though. 

The Bedspread

Went to dinner at The Rib Co and got my “usual,” the Rib Co Burger, (bacon, cheddar, onion rings, BBQ sauce) and added their peach cobbler a la mode for dessert. Mmmmm.

A wind advisory was in effect, so that ruled out doing much of anything outside on Friday, save for maybe trying to get in touch with my inner Mary Poppins. I lounged around the hotel, trying to decide if I should start traveling back east toward Austin today or wait until Saturday. Given the windy weather, I decided to head to Phoenix that afternoon. Booked a hotel in Phoenix, then headed east. Ran into slow traffic on I-10 west of Phoenix, as people gaped at several cop cars around a car that had spun around so it was facing west and both of the front tires were gone. While watching the news that evening, I learned that the driver of the car had led the police on a high-speed chase and had been spun out by the cops. Jerk. I still had plenty of time to get in a good workout at the ClimbMax climbing gym, working up a big appetite that I sated with dinner at Waffle House. Checked into my hotel and discovered an unopened jar of baby food in my bed when I pulled back the covers – that was a first!

Midnight snack!

Feb 2-3: New Jack City

I joined the SoCal Climbing Meetup for their outing to New Jack City, a sport climbing area near Barstow, CA. The weather was gorgeous and a large group came out to climb. I started off on the Sunnyside wall. Not exactly sure of the route name, but it may have been Cheap Lipstick. Walk in the Park was next, then I tried Goldfinger, but got shutdown about 2/3 of the way up. I didn’t want to waste too much energy, because there were so many other climbs to try. Headed over to the Raven wall and got on a 5.10a, Welcome to New Jack City, which I absolutely loved. Feet are a little sparse and polished at the bottom, which has a fun, bouldery move, and then it just keeps getting better. I was especially happy that I was able to undo a bad move and get back on track, as typically once I get into the 5.10 range, a misread means I am coming off the wall. After lunch, I warmed up with Taylor Made (5.8) and cleaned the route. This was the first time I cleaned anything since I got a second rappel device to backup the first and naturally, I dropped my ATC! I was especially glad I had a backup, because the rap rings looked like a lot of people had been lowering off of them. I ended the day with Same Same but Different, a 5.10c that I didn’t do cleanly, but I think I could now that I have figured out the line for the top section.

Sunshine Wall

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Once the sun went away, it was campfire time, first, to cook dinner, then to hang around and socialize. The conversation was good, the people nice and the fire massive. The fire was hot enough to melt glass and kept everyone more than toasty. I had a great time hanging out with L and her dog H. It was a big night for H, as he got his first meaty bone from the massive steak someone cooked over the fire. He was one happy dog!

A short video of the awesome fire

It rained for about an hour overnight, but the rock was dry by the time everyone got moving. I climbed with L, B and J. We started at Boy Scout Wall, which has carpets at the base of some routes. (This is a first for me.) B led Jack Be Nimble, a long and well-protected 5.9 with a bit of a spicy finish, particularly for the shorter climber. J and I topped it, then L led it. Next, I attempted to lead what we thought was a 5.7, but it turns out maybe it wasn’t. The line through the first few bolts wasn’t obvious, and I struggled with where to go. B offered to lead it so I could try it on top rope first and I accepted. He got to the anchors, but it wasn’t the cruise-fest he expected for a 5.7. I topped it cleanly, figuring out the move between the first and second bolt that had me perplexed on lead, but higher up was a move that seemed rather stiff for 5.7; perhaps something had broken off, because either a big left hand or a decent foot would have made a world of difference. J and L worked a different route then we all moved over to Sunnyside wall to grab a few routes in the sun. We hit Fun in the Sun first, which had a little bit of everything, technique, power and thinking. I had hoped to get it clean, but I had one misread that I couldn’t undo, so it was one fall, then to the top. I tried Goldfinger again, but couldn’t get past the same point again, and as it was getting late, I hopped off so the rest of the group could give it a shot. L worked it out and B did it cleanly. Afterward, J introduced me to In-and-Out Burger, where we had a tasty dinner before he headed home. I grabbed a sundae and coffee at McD’s and used their free wifi to catch up on my email and whatnot, since I had been off the grid all weekend. Seems like I mainly missed people updating Facebook about the Superbowl or that they pointedly weren’t watching the Superbowl.

The skies were clear on Sunday night and the stars were amazing! Unfortunately, I didn’t bring a tripod with me, so, no pictures, but it’s great to be able to see more than a handful of stars in the night sky. Perhaps I should learn to identify something besides the Big Dipper and Orion, given than I can actually see other things on this trip.

The Climbs

Saturday
Cheap Lipstick 5.8 (I think)
Walk in the Park 5.8
Goldfinger 5.10b/c, attempt
Welcome to New Jack City 5.10a - sweet
Taylor Made 5.8
Same Same but Different 5.10c not cleanly

Sunday
Jack Be Nimble 5.9
Unknown, but something that seemed harder than a 5.7
Fun in the Sun 5.9
Goldfinger 5.10b/c, another attempt

Jan 27-Feb 1: More fun in Joshua Tree

Sunday was very windy, and I was glad I decided to do my long run on Saturday - nine miles is challenging enough without having to battle the wind for part of it. Given the less-than-ideal conditions, I decided to spend some time indoors, hanging out at a Starbucks in the morning for caffeine and internet, then driving to Riverside to hit a climbing gym. The drive was pretty and the gym was fine, but that's not a trip I want to make with any frequency. The wind wasn't any better overnight, and I was awakened several times by the sound of my tent flapping. It wasn't restful, but it was a change from being awakened because I needed to pee.

It was too windy in the morning to cook breakfast. Not thrilled with having to buy breakfast, since it's so easy and cheap to make myself, but the fried egg sandwich with bacon at Crossroads was worth it. Scoped out a few bouldering areas, all of which ended up being in the shade. Too bad it wasn't a climb in the shade kind of day! I got a nice workout in by doing the 6.2 mile Lost Horse Trail Loop hike. The park brochure listed it as moderately strenuous and it wasn't too bad, other than the wind, of course. Come bedtime, the tent was still doing The Charleston, so I moved some of my gear into the tent and slept in the back of the Forester; much quieter than the tent and about as comfortable!

Lost Horse Loop Trail
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The wind situation wasn't ideal in the morning, but it did slow down enough to make coffee and breakfast possible. However, washing dishes in the shade and wind was decidedly unpleasant. On the plus side, it was warmer, so I was able to hop on one of the the shady boulders I checked out the day before, Mel's Diner. All of the climbs on them are easy (not even on the V-scale), but fun and well within my ability to climb cleanly and safely. Although there was a group that appeared to be "Up with People Goes Climbing" at the Lizard's Hangout rock a couple hundred yards away, I wasn't sure I could holler loud enough in case of injury, and glad I didn't have to find out. Gutted out a run in the afternoon that started both uphill and in the wind, happy that it ended downhill with the wind at my back. Fortunately, the wind died down by bedtime, so I was back in the tent for a nice, quiet night.

Wednesday morning was sunny and windless, perfect for hanging out at the campsite, drinking coffee, eating breakfast and reading a book. (The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron) Eventually got moving and went to the Indian Cove area. I tried to find the sport climbs D, S and I looked for a couple of weeks ago. I got as far as finding the rocks this time, and the harder lines looked awesome, but couldn't figure out how to get to the rock that had the easier routes. Would have spent more more time exploring, but nature called, so I had to bust a move back to the parking lot and bathroom, not wanting to nature in nature. I did some bouldering, ending in the Group 1 site, which had some sub-V0 stuff on it. As I was getting ready to get on the rock, a large black bird landed on the boulder, squawked out something, then moved on. I couldn't help but wonder if it was telling it's bird friends that "we might have fresh meat for dinner." Some people might consider a big squawking black bird landing on boulder a sign not to climb, but not me. I did a few of the fun climbs on it, eventually getting the 5.9 on the front side (oh slabs, someday I will get you) before calling it a day. Went to Santana's for dinner and ordered the California burrito, which claimed to have, among other things, potatoes in it - the potatoes were french fries! BRILLIANT!

French fries in a burrito. Mmm

Thursday morning looked a lot like Wednesday morning, lazily soaking up the sun at the campsite. I packed up camp (Thursday night is hotel night, mainly so I can watch Person of Interest, which isn't available to watch online), then headed into the park for some more bouldering. Stopped off at the Burnout area, which had some easy problems on fabulous rock, then attempted the 100 foot traverse on Echo Rock that starts at Douple Dip and ends at Stichter Quits. I did sections, but it's going to take some time to link them all up.

Enjoyed spending a couple of nights in a hotel, but still got out to the park for a ten-miler on Friday. The half-marathon is a little over two weeks away and I am feeling ready.