i, like many other bloggers, was asked to give the new tech4o watches a try.  after perusing their selection, i opted to give the mens accelerator trail runner a try.  based on the information on the website, it didn't appear that there was any difference in the accelerometer technology between that and the other watches, but it appeared to have a sturdier construction, just in case i decided to eat some dirt again.

when the watch showed up, i took it over to the soka track to get it calibrated.  i had to change the stride length, so i'm glad i did the calibration before taking it out for a run.  i did the short and long walk/run tests and did the best average that i could to give me as accurate a stride length as possible.  i opted to select a comfortably quick pace for the run and a powerwalk for the walk.

immediately after calibrating the watch, i dove into a track workout to see just how accurate it was.  it managed okay at first.  overall, it was pretty close to the actual distance i was running, but it did seem to decrease distance when i would do a speed interval, but pick some of that back up when i dropped down into a recovery jog.  my initial take was that it would only be accurate at the pace that i calibrated it at.

managing the watch during that first workout was challenging.  true, it was tracking speed, distance and workout time, but what made it difficult is that the chornograph is a completely separate function from the pedometer.  so, to manage my splits, i would have to exit out of the ped function, switch to chronograph and hit the split button and reverse back to see my distance/pace.  for overall time, there is a screen for that within the ped function, but managing splits is something that requires quite a bit of interaction with the watch.  and, interacting with the watch means that you're not getting the arm swing which indicates a stride.  so, in reality, it's best to just either use the chrono or the ped, but both at the same time is counterproductive.

next, i thought i'd give the watch a try on the trails.  since it was billed as a "trail runner" watch, i wondered if it did indeed account for shorter arm swing and a modified pace on climbs/descents.  the route we picked was a 10mi loop with some significant elevation loss/gain.  at the end of the route, i had my answer as to whether i could easily move from road to trail with this watch.  no.  the 9.88 mile loop recorded on my partner's garmin was reported as a 14.1 mile run.  that's a tad bit over the 5% accuracy loss that they claim.  a recalibration for trails would be necessary.

so, the final test was to just take it out for a spin during one of my normal, flat runs.  this time, the watch was much more accurate, hitting closer to 3% over the distance.  so for an average 10mi run, the watch showed 10.3.  not too bad over the course of 10 miles.

since those initial tests, i've used the watch on most of my road runs and i've seen it come out spot on and wildly off.  i think the accuracy is closely tied to how close to your calibration pace you're running.  i think this is fine for most users, but if you need better accuracy when running a wide range of paces, this type of technology probably won't meet your needs.  the only other drawback i saw with the watch was the interface.  it's time consuming to move through the several screens and with only one piece of data viewable at a time, you're needing to interact with the watch frequently if you're geeky about your stats, and each time you interact with the watch, you're not logging strides. 

so, overall, it's a great low tech high tech gadget for those folks not wanting to take the huge leap into a gps watch.  it'll get the job done, but view the mileage with a skeptical eye.

or, this could be titled, "zipper quigley and the no good, super bad, ridiculously ugly day".  i like the second title, better.

so, i'm diving into this race report from a somewhat depressed perspective.  folks know me as the eternal optimist, the goofball and the encourager, but i have to be honest.  saturday's race broke me and i'm still trying to mentally recover from decisions i had to make.

race day came early with a 2:30am alarm and a quick scramble to get out the door and meet mr. k for a carpool to the start.  i was feeling quite well, considering the week+ leading up to race morning.  tc had come down with a respiratory virus the week after thanksgiving, spent some time in the emergency room and an overnight in the hospital and then lovingly passed the virus onto dear old dad.  down for the count for the week leading up to the race, i spent every day resting and micro-analyzing my lungs and their ability to provide my body with the oxygen necessary to race.

friday morning i made the call to race, sensing that the lungs had recovered enough.  at the same time, that call was probably one of the worst mistakes i'd ever made as a husband.  smsmh had come down with the respiratory virus as well and i'd be leaving her at home with tc for the entire day on saturday.  it was selfish and, well, just a plain bad decision.

so, with untested legs, gimped lungs and poor marital decisions weighing on my mind, i hopped into the car with mr, k and headed off to our 5am start.

the start had one of those great vibes.  our wave was full of people that i run with day in and day out and some people that i see on rare occasions and really enjoy.  we were all smiles, if not a little chilly, and ready to go.  knowing that it'd probably be about 10 degrees colder at the summit, i opted to put on my running tights rather than leave them in the 14mi drop bag.  the start was sounded a couple minutes after 5am and we were off.

mr. k and i headed up the 7mi and 2,500' climb to main divide running conservatively.  the climb was uneventful and we were treated to a full moon moving in and out of the clouds.  as we climbed toward the trail junction, though, the temperature dropped significantly and we moved from clear air up into the clouds.  it was cold and windy, but not too uncomfortable at that point.  we hit the first aid station at mile 7, took on water and moved on quickly.

feeling pretty good, we cruised along main divide heading for the next aid station and the brutally steep 2,500' drop down west horsethief.  at mile 10, steve harvey popped out of the clouds and greeted us with a smile and topped off our fluids.  still on top of the world, mr. k and i dropped down horsethief and headed toward the holy jim aid station.  this section of singletrack, while beautiful, is steep, rocky and narrow.  we quit the banter and focused on our footing.  once at the bottom of the steeper section, we opened up the pace a bit and cruised quickly over the remaining distance to the holy jim aid station.

still feeling good, mr. k and i joked with the volunteers, pretending to bicker like an old married couple.  we had moved out of the clouds, and although it was still heavily overcast, at least it wasn't raining and blowing.  i tentatively thought about dumping my pack and rain shell and running up holy jim to the summit with as little as possible, but word from the volunteers that the bear springs aid station and summit aid station might not be set up yet changed that and instead, i had them fill my camelbak and i loaded up on food.

off we went again, heading up the notoriously long and challenging climb of holy jim.  we took the climb easy and the pace wasn't too challenging.  about half way up, though, and just about when the trail's steepness backs off a bit, my right itb started to flare up.  at this point, it was just pain and wasn't producing the dreaded 'locking' so i continue to run on it.  we eventually hit the bear springs aid station at mile 19, topped off on fluids and then headed up the final three mile climb to the summit.  i started walking the steep climb out of bear springs, hoping to stretch out my leg a bit, but the tightness and pain just continued to increase.  at about mile 20, mr. k turned to me and let me know that he was feeling really good and wanted to know if it was okay for him to take advantage of it.   i know how those sorts of things go, so i encouraged him to head off on his own, hoping to catch back up to him at some point.

i alternated running and walking on the way up to the summit, but i just couldn't manage to shake the tightness and pain in my knee.  the further up the climb went, the worse the weather got, too.  the wind had begun to pick up and was now blowing rain, clouds and what felt like ice.  my drink tube didn't freeze up, though, so i estimated that the temperature was right above freezing.  thankful that i'd kept my pack and rain shell, i put on the extra protection and was able to feel somewhat comfortable despite the conditions.  once at the summit, i started seeing 4am starters and lots of familiar faces.  it was great to see people and get a boost of encouragement.  once off the summit, i began tentatively running the descent.  on the less steep sections, i was able to keep a comfortable pace, but once i hit something steep, the knee would just lock up.  after a short bit, the route took a turn down the upper holy jim trail.  i was quite thankful for the terrain change from the rocky and loose main divide road to the sandier singletrack.  i was able to move a little quicker but still had to watch my stride lest the knee give out and send me tumbling.

by the time i hit lower holy jim, i was feeling like i could run normally again and really began to stretch out my stride.  mentally i was feeling good and my hydration and fuel levels felt pretty decent too.  i moved quickly down the trail and before i knew it, i was rolling into the holy jim aid station again.  i grabbed my food and fluids as quickly as i could and asked how far ahead mr. k was.  he had just left the aid station a mere five minute before me, so i made a big production of wanting to catch him and put the reed to his backside for stranding me on the climb up.  honestly, though, at this point i was feeling well enough that i thought i could run the flatter section of the next climb and power hike up west horsethief and, maybe, just maybe, hook back up with him. 

i ended up yo-yo'ing with a guy named tom on the 2.5 miles to the base of horsethief and we chatted a bit about how brutal the conditions were up on the summit and how challenging the route was.  he was still feeling pretty strong and pulled away from me after a little while.  as the steep series of switchbacks came into view, i could see mr. k about a half mile ahead of me working his way up the swtichbacks.

when i hit the steep climb, i immediately dropped into a power hike and within the first 100', i knew i was done.  the knee flared up and it was all i could do to even lift my leg to make the next step.  within the space of a minute, i went from being enthusiastic about catching mr. k to wondering if i'd even be able to complete the course.  it hurt.  bad.  i kept checking my garmin to see how far i was from main divide, but realized that the watch was vacillating between loosing it's satellite lock to auto-pausing due to my slow pace.  it seemed i was stuck on the same .1 section of trail for a good 30 minutes.  i tried to remind myself of how the knee loosened back up when i ran down holy jim and told myself that the same would happen when i hit main divide.  finally, i moved off of the steep, rocky section of horsethief, but as i moved out of the cover of the steep switchbacks, i was presented with a new horror.  the wind had picked up and was howling over the ridge line, bringing with it heavy clouds, rain, mist and again, what felt like ice.  before too much longer, though, i was at the horsethief aid station and greeted by steve's happy face.  i asked him for some motivation and he responded with, "well, you only have 18 miles to go!"  i told him, "thanks...that would normally make me cry but i don't want to waste any fluid or salt."  that got a laugh and with that, i headed back along main divide toward the summit.

i ran what i could, but it was a mere shuffle at this point.  i couldn't get my knee to cooperate with much more and as soon as the grade got steep, the pain would reduce me to a walk.  i tried hard to stretch out my stride on the flatter sections, but i just couldn't manage it.  the weather, which continued to get colder and more windy, didn't seem to be helping, either.  i slowly made my way toward the aid station at the top of indian truck trail and my mind began to process.

i started thinking about the time that it was going to take for me to finish.  fourteen hours?  fifteen?  sixteen?  was i going to make it home in time to put tc down to sleep?  i'd left smsmh at home, sick, alone with our little guy.  i had to at least make it home before he went to sleep.  was i going to have to walk the entire section back up to the summit?  in this weather?  would my knee hold out for that?  and then what about the remaining 10 miles back down to the finish?  would i be forced to walk that, too?  the doubts came strong and fast.

out of the clouds i saw headlights ahead.  it was corrinne and her husband, bob.  they stopped, offered me what sustenance they had, but i was fine for the time being.  seeing them was encouraging and for a bit, it sparked a bit of enthusiasm.  they asked the dreaded question, though.  "how are you doing?"  i was honest and told them how bad my leg was feeling.  up until that point, i hadn't verbalized the discomfort.  and as soon as the words left my mouth, they had been given power.  i watch them float away with the mist of my breath...

it was at that point that i was defeated.  i left bob and corrinne and headed on to the itt aid station with the decision made.  i'd turn and head down the mountain at that point and not run the whole route to the summit again.  hitting the aid station at mile 37+, i informed them of my decision and made those irreversible steps down the mountain.  they were hard steps.  they hurt physically, and they hurt emotionally.  was i whimping out?  had i given up before my body truly had?  i tried to shut up the second guessing and just press on.  i ran.  at times it was a shuffle, but the singular thought on my mind was getting down that ridiculous mountain, out of the weather, as quickly as possible and just.STOP.RUNNING.

those were lonely miles.  i saw no one.  my ipod had died back around mile 12.  even on the lee side of the mountain, the wind still howled.  i tried to push my pace and kept telling myself to keep running.  walking would take longer.  i told myself that i didn't need to save my knee any more since there wasn't any climbing left.  i reminded myself that it was only soft tissue and that it'd be fine once the inflammation was gone.  i wanted to hurt at this point.  i wanted the pain there to validate the decision i'd made.  but the closer i got to finishing and turning in a brutally difficult 44 mile run, the less it really mattered and there wasn't really anything that i could tell myself that could rationalize the disappointment of not completing the whole distance.

with roughly a mile to go, it finally got dark enough that i had to pull out the headlamp again.  i had to slow my pace down so as not to eat it on the rutted road.  eventually, i saw the coleman lantern ahead that marked the finish.  as i came across the finish, i couldn't wrap my head around being done.  i was done.  people clapped but i had to tell them that i was a drop.  that hurt.

it was good to see faces i recognized, though.  darrell was there.  seeing him and hearing his voice was such a welcome surprise.  darrell, you have no idea how important you were to me at that point.  seeing you there really helped me.  all i wanted to do was crawl into the car and just shut things out.

immediately upon finishing, mrs. k came up and introduced herself.  she had brought the three kids along, too.  we chatted for a bit and i joked around with the kids, calling each other every variation of "pickle-insert body part".  "pickletoes", "pickleboogers", "pickleears", etc.  the interaction with the kids was really welcome, if not a vivid reminder that i wasn't at home with mine. 

i waited at the finish for mr. k to come across the finish.  i ate what food there was available.  i drank water, i stretched.  i tried to tell myself that running 44 miles in those conditions was a pretty decent accomplishment.  it was hard, though.  i kept wondering what would have happened if i'd headed up to the summit.  would i have caught mr. k?  would i have turned around and run back down with him?  would his company have been the buoying effect necessary to get me the distance i needed to finish?

finally, we got word from a volunteer that mr. k was nearing the finish.  a couple minutes later, we could see his solitary headlamp dancing down the trail.  the kids and i headed up the trail to cheer him in and, as he came into view, the kids ran up to him, cheering wildly for their dad and ran comfortably across the finish.  i was in awe of his accomplishment.  he, without any protection on his legs, had braved those ridiculous weather conditions and had bested the route.  hats off, mr. k.  you pulled off a stellar performance.

the one thing that continued to stick in my head, though, was the thought that by making a poor decision as a husband, i had been handed a poor day on the trails.  funny how that works out, eh?

now, it's time for some rest and reflection.  don't expect to see me on the trails for a while.  i've got some redemption to work on.

soundtrack for this post
	lick: hipsters: wax:	What You Are Paloalto Heroes And Villains

with my ultra coming up quickly, i've been packing on the miles in the hopes of getting a solid handle on how my body will react to running longer distances.  since we were out in arizona for thanksgiving, this weekend was a perfect chance to get out and run long.  i had planned to meet up with angie, but illness took her out at the knees and i was on my own for the duration. 

running at my folks place means an opportunity to run in the white tank mountains.  i'm beginning to develop a love/hate relationship with this piece of wilderness.  it's taken it's shots at me and i've fired back and at this point the score is even.  the trails, too, are incredibly steep and technical but sport some amazingly fluid and smooth sections that make the tougher bits completely worthwhile.

so, my plan was to run from the house to the park in the pre-dawn, show up at the park as the sun was coming up, run the goat camp/mesquite loop and then back to the house.  i estimated that it was going to be right at 30 if not a little bit over.  i prepared for about 32 miles.

things mostly went according to plan, although a late night hanging out with my sister and brother in law made me re-set the alarm for an extra hour of sleep.  the run to the park was all surface streets, but outside of the del webb development, the shoulder of the road was dirt so i had some respite on the 12 miles to the park.  the morning was quite cool with perfect running temperatures and as i made the long climb up to the entrance, the sun started it's slow, desert wake up.

i made it to the trailhead feeling quite good so i stopped for a moment to fuel up, eat something and void waste.  with the sun finally in the sky, i started up the goat camp trail.  normally, this trail really takes it out of me.  it's so steep and the muscles haven't warmed up properly yet so my calves always get flamed within the first mile of tough, technical climbing.  this time, though, i was able to run comfortably to the un-runable sections and never experienced the familiar muscle flare.  i power-hiked the un-runable sections, ran when i could and before i knew it i was at the saddle that marked the top of the climb.  i was a good 16+ miles into the run and feeling really good.  i stopped briefly to refuel and then, with the thought of being half way done in my mind, i continued on.

this section of the trail is fabulous.  it consists of really smooth singletrack that just swoops and winds it's way along several ridge lines.  it is such a joy to run this section of trail and i was in heaven.  by mile 19 i was singing a different tune, though.  the miles started to really weigh on me and i began to question my ability to finish the route.  i told myself i'd run to mile 20 and take a walk break to refuel.  at 20, i dropped into a power-hike again and took some time to mix my bottle of gatorade, eat some of my sister's amazing oatmeal raisin cookies and down another gu.  the half mile walk was just the ticket.  as i started back up, i felt like a new man.

the mesquite section of the trail is fun, too, but quickly drops into as technical a downhill as goat camp was on the climb.  that drop is challenging on fresh legs, so i made very certain to watch my footing and not get lazy with my steps.  fortunately, i reached the canyon floor without eating any rocks.  by mile 23, i was back in one of the upper parking lots and done with the trails.  i stopped briefly again to refuel.  i added a little water to my camelbak, thinking that i might run out on the return if i didn't.  a quick guestimate of the remaining distance made me think that the route was going to be closer to 36 than 32.  at that point, i didn't want to try to wrap my head around running further, so i just focused on the next bit and getting out of the park.

it wasn't until mile 26, when i reached the park gate, that i realized the route was going to be closer to 38.  i pressed on, just focusing on keeping the legs moving.  i was tired and a little sore, but i still felt mentally strong.  the next couple of miles were a long downhill, so i stuck to the hard packed dirt on the shoulder of the road and tried to lift the pace a bit.  the downhill bottomed out around mile 30.  i took another walk break to refuel, mix my bottle and eat some more cookies.

after mixing the bottle, i took a couple swigs of water to wash down the cookies and realized that i had just used the last of my water to mix my bottle of gatorade.  i had also just put away my last gu, mixed my last gatorade and eaten the last of the cookies.  the road i was on was a good 5-6 miles from the edge of town and that meant 5-6 miles before i would hit any chance of getting refueled.  i pulled out the phone, checked google maps and verified that it was indeed 8+ miles back to the house and 6 miles to the nearest store.

i made a command decision and placed a call for evac.  i finally reached smsmh and got my family to agree to come and fetch me.  walking break over, i headed out again running along the shoulder in the dirt.  the going was pretty rough on this section because the asphalt shoulder was too narrow to run on and the dirt shoulder was really uneven and heavily overgrown.  somehow i managed to keep a decent pace through this junk and kept going for another 3 miles before my mom and brother in law showed up.

i hopped in the car, thankful to be done running and thankful to have pulled off a 33 mile run in the arizona desert.  the great thing was that i feel confident that i could have run the remaining 5 miles back to the house.  i think it was smart to stop the run, though, rather than risk bonking due to fuel/hydration issues.  quitting while ahead let me recover more effectively and still have decent legs for more running this coming week.

well, that and diving into a bath full of ice.

soundtrack for this post
	lick: hipsters: wax:	Good Dope/Good Fun Spiritualized The Complete Works Vol. 1

BAM!

we're in december.  how did we slip right from thanksgiving smack dab into christmas?  there's usually that week after thanksgiving to wrap our collective heads around the prospect of christmas being right around the corner...but this year?  no such luck.  we're in it.  up to our necks.

this year, more than others, i think the chaos is going to be intense.  fear of the marketplace and the resulting increase in the "buy! buy! buy!" marketing is going to drive us bonkers.

so, this year, do something different. 

i saw this clip over on robb's site:

it got me thinking...we DO spend a load on our kids.  that's typically who we spend money on each year.  we've pretty much given up on trying to buy stuff for all the adults in the family and now it's just "buy for all the kids".

realistically, how many new toys to the kids really need?  up until a certain age, they'd rather play with the packaging more than the toy itself.  after that, sitting down with mom and dad and making something together would go down as equally cool.  grab some cardboard boxes from a local store and make a house/fort/spaceship or try your hand at putting making a clipper ship from cardboard scraps.  seriously, i can't imagine anything cooler than getting a kid's creative wheels spinning by making something with them out of mundane objects.  and for those older kids?  well, they're old enough to understand making a 'toy' sacrifice for the betterment of someone less fortunate.

so this year?  consider doing something different.

me?  i'm going to see if my nephew would like to join me in making a cardboard robot for thunderclap.

soundtrack for this post
	lick: hipsters: wax:	One Special Gift Low Christmas

i was approached a couple years back by uk gear to test out their original road shoe and they must have liked how i approached testing their gear, so i was tagged again by them this year when they released their new offerings; the pt-03 desert shoe and the pt-03 winter shoe.  based on the type of training i was doing, i opted to give the desert shoe a spin.

the shoe boasts some great features for people running in hot, arid and off-road conditions.  from a gum outer sole to a bruise plate and sand-proof construction, they claim to have thought of everything that would become an issue when running in the desert.

the pair i received came complete with a set of gaiters that have a native attachment to the shoe.  the loop/velcro setup for the gaiters was a nice feature and i was quickly impressed with the thought that went into constructing the shoe.  typically, when i trail run, my socks will come back completely brown from the dust and sand i encounter.  as i tested these shoes out, i thought i'd give their 'sandproof' claim a real test and wear only brand new socks with the shoes.

with my first run in the shoes, i had a couple quick observations.  first off, the shoes were a little heavier than what i was used to wearing on the trails, but within the first mile, that wasn't even a thought that crossed my mind.  second, if i decided to continue using the gaiters, i would have to switch to a calf-high sock rather than the ankle-high socks i currently own as the drawstring on the gaiters was rubbing my shin raw.

before long, though, i didn't even notice the shoes.  and for that matter, i didn't notice the trail, either.  the tread on the shoes doesn't look near as aggressive as that of my other trail shoes, but i never had an issue with traction; whether on loose footing like sand or gravel nor on rock or sandstone.  the gum outsole really gripped well and showed little wear.  in addition, i felt very little of the rocks that i would run over.  sure, i felt them, but i didn't "feel" them.  the bruiseplate really lived up to it's claim.

unlike some shoe reviewers, i like to spend at least 100 miles in a shoe before i weigh in on how well the kit performed.  after copious moderate distance trail runs and a handful of longer distance routes, i'm happy to say that i'm very pleased with how well the shoe has lived up to it's claims.  not only have my feet fared very well in the comfort arena, but i have had sure footing, decent foot temperatures and best of all, those brand new white socks?  still white.  sandproof, indeed!

if you're in the market for a shoe that will perform well in hot, arid trail conditions, give the uk gear pt-03 dessert running shoe a try and you'll have white socks, too.