Tahoe 200 and Foot Care

With just a couple of weeks to go before the Grand to Grand, I had an enjoyable time volunteering and supporting my friend Tim White at the inaugural Tahoe 200.  This is a 200 mile, multi-day race around beautiful lake Tahoe on the Tahoe Rim Trail.  Megan Hicks wrote of her experience fast packing much of this course back in the January edition of Trail Runner.

Unlike stage racing this event has no fixed distances to cover each day.  The gun goes off and you finish when you cross the line.  The time limit for this event was 100 hours (four days+) and of course there were cut off times along the way.  Like stage racing you need to manage yourself over several days including rest/sleep/eating/whining/etc.  While not "self supported" participants were required to carry a significant amount of emergency gear just in case.  Tim's pack came in at around 10 lbs (including water) which is nothing to scoff at in a race of this length.

My volunteering duties were mainly centered around the Armstrong Pass Aid Station at approximately mile 90.  At an altitude of about 8500 feet (2600 meters) it was the highest aid station on the entire course and in between the two highest summits at about 9600-9750 feet.  Temperatures at night there dropped down to 36 degrees F and the Western Mountaineering sleeping bag did great.

Pacing duties for Tim were split between his brother (Paul), daughter (Haley) and son (Forest) as well as work colleague Jesson Hutchinson and myself. Tim finished in a little over 82 hours! Quite an accomplishment.  Surprisingly there was only a 30% DNF rate.  Many thought it would be higher.

One of the biggest issues I saw during the race was the lack of foot care!  At Armstrong the EMT and myself wound up working on many blister issues.  Even the front runners were suffering in this regards before the half way point.  Few were washing their feet regularly and changing their socks.  Some competitors did not even have gaiters.  With a very dusty course this was compounding their problems.

At Tahoe City aid station while working on Tim's feet I had the pleasant surprise to being helped out by none other than John Vonhof author of "Fixing Your Feet".  After I got Tim on his way, John and I had some discussions on foot care during this race, techniques and what are the best tapes currently available.  Thanks for the pointers John!

All this has just reinforced my experience with foot care on these long, multi-day events.  I will for sure be taping up before leaving the starting line!

A Tutorial in Velcro

One of the most asked questions I hear is "How do you attack the Velcro for your gaiters to your shoes?"  This is probably one of the true mysteries of the universe ranking right up there with "Does the light in the refrigerator stay on when the door is closed?"  Hopefully this post will take some of the confusion out of this important aspect of desert running.  It has been a trial and error experience for me developing this procedure and hopefully you will get up on the curve with less frustration.

The overall plan is to SECURELY adhere Velcro hook portion to the circumference of the shoe just above the sole (on the upper) in a professional manner.  Once this is done you will then wish to take the shoes into a cobbler and have them sew over the Velcro in order to assure it will stay in place.  It is likely that just gluing the Velcro would be sufficient but this is a critical piece of race equipment you do not want failures.

What you will need includes:

1. 3/4 inch (2 cm) Velcro (both the hook and loop parts).  You need a sufficient amount to go around both shoes plus at least 6 inches (15cm) extra.  Do not get the adhesive back type, the "sew on" type is best.
2. Scissors
3. 3M Black Super Weatherstrip and Gasket Adhesive (08008) or equivalent. You can get this kind of stuff at the auto supply store.
4. Paper towels
5. Patience

What you need for a Velcro job

NOTE:  This procedure takes time and should be done in short sessions over a day or two.  This will assure a professional looking job that will not let you down.

Starting at the back glue the Velcro around the outside of the shoe.  Do this in short sections in order to keep the Velcro in place while the adhesive dries.  Be sure to coat the the Velcro all the way to the edges with adhesive and let it dry slightly prior to applying to the shoe. This makes application easier.

Start at the back

Work your way around the outside first

When you get to a portion of the shoe where there are natural curves you will need to trim the Velcro so it will lay flat.  To do this either cut an arc or notch out of the inside of the cure (no more than 1/3 of the way thru) and snip the Velcro on the opposite side.  Glue this down and hold in place while it dries

Arc cut out example

Notch cut out example

If there are any protrusions (sole features) in the toe area you may have to cut them off or file them down so the Velcro will lay flat.  Small discontinuities can be taken care of with a build up of adhesive.

Work your way over the toe

Then along the inside

Once the Velcro has been adhered and has set for a day, take your shoes to a cobbler.  Have them sew all the way around the Velcro both at the top and the bottom so it will not come off.  You may have to shop around to find someone to do this.  Talk face-to-face with them to explain the procedure.  They will most likely will be quite interested in what this is for!

Sewed on and done!

Finally, you should take the remaining loop portion of the Velcro and cut two protective strips to place on your new race shoes to keep all sorts of foreign objects out of the hook part when wearing without gaiters.  An example of this would be if you wear them as you travel to your race, or if you are breaking them in some.  Trim as explained above so to get around the curves of your shoes.  Start and end these pieces at the rear of your shoes.  You will have a right and left one obviously.

Good Luck!

Four Weeks to Go!

Will with just four weeks until the start, training has peaked.  Last week was a good high mileage effort at about 45% of the anticipated mileage and lb-miles for the Grand to Grand. This week on the other hand was seven days of travel. Most of the time spent in North Carolina (Southern Pines and Raleigh Durum). Fine 90 degree weather at 90% humidity, with downpours of course.  Trial runs in the Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve and the William B. Umstead State Park made it acceptable. 

Returning to the drier environs of New Mexico, I enjoyed a relaxing weekend with my wife in Farmington.  The high desert and some good night sleeps do wonders for one's outlook and training.  Green chile comfort food also helps!  

Trail running in Farmington

Now all I have to say is let the taper begin!

Petzl/Black Diamond Swap

Well it is official.  Petzl can not seem to supply the AAA battery adapter for their Tikka RXP in time for the event (anticipated new delivery date some time in October).  Not a lot of help and quite disappointing.  The RXP worked great during The Salt Flats 100 and I was looking forward to using it on Grand to Grand.  How hard is it to make an injection molded piece of plastic with some connectors?  Plan B is now in effect.  It is always good to have at least a Plan B in this game!

While shopping for some odds and ends I ran across an interesting little headlamp - the Black Diamond Ion.  Here are some specifications:

2 ea AAA batteries
Up to 80 lumens (dimable too)
Swipe switch
Red LED
Strobe function
46 grams/1.6 oz (yes about half the weight of most headlamps!)
Inexpensive ($25)

Black Diamond Ion and Petzl Tikka XP2

This new Ion should not be confused with Black Diamonds original Ion that ran on a 123 type battery.

I would only consider this lamp for a backup. It is not quite sufficient enough for route finding or traveling at speed over rough terrain since there is no ability to focus the beam. The headband is quite minimalist but sufficient given its size and weight.  Burn time is acceptable so into the pack it will go.  Afterwards this will be in my trail running vest for emergencies.

Menu Adjustments

While my nutritional selections for the MDS got me by, they did need some adjustment.  Calories were acceptable but additional protein and fat would have been nice.  In order to do this I am planning on increasing the number of Slim Jim's per day and perhaps taking along a little olive oil to add into my dinners.  I am also going to diversify my nut selection from almonds only to almonds and pecans.  Pre-cooked bacon is also under consideration.

On the move food will continue to be the same (bar, gel and a waffle) but I might throw in a couple of dried apricots a day for a treat.

One other potential treat may be the addition of freeze dried ice cream.  While not very high in calories (120 per oz) it does have a fair amount of fat.  Easy to eat with no rehydration required.  Funny texture but tasty.

All this may add a couple of more ounces but I believe it will be worth it especially if the weather turns cold.  This is a possibility since the summer down here has been somewhat mild.

Let me flash you

In an earlier post I brought up the issue relating to the signal mirror requirement:

Signal mirror at least 6 cm diameter: For the MDS my signal mirror was a small one inch diameter mirror.  Most signal mirrors are not round and thus surface area comparisons are in order.  6 cm diameter equates to just under 30 square cm or 4.5 square inches.  Any mirror about 2x2 inches or larger meets this requirement.  The StarFlash signal mirror is 2x3 inches and weighs in at 0.8 oz.  the SOL Rescue Flash Signal mirror is the same size but weighs in at 0.32 oz.  Nothing major, just a little bit more weight.

Not being happy with any of the above I have continued to search for an optimized solution to the size, weight, function and cost constraints. Eventually I came across a potential answer, the Ultimate Survival Technologies StarFlash Micro Signal Mirror.

This little gem is 1.5x2.0 inches in size (only 3.0 square inches) and weighs in around 14 grams (0.5 oz).  It is unbreakable, scratch resistant and also has a aiming feature.  They can be had for around $5.  Not bad.  I plan on bringing this along (with a larger backup in case it is not acceptable at check- in due to the size requirement).

Time to Ramp Up!

It is only thirteen weeks until Grand to Grand!  Hotels and flights are arranged and all freeze dried food procured.  I'll just have to pick up bars, gels, nuts, etc.  The only big item with regards to equipment is getting Velcro sewed on a new pair of shoes.

The knee is getting better and my mileage is starting to pick up. Unfortunately I have several business trips in July that are going to crimp my training style but we will do what we can.  Pack runs now make up about half my mileage.  I am still keeping it light for now (12-15 lbs) so as not to do any more damage.  Trying to keep at about 250 lb-miles per week (pack weight in pounds times mileage carried).  I am also staying off the steep hills tempting as they are.

My training pace is slowing down and there is a renewed focus on incorporating power walking - especially with the pack!