Into Thin Air is about the author, Jon Krakauer, and his personal account of climbing Mount Everest and the ensuing disaster which takes the lives of 8 deaths. He explains in great detail the events from arriving at the Mt Everest Base Camp, to the various “teams” bidding for the summit, and the grueling task of climbing to an oxygen starved 29,002 ft summit. The expedition was marred by death, including two of the author’s guides and two of his teammates.

One of the many favorite passages:

Unfortunately, the sort of individual who is programmed to ignore personal distress and keep pushing for the top is frequently programmed to disregard signs of grave and imminent danger as well. This forms the nub of a dilemma that every Everest climber eventually coms up against: in order to succeed you must be exceedingly driven, but if you’re too driven you’re likely to die. Above 26,000 feet, moreover, the line between appropriate zeal and reckless summit fever becomes grievously thin. Thus the slopes of Everest are littered with corpses.

Once I got into the book, it was hard to put down. One of those where you force yourself to stay awake at night to keep reading.

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On Sunday, Katie, Michelle and I went exploring and found steeper inclines. Not sure on the distance, but the post-run hot tub sure soothed the leg muscles. Below is a view from our cabin. I wouldn’t mind spending more time in mountains…maybe Fort Collins next?

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My friend Bob, roped me into the challenge and Michelle decided the idea of a trail marathon sounded fun and came with. Somehow, we were also convinced that camping the entire weekend would be the way to go. Mother nature added her own wrinkle to the contest and gave us freezing (literally) temperatures both nights. The road trip took about 8 hours and we got to the park on Friday night just before dark to set up camp.

Pinckney State Park Campsite

The next morning, Bob and I joined 800+ other runners for one lap around the park or 13.1 miles for the half marathon. Since this was day one of the challenge, we both took it slow…me, really slow. The rest of the day we hung out on the University of Michigan’s campus and found a couple local restaurants to refuel.

Bob and I freezing before the Half Marathon

Saturday night was again cold, 26 degrees, and offered little sleep to all except Michelle who burrowed with two sleeping bags and three pairs of pants. The next morning was all business and I was a little nervous going out on slightly sore legs. I signed up for the 50K but I had planted the seed of stopping after 26.2 miles or the marathon distance the day before. I wasn’t completely sold at the start, but figured I could still complete the challenge and reduce my recovery time if I did the marathon instead of the 50K.

The first lap was slow and I just wasn’t feeling it. This has been a common theme for me lately and probably has to due with the majority of my running taking place in the afternoon. My body is not used to 7:30am hills! By the 2nd lap, dropping down from the 50K to the marathon was a done deal in my mind. Now, I could pick up the pace some and not have to worry about saving it for the extra 5 miles in a 50K. I really enjoyed the last lap and even let myself go on some of the longer downhill stretches. At the finish line though, I was exhausted, my energy was depleted. Here are the weekends results…times are a bit slower with elevation and trails.

• Sat. Half Marathon: 2 Hours 13 Minutes and 45 Seconds
• Sun Marathon: 4 Hours 25 Minutes and 10 Seconds
• about 1,200 ft of climb and 1,200 of decline each lap
• No Wimps Challenge: Completed!

Bob, Michelle and I at the finish

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1. My Half Marathon Tour
2. Muddy Monster – 1:06:37
3. No Music, No Camelbak

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Jason Fried, the author, does a great job explaining the concept for his company 37 Signals.

Coming from traditional work environments, I especially concur with his thoughts on managing by observation.

“There’s one question I hear from entrepreneurs all the time: “How do you know work is getting done if you can’t see people doing it?” My response? Observing work take place is not the same as seeing work get done. In fact, I have found that it’s easier to know if people are getting work done when they’re remote. That’s because their work has to speak for itself. When you don’t have, just being there at the office, to hide behind, it becomes all about the work. And it’s hard to argue with that.”

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The first 10 miles went very smooth and I felt good. Around mile 15, the legs were tiring fast due to the loose snow. It felt like running in sand and with every step I was slipping. The only stop between the start and finish was mile 22, where you had to checked in at the Handle Bar (a bar in Durango). It was pretty tough to leave food and drink to go run 4 more miles, but I knew I had dry clothes waiting for me at the finish in my drop bag. For the last four miles, I ran with a guy from Osh Kosh, WI and he kept a great, even pace. Me on the other hand, walked, ran, walked, ran and repeated this until we finished together. The finish line was another bar and it never looked so good. Overall, it took about four hours and below is a map of the run and pacing chart. The two dips in pace at the beginning is where I took off and put back on the Yaktrax (a portion of trail was gravel, without snow). The big dip is when I reached the checkpoint and the waves at the end happened because of my running/walking technique. Fun race and I’m planning on coming back next year!

Triple D Splits 1-15-12

Triple D Race 1-15-12

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It was cold and rainy...not what I was expecting (Texas State Capitol)

Two days later, sun and a dry river bed (Barton Creek Trail)

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My Mom's Christmas Tree

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The course is amazing, especially if you like trails. You start at the Hartman Reserve Nature Center in Cedar Falls. The course runs through the nature reserve with trails, steps, some paved paths, open grass and passed a few lakes. There are even a couple sandy spots which wakes the calf muscles up in a hurry. I quickly got out of breath and had burning lungs for most of the race. The post race was low key but had apple cider and cookies. I was one of the lucky door prize winners and scored a shirt, although I had my pick of gift cards, running gear and other donations.

Will definitely do this one again. And hopefully, I can make it back up to run the trails.

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Some of those views are below of the ETSU Campus…where I worked for the day.

On my last day, I got up early to venture over to Roan Mountain. The plan was to drive 8 miles up to the top, Carver’s Gap, and catch a stunning view of the sunrise. The Appalachian Trail crosses Carver’s Gap which was an added bonus. Halfway up, the fog was thickening and I knew it was going to be too dense. I made it to the top, but all views were a lost cause, I could only see about 15 feet ahead! Oh well, it’ll be an excuse to come back and hike it instead.

Note: Thanks Katie and Jake!

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