Tips and How-To's
So, I’m a Google Earth fan. I think that it is great tool that I could waist countless hours of my life on. Aside from that, though, I have found a very useful application for Google Earth–tracking the miles that I run.
On Sunday I talked to my father-in-law who has organized a group to run the Wasatch Back Relay. It turns out that they have had a few people drop out of the originally full team and he offered one of the open spots to me. I haven’t ran seriously for years, so, I was reluctant to accept the challenge of running three five-mile legs in the relay. I have also been known for having said about organized runs “why would I want to pay to suffer?”
Well, I had a change of heart. I agreed on Sunday that I would wake up on Monday, run five miles, and then run another five miles in the evening. i figure that if I could do this with out too much of a problem then I should be good to go for the race.
Now this is where Google earth comes in. I wanted to make route for the two five-mile legs that I was going to do on Monday. I pulled up Google Earth and used the measuring tool to find the appropriate distance. You can do the same thing by downloading Google Earth here. Once you have it you can go to “Tools” in the menu bar and then scroll down to “Measures.” That will pull up a screen that lets you select one tab that allows you to place line segments on your map and see the distance covered in the metric of your choice. Or, you can choose the other tab to make a chain of line segments and to view the total distance that the entire chain covers.
With this tool I was able to select my two five-mile legs without difficulty and today I plotted out a seven-mile route. Works like a charm, really.
Oh, and just so you know, I will be running the Wasatch Back Relay in a week and a half. True, that means that I will have trained for a total of two weeks for this thing, but, I figure that, had I committed earlier, I would have procrastinated and been in the same situation. I’ll do fine though…I hope.
June 14th, 2006
I went on a week-long trip last fall. It was both the worst and best trip that I’ve ever been on for many reasons. But since this is a worst trip ever competition I’ll focus on one of the “worst trip” moments.
A friend and I drove to Yosemite National Park in September. For any of your familiar with Yosemite, you’ll know that due to local black bear populations all visitors are required to store food and scented items in metal “bear boxes” which lock out bears, and reduce human to bear contact. Since wilderness campers and backpackers can’t be expected to haul 30 pound metal boxes in their packs, an ingenious item called the “bear canister” was created. Backpackers are required to store any of their food in these thick plastic, black, airtight canisters that lock out bears as well air, and lock in the scent.
My friend and I decided that it would be fun to go wilderness camping for a night. Following protocol we checked out a bear canister, stuck our food and chap stick in the canister, stuck the canister in my backpack, and continued on our merry way. Now some may say that I have strange taste for camping food, but I’ll admit I find hot dogs, cheese, and hard boiled eggs to be excellent and tasty sources of protein during a long hike. With these food items in mind, I’d like to remind you that said canister is thick, black, and airtight. I’d also like to remind you that the name of this story is “smelly old food.”
We went on a shorter than planned hike, camped out under the stars, and decided in the morning to, instead of eating our food, hike back into civilization and get pancakes. This would have been a great decision if we’d remembered to take the food mentioned above out of the bear canister.
During the next couple of days we stayed with my granola sister and her family who took us kayaking and climbing. It was truly a great trip. We slept at their house and ate their food, leaving ours (drum roll please) in the thick… black… airtight… bear canister in the back of the hot car under the hot September sun.
We didn’t leave the park until the absolute latest time possible (the day before classes started again). So by the time we got to the Ranger station to return the canister it was dark and quiet. And by the time we opened the canister it was smelly and rotten. Imagine 4 day old, unrefrigerated eggs, cheese, and hot dogs and multiply it by about 500.
It became apparent that I was about to experience a new “first.” My first time ever to immerse my hand in rotten food (yes it was warm) and somehow remove a decent sized bag of nastiness (yes it was oozy) from a lid-opening about the size of my fist. (and yes my hand smelled through the next couple of rest stops)
About halfway through the process a ranger stopped in to check up on the stopped vehicle in the empty parking lot by the empty station in the dark. We let him know that all was fine, and I held back my gag reflex so he would believe us.
Fellow campers- learn from my mistake. Don’t let this happen to you.
April 4th, 2006
Q.I use an Arc’Teryx Sindwinder SV for touring and resort riding. It is significantly thinner than my previous outer layer (The North Face Mountain Guide) so I am having trouble finding a layering system that will work for me. I tend to get warm quickly. If you could give me some options for warmer and cooler days I’d appreciate it.
A. I can appreciate your predicament as I, too, tend to get warm very quickly. I also use a thin Gore-Tex shell similar to your Sidewinder for riding. What I have found works well for me is different layering for different temps and uses.
For touring, when I’m on the move most of the time, I wear a lightweight base layer with a Marmot DriClime Windshirt over that. I keep my shell in my pack until I’m ready to rip.
If it’s really cold or stormy, I layer my shell over the top; the windshirt adds just enough warmth, but also breathes very well so I don’t overheat. I cannot overstate the versatility of this one amazing piece of gear. I use it year round, but for winter backcountry travel it rules. Its outer nylon shell takes the bite out of a cold wind, while it’s thin microfleece liner regulates your temperature evenly and effectively. You can hike all day in it.
For colder days or resort days, it gets a little trickier because even temperature regulation is so much harder to achieve. The key is having your layers work together, moving moisture towards the outer shell and away from your body.
I use a thin base layer with either a power stretch top or lightweight fleece (100 weight) over it. Patagonia’s R system (R .5 and R 1) is excellent. If it’s really, really cold I’ll put my DriClime Windshirt over the fleece under my shell or use a 200 weight fleece.
I would stay away from layering with WindStopper type fleeces as they inhibit moisture transport, making you feel clammy. Sometimes you just have to vent on the way down (with core vents or pit zips) or up (riding the chair). The newer soft shell outerwear has definitely caught my attention as it seems to be a good solution for hot folks like us. Good luck, and thanks for your question!
credit www.backcountry.com
March 13th, 2006
The idea is to get a good balance of protein, favorable carbohydrates and good fats. I rarely measure, so every batch is slightly different.
Begin with old fashioned rolled oats
5.9 version:
two eggs, one cup soy milk, half cup powdered milk, half cup protein powder, half cup brown sugar, a few almonds. Blend, then add to one cup of oats. Add a handful of raisins. Bake them like oatmeal cookies.
5.10 version
3 egg whites, one cup soy milk, half cup powdered milk, one third cup whey protein, one third cup soy protein, one third cup brown sugar, a few almonds and walnuts. Blend, add to one cup of oats. Add a few raisins. Bake them like oatmeal cookies.
5.11 version
4 egg whites, one cup soy milk, one half cup kiefer or plain yogurt, one third cup whey protein, one third cup soy protein, add almonds, a few walnuts, a few pecans, some pumpkin seeds, throw some dried apricots, mangoes into the blender and then blend.
Add to one cup of oats. Add raisins. For long treks in the snow, add chocolate chips.
Bake them like oatmeal cookies.
5.12 version
under development
February 28th, 2006
“Gatorade” is a good electrolyte replacing fluid, but is relatively expensive. The World Health Organization’s recommendation for electrolyte replacement fluid is:
- table salt ¾ teaspoon
- baking soda ½ teaspoon
- cream of tartar 4 teaspoons
- sugar or corn syrup 1 tablespoon to one liter of clean water.
- The salt contains sodium. The baking soda contains bicarbonate. The cream of tartar contains potassium. Since cream of tartar may not be a common household item, it may be left out of the fluid, and the potassium can be obtained by eating one or two bananas. (it doesn’t taste very good, but it is what the body needs)
- “Powerbars” are a great energy snack, but, like Gatorade, are relatively expensive. My scoutmaster taught us how to make this replacement. Use the strawberry flavored 6 oz of Jell-O (not sugar-free). Mix in ½ cup of peanut butter. Also mix in 3 teaspoons of honey. Mix until it is the right consistency. The gelatin is great for the joints. The Jell-O will also boost your blood sugar levels. The peanut butter is full of protein and calories which is exactly what you need after/during a hard workout. The honey has good sugars in it, but it is really just used to give the bar the correct consistency.
February 22nd, 2006