A morning in my brain:
(Let's see... I need to write up Event 32 in the 50@50 Project. Need to do this while it's still like the cuts and scratches from yesterday - 'fresh'.)
Sluuurp.
(Lots of races coming up in the next couple of weeks, so I don't want to get behind.) Sluurp.
(Besides, I may not survive the Chris King Century this Saturday, so it's also categorized as 'getting my affairs in order'.)
Sluuuuurp.
(Coffee is damn good this morning. Bet it will help with sore muscles and healing wounds. That's my theory anyway.)
Sluurp.
(At least the bleeding stopped. Camera Crew got to break out the ol' first aid kit, put those WFR skills to use AND use her wound irrigation syringe, which pleased her greatly - especially when I winced. Hmmm - come to think of it, she actually smiled.)
Slurp.
(That was a fine cup o' java.)
(The injuries weren't that bad. Just the usual XDog carnage. One on the calf had quite a bit of dirt in it, so it was good to rinse it out, although CC didn't have to enjoy it quite so much.)
(Oooh... what time does 'Matlock' come on...?)
(Nah, need to blog - my loyal readers want to know what happened!)
(Okay, okay - probably seen this episode anyway)
(Just write, will ya?)
(But I love me some Andy Griffith!)
(Focus!!)
(Alright already! Gawd!)
(It was an XDog Event - the McCubbin's Gulch Scramble. Hmmmm... but all the XDog events have two things in common: 1} they are exceptionally well done and B} they try to kill you.)
(So, let's just go back to, say, the post for the Mt. Hood Scramble, grab a few paragraphs from that one...)
[cut... paste]
[cut... paste]
[cut... paste]
(Ooh, I should throw in some of the stuff from Havoc at the Hideout...)
[cut... paste]
[cut... paste]
(And grab some choice excerpts from the Dirty Duathlon in April and the White River Snowshoe 8k way back in January.)
(January??! Holy cow, that was Event One in this crazy adventure!!)
(Okay, where was I? Oh yeah. Let's grab... this line [cut... paste] and this part [cut... paste] and this funny part here [cut... paste]. Oh, hey, and this part describing XDog and how they do events [cut... paste]. Add some stuff about how XDog receives kickbacks from the local ER's... okay, looks good.
(Okay, now let's do some findin' and replacin'. Find 'Mt. Hood'; replace with 'McCubbin's Gulch'. Okey dokey... find 'Havoc at the Hideout'; replace with 'McCubbin's Gulch Scramble'. Check. And let's just delete and type it in here... and here. Oh, and here.)
(And...)
(Tada - a post is born!!)
(Okay, let's take a look...)
The weather was overcast when we left the house, and even looked like it could rain. We were on our way up and over Mt. Hood to McCubbin's Gulch, an area on the mountain we'd never been. It lies in the Mt. Hood National Forest. It's a campground/recreation area popular with dirt bikers and XDog. Well, for XDog it's popular once each year for this event. We were heading to Event 32 in the 50@50 Project, a sort of special race in that Camera Crew and I are finally back on the same event count! Hooray!
As is usually the case, once we went over the shoulder of Mt. Hood on Highway 26 and got to the east side, the clouds were gone and it was blue skies, baby! My navigator was napping, so we missed the turn off 26 and had to double back. I saw the sign just as we went by it, so it was no biggie. We got to the campground where Race HQ was set up, parked the SUV and went to check in. This event is known for crazy camping the night before, complete with Camp Bingo and an annual event known as 'The Creek Streak'. I am sorry we missed both! The former would have been fun and the latter would have actually counted as another event. Drats! Next time, though.
We got our bib numbers and hung out - still had 45 minutes to start time. We saw Kevin from XDog and he came over to chat. Like always, I asked how the course was and he got his usual 'crazed' look, smiled and said "Oh, it's a good one. It's really good!" Which meant he had a doozy for us - again. But how much damage could he do in 5.9 miles? Yeah. We would have been disappointed if it had been anything but epic, right? LOVE XDog!
The McCubbin's Gulch area was dusty and it was getting warm, but all in all it was pretty much a perfect day to go running through the brush, across creeks, and up/down hill sides. I've said it before but will again: the people attracted to the XDog events are wonderful. Friendly, supportive, fun, attractive, good-natured. Seriously. It's a great atmosphere. Like Kevin says in his pre-race pep talk 'It's not about how fast you finish. It's about finishing.' He also says to follow the pink ribbon and the yellow cones and that if you get lost 'it's your own damn fault'.
It was time to get going. We lined up and the conch shell sounded (probably the best conch sendoff yet). We started out down a paved road, then cut off on a dirt road - losing elevation the whole way. Yikes. Sure enough, we crossed the creek (knee/thigh deep) and then after a bit of running through brush, over logs, across deadfall we hit the first climb. Steep. Steep. And as we discovered over the course, the shortest of the FOUR hill side scrambles. (sigh) The course included several water crossings, a couple of balancing acts on logs over the creek (with an option to get in the water to cross, if ya wanted), lots of hopping over fallen trees.
This event was unlike the Mt. Hood Scramble in a couple of ways. There seemed to be a lot more decent open ground to run on, which made it nice. I'm not saying we were on trails, mind you. Like XDog says 'There are parts of the course you can run, parts you cannot run, and sections you clearly shouldn't run.' The parts I'm talking about were littered with fallen trees and branches, rocks and roots. Camera Crew described it best when she said it was like 'running through tires when you have to high step them in an obstacle course. Except the tires aren't evenly spaced.' A couple of short choppy steps, then a long hop to clear some brush, then hop up on a log, down to another log, then onto some rocks. Fun!
The other way this one seemed different is that if you got lost out here, got off the marked trail, missed the pink ribbon - you may really be lost. We were out of earshot of the dirt bikes and there aren't any roads, other than the campground. If a runner got turned around and couldn't find the ribbon, that could be bad. On the Mt. Hood Scramble, the entire event takes place along the river - starts out heading upstream, finishes heading downstream. You're rarely out of sight/sound of the water plus you have Highway 35 right there at the mid-point and the finish line is there in the big parking lot. But like the man said 'if you get lost it's your own damn fault'. Plenty of course markings so it wasn't an issue at all.
We got through the second and third big climbs, both feeling really good along the way. Once we hit the monster fourth climb, though, I was about done for the day. Camera Crew and I work together really well at times like this. I usually set the pace in the beginning. Then at some point, I get close to my limit and she takes over. This was that time. She took the lead and because she kept trudging up the hill, I kept trudging up the hill.
We knew we were close to the end. After a good long stretch of running through the brush and over logs, we finally saw the road and a friendly volunteer directing us toward the finish line 1/2 mile or so down the way. However, to get to the road and the friendly volunteer we had to run down into a shallow ditch then up to the road. I was just a couple of strides from the edge of the ditch and my left foot got tangled up in a tree branch (I think it caught in my laces). Essentially, I picked the branch up with my shoe laces. I got skills. This caused the branch to catch my right foot, and I... I...
I didn't fall.
It was the most amazing save ever. I know I hopped once, maybe twice. At some point the branch came loose, I stumbled forward into the ditch but kept my balance and made it onto the road. The volunteer was cracking up and I yelled "Save!" and high-fived him. Whew, that was close. I didn't find out til after this near miss that the branch I tripped on almost tripped up Camera Crew when I dislodged it, with all my ninja-like skills.
The last part of the run was on the paved road. We have learned not to trust XDog and assumed this was a trap, that at any moment we were going to see pink ribbon sending us off a cliff or up a tree or into the den of a bear. But, no, this really was the end - except for having to hop a waist high fence and run across the creek to the finish line. One last rinse of the shoes! The always great XDog crowd, the fast, average and slow alike, always cheer for everyone. It's a great feeling. All finishers are welcomed to the party, with congratulations and the location of the kegs of Redhook beer. "Nice job, bro!" "Brewskis are right over there, dude." "Look at the size of those calves!!" This last comment from a woman who pointed out that I was bleeding.
It was another awesome event. If all 50 events could be XDog races, that would be fine by us. We hung out, had a beer and drinks from our XDog flasks, then hopped in the SUV for the drive home. We stopped off in Rhododendron for lunch at the Barlow Trail Roadhouse. Excellent food and service, good beer lineup - and tator tots! Next time you're up on the hill, check them out. www.barlowtrailroadhouse.com
Lots going on in the next few weeks. We have rare weeknight events the next two Thursdays, an epic bike ride this Saturday and (if I survive the ride) more double header weekends coming soon.
Peace out.
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