Time to start training

The finish of a great weekend running.

Just returned from a great weekend on the WSER course with a few friends. Had a great time out there and my body was feeling pretty good. I have been working on healing up a lingering injury from before Miwok, and it seems to be on the mend. I think I can start to get some good training in now without putting the injury back from it's current healing process.
I'm not too sure of what my training program is going to be yet but I am planning on having some skeleton figured out this week.

butter, nut butter, syrup, and jam

yes that is butter under the hazelnut butter mmmmmm

Today was a great run back with our Thursday morning crew through the Headlands in the early hours. I have been out of the scene a little lately trying to nurse a nagging leg injury. I think it is on the mend and going in the right direction. It was really nice to be back out with my friends on the trails this morning.

This post is more about the post run breakfast though than the run itself. In typical San Francisco summer weather; this morning was heavy fog, mist, and cool temps. The entire run I was constantly thinking about coming home and having warm tea and waffles. Waffles are one of my favorite things for the morning. I have worked on many different recipes and I am still working on this gluten free version. But I think it is good enough to put out on this forum. So here it is:


2ea eggs, separated
1tablespoon Organic sugar
3/4cup almond milk
1 1/2cup Bob's Redmill pancake mix
pinch salt
2tablespoon Melted butter

Method:

Turn on waffle griddle and allow to get hot.

Mix in a medium/large bowl: flour, salt, milk, egg yolks, butter together until fairly smooth.

Add the sugar to the egg whites (make sure the egg whites don't have any of the yolks or in them or they wont whip well) in a medium sized mixing bowl and whip until they are holding a peak and look almost like whipped cream.

Add one third of the egg white mixture to the flour batter and gently fold in, trying to avoid knocking the air out of the egg whites, add another third of the whites and fold in, then the final third of the whites.

Use the batter immediately into the hot griddle.
Serve with all the delicious toppings you can possibly think of.
Today's toppings were:
Eatwell farm strawberries
Justin's hazelnut chocolate butter
Sierra Nevada Butter
Blossom Bluff white peaches
Alce Nero plum and strawberry jams
Maple Syrup

Miwok 100k pre-post

So I'm having issues writing up a report right now. Not too sure what to say about this weekends race. My mind tends to get a little clouded the few days following a big race. I had a blast out there seeing so many friends, meeting new ones, and feeling really good while running. I'm going to continue to work on a report and will hopefully have something with clear thoughts up by the end of the week. For now it is all about rest and eating lot's of good foods.

Congratulations to all the people who were out there running, and thanks to all volunteers, crews, family, and friends that came out to make this such an awesome weekend.

Here is a interview I did with irunfar.com after the race:
http://www.irunfar.com/2010/05/nathan-yanko-video-interview.html

Lake Sonoma 2010

Lake Sonoma


Going into Lake Sonoma 50 I was hoping to accomplish a few things:
I wanted to use a time sheet to set my pace, stay on my nutrition without going overboard, have fun, and push myself into an uncomfortable pace for the majority of the race.

When setting up my pace sheet I knew I had become a stronger racer than I was last year (for my first 50miler). I was thinking I could put myself right around Jon Olsen's winning time from last year or better if I was having a good day. Going into the race with this written out plan helped me realize early on in the race if my pace was reasonable and when I should be seeing the next aid stations.

The Race Start

The race started off pretty quick right at 6:45am. As the twilight faded into morning sun 155 runners went loping down the trail. I stayed back in about 5th place for the first 6miles. I started to get into a comfortable rhythm then and started picking up my pace a little. Soon I found myself running in third place when leaving the mile 12 aid station. I had one of those wonderful runs where the weather is perfect and my body is feeling pretty happy. The miles were just clicking away. I was running the climbs at an efficient pace and new the leaders couldn't be too far ahead of me. When I came to the ridge that takes runners to the turn around I new I would be seeing the leaders soon. First I saw Hal Kronner who is awesome to watch run. I new from my time chart he must be about 8min up on me. Just when I was heading down into the aid station I saw Bob Shebest about 2min ahead. I quickly topped off my bottle and reloaded my Gel-Bot and was off. I kept getting glimpses of Bob ahead of me and I new I was closing on him. Views of the Course

On a big open down-hill I put my training to use and pushed to close the gap on Bob. Just when I was about to catch him I couldn't see him anymore. Turns out he missed a turn that took him slightly off course. At this point I pushed to put a little of a gap between the two of us. Miles 35-45 were a little slow and relaxed for me. I ended-up in a gap about 15min behind Hal and what I thought was a comfortable gap between me and third. I was running fine just not pushing the way I was hoping to going into the race. That all changed while I was leaving the final aid station.
Coming out of 45mile aid station there is a quarter mile out-and-back that racers need to do to check in (we do this same section at the beginning of the race as well). Just when I was about to exit the section Bob came running in looking strong and quick (SHIT!). I had been told he missed this section at the start of the race and was going to do it twice now, but that still meant that he was really close to me. I started to push my pace to where I didn't think I would be able to hold it. Somehow I was able to keep this fast pace the entire final 4.7miles. By the end my legs were tired and happy to be done. I'm really glad that I saw Bob there because it made me really push myself the way I was hoping to be doing for this race.
I ended up finishing in second overall with a time of 7:24:15.

I stuck to my nutrition plan throughout the race and only started to fall off it in the last 4miles. Early in the race I had a Gel-Bot malfunction. I was trying to suck gel from my bottle but nothing was coming out because I hadn't cleaned the lid well enough last time and some gel had dried inside to clog it. I grabbed a gel out of my shorts so that got me through to the 12mile aid station, where I quickly unscrewed the top and pushed the plunger to dis-lodge the crystallized gel, working fine again (phew).

This was my first race in my La Sportiva jersey. I was really excited about being out there in it even though I felt like a big yellow dot that could be seen from miles away. I used my Raptors which gripped the muddy spots of the trail very well. I could have used a much more minimal shoe out there but with all the stream crossings
Deep spot of water crossing

I wasn't sure how much mud there was going to be. There were definitely a few moments when having the extra grip was nice.

The race was excellent just like the previous year. In many ways Lake Sonoma 50 captures what I believe to be the essence of trail ultra running. The community is spectacular, the trails are rugged and remote yet fair, the support is excellent and everything you could want without being overwhelming, there is great competition, the views are awesome, and at the finish line everyone is sitting around together talking about the day over tamales and beer. I am already looking forward to heading back there again next year.

Many thanks to all the support out there. Just as last year it was wonderfully organized, and everyone was incredibly helpful. Special thanks to Tropical John for organizing the event. See you next year.

Results
Thanks Kevin Luu for sharing the photos.



Some friends and I were lucky enough to stay up in Sonoma that night and do some wine tasting and good food eating the next day. Some of the highlights were:
Boon Resort
Boon Restaurant
UNTI
DiAvola
Donatiello

Roasted Potatoes with things.

So I set a goal for myself to write on this blog twice a month. One of the entries to be food related and the other to be running or adventure related. I obviously didn't achieve this goal in the month of February, but I am going to try and make up for that by getting on track with what I want to accomplish with this blog project of mine.
So here is my first addition in the form of a recipe I enjoy. I hope that my recipe writing will improve as I continue to do these but hey it's a start.

This is one of my fall-back recipes that I end up putting together quickly after work on a fairly regular basis. There are lot's of options and variations I do depending on what I have available and how hungry I am. This is my favorite version of this dish.

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes (sliced into 3inch spears about 1/2in thick)
4 medium chef potatoes (sliced into 6ths to form long spears about same size as the sweet potatoes)
1 large yellow onion (sliced 1/4inch thick top-to-bottom)
2ea Jalapeno (sliced 1/4inch thick top-to-bottom, with seeds still in depending on how much heat you prefer)
1/4cup coconut flakes
1/2bunch Kale (torn into large leaves)
1/2cup Fromage Blanc (or a fresh goat cheese)
4Tablespoons Olive oil, or Coconut oil
Salt

Method:
-Preheat oven to 375.
-Toss the potatoes, onion, jalapeno in 3 of the Tablespoons of oil and spread out evenly on a sheet pan. Generously season with coarse salt.
-Bake for 25min or until the potatoes are evenly pierced with a small knife.
-While the potatoes are baking take the remaining 1Tablespoon oil and coat the coconut flakes and the kale. Season with salt. Set aside until the potatoes are done.
-Pull the potatoes out of the oven and turn on your broiler.
-Put chunks (about quarter size) of the cheese on top of the potatoes and onions. Then evenly place the coconut and kale over the top of the potatoes. Don't stir them into the potatoes, just lay them on top.
-Put the tray back into the oven under the broiler and keep a very very close eye on it. The kale will begin to get very dried out and crisp, some pieces will burn (this is a good thing). Be patient with it and let the kale get really good and crisped, and they will turn into almost a kale chip. Once they are nicely crisped pull the tray out.
-Let everything cool for 5min and then eat.




I hope to have photos to be adding to this blog soon, but my camera had a little accident while kayaking and I haven't gotten a new one yet. So hopefully I'll be getting a new one soon.

H.U.R.T.

I was fortunate enough to make it out to the HURT 100 course a few days early to get settled in and do a course preview. When I was out on the course I had to keep on stopping because I would be laughing too much. “How the hell am I supposed to run 100miles on this?” I am sure I said this out loud a few times. I could just hope that the rains held off and didn’t cover the course in the infamous mud I had heard so much about.

The H.U.R.T. 100 allows people to go on an adventure over some absolutely ridiculous trails. This year was the 10^th racing of the H.U.R.T. 100 (Hawaii Ultra Running Team). Every time I would tell someone in the running community I was training for H.U.R.T. they would shake their head and wish me luck as though I was going off to my own grave. When asking H.U.R.T. veterans what their training advice would be; I would be told to go out to the steepest hills I can find and instead of running on the trails, run through the bush. If there is rain and mud then even better (I think this advice was pretty accurate in retrospect). Needless to say I was a little anxious for this race. Never having been to Hawaii and only being able to go by photos, videos, and peoples thoughts on the terrain, I had only a vague idea of what to expect.

A few days before the race start, I was able to preview the course with two speedsters: Devon Crosby-Helms and Gary Robbins. Doing this preview really made a huge difference because it allowed me to understand the terrain and how to navigate it a little better. I also realized that the course was totally dry except for one river crossing (which you cross ten times). I could only hope that the rains held off and didn’t cover the course in mud. This course is challenging enough as it is, I can’t begin to imagine it covered in mud. There are huge sections where you are running over nothing but roots; making those sections slick with water would be awful.

Race morning came along quickly and after checking in, and nervously milling around in the dark with my Bay Area running friends.

We were soon off into the dark jungle for the beginning of the 10^th H.U.R.T. 100.

The course is set up on a 20mile track that does essentially a Y shape with two out and backs and one small loop at the bottom. There are three aid stations runners go to on each loop. To get to these aid stations runners must navigate the very technical trails, and lots of climbing and dropping (just shy of 25,000ft).

On the first loop I told myself to take things out slow and easy and stayed somewhere in the back of the top ten. I was feeling good and wasn’t pushing my pace too hard but staying relaxed with comfortable breathing even on the big climbs. Around ten miles in I was in the lead group running with Gary Robbins, Brett Rivers, Tracy Garneau, and Darcy Africa. We were all chatting and having a good time enjoying some of the early morning views of Honolulu.

We all came into Jackass Ginger (mile 13) pretty much together. I was fortunate to have my sister and Devon Crosby-Helms as a crew. They were there waiting for me with a fresh Gel-Bot. I dropped my flashlight, and empty Gel-Bot and turned right around ready for the return back to the start/finish 7.3 miles away. It was at this point when the lead pack started to spread out a little. Gary Robbins and I started to run together. We both were amazed at how well we were feeling and talked a little about our running plans and past races. Around mile 22 I pulled off the trail to hydrate the local vegetation, it was at this point that Gary took control of the race. I wasn’t too concerned with him opening up a little on me this early in the race, figuring I had all day and some of the night to bring him back in. I just had to make sure that he stayed within a striking distance.

One of my favorite parts of a loop course is that there is nowhere to hide from your competition. Also being able to see all the other runners and offer support and encouragement. Going into Paradise Park aid station (mile 27) I was 3minutes behind Gary. At this point the gap between Gary and I just continued to grow from 3minutes, to 20minutes, to 40minutes, until I didn’t see him on the out and backs anymore. It wasn’t so much that I was going slowly, but that Gary was going phenomenally fast. It was really spectacular to see him dropping down the technical rock sections like they were nothing.

For me however it was these rocky descents that were destroying my race. I was still feeling clear and happy mentally, physically my legs were tired but I was still able to run the flats (all maybe 1mile total of them per loop!) and my climbing was still going really well. My legs were just shot on going down hills. I had to slowly lower myself down the really technical sections and was able to do a lame careful shuffle down the switchbacks into the aid stations.

At mile 60 I was able to pick-up my pacer Devon to help keep me motivated and focused for the night running ahead of me. She helped keep me pushing when I really would have been happy with just hiking the course. For the first 20miles Devon and I ran mostly in silence, just running and hiking the trails. With her reminding me to continue taking my salt and calories. At this point I still had a small sense of hope in closing the gap that had formed between Gary and I (about 40min now). After a painfully slow section going down into Paradise Park followed by another slow section down to Jackass Ginger I knew my chances of closing where done for.

Going into the Nature Center at mile 80 my sister told me Gary was flying through the course going after the course record. I assured her that I wasn’t trying to catch him anymore, that I was happy where I was and having primarily a good time out there. On our way back up Hogsback out of the Nature Center I saw fellow Bay Area runner and good buddy Ken Michael making his way onto another loop.

Ken has always been supportive and has helped get me going a few times when I wasn’t feeling it in prior races. Ken was totally positive and told me which way he thought was the best to get up and over the roots.

Ken’s support helped me to get me ready for my final loop. It was on this lap that my body was given a sudden jump-start. I began being much more talkative and I was all but sprinting (mind you “sprinting” is a VERY relative term here) up the climbs. The descents still weren’t going all that great but they were better than the prior lap. I was having a good time out there on this lap, and was glad to know I was going to be finishing the race with an awesome final time. When leaving Jackass Ginger for the final time (mile 93) Devon said she thought I could finish the final stretch in 2hours. This helped me to kick up my pace again and aim for that goal. I did my last section in 1:58. Giving me a final time of 22:30 (I was told this is the fourth fastest time on the course, pretty cool). And there may or may not have been singing of musicals, making out and holding hands on the top of Nuuanu Trail but none of this has been confirmed.

Ultimately I had a great time out on the trails. The aid stations were extremely supportive, and offered some Hawaiian cuisine along with the standard fair. Although I didn’t take any Spam Musabi, I was glad to know it was there if it was what I was craving. There is a great sense of community and friendship that I was able to experience while running the trails, including hugs from a lone supporter sitting in the dark at the major intersection of the course during the night. Thanks to the race directors, the H.U.R.T., volunteers, friends and family of the runners, my sister Kristin and pacer Devon, Tartine, Hydrapak, LaSportiva, VESPA, and to all the runners for being out there and being so supportive. This is one t-shirt that I worked hard for and plan on wearing for a while.

Things used for the race:

La Sportiva Wildcats: treated me great, only had one very small blister that I didn't even know was there until after the race. Gave me good traction and cushion on the trail.

VESPA CV-25: Took one every 3hours, helped me stay focused.

Gel-Bot: Used one for every lap, two during the day when the temps were high. Allowed me to not have to worry about opening gels, or deal with garbage.

Lamps: Fenix L2D Hand-held. Petzl MYO RXP.

Other race reports on H.U.R.T. 2010

Gary Robbins

Brett Rivers

Ken Micheal

Devon Crosby-Helms

La Sportiva

I'm happy to say I have joined the La Sportiva Mountain Running team for the 2010 season. I used their shoes for all of my major 2009 races and didn't have any problems with them. I think that they make a great product and I am glad to be able to represent them. I have always been an advocate of their products, but it is really nice to have the company supporting me and my goals. Not sure what the year has in store for me, but it will be great to be running for a company whose product I believe in.