Adventure Running in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

What's the coolest job you can think of? For my brother-in-law, Greg Jensen, it is adventure running in Guatemala. He's run most of his life and he's dang good at it. And he absolutely loves Guatemala.

He and his wife spent two years there back in '94 and both learned to love the people and the beautiful scenery. For years they've wanted to go back.

One thing I find challenging about running long distances is that training is very time consuming. During the days I work at Backcountry.com. With any spare time, I'm either with my family or working on projects such as mobilizit.com. That leaves little time for running, so I really have to squeeze it in. When Saturday rolls around, I can go for a longer run, but if I'm gone all day, my wife has to be home with the kids and she loses her Saturday. I'm sure Greg had this same challenge.

So how do you find more time to run and also live in the place you love? You move there and start an adventure running company called Mayan Running Adventure. And that's exactly what Greg and family did. I didn't want to miss out on all the fun so I took 11 days to visit Greg and Family in their new home in Panajachel, Guatemala on the shores of Lake Atitlan. He took me on loads of trails that are part of his standard running adventure and we even discovered a few new trails together.


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Most of the trails around Lake Atitlan are not documented well in guide books. They aren't your typical trails that are made for recreational use. They are functional trails that numerous locals use to get to and from neighboring towns for work and various other purposes. I saw lots of locals out on these trails while I was there and I was seriously impressed. There were guys out there that walk these trails (and these are rigourous trails) for an hour to and from work every day and their work is rigorous too (working on coffee plantations, hauling dirt/cement/rocks to build houses/bridges, etc). And yet here we are running toward the end of the day and one of these guys is blasting up this super steep trail faster than I can manage. These guys are studs.

I want to take note of a few really cool things you get to do and see on this running adventure. One of my favorites was called Maya Face. It's only about a mile and a half from the bottom to the top so I thought we'd blast through it pretty quick. Well, during that mile and a half, you ascend probably close to a mile. This thing is steeeep. And what is so cool about it is that you get views the entire way up. The trail is maintained by the local city of San Juan. You are charged a nominal fee to use the trail which pays for the maintenance, but Mayan Running Adventure pays that for you. Anyway, when you get to the top, you have amazing 360 degree views including views of 5 volcanoes. That was just the beginning of the day. After that you get to see a few neighboring towns and eventually head back down a trail to San Juan. I don't know what to call this last trail, but it was another one of my favorites. Most of the way down is just tons of naturally placed rocks that are almost like a staircase. It's tricky enough to be a fun challenge, but I could still run large chunks of it. I just loved running and hopping over the rocks. And of course you get some awesome views all the way down as you wind your way down the steep mountain and through a coffee plantation with trees always above to protect the coffee plants.

Another one of my favorite runs was the trail from Santa Cruz to San Marcos on the north shore of the lake. This trail is wide open and full of views. Along the way, you pass several small, quiet towns. It is so fun to see the people. I found them to be very nice. I couldn't have enjoyed it so much on my own since I don't speak Spanish, but Greg speaks English and Spanish and so I was able to understand them and their culture a bit. This trail is one where you can really move fast through most parts as the trail's grade is generally mild. You pass a few rock staircases, hop over small streams and pass by several waterfalls (one of which I got in and it was very refreshing). The water is cool, but not so cold as to make you shiver. You also pass by a few really cool hotels along your way. These are the kind of hotels that you get to stay at during your adventure by the way. Your luggage gets moved for you between legs so you always arrive at your new hotel with all your stuff waiting for you.

If you want more details of where the adventure goes, check out the Adventure Details on their website.

How far can I go?

I was thinking about all the water, electrolyte supplements and quick energy food that I need on a run. It seems crazy. I don't see a problem with using these things, but I have a hunch that our bodies are designed to be tougher than that.

Let's say thousands of years ago some dude was being chased by a predator. Or they were the predator and were chasing down dinner. Either way, your life is depending on your ability to run. What if he forgot to fill up his CamelBack? What if he forgot his GU packets or Shot Blocks? I'm going to bet that he didn't have this stuff. Sure he probably had a way to carry some water, but maybe the situation caught him unprepared. All I'm saying is that reason tells me that when push comes to shove and you're relying on your legs to get you home or even save your life, they'll probably go farther and faster without water or supplements than you ever thought possible.

So I decided to test it. I went out on a hot day. I started a little on the dehydrated side and with an empty stomach. I brought nothing but the clothes on my back and I set out into the mountains to see how far I could go. It was about 80 degrees with occasional cloud cover, so I wasn't REALLY pushing the envelope here. Just a friendly experiment.

Immediately I was running with a different mindset. I was seeking out shade and trying to control my body temperature so I wouldn't lose all my water as sweat. I ran more slowly for that reason and also so that my metabolism would be able to keep pace with my need for energy.

After about 4 miles I started feeling pretty dried out and had cottonmouth, but it never really progressed beyond mild. At around 6 miles I started to get a side ache, which is weird for me. I don't get side aches. I figured this was due to dehydration and got a little worried, but alas it remained mild and then went away after about 10 minutes. I ended the run at around 11.5 miles (1 hour 43 minutes) without issue.

Conclusion: ya, our bodies can be pretty tough. I'm sure if it were REALLY life or death I could have gone much farther. Ya, baby. We were born to run. :)

What has TV done to us?

Netflix: $18/mo * 12 = $216/year
TV Equipment (ammortized): $300/year
Hours watching: ~1 hrs/day = 365 hrs/year

If I didn't watch any TV, what else could I do with the $516? Well, not too much. I guess that's not too bad. But 365 hours? That's 9 weeks of 8 hours per day! I don't regret all of that time. A good movie is a great way to unwind from the day. But it's still a shocking number. What could you do with 365 hours? How much time do you spend watching TV?

Better Winter Training

I'm long due to hit the slopes. I've been neglecting them. I've done lots of alpine skiing in the past. But lately I'm getting excited about Alpine/Touring skiing. What a fantastic way to stay in shape during the Winter!

I don't know much about A/T skiing, but fortunately I work at Backcountry.com. I found lots of people willing to help (thanks Walt, Mark, Robby). So, here's what I've decided. I want to go with the Dynafit setup. I am told that Dynafit compatible boots will work with any A/T or alpine setup so that's a great benefit.

Next lesson: boots are the most important part of your setup. If you are going to spend money somewhere, spend it on nice boots. And it's not necessarily the price that makes them good. You just need to go try them on. I am going to visit the nearby Black Diamond store here in SLC and have them fit me, per Robby's recommendation. He says the folks over there are fantastic.

To get minimally started, I will also need some bindings and skis. I'm very interested right now in the Zealots and the Dynafit TLT Vertical ST Alpine Touring Bindings. See my A/T wishlist on Backcountry.com. However, I can demo some of this stuff for free, so I'm just going to get boots for now so I can try some stuff out.

It's a little lame I'm waiting until the season's almost over to get going on this. Oh well. This is going to be a blast!

Run/Hike Kings Peak?

I've been thinking that it would be a ton of run to do a two day running expedition with minimal supplies. One of the places that sounds fun to do this is King's Peak. This may be naive of me. I really don't know what King's Peak is like. So I'm going to do a bit of research and document it here.

Notes

1. Jupiter Steeplechase is 3000 ft elevation gain over about 8 miles (375 ft/mile)
2. King's Peak (the Henry's Fork route) is about 4100 ft elevation gain over about 16 miles (257 ft/mile)
3. The above two assume no elevation loss on the way up, even though that's surely false. You get the idea...
4. Cold up at the top. Could even have some snow.
5. Need to look into altitude sickness, just to be sure. Sounds like the peak is high enough for it to be a concern.
6. Super busy during July-August
7. upper parts of the trail are usually covered with snow from mid-November until mid-July. The most pleasant time for the climb is late August, when the days are still relatively long but the meadows have dried out and the mosquitoes have abated
8. From greatoutdoors.com: "Sudden storms with violent lightening can brew up at any time (as noted in the story), so be prepared. Snow is possible all months of the year, though least likely in August. The evenings are very cool throughout the hiking season. Wild flowers begin their show in late July and are quite spectacular."

Articles & links for reference

1. Map
2. Here is a good article describing hiking King's Peak from the North.
3. Peakbragger info on King's Peak
4. Summit Post info on King's Peak
5. Wikipedia on King's Peak
6. Travel journal of hiking King's Peak
7. Interesting background on the Uinta Mountains
8. Matt Heart running King's Peak and some more vids of the same.
9. Dave and Ab hike King's Peak and talk with someone who ran it
10. General info on the Henry's Fork approach to King's Peak
11. Excerpts from "Utah's Incredible Backcountry Trails" about King's Peak
12. Crazy dude that did King's Peak in snowshoes in one day
13. Cool blister treatment stuff
14. This guy ran/hiked King's Peak in October 2010. Took him about 4 hours up, 3 down. He said he hit snow at around Gunsight Pass. He wore what warn-looking tights, looks like layered long-sleeve shirt, but no jacket, nice warm gloves. Probably there was more gear not in the pics, but that gives you a rough idea of the temp.
15. Greatoutdoors.com - King's Peak Lives Up to it's Name
16. Trip repot from some guys I know

Notes from talking to my Aunt Linda & Uncle Blaine

1. aug 15
2. elk horn crossing washed out - rebuilt, should be okay now
3. henry's fork
4. 3 hr drive from slc, through evanston
5. weather more important than crowds
6. usually astormy during hike all year
7. watch out for lightning
8. water? - filter or iodine pills. will need to filter it (sheep/horses/people, etc)
9. pack light? - 30-35 lbs. need extra clothes, gloves, hat, raingear
10. they did 3 days
11. saturdays are the crazy days. best if you can avoid sat. friday too. maybe start on saturday and go through sunday?
12. not a lot of vertical first 10-12 miles
13. once you go from about 10-11, then there is a lot of vert
14. lots of false summits (5?)
15. everything takes a little longer than you would think
16. class two after anderson pass (the rocky part)
17. want to have a light shell pant. wear tights/shorts? then put on shell if needed.
18. everwhere they ever backpack, it always rains. if stuff gets wet, it gets very cold. be prepared.
19. freeze dried dinner. granola, power bars, beef jerkey, etc. tuna packets. salmon packets.
20. trail isn't all that well marked.
21. stay away from dollar lake area. beautiful, but crowded and trashed. toilet bowl.
22. altitude: they never had a problem. worry more about it if you are ascending fast. eat and stay hydrated. gu and stuff.

Winter Training

Thump, thump, thump.... it is difficult to keep my strike light at this pace. The Black Eyed Peas are keeping me motivated. I've got 1.4 miles behind me. I'm thinking I'll stop at 3 miles. Not feeling too great tonight.

Thump, thump, thump. I'm getting heavy footed again. I turn down my headphones and I can hear that I'm making a good deal of noise. I wonder if it's bugging the people around me. I shorten my stride a bit, focus hard on my strike and, above all else, try to find that feeling of smoothness.

There's a basketball game going on one level below me. I'm observing as I run. The players are diverse. You could be pretty certain they don't hang out off the court. There's one guy that keeps shooting three-pointers and missing. Even when he has the chance to take a couple steps closer to the hoop, he instead steps back to the line to take the shot. Whatever, they're just having fun.

Dang, a slow song. I need some motivation. Dynamite is next. Now I'm feeling it. I bump up the pace a bit. Then some more. I'm getting close to 3 miles. I'm definitely going to make my goal time... Okay, all done. Short, but good. Oh man, I can't wait for warm weather. I'm really missing the warm sun out on the trail. Until then. Thump, thump, thump.

Sneak Peek at the new Merrell Barefoot Shoe

I work at Backcountry.com. We get passes to go to the Outdoor Retailers show and I didn't go! Shame on me! My friend Nate, who did go, picked up a sweet pair of the new Merrell Barefoot shoe. Check it out on Merrell's Blog and their preview promo.

I haven't run in these, but I did get to look at them in person and they are sick! I want them sooo bad. They have a nice, durable Vibram sole. The sole is very thin. It reminds me very much of the Five Fingers, but with more tread (still not thick, but better traction). They also don't have toes like the Five Fingers. I welcome this because my toes don't conform well to the Five Finger shape. I guess my feet are weird.

I'm super excited to get a pair of these and give them a try. Hopefully that will be soon.

Give thanks for your Achilles tendon

Here is an illustration of the Achilles tendon in case you don't know what it is. This tendon is awesome and we are lucky to have it.

What purpose does the Achilles tendon serve?

The purpose of the Achilles tendon is to help you run efficiently. It is incredibly strong and elastic. Each time you take a step, some of the energy from your fall is used to stretch this tendon, thereby storing the energy and using it to fuel your next step. Animals that don't run don't have this tendon. Our genetic cousins, apes, do not have this tendon.

Humans are terrible at running? So why do we have this tendon that is made for running?

Humans are terrible at sprinting, not running. We are fantastic at running long distances. Be proud of your species. We are great long distance runners!