The Bear 100 race report

I am always amazed and impressed by those runners who quickly get out race reports with lots of details about pace, what happened between aid stations and how they felt minute-by-minute for 24+ hours. So if that’s what you like to see in a race report, you shouldn’t spend much time with this one. But if you like headlines, here’s mine The Bear 100: Long, Hard and Worth The Effort. This report it a little long; forewarned is forearmed.

I went into this race with a strange mix of prepared and terrified. I had worked hard to get ready for Leadville 100 in August, which I completed in 2004, but for some very smart reasons, I didn’t finish this year. I had hurt my back two weeks prior and despite rest and drugs and a sense of being ready, I clearly wasn’t. After leaning to the right at a 30 degree angle for most of the first 50 miles, the back spasms started and I knew it wasn’t going to be my day. So I left Leadville with my first Did Not Finish (DNF) and my tail a bit between my legs, though I know I made the right decision. It was harder on my crew (Becca, Taylor and Laura Macie) than on me, I think.

The day we were leaving Leadville, we ran into Errol Jones. He has run almost every 100-miler out there, though he’s clearly partial to The Bear where he’s one of the co-race directors. He painted a great picture of the course and the people. While it was too soon to decide whether or not I was up for it, the seed was planted.

The real driver for this summer’s 100-mile effort was to complete a qualifying race for the Hard Rock 100 in Silverton, CO. This is the pinnacle of ultra running for me but there are only a handful of races out there that, upon completion, allow me to put my name in the HR100 lottery. With a DNF at LT100, I didn’t have that many choices.

So with incredible, as always, support from Becca, I signed up for the Bear in mid-September. There was no chance to run any hills or get up early to Logan UT to acclimate at what would be, by far, the ultra with the most gain/loss of any run I had ever attempted. And with an average elevation of 7500 and topping out at 9000, the Bear is not to be underestimated.


And then there was the weather. Usually, the Bear is pretty cool (a few years ago it snowed enough to shut down roads to aid stations), this year’s run looked to be one of the hottest on record. I get plenty of hot weather running in Dallas and an 85+ day or two didn’t sound that appealing combined with so much climbing. It made the packing interesting and in the end we just put it all in there from singlets to gloves, rain coats to sunblock. Far better to have it and not need it…

We arrived on Thursday and the drive up to Logan was beautiful. The leaves were fantastic with red maples down low and golden aspens at higher elevations. We connected with another couple from Dallas, Chad and Julie Armstrong, to drive as much of the aid station route as we could. The Bear was Chad’s third 100miler but his first real mountain race and Julie was very concerned about knowing what to do as his crew. Becca was very keen to know the route and quite concerned that we only had time to make it to the 45 mile mark before we had to leave for the prerace meeting.

The prerace meeting was very low key and we ran into the Texas contingent, including Lynn Ballard from Dallas, who ran a terrific race at sub 31 hours. We also had a chance to talk with Errol, who is in charge of aid stations for the Bear and planning his 11th start there. He said the fall colors were not at their peak but that we were in for a real treat on the course.

Heading back to Logan, prerace jitters began to really set in. I was a little freaked out about what to eat; even more so than usual. I was really trying to go into Friday morning with my “stomach empty and muscles full” to minimize any issues during the race. I had some pasta while packing bags and talking through things with Becca. She might not like to run but she has a lot of insight and experience at knowing what I might need and when. She knows more than I do about it sometimes!

We were in bed by 9:30 and I had my alarm set for 2am to get up and drink a Boost before the real wake-up call at 5. Getting up both times was easy and I felt really good when we left at 5:20 for the start. It was a little cool but I started the day with a t-shirt and my camelback filled with water bottles rather than the bladder, lots of food, sunglasses and a singlet. I don’t like running with the bladder because it’s too hard to tell how much I'm drinking. I wouldn’t see Becca till 20 miles, though there was a runner-only aid station at 10 miles, so I wanted to have all my gear with me.

It didn’t take long on the steady climb out of Logan to see the beautiful valley come to life with the sunrise. After about 6 miles of mostly uphill, I stopped and prepped for a warmer day. Changing clothes is a little easier with such a fantastic view. I was moving well and enjoying the various conversations with runners from all over the country. I pulled into the first aid station way ahead of my “if everything goes perfect” 32 hour pace. I wasn’t worried because I was keeping my heart rate in the zone and eating/hydrating well. A quick water top up and I was off on the next leg.

I planned to be at the Leatham Hollow aid station by 12:30 or so and pulled in closer to 11. My stomach was starting to feel queasy, though I wasn’t concerned. At mile 20, still getting the kinks out is pretty typical. Becca put some sunblock on my shoulders; I switched to a waist pack and headed off a long jeep road to the next aid station 3mi away. The waist pack wouldn’t set right and I could hardly run without being beaten to death by the full water bottle. It was just fine as the grade was steady and it was now pretty hot. The next aid station had really planned ahead; the cold towels were a blessing. I wanted to run some of the next section so I went a little light on the water in the waist pack bottle. Dumb. My stomach got more nauseous and I ran out of water because I was moving slower and the climb was pretty steep for much of this section. I caught up with Lynn Ballard who had slowed some because of the heat as well and we suffered together for awhile.

When I got to the Cowley aid station just before 2pm, I dragged myself off to the shade and just lay down. Becca took great care of me but I couldn’t get the stomach back on track. After burning 25 min there, I slogged out looking less than the picture of health. I was still drinking well but getting any food down was pure discipline. That damned watch going off every 20 minutes to remind me to eat was getting faster and faster. It seemed like I had no sooner finished choking down a hammer gel than it was time for a Shot Blok. I finally got sick enough that I pulled out my secret nausea weapon from Julianna Crownover, Zofran. This powerful anti-nausea drug is often used for chemo patients and Julianna had some because of her serious morning sickness and it was a “Bear” present from her. When I sat down at about 8:30hours into the race, I needed it bad. But nothing happened. When an hour had gone by and I still felt lousy, I was officially worried. I had barely covered 50k and suddenly the next 70 miles was looking like a very, very long way. The stunningly beautiful setting was all around me but I wasn't in the right spot to enjoy it, sadly.

And then, as I was getting more and more wrapped around the axle, it hit me. I figured out why I was feeling so bad: caffeine. I usually take in an espresso gel with 50mg of caffeine and include shot bloks for the rest of my nutrition. I had not taken into account that my favorite flavor had recently added 100mg of caffeine/package. So I was rather consistently getting 240 calories and 150mg of caffeine an hour. I only drink green tea, so this was a lot of caffeine! I later figured out that that was more than the equivalent of a cup of coffee every hour for almost 11 hours. No wonder I thought I was going to heave, and tried my best to, for so long. Becca went into high gear finding non-caffeinated food and after a longish aid stop at mile 45 to get ready for the night, I was off again.

Though I knew I had hours till the caffeine worked its way out of my system, just having an answer made a huge difference in my mental state. I wasn’t able to run much but with so many hills, I really just kept on grinding out the miles. Nothing pretty about my style but I had made up my mind that I was going to finish the Bear. The stars coming out helped. One of the most spectacular nights ever; at least when I managed to pull my eyes up from the trail. I saw a shooting start that must have lasted 10 seconds; simply amazing. Those little things matter.

I rolled into Tony Grove at mile 51 around 9pm, starting to come down from the caffeine. Shaking like crazy and a headache coming on, Becca got me some hot soup which tasted great. She had made friends with the aid station folks because she was helping so many people and one of the guys saved her the last can of soup for me. I brushed my teeth and shivered out a little after 9:30p. The next aid station was about 10 miles and mostly downhill. But this was probably the slowest part of the course for me. I was not recovered from the caffeine overdose and I just couldn’t find a gear. I was proud that I kept moving steadily but speed was not even in the cards.

From Franklin Basin, it’s four miles up and four miles down to Logan River. I don’t remember much. Trudging, trudging, trudging is about all I can report. When I get to the aid station at mile 70 around 4am, I finally felt myself coming back to life. John Sharp from San Antonio dropped here, which is always tough to see, and Becca helped take care of him for the next 12 hours or so. They had a gigantic bonfire going, which is both great and a huge mistake as it can trick runners into getting comfortable. They also had hot towels that felt better than any Four Seasons spa and some more hot soup. It really revived me, along with the approximately 100 Tums I had chewed in the last several hours, and I was ready to roll. I crossed the river, fell in of course, and then climbed up the next pass like a new man.

I ran into the 76 mile aid station feeling pretty good at 7am. The sun had come up and I had less than a marathon to go. All night long I had been putting on and taking off my coat, gloves and hat (which I almost hadn’t even bothered to pack!) It was cold in the hollows and warm up high so it almost never stayed the same temp for long. I couldn’t wait to give all that stuff to Becca so when I left, I was just in a tshirt. Also dumb. I just about froze the next 90 minutes as we crossed, finally, from Utah into Idaho. I was in a good enough mood to enjoy that moment but it was just another step along the way, so not much celebrating. The next aid station, Gibson Basin, was runners only and I stopped long enough for water and some undercooked ramen, then actually started running across this gorgeous basin ringed by aspen. Finally the downhill was the one that led to the Beaver Creek aid station at 86 around 10:15am. I switched back to my old shoes, which felt great, had perhaps the best potato soup I have ever had in my life and got back on the trail.

I really think the last 14 miles were the toughest of the entire race. Steep ups and downs kept it interesting though hard to find a steady pace, as if such a thing could be found! A big section of this leg was out in the open above 8500 feet. So it was hot by now, dry as a bone with humidity in the single digits and a wind whipping up the baby powder-fine dust into a less than ideal breathing environment. Even though it was only 7 miles away, it seemed like that final aid station at mile 93 just kept moving further and further away.

Finally, Ranger Dip station came into view around 12:30pm. Seven miles to go, with the steepest climb of the course right out of the aid station and then a monster downhill, losing 3000 feet of elevation in six miles. Most of that loss comes in a two miles section that felt like falling off a cliff. I was amazed at the several runners who came by like they were either being chased by demons or protected by angels. Allan Wrinkle, a terrific runner who I had passed long ago came gliding down the hill like a ghost. He was impressive! I was terrified of falling and jacking up my back so close to the end. These guys saw nothing but the finish. Downhills after so many miles can really take their toll on a runners quads, so I was even more in awe.

I ran down the mountain as fast as I could and picked up speed when it changed from deadly to just steep. Only one place on the course had I gotten lost and now, with the finish line less than 3 miles away, the course markings changed and I burned 10 precious minutes chasing my tail. Finally, I just decided to plunge ahead and crossed the last creek before turning down the dirt road to the finish. Somehow I had in my mind, not exactly high functioning after 33 hours, that once I got to the dirt road I was almost done. Not exactly. It was freaking ENDLESS…no other word. Lots of nice people on ATVs telling me I was getting close but all I saw was pink tape telling me I had more to go! Then, I heard some traffic and saw a man at an intersection who looked like he was there to help runners. He shuffled with me for the 20 yards along the highway and then he pointed the way to finish, another short 30 yards away. Chad, who ran a very solid 32 hours, and Lynn had already finished and were the first to cheer, along with Julie and Becca.

33:17 was the finish time. My feet were in really good shape, though my calf muscle was pretty wrecked and I think it will be another week or so before I'm running. I was about as dirty and disgusting as I've been after a run and maybe more satisfied. I ate two veggie burgers and we rolled out for the 50 mile drive back to Logan. Becca was zonked, she had about 20 min sleep during the whole thing, and was out by 8:30p. I was a little wired and stayed up till after 10pm, making it about 41hours without sleep.

Most importantly for me, I completed a Hard Rock qualifier so I can put my name in the lottery this January…only an 18% chance for someone in my position so have to keep my hopes in check.

This is a first class race with incredible race management and volunteers. It’s so organized that the three RDs all run the race! I highly recommend the whole experience. I want to thank Becca again. She was amazing not just as my crew but in helping out so many other runners and their crews. I am so lucky to have her in my life and having her in my running world is just icing on the cake

Headed to Grasslands trail marathon tomorrow then volunteer at one ofhte 50mile aid stations. Should be a great day.

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Puppy pics

Santa brought two pups this year. An Airedale Terrier named Artemis and a Golden Retreiver Taylor named Athena. Lots to do, lots to learn but they are terrific dogs so far!

More about El Retiro and our friends

As many of you have read, we have really loved living so close to El Parque del Buen Retiro, or El Retiro. It's a huge blessing to have such easy access to a beautiful and well-used park practically next door.



Here two quick pictures that illustrate our links. In the past few months, Laura Macie has learned to ride a bike in the park. We don't have room to store a bike so we have rented one for the times she was learning. Amazing to watch her learn and now enjoy wheeling around El Retiro with Taylor or Becca.


A few weeks ago, we had an ideal day in the park. We rode bikes for a bit in the morning. For lunch, our friends the Boldens came down and they brought bikes for their girls. So all four of the bigger girls were out and around, allowing the grownups and the Bolden's two-year old to just hang out and talk. Delightful. Here's a picture of all the girls.


Lunch stretched out for quite a while and pretty soon, it was about 8:30pm and time to think about dinner. So we loaded up and went out for an impromptu dinner. The Boldens had just returned from a few weeks in Australia so the jet lag hit them and they decided to go home. But we had dinner out and rolled back home around 11pm. Just lovely.

A perfect day

Two weeks ago today, I had a nearly perfect day. I was on the 6am train to Cercedilla for a run. The weather looked terrific so I was very excited. I worked on the 90 min train ride, mostly in the dark, but the sun was up when I got off the train at the station. A few minutes of repacking and changing clothes and I was off.

After about five minutes of warm up, this was the view! What a total surprise. I hadn't noticed the snow on the peaks on the way up but as soon as I lifted my head...wow.

Spring is a bit slower to arrive in the mountains so it's that perfect mix of things just blooming and a few trees already in that fantastic fuzzy green. The part that I can't really hope to convey is the audio track to the day. It would have been a crime to listen to music as there must have been a dozen different types of birdsong. Sweet, innocent chirps from little ones hopping around in the brush, fantastically melodic tunes from birds I never saw and the raucous bark of the gigantic blackbirds here. And as much of the snow was melting, constantly changing sounds of water running and falling down the mountain. Positively amazing.

After about 30 min of moving pretty steadily, I reached the Calzada Romana http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_road (this is a crazy long article about the entire concept over the Roman empire but there's a better picture of the road that I ran on). This 2000+ year old road was in use until the mid 1800s and some of it is still in usable shape. But it's a steady 9.3% incline for about 5k so there wasn't much running for the next 45 minutes!




Then I reached La Puerta de la Fuenfria and this was the view. Just spectacular. I ran down the road for a few km, turned around after catching a glimpse of an old estate home built in the 17th century for Queen Ysabel to rest when she was pregnant, and then headed back to the train station as fast as my legs would carry me.

Back at the train station with 20 minutes to spare, worked on the laptop for an hour or so on the way home. After a quick bite to eat and a shower, I was ready to work a full day. Not too shabby at all.

?Sweet home tecnocasa?

Tecnocasa is a real estate/rental company here. I was listening to the radio recently and heard some very familiar notes coming through my headphones. Which was unusual given it was lynrd sknryd. not exactly typical Madrid fare. Turns out it was an advert, sweet home tecnocasa. Muy estrano! I hope that some good ol boys in muscle shoals are getting paid and having a little laugh.

La primavera en Madrid

Jet lag has been tough this time. Going to bed late and this AM was up at 545. So when the PM arrived, all I wanted was a nap. Instead, I went for a walk in El Retiro. What a sheer pleasure. These two photos are part of it but I could have taken a dozen more of peacocks, flowers, lovers, runners, slackers and just people on their lunch break grabbing a few winks and some fresh air.

I love this city.

No end of strange things in airports

I travel a fair bit and have seen many interesting things over the years. Boom boxes the size of refrigerators, refrigerators, car parts, unrecognizable parcels shrouded in paper and then shrink-wrapped are all on the list.

But at the Dubai airport this week, I had to take a picture. Any international airport can feel like the bar in the first Star Wars movie. But this guy with four car tires, naked in their travels, struck me as a particularly curious mix of the practical (hey! What a great deal on tires) and the ridiculous (I know, I'll get them back to India when I check my luggage).

Another typical Madrid experence, unfortunately.

Madrid is, without doubt, one of the safest cities we've been in. The one exception is pick pocketing. Hands down the most common criminal act here. We've been here 10 months and it finally happened to us. Curt and Helen had just arrived and we were at lunch in the la Latina area and her purse was swiped. At a restaurant where we've eaten many times. Scene of the crime is in the photo. No cash, but credit cards, mobile and ipod. Not the end of the world but a hassle. We canceled it very quickly, which was good as they tried, unsuccessfully, to use one of the cards twice in the first hour!

First family visit

My brother, Curt, and his family are the first family members to visit is in Madrid. They arrived Thursday morning and we've spent a few days seeing the city.

Today Curt and I took all four kids to the park while Helen and Becca did a little shopping. Here's a picture of all the kids at the playground.

Pictures from Sevilla

We had a quick trip to Sevilla where we had the chance to see the first Easter processions. It's a tradition going back to the 1700s.

Marcy in Madrid

We recently had the good fortune to have one of Becca's friends, Marcy Floyd, visit us here. Rather than describe it, I'll use her words and just add a few pictures.

Madrid is amazing. I am not quite sure how to describe it. This is a very big city of approximately 4 million people and yet there is such an appreciation for the culture and city. It is like nothing I have ever seen before. The city is clean (except for the current strike by the metro cleaning crew) and the buildings are amazingly ornate....all of them. I keep asking "What is that amazing building?" and I keep getting answers like "Oh, that is the Bank" or "People live there" or "That is the post office". I keep expecting answers like "The king from the 17th century built it and it is now a museum"!

My first few days here were spent exploring the city. Becca, Taylor, Macie, and I walked to all of the plazas, had churros and chocolate, and went to the Cathedral. Becca took me to the spanish grocery store, the fabulous Sorolla museum, some shopping markets, and to eat some great food. I think that I spent much of the time staring up at the buildings with my jaw dropped.

The big event of the trip happened on Friday. As my Christmas present, the Teasters treated me to a Segway tour of Madrid. Now, most of you know that I am not the most graceful person and was therefore quite apprehensive of the Segway, but after a few short lessons and more or less getting over it, it was great and by the end we all desparately wanted to keep our segways! Becca, Buddy, Taylor, and I zipped all over the city with Antony and Marta (our guides) for 4 hours, saw many amazing views and sites and took fabulous pictures. Antony took many pictures for us as well (Here are a few).

The past few days have been spent celebrating Three Kings Day. This is a big holiday in Spain...very similar and in addition to Christmas (this is my kind of place!). The Teasters had an aftrnoon party on Saturday (Three Kings Eve) and I was able to meet many of their friends. We all went together to the Three Kings Day Parade (similar to the Macy's Parade) and later that night the Three Kings came to visit. Tradition dictates that you leave grass and water for their camels and cookies and milk for the kings. The girls also left their shoes out to be filled by the kings. We had a lazy Three Kings Day and spent several hours in Retiro Park, which is basically across the street from Becca's apartment. It is beautiful. I have only seen part of the park (we are going back today to see the rest) but it is filled with statues and fountains and gardens and playgrounds and people. We fed the fish in the lake, danced to the music of a drum circle, and watched as thousands of ballons were let go for the three kings.

Tonight Becca and I are going to watch Flamenco Dancing! I am so excited and may just join the ranks of dancers and stay in Madrid. I could certainly get used to Spanish life....of course it is easy when you have such great hosts. The girls start back to school tomorrow so Becca and I will be touring the Palace and going to the Prado Museum among other things in my last few days. I love it here!

Best regards

Buddy Teaster

Spain Mobile: +34 695 235 517

US Mobile: +1 214 707 3085



Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile so please forgive any misspellings or grammatical errors.

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Unexpected Snow In The Mountains: It Ain't Running...

This is something I wrote to the North Texas Trail Runners list. John Morelock is a member of NTTR who lives in the Pacific Northwest but stays connected to the Texas crowd. http://www.nttr.org/.......

Though I've been living with my family in Madrid since last May, I’ve continued to follow the invitations to meet for runs, race results, etc. I even made it back for the Cactus Rose 100, which was one of the most enjoyable ultras I have ever done. And I don’t think “enjoyable ultra” is an oxymoron :-)

But I've particularly enjoyed John Morelock’s postings. Though I've never met him, and may well never meet him, earlier this week I thought of his attitude about running and he saved the day.

First the background: Madrid has been an unexpected joy for daily running. We live half a block from El Parque del Retiro and a 15 minute run from Casa de Campo, which is then about 10+ miles around in trees and hills. I can easily put together a 20-miler with minimal traffic in the heart of a major European capital with 4 million people! An even bigger surprise is that a 90 minute train ride away and I'm in the mountains at 3700’ and an hour later up to almost 6000 feet. With a little work and more time, I can reach about 7000. and when I get to the train station in Cercedilla, the trail literally is right off the end of the platform. Sweet.

I went up this past Thursday for a long run. I was feeling a little christamased out and needed a break and a long run. I was out the door at 6am and was planning to be running when it started getting light at 8am. The train ride was mostly in the dark so it was a big surprise as I started hiking up the mountain and I realized the tops of the mountains were covered in snow. Just gorgeous with the sun coming up behind them, me in the pine trees and not a soul around. Sweeter.

When I got to the dirt road I was planning on running, I found it covered in six inches or so of snow over top of an icy, ankle twisting base. That’s when I realized that my plans for a long run were out the window. And then I got irked. I had made a big effort to make this day happen and now I wasn’t going to get much more than a hike. I stomped along for another 30 minutes or so, grumbling and self-righteous. At that point, I looked up at the snow covered peaks backed by a cobalt blue sky and I thought of John Morelock and his insight into the heart of running and being out on the trail. Here I was in a beautiful situation and I was complaining? Only because of my expectations (certain number of miles in a certain time) was this not a glorious experience to be relished. I thought of his posts about the weather and the internal conversations of an ultra runner. And then the day, at least the one inside my head, changed.

So I happily missed the 10:30 train home and took a little longer way back to enjoy the views from the other side of the valley. I got back down out of the snow, and on a long slow downhill, and ran my legs off. I made the 11:30 train with five minutes to spare and a great day behind me.

I got on the train, which was full of people clearly not in the same exalted frame of mind, saw the snowy mountains dwindle down into the lower altitudes of Madrid and once again counted my blessings.

THANKSGIVING IN MADRID

Needless to say, Thanksgiving is not a Spanish holiday. Assumption Day, Ascension Day, dozens of saints days and the entire month of August are holidays but we were surrounded by about 4,000,000 people who had no idea why we took the girls out of school! (As an aside, you can buy a turkey here though it’s not something the Spanish eat. And the price matched…about US$4.50/pound!)

Taylor was totally freaked out about how the holidays were going to be so different and Thanksgiving without the cousins in Dallas and running the Turkey Trot just wasn’t going to be any Thanksgiving at all. But she totally underestimated her mother!

While I went out for a glorious long run in Casa de Campo, Taylor baked a pumpkin pie and Becca/Laura Macie chocolate mousse. After that, she and the girls spent the morning at the police station getting fingerprinted for their residency cards. We should have them about the time we head back to the US.

But when they returned, we dragged our bags full of US Thanksgiving goodies, we walked over to our friends Chris and Kathy Cooper for the full on deal with turkey, dressing, gravy mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and on and on. They did a terrific job at moving their apartment 3000 miles west for an afternoon. Two other Americans joined us and we had a day that would have been recognizable in just about any house in America. We missed our families and we managed to recreate a sense of belonging that will be a Thanksgiving we’ll remember.

Otono en Madrid

I have been traveling a lot for YPO work, and some with the family, since mid-October. There was even a three week period or so where Becca and I saw each other for less than 24 hours…that was nuts. But when I came back from the latest trip to Cartagena de Indies, Colombia it really hit me how much el otono had settled in. For a week or so earlier in NOvebmer, while I was gone and the girls didn’t have any heat, the temperature dropped down to the low 20sF!

Someone had told us that November is usually the worst weather month in Madrid but we had been extremely lucky. Instead of the usual wet and windy weather, we have been blessed with brilliant blue skies and cool evenings and moderately warm days. As I went out to meet the girls on their way home from school earlier this week, the walk through el Retiro’s beautiful trees, water and that sky just hit me. We are very fortunate to be here and be together.

With all the signs of continued good weather, today we decided to hie ourselves up to Cercedilla for a hike. It was probably 10 degrees cooler in the foothills and much windier but we had a delightful day walking through the trees, always looking for a sunny spot, till we stopped for a picnic lunch and then back to the station for the 90 minute train ride back to Madrid. I think we’ll all sleep well tonight.

Granada and La Alhambra

Well. I am making no apologies for being so far behind. Travel and work have taken over for the last six weeks and I may not be able to catch up. I do apologize, however, for those of you who have come to visit and found nothing but old news. Still, here’s to a fresh start!

One of the recent family trips was to Granada in October. We had the chance to visit with some new friends there, Cliff, Sara and Alex (four years old). Matt and Julianna introduced us last year in Dallas. They went to school with Cliff in Texas and Cliff married native Granadian Sara. They hosted us for breakfast, let us borrow one of their cars and gave us an overview of their city. I don't know how we could repay the debt but hope we have the chance sometime.


We stayed in a cortijo (old farmhouse converted to a hotel/inn) called Cortijo del Pino just outside the city that is owned by some of Cliff and Sara’s friends. An old tobacco farm, the rooms were simple and comfortable and we really had a sense that we were someplace, not a generic hotel that could be anywhere. The girls in particular fell in love with the passel of cats and kittens which found Taylor and Laura Macie a generous source of treats. And they got to ride horses without any of the usual "worried about liability" outfits they're used to! (I was off doing a long run getting ready for the Cactus Rose 100, which was a total blast for me. I ran about 35+ miles and saw Granada and environs in a different way than most visitors, I'm sure.)

The old Granada is a very walkable city with beautiful streets, plazas and buildings. Life seems to move at a very nice pace and, as a major university city, full of students from all over the world. The only odd note in this peaceful city was as I was waiting one afternoon, outside a church where a small crowd was filling up their water bottles, an older lady was cussing a blue streak (my Spanish is good enough to recognize a few of them) at a young woman who appeared impervious to the invective being screamed at her. The older lady must have been doing a good job as several people passing by on the street showed surprise and then laughter.

The real reason to visit Granada, however, is La Alhambra (please take a few minutes to read this article and look at the fantastic photos.) It is the most visited monument in Spain and we now understand why. Our first real experience of seeing the fort was the night before our scheduled visit. We wandered through the town looking for a place to eat. We wound up in El Albacin, which is the old Arab quarter. In a very tight area, there are hundreds of streets that were oddly quiet. It was about 8:30 when we sat down at a restaurant with a little outside patio. We sat down and, much to our surprise, as we looked up we saw the sheer side of La Alhambra with a ¾ moon rising behind it. Just fantastic and really got us excited about seeing the entire thing.

There is no way I can do justice to La Alhambra. Books by smart people and full of pictures by professionals are dedicated to trying. But this 13th century wonder was built by Muslims, taken over by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand when the Reconquest of Spain was complete in 1492. This is also the spot where Cristobal Colon and the Catholic Monarchs, as they were known, sealed the deal for his voyage to the New World. The palace fell into disrepair for hundreds of years. Vagrants and Gypsies lived in it, taking or destroying the furniture and paintings and generally trashing the place.

Strangely enough, it was an American who saved it. Washington Irving (author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow among others), was in Spain in the 1820s when he became enchanted by the legends of La Alhambra. He wrote Tales of the Alhambra and soon people were flocking there to bask in the romantic aura. The government got reengaged and now the palace and gardens are being restored and maintained and it’s pure magic.

One other note. Granada is also home to most of the Gitano (Roma or Gypsy) population of Spain and they have lived in and around the area since before the medieval times. With the Gypsies, you also have flamenco. We were walking through the streets, late in the afternoon, and heard this couple playing flamenco outside the burial place of Ferdinand and Isabella and their children. It was a cool combustion of Muslim streets, Gypsy music and the Spanish monarchy. Here’s a link to some of the music Song 1, Song 2, Song 3. I bought a CD from the musicians…one of whom, I'm sad to say, might have been one of the ugliest women I have ever seen. But she played the guitar incredibly and she helped create a lasting memory of Granada.

Old Post from August I just found

I wrote this back in August but I had some PDA problems and was just able to recover it today, 45 days later! Madrid is very different now in early October the beautiful chestnut trees (las castanas) in El Retiro dropping their frutos secos (nuts) and beginning to change colors...though I think they're just going to go through shades of brown, no fireworks of colors. This is not my photo but a pretty good shot of what El Retiro looks like now. In any case, here's the August note with some links.

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Today was a very lazy day and we finally got out of the house about 1:30. We've been very lucky with the weather this summer as it usually blistering hot in August. There have been a few hot days but the low humidity, and relatively cool nights, make it bearable. We still have a month or so to go but we've only turned on the airconditioning once or twice.

But the Madrilenos plan to get out of the city and August is VERY quiet here. Hardly any rush hour and I'm guessing that 50% of the citizens have left or are on vacation. Enough that it's a big deal when small shops are open that it's a marketing opportunity because we've seen a few signs that say "No cerramos in Agosto" to let people know they are open!

The girls were great on the 2mi or so walk and we had a picnic lunch and some ice cream in the Plaza de Espana. There's a huge fountain dedicated to Cervantes here and it's lovely, shaded little spot.

It's then just a short walk to the Templo de Debod with the girls. A gift from Egypt, it's a little disconcerting to see a 2nd century BC building in downtown Madrid, but there you go!

There was nothing special about the day; no big plans, no big "culture" moment. Just another day living in this city. Delightful!

Bulls Run In More Cities Than Pamplona

Most everyone has heard of the running of the bulls in Pamplona, made famous by Hemingway, but it turns out lots of cities in Spain have their own bull running festivals! We didnt know that but some friends here in Madrid seem to have the secret code to what's going on in Madrid and told us about "el encierro" (running of the bulls but literally "the enclosure") about a 30 minutes from here in San Sebastian del Rey. So we got up at 6am and drove to SSdR.

The whole festival is a week long event and when we went on Saturday, most of the people looked like they had been up most of the night already.

Running in front of six bulls sounds like it shouldn't be that hard...that's wrong. The course has several turns, the bulls are FAST and not every one is sober! Take a look at this video (the whole thing is over in 2 minutes) and watch for when the bulls speed up in the first turn, slam into the fence and then see the fear in some of the runners faces.

Definitely something I plan to do before coming back to the US.

An Important (and impressive) Assignment for My Dad

This has nothing to do with Spain. But they're bringing him back from retirement and I think that's a great compliment and responsibility. If you're not familiar with this disaster, please click on Crandall Canyon accident to learn more.

News Release
U.S. Department of Labor For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs August 30, 2007
Washington, D.C. Contact: Dirk Fillpot/David James

Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao announces independent review of MSHA’s actions at Utah’s Crandall Canyon Mine

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced today that an independent team of mine safety experts will review the actions of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) relative to the Crandall Canyon Mine accident. The review will include actions taken before the August 6 accident and the ensuing rescue operations. “After discussions with Administrator for Mine Safety and Health Richard Stickler, I am taking the unprecedented step of appointing independent outside experts to evaluate MSHA’s actions regarding the tragedy at the Crandall Canyon Mine on August 6 and the subsequent rescue efforts,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “The Crandall Canyon miners, the rescuers who were injured and perished in trying to save others, and the loved ones who have suffered so much in this tragedy continue to be foremost in our thoughts.”

The following two individuals will lead the independent review:

Joseph W. Pavlovich of Gray, Ky., is a highly respected former MSHA district manager and expert on mine rescue, with 30 years of hands-on experience in underground and surface coal mine safety and health at MSHA. While working at MSHA, he headed three post-accident internal reviews of MSHA’s performance and was a team member on another internal review. After retirement from MSHA, he continued to be active in mine safety activities and served as an associate to former MSHA Administrator Davitt McAteer during his review of the Sago Mine disaster.

Earnest C. Teaster Jr. of King George, Va., is a highly respected former MSHA administrator for Metal and Nonmetal Mine Safety and Health and a Coal Mine Safety and Health district manager, with 32 years of experience in mine safety and health issues in a variety of positions at MSHA, ranging from mine inspector to managerial and supervisory roles. Before retiring from MSHA, he also headed three post-accident internal reviews.

The independent review will consist of a thorough examination of written mine plans, inspection records, and other documents relevant to the Crandall Canyon Mine and interviews of MSHA employees with personal knowledge of MSHA’s inspection responsibilities and enforcement procedures at the mine. This review will provide a comparison of MSHA’s actions at the Crandall Canyon Mine with the requirements of the federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, the “Mine Act,” (as amended by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006), its standards and regulations, and MSHA policies and procedures. The findings of the independent review will result in the development of recommendations to improve MSHA’s enforcement program and the agency’s oversight of rescue and recovery programs in the aftermath of mine accidents. Copies of this review will be made available to the families of the miners involved in the Crandall Canyon mine accident, Congress and the public.

Canyoning and Ponying in France

Taylor and I had a great experience doing this thing called canyoning. Basically, we hiked up to the top of a canyon on the Swiss/French border (our guide said “swiss mountain, french water) and slid, hiked, rappelled (abseiling) and jumped our way back to the bottom. Of course, the water is right from a glacier so wetsuits, with booties and hoods, are required!

Two cool things to mention, other than the fact that we had a total blast:
We clipped on to a cable that snaked around the side of cliff. There was a small flat rock to stand on and then our guide, Robert, “invited” us to jump about 10 feet into the pool under a waterfall. (If you didn’t jump, he pushed). Taylor and I were about 6 people apart and she did it like a pro. We then climbed back up a very tricky little path to get to the same spot and she leapt again like she was born to it. He asked if I wanted to go about another few feet, to maybe 15 feet, and jump. My mouth said yes before my brain had time to evaluate and it was too late not to do it. So I swallowed hard and jumped. There’s way more peer pressure from my 10 year old daughter than a big group of guys.

Then we went back up and took a running jump into the water. Taylor wasn’t so sure about the run part but after a quick squeeze of my hand, and a loud yell, she did it marvelously.

Taylor and I again were separated when we got to the edge of 30 foot waterfall. Here she clipped into the harness and rappelled down through the waterfall. She got to the bottom, popped out of the water and sat on a log next to the little river and chatted away with another girl like she hadn’t just done the most amazing thing.

I love my kid!

While we’re pretending to be otters, Becca and Laura Macie went off for a pony ride. Because they got there early, Laura Macie had the totally cool experience of going up the mountain to get her pony “Pikacho” and walk him back down. She led him like she grew up on a farm and was so happy she almost burst while riding him on her own. It was quite a day!

Visit to Innsbruck Austria

Things are going to be out of chronological order for a while as I try to catch up. But I'll start with the most recent trip and then fill in later.

I had planned to participate in a 50-mile run this past weekend in Austria, the Karwendel Challenge, but the race had some permit issues that weren't able to be resolved in time. We had planned to meet some friends from Dallas (Shelby and Benjamin Vincent) in Innsbruck, where Shelby has a very close friend and her husband (Melissa and Claude). Rather than have the cancellation of the race cause us to change our plans, we decided to go ahead. GREAT DECISION!

We flew to Munich and rented a car for the two-hour drive to Innsbruck. We ended up with big BMW 750td, which was a blast to drive through the mountains :-) and on the autobahn.

Innsbruck is a beautiful town of about 130,000, so a very easy city to explore and like. We forgot our camera so I'll have more photos later of some of the things we did (hiking, visiting castles like Schloss Tratzberg and beautiful parks) but here's a great photo Ben took of the girls in the Hofgarten.

Because of Becca's usual great planning, seeing friends and Claude and Melissa's incredible hospitality, Innsbruck was a special five days and we would love to go back.

I'll write a separate report about the run/hike I did with three other guys over part of the Karwendel Challenge course. But if you like stories that begin, "So a Romanian, an American and two Germans meet at a train station," then you might enjoy it.

Where We're Living Now

We've been in our new apartment for about three weeks now and it's starting to feel like our own. We rented it furnished and that has been mostly a blessing but has sometimes proved to be a limitation as well. For example, we can't put any holes in the wall, so no nails and no pictures, etc. Fortunately, the woman who owns the apartment has great taste so it's been very livable.

The neighborhood we're in is terrific. We're half a block away from El Parque del Retiro, a tremendously cool place to have so close. The girls roller-blade, I run, Becca walks and there's endless people and dog-watching.

Mostly, I'll just post some pictures that show the street and the apartment. You'll notice how small the washer is. Maybe three pairs of jeans at a time, for example. And the dryer is a joke so we hang stuff on the drying rack...not very convenient and it means lots of ironing and groaning from Becca :-)

For more pictures of our apartment and neighborhood, please click on this album. It's only about half a dozen photos but does give you a sense of where we're living. http://picasaweb.google.com/bteaster/JuanDeMenaPhotos?authkey=37ZWBaF_0Dw

One more lesson learned

If you're going to get a haircut you should meet at least one of two conditions:

• Speak the language the of the person who is actually wielding the scissors
• You are comfortable with the fact that it's only hair and will grow back

The first haircut wasn't expensive, of course it wasn't that good of a haircut. The second one was but it made looking in the mirror not scary.

Fortunately, I meet the second criteria!

Things we're learning the hard/slow/expensive way

I've got a lot of catching up to do but thought I would just put some miscellaneous thoughts down to let you know that my silence hasn't been because we've not been busy:

• You have to put a euro in most all carts (grocery, etc) and then you get it back when you bring the cart back and lock it up. Most carts are impossible to steer. And it's not uncommon for a homeless person to be hanging around the parking lot and offer to take back your cart and keep the euro.
• You can't leave a key on the inside of the door and then unlock it from the outside. Thank god the porter in the building, Manuel, could explain what we needed to do and called a locksmith. That was an €80 education.
• The fruteria across the street is a cool thing to have. The husband and wife have been running it for decades.
• Only certain stores sell certain things. You cant buy a light bulb at all the El Corte Ingles (an amazing department store that's a cross between, Macy's/Target/Tom Thumb). Some sell chain saws...others only sporting goods. And it's a big deal that they're open the first Sunday of each month. They also deliver for only €6, which is one of Madrid's best bargains. Life would be impossible without them.
• Everything takes longer. That's not all bad but it just does. Part of that is because we don't have a car. So we wait on the metro, or the bus, or we walk. Obviously, our lack of language skills adds another layer of complexity. We just had some friends from the US visit (more on that later) and they are impressed at how much we know. And I still feel mostly like a moron...all relative.
• You have to pay an extra euro if you take the metro to the airport. You have to add it to your ticket in a separate machine and you need the ticket to open the turnstile. Lots of policia to make sure no one skates on the extra euro. OK if you're by yourself, harder with suitcases and kids in tow.
• You have to have your ticket to exit the train station. No one told us that.
• Walking through El Retiro to get to the metro stop to take the girls to their school is a delight. So far, and it is July, the mornings are cool and the sky is blue. a great way to start the day.
• Some things seem arbitrary. I was able to take our wheeled grocery cart (empty) on the bus up to the store. When I tried to get back on the bus with it full, I got the finger wagging NO and had to walk the 20 blocks home. Again, no big deal but it just took longer.
• Ordering pizza has been our most perilous task so far. There's a swanky neighborhood near our house called Salamanca. There's also the city of Salamanca about 200 km west of Madrid. When Becca tried to order pizza the first time, she called the pizza place 3 hours away...needless to say they don't deliver. We then tried Pizza Hut...what we ordered arrived on time but wasn't at all what we were expecting. Next time, she got what she ordered but it took 90 minutes (Pizza Hut is probably less than 3k away from our apartment) and was stone cold. This week, we wanted it delivered at 8pm...no deliveries till 8:30. Fortunately, we run little risk of starving to death :-)

Not Like In The Movies

The last 10 days have been about as frustrating as anything I have experienced on the personal front. It has practically nothing to do with being in Spain and everything to do with the so-called "global financial network." Ha. More like the "global marketing blah blah but it's really a country by country system and it would be faster if you wrote a check and sent it by freighter and donkey network"!!! It's sure not like James Bond or Oceans 11 or The Bourne Identity where you push a button and watch it fill your Swiss bank account.

We literally had tens of thousands of dollars that was really our money and we couldn't get access to it because it was being wired somewhere at some point by somebody and we would get it some time. Which, for those of you who read my early post about the fear landlords have here of letting someone rent their property and never being able to get them out, didn't make our first time landlord any more comfortable with the Americanos.

We did move into a new apartment, more about that later with some pictures, and life is getting much better. But if I had written all this last week, it would have been too bitter. With a little distance, it's not funny but it's not as stressful as it was either.

Two great things did happen out of it. First, we were again reminded how many good friends we have who were willing to do a variety of things to try to help. Genuine offers that came right from the heart and did indeed help...sometimes just listening and empathizing was what we needed.

Secondly, while Becca and I were very worked up, the girls continued be the girls (though they did tell us to relax a few times.) One afternoon Becca took them into a church she had been wanting to see. Taylor and Laura Macie were very NOT excited about that little trip. However, once they got in, past the ordinary facade, their jaws dropped. That night, when they usually take a few minutes to say what they're thankful for, Taylor said something that was worth all the hassle and frustration, "Thank you for opening my eyes to knowing that sometimes what is plain on the outside is beautiful on the inside."

It's so good that our kids are smarter than we are.

Flamenco Dancing - Way better than I expected!

Becca was committed to doing something this past Friday night with the girls that was more than just dinner and walking around, as lovely as those two things are. Her idea was, to me, the dreaded flamenco dancing show. A necessary stop on the Madrid culture tour but one to be endured more than enjoyed.

The evening started out quite nicely and set the tone for the entire night. The girls dressed up and were excited about such a mysterious word.

We had (mediocre) paella in the Plaza Mayor. Sure, it's a tourist magnet but the outside seating allows for fantastic people watching and there are a lot of people in the Plaza on a Friday night! The girls were totally entranced by a spray paint artist who was simply incredible. Once we move, this week hopefully, the girls want to go back and ask him to create some custom work for their rooms :-)

We finally made our way to the flamenco bar and right away my antennae went up. It was small and dark and seemed ripe for the American in Spain nightmare...audience participation! But I couldn't have been more wrong. Right at show time, the small stage filled with four dancers (three female and one male ), two guitarists and two singers. And from the first note, the stage just exploded with noise and passion and movement. What a fantastic hour we spent.

The photos aren't great (part of what makes flamenco exciting is the exact opposite of good photo conditions) but the evening was another terrific taste of Spain and more fun than any of us expected!

Cheese and Honey Tour in Avila

While Laura Macie and I toughed it out at home yesterday, Becca and Taylor took a tour of (relatively) nearby Avila. This trip, led by a fantastically Madrid/Spain-savvy woman named Ann Pinder, was to three artesinal cheese and honey makers. They learned fascinating things about bees, goats and rural life in Spain. The cheese makers live in a village of about 300 people, maybe 100 families, 20% make earn their livelihood in some way connected with the goats!

We are enjoying the great queso fresca de cabra and two different kinds of honey (one from flowers and one from a tree).

Here are a few other terrific pictures from their

trip.