FlintLand | Running with the Navajo

«Welcome, my People, my friends, ma family.»

Race director Shaun Martin

«Ya'at' eeh. As is Navajo tradition, please allow me to introduce myself.»

Shaun Martin doesn't speak like everyone. Tall, calm with vivid, fiery eyes, you couldn't miss him in a crowd of hundreds. He stood proudly in front of the runners, and went on to recite his name and his family background, in Navajo language.

«What I just did is state my name, my clan and my origins. I started by saying Ya'at' eeh. Translated to English, it is a salutation which basically means that you and I, we're good».

I felt immediately at ease. I'd traveled to Navajo Country with my friend La Mariposa and we'd arrived in Chinle, Arizona, just as the sun set over the distant horizon. The sky is large, here, the land is vast and the air is crisp. Sitting in an outside amphitheater, surrounded by runners and listening to Shaun, I was right at home.

A sacred place of magnificent beauty

Canyon de Chelly (promounced «De Shay») is a place of legends. This space is sacred for the Navajo, and its access is strictly prohibited to anyone unless their clan lives inside the tall red rock walls. Visitors and tourists may glance at it from top lookouts, in the distance. As a world first, on October 12, we runners would have the immense honor of being allowed inside the Canyon and the great privilege of running its entire lenght.

After an evening of connecting with participants and organizers, where my imagination took flight with canyon legends and my heart filled with a deep sense of kinship, we went to sleep for a couple hours among the distant howls of the coyotes and the neighing of the wild horses. The next day, before first light, we made our way into the dark to a warm bonfire where a traditional breakfast of blue corn mash was awaiting us.

There, in the biting cold late-night breeze, gathered in a circle around the fire, we participated in a prayer to the new day and received an intimate blessing of cedar smoke, from a shaman who spoke to all in a mix of Navajo and English.

Blessing ceremony

«You are about to perform a sacred act in the Navajo culture, called Dàghààh. Your footsteps will touch the earth while the sky awakens and sends its first sunlight. As you enter the mouth of the Canyon, the walls will slowly rise; this represents Mother Earth's arms opening to invite you, then rising up to take you to Father Sky.»

We left the warmth of the fire and took a couple steps to the starting line. Shaun stood at the front. «While you travel inside the Canyon, you are welcome to follow Navajo tradition and holler out to your heart's content. The more, the better. Your howls will echo along the rock walls and be heard from a great distance. Canyon residents and visitors to the rim are going to witness a very rare, awesome display of running today.»

Without any need to say more, both Shaun and the crowd united in a huge, wild, primal howl and the runners burst out in the early light. The moment was unique, magical, electric. A long line of awe-struck runners formed as we slowly left the low sand wash and entered the Canyon. Every step took us further in, swallowing us whole in unspeakable beauty.



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FlintLand Review : Camelbak Ultra LR Hydration Vest

• Type : Hydration
• Use : Long-distance running
• Price : $130

Introduction
Camelbak and I go way back. When I started to run-commute, I opted for a SnoBlast bag to carry my stuff around and hydrate at the same time. Since it’s a downhill skiing / snowboarding bag, it seemed like an odd choice and many runners commented on it. When I wore it for my first ultra, people started telling me I needed a vest. I thought my SnoBlast did an awesome job, and although I still wear this bag every day for other purposes, I have to admit my world changed when I tried a hydration vest.

My model of reference for hydration vests is the Nathan Endurance, which I have worn so much it’s half-torn apart. I have tried a couple other alternatives, but never found anything I liked. When Camelbak sent me a Marathoner and an Ultra LR, my eyes got set on the latter in an instant.

Trail test
I took the Ultra LR out for a first unforgiving test on a cold winter afternoon. Frankly, I didn’t think it would last more than 10 minutes in the sub-zero weather. I was very pleased to discover it didn’t freeze, as long as I blew back some air in the drinking tube. The vest itself felt comfortable and barely-there. The weight distribution at the very bottom of the vest makes it feel very light.

Road test
I took the Ultra LR on several long winter runs, but was curious to see how it would perform when warm weather would settle in and I’d ditch the extra layers of clothing. So when spring came, I made sure to bring it to all my longer races. I ran two half-marathons, a couple long runs on my own, a full marathon and a 50K ultra wearing it.

Quick Link Tube Assembly System

Analysis
Definitely, the best part about Camelbak vests is the tube assembly. It starts with a coupling at the bladder that you only need to push the tube in to connect. When the tube is disassembled, the bladder will not spill or leak. This means you don’t have to undo the whole vest to get the bladder out and rince / dry it after your runs. It also means you can carry more than one bladder (say, in a drop bag) and swap them with a simple click of the drinking tube. Pretty awesome. But it doesn’t stop there. The bite valve is also very well-conceived, with a simple slit that opens up when you bite it. If you’re worried it might drip or get squeezed-open when transporting the vest, there is also a cut-off valve to ensure liquid flows only when you want it.

The Ultra LR is the roomiest vest I’ve ran in, with multiple front pockets and accessible mesh stashes over the straps where you can easily slip half a dozen gels, a Clif bar or two, your keys, a pair of arm warmers and a couple other small items. The belt portion also features two large waist pockets for even more storage that’s accessible while you run. The back of the vest offers a large mesh stash that will easily contain a light windbreaker or other pieces of gear you might need. It has a built-in whistle, which is an obvious safety feature, but moreover will allow you to tick a mandatory item off the equipment list of many mountain ultras.

Bite valve with cut-off mechnism

The shoulder harness and waist straps are fully adjustable and will fit runners of almost any size. Although there are neat “compression straps” for the bladder, I’ve never used them and question their purpose. The belt goes all the way from your right to buckle on your left side, which felt a bit awkward. Why not use double adjustments like everyone else?

Space also comes at the price of weight. The Ultra LR is also the bulkiest vest I’ve ran in, and that difference is way more noticeable when running in warm weather, where it almost feels like a backpack with a lot of fabric touching your skin. It weighs in at over a pound, too.

Conclusion
The Ultra LR brings a lot of innovation to hydration vests with the unique lumbar bladder, the awesome valve and tubing system and the creative use of space for storage. I think it offers very interesting features, but would benefit to undergo a drastic weight and bulk reduction effort, which would bring lighter and more breathable fabrics, and reduce the contact points with the runner’s body. Overall, this is definitely a piece of gear I will use in my running.

High points

• Possibly the industry’s best valve and tubing system
• Clever lumbar bladder puts the weight on your waist, not your shoulders
• Extra roomy
• Fully adjustable

Low points

• Feels bulky, more so in warm weather
• Heavy at 1.15 lbs

The equipment for this FlintLand review was supplied by Camelbak free of charge, without any conditions.

I just don't want to...Fall running, goals and the madness!

Just a month ago there were people running everywhere. We were out in droves enjoying the last sunny warm days of Indian Summer before the inevitable. They're all gone! I've been out less, partly because I was having trouble with my legs tightening up after the marathon, and partly because of the rain and cold.

Time to set some goals. I've got mud race coming up, like this one and it's time to start getting ready for it.

The great thing about these races is that I need to do something in addition to running. I think part of the problem with my legs tightening during and after the marathon was that I didn't cross train. Now's the time.

Look, only a select few really want to be out running when it's rainy and cold. The race above was in hot sunny July and my next one is in cold dismal November. The point of the race for me is too get me back outside training. Not only that but I'm signed up with 6 or 7 other people. I don't have a huge dose of macho in me, but I've got enough to want to make sure I'm not crapping out in the middle of the pack. One of the most gratifying things about the marathon was that I was still jumping, laughing and whooping up the crowd at the end of it.

I plan on the same in November and in order to do so I'm going to have to be in fighting shape. I'm a notorious weather whiner and I have to do some work to get myself out there and motivated to train in the rain.




Number one motivator forever: GOALS!
Having a time and place set, having paid for it, having told other people, having signed other people up commits  you to be ready for the event. I signed up for a late season event for exactly this reason. I need outside pressure to get me out there.

Number two helpful motivator: VARIETY
I love running. That being said it's nice to mix it up with something like jumping into green ice water in the middle of November. I feed on insanity and this is really going to be great. The last scene before the finish in the above video is us running through a field of live electrical wires. If you're having trouble getting out to run it may be that the season's races are over, the other runners have packed it in for the year and you're out there alone. Time to switch it up and train for another goal. Example: I want to be able to lift my car over my head by Spring!




Number three point to keep in mind: KNOW THYSELF!
I'm always coming back to this, but you have to know what will get you going. Getting covered with mud, frozen and electrocuted might not do it for you. Is there something wrong with you or with me?! You need to figure out what will get you out there and do it. DO IT!

If you want to join us in November in Indiana for this lovely number we'd love to have you. Either way, keep moving, keep motivated, keep the gleam in your eye and the madness in your heart...oh and did I mention the free beer at the end of the race:)

Good running and good living!

Springing

Some light Saturday night etymology anyone?

The first time I encountered the word fartlek I was amused that something would turn up in English that is so close to Swedish. Not that the word exists in Swedish, but the composite "fart" and "lek" does mean "speed" and "play", which I found rather funny. Well, the jokes on me obviously since it is a Swedish idea from the 40's by Gösta Holmér when he was training cross country teams.

There's a quite a few words the Swedish and English has in common although the meaning has shifted over the years. Some of them comes from old Norse and was imported to England via the Vikings, some comes from our common Indo-European background and then of course, Sweden has adopted quite a few words in the modern era.

And by this rather cumbersome introduction, the word for tonight is: "spring". This is one of the Indo-European ones, and it is closely related not only in Swedish and English but also to German ("springen"). However, whereas in English the verb usually means to start, or to leap, in Swedish it means something else which is familiar to us all: "to run". So "to run" is "att springa", and "I run smiley" will be (approximately) "jag springer leende".

I like the connection: Leaping into a run, legs pumping like springs, springing along the path, and uncoiling to action. Not to mention the various spring-like mechanisms of our legs is what keeps us moving, hopefully injury free, mile after mile during those wonderful runs. Am I easily amused? Sure, and hence I'll end this little musing with a word-wrangling I kind of like: 

Keep on springing Smiley!