Monday, August 29, 2016

Running of the Muskox: Greenland 1/2 Marathon

8/14/16

Today was the running of the Moskus, which is a 5k and 1/2 marathon that takes place every year in Kangerlussuaq to benefit the school there. Summit Station is invited to participate as well. I had decided a couple of weeks ago when I heard about it, that I wanted to try to run the 1/2 marathon, weather permitting. Especially since I had run a marathon in Antarctica. I guess last year it was such a crazy blizzard that all everyone did was go outside, walk 100 feet and then take a group picture.  I was feeling pretty good about it a couple of weeks ago b/c the skiway was pretty hard. Not as hard as pavement, but definitely felt solid when running on it. Well, there was a managerial mistake and they used this thing called the sheeps foot on the runway about 10 days ago, and it really softened the runway up. It made it quite difficult to run on. I went  from averaging 8:00 to 8:15 miles over a 6 mile down and back to averaging 9:30-9:45 on the same run. Running on soft snow is not easy at all! The skiway was slowly getting firmer, but not much. On Saturday night, I figured if it stayed the same as it was, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. On Saturday night, the station had a big party as it was the last Saturday that everyone would be there, and we had new fresh energy. I really wanted to stay and party, but I went to my room to relax around 11:30 b/c I didn't want to ruin all my training. I guess the party got pretty wild. People were taking bagel shots (in case you haven't been reading my blog, that is shots out of James' belly button), including Elissa and Dr. Zoey. I heard all the stories the next day.

But as I went to bed on Saturday night, a storm was brewing. Snow was accumulating and there was a bit of drifting. When I woke up in the morning, there was a fresh layer of snow on the ground, the most snow we've gotten since I've been here. I figured my chances of reaching my goal of breaking 2 hours in the 13.1 mile race was gone. To do this I'd have to average about 9:05 minute miles, which seemed impossible considering what I had been averaging on my 6 mile runs in the soft snow.

This wasn't the kind of race where I'd have aid stations, so I packed a bag with extra warm clothes, food, insulated water, hand warmers, and a few other things. I loaded it all up in a sled and towed it down to the skiway. It was still snowing, windy, and poor visibility (flat light) when I started. With the fresh layer of snow, it was hard to find the firmer part of the runway where the groomer had gone, so I ran in zizags for the first length trying to find the hard spots. Each length of the runway is 3 miles, so I ran 4 lengths, plus another 1.1 miles. After the first length the storm passed and by the last length it was actually pretty sunny. Starting temps were 6F with a -7F windchill. The altitude here is 10560ft, but the pressure altitude was at nearly 11,000 feet. Conditioms--with the soft snow, new snow, cold temps, and higher altitude weren't promising for breaking the 2 hour goal. But I figured I'd just go for the finish. But after the first 2 lengths, I was feeling pretty good, and was under a 9min/mile pace, so I started to believe I could do it. The 3rd length was pretty smooth as well. The last length started to hurt a bit and the 12th mile was pretty rough (but I was imagining Rowdie Gaines announcing my race and imagining the pain my favorite US swimmers went through to get to the Olympics, and that helped me perservere). My shoes were getting heavy from being wet and the snow felt softer with the sun coming out The 13th mile was tough, but at that point I knew I would finish.

In the end I finished in 1 hour 55 minutes  and 48 seconds with an average pace of 8'50"min/mile! I was very excited!! I can only imagine what I would run down at Gainesville elevation and on pavement.  I ended up winning the Summit portion of the race b/c, well, I was the only racer. Hannah, a former collegiate skate skier, attempted to ski the 1/2 marathon, but only managed a 10k. Grey, the manager, biked a 10k. It was an interesting race b/c I had no one to compete against (just the clock), no race supporters, and no one to cheer me on or to witness me finishing

8/15/16

Dr. Zoey needed someone to pull her heavy GPS survey sled, so I was asked to do it. We ended up doing about 7 miles through deep snow with me pulling the sled. A nice way to recover from the half marathon!

In the evening, the sunset was very nice and there was a pretty sundog as I biked the skiway after dinner. I was even more impressed at my feat after biking by my footprints and seeing just how long it was and seeing how deep each of my steps sunk into the snow.

At dinner I talked with NOAA scientists Geoff who came on the last flight. He was easy to talk to b/c we had a Colorado connection.  He lives in Nederland and was born and raised in Johnstown and went to Miliken middle and high school (we used to play them in sports). And he attended college at CU. His house nearly burned (1/2 his property did) in the fire this summer started by two Alabama trespassers. But we talked about the strangeness of Nederland, how crazy much Colorado has grown since we grew up (He's older, probably in his 40's, so even more so for him), how expensive Boulder and Colorado have become (he said the median house in Boulder is now $1 million, which is why he lives in Ned). And of course we talked skiing and our mutual love for Mary Jane (the ski area, not the plant that he said is available in 19 different dispensaries in Nederland, haha).

8/16
Last day with the whole crew. Kathy made a most amazing version of Huevos Rancheros for lunch and then her best Indian Night yet. Lamb Korma, butter chicken masala, palak paneer, mango sticky rice, and a berry lassi.  We had a bit of a party with everyone at night. Amber from Dartmouth (who we helped with the backlit snow pit) had sent up a box with a bottle of whisky in it, wrapped in 3 dresses that she said the techs had to wear in order to have the whiskey. So we (me included!) dressed up in dresses for a picture for her. Definitely pretty funny.

I found out today that Kathy used to work at Winter Park (in 1997 when she was 20) as a janitor. She also was a waitress at Slogar, my dad's favorite place to eat in Crested Butte


Picture of Muskox in Kanger. Taken by race officials before the race

Check for the students of Kanger


Hannah and me



my tracks



Grey's biking tracks, my running tracks, and Hannah's ski tracks

Friday, August 26, 2016

A greenlandic room

Now that Thano has moved on to greener pastures, I have the room to myself, which is mostly nice, but I do miss chatting with Thano and trying to pull him out of bed in the morning. Elisha and my mom had sent me some photos and such and Elisha wanted to see what it all looked like. So here it is.

my door




my bunkbead

our office door

inside the office


Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Where's Kitty?


I’ve been involved in a funny prank that has been going on for the last couple of weeks. As a gift, James got one of those Chinese cats that has the arm that continually waves. He gave it to Kathy temporarily to put in her Kitchen window so it could be waving to her and the rest of the people in the galley. He calls it Kitty mostly, but also sometimes Mitsy. And he claims its real name is Yoshimi.

Well Kathy took it and hid it at some point, unbeknownst to James. James didn’t know where it had run off to and was devastated by the loss. He put up lost cat signs all around station and on milk cartons. People told him he should call out her name as he walks around. And Kathy gave him some tuna to put out to try and attract Kitty back. None of this worked. James eventually came to the realization that Kitty had been kidnapped. At every meal there was much talk of Kitty and speculation about what happened.






Well, I decided to add some extra intrigue into it. On the day of the ozone balloon launch, I asked Kathy where she was hiding Kitty and took some photos of Kitty inside the ozone sonde and then parachuting down with the sonde. I then added a journal entry of Kitty with some pictures.

***Newsflash***

The royal Danish air force recovered part of a journal entry yesterday, 27 June at 1422 while performing routine helo ops over the Greenland ice sheet. Recovered along with the journal was a camera with the following "selfie" style photos. The air force has determined that the author of the journal entry was most likely aboard an Ozone Sonde from the American research base, Summit Station. General Bendt Førslev contacted the Summit Station Science Technicians and was informed that the balloon crash landed on the ice sheet at location 72.495, -38.263. If North Winds allow, a search will be initiated, if for no other reason than to get the 50 USD reward for sonde recovery from NOAA.


Dear Journal,
I have become increasingly despondent in the past several days. If being held in captivity didn't cause enough suffering, I have had to endure too great a period apart from my sweet, beloved James, son of Richard, and his cuddly bagel. Oh journal, how I do miss catnapping on that wonderful bagel! Thus, I have decided to take events into my own hands. Right meow! I still have four of my nine lives remaining, so I figure the risk is worth it. I am going to attempt to sneak aboard one of those goofy orange-taped balloons they launch here in the hopes that I will be carried to my homeland of China. It pains me deeply that this means I may never see dear, dear James again. But this may be my only possible escape. My only hope is that James' love for chow mein will bring him on vacation to China where I will be waiting for him. I can't fathom the sorrow James must be feeling in my absence. It pains me deeply. If by chance this journal goes public, my last request is that K-dub frequently rests his face on that wonderful Bagel, if only to provide some semblance of feline comfort to it. Purring would also help.

I fear this may be my last entry, but jet-stream willing, I will be feasting on Peking Duck by week's end

If you're not first you're last,
Kitty

PS: If I successfully make it to China, please send all correspondence (and hopefully some bagel lint) to 

Yoshimi
Jiuzhaigou Orphanage for Cats that would otherwise be eaten
General Mao Alley

Songpan, People's Republic of China  z10528t







At our party on Saturday night (7/30) , for some reason James didn’t come out. So we grabbed Kitty and took some photos. We took photos of kitty helping us mop and then hanging out with us with a bottle of whiskey. But then things took an interesting turn. We took a photo of Kitty inside one of the blenders. Hannah sent the picture to James’ facebook and wrote “James, help me” Then we took the leftovers from Thano’s cake (which is white, the color the kitty with red berries, the color of blood) and put it in the blender and took a picture of it as an after picture. Hannah again sent this to James and said “maybe you’re too late”  Then they took pictures of Kathy, who ironically is a vegetarian, eating the blended Kitty.


After the party, we left kitty inside of a coffee pot, but a couple of days later, Kitty went missing again. Kitty was the talk of the station for weeks, but no one knew who had kitty

As of 8/17 with the leaving of the last flight, we still don't know where Kitty is. People are hoping she will show up in Kanger or Scotia...


The night started out innocent enough. Kitty was watching us do dishes



Then kitty wanted to help me mop

Then kitty joined Thano and K-dub (behind the powder mag) for some Saturday night chill time

With Elissa and me as well

Then kitty got into some whiskey.  Bad Kitty!

Then kitty ended up in a blender somehow


And was blended

Then vegetarian Kathy, the cook, enjoyed some Kitty




After the party, we left kitty inside of a coffee pot, but a couple of days later, Kitty went missing again. Kitty was the talk of the station for weeks, but no one knew who had kitty.  Kathy put up some signs looking for Kitty.  I found some cat tracks while on a long ski out on the clean air line

sign put up by Kathy

tracks I "found" while out on a ski


As of 8/17 with the leaving of the last flight, we still don't know where Kitty is. People are hoping she will show up in Kanger or Scotia...

8/20

The group arrived to Scotia yesterday and still the thief of Kitty has not exposed himself. We are all surprised! We figured that by now Kitty would have made an appearance at either Summit, Kanger, or Scotia. It is a huge mystery with much chatter about it. We are so intrigued to know who has Kitty and who has been able to keep quiet. I know if I had kitty I would have been taking random funny pictures with it.  Hmmm, will we ever know?

8/23
Still no kitty. The case might have to be closed as one of Greenland's greatest unsolved mysteries


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Flight Period 5 pics

Some pictures to go with the previous blog
frosty bike

Summit Rickshaw

raising cylinders to TAWO

Inside the seismometer vault

squeezing in to the seismometer trench

air sampling

working on a puzzle Elissa got as a gift from her previous employer

driving the case tractor to groom the skiway


freezer trench full of food


peanut butter lover and muskox trax icecream ingredients


Big house at sunset





found another poor nearly frozen bird. Storm looking sad