I did a reconnoiter run on Sunday to check for trail damage done by the powerful thunderstorms that recently  pounded the area. All I can say is never underestimate the power of water. Lots of it, apparently. The Escape From Prison Hill trail races will go on, but not as before.

Seemingly, every trail that was a climb became a stream, and as a result, the dirt has washed away, leaving  ankle-biter stones, sand and base rock. Any traversing trails are now cross-tracked/eroded by a myriad of streams. Those aren't really a cause for concern, since over the months between now and the races, the continued pounding of feet will mostly smooth them over.

What is a concern is the condition of the climbs and drops. The photos don't do the damage justice, since the scale is not readily apparent:

Along the route:
Dead Truck Canyon:
Lower DT is either rutted up to 18" or loose sand now. Unpleasant. It may get better with feet stomps.
Middle DT is a bit more difficult than before since the dirt has washed away leaving rocks. Typically this isn't a problem on uphills, but the descent is now a technical journey rather than a pretty speedy good time for the 10K.
Upper DT is washed out more than before and more technical.
Dinosaur Ridge Descent:
What was steep, and somewhat rocky is now equally steep and far more rocky and technical.
North Loop: 
Not terrible, but the descent on the northwest is much more technical. The traverse along the east face has many, many stream crossings. These should smooth out.
Saddle to Koontz:
Probably will need to re-route around this section. 4' deep washout of a former "road"  making a new arroyo. Not runnable, but slowly walkable.
Koontz to Snyder:
Not terribly destroyed, but the washouts made the trail much less visible. We'll need to mark it much better, since the route through the brush is not so obvious.
Snyder to South Climb:
The dirt road is fine. Some additional wash/sediment in the lower parts of the rolls, but no biggie.
South Climb:
Ugly as ever. It's more rutted, but who will really notice? It's not like anyone is approaching dangerous speeds on the up.
Top to River Descent (Including whoop-dee-dos):
Strong candidate for re-routing. The whoop-dee-dos always were steep and now have far less traction since the existing sand washed away.
River Descent:
Washed out up to 3' deeper with 18" steps. This used to be a fast, sandy, giant-stride type of drop. Don't think it will be again for a while until it smooths out. Any future rains will deepen the new arroyo.
River Jaunt:
Unchanged. Still a pleasant flat and fast trip.
The Insult:
What was a sandy climb to slap you in the face as you finished the race is now sandier, and with ruts. At the top, the "rut" is 6 feet deep.

Overall Analysis:
The course records are not in any danger of ever being broken. I think I will have to abandon the idea of the bounty on a new course record and will be forced to re-route. Since I have to re-permit the event this year, now is the time. 

Anyone who holds a Strava Segment KOM/QOM can rest easy that their record will likely hold for a good long while. 

The only bright side (pun totes intended) of the day was my new socks. I had asked on Twitter the relative merits of compression socks vs. compression sleeves. The good people at BrightLifeGo saw the interchange and offered to me a pair of compression socks to try out - the goal being to alleviate the spasms and cramps I typically suffer after longish runs on the hills. Always willing to try, I agreed and in a matter of 2 days, I had these beauties in my hand and on my legs: 

I had just run 17 the day before and was doing 13 on Sunday. Typically, my baby cows would be doing the unhappy dance afterward. But. They. Didn't.

I can't directly attribute the results to the socks, since I didn't do a proper experiment with controls (perhaps my nutrition & hydration  was better too), but I am confident they were a contributing factor. I plan to use them as recovery socks after my next run Saturday on the PCT north of I-80 to see how they make the calves feel after a run. It should be a good test, since there are big climbs to happen there. I will wear low riders on the run, then afterward, switch to the compressions.

Wow, and crap. I can't believe how long it's been since I posted anything. Blah, blah, busy, blah, blah, kids, blah, blah, work, blah, blah, blah. Excuses, excuses. I won't bore the two remaining readers of this blather with them, since that's what they are. Though I haven't been blogging, I have been living. Doing stuff. Carpe-ing the crap out of the diem. 

This summer is the first in a long time that I didn't go anywhere on even an overnight stay. I was anchored at the casa, while sending the kids out on their own for their adventures. I may write more about what they did - if they ever tell me. My daughter spent a month in San Diego learning the back activities of the zoo, learning to surf, and generally practicing the Art of the Teenage Beach Bum. I think she did well.

My son spent a month in Malaga, Spain. Yep. We shipped him off to a language immersion program. From what I can tell, he didn't learn a lot more Spanish, but he polished what he had. What he did learn though was Italian. His away-from-home-homies were nearly all Italian, so he learned from them. Not bad: polish up one language and learn a second (third). Oh, and all the girls were beautiful - At least the ones who tagged him on FB. (Yes I am a FB stalker of my son) I wonder why he wants to go to Italy for an exchange year now...

So yes, I have been running, and I think I may eventually set a new annual distance PR - assuming no injuries for the fall. I'm not going to review all the runs this year, but suffice to say the weather has been critical. The storms this summer have been more than impressive: they've been flash flood inducers. And really hard on the trails. If you want to see one, here is a great video. During the time of the storm that brought that flood, I was huddled over timing equipment for an ultra race trying vainly to keep it all dry and still running. Nearly 6" of rain in 90 minutes. Add in lightning and thunder and the only shelter being a canopy and a garbage bag, suffice it to say things got interesting.

This past Saturday, I ran on the Pacific Crest Trail north from Ebbetts Pass. I think it has some of the most spectacular scenery in the area. The run was a lot of up and down, too, but no killer multi-mile climbs. This was a repeat of the week before - violating my vow to not duplicate a trail this summer - because it was so spectacular and I wanted to share it with others.