Been awhile....

Well, its been awhile since my last post. I have been running though...promise!
I have put in good miles but have been focusing on climbing. Wasatch is less than 2 weeks away and the nerves have been going since I went to Leadville.
Speaking of Leadville, I had the pleasure of going to help Scott Jaime at the 100 mile race across the sky. What a weekend. We stayed with Brian Fisher and his parents which was a real treat. I had the pleasure of meeting them last year at Hard Rock and you will have a tough time meeting better people. I also met Joe Kulak (a real ultra legend). I was like a fly on the wall for a few days, listening to advice, race strategy, old stories...basically learning from some amazing athletes. I crewed Scott for the race until the inbound at Twin Lakes at which point I laced up the PI's and paced him. What great time for me. Scott was having some stomach issues and I did what I could to encourage him to run while bugging him to drink fluid and take some gels.
I tried to stay just in front of him most of the way, not because I wanted him to run and keep pace but because I didn't want him to see my face. Running at 10,000+ feet and even though Scott was 55+ miles into it, the boy can still put em down and pick em up!
I was very proud to see Scott cross the finish at Leadville in 5th place in 20.29.
Unbelievable!
I also got to meet some truly great people. Paul DeWitt and his wife Judy were there and I had the pleasure of meeting them. Helen Cospolich- one of the top athletes around (not just female athletes). The ultra community is incredible and I feel very fortunate to infiltrate it!
The only problem is that I really started to focus and think about Wasatch. My first 100 mile race. Swore I would never do one but you only live once. (live is the key word there). The fear of the truly unknown is definitely getting the best of me. I have great support from my wife Melony, kids-Sami and Aspen, family and friends that continue to show support even during their busy lives. I guess at times I feel more nervous of letting them down then letting myself down.
The goal is to finish! Nothing more nothing less. This is a test and more of an adventure. I will continue to enjoy 50 milers and under but the 100 is still unknown. I am excited and nervous. Some days I feel like nothing can stop me and other days the fear of failure looms. I hate to fail! I hate the word fail. Hopefully that will help drive me to Homestead and my first 100 mile finish.
Thanks for every one's continued support and I will see you at the finish line!

Ben Lomond Peak

Got in some (h)elevation. Today I did the peak solo. I got a later start so I could incorporate the heat a bit. I really wanted to push the pace to see what happens. I have run this twice and both were almost identical in time.
Up 2:30
Down 1:30
Total 4 hours
I hit the trail around 7:30 am and set the pace. I felt good going up. I can really tell I am improving on climbing but have a long way to go. I just kept the pedal down and every time I thought about backing off I thought of Jaimes quote "Suffer now of suffer later". Well I have done the suffering later thing way to much. I realize I will suffer at Wasatch but it is not too late to suffer less there. I hit the top of the main climb and was happy it was over. I also wanted to work on my recovering breathing a bit so when I finished the climb I didn't walk, I turned it into a jog since the trail was runnable (by my standards). From this point there in some gradual climbing but you can run a majority of it. The views are amazing all around. it really is easier to do when you can enjoy the beauty. I kept on trucking and hit the climb to the top.
I buckled down and went for it. it is much steeper and lots of switchbacks. I still didn't stop but as it got steeper, the legs sure did slow down. I reached the peak @ 2:09 which is 21 minutes faster than I have done it in the past. This gave me a good boost. I stuck around the peak for a minute and watched the mountain goats. I was all alone and feeling pretty special.
I started back down with a goal to beat 1:30. I ran about everything then as I was feeling about as good as i have in some time....BAM! I went down. When the dust cleared, it was time to assess the damage. Knee-bleeding, back-sore, forearm-bleeding, butt-scratched up, mouth-full of dirt, everywhere else-DIRTY, pride-not so good. It took a few minutes to survey and clean up. The trail here really, really dusty so I can only imagine what it would have looked like from another angle. I started running again realizing my time would slow. I actually felt pretty good but I sure looked like shit. I guess you need a good fall once in awhile to make you feel even more alive.
The rest of the run was uneventful and I hit the parking lot in 3:25.
Up 2:09 (21 minutes faster)
Down 1:16 (14 minutes faster)
Overall 3:25 (35 minutes faster)
Great run, great fall, better recovery!

Not fun but got something done.

Alright, due to scheduling conflicts, I did base my run around the day. I didn't get outside but I figured anything is better than nothing. Busted out the treadmill for nothing but incline. 10 is the highest setting and although it's not real steep, it works. I went for about an hour and left the incline and just changes the pace. I may not have been on the mountain but I definitely worked hard. its so hot in my house I even got head training. I will definitely get outside tomorrow for a long haul but I got in what I could. It sure feels better doing something than nothing.

Going up?

I really need to get those hiking legs on. So I went up. With the work I did at SpeedGoat I figure by keeping it up, it will only help. Man, I just don't like climbing. Put in some solid miles and tried to focus more on rhythm than anything else. I was trying to get a good groove going with my pace and my breathing. By the time I was done, my legs were shot. I am not sure the exact mileage but going up I dare to say I covered 5-6 miles. there were times of running (flatter) and times of hunkering over while knees were bent. Overall, I felt pretty good. I sure hate the burning lung feeling. It takes me back to college soccer though and then the memories really flow.