Was shootin' for a 43:30, trying to pace at 6:45-7min mi.  I knew that would be a tall order for me.  I've done shorter intervals at that pace, and I managed to pace near that the first 10k of a 15k I ran in the late fall.   I knew it was possible but by no means easy. It was a bit of a bad omen when I had to stop to hit the bathroom 3 times on the way to the race (an hour drive). Maybe too much coffee? :/ did half my warm up and realized I would need to find the bathroom...again. My gut was… Continue

I was pretty sure my face was going to melt off today. You know, like the guy in Indiana Jones at the end of the movie when he looked at the Ark of the Covenant.  That's how I felt at one point today. Needless to say this drama queen is struggling a bit with the sudden heat wave we are experiencing. Got pretty nauseated during speed work yesterday and hit the trails this morning with the same. I knew I had near 3 hours of running on the agenda. After 30 minutes I called it quits. Mild - mod…

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It's always fun to talk about good and great training days or races..but let's face it, they ain't always all that! Saturday started out great...felt good going out...maybe too good? Tried to hold back/or at least not charge forward (or did I?). Saturday's training run? 1 hour easy, a whole bunch of steep hill repeats lasting about 45 min, then another hour and 15 easyish. First hour felt great. Hill repeats were tough, burning quads, burning lungs, hands on knees for a few seconds...ok maybe… Continue

So I need help finding a racing vest for the shorter ultras--ha! If that's not a contradiction of terms! For the past 2 years I've used a full hydration pack for all my long runs and ultras. I decided to try using a hand-held bottle at my last 55k. I realized over the course that I was able to drink so much more water and stay better fueled and hydrated simply becuase I wasn't getting little bitty sips fighting gravity and suction from the tubing on my hydration pack. The newer higher flow… Continue