Climbs and Crossings

There are things I was expecting to have to deal with during my first 100k race (blisters, pain, high highs and really low lows), and then there are things you just can't foresee (pack strap breaking 20 minutes in, starting my period at mile 44, getting Mmm Bop stuck in my head). Oh, and the RD saying something about how the day before a mountain lion had chased a guy on a bike.  The 62 miles in front of me were brand new and completely unknown. I carried this with me with projected times of arrival so I didn't have to do any math. I kept my watch showing only the time because I didn't want to think about mileage. It was a no math/no mileage strategy.  I warmed up in the first twelve miles enjoying the distraction of the dark and following the line of runners in front of me. The course took us on a few brief little loops and out and backs up and down hills, inside a mine, and around a cemetery surrounded by a white picket fence. Inside the mine, we had to ru

In theory, cucumber mint flavored Gu sounds refreshing, like it would be a wonderful break from all of the sweet and salty stuff late in the race. In reality, it's kind of weird and gross. Do not recommend.  What a day in the Headlands it was! Last year, conditions were near perfect, and I had a near perfect race. This year, El Nino raged, and the wind actually blew me over . FUN! Up and down. Repeat.  I'm working toward my first 100k in May, so it was important to feel like I could run a smart 50k with no issues because I should be able to run a smart 50k with no issues and not even think about how a 100k is twice as far. The Beginning. Everything's wonderful.  The start and finish had been changed from Fort Baker to Rodeo Beach because of the rain. It was a dark start at 6am, but dawn wasn't far off. I opted for no headlamp. We did two Hill 88 loops as the sun rose before sailing down to Tennessee Valley under what I'd call a heavy dri

It has been many years since my last road marathon,  four years, to be exact , and the decision to run another one came about when it was announced that the Olympic Trials Marathon would be held the day before the regular people marathon in LA. It was like the buy one, get one free of marathon weekends. The Trials We flew into LA Saturday morning and arrived downtown at the convention center about ten minutes before the start of the men's race. The course couldn't have been more spectator friendly. The runners would loop past us four times, so we got to see the entire race unfold. So. Exciting. For a tiny little video I put together, see previous post here. Making 5:45 mile splits look like no big deal The LA Marathon   Dodger Stadium, 5am.  My race plan was pretty simple: Cruise the first ten miles at an easy pace, no music, soak up the experience, and have fun. At mile ten, put on the tunes and do the work to get through the next ten. Then, just hang on, and

I've never actually written a year end recap post because I'm usually writing about stuff all year long so why be redundant. THIS year, however, I've been such a slacker at writing and racing that this will be brand new information. If anyone is still here. I had a kick ass 50k in March followed up with a crappy attempt at my second ever 50 miler in April, and that's pretty much where we left off. Let's address that and get it out of the way. Here's what my Lake Sonoma race report should have said: I can come up with excuses that sound reasonable as to why I dropped, but in reality my head wasn't in it. When I needed mental strength to push through, it wasn't there. That's it. I moped the rest of the spring and spent most of the summer trying to shake it off.  ANYWAY...on to summer. Summer was great. My birthday is in July, and somehow my birthday celebration has gone from the actual day, to a week, to a month to...well it started in June this

 Race morning, when I had no clue it was going to be a crap day.  Something went wrong. Something went really wrong because I had no legs to run on. I kept waiting for them to warm up, loosen up, wake up...but they felt heavy and fatigued. My quads burned on the rolling singletrack, and it wasn't long before I was walking runnable trail. My mantra became "there are still so many miles in front of me" which is maybe the first time that's ever been a comforting thought in a race. It meant I had plenty of time to work through this. It would pass. My legs would show up, just be patient.  About mile 10 I gave up on waiting for my legs to show up. If this was the hand I'd been dealt then it was time to face it and readjust. Forget a PR. I ran into Warm Springs at mile 11.6 and heard someone say my name.  Hey, it's Alvin! This guy is always smiling. I wished him a good race and hung out a few minutes longer to eat and regroup. Leaving the aid station

In spring of 2013 I ran Way Too Cool, a 50k with under 5,000 ft in elevation gain in 6:39:34. In spring of 2014 I ran it in 6:39:28...six seconds faster. How dumb is that. What had I actually been doing with my life to make zero progress in the time span of a year.  This past December of 2014 I ran The North Face Endurance Challenge, a more challenging 50k course in the Marin Headlands with about 7,000 ft in elevation gain with a goal time of 7 hours. I finished feeling good in 7:00:40.  I have one goal for 2015. I want to train smarter and run faster. Rather than do the Way Too Cool 50k/American River 50m NorCal spring combo this year, I got into the Lake Sonoma 50 miler, and the Marin Ultra Challenge fell during the right weekend in my training plan.  I was shooting for six and a half hours. It would be a 50k PR, and 30 minutes faster than I had run three months previously out on these trails. I wanted out of whatever rut my running had been stuck in