Race Preview and Race Re-Cap

OK...the weekend is over and a lot has happened...but there is much more to look forward to this coming weekend (in my world anyway) and I am getting a little case of the butterflies. I am officially resting for the next four days which means strictly no running, lots of healthy eating, and as much sleep as I can find time for...(basically, I'll be living like my cats for the next four days!) :0)

100 in the Hood- PCT Ultra will start on Saturday September 26, 2009 at 5:00 am Pacific Standard Time at the Clackamas Ranger Station off of HWY 42 in the Mt. Hood area of Oregon. We will head out in the dark running north on the Pacific Crest Trail for a 28 mile out and back. I have already run this part of the course and it seems to be pretty quick with some nice views of Mt. Hood and Timothy Lake. I think running in the dark will save me from starting out too fast in this section.

Once we head back to the start/finish area we start our journey down to Breitenbush Lake (south on the PCT). This is where the course gets a little more interesting. I've also run approximately 30 miles of this section including the climb that we will face at like mile 91. Like I said...it'll be interesting;0) !

Olga V. and Mike B. are co-race directors and both of them bring a lot of ultra running experience to this inaugural year so I am really looking forward to another adventure in an awesome part of the country.

I feel that I am getting close to being ready for tackling the inaugural running of this race. Mentally I am there...especially after seeing what happened back at Iroquois this past weekend. I'd be lying if I said I was totally there physically. I feel that I have put in some very solid training before and after the confidence-boosting Where's Waldo 100k on August 22nd, but as of like two days ago I started feeling some "weirdness" in my leg...the same leg I've been having issues w/ all summer. It really is so minimal and I've still been running with absolutely no hindrance, but I'm just hoping that it's not something so small that it turns into something in the last 25 miles or so. I can't obsess about it and think negatively so I'm just going to hope that it goes away in the next four days and doesn't come back. It's really probably more in my brain anyway! Other than that I am just tying up loose end details and finalizing my plan of attack!

Last year in my first 100-miler at Iroquois my goals were a lot different. My number one goal was to finish, obviously, and to take home that sub-24 hour belt buckle. Competition was not as stiff and when I realized that my closest competitor Bryon Powell dropped at mile 55 I knew that as long as I had no major catastrophe I would achieve those goals. So I knocked it back a few notches and tried to enjoy the rest of the day and night casually pushing on through the tough course. I ended up finishing in 21:35 on a technical course of roughly 18,000 feet of elevation change. This weekend I will be facing a more mild course consisting of about 12,000 feet of change and not as technical as back east. So... I am thinking that with the combination of the course, the runners, and the fact that I've got that first one under my belt...that I'm really going to get a more accurate benchmark this weekend...if all goes as planned.

As for Iroquois Trails Ultras' second year I was amazed at what happened this past weekend. First of all...Ian Golden is building a great event here...nice work again Ian...it really looks good and I missed being there. Oregonian ultra veteran Jeff Browning (who was the favorite) shredded the course and my record by like four hours. Actually the top three went under my last year's time on a course that was slightly changed probably making it just a wee bit slower! Nice work everyone! It was great to see Kelly Wilson go under 24 hours (which she narrowly missed last year) and retain the women's title. That must feel good...I know how hard she's been working for that one! Another impressive feat was from another ultra vet...Glen Redpath. He just came off another 100-mile win like ten days prior and was almost able to capture another victory finishing second overall. How does he do that? Also, fellow Inov-8 teammate Aliza Lapiere snagged the 50-mile win...glad you're back it Aliza!

I had many other friends running the 50-miler, 100, the relay, and volunteering their time. There are too many to name but I really missed being there and seeing you all...so good work to all of you guys and I hope to be there next year! The race updates were top notch. I followed the race all day and night and it's really got me raring to go for Saturday! So rest up all you runners and enjoy some of the pictures from Iroquois captured by Steve Gallow (who took photos at our wedding). Click HERE for photos...and send me out some positive vibes on Saturday!

Run Happy!!!