You hear that, Rocky? Raccoon hunting season is in full swing.

Week two of chasing the Raccoon was a pretty good one. I managed to work in four decent runs during the week-- even though work is a bit crazy right now. I wanted to stack up another decent week to build off last week's fun and games, so I had use up a lot of the weekend on the trail. Luckily, Ginger needed to do her MCM training long run on Saturday. That meant we got to spend the day together over in Damascus checking out the sights on the VA Creeper Trail. The plan was to do 16 together and then I'd tack on an extra four at  the end. Well, my math skills are not exactly, shall we say, strong. In fact, my math game is not tight at all. About a half mile from the turnaround (we were doing an out and back with a water jug stashed at mile 5), Ginger stepped off the trail for a second. I think she had to tie her shoe, so I said I'll keep going and we'll catch up at the flip flop. Well, I'm dumb and went a mile or so up the trail before I realized that the halfway point was 8 not 9. Duh, that meant, I had to haul ass to try to catch her before the she finished. I didn't. She was crushing it. She took 4 minutes off her time from when we last ran that 16 mile section. I was pushing it, and still couldn't catch her. Check out these splits:

It was a great workout though. I was crushed by the last two miles. First time in awhile I've done a run and really cracked myself. All in all, it was a great day. Sunshine, good times, a nice 20, and Ginger had a killer MCM training day.

I finished off the week by joining Carla and Geoff for their 13 miler at Moses Cone. I love those trails. It was another pretty day, and fall is coming quickly here in Boone. Running in the cool weather, without crazy humidity made for a great week. I ended up logging about 60 miles. I'm proud of all of the Always Brothers Marine Corps Marathon runner. Everyone has been killing it in training, and I think we'll have a great time in DC in October. Here are my totals for the week of MCM/Rocky training.

Not too bad for this early in Raccoon Hunting season. I'll back it off for the next two weeks. I'd like to do some hiking and let my legs recover a bit before I do my final prep for the New River 50k and Marine Corps Marathon in October. Those races are two weeks apart, so that'll make for a perfect beginning to the real build up for Rocky.

I'm pretty pleased with how my legs have been feeling after Leadville. I've been running stronger than I was before I went out there, and I'm feeling good about the possibility of a PR at Rocky in February. 

Raccoon Hunting: Week 1

I enjoyed a couple of chill weeks since I got back from Leadville. I got back into the swing of things at work, processed the trip, and weighed my options for my next racing goals. I promised myself I would wait a couple of weeks before deciding what I'd do next. I kinda did that. I decided to run the New River 50K (Oct 12th) just because the race looks fun and the distance is a reasonable one that I could do just with normal running as I'm prepping for the Marine Corps Marathon with the Always Brothers team that we put together. I've enjoyed joining Ginger for her training runs, and I've been running with Carla and Geoff as they hit their long runs in their training. It's been fun to run with all of them and see how psyched they are with the progress they are each making. Ginger has been running really strong and having a good time. I'm so impressed with how she's taken a great approach to recovering from her injury last winter. I love running with her and enjoying the time on the trail with her. Carla and Geoff have really been an inspiration. Each week, I've joined them for their distance PRs and they have been doing a great job.

Last week, my Raccoon Hunting buddy Jim Cansler called and said he wanted to take another shot at the Rocky Raccoon 100. It was such a great weekend last year, that I couldn't say no. We will camp at the park, watch the superbowl and celebrate my birthday after. Ginger said she'd be happy to crew me and hopefully pace me for a few legs, so that was all the motivation I needed. I pulled the trigger and signed up. That means, that I have kicked off the latest 100 training cycle. I think Rocky is just what I need after Pbville. It'll be great to run a course I know and take a stab at a new 100 PR time. If nothing else, it'll set me up with a good fall/winter of training in case Pbville ends up being a goal for next summer. And, it'll just be an awesome trip.

I have felt really strong on every run since I recovered from Leadville. This week, I hit three strong 7 milers on Mon, Tues, and Wed. I took Thursday off, and did Ginger's long run with her this week. She did great and we had a nice average pace (9:26) for 16 miles- complete with negative splits for the second half. She's a beast! I took saturday off and ran with Geoff and Carla today. I ended up hitting 19 in 2:54 with some serious negative splits on the last 9 miles or so. I was psyched to finish with 8:42, 8:41, and 8:20 miles at the end. I felt great, and think the first week back went great. Here are the weekly totals.

It was a great week overall. I got to do some good runs, had a good week of classes, and got some cool news when I found out that a story on ESPN.com linked to my blog. I'm a sports junkie, and getting a link from the mothership is pretty much the highlight of my blogging career.

I've still been using the Hoka Stinson Evo Tarmacs for my smooth trail runs, but I've been looking for a trail shoe for tech trails to replace the La Sportiva Wildcats I've been wearing for years. The toe box is just too narrow now that my feet have mutated. I had been using the Hoka Stinson Evos, but I got some blisters at Leadville because that shoe just doesn't fit my foot quite right. I like the New Balance Leadvilles I had been wearing, but the sole just isn't grabby enough to be my go to tech trail shoe. If you got suggestions, send them my way. I'm a forefoot striker and I like a low drop, neutral shoe. I've been thinking Altras but I tried on a pair and I'm not sure the toe box is actually tall enough. It's plenty wide, but a little too low. Maybe I just need to try another size/model. 

The Race Across the Sky-- Well, half of the sky for me... this year anyway...

There really are not too many ways to say it. I got a beat down in Leadville this weekend. No excuses. I don't make 'em. I just didn't have it. I'm not used to setting a goal and falling short, so it certainly was a little tough to take. That being said, I don't feel like my race was a failure. A wise man once told me that as long as you learn from something it's not a mistake. And, I believe that about falling short of a goal. Sure, I'd much rather be telling the story of how I ate some doughnuts Sunday morning using my giant, baller, Pbville sub-25 finisher's buckle as a plate. Hell yeah I would. But, I'm not. The Reaper got me at Hopeless. I didn't make the time cut- got sent home. Well, sent back down the mountain to Twin Lakes, actually. But, I learned from it. I loved it. I reveled in the suffering and the satisfaction of knowing I laid myself bare on that course. I smiled at the beating I took. I'm pretty sure my brothers would be proud of how I represented them out there. I know Ginger, Lois, and the rest of my friends there saw that I gave everything I had, and they were awesome in supporting me. So, here's the story of the day. 

I started off with some excellent words of motivation in my head. Ginger put together a little book for me, much like the one Star made for Darris before Badwater, filled with messages from my friends. Little things, like a reminder to Harden the Fuck Up from Paul Gilman (a little taste of my own medicine there), a solid #chooseyourfriendsbetter from Kramer, and some very thoughtful advice from Brian O'Neill. O'Neill is my firefighter, Marine, literary genius, all around bad ass buddy from the Always Brothers family. He gave me a battle cry of sorts to carry with me for the day: Molon Labe, which basically means Come and Take. This was, reportedly, the reply King Leonidas gave to the Persians when they demanded the Spartans surrender their weapons at the Battle of Thermopylae. As we left the hotel at 3:30 am Saturday morning, I grabbed a sharpie and scrawled this mantra on my hand. 

The scene at the starting line was wild. 800 or so folks lined up and ready to attempt the feat of racing across the sky. At 4 am the gun (literally- no sissy starter pistol) went off and we began shuffling down 6th street towards Turquoise Lake. The first 13 miles ticked off uneventfully. I felt pretty good and made sure I didn't go out too fast. I was still unsure of how starting a race at 10,200 feet was going to feel. When we hit the single track around the lake, I settled in with a group moving a little slower than my planned pace. I was OK with that. I had figured out by mile 7 that going sub 25 was not really a realistic goal for me this year. I just couldn't maintain that pace without my heart rate going too high. No worries, though. I felt good at a slightly slower pace and wanted to make sure I followed the advice I'd been given: Be patient. The second half of the race can't happen if the first half kills you. I made it to May Queen (mile 13.2) feeling pretty good and was happy to see Ginger and Lois, who had everything I needed and quickly got me moving again. 

The climb away from May Queen up Hagerman Pass was much burlier than I had anticipated. The elevation was hurting me more than I thought it would. I felt slow and out of shape. But, I told the mountains to Come and Take and chatted with my fellow runners with a smile on my face. Silently suffering. The views were unreal. We climbed a thousand feet or so and looked back down that lake. All I could think was, "Damn, this place is gorgeous!"I really do love Leadville. The mountains are surreal. 

After the climb to the top of the pass, I careened my way down the Powerline to the aid station at Outward Bound (mile 23ish). Feeling a little rough from the climb, I was a little shaken by the fact that I was so far behind my goal pace and only an hour ahead of the cut off. I was going as fast as I could without blowing up. But, I just kept pushing. I reminded myself to enjoy the day- to enjoy the view. I wanted to take in the scene and remember that this was, as my "sister" Star said, "My Leadville Day" when she alluded to the St. Crispin's day speech from Henry V. I knew it didn't matter what pace I held. The only thing that mattered was that I held the best pace I could. So I did. Through the blazing sun I shuffled along. 

I can't say I really enjoyed the section between Outward Bound and HalfPipe. It was mostly road, and mostly exposed. I'm a trail runner. The scenery was nice, but were WAY too many cars on the road and it was HOT. But, I reminded myself that this was an Ultra and not a day on the beach. If it was easy, everyone would be here. If it was easy, my friends would not fly across the country to crew/pace me. It was easy, my friends would not wax poetic about St. Crispin or King Leonidas. If it was easy, I wouldn't be here because I wouldn't like it. I am a Marine, and I don't like things to be easy. So, I shuffled on. Telling myself to HTFU, drink water, and telling the damn course: Molon Labe. 

I rolled into  the Treeline crew station feeling very bad. I was hot, dizzy, and worried. I had been doing a run/walk combo for a few miles now. I was trying to follow the advice of not going out too fast, and I was losing way too much time. I was less than 45 minutes ahead of the cutoff. "WTF?! How is the happening," I asked myself. I trained my ass off for this, and couldn't understand why I was so slow. But, I perked up a bit when I saw Ginger and Lois. They gave me some much needed fluid, food, and sunscreen. I continued on towards Halfpipe feeling better. 

I got back into a running rhythm for a while, rolled through Halfpipe and started the climb towards the Mt. Elbert water station. Then, the wheels came off. I ate a Cheer Pack and promptly puked. "Shit," I thought, "these things ALWAYS work." Not this time. I was at mile 31 and life was NOT good. I walked for a while, got my stomach settled and distracted myself by talking to my fellow pilgrims on the road to pay homage at Hope Pass. The climb was rough. It seemed to last forever, but I finally hit the water station and began the decent to Twin Lakes. 

And, here the Persian Army of the Pbville course, took a little piece of me. It took the piece that mattered most for my race. I could not run the decent. Even though it was downhill, I would puke every time I tried to run. I couldn't understand it. I was hydrated. I had been eating well for the first 25 miles. I had settled my stomach after the mile 31 incident, but now at mile 37 or so, I was puking every time I tried to run. I needed to make up time. I'm usually a fast descender. I can make up time on a downhill without getting out of control. Not today. To make matters worse, walking down the hill was making my left knee feel like a knife was stuck in it. Not good. I wanted to quit. It's hard to admit that. But, I did want that more than anything-- for a minute. But, I knew that wasn't what I really wanted. What I really wanted was to fight these metaphorical Persians to the end. So I did. I kept pushing on, and I kept trying to have fun in the process. I chatted with folks who were also suffering on the decent and even scored a cold Coors as I approached Twin Lakes from a nice couple who'd come out to watch the carnage. 

"A Coors?! How can you drink a beer in the middle of a 100 miler?!" you ask- with a disapproving look. Yes, A Coors. I don't know why, but it made perfect sense to me. I wanted a beer. I was in a dark place and a beer seemed like a good flashlight. It was. I only drank half of it, and I started feeling better. I wish you could see the looks people were giving me as I rolled into the aid station at Twin Lakes with a water bottle in one hand and a beer in the other. Priceless. 

I was feeling better, but I knew time was not on my side. I told Ginger I was in trouble. I was only 15 minutes ahead of the cutoff entering Twin Lakes. I told her my knee was hurting and I thought I was done. She reminded me that I still had 15 minutes, and I might start feeling better soon. So, I changed my shoes, grabbed my coat in case weather came while I was on the Pass, and headed towards the climb at Mt Hope. 

I did feel better. I started running and the nausea was gone. My knee pain- gone. Wow, Coors is the wonder drug! The river crossing was refreshing and I was buoyed by the fact that I'd made it out of Twin Lakes before the leaders passed me on their way back to town. "Hell," I thought, "they are only 19 miles ahead of me. That ain't bad, really." And it isn't. I have no illusions about how these races go. I'm not there racing anyone else. I race myself and the course. And that race was going great again. 

Until the climb began. Mt. Hope punched me square in the jaw. Check out the elevation profile of the course here (remember the starting point is 10,152 feet): 

The last spike, that's the climb to Hope Pass. And this is where the taking happened. I promised myself I would tackle the trouble that came my way with a cheerful and resolute heart. I promised myself I'd wear the blackened eyes the course would give me with a smile and bounce higher every time I got knocked down. I did the best I could. The climb punched, and I absorbed. I could hardly breathe and each step seemed oddly difficult. The grade seemed way steeper than it really was. I knew the clock was ticking, but I soldiered on. I kept thinking, "If I can get to the Pass in time, I can make it to Winfield before the 6 pm cut no problem. It'll be downhill and I can run without puking now. But, it wasn't to be. I made it a half mile from the Hopeless Aid Station, and at mile 43.5 I was told by a course volunteer to turn back. I had missed the 4:15 cut off for Hopeless. My race was over. Well, I still had to descend the pass. I still had to go 4.5 miles to get back to Twin Lakes. 

It was brutal. I honestly don't remember the last time I set a goal and didn't make it like this. I mean, I've run races slower that I'd hoped, I'd had articles rejected at work, but I have never been cut from a race. I'd never let the metaphorical Persians Come and Take. I had a couple of hours to think about this as I slowly trudged back to Twin Lakes. And here's what I decided. 

They can still Molon Labe. Those bastards didn't really take anything from me. While I went to Leadville with the goal of a sub 25 finish (or at least a finish), I didn't fail. Sure, I didn't reach my race goal. But, that isn't the real reason I run. I run because it love it. I run because it lets me challenge myself- let's me find the ragged edge and look over it without any real danger. It also lets me honor my fallen brothers. Mostly importantly, it lets me see new places, and share them with people I love. Well, I did every bit of that at Leadville. I fought until the clock said I could fight no more, and I loved it all. 

Thanks to Ginger, Lois, Reeve, and Kramer for coming to support me. Thanks to all of my friends and family who sent me good vibes and words of encouragement. Now it's time to get on a place (if we don't miss this one), and go home. I miss my Yellow Buddy and Mookie. 

And once more into the breach we go...

So, here it is. About six months ago today, as I was recovering from the Rocky Raccoon 100, I pulled the trigger on Leadville. I've enjoyed every second of my training for this run-- even the seconds that sometimes felt like work-- especially the seconds that forced me to reach deep inside to keep moving forward. All the hay is officially in the barn. Ginger and I did nice 5 miles in Frisco, Colorado this morning  (9,100 feet), and I felt great! The legs are ready and the lungs are willing.

And now, it's time for the payoff. The prize. Race day. I'm am ready. I have put the time in. I have put the miles in, and I'm ready to enjoy some time on the mountain. It'll be hard. I will go to a dark place, but I will revel in the ability to challenge myself. To feel that rush of excitement when you know you are doing something difficult. And when it gets hard, I'll have lots to help me find my way out of the pain cave. First, I'll remember all the support and understanding that Ginger has given me. She has been great about indulging my love of going on long runs. She has always made me feel good about going out for a run. Second, I'll have the support of the rest of my family and friends who encouraged me and continue to encourage me. Reeve and Kramer are coming halfway across the country to pace me. I gotta put on a show! Third, I'll have the support of my brothers. My Always Brothers family who motivate me to push myself. Most notably, I'll have the memory of my boy Mike Boelk turning himself inside out last weekend as he ran 100 Miles in Seattle for Always Brothers. He and Chris Pratt ran all 100 miles in a little over 27 hours, and it was a thing of beauty. I have never seen someone willing to suffer as hard as Mike did. I have also never seen a group of men and women come together to support a goal like I did last weekend. I watched Dan push himself to unspeakable places to honor our cause. Countless people (I'm looking at you Tami and Barbara) ran more than twice their PR distances. Dan, Paul, Allen, Jim, Tami, Bob, and so many others (many of whom we'd never met) were there every step of the way to support Mike, Chris, and all the runners as we made out way to the finish. My Always Brothers family will be with me this weekend. I'll also be running for Tyler, Dustin and all of his Lima Co brothers, and all those who can't. So, yes, Leadville is for me, but it is also my way of honoring those who make it possible for us to seek out challenges like Leadville.

So with apologies to Edmund Vance Cooke, I allude to and borrow some of his fine words that Brian O'Neill shared with us in Ohio. I look forward to Saturday morning when I head out to tackle that trouble that I've brought my way. When it beats me to the earth, I vow to come up with a smile on my face until I reach the end. I will battle my best and be proud of any blackened eye that the mountains deal me. I will play my part in the world and give everything I have. Then, I will find some more to give. 

One week closer

Another week closer to the big trip to the left coast for the Always Brothers 100 Miles for One Mind (I'll be supporting the boys as a pacer this year). That also means another week closer to flying from Seattle to Denver for the Pbville 100.

This week was another solid effort. I focused a little more on climbing and descending and a little less on mileage (as planned). I still worked in some decent mileage days with decent elevation gain. The totals for the week are nothing eye popping, but they make a lot of sense to me. I didn't want to push too hard after last week, but it ain't time to taper (insert wry smile here) yet.

I felt a little tired the Monday and Tuesday, but bounced back and started feeling strong by Wednesday, which seems about right given last week's totals. The best news was basically zero soreness. The normal ankle/foot pain I have experienced with a high volume of training hasn't been an issue this time around. I attribute that to a smart, steady build up, and to mixing up shoes between the NB Leadville and the Hoka One One Stinson Evo. I also spent a little time this week experimenting with Endurolyte Fizz tabs in my water bottle to take on a good flow of electrolytes without having to drink gatorade all the time. So far so good. I'll keep testing them out next week too. I wouldn't want to invite some last minute stomach problems.

I also had some good company on a few runs this week. Carla and Geoff, who are training for the Marine Corps Marathon, did 12 of my 17 with me yesterday morning in a pretty epic rain storm at Moses Cone. It was nice to have company in some nasty weather. Misery does love company. 12 was the long run so far in Carla & Geoff's training program and they are looking strong. Don't tell them, but they actually went 12.6. Hey, bonus mileage right? Anyway, the sun came out for the first time in a while today so Ginger and I knocked out some miles on Rich Mtn from Trout Lake. It was Ginger's longest run in her Marathon training program, and she rocked it out. So glad to have her back out on the trails having fun.

One Month to Leadville

Well, I haven't found writing a training blog all that interesting. I can't imagine that it's all that interesting for someone to read either. So, I haven't been doing it. Without trips to cool places to write about and cool pictures, it just seems like all it would be is:  I ran today. It was fun, and it was hard. I ate lots of food, and now I want some ice cream. That would be the daily entry around here. Ha ha ha. But, it's been a while and this week is a training milestone, so here's the latest.

Since I got back from Pbville, I've been running plenty. Lots of miles in Damascus, Boone, and up on the trails at Moses Cone. I've been slowly building from 50 mile weeks to the big 100 mile week. I haven't done a 100 mile week in either of my previous 100 training cycles, but Leadville is a different beast, so I decided to do it this time. Good confidence builder, I think.  Last week was my big mileage week in the build up. Check out the stats:

7 days: 109 miles. Not too shabby. My goal was a 100 mile week, and I'm happy to have gone a little over. I think I'll take the day off tomorrow. I want some ice cream.

I did my 50 miler at Moses Cone on Monday (that's been a standard 100 prep thing for me). It took me a little over 11.5 hours total time (best time in training). My average pace was pretty good, and there was plenty of climbing. I ran mostly solo, but Ginger and Kramer both joined me for a few miles, and it was very nice to have the company. 50 miles is a long way to run alone. Heck, my solo 50K (At Moses Cone and sub 6 hours a couple of weeks ago) felt like a long way to run alone. Even at a race- without a pacer- there are other racers to talk with. The trails at Moses Cone can be a bit lonely. But, that's kind of what I was going for: time to test myself in the dark place. Anyway, I took Tuesday off, and then got right back at it on Wednesday. This was a little departure from my normal 100 miler build up. For the first two 100s I did, I took a week off after my 50 miler. I needed it too. But, I figured I should not do that this time. Leadville will be harder than either of those previous hundies, so I wanted to push it. The crazy thing is that my legs felt fine. I really wasn't even all that sore this time around. Sure, I was tired. I've been tired all week. Running 100 miles in a week takes a lot of time. Running 100 miles in the mountains (on trails) in a week is tiring. But, it was a fun week, and I have to say I'm feeling good about my chances of hitting my goal in Pbville. I want some ice cream.

Next week, I'll still be logging lots of miles. I won't start the taper (bleh- I feel like a triathlete using that word) until the very end of the month. (And really, I'm gonna refuse to call it "tapering"because I'm going surfing) Mostly, though, next week will be about climbing and descending. I think I have plenty of miles on my legs, and now I want to spend a week really beating up my quads to get them ready for the descents in Pbville. I'll hit the Profile Trail at Grandfather Mtn, maybe some miles at Black Mountain, and lots of time at Rocky Knob part (awesome Mtn Bike trails in Boone).

Soooo, that's it for now. Big ups to my buddy Darris Blackford who rocked out Badwater on his 50th birthday this week. Check out his blog. If you read it, and you should (it's good- he's a bad ass), you'll see his advice saying your goals out loud so it'll be harder to quit. When I read that today, I decided I'd dust off the keyboard and write at least one more blog entry. Ok, I'm going to eat some ice cream now.

One more thing, contact me if you want to run the Marine Corps Marathon in October. Always Brothers is a charity partner and we have a couple of slots left. Deadline is August 2nd. 

Leadville Training Trip Wrap-up: A little bit of hope and Winfield

Today was my final day to run out here Leadville before the big day in August, and it was a good one. I woke up feeling good. I was excited about the chance to access the climb to Hope Pass from the Twin Lakes area. The weather wasn't looking very cooperative, so I got moving earlier than I planned. I slurped down some "Super 8 Elixir" (nice call, Ginger, for coming up with that), grabbed a peanut butter bagel, and hopped in my sweet rental car and headed out. I was greeted by a nice view at Twin Lakes.

 On the way to the trailhead, I ran into a cool couple from Breckenridge and chatted them up looking for beta on the trail. They were out for a mountain bike ride but were happy to help out. They said that I'd likely get shut down by snow very quickly on this side because so much of it is north facing. They suggested I drive up towards Winfield and access the trail at Sheep Gulch. The idea being that the south facing side of the pass would have melted more. Armed with some new directions and a new plan, I happily said thanks and got moving. The weather was looking a little ominous.

The road to Winfield isn't exactly friendly. It was slow going in the rental. The last thing I wanted to do was get stranded because I broke the Chevy Cruze. I was really wishing I was in the Tacoma (aka: YD's mobile dog house). I arrived at the Sheep Gulch trailhead, looked at the clouds, and decided to get moving quickly. I was pretty stoked to be finally getting this crucial part of the course under my feet. My main goals for this trip were just to see how things were laid out and see how the altitude would feel. But, I was also really wanting to get a sense of how this crucial section would compare to the hills at home. I started power hiking up the climb, and was pleasantly surprised. It sucks. But it doesn't suck as bad as I thought it would. I am certain that it will feel a whole lot different with 50 miles on my legs, but the most important bit of knowledge was this: I live in a great training ground for the climb at Hope. It's similar to how it feels going up the Profile Trail at Grandfather. The gradient is similar and it's similar in techyness (that's an industry term. ha ha). I thought going up: I can do this. If I'm patient on my way to Hope, eat well, and hydrate I'll be OK. It was a huge confidence builder, especially since I still have months to train.

I made it just shy of halfway to the summit before the snow turned me back. Just over a mile in this is what I was dealing with:

I post-holed up to knees through a few sections before it finally just wasn't going to let up. Oh, and it was snowing. Just a little bit, but snowing. I decided that it was silly to keep going. I was slipping and didn't want to risk getting injured up there. I was a LONG way from any kind of help. It was as exposed as I've felt in quite some time, so I headed back down. I knew I could still get some decent miles in by taking the trail  all the way back to Winfield and then running the road back to the trailhead. Check out this view from the decent.

Amazing, eh? I got back down to the trail junction that goes to Winfield and enjoyed that section. It's rolling but mostly uphill to Winfield.

The clouds were looking worse and worse, and thunder was rumbling a little too close for comfort, so I kept moving and tried to push it down to the old town and the road. I was very happy to see Winfield when I got there.

It was starting to rain and getting cold. No worries though. I knew the car was just a couple of downhill miles away. I also know I will be a whole lot happier to see that place in August. It'll mean I'm halfway done.

All in all, it was a great week out here. I logged some decent miles, and I felt great doing it. I was able to figure out a lot about running out here, and I think I'll be able to put together a solid pacing plan based on what I did this week. This trip really helped me know for sure that I can have a great race. I'll need lots of help from my pacers and crew, but I feel good about it. Now, I'm all packed up and ready to head down to Denver in the morning to catch a flight home. I enjoyed the trip, but I am ready to be home!