One Week Out

After a busy fall and the various life stresses that can pile up, I'm excited to head out to the Marin Headlands for a nice long run. I'm currently a bit of a mess with a head cold, a tooth ache, and the lingering emotions of a funeral earlier this week. Running has always been a means of re-capturing a sense of order and control in my life, so I have continued to enjoy my runs as much as ever, despite it all, and despite the snow and ice that have hit early this year.

My last 20 miler was done entirely on the treadmill in my basement due to an ice storm. The first few miles were torture, but I added in a few mile hill repeats and began thinking about the race and conjuring up the images and feelings of a great run in the Headlands, and I actually forgot that I was in my dingy basement, not out on those beautiful trails.

This photo brings back my best memories of living in San Francisco: the natural beauty, on one hand, and the endless possibilities of the city on the other.

Lest I sound too touchy-feely, rest assured that I aim to go out and compete hard on Saturday. I'm not looking for a tour down memory lane on the trails of the Headlands. I'm excited to be entering a 50 mile race properly trained and tapered -- I hope -- for the first time. Last year was my first attempt at the distance, and I really was unprepared and physically flat due to the two marathons I had run earlier in the fall.

At the same time, I've been racing long enough to know that I can't take for granted that I'll feel great on Saturday. In fact, if there's one thing that is consistently true of long distance racing, it is that at some point, and perhaps for most of the way...it will be hard. Embracing the struggle gives us the best chance for a run that reflects our abilities. It may rain, it may be cold, I may get lost, I may fall down. In running, as in life, the interesting thing is not the obstacle itself, but the manner in which we choose to deal with the challenge.

Running Times did a little preview of the race HERE. It's a nice summary, though in my opinion they buried the lead...which is that Jonathon Wyatt of New Zealand is running. He's an Olympian, six time world mountain running champion, and I believe he has run under 28 minutes for 10k. Track times may not mean a whole lot, but in my opinion Wyatt's success at nearly every other discipline of running means that he's probably smart enough to figure out how to prepare himself well for a 50 miler. Obviously he knows how to run the terrain. Ultra purists will likely favor Geoff Roes or Anton Krupicka, and the logical pick is returning champ Uli Steidl. You could make a strong argument for any of those guys being the favorite, but in my mind Wyatt may have the potential to come in and change the game completely. Or he could blow up...how's that for a waffling prediction?



"I haven't had to move up to the ultra distances just yet, but...uh...ooh, maybe it's coming."