Training Review: June 24th - July 7th

June 24th - June 30th

My intent was for a 100 mile week. I wanted to put 40 miles on during the week, and then 60 on over the weekend. I had a long run planned with Luke, Richard, and Greg for Saturday. I then had my trail work planned for Sunday, and wanted to run 20 miles immediately following that.

I ended up running 40 miles during the week, with a rest day on Tuesday. Most miles were moderately easy, varied trails, encompassing Dash Point State Park. Saturday was an epic 43 mile run in the North Cascades that took more than 12 hours and had 10,000+ ft in gain. I got back home at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, walked straight to my bed, and passed out. My 6:30 a.m. alarm was silenced due to extreme fatigue, trail work was wimped out on, and I went back to bed and didn't run that day. 

I tend to not always re-start my watch when I pause it, so there are probably a couple of miles missing below. All said and done, a week I can still be happy about

Total: 18:30 hours, 80.74 miles, 15,138 ascent

July 1st - July 7th

Again, intent was for a 100 mile week. With 4th of July being a long four-day weekend, I thought it was very likely I could get the mileage in. I planned to have back-to-back 50K's on Whidbey Island on Thursday and Friday, and then a 50K comprising portions of the Cascade Crest course on Sunday.

Tuesday I got to run with my friend Matt in Pt. Defiance. Matt is self-described 'back of the packer', so outside of the fact he makes for good company, he allows me to get my 'easy' miles in. He tends to hold a very consistent pace, and I'm actually really interested to see how he fares at White River.

Thursday was a 21 mile, four hour run around Deception Pass State Park. Tourists were out in droves, but that keeps the trails interesting, and the weather was nothing but sun and heat. I went around much of the Deception Pass course, and managed to grab an ice cold Pepsi from a vendor near Cranberry Lake. After running 15 miles in the sun, I can assure you nothing tastes better.

Friday was a 27 mile, 5 hour run around Ft. Ebey and the surrounding trial system. The highlight of this run was meeting a fellow ultrarunner. As I came around a bend early on in my run, a state park employee was passing driving a cart nearby and stopped to say hello. He asked me about my Gorge Waterfalls 50K shirt, and then started talking about ultras. Come to find out, I happen to be talking with 71 year old ultrarunner and Ultrarunning Magazine columnist John Morelock. We spend about an hour chatting about running and life. I then saw him at the end of my run, and we exchanged contact information. I parked my car down by the beach (picture below), and decided to ice my legs in the ocean immediately following the run (the perks of sea-level running).

Saturday I spent in Sunland, Washington. My friend has a cabin there, and we played games and ate and drank and watched the most awesome fireworks show. I also had a snooze in the sun, sans sunscreen. My chest is now quite red. 

Sunday my running partner ended up not being able to make our planned run on parts of the Cascade Crest course. I improvised by doing three ascents of Mt. Si. I got lots of 'what are you training for', and 'how many times are you doing this', and 'you're crazy' comments. I got a bunch of kids to run down some descents because I told them its more fun that way and they then told me I 'inspired' them. Pretty cool way to end the week.

Missed the mark again, somewhat due to time management. I did do plenty of sleeping though, and I figure if I'm going to miss my goals, it better be due to spending time sleeping/eating/with friends and family.

Total: 17:53 hours, 87.37 miles, 16,371 ascent

Ebey's Landing

Deception Pass Bridge