May 23-29

Finally some time to put some thoughts on a blog post. I've been MIA for couple of weeks but I assure not because I've been lazy. Sometimes life happens fast and furious and all we can do is hang on for the ride. Since the beginning of the year I've accumulated over 40,000 myles flying while staying over 70 nights in a hotel - such an illustrious life. In fact, there was a 3 week succession I went from Palm Springs, Miwok for the weekend with my wife, back to San Francisco, home for 48 hours and squeezed in a U2 concert (thanks Joe), and then to Richmond, VA. If anything, it will be a nice FREE vacation for me and my family when all said and done with the points I've racked up. Speaking of vacation, all reservations have been made for Squaw Valley starting on June 19th and returning home the following Sunday. I'm hoping for some relaxing time to have fun with the family waiting for the Big Juan.

Because of my travel for work (up until last Thursday) I have been feeling way under trained mentally. Even though I've been regularly hitting 80 myles a week and an occasional race, I didn't feel the focus I needed to have a great race in June. That was until Thursday. Friday, Saturday, and today have been a different story - a total of 70 myles and nearly 13K of climbing. Nothing like this guy or this guy but I feel I'm back on track to have a good race. I'm not done yet, I plan on having a 10 day period of this kind of work and then straight into a proper taper leading up to the race. The nice thing about WS is that there are so many good runners I have flown under the radar with mediocre results thus far this season. No expectations on my part and no pressure to perform.... mmm, I take that back. There is the Montrail Ultra Cup in which I am in contention. Right now it's a 3 man race for 1st between Mackey, Olmstead, and myself. $5K for 1st, $2K for 2nd, and $1K for 3rd. Mackey has been unstoppable lately, while I've been faltering late in races, and he is only 0.07 pts behind me. Tall order I know but it is 100 myles and anything can happen.

At any rate, I hope to be posting more frequently as the build up to WS begins. Here is my most recent week:

Monday - 7.2 myles Belle Island Richmond, VA

Tuesday - 4 myles VCU Richmond, VA

Wednesday - 6.2 myles Richmond, VA

Thursday - Travel

Friday - AM 15 myles Deer Creek

PM 6 myles The Bluffs

Saturday - 18.4 myles Longs Ranch Road

Sunday - 30 myles HR Tour De Trails

Total - 87 myles, 12hr 32 mins, 13,123 ft of climbing

Miwok 100K - 9.13:11 13th

Hellow people of the blog world! I trust all is well. It's Monday night and I am sore and tired - no energy to write anything fun, just the facts. I've got a bunch of travel coming up for the next couple of weeks so it's write something now (half baked) or not at all, so here it goes:

Miwok was good and bad. The good part was 99% of the time.

I came straight from Palm Springs to meet my wife in San Francisco for a nice relaxing weekend. Been a long time w/o any kids - refreshing. A big thank you to my Mom who drove out from Utah to be with our boys!! Anyway, took Nicole around to all the aid stations and did my pre-race day run up from Randall. I was feeling really, really good. Climbing and breathing easy - good sign. I went to the check in and chatted a bit with Krissy and Gary Gellin, among others and proceeded to get back to the room. Race day morning came fast and furious at 3 AM. Made our way to the start line on the beach and had good vibes.

Start to Tennessee Valley - 11 myles - 1.29:33 split

I settled into the race just behind a pack of 13 or 14 guys. Phil Kochik and I decided to sit back and watch it all happen at a safe distance. The course went in reverse (where it could) so we did an extra climb early before heading down to Tennessee Valley

Tennessee Valley to Pantoll 20 myles - 2.47:27 (1.17:54 split)

We immediately climbed back out of the valley over to Hwy 1 and then up the very long Deer Park road (Dipsea trail). Phil and I came upon Yassine, who was putting powder in his drink along side the trail, we must have spooked him because he climbed up Deer Park road very fast. Phil and I were still conversational and feeling good 20 myles into Pantoll

Pantoll to Bolinas Ridge 26 myles - 3.39:42 (52:15 split)

Now the most beautiful section traversing along the grass covered hills, sprinkled with pine trees, overlooking the ocean - stunning. Still running with Phil, we came upon Lewis Taylor who had slowed from the lead pack. A quick greeting and it was off I went, knowing I would probably see him again. At this point, going into Bolinas Ridge, I started to click on all cylinders.

Bolinas Ridge to Randall 33 myles - 4.27:58 (48:15 split)

I really wanted to wait for this feeling after the turn around but when it happens, you gotta run on feel. Buzzing I caught up with Yassine who was stretching on a tree but soon followed me down the hill to Randall. Amazing, I was only 6 minutes behind the lead pack of 8 people, all of them were together.

Randall to Bolinas Ridge 41 myles - 5.29:04 (1.01:05 split)

Back up the hill, the steep hill. I put a lot of effort into bridging the gap which may have been a little too early but I got excited when I saw all of them together not too far ahead. Once at the top and heading back to Bolinas I started to feel a little fatigue. But 40 myles in, fatigue happens and it's all about managing and taking care of the body with food, water, and electrolytes.

Bolinas to Pantoll 47 myles - 6.32:16 (1.03:15 split)

Leaving Bolinas I asked my wife how far the leaders where out and she said "20 minutes" No way! Mike, Dave, and Dakota had a good split heading back up and it shocked me cause I felt like I was also running good. Right before I got to Pantoll I caught up with Dan Olmstead, as he was feeling a little dizzy at this point but knew he'd be back.

Pantoll to Muir Beach 52 myles - 7.21:31 (49:15 split)

Coming into Pantoll I am now in 6th place but started to feel a bit of twinges in my groin and front of my calf. Down Deer Park road I went hoping to catch more people but my legs where tightening up and for the first time all day I felt slow. The good thing is that once off Deer Park it's a nice single track to Muir beach.... but I was slowing. Now I started talking to myself "don't settle"... but I couldn't do anything about it. Getting into Muir Beach was a blessing because I knew some S-caps would turn me around.

Muir Beach to Tennessee Valley 57 myles - 8.15:08 (54:36 split)

Guess what? Ate some watermelon, sponged off, couple cups of coke, and I was off... Totally spaced off the S-caps that were on the table. Damn! Once Nathan Yanko caught me at the top of the hill going into Pirates Cove I realized I was going to have a tough time getting back into Tennessee Valley. Shortly after Dan Olmstead then Yassine Diboun and a couple more.

Tennessee Valley to Finish 62 myles - 9.13:11 13th place

Adding insult to injury, Elvis passed me about a mile out of Tennessee Valley. Yes Elvis. Wig, polyester pants, and gold glasses. Turns out it was Ian Sharman raising money for charity. Had to laugh at that one! At any rate, I was baked. This may sound crazy but my watch read 17,000+ feet of climbing! Is that right? Sure felt like it while I was out there but I always thought somewhere around 10K.

No I did not get a PR but yes I had a wonderful time. I have these snapshot images in my head of the trails meandering in the hills above the ocean. Tia Boddington does an amazing job with this race. Thanks to all the volunteers. And most of all thanks and love to my wife who took care of all my needs at all the aid stations. She also attended to other runners while waiting for me.

Nutrition was simple: 6 flasks of EFS liquid shot diluted in my 20 oz bottle, only one bottle of EFS eletrolyte drink, and a handful of bananas. Certainly did not do well with the water and electrolyte consumption. I cramped up all night in bed so I know I was lacking big time.

April 25-May 1

Another solid week comes to a close but not without incident. Mileage is picking up week over week as well as more specific leg turn over stuff. With that comes danger of riding the edge too close and injury becomes possible. In fact, for the last 3 weeks I've been noticing a little hitch in my left lower back that was more noticeable after a run, sitting for awhile, then trying to walk. The pain radiates down my left leg (thought I had a calf thing going one) was dull at first then this last week it has gotten more painful and can't walk without a limp. I did a little research and the only thing I can come up with is some sort of Stenosis or Sciatica. I haven't taken any NSAIDS yet during training cause I want to be able to get the benefit from the pills during a race. The strange thing is that I don't notice it while running unless I start thinking about it, but then again, I haven't gone 62 myles yet. I could be overreacting at this point but man it hurts to walk.

At any rate, I'm heading out the door today to Palm Springs for a week and then straight to Miwok - you should see my bag of pills! Optygen HP, Aspirin, and Advil... hope it passes security. Here is what my week looking like:

Monday - OFF???

Tuesday - 11 myles Kokopelli Trail

Wednesday - AM 8 myles HR backcountry

PM 6 myles Bluffs loop

Thursday - 11 myles Grigs hill repeats

Friday - 6 myles Bluffs loop

Saturday - 20 myles Bluffs + Backcountry

Sunday - 11 myles HR backcountry

Total - 73 myles, 9 hrs 35 mins, 7222 ft of climbing

April overall was a good high volume month coming in at 399 myles. 1413 myles for the year.

Wonder when this guy is coming back

April 18-24

Happy Easter everyone! I hope that you all are enjoying some relaxing time with family and/or friends. I know that I am after a very tough week running. With only 10 weeks to go till the Big Juan (prior to this week), I started to get a little antsy with building my base. Week after week since the beginning of the year it has been mellow in terms of HR and climbing. And then BAM! Lucho smacks me with exactly what I was looking for - a week filled with volume, climbing, and speed! It was tough but I'm happy to say I was able to complete it. The reason I was able to complete, albeit tired, was my fitness. I have never been this fit in terms of endurance with Saturday at Mt Falcon for confirmation. I looked back at all my splits for doubles at Falcon over the past 4 years and I have never been able to put even splits on the board, usually 10+ minutes on the second. Either I go out too fast on the first loop and die on the second during the climbs, or I just simply didn't fuel right. Fueling, hydration, and the constant building of endurance has been the theme since January. I now realize I am being sharpened for the biggest race of my ultra running career - Western States. The work is not done but this week has shown me the direction I am going - the sharpening phase of this 25 week training schedule. 9 weeks and counting! Here is what the week looking like:

Monday - 6 myles Bluffs loop

Tuesday - AM 10 myles Casper

PM - 6 myles Lifetime Fitness TM

Wednesday - 12 myles Track (8x800 w/400s in between)

Thursday - AM 9 myles HR backcountry (3 mile progression)

PM 6 myles Bluffs loop

Friday - 6 myles Grigs

Saturday - 28 myles Mt Falcon v2.0 (7877ft of climbing)

Sunday - 20 myles South Platte Pkwy (intervals w/ 3 mile progression)

Total - 103 myles, 14hrs 2mins, 11,900 ft of climbing

And a little secret streak I have been keeping will officially end tomorrow. I have run everyday since Christmas - 121 straight days. But just like records, streaks are meant to be broken. I had visions of running every day this year but for the betterment of my fitness it is time to take a day off. Lucho's guidance after this week - Monday: day off, no options. I got a little hitch in my lower back that is radiating all the way down to my calf so a day off will hopefully help. Talking to Ryan Burch (he had his own little streak), he made a good point that the longer you go, the more risk you take just for the sake of a streak. The goal is Western States and not the streak. Besides, I will never have a streak like Bill Finkbeiner - he has run every day since 1980!! Check out these other streaks. Wow!

Last, a couple of pictures of some cool Kats

Look Dad

Loves his picture taken

Boys doing eggs

April 11-17

"Hey man, nice job in your race. Thanks. But what happened? Whad'ya mean? Well, you fell apart around 40...."

That was an exchange I had earlier this week that set off a whole bunch of emotions from, huh?? Did I fall apart? to being pissed off and everything in between. I'm a cerebral kinda guy so I think about these things on all my runs. Usually on the run I get very angry but then the endorphins shut down and I methodically go about my day. But when I woke up Saturday morning and was pissed -even before I had my coffee- I knew something sparked a fire. A fire deep in my belly is a good thing because it charges and motivates the warrior spirit inside of me. So I started asking myself a bunch of questions this week: Have I lost my competitive edge? Do I settle in races when it gets tough? Am I mentally and physically worn out?

I will admit I "settled" at AR 50. I know this because there was no one in front and no one behind that I could see, until Ellie came prancing up on me. If you remember in my AR 50 report I gritted my teeth and ran as hard as I could when Ellie appeared. If I would have done that at mile 40 would I have come closer to 6:10-:15? The answer is yes. Was I physically capable at mile 40? Retrospectively yes. Believe me-you, I know how mentally tough it is to pick up the pace when the get up and go is gone. But I've done it before. I think the reason we don't and decide to settle is because we are scared. We are scared to hurt beyond belief. And we are scared of the unknown. Let me tell you something that Peter Bakwin told me years ago when I emailed him after his double Hard Rock "Your body will do twice as much as your mind thinks it will - the mind is the limiting factor"

I just want to say thank you to the person I had this exchange with earlier this week. You made me realize I have become soft. And there is no better time to toughen the "EFF" up than RIGHT NOW! You will see something different from me at Miwok, at Pocatello, and at the Big Juan. I will not settle!

So let me ask you, what are you gonna do when it gets tough? Are you gonna settle or are you gonna grit your teeth and give everything you've got? And this goes for life in general as well.

Enough of that. 9 weeks till the Big Juan and I am fit. Now it's time to dial it in and become sharp. Here is what the week looked like:

Monday - 6 myles Bluff loop

Tuesday - 9 myles Waldo canyon

Wednesday - 11 myles HR backcountry

Thursday - 6 myles KC treadmill

Friday - AM 11 myles Coyote Ridge

PM 6 myles Bluffs loop

Saturday - 25 myles Lair o Bear

Sunday - 16 myles HR ubran trails

Total - 90 myles, 12 hours 17 minutes, 9895 ft of climbing

Ran with Patrick Garcia on Saturday for the first loop and then on the second loop ran into Kieran McCarthy (reads the blog) who came over from Falcon trail head. The key workout was actually today where I did 3 x 3 mile (actually 2.3s), which was progressively faster for each. On Tuesday I botched the workout. I was supposed to do 8 x 8 seconds up a steep hill. I thought it said 8 minutes so after 4 x 5:30s up the steep part in Waldo canyon, I had enough. Travel should be settling down for the next couple of weeks so I'm hopeful I can string together a bunch of hometown runs. Take care

American River 50 - 6.24:52 6th

I just bought my first tube of Tecnu. Forget any soreness, the itching is driving me crazy! During the pre-race panel session, they had warned about the overgrowth and described poison oak. And I'm pretty sure I jumped over everything green on the trail but maybe during our (Clark and I) bushwhacking section right before mile 31, I could have possibly rolled in that junk.

I traveled out with Burch and Clark early Friday morning to Sac city. Coming off a week in DC (and travel in subsequent weeks) I have seen my fair share of DIA but it was nice to be traveling with people I know and have a few laughs with. Once in town we picked up our race packets, got a bite to eat, checked into the hotel, and got a little leg loosener in on the final two myles. It's always a pre-race plan of mine to preview the final section of a course just in case something dramatic is unfolding. I, at least, would know how far I have to gut it out.

Alarm went off at 3:00 AM for a 4:10 AM bus departure. Temps seemed reasonable and a few faint stars were out so it was shaping up to be pleasant at the start and throughout the day. Julie Fingar (RD) set up a few people inside a close-by office suite with goodies to boot. Inside were a few familiar faces: Thornley, AJW, Mackey, Joe Uhan, and Meghan Arbogast. Before I could down a Clark pre-race donut it was time to go.

I warmed up and felt really, really good. The lungs were working and the legs were cooperating so I got a good vibe that it was going to be a good day. But then again maybe it was a trap?? I was going back and forth in the mind and eventually settled on mid 6:30s were doable on the bike path (27 miles). Immediately from the start a couple shot off the front and Clark not too far behind them. I settled with Mackey and we had a good thing going through 8 myles. I didn't take any splits other than on the bike path were mile markers and I was getting rough mile splits, pretty consistent in the mid 6:20s. Right about that time Dave took off to get with Joe Uhan and Clark, got in front of them about 10 meters and stayed there for a few myles. I stalked behind all 3 of them about 10 seconds for the better part of 15 myles.

Soon we crossed a bridge (mile 18?) and small sections of single track trail. It was at this point that I realized that maybe the pace was too hot for me in the beginning. My legs were dead or just not spunky anymore. I trailed Nick about 20 seconds into mile 22 aid station and did another check with the mile markers on the path, slowed a bit to mid 6:30s but if felt more of an effort to stay there and now I knew I had over done it. Finally the marathon mark in 2.50:08 and I thought I was ready for some trails....

Normally I come alive on the trail but I realized as I was trailing Nick, he was increasing the gap ever so slightly and I was working way too hard. I decided to back off just a bit, gather myself for a few myles when all of a sudden Nick comes running back on the trail at an intersection "Scott - which way? There are no flags" He had lost a few precious minutes and then we picked the wrong way only to be detoured through a field back to the right trail. That's probably the moment when Poison Oak decided to take a ride with me back to Colorado - man I itch! Anyway, through 32 myles in 3.32 and I still was hanging onto Nick ever so slightly. After the aid he took it up a notch and officially broke me.

Mile 32

I still thought I was moving good but right at mile 35 aid station Burch came flying past - he was looking strong. Made me realize I was moving slower than I thought but I couldn't respond yet. In fact, all the way through mile 40 aid (Rattlesnake) I was on the edge of throwing up. Not from bonking cause I was eating and drinking very well but from riding the red line for too long. At Rattlesnake bar I took a couple drinks of Coke and that seemed to do the trick. My energy was better and now I know I was moving good. If I remember correct I hit mile 40 in 4.57 and knew I still had a shot at 6.15.

Up and down, in and out of canyons. Probably the most beautiful section of trail right along side the American River for the better part of 6 myles. I honestly was enjoying it and then the hill smacked me right in the face. 3 myles to go I was just about 5.59 total time. 6.15 was now out of the question because there was 1000 ft of climbing to go. Saunter in or just grit the teeth and go? I made a decision to saunter until about 2 miles to go when I got a peak of none other than Ellie Greenwood. Damn! Now grit your teeth and go! I don't know how fast those last two myles were but I can tell you I could not breath, if I had to guess low 8s to upper 7s. Finishing time of 6.25:52, exactly 10 seconds slower than my previous time 3 years ago.

I thought I was capable of a time between 6.10 and 6.15 but it wasn't meant to be. Having said that I'm happy. Every race can't be the best race and the experience with great friends, great weather, and a great beer makes it a wonderful experience. Thanks to Julie for hosting a top notch event. I can't say I'll be back (as I itch my body) but it's too soon to tell. Congrats to everyone who finished and, in particular, the Colorado contingent who mopped up 4 of the top 6 spots.

My fueling:

1 Powerbar (peanut butter-chocolate) 30 minutes into race

3 Powergels (2 Espresso, 1 straw-banana) hour, 2 hour, 3 hour marks

4 efs liquid shots (diluted in water bottle) nips every 15 minutes

2 20 oz bottles of straight water

3 cups of coke

And last, I finally cracked the triple digits for myles in a week - 100 even. Clark, Burch, myself, and AJW all got out for some myles (14) on the WS trail on Sunday morning.

If I don't beat Clark in a race, I have picture proof of a couple meters of day light between us...