On Friday I drove up to the San Bernardino National Forest to take on the San Bernardino Traverse / 9 Peak Challenge as my final peak training weekend for the Vermont 100 Endurance Run. I checked in at the ranger station, cached a jug of water at the Angelus Oaks trailhead (5,960'), set up camp at the Vivian Creek trailhead (6,080') and prepped my gear. I decided to go with a 2 a.m. start time to try and reach the summit of San Gorgonio for sunrise, so I slept at 7:30 p.m. and set my alarm set for 1 a.m.
I never sleep well at altitude, and this time was no different. After quickly breaking down my camp, I geared up at my car and was on the trail by 2 a.m. for a 5,400' ascent up the 8-mile trail to the peak of Mount San Gorgonio, the highest peak in Southern California (11,500'). My pace was fast because I was convinced I was going to be mauled by a mountain lion or bear, so I wanted to reach higher altitude where I know they don't travel often because there isn't an abundance of "food." On the way up, the only wildlife I encountered (thankfully) was a little scorpion and a sizable spider. Besides that, when I got above the tree line, I was greeted with an unreal view of the crescent moon-so big and close, it felt like I could reach out and touch it.
Above the tree line, the wind gusts picked up speed, and I started to get cold. That was when I noticed the distant glow of a headlamp on the trail above. Humans! I overtook the pair of hikers in the final half mile before the summit. One was in really bad shape from the altitude. He was resting his head on his trekking pole when I greeted him. His speech was slurred, and he struggled to complete coherent sentences. His buddy was in better shape and wanted to chat but I was freezing at this point and told him I had to keep moving. Here's a video of the final stretch to the top:
I thought that watching the sun rise from the highest point in southern California was going to be a treat but it was painfully cold at this point with powerful wind gusts cutting right through my clothes and chilling my sweat. So with one peak down and eight to go, I set off to the west across the ridge of the San Bernardino mountain range.
Once the sun got high enough, it was comfortable. Well, as comfortable as running at 10,000+ feet above sea level can get 
. I ran the flats and downhills, but walked the uphills to keep some energy "in the bank" for the long day ahead.
San Gorgonio (11,500')
Jepson (11,205')
Little Charlton (10,676')
Charlton (10,806')
Alto Diablo (10,563')
Shields Peak (10,701')
Anderson Peak (10,864')
San Bernardino East Peak (10,691')
San Bernardino Peak (10,649')
This was pretty much the story for the run across the ridge, until I accidentally took a wrong turn and ran a half-mile in the wrong direction. Luckily, I crossed paths with a group of backpackers. Our conversation helped me determine where I went wrong, so I backtracked--only adding an additional mile to my day.
Aside from this group, I was alone on the ridge until the descent to Angelus Oaks after San Bernardino peak. My knees started to ache on the long and technical descent, so I was excited and relieved to reach the trailhead just after 10 a.m., having just completed the 26-mile San Bernardino Traverse / 9 Peak Challenge in under 8.5 hours (actually traveling 27 miles) and gaining more than 10,000 feet according to my Gamin data.
Looking back over the peaks
But my day was far from over, so I filled up my hydration reservoir with the water cache I left the day before and ran to highway 38. Most folks who attempt the traverse shuttle their cars, leaving one at each trailhead. But I traveled solo, so 10 miles separated me from my car at the Vivian Creek trailhead. Running this section of the 38 would have been too dangerous because it is a winding mountain road with little to no shoulder, so I hitched a ride with a local and got dropped of 5 miles later at the turnoff for Forest Falls.
With 27 extreme miles and well over 10,000' of gain already under my legs, I had five more miles of uphill to travel with 1,400' to gain. My Achilles tendon was inflamed from the 10+ times I rolled my ankle earlier so I walked the whole way, determined to suffer through it. I took a break at the Elkhorn general store and treated myself to a root beer (my favorite ultrarunning beverage) and was back to my car at the trailhead before noon. The 32-mile adventure took roughly 10 hours to complete.
I went straight into the mountain stream and soaked my throbbing feet in the crystal-clear, cold mountain slow melt while lying on a warm rock in the sun. After that, I was feeling good to go, so I packed up my car and drove back to San Diego. I treated myself to a huge fish burrito and downed a few tasty beers for dinner
The hardest of the work is done, so now it's time to recover, maintain, taper, and get super organized mentally and logistically for the VT100 on 7/18 - 7/19! My trip back east starts in a little over two weeks, and I feel like I'm on target for a solid performance on race day!
Active Toby's Adventure Blog
106 Posts 1 2 3 ... 8 Previous NextLast week I focused on cross-training to give my hip rest while maintaining fitness leading up to my peak in training. On Friday morning, I went for a 3-mile test run to see if my hip was good to go for the weekend. My hip and legs felt great so I geared up for a big training weekend in Warner Springs and hit the road with my buddy, Austin.
We checked into Warner Springs Ranch, then Austin dropped me off at the Pacific Crest Trail trailhead on the north side of town at 4 p.m. I took off running north toward Indian Flats campground with the intention of turning around 8 miles in. I passed a group of hikers who were heading down when I was on my way up. The run was beautiful and the trail was in great condition. It climbed 1,500 feet up to 4,444 feet above sea level, where I actually reconnected with a portion of the trail that I ran in March.
Naturally, the descent was faster but I ran out of daylight by the time I caught up to the group of hikers. I chatted with these guys for a bit, and they were a fun bunch. It turns out they are all school teachers who hike together and are attempting to do the whole PCT in sections gradually over the years!
With my headlamp guiding the way, I finished up the last 1.5 miles along the dark road back to the ranch for 17.5 miles-a total of 20.5 miles for the day. After my recovery routine, I prepped my gear for an early wake up and another long run the next day.
On Saturday morning I was running by 6:30 a.m. and headed south to the PCT intersection on the 79. From there, I set off into the woods along a stream and climbed up to a clearing where I entered a wide-open rolling meadow that spanned as far as the eye could see. I was averaging a comfortable 5 miles per hour with a plan to turn around after four hours or 20 miles. At mile 6.5, I crossed paths with the same group of hikers from the evening before! They were completing the Barrel Springs to Warner Springs section of the PCT. Here's a picture of their group:
I continued on and reached Barrel Springs in two hours. I noted the six jugs of water in the shade under a tree and planned to refill my hydration pack on my return trip. From here the trail climbed for the next hour and then continued above San Felipe Road until my turn around point, four hours in. Click here to see where I was.
I bring my iPhone along on these outings because of its lightweight camera, the GPS functionality and, of course, the phone in case of emergencies--but I seldom ever get service in the remote areas I run. So it was interesting when at the turn around point in my run, I randomly got a text from my brother! I took a photo of the amazing view of the valley below me and sent it to him with the subject line, "Wish you were here: mile 20 of 40!"
Next I called my parents, who were boating on the river in our home town. After checking in with them, I was excited to begin the 20-mile run back to Warner Springs and set off on my way. The next two hours were uneventful and I comfortably cruised into Barrel Springs a little ahead of schedule because of the major descent out of the San Felipe Hills. I topped of my hydration reservoir and set out in the heat of the day for the final two hours.
My legs stayed strong for the entire eight hours, and my hip was fine too. It's only a little sore now after the fact, but I got back to Warner Springs right on schedule and was very pleased with my first of two peak training weekends.
This weekend I'm off to the mountains for my final peak training weekend and a solo car-to-car attempt at the San Bernardino Traverse. The traditional route is a challenging day-hike with a car at both the start and finish, but I will only have one car and want to run as much as possible.
I'll be going in reverse order, starting with San Gorgonio via Vivian Creek trail to get the monster 8-mile climb up to 11,500 feet done as my warm up, then run all nine peaks along the ridge above 10,000 feet, down from San Bernardino peak to Angelus Oaks, where I'll have cached water the day before. Then I'll finish off the final 10 miles on the road (between yellow markers on map) back to my car at the Vivian Creek trailhead. Here's a map for a better idea.
I ran the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon while wearing a POV (point-of-view) camera to film the race and somehow managed to run the race in under 4 hours, with a negative split of 10 minutes. This was my first "major marathon," so I had never run with so many people before. It was like the entire San Diego endurance sports community was either out running the race or cheering from somewhere along the way. It was powerful stuff, and I had a blast out there. Here's a shot of my buddies in their post-race pose-down (three no-longer-marathon virgins in this picture):
(Giselle, Noelle, Austin and Jake)
The 230+ miles I logged in May--which included a couple road marathons and tons of hilly run-commutes with a backpack on--fatigued my legs and compromised my biomechanics. I'm now nursing an overuse injury in my hip area that was inflamed all of last week. After soliciting some advice, I got ART and massage work done and was also prescribed cross-training. I'm going at full tilt with two sessions per day and a rotation of yoga classes (heated to 90 degrees), pool swimming (kick board work too), 1-hour elliptical sessions (with sweatsuit for heat training), lower-body resistance training, myrtl routine, cycling, ActiveX, and LSD runs (long slow distance). I'm happy to report that inflammation and tightness are already gone, so I'll be attempting to get some quality miles in the weekend on the PCT out of Warner Springs.
Last Saturday, I went on a mellow 30-mile ride along the 101 with my buddy Nick and then drove out east to Cuyamaca State Park with my friend Kam to volunteer at the SD100. We hung glowsticks along the trail between miles 58 to 70. We ran the whole way, but stopped often (80 times!) to hang the glowsticks. This completed my trail work required to participate at the VT100. It was pretty cool to be at the event as a volunteer and see how much work goes in to putting on an ultra marathon. I respect all that volunteers, crews, pacers and event directors do for us athletes. It was also a treat to run along the beautiful PCT and encourage the passing runners and their pacers (some solo). They all thanked us for hanging the glow sticks. It was a really cool experience.
Visit my photo site to see the album. Here is my favorite shot from the day:
I'm going to attempt to run long this weekend, but I have no idea how peak training is going to play out because of my hip. I'll be sure to post a report next week once I'm back from the ActiveX Charity Challenge Endurance Camp. Also, check in next week for more on my "peak training" (And yes, pun intended-you'll see).
On Saturday, my buddy Bryan and I met at Daley Ranch, where he took me on a hilly 12-mile loop. We had a solid run and then ate some quality Mexican food in Escondido before I went home.
After I washed my car, did laundry and fell asleep reading a book in my backyard, I ate some pizza leftovers and geared up for a night run with my friend Meg at Mission Trails. Meg, a local ultra-runner and super-cool mother of three, is running the SD100 next weekend. She needed to dial in one last long night run before her taper, so we ran around the perimeter of the park twice and then added a few more to make it an even 20 miles. It was 10:30 p.m. when we finished, and I was still wired from my day of running 32 miles, so I met up with friends for a hot tub and beers to finish off the day.
Sleeping in on Sunday provided the rest I needed before I met up with my buddy Nick for an easy 10-mile trail run at Los Penasquitos Canyon to put the finishing touch on my 70-mile training week. The run was fun except for running through a swarm of bees! No stings reported, but that was definitely an unexpected first and hopefully a last!
This week I planned on logging another 70 miles for training and finishing with the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon on Sunday, but my hip hurts so I need to play it safe and step my mileage back a notch. I'm going to introduce more of this hip and girdle exercise routine called the myrtle routine I learned about from reading James Walsh's blog:
I've been using my data from last year's SD100 as the guide for my Vermont 100 training and so far I'm hitting similar distances at a quicker pace. This is a good sign that I'm on the right track, but I'm getting into the heavy build phase now so its time to study the race logistics and get seriously dialed!
My ultra running buddy Eric Lee, who I paced at the end of the 2008 Angeles Crest 100, recently connected me with his friend Pete, who ran the 2008 Vermont 100. Pete and I exchanged a couple emails and his advice was beyond helpful so I asked his permission to re-post his advice here in my blog to share with you all. Thanks Pete!
The map won't help you much. Once you get going you won't have any
idea where you are and there are so many small hills you won't know up
from down.
The best race info I found is from this report and GPS:
http://www.noones-saloone.com/RaceReports/Vermont-2007.html
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3436845
The route is extremely well marked and easy to follow and the event is
big enough that you'll see plenty of people and horses along the way.
The horses add plenty of bonus trail markers for you too - just watch
your step:-)
Aid station support is excellent. After the first 15 miles that have
a couple un-manned water drops, they have full aid stations almost
every 3 miles.
The 4am start is brutal. I barely slept at all the night before.
Unless you camp out right at the start, you probably will need to get
up and drive at least 20 minutes to the start. There really aren't
any hotels right in the vicinity.
The humidity was the biggest challenge. 10 min before our start, we
had a thunderstorm so we headed out into dripping thick fog. I almost
threw up 30 minutes in. Early morning and at night, prepare to be wet
and it can be pretty cool. Make sure you have waterproof drop bags if
you have clothes or shoes stashed along the way. Even without rain,
the humidity generates heavy dew and will soak everything you have.
One thing that really helped me was keeping my water bottle mixed with
ice and really keeping up with hydration. I also carried a cloth to
wrap up a bundle of ice which I either tied around my neck or just
held and mopped my head, ears, and back of my neck as I went along.
I changed from a regular t-shirt to a tank top at about mile 20. I
was a lot more comfortable with less fabric. Other than 2 sock
changes, I didn't change any other clothing but probably would have
enjoyed fresh shorts and shirts along the way. The one thing I wish I
had prepared for was more body glide at each stop. With the humidity
combined with melting ice on my head, I was pretty drenched all day.
Wet shorts rubbing on your legs is pretty uncomfortable and there were
a few miles I really wish I had a solid coat of body glide to help
prevent chafing. But I managed to finish with all my skin intact.
One thing that I did right that really helped was having multiple fuel
options ready to pick up at each drop bag. It's hard to get down
calories in the humidity and more than a few times I got sick of what
I was using. Fortunately I had backup plans and just switched to
something else that worked and kept going. With aid stations so close
together, it was easy to dump a drink mix and start with something
else or fresh water without going too long without something.
The last couple miles of the course are pretty cruel. They wind you
around in the woods near the finish and you'll think you're there
about 4 times before you eventually just pop out of the woods into the
field under the finish banner.
And I'm not sure what kind of hills you train on but Vermont is a lot
different than Colorado. Here we have big climbs and its easy to plan
your pace and you know when you are the top. In Vermont, most hills
are only a few hundred feet and there are a lot of them. My quads were
completely trashed by mile 70. So for training, I'd recommend a lot
of hill repeats and probably some strength work. You'll need to be
careful to pace yourself on the VT course since it's easy to run a lot
of hills that you should walk.
This advice is priceless and has already helped me visualize what I need to really focus on in training to be ready for on race day. It sounds like the VT100 is a tricky course and might actually be more difficult than the SD100. The description says 18,000 feet of total gain and 18,000 feet of loss where as SD100 had 12,300 of gain. I'll also be running in humidity for the first time, so simulating race conditions in training with more hills and heat training is crucial. Check out the VT100 elevation profile compared to the SD100:
I increased my mileage by 60% last week by re-introducing two days of run-commuting per week into my training schedule. This is the perfect way for me to get those extra "hilly" miles in during this build phase before peak training in mid-June.
Here are some photos from a hot, hilly training session last weekend at Daley Ranch in Escondido.
Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
I stopped by The Pacific Crest Trail 50 on Saturday at Cuyamaca State Park for some heat (85+ degrees) and elevation training. I averaged a 12-minute mile pace for 25 miles and decided to call it a day without much kick left in my legs from last weekend's hard effort. There was no need to throw off my training, so I didn't think twice about taking my first DNF (Did Not Finish) nor do I regret my decision. Here's the data:
Later that night I hosted a super-fun BBQ at my place for 20+ friends and got to sleep in on Sunday for the first time in a month! After catching up on much needed rest, I blew through 10 miles in Penasquitos Canyon at an 8:08 pace and then went out to dinner with my aunts who were in town.
Starting this week, I am introducing run-commuting to my schedule for the next month and a half so I can build up my weekly miles. My commute is 7 hilly miles in each direction. I'm shooting to run-commute two days a week, which means 28 extra miles per week!
Tonight I'm meeting a small group of folks to run and film the Mission Trails Eco Run 10K course before Sunday's race, where I will be course marking, racing and then running home from the race 
Here are a few shots I took last Thursday at the beautiful La Jolla Cove:
Make it a great week everyone!
Another big training weekend is in the books, and I'm stoked to be fully recovered from the VMO strain that slowed me down two weeks ago. My VT100 training is on track and the results from my races last weekend are a sign that I'm doing something right...
On Saturday, I raced the Black Mountain 7K Summit Run, the second race in the Sun Strides San Diego Trail Run Series. The course was 4 miles -- 2 to the top, 2 back down. I lead the race for the first mile with a split of 8:15 and got to the top in 18 minutes and change. My finishing time was 28:31, which means I got to the bottom of the mountain in 10 minutes (a 5 min/mile pace) that was good enough for 5th place overall and 1st in my age group!
Because of my hard effort on Saturday, my legs were nice and fatigued to start the OC Marathon at 6:30am on Sunday where I ran the following splits:
1 7:52
2 7:39
3 7:28
4 7:48
5 7:51
6 7:47
7 7:44
8 7:45
9 7:53
10 8:06
11 7:50
12 8:06
13 7:44
13.1 0:49
1:42-ish split
14 8:06
15 7:56
16 8:08
17 8:05
18 8:06
19 8:08
20 8:19
21 8:02
22 8:13
23 8:12
24 8:10
25 7:45
26 7:17
1:46-ish split
Finish Time: 3:28:55 (PR)
Pace: 7:59
Overall: 78 out of 1337
Men: 66 out of 783
M 25-29: 6 out of 92
Since I approached the race as a training run with no expectations, I was able to relax and run by feel. Although my splits seemed "fast" for a training run, I was comfortable and decided that I would simply slow down when my legs got tired. They never did, so I picked up my pace at the end and was able to finish super strong!
The new marathon course was beautiful, fast and fun so I recommend trying to fit it--or the half marathon--into your race schedule for next season. Stay tuned for my full race review in the next month with more details about the course.
I went to nearby Laguna Beach after the race, waded out into the cold ocean water and spent the rest of the day off my feet relaxing on the beach. My legs are already good to go but my immune system feels heavily taxed. I've been here before and trust the process, so I know it's simply a matter of time before I adapt to the fatigue, recover quicker and continue to get stronger.
A couple weekends ago I volunteered at the Sunstrides Chollas Lake 5K instead of running because I strained my VMO. It was the perfect day for a running event, and the runners I spoke with said the course was tons of fun. I pitched-in with the set-up, gave out split times, took photos at the 3-mile mark with my buddy Nick, and helped clean up after the race.
The Sunstrides Foundation is a San Diego-based non-profit that uses the proceeds from these races to fund sustainable energy projects in Africa. The founders, Rachel and Mindy, are super-cool ladies doing incredible things. Check out this article for more about them and the organization.
Check out all the photos.
The second race of the three-part series is on Saturday. The Black Mountain 7K Summit Run looks like a quick and challenging effort with a 3.75-mile climb followed by the 3.75-mile descent to the finish. My leg is feeling back to normal so I'm going to race After the race, I'm heading up to Orange County to run the OC Marathon on Sunday!
The 29-mile training run last weekend, combined with a brutal ActiveX workout called "Road Kill", on Wednesday, left my legs destroyed all week. Even with yoga, I didn't recover in time before my long run this Sunday. I ran anyway, grinding out 20 slow, painful and beautiful mountain miles.
Now my knee is jacked and so is my plan of racing the Sunstrides Trail Race Series Chollas Lake 5K on Saturday and running long afterwards. I still plan to attend and support the event, but I'm not going to run until my knee is good to go so I may end up walking the course. I'll keep you posted.
I'm simply taking this as an early wake up call to smarten up and really take care of myself during the next 3 months leading up to the VT100.
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Training for and completing the 2008 San Diego 100 Mile Endurance Run last year transformed my life. The experience revealed my potential and redefined my limits not only as an athlete, but as a person. Most importantly, it has brought me closer to my friends, family, local community and global network.
I am dedicating this season to my family on the east coast by running the Vermont 100 Endurance Run and will share my journey with you right here in Active Toby's Adventure Blog. Running is purely the way I choose to express myself in this chapter of my life. I hope the people, places, stories, photos and video I capture along the way will inspire you to embark upon an adventure of your own!
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I kicked off my VT 100 training last weekend with a fun and unique workout. On Sunday I ran a super-fast 5K to fatigue my legs, and followed it up with a 26-mile coastal run home from the race for a solid 29-mile day on my feet.
My results and splits from the Carlsbad 5000:
Mile 1 - 5:27
Mile 2 - 6:27
Mile 3 - 6:34
5K = 19:03 (PR=18:32)
Pace = 6:08
After the race, I took an hour to eat, hydrate and gear up "ultra style" for my run home.
Last year, I learned that race simulation is a fundamental part of training for this kind of event. Since Vermont will be both hot and humid, I need as much exposure to these elements during training as possible. It got pretty warm out there, but things are only going to heat up as summer nears.
Starting my day with such a hard 5K effort came back to haunt me in the final 10 miles of my run. The elevation profile shows how the route gets way harder at the end!
This was a fun way to celebrate the start of my training, which I will continue to document and share during the next 100 days until the race. Last year was an awesome journey, and I have a good feeling that this year is going to be even better. Thanks for sharing this experience with me
Run Time: 04:47:31
Pace: 9:53
Total Time on feet: 07:05:00
Distance: 29.08 mi
Elevation Gain: 3,592 ft
Total Calories: 4,106 C
The last few weeks have been low-mileage rest weeks with a focus on putting the finishing touches on my training plan for the Vermont 100 Endurance Run and gearing up to start training next week!
The lessons I learned at the San Diego 100 Mile Endurance Run continue to help dial in my strategy for the VT100. The first item of business is fine-tuning my method of fueling, not the actual content of my fuel.
While I was running with a handheld bottle of Hammer Nutrition Sustained Energy mix and a Fuel Belt with Nuun electrolyte replacement tablets, my race crew was laboring over filling bottles and mixing powders all day and night.
By using a hydration backpack with a custom-made fuel by Infinit Nutrition, I remove the handheld bottle and the Fuel Belt from the equation. My special blend, "Beast Mix", combines the ingredients of the two products I was using into one powder and saves me $25 per batch. Let me know if you're interested in the "Beast Mix" and I'll send you the settings through the Infinit website.
With an extra water reservoir, I can be drinking out of the one in my pack while the crew fills, mixes and chills the other. So when I come through an aid station, all the crew has to do is pull out the empty reservoir and replace it with the full one. This is going to save valuable time and energy for the team!
Here are a couple shots from my last two adventures:
Camping and trekking in Joshua Tree National Park
Relaxing in Scottsdale, AZ
I'm officially registered for the 2009 Vermont 100 Endurance Race in July! While it feels great to make the commitment, I am also well-aware of the hard work it takes to prepare for a 100-mile ultra marathon. My advantage this year is having my experience and training data from the SD100 to look back on to refine both my training and race-day approach.
Keeping things fun and exciting is an essential part of my strategy. That said I'm already planning my peak training weekend in June to include an attempt at running the Pacific Crest Trail from Warner Springs to Campo, a distance of 110 miles in two days. The first day will be 68 miles and include 6,440 feet of elevation gain from Warner Springs to Mt. Laguna and day two will include 43 miles with 2,420 feet of gain. Sounds fun, right? I'll be looking for folks who are interested in running sections with me or crewing (camping out Saturday night) as details get worked out--stay tuned.
On Saturday, I hit up the Noble Canyon trail for a 26-mile training run with a couple running buddies. We climbed for 13 miles from 3,500 feet up to 5,500 and then headed back down. These long, slow distance runs are great right now but I will wait to add volume in April, as my "A" race is now later in the year. My focus for now is to keep my legs going with the long, slow stuff and stay strong with cross-training as I make decisions on tune-up races.
Sunday was mellow; I dusted off my bike and cruised around SD for a couple hours with my buddies to spin out the legs. It was a beautiful ride and the perfect way to begin daylight saving time. I hope you're all enjoying the extra hour of afternoon daylight.
On Saturday I traveled to northeast corner of San Diego County for a 20-mile out-and-back run on the Pacific Crest Trail with a couple running buddies. The day was beautiful and the trail was rugged for the 4,400 feet of climbing which started at 4,000 feet and topped out at 5,500 feet of elevation.
The Pacific Crest Trail is a long-distance hiking trail mainly for thru-hiking and equestrian use. The southern terminus is on the U.S./Mexico border and travels north through California, Oregon and Washington to the U.S./Canada border-a distance of 2,650 miles.
Having researched the trail, I know that David Horton ran the entire trail, from border to border, in 67 days for an average of 40 miles per day. This put a few things into perspective for me during my little 20 miler and created the space for me to consider--among other things--my priorities for the 2009 racing season.
The opportunity to share the experience of running 100 miles with my whole family is far greater than any race calendar I could imagine this year. It's now clear that my journey will take me east to attempt the Vermont 100 Endurance Run in July, with my family as my race crew!
In the meantime, I'm still fascinated and inspired by the PCT. Did you know that fewer people have thru-hiked the PCT than have climbed Mt. Everest? More fun facts.
In its entirety, the PCT can be daunting, such as anything in life. But the 125-mile stretch from the northern border of San Diego County down to the U.S/Mexico border seems "manageable" so I think its time to plan an epic!
So if you happened to read my last blog post, Orange Curtain 50K Preview, you would know that I approached the race as a "tune-up," and the plan was to practice maintaining a conservative pace from start to finish blah, blah, blah... I lied.
I took a risk this weekend in the OC50K and ran sub 8-minute miles to start the 31-mile race. I'm not sure what came over me or what I was thinking. Maybe I was caught up in the energy from toeing the line with running greats like Akos Konya, Eric Clifton and Guillermo Medina. Or perhaps I actually thought I was going to be faster in the third marathon plus distance event I've raced in 28 days.
In the spirit of pushing my limits, I threw the hammer down as a test to see how far I could last. Since my pace varied from the fast start and tapered off to a slow finish, my average race pace of 8:37 was actually a little faster than my goal pace of 8:40. This translated to a 4:27 finish; good for 7th place overall and 2nd in my age group.
This is more than an hour and 15 minutes faster than my previous personal record for the distance, and I'm excited to have set this benchmark. I'm even more motivated knowing that I still have so much to learn.
John W. Holt Jr. said it best in his book, Celebrate Your Mistakes:
"If you're not making mistakes, you're not taking risks, and that means you're not going anywhere. The key is to make errors faster than the competition, so you have more chances to learn and win."
The next SoCal Ultra Series race on my calendar is the Leona Divide 50 Mile Run in late April. This means that in March, my focus will shift to increasing my weekly mileage and incorporate more trail running in an effort to simulate the rugged course. I have a couple fun trips planned next month too, so be sure to check back or subscribe to my RSS feed to receive auto-updates when I publish.
A resource for adventure created to inspire. First-hand trip reports, wild stories and ideas for excursions of your own. Questions about gear and trip planning are encouraged. Feel free to offer your stories and suggestions. Active Toby