I ventured out to the Noble Canyon trail for an 18-mile run this weekend despite the serious brush-fire in Pine Valley that made headlines early last week. There were no issues gaining access to the trail--considered one of the finest mountain biking trails in all of San Diego County. It’s also the site of the inaugural Noble Canyon 50K on September 29, my final ultra-marathon of 2007.

The trail conditions varied from hard-packed and fast to rugged and cautious during the nine-mile climb from 3000 feet to the 6000-foot summit of Mt. Laguna. It’s part of my pre-race strategy to check out the course before the race so I can know what to expect of the terrain and practice visualization techniques. I felt good during the run even though I could have ingested a few more calories during my four-hour effort.

My training between now and the race is quite diverse. Tonight, I am training with my relay team for the La Jolla 10-Mile Relay Swim. We’ll probably get out for a quick mile swim in preparation for Sunday’s event.

Tomorrow is a recovery day on the bike and Thursday night my relay team is going to do the SportsQuest Direct Aquathon with the Triathlon Club of San Diego. This is a 1000-meter swim followed by a 5K run on the beach. Friday is yoga and a rest day to prepare for an outdoor fitness class on Saturday morning with The World’s Fittest Man, Joe Decker. The hour and a half workout incorporates various cardio, calisthenics, plyometrics and flexibility exercises.

I plan to keep you all posted with results from the aforementioned events as well as my training leading up to race-day. I’m feeling optimistic about my current level of conditioning which will make for an exciting performance in the Noble Canyon 50K.