February!

I must say, I love February training! Sure, it is often bitterly cold and the roads and trails are covered with snow but there is something about the second half of winter training that is inspiring and invigorating. Each day gets a little longer, each run seems a bit smoother, and each experience builds on the previous one leading me closer to the starting line at Squaw Valley.

One might think that after six years the wonder and excitement of Western States might wear off and that, after years of pounding out the miles in preparation for one special day, the luster of the Big Dance might dull a bit. For me, nothing could be farther from the truth. After the relatively easy months of December and January everything ramps up a bit in February. With rested legs and a calm body, every run feels like a tempo run and the speed and hill sessions are a welcome change of pace. It being four months away from the Big Dance, the weekly long runs are just long enough to burn some fat and not too long to leave me weary and worn out. Each day when I lace up my shoes I spring out the door with an eagerness that was lacking in November. Nothing hurts and everything feels right. It's the time in the winter when hope springs eternal.

So, here's to the simplicity and beauty of February training! The seemingly effortless miles logged this month will soon give way to the more arduous and deeper runs of March and April. From there, the spring will be highlighted by a couple of trips down to The Course to remind my body of what those canyons feel like and to feel the pull of that hallowed ground. Those trips, of course, never get old and they in turn give way to the glorious month of May in which every day is like Christmas Eve. I love the freedom and joy of these special late winter runs and look forward eagerly to the build-up that awaits.

I hope you all are enjoying an equally invigorating February!

Sun Valley Snowshoe Challenge

Well, I tried something new today and ran the 3.3 Mile Sun Valley Snowshoe Challenge. This new event, part of the Sun Valley Nordic Festival, was directed by my friend and training partner Brad Mitchell. In the midst of a week in which we are surrounded by members of the Norwegian Cross Country Ski Team and 100's of skiers here for the Boulder Mountain Tour it was great to get out and run in their terrain. And, I took home a $75 gift certificate for the effort.

My buddy Hank took this picture.

La Sportiva!

http://www.pitchengine.com/free-release.php?id=44312

Ran in the Crosslites at Ghost Town and they were sweet. I am looking forward to gaining a couple minutes this year running in the Speedgoat's shoes:)

My other key sponsors this year will continue to be Patagonia, Succeed! and DryMax.

310 miles for January! Onward!

Cal 2

Often fun,



Occasionally painful,



Usually competitive,



Always stressful.

And, anyone remember this year? I hear it's been snowing again in the Sierra.




Joe has had at least three more beers than I have.



Craig was still getting M numbers!



Quick, who's happier? Shannon, Scott, or me?

Ghost Town 38.5 Race Report

For the second year in a row I escaped the snow and cold of Idaho over the MLK Jr. holiday weekend and ran the Ghost Town 38.5 in Hillsboro, NM. This year Susan Reynolds, easily the most communicative Race Director I have ever met, put together another wonderful weekend with several delicious meals, lively Greek dancers, and a really great race.

The race starts with about an hour of darkness on a gently ascending paved road and a lead pack of three quickly developed with Nick Clark, Pete Stevenson and I arriving at the Junction Aid Station in about 49 minutes. At this point the course transitions to dirt where it stays for the next 26 miles. This was also the point where Nick, who had traveled down from Fort Collins, CO, pulled away at a steady clip. He held the lead for the rest of the day and ended up winning in a Course Record time of 5:09 just eight days after he had won the Bandera 100K also in Course Record time. Clearly, Nick is poised for an outstanding season!

With Nick off the front I settled into a relaxed pace and enjoyed the steady climb up the dirt road leading to “the spur” (a 700 foot, 1 mile out-and-back singletrack section leading to the high point of the course). I arrived at the top of “the spur” in 1:57 and realized I was a couple minutes ahead of my 2009 pace. I also realized that Pete Stevenson, an experienced Ghost Towner also from Fort Collins, was right on my tail. As it turns out, Pete and I ended up playing “trail tag” throughout the rest of the day.

The descent down the spur is always fun because, in addition to it being the only real technical downhill on the course, it gives runners a chance to say hello to one another as it is the first out-and-back. I enjoyed seeing a bunch of familiar faces all with the same “I am so glad to be out in the mountains running” look in their eyes.

At the bottom of the spur the course turns back onto the dirt road and continues the steady climb to the Hilltop Aid Station. From Hilltop the course descends briefly to the crossing of Percha Creek and begins a longish grind to the Vista Aid Station at Mile 18. It was on this climb that Pete caught and passed me noting that I was not nearly as chatty as I had been earlier. He was right! The work had gotten much harder. I was really amazed with Pete’s climbing ability throughout the day. Maybe that 250-mile week at the end of 2009 gave him incredible climbing legs? Whatever it was, it was clear to me that I could not hang with him on the ups.

So, topping out at Vista, I tried to hammer the down to the Cave Creek Turnaround and was able to run the 2-mile descent in 13 minutes catching back up to Pete. He, of course, caught back up to me before the re-arrival at Vista (Mile 22) and got out of the Aid Station about a minute ahead of me. He would hold his lead all the way back to the final 10k of pavement.

I was also slightly more motivated coming out of Vista because in addition to wanting to stay close to Pete I had seen Jamie Donaldson, here for a training run, and she told me Nick was only a “couple minutes ahead”. So I hammered the downhill back to the Percha Creek crossing, ran up to the Hilltop Aid Station, grabbed my last two gels and decided to push the pace as hard as I could to the Finish. By the time I got to the Stone Hut Aid Station (Mile 29) Pete was rolling out of there and I guessed he had about a two-minute lead. The Aid Station people also told me Nick was 10 minutes ahead of him. At that point I just put my head down and ran.

On this final dirt road section there are several places with long sight lines and in one spot I saw Nick far in the distance and knew he was out of reach. However, a couple minutes after that Pete came into view and it looked like he was getting closer to me. By the time I got back to the pavement Pete was within a minute. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to hammer the pavement like I did last year with Tim Long but time would tell.

I slowly caught up to Pete about two miles into the 6-mile pavement section and we chatted briefly. I pulled slightly ahead and just tried to hold my pace. About 2 miles before the finish Paul Grimm pulled up in his car and said, with a smile, “you better make sure Stevenson doesn’t pull a Ninja Move on you!” I assumed that meant Pete was lurking back there so I bumped up the pace a little and just tried to hold steady steady.

I ended up finishing in 5:19:34. It was 1:30 faster than my 2009 time and good enough for 2nd place (this year by 10 minutes, last year I was 2nd by 5 seconds!). Pete pulled in a few minutes later and we all had a great time chatting and eating enchiladas through the afternoon. Once again, I was happy to be running in the sun with shorts on and I lingered at the post-race festivities as long as I could. Driving away into the New Mexico sunshine I reflected on the day with a smile and a longing to return to the Land of Enchantment in 2011.

Ghost Town - Quick Update

Course records from both genders:

Nick Clark pulled off a sweet double and following up on his CR at Bandera broke the CR at GT as well. 5:09 for the win.

Rochelle (sorry I don't know her last name) from Duluth, MN crushed the CR for the women.

I was, essentially, the cheese in the middle of a Fort Collins Sandwich on this one with Nick 10 mins ahead of me and Pete Stevenson 5 mins behind me. Watch out for both of these guys this summer.

I'll write a full report in the next couple days.

Ghost Town 38.5

Heading to NM in the morning for one of the great ultras on the circuit.

http://ajwsblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/running-on-frontier.html

I'll write a report on Sunday night after gorging on the best food this country has to offer and running in some of the most special country I've seen.

http://www.journeyheretothere.com/DSC_0063.jpg

Hope everybody enjoys the long weekend!

AJW

PS -- While it's still way too early to really make a call on this, recent weather patterns are indicating a significant late-season El Nino on the Pacific Coast meaning lots of snow in the Sierra. We haven't had much snow at The Dance since 2005 but this could be another one of those years. That. coupled with heat, could make things very interesting. Time will tell...