Happy Monday !

So it took me awhile, but I finally came to accept that my effort at Way Too Cool was ok.  4:17:02.  I really wanted to go under 4 and I thought I was on track to do so…but it didnt work out.  (broken record)

In the weeks following I took some days off and slowly put some runs in.  Wanting to error on the side of caution, i ran no more than 30 miles the 2 weeks following WTC.  Last week I was feeling so good I decided to add a little pace and add a race in the mix.  Saturday , 3/26 I raced the Knickerbocker 35km.  starting and finishing at Overlook park in Auburn, the course had all the ravine classics.  Down to No Hands, up K2, Knickerbocker…….up down up down up down, with a big UP for the finish.

I started out calm and I was to no hands (4 miles from the start) in 26 min.  Instead of looking at my watch every time a mile ticked by, I just ran on perceived effort.  Uphill, flat and downhill.  I just governed myself.  I felt super good about my effort, I wish I had a bit more for the final climb….but now I have something to target in training.

I ended up 2nd overall 2:52:44. 1st in the 40-49 geezers.  I never saw the guy who won.  In fact I thought I was leading until about 2 miles to go when Mr. D let me know that I was in 2nd…by a lot.  Turns out Eric Strabel, super star trail runner from Anchorage (my birthplace) was smashing it.  Man I wish I would have know he was up there, would have been fun to try to run with him for a bit.  I imagine I thought he was a 1/2 participant and lost track.  Pretty sure he set a new course record 2:33:16, taking Tim Tollefsons time in 2015 by about 7 min.  fast dudes……

I rocked Altra Lone Peak 2.5’s, they treated me right. Zero drop is the ticket with foot shaped toe box…just lets your feet do what they are supposed to do!

Pretty happy with my effort.  Fueled well, paced well and had a great mindset the whole time.  Only bummer is that my right knee is pretty sore, I am guessing from all the downhills.  Hopefully Christopher Selbie, the Muscle Wizard can fix me up.

Thinking about racing the Ruck A Chuck 50km on the 10th as a prep race for Miwok, but the knee is talking to me, so we shall see