EG!

Runners Lounge this Take it and Run Thursday is about motivation and what motivates you? Think about this for a moment, fame, glory, prizes? For me it’s simple; example. This I will admit is new, my father was not athletic, nor my brothers, sure we all played sports in school, but with hindsight, that was simply an out from the classroom, I can safely, but sadly, say that to my knowledge I am the only one in my immediate descendant family, who exercises, well ok one of my brothers plays golf but that doesn’t really count; he always hires a cart. Now as a father myself, my eldest son, who is three years old, sees me don my running gear and head out at the weekend either training or racing and he knows exactly what that is, he sees that I enjoy it and considers it as daddy having fun. He is cognizant that this is something that daddy does and now he wants to join in; he enjoys running, around the house, around the park, around the playground. Next month he will have his first fun run, expect a detailed race report!

In times such as these with obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome on the up and video gaming seen as physical exercise (think Wii) setting an example is all important, just make sure it is a good one.

The photo is of our running shoes, his are a bit big for him, but he’ll grow into them as I hope he grows in being a runner.

Ongoing Boing!

Well yesterday’s go fast beans managed to loiter a second day, which I am glad to say was not something I was doing, as I put in my 4 x 1 mile intervals. I am always worried that because I have nowhere that’s really flat, go figure living in West Hills; clue's in the name! I am just not getting the quality of speed that I should, but I suppose the rolling road is not a bad thing, as you can see from the elevation profile (the green line) they’re not major hills but they're are just enough to push your average down, although I lucked out on the last rest period and nearly made it up the hill. I actually took the time to program the intervals into my Garmin instead of just relying on the mileage readout, so I had a nice little countdown beep telling me when to transition. The data is below; the average pace is skewed because of the warm up/cool down and the ¼ mile walk in between each mile run, the last one in particular is slow where I was messing about with my iPod under a street lamp, but in isolation it works out at 7:1025, so I am pretty pleased, although I would have really liked one sub 7 min mile, it looks like my predisposition to fast twitch fibers does help!

On another note, I totally scored at Cosco today, book publishers Human Kinetics have a series of books which illustrate what muscle does what when you weight train, do yoga and stretch. There really good in helping you find out how to isolate specific muscle groups etc. Usually you can only buy them on line for around $20 each and then you have to pay another $10 or so in shipping, well I found three excellent books; one on yoga and two on strength training one for men and one for women, (ignore their needs at your peril), I skipped the stretching one as I already have a great stretching book, by them in Cosco today for the bargain basement price of $11.99 each and obviously no shipping so that nets out to over a 50% discount. Gotta love a bargain; flash your card and check them out.

Spring in my step!

With less than 2 months till the first day of Spring (March 20th) I got lucky tonight with a little early taster.

Tonight was my first real run since Calico, I spent last weekend catching up on some "schoolwork", I am studying for the PMP, that's price for disappearing midweek and forgetting your books and laptop! I did run a couple of miles on the treadmill while I was away snowboading, but the altitude; 7500’ really screwed me and left me gasping for Os. Now I know why Ryan Hall trains and lives in Mammoth Lakes!

Tonight's run was scheduled as an “easy” 8 miler, but I guess I must have had some go fast beans in my chili, as I was able to crank out the 8 miles in just under 64 minutes which is a smidge under an average of 8 minute miles for the distance, the 9th was a cool down and the final half or so was just the walk up the hill to my house. Let’s see if those beans last over till tomorrow, I have one mile intervals.

Here's the Garmin data:

Oh yes and I also got to try, as recommended by 1miletogo, my Petzl Tactikka while running, so far I had only managed while using the grill, it's a long story, suffice to say an apron, a big fork and a headtorch make for a funny sight! If you're running in the dark do yourself a favor, get one and see and be seen!

Awards season!

Just a quick note to answer some questions from the comments of my last couple or three posts

Ultradad: I was wearing Asics 2120 Trail; they had done me really well, although they got pretty torn up on this run. I used to run in 2120s on the road and moved up to Kayanos late last year for the extra cushioning. I am looking at Montrail or Inov-8 this time around. There is always a difference between the Nike+ and my Garmin; the Nike+ was only off for about the first half mile.

Nick: I managed to have my last meal about two hours before, two things I did omit from the post was that I had a small gel flask with Perpetuem made up to the thickness of pancake batter and sipped that during the last couple of hours washed down with regular strength drink and water. I also had an Espresso (Caffeine) gel during the last hour for that extra push.

Catra: Leona Divide; see you there, although I’m pretty sure you be having tea and polishing your buckle long before I cross the finish line!

Rainmaker: woah, yeah I nearly totaled there, I was holding my little Canon A400 in my hand and really didn’t want to drop it in the snow!

Gotta Run; yoga, well it's been a long time and I do have the bendy characteristics of an ironing board but I am sticking with it.

Ok now for my Oscar moment!

And to everyone else; Jess, Christine, Frayed Laces, Marcy, Wes, Audrey, POM, Kim, Kxux, Relentless Runner and anyone else who I have missed thanks for your support and ongoing readership. Don't forget to add yourself to the map at the bottom the page!

These coming weeks see me getting me getting back into the saddle in time for the LA Marathon in March.

Two days on the piste!

Over 20” of new snow fell while we were at Mammoth Mountain for some midweek madness. This was on top of 76” that they have already had this month, needless to say; powder days are the best days! All concerns of my legs not functioning after last weeks Calico run were put aside as I pointed my board downhill for the first run of the first day for the first time in nearly two years and it all came flooding back. Like riding a bike you just don't forget, of course also like riding a bike you're not immune to crashing!

Here’s some really bad video of one my runs.

Calico Trail Run 50k

Perfect synchronization: my watch, the alarm and the phone all went off together; 5:00am. I had however already been up for 15 minutes in my super swanko deluxe freeze-to-death-with- the-heater-off or give-yourself-a-migraine-with-the- heater-on-$50 a night Rodeway Inn. The TV somewhat drowned out the noise of the heater, I could only get decent reception on MTV. After some fiddling I got the microwave to work and cooked up two portions of instant oatmeal to accompany my Naked Protein drink.

I showered etc and donned my race apparel, then added a layer, then another and then dug out my beanie and gloves; it was cold! I loaded my gear into my car, dropped my room key at the drop box; there was no sign of any life and subsequently no sign of any coffee or the free buffet breakfast, given that the counter had about 18 inches of room, I didn’t think I had missed anything, I got in my car and turned the engine on, the ice alarm immediately went off: 31f! Well, I thought the mercury is only going to go one way. I stopped off at a gas station and grabbed some coffee, unfortunately they had not brewed any fresh so I resorted to the instant frothy tasteless pseudo cappuccino; still caffeine is caffeine.

The drive was short and eventless along the 15 and I pulled off the freeway following the snake of headlights across the desert as we headed into the foothills, the sun was casting an orange glow across the horizon as it struggled into the sky. The temperature 29f so much for mercury rising. The race started from Calico Ghost Town, a western silver mining town that has been preserved and is now a local tourist attraction.

I parked my car and walked up the steps to the sign in area, I had already picked up my number the previous night so I had only to drop off my drop bag containing some “just in case “supplies; shoes, socks, some baggies of Perpetuem and a jar of ibuprofen; “Ranger Candy” as they call it. The drop bags would be available at the halfway point; mile 17. I wandered back to the car and did a quick change into what I was actually going to race in; a short sleeve shirt, long sleeve shirt, beanie and gloves; I had packed away my tights in anticipation of things warming up and had a running hat. I was wearing my UD Wasp pack with water, two gel tubes with the equivalent of 8 gels plus 2 extra caffeine gels; I had two baggies of dry Perpetuem powder for refills and the usual “stuff”: Chapstick, Compeed, BandAid, Steriwipes and a few Riccola to combat the high desert air. I was also carrying two UD handhelds with Perpetuem. I was, as they say, loaded for bear!

I made my way back to the start area and found an empty spot to lie down and run through my stretching routine: hips, quads, hams and calves, there was a one minute call and I stood on the start line. The gun went off, literally; to keep with the western theme they used a double barreled shotgun aimed at the sky, and we were on our way.

The first two miles followed the road out of the town. After a quarter mile I realized that I had forgotten to turn my iPod so I spent the next few minutes fumbling with gloves and bottles in an attempt to get it on my arm and turned on finally having resorting to a walk to sort things out. With earbuds in we continued along the road on a nice downhill incline and along the main road after which we turned onto the trail. The trail was nice and wide but we were forced into running in the grooves cut by off roaders as everything in between was sand that was 2-3” deep. At this point the trail turned uphill into a gentle climb, this was to be an ongoing theme. Everyone was in good spirits and there were many conversations going on around me. I concentrated on keeping a steady pace and not doing anything stupid like misplacing my foot and rolling my ankle. The first hour passed quite uneventfully other than it started to warm up and I was able to stash my gloves and switch hats, the trail was rolling with a continuing uphill, I had in my mind a target pace of a minimum of 6mph, I settled into a nice comfortable pace with the first six mile splits 8:34, 9:57, 10:04, 10:13, 10:36, 10:52. I was on target, covering 6.18 miles. We passed the first aid station; I did not stop taking the opportunity to make up some time. After ninety minutes I was feeling the warmth of the morning sun and took the opportunity to stop and strip off the long sleeved shirt stashing it in my pack. Shortly after we came across a short out and back that that we were directed into, there was some confusion as we were expecting a spilt where the 30 and 50k runners parting company and after some clarification we headed up the out; uphill and back: downhill. After two hours I had dropped below my target time, but only just, having covered a total of 11.64 miles; the next six splits were: 10:52, 10:22, 11:00, 10:49, 9:53 and 11:05. We had a little reprieve from the climbing with a two mile 10:13 and 9:25 descent into the next aid station, here I stopped for a couple of boiled and salted potato slices, some Fig Newtons and a quick cool down with some cold water. Once again heading off in a general uphill direction toward the halfway point.

For the last few miles I had noticed a hot spot on one of my toes and the dim warning of "blister alarm" was starting to ring. The uphill slowly became steeper and rockier, and lots of this section was walked, despite this I was playing cat and mouse with three or four other runners as we climbed the 1300’ feet over the next 6 miles to the third aid station, the last two miles of which were brutal. I had been taking a gel every 45 minutes, an e-cap every hour and had consumed a bottle and a half of Perpetuem but my stomach was starting to feel empty, never a good sign, I knew that I needed to get some food inside me, added to which my toe was starting to sing a nice little tune. I resigned and promised myself that I would look at it at the next aid station as well as fueling up. I was starting to get confused at this point as we had been told the aid station was at mile 17 and my Garmin, which is usually spot on, was already reading 19 miles, my caloric burn by this time was over 2000; I was well into the red. I rounded a bend and was nearly blown over by the wind, a little further on around another corner I could see runners heading off at a 45 degree angle to me so I knew that station number 3 was close. The wind was blowing a gale as I trudged into the aid station and plonked myself down to inspect my foot, as I had suspected I had developed a blister on my toe that was now approaching the size of a penny, I shrugged off my pack and wrapped my toe snuggly in Compeed, once wrapped it would be fine for the remaining miles. I emptied a baggy of powder into one bottle and filled it up with water and topped off my other bottle, the empty baggy I filled with Fig Newtons and M&Ms and put them in my camera pouch which was mounted onto my front harness; the camera makes it too heavy but it’s a great stash pouch. I tucked into more boiled potatoes and salted chips as well as M&Ms and washed it all down with a cup of warm flat full sugar full caffeine coke! I did a quick 360 worth of video, snapped a few pictures, picked up my handhelds and headed out up the last section of climbing.

The high point on the course was just over 4000’ above sea level and was around 19.6 miles, after which it was downhill nearly all the way. First however I had to negotiate the rockslide; here everyone ground to a halt and treaded carefully to find the safest path down without (1) causing a rockslide or (2) becoming a rockslide. Here is some video. After some time we, as I had caught up some runners and had been caught up myself exited onto the flat, we were at just over mile 20, two thirds of the way round, my last six mile splits 13:54, 12:37, 13:47, 14:28, 14:18, 15:20, you can really see the walk down on that last one. Here there was a semi aid station but it was really only there to pick up anyone who had had a tumble and there was one runner being bandaged up, she later finished. From here we had a reasonable fire road trail for the next three miles and despite the terrain my legs had actually recovered pretty well, I opened up the throttle in an attempt to make up some time, I overtook a couple more runners and covered the three miles in 7:59, 8:30 and 9:24. At this station I restocked my “baggy stash”, topped of the tank with some, oh so sweet, coke and headed out on the next uphill section. Once again walking a percentage of it until reaching the flat top and pushing through and over. At mile 23 the path took a sharp uphill turn, more walking, and spent the next three miles taking you over the pass back into the start/finish valley, here the wind was whistling through, it never failed to amaze me that at no time did I have a tail wind!


From here it appeared to be downhill to the finish, well kinda! My spilts for this section 12:39, 13:19, 16:35, 11:57, 11:58 and 13:10. After running through the a wide gully some of which was nothing more than a rock strewn dry river bed, you exited out and took a sharp right up an exposed and well worn trail to the final aid station, which carried a big sign saying three miles to go. From here I continued up further and then proceeded along what can only be described as a roller coaster; short, tight up and downs, no more than 30 or so feet, great fun on quad bikes not so great on you own quads.



Finally after some time and some miles these flattened out and there was another small out and back after which you were back onto the road into town. Running back through the parking lot, under the watchful eye of some tourists, I wondered would I have to negotiate the stairs up to “Main Street”, little did I know that there was one more hill, and after plodding, yes by then I was in full plod mode, I picked up the pace and enjoyed the applause as I ran down to the finish line. My final splits; 12:47, 11:46 and 11:46.

Overall it was a great race and well organized, the route took you through some breathtaking scenery and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking to visit some of the desert that you wouldn't see.

The numbers:
I finished in 6:34:26, a new PB by just under 20 minutes, but over my initial target time of 6 hours.

My Garmin tells me the following:

• Distance 32.19 miles
• Pace: 11:31
• Elevation gain 4836’
• Elevation distribution: 48% ascent, 32% decent, 20 flat

Here's the Motion Based data:



And the best of the photos which as usual are out of order.

Post race pondering:

Good things:

• Finishing; always nice
• A new PB, even nicer
• My recovery, the next day I was up and about, achy sure, but very mobile

Bad things:

• Nearly bonking at the halfway point, with hindsight I had under eaten at breakfast and this came back to haunt me
• The blister; despite trialing successfully my Injinji socks I did not wear them as I had not been able to get the Spencos I needed to fill out my shoes

Things that I need to work on:

• Power walking hills, my pace drops off considerably during these sections and I need to keep it up to avoid loosing too much time
• More hill work in general…deep joy!
• My Asics are shot now and I need to either get a new pair or start looking at some heavier duty shoes, they took a real beating this weekend
• Running the technical terrain, I was overtaken, because I had slowed, during these sections and I need to have more confidence to run through them

It's thirteen weeks to Leona Divide and I received, last week, confirmation of my entry, watch this space!

XTerra Trail Series: Boney Mountain Half Marathon

Clear blues skies promised warm temperatures as I parked my car at the designated parking, collected my race number and T-shirt and waited in line for the shuttle bus to the start area. Despite the temperature in the car saying 48f forecasts were expecting a high of 70f. The Boney Mountain Half Marathon had been rescheduled for today due the wildfires of last year. Ironically the week prior we had experienced a weekend of rain and now it was expected to be a wet course.

Over 400 runners congregated at the start area, however not all were running the half marathon as there was also a scheduled 6k race as well. The pre-race briefer advised us of the aid station locations and told us that there were some wet patches and “river crossings”, but not to worry as they were not waist deep, carrying water was the order of the day especially given the change in elevation we were going to expect; more about that later.

I was “race-testing” my Nathan Race Vest and had donned my Dirty Girl Gaiters so combined with UD handheld bottles, I at least looked the part! I have to say I am amazed when I see people running in basketball shoes and a wife-beater, but you see them at every event.

We meandered over to the start line and I switched on my Nike+, there was an iPod ban, so I had no headphones, it actually froze at 5.5 miles and stopped recording. My Garmin chirped into life, there was the usual ceremonial countdown and we were off.

The first two miles or so were a shaded paved road that wound its way down to the bottom of the canyon, oh good; this of course means that there is only one way to go: up! I was keeping a steady pace and really still warming up and was surprised at the number of people charging through. At the one mile mark we turned off the road and onto a single track trail. Here runners bunched and flowed trying to politely overtake while keeping a solid footing and avoiding the deeper mud that was at the side of the trail. From mile 2 through 4 we broke into the sun and started to climb (you can see them zig zagging up the hill in the photo), not wanting to burn out too early I power walked as best I could up, overtaking a few walkers and to my surprise one or two runners. We topped off the second climb at around 1000’ and started on the mile and a half and 700’ drop down.

Single track was the order of the day and the path wound its way down to the canyon floor, the several “rivers-crossings” we had been warned about proved to be streams with stepping stones but I still saw some people charge through the water, can you say blister! We popped out onto a level fire road for a brief respite and past an aid station; the quiet before the storm. A little way later we were back onto single track. I felt the cool emanating from the stream that ran alongside and it was here that we had a few smaller stepping stone river crossings. The path was gently angling uphill and lulling us into a false sense of security, rounding a bend it took a sharp steep uphill and continued with minor variation for the next 5 miles. Most of this section was walked and not by just me; it was a tough section and combined with the fact that I was partially conserving myself for next weeks 50k and didn’t want to do anything silly walking seemed the best option. By this time we had broken through into a sun drenched path that switched back and forth up the side of the hill, the heat was a little worrying as my running habits have shifted to running well into the evening when I have no concerns about the heat and sun, April can be a warm month here and I hope that I get a chance to re-acclimate myself to the heat between now and then.

Halfway up we were treated to a short section of downhill and while my calves took a rest it was time for my quads to start screaming, this was short-lived and only lasted a third of mile before we started on the uphill again. We finally topped out at the ten mile mark at 1830’, a 1500’ climb and about an 1800’ elevation gain. Here's the view. From this point it was downhill, all the way, well except the last hill and the little bit of flat by the finish. The last three miles didn’t quite fly by but I did manage to make up some ground and overtake a few runners in the last mile or so.

While this was never a “race” and was more of an opportunity to try out some new kit and also to get some “trail-time”, I did have the target time of 2:30 in the back of head. Clearly not a fast pace but one, given the terrain, that would allow me to sense check with some certainty (hah, famous last words I know) my target time of 6 hours for next week, which has the same elevation gain but it obviously a lot longer. I saw the countdown on the timer board at 2:30:45 and my Garmin Moving Time was 2:28:29 which allows for the stopped time at the aid stations which was minimal but also the time I stopped to take some photos etc so I was pretty much on target.

So in summary; a tough race that answered some questions

Kit wise: the Gaiters were great and kept out all the usual trail debris that finds its way into your shoes. The Nathan vest was also great however I have discovered that it “flaps” with my camera in the pocket, so I need to get a smaller, lighter camera or find another way of carrying it. I was again running with Perpetuem which kept me going nicely and I supplemented it with water from the aid stations, I consumed over 24oz (a bottle and a half) and took two gels (at 45 minutes and 1:40) I could/should have had a third at the 2:15 mark and given the heat I should have had my SaltStick tablets. Oh yes and much as I love my hat I should have worn a visor!

Condition wise: I hadn’t quite shaken off the cold/cough that has been with me since the beginning of the year and I could hear and feel my chest rattle on the tougher sections, hopefully this will be fully gone by next weekend. My running was ok; my pace was over a minute faster than the Pt Mugu 50k which was a tough run but was two minutes slower than the Pt Mugu 18k (11 miles) which by comparison was not as nearly as tough, was three miles shorter and had over 1000’ less elevation gain. I need to work on my hill climbing and get some more time on the trails. I start running double long runs at the weekend at the beginning of February one of which will be a trail. Running my hill intervals seems to be working somewhat, I just need to do more of them and find a longer hill, they only give me a elevation gain of 300’ over 0.6 of a mile and running down in between is not giving me the sustained hill climb that I need. Oh well nothing like a challenge

Here is the MotionBased data: XTerra Boney Mountain Half Marathon

We apologize for the delay...

But the year approaching on Platform 1 is 2008!

Finally after the New Years’ celebrations have died down, hangovers (yeah right) departed, my neck is now in the right place thanks to my chiropractor; who I heartily recommend if you're in the area and with the help of a large dose of Better Living through Science (BLiTS), I was able to tentatively take baby steps into 2008.

Monday, to see what would happen, I spent 30 minutes on my bike and trainer, not wanting to push the envelope, I rode consistently but not too fast, once I got got the resistance and laps sorted out, with one small hill and one small sprint, so far so good.

Last night I donned my running shoes and headed out. It was late and cold (for here) around 48f when I hit the roads and after a small, untimed warm up, I put my foot down, literally and metaphorically to see what my chest could take. I pushed hard for the first three miles and throttled back for the next two with a walk up the last one back home. All was well and I was pleased with the result; my lungs stayed in my chest! The splits were pretty good as well.

I also took the chance to run in my new Injinji socks, you have to spend a little time feeding you toes in but they are very comfortable, a little thinner than I am used to so I may need some Spencos, but all around very toasty!

I am not expecting to run fast this weekend but having read SoCalRunnerGirl’s comments it seems that the hills will be a little long. I will run some hill intervals tonight to double check but so far everything is looking good for the weekend.

And now for something completely different...

Anyone in California might have been noticing the rain! Yes it really does rain here, sometimes like this last weekend, it rains a lot. So much so that from just down the hill from my house I can now see snow on the San Gabriel Mountains. The highest point is Mt San Antonio aka Mt. Baldy 3,067m (10,064 ft) but there are a lot of lesser peaks. Well the good news for me is that rain here and snow in the San Gabriel’s means A LOT OF SNOW at Mammoth Mountain, our local ski field.

Two quick FYIs; (1) I should point out I don’t actually ski, I have never tried nor have I any inclination to try; I board, I had the chance to learn it in New Zealand, took it and have never looked back. This is my 10th year and I still won't be able to land a jump without crashing and (2) local in California is a 300 mile drive.

A quick look at Mammoth's website reveals that over the weekend they had 65” (5’4”)! That gives them a base of 154”. A couple of phone calls and clicks later and we’re booked, mid-week madness to avoid the crowds, leaving the children with my in-laws who arrive tomorrow for some winter sun and a break from the British weather and heading off to the hills. My only concern is that it is the week after my 50k and I hope my legs will be working…what the hell, that’s what gravity is for, right!

It's shiny, I want one!

So seeing as how I have not run in a week, cancel that. So seeing how I have not done anything in a week (oh the shame!), I thought I would tell you about the last time I did. Well not specifically about the run, let me assure you it was a most unmemorable 24 miler, but about the new piece of shiny kit I have. The Nathan HPL#028. Inspired by Krissy Moehl during her 2005 Grand Slam season, Nathan have called a “Race Vest”. It is designed to carry fuel; bars and gels and small running essentials, camera, lip salve, BodyGlide etc, and is aimed at the runner who prefers to carry their hydration in hand held bottles a’la Ultimate Direction (which is my bottle preference). The decision to purchase (well add it to my Christmas wish-list) was driven by the fact that having switched to Hammer Nutrition the use of a bladder type backpack is not recommended for Pepetuem as it settles and the thought of having to do 20 jumping jacks every time I wanted a drink was not very attractive!

Well first of all it’s a really dull name, c’mon Nathan how about something with some umph! Ok now for the nitty-gritty; the vest is very lightweight; 4.5oz, so you hardly know its there, until of course you start stuffing it with all your junk. It’s grey and has a reflective logo panel in the back; also in the back is a stash pocket for gloves, arm-warmers and the like. At the side there are adjustable straps which allow a snug fit. On the front you have two pockets; one zipped (the larger) and one with a drawstring. There is also a buckle fastening that is adjustable not only in girth but also in height; you can slide it up and down to find a comfortable spot, useful if like me you are wearing HRM strap, the strap is really long, with a good 10 inches of play. There are also two shoulder loops where you can hang things; extra bottles, compass etc. The material is breathable, so there is little discomfort from the extra insulation.

I was really pleased with this vest (other than the name), once adjusted it fits very well and you do not notice it, there is no sliding or slopping about or bouncing on the shoulders. The various straps allow you to create a snug fit without cutting off your circulation of breathing. The breathability is very good, I did not suffer from a “hot back” which you can with some packs. The storage is pretty good, I crammed 4 gels in the smaller pouch and had 2 more, a lip salve a small BodyGlide and cash in the other and there was room to spare. In the back I had a baggie which contained dry Perpetuem which I mixed up after purchasing some water while “on the road”.

I’ll be wearing this weekend under “race conditions”, oh that makes me sound so professional, (lol) so if there is anything more to add I add an update.

Sick of being sick...

So like 90% of the country we have a household of sickies. With New Years Eve spent…eh, well blogging! Such is the life of parents. We did throw a New Years Day lunch party so the "Eve"was also baking, moving furniture and figuring the final menu out night. Anyway along with the shopping for and clearing up after aforementioned party Monday and Tuesday were written off, added to which I picked up our new lounge rug from Pottery Barn and managed to crick my neck which has increased the joy around here. Now we are all left looking at our nice new rug, sniffing for Britain; fortunately the cold is masking the smell of IcyHot emanating from my shirt collar and wondering when the writers strike will end...thankyou TiVo and Netflix!. Out eldest went back to school today so you can pretty much guarantee new germs sometime soon and the new arrival, who is nearly three months old, sounds like an old man snoring away with a congested nose in the bassinet…fun times!

Anyway this week is officially a write off, I shoot for 15-20 miles on Saturday and I think that’ll be a push…we’ll see. Hopefully I can shake it all off for next weekend's race, oh yes one upbeat item of news; my new Dirty Girl Gaiters arrived...very sexy!

2008; simple to state...

Just a list of words, simple to state;

• A sub 6:00 50k; I have my first shot at this in thirty days at the Calico 50k and then another option in February for a rematch at the PCTR Pt Mugu 50k and if that fails I could go back to it (Pt Mugu) again in the fall.
• A sub 10:00 50m; Leona Divide is 109 days away, this is my ‘A’ race for the first four months of the year.

I haven’t really thought about things beyond that but having a 50m under my belt opens up more options such as the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 (yes that’s 100 miles) in July or Angeles Crest in September, a lot of the 100 milers require a 50M completion within a specified time frame as part of the entry process.

The second half of the year is predicated on the results of the first half so I’ll leave it there for now…

Hard to achieve!