Since the Black Hills 50 in late June, I have been absent from racing and blogging. Upon putting forth a good race, I felt the need to take a break and rebuild my motivation for racing. Although I see a lot of people completing back to back ultras, it just isn't my thing. Naturally, I don't think it ever will be.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming:
By mid-July I found myself looking at multiple trip out West. To my excitement, I would be spending time in Jackson Hole, Montana, Colorado, and then ending in Colorado for my last ultra effort of the year, UROC 100k. Jackson Hole was really a quick weekend escape, spending time with my wife and also being in the mountains. I traded racing Voyageur 50 miler for the 3rd year in a row, to be in one of the most gorgeous valleys hands down. To me, that was a pretty brainless trade. Not to mention, it entailed completing a 34 mile loop on the Teton Crest Trail and fly fishing the Snake River. Minnesota races are alright...but no where close to that line up.
Although I had been on the Teton Crest Trail before, completely committing to the loop alone had me slightly nervous. Between being un-acclimated and dealing with the unknowns of weather and snow pack, I estimated a cautious 10 hour round trip, including pumping water, stopping to eat, and snapping photos. When I departed in the morning at 5:45am it was a cool 38 degrees and clear, promising a great day. Under these conditions, I hit the first high alpine lake after roughly 2,000ft of ascent and 9 miles in around 1:40, taking every conservative measure. Although I hadn't gone through much water, I stopped to pump before hitting a long dry spot called the Death Canyon Shelf.
Up on the shelf, the temperature started to increase slightly and the Grand, Middle, and South Tetons came into view from the back side of Teton Park. For a little while, I dipped into Idaho and the Targhee National Forest, before eventually making my way back into the GNP boundary. Oddly enough, I ran into an old acquaintance up on the shelf, easing some of my worries about snow pack on Hurricane Pass. Without much snow, I decided to stick with the longer of the two routes I mapped and complete the Crest loop. Dropping into Alaska Basin, which is quite a confusing area of rock cairns and small lakes, I took time to eat and prepare for the long climb up the pass. I was surprised to be over 16 miles in and roughly 3 hrs into the day. A LOT quicker than I had ever imagined. Up the pass, I practiced mostly speed hiking and controlling my heart rate for additional mountain efforts later in the year. Mostly, this worked great, minus a couple of spikes. At the top, I took plenty of photos, knowing that the rest of the trip was descending into the dense Cascade Canyon.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming:
By mid-July I found myself looking at multiple trip out West. To my excitement, I would be spending time in Jackson Hole, Montana, Colorado, and then ending in Colorado for my last ultra effort of the year, UROC 100k. Jackson Hole was really a quick weekend escape, spending time with my wife and also being in the mountains. I traded racing Voyageur 50 miler for the 3rd year in a row, to be in one of the most gorgeous valleys hands down. To me, that was a pretty brainless trade. Not to mention, it entailed completing a 34 mile loop on the Teton Crest Trail and fly fishing the Snake River. Minnesota races are alright...but no where close to that line up.
Although I had been on the Teton Crest Trail before, completely committing to the loop alone had me slightly nervous. Between being un-acclimated and dealing with the unknowns of weather and snow pack, I estimated a cautious 10 hour round trip, including pumping water, stopping to eat, and snapping photos. When I departed in the morning at 5:45am it was a cool 38 degrees and clear, promising a great day. Under these conditions, I hit the first high alpine lake after roughly 2,000ft of ascent and 9 miles in around 1:40, taking every conservative measure. Although I hadn't gone through much water, I stopped to pump before hitting a long dry spot called the Death Canyon Shelf.
Up on the shelf, the temperature started to increase slightly and the Grand, Middle, and South Tetons came into view from the back side of Teton Park. For a little while, I dipped into Idaho and the Targhee National Forest, before eventually making my way back into the GNP boundary. Oddly enough, I ran into an old acquaintance up on the shelf, easing some of my worries about snow pack on Hurricane Pass. Without much snow, I decided to stick with the longer of the two routes I mapped and complete the Crest loop. Dropping into Alaska Basin, which is quite a confusing area of rock cairns and small lakes, I took time to eat and prepare for the long climb up the pass. I was surprised to be over 16 miles in and roughly 3 hrs into the day. A LOT quicker than I had ever imagined. Up the pass, I practiced mostly speed hiking and controlling my heart rate for additional mountain efforts later in the year. Mostly, this worked great, minus a couple of spikes. At the top, I took plenty of photos, knowing that the rest of the trip was descending into the dense Cascade Canyon.
In the end, I traveled the 34 miles and 11,000 ft of ascent in a little over 6:30, celebrating the days effort with a Trout Slayer ale a touch before noon.
Leadville, Colorado:
In mid-August, a couple days prior to my 29th birthday, I was granted the opportunity to travel out to Leadville, Colorado for business. During the trip, I would be able to check out the Leadville retail store that I source, pace a friend through the 100, and spend every spare moment running trails. Despite working countless hours in the store and at the race site, I got in a couple great multi-hour mountain runs to test the legs at 10-12,000 ft of elevation. However, the highlight was pacing a colleague through the night at the Leadville 100. I picked him up a touch after 69 miles at roughly 11pm at night to start the long journey towards the finish. Despite multiple stomach and body set-backs, he still managed to run and speed hike at roughly 15 minute miles. In my book, that is insane...though I am not much of a speed hiker. If I was in the same place, it would have looked like 18-20 minute miles as hiking is my downfall. During the race, I was blown away at how large and well organized this event truly is. For the majority of the time, we had headlamps ahead and behind us, as everyone was collectively pushing towards the finish. It was AWESOME!
Pacing brought me back to a couple realizations regarding 100 miles. From afar, I am extremely interested in testing myself at this distance again in the near future. However, a lot of the 100 is determined by pure mental grit and a fair amount of luck. With such a long distance, it is nearly impossible to line up everything perfectly or have a "break out" type race. Mostly, the ability to punch through multiple dark patches and come out running is what it takes. Mentally, I don't think I am there quite yet, but I am getting closer. As I stated above, the amount of grit and will power that 100 mile finishers show is just down right unmatched. Although it may come across as stupid, or downright over confident, I still have no interest in the distance until I can complete it in 20 hours or less. I have all the respect for those that see multiple sunrises and complete these races in 30 hours, but it just doesn't play to my interests. Since I hope to continue running ultras, humbling myself in the mountains, I will build towards attempting another 100 mile race in the near future.
UROC 100k - Copper Mountain, Colorado:
Overall, Leadville was a great experience. Despite multiple sleepless days, I got in over 85 miles, 16 hours and close to 20k in ascent during my time in Frisco and the surrounding area. After five days, the altitude was still kicking my ass, which lead me to question how UROC is really going to pan out. Mountain racing is a fickle activity when stuck in Minnesota, where the main training grounds are a half-assed ski hill and a few state parks...none of which comes close to a couple mile mountain ascent. With hundreds of miles in my legs from this summer and a few trips out west, the game plan is to simply be realistic about the entire race. I would like to finish somewhere in the 13 hour range, hiking the large ascents hard and running all of the remaining terrain. Hopefully, I will even enjoy some of the mountain views...however, my more realistic self knows I will be looking down at the trail or trying to catch my breath more than enjoying the fall vistas.
After UROC, I will likely finish my year at Twin Cities Marathon. Depending on how spent I am, I feel like my fitness is good enough to PR at the marathon distance. I hope to do around 2:45, which would be a couple minutes faster than my prior best time.
Thank you for reading my blog. Stay tuned for race recaps.
Leadville, Colorado:
In mid-August, a couple days prior to my 29th birthday, I was granted the opportunity to travel out to Leadville, Colorado for business. During the trip, I would be able to check out the Leadville retail store that I source, pace a friend through the 100, and spend every spare moment running trails. Despite working countless hours in the store and at the race site, I got in a couple great multi-hour mountain runs to test the legs at 10-12,000 ft of elevation. However, the highlight was pacing a colleague through the night at the Leadville 100. I picked him up a touch after 69 miles at roughly 11pm at night to start the long journey towards the finish. Despite multiple stomach and body set-backs, he still managed to run and speed hike at roughly 15 minute miles. In my book, that is insane...though I am not much of a speed hiker. If I was in the same place, it would have looked like 18-20 minute miles as hiking is my downfall. During the race, I was blown away at how large and well organized this event truly is. For the majority of the time, we had headlamps ahead and behind us, as everyone was collectively pushing towards the finish. It was AWESOME!
Pacing brought me back to a couple realizations regarding 100 miles. From afar, I am extremely interested in testing myself at this distance again in the near future. However, a lot of the 100 is determined by pure mental grit and a fair amount of luck. With such a long distance, it is nearly impossible to line up everything perfectly or have a "break out" type race. Mostly, the ability to punch through multiple dark patches and come out running is what it takes. Mentally, I don't think I am there quite yet, but I am getting closer. As I stated above, the amount of grit and will power that 100 mile finishers show is just down right unmatched. Although it may come across as stupid, or downright over confident, I still have no interest in the distance until I can complete it in 20 hours or less. I have all the respect for those that see multiple sunrises and complete these races in 30 hours, but it just doesn't play to my interests. Since I hope to continue running ultras, humbling myself in the mountains, I will build towards attempting another 100 mile race in the near future.
UROC 100k - Copper Mountain, Colorado:
Overall, Leadville was a great experience. Despite multiple sleepless days, I got in over 85 miles, 16 hours and close to 20k in ascent during my time in Frisco and the surrounding area. After five days, the altitude was still kicking my ass, which lead me to question how UROC is really going to pan out. Mountain racing is a fickle activity when stuck in Minnesota, where the main training grounds are a half-assed ski hill and a few state parks...none of which comes close to a couple mile mountain ascent. With hundreds of miles in my legs from this summer and a few trips out west, the game plan is to simply be realistic about the entire race. I would like to finish somewhere in the 13 hour range, hiking the large ascents hard and running all of the remaining terrain. Hopefully, I will even enjoy some of the mountain views...however, my more realistic self knows I will be looking down at the trail or trying to catch my breath more than enjoying the fall vistas.
After UROC, I will likely finish my year at Twin Cities Marathon. Depending on how spent I am, I feel like my fitness is good enough to PR at the marathon distance. I hope to do around 2:45, which would be a couple minutes faster than my prior best time.
Thank you for reading my blog. Stay tuned for race recaps.