Despair

Today my car would not start. I angrily threw my keys on the ground and called my boss. My mom would give me a ride to work that much I knew. I wasn't mad about the car, I can get it fixed tomorrow. I had planned a 9 mile road run today and now I wouldnt be able to do it. That is why I Was angry. Now I wont make it to 40 miles.

Commitment

My friend asked me to run at 4:30 am. I wanted to say no, I knew it would be early but I said yes. I drove to the trailhead the night before to sleep there. I have a hard time sleeping usually so going to the trailhead helps that. Usually I read for an hour or two before sleeping. Well 4:20 rolled around and I awoke desperate for more sleep. I tried to convince myself that maybe I could come up with an excuse not to run with him. Slowly I crept from my down cocoon and dressed myself for the long run ahead. Still wiping the sleep from my eyes I saw his lights wash over the car. Still I felt twinges of regret, Why was I doing this? I could be sleeping still. I had to go, I had no choice. So it went 16 miles and a few thousand vertical. Hard miles on an even harder trail, very rocky and uneven terrain. I bonked about 12 miles in but mentally forced myself to keep going. My form had gone to shit but we made it out alive. I headed back to work sore and tired. I promised him I would run so I did. I think its important to keep your word, especially to friends. Did I want to go? Not really. But I knew if I was in his position that a friend would be appreciated.

Work

Today at work was hectic, busy, and annoying. I usually close at 6 but i was at work till 6:40. Customers kept coming in even though i told them i was closing! Fucking assholes. It was idiotic. I got off work and ran for about 2.5 miles, not the ideal distance for today. It was better than nothing though. It was also pretty warm today, espcially at 6 pm. Luckily tomorrow I am going to run 15 miles before work. A friend texted me asking me if i wanted to run tomorrow at 4:30 AM. I promised myself this year i would not say no to things like that. SO here we are, im going to get up at 3:30 and drive to the trailhead. 15 miles with 4000 vertical is going to be a challenge but hell it will be fun!

Mindset

Today at work I was very excited to go run McNeil Point. An old backpacking shelter nestled on top of a ridge. It's such a beautiful run and it would have completed all the vert I needed for the week (2000). I wasn't excited for the workout, I was just excited for the destination. That is where i erred. I failed today. Was it the giant burrito I ate before the run? Maybe. Was it the fact my legs were tired? Maybe. Or was it because of the bugs? Who knows. But what I do know is that I gave up. It would have been an hour and a half of my life, and I bitched out. It could have been the burrito, it hurt my stomach when I ran. My sideache was horrible. Iv'e gone through worse though. I think it was my mindset, because I was so focused on the destination. I forgot about the workout. It was easy for me to decide not to go to McNeil Point. Why? I had been there three days prior, so me going again was not needed. It was easy to convince myself to not go, almost too easy. I think if had told myself that it was a workout. Mentally made it a point to understand that maybe it wouldnt be fun, Than I would have done it. Instead I made it something fun, something I may or may not do. My MINDSET about todays run killed it. Lesson learned, dues paid, end of story. In the future I will not make that mistake.

Training.

Wow what a difference serious training can make. Over the past year iv'e been doing half assed training blocks with no direction at all. Taking cue from David Roche I began seriously training about 2 months ago. Signifigantly upping my mileage from 10-15 to now 40 a week. Almost exclusively running roads or flat trails during the work week and then transitioning to vert heavy workouts on weekends. I have never felt comfortable on the roads before but I had a workout 2 days ago that blew my mind. I ran 9 miles at a 7:40 pace, nothing mindblowing or epic. But for me it showed that training was paying off. A LOT. Not to mention last week I pr'd a route I've been running for over a year. I dropped it by a MINUTE! I had tried about 4 times to lower in and I couldnt even come close. But after these few months of training I destroyed it. I plan to continue increasing my mileage at about 10-15% per week with around 4000-6000 vert. I think focusing on less vertical per week is going to be crucial for my training. I'd like to get a point where sub 6 isnt out of reach during aerobic runs. Once I am able to run fast on flats I'm going to focus more on vert. Until then though its going to be mostly roads for a while. I am an extremly strong climber anyways so being faster takes precendent for now. With that being said I think im going to hold off on any races for the remainder of the year. I may do a vert heavy 25K in October, but id like to just solely focus on training.

From a beginner to pro

This blog is going to be about my journey becoming a professional ultra runner. 2 Years ago I had never ran more than a mile willingly, now im running 40-50 miles a week with 5000-7000 vertical. From here I am slowly going to make my way to 100 miles per week. My sole goal is to win races, I want nothing else.