Bandit 50k Race report.

60 or so of us 50k'ers raced today.  Started out with Trey Barnes (pictured above) and I hanging out together for the first mile loop in the park.  Hung right behind him until the tunnel under 118 where I passed him. He was a minute or so behind me at the 118 turn around, then I heard he had hip issues and finished fourth, super nice guy, works or owns the fleet feet in Encino - the one that used to be Phidippides.  He was fast on the downhills, but a little slower than me on the uphills, so I was worried about us leap frogging all run, but that didn't play out.

Beautiful Day!  Mountains to the east and north blanketed with fresh snow, clean views of the ocean and Channel Islands... lush green mountains and meadows. Snow level was only 700' higher than where we were running. Nice cool temperatures, 40s at the start and 50s at the end.

Running with one bottle and having two ready for me at the drop bag location: miles 10 and 19, worked perfectly, took a gel every 30 minutes, took 2 salt stick pills.

On the first loop, at the top of Rocky Peak (mile 15) I looked back and saw Michael Becker about 7 minutes behind me... seemed like he was gaining on me... scared me a little, but at the same spot on the next loop (mile 25) I didn't see him so I knew I had the race at that point, as long as I didn't fall hard and hurt something. Michael finished in 2nd, 4:38.

Going into the race I was hoping to run sub 4 hours, but around mile 10 I realized it probably wouldn't happen today.  I thought about picking up the pace a bit to try and do it, but my pace felt like a good pace to run without blowing up before the end... and I was having a hard time justifying pushing it harder.  I also wanted to keep just a little in the tank in case someone did catch me.  I’m sure the mud slowed us all down by a couple minutes, but even without the mud I doubt I would have snuck in under 4 hours.

I was worried about Sean O'brien (pictured above) after Brian Krogman told me before the race started, that Sean lurks at first, is a great climber and picks a lot people off at the end.  He finished in 5^th place.  Talking with him afterward he said this was a training run for him and that he wasn't really racing, lucky for me.

It was nice having Keira there cheering for me at the start and finish, she reminded me about the cash prize at Leona Divide this year and asked me if I was going to try and get it.  I laughed out loud because it is such a stacked race this year, but I can’t wait to run it again.

Also looking forward to the Bandit 50k again next year with a bull’s eye on my back =)  The 805 boot camp sure knows how to put on a great event, there were so many volunteers cheering and helping out at each aid station, loved it!

I was stoked to see the Ventura County Star do an article on the event, here's the on-line version:  http://www.vcstar.com/photos/galleries/2011/feb/20/thousand-oaks-man-wins-50k-bandit-ultra-trail-run/19211/#section_header

Mile splits:

1- 7:07

2- 9:50

3- 10:28

4- 10:34

5- 9:01

6- 9:54

7- 7:00

8- 7:27

9- 6:36

10- 7:31

11- 7:19

12- 8:04

13- 8:23

14- 10:35

15- 10:54

16- 7:13

17- 7:24

18- 6:56

19- 6:48

20- 7:18

21- 8:18

22- 8:47

23- 10:22

24- 10:51

25- 8:20

26- 9:08

27- 8:16

28- 7:34

29- 8:28

30- 6:19

What to do, what to do.

This June I will be running my first 100 miler… I am currently registered to run a flat 100k (Born to Run Ultramarathons) four weeks before the SD 100.  Shortly after registering for the 100k, I thought to myself… Four weeks is enough time to recover… right?  I’ve asked a couple running buddies what they think about my situation and responses have ranged anywhere from, “Four weeks is plenty of time to recover,” to “No way… don’t run the 100k.”  I’ve also heard, “you CAN run the 100k, but don’t race it.” 

Obviously the SD 100 is more important to me and I do want to place well there, does that mean I should not participate in the 100k at all?  I’m beginning to think that may be the smart route. 

Enlighten me with personal insight, stories, links, anything, please!

Taper Time

For the first time EVER I am looking forward to tapering. And I think it's due to the fact that I finally feel like I've put in some good training, well at least for the last month. I've worn myself out and I'm looking forward to running a little less mileage and running shorter distance at faster paces for the next couple weeks.

We'll see how long this feeling lasts. I'll probably be going nuts at the end of this taper, as per usual.

Beautiful Day for a Run

Serrano Valley

Almost back to car at Wendy parking lot.

Went out for an easy 22 miles today.  I haven't been out in Sycamore Canyon for a long time so it was fun to see it all again, especially with the clear skies and with everything being so green right now.  It was nice not to climb so much for a change and focus a bit more on putting in some faster miles... but I've been putting in more miles than my body is used to so "fast" miles for me aren't really that fast.  With some races approaching I want to make sure my legs don't forget what it's like to turnover more quickly.