Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Miwok 100k – Young Money / D-Bow Paradigm Shift - NorCal V. SoCal



WHO’S GONNA WIN MIWOK?
Mackey or Honeyfield.  For a more comprehensive list of Male and Female contenders, Tim Long posted good lists here:  http://footfeathers.blogspot.com/2012/05/miwok-100k-preview-and-live-updates.html
While this field isn’t 1/10th as stacked as Lake Sonoma and Leona Divide were, there are still a lot of solid runners and I look forward to leap frogging with them throughout the day this weekend.  Speaking of Sonoma and Leona… daaaaaannng.  Pretty much a trail running paradigm shift led by Young Money and D-Bo.  And what about Timothy Olson and Jorge Maravilla running so well at two fifty milers only two weeks apart?  Who do they think they are?

HOW AM I GOING TO DO?
I hope to finish around 9 hours?  With the new course this year I don’t really know if that’s too ambitious, we’ll find out.   I am feeling great right now, but was not able to run a whole lot for a month after Old Goats 50M because of shin issues.  Luckily, a friend and aspiring PT extraordinaire, Michael Chamoun gave me great advice and his working on my legs, albeit painful, seems to have done the trick.  Thanks Michael!
So while I’m feeling so fresh and so clean, clean… I haven’t logged enough miles lately to keep me afloat for 62 miles and I expect to fall apart kinda early and then trod along till then end and consider it good training for AC 100. 
More important than how well I run is the fact that I’ll get to hang out in the Marin Headlands for a good stretch with my wife, parents, brother and his girlfriend.  Looking forward to hiking, cribbage, delicious food and avoiding poison oak.  I’m also stoked with how many friends will be up there racing/hanging out.  When Jimmy Dean Freeman comes to a party, he rolls deep and good times are aplenty.  Maybe his charisma can help us SoCal folk redeem ourselves against the usually faster half of the state on their turf?

Why is it that runners from NorCal are faster than runners from SoCal anyways?  Being born and raised in NorCal I’d like to think we’re bred tougher… but the mountains in Socal are bigger, we (I live in SoCal now) have more days of easier weather to run in, and we have wayyyy to many people down here.  You’d think we’d have the upper hand.  Maybe it’s because of ultrarunning having a longer history up there?   

13 comments:

  1. You're going to be as fresh as a daisy in spring! 9hrs is there for you and given you have an added secret cushiony weapon you're going to kill it! (Psst, getting mine manana!) Seems like a great party up there so enjoy!

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  2. Honeyfield is out and mackey's on the fence.
    Good luck on your goals there. Goin to be a fun day.

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  3. Throw it down for the Pack!

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  5. I thought of you while running Los Robles this morning while cranking that turn around hill. We had a couple good runs out there.

    Have fun this weekend. I had another comment but after rereading it I think I came across as too big of an A-hole.

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  6. Jesus, Hone, that must have been one doozy of a comment!

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  7. Michael: Are you getting the Evo's? I want to check them out if you do!

    Hone: I drove by LRT the other day, miss that trail and running up from the turn around with you. If you want to do some real climing I'm just a short drive away, I'll take you out for some genuine mountain running.

    Tim: Check your inbox, I sent you Hone's comment. It's pretty bad, even for him (jk Hone).

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  8. I have to admit..I am kinda scared to go run in your mountains. Driving back from AZ last week I could not believe how poor the air quality was when I was passing by your neck of the woods. I was driving on the freeway and was only like 7 miles from the mountains and literally could not see them. TO mountains might be smaller but at least I wont get the black lung fever out here! I do need to get out for a run with you but it will have to be the day after it rains.

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  9. Hone... while smog can be a problem in parts of SoCal, it is not so bad that it obscures the mountains. Usually when you can't see the mountains it's because of the moisture coming off the ocean. When the air flow is coming from the ocean you can't see them too well. When the flow is heading off the desert, the air is drier and you can see forever. The area where the smog gets bad is well-inland in western Riverside County. It usually has a weird green-brown tint to it, and you can see it as a separate layer from the marine moisture.

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  10. By the way, Chris is laying down a pretty good run right now.

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  11. Marcus,

    It was for sure not a marine layer. It was exactly like you described...weird green-brown tint to it on an otherwise sunny 90 degree day. Pure nasty! Maybe it was just an extra bad day when I was driving past.

    Anyways congrats on the 2nd place Chris!

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  12. Congratulations on a great race at Miwok! Nice chatting with you afterwards.

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  13. Congrats on an amazing race at Miwok Chris! I'm in awe by how well you ran such tough course on Saturday. Amazing job, man!

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