Two very different races, two weeks apart, with two different perspectives. 

April 28^th my wife and I traveled back to Syracuse, NY for the Mtn. Goat 10mile road race on May 1^st. This is a race that my coach Jerry Smith puts a lot of pride in as one of his former athletes, Jerry Lawson, still has the course record at 48:52. The Mtn Goat is a brutally hilly road race that requires staying on your toes and not becoming complacent for even a second. Fast times can be run but not without diligence and a strong mind. This was my second year at the Mtn Goat. Last year I got a taste of it but coming in injured I didn’t expect much. This year, coach was hoping I could get the record or at least be under 49min.  Otherwise as he put it, “I was going to be walking home”.

Well, I didn’t get either but I still had a great race.  All alone from mile 1 I still managed to run 49:02, 10 sec off the record of someone who ran 2:09 for the marathon in the ‘90s. So not half bad. Not as fast as I wanted but it showed I was pretty well along in training. I look at it as a positive but with some work left to do.

Fast forward two weeks, I’m running through MacDonald Forest in Corvallis, OR on my way to a 50k win and course record. But, through the last 6 miles I’m losing speed and struggling through another 50k that I was hoping would show me that I was in great long distance shape. Didn’t happen. Sure, I did still get the win and a course record and I was happy about that, but disappointed in how the race unfolded and the fact that I couldn’t hold my speed until the end. So, it’s back to the drawing board on ultras and figuring out how to get myself to the finish line in one piece.  Ultras for me have been pretty frustrating in that respect. Whether it’s nutrition, pace, training, I’m not sure yet but to be able to run with the top ultra runners I better get it dialed in. And soon.

It just goes to show you that an athlete’s perspective changes based on how they perceive their performance to be during a race or competition and not as much based on the outcome.  

In between the races I had a great vacation with the in-laws in Upstate NY and got to do two presentations for Montrail/Mountain Hardwear at the Finger Lakes Running and Triathlon Co. and Fleet Feet Syracuse. I did a slide show on my Mont Blanc trip last year, went over some new stuff coming out from Montrail in 2012, and then got out for a trail run with some local runners.