I will start with the picture from above. This picture is of myself and Ian Torrence from team Pearl Izumi(www.pearlizumi.com)at the finish line of Mesquite Canyon. We both kind of look gooofy(LUV YA IAN!!), but hey ya can't look perfect 24/7?hehehe...
I don't even know where to begin with Mesquite so I will start with the week before the race:
Keira: "Ya Coach I don't feel ready to race... I have been on my bike and in the pool way to much, and I have maybe ran 35 miles total in the last 3 months~my itband set me back so much and what if i end up dropping??"
Coach: "Nope you will be fine. You are so strong right now just go out easy, relax, and let everything else come to you...do not let fear hold you back from getting back at it.
Ok so funny thing about fear. I believe some of the most miserable people on earth are the ones who live in fear(and they pretend they are happy). They let the fear they have of life stop them from really living happy, and doing what they want to do, and just being with the right person, ect. My coach was right. I had a huge base which I had built up solidly from my Angeles Crest training, and just because I had taken three months off didn't mean I could not finish a 50k race. I would power hike the up's, enjoy the day, and just let it all roll together. I refuse to live my life ruled by fear, and have done everything in my power to live my life exactly the way I want it in the last eight months. To say I am happy now would be the understatement of the year(LUV you JMH!!), and things are just rocking in my life right now more than ever!!! Total side rant sorry...
Ok so back to Mesquite. I chose to go out and do this race for the specific reason that it's tough, technical, and gnarly. Ok and the Race Directors are my dear friends, and I love Jamil & Nicky Coury to pieces. There races are top notch, well organized, and some of the best trail Races ever!! I arrived on Friday afternoon, and got out to Whole Foods near Surprise, AZ and was able to get back to my girlfriend Carmella's house and was in bed early. I toed the starting line feeling great, and knew I was gonna have a super fun day. I quickly saw Ian(pictured above) at the start line, and we cracked up about a few inside jokes we had! Leaving it at that... ;o)
The race quickly starts out on flat desert single track, and for the first few miles I was kind of freaking out...I love to climb, and I love gnarly technical downs. I remember thinking, "this is so different than the website description, and not how Nick & Jamil described the course a few weeks back". Luckily by mile three this all changed, and we quickly got into some of the most technical running I have ever done!! Tons of crazy up's, even crazier rocky downs, and it just never seemed to stop. What an EPIC course this was omg!!!! The coolest part of all is in the last few miles you have to climb your way out of this crazy boulder hopping canyon. I have never seen anything like it, and was convinced Jamil & Nick had lost there mind to add this at mile 27 of a 50k. I kept jumping through water pools in the huge boulders, and doing the best I could to try and hold my pace, but honestly I didn't even care! I remember laughing & laughing thinking yep this is why I trail run! I couldn't believe how much fun I was having! I was in heaven. Eventually you made your way out of the canyon, and finished the last couple miles on the flat single track. I definitely mentally shut down the last mile as I hate flat stuff. I tried to push it to catch the first female, but my legs just didn't quite have it back yet. A few more races coming up and I will be back 100%. I definitely pushed her though all day as we beat the female course record time from last year by over 12 minutes, and we both made it into the top 10 overall! Silly boys... I tried to catch Jeanette but in the end she beat me by a couple minutes cause she just hammered the last mile! Her little legs just kicked into 10th gear~ it was awesome! She was such a rock star that day, and I cannot wait to see her flourish in this sport!! She is definitely a force no doubt, and an absolute sweetheart! Rock on sista!! Results are here:
http://www.aravaiparunning.com/results/2011MCResults50k.htm
Once finished I felt great, and was so happy to be racing again! Man I just love to race, and am super excited for all I have coming up! I was going to do a 50k last weekend, but with some bigger races coming up I decided to just crew Jesse there(Orifflame 50K). He ended up finishing 2nd overall just 12 mins behind Dean, and it was Jesse's first 50k! Cycling, and shorter distance running is his strength, and he is used to placing or winning at every event he does...but he has definitely found a new sport! Excited to see what he is going to do with the El Morro 50k course!! So fun!
Some other great news is...
http://raymiller5050.com and... http://griffithparktrailruns.com
So excited about both of these events, and everything else I have going on!! I also just found out I am going to be putting on a 12/24 hour Mtn Bike race! Super pumped about this ordeal, and ready for a whole new avenue of race directing! Details coming soon! Please don't forget to sign up for Leona divide if you have not already! Registration closes next week so get signed up and get on it! http://leonadivide5050.com
Tomorrow myself and a bunch of da' boys will be running my entire Ray Miller course! Not even sure how I get myself roped into these things, but I love nothing more than playing all day with the boys on the trails! Last but not least I want to give a HUGE shout out to the entire crew over at Competitior Magazine!!! Please be on the lookout for this killer magazine, and its amazing new look, & stuff it's gonna have going on in the Trail community! Love these guys, and am THRILLED to be working with them! Excited to have them out at Leona, and I cannot say enough about how amazing there new vibe is to the magazine. Pick up next months issue, and read it. It is going to rock, and should be your staple go to running magazine! Between Trail, Ultra's and road races it will cover all, but in a very cool way! You rock Competitior! There online website is off the hook to! running.competitor.com/
Ok think thats it for now! On, on, on with life all!! If you are not 100% happy then change your life...period. Life is what ya make of it, and it's entirely up to you to make it great!! Live life to the absolute fullest, and enjoy every second! Surround yourself by people that share your passions, and sport, and life will rock! Awesome sauce!!
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