what are you prepared to do?

"Never start a 100-mile race that you aren’t 100% committed to—everything and anything it takes to get to the finish line. It's easy to be committed on a perfect day, where nothing goes wrong. But you must commit to face down anything that may come. Commit to walking it in. Commit to sitting in the chair for hours and getting back up. Be all-in. Because if you aren’t, when things go sideways—and they will—you will give in before you need to. You won't see your immense ability to fight, you won't see how deep your reserves truly are."

~ devon yanko
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"my glasses are fogging up. oh, wait. I'M NOT WEARING GLASSES."

yeah, weather was a factor at the 25th running of the chuckanut 50k.

for me, i mean. not for the winner, max king, who set a new course record. 3:33:11, or some such thing. ridiculously fast any day, but especially so on trails that were swampy, slippery, and sodden.

there was rain and fog and (reportedly) hail, but still, over 400 runners hung in there and got it done.

chuckanut isn't a 100-miler (obviously), but i kept devon yanko's advice in mind when things got a little tough. when i wasn't moving as easily as i wanted to, and when my legs hurt more than i thought they should. i was prepared to walk it in, if necessary, and accepting that prospect affected my attitude. i ran more relaxed, smiled more, and finished about 9 minutes faster than in 2015.

and i never fell in the mud, on a course where there was lots of falling in the mud going on.

i did roll my ankle pretty good at one point, and swore loudly to no one in particular. apologies to any runners around me who may have been startled.
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chuckanut is a great early-season test, but this year it was also a base-builder for miwok. 

and while miwok isn't a 100-miler either (obviously), it is 100k...and the last one i ran nearly wrecked me.

may 6 is barrelling at me like a, uh, big barrelling thing. 

gotta run.

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chuckanut 50k
6:17:47
224/414 (overall)
12/37 (m 50-59)
shoes: brooks caldera
song(s) stuck in my head the entire time:  

"spirit in the sky" ~ norman greenbaum 

"corinna" ~ taj mahal