Javelina Jundred 2015 Race Recap

This year was my third year doing Javelina and I’d set a goal of running 15:30. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I could do it and I don’t know why I decided on 15:30. Maybe it’s just a nice round number between 15 and 16. It just seemed reasonable and the pace chart I made on ultrasplits.com looked doable. I was somewhat concerned my goal time given was too fast as I ran just about the same time at the Flagstaff Sky Race as I did last year, actually a little slower which I attribute to newly introduced section that was harder. I overall felt stronger this year and suffered less. Additionally, I’ve made a lot of changes in my training and nutrition this past year. Maybe that was enough?

As always, Javelina was full of incredible competitors. It’s really hard to judge anyone at 100 miles even if they’ve performed well in the past. So many things can go wrong (or right). I had my goal, a plan to get there and really did my best to ignore everything else. It’s always a long day and it’s no use trying to focus on anything else.

Flagstaff Sky Race 55k – 2015 Recap

I actually hadn’t planned on running the Sky race this until about 2 weeks prior. I was on the trails up in Flag and had such a good time I decided I didn’t want to miss out. My original plan was to run Man Against Horse 50m in Prescott which was on the same day, October 3rd. Running Man Against Horse would have been more wise as I think it plays into my skill set better and isn’t at such a high elevation. Alas I don’t make the wisest decisions and I was more interested in challenge than comfort.

Overall I felt much better at the start than last year. It was really a black & white difference which had me hopeful. I was in the lead group and feeling pretty good. Breathing was under control well enough but the couple of runners chatting had me concerned about my lungs that live at 2100 feet. At Sunset Aid I took some GU and refilled on water as the entire lead pack took off and I brought up my seat at the rear of the pack. It’s pretty normal for me to be at the back of the elite pack or in the abyss between the elite and sub-elite for this kind of race. Once we got the Elden climb I was pretty certain that was the end of me keeping up. I just cannot push the pace like the others.

The Mohican 100 – Mini Documentary

Here’s a link to my latest video – enjoy!