i don't think i mentioned it here on the world's sorriest running blog but a running buddy of mine (moreso in the fall/winter) Pam Smith won the Western States Endurance Run. i knew she'd been training hard and performing well (PRs and wins all over the place!) since last Fall when i first met her. i had a good feeling about how she'd do this year. she didn't boast much but one can tell, even in the darkness of 5 am, she had that cool confidence in her eyes. she knew she was up for the performance of a lifetime (so far). she wrote a really good piece on irunfar about her preparation for the race (http://www.irunfar.com/2013/08/how-the-western-was-won.html). she was up to way more than i was aware of! very insightful article that i wanted to post here so i wouldn't loose it.
as for me... been getting out there a bit. went back to Buck Mtn. where all singletrack was widened to doubletrack. at times i felt like it was a superhighway right through the woods but it is still a nice workout (with year around water for Pete the dog). made it back to the mac for some mellow miles with mac and gabi last weekend. refreshing to get out of town a bit. other than that it's been the usual summertime mix consisting of a lowish mileage volume on the track, roads, and that dreaded mill.
racing: did another 5k on Thursday night as cloudcover kept the combines quiet for a day and i actually made it home before 9 pm. it was the Bush Park XC Series-Race #1 and it boasted some good competition which is probably what lead me to a 17:12 (13,14,15? still no results up yet) despite getting off-track twice on the mildly hilly course. I think I took 4th (after some jockeying around in the last mile). The best part about the whole thing: I finally got the old-fashioned popcicle stick placeholder at the finish. i'd been looking for a race that still utilized this technique and after 2 failed attempts i finally found a race that doles out the sticks!
1 week until mt. ashland. Forest fires in the area are generating a lot of smoke and there is a small chance it will be a no go... we shall see! Feeling like I need some mellow recovery runs all week and with rested legs it could be a decent race.
future plans: signed up for silver falls full trail marathon. kattie's in the half. that should be fun! also working on a longer distance goal for Dec. i'll be working on a plan to build mileage throughout fall as i work towards running a 68 mile mini-mountainous trail through my old stomping grounds in Malibu, CA. more to come on that!
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