Training and Things...

            10/11-10/17: 100 miles
Gain: ~9000 ft.

Top of Ray Miller Trail and Pacific Coast

After those 2 days off last week where my right hip was bugging me a little I've come back better than ever.  I've hit my first 100 mile running week ever.  I've backpacked 140-190 miles/week plenty of times but never in a running setting so this was new territory.  What was surprising to me was that the mileage was not all that difficult to do; meaning I wasn't fatigued at the end of the week or anything, but the finding the time to run that much is substantial.  While trying to juggle full-time school and work it's sometimes difficult to find 2-3 hours/day to invest (weekend 4-5hrs/day) plus weight training.  So it's a given that two runs per day is going to be needed to take advantage of the small time increments in the early mornings and evenings.  Today is a recovery day and I have to catch up on school work and will soon have to make decisions on the major backpacking trip of summer '12.  We have narrowed it down to the Pyrenean Haute Route, GR11, and GR20 and I'll go into more detail on these treks (all in Europe) a bit later.
I'm one step closer to making a decision on whether to give Javalina Jundred a go on November 11 or 12 and after this good week of training I'm a little bit closer to making that commitment.   Ideally, I want to string together 3-4 100 mile weeks which I think will set me up perfectly for the run.  Although I'll be going into it without racing in my legs since August it might keep me more fresh than my San Diego 100 experience.
Kevin Chan and I course-marked a X-Terra trail run event in Point Magu State Park of the season and although wearing a large pack with stakes and a hammer isn't the most comfortable thing in the world it reminded me how fun La Jolla Canyon singletrack trails are.  The view from the top of Ray Miller Trail is priceless and running down that well graded singletrack with the view of the Pacific Coast with the  the Channel Islands as background made me feel like a kid playing in this giant playground and it was great to share that experience and feeling.  I started running with some members of the Coyotes theses past weeks and it makes running the long runs so much more fun when you're with people you like and respect.  I've always been the sort to do things on my own because of a need for that solitude, and that is still there,  but I'm starting to learn and appreciate the value of community.  A little company with the right people is a good thing.