Thursday, September 6, 2007

2 days to go, Yeah!

The last couple of days I sought out trails that were at the highest elevation I could find. I drove up Guardsman's Pass which is just behind Park City and Deer Valley and parked at the high point. There was a dirt road that headed up the ridge towards Mill Creek so I decided to take it and see where it went. Within about 3 minutes I was given a choice either continue up the dirt road or take a trail to my left, I chose the trail. It headed up and over a steep little hill then descended right on to the Wasatch 100M course! I was pretty excited to have connected the dots and be on familiar terrain. To top it off, I looked ahead and see a runner. He was doing hill repeats on the road up to Scott's Peak. I was right behind him but he had his headphones so loud he didn't hear me and I was behind him for about 1 mile. I giggled thinking I am glad I am not a cougar because I tried to give the gentleman warnings that I was right behind him about to pass but he did not hear a thing. I waited until we reached the top before I passed him and that's when it became clear he was doing repeats. He stopped and we chatted for just a couple of minutes and he is doing Wasatch as well. I continued on the ridge towards Scott's Peak (mile 72) and he went down for another session. I was thinking, here I am doing a 90 minute moderate run and he is doing hill repeats....I wonder if that helps you remain revved up for the event. The elevation on this run ranged from 9,600 to 9,800 feet and I felt really good, rested and most of all acclimated. No that I didn't feel the elevation but it didn't bother me at all.


Today I headed back to same area and explored some other trails. I only had 1 hour of easy exercise so I didn't get very far but thought I might as well take advantage of the thin air since it is so close. I was really cold on the ridge this morning so it reminded me that I will for sure need tights from dusk to dawn on this course. Once home I immediately made sure I had them ready from Upper Big Water. I figured if it's cold in at 10 a.m. it's going to be freezing at 2 a.m. The forecasted weather for race day is perfect and if it's accurate it will awesome. I have been so lucky thus far with the weather, a cool WS100, a non-humid Vermont, a perfectly clear day at Leadville. I will keep my fingers crossed for a dry Wasatch.
Yesterday I worked on my crew bags and finalized my race plan. I had already prepared a pace chart, corresponding fuel plan and bought all my supplies. All I need to do was organize it for my crew, create a couple of drop bags and mentally run through the day. A table of chaos got turned into a well thought out plan. Now all I have to do is run, enjoy the day on my favorite course and savor the last race of the SLAM.

6 comments:

Olga said...

I hope your pace chart corresponds with my pace chart for you:) Love the table before and after pics! My best wishes for the weather to continue to stay great. Besides altitude, that's what plaqued me in 2005, I went hypothermic before Big Water and never recovered till sleeping 45 min at Brighton. But then again, I was so much later to BW than planned and it was 20F...you are NOT going to have this! Nothing to think about anymore, just push on!

Susan Kokesh said...

Good luck Ronda!
Your slam is in sight.
Just a mere 100 miles to go!
Ha-ha. You will kick some
butt 'cause you have worked
hard for this. Stay safe
and run smart. HAVE FUN!!

I'm off to McKenzie River....
luckily Darin and Trisha
are letting me stay near/
with them Friday night, as I'm
headed over by myself.
I'm so dis-organized with this
event, which is not
like me at all.

Good luck girlie girl!
Can't wait to hear all
about it. Best wishes!
Susan Kokesh

Darin Swanson said...

Enjoy the race and push hard...no reason to save anything for the next one! :-)

Once again I am going to use the thought of not having to run 100 miles to keep me pounding hard in my much shorter race :-)

Kristine said...

Ronda- you took 3rd place!!! You took 3rd after 400 miles and I'm crying after 31. Speechless. Congratulations. Kris

Unknown said...

Rooster:
It's Monday, and we were so excited to see your result at WF100 yesterday!!Excited but not at all surprised. You're our hero. Welocme home to Portland and the "real world". We'll be in touch when you've had time to settle in. Love also to Alex and the turtles. -Liz and Kamm

Bret said...

Congratulations on 3rd place at Wasatch. What a way to turn 40!