Michael: Lightning Stirkes Twice

 Almost everyday

I’ve been lucky enough to see

The deer in the fields.

 Sunday, October 6, 2019



Coming off my first DNF in over 5 years, I was hoping for a good, pain free performance, getting my second overall win of the year while I’m 61 feels pretty damned special.



I will say that there’s always more than my fair share of luck that goes into a win. I’m not strong enough to compete with the elites. But the circumstances were right yesterday, and thankfully none of those people were running in my race.



And that’s also one of the keys for an older trail runner to do well; run in the shorter of multiple races if that’s happening. Yesterday I ran in the Monrovia half marathon while there was also a 30k event. At least 5 of those runners were ahead of me when I hit the half marathon turn around.



For me, for some body changing reasons, I’ve also found it to be extremely helpful to arrive as early as possible. It used to be that I would go to the bathroom once at home then once upon first arriving at the event. But now my body has decided it wants two visits to the porta-pottie before race start. To allow time to avoid that last minute long line and give myself time to warm up, I’ve got to be one of the early birds. Kind of a pain, but essential to compete comfortably.



That’s also where being an old man comes in handy. I go to bed early and wake up early every day. Race day changes are pretty minor and really just amount to different clothes and my usual application of race elixers. Otherwise I’m not up that much earlier and I eat the same breakfast as I always do.



Experience also helps. I do a much better job now of staying within myself as opposed to getting caught up with all the rabbits in their nervous sprinter like starts. Experience also helps me get through what aid stations I’ve decided to stop at in a relatively calm and efficient manner.



The win yesterday was fortunate. Honestly, I thought I would have a better chance of winning the 30k event at the Rocky Peak races in a couple of weeks. That’s also the shorter of two races. The winner of the 30k hasn’t broken 3 hours and that seems doable to me. But again, it’ll all depend on who shows up, feeling great on race morning and being one of the early birds when the gates open.