A couple weekends ago I volunteered at the Sunstrides Chollas Lake 5K instead of running because I strained my VMO. It was the perfect day for a running event, and the runners I spoke with said the course was tons of fun. I pitched-in with the set-up, gave out split times, took photos at the 3-mile mark with my buddy Nick, and helped clean up after the race.
The Sunstrides Foundation is a San Diego-based non-profit that uses the proceeds from these races to fund sustainable energy projects in Africa. The founders, Rachel and Mindy, are super-cool ladies doing incredible things. Check out this article for more about them and the organization.
+Check out all the photos.+
The second race of the three-part series is on Saturday. The Black Mountain 7K Summit Run looks like a quick and challenging effort with a 3.75-mile climb followed by the 3.75-mile descent to the finish. My leg is feeling back to normal so I’m going to race :) After the race, I’m heading up to Orange County to run the OC Marathon on Sunday!
The 29-mile training run last weekend, combined with a brutal *ActiveX* workout called “Road Kill”, on Wednesday, left my legs destroyed all week. Even with yoga, I didn’t recover in time before my long run this Sunday. I ran anyway, grinding out 20 slow, painful and beautiful mountain miles. 
Now my knee is jacked and so is my plan of racing the Sunstrides Trail Race Series Chollas Lake 5K on Saturday and running long afterwards. I still plan to attend and support the event, but I’m not going to run until my knee is good to go so I may end up walking the course. I'll keep you posted.
I'm simply taking this as an early wake up call to smarten up and really take care of myself during the next 3 months leading up to the *VT100*.
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Training for and completing the *2008 San Diego 100 Mile Endurance Run* last year transformed my life. The experience revealed my potential and redefined my limits not only as an athlete, but as a person. Most importantly, it has brought me closer to my friends, family, local community and global network.
I am dedicating this season to my family on the east coast by running the *Vermont 100 Endurance Run* and will share my journey with you right here in {blog:id=1436}. Running is purely the way I choose to express myself in this chapter of my life. I hope the people, places, stories, photos and video I capture along the way will inspire you to embark upon an adventure of your own!
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I kicked off my VT 100 training last weekend with a fun and unique workout. On Sunday I ran a super-fast 5K to fatigue my legs, and followed it up with a 26-mile coastal run home from the race for a solid 29-mile day on my feet.
My results and splits from the Carlsbad 5000:
Mile 1 – 5:27
Mile 2 – 6:27
Mile 3 – 6:34
5K = 19:03 (PR=18:32)
Pace = 6:08
After the race, I took an hour to eat, hydrate and gear up “ultra style” for my run home.
Last year, I learned that race simulation is a fundamental part of training for this kind of event. Since Vermont will be both hot and humid, I need as much exposure to these elements during training as possible. It got pretty warm out there, but things are only going to heat up as summer nears.
Starting my day with such a hard 5K effort came back to haunt me in the final 10 miles of my run. The elevation profile shows how the route gets way harder at the end!
!coastal run elevation.jpg!
This was a fun way to celebrate the start of my training, which I will continue to document and share during the next 100 days until the race. Last year was an awesome journey, and I have a good feeling that this year is going to be even better. Thanks for sharing this experience with me :)
Run Time: 04:47:31
Pace: 9:53
Total Time on feet: 07:05:00
Distance: 29.08 mi
Elevation Gain: 3,592 ft
Total Calories: 4,106 C
!coastal run map.jpg!
