Knee felt a bit better this morning so I think I may have dodged a bullet. That said, being prudent is the best course right now so I'll take a few days off and get on the bike or into the pool. Probably what I have in store for my future anyway.

Retropost of the Week
I wrote this in September, 2007 as reflection on some of the great friends I have made through running. It was called "Friendships Forged on the Trail"

I have often wondered what it is about our sport that nurtures such incredible friendships. I can honestly say that some of my best friends in the world are ultrarunners. In fact, they are actually some of my only friends. As much as it’s hard for me admit, even though I spend my days among literally hundreds of people, I would not consider many of them friends. It’s odd, really, but true nonetheless.

The extraordinary thing is that the friends I’ve made through this sport are not people I spend a whole lot of time with. Some of them I see once or twice a year and yet, when we are together, it is like we see each other all the time. Perhaps it is because we are united in this unusual endeavor or that we seek the same answers to life’s perplexing questions. However, whatever it is, I know that my best friends run, they run long, and they love to share the joy of running long with me. In most cases, that’s all I need in a friend. Strange, I know, but true.

First, there’s Tom. He basically taught me how to run. Spending countless hours together on the Angeles Crest course in the late ‘90’s cemented our friendship and taught me most of what I know about running ultras. Tom taught me how to eat, pace, talk, act, and, most of all, run downhill. Tom shared with me secrets of strategy in the late stages of a 100 miler as well as how not to get too caught up in the moment. In the 2006 Western States Tom and I shared the trail through the canyons and survived the heat together. It was a moment of solidarity that I do not think I could replicate in any other part of my life. Tom, my friend, here’s to you; mentor, friend, role model. In an age when we have fewer and fewer people to truly look up to I hope you know that you will always be the Gold Standard for me.

Second, there’s Craig. This guy is a true Pied Piper and a pure connector. As Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his bestselling book, “The Tipping Point”, the success or failure of most of life’s ventures rest in the hands of the “connectors.” These are the people who bring people together and keep them together. They unite people around a common cause and celebrate others’ accomplishments more than their own. My friend Craig does this in spades! Seeing him cheer his good friend Ed on to a 24-hour finish at Western States or watching in awe as he supported and cajoled countless runners to the finish line at Western States over the years assured his status to me as the consummate connector. Add to that the annual post-Way Too Cool Karaoke party at the Georgetown Hotel and the “Blichigan Muff” training camp every spring and you have a guy who knows how to bring people together in meaningful ways. Just being around Craig makes me feel better and I will never forget his comment upon finishing Western States this year, “I kept waiting for the carnage until I realized the carnage was me.” Craig, here’s to you, our connections, and the brotherhood of the trail.

Third, there’s Graham; family man, professional guy, nutcase! Honestly, I thought he was toast at Western States this year after he told me he had traveled to nine countries in seven days to take his company public in mid-April. I should have known better. After a burst of training and his usual preparation which includes running long distances in intense heat wearing his “bank robber costume” and spending way too much time in ice baths he pulled off a third place finish and sent me away with my tail between my legs. Of course, after pulling my tail out we spent a wonderful day on the track in Auburn, cheering in the runners and reveling in our families. Not only do Graham and I understand each other, but even worse, our wives accept and even embrace the insanity of this sport. It’s certainly a bit odd but we are actually united in the silliness of it all. At the end of the day, that brings us closer together in ways that I can’t quite explain but can’t ignore either. Graham, here’s to you, your family, and the battle that awaits next year!

Finally, there’s Joe. I first met Joe at the Vermont 100 in 2002 and couldn’t believe he was passing me at Mile 32. Of course, a year later this same guy was breaking the Grand Slam record and doing so in style. What the heck? Here was this Philly boy, moved to Colorado, taking the sport by storm. What could be better? Damn! Then, of course, he starts talking smack about 30 mile weeks, long junkets on the tab of the insurance industry, and the inevitable decline of Western Civilization. Of course, in the midst of all this, I realized I was making a friend, a good one. This was confirmed at Western States 2005 when I managed to finish 8 minutes and 59 seconds ahead of Joe (but who’s counting?). It was the pinnacle of my athletic career and when Joe finished he ran to me with congratulations. Joe, here’s to you, our smack talk, your sandbagging, and the glory of what once was and what will always be.

I, of course, could go on for days with this list but I hope my theme is clear. This sport has given me friendships to last a lifetime. Friendships forged through hard work, competition, and shared pain. I hope that you can all feel the same thing. We runners are a strange lot and sometimes we find comfort in strange places. For me, the four friends above and countless others have shown me the power of friendship. It is a power I would not know were it not for our sport. For that, I am truly thankful.

(Writer’s Note: The last names of the four men described above have been intentionally omitted to protect the innocent)

I had an all-around screwy day yesterday! After staying up too late on Friday night I had to drag myself out of bed early to take Carson to ski practice. I basically lounged around for 4 hours at the ski place and then we came home. After a two-hour nap I finally got out the door and limped through an 8 miler. Turns out I jacked up my left knee somehow. It's the opposite leg from my pf so it could be some sort of compensation thing but it's weird. Especially since the pain is on the inside/back of my knee. I am thinking it's some kind of tendonitis that is the result of ramping things up to fast. Obviously, I am not getting any younger! I think I'll give it a couple days and then go to the doc if it's still around. Knowing me, it's probably because of my super-tight hips, hamstings, and glutes. Maybe this is another wake-up call to stretch and crosstrain.

On a much more positive note I must say I am just thrilled about Craig Thornley's appointment as the next Western States RD. He has a love and a passion for running in general and Western States in particular that is truly infectious. Furthermore, his contagious enthusiasm will almost certainly rub off on everybody involved with the event which I know, in the end, will make it even better. I am excited about the future of the Big Dance!

I was quite impressed with the way the WS Board of Trustees handled the entire thing. From launching a public search process to checking references to having the candidates undergo a thorough interview process they truly established a precedent of transparent professionalism which the race truly deserves. Over the next 20 or so months it will be great to see how the transition unfolds. Knowing Greg and Craig as I do I am sure it will be seamless.

Friday Happy Hour 12 miler on a ridiculously beautiful day. 60 degrees and sunny on January 27th. I love this place! Ran steadily from the start and felt good. A bit tired after a long two weeks of work but, all in all, a great run. I think I am going to get out for some long slow miles in the mountains this weekend.

Woke up with an annoying hack in my chest so I ran a bit later on Carter's Mountain after Graston treatment. Felt OK but it's not always the best idea to run after Graston.

Ran without a watch in honor of Thornley. That marathon match-up in December is gonna be tough. And, a little smack-talking going on with Leadville. Turns out most of the second-5 from 2009 is going to be there and they're pressuring me to show up. Not sure if I'll have any gas in the tank after WS and HRH.

Be sure to visit the Taproom tomorrow!

What a great run this morning! I was waffling a little when the alarm clock went off but I dragged myself up and am really glad I did. Ran the standard 8 miler and nothing hurt. I mean nothing! The pace was nothing to write home about and in the grand scheme of things it was just another workaday run. But, still, when these happen it feels very, very good.

On another note, I think it may be time to lace up a fresh pair of Moon Boots. The bottoms are pretty much worn off the Bondi B's I started running in in late October.

And, I learned today that Craig Thornley will be the next Race Director of the Western States 100. This is great news! And, it means next year I'll beat him here for sure:)

The first poll in this new blog is complete and it was quite fun. I particularly enjoyed seeing how it played out over social media with Sophie, Craig, MonkeyBoy and Hal all getting into the game. In the end, Oregon emerged the winner. Of course, it is completely unscientific and probably doesn't matter to all that many people. But, it was fun, nonetheless, to see how State loyalty played out.

I got out on a beautiful, sunny 60 degree afternoon onto the Rivanna Trail between meetings and the run was sweet. & miles of singletrack with a fair amount of mud. I think I've officially run the bottoms off my Hokas as they didn't grip anything. But, fun day all around!

Had an outstanding night of sleep after an excellent day yesterday. Looking forward to the morning sessions here at the conference and then a rare afternoon run.

Laced 'em up for a tempo run on the Colonial Parkway. Pretty cool place to run and it has the unique feature of marked kilometers rather than miles. It's also got virtually no traffic and some really nice scenery. Average about 4:20 per K. Back to C'Ville!

Retropost from September, 2007
Back in the early days of AJW's Blog it was almost all race reports. Here is my report from the 2007 Grand Teton 100 Miler

“Are you OK?” a voice behind me asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I mumbled as I bent over and puked again.

It was 57 miles into the Grand Teton 100 and my stomach was acting up. I had just come down off of Fred’s Mountain and was pushing ahead for my third loop out of four. The combination of Nuun, Gu, warm water, and chicken soup was being soundly rejected by my system. It was time to regroup, or else.

The Grand Teton 100 miler was my third 100 miler in 10 weeks. It had started out quite well. In the cool of the Rocky Mountain morning I made my way around the first 25 mile loop in 4:08. I had built up a small lead and was feeling smooth. The second loop was a bit tougher but I was holding my own and the miles kept clipping by. On this third loop things were beginning to unravel.

Ahead of me was a 1600 foot descent down to Mill Creek. I had been able to make great time on it over the first half of the race but now I was a bit worried. I figured I might as well just hammer down to the aid station at the bottom and then try to get caught up with calories after that. Hopefully, fast-charging Matt Hart would cruise this section and not close on me too quickly. I knew he had incredible foot speed and that he was prepared to battle hard all day. His races earlier in the year suggested to me that he would be tough to hold back.

The stomach was OK by the time I hit the 61.3 mile aid station at the bottom of Ski Hill Road. I treated myself to a five minute “chair break,” an ice-cold ginger ale, and a handful of Pringles. Honest to God, they were the best Pringles ever! I got out of the chair and began a brisk walk up the road. I was feeling better and began to sip off an energy gel. Things were slowly coming together. Halfway up the climb I began to run. By the time I got back to my crew at Mile 70 I was ready to resume my attempt at breaking 20 hours.

The Course Record was just over 24 hours and it was held by Bozeman’s Mike Wolfe. Having been smoked by him at the White River 50 in 2006 I knew the record would be tough. However, after covering 50 miles in 8:45 I adjusted my goals. A course record could happen. If the long-term fatigue was not too extreme I had a shot at sub-20.

I picked up my pacer (Bryon Powell) at Mile 70 and we smoked the “Rick’s Basin” section of the course in just over an hour. Then, after a quick pause at the base we climbed and descended Fred’s Mountain in 1:11. It was only 11 minutes slower than I had run on the first loop and a full 10 minutes faster than my third loop. I was back! Now, all I needed to do to prevent my stomach from going south again was to not stop running. I told Bryon I would not be stopping at any aid stations and that ice water and CLIF blocks would get us through. We hammered the Mill Creek loop in three hours and by the time we returned to Mile 95 my lead was 1:30.

Sweet! However, not sweet enough for Bryon. As we left for the final 5 mile stretch he said simply, “We can break 19:30.” Damn, the dude is tough.

We were close but a massive dry heave session about two miles from the finish cost me five minutes and I came in at 19:35. Good enough for the win and the course record. My wife Shelly and my three boys were all there as well as the entire crew of incredible people who had staffed the aid station all day and night.

Lisa Smith-Batchen, Jay Batchen and Zach Barnett are absolutely first-class race directors. The course was marked impeccably and the attention to detail for the entire event was superb. Shelly and the boys were able to swim in the pool, play on the zip line, and frolic in the grass while I worked my way through a beautiful 100 mile course.

With 20,000 feet of climb I thought the course was a bit tougher than Western States. However, without as much heat and a bit more mellow scene it is different. Wasatch is tougher as it has more steep technical stuff late. Of the 100’s I’ve done I’d say Teton is comparable to AC although it has no net elevation loss which means it’s not quite as favorable for downhillers like me. In short, get this event on your calendar. At least for now there is no lottery, it’s tough, and it’s fun. Furthermore, Labor Day weekend in the Tetons is about as good as it gets!

Needed to blow out some carbon this morning and seeing how I am down here in the flatlands of the Tidewater it made sense. I did my first tempo-ish run in a long time and logged 15 miles on the Colonial Parkway between Williamsburg and Jamestown. It's a really sweet road and I was able to open things up just a little bit. Furthermore, even though I now have, like, 600 miles on the Hokas it still feels like they run themselves. Amazing!

This week turned out to be a bit lighter than expected but given how busy it was I feel lucky just to have gotten in 60. And, I suppose if you told me four months ago that a "light" week in January would be 60 miles I'd have taken it in a heartbeat.

Now, off for a full day of meetings!

Ran up at Wintergreen today. Honestly, wanted to just hang out by the fire but thoughts of the San Juans got me out the door. Did a 10 miler on roads. Packed a bunch of climbing into the run and ended up with 2200 total feet. Getting climbing legs back is certainly a big project. Heading out to the Tidewater this afternoon so the next two days will be flattish.

Had to post this tonight!

And, Mike Morton is at it again, 100 miles in 13:18 at the Long Haul 100 miler in Florida. I love the way he does things his way!

After a very long but ultimately successful day yesterday I really needed a good run this morning and I got it. Calm and cold the 10 miler on rolling dirt roads was just what I needed to unwind and recharge. End of the busiest week of the year, by far, so nice to get a solid run in.

I am feeling a bit of accumulated fatigue building up which I take a good sign. Haven't felt that way in seven months so it makes me happy. It also reminds me that I need to use caution and care with this build up.

Wow, lots of traffic on the blog all of a sudden. Must be the poll about the ultrarunning capital. I am committed to the more simple, personal content of this reinvented blog and will continue with a retropost every Monday. Other than that, it's nice to be back in this new mode.

Took a nice spin on a very cold morning out to Decca. Was groggy for the first 15 minutes but slowly rolled into a decent pace. Headlamp beam is on the blink so I was risking my life a bit on Owensville Road. I think the charger doesn't really work or my kids have been "borrowing" it for reading Playboys at night. Anyway, all in all, a good run. Not sure what the weekend's gonna look like as I am traveling to Williamsburg for the VAIS Heads Meeting. At least there won't be four feet of snow!

These ads came out when I was a beginning runner and I remember loving them. Fun stuff!

Was excited to see today that the two other 8-time WSER finishers who are on track for #10 in 2013 are Dan Brendan and Simon Mtuy. What a great pair of guys to share the experience of finishing #10 with!

Had to get up and out really early today as the Finance Committee had to put the finishing touches on the Budget in advance of tomorrow's Board Meeting so needless to say I had a lot to think about on this run. Ran a good steady nine on the Monticello Trail and felt good. Not quite the post-rest day bounce I had last week but still solid. Windy and cold!

A few years ago at the end of an Ice Cream Sandwich run on the Western States course a group of us were hanging out talking. As is inevitable in these circumstances, the conversation drifted toward "what's next". Several people commented on some final tuneup races and a few others were thinking of their next training venture when wizened veteran Tim Fitzpatrick spoke up, "I am just going to let this run sink in for awhile." I remember thinking, at the time, how does a run "sink in." Now, I think I know, as it clearly takes time for the effects of a training run to take hold. So, as I roll into this year's build up I need to remember the importance of letting things sink in. In fact, I am doing that today with a day off from running after a 50 mile weekend.