Monday, June 22, 2009

Turning the Corner

Well thankfully I've made some real headway the past couple of days, and I'll be damned if I'm not going to head down to States and give it what I've got. I really appreciate those of you who have taken the time to offer some encouragement. I'm generally a pretty upbeat person, but it's easy to get overwhelmed with a bunch of negative thoughts, especially surrounding this race. So, I may still not be 100%, but I was able to put a couple hours in on the trail yesterday and feel pretty good. With five days until the race, I think I'll be ready to line up and stare down 100 miles Saturday morning. I'm really curious to see what happens out there following this forced two week taper. My hope is that I'll run a very smart race because of it. I had a similar scenario in 2007 when I raced White River coming off a long battle with a virus. My pace through the first half was quite conservative. In fact, I think that I was 17th or so coming through the halfway point, but as I just started feeling strong in the second half, people in front began to falter. It seemed that every hill I crested and every turn I made, there was another runner to pass. It was one of the most satisfying races of my career, and I ended up finishing 2nd overall. It was a very distant 2nd, but nonetheless it was a tremendous feeling to surge through the second half of the race. Let's hope I can do something similar on Saturday.

8 comments:

Stephen Itano said...

Brian, Glad to hear you're feeling better and looking forward to seeing you have a great race! Good Luck!

Jose Suarez said...

So glad to hear you are feeling better Brian. You'll do great. You are due!

Bruce Grant said...

Nice to hear that you are feeling better, Brian, I'm sure you will improve further over the next few days. The two week taper may just be the best thing that could have happened, but you will find that out on Saturday. Based on your training this year and experience on the course now, I think you'll have a great run, and fwiw, I have every confidence in your ability. Go Team Nuun! :-)

Connor Curley said...

I'm pulling for you. Your run in 06 made a huge impression on me and I wish you the best this time around.

KATHRYN MORRISON said...

Mr. B,

Safe, Smart, Sure, and Swift!!!

But mostly, the first three!!

I'll be sending good thoughts for you, Uncle Bill, and Andrea!!

All My Love, Mom

PS JUST HAVE FUN!!!

Gary Robbins said...

Really happy you're feeling better and are gonna be there to represent! See ya in a few days:)
GR

Carly Koerner said...

yippee skippy! hal and i read your last entry with jaws to the floor. we both REALLY want to see you out there tackling this race and wrestling it to the ground! you're wise to give it a go and i wish you the best (but not better than my man - tee-hee). see you in a few days.

cmj said...

Yo Brian, it meant a lot to see you cheering for me at the end of my WS finish! You are a great running model for me and even though I could barely walk as I made it around the track, it gave me the last little bit of inspiration I needed to finish when I saw you. Great work in climbing over this hump and seeing yourself to the next victory! Best- Jason Dashow