2013 - A year in review

In looking back at the events of the past year, I have tried to evaluate the most meaningful, impactful events from the year in order to record them as my highlights. However, though there were certainly some big moments that changed my life, I truly feel that the smaller moments shouldn't be forgotten either. It seems to me that the summation of the smaller moments eclipse the few big moments for meaning and impact and shouldn't be ignored. So, let's start small.

Since this is a blog about running, I will focus on that aspect of my life.

I have to begin by mentioning all of the incredible people I have met throughout the year. Most of them were met on the trail, doing what I love, and then carried into the virtual space of social media. I find that running with someone somewhere in the wilderness is one of the best places to get to know a person. Not only do you get to talk to them, but you can tell a lot about a person by the way they run. Are they ambitious? Do they attack the uphill? Are they cautious? Do they stop and enjoy the scenery? Many times, my impression of a person was formed more through my observations than through conversation. Regardless, I met more amazing people than I can readily pull to mind, and the majority of them won't realize what kind of impression they have had, and continue to have, on me. 2013 blessed me with some great new friendships.

Secondly, it becomes obvious to me that I spend more time on the trail training than I do actually racing or participating in special non-race events. So, here's to all the miles and hours on the trails. From fighting through the morning stiffness during the cold winter mornings on the rocky trails at Thunderbird to sweating it out through 112ºF temps in the hot summer sun, it was all worth it. All of these runs contributed to where I am today. Each of them is a building block. Many of them helped me establish new boundaries and brought fresh, renewed perspective into who I am and what I can accomplish.

Next, it almost goes without saying that a runner, or any athlete for that matter, is eventually going to be injured. It isn't ever an easy thing to deal with. Injury breaks routine and throws training plans into disarray, but when you're injured as much as I was in 2013, you either cry and complain about it, or you find the silver lining. For me, I start by crying and complaining about it (at least to those closest to me) and then I move on to the silver lining. The silver lining in all of my injuries is that I was able to become more intimately aware of how my body works and how amazing of a machine it can be -- even when injured. Of course, I had the help of some great professionals and some amazing friends who came through with some great recommendations. I would feel ungrateful if I didn't mention Justin Pierce at Valley Spinal Care. That guy kept me going through some pretty low injury moments.

So, now that the "smaller" moments are, for the most part, covered, it's on to the big moments. I won't go into a lot of detail with them since they are all covered in various posts in this blog.

My year started off with the first annual Thunderbird 50k, which I hosted at Thunderbird park in Glendale in January. It was cold. There was a small crowd, but there were also some great performances. Silas Klaver pretty much dominated the event and made it look easy right from the start. Since this isn't officially a race, the results aren't recorded anywhere, but it's a great way to get in a good 50k run and start the year of right. We'll be doing it again this year.

My races started off with my first time at Old Pueblo 50-miler near Sonoita, Arizona. It was a great race, and an amazing learning experience. Officially, it was also my first 50 mile race since the North Face Endurance Challenge in San Francisco in 2012 was shortened, and the Javelina Night Run (now the Javelina Jangover) was officially 46 miles. I was excited to make this great event my first one >50 miles. I'm going back this year to break my PR.

My next race was Zane Grey. I made it roughly 27 miles (?) before succumbing to some nasty vomiting and dehydration. Nothing I ingested that whole day was digested and I made my offering to the trail gods at the one place on the trail where they tell you not to drop. DNF. I have a score to settle. I'll be back this year.

Feeling like I underachieved at Zane Grey, and wanting to get in a solid, challenging run, I ended up joining a group of friends at the Grand Canyon in the middle of May for my first rim-to-rim-to-rim. Again, I made some rookie mistakes and payed the price 3/4 the way through,  but with the help and encouragement of some new friends I was able to complete the run in a respectable time. Again, I'm going back this year.

My troubles at Zane Grey and at R2R2R led me to reevaluate my fueling strategy and ultimately to drop my EFS and CarboPro mixture and replace it with a new product, Tailwind. I won't say much about this than to say that I think every runner should give this a try. It's awesome, and the people at Tailwind stand behind what they produce and provide the best customer support ever. Period.

The end of May found me in the southeast valley running to support Trevor Davenport's run to raise funds and awareness for ALS. The HOM100 was organized by Trevor as a result of his friend's battle with ALS, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to help Trevor through some of the miles he was running. It was an incredible experience and an honor to be a part of such an epic and selfless run.

July found me in Snowbird, Utah for my first time racing at the Speedgoat 50k. I had my eye on this race since the year before, but I doubt I would have been ready. What a difference a year made. I spent a lot of time doing hill training in and around Phoenix and Flagstaff, including a lot of trips up Mt. Humphreys with Kristin, Deron, Greg, and a lot of other friends. This training made all the difference. I went into that race feeling strong and healthy and came away with a solid (for me) performance on a more than difficult course. I will be going back to this one, maybe next year, to compete against my PR.

My big race for the year, and my first 100-miler was Mogollon Monster. I had spent the whole year up to this point mentally and physically preparing for this 106 mile beast. Every race I did, every training run was targeted in some way to help me conquer this epic adventure. I had the help of some amazing runners who constantly provided encouragement and got me to the starting line. Deron Ruse, who had run this the year before, was a huge help and was always there with tips and advice for the big day. I spent a lot of miles on the trails with him talking about different aspects of the race and picking his brain for adjustments to my strategy. In the end, with the help of an amazing crew, led by Kristin Steele, and THE BEST pacers, Scott, Greg, and Sarah, the beast was mine.

My last race of the year was my second year at The North Face Endurance Challenge Championships in San Francisco. The year before was muddy and messy, and the course had been shortened... long story, read the post. Anyway, I felt I had a score to settle, and I ended up toeing the line again in 2013. This year, I made the trip with Deron and Kristin and met Jon Roig at the race. Another great time, this time with much better weather and an awesome experience.

All in all, this year was a great success for me. I got to see some amazing places, participate in some great events, make some good friends and meet some amazing people. The trail running community is truly something incredible, and anyone who hasn't had the opportunity to experience this is truly missing out. Here's to more fun, misery, happiness and accomplishment in 2014.

Yearly stats:

• Total distance: 2014 miles/3241 kilometers
• Total elevation: 257,368 ft/78446 meters
• Total time: 430:50:48 (1 hr 10 min/day)
• Calories: 207,200 (approx.)