Transvulcania. Estoy listo.

Only one week to go!

My first international ultrarunning race is Transvulcania, May 9th, part of the World SkyRunning series. Held on La Palma in the volcanic Canary Islands (Spain) off the coast of Morocco it is 50 miles with over 14,000ft of climbing. My goal is to participate and be a top contender in both the World and U.S. Skyrunning series this year. The season begins now and preparations have taken months!

To prepare I have spent most of my free time running long each weekend - sometimes both days. Since recovering from Old Pueblo 50 mile race my last few weeks of intense training can be summarized into the following basic stats:

• April 20-26: 92miles/13hrs of running/10,700ft of climbing
• April 13-19: 62miles/8hrs/2,800ft 
• April 6-12: 96miles/14hrs/12,600ft
• March 30-April 5: 63miles/9hrs/1,000ft
• March 23-29: 118miles/18.5hrs/22,000ft
• March 16-22: 72miles/9hrs/4,600ft

These early warm spring days here in Tucson, Arizona have been perfect for mountain training. My training is really just an excuse to thread more mountain trails. Thankfully, I often have friends or group runs to share the views, snake sightings, and swimming hole cliff jumps. And, when the miles get rough training buddies help push me up, keep me honest, and often just help me pause and chat.

This spring has not been all flowers, yet the harder the week – either at work or in life – the stronger I run.  And, in reverse, the tougher the week in training the more resilient and greater clarity I have to be grateful for life’s lemons.  The week of March 23-29 - the most miles I have ever run in a week for training - I nailed my workouts and both long runs. However, equally intensive at the workplace that week I launched a stakeholder advisory group to restore surface water flow to Lower Sabino Creek. And, on a personal level through several difficult conversations I found clarity to work through critical relationship issues in my own life to start the rebuilding process.

This week is just one example of how my running has helped instill balance in my life. Running provides me mental clarity and physical stamina to excel in work and play. However, it has taken a shift in my daily outlook to achieve this level of performance. I now approach work and hard training blocks not as a burden but as a time to shine.

The summer racing season is about to begin and I am in my best shape yet for mountain ultra trail running! I am ready to shine! I eagerly await putting to test my gear and conditioning at Transvulcania.

I am humbly grateful for the support from my family, team, and sponsors, who have helped invest in my dreams. Estoy emocionado. Buena suerte a todos los participantes en Transvulcania.

Mountain mischief mid-run at a swimming hole

Skyrunning at the top of one of Arizona's Sky Islands

Enjoying trails and training with my friend Charlie

Contemplating the meaning of life mid-run creek side

Always in awe of the majesty of ever changing mountain scenes

Enjoying the support from my sponsors post 30mile mountain run
- Run Steep Get High, CarboPro, and Salomon