2 days to go, Yeah!

The last couple of days I sought out trails that were at the highest elevation I could find. I drove up Guardsman's Pass which is just behind Park City and Deer Valley and parked at the high point. There was a dirt road that headed up the ridge towards Mill Creek so I decided to take it and see where it went. Within about 3 minutes I was given a choice either continue up the dirt road or take a trail to my left, I chose the trail. It headed up and over a steep little hill then descended right on to the Wasatch 100M course! I was pretty excited to have connected the dots and be on familiar terrain. To top it off, I looked ahead and see a runner. He was doing hill repeats on the road up to Scott's Peak. I was right behind him but he had his headphones so loud he didn't hear me and I was behind him for about 1 mile. I giggled thinking I am glad I am not a cougar because I tried to give the gentleman warnings that I was right behind him about to pass but he did not hear a thing. I waited until we reached the top before I passed him and that's when it became clear he was doing repeats. He stopped and we chatted for just a couple of minutes and he is doing Wasatch as well. I continued on the ridge towards Scott's Peak (mile 72) and he went down for another session. I was thinking, here I am doing a 90 minute moderate run and he is doing hill repeats....I wonder if that helps you remain revved up for the event. The elevation on this run ranged from 9,600 to 9,800 feet and I felt really good, rested and most of all acclimated. No that I didn't feel the elevation but it didn't bother me at all.

Today I headed back to same area and explored some other trails. I only had 1 hour of easy exercise so I didn't get very far but thought I might as well take advantage of the thin air since it is so close. I was really cold on the ridge this morning so it reminded me that I will for sure need tights from dusk to dawn on this course. Once home I immediately made sure I had them ready from Upper Big Water. I figured if it's cold in at 10 a.m. it's going to be freezing at 2 a.m. The forecasted weather for race day is perfect and if it's accurate it will awesome. I have been so lucky thus far with the weather, a cool WS100, a non-humid Vermont, a perfectly clear day at Leadville. I will keep my fingers crossed for a dry Wasatch.

Yesterday I worked on my crew bags and finalized my race plan. I had already prepared a pace chart, corresponding fuel plan and bought all my supplies. All I need to do was organize it for my crew, create a couple of drop bags and mentally run through the day. A table of chaos got turned into a well thought out plan. Now all I have to do is run, enjoy the day on my favorite course and savor the last race of the SLAM.