running descent/Mt RuthMy recent one day 33 miler with 10,600 feet of elevation would have been the exact profile I would use as my last outing before an ultra 100 miler, only I would have run more. This has me thinking about taking a crack at a personal best on the Wonderland (sub 36 hours) after an appropriate rest period. Unfortunately, the long range weather forecast doesn't look promising, with unsettled weather and low freezing levels for nearly the next two weeks. This September has certainly been unusual compared to years past where I've enjoyed incredible weather outings for quite some time.

As for my prior hike, I could have easily spent an evening around Mystic Lake and trotted out in the morning, but I simply wanted to keep going just to see how I would do, committing to another 13 miles with 2600 feet of elevation gain. I finished up at 3 AM, but aside from twitching legs I felt fine afterwards. Although not as light as I'd like to be, I haven't done anything approaching my ultra days like this hike for over 15 years and I'm feeling pretty jazzed about undertaking something really hard. I may just go out even with bad weather when the time is right, just to take advantage of my peaking fitness and motivated attitude. Feelin' good!