Weekend Update

Noble Canyon 50K didn't fit my schedule (again) this year. I love the race and it was one of my first ultras, but coming off the Canadian Death Race, and with a wedding party scheduled that evening, I decided that I wouldn't be able to fit the race in. I was able to go cheer on some friends and training partners who were running the race, take some pictures, and sneak in an early morning solo run in one of my favorite places to run in San Diego, Mt. Laguna.

It was awesome seeing Chris, Ricardo, Von, Cory, Chad, Isaac, and Kim do so well at the race, and it was fun hanging out afterward and hearing the war stories, especially from first-timers Chad and Isaac. A 50K doesn't sound much further than a marathon, but it can be so much further, and it was great seeing this challenge taken on by so many friends.

Chris having a great day on the trail and coming in 4th overall.

That's my disembodied arm giving encouragement to Von at mile 22 (thanks to Trisha for the photo).

I like this ultra spectating stuff. It's way easier than actually doing the race, and you get to hang out with friends afterward and share stories and beer.

Saturday night Sanam and I went to the coolest wedding party ever for our friends Jess and Nata. They rented out a museum in Balboa Park, served some great food and drink, and had a very touching and romantic first dance to "The Thong Song." We left a little early (who am I kidding, the Grandparents were still partying when we left), but we had to get our babysitter home and I had to run 18-20 hilly miles Sunday morning.

It was a tough, hot and dusty 18 miler with 2500 feet of climbing fueled by Stone and cake pops from the night before (once again, I blame Jess Downer), but I got it done, and I saw parts of Daley Ranch that I had never seen before (Yeezy taught me) including the crawl up to Stanley Peak.

Coolest photo booth ever (I'd like to thank Jesus for my red-hot smokin' wife -- that's two Talladega Nights references in a row if you're counting. Stay tuned next week for more shake and baked goodness). I don't like gnomes.

A couple miscellaneous things:

I want to give a shout out to Paige for her awesome race at the North Face 50. Looking forward to reading about that one.

My wife and I just started coaching a Girls on the Run team at the local elementary school. It's a great program and I am so stoked to be part of it. I'm sure I'll write something about it sometime soon.

I have a couple of cool things to give away in the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading.