This past weekend I lined up for the Estes Park Backyard Ultra. Start time was 4PM, about 75 to 80 degrees, with 25 mph winds and 45 mph gusts hammering us until around midnight. I ran for 15 hours. Roughly 64 miles. I was one of three left in the race. Then I started having trouble keeping food down and made the call to stop. A second runner dropped after the next loop and the last man standing ran one more loop to secure his victory. But, I walked away happy! This was exactly the kind of training run I needed before Leadville, and it handed me a list of lessons I want to share. Here are my five big takeaways. 1. Slow down. Then slow down again. Then slow some more. These backyard ultras are painfully slow if part of you still wants to run fast. I have spent the last 16 weeks chasing speed work for Leadville, and what I thought was my easy pace was nowhere near easy enough. Whatever you think slow feels like, go slower. 2. Don't be first to finish the loop. Don't be last either. Early on I kept coming in as one of the front finishers because I wanted 10 to 15 minutes to rest at the aid station. That time vanishes fast and I never wanted to feel rushed. But I watched other folks come in with only a few seconds to eat before the next loop started. That is what we call "circling the drain". The winner, who has now taken this thing three years in a row, targeted 7 to 8 minutes of rest between loops. Right in the sweet spot. 3. No guesswork. Be automatic. My aid station looked like a 2 year old's buffet. PB&Js, cheese quesadillas, M&M's, Nerd gummy clusters, fruit, pretzels. My strategy was pretty loose in the beginning - pick 2-3 foods, salty, solid, and sweet and eat those before the next loop and change it up next loop to avoid flavor fatigue. The winner? His nutrition was dialed and his crew handed him exactly what he needed. High carb foods like ramen and rice. All measured out for him before he even finished the loop. No time wasted refilling bottles or deciding what to eat. He made every second of those 7 minutes count.

Share a picture of your most recent run (or at least the most recent one in your camera roll). SWEATY, foggy, dirty, beautiful - it doesn't matter, let's see it! ⬇️ (p.s. it's so fun to compare these to these threads from 4 months ago!)

What's the one thing you wish a brand donated to you this year?

A new dilemma every Wednesday 🤫 This one's a little mean. What do you choose?

What does this actually mean? Is it that you can run your normal paces and efforts when you’re acclimated? Or just that you don’t die while running? 😂 We’ve really just started seeing heat and humidity here for the summer and everything I read about heat acclimation says you should be acclimated within 10-14 days. This is my 5th summer in hot and humid Tennessee and I don’t think I’ve ever felt acclimated. My easy pace, keeping HR low is always about 1-1.5 min/mile slower in the summer. Which makes me feel that I’m not making any progress - although I know I am! Thoughts?