June marked a two-pronged component of my build-up to the Notchview Ultra – 1) A big effort mid-month at the Mt. Washington Road Race (7.6 miles, 4,650 feet of climbing), and 2) the final weeks to beat up my legs and prepare them to run 53 laps – 100.7 miles – at Notchview.
The month had its highs and lows, but I got through it.
My left knee remained a nuisance throughout June, causing my mileage to drop to just 100 miles for the month while my total for the first half of the year climbed to 807 miles. I’m nowhere near where I wanted to be in terms of preparation (I’d hoped to have about 1,000 miles on my legs by now), but I’m hopeful that I’ve done enough to carry me through while relying heavily on my experience from finishing 26 previous ultras to help manage the weekend.
On a high note, the Mt. Washington Road Race went better than I expected. Alex and I ran the race in 2018 and I finished in 1:47. Last year’s race used a shortened course just below treeline due to extreme weather at the summit (95 mph wind, rain, and frigid temperatures that killed a hiker), so this year marked the second time we got to go all the way to the summit. It was in the mid-50s at the base, humid and misty. By treeline we entered a permanent fog with maybe 20 feet of visibility, steady 35-mph winds and rain. I ran much less of the race than in 2018 and power-hiked considerably more, but I managed a two-minute PR of 1:45.
I managed a few double-digit mileage runs in the weeks following Mt. Washington, though not of the distance I’d hoped. Still, my knee seems to have made a bit of improvement in the past few weeks so I’m hopeful that with a few more days of tapering it’ll feel good enough to allow me to give a solid effort at Notchview. Either way, the time for building up is done.
The hay is in the barn, and the barn door is closed. Notchview starts at noon Friday. Rain, heat and humidity are in the forecast, but I’ll have a lot of good folks there with me to share the miles. My legs are as ready as they’re going to be. Body don’t fail me now!
Chris Wristen 