By: Mizuno Race Team Member, Michael Aish
At the beginning of this year I asked myself the question, “What is it that I really want out of my running?” I’ve been lucky enough to have seen and experienced a lot through the sport and I needed to refocus. If you’ve followed my progress from the time I started racing on the trails, it’s not hard to see that I’ve had a lot of ups and downs along the journey.
So after two full years of messing around, I wanted this year to be different. This year I wanted to make my mark on the sport and win that “big race “that I’ve been dreaming about from day one. This year I told myself that it was time to risk it all, go all in and let the dice roll.
I’ve said it before, I love racing in Leadville. There is something special about the race, the town and the people. When I was racing on the track it was always the first question that people from Colorado would ask me when they found out that I ran for a living. “Have you run the Leadville 100?” As things have come about, now I guess I can say “yes” but deep down that’s not really the only thing I want to say. I want to say, “Yes, and I won the whole damn thing.”
It seems simple enough. Just get from the start line to the finish line faster than anyone else. I used to be a fast runner, what’s the problem? But for some reason I just can’t get the bloody job done. Don’t get me wrong; every time I start the race I have the best intentions of trying to win, but it just never works out that way for me.
My first try, I really had no idea what I was in store for, and by mile 45, I was left standing cross eyed, unable to move in the middle of the trail just wishing for someone to put me out of my misery. The second time around I got to mile 70 before the wheels came off and I took a long break on large rock I found just off the side of the trail. I did make it to the finish that year but there was a lot more walking than running. Third time out, I was going great until I started to get a little too excited a little too early. Long story short, I blew my quads apart running the first few down hills a little too hot, and was reduced to being the only person in the whole race that had to walk down Hope Pass on the return trip. Again this time I made it to the finish but it was touch and go for a while there.
This year I want to do better. I can’t let this race keep me down, so I set the goal and got focused. Try and win Leadville this time, even if it kills me. The plan was to cut way back on my racing this year. Use a few races as fitness checks and only run races that would help me improve the weaknesses I had. I cut the year in to three training blocks with the goal of holding myself back until the time was right to start really pushing myself hard.
This week is the end of my second “Training Block”. I’ve been working on my climbing and descending a lot, with a little time working on my turn over tossed in to the mix. Next week I’ll start the final training block with the main goal of getting stronger than I’ve ever been before, stronger than the hulk.
This weekend, before I start this next block of training, I’ll head up the hill to test my fitness at the Leadville Trail Marathon. No matter what happens, the high altitude will do me good and I hope to come back a little fitter then when I left, better than ever, ready to take on my goal.
Michael Aish is a former New Zealand Olympian, 2000-10,000/2004-5,000m, and current ultra marathoner for the Mizuno Race Team. With PR’s of 13:22 for 5K and 27:46 for 10K, Michael has been tearing up the ultra scene for the last four years, with his most notable performance being a 2nd place finish in the 2014 Leadville 100.