By: Mizuno Race Team Member Michael Aish
Two weeks ago I ran the Silver Rush 50 miler up in Leadville. It was the last part of my build up to the LT100 this year and it went quite well. The whole goal this year was to set myself up to be at my best in August, which sounds easy but the truth is, it’s been hard to hold back.
I planned to run a few races as a part of training and also as a gauge of fitness. The only problem with this kind of plan is you never really know if you should freshen up for the race or just cut back a little and train through it. Add to that, races in Colorado always seem to be hard and never short on talented runners. This week I have to say, I got it wrong.
I went in to the race a little too tired. I had a few great weeks of training before hand (some of which was at the LT100 Training Camp) and the truth is I just had tired legs. I went out with the leaders and then got a little carried away with all the excitement of the race. Not the best way to race, but by the time you realize it, all you can do it try and hang on and make it to the finish line. By the time I finished, I was in a world of hurt and by the time I got to those last few miles, my “hike” became more of a “Sunday walk down to the shops” effort. I don’t know if you ever realize just how helpless you become when you start running out of gas, but for me on Sunday, it wasn’t pretty.
Anyways, with the Silver Rush 50 in the rearview and only the LT100 ahead, it’s time to get to work, the real work. I’ve got about 4 weeks from now to get myself in to “100 mile” shape. Most people would say that I’m dreaming but as you might have worked out, I tend to overdo things, so I’m banking on the short time frame to keep on track.
This past weekend I started my last training block up in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area, somewhere between Boulder and Winter Park, Colorado. I have a great group of guys to meet up with and for whatever reason it’s never easy, but always eventful. Next week I’m heading to Aspen to run the “Four Pass” Loop around the Maroon Bells, which is meant to be one of the best runs in Colorado. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s a scenic run or just real tough, but they tell me it should be 8 hours that I’ll never forget.
One big thing about this year compared to last is that I’m really enjoying my running right now and look forward to getting out each day. I’m not sure how the Leadville 100 will turn out, but no matter the result I’ll have no complaints about how I got to the start line.
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.