seagull junker: December 2008

so i was thinking tonight... what kind of weather would i hope for at states next june??? do i want it hotter than Hades like in '06? (110 degrees in the canyons and 85 degrees when i crossed the river at 11:30pm, (in contrast, '07, it was 55 degrees at midnight) or do i want it like in '07, one of the fastest finishing times ever for the top ten??? oh, the carnage in '06... (the fewest buckles in 20 years in '06.)

(hal coming into dusty in '07,below)

do i want it a "snow" year? there was a little snow in '06 but not that much really. i can't remember, but it was something like only 5-8 miles of snow. more in '05 for sure. nothing like the "fire and ice year" in 1995. but it did slow us a bit. i noticed between 15 and 30 minutes slower for most getting into robinson flat comparing 2006 and 2007.

(sean, running fast at mckenzie river 50k, a super fast dude in all races. and is looking forward to putting the hammer down at states next june.)

for some of the fast guys, they want to run in an oven. why??? it levels the playing field for the most part. (most of team sunsweet in the dawn of '07 at states)

for us mortals... probably want it a kinder gentler day. for me, it is not about placing. for me it is about time. i will never place very high in this little swing ding. if i was a potential top ten placer i would want tons of snow and for it to be hotter than my pancake iron that saturday in june.

jeff, onto his second win at javalina in '08.

craig, tearin' it up at javalina for the second year in a row. and this is a dude that is approching 50 in a few years.

so, i guess for me, i want not much snow and don't want to run in a blast furnace running through the canyons in 194 days. that would be my best wish.

but really, i don't care. i can run in heat. i can run in snow. i will still have fun. i will still run the best i can and still run the fastest i can. i will finish. i will still try to run those last 38 in hopes my pacer has fun.

i know i can run cal street well. my biggest goal is to run from the river on in faster. i have run sub 24 splits from the river on in but not by much. my goal is to improve this section the most. i already know one section after brown's bar that i want to run better. that will make up 5 minutes at least. ( i just walked too much here after the quarry)

so for me, i don't care what the weather will be june 27th. i'm gunna run the best i can. all i know it's gunna be dang fun. oh, it is going to be fun getting updates of how brother. craig and andy are doing out front. dang they and sure do know how to put it together on race day at states. but really, all three of these dudes are pretty impressive. on paper they might not be the fastest... but that's just it... that's on "paper". look at jeff... on race day in '07 there were more than 20 faster than him "on paper". but he brought "it" on race day and low and behold, he finishes M9. it is all about performance on race day. you have to "bring it" and fricken' smash it on race day. nikki, bev, jeff, craig, ajw, hal, and glen did it last year. i hope to do the same given my ability in 194 days.

(nikki at 6:35pm at the river in '07)

look at rod. a 3.5hr pr. it just doesn't get any better. this dude knows how to bring it on race day. simply amazing. i hope to improve half as good as rod next june. (rod at dusty in '07)