Again, like the foolish child I am, I registered for the Rut Training Run 10.5 mile course. It starts with the VK, and gives me an opportunity to pre-run it with a group of fun runners in a non-competitive environment.

My recent PR on Baldy South Ridge

Wildlife? Horned Toad on Baldy summit

From their most recent email:

What to Expect at Aid Stations: We will have water, Skratch Labs Drink Mix and a salty and sweet option for you at both aid stations. Note that there will NOT be gels at our Training Runs or Race aid stations this year. We believe Skratch Labs makes some of the best nutrition products on the market, however, as of 2019, they do not make gels so plan accordingly to bring your own if gels are a part of your nutrition plan! Aid Stations (for both routes): Aid Station #1: Mile 3.5 (Lone Peak Summit) Aid Station #2: Mile 9.1 (Base of Africa trail before steep climb up Andesite.)

The Rut is a Cupless Event in 2019! In case you have not heard we are going cupless this year! In 2018 the Rut went through 12,000 non reusable dixie cups at our event. We are excited to send zero dixe cups to the landfill in 2019! With that said, it is up to you to provide a vessel for carrying water on the RutTraining Runs and Races this year!

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I just recently did a run up the South Ridge of Baldy and hit a PR by 9 minutes. 9 Minutes. Yep. The worst thing is I really felt super slow and useless. That’s greater than 700 VAM which is really good for me. If I can get on top of my breathing and pacing I think I should be able to get something good done at The Rut VK end of August.

I ran down a section of the Dry Canyon Trail known affectionately as a Strava Segment “Hell’s Half-Pipe” and it killed me. Running downhill was the worst.

I’m still recovering which made this morning workout really a slog. I did a VK on the treadmill in 64 minutes. Still, a slog and it hurt.