9 days until my next race (June 17). This time it’s a 50k in Sheridan, WY. The Bighorn Mountain Wild and Scenic Trail Run is an up and down course taking place on a blend of fire road and single track. Looks rough and starts at elevation. 2218 ft of climbing over 31.22 miles.

A link to a pretty dang good photo gallery of the course:
https://picasaweb.google.com/tony.mick.photos/BigHornTrailRun50MilerJune2010

More info on the Bighorn Mountain Wild and Scenic Trail Run:
http://www.bighorntrailrun.com/50K/index.html

Not feeling totally prepared but I think I’ll be fine. The wife, kids and my mom will all be joining me for the adventure. Hopefully the base from Emergent Fitness can carry me thru. One long run planned this week but other than that it’s small stuff and stretching.

Looks like the Leadville 50 in July is off the calendar due to finances. These races are expense. Next year.

Andy B
outsideallday.com

I enjoy working hard. I enjoy working hard at my job, with my family, when I train and when I eat. I’m really good at the eating part.

I’m the best I know at self-destruction. 6 days ago I raced a trail marathon in Wyoming and I haven’t stopped eating since. The next race is on June 17 and instead of focusing, eating well, resting, stretching, hydrating, keeping base up, etc, I’m stressed out and eating too much. It’s how I’m wired, for whatever reason I force myself to work harder than everyone else because of my bad eating habits.

Tomorrow is a new day and I’m going to kick things into gear. Whole 9 here I come…

Wish me luck,

Andy B
outsideallday.com

My buddy Doug sent this photo of me from around 2001. The beautiful lady with me is my mom Katie.

Weighing in at around 230 in the photo.

Perfect picture of life with CrossFit at Emergent Fitness and life without it. I weigh around 170 as of today thanks to Emergent Fitness and the lifestyle they promote. My wife Julie challenged me early in our marriage to begin taking my health seriously. I’m glad she did.

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Well, the Wyoming Trail Marathon was a success. The day was cold, windy, wet and muddy. We didn’t have rain during the race but we had drizzle and ran thru a cloud the entire time. Due to life, my longest run leading up to the race was 12 miles, combo that with a lot of tempo treadmill runs and semi-consistent Emerfit workouts and I had an ok base. The first 13 miles felt strong, the turn around was up a LONG hill so I slowed down. Felt great on miles 20 – 24 and felt SLAMMED running up what felt like Mt. Everest for the last 2 miles.

My race time will end up being 5:01 for the marathon and 2:03 for Jobe on the half. Not sure what place either of us got yet, I don’t really care either. We are both very pleased considering the conditions and how crazy life is.

Jobe and I had to represent our peeps at Emerfit. We couldn’t be successful without them!

Other thank you’s to Cytomax, Honey Stinger, Fluid Recovery and the wife.

Next up is the Big Horn 50k in June. The race is in Sheridan, WY and is supposed to be very beautiful.

Happy Memorial Day, I’m off to see Kung Fu Panda 2 with the two punks (Carter and Landon).

Andy B
outsideallday.com

I’m on an antibiotic, Carter and Landon are sick, work is MADNESS, there’s a 70% chance of rain tomorrow and I haven’t run in 6 days. Hmmmmm…

Jobe and I head up to Laramie, WY tomorrow morning, leaving at 3:45 am to tackle the Wyoming Trail Marathon. Race starts at 8,700 ft and with the rain, there may just be snow.

Today will be spent mowing the lawn and drinking as much water as I can. Goal time is 5 hours. Feels realistic but I don’t know at this point. The course is super hilly and rolling but not steep. This is good and bad for me. I’m more used to training with steep hills which translates to more hiking.

COURSE: Hilly out and back on mostly dirt and gravel roads (100% for the Half and 77% for the Marathon) in Medicine Bow National Forest. Begins at 8,700 feet and drops to 8,000 feet at the turn around. Weather is variable. Temperature is 40-60 degrees.

Wish me luck!

Andy B
outsideallday.com

The weather is good and summer is here…

Go hike, run, swim, fish, ride, surf, take your kids to the the park, skate, walk around the block kayak, do something!

Get outside on this beautiful Sunday,

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Last week was a major bummer with a head cold that took me out. Compound a cold with traveling for work on Friday and Saturday and you have a zero training week. This week WILL be different.

Monday - 4 mile treadmill run
Tuesday - CrossFit at Emergent Fitness
Wednesday – Short run with Jobe at Devil’s Backbone
Thursday - Long run up Round Mountain for 2.5 hours or so after work.
Friday - CrossFit at Emergent Fitness
Saturday - MTB ride in Lory State Park with Matt Smart
Sunday - Long run at Bobcat with Matt Smart

The Wyoming Trail Marathon is on May 29. Normally I wouldn’t be nervous but based on my past week’s of training I really am a little concerned.

Need to have a few good weeks of consistency…

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Every year the wife allows me to get a new pair of swim trunks. The Patagonia trunks fit me really well so I tend to stick with the Wavefarer year over year.

Patagonia Men’s Wavefarer Board Shorts – 21″ (Fitz Stripe: Volcanic Blue)

Click here or the image above to check out the board shorts.

Click here to check out the 2011 Digital Surf Catalog from Patagonia.

Summer is sooooooo close!

Andy B
outsideallday.com

The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship – GORE-TEX 50 Mile
San Francisco, CA
December 3-4, 2011

Situated in the visually stunning Marin Headlands just north of the city, The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship course has surprised runners with both its scenery and amount of elevation change. Participants are encouraged to train for repeated uphills and downhills of several hundred feet at a time. A majority of the course covers run-able fire road (very little technical single track) overlooking the Pacific Ocean with occasional glimpses of the Golden Gate Bridge.

More info at: http://www2.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge/

I’m seriously considering this race to finish out the 2011 running season. The Steamboat 50 is on September 17. Tackling this race forces me to stay in running shape for October and November, which would be a good thing. I figure between Emergent Fitness, the treadmill and warm GoLite jackets I can make training happen in the late fall. For some reason, this race just looks unreal, I’m pretty sure I need to do it. The 50 mile race has a 14 hour cut off, which is reasonable, if I stay focused on training, I hopeful I could make this happen.

Here’s to not being fat in the fall!

Andy B
outsideallday.com

The newest Dirtbag Diaries: Ditch Logic wiht Fitz Cahall is now live.

In 2005, Gregg Bleakney was on the rise. He was crushing his job as a software executive. At 30, he owned a beautiful home complete with white picket fence in North Seattle. He had a serious girlfriend. He drove a fast car. His sofa was black Italian leather. He had all the trappings of a successful life, but Gregg also had a secret. Something he wasn’t sharing with his boss, his family or friends, even his longtime girl friend. It was an idea that was about to change his life. Today, we present Ditch Logic. Evolving as a person isn’t always pretty. –Fitz Cahall

Grab the show at: http://www.dirtbagdiaries.com/ditch-logic

Happy listening!

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Church Office Building from Marshall Miller on Vimeo.

HT the Backcountry.com Goat for the video.

Andy B
outsideallday.com

This morning as I was reading an email from Trail Runner Magazine I stumbled across an ad for the The Aspen Backcountry Marathon. After clicking thru to their site and seeing the August 27, 2011 race date, I knew this race was going to be perfect for my schedule. I’ve needed a longer distance race for August as prep for the Steamboat 50 in September. It’s their inaugural year and the course looks super challenging.

My birthday is on August 22 and my son Landon’s is on the 24, why not make it a fun birthday weekend. My wife Julie is in so it’s on!

So as of today, the schedule stands as is:
Wyoming Trail Marathon – May 29, 2011
Big Horn 50k – June 18, 2011
Leadville Silver Rush 50-Mile Trail Run Race – July 17, 2011
Aspen Backcountry Marathon – August 27, 2011
Steamboat 50-Mile Trail Race – September 17, 2011

I love finding races in new places that we don’t get to go that often. The Aspen Backcountry Marathon will be perfect! I’m already looking forward to dipping in the hot springs at Glenwood Springs Hot Springs!

Fun stuff!

Andy B
outsideallday.com

-DSheek
Amazed!