A trip to SLC to visit the hurt locker and Outdoor Retailer

This past weekend I had the chance to head to Salt Lake to help Ultraspire launch their new killer lineup of hydration products for running. Par for the course I tried to squeeze as very much as possible in a short amount of time, mostly to make sure I got my "money's worth". I came home completely exhausted, but very, very happy. I had a couple of great race results, some solid runs with great friends, and the Ultraspire launch was super successful. So you can get the idea of the whirlwind that was my trip, here is a play-by-play of how it went down.

Wednesday
7:00 pm- Left Cimmaron New Mexico to drive just outside of Colorado Springs and spend the night sleeping in my truck at the rest area. Arrived at 11:30.

Thursday-
5:00 am-wake up, drive 30 minutes to airport, realized as I was walking into airport at 5:45 that flight leaves at 6:00. Mad dash through the airport, special escort through security, was "that guy" as I got on the flight and they shut the door at 6:02.

7:45 am- flight lands at 7:45, spent next 15 minutes trying to hitch a ride to salt palace, end up taking shuttle.

9:00 am- finally get through the lines to get into OR, head to Ultraspire booth. The final products look so solid, can't wait for the general public to get their hands on what Bryce and the crew have put together. Spend next few hours at the Ultraspire booth or wandering around the show.

4:30 pm- meet and greet at Patagonia footwear, had a great time hanging out with Ty, Bronco, Clark and Krissy of the Patagonia UltraRunning team.

7:00 pm- Ty, Bronco, and I head up mill creek for a run, good "easy" pace for 8 miles, stop at sushi then take Bronco back to his sketchy hotel, drive back up to the McDermott house,in bed around 11:30.

Friday
8:00 am leave the McDermott house and head for OR. Spend an hour at Ultraspire then head over to watch Ty on the treadmill during uphill challenge. He ties Nicolas Mermoud at 1.53 miles in 15 minutes at 15% grade.

10:30 am- rest of morning spent wandering and watching heats at Uphill Challenge.

1:15 pm- change and start warming up for my turn at the uphill challenge, it's hot outside. Stoked about the new pair of LaSportiva Vertical K's that I am wearing.

2:00 pm- start of Uphill Challenge against Zach Miller. We both go out hard, I hang on for the win, set the bar at 1.74. It was really tough, spent 35 minutes cooling down.

4:00 pm- watch final heat of Uphill Challenge, I was still leading when it started, but both Matt Byrne and Ricky Gates surpass me with 1.79 and 1.78 respectively. 4th finished at 1.64.

6:00 pm- meet at Ultraspire booth to go to dinner with the whole Ultraspire crew. Ty gives Gary Robbins a piggyback partway. We have a great dinner at Thai Lotus, eat a ton of food and have a ton of laughs.

11:15 pm- back at McDermott's for some sleep.

Saturday
6:00 am- wake up and head to Park City for Jupiter Peak Steeplechase, last of the La Sportiva Mountain Cup series. Legs feeling a sluggish from the previous day effort.

8:00 am- race start, lead group goes out hot, try to run within myself for the ascent. Get chased by moose just before the final climb, lose a minute or two. Hit the top in 4th, run hard all the way down, pass one runner as he misses a corner, run scared to finish in 3rd. Body. Is. Wrecked.

11:30 am-races awards, then back to SLC for shower and lunch.

1:00 pm- back at show, hanging out at Ultraspire booth.

6:00 pm- Big group of runners head up Millcreek for the annual Boxing Bear Running Club night run. Did desolation lake loop, 13ish miles. Finish in time to go to Molcasalsa for amazing burritos.

12:00 midnight- head back to McDermott's to sleep.

Sunday
7:00 am- up and headed downtown so Ty can get on the road back home.

9:00 am- meet Krissy and head to OR. Spend morning wandering around with Rock, Catherine, and Krissy.

3:00 pm- Ultraspire booth teardown, all hands on deck took the booth down in just under an hour. Krissy and I head above to the Marriott lobby to wait for shuttle to airport.

6:00 pm- dinner at the airport, Krissy and I head to our flights just before 8. I sleep the entire flight.

9:00 pm- in truck in Colorado springs, three and a half hour drive back to New Mexico. Had to stop 45 minutes before home to take a 20 minute power nap, because was getting sleepy behind the wheel.

1:30 am- head hits the pillow, hard time sleeping because body hurts.

Turns out it was an awesome weekend. I had some very solid races, training has been paying off. For the first time I felt like I could hang with the top level runners, and not just hang on, but actually race them. I have a hard time believing that some the things I have been able to do are real, not just a fairytale. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunities to get me where I am, particularly the support from Tanae and the girls. Focus is now turning in the El Vaquero Loco 50k this weekend, a top secret project in two weeks, and the Wasatch 100 in 4. Beyond that there are some other big runs and projects Ty Draney and I are working on, more updates to come....

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