Wednesday, May 13, 2015

A Busy Month

McDonald Forest 50K, a trip to Italy, a college visit in Arizona...
definitely a busy month.  Near the start of April we all headed down to Arizona to look at a couple schools.  I was looking at Northern Arizona up in Flagstaff while my brother was looking at both NAU and ASU.  By the end of the month, we both had decided to go to NAU so next fall we will be rooming together in Flagstaff.  At this point I really looking forward to heading to school this fall.  In some ways its a little intimidating, but I'm looking forward to an awesome time in Flagstaff.
On top of Humphrey's Peak just outside of Flagstaff
The end of April brought a trip to Italy for the Salomon Running Academy.  After flying out to Italy, I spent 5 days running in the mountains just above Limone Sul Garda in northern Italy with some other young runners from around the world.  Each day brought new trails and fantastic views of the surrounding mountains.  Being able to run in such a beautiful place was incredible and sharing with so many great people made it even better.
Meeting all the other runners was the best part for me.  We all share a passion for running in the mountains so it was a lot of fun to hang out with everyone there.  At least for me, it felt like we all had been together for more than a week by the time we left.  Hopefully I will be able to stay in touch with everyone and someday run into them again on the trails.
So much fun!
Then the start of May found me home again getting ready to run the McDonald Forest 50K.  This year everyone in my family ran the race!  So the 20th year of the Mac started off with all the Miller running, looking to have some fun on a hot day.  Everyone has their own story for the race but for me the race started out rolling along some logging roads and trials talking with my friend Mike.  At the first aid station I was a minute or two behind and moving along.  After a tough climb up Dan's Trail to get to the second aid station I passed my dad and heard that the leader was 7 minutes ahead.  I headed toward the maze staying positive, but starting to feel the last few weeks of travel adding up.  I kept moving throughout the maze switching spots with a few guys before we slowly spread out.  Shortly before the third aid station, my friend Jason Leman caught up with me looking strong.  I talked with him for a little bit and then he pulled away.  Last year I won the race so that was definitely on my mind but Jason looked so good I knew that was one guy I wouldn't catch.  After the third aid station, we headed back into the maze for a few more climbs and descents before the big climb up Alpha Trail to the saddle.  I passed a few guys, moving into second, and started to think that I might catch Jason after all.  I rolled into the saddle on 2 minutes behind with 5 miles to go.  Heading out of the aid station I took off trying to run him down but soon realized I didn't have any left to give chase. I ran pretty well from saddle to the finish but was just ready to be done.  I managed to hold on to second but was 10 minutes behind Jason when I crossed the finish line, a big conformation of how well he ran.

1 comment:

  1. Good Luck at Bighorn. Be patient and strong. Trust the training.

    Cary

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