The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile Championship - San Francisco 12/3/2011

This was the perfect last long training run for me as icing on the cake to get ready for the World's Toughest Mudder coming up on Dec 17 in less than 2 weeks away! Getting ready for the WTM I had been doing some unconventional training mixing ultra running with core and upper body strength training. See this blog post by Clif Bar for an idea of the training I have been up to: http://www.clifbar.com/play/team_clif/johnson_takes_on_the_toughest_mudder/#top-post

Signing up for TNF 50 mile was for training to get in a long run and also thrash my legs up quite a bit as I had not been running long continuously during my recent training runs. People always tell me that I look to fresh at the end of these long races, so during this race I kept telling myself that I couldn't be fresh at the end and needed to push hard during the actual race. I pushed as hard as I could with the goal to leave it all on the course and not feel good at the finish. Well.... it worked! My quads and legs were toast by the time I finished. The course was very hilly with a lot of rocks/roots to jump over, off of, and the Dip Sea trail featured many large steps that went uphill for miles.

I finished in 8 hrs and 21 mins, 51st overall. Beautiful weather on the coast and breath taking views of the ocean and San Francisco in the background. It was so much fun to see Holly, Warren, and my In-Laws, the Boberg Family waiting for me at the finish line. After I finished, I enjoyed laying in the grass at the finish line watching warren play with the finishers medal, spending time with family, and catching up with some running friends.

Now time to add the finishing touches of training so I am ready for the World's Toughest Mudder next week in NJ! A big thanks to all my sponsors listed to the right on my blog who have made it possible for me to afford to go back and compete in this event!

And especially a huge thanks to all of you who have helped support me in raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project! I am getting close to my $1,500 goal and I would really love to exceed that if possible to help our fellow brothers and sisters who have and will sacrifice so much for us! I added an orange link at the top on the right that will take you directly to my fundraising page if you have a few extra bucks you are able to spare for this cause. 100% of the donations to my fundraising page will go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project.