Drove north to Whatcom County for my annual Chuckanut 50k tuneup, checking out both the course (decent shape) and my own fitness (let's say, not as decent as I'd prefer). After a mild winter the trails are in good shape for a race two weeks out, so we'll hope for no big rain/snow storms in the meantime. They've altered the descent to Cleator Road with a few extra switchbacks, which is nice, and Krissy changed part of the course so we descend from the ridge on trail rather than road, which is something that will be really nice. I broke the run up into chunks that I can hopefully use to guide me in two weeks. I started at Clayton Beach, ran back the Interurban to the trailhead to Fragrance Lake. Climbed with a few walk breaks to stay conservative to Fragrance, then ran strong and made it to Cleator Road in 39:13. Up Cleator in 30:56, again with two 2-minute walks at about 8 minutes and 15 minutes, which I've learned is about when things are steepest. From the Ridge, 38:37 to Lost Lake, actually felt pretty good when I'd get in a groove there. Hiked the steep inclines to keep it smart. Then on Lost Lake I ran into a girl who will be doing the race for the first time, she's an Idahoan out here training for the forest service. So we ran this portion together and that helped empty my head a bit a lose myself in a moderate pace. Made it up the hill feeling well, then she turned and I bombed down to the Chinscraper base. 45:08 for the section. I ran most of Chinscraper, but instead of cutting over through the viewpoint I turned and bombed back down to the parking lot. Probably cut 2 miles from the overall run because of that, but I was completely out of water and needed to get back. 21:28 for the last stretch, and I cramped just a touch as I stepped into the parking lot. 2:59:00 total. I enjoyed the run, cloudy and 55 or so, and the rain held off just long enough. I was beat up afterward, but not wrecked, so hopefully that's something to build on. No calf pain, so I'm out of the woods there. As far as previewing the race, I don't expect my fastest time, so I'll play it conservatively and echo this pace in two weeks, and see what happens. brooks cascadia V | 