I ran back and forth along the Santa Barbara coast from the Douglas Family Preserve at the west end to Butterfly Beach to the east. We had rain and flash-flood warnings last night, and there were signs of recent flooding, but Santa Barbara is such a beautiful place for a run!

Shifting gears from ultramarathon training to road marathon training. I completed two 5.75mi intervals on relatively flat stretches, averaging 6:35min/mi, and had warmup (1mi), cooldown (0.5mi) and recovery between the intervals (2.5mi) on the hilly sections. Hardly any sign of the snow that fell yesterday!

This is a terrific trail race put on by the Bainbridge Ultra Running Team. Thanks to the organizers and volunteers! I ran the 35.3mi in 5hrs 48mins, and then ran/walked the additional 4+mi to get to three half marathons on the day. This was my 3rd time running this, this was a PR by a HUGE margin, and enough for 2nd place overall.

One of the things I like about the half marathon distance is its versatility: I can use it on many days at a slower pace/easier effort to build my fitness base, and on other days (like today) use it as a longer workout session. Here, I’m alternating 1mi at a slower pace and 2mi at progressively faster intervals.

A group called the Bainbridge Ultra Running Team (BURT) puts on an ultramarathon here on the Island every year in February. I’m planning to run the 55K version this year, so this is training along the route.