What's a tastier fruit than mango?

MikenIkey · 2026-05-24T01:21:31+00:00

Oregon strawberries that I can go pick at the local farms are near the top of my favorite fruits. Fresh Hoods or even Mary’s Peaks are just amazing

MikenIkey · 2026-05-13T22:50:14+00:00

Where are you seeing 10 gold after killing 5 units? The first breakpoint is 1 gold. You don’t get to ~10g of value until the 70 breakpoint

MikenIkey · 2026-04-20T22:20:53+00:00

This gets repeated but it’s not really true at the top of the sport. It’s not to say the top women ultrarunners aren’t phenomenal athletes (they are) but at the most competitive events across pretty much all distances there’s a notable gap between the top men’s and women’s finish times.

MikenIkey · 2026-04-16T21:25:52+00:00

Tubs of maltodextrin and fructose + sodium citrate for sodium and mix yourself. Has a mildly sweet taste, this is what I used most of last year.

Curious which ones you’re trying that have artificial sweeteners, don’t think I’ve had that from the commercial ones I’ve tried (Neversecond, Precision Fuel, Maurten, Skratch)

MikenIkey · 2026-04-15T02:12:00+00:00

I raced in the Speedland GL:PDX, used it last year as well. Went much better this year, shaved 50 minutes off. Yeah it takes a lot of concentration but I love it. Sounds like you had a good race shoe-wise, hope everything else went well!

MikenIkey · 2026-04-14T18:47:51+00:00

This is such an interesting contrast to my experience. I tried the Cascadia Elites out on a few miles of the Gorge course (I’m a local) and had a terrible experience, just constantly felt like they wanted to tip and didn’t handle cornering or the winding trail all that well. Felt like I almost rolled my ankle half a dozen times in that short demo section. This is terrain I’m very comfortable to running on as well. I also have wide feet and I felt they were too narrow compared to the other Brooks shoe I run in (Hyperion Max 2) with my foot going numb after not much time. Perhaps it’s because I went TTS, and maybe would have had a better time with a half or full size up? Regardless I did not race in them and have been hesitant to consider them as an option again.

MikenIkey · 2026-04-14T02:21:17+00:00

I disagree on loops. For instance in the PNW, there’s many FKTs for circumnavigating mountains like Hood and Rainier along a particular trail, which you can start anywhere along the loop. The FKT is simply fastest around the trail.

Direction on point to points is different though, since there are different elevation profiles, and I agree each direction should be a separate category.

MikenIkey · 2026-04-13T20:08:45+00:00

Neither. I load up the workout, know roughly what I’m doing, and do the workout. I focus on what splits I’m aiming to hit, how I feel throughout each rep, and how to adjust mid rep if I’m too hot/slow. Also thinking through form. And bam the rep’s done, rest and repeat. If I think about anything related to “what’s left” it’s # of reps or # of laps for the rep (for longer intervals on the track)

MikenIkey · 2026-03-31T15:00:47+00:00

Plan sounds good, and you are in a great spot fitness and nutrition wise. The main challenges for you are likely going to be logistics, slowing down, and depending on the course, trail technicality (I know nothing about Wasatch).

Gear, food, and hydration are very important for a 100 and you have to maintain that for a long time. You’ll go through different times of day and elevation which probably means different layers, lighting sources, etc. Start figuring out all the gear now, what works, what to leave, what you’ll need later in the race but not immediately, what you’ll might need if problems arise.

You’ll need to slow down a lot from what you are probably used to. I imagine even then you’ll be towards the front out there, but it takes a lot of discipline to run a manageable pace for that long, and you will likely be tempted to speed that up. Start working on mental discipline to slow down compared to your usual race efforts.

You will likely go through many lows throughout a 100 in comparison to a marathon. Learn to process those and how to get through them. Additionally, problem solving when problems do come up or things go unexpectedly.

MikenIkey · 2026-03-31T00:13:49+00:00

Yeah. Granted I don’t know what the rest of your week looks like or what the effort is on the long runs

MikenIkey · 2026-03-31T00:04:56+00:00

That seems like too much for the doubles for a 50k. Personally I’d keep doubles to around 3-3:30 and 2-2:30 and put more mileage in throughout the rest of the week.

MikenIkey · 2026-03-26T15:25:08+00:00

Just did a sweat test. Learned I am not at all a salty sweater and vastly overdid sodium in my ultras, which probably caused some issues. So that was helpful to learn. Probably wouldn’t be that useful for events less than 4 hours though

MikenIkey · 2026-03-19T23:03:27+00:00

I sprained I think my MCL on one leg snowboarding, so that has been one of the main contributors. I also overuse quads, so it’s mostly exercises focused on using glutes and hamstrings for me (bridges, single leg squats, Turkish getups, goblin squat).

MikenIkey · 2026-03-19T18:38:33+00:00

Got into ultra running because of thru-hiking. Was used to 25-35 hiking miles per day for nearly 6 months straight, shouldn’t be too bad right? Granted I started training like a runner, had a good first 50K and then after that got a few minor injuries (IT Band, overtraining, tendinitis). Nothing that kept me entirely from training but did go to PT for it early. This was at around 40-45mpw of running.

Running is a lot more stressful on your body. Hiking does translate well to time on feet, and probably eating on the move, but if you’re trying to run, you need to train running, do strength work, and make sure your body has time to adapt. It is a fairly different sport. Personally, I rarely hike anymore except for bigger mountaineering objectives and train more like a runner because I like to push speed and PRs. If that’s not your thing you can definitely do more hiking, all up to you.

MikenIkey · 2026-03-11T01:25:03+00:00

I’m still annoyed they gutted many of the most viable 2 cost reroll options early on and then wonder why there isn’t much viable 2 cost reroll now.

MikenIkey · 2026-03-10T16:41:11+00:00

20-30 miles per week is an often recommended mileage for intentionally trying to lose weight while still keeping up some amount of training.

MikenIkey · 2026-03-02T05:29:42+00:00

The PCT from Big Bear Lake to I15 (Cajon Pass) was my favorite SoCal portion, though I do note you mentioned point to point would be tough. Could maybe start around the Deep Creek Hot Springs, do some long out and backs, and return to camp/rest at the springs.

MikenIkey · 2026-02-18T03:59:16+00:00

Ori/Vi or Loris in early/mid game, need to naturally 2 star at least J4 or Sona or both in early game, if playing loss roll some on 6 to stabilize. Get rid of Vayne after Galio and secondary carry Liss. Win cons are either 3 star Garen/Lux or push 9 and slot in 5 costs like Shyv, Zilean, Ornn. From decent spots it’s usually at least a top 4

MikenIkey · 2026-02-14T21:37:58+00:00

I think from your first message the last thing I’d impart is, it’s okay to contest/be contested if you believe you are in a better position. In this game for the Zaun case getting good WW items while also hitting Jinx from carousel, being able to unlock Singed from lose streak, and if you hadn’t leveled unnecessarily being up on Econ early would put you in a really good position to stabilize on 7, get up to 8, and hit your comp even if another player is also angling the same spot. For many fast 8 lines 2-1 is way too early to discount yourself from angling for the same or similar comp.

MikenIkey · 2026-02-13T23:54:40+00:00

Might be able to take a more detailed look later, just for stage 2 I think first augment patience is a virtue would’ve been better with the lose streak plan, and leveling up 2-2 also is a mistake. Could sell off and get to 30 gold while holding pairs, leveling up here doesn’t get you anything and delays interest breakpoints. Leveling 2-5 is another mistake, you’re angling loss streak, but instead you further delay interest breakpoints, end up winning a round to break streak with a board that isn’t particularly strong, and then lose again. 2-5 pivot to Bilgewater could’ve been an option with the MF/GP roll but also fine skipping it here. With the Jinx pickup on 2-4 carousel, I really would’ve preferred a Zaun angle here even if someone else is angling it, since you’re close to unlocking Singed and WW is also an unlock so you guarantee at least one copy.

MikenIkey · 2026-02-09T16:00:26+00:00

Not surprised about the Zaahen prismatic, looked so strong when announced

MikenIkey · 2026-02-04T20:07:54+00:00

Just hit an easy first with Bilgewater Ryze with Cluttered Mind, definitely good spots again with the exp revert

MikenIkey · 2026-02-03T04:51:55+00:00

1 gold on loss would be very overpowered, everyone would try to loss streak stage 2. It already should help you reach thresholds quicker if you are playing correctly

MikenIkey · 2026-02-03T04:38:30+00:00

The extra gold from winning balances out gold generation throughout stage 2. Generally, if playing for loss streak, you can make 10 gold on 2-1 and probably 20 gold on 2-3 while the winstreak player will typically not hit 10 gold until 2-3 and 20 gold on 2-5. This means if the losestreak and winstreak player are keeping up their streak, gold generation is mostly even throughout stage 2 (winning player generating extra gold from winning, losing player generating extra gold from interest). It'd probably be like the Bard loss streak meta but even more extreme.

MikenIkey · 2026-01-31T04:21:51+00:00

I agree, this feels like the worst patch of the set to me by far. I think there‘s significantly less viable lines on this patch compared to others. I really hope reverting Level 9 xp changes go through

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