Race Update

In my rant against Google and their silly decision to have no way to recover draft emails I mentioned writing an update on upcoming races and mileage. So here it is.

My Mileage has been so/so. I started a new job in December and that threw my running for a bit of a loop. I took for granted the leisurely runs I was able to take anytime I wanted to during the day. But I'm proud to say I've stuck with Hill Repeats and have kept up enough of a running schedule to feel like I'm not too far behind in the marathon training. Which brings me to races:

I wasn't able to do the snow shoe race in January. It ended up being the same weekend as a hut trip. Here's a picture:

It's probably for the better since I had never done a snow shoe race and I was able to instead get out on my new skis. My new skis which are totally awesome and I love them and can't wait to ski on them more.

I made the decision not to do the Moab Half-Marathon nor Grandma's Marathon this year. The Moab race just ended up conflicting with the Salida race and in choosing between the two I wanted to focus on the Salida Marathon as opposed to a road half-marathon. Which is good considering the additional races I've committed myself to.  It was harder to not do Grandma's Marathon. It's such a special race to me for many reasons. But I know I'll be back so I'm not too bummed. I was planning on doing it if my sister had signed up, but we picked a different race instead. Again timing was a big factor. Jeremiah is running a 100 miler at the end of June and we're traveling to Virginia in July for his brother's wedding so a fall trip to Minnesota will be easier to coordinate provided I can fit it into the ultimate season...

Here is why my race outlook for this spring looks like:

Salida Run Through Time Marathon
Distance: 26.2miles
Date: March 9th, 2013
Goal Time: 5:30hours

I'm excited and nervous for this race. I haven't gotten in as much trail running as I would have liked for this race. But I have improved my uphill running via Hill Repeats so that's a good thing. I've gotten in one good 15ish mile trail run and I'm planning on getting in at least 2 more long runs between 15 and 20 miles which will be tough cause they will need to happen in the next two weekends. (news alert, I did get an 18mile road run in this past weekend so that made me feel a lot better!). My goal time may be a little ambitious considering my training, but I'll see how my next two long runs go and may need to adjust. I do think I can do it. My last two half marathon times for this course were in the 2:30hr range so giving myself an additional 30min buffer should be ok. The Quad Rock 25miler took me 6:30hrs last year, but it's a considerably tougher race. I think 5:30 is a good goal, but as long as I can get under 6 I will be happy.

Quad Rock 25miler
Distance: 25miles
Date: May 11th
Goal Time: 6:15hrs

I think this will be a really good race for me this year. Knowing the course now I can anticipate when I can run and when I need to walk. I remember there were some steep sections and it helps to know it and know roughly how long they are so I can feel comfortable walking. I just really like this race and had a blast last year. They had a local brewery at the finish and a bonfire so I am looking forward to hanging out to cheer Jeremiah on as he comes in for the 50 miler. The course will have a different look since they dealt with some pretty gnarly forest fires in the park last summer.

War Eagle Races 50K
Distance: 50K (31.25miles)
Date: June 2
Goal Time: 6:30hrs

So this is my "big race" of the season. A 50k which marks my first toe dip into the ultra running circuit. I know this because when I registered I got an offer to subscribe to ultra running. I'm actually really excited about this race. It was either this one or a 50k in Gunnison and because my sister decided to sign up for the 25k I signed up for the 50k. It's in Arkansas so I have the whole altitude "blood doping" thing to my advantage, but I'm still nervous. That's 5 miles longer than I've ever ran before and at the end of a marathon I could hardly think of running another 5 miles. It's hard enough walking the half a mile to my parents car parked at the Methodist Church. But I've already put the feelers out to people who have done some of these runs to figure out my training and my food intake for the race. Despite what my friend Ryan does, I think I'm going to not opt for the "all gu" nutrition and eat the shit out of some gummi bears and pretzels at the aid stations. I have an ambitious goal time. After the Salida race I may tweak it a bit. But really, my only comparison race is the Quad Rock and Jeremiah keeps saying that one is way harder than [fill in the blank with any race you can think of] so I think this is an ok time to shoot for. I have a while to train and I will have already bagged to long trail run/races before hand at altitude so really...what's 5 more miles between friends?