No I haven't agreed to be put into an Insane Asylum (opps I mean mental health facility) of my own free will. Even if maybe, or most probably, thats where I belong. When they finally come for me they will be forced to drag me out of here in a giant butterfly net because I have no intention of going quietly. No sir and I don't care if they do give you all the anti psychotics you can eat and free chocolate pudding every night.
I am not going. Can you imagine how many laps around a small rubber room it would take to complete a 100 miler. Running 24 hours on the track would be nothing compared to that. On the other hand the chances of getting attacked by a bear go way down.
Commitment Time
I have been really torn over what to do about racing this year. I am told that you cant run every race in the world in a single season. Also I keep hearing that you need to recover after races sometimes for WEEKS. Who makes up these rules anyway. The laws of physics and biology should not apply when it comes to running. I say ignore them! What you dont acknowledge cant hurt you.
Oh wait thats what I tried last year. I am going to try to do things a bit different this year. Please stop laughing I am trying to type this with a straight face.
So the last two months I have been training hard and racing very little. I decided to shelf the Peterbourgh HM, the Slainte and the Red Rock Marathon (all road races) instead cranking the training way up to get ready for Ultra season. I would love to run both road races and trail races but it really became clear that I cant do both effectively. Not when it comes to going really long.
Changes
So some of this season was already set in stone and still is. The Mohican 100, Pikes Peak and Rim2Rim2Rim are written in stone. I was still dithering about some spring races and build up to the Mohican. The big question was whether to race a marathon for a BQ or not. Running a marathon is one thing but racing it is another. If I race it for time it means a taper and recovery so I lose at least 4 weeks. Is Boston worth it? The answer for me is a resounding No.
That decided I figured time to commit to a racing plan. I will still run the Toronto Marathon (May 16th) but as a long training run. Instead I signed up for the 50 miler on May 7th at Bear Mountain. Its suppose to be really technical and hard. I like the sound of that. With the plan of running 53k at Seaton this coming weekend and 50k atPYP April 30th I should have lots of long trail runs in the bank before my first 100 this year. I will definitely be running something at Sulphur Springs at the end of May could be 50k or 50 miles or ?
Sulphur Mud Run
Speaking of Sulphur Springs I headed out to the race course with JD on Saturday afternoon to get a long trail run in. Thanks for driving JD. It was a beautiful sunny day and a great run. We managed to get somewhere around 36k in. The trail was still really muddy in places but it was still a great run. Loops are suppose to be 20km but with changes in the course we must have missed something because we ended up short on each loop.
Next up Seaton 53km trail race.
Posts
Way to try something different Chris. Your trail running is very impressive!
ReplyDeleteYeah, having to recover in particular cuts into fun times, doesn't it? I hate recovering. It just takes me so long! It sounds like you have a great schedule, though.
ReplyDeleteI feel like your "before"...way, way, waaaaay before. My "plan" for this year has been to do what I want even if it doesn't fit into my training plan. This is the year of do whatever I want, probably not as well as I could if I really focused on one thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to hear how your year of running goes. You always do cool races.
It's great that you can see the big picture and make your goals work for you. And I like that you see technical trail as a good thing! You are amazing!
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to actually hear someone say that Boston is not worth it. Everything you read or hear lately is Boston, Boston, Boston. THERE IS MORE THAN THAT ONE RACE!!! Good for you Chris!!
ReplyDeleteHa, I was laughing so hard reading this! Pudding...priceless!!
ReplyDeleteI love that you opted out of Boston! Way to go!
But the fun part is TRYING to run every race that's out there! Stay well dude. Time to have some fun.
ReplyDeleteI just ran my first trail race of the year and have new appreciation for you who can run 100 miles in the woods. I could barely hold on for 10.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your hard training! Seems you have been running more road races than trail race.
ReplyDeleteI still remember the impressive photo of your feet which had been taken after you ran the 100 km race last year. I'll be looking forward to reading your report!
I agree that it is really hard to pick races when so many of them look like fun. I'm looking forward to reading about all of yours!
ReplyDeleteFrom one race-happy runner to another: you are inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI see more 'nonconformist' than insanity in this case!! Trust me, I've got a MA in psyc!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a stout calendar ahead! Enjoy!
This stupid thing ate my comment, again. Try number 3, I really think your blog doesn't like me!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to say I was laughing at the begining, I tried not to, but I couldn't help it :(
I live at the foot of Pikes Peak and until this year I was to chicken to even think about running the ascent let a lone the marathon. This year I started thinking about it, I might do it another another two or so years!
The rules are no fun, but for the past two years I figured I knew better and because of that I had to pull out of the NYC Marathon, I was very upset! Now I pay a little better attention (still like breaking them, but I am more careful!)
Hey Chris, thanks for commenting on my wee blog!
ReplyDeleteYou're a seriously impressive runner- thats a lot more distance than I'm currently rockin'. Keep up the good work!
http://cadsandscallywags.blogspot.com/
I don't blame you for the track thing, you got other, bigger, pots to cook :). Are you doing the full at PP? I was going to but my heel is still being a bitch so I just registered for the half again - but not even sure I can do that. Hopefully we can at least meet up.
ReplyDeleteHappy Weekend!
Good luck with the training changes - I hope it has a positive effect!
ReplyDeleteHa, I enjoyed reading this! For a while I thought I was reading my own thoughts. This thing about road and trail running is difficult. I’m training for the Comrades ultra and have to do long road runs for that. Comrades is 89km on the road. The bad is it takes my trail time away. At least I know after Comrades (29 May) I can concentrate on the trails again. Next year I’ll definitely work more trail runs into my Comrades training. I would agree 100% Boston is not worth it. For now Comrades is worth it for me. At least this year and next year.
ReplyDelete