Here we are on the 6th of February and I now have the bulk of my running year planned.
Unfortunately, I did not draw out for the Wasatch 100. The good news is that my son Josh did. It will be awesome to see him conquer that course again and to help crew him. With me missing out on the Wasatch lottery I will be running the Bear 100 in late September for my first 100 mile mountain race.
Leading up to the Bear 100 I will be participating in 3 races in preparation and for qualifying for the Bear 100.
The first race will be the Buffalo Run 50 Mile race. This race is on Antelope Island on March 24th. My main goal for this race is that I need to run a 50 mile race in under 16 hours in order to enter the Bear 100. I can't imagine it will take me even 12 hours but you never know. In years past I could use my race in June for qualification for the Bear, however races are now filling up faster than ever and I don't want to chance missing out due to the race filling up before I can get a qualifying race under my belt.
My second race will be the Squaw Peak 50 Miler on June 2nd. This should be a fun race to be running in. I was scheduled to run this race last year but tore my calf muscle and was not able to compete. Josh is also in this race which will be the first time that both of us are in the same Ultra race. I won't see him at any point in the race, only at the start and finish lines as he is much faster than I am, but it will still be fun to be in the same event.
My third race with be the Speedgoat 50K on July 28th,. I ran this last year and am hopeful to knock a couple of hours off my time from 2011. I should be lighter, faster, and have course knowledge this year which will help me shave off a lot of time. Josh will probably also be in this race which will make it more fun as well.
The last race will be the Bear 100 starting on September 21st. This will definitely be an incredible event for me. I have wanted to run a 100 miler for a long time and at that point will have spent 2 years working up for it.
Between now and then I need to lose a lot of weight, and run a lot of miles. I am currently running about 33 miles a week and am increasing weekly. My goal is to be running more than 50 miles a week in the couple of months prior to the Bear 100. My weight goal is to be down to 170 before the Bear 100. That in itself may be my biggest challenge of all.
You have a monster year planned! I think your approach to The Bear is perfect though. And hey, I'll be free to pace as far as you want me to. Best of luck reaching your goals!
ReplyDeleteThanks Josh - it will be great having you to pace me at the Bear 100. I wish I was faster and could run with you at Wasatch but unless you are struggling I know I would just be an anchor instead of a motivator. I am definitely looking forward to a fun year and also looking forward to participating in some events with you. Although I won't see you during the events it will still be fun to be at the starting line with you and seeing your success at the finish line.
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