On the Horizon

(Keeping it fun! Here running Hallow's Eve 1/2 Marathon, dressing up is mandatory).

I am not to sure why I have been procrastinating thinking about what my goal races are for the year. Western States was a given but besides that I had a really hard time thinking about what it was I wanted to do. Now that I have put myself back on in the "fun" zone, it all of a sudden became quite clear!

I have 2 main goals this year...

1) Run my first 100 miler.
2) Qualify for and secure my spot on the Canadian World Cup 100km team.

The race to qualify for the 100km team is Elk Beaver 100km. Elk Beaver is a flat 10km loop that I will be running 10 times. My immediete thought was...booooooriiiiing...but there are some benefits to the madness. Not only are you guaranteed an aid station every hour but I'll be able to properly monitor my splits. It's nice to know what pace you are on and if you are slowing and need to pick it up. In the past the 100km distance to this event has only seen about 10 people (or under) per year, so it's a small race. They get more entrance with the 50mi, 50km, marathon, and 25km walk.

Ellie Greenwood and I chatted today through e-mail and she confirmed her entrance today so I am excited to be running with her. We both have the same goal of qualifying for the world cup 100m team so hopefully we can do it together. This kind of reminds me of when Tamsin and I went to Mountain Masochist 50mi in November to qualify for Western States together. When two people have the same goal, I find I don't stress about my placement in the race as much and I enjoy the comradeship of ultimately achieving the same outcome. That doesn't mean I won't go out there and do my best, but I have another goal other than winning.


(Knee Knacker 08'. I just love this shot because they totally caught me exhaling hard!)

I also signed up for Knee Knacker 50km. This is by far my favorite 50km of all time and I was having trouble entering because it is 2 weeks after Western States. I have been told many times that a lot of people have done Western and then ran PB's at Knee Knacker. Peter Findley actually set a course record after running Western States a few weeks before, so there is hope for me yet! Regardless, this race is crazy FUN and watching it just isn't an option!

Anywho, I am super stoked for the races I am signed up for and having confirmed my entry into these races makes training that much more purposeful. I was feeling a bit lost not having confirmed anything. Perhaps I needed that time without commitment to mentally wrap my head around another year of heavy training, which I am now looking forward to. I always look at the season in 2 parts, 1) Jan-Aug and (2) Sept-Dec. There a handful of other races I want to sign up for later in the season, but no plans have been confirmed yet. There are still some races I am waiting to hear back about and or need to qualify for, which makes planning a bit harder.

Alright, time to go for a 22km Dirty Duo course preview run with the Mountain Madness Trail Clinic.

See you in the trails!