Well, my previous attempt at blogging fizzled. I have looked back at a couple races, and wished I had keep some type of training log... mostly for the sake of accountability. So here I am, ready to give it another shot. Have decided on training for a 100 mile ultra trail run. Will register shortly, just to make myself accountable and really get my training going.
So I never quit running since my last post, in fact I have run some pretty epic races and completed some great goals since my last post, I just didn't really document them. Perhaps I will write up a memory recap on them. My last post was a writeup of the experience of running my first marathon, Fayetteville Hogeye Marathon in 2009. Here is a quick recap of the races I have run since:
I ran the KC Marathon in October 2009. I had only trained for the half, and still PR'd. More on this later.
Olathe marathon April 10th 2010, Hogeye marathon April 11th, 2010. 2 marathons, 1 weekend, pretty epic.
At this point I decided it was time to "Kick it up a notch" (race slogan) and signed up for the 2010 Midnight Madness 50 miler in Tulsa Oklahoma. This was a bitch. Started at midnight, all paved running trails in the Oklahoma heat on July 2nd-3rd. I finished right before 11am. This race took a good toll on me, and I didn't race again in 2010. The longer races had soured me on the short races - 5k, 10k, half... I was out for an endurance challenge now.
After a hiatus of doing only maintenance running (not to mention a rough patch in my personal life), I decided it was time to get signed up for some epic event that I hadn't tried before. The next logical distance after a 50 miler was a 100K. At this point they mostly become trail runs, and I hadn't run much on trails. So it was a perfect fit for me.
Signed up for the Free State Trail Ultra in early January of 2011. The race was on April 23, 2011, so I trained pretty good (not really) and completed this race. The level of challenge to reward was directly proportional, in other words, it was RAD.
Next, I ran the Hobbs War Eagle Tail Twister 50K trail run in War Eagle Arkansas on Beaver Lake on a whim on June 4th, 2011. Ran solid, even though it was hot as hell.
Since then we have had one of the hottest summers on record, and it has killed my motivation... but I am signed up for the September 24th, 2011 Flat Rock 50K which I have been wanting to do for several years, but just haven't been able to. I ran the 30 mile trail solo, unsupported in early April as a training run for the 100K, and it was awesome! The most beautiful and rugged and hard and dangerous trail you will find in Kansas. But I am excited to run it with other people and volunteer support.
So, that is the quick recap of the races I have run since my last post. I did a couple other events in there including a few shorter duathlons and a 100K cycling event as well. I will attempt race reports on each of the major events, before the details completely leave my brain. The main takeaway is that now I am completely addicted to trail running. Not sure I will even do another road marathon, OK, so I probably will as training runs. Trails are now my running obsession.
That brings us to now. I need a new challenge. Still looking for that limit. I have decided that 100 mile trail run, and just need to find a well supported, challenging, fairly close race that fits into my schedule. Any suggestions? Until next time...
