I realize that I am heading into unchartered territory (for me) by running 40 races in 2018. However, I have had other years that were race heavy so I feel as though I have an idea of what I am getting myself into. In 2016, I raced every event in the OUTRace series plus some other races as well. I believe I ran over 15 ultramarathons that year. It was a real learning experience for me and amongst the lessons that I took away from it, perhaps the most important was that racing a lot is bad for your racing. In other words, I got slower and slower as the year progressed. In hindsight, it's easy to see where I went wrong. Racing beats up your body and without enough recovery time, your body simply won't be in top form. I didn't give my body a chance to recover and I tried to run every race quite hard. I was getting greedy and while I felt that I was running well, I tried to push it too far. My biggest mistake in 2016 was trying to squeeze in a marathon the week before the ultra series started. I told myself "it's only a marathon", which was both arrogant and naive. I ran it hard. In fact, it was probably the hardest I had ever run a long distance race. I ran my fastest marathon and finally snuck in under that 3 hour mark that I had been chasing for a couple of years. However, my body was really beat up and not ready for what I was about to put it through.
I continued to ignore the signs my body was sending me, refusing to even take a single day off. I ran okay for the first few races. Not great, but okay. However, after my first 100 miler, my running really started to get bad. In the end, I finished all of the races and I somehow managed to avoid any significant injuries, but I was not at all satisfied. I was tired and frustrated and I knew that I needed to reset. I'm hoping that 2018 will be different, and here's why:
1) I'm not going to push every race. I plan on running many of the events pretty hard, but overall, I'm going to focus more on the journey than on the end result.
2) I'm going to listen to my body. If I need a break, I'll take it.
3) I'm a little more experienced and, although slower, my body is more prepared for the stress that it is about to undergo. I haven't missed a day of running since August 2015 and, as a result, my body has become more efficient at recovering.
People have asked me what races I am most looking forward to in 2018. I can truthfully say I'm looking forward to all of them. However, if I had to choose, I would say that I am most looking forward to (in no particuar order):
- The Rocky Raccoon 100 miler (Texas). I've been wanting to do this for years and a winter getaway is always welcomed.
-Many on the Genny 40 miler (New York). Have you seen the photos? Stunning.
-The Georgia Death Race 68 miler (Georgia). Straight up scared for this one.
-The Canadian Death Race 125k (Alberta). Tough climbs, beautiful views.
-Brazos Bend 100 miler (Texas). Nice and flat, lots of alligators.
-Run for the Toad 50k (Paris, ON). This was my first 50k back in 2012.
-Conquer the Canuck/ Fat Ass Trail run (ON). These are the only 50k races I have not done in the OUTRace Series. They were added to the series in 2017.
-Chase the Coyote 50k- (Orangevile, ON). One of my favourite 50k courses.
-Tally in the Valley (Dundas, ON). I'm biased as the RD but I am SO EXCITED to watch the "Gong Show" elimination style event.
Let's face it; as a runner, I've peaked. My fastest days have come and gone. Without a major change in my training program, my days of running personal bests are likely behind me. That doesn't bring me down at all. It simply means my goals need to change.
Here is a list of my goals for 2018 in comparison to my personal best times:
5k: personal best-17:14, 2018 goal-sub 19:00
10k: personal best-38:07, 2018 goal- sub 40:00
21.1k: personal best- 1:24:51, 2018 goal- sub 1:28:00
42.2k: personal best- 2:59:41, 2018 goal- sub 3:20:00 (not sure if I will even run one)
50k: personal best- 4:15:29, 2018 goal- break 5 hrs at least 2 times
100mi: personal best- 18:41:29, 2018 goal- sub 20hrs
With my current level of fitness, these times won't be
easy for me. I may achieve some of these goals, I may not. Who knows? I'm not stressing about it. Honestly, I'm mostly looking forward to seeing all of my running friends on the trails and making some new ones along the way.
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