What was your best run of the year?

OK, it's New Year's Eve. I don't know about the rest of you but I'm going to bed shortly after my kids do. Perhaps we'll see the ball drop but that's about it these days.

Anyway, I'd love to hear from the readers of this blog what their single best run of 2008 was.

And, I'll start. For me, my best run of 2008 was the Vermont 100. I ran the race according to plan and managed to pull off the win in spite of hot, humid conditions and a training hangover due to the Western States cancellation.

2nd best run? Wasatch. I wanted Geoff to come back to me after Brighton but he wouldn't. Damn Alaskans! 2nd was the best I could do that day. Watch out for that guy in 2009!

Happy New Year everyone!

AJW

4100 Miles

I just added up my miles and with my 16 miler today I hit 4100 miles for the year. Last time I ran that much in a year was 2004 when I finished with 4112. So, with that in mind, looks like I better do 13 tomorrow. Maybe a good day for a New Year's Eve Half-Marathon Time Trail?

Happy New Year everybody! 2009 will be great!

Marin!

I had a quick 24 hour trip to San Francisco this past weekend and was able to get out for a solid 16 miler in the Marin Headlands. When I lived in the Bay Area I often ran in the Headlands and it was nice to get re-acquainted with those amazing trails. In addition, since there are now officially three feet of snow in my yard it was great to get on to some dirt. As for my training, things are on track so far.

Don't forget to vote! The someone else poll closes in a couple days.

"Someone Else" Poll

It appears that the category "someone else" is now ahead of Scott Jurek in my little, totally unscientific WS Poll. So, I think it's time to set up an accompanying poll of "Someone Else's". Please respond with a comment and the name of who else you think will win at the Big Dance and I'll set up a new poll tomorrow. In addition, I plan to do polls on the Women's and Masters' Races over the next couple of months.

And, Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Eve

I went for a great 10 miler this morning and, for the first time in a week or so, felt light on my feet. We've had a great stretch of snow here and another storm is on the way so my attention has definitely been drifting toward skiing over the past few days. More and more terrain is opening on Baldy and all of the local Nordic trails are buffed out and ready for skiing.

That said, Western States is 6 months away so it's time to get to work. If all goes well I'll have my aerobic base in place by the time I head to New Mexico on January 18th. That will be my first hard effort of the year. Then, if I can hold steady at Rocky Raccoon, I'll have a solid endurance base to allow me to get some serious payback at Way Too Cool in March. After that, it's off to the Grand Canyon.

I'll try to post regularly about my training over the next six months as well as some thoughts about preparing for Western States. And, on that note, take a look at the poll on the sidebar and cast a vote!

Winter Settling In...

With a few inches of snow on the ground and temperatures hovering around zero it is clear that winter has settled in to the Northern Rockies. As such, I have pulled out the Ice Bugs and the multiple layers to go along with the headlamp as I confront the lonely early morning training runs of the next few months.

It's all about base-building at this time of year anyway and there's something that tells me running with frozen eyelashes builds character. That said, I must admit, it takes three cups of coffee to get me out the door in December. I'm already looking forward to my trips to SF, NM, Texas and CA over the next few months to give me a bit of a reprieve from the cold and the ice. But, I'm also prepared to embrace winter and get out to carve some turns, ski the track and, of course, enjoy those PBR's!

Quick Survey - Dec 8, 2008

I just added up my miles for the year and I have, according to my not-so-precise calculations, 3859 so far for the year. So, to get to 4000 I'll need to average just over 10 miles a day for the next three weeks. What do you think? Is 4K worth it? The last time I ran 4K in a calendar year was 2004. I'd be curious what the readers of this blog think.

AJW

Racing Plans -- 2009

My race plans for 2009 are starting to take shape and I thought I'd post a bit about where things are today:

Back in 2005 when I had my best Western States race finishing 2nd, 24 minutes behind Scott Jurek, I felt like I needed an early season 100 miler to get some of my systems in place and to get a good sense of my 100 mile fitness 18 weeks before the Big Dance. So, I signed up for Rocky Raccoon and ran 15:14. As he's done many times, Jorge Pacheco beat me.

Hoping to bring back some of that 2005 magic I sent in my entry for Rocky Raccoon this morning. It's a really well-organized and logistically easy race to run and it will get me out of the snow for a weekend in February.

With that in mind my Western States build-up now looks like this:

January - Ghost Town 38.5 M
February - Rocky Raccoon 100 M
March - Way Too Cool 50K

Next, I am going to begin the process of trying to get in to Hardrock. Anticipating some time in the future when I no longer qualify to run Western States, I am going to begin applying for Hardrock so that over the years I can accumulate additional tickets in the lottery. If, by some miracle, I actually get in the race this year I guess I'll just have to run it and hope for the best.

Finally, looking for something different in late-summer I have decided to register for Leadville since it's a race I've never done and now, after three years of living at altitude, I am no longer deathly afraid of elevation. Just slightly paranoid about it:)

I'm sure some of this will change as the season progresses but, as a start, it's fun to think about the season ahead.

And, looks like we're in store for a great little race tomorrow in SF!