#3 - 100M Here we come, and some other stuff

So I did it, paid in full and hopefully will be running the 100M Burning River in Ohio in July. This was kinda last minute in terms of deciding which 100M race to run but the good thing is that it gives me a bit more time to train during the year since Sulphur is late May and its point 2 point. Many people say that 100M races that come through the starting point (i.e. several laps) are easier but I disagree. Mental strength of having to go out again and again after you see people finishing and drinking beer and sleeping is unbearable for me for the time being so I'll try my luck on the point 2 point type first. I think there may be several OUSER runners going down so we all may get some Canadian support. Not sure on crew/pacer strategy, but there are plenty of aid stations along the way and trails don't seem that technical (75% trail).

Apart from that change in plan all the other races will still be in place, and I'll have the chance to go down to Ohio to run a couple of training runs on the race course as well during May-July. Unfortunately I will not be able to do the Dirty Girls race b/c its a week after and I doubt I will be in any condition to race at that point. Haliburton is my wildcard and I may be inclined to do 50M or 100M depending on how my body holds up by then.

My long runs now are around the 2:30hr, not much, but always tough b/c of the snow and cold weather. I can't really go out for more than that until if warms up a bit. In terms of weekly kms of training I've made the decision not to up them too much when compared to my 50M training. My weekly average range was anywhere from 60km-80km for the 50M training schedule and I'm hoping to put in anywhere between 80km-100km for the 100M race. I see a lot of people talking about 100M training weeks and for me it’s impossible, at least for now. Kids, wife, work and body fatigue will eventually get to me. On my 50M training schedule I felt great and finished with more on the tank. I figure that this year I have a better base than last year and the extra 20km/week will give me the extra energy to finish the race. I guess only time will tell, but I've read many facts about people running much less than 100M/week in order to finish. My goal is to run it in less than 24hr (1st 50k 5-6hrs + 2nd 50k 6-7hrs + 3rd 50k 7-8hrs + last 10k 2hrs = 20-23hrs, that gives me some extra time as well). Looking back at the Haliburton 50M my first 50k where about ~5:15 and they were tough wet trails, my last 30k where in 4hrs. I doubt the trail conditions for Burning River will be tougher but they will be warmer for sure.

On a totally different note, during the last weeks of training I've seen some beautiful settings and trails through the Bruce Trail. Winter is always tough but there is something about running in the snow that I love, its peaceful and I'm usually the first one out there in morning so I'm breaking the trail. I feel guilty sometimes when I run b/c I'm unable to bring my kids and wife to see some portions of the trail which I find so beautiful. I only hope to have my kids love these trails as much as I do and who knows maybe have them run these races with me at some point...and for my wife to be as understanding as she has over the years. I'm trying to get her to pace me for some miles at the Burning River, lets see how many.