2014 Schedule

I've been enjoying running since Leadville. Not that I don't always enjoy running, because I do. Lately, though, I've been running a lot with our dog, Nick, a golden retriever "puppy" (he's about a year and a half old and loves to chase rabbits), and enjoying being outdoors and watching him get in really good shape. In a few weeks, if the weather and conditions permit, Nick will go on his first outing to the Colorado high country.

Running a lot with Nick, I haven't been paying too much attention to pace. That said, there have been times over the past few weeks that I've really gone hard--as in race effort hard--in a few runs. A few of my Strava "course records" in Parker were recently beaten and I've been pretty diligent about getting all those CRs back, which has meant some hard efforts. As a pretty competitive person, I enjoy the challenge of getting the CRs back. I love to run fast, really push it and spend some QT in the pain cave.

It's hard to say what I'll do with the rest of the year. At this point, I'm still leaning toward the Rock 'n Roll Denver 1/2 Marathon in October. I ran a 1:25 at the Highlands Ranch 1/2 Marathon two weeks after Leadville, so I think a 1:23 or better at the RNR Denver 1/2 is possible. That may be it for the year. I really want to do shorter, faster stuff, along with weight training, for the rest of 2013. I'll probably start Maffetone Method training in early January and stay with MAF and weights through March. I see no need to start MAF anytime before January 1. Somewhere in there, maybe before Christmas, I'm going to take a full week off from running.

I've been thinking about what 2014 may hold. It all hinges on whether or not I get into the Western States 100. If so, Western States will be my A race. If no Western, then the schedule will probably include:

• Colorado Marathon: Early May. This would be my spring A race and I'd go for a sub-3 hour there. I really want another sub-3, even if it's a 2:59. I would need to average 6:50/mile, which seems doable with the proper training.
• Mt. Evans Ascent: Mid June. I had to miss Evans this year due to family scheduling stuff. I really missed it.
• Leadville Marathon: Late June. The LT Marathon is an annual tradition for me. It will be hard to beat the 4:19 I threw down there this year.
• Leadville 100-Mile Run: Mid-August. The big one. Will go for my fourth sub-25 buckle.

Although my chances of being selected in the Western States lottery are slim, I think training for and participating in "the super bowl of ultrarunning" would be fun. I would enjoy the challenge of a very hot weather race with a ton of downhill, a little (but not a lot of) elevation sprinkled in and some quality climbing. I can see myself now running in place in a sauna. In fact, I've half-jokingly asked my wife if we can add a sauna to our basement remodel plans. If no sauna, then exercising in our garage and driving around with the heat on in June will do.

I've more or less decided that I want to go after the 1,000-mile buckle at Leadville. Leadville took some heat for race-day issues this year, but at the end of the day it's still a premier 100-miler and it's an epic experience in the beautiful Colorado high county. I can't imagine being anywhere else in mid-August. It would be cool if all ten buckles were sub-25. I think it's possible. I already have three and need just seven more!