My last few weeks have been rather uneventful on the running front - I am keeping to local urban trails, Pikes Peak Greenway, and Palmer Park loops. Falling back into a winter routine made me feel like it was the perfect time to look forward to next summer season, and begin dreaming and planning.
About a year and a half ago, I made this post about several major goals that I had for the next decade or so.
For 2019, I picked to do the Pikes Peak Ascent. My goal was less than 4 hours, I had a tough day and came in at 4:24. Here is the link for the race recap post I made.
Despite not quite getting to my goal on that one, I've decided to move on and pick a new goal for next year. I don't prefer to run the same race two years in a row. (Variety is the spice of life, isn't it?)
Looking back at the top goals I had listed, I am not sure I'll ever do a 100 miler. That goal is on hold, pending me successfully completing a 50 miler. With that in mind, my main goal of next year will most likely be the Silver Rush 50 miler in Leadville.
I think the race will be a good way to test my mettle and see if I have the physical and mental capability to go even further in Leadville. (The Leadville 100 being the pinnacle trail race goal for many ultra runners.) I'm giving myself a 50/50 chance of ever doing a 100 mile race. Just saying. It's such an ultimate goal to have, but 50 is tough enough!
The Silver Rush 50 is in the second weekend of July this coming year. The race has a 14 hour cut off. My goal will be to do the race in just 12 hours, but I'll be happy with simply being able to finish under the cut off if it comes to that!
In light of this primary goal, in the spring I will probably plan on doing the Palmer Lake Death Race aka 24 Hour Race (again). I did this one in 2017 for the first time and had a blast. I did end up quitting after about 17 hours, which amounted to about 55 miles.
My goal at the Palmer Lake Death Race will simply be to keep moving and pull through the whole 24 hours. I will keep track of distance, but I won't necessarily have a distance goal for this one.
Another priority for me for next year is the Four Pass Loop. If you're unfamiliar, this is a 28 mile loop near Aspen which is a trail running classic. This will likely be one I do after the Silver Rush 50. Ideally, this will be my big autumn color run, much how this year's Pawnee-Buchanan Loop was.
My primary training will have to include a lot of runs that are high altitude, but fairly flat and long. The Almagre summit road (FS 379A) comes to mind as a good example. But of course, I won't be neglecting my Barr trail runs. I'll do all kinds of other fun stuff in the Pikes Peak region once the snow melts out again, and I'll probably try to target at least a few 14ers when they're accessible.
For now, I'm hoping to get back on the Incline with Sharon and Jill this coming week, and keep at least a minimal amount of altitude training under my belt during the off season.
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