Time to Refocus

Can it really be the night before Halloween? I haven't "blogged" (that always seems like such a strange word) for almost two months. I think my failure to finish Leaderless for the third year in a row hit me harder then I realized or would admit. Since my last post I have been busy with race directing responsibilities at GPRC. In eight weeks we have put on two Rock Creek Trail events, the 21 Mile Free for All and we'll conclude our year this Saturday with the Road To OZ. Somewhere in the middle of all this the Arkansas Traveller 100 came and went. With very little running between Leadville and Arkansas I was able to push hard the final few miles to get in under 25:00, my PR for a trail 100.

Personally this is one one of those periods of life that feels like the middle of a cold rainy night, 70 miles into a 100 mile race, you're struggling up a huge climb and every step you take sends shock waves through your entire body. Your headlamp just went out and the bladder in your Camelback burst. Yes, sport imitates life, or is it visa verse?

Now with the Mother Road 100 just 9 days away, maybe it's time to start getting focused. I've done almost no real running since Arkansas and it shows, both in my attitude and my midsection. I have paid my money for the 2009 running of the Western States 100, and after this past year's cancellations due to wild fires, this year's running will have extra significance for all who run it. I have no intention of anything other then a sub 24 hour finish which means I need to train hard and train smart over the next six months. With Western States already on the calendar and another attempt at Leadville imminent, another attempt at the Grand Slam seems to be in the cards. So with that, the Mother Road becomes not an end to 2008, but rather the beginning to 2009. This will be a time to reflect on the lessons of this past year as well as a time to plan the next, and if I can do it in under 24 hours all the better.