2017 Is Going to Be a Big Year

So I've got a big year planned for 2017.  So far I am signed up for the Breakneck Point Trail marathon in April, the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 miler NY in May, Cayuga Trails 50 miler in June and the big scary monster on the hill this year is the Eastern States 100 in August.

Breakneck Point Trail marathon

North Face Endurance Challenge NY

Cayuga Trail 50

So far I have run 16 ultramarathons and have a perfect record of 0 DNFs (Did Not Finish), but this year it is going to be a challenge to keep this perfect record.  I feel confident in my ability to finish Breakneck Point, North Face and Cayuga, but Eastern States is going to be a real challenge.  It is a 100 mile race with 20,000 feet of climbing and 20,000 feet of descent, that's 5000 feet more than climbing from the base of Mount Everest to it's summit, and running back down, while running a total distance of 100 miles.  Now you are not dealing with the effects of high altitude, but still that's alot!

Elevation profile for the Eastern States 100

Also, there is a pit of writhing snakes about 2 miles from the finish line that you have to pass before you can finish the race and I am deathly afraid of snakes.

The snake pit!

So needless to say if I want one of these belt buckles I have a lot of training to do.  I am focusing on climbing, running specific strength training and healing up the injuries to my ankle/IT band/hip all caused by spraining my ankle in the first mile of 31 mile race and then running 30 miles on it to finish the race. 

Training started in earnest on Monday, Jan 23, but I ran 13 miles the day before, so this means I will be running 8 days in a row for a total of 63 miles before I take a day off, almost 3 times as much as my weekly averages the last month or two and I can feel it.

The challenge of preparing for Eastern States 100 has really lit a spark in me and got me excited about another season of ultramarathons which is what this sport is all about for me, preparing for and attempting to do things with my body that seem nearly impossible.  It's what motivates me to wake up 3 hours before I have to on a cold dark morning to get in my mileage before work and what keeps me on the right track with my plant-filled vegan diet.

With all that is going on in the world, of which I am dealing with in other areas in my life, it is nice to have something outside of that keeps me excited about life and curious about the future.