I mentioned in a previous blog that I really want to run
Western States 100 miler. This is not
unique as almost every ultra-runner in North American wants to run Western
States. However unlike Ironman Hawaii or
the Boston Marathon the average middle-pack ultra-runner like me actually has a
shot of getting into Western States through the lottery.
After a great experience at my first 50 miler in May I’ve unsurprisingly
decided to increase the distance. To
qualify for the Western States lottery you need to run a sanctioned 100k or 100
miler. After a paranoia-fueled
deconstruction of every 100km race on the list I’ve decided to run Black Canyon
Ultra in Arizona on February 13th.
Only Russell Crowe’s character from A Beautiful Mind (the crazy one not
the brilliant one) could appreciate my level of analysis to come to this
decision.
We moved to North Vancouver in August and after a 2-week fun
yet unhealthy cross-Canada family road trip (beer and cheeseburgers, repeat) I
resumed long distance trail running. However
in contrast to flat Ontario I now live on the side of a mountain and every run
starts with 1,000 feet of incline then continues with more incline. I’ve never practiced moderation so I added “summit
bagging” to my training plan which ended up being a mistake. My knees revolted and screamed that running
80 km a week with thousands of feet of vertical AND bagging 2 summits is too
much too soon.
I’m now back on track with a 20-week training plan for Black
Canyon including daily core work to ensure I don’t crumple on the ascents or
descents. I saw my first black bear last
week 11.5 km up the Seymour Conservation Reserve. As it was blocking my trail I decided to turn
around before reaching the Seymour dam, probably a wise choice for my first
bear sighting.
Black Canyon 100k is still 19.5 weeks away but I’m really
excited. Running the North Vancouver
mountains is so much fun and I’m currently relatively injury free. Assuming I can continue to balance a full
time job, weekly travel, my amazing family and 80-120km training weeks with
thousands of feet of vertical I should be on the starting line in the Arizona
desert in great spirits this coming February!
