The Long Trail to 100 Miles

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 13^th.  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!