Optimistic

The Year Ahead

(Although hindsight is a wonderful thing, it's good to try and look forward to forecast the journey)

In 2013 I fell in love with trail running. Funny really, as I'd bushwalked for years with my wife, and was a reasonably handy road runner. But yet I never connected the dots. It took a series of events leading from me finally having a crack at a marathon, meeting other runners through the running forum, and a shared desire to 'change it up a bit' that brought me to the start line of Two Bays.
So technically it was 2014, but that is hair-splitting of the highest order, in my humble opinion. That race was documented in 2 parts, so enamoured of the experience was I, and was really the start of this blog, to some degree.

First trail run. Posing alongside the Two Bays car, our legs covered in the dust from the trail, the 'Two Bays tan' as we affectionately call it! And a lifelong love affair with trail running had commenced.

Unfortunately, that's where the good story ends. The following 3 years I trained hard, I got injured, I bailed out of the race. It was a cycle that I was doomed to repeat in 2015, 2016, and 2017. 3 years, all passed me by as I either volunteered or spectated. I still had fun (not running in the blast furnace of 2016 was nothing less than bittersweet), but I always vowed to return.
But roll on 2018. Sitting here, typing away on a balmy summers evening, I am in taper mode. No injuries, illness, nothing is looking to get in the way. And I am ready, having prepared for the best part of 6 months since early bird entries opened.

But this is only part of my racing programme for the year. Currently, the calendar looks like this;
January- Two Bays 56k, 
February - Tarawera 62k (or possibly 65.4 if race organisers reroute some of the course), 
February - Roller Coaster run 21.5k (basically a sprint 😆), 
March - Duncans Run 50k.
May - Margaret River Ultra 80k
July - Macedon 50k,
August - Wonderland 36k (another sprint...), then 
September - Surf Coast Century 100k.
Get the picture, it's a busy year with some big races. For the most part, it will be minimal training as I roll from one race to another, but that is what is needed for this ageing body. Recovery as important as training.

Long range forecast for Dromana as of 6 January. I'll take that.

But, back to Two Bays. Weather forecast looks like it could be anywhere between 18 and 25 degrees. Always a talking point in the lead up to the race, but in reality, there is nothing we can do, just race to the conditions. Oh, and I'm doing the 56, a longheld ambition to run the distance that this race was founded on. A 41k training run there last week showed me what was needed, but also gave me confidence that I have the ability and the mental capacity to run it well.
I'm looking forward to testing myself on this course. A few hills (Arthurs Seat the main biggie), but plenty of sections that are ripe for running. And there will be heaps of support along the way, friends cheering us on, plenty more volunteering at the many aid stations along the way.

The Year Past

I keep a written diary for running. A bit old school, but it documents some of the things that online diaries don't always allow you to do; weather, diet, feelings etc. As I flicked through 2017's, I came across an entry on January 1, a series of goals for the year. To be honest, I've never been one to do the whole New Years Resolution bit, but it must have been my frame of mind last year that made me put into writing the things that I needed to focus on. And I managed to do all 6;

1. Stay injury free,
2. Get back to racing weight,
3. Continue strength and core training,
4. Reduce race goals and expectations,
5. Enjoy my running, celebrate the social side, and
6. Give back to running what you have got from it.

I haven't set any goals or promises for 2018, and maybe I don't need to. I have an ambitious year ahead, the main thing is to be sensible, take it in my stride and enjoy the journey.

Until next time...