Progress April 11, 2011

I have three months of preparation before we head up to Leadville for the Silver King race weekend. This race is just the beginning of a much larger plan that I have for myself in the coming years. So why am I so anxious about taking part in this 50 mile bike race, followed the next day by a 50 mile run race on the same course, all above 10,000 feet?

The short answer...I am ridiculous and that is how I prepare. I intentionally work myself into a frenzy for months leading up to my most important race of the year. By getting fired up early and often about a race, I have less desire to take days off, miss important workouts or slack off in general. No Excuses! I have too many friends that sabotage training and create laundry lists of reasons they can't make time for training. I make time by getting out of bed at 4 am nearly each day to hop on the spin bike or hit the pavement running. This does not make me an easy person to be around at times, but my wife understands the drill and occasionally cuts me some slack. Haha, she is an amazing supporter and my number 3 fan. Without her constant support, there is no way I could accomplish any of my craziness!

So where am I now?
My personal fitness is strong and I am excited about how I feel and my distance and speed progression. For two weeks in a row I have had run distances of 60-70 miles each week and 8 to 10 hours of cycling base training. The majority of my intense training is focused on running right now due to the upcoming races that I want to perform well at.

A 50k trail run on April 23rd and the Colorado Colfax Marathon on May 15th. I have short term goals of finishing in the top ten of my first trail 50k and setting a new personal best marathon time. The trail run will be interesting as I have never raced a 31 mile run race on dirt before. I am hoping I can grit it out and that the distance is right and my years of multiple hour race events comes in handy? The marathon will be real fun as I know the course and can control most factors that go into a street race. All in all, I feel good, but not ready. The frenzy will continue!