And Just Like That… (2014 racing plans update)
It was just 12 days ago that I wrote about how my post-Brazil 2014 race calendar was completely blank and my race schedule was a “work in progress”. Well that all changed in a flash and I’m now registered for two of the hardest races I’ve ever attempted.
First, I “won” the Wasatch 100 lottery. I figured it was a huge long-shot, but the stars lined up for me, so in September I’ll run 100 miles through the Wasatch mountains in Utah. It’s supposed to be a pretty sick race and it’s been high on my list for a few years. The race has almost 27,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain (the most of any race I’ve done). It tops out a little over 10,000 feet, but, like AC and Bear, it doesn’t spend a lot of time that high.
On the other hand, it looks like most of the race is between 7,500 and 9,500 feet, so I’ll definitely need to spend some time training at elevation this summer. The course looks beautiful and there are a few other southern Californians on the entrants list so it should be a great time.
Then, yesterday evening, I got the following news:
After having a good race at Brazil 135, I hoped that I’d get into Badwater, but it’s a selective process and I really was on pins-and-needles all day yesterday until I actually got the good news over email. To be clear, this years “Badwater” race is different than in the past and doesn’t even actually go to Badwater Basin. In December, the officials who oversee Death Valley National Park announced a moratorium on any athletics events in the park until at least this fall while they do a “safety review”. There was no specific event or injury or accident that precipitated this decision – other than the fact that a new Park Superintendent was appointed. In fact, in the 29 years of the official race, I don’t think there’s ever been a serious event that would merit this moratorium. It’s too bad that they made such a harsh decision, instead of, for example, allowing events to continue happening (even with greater scrutiny and oversight) while they did their safety review. Here’s a good article from the LA Times about the Park’s decision.
Adventure Corps quickly designed a new course that starts in Lone Pine and runs out-and-backs. First it goes out of Lone Pine and for 23 miles you climb up to Horseshoe Meadows (6,000 feet of gain), then it’s a quad-crusher down that same road back to Lone Pine. Next, you head out towards Death Valley, but at Keeler (mile 59), you turn off and climb up to the Cerro Gordo ghost town and mines. Once you get there (mile 67), you turn around head back to Keeler but instead of heading right back to Lone Pine, you continue out towards Death Valley to Darwin where you turn around at mile 92 and finish the race just like the original course – back through Lone Pine and up to the traditional finish line at the Mt. Whitney Portal.
For a few weeks after the announcement, I struggled with whether or not I would apply. For years, I’d been imaging the moment when I lined up at Badwater Basin for the daytime run through the desert, and this would not be that race. But in the end, after finishing Brazil and talking to people and giving it a lot of thought, I decided that even though I was disappointed not to be able to run the traditional course, it was still a super bad-ass race and would still be an incredible experience.
Now I’m really excited that I applied and got in. Yesterday afternoon and evening were busy times on Facebook seeing a bunch of friends (especially new ones from Brazil like Brad, Amy, Grant and Andy) also get accepted and getting tons of encouraging messages from friends from all over.
Colin pointed out last night that, assuming all goes as planned, I’ll race at least 370 miles in the first 9 months of the year. That’s a ton for me. Goal number one is to continue taking my post-Brazil recovery and re-entry back into running slowly and carefully. Last week I ran 29 miles (all on flat roads except one trail run with some climbing); this week, I’ll hopefully run a bit more than that. And except for some still-healing skin on my feet and deep soreness in my hips and hamstrings, I feel good. I’ve got plenty of time and there’s no reason to take any chances with pushing too much too soon.
I’ve nailed down my two “A” races for the rest of the year, now I’ll decide if I’m going to add anything else to the calendar. Friends are throwing around a lot of really cool ideas – races, adventure training and new trails to explore. Thankfully, I don’t think any of that needs to be figured out “now”.
Well, I’ve certainly got my work cut out for me! It’s gonna be a fun spring and summer!