Monday musings . . . . . .

Ok, I've been reading everyone's plans/goals/race schedules for 2010. It seems to be "tis the season" to dream so I thought I would do my own musing in terms of this year's events. First of all let me admit something - I am a lazy athlete. Always have been, always will be. There, I said it. I like to do the absolute least amount of work and cross my fingers for maximum gain. Too much training structure has me rebelling and digging my heels in. So too, with too much "race" calendar structure. I am generally happy as a lark to skip merrily down the trail for as short or as long of mileage or intensity as I please. I like to make the choice to flog myself on a run on a particular day or choose to do a twinkie workout. No hardcore training schedules, please!

That being said (somewhat tongue in cheek), more seriously, I have to work hard to be a decent runner. Steve is a more natural runner, I am not. Cycling came much more easily for me (years ago, now) so I have to apply MUCH more effort and focus to be able to run with Steve.

Here it goes with the potential event schedule (subject to change on a whim!):

1. April 19 - Desert RATS 25 mile trail race in Fruita, CO
http://www.geminiadventures.com/DesertRATSfestival.html

Steve's going to come home tonight and take my temperature on this one as it is a HUGE stretch. It must be the mate' tea I am drinking that has me feeling frisky. Not only am I not a natural runner, I have runner A.D.D.    LOL! We have kidded with a few of our local running friends that I have running-induced A.D.D. I pretty much lose my focus after about 16 miles. Bored. Big time. This is a good course to remedy that problem - a BIG 25 mile loop, no back tracking, lots of top notch desert singletrack, good scenery, but still a big mental challenge. It's on the list because SOMEDAY I want to run it!

2. May 1 - Greenland Trail 25k
http://www.greenland50k.com/

This one is practically in our backyard. It's fast and would be good training. It's not an especially scenic course (two loops through rolling prairie) so not particularly good for my running A.D.D. It would be very helpful to me if Spruce Mountain was part of the course. It would add to the scenic value.

3. May 29 - Sageburner Trail 25k - Gunnison, CO
http://www.western.edu/student-life/fitness-center/sage-burner

This is a great course. It will keep my attention. We've mountain biked Hartmans and now want to run it. Bonus: meeting up with Renee! (http://pinkcorker.blogspot.com/)

4. September 25 - Golden Leaf Trail Half Marathon - Aspen, CO
http://www.utemountaineer.com/Events/Golden%20Leaf/GoldenLeafdefault.html

This is another course that will keep my attention. Beautiful scenery and fabulous singletrack.  Awesome - I am excited about this one!


5. October 9 - Xterra 21k Trail Race - Colorado Springs, CO
http://www.marathonmajic.com/index.html

Right here in town, the trails are some of our favorites and I need to not cramp and redeem my time this year. I ran it faster in training than I did in the actual race due to the calf cramps. Grrrr . . .

Honorable mentions:

July 18 - Barr Trail Mountain Race - Colorado Springs, CO
http://www.runpikespeak.com/

Again, this is one on my "someday" list. It's right here in town, a great race, I've got a few potential training partners but am picky about courses and not sure I really have the desire to train for it yet. It's 6 miles and 3000 feet of elevation gain, turning around for the 6 mile return trip and descending back down that 3000 feet. Ouch.  The practical, common sense part of me will be thinking "What if I trash my knees" all the way down.  Hmmmm . . . .


July 3 - Leadville Heavy-Half - Leadville, CO
http://www.leadvilletrail100.com/LT100Races/LeadvilleTrailHeavyHalfMarathon/Overview.aspx

This is another "someday" event.  It could happen.  Or maybe not!  :-)

So there you have it, my short list of events. They all could magically happen or zero could realistically happen. We'll see. Like mentioned before, I am happy to skip merrily down the trail, pause to smell the flowers, without any pressure to perform. Also, LIFE tends to happen. It is fun to muse, though, and be a little silly, too. Please feel free to share any training secrets. Happy Trails and dreaming this week!