Back From Sabbatical

So two weeks probably isn't a sabbatical technically, but it proved to be exactly what I needed; A wake-up call!  I've been sleeping like crap, eating worse, and the pity party has been on my tail non-stop.  I had ample time to think & reflect, and really focus on what the year ahead is gonna look like.  Time to get back at it and celebrate life instead of wollowing in the muck.

I think the most important thing was getting re-focused.  And with focus, comes goals and formulating a plan to carry them out.  My goals for the year on the racing front are looking quite similar to 2010, with a bit more sprinkled in...

• Buffalo Run (still undecided on 50K, 50 mile, or 100 mile)
• Squaw Peak 50
• Bighorn 100 (if I'm feeling ambitious since it's two weeks after Squaw Peak)
• Speedgoat 50K
• Wasatch 100 (lottery pending) or Bear 100
• Pony Express (50 mile or 100 mile)

Mix some adventure runs in there and it's looking to be a packed year...

• Redemption at Zion with the boys (Craig might have something up his sleeve here)
• King's Peak Double or Utah Triple Crown
• Timp (triple, quad, 24 hour?)
• Stansbury loops with the boys
• I'm sure something else will creep in here... Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim possibly?
• And of course, lots of training runs in the Wasatch

Thinking about such ambitious goals makes me realize that I need to train.  What the heck, I don't even hate training.  Ninety-nine percent of the time I get out there and really enjoy it.  I think I've just had a lot the other one percent variety recently because my head's been so screwed up.  After thinking about it though, races and adventure runs are absolutely what I live for.  The fact that I live in such a great place helps me realize that my situation could be much worse.  I could live in the middle of a desert, the arctic, or be relegated to running on a treadmill every day of the week.  Poor me that I have one of the best backdrops in the world in my backyard.  It's time to get out there and get er done.

I had also talked about trying to run a fast marathon next year.  I'll see how I feel, but if it happens, the only race I can see fitting in there is Salt Lake in April.  It'll be a last minute decision but I'll be training hard enough for whatever I do at the Buffalo Run, that I'll be ready if I decide to give it a go.

Wow, now I'm rambling.  Time to save some breath for more writing to come.  Super excited to get back at it!