Looks Like Pig is on the Menu

I'm in...oh crap!

This year has been a pretty horrible with respect to my planned training and racing. The job of filling in as acting Chief of Psychology blew out my planned training and because I didn't feel I was well enough trained I skipped out on some ultras that I planned. Also our sudden drop in income after the GGs job loss made it seem prudent to skip out on the only Iron distance race I had planned for the year, the Oklahoma City Redman. Fortunately the RD at Redman is a very forgiving guy and he rolled our entry fees over to next year's race but my entry into the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 and tickets to see Shakespeare on the beach at Lake Tahoe were a loss.

As this year has worn on though I have seriously been jonesing for a long distance race. I had a bit of it at the beginning of the year when I was recapturing my lost mojo at the Bandera 100K but still failing to regain my place back among the ranks of serious untrarunners at the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler with a DNF at mile 80. Like any good addict I started casting about for a possible fix.

I have enough experience to know that I can't just blithely jump into a 100 mile race without prior training so as my ability to manage the temporary job became better I started ramping up my mileage. I set my sights on the Javelina 100, lovingly known as the “Javelina Jundred” It's held on “Jalloween” this year! (oh, for those who may not be of the southwestern U.S. or Hispanic persuasion Javalena is pronounced Have-a-leena). When I went to register the race was full but I put my name on the wait list and started focusing my training for a run through the Arizona desert.

Now that I am officially in I'm feeling pretty good about my chances at finishing the race. I have my ever-present source of inspiration, the GeekGrl, as my main crew and cheer leader and fellow friend and multi-time IronMan Andy Cope out to pace me and kick my ass through the night. While not as high as most training plans would suggest my mileage is up there as high as it was prior to my successful attempt at the Lean Horse 100 and I'm just coming off a successful and fast 35 mile pavement run. Now all that is left is to turn in a big month now in September, I am at a record setting monthly mileage pace right now, and remain injury free.

Between now and the Javelina I have one Oly Triathlon and one 50K in Palo Duro canyon just south of Amarillo, TX.