Well I tried to run the other day, but it is uncomfortable and my form was awkward. I feel like I might be able to gut through it if I needed to, but it is probably best to rest a little longer. I'll see when I get out there again.
I can't wait to get back to running and I'm definitely going to give Quadzilla a try even though I'm not going to be near 100%. I just love running that course so much and I don't want to have to wait another year to run it again. Missing it last year was difficult enough.
What I'm really struggling with right now besides the injury is where I want to go with my running. I enjoy road running and going fast and improving there. My love for trail running is so much greater though. I love the beauty of the trail and also the challenge that each new hill or turn brings. I'm not one for pancake flat racing and running super fast times.
That leads to my dilemma. The more I read about ultrarunning and especially the crazy 100 milers in Colorado and California, the greater the itch gets to try my hand at those. I was watching a video of the Leadville 100 again today. It is set with U2's "Beautiful Day" in the background and it always brings a tear to my eye. I hope to one day make it into a race there, the Western States 100 or Hardrock 100.
In the meantime though, I'm struggling with what I want to do next spring. Do I want to chase Boston again or do I want to go after my first ultra? I was looking at the North Face 50 miler in NY early next spring. I'd love to be able to do that and also run a BQ in the process of training for that. It would probably be very tough to do both.
I feel like I can get fast enough to qualify for Boston by next spring if I solely concentrate on that, but I wouldn't be able to put in enough long runs to complete an ultra too. I'll have to pick one or the other come this winter. Maybe I'll shoot for an ultra and try to BQ in the fall or maybe I'll try to BQ in the spring and shoot for an ultra like the Vermont 50 in the fall. I'm just not even sure where my priority lies now.
I tell people all the time to be patient, but it is so hard for me. I have such big running dreams and goals. I am learning to be more patient when it comes to my actual training. I'm still too impatient and dream too big in my head though.
Qualifying for Boston is a big goal for me too, but it almost doesn't seem challenging enough any more. For me, the challenge and reason it has eluded me has been my inability to stay healthy. I certainly don't want to say Boston is easy for me. I trained very hard and missed it by three and a half minutes in 2010. The thing is though that I was only training for a year at that point. I feel like if I could string together two years of solid training, I'd be well under the time I need and it's very achievable. I just missed it with a tad over 60 miles per week of training. If I can stay healthy, I plan to bump my training into the 80+ mile range, so that should really decrease my time too.
I probably don't give finishing an ultra quite enough respect either, but that seems like more of a challenge and something I'd enjoy more. It also seems like the route I'll end up going in the end. I just see myself more as an ultrarunner than a road runner. My biggest concern with ultras would actually be trying to fuel properly with my Crohn's Disease. That would be a great way to take on my disease and show it that I'm going to win.
It's funny because I grew up near plenty of mountains, but I never spent any time in them. Now that I've started running some of them and just tough trails in general, I've fallen in love with them. I keep telling my parents that I just want to live in some crappy cabin in the woods right next to a bunch of trails. That sounds perfect to me. I'm happy to live a simple life and not have much money if it means I get to enjoy my running even more. I don't know if I'll ever move out of this general area again, but if I do, I know I'll wind up in the mountains of Colorado.
What to do, what to do?
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