Tinkering with my 2014 Race Schedule & The BEAST

The Year of Two Thousand and Fourteen

Planning out your next year of races, a fun yet intimidating task.  Why fun?  Well, you get to think about all those great accomplishments, the people you will meet, and the sights you'll see as you tackle new races.  Why intimidating?  Its a lot easier to put races on your calendar and say you want to train for them then actually going out and grinding out some of these runs, especially when you put down 14 miles on a weeknight that ends up being cold and rainy.  Also, there is still the possibility of getting injured, and that just completely throws your schedule into the garbage disposal from that point on.  These races aren't easy either, I love training for these things, and then relishing in the feeling of accomplishment afterward, but there is usually a point when I'm running a race where I ask myself "Why in the world am I doing this?" (and I don't have an answer).

I want to keep focusing on Ultras, while not giving up entirely on speed.  Marathons are still cool, but just not as satisfying to me as Ultras.  A Marathon PR is still the crowning achievement in running, but you have to dedicate yourself solely to that event, and it could damage you beyond repair for months.  After running Chicago in 2012, I told myself I would wait a good, long time until I attempt a new PR, and that time is still at least another year away.

The Beast

As I focus on Ultras, while mixing in some shorter races, I have also come to a determination:  I need to do the Beast series.  I've heard it calling, heard it beckon for me to try it.  Grindstone, the Lynchburg Ultra Series, Hellgate, these are all great accomplishments individually but I think for this year to truly delve into the heart of Ultra-Marathoning I must complete them all.

What is the Beast?  Its a race series of Ultras consisting of three 50ks, a 50 miler, a 100k, and a 100 miler (not all in that order).

So now I present my list of focus races for 2014, fairly subject to change:

• Holiday Lake 50k++ - the first in the Beast series.  Two fairly flat loops around a lake.
• Terrapin Mountain 50k - a month later the Beast series continues in rural VA Mountains.
• Cherry Blossom 10 Miler - a favorite of mine in DC.  I probably won't try to PR since I don't think ill have the speed.  You do this more for the atmosphere anyway - finally Spring!
• GW Parkway 10 miler - a locals' favorite run on a scenic course from Mt. Vernon to Old Town Alexandria.
• Boston Marathon - had to come back for the 2014 race.  Hoping a road marathon won't hurt my training too much.
• Promise Land 50k - intimidating since its less than a week after Boston, but a favorite 50k of many.  Super hilly, so I can always just power walk and easy run it.
• MMT 32 miles Pacing - in what should be a great experience, I'm going to sign up to pace someone for the final 32 miles of the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100.  It will be slow and rocky.
• OSS All Nighter 50 miler - a fairly technical night-time run on the original proving grounds of the CIA.  Its two 25 mile loops.  Excellent practice for running at night at Grindstone!
• Catoctin 50k - a hilly, summer-time 50k in Maryland during July heat.
• Reston Century Bike Ride - to give my (running) legs a break and get maximal time in on the bike.
• Iron Mountain 50 miler - I conquered the 30 miler, now I want to tame the 50.  An insanely hilly course should provide for one last great training run before I get ready for Grindstone.
• Backroads Century Bike Ride - A more scenic century than Reston to help me recover from Iron Mountain and get a day long workout in.  Probably my last major cycling event of the season.
• Rim2Rim2Rim - A growing legend among Ultra-Runners.  Not a race, but a challenge - to run from one rim of the Grand Canyon to the other side and back in a day.
• Grindstone 100 miler - my first 100 miler!  And it won't be easy.
• Mountain Masochist 50 Miler - Another east coast favorite.  Things will be dicey having run Grindstone just 6 weeks prior.
• Hellgate 100k - the ultimate in self-loathing.  Starting at midnight, in winter, one final death-march to becoming "The Beast"!

This might look like a crazy schedule, but when you think about it, each race is really a training run for the next one.  I would not in a million years run this many road marathons in one year.  I also have another dozen or so shorter road races penciled in, but I've decided to make those all optional in favor of my goal Ultra races.