It has been a while… Almost 6 months actually.
Since you last heard from me, a lot has happened. I ran the St. George Marathon with a 15 minute negative split and a 10 minute PR and I ran the Antelope Island 50K and came in 7th for women. It was a good year for racing, but not always a good year for running. I was hurt on and off and went through PT for both Piriformis Syndrome and my right ankle. It made me inconsistent and although I ran PRs and raced well, I certainly didn’t live up to my potential.
I’m hoping that this year will be different. I have a lot of plans and I’m ready for some really really big things. Actually, one super big thing. After years of talking about getting my name in the Western States Lottery, my goal for 2018 is to actually do it. This means I have some serious training to do and a lot of mountains to run up. I am also still absolutely petrified of the distance. With a few other races before the big one, I am hoping that I’ll toe the line of the Never Summer 100K without too much fear.
These days, I’ve become less of a road runner and more of a mountain runner. I spend my runs trying to get 2000+ feet of vertical gain and I do a lot of power hiking. I still sometimes do tempo runs and track workouts, but my goals have changed a lot. The track doesn’t get you ready for 13,000 feet of gain in a single race… only mountains can do that. Luckily for me, living in Salt Lake City, I have an abundance of mountains.
I have 5 races on my calendar for 2018 and I’ll blog as I train for them.
Antelope Island 50K – March 24
Salt Lake City Marathon – April 21
Squaw Peak 50-miler – June 2
Never Summer 100K – July 28
St. George Marathon – Oct 6
Join me as I train, race, hike, and get myself ready to run 64.2 miles in one day. It’s going to be a journey for sure!
Also, Elly is doing great, too! She’s not quite as excited for my ultramarathons. It means less cuddle time.
Do you have any big goals? What running goals scare you the most?
She Runs the Wasatch 
Congrats on the races you ran in 2017 and good luck for the ones you’re doing this year! I can’t imagine running that much, but my body is made much for half marathons than marathons or ultras.
LikeLike
Thanks! Yeah, it takes some getting used to. I do love half marathons though. I wish I had some time this year to train for one. Maybe next year.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Never Summer looks amazing! And difficult at the same time. Looking forward to following the journey!
LikeLike
Thanks! It looks pretty scary to me. 13,000 feet of vert makes me pretty nervous.
LikeLike
Go girl!! Congrats on your PRs and I’m excited for your big ultra goals! I wish I could run mountains with you in Utah. We have mountains here in PA, but I am used to these mountains… Where are you at in that pic with the tall yellow grass?
LikeLike
Come visit! You and Paul are welcome on my futon any time. That place is called stansbury Island. It’s a cool spot, but it can be about of a hit or miss. I prefer a place called antelope Island a lot more. It looks just like it.
LikeLike
We plan on visiting Utah and if you guys are still there when we get around to it I will trade you a futon for some trail runs with you. 🙂
LikeLike
I’m not leaving. I love it here. So I’ll still be here. And some trail runs sounds like an awesome trade. We can give you guys the grand tour of the Wasatch. 🙂
LikeLike
Nice to “see” you again! I kept meaning to email you, wondering how things were going.
13,000 ft of gain? Seriously, I don’t think I could do it. I’d never make the cutoff time, whatever that might be. I did one race that was about 1500 gain, and man, that was really tough! I think just the altitude at 13,000 would kill me.
My big goal for 2018 is to go longer than a half (but not a full).
LikeLike
I know! That kind of gain is crazy. It has me pretty nervous, but I have a good place to train for it, so I guess that’s good. Haha!
Yay for longer distances! I can’t wait to hear about it. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, you’re absolutely living in the right place to train for an ultra!
LikeLike