Plans

It's not the end of the year yet but I'll already giving some thought to upcoming races, races I hope to do (and do well in) and goals I would like to set and achieve through the upcoming year. On deck is the Baltimore City Marathon. I had no plans for this race other than run it faster then last year and feel well enough afterwards to hot a decent training run to prepare for Stone Mill. However my big PR marathon wasn't able to happen for me so I hope to do a little better then first thought while still leaving some in the tank. As close to 4:00 as possible is the plan. After that it's Stone Mill 50 and a sub 12:00 is the plan for me. A lot depends on conditions of course and how long I'll be running in the dark. Just finishing a 50 always makes me happy though. I may run the NCR Marathon the week after - real slow - just to see if I can do it. It's a race that's been on my list for a few years now.. It's a maybe. After that I'll be looking for a ha;f-marathon to finish the year out in December. Last year I ran the Blue and Grey Half in Fredricksburg VA. and if I can't find one close I'll do it again. It's a tough course - hillier than I would have thought. This will put me for at least one race a month for the last two years. So finding a race will be a priority. And that puts me into the new year. I'll start it off (again) with Nelson's Fat Ass 50k - it's a home turf race, low key and fun. A great way to start out the year. My plan is to do a winter series - Nelson's followed by the Mid MD. 50K another local race and then in short order Hashawa Hills 50k, Seneca Creek 50 and HAT 50k - this will be a great challenge - one more winter race then last year (HAT) and should leave me in great shape to think about a spring 50 or even 100. Nothing in deck but I'll be in shape for something so I'll keep my eyes open. The big races for the year will be CAT (of course) and I'm hoping for the Laurel Highlands 70+ trail race. It's a tough course that runs like a 100. It's in early June which will give me the legs for CAT and plenty of time to recover. I'm even considering training for the North Face Endurance Challenge 50k the week before Laurel Highlands. That's another maybe though. And goals? Run consistent 5ks in the 22:00's, 45:00 10k, sub 1:50 half, sub 4:00 marathon and PR in a 50k (5:56) Doable with consistent hard work.
So that's the plan so far!

Thanks for reading,
Eric