A nod from Geoff

I'm not sure how I missed this post from Geoff last friday (must have come out during my run), but it was an honor to even be mentioned in this list.

To be completely frank, I'm not sure I belong on the list with those other guys, but I agree with Geoff's assessment, I think the bigger and longer the race, the better I may do. That's been a bit of a self realization with me, both on an enjoyment and a performance level. I enjoy the epicness of the run perhaps more than anything really, that feeling when you get back to your car and go "wow." Sort of a sense of disbelief in what you have just experienced and how far you've travelled.

To that end, my racing this year will definitely be more limited with the child on the way. Rachel had her first exam this week and it went really well. We've got one kid coming and a due date of September 24th. Immediately I thought about that time of year and how cool it is to have a birthday then. That time falls in line with my favorite race (although it's been my nemisis from a performance place), Run Rabbit Run. I really look forward to sharing that with the little one when he/she comes as I have with Rachel and Xavier the last two years.

I'm really looking forward to racing this year, even though I'm not currently lined up for something "big". I hope to get myself into top form by July to be able to take a realistic shot at a record. I'm also looking forward to having fun at Way Too Cool. I think the race being so big, with so many fast dudes has me pumped up even though I know I won't be competing up front. I think a good race from me would bring me up near the top women, but that may be pushing it a bit as I don't really have much of the leg speed to be up there. If I can keep it close to the hills, I'll have a shot to not get chicked, but we'll just have to wait and see. Cheynne Canyon will be super fun too, I'm really excited to be on new trails and explore. The race should be small, but JT and I have some beer exchanging to do after his throwdown in NOLA.

After that, I am looking to lay down a solid race at Big Horn, with some outside intentions of seeing how feasible a shot at the CR will be. The 50K is devoid of any huge climbs, but from what I understand the course is pretty rough. The downhill is what really gets my blood pumping, it's the thing I do best, and there's a lot of it in the 50K. Then I'll put in one more push of training and taper off for July. I'm still not certain what I'll be doing then, but I know as long as I can stay healthy, I'll be pushing the training hard and getting ready. Most likely this will be for either North Fork or Silver Rush.

One thing I can tell you for sure; a mountain 100 is in my future, and I'm stoked for it when it comes.