Rugged Individualist. Certified USA Triathlon Coach & NASM Personal Trainer, Men's Self Improvement Coach. President of Go Farther Sports. National Ranked Triathlete & 100 Mile Grand Slam Ultrarunner, only the fourth New Yorker to finish four of the oldest and most prestigious 100 mile ultramarathons in the U.S. in only 10 weeks.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Awaiting the Western States Lottery - And Maybe the Slam

One more week before I finally am able to set up my 2013 season schedule. The deciding day is, of course, the Western States 100 Lottery on Saturday December 8. That is, coincidentally, the same day as I am doing the Greenbelt Trail Festival 50k. That means that after the race I can log on and see whether I'm in the race or not.

Mile 4 of the Western States 100, near Squaw Valley. Look at that scenery, baby!


And a whole slew of decisions are to follow after that. I've already decided to attempt Leadville 100 again next year, after my bitter, bloody defeat on the slopes of Hope Pass in 2011. My girlfriend and a mutual friend of ours will be going out there to do the Transrockies Run3 Race a few days before, so it would be great to see her in action while prepping for Leadville. With the addition of the Western States 100, I would be already attempting half of the Grand Slam of Ultramarathoning.

 The upper reaches of Hope Pass, above the treeline. Scenery, baby, gotta love it!


To complete the Slam also requires the Vermont 100 race, which I have completed twice. It is also the closest of the races, requiring only a drive instead of a plane.

The Vermont 100. Scenery and horses, baby!


The organizers have already opened up the registration on December 1 and they are on the verge of selling out already! What the heck? Only 2 years ago one can wait until March to sign up for this race. I would have never thought that 100 mile races would actually become popular enough to sell out like this, but there it is.

The organizers of the Vermont 100 have assured all potential Slammers that they can enter the race if they are accepted into the other races of the Slam, which is fine by me.

The last race of the Slam is the Wasatch Front 100 in September. All I know about the race is that it is hilly. Very hilly. I think I heard about 25,000 foot elevation change from start to finish. And since it comes last in the Slam, it will be quite fun to do this race on tired legs, yikes! Their registration also opened up on December 1 but they aren't close to being full yet.

Wasatch 100. Um, scenery? Looks like this scenery can kill me, baby!


If I win and do decide to do the Slam next year, it would only be a one-time thing. The expense of going out to the West Coast 3 times next year will probably cause me to race only locally for the next 2 years after that, so I have to make sure I get the best chance of finishing the entire thing. And that means being as fit, or even fitter, than my triathlete days of the 1990s.

That is why I am trying to stress the diet part of the training plan, because I do believe this is where it makes or breaks my attempt at the Slam. As of right now, the Primal Diet seems to be the best plan, and you will see me posting up some primal food recipes more frequently on this blog.

So wish me luck. Oh yeah, if I don't win a spot in the Western States lottery, I won't sweat it. There are other options too, like doing The Beast Series down in Virginia.

I'm still going to Leadville though. I got a little revenge to take care of there next year. :-)

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On the SIAC front, there is a meeting tonight at Pepperjacks Grill at 7:30PM. It's all about the elections, so it's important to come on down if you're a SIAC member.

SIAC will also have a Holiday Party at the Staaten on December 15. There will be a slideshow thanks to Josh Pesin as well as awards. And good food and drinks, of course. Oh, and about the slideshow...it could be called an "xtremely" funny movie. ;-)

On the siXac ("xtreme") front, I did mention above that the big local race of the year is the Staten Island Trail Festival Races. You can go short with the 10k, go longer with the 25k, or go ultra with the 50k option. There will also be a 5k option available after Hurricane Sandy cancelled the Fall Flat 5k race in November.

Two other things to mention (I will give fuller details in the near future). Our siXac meeting is slated for Thursday January 10 at 7PM at Unicorn Diner in Bulls Head. Yeah, Thursday, not Wednesday. Had to do it some important people associated with siXac are available. We will be discussing the club's involvement in some key trail races in 2013.

Lastly, there is the Watchung Winter Trail Races on January 5. There is the half marathon, the full marathon, and the ultra (50k) option. Watchung is a great place to run on trails, and for only $25, it's definitely worth considering. I'll let you know more about it in the future.

Now back to your regular scheduled program. :-)

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