Lotteries and Possibilities for 2015

Time to start seeing what my 2015 racing season is going to look like!

Tomorrow is the Hardrock 100 lottery. With 2 tickets in the draw, I have a 2.5% chance of winning a spot in Hardrock next year. I have mixed feelings either way this shakes out. If I fail to get in, I can save my money for other races, like the USA Triathlon Nationals. If I do get in, however, I'll definitely accept the coveted spot in one of the toughest footraces in the world.

The other lottery that I'm in, the UTMB, doesn't draw until February. With that lottery I have a very good shot of getting in. Second year participants usually enjoy a more than 50% chance at getting in. I'm seriously wanting to get into this race next year.

So this leaves 4 possibilities on how the season shakes out.

1) I win both Hardrock and UTMB.

If by some miracle I get into both UTMB and UTMB next year, my season is set. Those are the races I'll be gunning for next year. My budget my be a bit stressed on this, but I think I can stretch the money far in case of this possibility.

2) I win Hardrock but not UTMB.

I would definitely focus on Hardrock, but I will need all 8 points to get into UTMB the following year. Rocky Raccoon will supply 3. If I complete Hardrock that would give me 4, but Hardrock is so tough that there's a good possibility that I won't finish the race, so I'll need another 3 or 4 point 100 miler to cover this race. Maybe Javelina would help here. The remaining 1-2 points can be made in any 50 mile race, North Face would be ideal here.

3) I don't win Hardrock but win UTMB.

I'll need a Hardrock Qualifier race in order to continue accumulating tickets for the Hardrock lottery. I'm currently lookint at Cruel Jewel 100 in May to cover that.

4) I don't win either lottery.

The worst of all scenarios, I'll have to get both 8 points AND complete a Hardrock qualifier. I might have to go out west and try for Bighorn or The Bear 100. That would give me the qualifier for the next Hardrock lottery and give me 4 points towards UTMB. With Rocky Raccoon, that would give me 7 points, and all I would need is a 1 point race to give me 8 for UTMB.


So here goes! Tomorrow is the Hardrock lottery, and 2 of these possibilities will be eliminated tomorrow. Which two? I will know in 24 hours.

Runners, don't wait until New Years - Make your resolution now about your diet or you'll regret it.

Every fall, there are always three HUGE days in which diets can fall by the wayside.

Number one is Halloween. This is one holiday where one needs to make sure that the Halloween candy goes to the kids hands and not into your stomach. Make sure that there is only enough candy for the kids so that you have very little extra after the holiday is over. Oh, and if you're one that has kids and received candy. Well, I fear for you. You're going to have to trust in your willpower to not eat all of your kid's candy.

Second is Thanksgiving. This has turned out to be a huge gorge-fest. I've found that getting just a little bit of every dish will work out to be a full meal, and nothing more. This will also help spread out the leftovers for the following week.

The third is Christmas. Now, I'm not talking about just the day, but the ENTIRE MONTH. Everyone I know has at least 2-3 holiday parties that they will be going to, especially running clubs. The food will be plentiful! Willpower needs to come into play here also. Also, the strategy here is *not* to park yourself next to where the food is. That is where the temptation will overcome you. The best thing is to situate yourself in another room, making strategic runs to the food and drink only when necessary. This way you don't wind up eating more than 5000 calories at the party.

There's a reason why most New Year's weight loss resolutions come out at the beginning of each year. It's mainly because people were so out of control with their eating during the holidays that they come into New Year's with a lot of guilt.

Try not to be like them this season. Start your resolution now and hold those regrets.

USA Triathlon Champs, Old School Coaching and Business Philosophy

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I just got an email from USA Triathlon that I have qualified for the 2015 USA Triathlon Nationals in Milwaukee next August 8.

That's great. I'm not sure where it's going to fit into my schedule, with UTMB and Hardrock being possibilities (both lottery draws), but I will pull all stops to try to make this race. It's been years since I've competed for a spot on Team USA. I might as well make the most of this again.

What is interesting is that I've already registered for the Atlantic City International Triathlon on August 9.

And hereis lies the challenge...how to get me, plus the gear to Atlantic City after finishing the race in Milwaukee.

With bike fees the way they are with airlines, it might be possible to use the TriBike Transport, but that will mean having no bike for Atlantic City, since Tribike transports the bike by truck.

Which means it might be possible to revive my old Zipp bike for the AC race. Add this to the myriad of projects on my list!

Not mine, but looks just like it. A little TLC should bring it back to this condition.

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Most of the members of the Raritan Valley Road Runners had their best times in the Philly Marathon! Congratulations to them all on such great racing.

That might mean more members coming into the track training program this spring. As a coach, I'm glad to see results as such in races. I always aim to be the best in my field.

My father, who is also self-employed, instilled this "old school" philosophy into me. Basically, if you bust your butt helping out customers, you'll always get repeat customers and the best recommendations of them all, through word-of-mouth.

My father installed carpets in his 40+ year career. His advertising spending for the entire 40+ years? $0

His work was the advertising! He was successful through word-of-mouth and repeat customers. It's the way a true honest business runs. And to see customers happy was the best "payment" of them all.

I hope that I am following in his footsteps with my coaching. It's the only way to run an honest business. I'm glad for his life lessons on this.

Thank you Dad for your business sense!!!