I recently finished the Kathoola 50K Snowshoe Race on January 25th, 2014. I have to admit, snowshoeing is not my favorite sport, but of the 5 times I have started this course, my only other finish was in 2011 after climbing Kilimanjaro. I've made a commitment to train hard this year, to push through my anxiety of the past. Push through POTS, push through adrenal fatigue, push through major surgery. That is what has been my last three years. I have been working to improve myself and get back in the game as an ultra marathon runner. It is a sport that I love, but developed some PTSD symptoms over racing after a couple of years of setbacks.We all have things to push through, and this race was one of them. I pushed through it. I broke through a wall when I did 50 miles of the Yellowstone/Teton 100miler, after not having finished 50 miles in over 2 years. I finished 50k on Antelope Island two weeks later. Since then I have been working on nutrition, and pushing through emotional walls in training, making sure my running dreams are not put on the sidelines as my business and practice grows. Running isn't everything, but it is important to have dreams, and to keep dreams alive. Running is about bettering ourselves.
One week after finishing the 50k on January 25th, I did another 30 miles, this time keeping a 5mph average pace most of the time. Not my fastest, but not my slowest either :) My speed is improving, my body is starting to work for me more consistently, and my mindset is pushing through the anxiety of not being able to finish.
I am now scheduled to run the following
March 21-22 Buffalo 100m on Antelope Island
March 28th Behind the Rocks 50m Moab
June 7th Squaw Peak 50 m
August 2nd Katchina Mosa 100 K
September 5th and 6th Wasatch 100m
September 20 and 21st Yellowstone/Teton 100m
And I will probably throw in a 100K on Antelope Island again in November.
I hope to be much much faster by September and complete Wasatch 100m with a strong finish :) I am thinking I want an under 30 belt buckle.
