1.2% > 0.0% - Western States Lottery and 2020

Saturday December 7th is the Western States Lottery. For those not familiar, Western States is the Boston Marathon of Ultra Running, the most prestigious and hardest to get into. Because so many qualify (this year 6000+) for a little over 300 spots they hold a lottery each year to give everybody a mostly equal chance. The more years you've qualified, the more tickets you get (there are 27,000 tickets in the lottery this year). This year I have 1 ticket so I have 1.2% chance of getting in. Considering I had thought next year would be the first year I qualified just having a chance is a victory for me.

This lottery is the first step in planning out my 2020 as most of the big races have a lottery system which means you have to plan out your year early so you can enter the lotteries. For me that meant building a schedule that allowed me to progress as an ultra runner and give a solid chance of doubling my tickets for the 2021 Western States Lottery (each year you don't make it your number of tickets doubles). I've also already entered the Manchester to Monadnock race in May which at 55 miles will be a perfect warm up race for a June ultra and the Mad Marathon in July which will help keep me motivated and moving as I transition into training for the fall. Lastly, hopefully I'll get into the NYC Marathon in November and check that off my list.

Scrolling through the different qualifying races I set out to find 2 so that I wasn't putting all my eggs in one basket - a 100k in spring/early June and a 100 miler in the fall. I also wanted to move away from the safety of a looped course and do my first point to point races with significant elevation. Removing races in other countries and in early 2020 I started scanning race reports and course profiles. There was a certain vibe I was looking for that I can't really put into words, in short the race just had to grab me. I needed to feel excited about the adventure. Some races wouldn't pose enough of a challenge or just didn't look interesting.

How bad ass is this buckle.

Eventually I landed on the Superior 100 and knew immediately this was the one. First of all Lake Superior, which is a place I've never been and the pictures looked gorgeous. Secondly, the belt buckle was huge, gaudy, and bad ass. Lastly it looked really well organized and as a point to point with 20,000ft of elevation would be far beyond anything I'd ever done before. Unfortunately there is a lottery in early January so I am not guaranteed a slot but that's my A+ goal race for 2020.

A goal in place, I set about finding a 100k race to run a few months prior. To succeed at Superior I need a few 10+ hour efforts in my bank and I needed to hit some solid elevation. The M2M race in May will be a great starting point, especially taking on the mountain after a 50 mile warm up. A couple options were ok but then I came across the Laurel Highlands Ultra in PA and the more I read the more I wanted to do it.

Pictures like this make the Laurel Highlands Ultra a must

This is as old school as it gets. No online entry, you print out an application and mail it in. They don't tell you when they're posting the application (usually around Thanksgiving) so you have to keep checking the site which appealed to my OCD, and they don't tell you if you get in. When your check is cashed you know you're in. 70.5 miles point to point and over 10,000 feet of elevation, mostly at the beginning. Everything I read about the race was positive and it fit in perfectly with my schedule. Done and Done.

And with that my 2020 is roughly sketched out:

- Disney Marathon/hopefully BQ early January

- Build back up my mileage and elevation from January to March

- Some sort of race in March/April and get back onto the trails

- Manchester to Monadnock in May and Laurel Highlands in June

- Hard training and elevation July and August with the Mad Marathon

- Superior 100 in September or an alternate race if I don't get in

- NYC Marathon in November

My lottery entry is assured

MARATHON TRAINING

I've been following the BAA training plan pretty faithfully and keeping my mileage to 60 miles a week. My plan from the start was less is more, rely on my base, and don't max out in any one effort. There's a lot more speed and tempo work than I've done in the past but I can see how it all fits in. The hardest part is just not knowing exactly what my 10k or half marathon pace is any more because I haven't run those distances in a while. My previous 10k pace was around 6:50 but what feels like a 10k effort has me running sub 6:30 mile repeats. Based on the fact I don't feel wasted after the worked I'm going with it.

Nov/Dec Marathon training means a lot of miles in the dark. F U Daylight Savings

What's also different is every long run has a tempo aspect to it. 3x4miles at marathon pace or 10 miles at marathon pace after 10 miles easy. The end result is I'm definitely feeling faster and more locked into my goal. I'm still not the metronome I'd like to be with my goal pace but I'm getting there. I also have a significantly deeper pain cave than I did before. There's times when I can just put the pain aside and lock in on holding pace and form to finish whatever mile or repeat I'm on. I'll have to see how that transitions to a race and I still can't call on it on command but it's reassuring to know it's there.

With November coming to a close it's one month of marathon training down and one to go. Barring any unforseen circumstances I should be able to hit my 2019 goal of 3000 miles. I'm not looking forward to the cold early morning runs, wiser older me wonders what the hell I'm thinking going out in this stuff. Maybe I should listen to wiser older me more, he enjoys sleeping in and eating wings.

Tomorrow. Today I have some cold miles to put in.