Goals

I run with a friend of mine from work several days a week.  I ride most of those days and lately I have had a lot my mind.  The result of this is that I have been less than enthusiastic about running at lunch. Once he prods me into getting out there we do well. I am in the Army and we have very effective ways of motivating people to do things; the most common is to insult the person, call them mean names and humiliate them until you get your desired result. It is very effective and he usually resorts to that.  They are mostly social runs vs a race, discussions range from politics to politics.  On the past few runs he has been suggesting that we run an ultra marathon. 

 

Really.....an ultra marathon, we run about 3-4 miles on average and you want to jump to 60+ miles in some exotic location or extreme condition.  I am not that fond of running but his reasoning is sound; while we may not be as fast or trim as we were when we were young we are still in very good shape.  In fact I would venture to say that while I may not be as fast as I was (or as trim), overall I am physically stronger and more capable than I was when I was 19.  While I may not recover as quickly or bounce as well, mentally and emotionally I am stronger now than I ever was.  

 

I have decided that while I am still young, I need to challenge myself more.  There are a number of events I would like to try, mostly casual but there are a couple of races.  I have missed out on some of the event registration so in an effort to continually challenge myself, I have made a list of events I will participate in, some hard and some not so hard.

 

May:  Spring Tailwind Century--I did the fall version of this.  I don't recall that it was a ton of fun but it is a great concept.  The QCBC has a number of routes pre-planned.  The night before the route is chosen based on the most favorable tailwind.  Again, I did the fall version a year ago, not so favorable wind.

 

June:  TOMRV--I am told this is a heck of a ride.  A two day ride with 106 miles the first day and 90 or so the second.  I am told that there is a lot of climbing and that most are challenged because it is early in the season.  I have been cranking a lot more this year than in the past.  I don't think I will suffer as much as those who don't ride all winter.

 

July and August going to have no scheduled activities due to other stuff.  Household 6 would probably flip out if I scheduled anything during those months. 

 

September:  Buffalo Bill Century Ride--Looks good to me, I really know nothing about this. 

 

October:  Tour de BBQ in Kansas City--This 62 mile ride with BBQ stops looks great but the cost could become prohibitive.  I do have four kids to feed.  I will have to do some research on this as it gets closer. 

As a long term goal, I would like to try a longer gravel race.  I am looking at the Dirty Kanza for 2014 while I am still living in the area.  This fits into our lunch time run discussion.  I am not getting younger but at least I am not getting worse...for now.  I need to do some stuff while I can.