No Western Love For Me

The Western States 100 gods were not smiling upon me today. The lottery has taken place and doesn't look like my name got pulled. With a 1 in 5 chance of getting in, I'm not really surprised, but it was fun to think about.

There were over 1500 runners trying to get in and I just can't help but think that there is a better system than what was implimented this year. To be eligible, it just amounted to a click of a link and your name was put in the draw. No real commitment. Kind of makes you wonder how many people just signed up for the lottery on a whim and have no real interest in actually running. Taking credit card information and making it manditory to have completed a 100miler previously would have been a good start in weeding out the people who may not be serious in actually running it. There has been lots of discussion about WS100 on various other blogs recently and what they should have done. I'm sure there will be plenty more discussion in the future too.

Oh well, maybe next year. Yeah, I'm a little disappointed, but certainly won't loose any sleep over it. There are lots of other great races to plan for which I'm sure will be just as, if not more, exciting.

Now, if I can just get my knee healed up and can start training hard and planning for what that next race is going to be.

Week of November 23-29: Waiting for a Green Light

Western States 100 Lottery:
This weekend may find me glued to the laptop a little more than normal. The Western States lottery takes place on Saturday and I’ll have my fingers and toes crossed that I get drawn. I’d love to get in and the race will be the focus of the year if I do. With about an 18% chance of getting in, I’m not holding my breath though.

North Face 50:
Also of interest this weekend will be the North Face 50. Should be an awesome race and will be interesting to see how it plays out. Look for Uli Steidl and Geoff Roes to battle it out. Canadian darkhorse Jason Loutitt is racing as well and could surprise many with a high placing. With $10,000 on the line for the win, it’s sure to be a battle.

Training:
Some encouraging runs for me from this past week. Continue to see improvement, but resisting the urge to rush back too quickly. Knee is more stiffness now as opposed to pain. I’ll probably take another week of 20mins per day and then hope to be given the green light to start increasing. My quads seem to be getting stronger and more balanced, and my knee seems to be tracking better in my runs. I’m also able to run faster than I have been with less discomfort. All good. Onward.

Summary:
Total # of hours this week: 2:21
Total # of runs this week: 7
2009 total # of hours: 528:48
2009 total # of days: 340
2009 total # of runs: 420
Streak: 7,278 days in a row
Training Log Details

Western States 100 lottery

Only 29 days remaining until the Western States 100 lottery.

I put my name into the hat as this is the granddaddy of all 100 mile races. With it being so difficult to get in to, I figured I'd best start trying now.

Western States is conducted along the Western States Trail starting at Squaw Valley, California, and ending in Auburn, California, a total of 100 miles. The trail ascends from the Squaw Valley floor (elevation 6,200 feet) to Emigrant Pass (elevation 8,750 feet), a climb of 2,550 vertical feet in the first 4½ miles. From the pass, following the original trails used by the gold and silver miners of the 1850’s, runners travel west, climbing another 15,540 feet and descending 22,970 feet before reaching Auburn.

If I was able to get in, this would certainly be the focus race for 2010, however if not, there are plenty of other races to get excited about.