Racing Miles.

One thing my Leadville training plan is really lacking is any kind of competition.  That lack has me thinking about what races I can do in the months leading up to the big dance.

The question is two fold really:

1. Are there races which fit well into my training program and
2. can I afford to run them?  

There is one race which satisfies criteria 1 and one race which I can convince myself satisfies criteria 2.  

The Desert Rats Trail Festival in Fruita in April really fits well into my training program.  On back to back days there is a 50 mile race and a half marathon in the desert in western Colorado.  I'm familiar with the course and it would give me the opportunity to try out fueling options and see how much my form has progressed since my first year of ultra running.  With the form I have now, I think I might go under 10 hours on the 50 mile course.  Meaning that my total time would be less than double my time in the 25 in 2010.  The problem with the Fruita 50 is that the financial burden would be close to $2000 for the week.  Kind of steep for a training run.

The Keys 100 is the the race I'm starting to convince myself is affordable now.  For less than $1000, airfare and race entry are covered.  Car rental seems to be coming in around $250, but there are public transportation options of which I could avail myself.  Then there's lodging.... 

Aaaargh!  Never mind.

This is so freaking frustrating.  

I wish there were a running scene in Bolivia.  There isn't.  It's just me, a bunch of angry dogs, and people who give me weird looks.  The longest race I've heard of is 20 kilometers long and I was injured when it went down.  There are others, but they're more destination events for wealthy European and American running tourists, and they don't fit into my training schedule for Leadville anyway.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll enjoy reading about your racing miles - it keeps me motivated.
Jay