It’s pretty funny how plans can change so quickly.

Earlier this year I registered for the Colorado 200 50 mile solo race that my awesome coach puts on through her company Rugged Running.  Unfortunately Michele and Wyatt had to cancel the race this year due to logistical issues, which was  a huge bummer but totally understandable.  I was left with no races on the calendar for 2017 and for a brief moment thought, okay, I’m not racing this year.  That’s fine.  But of course, that never happens.  Instead, within the next week, I found myself getting antsy and thinking about all the possibilities for 2017 races and asking around within my group of runner friends for some beautiful and fun local(ish) races.

A bit overwhelmed with a huge list of awesome possibilities, I was at a loss for which ones to go for.  But then the question was answered for me.  Turns out the Never Summer 100k, which I’ve wanted to do for a couple years now and have heard nothing but raves about, is on my birthday this year.

So that was easy.

The new race calendar for 2017:

• April – Palmer Lake 24 hour run
• May – Quad Rock 25 mile
• July – Never Summer 100k

And tentatively for 2018, depending on how this year’s races and my Ph.D. stuff go (I will hopefully be finishing up this time next year):

• High Lonesome 100 mile (new for 2017, and looks incredible!)

I’ve been enjoying the beautiful spring weather here in Boulder and getting out for more trail time.  I always seem to have a hard time getting out in the winter, no matter how much I say it’s going to happen.  You know what?  I just don’t like to be cold, dammit.  But once the gorgeous spring weather rolls around, those trails start calling my name.  Last weekend I took Rocket out for a loop of North Table Mesa in Golden and we had a ball.  I also enjoyed the part where he slept for the entire rest of the day/evening once we got home. 🙂  It takes a lot to wear that dog out.

In addition to ramping up my training, I’m also conducting a bit of an experiment with my nutrition.  I’ve wanted to try to fat-adapt for a couple years now but never actually dove in and tried it.  But for the past week and a half, I’ve been sticking to a low carb high fat (LCHF) diet (yes, you can do this as a vegetarian!) and am really loving it so far.  For that first couple days, my run energy was pretty low as my body started to make the switch (it usually takes a few weeks for your body to fully adapt, but some people – myself included – start to feel better within a few days).  But after about 5 days or so, I was feeling much more energetic, no longer had swings in my blood sugar, had lost all my carby/sugar cravings, and was feeling constantly satiated.  I also had an amazing run around North Table Mesa and felt a dramatic improvement from how I felt on previous laps of the same location when I was supposedly in better shape and better trained.  So that’s been good inspiration to continue with this experiment!  I’ll write more about it and in more detail in a couple weeks when I have more of the story to tell.  So far, so good.