A Quick Look Ahead

I seem to have recovered pretty well from the Las Vegas Marathon and training has now recommenced in full force as I prepare for my final race of the year - Across the Years 24 hour race. This will be my first attempt at racing for 24 hours and I have absolutely no idea how I'll get on. I do have a goal in mind as I need something to aim for, but I'm not sure whether I am being  overly ambitious with my expectations. All I have to go on is the 100 mile race that I did a couple of years ago on the trails in St Paul, northern Alberta. I finished that race in just over 21 hours having spent considerable time running alone in the dark and during the night, with just the glow from my headtorch for company. The terrain was variable and followed open fields and forest trails up and down hills, as well as the occasional scrambling over fences and numerous gates, being guided by reflective flags that marked the unknown trails ahead of me.

Across the Years will be very different. The course consists of a loop that is about a mile round, and it is highly unlikely that I will be spending much time on my own. The aid station will be there with supporters every mile as opposed to every 10 to 15 miles, and I'm pretty certain that I won't be taking any wrong turns! I genuinely believe that I should be able to cover a minumum of 100 miles, but unlike the Iron Horse 100 mile ultra that I did, the terrain will be far easier with predominantly gravel pathways and I won't have to contend with steep, muddy inclines. Despite the course being "easier", I will no doubt experience fatigue from using the same muscles over and over for a full 24 hours. 

The race will also be more of a mental game - going around in circles and changing direction every 4 hours  - it could potentially be mind numbingly boring, and yet I get feelings of nervous excitement and anticipation every time I think about it, and I'm extremely curious to see how I'll cope.

Training for such a race is of course different from the marathon, and I've already started with the back to back long runs. These runs have been done on the local trails which are extremely rocky and steep in parts, and I've certainly been feeling tired in the old legs. It's been tough, but then I need to teach my body to keep pushing forward even when it's tired, to delay the onset of fatigue that I will no doubt feel at ATY.

Rocky trails in the desert - Deem Hills

I've done some pretty awesome runs and I am feeling fit and strong, so hopefully all will come good on December 31st when I toe that start line and brace myself for 24 hours of continuous running.

Aside from race preparations, life at home has been pretty busy. I'm still awaiting a work permit so at the moment, I've having to keep myself amused during the day. Last week, Andy was working over in Sweden which meant I had access to a vehicle for a few days, so I seized the opportunity to get outdoors for some hiking with the dogs and to explore new running routes. I'd heard about Apache Wash from a few running groups here in Phoenix, so last week I ventured over there and had the most amazing walk with the pups. It was far quieter than some of the other trails we've explored recently and it felt pretty remote and well and truly in the desert - it's certainly a place I intend to head back to more frequently over the coming months. 

Apache Wash Hike

Apache Wash on a hot winter's day

Whilst I was in the area, I noticed the number of new homes that were being built in that particular area. We were recently informed that our current landlady will be selling her house in the new year, so we've spent the past couple of weeks looking at various new build homes and property to rent. I found the residential areas close to Apache Wash quite appealing, and having taken Andy over there to take a look with me, we both agreed that the location was far more convenient and better met our needs. With having to move out of our current home just after Christmas, we decided that it was too short notice for us to purchase a property that we really wanted to invest in, and so instead we scoured the web for property rentals instead. Today we took a look at one of those properties, and whilst it isn't new, it felt homely and so we will once again be moving house in the next couple of weeks and will hopefully be settled in for Christmas.

With not working yet, I have been looking at volunteer opportunities that enable me to get invovled with the local running scene and to widen my social network here in Phoenix. Having being heavily involved in the running scene in a voluntary and competitor capacity whilst in both the UK and Canada, last week, I applied to become an ambassador for Aravaipa Running for 2016. I suspect that my application will be unsuccessful as there are so many other people more worthy than me for the role, and they will have far more knowledge about the local area than I do, but I'm always of the opinion that you shouldn't let these opportunities pass you by - there is still a chance that they may say yes!

In  addition to this, I have also registered with Beast Pacing to be a pacer for them at various races across the US. Whilst I have never been an official pacer, I have paced friends on numerous occasions in the past and having helped and observed them achieving their goals, it is something that I would like to do for others. 

Another area of volunteering that I have been involved with in a previous life is trail maintenance, and so I've been looking into volunteer opportunities with the Arizona Trail Association to assist with building and maintaining trails. I was delighted to see that they actually offered a training course for volunteers that are interested in helping out on the trails, covering everything from minimising erosion by selecting the best place for a new trail, to stone work and drainage amongst numerous other things, and with courses starting in January, this is something else that I am keen to get involved with.

Of course, I still miss running with my dogs and I think they too miss those special runs that we used to do together. Even during the winter months, it can still be too warm to run with the pups, and although early moring or late evening is more ideal temperature wise, it's dark at that time of day and so not feasible to take them out on the trails with them being so rocky and bumpy. Not wanting them to miss out on all the wonderful exercise they have become accustomed to, I've been trying to find activities for them to do that will keep them fit and healthy, and was really pleased to find a dog training school in nearby Cave Creek that not only has lure practices (which out two LOVE!) but also agility training and pool diving. Having discussed things with Andy, we've agreed to sign Wilson up for agility in the new year to help manage his passion for running and once trained, I'm hoping to compete with him at competitions when they come up. Of course, we also have Brandy who is far less agile that Wilson with being a larger dog, but she's happy to do the lure coursing and she will be there as Wilson's mascot when and if we manage to compete.

There is of course the need to find employment as soon as I am authorised to work here, and I've been giving this lots of thought in recent weeks. I'm still quite keen on setting up my own business and can see that dog walking and pet sitting seems to be in short supply where we currently live, and having spoken to folks at the dog park, many of them frequently comment that sometimes they don't have time to take their dogs to the park and they feel awful that they are missing out. I've also been considering doing freelance photography and covering the various sporting events here - both of the human and animal kind - and this is again something that I am keen to pursue over the coming months.

So unlike last month when I was at my wits end wondering how on earth I was going to keep myself entertained for much longer, I now have far more to look forward to, starting next weekend when I head back to Calgary for a few days. Our house up there is due to complete in December and there are a few things we need to do, but I'm also hoping to catch up with a few friends and get a mountain and snow fix or two whilst there.

Although I have lots in the pipeline over the coming months, I am of course a competitive runner and I have spent lots of time trying to find target races for next year. As previously mentioned, Across the Years 24 hour race is my current main focus, but after that, I am looking at doing another 100 mile race, this time in the beautiful Zion National Park. We went to Zion many years ago and it'll be great to go back and do some racing. I'm also looking at the possibility of doing a 50km trail race in Colorado followed by another 100 miler later in the year which is likely to be the more local Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Stage Coach 100 mile trail race.

There are still lots of things that I miss about Calgary, but now I'm looking deeper in to what is available in Arizona and beyond, I'm excited about new experiences and new adventures.  There are so many things to look forward to if all goes to plan, and it'll be great to see how both Andy and I, plus Wilson and Brandy - and Khayman of course - progress over the coming months.