rebooting

It's good to take some down-time. At least that's what I'm trying to make myself believe. This past year has not been my best year of running, but it is not at all the worst either. I managed to finish every 100(+) I entered, yet my times are getting progressively slower. I abbreviated Turkey and TATURs stopping at 25K. I ran a non-contested 100 miles at Pumpkin Holler in 31+ hours. No adrenaline of the race to spur me along, and even though I was proud to go the distance, I was a little disappointed in being so slow. In the 15 days since my Pumpkin Holler run, I've ran a mere 27 miles, my lowest streak in years. I feel tired, sluggish, useless, depressed. It's not REAL bad, but I know what I need to do. A one-dimensional self-proclaimed trail zombie needs something on the calendar to train for. So for now, I will remind myself of what is on the short-term calendar.

1. Isle du Bois Trail Run - Saturday December 10, 2011 – Pilot Point, Texas. This is a 50K near Denton, Texas along the shores of Lake Ray Roberts. My buddy David Hanenburg of Endurance Buzz is the creator and RD of this race, and it looks to be a good time. I will run this for the fun of it, and look for me to earn that "tough as nails" distinction in the EB race report.
2. Race Into the New Year - Saturday December 31, 2011 11:45 pm - Westside River trails. This is a race where one start one year, and finish the next year. I stand a good chance on NOT being DFL in this one, and even enjoy both of the champagne stops along the way.
3. Polar Bear Plunge - Sunday January 1, 2012 - Westside River trails near Westport Apartments. I have done this event every year, and each year it gets a little bigger and a little crazier. It started out with a wade into shallow water and dunking yourself if you dared. Then the next year, a submersion was required. Then, they added a river scramble and a swim under a net. The next year, a dive into a pool was thrown into the mix. Last year, the river dip was out, but we had to dive into three pools. This year, three pools are back, and they are promising water at 34°. This surely involved large quantities of ice being added to the pools. That is just cruel!!!
4. Athens/Big Fork Trail Marathon - Saturday January 7th, 2012 - Big Fork, Arkansas. The hardest marathon I have ever run, and I believe the hardest marathon on the planet. A lofty claim??? Show me a harder one. Pikes Peak? Maybe. Leadville Marathon? Maybe. Anyone done all three? I'd love to hear the comparison.

This gets me into mid January, and time to decide what is next. Rocky Raccoon? Rouge Orleans? AOK 50K? White Rock 50K? Post Oak? Or maybe I need to adopt the race less/run more approach.