Now that the holidays are over I have had some time to reflect on my 2011 season. All and all I am pleased with the strides I made during the 2011 season as I settled some scores from last season, DNF at UROC 100k & MMTR 50, and ran PRs in both 50k and 50M. I ran ten ultras last season and gained some much needed experience. Just having all those races posed new and different challenges: nutrition, elevation, trying out new gear, and weather. Moving forward I believe these experiences will soot me well considering my goals for the 2012 season, which includes me attempting my first 24 hour timed event (I did a 12 hour race last season) and my first 100 miler. Along with these two big challenges I am also competing in the Lynchburg Ultra Series, LUS, which should get me ready for Vermont 100. I will probably do a few more races during the season that I enjoy, such as Capon Valley 50k and possibly UROC 100k again, but I feel as if my schedule has a good mix of new challenges and good ol' familiar races.
I decided to take much of December off to rest my mind more so then my legs, I realized at Stone Mill that I was mentally drained from all the races. Now it's time to start my training again and I am really looking forward to improving my speed, or lack there of, and climbing. I have begun running 15% hill repeats on a treadmill once a week and am concentrating on more track workouts too. Hopefully mixing more speed workouts along with higher weekly mileage will improve my times in 2012. Above all I want to race in 2012 and not just run, I am a competitive person and believe I can do better and now I am going to see what I can do. Hope everyone had a good season last year and wish everyone best of luck in 2012.
See ya on the trails,
JP
