I was going to hold off on posting this for a bit, but I'm sick in bed, so I've got some time on my hands. (I haven't been sick since early May, so I'm glad I was able to fend things off this long— good timing too during a recovery week.) I'm currently planning on the following races in 2012:
- Tallahassee Marathon (2/5) - Tuneup for Albany, should be a good opportunity to get a quality effort in during my marathon Specific Phase. I would normally do a hard 24 miler, but I think it's fairly likely that the weather in Chicago will be ridiculous in February, so off to Tallahassee it is!
- U.S. Cross Country Championships (2/11) - I've always wanted to race US Cross; hard to pass up when it's so close, should be a lot of fun.
- Albany Marathon (3/3) - Peak marathon, hoping to PR and perhaps get into the two-teens.
- Chicago Lakefront 50k (3/31) - I'm taking some down time after Albany, so this will be a first race/long run back. Not planning on going after Dave Dunham's ridiculous record or anything like that.
- American River 50 Mile (4/7) - First hard effort of my spring/summer ultra season. Really looking forward to checking out this classic race. I think it suits me well.
- Ice Age 50 Mile (5/14) - Really excited about this; local race for me (more or less), and as part of the Montrail Ultra Cup this year and a qualifier for Western States, there's likely to be some great competition.
- Mount Washington (U.S. Mountain Running Championships) (6/16) - Going to go mix it up on the course with "only one hill," try to make the Worlds team. Hopefully this race draws a competitive field (see Rickey Gates' call to arms).
- Knee Knacker 50k (7/14) - Subject to lottery, would be nice to head up to Vancouver. I hear it's pretty technical.
- White River 50 Mile (7/28) - Another competitive 50 mile, keep 'em coming.
- TransRockies Stage Run (8/14 - 8/19) - This race seems incredibly awesome and I really want to do it. However, my participation will be subject to both having a running partner (may have something in the works) and finding a comp! :)
- New York City Marathon (11/4) - Peak marathon for the season. I'm hoping to really rock a long Fundamental Phase (while running all the above ultra and/or mountain races) and then hit a focused Specific Phase for NYC.
"All I want to do is drink beer and train like an animal."
—Rod Dixon