Going back to Cactus....

In light of the demise of my Grindstone 100 plans, I've shifted my focus toward a return to the hills of central Texas for Cactus Rose 100 later this month. I think that from a physical fitness standpoint I am in a pretty good place right now. After my difficult 30-hour epic ordeal from last year I think I still have something to prove to myself out there. As it stands right now I'll be following the same schedule as late 2014-early 2015: Cactus Rose 100 in a few weeks, followed by a few weeks of rest before I gear up for the gauntlet of the Bandera 100k in January, Rocky Raccoon 100 in February, and Boston Marathon in April. I'm looking forward to improving on my ultra distance races and then seeing how things shake out in Boston. I think I may have worked a few things out in training that could help - not to mention I've spent the summer preparing for a mountain race. We'll see how it comes together on race day.

Grindstone....Cancelled!

I shake my fist at you, Joaquin!

While I've heard that in Hartford, Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen, apparently in Virginia this is not the case. Sadly, Grindstone 100 was cancelled this year on account of one such hurricane. It seems that the uncertainty of the direction of the newly minted Hurricane Joaquin has given the US Forest Service in Virginia pause, and the risks of flooding and severe weather appear too great to allow our race (or anything else for that matter) to move forward this weekend.

It's a tough one, but I know that the folks who had to make the call are taking everyone's safety into account. Ultrarunners are by nature a hardscrabble bunch but the last thing anyone wants is a story in the news about someone getting swept away in a flash flood.

So it's time to move on. I don't consider my summer of training to be for naught though. I am looking at a couple of other races over the coming weeks that could fit the schedule for a fall 100 miler. Right now the most likely candidate seems to be Cactus Rose 100, which would set the stage for another run at the Tejas 300. I'm having a hard time getting over the "been there, done that" feeling though. I would like to have a chance to improve upon my time at Cactus Rose from last year, so there's that. We'll see. 

In the mean time, it's back to training for me.


UPDATE:

Thanks to some last-minute efforting on the part of the RD, the race will take place after all - one week later. Unfortunately my schedule doesn't allow me to travel that weekend so I'll put this race on the shelf and thanks to a deferred entry and reduced entry fee keep it in the bag as a possibility for 2016. Hopefully the trails will be clear and dry for the runners on race day!