Sadly the lottery gods did not smile upon me this year (again) and there will be no Western States 100 in my near future. That doesn't mean it's still not a part of my long-term plans, but in the meantime I have decided that I need to change things up a bit. To that end, I am taking a break from the trails for just for a little while.

From a mental standpoint I'm feeling a little burned out. I'm not really excited about charging full steam ahead into 2016 with 2 big ultras on the docket in the first 2 months of the year (Bandera 100k and Rocky Raccoon 100). I know I could finish them, but my hope is that by stepping back a bit I could allow my body the chance to rest and rebuild and set myself up for better races later in the year.

So it's back to the roads for a bit for me. I am looking forward to a period of some easy running and strength training for a few weeks before starting a marathon program in the spring in preparation for Boston. I'll probably throw in some shorter, faster races like 10k's and a half marathon or two along the way. The trails will still be there - in fact  I intend to fulfill my 2016 Western States qualifier at either the Wasatch Front 100 in Utah or Grindstone 100 in Virginia (part 2). But for now, a different path is before me.