I am always looking for something that will motivate me to keep running through the coming Dark Months - Months that usually rob me of my desire to keep running.  I know, motivation should come from within, but during the Dark Months my inner motivation usually stays in bed on those cold, dark mornings.

Back in the 70's I considered writing a book titled, "How Can I Train For The Olympics When I Can't Get Out Of Bed In The Morning".  It would have made a great movie.   I have the same problem now as I did then.  I call it Warm Bed Syndrome or WBS.  I am sure most readers have had dealt with WBS at one time or another.  You know what I mean.

For this coming  season of the Dark Months I am using the Chuckanut Mountain 50K Race which is on Saturday, March 17 as my motivation.  This trail run is held in the Bellingham area and is popular for island trail runners.  You can learn more about the race by visiting http://www.gbrc.net/chuckanut50k.php.  A 50K race is equal to 31.068 miles.  About five miles longer than a marathon.

The profile of this race is basically running straight up and then running straight down, with a bunch of little ups and downs.  Should be fun, right?

My training for the next couple of months is basically this:  get out of bed in the morning and run and where from 3 to 10 miles.  Depending on the day.  And running up and down any hill I can find.

Stay tuned, this should be interesting.