In running Ive always believed that its all about the next step not what has passed. Sure, you can enjoy a moment of success and take time to reflect on that but then what? This weekend I had planned a long run and it should have coincidentally been the WSER. With the cancellation and the prospect of the VT100 in just 4 weeks, you have to keep going, so yesterday I ran a local 50k course.

The conditions were humid and I ran out of fluids with around 7 miles to go, plus my legs were very tired after about 15. That might have been something to do with the disappointment of the last 24 hours, but it was a good psychological boost to finish and get home to eat and drink a ton of fluids!

There have been rumors that the Slam may be altered this year to include an alternative to the WSER, we’ll have to see how that pans out. However, it won’t be quite the same. I thought yesterday that assuming I can get a place in WSER 2009 I might consider the Slam as well. But there is the question of the other three races this year to consider first! The WSER outcome was a hiccup, before thinking too far ahead there is the next step to consider first.

The 35th Western States Endurance Run has been cancelled and with it my ambition to complete the Grand Slam this year. The WSER was the first of four events, so for this to happen it is a particularly frustrating situation. The cause of the cancellation was the numerous forest fires that have hit the region where the race was due to take place. Not only was access to aid station locations threatened but the air quality was also reported to be hazardous. The decision was therefore taken out of concern for the welfare not only of runners, but volunteers, supports and local rescue services. No one is to blame, it is simply an unfortunate situation.

That doesn’t dampen my disappointment though. Early in this blog I wrote about how I thought political boycotts of the olympics were pointless but also extremely cruel to athletes that had trained for long periods only to have their moment of opportunity taken away from them. My predicament might not be as comparable to an olympic games boycott but after so many miles training I’m faced with now having to motivate myself to take on three 100 milers without the same goal at the end. In 2008 there will be no Grand Slam.

But that is ultra running, there are no guarantees. There are no easy ultras, there are no certainties of finishing; entry, assuming you’re lucky enough to be selected, is a lottery. The events conspiring against the 2008 WSER have proved just that. The Vermont 100 is just 4 weeks away, without a race this weekend I’ll have to consider a long training run instead, but it might be one of the hardest training runs I’ll have recently undertaken.

Not long to go now until WSER. This week I’ve felt like a couch potato because, as everyone keeps telling me, it’s tapper time. It’s been a quiet week although I did sneak two short runs in today and hopefully a couple of hours tomorrow.

Having got most of the logistics organised months ago, I haven’t really given the race much thought, but over the weekend that will change. As the day draws nearer, I sometimes feel this is the hardest part because if I pick up an injury it could be a major and I dread coming into to contact with anyone exhibiting symptoms of a cold or something similar. But by this time next week, all those fears will be over!

What’s my goal for the race? To finish obviously, and within 24 hours would be nice but what will be, will be. Over these sorts of distances it is difficult to predict or plan what you’ll. On the day, it will simply be a case of see what happens.

Oops, it is easy to get out of the blogging habit, six days without posting isn’t a signal that I’ve stopped running, but I have slowed things down a bit. There are just 11 days until WSER, so it really is time to tapper. Like many runners, I find this a difficult thing to judge between feelings of not wanting to over do it and feeling lazy. Good sleep is another necessity, I’ve been burning the midnight a bit lately working on my web site; that has to stop as well for a few days.

With the series of trail races looming, it is a little ironic that I’ve been enjoying my road runs lately. I made a positive effort to mix up my runs between road and trail this year after the New York Marathon last November. It has definitely helped.

On Friday my official WSER program arrived. A full color booklet with details of the course, advice for crews and past performances (yes Ultra, you are listed!). Guthrie and I need to work out which aid stations she try and make. From that we can devise a plan for drop bags etc. All the other logistics are set, flights, hotels, car hire - booked. The planning and preparation required for these events for me, is part of the attraction. Just when the training slows down, the final planning tasks kick in and speed up. Having something to think about helps to stop me sitting around and feeling lardy!