2023 Year In Review
Start Slow, Finished By mid-June

Last year ended on a slow note, and this continued into the new year. My first scheduled race was the 12-Hour race on the track at the Alexander County 24. I had run well there in the 6-Hour last year and hoped to follow up with a solid performance. This was my first race after rehabbing an ankle injury, so there was some uncertainty in overall fitness. I was putting in a solid race until the sun came out. I quickly overheated and was struggling. Given that I was experiencing dizziness and being light headed, I opted to stop early with only a little over 21 miles after about 5 1/2 hours.

At Dawn to Dusk to Dawn (D3), I was hoping to run about 7:45 for the 50K. I was holding steady for about 36K and was on pace for 7:25 before fading the last 14K. It was still encouraging and I anticipated running better at Six Days in the Dome.

Next up was a training run at What the Duck 12-Hour. This was strictly a social run and I planned to stop after about 20 miles. I was bothered by the heat again being Memorial Day weekend, but given it was only two weeks after D3, that wasn't an immediate concern. Six Days in the Dome was indoors around an ice rink.

Six Days in the Dome was a challenge to even reach 50K. Following What the Duck 12-Hour, there was obviously something else going on as I was struggling with both long runs and intense workouts. With careful monitoring of my effort and judcious breaks when needed, I did manage a little more than 50K, but only with great effort. The rest of the summer was a bust. At my next cardiologist appointment, I discovered that I was back in a-fib and had been all summer. That explained the poor results at races and struggles in training.

Moving into Fall I scheduled a heart ablation to correct the a-fib, then a heart catheterization to check for possible blockages as I was getting out of breath very easily. Through this my streak of almost 5 1/2 years of 100 mile months ended. Training fell to very low levels with a couple weeks not even reaching double digit miles. As the year is rapping up, I'm very gradually rebuilding my base and fitness, but recovery is still an issue. If no more unexpected obstacles arise, I hope to begin the 2024 racing season in March with a 6-hour race to evaluate my fitness. I am committed to Six Days in the Dome again for the 12-Hour race, and the 6-hour race will help me set a reasonable goal.