Committed...and Terrified.

My finger trembled slightly as I hovered the mouse over the submit button.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked.
"Just do it!" The voice on the line responded with much less confidence than I hoped.

My compadre in pain, Travis, and I sat thousands of miles apart but focused on one tiny aspect of the same webpage.  We had filled out the required elements of the entry form for the Cactus Rose 50 mile race, read and agreed to the disclosure that said more or less, "You WILL get hurt but, unless your training is inadequate, shouldn't die."  And now the only thing standing between us and a 50 mile was the submit button.
"One...Two..." We did the countdown together.  "THREE!"

For a brief moment the future flashed before my eyes.

It hurt.
The elevation map that haunted my dreams of late transformed into actual visions of climbing 140 degree inclines with legs that felt like jello left out on a 120 degree day...of falling down the same incline while rocks, sticks, thorns and rattlesnakes tore flesh away from my hands and knees.

And from there it got bad.

The training started several months ago when we first conceived the notion that it might be fun to run 50 miles together in October.  But the official training starts this week.  It consists of an average of 30 - 50 miles a week with a peak run one month before the actual race of 40 miles (to be done at the "Run From the Ducks 8 hr run in Mineral Wells).  Along with running, some serious strength training will be needed to made the repeated climbs and descents.  50 lunges each night should be a good start...

And perhaps most difficult of all, my long time addiction to sugar will have to be curbed if I am going to be in the physical condition required to run 50 miles on this terrain.

Cactus Rose, here we come!