100 Miles

In August, 2010, I posted what I thought would be the beginning of an exciting adventure to another blog.  The post went something like this:

I just read "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougle and now I want to be an Ultra Marathoner.  So I plan to go barefoot, run a marathon next month, a 50 miler the month after, and a 100 mile race in about six months.  Go me!

Well as anyone who followed that blog (which no one did) knew, I only posted three other times before sub-coming to the inevitable truth: I was weak and naive and it would take a heck of lot more than reading a book to make me an Ultra Runner.

I recall vividly calling my brother and fellow runner at 6:45 AM one morning to brag about my greatest running accomplishment to date at the time:  "Dude, I just ran 10 miles!"  Double digits...

Then there was the day I headed out for an 18 miler in preparation for my first Marathon (about a year after the "next month" plan).  Around mile 12 I was limping badly due to a pain in my lower leg and by mile 15 I was completely down.  X-rays would later show a stress fracture that kept me from training for two full months.  (You may notice that I always encourage runners to stay on the cautious side when building mileage...that's why).

I did run a baby Ultra in March of 2011.  50 Kilometers or 31 miles (about 5 miles more than a standard Marathon).  It was incredible, although perhaps a little premature.  My wife was within a hairs width of taking me to the hospital.  I was severally dehydrated and suffering from heat exhaustion, so nauseated that I couldn't keep anything down and could not stand up without being overcome by dizziness.

But the journey continued.  I learned that ultra running is much more about RFP (Relentless Forward Progress) than about barefoot running, sole searching, or the mythical runner's high. It is one thing to read a book and think, "26 miles is a piece of cake!"  It is quite another thing to run those "easy" 26 miles.

More than two years after I set the goal, I finally feel that I am in a position to attempt to achieve that goal.  In February, 2013, I will attempt to run 100 miles at the Rocky Raccoon trail race.