Running

One of the reasons I sign up to both enjoy and suffer through ultra-marathons is for the experience of sheer adventure. The nature. The people. The camaraderie of the trail running community. Another more personal reason: ultra-marathons provide excellent opportunities to get to know myself at deeper levels. I intended to finish the 62 miles of this race on very little training. While I only made it through half the race, I left with far more valuable lessons than I would have had I finished....

I started running again recently. After taking a solid eight month break after successfully running my first 100 miler last November I no longer felt great in my body. And I felt my thought patterns sliding back into a time in my twenties where I was surviving through life rather than fully living. No thank you. I don’t care much about surviving by itself. That shit is soul-suckingly boring. Life is for the living....

I’ve been in a mental funk the past few days and was hoping things would improve on my drive out to Huntsville State Park yesterday. Things didn’t pick up for me mentally until I set foot on the trail, albeit slowly. As much as I wanted to be completely in service to everybody passing through the #Damnation aid station for Rocky Raccoon, I wasn’t. Not at first anyway. I put on a show, yes....

I drove down to Huntsville State Park today (Saturday, 2021.02.06) to volunteer for the Rocky Raccoon 100 with NTTR at the Damnation aid station. The photo is from nine years ago, the last time I was there, and the morning of my first 50 mile race. Nine years ago was a slugfest of a day – the first two of three 17 mile loops went ridiculously well for me. The third – oh man, I slowly, painfully victory lapped it into one of the last 50 mile finisher spots of the race....

Out the door at 9:22pm. Short running shorts. Black socks. Black shoes. Garmin. It’s nice out. The heat and humidity have been oppressive for several days, so this is a huge relief. What a perfect time to run. A few minutes into the night and away from a neighborhood full of trees, the sky is in full view. The landscape is full of spirited clouds with a backdrop of vivid yet dulling pastels....

I’ve been wanting to run a 5k in less than 20 minutes since I started running over 6 years ago. Admittedly the last few years have been sparse - probably due to the demands of my four year old daughter. But she’s getting a bit more independent these days and I have a bit more time to get back into running. ...

A little over five years ago I was at a friend’s Christmas party and heard about a guy there who had just completed a race at the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower), climbing up the stairwell all the way to the top. It was one of the most intriguing things ever. I had to talk to him. I had to learn more. ...