Learning it all over again

As many of you know, I've been doing this running thing for around 5 years now. I've made that progression from 5k to 10k, half mary to full mary, and then to 50k.

As you can tell, I've done the training it takes to accomplish these distances and endurance experiences. Althiugh I'm in a different running spot right now, and am training for the longer ultra distances, I still should know "how" to train for them.

But I don't.

Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of how important it is to have confidence in your training. That confidence comes from your past experiences with that same training. With the new distances I'm chasing, this is completely new for me, and its unsettling.

I am pretty certain that I went through a similar zone when I decided to tackle the marathon distance, but an ultra is different. If you haven't done one, I don't know that you can really understand what I'm talking about.

A marathon is a very challenging endeavor, make no mistake about it. But its over in a relatively short period of time. The North Face 50 miler I'm running in October can very easily see me out on the course for nearly 12 hours or more. And the majority of those final 15 miles will likely involve some significant suffering on both the mental and physical side.

That's difficult to know hoe to train for. Actually, I am now regularly rehearsing in my mind how I will deal with the inevitable problems and mental fatigue that I KNOW will confront me in the latter stages of that 50 mile course.

Make no mistake about it, I am so excited about running this race, I can sometimes hardly stand it. My mind also continues to plan ahead for April, where I will attempt my first 100 miler. But having said that, I do maintain a very real, very healthy respect for the effort its going to take to get me there, and get me through. I just believe that God gave us these bodies to make full use of, and that's exactly what I want to do. I want to know the outer limits of what His gift can help me accomplish.

It's been a crazy trip thus far, and I assume it likely will remain that way...

Training for The North Face 50 miler, but looking towards Leadville...

I'm now squarely in the training cycle for the TNF 50 in October. So far, everything is going very, very well. My fitness remains solid despite about 6 pounds I put on during the Winter. All things considered, my 50 miler training is moving forward with gusto.

But for whatever reasons, I can't get my thoughts to focus on this race. I can't even seem to focus on what completing it will feel like in October. And while I'm excited about running it in a few months, my mind eventually starts to drift...

...to Leadville.

Believe me when I say that I don't take lightly the very significant challenge that is the Leadville Trail 100 Miler. The failure rate hovers around 60%, and that sets the race apart from all others; Western States, Vermont, Hardrock - all are more forgiving than Leadville...so why can't I stop this train that I already know will see me lined up for this race?

Simply put, I honestly think I can train properly, plan wisely, and finish that race. I really do. If I didn't, I wouldn't even try. For the most part, I know my own limits. I'm not afraid to push though, and I can't think of a more glorious effort to push towards. Leadville. The name says it all, and I think I want a piece of it.

Only time will tell, but I've already mentioned to my wife that 2012 could very likely see me wanting to take it on.