Go Long, Young Man

Third post in two days. I can say with authority that there's no way I'm keeping this pace much longer. I realize I'm being a tad manic, but my meds are starting to *finally* kick in (!) and though I'm still getting tired later in the day, I'm getting closer to being my old self. And on top of that, now that I've taken the cork out of the bottle, I'm starting to realize, I have a few things to say.

Plus, this is fairly typical of my personality. Once I get into something, I'm kind of known for going all in, to use a poker phrase.

"All in" is probably a half decent segue to one of my favorite subjects: endurance sports. Those of you who know me, know I have a prediliction for long distance events. To wit: my second triathlon ever was a half ironman, my third was Ironman. After running a half dozen or so marathons, I got a bit bored of that scene and chasing PR's, and gravitated, along with my good Payro, to ultramarathons. To date, I've completed four 50k ultras (31 miles) and one fifty miler. And I have no intention of stopping. On November 2nd, medical issues nonwithstanding, Payro, my buddy Wiley (should he ever finally man up -- that motivation eough, Wiley?) and I plan to tow the line at the Helen Klein 50 miler in Sacramento. Next year, the plan is to go for 100.

I hope that the above doesn't come across as arrogant, because it's very important to note that I suck. I have zero g-d given talent and at my best, I am a middle of the pack finisher. I've come to terms with that a long time ago. But I do love to go long.

People ask me constantly why I do these events and after all these years, I'm not sure if I have a good answer. In regards to the ultramarathons, and at the risk of sounding hippy-dippyish (which, for the record, I am decidedly not), there's something soul-cleansing about them. Spend extended time out on the trail, and I think you'll understand. But more than anything, ultra endurance events have taught me a lot about character. I wrote an article on this subject for my company magazine, and as soon as I figure out Blogger, I'lll do my best to link to it.

I'm not sure the best way to describe my personal correlation between character and going long. I guess I'll start by saying that if I'm proud of anything in my ultra running career, it's the fact that I've run literally hundreds of races -- maybe as many as a thousand - and I've never quit. Not once. Believe me, I've thought about it. Multiple times. Hell, practically every race I've given it thought. I've been hospitalized due to massive heat exhaustion, (I believe I still hold the Illinois record for most bags of IV in a day) and I blacked out once after crossing the finish line -- but I've never quit.

During certain races, I've left like I was looking into the abyss but I've always somehow managed to fight my way through. More often than not, the "answer" has been actually pretty easy: you take it once step at a time; one foot in front of the other. That, and a half gallon of de-fizzed cola. But I digress.

I guess one foot in front of the other, while a really bad cliche, is about as apt a metaphor as I can describe right now for dealing with cancer. You formulate a gameplan, you execute against it and you adjust. And when it goes awry - one foot in front of the other until you find your way out. Unfortunately for me, my gameplan has fallen a bit apart. So, we'll figure out a new one. And in the interim, I'll be placing one foot in front of the other.

Damn. I am getting far too heavy. I keep this up I'll have a readership of one. Be on the lookout for some lighter posts.