Thursday, October 29, 2009

It's On!

So, I heard from the man, Thomas Hill, that the 3rd Mother Road 100 is coming next fall. I found this out in the middle of the Bluff Creek Ultramarathon Championship Races. No, I never did enter the race--I wasn't ready nor did I have the money. I was actually there for a casual jog on the trail. I had totally forgotten about the race altogether. But the race directors didn't mind me being a "bandit" for a little while (which is good because I had already ran 4 miles before I talked to any race officials. I assured them I was only there for a little run, and then I was out. To that they welcomed me, even offered some food (which I refused), and said, "come out here at 2am--that's when the runners will really need you"(the runners weren't allowed pacers for the race). I enjoyed running with (I wasn't pacing...honest) a 60 year old man for a while. He ran more at my pace.

Then it hit me. I haven't really trained hard for anything in a while, and I have got over a year before the next Mother Road race. What if I stopped trying to just "finish" these races and tried to actually DO something? If I was able to finish in 25 hours my first 100 miler with 4 months of training and having never ran more than a half-marathon, what could I do with a year to train having a few years of "casual" ultra running under my belt? With focused intensity, could I actually place high in this race? Even win? I'm big, slow, and inexperienced, but I'm not counting it out. All I have to do is train harder than anyone else. So be prepared to read about a tough training regimen in the following posts--it's on!

3 comments:

Charlie said...

Rocky, that is good news. I don't know if MR3 will be in my budget for next year, but next year's OK ultrarunning championships (the one you ran "bandit" in for 4 miles) will be very close to the same time as MR3 next year. I had fun helping out with those this year, and I may try to do the event next fall. Either way, Oklahoma is starting to put itself on the map for some good ultras.

Lets meet up for a run sometime. I think I have your email and visa versa.

Charlie said...

Sounds great. the OK ultrarunning championships for 2010 have been set, and they are going to be right around the same time frame. Should be a good November of ultrarunning.

You have my email, I have yours, lets meet for a run at bluff sometime.

Rocky said...

I up for it, let's do it.

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