Going for an Ultra

As I write this, I know that I probably won’t share the link with anyone but my mom. As I write this, I secretly hope that no one reads it. As I write this, I know that because I am writing it, and I will hit publish, I am taking the first step in making my goal a reality.

I recently told someone that I don’t do things that scare me anymore. I have worked for years to create a life with less resistance, less fear, less hurt, and less pain, and by doing that I also took out all of the really big things that create a life where you experience that element of fear and excitement in which you aren’t sure how you feel: fear or excitement. The line between the two becomes blurry. You fear that you may fail, and you’re excited because you are trying something that might actually be really challenging.

Recently, I began recognizing signals from the universe that were telling me to try something that scares me. I journaled about it. I thought about it. I prayed about it, and I even talked about it. I finally decided that it is time to try to do something that really scares me. So here goes…I plan to run the length of the island of Okinawa. The island itself is about 70 miles in length. To run it, some people say that it is 110 miles. A friend of mine recently trekked it, and she logged 89 miles. I figured that I would plan for somewhere around 100 miles, which could take me somewhere around 30+ hours. The thought of being on my feet for over 24 hours scares me. The thought of being in continual motion for over a day with no sleep scares me. The thought of bathroom breaks, of proper fuel & nutrition, of bad weather, of falling, and of failing all scares me. Do you know what else scares me? Continuing to live a life where I quit taking risks, quit trying new things, quit challenging myself…now THAT life really scares me.

I plan to share my Going for an Ultra Journey on this platform, and I will continue to share other aspects of my life too, but the reality is: training for this WILL be a big part of my life. It will consume hours of my waking hours, how I rest, how I use my free time, and what things I put into my brain and body.

Just to share what my running has looked like lately:

September 2020 – Ran with a lot of walking 26.2 miles. Most miles logged in a training week – 34. October 2020 – Ran with a little walking 26.2 miles. Most miles logged in a training week 40. November & Early December – each week consisted of 4 runs, and each run was 3 – 4 miles, so averaging 14 miles per week. Two weeks ago, I ran 20 miles. Last week, I ran 30 miles. This week will be 35 miles for the week, and I will work up to 60+ miles per week over the course of the next few months.

Thanks for being on this journey with me. I will report back how the training is going and how it is fitting into my life. Until next time, have the happiest of holidays.

In the end we only regret the chances we didn’t take.

LEWIS CARROLL