10 Reasons I Can Run 100 Miles: Reason #5

Ehm.... Drumroll.... (this one is rather inspiring)
tut-tut-tut-tut-tut...

Reason #5: It's All Downhill

And when it's not downhill, it's because it will be downhill once I get to the top.

Yep, I'm just that good at lying to myself. The ability to convince myself of something I know is a lie is a talent; something perfected through years of running misery, passed down from generation to generation of ultra-runners, who have lovingly shared the sacred art of lying.

The people who say they've never regretted a run, they're lying to themselves. Or maybe they're practicing their talents. Who's to say? The next aid station is always a mile away.... They won't let me drop at this aid station better get to the next one.... That was fast! It must've been an 8 min mile, I bet my garmin has it wrong and it was 8 minutes not 24...

They're only lies once I realize they're not true.

So, I'll promise myself repeatedly I only need to run 6 more miles, and really, what's a 10k anyways? Especially when it's all downhill.

so, while I'm at it, I might add I'm not the least bit terrified of toeing the line. Nope, not one bit.

Comments

a new year; a wasatch akitu

“Think now history has many cunning passages, contrived corridors, and issues, deceives with whispering ambitions, guides us by vanities. …The tiger springs in the new year. Us he devours.”
another new year startled us today. somewhere between the late night meandering into a warm bed, after the clock already struck a replayed chime marking the change of calendar (for, we can DVR the change of year and play it in every time zone,) and after the morning coffee, sunrise, prayers, or routines—the time has changed, and so have we.
the Wasatch is a flurry, the new recreational pursuits settling into it as the heavy snow settles onto it. it has been a dense year of both snow and increased use of the snow.
although this mountain range sits above a major metropolitan area, it retains pockets of wild refuge still hidden from its’ own mountain refugees. these pockets of frozen time are still filled with change. no man steps into the same Wasatch twice, for it is not the same Wasatch, nor is it the…

that WEIGHTY issue

It's been said to us climbers that what we do is dangerous, and irresponsible. How could we risk our lives like this? And distance trail running, if it compromises our health why do it? How dare we take that time away from our families? And yet, to even make mention about a different lifestyle, one of weight, obesity, and all of the very dangerous and risky components it involves is socially disgraceful, insensitive, and cruel. I bring this up only to show how much weight, in general, is not "ok" to talk about. It's a sensitive subject, even, no, especially, for those of us already at a healthy weight who use our bodies to their fullest daily...

Now, this blog is about running, ain't it? Yep. So while there's a lot of "weight" we could cover in this "weighty" area, we'll just go over one. Running.
Running and weight are intertwined. I'd like to say that this post is primarily for the ladies, because we typically store more weight t…

standhope 60k

it seems like the last few years I've aged, and I've grown. I lost my identity as a runner. if I didn't run frequently, if I wasn't in the mountains, if I wasn't pushing my own limits, what was I?
I'd retained the identity as a mother, daughter, sibling, friend, student of literature and wilderness. this was a shift - less time, less comments, less messages with the running community that I didn't know well, a deepening of friendships and relationships with those closest to me.
it felt odd, going into standhope. I didn't have goals, I wasn't sure where I was at with running, I wasn't in shape for racing. I had this idealism, that if I raced hard, I could inspire others, not to run, but to pursue life with passion. but, what about when I can't race hard? when life is racing too hard for me to train?
earlier this year my Dad was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma. visits to the hunstman increased, my mileage decreased. when looking at anoth…

The Mountainist

Search This Blog