You Came Here For Running And All You Got Was A Damn Iguana

Hello Friends!

I haven’t posted on here in awhile because I haven’t had much to say in the running department. And since this is primarily a running blog, I thought you might feel like you would if you walked into a hardware store trying to find a hammer and instead ended up going home with an iguana. I didn’t want you to end up with an unwanted iguana.

Like pretty much everyone else on this planet, my life is constantly changing, for good and for bad, and this blog is no exception. Yes, I’m still running, but as I whined about in the last post, I haven’t done any racing. I can’t really explain why, other than, as I said, I really hate to race. It takes all the fun out of running for me. So, in that vein, I’m trying something new: I’m heading to Phoenix in a few hours to run/walk/crawl my way through the 72 Hour event at Across the Years. I’m still not exactly sure why, but it seemed like a good idea when I decided to do it. I’m not as convinced now, but it’s too late to back out.

Every year that I have been running seriously, I head out on New Year’s Eve day and do a long run – six to twelve hours – by myself (or with any friends who are willing to join me for a few hours). I use it as a way to say Adios! to the old year and Howdy! to the new. With my new commitment-ish to not racing, trying this type of long run for multiple days at ATY seemed like a fun challenge. We will see. It might just be three days of unmitigated misery.

I have no goal other than seeing what it feels like to try to keep moving for that long. There is a big storm heading into Phoenix so I will probably go back to my hotel at night – this is for fun, and slogging through a blizzard is not part of my definition of fun. I’m going to play it by ear, but I have a feeling that a warm shower and bed will be too enticing to ignore. I also plan to eat anything and everything they offer me from the aid station. I’ve had enough of monitoring my caloric intake during races to “optimize” my performance. Bring on the hamburgers, pizza and queso! I’m guessing I will be walking so much that I would have no problems digesting a rhinoceros if it is offered to me.

As for the new year, I have no running plans other than to keep on moving. I really do love to run, so I know I will keep hitting the road/treadmill/trail. But I am starting culinary school on January 5th, so it is highly possible if you visit here you will see more posts about food than running. I’m hoping to keep it a mix of running AND food, but I don’t know that a post about “My 10 Miler on the Treadmill” will be super interesting. All I can say is that I will do my best because I miss y’all.

Anyway, Happy New Year everyone whether you are running, cooking, eating, or looking for an iguana! Bring on 2015!

Tagged as: 72 Hours, Across the Years, Food, Racing