|
When Running Becomes Too Much |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Written by Felix Wong - View Profile
|
|
Thursday, 18 October 2007 |
|
|
|
|
Last weekend -- while Father Zeus threw down lightning bolts to knock out power at Hughes Stadium -- I was in Boulder, doing something most rational people would rightly call Completely Unnecessary. Like a rat, I was running in circles around the Boulder Reservoir over and over again in a race called the 24 Hours of Boulder.
Why do something like that, especially when it was cold and wet outside. Was it fun? (No!) Was it healthy? (No!) Wouldn't one be accomplishing as much as if he had taken out a whip, and lashed his own legs repeatedly for hours on end? (Probably.)
It was my attempt to see what this up-and-coming fringe sport of ultra-running is all about. As an endurance athlete, I couldn't help but take on the challenge of running 100 miles. Or running for 24 hours. Or something like that.
Problem was, I could achieve none of those things.
I've already mentioned the weather, which was as grey as a Siamese kitten and as cold as the milk in your fridge. But I had other problems, such as having to pee every 20 minutes (a consequence of not having something spongy like bread in my stomach) and having a large caloric deficit (due to the race providing primarily gels and sports drinks, as if that was going to provide enough fuel for 24 hours).
There was also the issue of boredom. Staring at the same three trees by the Boulder Reservoir became a little monotonous, as was thinking all the time, "golly, my calves sure are sore!" I started out running a meager 10-minute/mile pace, but after 13 hours, was struggling to jog a pedestrian 20-minute/mile pace.
After 15 hours -- when the clock struck midnight and I just finished my ninth lap -- my body was as numb as a cod and my dignity had been thoroughly dragged through the mud. At the rate I was going, I was going to have to run (shuffle) for 15 more hours to finish another 36 miles to make my race total 100. I decided that I Was Absolutely Not Going To Do That.
Final result: 64.4 miles. That exceeded my previous longest run by 12 miles. Good enough.
The sad thing is despite stopping well short of my stated goal of running 100 miles, this was by far the most difficult thing I have ever done, athletically speaking. I have done some pretty tough stuff in the past -- including a 762-mile bike race in France, and some Ironman triathlons. Yet, I have never suffered as much as I did during this run.
How do rats manage to do things like this? I have no idea. I was just waiting for Zeus to put me out of my misery. | Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
|
A Breath of Fresh Air (60)
writen by: felix
Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. |
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
| | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
