Duning It

It's been a whole life time it seems like since I've written anything. That being said...this will not be a masterpiece. It's just a starting block to show my mindset 2 days before my next race. Really it's just be stating that

I am not ready. I am not ready for so many things. And though I am sure it would be entertaining to go over each thing I am not ready for in my life.... I will focus on just a few. A while back I signed up for my first 100 mile race. I am not sure what compelled me to do so... but I wanted more. My life has been one winding road after another...so many things haven't gone the way I expected or anticipated. I wanted to take control. I wanted to set a goal so large that people would look at me like it was impossible so that I could turn around and prove them wrong.

After I announced my new goal I received a nice combination of those who were supportive and those who stated clearly that they didn't think I could do it. Training started off well...until it all went to hell. Turns out I am very allergic to poison oak. On and off of steroids made it really hard to train. Then, as I healed from that...I had a minor cancer situation. As I healed from that....I got pneumonia. On the tail end of pneumonia I climbed and climbed...hills, stairs, buttes, and mountains. Hill repeats and more stairs. I kept doing that till I could run with out losing my lungs. 

With 6 months to go before Old Cascadia 100 miler and numerous races before...I realized I needed a little help. So, I signed up for a coach so with all the lost time and training I am hoping some guidance will go a long ways to help. All this to say...I have a the new Siuslaw 50k race this weekend in Florence, Oregon. With less than 3,000 ft elevation gain and different types of trails (Including lots of sandy dunes) I am hoping this will give me a good idea of where I stand in my training. I know that if I am nervous about this race I should be terrified for Old Cascadia. But, at this point it's one run and one climb at a time. I am going to keep focusing on the why. Why I want to run these races....why I sign up. Why I create crazy goals for myself. Because, I enjoy it...because it's fun. I deserve to be out there with everyone else. And I refuse to not be grateful for the opportunity. So here we goooo..... Let's Dune this.