On Sunday, I woke up with the sun shining in my face. The Capilano Canyon Night run party went fairly late. It had been a tough work week. It had rained almost constantly for over 2 months. I rarely sleep in past 8:30, but I had no plans and it felt great to do nothing but soak in the rays. I could tell it was going to be a good day.
By 10:00 am, I must have received a dozen calls or emails from my buddies informing me that "today was THE day". I have no idea what "THE day" means, but I knew when I looked outside that my buddies were right and that I'd better get my butt out the door.
I will share the details of what I did on THE day in another post, but I thought it was worthwhile to look at what defines THE day so you will know one when you wake up to one.
Last night I was very honored to be invited to speak at the North Shore Challenge. This event was held to raise funds for the Harvest Project, a social service organization that helps people who are in tough circumstances help themselves.
My goals for 2008 include winning my age group in the BC ultra series. In order to figure out my baseline, I recently did a tune-up and oil change at the doctor's office and an athletic performance test at the Peak Center.
Now, my Mama always taught me that a good sportsman is one who accepts defeat graciously and respects the one that whoop'd 'ya. What if I kicked my own ass?
Today I did a full-on $185 lactate, VO2 Max and Energy Usage analysis at Peak Center for Human Performance in Burnaby, BC. It involved running on a treadmill in a lab for about half an hour. I also had my finger poked from time to time with a little needle thingie. (Yes, my adventure drew blood!)
Today was a great day for a trail run! While out doing Mike and Melissa's Fun Run this morning, the topic of conversation turned to the Stein Valley and a Club Flash event some of us did in the fall of 2007. Sure, we got our asses kicked, but it was a blast. In the words of Colin Freeland, "We've got some unfinished business" with the Stein.
Mission accomplished by Team Fat Ass Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim Road Trip: Rick Arikado, Daniel Probst, Glenn Pace, Colin Freeland, Geoff Palmer and Ean Jackson.
My head is still spinning from all of the travel over the past few days. Here's a summary of our epic 5 day road trip:
Thursday 18 October
- 7:30 am - hassle with the Budget guys regarding number of drivers allowed
- 10:00 am - Pick up Daniel in Bellingham, WA
- drive across Washington, Idaho, Utah.
One of my BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) is to complete 100 ultramarathons during the year I enter the 50+ age group.
This post is a work in progress that I hope will keep me focused and allow me to know when I get there. The reason I say, "know when I get there" is because some folks are sticky about what constitutes an ultramarathon that should count in circumstances such as this.
To kick off what I expect will be an interesting online debate, I'd like to clarify how I see the differences between a race, a run, and an adventure run then look at how to prepare for an adventure run.
I know a guy who forgot to pack his shoes before a running race...not once, but twice! How often do you freak out the morning of your big event because you can't remember if you packed this thing or that? Well, save the butterflies for the start line! Here's a little checklist that has served me well and I hope will serve you well, too.
Feel free to comment about this. Surely you have some suggestions for improvement or questions (e.g. Why pack duct tape?)
On Sunday, I woke up with the sun shining in my face. The 
Mission accomplished by Team Fat Ass Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim Road Trip: Rick Arikado, Daniel Probst, Glenn Pace, Colin Freeland, Geoff Palmer and Ean Jackson.
