"But every time it rains,
You're here in my head,
Like the sun coming out--
Ooh, I just know that something good is going to happen.
And I don't know when,
But just saying it could even make it happen." - Cloudbusting by Kate Bush
It's rained and been cold for weeks. Hardly what I'd call appropriate training weather for BW135. Today was magical though because suddenly, it stopped. And while it wasn't very warm (ed note: I wore gloves. In May. Just let that sink in...) it was enough for a few hours of my favorite time of the day to run - sunrise.
You're here in my head,
Like the sun coming out--
Ooh, I just know that something good is going to happen.
And I don't know when,
But just saying it could even make it happen." - Cloudbusting by Kate Bush
It's rained and been cold for weeks. Hardly what I'd call appropriate training weather for BW135. Today was magical though because suddenly, it stopped. And while it wasn't very warm (ed note: I wore gloves. In May. Just let that sink in...) it was enough for a few hours of my favorite time of the day to run - sunrise.
On top of that, I managed to negative split my run which is like, the greatest thing to happen on a long run. I have two months and two days until I leave for Vegas with my amazing crew in tow. So as I sit here and review my upcoming training plan including next week's Texas Treasure Quest race, which is really just a 12 hour hot but hella fun training run, it seems apropos to think back to last year and some of the amazing highlights.
First, while the race is grueling and it's hard as f***, it's also a hell of a lot of fun. And why shouldn't it be? No one wants to work their ass off training for months, pay thousands, take off a week from work and family and suffer if you can't enjoy at least parts of it, amirite?! And clearly, we did:
First, while the race is grueling and it's hard as f***, it's also a hell of a lot of fun. And why shouldn't it be? No one wants to work their ass off training for months, pay thousands, take off a week from work and family and suffer if you can't enjoy at least parts of it, amirite?! And clearly, we did:
There's a lot of running, especially when it's "cool" at night (aka only around 100 degrees):
And there's a LOT of walking, particularly when it hits the mid 120s:
And if I were to tell you how much your emotions range in this race, I'd sound like a manic-depressive, bi-polar, multiple personality psychotic because I laughed, I cried, I became furious, I whined, I bargained, I went numb and I became full of vivid color... it's really hard to express how this race affects your soul but those who do it year after year understand. And last year I was indoctrinated into that magical, special, tiny group because it's all I can think about. I swore during miles 90 to 120 I'd never come back but the moment I stopped, I knew I was kidding myself. Sometimes we run to find peace, to find answers, to find solace and escape, to find truths, to find the shortest route, to find the longest route, to find a break from reality... the list goes on and on. All I know is that on any given day, I run to find all those things but I run Badwater to find myself. And I need that again. I'm out there, somewhere. I can't wait to find it - the strength, the grit, the will, the resolve, the real me.
"And you're just in reach
When you and sleep escape me...."
When you and sleep escape me...."