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Showing posts from April, 2015

(Un) Comfort Zone…. C+O Canal 100

Mark asked about my blog.  “It’s about comfort zones”, I told him.  “Do you have one?” he asked deadpan.  In the world of ultra-running, there are many things that can take me very uncomfortable.   It’s probably why I am drawn to it.   The night before a 100-mile race is always very lonely for me.   This is compounded when I am at a race site far from home and alone.   It makes me crave a hug…just a moment when I don’t have to be strong.   Not knowing anyone at the C+O Canal 100, made getting that hug out of reach, so I had to put on my big girl panties, suck it up, and take care of what needed to be done.   And, after having a good cry, something I usually reserve for the first few miles, that is what I did. I believe one of the reasons I have such an uncomfortable time before big races is that the race itself is so uncomfortable. I’ve heard it said many times that ultra-running is 90% in your head, and the rest is mental.     I have seen time and time again, runners suffer u

R2R2R

I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve taken him to the Emergency Room…how many admissions…the surgeries…the spinal taps…the tests…all the diagnoses.   I do remember the ambulance ride he took, when his blood pressure and other vital signs were so low, that they told us to “prepare for any outcome”.      We weren’t told that he was a fighter, or that he was strong.   Repeatedly, we were told his limitations. Noah had a rough go, and it showed in his personality.   He was painfully shy.   Day after day, I would go to pick him up from school, and he would be at the “crying table” because he said he missed me.   He was afraid of everything.   As I sit in this hotel room now, listening to him sleeping soundly, I can hardly believe it is the same person.   Yesterday, we finished our rim to rim to rim (R2R2R) hike of the Grand Canyon. I didn’t want to take him.   I had planned on it being a solo trek, but he had other plans.   He INSISTED.   Gone is that shy child.   When Noah