…In an ultra, the limits of the body and mind are pushed to a point where you don’t know if you will live or die. The physiology of the body, and thus God, will determine this. The mind knows that this is a distinct possibility yet it continues to wage war on the body. The body rebels but the mind constantly recalibrates itself to comfort the body in any way possible. The pain does not lessen but the mind compensates as to how it reacts to the pain. The pain can actually be moved around so it is not so pronounced in any particular area. Pain has to be isolated for this reason. Comprehensive pain cannot become so overwhelming that it deters forward progress. In essence, the ultra is a perfect dichotomous event. You are doing good for your mind and body yet putting yourself at risk in doing so. It is being active in an inactive world.
The ulra is whole-heartedly respected yet approached with ease; yet this is not to be confused with it being easy. It is something that I WANT to do and not what I HAVE to do or what someone is telling me to do. I WANT to go out and run this far. I WANT to feel the pain. I WANT to be challenged mentally and physically for no other reason than to feel alive and put myself on the edge.
Tomorrow is the JFK 50 Miler and my first ultra beyond the 50K. Afterwards, maybe my thoughts will be different but somehow, I don’t so…
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Blog 26.2 is meant to capture random thoughts whenever the urge moves me, specifically related to running - my running, your running, running in general. In many cases I relate these experiences to the lyrics of songs as well as life.
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