Climbing or Running …

Completed 35k PCTR race at Woodside on Sunday February 7th.  Felt good.  Great day.  Wonderful. Until I spoke with someone (late in the race) who had run the American River Fifty Mile (AR50) event – for which I am signed up for on April 4th.  She asked what was I planning to do tomorrow.  When I said “Yoga”, she said “Wrong.  You need to run another 12 miles”.  I said “Oh”.  Ran 7 miles the next day anyway despite massive soreness in legs.

Leave for Mt. Whitney winter ascent on March 4th.  Figured I need to do some training for that.  Strapped on the big pack Monday for the first time since July last year and put a 50lb bag of salt pellets inside.  Took to gym and gradually put the treadmill up to 10% (have to get it to 15%).  Stressed that the climb is only three weeks away when my back was hurting and the parts of my legs that were not painful starting being painful also.

Then I signed up for the Napa Marathon on Sunday March 1st.  What was I thinking.  “This must be good training for Whitney?”.  Till I looked at the calendar and realized that Whitney was only – uh – 3-4 days after marathon.

Went to the gym today and ran a fast two miles and did weight training.

Hmmmm – so my body is a bit confused.  Running or climbing.  Climbing or running.  Both?  MGIGB? (Mitch Good Idea Gone Bad?).

Conclusion: either over confidence or stupidity.  High ambition or unrealistic.  Guess I’ll know in the coming seven weeks.  Then, I can start worrying about the back-to-back 180-199 mile relays I’ve signed up for (Calistoga-Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara-Dana Point). 

Two other words come to my mind though.  Hope and Joy.

Hope for all the right reasons.

And the pure Joy that comes from shouting, “I’m running through a sunbeam!”