Finding Inspiration

I'm still on the pull-me-up trip. The George Sheehan book is flying by. There's a kindred spirit at play when I read his book. There a passages upon passages where I'm like, That's me! Today, I've been finding other motivation.

Ever since I bought my first pair of running shoes, I've become a running nerd, reading up on famous runners and learning more about the sport.

Today, I stumbled upon an interview with Dean Karnazes at Outside Online. Karnazes is known for running the equivalent of 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days, finishing at the New York City ING Marathon in November 2006, and for writing the best seller Ultramarathon Man. He's sort of the Jim Fixx of the ultra. He's a bit self-righteous, but I relate to that desire to just keep going and see how far you can run.

This article about this new race in Northeast Ohio, the Burning River 100, a 100-mile race that takes place this weekend, also caught my attention. Looking far past my current goals (probably a dumb move), I'm considering trying for this next year. I've already mapped a day-long training run from home to downtown Cleveland.

First, I should probably tackle that first marathon before I consider going turbo, but the idea of running for a whole day or multiple days just sounds thrilling.

This is a "rest" week (20 miles), but I'd like to get that 16-miler in since I failed to do so Sunday. Throw in two shorties and I'll be right at 22 miles for the week. Sounds good.

Consumption has been mild since the beer fest. A few beers Sunday night, a few last night and maybe a glass of wine tonight with a huge spaghetti dinner.And then a 3-miler.