Thursday, April 26, 2007

An Ultra Journey

What was I thinking??? Several years of running has brought me to a place I never would have dreamed I would be at. On June 3rd I will run in my first Ultra Marathon (50k) and set a course to the unknown. November will bring my first 50 mile Ultra and then who knows from that point. I tease my husband that a 100 mile might be around the corner but deep down I dream that one day even that might be a possibility.

So each week I hit the pavement for miles of running sharing the road with drivers who often don’t understand that sidewalks are not a runner’s friend. They speed past often unaware that a 35 year old mother of two and wife to a very supportive husband, pushes to reach new limits even she is unaware of. On the weekends I drive to a nearby State Park and hit the trails for hours of running. This is where I get lost and take in all the sounds around me that the traffic often drowns out during the week. And like most weekends, just before the trail run is over, I take one good fall kissing the dirt as I hit the ground. Still I would give nothing for this time in my life. I am alive and I love the feeling of accomplishment that running gives me. I am a runner and one day very soon I will be an Ultra Girl!

Robin

10 comments:

Jason The Running Man said...

Hey Robin, great blog! This is Jason Mendy's friend! Good luck with the ultra's maybe I will be ready to do those distance in the next couple of years! Congrats!

Mendy said...

Jason has done it again. Beat me to the first post to my friends/family in my life. He did it to David's blog...

Great post Robin! You're doing great and I very much appreciate all the advice you give me constantly (as I keep bugging you for it).

David said...

You're already an Ultra Girl (and a little ultra-nutty) in my book! I wish I could approach your focus to be able to run that much.

Scott said...

Hello my love...

Great blog ! ! 1

Just remember one thing as you are out there running...dinner is served at 6.

seagull junker said...

Saaaawwwweeeeet, another hitting the trails.

thanks for visiting!

what ultra are you thinking about? inquiering minds want to know.
tom riley

Phil said...

Hi Robin ... it's great to have you back on-line! I'm so impressed with your push to get up to a 50K and can't even imagine running a 50 mile event. That's just beyond my comprehension.

You'll have to get us up to speed on racing from the past year.

Stephanie said...

hey there...

thanks for stopping by my blog. i can totally relate to you - wanting to be an ultra girl is my greatest wish and with every stride we are getting a bit closer!!!!!!!

maybe one day we'll be even big guns;-)

Gretchen said...

Great blog Robin, inspirational! I would love to hear more about how you balance family (kids!) with running, as I would like to have kids someday soon myself but always wonder how I will still do things like run. Good luck on your journey to 50K!

ZeroToBoston said...

Do you mean the Hitchcock 50k? What a tough introduction to the Ultra! It's virtually unsupported... cool!

No race shirt, but rumor has it one will make an appearance anyway....

- Dean

Overpronator said...

"So each week I hit the pavement for miles of running sharing the road with drivers who often don’t understand that sidewalks are not a runner’s friend. "

How very very true.

Good luck on ultra training! In Runner's World of several months ago, they showed the training log of an ultra runner. It's a simple layout, and quite inspiring. If you are interested, I can scan and email it to you ... after I figure out which issue it's in. Just let me know.