High Five By 55

  2024 Jacksonville Marathon - A PR! I've been battling with myself for several weeks deciding whether I actually wanted to write this little diddy or not. I'm going to be sharing perhaps a bit too openly and honestly for my own comfort here, and haven't been sure I want to do that. I've finally decided that it's probably a good thing. And knowing nobody really reads this space, not a terribly unsafe thing either. So, I begin... Looking back at 2024 brings up a lot of emotion. The year concluded on such a high note with my run at the Jacksonville Marathon in mid December where I set a PR and executed a marathon the best I ever have, whether racing or pacing. It was a wonderful way to close out the year and I was left giddy for days with the way that race went. But I'm kind of starting at the end of the story, not the usual way to begin. The truth is 2024 was a deeply challenging year for me, both professionally and personally. I struggled with physical health. I...

I seek adventure. I seek journeys. I seek experiences. A big reason I do any of this running from 5ks to mountain ultramarathons is this pursuit of adventure. And yes, a 5k can be an adventure. An internal one. But an adventure nevertheless. And in some respects, among the hardest I've tried since it's just me against myself. But mostly I'm seeking adventure in grand places, preferably with pleasant company. Though I very much do also like to spend time alone. This High Five By 55 idea is really the pursuit of the grandest adventure and journey. It's not about completing any single race. It really is about the journey that prepares me to get to that race. And that race my never happen. Who knows. The ultimate practice I want to take out of this project is remaining focused on the journey instead of any discrete step. I wrote about Bighorn doubts yesterday. That's focus on the discrete step. It's okay. I should have doubts. A mountain ultramarathon is never easy ...

I can't say why. There's no good reason for why. There's plenty of time to get ready. Yet I find myself with deep doubts and misgivings about being ready for Bighorn 100 in June. Once I'm done pacing Miami Marathon this Sunday, the training will very much focus on being ready for Bighorn 100. And I'm not racing the event, not trying to meet any time goal. I just want to go to the race, finish the race, practice being challenged and trying to remain comfortable in discomfort for a long period of time in the mountains. Yet, I'm really apprehensive. More apprehensive than I was the second time I prepared for Ouray 100, a significantly more challenging race.  Perhaps it's because I will not have run a 100 miler in nearly 2 years by the time Bighorn rolls around. Maybe it's because I'm using a lower mileage training plan, though that's also what I used for Ouray. Maybe it's because I've kind of taken a lackadaisical approach to planning for th...

Yesterday I got a reminder of perhaps the skill I most need to work on. A skill that a have bizarre mix of real strength and profound weakness. A skill that will really determine if I'm able to finish this project or not. The skill: mental strength. What do I mean by this? In the context of the High Five By 55 project, I mean the mental strength to continue to endure. Endure in the face of adversity. Endure in the face of pain, of boredom, of fear, of uncertainty. Just like the physical training is designed to build the capacity to physically endure the demands of an adventure like High Five 100, I was reminded that I need to mentally train to mentally endure the demands of the same adventure. Yesterday, I ran a fitness test to try to gauge my current fitness as I really begin to dive into training for California International Marathon. The test was a simple one: after a 5 minute warm up, run 25 minutes at a pace roughly between half and full marathon pace, then without any rest ru...