To put it mildly, the last couple of weeks have been challenging.  I am about 10 weeks out from my 50 miler and 188 days (as of today) out from my 100 miler.  I have been sick and not been able to train with the exception of a run on Thursday that was excruciating.  I have missed three of my long runs, two due to illness, and the one today because there are 65 mile an hour winds going on outside and they are going to last until tomorrow.   I am feeling better, but maybe it is the type A in…

It is interesting that Eric and others have started to talk about doubts and fear.  These are very real emotions for me at the moment as the registration for my Cool Impossible approaches on Feb 1.  Ever since I decided to do this race I have been racked with doubt: Am I too fat? Am I too slow? Am I strong enough? Am I just freaking crazy?  I have shared these doubts with my friends ad nauseam.  One of my friends who patiently listened and was supportive finally cracked and said "Just shut…

Hi All,

My name is Rich and I have been a part of Eric's site for a long time.  Recently I was having trouble with tightness at the front of my calf, just outside of my shin bone.  After trips to the doc etc, I am now doing physical therapy.  What is interesting is what the PT told me and what he is having me do.  He told me that strength and balance are two of the most important things that runners need and that proper form is crucial to running injury free.  To that end he…

Well, it was bound to happen, didn't realize it was going to happen so soon.  I am changing part of my schedule for the 100 mile race.  I am changing the race itself, instead of the Cascade Crest 100 in August 2013, I am going to run the Lumberjack 100 in April 2013.  Yes, I know that only gives me 10 months to prepare instead of 14 months.  I talked to a couple of people who had run the race and they kept emphasizing how hard the Cascade Crest 100 was with its 20,000 feet of elevation…