The Countdown Begins.

In one week around this time I will be attempting to put myself down for a decent nap, like a 5-6 hour nap. I' m doing this because at 7pm that night myself and 19 other individuals as deranged as I will be starting 24WODS in 24 Hours. (WOD = workout of the day) Every hour on the hour for 24 hours we will be doing one workout. You see where the nap comes in handy. I do believe it will be the hardest thing I have ever done but I'm looking forward to it. I like this stuff. There is something that draws me to things that are rather stupid in nature that test how far the human body can go.

It started with marathons. The first marathon I ran I trained my ass off for. It was hard, but you know, the training that you don't see, the mental training, is what really gets you through. Your feet don't stop hurting, but you get used to it and expect it and accept it as part of the package. You learn how to check out for hours on end while your body keeps moving. For me sometimes it's not focus that gets me though, so much as lack or focus. I am quite the space cadet and in long events, it serves me well. The second marathon I ran was a good 6 months after the first, I did not train my ass off. I had already done a marathon, it was no longer the unknown. I knew it would hurt, and I also knew I could do it. I cut a good 30 min off my time. Just because I now knew my body could handle it. Now I know that I probably would have fared better had I strictly trained for it, but it says something for what's going on inside your head.

After the marathons I thought it would be a good idea to climb Mt Whitney in one day. Mt Whitney is the highest peak in the lower 48 states. Round trip is 22 miles and you're getting something like 6400' elevation gain, while carrying enough water and food for a full day of hiking and enough clothes for the weather change from pleasant at the bottom to snowy on the top. And some crampons and ice axe for the top where there is some sketchy spots. Adapting to the altitude change wrecked me and I spent a good part of my time at the top going between seeing spots, to nausea, to throwing up to head between the knees. Super fun. Going down I only felt better and better as I got out of elevation. We jogged out the last few miles of the trail. Jogged. Just cause we were so very much over the trail. But it was possible. There are reserves we have in us that we don't ever give ourselves credit for. I think it took somewhere around 18 hours. I loved it. Much harder than a marathon by far and as a side note, the post hike pizza was magical.

Last year it was the Grand Canyon. I think just the signs alone saying "Warning! Do Not Attempt This!" was enough to say hells yes to a Rim to Rim hike with a few side trips to make it an even 30 miles, with a 6.5k elevation gain total...in June... in 110+degree weather. We started at 0'dark hundred so we could finish without it being pitch black dark. It was beautiful. I happen to love the heat so I was ok with that element. I didn't start to crap out until our final climb out of the canyon. At that point the headphones came on and it was go time. I climbed out right at dusk. I had no idea how wrecked I was until later that night. My friend Lori was there with her family and we met for pizza afterwards, apparently I looked like death and was physically shaking, but I was still on such a high from the hike I was blissfully unaware. Apparently all the dust from the trail and the long day was not good for my lungs (I have asthma), and I woke up that night burning up and feeling like a crack whore at the end of a 10 day binge. I spent the majority of the rest of the night in the bathtub wrapped in cold wet towels. We still went wine tasting the next day. Probably not the best idea, considering what I was coughing up and how I was feeling, an ER may have been a better choice, but my trip wasn't over, there was no time for that. My head was still in go-time mode. One week and a course of antibiotics later I was more or less recovered. Had I trained enough for it? Er, uh, no. About a half a dozen times I trail ran a 10ish mile loop, and did one "big" hike up Los Pinos trail. But I was curious. I was curious as to how it would all shake out in the end. If you set out to go on a long hike or climb a mountain, you HAVE to finish. The only other option is being air lifted out. Period. It's not even a matter of "digging deep" it's just going on with the knowledge that you are going to get there. You just do it.

So the 24WODs in 24 Hours. There won't be beautiful nature scenery. You can walk off the floor at any time and say you're done. You have that choice. And that's what my biggest challenge is going to be. Because it is ridiculous, it is madness. And no one would fault you if you stopped, they might even say it was a fantastic choice. I'm going into this once again curious. I know my body will break down, that's a given. But how far will my mind take me?