Hard Rock!

No, not that Hard Rock, although I may wish for that by the time its all said and done . . .

So, on my 5th try, I finally got into Hardrock. Talk about a come to Jesus moment. If you have read anything at all about Hardrock, you'll know why I am both excited and nervous! The short of it is that its a 100 mile race (102.5 at last count) in Colorado with lots of climbing and lots of elevation. You can read all about it, if you care to, here: www.hardrock100.com.

I was out enjoying myself at a Charger tailgate, when Erica tapped me on the shoulder and showed me her phone. There was the TWEET OF DEATH.

	Hardrock Hundred (@hardrock100)
12/16/12, 11:06 AM #hr100lottery Welcome to Buddy Teaster, Ken Legg, BJ Haeck... two left

I was in. Third to last in the never group, but in nonetheless. My exuberance was quickly outweighed by reality. These next 7 months were going to hurt. A lot. Why?

This is a dream race, one where your mettle is truly tested in the most beautiful mountains you can imagine. May consider it to be the hardest race in America, although I would think the folks at Badwater, Sustina, and other races would have a bone to pick with that conclusion. Suffice to say, it is in the discussion, and from what I can tell, I certainly wouldn't disagree. They give you 48 hours to cover the distance, and there still is only about a 70 percent finisher rate, often lower.

The race is in mid-July, so training starts . . . . . . . . NOW! Lots and lots and lots of climbing. Also, the hard part. Starting Super Bowl Sunday night - no soda, no beer, no dessert with the hope of dropping about 15 pounds of extra weight that would be no fun to drag over the mountains. This is not going to be fun.

Lots of things to try as well. Trek poles or no poles? What kind of shoes? Hydropel? How often can I get into altitude?

Anyways, I will need to keep a close eye on my training and training times, so this blog is officially up and running until further notice with lots of boring entries and probalby not too many pics, but if you want to come along on a journey as a mediocre ultra runner takes on the ultimate chalenge, its on like this guy . . .