Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Sorry I Haven't Written To All You Faithful Readers In So Long

My latest obsession has been taking time, but that is no excuse. So here goes, I recently read a bio book (Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All Night Runner) about Dean Karnazes the ultra-marathoner. Needless to say it was pretty inspiring. As no stranger to endurance sports, I began running again, a lot. It's only been about a month since I started back hard core and I'm doing base training so the speed is snail-ish, but I'm making great gains and have continuously achieved personal bests for distance so far (ran 20 miles on a trail run this past Saturday in 4 hours; burned 4077 calories).

In addition to my new hobby, I have been dieting 3 days per week eating a low-calorie intake. This has worked pretty well with the exercise plan and I have lost around 13-15 lbs in just a month.

I will keep pushing my body to get leaner and leaner as this will be easier on my frame for the ridiculous distances and long hours of pounding my body is about to take. I plan on running the ING Marathon in Atlanta on March 29th this year and my goal in the next 12 mos. is to finish an ultra-marathon of 50 miles or more. I also wish to complete a century ride (100 miles) on my road bike this year.

What makes me think I'm cut out for this type of insanity? To be honest, I think I was born for it: I'm patient, diligent, and actually enjoy pushing myself to the limit (it's the only time I feel truly at peace with myself, when I'm moving forward). One side of my family has a history of obesity and the other side has a history of mental instability. Couple those two things together and you have the makings of an ultra-endurance athlete. Why? Think about it, the natural propensity to carry fat will give me an advantage in storing energy for the ridiculously long efforts. And let's be honest, patience will carry you only so far, to finish you have to be a little messed up in the head. Best combo ever (thanks mom and dad!).

So there it is. Right now this pasttime is easy. I imagine once school kicks in full time or I tweak an ankle or knee, that's when nothing short of clinical OCD/perserverance/fortitude will help me prevail.

1 comment:

Last Chance said...

Richie. I'm not really that fat am I? I thought it was called old man girth.