5/4/24

   Why this? Why now?  

Racing as we know it as come to a grinding halt, and there is not a clear picture on when it may return.  7 weeks ago, I was focused on Oceanside 70.3, Belgian Waffle Ride, and Ultraman Canada, and now all those races are gone or rescheduled.   Will they even happen on the new dates?  Hard to say.

I think we all went through phases of acceptance.   One race canceled, and then we would look forward to the next one, then that canceled and so on.  I soon realized I needed a WHY.  More than I love training, more than I want to be fit, more than I am in a good groove with my coach and building fitness is a great way... I needed an event of sorts.  

David Goggins, one of my hero's, is known for doing epic events!  One of them is 4/4/48. You run 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours. So, 48 miles of running 48 hours. I am not in the proper run shape for 48 miles in 48 hours, so the idea of 4/4/24 was birthed, and that grew to 5/4/24. 30 miles in 24 hours!

Coach approved! That is my coach approved, and then it was about bribing recruiting others. An event like this elicits a sharp reply, either F yes I am in or F NO. It's amusing, very few people said, hmmm let me think about it, And so it grew...we are now well over 50 people from Canada to Mexico and across the US. 2 fellow D3 coaches are "in," and we joined forces with Team HPB, THE Smashfest Queen. So with 6 coaches, 50+ athletes, friends, and friends of friends, we will embark on this adventure tomorrow at 4am PST. We all run, virtually at the same time! We have a zoom check-in before run #4, and I am sure there will be lots of social and fun along the way.

4am

8am

12 noon

4pm

8pm

Midnight

This is not for everyone, and that is okay! But for those who are on board, we are excited and united. I have that nervous feeling before a race, and its been fun chatting with my athletes about the plan, nutrition, hydration, etc. Its very "race" like!

So this is how we are currently dealing with COVID-19. You can take the races away, but cannot take the will to compete out of us. We are competing against ourselves, no one wins or gets anything for going fastest. It's a personal quest. And I cannot wait.

#morecarbsplease