These people aren't crazy; they're just ultra. And when you're ultra, you run ultra marathons, which are longer than 26.2 miles — 30-, 50-, 100-mile races. There are also timed events, like 12-hour runs, 24-hour, 48-hour, and even multi-day events.
Ultra-runners are really a different breed — different from me and another one else I'll ever know. Ultra takes a level of discipline and organization I don't think I'll ever touch. And if I had been brought up differently by different people with different values, I would probably try to kill these people. But for now I'll just admire their strength and be content with the 3.5 miles I ran today (and 1 mile I walked).
The month's total: 5.5 miles. At this rate, I should just barely finish mile thirty before midnight on Jan. 30.
I'm running 30 miles this month. Make your resolution.
That is, if I hadn't received my Nike+iPod kit today. Apparently I can calibrate the thing to understand my running vs. walking, arrange for a "PowerSong" to play when I need some bounce, get spoken feedback, and set up a variety of workouts.
Good music is necessary for my running. When I bought my iPod last July, I assumed I would play with the thing for a month and then lose it in a closet or the mess of my gym bag (knock on wood). But it has really become my lifeblood when it comes to running.
One of my first tasks when I bought my iPod: create a running playlist. It's at least 50 songs long, mostly popcorn, and today I ran to the following segment (click the song titles to hear samples):
- "It's All Been Done" by Bare Naked Ladies
- "Crazy in Love" by Beyonce
- "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera (that's right)
- "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows
- "Ants Marching" By Dave Matthews
- "Independent Women: Part I" Destiny's Child
- "Stutter" by Elastica
- "Honky Cat" by Elton John
- "Come to Me" by Elvis Crespo
- "Sugar We're Goin' Down" by Fall Out Boy
- "Shadowboxer" by Fiona Apple
- "Radiation Vibe" by Fountains of Wayne
- "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra
- "Over My Head (Cable Car)" by The Fray
- "Jenny from the Block" by J.Lo.
(Special thanks to Neo for his supramusic collection.)
I try to sprint or at least kick it up a little bit in the middle of my runs. It's not only to work on speed, but also to tired myself out and learn to keep on running. I have a feeling that the last leg of the triathlon is not exactly a relaxing trip to the beach. So, it has been some good conditioning.
