It's getting real!

I know that it's starting to get real and race day is rapidly approaching when I can see race day on the 10 day forecast. Today is the day! As of now, the weather looks amazing. That's going to change a bunch between now and then though. It always does. I like to obsess about the weather. It's not like I can change it, but it gives me something to think about other than the logistics and challenges of the race. Don't want to think about what to pack in your drop bags? Check the weather! Worried about getting your pacers where they need to be and if your crew is going to be where they should be? Nah, there are soo many weather sites to check and compare no one has time for those silly worries. People make fun of me for obsessing about the weather so much, but I don't really care. I know I'm not actually that worried about it. I'm using it as an excuse to not worry about the other stuff quite as much.

For anyone who doesn't know this, I'm running the FlatRock 101K on April 26. Check out this website for more info and a fun video if you don't know much about it and want to: http://flatrock101.com/  I said I would never do this race and honestly had no intention of doing it. It just didn't appeal to me. The FlatRock 50K is really hard. Why would I double that? Then I started looking around for a spring race. Nothing really appealed to me. I just couldn't get excited. I also feel like I have something to prove. Yeah, I ran 50 miles and it was awesome. Such a huge accomplishment and I was so proud and still am. It was a pretty easy course though. I feel the need to prove I can do a huge distance on a hard course. I'm the only person that I need to prove that too, but I'm a pretty tough critic. It seems nothing I do is ever quite good enough. I don't think anyone else thinks that way. I think it and I want to prove myself wrong! Maybe after this race I'll believe I really am tough and a real runner.

There are people that think I can't do this. Even more people think I shouldn't. That's ok. I know I can do it. I think my family thinks I've lost my mind. I talked with Rick about it before I ever committed to it as I know he has concerns about me running these crazy distances. I try to be sympathetic to his concerns while also fulfilling my goals and dreams. I wish I could say I listened when he said he didn't want me to do something, but I normally do it anyway. The problem in this situation is there is no compromise. He doesn't want me to do it and I do want to do it. I run 100k and he worries and wishes I would listen to him and probably wonders why I bother to ask his opinion if I'm going to do what I want. I don't run it and I resent him for not wanting me to. Someone loses. I can't do half a race. So I do everything I can to alleviate his worry, and also beg him to participate so he's there and can see that I'm ok. He's going to be out there (hopefully!) crewing for me and I'm really hoping he's at the finish line.

I have Rick and Adam crewing and Ryan and Joell pacing. I'm so excited! A bunch of my friends are going to be there running or working aid stations. Two of my friends had to drop out due to injury and a health issue, which made me really sad. At least one of them will be at an aid station though and he's also course sweep, so I may end up getting to run with him some. There is a very decent chance I'll finish last. That's cool. I just want to finish. The time limit is 24 hours. If I finish in 23:59:59 I'll be happy.

Course profile for anyone that hasn't seen me post it on facebook a few dozen times over the years:

That's actually only 25K. The race is a double out an back. You can see at the end that it says FlatRock turnaround. That means I do that, then go back, then do it all again. Woohoo!

Next time you guys hear from me I'll be sharing my race report. Oh, and by the way, the current forecast is 74 and partly cloudy.