6 hours slopping in mud, then a night of pouring rain. Sunday morn, quiet sunshine. Calm after the storm. Rolled slowly outta my elevated poster bed. Feet on the room’s old wooden floor; steadied myself, tough day-start. Everything in slow motion, sore. Bath, clean clothes/fresh armour.
Yesterday’s battle garments fast discarded, left abandoned ’round the Lafayette Room. Gathered 2 bags: small sack of wet Colorado returns, larger bag for mud disposals. Shoes, socks, shirt – all would find their way in an outdoor McD’s trash can, ‘bout an hour away in Bowling Green.
New day. Faint timber, voice rise ‘n fall downstairs.
Anthony was passing the Mansion, pacer chatting alongside. God help him. While I slept, all night long he continued. In mud, in the dark, in the woods, thru torrential rain. Lap 7, one more to go. Ultimately he’d finish 100 miles, just under the 30-hour time limit. 3rd of only THREE. WOW.
Dropped my bag, walked him ‘cross Green Mill Bridge. Helped pull off shoes & socks, race officials outdoor-grilled a cheese sandwich. Older brother would pace his last 13 miles. Dude’s a warrior. Ran 10+ miles together yesterday, talked ‘bout my Bighorn fail. Heart full/emotional.
‘Last lap took me 5 hours. When are YOU going to run 100 miles?’
Grilled cheese in hand, crew refueled his bottles. Back on trail, last lap.
do something BIG. Folks this is how dreams are born.
Two years time. 50 miles 2019, 100 miles year after. Anthony of West Georgia – I owe ya, man. #noregretlife
Queen Ant: With ants, only those who work may stay.
Grasshopper: Listen. The Good Book says, “The Lord provides, there’s food on every tree.” I see no reason to worry and work. No, sir. [spits] Not me.
That’s the thing ‘bout opinions – EVERYONE has one.
Ya’ll know: I’m a goal setter, a dream chaser…but a goal-setter with a plan. Do I attain all my goals? Heck no, ’bout 50-50. BUT do I dream BIG? Heck yeah. Small dreams, small life – MY opinion. Remember, everyone has one 🙂
2018 been hittin’ it hard: Hawaii to North Carolina, Alabama to Leesport PA. Ramped up now, running on all cylinders. Added e-Stim Training (electric muscle stimulation) last week for faster muscle recovery. Weekly mileage up & staying up.
Call it out, sure it’s risky – they might laugh. 17 marathons first half 2018. Dreamin’ B-I-G!
“A goal without a plan is only a dream.”
52 days – Bighorn WYOMING (52 miles of trail ‘long the Montana border)
73 days – Knysna SOUTH AFRICA (Elephant Park overnite)
94 days – Juneau ALASKA (canoeing under Mendenhall Glacier)
131 days – St John’s NEWFOUNDLAND (completing Canada’s Maritimes Oct 14th in PEI)
265 days – King George Island ANTARCTICA
One life, no excuses. Call it out to the universe, embarrass yourself – but DREAM & dream BIG.
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- East Coast next 3 weeks
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- BIGHORN: 52 days
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- AFRICA: 73 days
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- ALASKA: 94 days
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- ANTARCTICA: 265 days
e-Stim Training
Tips for tapering and more
With just a handful of weeks remaining until your half- or full- marathon, a popular topic concept to discuss is the “taper.” Tapering refers to a reduction of training volume in the weeks (generally 1-3 weeks) leading up to your event.
This reduction of training volume is hypothesized to allow muscle glycogen to rebuild and for relative muscle recovery, to try and allow for peak performance.
For all but the elite runners, it should be noted, there is scant if any, medical evidence to show tapering is a necessary, or even beneficial, part of training for a half- or full- marathon.
While studies suggest elite-level runners may improve performance by 1-2% (enough to go from 3rd to 1st place at Boston, for instance) with appropriate tapering, research has failed to demonstrate a significant performance effect for the average runner, with essentially identical performances at these distances, between those who choose to taper and those who do not, especially when they are taking part in a marathon or half-marathon preparatory program and are not consistently running at high volumes of miles throughout the balance of the year.
Further, muscle glycogen stores are rapidly depleted and repleted and can be replenished even in the last day or two before your event, thus eliminating the potential benefit of tapering several weeks in advance of your race for the vast majority of runners.
Buffalo Marathon & Excelsior Orthopaedics
No New Year’s Eve plans this year. Lazy relaxed nite. Welcomed 2018 from the comfort of my own home – but first…after receiving an urgent email reminder, set my New Year alarm: specifically 12:15am Mountain Time.
Been in contact with 3 different companies to register for Antarctica. Each have a limited # of entries. No openings on the UK site ‘til March 2020. Best hope for 2019: Minneapolis-based Marathon Adventures. Alarm set for 11:45pm New Year’s Eve.
Registration for the 2019 White Continent 50k, Marathon will open tomorrow January 1, 2018.
The tentative dates for the 2019 WCM are Saturday January 19, 2019 to Sunday January 27, 2019. But please note, those dates could shift one week in either direction.
Please note that we are limited number of seats on our flight and we have a long waitlist of passengers from 2018 and many others interested. As such, if you want to confirm your 2019 entry we encourage you to register quickly to avoid missing out.
Again, registration opens January 1, 2018. We look forward to having you join us for the 7th annual White Continent Marathon in January 2019!!
Thanks and Happy New Year!
Steve Hibbs
Chief Adventurer, Marathon Adventures
Watched New York/Times Square ring in the Year, then off to bed for a 2-hour snooze. Alarm buzzed right on queue. Booted up the laptop, took out the pup, celebrated 2018 vicariously thru Ash & Tom’s New Year pics – 5 more minutes.
Like magic, countdown timer disappeared at 12:15. Link appeared & I plugged in my personal details. Passport #? Passport #? ARGH. Upstairs fast – scurried to its ‘safe’ non-travelling spot in the closet – then back to my kitchen laptop. Timed out. Refreshed the page, re-input 12 lines of data, payment cart appeared. Payment cart, YES! $1,000 deposit – one THOUSAND dollars.
Am I in? Fraud alert tagged my transaction. Thanks Discover but ARGH. Quick call, charge now a pending transaction. Still no confirmation. Am I in? Too keyed up to sleep, watched an hour of Netflix before drifting off – penguins, seals, icebergs, Antarctica.
Keenan,
Hello 2019 White Continent Marathon Adventurers!
If you are receiving this e-mail that means your entry for the 2019 WCM is confirmed. Apparently there were some issues with runners not receiving a confirmation e-mail following initial registration. But please note that we have received your entry and you are confirmed.
During the race, our runners are cheered on by penguins and seals. Following the races our runners are able to enjoy excursions to a penguin colony, where they see Gentoo, Adelie & Chinstrap penguins. They also explore the nearby Russian Research base and their ornate Orthodox Church.
The 2019 WCM will once again be camping overnight in Antarctica. It is a great experience! That’s right the 2019 White Continent 50k, Marathon & 1/2 Marathon Adventure will be sleeping overnight in Antarctica the evening before the race. This will guarantee that everyone will finish their race in Antarctica.
ANTARCTICA! Life-time dream realized. Absolutely ANYTHING is possible! ❤
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- Happy New Year!
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- Sis’ New Year’s Day bowl of black-eyed peas, a Southern tradition
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- best dog EVER
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- ANTARCTICA!
For the family who THINKS they have everything. Late Christmas present from my punk little brother – LOL>
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- Bro, are ya kidding me?
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- you heard the joke? “a Polar Bear, a Yeti & a Redneck walk into a bar…”
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- forget PJs, save the BOX 🙂
