Michael & Liz are Bloggable

So why not just throw something else on this blog that makes me look insane. This week I signed up for my 2012 ultra marathon. Here's a link to the site: http://www.hinsonlake24hour.com/

The race lasts 24 hours. You start at 8AM on a Saturday morning and you go until 8AM on Sunday morning. There is no finish line, just an end time. It's a 1.5 mile loop and you go as far as you possibly can during that time.  It's been called a tailgate with some running. This may sound ridiculous and outrageous, but 9 months away, this sounds like it will be a lot of fun to participate in.

My goals:

• Don't stop except for normal stuff like food, bathroom use, and stretching. I want to see if I can keep walking or running for the entire 24 hours. 
• Cover 50 miles. Compared to previous year's totals, 50 miles in this race is small potatoes. For example, in 2011, if I ran 50 miles, I would have finished 100th place out of 254 people. But I have never run an ultra before and never run farther than 26.2 miles. I think 50 miles is a reasonable goal. 

So at this point I need to figure out how to train for this. I think I will initially just start training like I would for a marathon. Medium runs in the week and long runs on the weekend. Then once I get comfortable with marathon distance long runs, I'll start extending those even farther and include walking in there to get used to that. It will not be easy and I am not naive enough to act like I don't have any concerns or doubts.

I'll keep you all up to date with how I'm doing in training. Right now I'm kinda bummed because I have a pulled or tight muscle near my right calf that just won't go away. Can't wait for it to go away so I can put in some serious mileage. This is certainly a daunting challenge, but I like challenges, so bring it Lake Hinson.