It is a cloudy Tuesday in Silverton, CO and there is also 72 hours till the start of the Hardrock 100.
The journey started the morning I saw my name pulled in the lottery for Hardrock back in December and I literally was drunk with joy and, like I tell many of the runners I coach, it is where my race began. Race is a loose term, for Hardrock is more of a long, long walk and run for me. Time is irrelevant to me. I have 48 hours and 33,000 feet of elevation gain at an average of 11,000 feet. Numerous snow fields and more than 80 stream crossings, (someone actually counted them) some rain, sleet and hail are likely. I wouldn't trade what is to come for the comfort of looking up at these mountains from the window of a car or the warmth of a hotel room. I would never know the what it feels like to really be OUT THERE and relying solely on my mind and body to propel me down the trail. I read once that when we are in difficult situations and we feel we have given it all we have only done 40% of what we are capable of.
Ponder that. We can do more. When the time comes at 6 a.m. on Friday morning and I start this journey the question will arise many times, "Whatcha Got?" I have no control of anything around me but I do know this I CAN control my effort and I CAN control my attitude and that is all I need. One hundred miles can take a day and sometimes two, a marathon takes hours, a mile takes minutes BUT a step only takes a second and that is all I can do, over and over and over....
