You turn 57 and you spend lots of time doing endurance sports... so when the day comes...you think of a wild way to celebrate another day on the planet....and of course to celebrate the Big Man upstairs who gives me the ability to always compete in an event to the end....never quit.
Saturday am......I went to my fav spot..North Chagrin Reservation and the trails. The trail behind Squires castle reaches up to the upper level of the park. There is a loop.... 3-tenths of a mile ...the first part is a healthy incline...and is an S- curve.. when you reach the upper part..the upper S.....the incline..according to my Garmin is very steep. My plan was to run this hill.... 57 times....yes.... 57 straight times..... It was already getting hot and humid at 8am when I began... I saw Mike, Suzanne, and Chris early in the trek... then Dave came by and ran about 5 of them with me... But I ran..and I sweated....and I ran... The total mileage of this???? 17.20 miles... With all of the elevation change...according to Garmin again...I went up approximately 11,000 feet ......of course I also descended 11,000 feet during the whole run... I never walked...I was steady the whole way... Played mind games to keep going. Saw several families trying to take walks and many wondered what this sweat drenched man was up to. But I did it and it felt great....Tiny blisters in two toes...but nothing bad... I had my cooler at the bottom of the hill and I could use water..or G2 or some Gu's as I went along. All told, I needed 4 hours, 25 minutes to accomplish the goal. Fantastic. Of course when I finished, I was soaked through....knees felt okay, even though all the descending can play tricks on your patella tendons...
So..I am now 57 and feel like a kid. I know the body is not as fresh as it was at 20...but in endurance sports, I will take my chances competing against people younger than me... Ice bath never felt as good...
Update....two days later...calf muscles very, very sore...one patella tendon (left knee tender)..ran 1 hour to get back)
Life's a Blast
