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
9 comments:
I woulda gone with the 57 flavors of ice cream :-) Nice job, JT. I hope to be as fresh as you in a coupla more years...
if this is the hill I am thinking of you are nuts :) Great job and congrats on being still fit at 57!
Congrats and Happy Birthday!! I'd say you're "over the hill"!!
wooowwwww. I can barely make it up that F-ing hill ONCE. That is amazing JT. For people who do not know the hill you speak of they can't grasp what a feat that was.
Ok, somehow I missed this before.
Dang, you're crazy hardcore. 57 times? Nuts.
I'm inspired! Keep up the great work. I hope to keep running for many many years. Life IS a blast!
Karen
www.DailyTrailRunner.com
This is so inspiring. Its so nice to hear from people that are very sure about their goals in life, and very determined to achieve it, no matter how old he is. More power!
Hey I just cam across your blog and am excited to read along!! My husband and I just started a triathlon clothing company called addict sportswear. It' casual and performance tee's. We will also have jerseys and tri tops in the next few months. Please check it out and if you like something, maybe we can send you something in exchange for promoting it on your website. Thanks, Good luck in your next race! addictsportswear.com
You have to try the brand new application for the iPhone to keep track of your training and races. Definitely the best one I have seen.
It's called 220 TriLog.
iTunes Link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/220-trilog/id405993632?mt=8&uo=4
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