Happy Halloween Ultra Ghouls and Ultra Beasts...
What an odd concept, that Hell would have a definite Circumference...but, I assure you, it's true. And, I know what it is; it's one mile. The circumference of Hell is USTFA certified to be 1.000 miles... and it's in Sussex County, NJ. That Hell would be in NJ might not, in fact, surprise you, but Sussex County?? Yes, rest assured, it's there and specifically it is resides at the County Fair Grounds...
And I'm going there...
On purpose...
Worse yet... I paid money to go...
On November 9-10th I'm running the first annual New Jersey One Day. It is the Fall incarnation of the relatively well known "3 Days at the Fair" which is held in May. In my race, 8 days from now, the goal is simply to run as far as you can in 24 hours. From 9am on Saturday to 9am on Sunday. And you don't run through God's gloriously revealed mountains as eagles soar and thunderous rivers flow. No. You run around a 1 mile (certified exact mind you), mostly paved, almost geometrically flat, loop through a county fair grounds... in NEW-freakin'-JERSEY.
And I remind you. I'm doing this on purpose. I, in fact, paid.
While I love, cherish, depend on and frankly obsess about trail running more than is certainly normative and perhaps more than is healthy, I have also always had a fascination with flat pavement ultras. I think it answers the questions that the road 5k and marathon do; how fast can you go that far? Unfettered by mountains, just how fast can you go how far? It's honest, it's ugly. You end up with a concrete (pardon the pun) number.
And so, I want to know some things. I want to know how fast I can run 100 miles and I want to know how far I can go in 24 hours. Pretty ugly, but the numerological simplicity of it are too beautiful to ignore. The challenge is too great and too easy to undertake. So I'm going to run in circles, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 minutes at a go, for as long as they let me, and as long as my training and will holds.
And since there is no beauty, no great legacy or tradition that I am following in, all that is left is 3 types of goals: 1) time goals 2) distance goals and 3) psychological goals. Normally I would shy away from sharing these as it would risk "public disappointment", but I want people to know if they should be happy for me, console me or somewhere in between. The biggest variable that I don't control is the weather. If it's 35 and pouring all 24 hours with 30 mile an hour winds, obviously I'm not going to run very much or at all. But assuming I can run here are my graded goals.
1. Time goals: 100 miles
A+++ 16:40 (10 min/mile) Super Optimistic but not, quite, impossible.
B 18 hours
B- 20 hours My Vermont PR is 20:22 and so I should do better than that
C- <24
2. Distance Goals
A+++++ 135 miles This is the minimum qualifying standard to the USA 24 hour Team. This would require EVERYTHING to go EXACTLY RIGHT on my first ever try at the event... not likely, but also not "physically impossible"
A- 120 miles This is the extension (12 min/mile) of my Vermont PR
B 110 miles
3. Psychological goals
-Have lots of great conversations with the other denizens of Hell :)
-Run Smart, follow the plan.
-Be flexible, do I manage time, unexpected events and adversity well?
-Run Tough, when it gets cold, when I'm tired, if it rains, do I show grit?
-Don't do anything stupid. Do I shut it down if I'm going to hurt myself?
Well, there it is. I can't control the weather in NJ 8 days from now, but unless there's a hurricane I'm going and I'm going to give it a go. And every fence, every turn, every detail of that 1 mile circuit will be etched into my mind. Can I go into a trance and simply flow? Will my mind thrive or starve? What will happen I know not, but it will be a horrifying ghoulish adventure, that's for sure.
Happy Halloween,
Alex
