Rematch

It's been almost two years. I haven't obsessed over it, I haven't schemed on it, I haven't chaffed under it, but the itch has been building of late, and I've done some thinking. I want a rematch.

What's that you say?

I've been thinking more and more of a return go with The Great Noxapater Journey Run (see "Pulling the Trigger" 12/16/1013; "And Shooting Myself in the Leg" 12/19/2013). I wrote a bit about this in July ("A New Dream" 7/19/2015) but the dream is becoming more real. I may or may not do that particular run, but if I stay healthy I almost certainly will do some sort of journey run. 

I wrote about this in July, but my thoughts are become more clear now and a few things will be different this time around. For one, I am much more fit than I was almost two years ago when I crashed and burned on the very first day, the only day I had confidence I could complete. As of the end of last week, I had run 257 miles more than the same time in 2014, and 2014 was a better running year than 2013. Also, I've been working the weights pretty hard to increase my lower body strength. My relative weakness is a major reason I think I broke down on my ill-fated earlier attempt. 

Another major realm of difference involves weight, mine and my packs. I have to travel with less and this I think I can do. By doing the run on Thanksgiving instead of Christmas Break, I can get away with fewer clothes due to the milder weather and thus save weight there. Also, I plan to be more logistically minded and stash some provisions along the way. Gels are heavy and I can drop some of them along with some protein powder along the way with people I know who live in the areas I will pass. 

Also, I will begin experimenting with a packaging system for moon pies. While gels are heavy, moon pies are not and they are high calorie snacks that provide not only carbohydrates, but fat as well, which is important in ultra-endurance events. The drawback with moon pies is the bulkiness that carrying a number of them entails. Some type of mesh bag attached to my pack should allow me to carry plenty of them and keep weight down at the same time.

In 2013, I left the house with sixty-four ounces of fluid in my hydration pack. I can easily get by with forty thus saving a pound and a quarter right there. I also plan to load my pack ahead of time and experiment with how light I can get it. In addition to all of that, I will soon start training some with a pack to begin adjusting to the weight. I did not do that in 2013. Short story long, I will be much better prepared for the upcoming attempt. I definitely will do some long one day runs, and I may even do some two day runs in preparation. That will be fun in and of itself and great training to boot.

I just got myself really excited. Now the idea is a goal and the goal will become action which will take over my training and thinking for the next twelve weeks. Come along for the ride. It should be fun. If I don't crash and burn again.