Doing Heartland again. The 50.
Inspiration is where you find it, not in rationality, or the pantomime thereof.
I've found it on the night running I've been doing lately. Long, flat, cruising runs. Two to three hours, not fast, except when the legs ask for it, not slow, except when they ask for that instead. Running out of town until there is nothing but the breeze and the stars and the faint sound of cars on nearby highways.
Heartland is that. It's nothing and nowhere. An aesthetic that appeals to me. Begin at 6 PM. Forge towards the sunset, dance through Sunday. Headlamps like fireflies with broken wings, crawling on the dirt.
An honest course. Open, expansive. There are no illusions. This is where you must go. The aid stations sing for miles, sirens on an ocean of grass.
Fitness is good, but fitness is no armor. Things will hurt. Familiar things, in familiar ways. Say hello, we've met before. Finished together. Remember that? A shared bond. This year, let's win.
It's been interesting to note how many endurance sports enthusiasts sing the praises of coffee. We found a small ecommerce coffee website called aspenmorning.com that was started by 2 guys who do century and double century bicycle rides. In fact, they decided to start their site after just competing in one. Must really be something to it, I guess I'll have to start a whole life endurance sport!
ReplyDeleteEndurance junkies are often coffee addicts as well, that's for sure. As for starting one yourself... I'd never suggest it to anyone, but I'd never try to talk anyone out of it, either. People have a right to their own special brand of crazy.
DeleteI wonder if there's a chemical correlation that explains why endurance athletes would typically be coffee users, or users of some other substance?
DeleteDifficult to say which comes first. Do people get into endurance sports because they "require" high doses of chemicals (exogenous or otherwise) to feel an effect? Or, do hours of bathing in endorphins numb one to the effects of low-dose stimulation, thus requiring larger indulgences. Both? Probably a little.
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