Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Highlands Sky 2012: Redemption

I had not planned on running Highlands Sky this year.  I had had also not planned on dropping at the MMT 100.  After the disappointment of DNF-ing at MMT, I needed a new goal.  I needed redemption.  I have to be honest.  Deep down I was starting to wonder if I was washed-up past my prime as an ultrarunner.  The last good (or decent) race that I had run was in 2010.  It took longer than I hoped to be physically normal after the AT; and even longer mentally.  I feared that possibly I had lost my edge.  Running long, slow efforts requires a different mindset in comparison to true all-out racing.  The extreme efforts had been traded for more benign executions.  Had I forgotten how to suffer?