7-Day Event is in 6 Days

Yep, the Buffalo Trace 7-Day Stage Race is in 6 days! Yikes. Less than a week and I'll be running for a week. Confusing. I'm a bit unsettled by the whole thing. I'm not ready for 7 long & tough days of running. I suppose you are never really ready for an event like this, but this year I feel less excited...and less ready. Last year at this time I was psyched to try and run for 7 days and see how many miles I could accumulate. I am proud of my 303 miles from last year. This year seems less intriguing and I have a greater chance for failure. If I don't reach 300 miles, I will consider the week a failure. That puts more pressure on me to be disciplined and motivated each day. I don't like that pressure. Oh well. Too late to put in any extra training miles. This week is a good time to run easy each day and stay injury-free. My wife has had a nasty cold for over a week...I hope she recovers soon...and I don't get whatever she had. Swine flu go away!

Another reason I'm not excited about this year's stage race...the course is in awful condition! The grass is high, standing water is all over the place, and mud seems to dominate the first half mile. This week is scheduled to be warm and dry. Maybe the trail will dry out and the Lawnmower Man will get out there and do his job. Maybe the park will mow too (they mow nice and wide, but rather high). Maybe the swamp at the north-east corner will drain. That's a lot of "maybes"--I'd prefer certainty and action.

I have a feeling this will be my last attempt at 7 days of running. Taking the "vacation days" off from work and not having a vacation doesn't seem right. Asking my wife to put up with my complaining for a week doesn't seem right. Heck, running for 7 days doesn't seem right! I've already proven to myself that I can do it (although I sure fell apart on day 6 & 7 last year). What's the point of doing it again? And what's the point of doing it for a 3rd year in a row?

On a positive note, I have already exceeded my fund raising goal for the ASPCA! People can still contribute. I'll close it out after the 7-day event is over. Thank you to everyone that donated. If nothing else, I can think about the animals (and all of your great support) and that should keep me motivated to run.