Keep Moving Forward

One question I get a lot is "why do you do that?" "That" being run, bike, or swim.. or a combination of the three.. I always had some answer to that. There's lots of reason; obsession, health, because I can, self image, time to myself.. the list goes on.

When I took on ultra running I started putting in a lot of miles*. I would get "how can you run that long?" This was not a question I could answer very easy. It's one thing to say that; you train hard, put in a lot of miles or have a high threshold of pain, but there's more to it then that..or is there? I was reading Joe Friel's book (A Triathlete's Training Bible). There was a comment in there about a study of bumble bees and how as far a science was concerned they should not be able to fly, they are not aerodynamic, they have small wings, but somehow they fly quite well. They fly because they dont know they are not supposed to! I guess I will take that approach. I endure long runs where everything hurts, because I don't know that there is a reason not to.

*I know "a lot" is a relative term. In comparison to others' runs, mine are just a blip in a log book, but in my circle a 30 mile run is not common.