"Enthusiasm"

"Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul" ~ Samuel Ullman

For the past two weeks I have been trying to find something to get enthused about again. After 2 years of IronMan racing, I'm feeling a little lost without some definite major race in my sights to train for.

In some ways I cherish these moment. Sleeping in, eating whatever, and being a coach potato for a couple of hours now and then.

But these days are starting to drive me a little nutty.

I need to be in motion!

I need to train!

I guess I also need to train for some kind of "purpose" !

Hmm, the only thing I have been literally training for has been my stomach expansion. I have started to log my split times to see how fast I can go to the nearby Dunkin Donuts and catch my commuter train for the daily grind at work. Always in Zone 2 thou.. Woohoo..

So many thoughts have come my way in what I should be doing for the rest of this year and for 2008.

So here are my thoughts? In case anybody wanted to join me in these little adventures. C'mon, pretty please?

First, Adventure Racing, something I wanted to do this year, but my dance card has been full. Plus I could not figure out how to sneak in a Kayak/Canoe pass my wife after it comes from EBAY.

Second, I always wanted to do an XTERRA race, but suck pretty bad at mountain biking so I will try to work on these skills during the winter.

Then finally UltraRunning, yes my winter sport, for some reason winter running appeals to me. The trail gets more deserted from all the warm blooded creatures that might go bump into the night.

Then about this number that has been spinning in my head, Yes a 100 mile UltraMarathon, should I actually contemplate doing one?

With a 65% or less finishing rate in most 100 mile UltraMarthons, I could actually get my 1st D.N.F.? Then there is this?

How does one train to run 100 miles?

How does one run in the middle of the night through the woods with just a flashlight to guide your way?

But I think I will train for one. With no rhyme or reason and no race picked out just yet.

This will be my "enthusiasm" for the fall/winter months. So let the running begin this weekend. Still a little banged up from IronMan, even after two weeks. I will start out slowly. But time to trade in my road shoes for some trail shoes now.