As many of you know, I am a part of a three man team taking on the Rouge Orleans this weekend. The Rouge Orleans is a 126.2 mile run from Baton Rouge to New Orleans along the levee the whole way. Some people are running it solo, some 2, 3, or 6 man relay teams. As I run my sections for our team, I’ll be responsible for just under 43 miles during our estimated 18 hour dip into insanity.
“How did you get yourself into this?” you might ask. Well, shortly after the Jazz Half Marathon, where I ended up with huge PR and an annoying stress fracture, a friend of mine, Jason, called needing a third man on their team. I told him I REALLY wanted to, but I’d have to make sure I was healed up enough first. I talked with God, PT people, a good friend who is a chiropractor, my family physician, other runners, my wife, children, and my dog, and came to the conclusion that if I took 6 weeks off of running and only did elliptical, I should be able to run it if I wore padded shoes instead of my vibrams. The gravel road we’d be running on and the lack of time to build my ankles and feet back up would necessitate that. I’ll be running in a pair of Altra Lone Peaks and Brooks Pure Cadence, depending on the terrain.
I’ve managed to get some significant mileage in training and I’d say that my left leg is at about 85-90% (don’t tell my wife, or doctor). Even with the injury I managed to peak at 60 miles a week in training and put in some 2-a-days and some pretty significant runs. This week during the taper, the knee that I had ACL reconstruction on decided to bark a little bit, but nothing of significance.
Our team is pretty excited about pushing ourselves to do something that we’ve never attempted before. I’m praying that God will sustain our bodies and minds as we trek through the cold. The latest forcast is for 25 degrees Saturday night. Oh and the wind on the levee makes it feel about 10 degree colder…yay. I’m confident in our God given abilities to get it done.
If you’d like to follow our adventure, we will be posting updates on my facebook, tweeting from my twitter account (@davidtheriot) and using the hashtag #TUF3 for our team, Team Ultra Fit (3 man team). Our wave hits the trail at 1pm on Saturday. Also, all teams will be tweeting with the hashtag of #RO12 if you’d like to see how everyone is doing. I’ll try to post some pictures and video of the hilarity and delirium that is sure to take place!
We appreciate your prayers and support!!