How Far Can You Go?

There's a quote by T.S. Elliot that says, "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." I'm about to find out. 10 months ago, I committed to participating in a 24 hour event, the North Coast 24 Hour Endurance Run, in Cleveland, OH. When I registered for this event in December 2010, I never really thought I'd be giving this serious thought, but a little seed planted way back then bloomed into something interesting. I completely changed my training this year, focusing on learning how to run long, and not necessarily fast. Yes, I've lost my speed. But I've gained endurance. I ran my first 50k run (31.1 miles), I ran another, and another, and another. I ran in the middle of the night. I ran for 8 hours straight. I ran in the heat of the day, and I ran when I was dog tired. I ran 42 miles at once, my longest run to date. I ran 110 miles in one week. I'm ready. It's time to do the dance. It's time to test my skill and see how it goes. So, this weekend, from 9am Saturday to 9am Sunday, I run. 24 hours. I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm scared. But I'm happy. And I'm sure at some point during the run, I'll be having the time of my life with a huge grin from ear to ear. And at times, I'm sure I'll be downright miserable and begging for it to end. In fact, it could end up being the longest 24 hours of my life. 86400 seconds. 1 day. It's just a run, and won't change anything. The sun will still rise and set and life goes on. Win or lose, succeed or fail, it's time to risk going too far just to see how far I can go.