8days, 8th race, 8 Mountain Passes

Eight days from today I will take my first step of what has been a culmination of tens of thousands of steps, I have run fast, slow, I have hiked to massive heights, I have tripped and stumbled and come back for more. Perhaps the most important step I have taken in this journey so far was the decision to try. A good friend said to me the other day "Just signing up for such a race takes so much courage." Perhaps she is right and I know that for me this was the first real step toward something that feels out of reach to so many. As time closes in and the days tick off the calender I find myself in deep reflection, some might even call it mind chatter :) Funny "Mariah" thoughts like what will I think about for that many hours, will I still be counting miles and minutes toward the end, ooooo I could come up with some great recipes on the run, oh and affirmations for Yoga postures, I hope I am nice to my crew, I will smile no matter what, I hope I can eat all the way through, I am so grateful, I know I can do this, I hope I can do this, Oh you can do this, so if I run a 33 hour pace... I cannot wait to see my family at the finish line, this is going to be awesome and hard and crazy and and.... Wow I sound a little crazy, and the truth is that is not even the half of it. I have been asked more times than I can count "Why would you ever want to run that far?" The funny thing is it's not a "Why?" for me in the traditional sense of "Why?" -- truth be told I have shouted to myself on a long and grueling run "Why the hell do you do this!!!!" but it was more a a statement than a question. Fact is, I am crazy in love with running far, power hiking up hills and sometimes flying down hills, I love the training and the challenge, I like to set my sights very high and see if I can humanly achieve my personal greatness, I love the quiet and the chatter of a long run and this will be a long long long long long run.... So as I celebrate the number eight today I look forward to the 8th race and those 8 mountain passes in a short eight days