In January 2024, I registered for the Blazin’ Summer Sufferfest at Cedar Hill State Park. The race is a 36k overnight trail run. It was a strategic choice to stretch me mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The hope was to discover another version of myself on the trail and to slay that version.
To prepare for the event, I adapted a training session for a 50 mile race. I added weight-lifting sessions twice a week. I extended the training plan from 12-weeks to 28-weeks including 4-weeks to build a solid base. As a result by March 28th, I could run 15 miles on consecutive days. And on one of those days I could complete 11 miles. The goal was to get to 24 miles on consecutive days, with consecutive 15 miles on at least one of those days. Well, on March 28th I was t-boned and as a result received a concussion. And that stopped everything.
My nervous system was out of whack. Anything seemed to trigger butterflies, heart palpitations, and/or rapid breathing. My cognitive processing didn’t work. Trying to delegate tasks for work caused headaches and tears. And physically 90-minutes of sitting up felt like a full day of physical labor. So, after 3 or 4 weeks of doing basically nothing I begin searching for ways to rebuild.
My sister convinced me to get help. So, I also enlisted the services of Chiroplus Clinic-West. By July 10th, I was able to do 10 consecutive miles on one day. I accepted Dr. Michael’s advice and didn’t push beyond that.
Needless to say I was excited about testing my limits at the Blazin’ Summer Sufferfest on August 3rd. And then it was postponed due to rain. So, what did I do. Well, at 6 AM on Monday morning, August 5th. I went to the trail by myself to do it.
I thought I was ready to post the adventure. As I sit here, I’m getting nauseous and dull headache. So, I’m still processing the walls I hit and the version of me on this side of that adventure. More to come soon. I posted snippets on my facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/dryoco/
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