How steep is the hill in front of you?

The last few days I have been bumping up against the challenge I accepted to run the Leadville trail 100 in 2010. With an only 40% finishing rate, I can’t even say I have even odds of being successful. That hill looks pretty d@mn steep.

You know, an Ironman was supposed to be my big goal this year (Beach 2 Battleship in Nov.). I am finally going to do one, after wanting to try since I was 8. A dream 26 years in the making. That’s big, right? There aren’t a lot of dreams that have stayed with me from childhood. But this one has the same appeal, maybe stronger, as it did back then.

I imagine my race calendar as a trail I am following, the races being hills. It’s fitting, considering the place I now live. Some hills are bigger than others. The B2B mountain is just beyond the foothills of the Jemez 50K/SF100. In fact the B2B mountain has a twin just beyond it, the IMUT in May. But now in the gray distance, there’s a 14er. I think I knew it was there all along. My PhD professor told me in 2002 that I’d do LT100 one day, and his mention of it was the first time I heard about the race. I think my jaw hit the floor. I protested, “No way! That is crazy. Do you know how far that is???” – but like anything, if someone tells me it’s hard, deep down, I want to try. But I thought it was much farther away. Like maybe when I turn 50.

Leadville pops into my head without warning. Strange tangents to everyday thoughts: cracking open a coke provokes “maybe I should give up coke because I’m doing Leadville. “hmm, my foot hurts. Better not be serious, because I’m doing Leadville.” Crunching numbers at work drifts into “At Leadville at mile 86, I’ll be lucky to be able to work out that 2+2=4.” Sometimes anxious, sometimes just curious.

It’s very reassuring to me to have friends around that have done and are doing the race, and friends that have told me they think I can do it. With a friend next to you, the hill looks less steep.

Even the NY times agrees: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/health/21well.html?_r=1&em
“Last year, researchers studied 34 students at the University of Virginia, taking them to the base of a steep hill and fitting them with a weighted backpack. They were then asked to estimate the steepness of the hill. Some participants stood next to friends during the exercise, while others were alone.
The students who stood with friends gave lower estimates of the steepness of the hill. And the longer the friends had known each other, the less steep the hill appeared.”

The backpack may be heavy, friends, but that hill isn't too steep after all.

Notes to Self

If you are a sheep, (and you know you are), be sure you REALLY DO want to emulate the sheep around you. 'Cuz it's going to happen, it's just a matter of time. Find an appropriate flock.


Flock selection is key to sheep happiness.


When meeting a prospective flock for the first time, it might be wise to get acquainted with the extremists. Do you admire their extreme-ness? Envy it a little? Fine, YOU are in the RIGHT FLOCK. If the extreme sheep are doing things you think are out-of-the-question, no-fookin'-way-I-am-ever-doing-that, then perhaps a different flock is in order. Or maybe you can hide yourself in a sub-flock and ignore the extreme sheep. Do not become friends with the extreme sheep.


When in a group of sheep, and one suggests you do something somewhat outrageous that they have already done, DO NOT expect the other sheep to give you reasons not to do the outrageous thing. They. are. sheep. It is not in their makeup, any more than it is in yours to turn down the suggestion.


Sheep can be steered by using their tail like a joy-stick. Betcha didn't know that.


Contemplate an outrageous thing long enough, and it will seem less and less outrageous. Especially if one is surrounded by supportive sheep. Sheep who offer to pace you at the drop of a hat (Maria!). In fact, outrageous ideas send out taproots that are practically impossible to dig out in a contemplative environment. Add sheep dung, and you've got yourself a Kudzu bed.

"Ba ram ewe, to your sheep, your fleece, your clan be true, ba ram ewe."