Getting My Mojo Back

51 weeks to go!

I've felt pretty good during these few shorter runs this past week. I'm starting to feel like I'm back in the groove of training, and all the side effects are starting to show up again, and I love it. I eat more but I'm still hungry. My legs feel like slabs of cement that I have to drag around all day. I feel a little more awake, and whenever I walk somewhere, I silently wish I were running there. I feel like I have my mojo back.

I first heard the phrase "mojo" related to running in a Runners World article about Scott Jurek and his current slump. I won't go into my opinions much on the article itself, lets just say that I don't agree with how the author put pressure on Scott to win the 24 hour championship. Anyways, the author kept referring to this "mojo". I really didn't fully understand what it was until I went TDY to China Lake, CA. Over a weekend, I went up to the Whitney Portal on Mount Whitney and I instantly understood what it was.

First, Mount Whitney is the highest point in the lower 48 states. Second, and most importantly to me, its where the finish line is to the Badwater Ultramarathon. I am a huge fan of that race and someday wish to participate in it, and maybe even finish it. The picture at the top of this site is taken at the starting line.

My friends were all fishing in the small streams around the portal. I didn't have a rod, so I just rammed around in the snow around the parking lot. I'd go up some hill, then run down the other side. Not just jogging around, but running. Really running. The kind of running you see on playgrounds and from kids chasing the ice cream truck. I was exhausted from the effort and the elevation, but I kept running around anyways. I had my mojo back. The whole ride back to Ridgecrest, that's all I could think about, was running around Mount Whitney, feeling the awesome energy that surrounds that place. I know that sounds a little hippie, but thats what I felt there, the energy of the finish line, and the portal to the top of the mountain. It's where I decided that I would give the Keys 100 a real shot. I can't wait to go back to Whitney.

Hopefully this "mojo" lasts me until I get to the finish in Key West, and hopefully I don't promptly lose it afterwards and take a year off. I'm gonna try my best to keep it going this time. Here goes nothing...