It goes without saying that training for a race like the Bridger is a huge time and emotional commitment.  Roughly 200 hours at the gym, running and biking in preparation for what I hope will be a 5  and a half hour race.  Crazy?  Irrational?  Waste of good time, of a good life?

Fortunately, I’ve had plenty of time to think about this as I summon muscles and joints to sing in sync along Marin’s trails.  Here’s what I’ve come up with:

First, for a 57 year old, the Bridger is unthinkable, and certainly unachievable, without this commitment.  If running the Bridger wouldn’t literally kill me, it would certainly defeat me.  Second, the Bridger is both a means to an end, and an end in itself.  In other words, if I wasn’t obsessing over the race, I’d have to come up with another challenging hard goal, and if all goes as planned I’ll have to dream up and research the next challenge come this fall.  The overarching plan is to stay fit to make this so-called “next third” of life as enjoyable as possible, including some deliciously ambitious goals — hiking chunks of the Appalachian Trail, biking from Vancouver to SF, biking cross country, maybe a triathlon or two thrown in.  Third, none of this would work if I didn’t enjoy most of the training.  Biking over the GG bridge to work, climbing Mt Tam on my mountain bike, running through the redwoods with my Saturday morning running crazies.  Love them all, even when they hurt.  Sure, the gym workouts suck; can’t put lipstick on a pig.   But I accept that as a necessary piece of the puzzle–the steamed broccoli or cauliflower of this otherwise tasty training meal.