Beyond the Blog: The Carolinas CAN Ruck For Autism

Becky and I are here at Truist Field in Charlotte working on the details.. We had a great day planning our strategy for sponsorships and logistics.   This was my ruck yesterday at Dalton Park, in the pouring rain. Photo credit: Matt Bledsoe I'm only smiling because I'm done! Photo credit: Matt Bledsoe

  Elizabethtown, NC - This weekend was my little "reward" for carrying that rucksack the last few weeks...the Mission 100k Ultra in Elizabethtown, NC.   Being in eastern NC, I thought the course would be flat and easy, kind of like what you see in the picture.  In fact, it was really challenging, the entire 10k loop was switchbacks, moguls, and short stabby hills. 😫 100k = 62 miles +/-, and the course was 10 loops.  I was hoping to get in 40 miles minimum, but managed to squeak out 50 miles overall, or 8 loops.   I was totally destroyed by the 7th loop and walked most of it, but then I stopped at the car, changed sneakers, called Cheryl, and manned up for the 8th loop.  43 miles is not a number, after all! The winner finished in 11 hrs 30 minutes, the race had about a 40% completion rate, so I don't feel too bad about not finishing the entire course.   It kicked my butt, no doubt about it, but I will be back next year in ultra-running s...

  Concord, NC - Very quick update, as I am scrambling to get to school on time (I'm subbing for a phys ed teacher, so that will be fun.   For me, not the kids...) I did a test ruck on Saturday, the full monty of 25 miles.  It was exhausting, but it was capping off an 80-mile week, so that might have had something to do with it.   It took about 6 1/2 hours of rucking, 7 hours total.    I feel prepared but still not as prepared as I could be...since it is hard to imagine doing this every day for 30 days.   I guess I won't know until I get out there what the actual day-to-day will be like.   It's a little scary, TBH.

  Concord, NC - Training continues to ramp up (75 rucking miles this week) and the hours slowly tick away on the treadmill. My body increasingly is fighting me every morning somehow knowing there is a 5 to 6 hour workout ahead. When I'm starting out tired and grumpy at 4 or 5 am, of course I ask myself.....Why am I doing this?  The immediate answer, of course,  is to raise money for CAN and support families living with autism.  But I find my motivation comes from a deeper place, although I cannot always articulate what that place is.  Fortunately, the Universe is listening and I had two vivid reminders this week of the greater "Why", at a point when I was feeling physically and emotionally drained.    The first reminder was in my role as a substitute EC teacher for our school system....I love working with these kids and I'm in awe at how they see the world.  We could all learn from them and their teachers. The second reminder was when I took my so...