Burning River 2011 - Pre-Race

Though many of you likely already know this, this upcoming Saturday (July 30th) at 5:00 AM will mark my second go-round with Burning River, a 101.1 mile, primarily trail oriented run/slog held in/around the Cleveland, OH area. Once again, the race will be hosting the USATF (USA Track & Field) 100 Mile Trail Championship, which I signed on for this year (hoping for a top-10 placement and any/all "notoriety" that comes with it--i.e. perhaps doing well will get me in to some other, top-flight races). FYI, testing the waters as a USATF runner precludes me from having a pacer, the use of music, a GPS watch, etc. (only the lack-of-pacer will really be bothersome, but I'll likely become delusional about 70 miles in, which is the only time I'd really need the pacer assistance anyways, so I'll probably just conjure some company at that time). Because I know what I'm getting myself into this year (I'm not as dismissive about it this time), I'm getting progressively more antsy about it; I'm still trying to put my finger on exactly what it is I'm feeling, which seems to fall somewhere smack-dab in the middle of "nervous" (in a somewhat-scared sort of way) and "amped" (in a I've-trained-harder-and-better-this-year-and-actually-know-how-to-'run'-the-event-now sort of way). If you care to track my progress, you can do so by visiting the webcast (the site will be updated to include contender photos, etc. Friday evening), which will be updated as I venture through each aid-station in what I hope will be my sub-19 hour run. I'll provide some updates sometime sans-race, assuming I don't fall and break my arms/wrists/hands. :)