Yeah Matt, it is a pretty tough hill. It has been such a long time, I think I may have to run it again someday to remind myself of how much of an accomplishment it was. What I may do is just run from the Quick Stop or Nob Hill in Gilroy up to the top, just to see if the old man can still make the ascent!!
GOLFPRO 5/17/06 5:35 P
Chuck, I wouldn't even want to ride my bike over Mt Madonna, let alone run over it.
SFOWLER10 5/17/06 8:13 A
Back in my "In Shape" days in high school (sub 5 minute mile), I was running ultra-marathons. I ran two 50k (31 mi) and one 70k (43 mi). Then a bum knee made me slow down to the 5k and 10k distances.
PHOTOFIT1946 5/17/06 12:30 A
I can't even imagine the kind of toughness it takes to do these kind of events. Even something as simple as a 26.2 mile marathon. At my best, I ran the mile in the low 5 minute range in high school. Marathoners do better than that for 26 consecutive miles. I ran a 10 mile race the other day, and I was sore for 4 days afterwards. I can't even imagine what I would feel like after 50 or 100 miles. Or after riding a bike at speed across the country!! I happen to know one of the riders that won the Race Across America a couple of years ago. He races with the Action Sports team in Bakersfield. I have taken spinning classes with him and it is unbelievable the endurance he has. OK, I haven't done anything that insane. I thought about what is the most insane thing I have done. I go back to the 70's, when I ran 16 miles from Gilroy CA, over Mt Madonna (about 3500' I think) and down the other side to Watsonville CA. I know, tame by comparison, but a highlight in my fitness life!!
GOLFPRO 5/16/06 11:27 P
Heather....yeah, that's insane! Have you heard about the guys who run long distance? We have several in our area who run over 50-100 miles in a day. They'll have it mapped out so they'll be in one town, and while running they'll call and order a pizza to have delivered by the time they reach the next town. They burn some obscene amount of calories a day, like 10,000 calories or something. It's abosultely amazing that someone can mentally put their body through such training.
VERNONHEATHER 5/16/06 7:16 P
Alright, so I read in the paper yesterday about a cyclist named Kevin Wallace who is competing in the "world's toughest race" (beating out Ironman Hawaii, the Iditarod, and the sailing Vendee Globe Challenge) - the Race Across America. It's a bike ride, non-stop, from San Diego to Atlantic City. Wallace hopes to break the current record of 8 days, 9 hours, 47 minutes.
Basically - the intensity of this kind of race totally gets me. I love the mental challenge that's involved, and totally got me going. I found it hugely inspirational that we human beings can do things like this - things that are this grueling to our bodies. His quote, "This race doesn't show how strong you are, it shows how weak you are." Awesome!
