Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Hello World

"Hello World" was how Eldrick "Tiger" Woods announced himself to the world in 1996.
A lot of people know that I abstained from social media for quite some time.  Well, I am jumping in with 2 feet and 10 fingers.  I have signed up for Twitter (@drostjeffrey),  Pinterest (drostjeffrey) and Facebook (Jeffrey Drost, look for my photo of California 135).  I repeat, "Hello World"
Numerous factors have contributed to my breakout into social media but the biggest one is my athletic world choice of arena.  I am an ultra marathoner and my distance of choice is 100 miles.  I am neither the super fast, elite corral runner nor am I the one being chased by the sweeping bus.  I am the ordinary middle of the pack ultra distance runner.  I am the one just like you.  I know what I can do, what I have done and in a self effacing way I know there is no need to boast about it. Thus the blog name, ultraordinaryone.  But people who know me, who have heard from others about what I undertake or are just plain curious about what I do, want to know and want to know why?  They all want to know what makes me do it?  What makes me think about signing up for it? And in the end, question my sanity level but they all still want to know.  So I say to you, "Welcome.  Welcome to my world, allow me to show you around a bit."
Chasing the buckle, comes from my great friend, coach and training partner Jeffrey Kamai.  Finishing a race in the ultra world earns you a belt buckle as opposed to a medal hung around your neck after a half or full marathon.  The buckle I chase is Badwater. My white whale is the Badwater Ultramarathon - 135 miles through Death Valley in July!  More on that later.
Lastly, the alphabet kid defines me by many who know me personally.  I do have a BS in Economics but do not have a MBA or a PhD.  Various little quirks that could follow my name are textbook examples of ADHD, ADD, OCD, BD, germophobe or sporadic bouts of Tourette's syndrome.  Imagine yourself repeating a song 20-30 times in a row or Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man calculating how many strides there are in an ultra 100 mile race. For those of you calculating at home it would be 100 miles times inches in a mile divided by average distance of my stride in inches equals (264 thousand, yeah 264 thousand ... now 263 thousand nine hundred ninety nine, ninety eight).  Just do that after running 60 or so miles and it's 2:00 am. I find it invigorating and calming at the same time.
So lace up and join me as I share trips, tricks, highs/lows and tips about my ultra running adventures.

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