So here’s a gross—and sad—but mostly just gross—little story. I took some time off from racing in the fall of 2010, and planned to jump back into things that winter and early spring 2011. My first race was scheduled for February 2011, and I spent some time building up my mileage so I’d be ready to start the ultra game with a bang. All was going well, no injuries, feeling strong, and then, two days after Valentine’s Day, I woke up with a few itchy bumps on my legs.

A day later, the bumps were a full-blown rash. A day after that, they were swollen and infected, and I had hot, swollen, pus-filled welts running up and down both legs. [Pictures redacted to spare you the nightmares.] After several different diagnoses, and many different drugs, my legs were on the mend, but it was a solid 3 weeks before I could run at all, and by that time I had missed two 50ks I’d been planning on running. Plus, the extended downtime made me feel sluggish and I lost a little of my running mojo. I had more big races coming up, and I knew I had to snap myself out of my running malaise and get excited about training again, pronto.