February Fantasies

A recent email from my friend Kyle presented an intriguing proposition:

“Quit your job and walk across the U.S. with me in April to August 2010,” he wrote. “Just think about it for now.”

I immediately knew it was that time of year again. The time when cabin fever reaches a boiling point. The time when we just want to chuck it all, head outdoors and do something truly epic.

Sure, Kyle does live in sunny Los Angeles. But as a former Midwesterner, I’m sure he feels our annual February existential crisis on some level.

It doesn’t really matter if Kyle or I are serious about quitting our jobs and hitting the road. It’s the fantasy that counts. So this time of year I engage in some heavy duty wishful thinking about what I’m going to do when summer finally comes. It’s enough to keep me going.

Here’s what I’m daydreaming about:

The Door County Triathlon was my first ever triathlon, and it was a memorable one. I managed to not die during the swimming leg, so I considered it a success. Enough time has passed that I’m stupid enough to think I can try it again. The image that sticks in my mind is crossing the finish line on a perfect Door County day. I managed to block out the nearly drowning part.

RAGBRAI aka the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa aka the Register’s Annual Great BEER RUN across Iowa. Think Summerfest, a county fair, and a marathon all rolled into one and you have some conceptualization of the madness that is 15,000 bikers riding through 442 miles of Iowa cornfields. It’s really a lot more fun than it sounds.

Speaking of beer, there is Riverwest’s own Beer Run at the Locust Street Festival. Please raise your Lakefront Brewery beer and throw it back in tribute. Now go run 1.8 miles to start training.

The Blarney Run is coming up quick on March 14. To me this symbolizes the start of the outdoor racing season.

The Lakefront Marathon has started to seep into my blood after running it three times. Maybe this year I’ll actually train for it, instead of running 26.2 miles on a whim again. If you do sign up, make sure you enter early because every year it fills up sooner and sooner. There’s even already a countdown to the Oct. 4 raceday on their site.

This year there’s also the first Bear Trax 20K held in memory of Nancy Sellars, the endurance athlete from Franklin who was tragically killed on a bike ride by a drunken driver. That event will be held Sunday, April 26, at Lapham Peak State Park.

For shear craziness I think about The Sweaty Otter, a 24-hour Adventure Race in and around the Kettle Moraine State Forest Northern Unit. Male, female and co-ed teams of up to three people will tackle 90-100 miles of running/trekking, paddling, single track mountain biking, road riding, orienteering and ropes. That’s intense.

Finally, I can’t wait to get our Milwaukee Ultimate Club Frisbee team together again. Spring league registration starts Feb. 23rd. And when that day comes, it will finally feel like winter is almost over.