Upcoming "Big" Race Event of 2012

Well...for those of you out there (all three of you) that were checking in on my page here to see when I was going to post about my upcoming "big" race that I've talked about in some previous entries....that time has come.  Unfortunately, after a lot of thought, I've decided to keep that information off of the blog.  WHAT?!  Hear me out...

Since moving my blog in a direction of adventure and various race journaling, I've had a fairly open policy.  I've shared with the world information about nearly every race I've been in, the goods and bad, and the followup race reports.  I've shared a lot of what some may consider, personal information too.  In addition, I have blogged every single day while on a 123-day thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail.  Every race that I'm either scheduled for or contemplating for 2012 is listed in my side bar, as was every race last year.  But this time...this ONE time, this ONE race, I've decided to hold off.  There's a part of me that wants to shout to the world about it.  Frankly, I'm still shocked I even got in.  I have told close family and friends, but otherwise no one.  I briefly posted a vague comment on facebook about it, but have since taken it down, so I suppose it may have been spotted, but in the case of this particular website, this "big" race shall remain anonymous...at least until after it's over.  I may post a followup or stripped-down race report once it's all over, but of that I haven't decided yet either.  I'm sure a lot of you out there have already guessed based on approximate time-frame and my need for what I've called a "stepped up training", but that's about all I'm going to say about it.  

And for the few of you that DO know which event this is, and that I'm in it, I ask that you please refrain from posting about it (in the comments here, or elsewhere).  Thanks.

So why keep it quiet?  Why not talk about it?

I could write paragraphs about this, but to keep it simple, I will just say that this particular challenge, is completely and entirely a personal one.  Every race or challenge I do, I am eager to share it with whoever wants to listen.  This time, however, this is something that I want to do, and am going to do, as a test and challenge for myself.....and myself alone.  This will be one of the most difficult and humbling endeavors I've attempted yet, and many a personal/internal battle will be fought during its undertaking.  There's also the part of me that recognizes the difficulty with such an event, and I'd like to think that I have some respectable amount of humility that would keep me from "talking it up"....only to be beaten back to reality rather quickly.

So I ask that you simply wish me luck on this upcoming event, and in staying safe out there.  In the mean time, help me to get excited about my first "public" ultra of 2012 - The Massanutten Mountain Trail 100 in May!

hike on!