More New Year's Resolutions

As New Year's Eve draws closer, I am still finalizing my list of resolutions for 2011. I think I have come up with a manageable list. I think all fo these things are doable. Here they are:

1. Lose some weight - first order of business, and I'm getting started now. Over the period of law school final exams, due to poor eating habits and low activity level, I put on about ten pounds. I need to get back to my racing weight. This will entail cutting back a little on the calorie intake, basically.

2. Finish at least three 100 milers - Self-explanatory. (Related, see #4 and #5)

3. Finish Rocky Raccoon 100 - I DNF'd this course last year, mostly because I was totally unprepared for the 100-miler mentally. But, now that I know what running 100 miles entails, I think I have the mental fortitude to finish.

4. Sign up for, run, and finish Leadville 100 - this is the year I want to make some definite strides towards Badwater. Leadville is a part of that progress. I can't say for sure what piqued my interest in Leadville; all I know is that I have my heart set on it, and I can feel that it is going to happen.

5. Go vegan - this is the big one. I have been thinking about this for a long time, ever since my friend explained vegetarianism to me back in Austin about 6 years ago. In the past year, I have done a lot of research on veganism and the benefits of a vegan diet and I think it will be good for me. I am very excitied about this one.

7. Get published - I plan to write a lot more for this blog and hopefully my writing will get picked up by Ultrarunning Magazine or Marathon & Beyond or Trail Runner Magazine. I have already made some definite progress dowards this goal. My story on Lisa Smith-Batchen's run across America got picked up by Marathon & Beyond and will be published in the July/August issue!

8. Do R2R2R - I really want to run the Grand Canyon. However, this resolution is negotiable. Money-permitting, I will do my best to make it happen during Spring Break (mid-March). However, Leadville expenses will take priority.

Review of "127 Hours"

If you've read "Born to Run," you will remember that Aron Ralston was given free admission to the Leadville 100 in 2004. Race co-founder Ken Chlouber offered Aron the chance to do Leadville, a very tough mountain race, without paying the entry fee. This baffled some people: everyone paid the entry fee. Even the defending champ paid. Why special treatment for Aron? "He is the essence of Leadville," Chlouber responded. After watching "127 Hours," you see what he meant.

You no doubt heard the story in the news back in 2003 when a hiker in Utah cut off his own arm to save his life after being pinned in a canyon by a fallen boulder and trapped for 5 days. That ordeal is chronicled here. For a majority of the film, we are stuck down in that canyon with Aron. We witness his slow deterioration: desolation, starvation, dehydration.

And yet, this is not a difficult film to watch, not even when Aron eventually cuts off his own arm with a cheap, rusty pocket knife. It is a very entertaining film. It exists in the moment. We are right there with Aron as he analyzes the absurdity of his situation and the stupidity of his decision to not tell anyone where he was going.

He isn't glorified as a hero. He is just a guy who did what he had to do to live. The will to survive is incredible. Humans are wired to cling to life at all costs. Not everyone gets to explore this base, primal survival instinct.

Could you cut off your arm to survive?

What Aron did was really something. He tapped into a part of his nature that few people ever explore for themselves, and yet, I suspect most people have the inner strength to do just what he did.

What director Danny Boyle has done here is create a visceral experience. The story is simple, but the emotions that carry us through the story are lasting and real. The movie becomes profound.