The Kaihogyo

100 days ago I accepted a challenge. The challenge was a modified version of the Kaihogyo that some buddhist monks in Japan attempt. Only 13 monks have accomplished the Kaihogyo since WWII. The Kaihogyo these monks attempt involves 100 days times 7 years of consecutive ultramarathons. They must run 30 km per day for 100 days. After the first year the monks must complete the Kaihogyo in its totality or they must kill themselves.

The Kaihogyo I engaged in wasn't anywhere near as dramatic. A group of ultrarunners spearheaded by @endurancejer  http://jerryarmstrong.blogspot.com/ decided to try our own version of the Kaihogyo. We would run no less than 5 miles per day for 100 consecutive days.

Below are excerpts from my training log and some photos taken during the challenge


My legs were really feeling the 11 hours of wrestling officiating I did this weekend. Especially on the hills. It was all good though. I ran the first 30 mile plus week since my last ultra. Ramping it back up

Kaihogyo day 5- after two days on pavement I was back on the trails. Normally after only 2 hours sleep I would have called this a rest day. But not today

Kaihogyo day 10- did a lot of thinking on today's non jog. Got some life decisions looming. On a good note 10th Group 10K and Ranger School 5 mile standards surpassed again today. The raisin still has it.

Kaihogyo day 15- icy icy group run. Plus a few warmup miles

Kaihogyo Day 20- Left with a headache and returned feeling good. Tried out my new Garmin 310XT. Mileage is shorter than on my phone but I like it

Kaihogyo day 25- 1/4 of the way through the challenge..and the beat goes on

Kaihogyo day 30- 20 degrees warmer today no wind..mahvelous simply mahvelous

Kaihogyo day 35- sidewind,tailwind,headwind,sidewind,headwind..it was windy

Kaihogyo day 40- lots of activity along McLoud Run trout stream

Kaihogyo day 45-nice tour of doucheville on the indoor track. God I hate the gym..I know some tough guys and all you sleeveless fucktards are not them. Also INSIDE LANE FOR RUNNERS!!!!

Kaihogyo day 50- Icy conditions made us take our group run to the indoor track. And the group was really just myself, Brian T and Ross S. Wasn't too boring doing 73 laps, we talked about ultras a lot

Kaihogyo day 55- crappy crappy day... But all better now. I saw 4 bald eagles and left Mr Negativity out in the snow

Kaihogyo day 60- Ford Fairlane..migratory waterfowl..eagles

Kaihogyo day 65- Midwest weather + wet running pants +long que for the wife's washing machine= the irony of a guy in a #trailrunnernation shirt on the treadmill

Kaihogyo day 70- warm up, Trek the Trails 4 mile trail run and the cool down. Ross S, Brian T, Peter K, Ross K, Kelly T all there. Ross S overall winner. Ross K, Peter K, Kelly T and myself all won age groups. Speedy group

Kaihogyo day 75- 3/4 done..not sure how I feel about that. Did a little recon of the Ellis Park Golf Course. Urban trail running #ultrachat

Kaihogyo day 80- tour of Lisbon/Mt Vernon..not sure if tired or just tired

Kaihogyo day 85- legs were a little dead after yesterdays snowy 50K but got in the minimum #ultrachat

Kaihogyo day 90 again - yeah I miscounted again. The math is not my strong suit. Also I am going to have to bring a compass on my runs with Peter K from now on.

Kaihogyo day 95- bright idea.. Lets do a trail run today. 5 feet into woods slip on ice hit my back so hard I thought I broke a rib. Commence 5 minutes of coughing and nausea. I looked like a spastic monkey. I finished on the road

Kaihogyo day 100- The Kaihogyo has ended as it started. My favorite loop on my favorite local trails. The challenge- Run 100 consecutive days, at least 5 miles a day. The result- 100 days, 735 miles, 7.35 mile per day average. Effortless

So what did I learn during my challenge..this Kaihogyo?. I learned that the Kaihogyo is not the hardest thing I have ever done physically or mentally..not even close. Rather I learned the Kaihogyo is like an ultramarathon. A 100 day-multistage race ultra. Like any ultramarathon I had my ups and downs. During parts of the race I was feeling euphoric, during other parts I bonked. I ran a lot of the race with friends but most of it I was alone. But like every ultra eventually the end was nigh and I finished. And I finished better for it.