Denethor's plunge

[Sauron the White]

And what did Mr. Andy Jones do to train for this amazing feat which seems to stand by itself in all of humankind? Was he merely motivated? Was he pursuing something the gave him god-like abilities? Did he take some pills, magic foodstuffs, or drugs giving him the power of a comic book superhero to do things beyond the abilities of mere mortals? Was he a member of some powerful race of beings whose physical abilities defying his seemingly human shell of a body?

Again, I crack wise.

Mr. Jones, like every single long distance runner in the history of the world, trained. He trained for long periods of time. Daily for months, most likely years. He trained putting in countless miles - check that - he counted them all right - and did the math.

Think of it this way. An athlete who trains for a marathon - 26 miles - has a mathematical formula which calculates his ability to store and use a substance called glycogen into the muscles. Think of a car and think of gasoline and you have an idea. Rule of thumb is this: if you want to run 26 miles at one time, you need to acclimate your body to comfortably run 10.5 miles each day for no less than 12 weeks. For almost everyone it would take at least another 3 months to work up to that 12 week level. That is six months of training to do a 26 mile marathon.

Some people can do it with a little less, some with a little more - but that is the average and formula the long distance running literature generally subscribes to.

And then that marathon runner, having run their 26 miles, goes home and sacks out for a few days recovering and nursing their body.

Now you tell me about running 135 miles over three days without any training.