A few years back I put together an aggressive plan to complete a particularly difficult 125-km ultramarathon that had been on my to-do list. My ingenious plan to get across the finish line within the 29-hour cut-off time was to complete 2 other ultramarathons of similar difficulty and elevation change in the 8 weeks preceding my 125, to get me adjusted to the pain and suffering. It was a dumbass plan in hindsight, I admit.