Prepare for Takeoff

I almost did it. I almost managed to go for two whole weeks without running. I took 9 days off completely, then rode my mountain bike one day, followed by two days of 2 and 3 miles each of running.

Today I'm starting again. I did five miles this morning on the bike path and didn't feel bad, I feel slow. Blisters are mostly healed, I've caught up on my sleep, and I'm starting my regular schedule this week at work, which will be twelve hour shifts again. Back to normal.

The weekend before last we went up to the cabin and took a drive to Salida to Mountain Spirit Winery to get our wine fix for a year or two! Two years ago we bought a case of wine and it lasted us about a year and a half. This year we got a case of Merlot Raspberry, some dessert wines for gifts, and half a case of their new Blackberry/Cabernet Franc. I love this stuff!

The trees weren't changing colors much last week, but there is still time to make a trip or two up to the cabin before the South Park winter snow and wind kick in.

Last week I gave a little talk to the Aspen Club at Medical Center of the Rockies about getting started on an exercise program. It was fun speaking to the group. When I had my personal training business, most of my clients were older and I remembered how much I enjoyed tailoring training programs to their needs. It was nice to speak on a different topic, even though I love speaking about ultrarunning.

This past weekend I went down to Longmont to help my buddy Mike Melton get things started in the morning with his timing system and late registration at a new race. The race was put on by David Clark in honor of 9-11. It consisted of runners putting in as many laps on a 1 + mile course as they could do in 9 hours and 11 minutes. Interesting theme.

It seemed to be a success, most of the runners were not ultrarunners and turned in their chips after less than a dozen laps. A few die hard ultrarunners including my friends Jeff O'Reilly and Dale Perry stuck it out for the duration and tacked on the miles.

Meanwhile in Utah my friend Nick Clark (from my 2008 Badwater crew) won the Wasatch 100, a big victory for him being a relatively new ultrarunner, in his 3rd 100 miler. He kicked butt at Western States this year, placing 4th overall. Nick is going to be a big ultra star by next year. I don't think they gave him the credit he deserved in the write-ups on Western States this year. Other than his place on the finishers' lists, they didn't even mention him in Ultrarunning magazine. I hope that means next year he'll take them by surprise and blow everyone away.

I'm looking forward to Across the Years, I need to get some miles in this fall and get myself used to running a little faster than I have been. I've been such a procrastinator about doing anything resembling speedwork for 3 years now and I can feel it. I won't be doing any speedwork this fall, too risky, but I will be increasing my running pace at least once a week.

I feel good. I can feel the difference in my energy since I started my new job, and people have noticed. I've heard everything from "You look so much happier" to "You're glowing". I feel like I pulled myself out of quicksand when I was up to my neck. I still have a lot of residual fatigue but it's going away. Healing takes time, but I'm fastening my seatbelt and all the baggage I brought with me is now safely stowed away in the overhead bin.

Flight attendants, prepare for takeoff.