Swinging from the Treetops...

I slept in this morning, until about 6:45. First thing I did was check into the Across the Years (ATY) 6 day race to see how things were going between Joe Fejes and Yiannis Kouros.

The two running gods have been running within single digit miles of each other almost the entire time. Kouros is the current 6 day world record holder from Greece, and I've seen him at several races before. He's getting older, at age 57 now, but in ultras, that's a good thing.

Joe Fejes, on the other hand, is from Georgia (U.S.) and has been tearing it up on the roads for the past couple of years. He set the 72 hour record last year at ATY and that's where I first met him. He talked with me on a few laps but he was kind enough to speak with me on the phone weeks after the race to give me some 24 hour pointers, and has sent me encouraging messages at and between various events over the past year. He's my hero, basically. I never really had a running hero before but he is now it.

I was waiting for a text from Wheaties Boy this morning as we were supposed to run sometime around 9 am, which coincided with the finish of the race at ATY, so when he texted me and said he was running late, it was a lucky break. I got to see Joe break the American record and go on to win with 555.35 miles over the 6 day race.

Joe is 48 years old so that means his best years in the multiday events are still ahead of him. There are no limits, he could be swinging from the treetops...

Awesome...

The 6 day race is something I've been wanting to do, in the future, but I need to get my goals out of the way for shorter distances first. Maybe in 5 years or so. The longest run I've ever done was my Badwater road double crossing which was 270 miles over 5 days, and I loved staying out there, you get so zoned out into that rhythm of moving forward.

I got another text from Wheaties Boy and I headed out the door to run to the church parking lot where we meet. I got a couple of miles in to warm up, and ended up with 8 total. We ran about 6 miles together and I felt pretty damn good. Our first run in about 6 months! We should start meeting regularly again soon, which always helps me.

Yesterday I ran 14+ and threw a little fartlek in, just to push the pace without making it too intense. Tomorrow is an easy day with weights and then Sunday I run an 8K at Edora Park early in the morning with the running club, and it's supposed to be super cold!

This afternoon I sat in the hot tub, looking at the reflection of the treetops. I've made it to day 2 of the weight loss attempt, which is good. I haven't been hungry either. There's only a narrow range of foods I will eat for the next couple of weeks before I start adding my normal foods back. Normal healthy foods. The kind I used to eat before I got all stressed out with my old job.

And no alcohol whatsoever, either, for these two weeks. After that I'll let myself have a beer, or a glass of wine, once a week. This is more about re-establishing habits than anything. I find it takes about two weeks to get into a routine. I just needed to kick the old, bad habits.

So I can turn 50, jump on my pogo stick, swing from the treetops, and live like Sally O'Malley.