Ten Things I'm Thankful For

Bad runs. They make you appreciate the good ones. I felt like crap on Saturday, felt better Sunday, and then felt somewhere in between but more toward the bad end of the spectrum today. I made myself do strides, and I felt like I had lead legs. But at least I made myself go faster. And I did do my lifting routine and my abdominal workout today, which means I am officially back in it.

Badwater. I love the place and the ultramarathon event named after it. It's become such a fun part of my life. This is my ninth trip out there in 10 years. I love the friends I've made through that event, the memories I have from all my experiences there, the things I've learned about running ultras, extreme conditions, and my own physical and mental abilities as an endurance athlete. It's hard to imagine a summer without a visit to Death Valley to be involved in some way with the race.

I can't wait to arrive in Las Vegas and feel the scorching heat when I walk out of the airport, pick up my rental car, and drive with the windows down all the way to Furnace Creek with the burning air blasting through my hair like a blow dryer. Plus I found a great deal on a room for one night on my way back at the Furnace Creek Inn, which normally is way out of my price range, and I'm going to indulge, hang out at the pool and veg until I have to go back to Vegas to fly home. I might even allow myself some ice cream.

Impending big birthdays. They motivate me, make me want to improve on things in my life over the coming decade. They give me a reason to look forward, think positive thoughts, and dream of what's possible. I still have one more little birthday before I hit the big 5-0, but the gears are grinding at full speed and I intend to do something big, and fun.

Humidity. The good thing about humidity, besides making you pour sweat, is that it means monsoon season is here, and that means rain isn't far behind. We need it. Not torrential rain on the areas that got hit by the fire, though, please.

July. The days are getting shorter, and I'm very happy about no fireworks this year. I know people with kids will be disappointed, but I really hate fireworks, other than the ones that are in organized, municipally sponsored displays. Why? Because they are a tool of the clueless, but sometimes intentionally mean people, that terrorizes animals. Isabelle is terrified of them. Isabelle's birthday is the day after 4th of July and for once she will be able to enjoy her birthday without spending the entire night before trembling and stressed out.

Raspberries. Our raspberries are out of control! Every day I've been picking an entire bowl and eating them or blending them up in smoothies. Awesome!

Trails. When you can't run trails for a long time, it makes you miss them, and we have even more reason to appreciate our trails in Fort Collins, because they could have gone up in flames, but they didn't. Horsetooth Mountain Park and Lory State Park have intact trails, thanks to the efforts of the firefighters.

Firefighters. They should inherit the earth. They deserve to be worshipped. They are amazing, courageous, unselfish, true heroes. It's been so heartbreaking to see the pictures of the damage and hear the stories of those who lost so much. At the same time, I am forever grateful to those firefighters, because Kathleen and Steve were able to return to their intact, undamaged home in Colorado Springs. Troy went back to his unscathed home last week. And Dale has not been threatened by any fires because the High Park fire was under control before it could move south. Let's hope that continues.

Good post-colonoscopy pathology reports. Dennis is off the hook for a long time. I'm up next. Unless they come up with that cure for the common colonoscopy in the next 2 years.

My dad. Two of my friends lost their fathers this past week. A reminder that our time here is temporary, and we need to make the best of it, every day. My dad is in fairly good health in general, for someone with a potentially life-threatening disease. It's one of those things you always keep in the back of your mind, while his health is good and stable, it wouldn't take much to disrupt that and push him over the edge, either. We're making plans to go out and visit my dad and stepmom at the beach in California later this summer.

I am thankful for all these things and people and a whole lot more, that I haven't even mentioned, and above all Dennis and the Buffaloes. Things are good in my world. I'm thankful for that. And one day at a time, finding an adventure.

As Green As It Gets

I have to admit today I'm feeling a little envious. Maybe a lot.

Why? Because one of the runners in Badwater this year, Cheryl Zwarkowski, just announced that she is doing a triple crossing of Badwater this summer.

I wish Cheryl the best and that she has as much fun as I did, and that it all goes well for her. I would love to be out there doing it. She will be the first woman to do a triple crossing. I had thought about doing a triple, or something like it, but maybe not the traditional way. I still have some ideas about a future multiple Badwater, that will likely include an unconventional route based on what I learned last summer in my road double.

I know some people are asking if we're all crazy, how many times can you run across Death Valley before it becomes kind of silly, like a one-upmanship madness? Danny Westergaard holds the record at six times.

For me, I've never felt the need to exceed what someone else does just for the sake of doing that, but I certainly have entertained the idea of a triple, or another double, or doing something else similar. And I might still.

Why? Because it was so much fun last summer, and I cannot explain exactly what it is that drives me and a few others to keep crossing the valley. The best I can do to describe it is this unmatchable feeling of moving forward, in the heat, under the huge sky, and dwarfed and surrounded by the incredible geologic formations there. It's a magical feeling.

Steph and I are doing a girls' trip to Death Valley next spring, just to be tourists and see the places we never get to see during the race because we're so busy and tired. I am sure that trip will open up some ideas for me.

For now, I can't be too green with envy because there isn't a lot of green around here. The High Park fire is just about fully contained and getting snuffed out quickly.

We had a little rain, some humidity and cooler temperatures for a few days last week, and a lot of people who were forced to evacuate due to the High Park fire have been allowed to return home. About 260 homes were destroyed and I don't know how much damage was done to the ones still standing, but people want to move forward with their lives.

And there are a lot of people who are incredibly grateful for the firefighters and everyone else who worked on the fire and helping the people and animals affected by it.

It's been nice to have clear skies and no smoke again.

Unfortunately in Colorado Springs just 2 hours south of here, the Waldo Canyon fire has been destructive and we keep getting bad news from there. Kathleen and Steve from Happy Trails safely evacuated and last I heard their house was still okay, but I'm waiting for an update from them, hoping for the best for them.

This is what we need desperately here in Colorado.

So today I had the run from hell. I want to assure my readers who are new to running, that even after all these years, yes I still have occasional days where I feel like crap. And today was one of them, taking running enjoyment to a new low. Who ever said I don't like extremes, though?

It felt like I've gained all the weight back I lost last spring. I haven't gotten on the scale to find out, that would be depressing. I gain weight so easily, I'm like a fat magnet. I know I can lose it again though, haven't been working out much and I certainly haven't been watching what I eat lately. Since I got back from South Dakota I've been very undisciplined and I've eaten more ice cream in the past week than I think I did in the previous year.

I haven't done anything resembling running now in a week and a half. And intensity? Forget it. I haven't done anything resembling fast running or speedwork since before Iowa. I planned to take this break after South Dakota anyway, but I feel like...a cow!

Yes, today I really did feel like a cow, or a watermelon with legs, have you ever watched a cow try to run? They have this big old body and little skinny legs and the legs have almost no striding ability. They just move along as fast as they can to transport this huge body. And that's how I felt today. Or maybe like a rabid bison.

So I suffered through 35 minutes even though I wanted to do an hour. The good news is that I have no residual soreness in my feet or hips after carrying the pack on the Mickelson. But I felt lousy. I came home, got on the bike and went for an easy 10 mile spin. I work this afternoon for a few hours, so I'm just goofing off today.

Tomorrow is July 1, end of vacation, back to business. Time to drop the lard again and start moving. Shannon is going to start kicking my butt with regular tempo runs again this coming week. And I have to get my shit together in my life, I've been slacking off on so many things.

I have two things to focus on for the next 6 months: studying for and passing my oncology certification exam, and getting a PR at 48 hours at Across the Years.

I'm headed to Death Valley in 2 weeks! How did that happen? It feels like summer has already been here forever, it started so early this year. When I get back from Badwater, I am ready for fall. The wildflower garden is ready for fall, too. The sunflowers and lilies are starting to take over where the blue flax and poppies were.

Just like I always say January 1 is the first day of spring, I have decided that July 1 is now the first day of fall. Enjoy your last day of summer!