Monday 123112

Green.  A couple of miles beforehand, then Gregory-Ranger.  Easy going, getting up in just over 50, hanging out for a picture or two before coming down via the front side.

Great to get together with this croo of JV, Homie and Brandon.

24th run on Green this year.  Homie and JV were talking it was their 130th each or something to that magnitude.  Then again, Homie did 10 in a day back in March.  Beautiful day out there with snow just beginning to fall, and fun conversation.

Shot of the croo on the summit from Brandon.  I look like I am piggy backing on Brandon like some sort of odd gargoyle.

   

Annual stuff …

Sunday 123012

9.5 miles back at altitude.  Felt pretty good, surprisingly so for doing 20 yesterday and being up high.  Although good comes in context.  Good as one feels running at 10k plus feet.  For what it is worth, that has gotten better a bit each day I have been up here.

80 on the week.  A bit more than I expected as “holiday weeks” are often more challenging to get miles in.   3360 on the year, or just over 9 a day, and 10 hours a week. 

With work firing up next week and my hip-glute issue mostly in the rear (ha!  seriously a little bark in there occasionally), I will look to get back some more structured training for a bit.  The last month since causing the semi injury has been just low level maintenance.  Getting up to altitude has had me to start to chomp a bit to get back at it.

A little shooting with the kids today in the afternoon.

Saturday 122912 including a bit of a top ten ten running moments from 2012

20 miles.  Nice and easy to just feel things out and then ramped it up a touch over the last couple of miles.  All good.

Ken set me up with the rules for the APFT.

A different challenge for 2013 … probably not my beef.

Been mulling over the year quite a bit.  Typical stuff … the highlights, the lowlights, what I want to set up for a list in 13 and knock off.  Here is a list in no particular order of ten great moments from 2013 with a few less than completely appropriately recognizing of them comments.

1.  Hardrock.  Pacing Tim Long at Hardrock was incredible.  First, it is a little unreal to explain.  After being up all day,  dealing with a short lived panic to find the aid station at the base of Handies, I joined a not looking so hot Tim for a midnight endeavor over a 14er.  I joined him for 42 miles of his 102 mile his Hardrock mission.   That was about 18 hours with him on the trail.  I am surprised the guy even acknowledges my existence after that length of time.  Seriously, I lied to him enough times about the remaining number of switch backs going up Little Giant that I thought he was going to skewer me with one of his poles. 

Hardrock opened my eyes as to how nutty and beautiful the San Juans were, how damn hard 100s could be (compared to my ridiculous B100), and the passion in the core of the folks who do these events.  It was an incredible weekend with Tim, and his crew of Shaun, Kara, Brandon, and Justin.  If you live in Colorado, and you are a MUT runner, you should just go and see the whole community and scene that descends into Silverton for the weekend in July.  I will look to make it back there this year if at all possible, and have an eye on getting my son’s Scout troop to the San Juans in ‘14.

2.  Pacing Bob at the Boulder 100.  Tim showed me at Hardrock can keep going mountain over mountain over mountain … even when they seemed they would not end.  Bob showed me the same sort of digging for toughness but in a different way at the Boulder 100.  Let’s put it this way, at 97 miles Bob got a bit ahead of me out of the aid station as I was trying to get some liquids for him.  He took this as motivation to see if he could drop me.  And he made a pretty fair go of it.   In other words, Bob set off at about 6:30 pace.  Mind you, we had just been doing seven minute pace and I was already feeling that.  My belly was still settling a score with some brew I had drank earlier in the night but I was amazed at how hard this guy was digging on the last 20 miles of this 100.  It showed me a level of toughness in runners of his caliber. 

Bob’s experience, and getting to pace him for about 35 of his last 40 something miles, well … not sure if need to scratch the 100 itch yet, but I can see that someday. 

3.  Cork 10k.  Not a super fast 10k, but hey … I got to race internationally, in DUBLIN, and I walked away with 150 Euros in winnings.  How cool is that?

4.  Burro Racing.  Yeah, I was the world champ in 2012.  It was a rare day where I struck a balance between being fit enough, enjoying the process versus about worrying about the result, putting any faith I had in something happening in the head and heart of a four legged animal, and truly being content with whatever the outcome was going to be.

 

Well, that is mostly true.  The last five miles I wanted my name on that sign (it is not there yet by the way, I checked the other day) REALLY bad and I did not want to blow it.  And it happened.  It was a day that I hold dear for a long time, in part because of the WC status, but because it represented a state that it hard for me to achieve.  So many to thank for that day – Jack, Brad and the Wann family, Bill, Hal, Curtis, my family, Justin, the pack burro racing community. 

Replicating the win the next week at Leadville made the dream live on for a bit longer, but I was brought back to earth in a beautifully appropriate way the next week with a 3 second loss and third place placing … just missing the coveted Triple Crown.  It was a pretty magical three weeks.  I will return to Fairplay in 2013 if able, but I won’t go in with any score to settle.  If the wins happen, it will be unexpected and joyous.  If not, it will be as it was at the start of the 2012 race – a great day in the mountains.

5.)  KZ XC This one nearly tears me up because it blows me away.  My daughter who seems to have hated running all her life set forth and took it on the day before the official practices started.   Her times to start were humbling – enough to probably make most quit.  At her first sessions, the well practiced summer team would disappear out of sight on their easy run while she was maxed out.  But she set forth and continued to improve and fight on through.  I can’t state how proud I am of her for taking this on and seeing it through for the whole season.  I have no idea if she will ever run another competitive step, but I do know she is a better human for trying this in the first place.
 
I love this kid.

6.  JZ and the downhill mile.  Something I have learned from watching both of my kids race is that I don’t really enjoy watching them dig and go into the hurt locker.  For what it is worth, JZ’s poker face on this is not as good as KZ’s – or maybe I just see through it better.

I remember watching him finish the Superior Downhill Mile, look at a finisher sprinting to finish ahead of him about 75 yards out and the bugger turned it on.  But he paid a helluva price.  I felt my heart drop a bit at that as I thought both “yeah, go get it” and “son, don’t do that, you don’t need to do that!”   

I love this kid. 

7.  Racing on the track.  It had been too long.  I had not raced on the track in what?  3 years?  The track is really where I started running.  Sure, I have roots in school XC, but I was a guy who loved the grind of the track.  This really needs to be part of my regular summer staple.  It is scary.  It is fun.  It is precise.  And it does not lie.  1 mile on the track … four laps, a simple problem … but not easy.

And yeah, adding in the steeple with Brownie was a hoot as well.  I will certainly return to the BRR summer series in 13.  Although I am not promising a race in Hokas for the steeple this time.

8. Pikes.  Ah.  Pikes.  The race for me for the last half dozen years or so, and certainly still so.

Many call me a sandbagger with this race.  It might be fair but I have found that time and time again that if I go in with lower expectations, I race more relaxed and hence run better.  A summer of travel (over 65 nights in the last 3/4’s of the year) and I was sure that I be challenged to break 3 up and five hours round trip.  But I raced well within my fitness and posted a 4:42.

No bones about it, I am going at this race with the focus for 2013.  If the conditions permit, I will look to PR.  In any case, I will look to leave it all out there on race day.  But more importantly, I want to be sure I make all the little choices between now and then that appropriately set me up to get 13 minutes better at the least over 2012.  I recognize that it is the process both in preparation and execution that can get me there.  But it will take both, and a little bit of luck.

9.  Travel running … Dublin, Cork, San Fran, Vancouver, Washington DC, Tel Aviv, Bordeaux, London, Pittsburgh, Yellowstone, Durham, Duluth, Seattle, Atlanta

Yeah, I travel alot now.  It is a bane for some, and admittedly there are times it is a drag for me.  It is hard for me to bitch however given the places I get to travel to, and that essentially this is a choice for me and my family.  As long as I am doing I get to see some amazing places by foot.   I am pretty blessed.

10.  Runs with you guys.  I had a list here but then I was sure I was missing someone.  You know who you are.   90 percent of my runs are solo.  It is not that I want it that way, but I find it is much easier for me to lace them up, get out the door and go and get back to the home fires.   When I get to share a few miles with someone else it is a very special  treat for me and I appreciate it greatly.  Laughs, bad male humor, discussing anything and everything.  It is probably the closest thing I get to spiritually connecting with people who are not my family.  In 2013, I am going to try to do more of it.  Admittedly, part of that is because I know it will make me better as an athlete, but I really know it makes me a better person.

Friday 122812

A few shots …

Hand Hotel … start and finish of the World Championships of Burro Racing in Fairplay

Being told I am not getting out without them (seriously, I was pinned against the door at this point).

 
Slightly different conditions.

A “new but old” connector between the Red Lion and Flagstaff.

Burch has got me thinking about chasing APFT scores.  From what I gather, I need to put together 66 push ups in 2 minutes (not there but not out of sight), 72 situps (that would be my weak spot) and a 13 minute and something two mile (no problem there) to max out as a 43yo male.  I need to investigate the “rules” of this test a bit more as to the exact form on push up, sit up, etc and how close in sequence the events need to be.

AJW’s top ten ultra performances of 2012. Pretty solid list at first glance.

Interesting post on how Active Advantage is not really worth it.  Somewhere in processing our four registrations for the local Turkey Trot, I slipped up and did not assure that one of those check boxes was unchecked and ended up with an Active Advantage reg.  I immediately called and cancelled it when I saw the transaction.  It took a couple of days but I got the refund.  Oh yeah, we all got our arm warmer sleeves from the race as well.  I never did hear back on how they measured the course wrong after I sent the RD a note (claiming that the measurement was off because the course was measured “trail right” versus the tangents).

I think I owe Nick Clark a six pack.  I made a small bet with him a few years ago that I could beat him in a 5k and he called BS.  In our one showdown in Louisville a few years ago he beat me soundly.  We have not toed the same line but I think it is fair to call that one.  I also owe John and Bethany Garner a long overdue six for predicting my time at Pikes last year.

What is EPO anyway?

10 miles up in Fairplay again.  I think the high was like 9.  Last couple of days have been relearning the lesson that running up here is slower because of the altitude, and when the roads are layered with snow, and I am layered up – it is even slower.  All good though.  Lots of miles to think and dream and scheme on stuff …

Oh yeah, I actually did a little XC skiing before this but I ended up on my face or arse about a half dozen times.  Not nearly as clean as some guys.

Thursday 122712

10 miles (ish), again slow up at altitude.

Wednesday 122612

9.5 miles up here in Fairplay.   Slow going in the snow and 10000 plus feet.

Tuesday 122512

Mid afternoon, got out with KZ for a few miles.   Joyous to share miles with my daughter.

KZ cracked me up in today’s run.  Hitting untracked snow, she would bound and leap, and the spin around.  Pure play.

Sandrock is too kind to me.  I probably get a bit more kudos from him than I deserve as I worked with him at the DC for just over a year about a dozen years ago.  “Rock” has forgotten more about running than most will ever learn.  The guy has run with the greatest, documented their careers and was a pretty damn good runner himself (30 flat 10k, 2:20 marathoner).  He introduced me to a workout that Deek used to do … a long uphill (just shy of 1.5 miles up the Enchanted Mesa), and the several (we did 8) hard repeats of about 45-60 seconds in length (around the Bluebell shelter).  It was never easy, even when I tried to run it as such.

Chilly in the evening  … a few more miles.  Crossed over 3300 for the year out there tonight.

Benita says the benefits of altitude are typically more about the get away than the actual elevation.

Some recent pix

Monday 122412

Got out with JZ for about a mile, then a couple with Lucy, and then headed out on my own for an easy hour.  Hip, rear, glute, butt thing is getting better every day.  Almost ready to roll again.  11 miles.

Love it.  Oh, and training for the 2013 season officially kicked off today. For those counting at home, we're 27 weeks out from Western States, 30 weeks out from Vermont, 34 weeks out from PB'ville and 37 weeks out from Wasatch. Built a training chart and everything yesterday: yeah, it's serious this time. The base building concludes with the Salida Marathon in early March ... and then I start getting serious.

Sunday 122312

I did some some sampling my latest IPA last night.  This is the one that I looked to up the ABV on during fermentation, so I upped the sugar content.  While not completely bottle conditioned yet, it has a pretty damn big kick.  A good night of holiday cheer.And I felt that on the run today.  Hooboy.  Well, nothing like a run to sweat that out.  10.5 miles, a good amount with the dogs.

Extending a bit on what I posted recently on addressing weaknesses, this episode is revealing of another one:  my diet.  And candidly, another one is my general strength.  I will look to get on those as well, but I believe that if I try to address too many weaknesses at once, I will lose focus and address none of them.  Alternatively, as I start to build success in some of the others, that will serve as a spring board for these.
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I don’t think I am a resolution guy, but my “list” mind has been considering quite a few projects … here are some related to running in some fashion.

1.)  I think someday, and this might be many years out, I want to direct a 100 miler …on the track.   This project at this point is just exploring the idea and determining the feasibility.
2.)  I’d like to see if I can coordinate a trip to the San Juans with my son’s Scout troop.  Getting a handful of boys and adults to do a backpacking trip down there for a week will bring its own set of logistic challenges.  I sort of have a half hair brained idea that this could be some how parleyed with Hardrock in 2014 (yes 14), with the boys working an aid station.  This project is also just doing some research at this point.
3.)  I still want to attempt to take a pair of outsoles from LaSportiva shoes and attach them to Hokas.
4.)  Obviously my big running project for 2013 is Pikes, and I am already kicking around the project ideas for that.  The vertical month project for example (currently thinking 50k in a month, which is not a lot for many folks but is much bigger than anything I have done in a month ever).  I might for fun explore a “corporate weenie tempo run project” where I have to go from an office meeting ending at the top of the hour, change into running gear, hit the roads, bang out a tempo run for as long as I can, get back into the office, showered and changed within the hour.  Stupid project but an interesting challenge.  Another variation on this could be how much vertical I could get in that window on the office treadmill.  At a 15 percent grade max, could I get six miles?  Hmmm  … that would be over 4k of vert in an hour.
5.)  There is the chainsaw camp project in May, June and I do want to put together a project of running from Fairplay to Leadville and back.  Given we have just seen The Hobbit this might be called the There and back again project.

Variety of other projects in hopper related to guitar, family, finances.  A bit off topic for this blog for the moment – and frankly as easily formed.
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Listened to a slightly older Talk Ultra podcast today with Max King as an interviewee.  He is firmly of the belief that training for ultras does not mean you need to lose speed.  Clearly supporting his argument is his PR at the steeple and the marathon this year at the highest national level.  Obviously an argument could be made against him as he has yet to tackle the 100, or have the same level of success on the bigger mountain stuff.  But he is working those projects.
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Reavis makes some interesting and perhaps controversial points about eliminating the marathon at the Olympic level.  I get Tony’s point but I have a slightly different take on it (isn’t his rationale exactly why they dumped XC worlds to every other year?).  In fact, I kind of disagree that one or two nation dominance is reason to pull a sport, but I guess those are the guidelines they use (better pull the steeplechase as well) (and Reavis does state he is not wholly serious).

If “your” sport’s highest honor is something other than the Olympics, than you probably ought to not be in the Olympics.   A gold medal in tennis seems to be a foot note to winning Wimbledon or some other major.  Baseball, World Series so out.  Soccer – World Cup so out (although there seem to have tried to make it so that amateurs, younger players are part of those teams).   For most Track and Field events, the Olympics are the highest level of the sport.  And it used to be that for the marathon.  But not so much any more.

Arguably with the Marathon Majors, and the money they provide, a medal at the Olympics in the longest distance is also a bit of a footnote to winning London, Boston, NY (umm), or Berlin.  I’d say drop it and make either a XC race the games (although this is in contradiction to Reavis’ logic) (XC was there way back when Nurmi won it but so many people were jacked by the event they decided to pull it in future Olympics) or a good road ultra. 

So I am not looking to drop the marathon because of 1 or 2 countries dominating the sport.  Nah.  If anything I’d say drop it because the marathon, like other sports, has transcended the Olympics being its highest proving ground.   Of course this is not going to happen.  No biggie.

I’d probably pull all the “judged for a score” sports as well but that is a different chat.

Saturday 122312

12 miles.  Butt feeling a bit better.  Still an issue there in the later miles as things fatigue over the run, but things are improving.

Friday 122112

If I were not racing it, I’d probably being helping out on Pikes with timing.  Well, that might not be true.  I’d probably be over helping in Leadville if I were not racing Pikes.

So, horay … 12-21 … we start marching back towards longer days. 

7.5 miles today.  Some time while KZ was in the library, then some time with her, some time with JZ and some time with the dogs.  Lot of little short easy runs with company.  :)

Sage has a good video post on specificity of training.

His post, yesterday’s run, and thinking about how I am going to dig in and gear into the next year (in terms of training running)  … I am thinking about how to address my weaknesses.  These are a few …

1.)  Relatively, I perform better on the down hill than I do the uphill.  I mean I know we all run faster down hill than I do up, but my descent is relatively a better performance than the up.  In other words, I am a weaker climber than descender.
2.)  I deal with cramping in the race, often on the downhill portion as I get into the 4 hour range.  These are usually ones that swing up the tendons in the back of my knees (usually starting on the left hand side) and climb up into the inside of my thighs. 
3.)  My relative speed has declined over the last five years significantly.  Objectively, my mile time has gone from about 4:50ish to 5:05-5:10ish.  My 5k time has slipped from just under 17 minutes to about 17:45ish. 

My strengths are …

1.)  I seem to do relatively well with altitude when compared to other folks.
2.)  As said above I descend fairly well.
3.)  I am consistent with training in terms of getting out often.

So, in light of those above, I want to approach 2013 in a way that has me addressing those weaknesses while not giving up those strengths.  To do that I need to be specific in certain aspects of training, and essentially define a “new normal” in terms of what I do and what is expected.

My training approach in 2013 won’t be revolutionary but it will need to include these elements:

1.) a significant block of vertical running to specifically strengthen that aspect of my running.  I am currently thinking that I will have a month project where I look to get some tally number of vertical (50k seems like a nice round number).  The thought here is to actually take a segment in the later winter where I just get out vertical day after vertical day.  I really have never done that.  I am interested in seeing how doing that sort of thing shifts up the game for me.  Also I think that by doing it far enough out from August (so say in January or Feb) I will still have time to shift the training appropriately in response (positive or negative) to that.
2.)  I need to “bite the bullet” and get in at least a half dozen runs where I am challenging myself at lengths greater than four hours.  Really, my longest runs have been 3 hours – maybe a 20 miler.  I need to get this familiarity so that I am not hindered significantly in the last hour of the race.  Outside of a solid up, I am increasingly convinced that my ability to push from Barr Camp down is a key factor in race success for me.  I have not been able to do that really because I have dealt with these cramps.  I am also of the belief that the cramps are more a function of lack of muscle familiarity in this arena – rather than some salt or electrolyte deficiency.

Arguably, I can find a way to combine these two above in training.  The trick now is the third …

3.)  Continue to work on speed.  Obviously in a big vertical block my time and ability to get to the track and do 6 x 800 at 4 seconds per 800 faster than 5k pace is going to be compromised.   I will have the rest of the spring, summer, etc to find a way to work these sort of workouts in once every week or two weeks.  Some might say this training is not necessary for a race like Pikes.  I disagree … Pikes has a lot of sections that are not Fern Canyon steep.  This is a running race, and not a hiking Hardrock event.   Periodically tapping (without ignoring separate vertical training) v02 max intervals will be a part of the plan in late April through August.

Again, not revolutionary … but it helps for me to write it down.

I expect a hypothetical two week block in spring to look like this:

Day 1 – Long hilly run … (3-5 hours) (over time these would build in effort, much like a marathon training run where you build the effort towards the tail of the run).  Something like a Double Double Mesa, or  a peak thrown in the mix.
Day 2 – recovery
Day 3 – recovery
Day 4 – Flat tempo – 20-60 minutes
Day 5 – recovery
Day 6 – recovery
Day 7 – Hill repeats (think Lindens or something similar)
Day 8 – recovery
Day 9 - recovery
Day 10 -  Hill tempo – 20 – 60 minutes
Day 11 - recovery
Day 12 – Flat intervals
Day 13 – recovery
Day 14 – recovery

Of course, I need to be careful to not get overly subscripted to a plan – and be mindful to listen to my body.  Things above could be shifted around.    There probably will be a BRR summer track series race in there or two (which could be subbed for the flat tempo or interval stuff) for example.

The biggest challenge for me is actually the recovery and not chasing the miles – so ensuring that the workouts are maximized versus worrying about some mileage goal.  In fact, the goal with the long run needs to be less about miles and more about the minutes with climbing in it – specifically to strengthen up that weakness. 

Obviously this is not comprehensive, and there are other weaknesses that I am considering and ways to address them, but this is the basic structure to address the three (or maybe four) biggest ones at this point.

Thursday 122012

Got out to Bear with Jeff and Tony.  This was only my sixth tag of Bear this year, and I have not been there in sixth months.  Some of that is probably because of the fire closure but most of it is because lately I have been less likely to get over to the FR peaks.

Any climbing gear I had this summer left with that season.  JV and Tony are amongst two of the areas strongest climbers in any season.   They were kind to me on the lower climbs, but the wind was strong enough on the top that we stretched out – simply one needed to move at their own pace to keep warm.  While we felt ridiculously overdressed on the Mesa, once above the Nebel, the bite of the wind had me appreciating my several layers.

Tony headed down more quickly than JV and me as he had to get back.  JV tossed out the idea of Green, but I could smell the fumes on me already and so I declined.  He politely brought me back to Chautauqua, as my fried self tripped, stumbled and shuffled along.

I just suck at that steeper pitch work, and throw a bit of the white stuff on it and I really struggle.  Jeff and I talked about how like anything it is just something that comes with practice.  And of course there is the question as to what I need to practice that for.  Nonetheless, I see a bit of vertical project month coming up for me.  I need to bury a month of good vert to address this weakness.

Despite laying an egg on the run, it was great to get out with these two guys.  Good laughs, good conversation and lucky that I get to spend time with two of the strongest mountain runners in the Boulder area.

       

The way that the Frutitarian negative split his track 100 is impressive.  Make me think he can go faster over all.

JZ last night.

Wednesday 121912

Tonight’s viewing … (or maybe over the holiday break)

Seven miles easy in the snow with the dogs. 

Tons of shots from the Desert 24 over here.

Tuesday 121812

Don’t squeeze the Sharman has a post up about his run at the track over the weekend.  I have been mulling over some thoughts about “best” ultra runner.  Probably most folks you ask would default to that little Catalan guy these days.  And there is a good argument to be made there I guess.  But that is sort of like saying Carpenter was the best marathoner in the world when he was setting the records at Pikes.  Most would have argued against that, and instead been dropping names of sub 2:10 marathoners versus a guy who “just” did a 2:18 on the roads.

My point:  many of us have concluded that KJ is the best.  Would KJ have beaten Morton at Badwater?  Or would he be able to touch a sub 13 hour 100 like the Fruititarian did this past weekend?  Or even sub 12:29 that was posted by Jon Olson?  Isn’t there a case for Max King to be made given the dude won the World MRC, has been on US XC teams, set the record at JFK this year, ran a 2:14 marathon, and was sixth in the OT steeple? 

I love trails and hills too, but the ultra community seems to treat these sort of events as the second fiddle against the trail events.  Yeah, I get it – I have seen the beauty of Hardrock and the San Juans and I get it.  But why the little love for the guy or gal who kills it by running 250 something laps on a track in just over half a day?
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Got out in the AM, and headed down into the Lac Amora space, looking for the eagles.  No luck today.  Did run into a guy who I had not actually met, but had crossed paths with on Strava.  We stopped and yapped for a bit – always good to meet another local runner type, and we will look get together for some runs in the near future.

It was a bit funny how we recognized each other even though we only had a single avatar pic off of Strava to recognize each other from.  We both sort of knew where the other guy lived and what routes that guy ran.  All this reminded me of when some guy many of us know spoke of a scenario where he’d see some girl he saw at a race that he’d like to know.  So then he’d look her up in the race pix, get her race number then from the results he’d get her name, age, and resident city.  With a little google research he’d be able to find out where she lived, get the cost of her house from Zillo, probably figure out where she went to college off of Facebook, and what sort person she was like off her twitter posts.

Not saying that he’d do that … just saying he could.

10 miles easy slog.

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Monday 121712

10 miles.  Windy out there but I actually felt a bit better than I have the last couple days.

I decided today that I am going to take a crack at the next year in getting some flexibility back.  I am pretty horrible.  Next year I will touch my toes without bending my knees.

Or that  ideal goal might be a product from my mind starting to race a bit.  I am off for the rest of the year.  My head starts to turn to making lists.  Lists of things I want to get done for the holidays.  Or things I want to do next year, family, vacations, running, places to go ...Things I want to work on at work.  Things I want to get done around the house.  The things that went well last year.  The things I want to improve – also known as the stuff that is jacked because I have ignored it even though I knew about it and now I ought to fix it before it gets worse list.

I am always making lists.  Usually they are just the day’s list.  Lists are a pattern for me, but the pattern within this pattern is when I take a bit of time off, the noise in my head from work starts to clear a bit more.  And then I go frenzied with the lists.  Many of the lists are getting things done, and I do a fair job at  accomplishing that.  But a lot of the lists are things I think about:  who to be, how to be, where I want to steer myself, this family, my job. 

In a few days, the lists will settle.  I might post a few for ha ha’s.   Or not.  One of the things that was emerging on my thought list today is that I might have exhausted this medium as an avenue for growth, and so the more growthful thing is to be quiet and do versus post.

Some things to do,  check out KJ’s new movie, catch up on some Youtube vids, still attempt to wrap my head around a 200 mile Hardrock Rockhard Double … crap, I am creating a list there.

If I were not so married to Pikes, this young lady would be very enticing.

I thought about dropping Facebook and Twitter altogether, particularly in light of some of the posts I have seen up on those but then I get some nugget that keeps me hooked.  I connected up with a guy I was in the service with recently (which in turn connected me with a few other guys).  I haven’t seen Rick in 20 something years, but he is clearly a guy that has been a bit of the chorus of voices in my head that becomes my conscious.   Connecting with him on FB has kept me hooked for now.

Sat on a young man’s Eagle District Board of Review tonight.  It was nice good news.

Sunday 121612

I was almost giddy with the news.

The next trend in minimalism.

10 miles.  A dog jog and a slog.  I felt pretty tapped from the start but got myself out there enough that it became a 10 miler by default.  The series of stomach issues in the midst did not help.  I was just cooked at the end, almost as if I had a hard bonk.  Maybe I did.

44 on the week.  Which was about what I did in pacing Footfeathers at Hardrock.  And of course today was the HR lottery.  Still eyeballing that list to get an idea as to what it means.  I see Homie, Joe Grant, JT in.  Troy Howard is 1 on the wait list in his pool so he ought to get in.

Some history …

This is a great read.