Sunday 052415

Long day of travel to Cork, but smooth and uneventful. 

I am hoping to do this 5k Tuesday night.  I did it a few years back and got my arse handed to me.  I’d expect more of the same except in a double dosing this go around.

Best wishes in recovery to Dave Mackey who had a very tough day on Bear yesterday.   Little story about Dave – he and I went toe to toe at Mount Evans a bunch of years back.  I had the upper hand on him on road races that were flat at that time, and he was the mountain guy.  Mount Evans appears to be a good match up for us because while it is a climb to high elevations, it is never overly steep (although it can feel that way a bit at the top).  He got a step on me at three miles and built it until the drop back down to the lake.  I got a look at him on one of those switch backs and really tried to dig to get him but he held me off for the win.  I was pretty well wrecked in my car for about 2 hours after the race.  Dave brought out one of my better performances that day simply because he is tough as nails.

It is pretty eye opening about Dave taking that spill because Bear is a peak he has been on hundreds of times.  I was just up there earlier this week and finding my not so coordinated self not digging the mist induced vertigo and the slipperiness of the rock.  Dave is sort of super human to me on that stuff.  I remember one time trying to haul ass down Green and I looked behind and he was literally just ho hum walking. 

This incident just reminds you that sometimes shit happens.  All the best in your recovery Dave. 

And as a side note, the group of guys that troll those hills regularly – aka, the Minions … these are the guys who run, hike and climb the peaks with a regularity that they know it better than most people know their own back yard.  The call went up, these guys were on the scene and helping the incredible RMR – not because they are the organization to do that, but because they are bonded as brothers.  JV and I have joked if either one of us ever gets hurt on the hills, the first people to call are Bill Wright and Dave Mackey.  It sort of worked out that way yesterday.

Afternoon – 14 miles in Cork.  I felt good but fuzzy from the jet lag.  But I figured I better go on a run while I had the window (versus the two day lag I typically get).  My eyes look pretty beat in the video below: 

Finishes up the week at 71 miles, with 8400 of climbing.  Not a great week – again, but I felt that I made some ground in getting past the sickness, getting through the rain, through the big travel from Israel, and getting back to some good habits with a longer climb. So not a poor week – just not pushing things forward much

Some old Cork, some new Cork …