Dry Wash Runners

I'm writing this more as a reminder to myself than anything else. I want to record that I'm proud of myself for what I accomplished in even starting this race. So without further ado here is the tale: Wy'East was to be my final distance push in training for this summer's 70 miler at FatDog in August. I did expect to be able to finish it was it profiled as an "easy" 50 mile course with buttery trail and a net elevation loss. And as expected the trail was beautiful and buttery, the climbs not too steep and the downhills all runnable and not too steep. What I didn't expect was to get the flu or something like it on the drive down to Hood River and be put in the position to ask my wife (who was already supporting both myself logistics wise and our toddler) to support me in my newfound illness. The last 60 miles from Vancouver, WA to Hood River OR felt like 200. This was the most unsatisfying of flu/food poisoning experiences I've ever had. Having evacuated

Let's be honest here. I have very little expectation that many will read this blog. But these days it seems there is very little besides social media like FB, Instagram, and Twitter to chronicle a history of our lives. I wonder what we've lost when all we have are pictures on platforms that are mobile and perhaps impermanent. But then again what things about being a human have ever been permanent? It's all chaff in the wind. Jesus that was deep. Anyway, back to the subject at hand. It's been a minute since I've written in this blog and in that time I've had a platelet rich injection into my left heel after overtraining had left me with a serious case of bursitis. It was I suppose a blessing in disguise that made me rethink my orientation toward training. I've never been the 100 mile a week kind of person and this injury only underlined the fact that I may never be. And now I don't want to be. I've come to realize that at least for me qu

Just watched the Ginger Runner's feature length film that he dropped on YouTube yesterday: Where Dreams Go to Die . I enjoyed it thoroughly. I enjoy being in a position of saying, "yeah, I never want to do that." It's a position I enjoy because all to frequently it ends up not being true. Not only do I want to do that I'm often driven to find out how much of that I can actually do. It's amazing feeling to be both grateful to be alive and able to attempt these feats as it is to be surprised at what the human body can actually do. Ultra marathons push the boundaries of what we expect we can accomplish. This is why I keep running, this is why I keep trying for more, this is why running teaches me so much about what it means to be alive. There are lots of hard things in life. Having a difficult conversation with my wife can at times easily outstrip the difficulty of running an ultra marathon with a nasty cold. Now with a toddler running around in my da