Just thoughts

Ran with Tim this morning to have a little face time with my guy. This summer seems to be whirling by and sometimes I look over at him and wonder when was the last time we've been able to have a chat. Running seems to be a great way to do something we love together and be able to have some undisturbed talking time. We didn't even take the dogs on this run.

I haven't been writing in my blog very much mostly because the idea of writing a long race report or daily entry seems too daunting. So today I came to the conclusion that writing long narratives is probably not what I need to do, but rather write shorter tidbits so that I don't forget all the wonderful things that are going on in my life with running and everything else.

I have 2 months until the Pine to Palm 100m. My first 100m and what feels like a lot of unknowns. Some days I think I'm going to jump out of my skin with excitement and some days are filled with concern about logistics, what-ifs, and doubts. Thankful the excitement moments out number the doubting moments and I happily continue on my way. Training has been fun and I feel stronger than ever. My mind is focused and every run I'm thinking about the finish line in Ashland. This is a good time in my life and I am very thankful I have the ability to go after my dream.

Two weeks ago, I ran the SOB (Siskiyou Outback 50k). Also in Ashland and one of my, if not my favorite race. I've been running the course either as the 15k or 50k for the past 10 years. And each year it seems like I'm just as excited as the next. I've never been very good at remembering all of then twists and bends of the courses, so I find myself surprised at least a couple times on the course each year. This year was a first for snow. Luckily when I was in Yosemite earlier in the summer, I had run on snow for several days and when I came upon it at the SOB, it felt very familiar. This year has been one for me to focus on my hydration and nutrition. In retrospect, I'm not sure how I got through some of the races I did by the system I was using for calorie and H2O intake. No wonder I had a few zombie/delirious/dark pee times. This year I've really noticed a difference, perhaps not necessarily in my times right away, but definitely in the way I've been able to recover and how I've felt during the race.

The other difference at SOB this year was the number of people I knew at the race. Several of my friends were running either the 15k or the 50k and when I crossed the finish line, it was great to see all of them ready for hugs and story telling. Wow, I had no idea how much their presence would affect me. I've been such a loner and in some respects I've loved it, but this was wonderful.

I also got enough courage to introduce myself to Sharon Mosley. She signs up to most of the races I do and we seem to be on each others pace for most of the race. Sometimes she pulls ahead and sometimes I do. But I thought it was about time I said a formal hello and told her I was the one following her.

Last night I had a massage to get some of the kinks out and surprisingly she worked on my shoulders more than my legs. Repercussions of my desk job. Unsurprisingly, she also told me to S-T-R-E-T-C-H!!! Even though I have been, I know in the past couple of weeks, I've slipped back into non-stretching bad habits. So this morning, Tim and I were down on the floor stretching like good runners after our 7 miles. Happy Day!