2 Days till 67 Miles

On Saturday, Jean and I enjoyed a run together through the Santa Monica mountains with the Goats. It was a beautiful day. We talked, admired the wildflowers in bloom, and of course laughed... mostly at the photo that was taken of me by Brightroom at American River (see left). It is so appropriate. During a race like that, one moment you desperately want to lay down in the middle of the trail and cry your eyes out, the next moment, eveything (including your waterbottle, apparently) is so magnificent and life could not be better.

When I first started marathon running, and then ultrarunning, it was somthing that I did on my own. I needed to know that I could accomplish these feats alone. Along the way, that changed. The first 50 miles, I know I can get through on my own, past that is where something bigger than me comes in to play. I realized that I could certainly be strong without anyone else around, but I could be stronger with the support of others. I have opted to run Leona Divide on Saturday, then on Sunday morning, wake up and run the Firehouse run (a 17 miler that Jim organizes occasionally from the Phidippides running store to an old Firehouse that has been restored into a restaurant) with Jean as my unofficial pacer. Donn is coming over to spend the night at Brian and my place on Friday night. I am hoping that we can run the majority of Leona Divide together as well. The ability to run 100 miles seems so far away for me, but after this weekend I will be one step closer. I doubt very much that I would attempt this without my friends. Boy will this be a challenge, but I could not be more excited.