Today, 1 year ago, 2 years ago

One year ago today I was on a plane to Boston with my wife and parents to run the Boston Marathon.

The year before that I was running the first official race I really trained for which was the Robie Creek Half Marathon.

And today, I found found myself on Rocky Canyon road which is the Robie Creek course for a 22 mile run that will in all likelihood be my last long run before my second 100 mile race in two weeks.

As I ran it first by myself and then later with my friend Mike Blessing I thought of how far I have come.  When I trained for Robie in 2010 I ran that road so many times I could tell you where ever rock and every pothole was. Today it felt very different.  I have only been on Rocky Canyon 3 times in the last 6 months.  But, it brought a smile to my face to see all the runners out putting in the miles for the race next Saturday.  I will be running it with Michelle which will be fun!

Need I say more?

A few wise words to live by.....

Last Saturday a group of trail runners in Boise participated in a memorial run for Micah True, aka Caballo Blanco, who passed away unexpectedly while out for a run.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend but Emily Berriochoa shared a few thoughts afterwards that are worth sharing here since they apply to all aspects of life, not just running.

"...I thought of some words I would like to have shared at the waterfall today. The passing on of someone who has touched us is a good opportunity to remember that life is short; our days are numbered, and we never know when our last breath may come, or when our last step will be run. Remember to appreciate the ones who love you, the precious people who support you and your dreams; appreciate the beauty of life and our ABILITY. May we all be blessed to run to the very end like Micah; even if we cannot, let's remember every day to create legacies that will live on past our ordinary selves, just as Caballo Blanco's will. Like he was, we are all ordinary but have extraordinary potential." ~Emily Berriochoa

....headed for sunshine

Reposting this picture I saw on my friend Christena's FB wall. Thanks for sharing, so true.

Race to Robie Creek

Several people who have passed by my blog have wondered where my title picture was taken so I thought I would fill in the details.  Two years ago I submitted a short essay to the Idaho Statesman begging for an entry into the sold out Race to Robie Creek half marathon.  The rules were simple, 150 words or less and it had to be humorous or inspirational. 

The deadline was 5pm on a Friday and I started in typical fashion at about 4:30. Now, 150 words is just enough to say PICK ME, PICK ME!! I wasn't sure how they would pick between the hundreds of entries, so I cheated.  If you have ever heard the phrase, 'a picture is worth 1,000 words', it's true.  I got 1,150 words with this picture attached to my email submission.

Click here for the essay.

The pictures were taken April 7th, 2010 on the New York Canal at the back of our subdivision in Boise.

Still working on me

Last night my friend Emily got this picture after a Team Pearl iZumi group event.

Team PI Mountain States is a group of road runners, triathletes, and ultra runners in the Boise area.  Everyone has a unique talent or story.  Most of us will never win a race but we all train hard and never quit.

Anyway, even after being at my goal weight for over two years and accomplishing some pretty amazing things, I still don't always see myself the way others see me.  I would never have believed in a million years that I would be able to hang with an athletic crowd like this as an equal.  Maybe as the tag along chubby kid.

My point here is, to all the people who may read this and are desperately trying to lose weight, it isn't over when you reach your goal.  There is still a lot of work do getting your mind in the right place where you feel 100% comfortable.  My wife picked me up at work one day for lunch a while back and I made the comment that I don't see myself the way others see me.  She pointed out a guy walking down the road and I said, "Yes, so what that guy is tiny."  She reminded me that I look like him.

I am not sure what it will take to get completely there, but I continue to work on it.

On a side note, I also never thought I would wear a medium shirt with split leg HOT PANTS shorts.  There's a first time for everything I guess!

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This is the other picture I always think, "who is that kid?" 100 yards from the finish line in St. George 2010.

The Tragedy of Life