drama

72.

Today you ate:

3 bananas, 1 pear, 2 zucchini (raw), 1 bag of baby carrots, 2 apples, some PB and honey (on one of the bananas) and a protein shake.

Today you worked:

11.5 hours

Today you drove:

235 miles.

Today you ran:

9.8 miles w/ 640 ft (around Boulder while the college kids were out partying).

73.

You and JMP drive up to Brainard and snowshoe through the mountains.  When you get up to the lake it's about 80 mph winds and freezing.  It's over a couple hours to get 6 miles.  The snow up there was anywhere btwn 4-15 feet high.  Beautiful day!

 

74.

Up at 3 am for work.  You had gone to bed at 10 and as soon as you got to sleep, the tv came on and B #2 and Millan were watching Django Unchained at full volume.  You lay in bed listening to the whole movie.  You ended up w/ an hour of sleep or so.  Then work.

11.5 hours driving through snowstorms in the mountains. 

As tired as you are after work, there’s still a few hours of daylight.  You change and leash up Rox and head to Chat.  You run up Green Mountain.  6.5 miles and 1,745 ft.  About two hours of work.  Beautiful day.  You stop at JMP’s and the grocery store but wearing your cold, wet running clothes isn’t doing you any favors.  You get an extreme chill.  Hurry home.  Shower.  It’s been a long day.  You spend the rest of the night on the computer.  Some writing, some time wasting…

75.

Your work day is short.  You come home and change clothes and leash up Roxypoo.  Out the door and straight up to Mount Sanitas from the apartment in a snow storm.  10 miles w/ 1,355 ft.  It feels fantastic.  When you get home, B #2 is home.  You and him haven’t spoken in almost a week. 

Sup / he says.

You don’t say anything.  He left for the weekend w/ his mess everywhere.  He’s been smoking cigarettes in the house.  You have nothing to say. 

You know / he says / --I think I’m just gonna give you your 60 day notice.

You’re evicting me?

Yeah.  60 days. 

On what grounds?

I don’t need any grounds.

Oh, so you’re gonna be an asshole about it. 

Don’t call me an asshole!  You’re the asshole! / he completely losses his mind here / --you’re the one who walks around here and doesn’t say anything to my friends, you just walk around like a sullen teenager!

Ummm, ok.  Loud and clear then.  60 days, I’ll be out / he doesn’t know you’ve already been looking at other places and just secured an OUTSTANDING apartment today.  Cheap too!

You walk to your bedroom and he’s cursing the sky / Come into my house and don’t say hi to me…

You are proud of how calm you remained.  It must be b/c your body is coursing w/ endorphins.  You take a shower.  Your 60 day notice was magically slipped under your bedroom door when you were in the shower.  He says Roxy sheds too much, you used his bathtub to clean her, you leave dishes in the sink and some other lame stuff.  Really?  Ok.  You’re both getting what you want here.  No sense making a big thang…

You go over to JMP’s and you both laugh your asses of at his 60 day notice.  He texts you and tells you he needs you to sign it. 

No prob / you reply.

Thanks / he replies back. 

76.

You aren’t able to sleep at your house anymore b/c there is no peace there.  He doesn’t clean up after his parties and leaves it for you.  You don’t clean it up so it sits all weekend.  It’s Sunday.  You run Roxy 4 miles.  Then you go to the gym and lift weights and do pull ups until you have no muscle left in your arms.  Then you do 4 more on the elliptical. 

77.

You initially met B #2 at the dog park right by your apartment.  He’d had some crazy x-roommate stories of his own.  He had a heroin addict for a while there.  He called the cops on him and the guy started shooting a sling shot at the cops cars from his bedroom window.  You promised him you didn’t do heroin and weren’t schizophrenic.  He was looking for a hefty price but you got the master bedroom.  You both agreed. 

Everything was perfect.  My house is your house, my food is your food etc.  B #2 was much more normal that B #1.  The neighbors had warned me that B #2 likes to drink. 

Like, what…drink a lot and destroy the house?

No, just drink a lot and slur his speech and argue.  And he has one of those blow thingies in his car.

That I can handle / you thought / --especially after B #1.  This will be cake. 

You drank w/ him a few times.  You both went to Cosco to stock up on food and cleaning supplies.  Split the price down the middle.  Stopped for a burger and beer afterwards.  This guy was going to be alright. 

Problem is, you work a lot.  Roxy is home w/out you a lot.  He had said he’d help out.  He had said, let’s feed the dogs at the same time and keep them on the same schedule.  Well, he doesn’t work.  He is a trust fund baby and doesn’t need money.  In fact, the enormous rent you’re paying him just goes to his liver.  He is home all day w/ nothing to do.  It’s not long b/f he feels like he’s taking care of your dog and holding every second of it against you. You always make sure Roxy is taken care of b/f and after work but in the mean time, it’s out of your hands.  He would take them to the park most days.  On your weekends, you’d take both dogs on some big runs or monster climbs.  They’d get 5-7 hours of exercise if you had a day off.  It seemed like a fair trade off. 

But then you started training.  You stopped drinking w/ him.  You started eating better.  You went to bed earlier.  This seemed to cause some resentment w/ him.  He started treating you differently.  You could feel the hate.  Suddenly the neighbors were all conspired and thought you’re such a bad dog owner b/c you work a lot (none of them work, all trust fund babies that drink too much).  His parties went later and later, even though you had to get up and train in the morning.  He started making rules for Roxy.  She has to stay in your bedroom while you’re working.  She can’t rough house w/ Pepper b/c they’re wrecking the floor.  You can’t use the bathtub to wash Roxy b/c it clogs up and needs to be snaked.  All the rules were new and opposite of how it was when you moved in. 

The other night when you came home, full party in swing and he wouldn’t even acknowledge you.  You said hi to everyone.  Went to your room.  It was 10 pm and you had to be up at 5.  You closed the door, hoping for rest.  The music got louder.  The laughing got louder.  You put on headphones and finally fell asleep around 2 am.

Yesterday, you followed his orders to lock Roxy up in your room when you went to work.  You came home 12 hours later and he had never even checked on her or let her out.  She had a dry water dish and was excited to see you.  He had spent the day partying in the house, playing poker and drinking.  He now smokes in the house too. You can only be SO nice.

AM:
Run JMP’s LSD Saturday run.  15 miles at 10:00 min/miles.

78.

When you first moved to Colorado, you didn’t know anyone.  You scoured Cragslist for potential roommates.  You finally found someone who lazily said / No, the room hasn’t been taken yet / and you set something up to go and look at it. 

The apartment was nice.  The roommate was ok too.  He was a young college kid.  Seemed like it would work out just fine.  Until a few weeks later when you were moving your things into the apartment.  Bad omen #1:  Roxy hated him.  Roxy loves everyone but she would not stop barking at him.  Bad omen #2:  Your first conversation was about aliens.  Bad omen #3:  Your second conversation was about conference calls.  He was weird.  There’s lots of weirdos in Boulder.  Nothing to worry about, you told yourself.  But as the days followed, the eccentricities came out.  He seemed very uncomfortable w/ you there.  So you treaded lightly.  Spent time in coffee shops and elsewhere.  He wasn’t friendly w/ Roxy at all.  One day you came home and he was pointing a crossbow out the window at all the people in the dog park.  You questioned him on it but he didn’t have much of an answer.  He stopped taking care of himself.  Stopped washing.  You politely told him he smelled ripe.  He took a shower and seemed to think nothing of it.  Then he started talking to himself.  At first, it was just laughter.  He would be up all night, laughing at himself.  For hours.  It would wake you up and freak you out.  Then he started talking and laughing to himself when you were in the other room. 

What’s so funny? / you asked.

Oh / B #1 became uncomfortable right away / --just laughing at old stories…old funny stories.

Oh yeah, I crack myself up all the time dude / you blew it off so he wouldn’t feel uneasy.  He would occasionally try to talk to you about religion.  He seemed to want to pursue some sort of religious calling.  You suggested some of the eastern religions.  When someone like him gets a hold of Christianity, all sorts of people usually end up shot, unfortunately.  You suggested meditation. 

One day you were leaving for work and he was in his underwear on the couch w/ his eyes rolled back in his head and he was drooling on himself. 

Are you ok? / you asked.

He half snapped out of it and replied:

Oh yeah, just tired.

That day at work, you called his dad and told him you were worried.  He said that he was too and wanted to talk. 

You explained everything you saw and told him you aren’t a doctor but it sure seems like schizophrenic behavior to you.  His dad opened up and told you of a whole host of problems and conditions B #1 had been diagnosed w/ since he was a kid, schizophrenia being one of them.  He’d been hospitalized.  Medicated.  Through treatment and they thought he was cured.  He’d gone back to school and gotten stellar grades.  But your moving in had disrupted him and he’d stopped taking his meds.  His dad got a court ordered document stating he needed to be hospitalized.  Cops came and got him.  He was non-violent.  Blamo.  You’ve got the apartment to yourself. 

It was nice at first.  No one knew when he’d be back.  Probably a few days.  You cooked food in your underwear, played music loud and play-wrestled w/ Roxy.  Life was good. 

Days turned into weeks.  He was very ill.  He could be gone a long time.  A month went by.  Two. 

Then you got a phone call. 

Brian escaped the hospital and we expect him to come home to you.

It was the night b/f the Boulder marathon and I desperately wanted rest.  As soon as it got dark, you heard him scrambling up the second floor balcony.  He tried the door, you had it locked.  He knocked.  You didn’t answer.  He knocked some more and eventually just sat down on the balcony.  You called the cops.  

My roommate just escaped the loony bin and he’s here trying to get in my house. I think you guys are looking for him. 

Cops came and took him away.  You heard it all from the other room.  All he wanted to do was sit down on his couch.  He wanted it more than anything.  Cops wouldn’t let him.  They took him back.  You had the place to yourself again.  Glory!

There was word of him getting out soon.  He’d been locked up for three months.  You found another roommate, one who’s not schizophrenic.  Just alcoholic.  You were sure the alcoholism would be much easier to deal w/ than schizophrenia, right?  Ha! 

Today:

Work 11.5 hours

Run 4 miles hard.  100 push ups, 100 squats, 100 crunches

79.

Day off from work.  You gear up and get ready for a day in the mountains.  Your plan is to run the entire way w/ no hiking.  That plan quickly changes to just time on your feet.  You are not feeling it today.  You cut the run short and get about 13.5 miles.  1,700 ft of gain.  Nothing special.  Just some muddy miles. 

You spend the rest of the day wandering around town and hanging out in coffee shops and looking at apartments.  You have no place to relax.  Your roommate is bound and determined to hate.  He beats your dog.  And his dog for that matter.  You counter it w/ love.  Or at least you try.  It’s your job for him to see love and compassion in your eyes.  You get so angry and you just want to react.  But then you remember to breathe.  So you keep Roxy away from home as much as possible.  No place to relax.

80.

You can’t sleep so you got up early and go to the gym.  100 down and ups, 100 crunches, run 4 miles.  You only have an hour to kill so you squeeze everything out of it you can. 

You spend the day praying and meditating and fasting.  Your living situation is quickly becoming toxic.  You and JMP want to move in together anyhow.  The next month and a half may be ugly.  You give your worries up.  You give them back to God or the universe or whoever gave them to you.  You don’t need the stress.  It’s all just a test.  What would Jesus do?  What would the Dali Lama do?  Love. 

81.

Rest day.  Roommate drama.  Looking at apartment listings.  Stress. 

4-8-13

82.

150 push ups, 150 squats, 200 crunches, 50 down and ups, leg extensions, leg curls, shoulder press, bike 21.4 miles and run 1 mile.

2 Hummus wraps, 1 pint of ice cream.

83.

AM:

Hike Mount Sanitas.  3.3 miles w/ 1,400 ft of gain. 

Today is your last day working at the Boulder Running Company.  You hug it out w/ everyone and say your goodbyes.  All great folks that you hope will keep in touch.  You plan to make it a point to visit them often. 

PM:

Run Mount Sanitas.  3.3 miles w/ 1,400 ft of gain. 

27 minutes to the top.

14 minutes down. 

Total time—41 minutes 10 seconds.  Picnic table to picnic table.  You run up and down faster than you really ever have.  Just to get a feel for it gives you such a high.  The endorphins help, of course.  You feel great about this run all night.  B #2 cooks pork chops, rice and broccoli.  Afterwards you’re still starving.  You eat 2 more gigantic hummus wraps and a half bag of Doritos.

84.

Busy day.  After work you barely have time to do 100 push ups, 100 crunches, 100 squats and run Roxy 1.5 miles.  That’s it. 

85.

After working a long day, you just want to go to the gym, run 8 miles on the tready and do 100 down and ups and 100 crunches and call it a day.  But that’s impossible when your roommate is having another party.  Now granted, the man can cook, especially when he’s drinking.  So it’s nice that they have steak, rice and salad ready for you when you get home from the gym.  But bed is something that’s not going to be happening for a while.  At least not tonight…

86.

You have a full day of trying to get your finances together and find ways to save money.  You make a lot of phone calls and by noon you are full of green tea and angst, so you put some shorts on and hit the trails.  You run up Green Mountain and back.  It’s about 10 miles w/ 1,900 ft.  Couple hours.  You return home, feeling better.  You finish your calls and end up feeling good about your day.  JMP calls and says she feels like margaritas.  You are done exercising for the day and after finding out just how broke you really are, you could use a drAAAnk.  You both have the three margarita limit and walk home.  You are both happy and scream:

Here we are world!

87.

Work 10.5 hours.

After work you go to the gym.  You rush to get 10 hard miles on the bike and a 1 mile brick run.  Not much but it’s all you have time for. 

You’re tired.  You have nothing else to say…

88.

Work 11.5 hours.

REST.  No exercise today.  Now that it’s April, it’s time to up the ante.  In March, you did over 1,500 push ups, over 1,500 squats and ran a little bit too.  In April, you are going for 100 push ups a day.  100 squats a day.  100 crunches a day.  And run everyday after today’s rest day. 

89.

Mondays are relatively easy for you.  Work is only about seven hours.  Afterwards, you have enough daylight to leash up Roxy and head to Mount Sanitas.  It’s about a ten miler from the apartment w/ 1,400 ft of gain and just as much descent.  You climb the east ridge which you’d never done b/f.  The run feels really good.  You feel strong.  The legs take a while to respond but when they do, they do so nicely. 

At night you find out some bad news.  You owe the IRS a lot of money.  You don’t know what you’re going to do.  Should you stay up all night worrying?  Eh, maybe tomorrow…

90.

You bike half way out to Estes.  JMP and Nica meet you for a picnic.  It’s Easter and everyone has the day off.  You hate Easter.  A few years back, on Easter weekend, you were up all night putting the final touches on one of your books.  You wrote almost ten thousand words that night.  Your plan was to print up that draft and then you’d have a hard copy to correct.  You hit the print button and all 350 pages of the book disappeared right b/f your eyes.  It was suddenly nowhere on the computer.  You pretty much had a nervous breakdown right then and there.  It was as close to losing a child as you’d ever come.  You cried for days.  You had family over for Easter that year and it felt awful.  You wanted to die.  You’d never been so sad. 

You and JMP and Nica have a few beers at Oscar Blues and they give you a ride back.  Only 25 miles for the day.  What a failure.  You get home and there are people at your place and everyone is drinking and playing cards.  You join them.  The day quickly falls through your fingertips…

91.

Work for eight hours.  One of the team members has cancer and it has spread throughout his entire body.  He is a little older.  Nice gentleman.  Has traveled and lived around the world.  Just bought himself a 29er mountain bike w/ big aspirations to do some racing.  It’s pretty sad.  We can go at any time.  You know that.  Others are confused.  They cry and ask / WHY? / and you wonder if they think about death at all.  Why?  Well, because ALL of us are going to die.  You think about it all the time.  Friends, dead.  Family, dead.  Call it morbid but everyone is going to die.  That’s what you were born to do.  There is 100% chance.  It’s just part of Life.  It’s just as beautiful as Life.

After work you run a few laps around the lake.

You go home and go to the gym.  Weights, core, elliptical, stretch and roll.  You go home and there is a very loud party going on.  They are all walking black outs.  You go to JMP’s house and sleep on the hard floor.

3-29-13

92.

Work 11.5 hours. 

Gym.

Run 1 mile, weights and core.

Swim 1000 yards, sauna.

93.

You wake up and made a little breakfast.  You leash up Roxy and head out to look for about 20-25 miles.  This is in preparation for a 50k that you plan to run in a month.  Most of that race is pretty runable and even though you want to just bag peaks all day, you choose a route that’s a bit more manageable.  You choose to run the Mesa Trail from your apartment.  The Mesa trail is about 13 miles back and forth.  You live about 5 miles from the trailhead.  It’s a beautiful day.  Warm enough for shorts and a t shirt.  It’s a 4 hr 15 min run when all was said and done.  You have wet muddy feet for most of the day.  Roxy is in mud heaven.  And you end up w/ 2010 ft of vert gain.  And you end up w/ just shy of 22 miles.  You fueled w/ :

2 Pocket Fuels

2 Baby food (the kind you can just eat like a gel)

1 Gu

2 liters of water

In the PM you go to dinner w/ a couple of friends.  You can’t stop eating.  The three of you watch the movie version of On the Road.  You’d been wanting to see it.  That book changed your Life.  That was the first book that opened your eyes to the fact that you can just write about whatever you want in whatever words you want.  You can make up your own language and talk about all the things that people are scared to say.  When you found out that books like that existed, you searched for more books like that and that journey has been ongoing ever since.  Kerouac led you to so many other authors.  Kerouac is still one of your favorites and The Sunterraneans and The Dharma Bums are a couple of your all time favorite books.  You can’t imagine your Life w/out discovering those books. 

94.

Today is an easy day at the gym.  You are saving yourself for tomorrow.  Today, you did a lot of abs and core work, rows, pull ups and tricep kickbacks and pushdowns.  Then you go out to a little Irish bar to meet some friends.  You don’t have a drop.  You’re saving yourself for tomorrow…

95.

Up at 3:30 am.  You go home, pack a bag for a day of work and leave the apartment by 4:30 am.  You get the feeling B #2 is getting tired of taking care of Roxy.  You are either always working, or at JMP’s and there’s no dogs allowed there.  You head to work and drive in the mountains for 10.5 hours.  You see lots of elk and gray fox.  At about 10 am the cryptic and angry text messages begin.  What would Buddha do?  Or Jesus?  Or the Dali Lama? 

You go for a 7 mile run w/ Roxy right after you get home.  When you get back from your run is the time that the neighbors are usually all outside w/ their dogs.  B #2 is always w/ them.  Afterwards, they either drink all night or they don’t.  Tonight, they’re already drinking.  You can feel the vibe.  He’s been talking about you.  They are all looking at you.  But you are feeling so good after the run, you won’t let them get you down. 

Hey! / you yell at them, beaming ear to ear. 

They stand there.  Heads low.  Hands in pockets.  Looking at you like you’re an alien. 

What a nice evening! / you yell and head straight upstairs.  You imagine they’re laughing at your Hokas.  You imagine they’re laughing at your running tights.  No matter.  Kill them w/ kindness.  Kill them w/ kindness…

He wants you to buy dog food, you buy the dog food.  He wants light bulbs, you buy him light bulbs.  He wants the $20 you owe him from god knows what, you pay him w/ a smile.  You do everything he is trying to bully you to do and do it immediately and w/ kindness.  You buy him a 12 pack of his favorite beer and put it in the fridge w/out saying anything.  You want to be kindness and love, not knee jerk reactions and anger.  This is just a test.  You want people to look at you and see love.  You may be a long way away from that, but that is the goal.  You are manifesting God and love into your Life on a daily basis.  So when someone texts you or says something nasty and is just looking for a response, either don’t respond or respond w/ love.  You have to.  You feel it inside.  You know you are supposed to be the example for everyone else to see.  You are the alien.  You are the missionary…

You go to the gym.  When you are 25 minutes into your bike ride, you get the text:

Hey bro, I really appreciate the beer and everything you did today.  I hope you’re not mad at me or something.  We’re downstairs drinking if you want to chill man.  Or let me know if I pissed you off.  Have a good one

So you feel like you won the battle.  Somehow.  Not that any of it matters.  But if feels like you are headed in the right direction…

96.

Monday. 

Your Achilles is a little sore at work. You wear your compression socks and don’t sweat it.  You know you’ll roll out and ice after work and you have the confidence that this injury is finally on the downslope. 

By the time you’re done w/ work it feels good and you head to the gym for an easy workout.  3 miles on the tready, stretch, roll, sauna while massaging leg. 

97.

One hour drive.

You fit people for running shoes, give running advice, congratulate on races, wish luck on upcoming races, tell a few of your own stories for six hours. 

Run 7 / 7:00 min. miles w/ Danny after work.  He’s a fast little sucker.  While you are running he asks:

Have you ever eaten at Larkburger?

Yeah.

Wanna go to Larkburger after we run?

You thought about it but just weren’t that hungry.

Na, I’ll pass this time man.  Maybe next time. 

After the run, you go to Barnes and Nobel to change out of wet running clothes and get a hot tea to warm yourself up.  Suddenly you got these crazy hunger pains out of nowhere.  You were starving. 

I’m going to Larkburger / you tell yourself. 

Then you drive the hour home.  You love coming over the hill and seeing Boulder shimmering in the distance at night.  It feels like home now.  It feels like a hug.  It feels more welcoming than any other place you’ve ever been b/f. 

Later on you watch This is 40 w/ B #2 while foam rolling, stretching and icing.  Pretty funny movie…

98.

Starting to feel better.  Have a snow day and don’t feel good enough to head out to the mountains w/ the snowshoes like you wished you did.  But you feel good enough to get to the gym and do 4 on the elliptical and 1 on the mill.  After that you do your push ups and squats and then foam roll the legs.  Come home and do 125 decline push ups, 125 squats, 250 crunches and 5 minutes worth of wall sits. 

99.

Sick.  Sick of being sick.  Worked 12 hours today.  Going to bed at 8 pm so I can make it to work tomorrow.  No run today. 

100.

100 days out from Western States 100.  This is where it gets real. 

You’re still sick but you forced yourself out the door today for a little run.  2.83 miles.  It felt good to get outside.  Forced the 50 push ups and 50 squats.  Foam and rumble rolled.  You were sick through your whole weekend.  Wiped right off the map.  Tomorrow is Friday but it’s your Monday. 

Training is going well, other than being sick.  You rested most of today.  Watched the movie The Master and LOVED it.  It was dark on SO many levels.  Tonight you are going out to see The Pines at a club called E-Town. 

running shorts as underwear...and Moab...

101.

Sick.  Head cold.  Both JMP and Brian #2 have had it.   You get yourself enough food and medicine for a day and don’t go too far from home.  After about a gallon of green tea, you force yourself out the door for an easy mile.  You force out the 50 push ups and 50 squats.  You force yourself to foam roll, rumble roll and ice the Achilles.  You spend the rest of the day reading Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse.  One of your new favorite books. 

102.

Up at 3:45am.

Work for 11.5 hours. 

Run 3 miles on the Alderfer/Three Sisters trail while you are out in Evergreen.

You pretty much wear your running shorts for underwear at work these days.  That way you can shed the pants and take off on a little run whenever you want.  Nothing feels better, especially in the springtime.    

When you get home, it’s time to admit the inevitable.  You’re sick.  You’re run down.  You can barely stay awake.  You go to bed.

103.

Monday.  You are still high from the weekend.  Nothing is unpacked.  Your running and camping gear is in a pile in your bedroom, still smelling like a campfire.  Today you are in Denver.  Working.  Driving.  Delivering.  When you get home, you unpack and do laundry.  Run a 3 mile recovery run.  Do some push ups and squats.  Legs a little tired.  Bed.

104.

Sore.

Pack up.

Coffee shop.

Ice cream shop.

Book shop.

Walk Roxy.

Drive.

Drive through canyons.

Through desert.

Through mountains.

Into a snowstorm.

A blizzard.

High up on a mountain pass.

And out the other end.

Into Boulder.

Where it’s St. Patty’s day.

And Brian #2 is celebrating.

And he hugs you

And says

I’m glad to be living w/ someone who’s Irish.

105.

They bus you 13 miles out of town.  You wait around in the cold for the gun to go off.  When it does, you follow JMP.  She’s running 8:00 min / miles, dodging and weaving in and out of people.  You keep up.  You decided to run w/ her for the first half and see how things go.  The course is breathtaking.  Ten story canyon walls to the left and the Colorado River to your right.  The downhill course gives you ample opportunity to really push, if you want to.  You don’t start pushing until the second half.  You tell JMP you’ll see her at the finish and take off, gradually increasing the pace. 

THANK YOU GOD! / you scream, happy your Achilles isn’t feeling too bad.  You are slowly gaining confidence.  You pick the pace up.  You take a gel.  You pick the pace up.  You push the last few miles.  You feel absolutely fantastic.  A real jolt to the system.  You now know where your body is at the beginning of the season.  You weren’t really sure, an hour and a half ago.  Now, the questions are answered and you like the answers you’ve received.  Exactly ten minutes later, JMP crosses the finish line, exultant and tired.  You help each other.  You congratulate each other.  You hold each other.  You spend the rest of the day eating, drinking, relaxing on very high rocks, listening to the wind blow and watching the sun set.  It’s the perfect day.  You are both as happy as you can be.  And that’s a lot…

106.

Coffee and breakfast w/ JMP and Martin and Gherda.  Exchange email addresses and pack up.  You head to Arches National Park and run / hike the arches trail.  The arches are beautiful but littered w/ lots of tourists.  You head into town for a lunch and a beer.  While there, you try to find a dog sitter for tomorrow morning while you are both running the half marathon.  No luck.  You are getting stressed about it.  You may not be able to run, even though you already paid the $80 entry fee.  You aren’t comfortable leaving her in a hot car or tied to a tree for the few hours it will take to bus you to the start, run the race and get back to the car.  You tell yourself not to worry.  You tell yourself not to stress.  You tell yourself it will work itself out.  And it does.  You stop for ice and firewood and ask someone if they know anyone who could watch your dog during the race tomorrow.  They promptly volunteer and say you can leave Roxy tied to a tree in their front yard w/ a bowl of water.  They will keep an eye on her.  And just like that, there it is.  The less you worry, the more things will open up for you.  Baboom. 

You and JMP and Roxy spend the rest of the evening around camp.  You have a little fire.  You eat.  You drink water.  You anxiously await running 13.1 miles through the canyons in the morning.  

107.

Alarm at 5am.  You are in the car and driving by 6am. 

You sure do learn a lot about someone one a 6.5 hour road trip.  In fact, you decide, riding in a car w/ someone for a long amount of time is nearly your favorite way to communicate.  Right next to running or hiking an excruciatingly long distance through w/ someone in the mountains…

You and JMP set up camp in the Canyonlands National Park.  Once camp is secure, you head out to find some trails to run.  You both decide on the Wilhite Trail.  It’s a 6.1 mile trail w/ 1,600 ft of elevation change.  It didn’t take long to discover the trails in Utah are not like the trails in Colorado.  In fact, if there were no cairns, you wouldn’t no there was a trail there at all.  This takes a period of adjustment and deciding whether or not this trail is even runable.  You press on and run down deep into a canyon.  It takes over an hour to get to the bottom.  You are met w/ spectacular views.  Views of things you didn’t know lay untouched in this country.  Beautiful, vast and dry land as far as the eye can see.  In some sections the earth has parted and opened up, making canyons, sometimes flowing w/ rivers or dry creek beds at the bottom.  In other sections, there are canyon walls towering a good 20 stories up.  It’s too much to take in.  You look around and it’s sensory overload.  It would take days, weeks to be able to see and fully appreciate everything that lay b/f you…

The run takes well over two hours.  When you arrive back at camp, you see someone else had reserved the same campsite.  The campsite you had already set up at.  Shortly after, a van pulls up and two people w/ Dutch accents ask you what you are doing there. 

Our mistake / you both apologize.  JMP looks around the campsite for vacant sites while you make small talk.  There are no sites. 

I don’t suppose you’d be willing to share a site? / you ask them.

The man screws up his face.  The woman isn’t entirely opposed. 

You promise them you’ll leave them alone, they can eat or drink whatever they need from your dinner.  B/f long, you are all friends.  His name is Martin and her name is Gherda.  They are touring the country for the third time.  They have toured many different parts of the world and their English is fantastic.  They offer you dinner and the four of you have a nice night by the fire b/f retiring to your separate sleeping quarters.  You purposely left the rain fly off the tent and as you fall asleep and wake up several times during the night, you can see a million stars, shining and shimmering just for you…

108.

Your first day of vacation.  You get up early and make a big breakfast.  Your appetite hasn’t been the same lately but it seems to be finally coming back to you. 

You take the dogs out to Chat.  Bear Peak has been calling your name for weeks.  You’ve been looking at it from Boulder every time you go out.  The Mesa trail is all mud and the shoes are wet and caked in no time.  Dogs are muddy in minutes.  The mud turns to mud puddles.  Then thick peanut butter consistency mud.  As you start the ascent to Bear, it turns to snow.  Slippery snow that you could have used your micro spikes for.  You slog it out to the top.  The top is too dangerous for the dogs.  It’s all big boulders you have to climb over and they’ve tried and always struggled w/ the summit.  So you tie them up just below the tippy top so they can see you as you run up and take some pics.  On the run down, your feet are pretty cold.  Everyone else you see is all bundled up in boots and winter gear.  You are in running shorts and running shoes.  Feet soaked and all but still moving fast.  It feels amazing. 

You spend most of the rest of the day packing up for your trip to Moab w/ JMP.  You and her get groceries and get the car packed up so that you can leave at about 4 am.  You are both super excited.  You’ve never been to Moab and the trails are calling your name!

109.

Long day at work.  11 hours.  You snuck in a mile and a half on a trail in Evergreen just to keep the blood flowing. 

After work you go out for a nice dinner w/ JMP.  You share appetizers.

110.       

The whole world is against you today.  It was clearly a conspiracy.   All of your friends and coworkers and family and everyone you were to come in contact w/ today had a meeting and they all decided that today was definitely not going to be your day.  Depression came hard in the PM.  So what do you do?  Go to the gym:

10 miles on the elliptical. 

1 mile on the mill. 

Foam roll for 20 minutes. 

Swim 30 minutes. 

Sauna 15 minutes.

Later:

Can’t sleep.  Have to be up in 5 hours and even though you barely slept last night and you exercised for over two hours after work, you cannot sleep.  Instead, you’re reading Rumi.  Rumi says:

Abandon sleep tonight;  traverse for one night the region of the sleepless. 

Look, upon these lovers who have become distraught

And like moths have dies in union with the One Beloved.

Look upon this ship of God’s creatures

And see how it is sunk in love.

He also says:

I know truly the rule for God’s provision, and it is not in my character to run from pillar to post in vain or to suffer needlessly.  Truly whatever my daily portion is—of money, food, clothing, or of the fire of lust—if I sit quietly, it will come to me.  If I run around in search of my daily bread, the effort exhausts and demeans me.  If I am patient and stay in my place, it will come to me without pain and humiliation.  My daily bread is seeking me out and drawing me.  When it can’t draw me, it comes—just as when I can’t draw it, I go to it. 

The prophets were not concerned with fame or bread.  Their only concern was to seek God’s satisfaction, and they acquired both fame and bread.  Whoever seeks God’s satisfaction will be with the prophets in this world and the next; he will be an intimate of those unto whom God hath been gracious, of the prophets, and the sincere, and the martyrs. 

Heavy stuff for a Monday night at 11:43 pm.  You’ve got a lot on your mind tonight.  The beautiful things you’ve manifested into your Life were not exactly beautiful today.  Tomorrow, you’ll be working at least 12 hours by yourself.  You’ll have a lot of time to think…

111.

Worked 6 hours. 

After work, took the dogs out to Coot Lake and ran 4 laps.  4 laps equals exactly 5 miles.  Feeling pretty tired…

some fun i've been havin in Colorado...

Western States Training Week 1

112.

There’s not enough snow to go snowshoeing yet, so you head to the gym.  You run 7 on the treadmill and are praying the whole time for the snow to keep a comin down.  Just as you are showering up, you get the text.  The roads are bad and the snow isn’t going to stop for hours.  Take the day off!  You enjoy a leisurely morning around the apartment w/ the dogs.  Roomy is out plowing the streets of Denver.  You clean up the aftereffects of last night and practice some breathing and meditation.  You foam roll and rumble roll your legs.  The hammy issue from a few days ago is gone, thanks to the trigger point rumble roller.  It’s painful but it works. 

You take the dogs up Mount Sanitas.  It’s less than four miles but it’s almost all straight up and straight down.  The snow comes down in blankets.  You and the dogs blend right in w/ the white landscape…

You stop at a pub for lunch.  And you spend most of the rest of the day sitting in front of the fireplace w/  Herman Hesse.  You are reading Steppenwolf.  You just recently read Sidhartha and were blown away.  In fact, you read it twice…

113.

You work a long day.  You drive for 13 hours.  Your body is tired.  You decide to make it an easy day so you can do a bigger effort tomorrow.  You do your bare minimum, run a mile and do 50 push ups and 50 squats. 

That night, a couple of the neighbors come over and your roommate is cooking food.  He can cook.  The more he drinks the better his meals are.  Everyone is drinking.  You are not.  You are really looking forward to a run in the morning.  There is supposed to be a foot of snow w/in the next 24 hours or so.  So the run may be on the tready…

114.

AM

You wake up pretty late but it’s okay b/c it’s your day off.  You get dressed and put air in the tires of your road bike.  Today’s ride is going to be on an empty stomach so you grab a couple of gels.  You head out to Lyon’s which turns out to be just a beautiful ride w/ plenty of other roads to bike around out there.  You want hills, you go west.  You want flat, you go east.  You live in such a beautiful place, you constantly have to remind yourself…you live here!

Lyons is 15 miles away.  You stop at a little coffee house and purchase a green tea.  You sit in the sun and eat both gels and drink your tea.  And then you ride home, faster than you rode there. 

PM

You go to the gym. 

Leg press:

90 lbs 15x

180 lbs 12x

270 lbs 10x

360 lbs 8x twice

DB press:

45 lbs 10 x

“    “    12x

50 lbs  10x

“    “     12x

Military Press:

40 lbs 8x  four sets

Run 1 mile at 8:00 min.

Power yoga w/ Tammy.  1 hour. 

115.

Heil Ranch doesn’t allow dogs.  Neither does Hall Ranch.  So you end up taking a long drive towards Brainard Lake.  You and the dogs run up the Sourdough Trail.  There’s a lot of snow on the ground but it’s warm enough to wear shorts.  It’s only a five mile jaunt but it started at 9,000 feet of elevation and went up to 10-something.  It’s a beautiful day.  

You come home and rumble roll the piss out of your legs. 

116.

Tuesdays are LONG work days for you.  Today you are able to sneak out and run a short 2.66 miles at the Alderfer/Three Sisters Medley trail in Evergreen.  There is snow on the ground but you are able to run in shorts and a t shirt. 

After work, you do your 50 push ups and 50 squats.  After your legs are warmed up you spend time w/ the foam roller and the rumble roller.  Your right hammy has been bugging you, ever since you’ve been running again.  You ice your Achilles. 

117.

7 miles on the tready b/f work.

Work 7.5 hours.

50 push ups and 50 squats and J’s house while she is watching tv. 

118.

After work you take Roxy for a little spin around the hood.  About 3 miles, 8:00 min/miles.  Absolutely pain free!  On concrete, w/out the Hokas, w/out KT tape.  Feeling great!  So happy you could cry…

The Chinese healer really did heal your Achilles.  A ten month injury.  She said the injury stemmed from your back.  She worked you over.  One of the more painful hours of your Life.  She told you to come back slow.  You are coming back from five weeks of NO running. 

Also, 50 push ups,50 squats.

119.

AM:

Drove down past Denver and met w/ DG for a little run up Deer Creek Canyon b/f work.  6 miles total.  3 up, 3 down.  39 min up and 33 down. 

Work 8 hours.  Roxy got to come to work w/ you today.  She ran around and greeted customers for a while.  She did great!

PM:

200 push ups

8 min worth of wall sits

800 sit ups or crunches

120.

120 days until Western States 100.  The base has been established.  Time to start ramping up the training.

Today you ran 1 mile.  It was a huge climb.  Not THAT huge, obviously.  But it was in the middle of your work day and a hill you’d been wanting to run for a few weeks now.  You see it every Friday when you’re down in Castle Rock.  You’re resting the legs for a short trail run tomorrow w/ D b/f work.

Also did 100 push ups, 100 body weight squats. 

For this month, you commit to running at least a little every day.  You commit to at least 50 push ups and at least 50 body weight squats.  Everyday.  That’s the minimum.

Operation Don’t Let the Universe Down Day 1 is in the can. 

quandary winter ascent