2009: A Year for Coming Back and Moving On
“Two things in life that I have experienced moderate success at, and that I love when they’re going well, are writing and running. Neither is going very well at the moment. This blog represents my commitment to get both going again. Writing and running have been on hold due to inaction and injury. … I’m […]
Imogene Pass Run Race Report
This is a postscript to my last post, “Humbled,” about training for the Sept. 12 Imogene Pass Run from the town of Ouray to Telluride. As that post detailed, the 17-mile Imogene Pass, which summits at 13,100 feet, loomed large in my mind. Family history and childhood memories ran through the precipitous rocky road, while […]
Humbled
I consider myself a capable trail runner — in California, that is. In Colorado, no way. I’ve been in Telluride, Colorado, a little over a week, adjusting to life away from home and acclimating in the high altitude for the September 12 Imogene Pass Run. (Our family travel blog away-together.com details why we’re here and […]
From Fast Times to Family Time
Starting later this month, I will be blogging more regularly at our family’s new site, away-together.com. We leave in two weeks for nearly a full year of travel to several destinations, to educate our kids (and ourselves) by seeing other parts of the world and to strengthen our bond as a family. I’m excited, nervous […]
Meet My Coach
Ten years ago, I began training with a coach who changed my life. I guess that’s what a good coach is supposed to do, but I like to believe this coach is different — extra special. The kind of coach found more often in movies than in real life. He actually was in a movie […]
The 40th Birthday Trip
Since I returned from a short trip over my 40th birthday, family and friends have been asking, What did you do? What did you get? Did you have fun? The answers take explaining — I ran through time. I got my life. I wouldn’t exactly call it fun, but I definitely had a good time […]
Boston: The World’s Most Overrated Marathon
I ran the Boston Marathon once before, in 2000, and remembered little about the actual run. I could recall being very, very cold while sitting on the ground for several hours at the starting area, a.k.a. the “Athletes Village,” and then hearing women at Wellesley scream at the halfway point, and then peeing in my […]
Falling for the Diablo Trail 50K
Rarely do races put me in a good, goofy mood from start to finish, but the inaugural Diablo Trail 50K last Sunday had that effect. Proof that I was having a great time came at around mile 28 in what turned out to be a 33.75-mile course. I was flying down the dirt and sandstone […]
Running in Rain and Freezing in Shorts: A Napa Valley Marathon to Remember
I woke up Sunday morning feeling I had a job to do: I had to run the 2009 Napa Valley Marathon at my goal pace or better. My brain, on some level of consciousness, must have known it was better to go on autopilot than to approach the race with any depth of thought or […]
Catching Up with Ultra Legend Ann Trason
“I just wish I could go out and run every day. I think I took it for granted. I knew I’d slow down and get older, but I didn’t know there’d be a cliff.” – Ann Trason Last fall, I interviewed Ann Trason for a Trail Runner article about the race she and husband Carl […]