Update: Marathon and Beyond

The Colorado Marathon has come and gone and I didn't write a race report.  I will leave you with these words from my Strava activity:

"The story of the week was weather and we drove up to FoCo in a steady rain, which had me quite worried and unsure of what to wear. But, we woke to dry streets, low 30 degrees, and a very light snow fall -- perfect! The bus trip up the canyon took an hour and we sat in the bus until almost 6:10 am (race started at 6:30).

Miles 1 - 10 were pretty uneventful as I tried to find the pace/effort I though I could sustain and broke free from the crowd. Chuck and I only chatted intermittently, mostly just focusing and listening to iPods. He did occasional 'fartleks' to pick items for people, run ahead to pee, etc.... I just kept going straight ahead, eclipsing every split I had intended.

Miles 11-17 where quite a bit more difficult and I started to wonder if I was in over my head. Nothing wrong, just that no-mans-land of so many miles to go and fatigue starting to set in. Coming out of the canyon is hard as you go briefly uphill and realize there is a lot of hard work to go. I was sick of the cambered road and ready to move onto flatter ground.

Miles 18 - 22 I had a surge of energy and felt strong, passing people quite frequently. I even ran a sub-7 minute mile in here and realized I was going to be able to get it done. Chuck would tell me each lap split and began to run slightly in front of me to motivate me, I assumed.

Miles 22 - Finish were just pain, mostly. I could smell the finish and just kept giving all I had with lots of self talk. I knew 3:10 was in play (minus 5 BQ and possible Wave 1 qualification) so I fought hard to keep working for that. When we turned the corner into to town, I had to give all I had to get sub-3:10 and was glad I did. I ran most of this section in Z4 and felt every step."

Long story short, I crushed it. These are the days we live for as runners -- everything went my way. My first and half splits were near identical.  My eight 5k splits were within 15 seconds of one another. Basically, I ran a perfect race. What's funny is that I am the same guy I was in 2012 (and probably was just as fit back then). But, you tell people you qualified for Boston and they view you as special. I don't feel special, but I am looking forward to one helluva a party in Boston 2017!

As for what's next? I am slowly running out of matches to burn. I have enough residual fitness that I plan to give it a go at North Fork 50k next month. Then I hope to enjoy more of summer than normal with my family. My kids are nearly grown and opportunities to hang with them are growing smaller. I don't even know what to expect at Wasatch 100, but I fill find a way to get it done. If things go as planned, I'll spend some time in the mountains with my kids and maybe climb a few mountains. Perhaps I will finally stop and reflect on this journey? We'll see.

I am losing the desire to blog, feeling like I have fewer and fewer new things to add. I am not a controversial guy, so you won't find much editorial or opinion stuff here. Just the facts. This blog has been about my journey to health and discovering my potential. That road is nearing an end and I am savoring every moment left. There are a few goals I have left -- Leadville "big buckle" and another trip to Western States, maybe even Hardrock. I plan to keep after it. But don't be surprised if I blog a whole lot less. Thanks for following along and keep in touch!