Sore but moving

Related to my last post about our new TV, my son is so happy right now. Apparently, his Xbox has component outputs for hi def TVs and it even switches to a 16x9 view. The game looks pretty amazing on the new TV. He has now suggested that since Playstation 3s play Blu-Ray DVDs and they cost less than some Blu-Ray DVD players, we could save money and get him a video game in the process. PS3s do look really amazing in 1080p, but I'm in no hurry to give him another excuse to stay inside and play video games. I will probably spring for a Blu-Ray DVD player though in the near future. It will come in handy when I spend all of July and August sitting inside, drinking margaritas and watching movies.

My son has another track meet today. He's running the 100 and 1500, plus throwing the javelin and shot. It's starting to look like he might not get to throw the discus this year. They just haven't had enough time to practice everything, and the discus might not happen.

So, last night, I went out for an easy 4 with the dogs. Running downhill hurts a bit, as my quads are still sore. But, they've been a lot worse in the past. This morning, I lifted, and my lifting included a number of leg lifts that hit the quads. Surprisingly, the quads felt just fine for the lifting.

After my workout, the photographer for the local newspaper, Bob, started talking to me. He's taken some pictures when our small town weekly paper has done articles about my ultras in the past. He asked about my recent training and my upcoming training. At one point in the conversation, he asked me if I could run the race (Western States) right now, if I had to. The question caught me by surprise, but I told him that if I had a week to rest and recover from my most recent workouts that I thought I could do it. He told me that he had suspected that from my answers to his questions about my training.

I thought about our conversation as I was taking a shower, and I realized that I am feeling very good about how things are going right now. There is still work to do, but things are on schedule and going well. Compared to 2005, I am very confident in my preparation for WS. Something in our conversation must have conveyed that confidence to Bob.

Tonight, I'll run an easy 6 and then spend some time with my foam roller, working on the quads.

I'm starting to get really excited about my trip to Massanutten next week, where two good friends are running. I'll help to crew for both of them during the day and then pace one of them at night. Unlike last year, when one of those two, Joe, and I combined to go 0 for 2 at MMT, this year, I'm predicting 2 for 2. Both runners have worked hard, they've got experienced crew and pacer help, and they are both determined to succeed in the race. For each of them, this is their second attempt at 100 miles, and the first attempt didn't go the way either of them wanted.