Fun

Not to be lost in all of these training details is that fact that this stuff is fun. The training is fun. Planning my training is fun. Sitting on the couch on a Saturday night, after a tough run, sipping a glass of cold wine, with no guilt at all, is fun.

I've made all kinds of friends through this sport. I travel to support them and they travel to support me in races. I may write mostly about how I'm training or eating or otherwise getting ready to race 100 miles, but mostly, I'm having fun with all of this. Every single day, every single workout.

Right now, I simply cannot wait to be on that starting line in Squaw Valley. Two years ago, when I was there to pace, the year after my 93.5 mile DNF, the start was very disappointing to me. I wanted to be racing.

Yeah, it's hard sometimes and unexpected issues pop up during a race, but it's the fact that we can fail that makes it interesting.

I'm looking forward to a great vacation with my family. I will see many old friends from my years of living in CA. I will be hanging out in Yosemite for a few days, perhaps the most beautiful place on earth.

And in the middle of the trip, I'll have a chance to run a really tough 100 miler. This time, I intend to make it to the track, take my victory lap, and tell my crew and my pacer that it was fun!