My family and I just got back from a great dinner at Eclipse Pizza. The last song we heard on the radio on the way back was Zeppelin's "Going to California". The phrase "Going to California with an aching in my heart" kind of hit me hard.
Today, we were driving from Yosemite to Truckee, after a few days with no cell phone and no Internet access. My wife turned on our cell phone and checked our messages. The first two messages asked why we didn't pick our dogs up at the kennel on Sunday, as scheduled. Luckily, we straightened out the kennel later and they hadn't evicted our dogs.
But, the next two messages came from my pacer and a crew member. My wife gasped out loud as she heard that the race had been cancelled. It was silent in our car for a long time after that message.
In 2002, I missed the race with a torn ACL. In 2005, I missed a time cut-off at mile 93.5. I have been contemplating the possibility that this race would be my last 100 (by choice - not for any physical reason), and now there is no race. I don't want to retire from running 100s without finishing WS. It would be like a marathoner who never goes to Boston. It's just something that needs to be done.
One of my crew members is still in the air right now, although he knows that the race has been called off.
I keep going back and forth. Mostly, I guess I'm disappointed. Early in the drive this morning, I told my wife that it was finally all here - I was healthy, fit, the leanest I'd been in a while, the snow levels weren't terrible, and it was time to slay the beast. I'm ready. And, it's not going to happen.
The cost of this vacation is significant. But, it's a good family vacation, with or without the race. So, we'll enjoy the trip and not worry about things we can't change. Hopefully, a year from now, I'll be in this same area, getting ready to run WS. Maybe I'll be in even better shape next year.
Hopefully, they'll find a way to accommodate this year's runners and other runners as well. I don't envy the race management right this minute.
1 comment:
Sorry you got the word a day late. It's a tough pill to swallow. The atmosphere at Squaw Valley yesterday was like that of a wake, runner's someone shocked and comforting one another. I'm going to try and get an earlier flight back to Maine this weekend, but if you still go to Squaw Valley today or tomorrow, give me a call.. 459-8552.
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