Change of Plans

Already I've had to make a change to my long-term plans.  Turns out I can't do the Uwharrie 40 miler in 2013.  My brother went and scheduled his wedding that same day (congrats, little bro!) 

So, I did the next logical thing.  I signed up for the Crooked Road 24 Hour run that is two and a half months earlier.  Makes perfect sense, right?

I'll probably ruminate more on this later.  I've been interested in some local ultramarathons, but am not sure if I want to invest the time (taking time away from family, climbing, hiking, etc) to train for an ultra.  I figure this will be a good way to test the waters without the pressures of an aggressive cut-off time.

All that said, my guess is things will play out like this:

1.  I'll enjoy it a bit, but hate it at the end and swear never to do one again.
2.  Not be able to walk for three days afterwards
3.  Forget everything after a week and look for another ultramarathon to train for.

Pretty smart, huh?  A wise man once said "Know thyself."  Thyself is a dumbass.

Globetrotters Win World Championship!

Friday I my son and I "opened" our last Christmas present from my wife - the World Basketball Championship!  The Harlem Globetrotters were against "The Elite."  


I had never been to a World Championship game before.  I was surprised by a few things

• It didn't sell out - weird, considering how popular basketball is in the world
• The crowd was extremely partisan in favor of Harlem. 
• The refs were lousy.  They took a lot of stick from the Globetrotter players
• I think it was fixed.

Nevertheless, we had a great time, and our son really enjoyed it...

A four pointer!!!

2012 Goals

I'm hoping that publishing my goals for 2012 will help me achieve them - I've let the running slip terribly over the last year, and am particularly disappointed today as the Umstead Marathon is taking place - and I'm not fit enough to be running in it.

I started running again seriously in 2006 as a way to stay fit for long hiking and climbing trips - living in Raleigh doesn't lend itself to training in the mountains several times a week.  But participating in a few races - the Umstead Marathon and Uwharrie Mountain Run to name a couple - has been a lot of fun, and it's taken on a life of its own. 

My recreational goals this year are:

- Log 1,000 foot miles
- Climb 6 ultra-prominence peaks.  Four in Arizona in April and two in Switzerland in June
- By the end of the year, be in shape to finish the Uwharrie 40 miler in 9 hours (a tall order as I haven't run a marathon in under 4:30).

I'm behind on my 1,000 mile goal, with only 102 thus far.  But, I've been building up.