16 Days to Leadville

Western States 100 Finish Line, a photo by Wayne-K on Flickr.

Volunteering at the Western States 100 in June was cool, but I'm looking forward to the Leadville 100 in 16 days. I'm not even running it, but I'm excited! I've been training for the last four months just to be the lowly pacer, but I'm as excited as if it were "my" run.

Right now, the plan is for me to run approximately 30 miles in Leadville. My training has been hampered somewhat by Achilles Tendinitis, Patellar Tendinitis, and some unnamed pain behind my left knee. I saw the doctor two weeks ago for the last two ailments and he prescribed anti-inflammatory meds (NSAID) and rest. I took the meds but ignored the rest (no pun intended). At my follow-up appointment today, I told him I'm not any better, but not any worse...which is great...since I've been running on it for the last two weeks.

Overall, my runs have felt pretty strong lately. I think I'm slowly getting my running legs back, after resting for three weeks while recovering from injury. I did a ten mile run on the Pleasanton Ridge last night and although I wasn't trying to push it up the ridge, I ended up running my fastest time for the climb (which I learned later once I uploaded my GPS data to www.strava.com). While running up the ridge, I said "hi" to a lady who was hiking up the ridge. She responded by saying I was "brave"...then she corrected herself and said I was "crazy." I'm not brave and I'm not crazy yet, but I have enjoyed my "me" time on the trails. It's been a welcome break from the stress, strain, and grind of the daily routine.

Here's a summary of last night's run: