Reunion weekend with some of my closest college friends, from Virginia, North Carolina, Texas and Chicago.  Met in Milwaukee, where one just moved.  Ate brats (of course), drank beer (ditto), went to a Brewers game, etc.  Saturday morning I met up with a Milwaukee runner’s club (spouse of a classmate belonged), which was fun.  Running […]

Back to running on the familiar trails of Tam, 10 miles on Sunday, and 6 this morning.  Nice to be on trails sans backpack, but of course I don’t have the light-as-a-feather feeling I imagined I would experience as I slogged up the Canadian Rockies.  Need to get a long run in before Bozeman, though […]

So much of trail running is mental, and involves the mental/physical process we call recovery.   On a long run, the mind cajoles and makes deals with the heart, lungs and limbs to extract a little extra effort on the uphill, promising relief after another crest is reached. A five day, four night, backpacking trip involves […]

Tomorrow we start a five day backcountry hiking trip below the Rockwall RIdge in Kootenay National Park near Banff in Canada.  Hiking, not running.  So, I got one last run in, a 2700 foot run/jog/walk up the trail that leads to the top of Sulpher Mountain on the outskirts of Banff.  Lots of hikers trudging […]

There’s nothing like tackling phobias head on.  On a scale of 1-10, my fear of heights is about an 8.  Not debilitating, but if I often have to approach a sheer drop off very slowly, sometimes on my hands and knees.  Milan Kundera, Czech writer of Unbearable Lightness of Being and other great novels, once […]

Talk about extremes!  Two days ago, I was on a 7,000 foot ridge overlooking Cody after a tough 70 minute uphill run/walk.  Today, I’m doing inclines on a treadmill in downtown Chicago, carving out an hour from a hectic business trip for some training.  Not fun, and nothing like a real trail.  But I suck […]

Thin air.  That’s a big part of the Bridger challenge.  20 miles is hard enough.  Add in 6K of elevation gains and 9K in downhills, and it’s a huge challenge.   Finally, to make it epic, have the Ridge Run take place at a starting elevation of more than 5,000 feet.   And so, on our […]

One of my Saturday morning running buddies has connected me with a friend in Bozeman who is running the Bridger this year.  She is about my age, and last ran the race 20 years ago.  She’s done parts of it since, but not the whole darn thing.  She and I trade messages, and she’s been […]

Back to the Cypress, for an intentionally slow, low heart-rate, run.  I am not the best at following my learned trainer’s instructions, but my building  anxiety over how to survive the 5-6 hour Bridger has me paying better attention to her instructions!   So, I slow may pace, keeping my pulse in Zone 2 or […]

We have not been back to Kirkwood in several months, and are pleased/surprised to see how much snow remains.  The tops of chairs 6 and 10 look like they do in early December, when just another storm or two will open the mountain.   Not enough of the white stuff to ski on the 4th […]