It's Almost Spring

How stoked am I that it's already March. January and February are the hardest months for me. January I'm just getting back into it after taking December off. It's usually slow going, it's dark early and it's months to go before Spring. This year was particularly hard to get motivated because after 13 years of freelancing I went back to a 9-5 job. I love the job but it's been busy and I'd get home tired when it's already dark and unmotivated to go back out again. Get up early in the morning? Forgettaboutit.

Somehow I got myself out there and by February, Masha was back from visiting family in Vladivostok. The passion and effort she's been putting in on her training has inspired me in turn. She works out more than I do and there's been a couple of weeks where she not only ran more miles but got more elevation gain as well. We are both training for the Lake Sonoma 50-mile in April. It also helped that the weather has been amazing! Bad being in a drought but it's been great for my running. Besides there isn't really anything I can do about it. Sometimes the weather is bad, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad even when it's good, nothing for me to do but to keep on keep on.

Tomorrow we have our first race of the season—ITR's Marin Ultra Challenge 50k/50m. We are entered for the 50k and we're excited. I'm gonna go out and have a great time and hope to whip my butt all over the course. I'm going to focus on the present, that means who I am now and what I'm capable of now and not who I was before and what I was capable of then. That's the plan anyway. It's hard not to think of the past, you know that can be. Hard not to think back on the years when I was more willing to sacrifice, put in the hard training, lose the necessary weight and run times I didn't think I could achieve. I'm not that guy anymore. Oh I'd like to be but I don't train as hard these days and I eat like a hog all year round now instead of just in the fall and winter:) Life is good. I also noticed I'm lazier than I used to be. Strange really, how did I become more lazy as I continued to run long distances? Sometimes I look in the mirror and give myself that look, the one that says "you're kind of an idiot". Well I just have to be at peace with being slower or get off my arse and do something about it. The latter seems like a lot of work and since I already mentioned I'm lazier than ever I'll just work on being at peace with running slower. However, the sense of achievement and satisfaction I get from running these races, the enjoyment I have being outdoors especially the hills of the Headlands and Mt. Tam, the joy I have meeting new people and being around old friends, that has not changed at all and now I get to enjoy it with Masha.

We are looking forward to a great day in Marin.

Photo courtesy of Michael Stricklan, shot by Lauri Abrahamsen. Starting the year running. With friends and other runners at the top of Mt. Tam to watch the sunrise new years day.