2013 Starting to Take Form

January Riding at Pueblo Reservoir
Kevin, Sharon, Larry

Four weeks without running so far. I am going to make sure my heel heals completely. Maybe after a half century of stubbornness I’ve finally learned. One of my biggest downfalls and the downfalls of many endurance athletes is not having the patience to heal. My running career was ended for a dozen+ years or so when back in my early 30s I wouldn’t let an Achilles tendon injury heal. I struggled for two years always trying to come back too early. Finally, I got into cycling so I could stay in shape while waiting to heal. It wasn’t until I decided to try LeadMan about 15 years later that I started running again. So this time, I will be patient! Four weeks of stretching, icing, and massaging my foot with a tennis ball has help speed the healing process. I think I could start running now, but I’m going to wait another week and start back slowly.

Being able to ride my bike has helped immensely with the wait period. Actually it feels great riding while not being worn out from running. Without long and hard runs before rides my legs feel light and energetic instead of trashed. I’ve just been having a blast going out and tearing it up on the bike. Poor Max certainly misses the running though. He consistently got up with me in the morning with hope that got fainter and fainter that I would take him running. A couple times he’s laid on the floor whining for me to take him. I felt so terrible. So the cure for Max it turns out, is the same for me; take him mountain biking! He loves it! Problem solved for both of us.



Max has to get his running fix behind a Mountain Bike Now

With the injury I’ve been forced to change my plans. One of my goals for the year was to break 3 hours at the Ave of Giants Marathon. That is out the window. Even if I start running next week, I would risk injury again training at the intensity it would take to accomplish that time. So I will run it just for the joy and experience of running through the giant Redwoods! I am also going to shift my focus to bike racing this year, particuarly the Rocky Mountain Endurance Series. The Rocky Mountain Endurance Series includes the Breckenridge 100. This is definitely among the toughest 100 mile mountain bike races in the world. I raced it in 2010 and absolutely loved every mile of it. On the suffer scale you definitely get your money’s worth!

Finally I reached into my bucket list and pulled out the first thing that came out – Ride the Colorado Trail! Ouch! How did that get in there? Well that’s what came out so that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m still in the planning stages as this will be truly epic. Approximately 500 miles of extreme mountain biking at extreme altitude, 300+ miles of single track, and self-supported. This promises to be quite the adventure!