Summer travels have made the last few weeks a bit of a whirlwind, but they have led to some thoroughly enjoyable experiences running and living life! We left to travel back to Minnesota to visit my family on the 27th, so the few days prior were a rush to wrap up things at work, pack for a week of travel, and still continue training. Luckily, the epicurean and I did a good job of planning ahead and it made travel relatively easy. We spent the week amidst what amounted to 4 separate shorter vacations, but I made sure to keep up with the #chasing42streak and still have plenty of fun and relaxation. You truly can’t put a price on spending time with family, and this was a special trip on many levels, and made me appreciate so much more the time we were able to spend with family and friends. It’s always hard to live so far away from family, and I don’t think it entirely sunk in for me until I was leaving to return to Delaware. There’s no question that #chasing42 has taken me to some amazing places and will continue to do so, but it will always bring me back home as well
Chasing42 Log: 20160724- 20160806
Run: So, I ran a few times over the course of the last two weeks! I’ve been getting in some solid mid-week trail runs and other group training runs, which has made dealing with the continued extreme heat and humidity a bit easier. I made a point of taking it easy in the days leading up to our travels to Minnesota, as I was running the Voyageur 50 on 30th, and I thought maybe I’d give tapering a try. As it turns out, it actually does seem to have some positive effects, and I ended up having a great race playing on the trails overlooking Lake Superior. The entire Duluth area holds a special place for both the epicurean and I, so it was wonderful to return, and for my mom to be able to join us for the quick trip. A few days prior, I was able to run a few miles on the trails where I ran my first 50-miler as well, which was a fun trip down memory lane. I was able to run a familiar loop in Ames with some friends last Monday morning while we were in town as well, which was a blast despite the 5AM wake-up call. We returned home this past Wednesday, and got back to Wilmington early enough that I was able to get out for a comfortable midday run. Some solid hill-work on Thursday served as good prep for a solid long run yesterday. I was able to knock out over 26 miles on the trails with some good company, and then I headed back out in the afternoon to make it an interesting two-a-day test. Happily, my legs felt great!
Thought: The Summer Olympics started this weekend, so our collective attention will be directed to Rio for the next two weeks. There are numerous compelling stories and exciting events to hold our interest, and I’m looking forward to many of them. The lead up to Rio has been more about the chaos of Olympic facilities that were incomplete and environmental conditions that would make a cockroach cringe. I can only hope that everyone enjoys this moment. All of the athletes have worked their entire lives, in many cases, for this moment and it would be horrible for Zika or some other illness to ruin their Olympic memory.