It's been awhile since I last posted as I haven't been running a lot. I have run a total of 5 times since the race due to other priorities. The runs have felt fine and my conditioning is great. I've just been trying to catch up on items that were put "on hold" for the past 8 months, and frankly I was a bit burned out. It was hard to even think about putting on my running gear, but I'm getting the bug again.
It's been nice to catch up on homeowner tasks such as landscaping and home repairs. While things are probably never where we want them, I'm pretty happy with the situation now. During the training, I stressed about certain repairs that were needed, but had no time to address them.
On the fun side, I've been able to get in some rock climbing recently. At first, it felt like I was starting over, but the rust has come off reasonably fast. My strength is coming back faster than I imagined, and the technique is coming along. Dawn and I managed to get a couple trips in to the Gunks and do some local climbing here in CT. She's climbing much better than me right now, so it's giving me motivation to get back in climbing shape.
Yesterday, Tara and I spent a little time in the Gunks. She's a natural climber, but doesn't climb very often. She loves it, but has so many other priorities (a.k.a. boyfriend) that she doesn't get on the rock very often. Anywhoooo, we had a great day. Tara climbed very well considering she hasn't done multipitch climbing in ages. The day was hot, so we cut it short and capped it off with an invigorating swim. I love the Coxing swimming hole as it's a natural wonder. The water flows in via a small waterfall and you swim up a narrow channel to get to it. The water temp is wicked cold, but it feels great on a hot day. Standing under the waterfall feels like you are getting a wonderful back massage. The whole place is such a treat, and it was a pleasure to share it with my daughter for the first time.
It's also been nice to spend some quality time with Dawn. She was so supportive of me in my training, and it's been nice to dedicate some time to her and "us" lately. I think the race pulled us together in many ways, but the training put a strain on everything for awhile. It's been nice to get some balance back in life and make our relationship a priority. Life is good!
As far as the running, it's been fun to watch others get the bug. My hat is off to all my friends and family that are getting into it. My brother is training for the Marine Corp marathon (his first), the Goat has registered for the Stone Cat 50 miler, Sean is running a half marathon in the Fall, Matt Estes running again and his wife, Aimee, is running faster than ever, and Dawn is putting in more mileage than me these days. There are many other folks that are putting in the mileage as well - it's great to see so many people enjoying the roads and trails.
As for me, I'll be doing the Reach the Beach relay with the Red Eye Runners in a few short weeks, and then I'll probably do Marine Corps with my brother or Stone Cat with the Goat (or both depending on scheduling). As for now, I need to get my syllabus ready for next week and help Tara get packed for the ride back to UCONN today.
I've been running for over 30 years now, and it's interesting to see how it has become such an integral part of life.
All the best and happy trails!
Steve
It's been nice to catch up on homeowner tasks such as landscaping and home repairs. While things are probably never where we want them, I'm pretty happy with the situation now. During the training, I stressed about certain repairs that were needed, but had no time to address them.
On the fun side, I've been able to get in some rock climbing recently. At first, it felt like I was starting over, but the rust has come off reasonably fast. My strength is coming back faster than I imagined, and the technique is coming along. Dawn and I managed to get a couple trips in to the Gunks and do some local climbing here in CT. She's climbing much better than me right now, so it's giving me motivation to get back in climbing shape.
Yesterday, Tara and I spent a little time in the Gunks. She's a natural climber, but doesn't climb very often. She loves it, but has so many other priorities (a.k.a. boyfriend) that she doesn't get on the rock very often. Anywhoooo, we had a great day. Tara climbed very well considering she hasn't done multipitch climbing in ages. The day was hot, so we cut it short and capped it off with an invigorating swim. I love the Coxing swimming hole as it's a natural wonder. The water flows in via a small waterfall and you swim up a narrow channel to get to it. The water temp is wicked cold, but it feels great on a hot day. Standing under the waterfall feels like you are getting a wonderful back massage. The whole place is such a treat, and it was a pleasure to share it with my daughter for the first time.
It's also been nice to spend some quality time with Dawn. She was so supportive of me in my training, and it's been nice to dedicate some time to her and "us" lately. I think the race pulled us together in many ways, but the training put a strain on everything for awhile. It's been nice to get some balance back in life and make our relationship a priority. Life is good!
As far as the running, it's been fun to watch others get the bug. My hat is off to all my friends and family that are getting into it. My brother is training for the Marine Corp marathon (his first), the Goat has registered for the Stone Cat 50 miler, Sean is running a half marathon in the Fall, Matt Estes running again and his wife, Aimee, is running faster than ever, and Dawn is putting in more mileage than me these days. There are many other folks that are putting in the mileage as well - it's great to see so many people enjoying the roads and trails.
As for me, I'll be doing the Reach the Beach relay with the Red Eye Runners in a few short weeks, and then I'll probably do Marine Corps with my brother or Stone Cat with the Goat (or both depending on scheduling). As for now, I need to get my syllabus ready for next week and help Tara get packed for the ride back to UCONN today.
I've been running for over 30 years now, and it's interesting to see how it has become such an integral part of life.
All the best and happy trails!
Steve
