Figuring things out

I went to my friend, and climbing partner, Ken's memorial service tonight. Ken died from complications due to Leukemia. I hadn't climbed with him in a few years and honestly did not get a chance to climb with him a lot. He did, however, turn me into an ice climber: a deed for which I am eternally grateful. I had the privelege to climb some sick ice with Ken, and just wish we had more time to rope up together. Nevertheless, tonight was a celebration of his life. There were slide shows (Ken loved giving slide shows) and readings about Ken. It was really quite inspiring. At one point, several emails reflecting on Ken were read, and one of them was from me. I was very pleased that it was shared. It was good to see some old friends from the climbing community. Ken's biggest fear was not being "remembered". I was amazed that he could have this fear because he impacted so many people in the climbing world. He was a real teacher and very giving of his time. He organized trips and was always watching out for others. Ken will not be forgotten. In fact, I've never seen a church so packed!

I'm always a very emotional type at these things, and today was no exception. It also gave me a chance to reflect on how I have lived my life and what I want to do with the rest of the time I have in this world. It reinforced some of the things that I like about myself and my life, and got me to think about some changes I'd like to make. We'll see how it goes...

As far as running, I managed to log some decent mileage this past week. While it's a mere fraction of my training from last year, I did manage to get in nearly 40 miles this week on some tough terrain. I also squeezed in some climbing and yoga, so am starting to feel more fit. We'll see if I can keep it up once the weekly grind kicks back in.

Upcoming plans include ice climbing in the DAKS after Xmas and a big ski trip to B.C. in February. Yeah, backcountry POWDER baby!

Other 2010 plans include the inaugural Traprock 50K trail race co-directed by yours truly and the famous Goat (a.k.a. my bud Kevin). We are shooting for April 3, so mark your calendars and sign up for our Facebook page!

Cheers and have a great week everyone!