The sun is up, the air is fresh, the stone is old

Today was a trail run up to Jardine Juniper with my son to see how his progression for a R2R November 8th is going.  10 to 12 min pace up and blasted down at 6:27 average.  Very cold at 27 degrees, 9am.  On Friday he surprised me with a 17 mile trail run on his own with a headlamup from West temple Fork to Mt Naomi.  Good run, but even better, a sign that he could have the mental toughness needed for the canyon.  Few trail runners can run alone comfortably.

This past week was a tough one for me.  I've always wanted to run the Chicago Marathon and had an entry since last year for the American Development Program.  I ended up with the kids for the weekend and just didn't feel like leaving them.  We tried for flights Friday and Saturday morning and they were just too full to get them on.  So we changed plans and headed to Moab for a few days.  Much more fun anyways.  This latest experience has convinced me that it's time to take a break from road racing and spend more time with my kids who are interested in the trails and climbing.  Very hard decision since I'm absolutely injury free right now.  But weekends like we just had in Moab with my kids 100% engaged in life are far more important than a run could be.

I'm finding it impossible lately to keep up my entries on FRB, just too much going on.

Four days flying Apple Vacation charters to Punta Cana. Long overnights at a huge beach resort. One of the most difficult or uncomfortable places I've stayed. This is an opulent all inclusive resort with unlimited food. All that people do is eat all day and line the sides of the pool digesting. Kayaks, sailboats, surfboards, and dive gear sits stacked on the beach free to use. The average size of people is at least 250 lbs. This has never bothered me before, but this place is so extreme that it's almost made me physically ill. I've just had to get out on long runs on the beaches to get away.