I'm retired from racing. Really.

AM- 4.5 ez. 

PM- 9.5 ez.  Getting a bit of a sore throat/cold. 

Threw my hat into the Western States lottery today.  Less than 20% chance of getting in, it seems, but lightning may strike.  Find out in a month if I'm in or not.

Lunch- 6.  Cut the run short and cancelled evening trail run with Barry due to sickness.  Ugh.

Heard a shocking statistic today.  Best estimates are that about 700,000 Iraqis were killed in the war, on top of the 4000 American soldiers.  That is sad and a true tragedy.  And, if you add up the cost of the war, the military essentially spent $8 million for each Iraqi killed.  That means, the government spent or borrowed $13,000 for every American citizen for that war.  Morally AND fiscally, we cannot afford this.  

Then, I watch in horror as the Republican candidates debate Saturday night, and most of the leading candidates openly discuss starting a war with Iran.  I repeat, morally and fiscally, our country cannot afford this.  As a citizen and as a human being, I hope each person will seriously look at Ron Paul, the only candidate who is truly against war, in favor of saving innocent lives (regardless of nationality), and for fiscal conservativism.  Our future, your kid's future, and millions of other lives around the world are depending on it.

Sick at home, no running.

Lunch- back at work, feeling much better.  8 ez.

Follow up article regarding possible war with Iran that was discussed on my blog on Tuesday.

Lunch- 3.5 ez, 2.5 xt.  6k race tomorrow, then FKT attempt on the Foothills Trail. 

AM- GE 6k at Connestee Park.  Great weather (40 deg), nice course with about 1.5 mile pavement, 2+ miles singletrack trail.  I knew I wasn't going to be speedy fast, between lack of recovery from my 50 miler, being sick, and being slightly undertrained.  Ran about 6th to 9th place the whole race- worked pretty hard, but definitely didn't go all out.  First mile on pavement was 5:33, then 2-6:20's on the trail, then a 6:00 on trail/pavement to the finish..  I knew my speed wasn't there, so I wasn't going to kill myself- my bigger priority is Monday's trail run.  Really enjoyed running on the nice trails, though, and seeing a little carnage- I think 4 or 5 of the top 10 guys fell, including 2 guys right behind me (no injuries, though).  GE team ran strong, with 4 of the guys finishing ahead of me, including Jim for the overall win.  I think I finished 7th place, but not sure.  23:37 (6:06 avg) for the race- interestingly, that is the exact same pace as the February run I did at the same location, though that race had a slightly different course and was slower thanks to lots of water/mud.  Given that I wasn't 100% today, I guess it's good that I ran as fast as last race.  Thanks to Laura, the PS staff, Todd, and everyone else for doing a great job.

Now rest for my 77 mile trail run on the Foothills Trail on Monday.  The record is 16:52, and only 13 people have ever completed the run.  Hope I survive!