Mt Townsend Beckons

Well, still recovering from sinus surgery...I am staring out my window at the Olympic Mountain Range and see Mt Townsend beckoning. I cannot wait to get my trail shoes on and run to the top!

My wife and three kids hiked up last summer and my brother Steve and I ran/hiked to the top last September. It was just a few days after our brother Gary passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Steve and I most definitely felt Gary's presence as the wind whipped around the summit. It was a joyous, sad, and incredible experience. I hope to do many more trail runs with Steve over the years! We will always reflect on our time with our brother Gary on this earth.

The route we took was probably only 7 miles round trip with a 2300 foot elevation gain. I believe the top is at about 6300 feet or so. The views are absolutely incredible. You can see all of Puget Sound and gaze out at the Seattle skyline. You can also see Mt Rainer, Mt Baker and other snowy Cascadian peaks. To the north lie the Dungeness Spit, Discovery Bay, the San Juan Islands and Vancouver Island. I would highly recommend this run!

January 2010

Wow! What a few months I have had. Today I sit resting after having sinus surgery one week ago. It was one of the most gnarly experiences I have every had. However, I cannot believe how clearly I can breathe right now! Twenty plus year of sinus issues and I finally know what it is like to get air through my nasal passages...what a cool, refreshing feeling!

I have sat and sat and sat....during this time I have thought much about goals for the year with fitness. Here we go:

• Do a 50-mile trail race in April http://www.capitolpeakultras.com/CP50mile.htm
• Do an Olympic Distance Triathlon in June
• Do the Seattle to Portland Bike Ride in July
• Run the New York City marathon in November

Now that it is written...it looks a bit scary....but I need to celebrate my life as a 40 year old in style!

The craziest part is probably the 50 mile race in April. This is not too far off and I haven't run past 10 miles in over a year. However, I am going to jump in anyway and do it with my friend Jens who recently did the Honolulu Marathon and JFK 50 mile! It will be a struggle, but it will force me to get out in the woods and run more, which is meditative and healthy for me. It think what put me over the top in the last week was reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and also reading trail running blogs by Scott Dunlap, Scott Jurek, Anton Krupicka, and Greg Crowther. Those guys are motivating!

Bummed out that the Dr. told me that I couldn't exercise for another week or so. No snowboarding or running next weekend!

More to come!