3 weeks to go ...

yep - i still love him ...

even though he made me do this ...

and this ...

CUZ - he's made me look - LIKE THIS ...

and hopefully made me strong enough to run this ...

TWICE !!

of course, then there's THIS guy ...

who had me run about 3 hours in here ...

before refueling and then heading out and up k2 into glen haffy ...

where i bumped into angus going the other way ...

and finally making my way back to the little red mazda ...

for an insanely beautiful 6 hours on the trail.

and a big big thanks to this one for letting me use her pool and for feeding me after i finished!

yup - love all 3 of ya !!

the sugar stalker strikes again ...

i went back to the patch on wednesday to see my favorite sister and the redhead before they headed home to kelowna.

what a clown!

my favorite sister - the most beautiful person i know ...

i will miss them horribly (BIG SAD FACE) but me and ben were already making plans for christmas ...

i did 4.5 hours up in hockley last sunday. went out around 11 and was pretty much running in the heat of the day. someone - actually, a lot of people - are telling me that nasty humidity is great training for altitude. we'll see ...

clouds ...

yep - i came from way up there ...

the last 2 hours was a bit of a slug fest, but i did it. good confidence builder for sure!

and i REALLY would like to know who keeps leaving these for me. this is the third time i've found them either on my car or in the treehouse ...

580 kettlebell swings ...

the redhead and my favorite sister are visiting so i drove to the patch on saturday to see them and a few of the nephews. how can you not just adore this kid ...

dalton and the redhead ...

stephen - the big nephew - who's about to give us our first niece - okay - he isn't - his girlfriend kelly is.

me and uncie ken's kids (and the redhead) - brendan and ethan

i didn't get back from visiting the redhead until after 5, so my saturday run got going around 6. took the headlamp as i figured i wouldn't be done in the daylight. started out in palgrave and did a whole bunch of single track to distract me. sunset was amazing!

finished with a little out-and-back to the birthday tree and then back through palgrave in the dark. pretty good run - 3.5 hours - and only one face plant !

friday night club was steamy! lots of shoulder stuff ...

miss lilian enjoying a snack in the treehouse ...

and the latest update on dave - running god - who me and andreaaaaaa are going to visit in september!!!

"Finished off third cycle of Revlimid last week. In past three months the serum free light chains dropped from 1100 to a count of 42, suggesting the cancerous plasma cells continue to be decimated significantly. Anticipated fourth and final cycle to begin, however it was determined we are now ready to proceed with the prep work for a stem cell transplant over the next month and a half. Steps are underway for the stem cell transplant to occur in September."

two glorious hours up in hockley on wednesday! ran ALL the hills - even the steps!

AND the 5th line hill twice ...

butterfly? moth? not sure ...

sigh

i love hockley ...

oh ya, and the mighty one made me do kettlebell swings on tuesday - only to shoulder height - which really works the lower back and glutes. as many swings as possible in 30 minutes, and every time i dropped the kettlebell, i had to pull the 95lb prowler for 100 meters - that was my rest! i managed 580 of the fuckers. ow!

4 weeks to leadville !!

enuff said ...

i suck at rowing!

that was a hot one for sure on saturday! the plan was an out and back - with the back being 20 minutes faster - not an easy feat even on a kool day for me. i started from palgrave forest and hwy 50 around 10 (shouldn't have procrastinated - should have started earlier) stoopid dora! so yes, it was a bit steamy, but not too bad in the shade of the trees. i took it easy on the way out, stopping for a couple pics along the way.

and of course my timing was so perfect that i still had to do the second switchback north of 9 before i could turn back at 2:40 . grrrrr!

i stopped in glen haffy to refill my water and soak my head, figuring there was no way i'd make it back in 2:20. when i hit palgrave and the final 40+minutes of single track, i really started to overheat! i had to sit a couple of times to try and bring my temperature down a bit - i was feeling nauseous and light headed. but my stubbornness prevailed and i kept going. imagine my surprise when i hit my car at exactly 5 hours! haaaaaa! i was so happy i cried (i think i was really delirious at this point).

i hit the palgrave quickie mart on the way back to get some cold water and gingerale. as we were standing in line for like 20 fucking minutes because some guy was taking forever to buy/cash in his fucking lottery tickets (my ultimate pet peeve), this guy behind me said it was kind of like standing in line at wonderland, but without the climactic ending. i replied there might be one if this idiot doesn't fucking hurry up!! i then drove over to sharons' and soaked in the pool for 10 minutes - feeling my brain sizzle as i dunked it under the water! wahoo! a job well done!

this is from last sunday. me and homey did 2:30 in palgrave after my 4 hour night run the day before. i was dead but it was great hitting the trails with him after such a long time!!

friday we did a few tests at crossfit. first i was super stoked to up my split jerk by 10lbs - topping out at 120 !! we then did max reps push ups (38 - how pathetic), toes to bar (18 - not bad), box jumps (27.5" - runners can't jump) and 500meter row (2:07 - how awful is that!!!) can you tell i absolutely detest rowing ...

great job everyone!! great group!!

kool sunset on the way home friday ...

only 5 weeks to leadville!!!