I have spent the better part of this week in altitude training with an ultra-athlete and I am still here. It was a lot of fun to get into some crazy country and explore not only the great outdoors but a lot of my inner self. It has been great to bond with my dad in such a meaningful way and I will have novels to write when I get a few more minutes than what is allowed here in the lobby of the B&B here in Silverton, CO.
The race starts tomorow and I will be meeting up with my dad at 4am on Saturday to pace a 6500-foot elevation gain over a 16-mile leg starting at 7000 feet. It is an interesting thing to watch all the racers congregate in such a small little town. The energy is contageous and quite intoxicating and I almost have the race jitters as if I were actually a competitor.
Maybe some day I will compete on that level, but not any day soon. 100 miles in 48 hours over this rough country is really not my idea of a good time. I am more in the range of 8-10 miles per day and I stop to smell the flowers, observer butterflies and look for wildlife. If we cross someone on the trail, I stop and chat. This is definitely NOT the racer mentality.
I will write more later and post all the neat concepts, insight and experiences I have had out here in my favorite kind of wilderness later.
2 comments:
Great to hear from you. I have been wondering how it was going. I am excited for you. All the best to you and your dad.
You are crazy!! In the VERY best way... I once backpacked a week on a trail that was marked at the wrong skill level and it ended up being WAY too advanced for me... but somehow my body adapted and went in to survival mode and I managed to do okay. It's crazy once your mind makes that shift the ideas and clarity it all of the sudden also shifts into. Can't WAIT to hear all about your journey!
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