I’m driving back up to Mammoth today after what has seemed like a really busy fall.  I think I’ve been away from Mammoth more than I’ve been home, but now I’ll get in a good chunk of time up there with just a short time away for Christmas.  Despite a lot of traveling the fall has been productive; along with the rest of the group I’m working on fixing some basic biomechanical problems in the hope that it will set me up to do some good training in the winter ad spring and more importantly race fast at the Olympic Trials and all next summer! 

A few highlights of the fall for me were seeing the results of  both Kate and Ryan’s marathons, seeing my friends Missy and Lauren get married, and trying (unsuccessfully) to learn how to surf.

The low point was Ryan Shay’s death.  A lot has been said about him since then and there’s not much I can add.  He was a good friend who inspired and frustrated me with his work ethic.  I still remember the night he called to say he was going to propose to Alicia the next day. I could tell he was nervous, and I could picture him at home so excited he just had to call somebody!  I hope while he was alive he knew how much I admired him; if there’s one thing I take from his death it’s the lesson that I need to make sure people who I care about know how I feel. 

My latest trip was to Manchester for the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving (I’m not even going to try to explain why I’m driving from San Diego after going to Manchester).  Last year I won which was great, but I got a later start on training this fall and haven’t been doing much in the way of workouts, so I knew it would be a stretch to run as well as last year.  Nonetheless, I wanted to win (although I think my 11 year old host brother wanted me to win more than I did!) so it was a bit of a disappointment to finish fourth.  But it was still a great trip.  I got to catch up with friends from college and  some who I met last year. I spent the afternoon after the race with Andrew Letherby, who was the winner, and really enjoyed it.  I’d never met him before, and it was interesting to hear his take on things since he’s been around for a while.  We’re lucky to be in a sport with so many good people!

So now it’s back to the mountains for some work!  I had some 2k’s this morning which I did at the beach, soaking up every ounce of sun and warmth I could and if I can get in a run this evening I’ll be able to say I executed the running equivalent of the surf/ski double.  Have a great December!