Birthday Weekend

(Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach! This place is really majestic!)

This past week involved some major recovery from last weekend's 100k and it very conveniently coincided with my 31st birthday!

Erica and I decided to head over to the Oregon coast for the weekend, (Cannon Beach to be specific) which is only about 75 miles from home, and although the weather was a bit cold and rainy we still had a very nice and relaxing time. It was so great to take a great big breath of ocean air and to stick my feet in the cold Pacific Ocean. I was able to reflect on the last year and with some help from Erica I realized what an amazing year it has been!

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I only ran about 15 miles this past week...just enough to get things moving out of my muscles, and with the help of a one hour massage I think I'm ready to get back into it this week. It did take a while for my hamstrings to get back to normal. They've never felt that way before and I attribute that to the amount of mountain climbing and descending last Saturday. Also, I still have a weird feeling in my hip area but I don't think it's anything to be worried about.

On a more serious note and perhaps something to be worried about is the status of Where's Waldo 100k winner Erik Skaggs. Unfortunately, he started feeling some abnormal discomfort on the way home from the race on Saturday. That discomfort turned out to be renal failure. Erik is now hospitalized and hopefully on his way to making a full recovery. Hang in there buddy! You are in our thoughts and prayers. You can read more about Erik, his status, and donate to his fund by clicking HERE.

I also wanted to congratulate east coast friends Mark Thompson and Ryan Schiff for completing their first 50k ultra marathons at Green Lakes Endurance Runs in Fayateville, NY. Way to go guys! My course record got pummelled but I knew that would happen given the insane heat of last year's race.

Also, for a birthday gift I recieved this really cool little piece of technology. It's called a Flip video camera. Learn more about this amazing yet simple little device by clicking HERE. I took it out on a run with me yesterday and was able to capture some amazing video footage. Unfortunately, it came out a little bouncy while I was running with it so I won't torture you with trying to focus in on the video. Instead I will wait until my skills get a little better before I show you some of the beautiful Pacific Northwest. It is very lightweight and fits snugly in my S.P.I. belt. It's a great device to take out trail running and then when you come across a beautiful view or something worth shooting you can just stop and easily capture live footage...up to one hour's worth. Sweet gift...thanks Erica!

I'm looking forward to getting back out on the trails this week and maintaining and building on the fitness I have attained since just before Waldo. Ideally it will lead me into the PCT Ultra- Hundred in the Hood scheduled for September 26-27.

I'm hoping to finish this year off strong after that little mid summer mishap...we'll see how it goes. Regardless of what happens...Life is Good! and I can't complain about a thing!

Have a great one and happy running!