Return

Well, I’m back, so to speak. I suppose it was inevitable, being a writer of sorts and all. I dropped off the radar (at least the race scene and online torrent of blogging) after my half-hearted 100 mile attempt at Leadville. I just got to the 50 mile turn around at Winfield and was like, “Uh, I guess I don’t want to do this anymore.” Afterward, I essentially took a month off with just a handful of shorter runs. My endocrine system was obviously depleted and banged up and I mentally had no interest in running long.

About the middle of September I started back up with 4-6 mile runs for a week, then constant 6-10 milers for the next four weeks, then ran 42 miles on Oct. 18. It felt great. I was fresh, albeit a bit weak (legs lost a lot of the muscle I developed with all the mountain running I had done). But I was interested again. Now, I have almost two months of 30-40 mile weeks and am beginning a strength program (I have always done light dumbells every day just so I’m not the “skinny runner guy”) which I hope will: 1. make me a faster and stronger ultra runner 2. keep me injury free and 3. keep girls from cringing when they get a glimpse of my body.

I’ll publicize the program once I’ve fully developed it but it will be a mixture of lunges, squats, core and upper body. Along with that will be at least one day (likely 2) of HARD uphill running per week. I’ve already begun incorporating my own wacky speed work with fartlek and what I call ‘cruise intervals’, which are anywhere from 800 meters to 4 miles in length at from 5:10 pace (800s – 1 mile) to 5:50 pace for the longer ones.

Shoes. I’ve started wearing LaSportiva (my team’s newest sponsor). Ironically, I bought them before they came on board as a sponsor. The Crosslites are like slippers with gnarly tread. I actually feel faster wearing them while I’m sitting on the edge of my bed. I mix it up with a hodge podge of shoes, including LaFuma, Mizuno, and my beloved but fading Montrails.

Team. The Wasatch Speed Goat Mountain Racing Team (Scott Mason, Founder) has exploded onto the scene. I’m humbled and honored to be a small part of such an amazing group of talented athletes and kind people. It seems weekly I read about top placings of teammates in races. Scott and Tim Barnes have put a lot of time into sponsorships and I’m floored at the support we now have, not to mention the notariety we’ve received. I plan to focus on making 2009 my breakout year if not for myself, then to give my worth to the team.

Life. Wow, where to start? I’ve seen a lot in my years wandering around and been through some difficult stretches. The last couple months have been one of them…

I moved to Colorado (from NC) in late June not knowing anyone here to work for a national race timing company that offered me a great job. I started officially on July 15th. Just two months later on September 22nd I was informed that my position was “eliminated” and I could go home that day. The shock was tremendous. Just ten days earlier I had signed a lease renting a house and now I had zero income, no friends and no connections (to give an idea of the misfortune piling up all at once, my laptop’s hard drive physically broke four days after losing the job and I lost ALL my personal data, not to mention my only connection and tool for job finding). I won’t get into the details of my relationship with the girl I was with at the time because I loved her (and still do) tremendously, but let’s just say I was hurt pretty badly by the complete lack of support or any compassion whatsoever from her. You find out what someone is really made of when difficult times come. In this brief retrospect, I see that it’s best for me that we’re not together. So, here I am single again, virtually homeless, waiting tables every day just to feed my dog and sending out resumes and trying to build a network from scratch. I get up in the morning (early for me at around six), search online for jobs (pretty much all over the country from Colorado-West, but would not be opposed to heading East for the right job), then go for a run, then work the lunch shift, come home and do more job hunting until my eyes get blurred. For a month there was almost no response from my efforts, but now action is beginning; I’m going on interviews, getting some calls, etc. I think this is a combination of the volume of stuff I’ve put out there and that I’m getting better at finding and saying the right things that potential employers want to hear. I’ve been out of the job hunting loop for a while since starting Racescapes Events in 2004. I also have to face the fact that it is a terrible time to be job hunting (just before the dreaded holiday season… I’m still hoping to find a girl who will get me a new Lexus with a giant red bow parked in the driveway for Christmas), the election and the incredibly bad state the economy is in right now (6.5% jobless rate).

Friends. I tend to indulge in my introverted-ness when things are bad or I’m upset (I don’t think I talked to anyone for six months after my father died). So, I fell off the map, no online presence, little contact with friends via phone or email, etc. Then all of sudden I start getting a couple emails of friends (and a couple people I know only through my running team but have never met) offering everything from an ear to listen to a place to stay if needed. The most important and valuable thing was just writing back and forth with these kind folks. It gave me perspective and hope that I needed so badly at the just the right time. If any of them happen to read this, I’m thanking you from the deepest part of my heart. It meant and means so much to me.

So, there it is. Currently, I haven’t decided what to do. I may leave Colorado. I’m certainly not staying in this area of it anyway. Regardless, I have my health, my running, and my best little buddy, Pippit

I’m putting together my race schedule for 2009 and should have it up this weekend.
Nice to be writing here again. I’ll try to be less sensitive to criticism from people who don’t agree with me or just don’t like me.

Off for a run on this beautiful morning…
Tim