Ahhhh, Recovery...

I am feeling really solid physically. Sunday, I went for a three mile jog. Yesterday day I did a 6 mile cruise and this morning I ran a really steady 8. Doubtless, all the miles I put in prior to the race are coming in to speed up the recovery. I feel loose, limber and spry. It feels so great to go out for an 8 miler without any thought of time, pace or near-term goals. As great as it is to have race to train for it is also wonderful to come out of a running season - letting the body rest and rediscovering why it is you love running. My official time for the Le Grizz was 6:22:59, a minute and a half behind the first place overall runner and 30 minutes ahead of the 3rd place runner. Again, very happy with my effort. Everything came together - the Lord was there guiding me every step of the way (that is not just cliche religious rhetoric, but the honest to goodness truth). The effort was good enough to achieve the distinctive honor of 2008 USATF Montana Ultra Marathon Champion... unexpected icing on the cake. At any rate, I can't get over how wonderful of a run that was. I had a wonderful time and for the first time in a race, felt spot on with my training. What's more, I am very excited for the next couple of months of running for fun -maybe 60-80 miles a week -, retooling - assessing this last training cycle and making changes for the future -, and next spring/summer racing season - maybe some 50Ks, a 50 miler and maybe the Leadville 100 in August... But at this point, who knows - it is all tentative. The time is now and I love it. Excited to continue diving into my life here in MT.