One Week to 26.2 and 5-0!

The final longer run is done as of today and now a very mellow week as we get ready to fly to CA for the Surf City Marathon. Despite the emergence of a rather annoying plantar faciitis issue, I am ready. It is getting better with massage, stretching and ice bottles and I'll make it through. Big thanks to Ian Fraser for some tips to help solve it. Hey, it's just pain, which is just a subjective mental effect from what I read ;-). It won't be a deal breaker, but will make for a slower more relaxed run than I'd planned. No biggie, I'm just so happy I've made it through 4 months of training and can actually do the marathon now!

I can't say enough about Hal Higdon's Training Plans (Novice 2)...it was a reasonable way to give this endeavor a shot and I'm ready. Thanks Hal! That, and support from Carrie, Laura and my charming daughter Peri have made this process enjoyable. There's so many talented runners around here it's crazy.

The weather in Huntington Beach, CA looks like it'll be spectacular compared to Port Townsend's abysmal weather the past few weeks. Just to see actual sunlight would be a miracle. Heck, I might even be able to wear shorts! I have run through rain, sleet, hail, snow, temps from below zero to 60 degrees F and to imagine running in the sun all morning on February 6th makes me smile.

On February 7th I move into my 50th year. Whoa. Time to work on the next goals!

Wild Olympics Wilderness Meeting

EMBA (Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance) will be hosting a meeting regarding the Wild Olympics proposal on January 13th from 6:30-8:30 PM at the Jefferson County YMCA in their multi-purpose room. The YMCA is located in the Mountain View Commons complex: 1919 Blaine Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368. This invitation is to any mountain bikers or off-road touring cyclists in the area who would like to join the discussion about the proposed changes to access on the Olympic Peninsula due to proposed Wilderness designations. The proposed changes can be found here: http://evergreenmtb.org/php/show_page.php?page_id=322

For more info contact: Elizabeth Salvo, Member of the Board, Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance (206) 524-2900.

This is an important meeting to get your input - the current plans call for increasing the boundaries of the Wilderness area on the Olympic Peninsula and could very well spell the end of off-road touring here...they have made corridors for existing MTB trails, but those are mainly for drive-in, vehicle access only gravity riding, not for those of us who ride in to the woods to camp and explore. While I applaud  them for trying to keep out motorized access, the current Wilderness designation includes bicycles, which is archaic and lacks foresight in the human-powered access to wild places.