The Road is Too Long (so now it's gone)

Hello from Richmond, VA.  I arrived late last night, my luggage arrived this evening (I'm pretty sure I saw it last night from my window seat, sitting sadly on the tarmac with a few other bags as our plane taxied out of Dallas).  Ever made a presentation to clients while wearing running shoes, cargo pants and Adidas workout shirt?  It's very liberating - I highly recommend self deprecating British humor to see you through!!!

And my deepest apologies to you, dear blog, for neglecting you.  I didn't mean to, but it's just that I've been so very busy.

Well, that and I also got tired of doing my "Road to Boston" series of postings.  I mean come on, a 16 week training diary?  What was I thinking?  There are only so many ways of finding new and interesting ways to say "I ran xx miles this morning" before you start making shit up.  So I'm abandoning it and going back to my normal chatty postings.

But for that 0.001% of you who were enjoying those posts, here's the quick roundup.  I ran 20 miles last Saturday and felt really good.  We saw Lance on the trail.  The bottom of my foot hurts like a son of a bitch.  Hope I can keep it from breaking down until after Boston.

And if my parents are reading this, let me head off your pending questions.  No, I'm not going to stop all that silly running.  And yes, I'm pretty sure my legs aren't going to fall off.

I've also been catching up on my reading (I love my Kindle, have I ever said that - yeah, maybe only a few hundred times).  I read Meb Keflezighi's "Run to Overcome" a few weeks ago, and I just finished C.L. Bevill's "Veiled Eyes", a great paranormal mystery set in the Louisiana bayous.  Tonight I went old school and started reading a genuine paper and ink book - Jennifer Pharr Davis "Becoming Odyssa" which Clea kindly lent me.  It's about the author's through hike of the Appalachian trail.  I haven't gotten very far yet,  but I think I'm going to really enjoy it.  She's engaging, funny, and her early efforts sound as wonderfully disorganized as me.  Here's my favorite excerpt so far:

"I was never fitted for a pack before I left to hike.  Instead, I had gone to a downstairs closet in my parents' house and rummaged through thirty-year-old sleeping bags and campfire cookware to find an old external-frame backpack that my brother had once used at summer camp.  Its faded grey color and worn hip belt weren't glamorous, but it was free".

Yeah, that reminds me of my inner frugalness.  It also reminds me of the time I showed up for an all-night trail race having forgotten my headlamp.  But that's another story.

I'm pretty sure I will have finished it by the time my plane touches down back in Austin.