Finally getting over my post-Hardrock funk.  Took a full week off, and since then I’ve had some trouble getting back into things.  Damn inertia.  Last two weeks have had a few quality workouts though, so maybe I can still salvage a good performance at the Ascent.

I went to lovely Reedsburg, Wisconsin (near Madison) over the weekend to visit my girlfriend’s parents.  Besides drinking a ton of New Glarus and eating my weight in cheese, I managed to prove that every dog has his day.  We found a 6K not too far away, in Rock Springs (population 364).  A strong field of 18 showed up, two of whom were pushing baby strollers, and I managed to cruise to a win in just over 24 minutes.  Just goes to show, sometimes it’s not about how fast you are, but how slow everyone else is.   Despite an easy course at sea level, my time was actually slower than the Paint Mines 6K a week earlier, when I failed miserably in my attempt to run with Gerald.

At the post-run celebration in a local pub, the entire packed bar (which had a much larger field than the race despite the fact it was 10AM) was hooting and hollering for Galen Rupp as he kicked down the field for a silver medal.  Once every four years normal people care about track & field, glad to see Galen take advantage of that.  Nice to see some impressive races by the US distance squad, hopefully the good performances continue through the marathon.

This is such a great time of the year to be a runner in the Springs area.  Most of us are either headed up (or up and down) Pikes or worried about Leadville splits.  Lots and lots of hard work, but that’s done now that taper time is here.  One last heroic effort and we can all chill for a bit.  Good luck to everyone!