Saturday, July 12, 2008

Coming Around?

For the first time since the GDR I felt sort of normal today. I didn't need to take a nap all day (Okay so I fell asleep for a few minutes on the ferry ride back from Haines where Jill and I took a little 2 day vacation but napping on public transportation is just something you do, not because you need a nap but because you need to kill time). More importantly though I actually felt close to normal on my run today. I've been running most everyday but I haven't been able to run far or fast, just short (4-12 mile) runs to keep my sanity. My hamstrings have felt very tired during every run and my calf muscles have been tight after every run. Today though I didn't really experience either one of these things. Hopefully I've come around a corner on my recovery and within another few days I will feel ready to begin somewhat more serious training for the Wasatch 100.

Also, congratulations to Simon and Fred on their GDR finishes. Jenn and Noah are the only 2 riders still out on the route and they were both in Silver City today and should be finished by late tonight or midday tomorrow! (Actually I just checked the GDR updates in the midst of typing this and Noah has finished as well!)

I find it worth noting something of Fred's riding in the past 14 months. In May of 2007 he rode the KTR; and then later that month the Grand Loop; and then in August the CTR; and then in April of this year the AZT race; and then in May the KTR again; and then yesterday completed the GDR. To some this may just sound like a bunch of meaningless acronyms, but to those who know a few things about these races you know how impressive it is to finish any of them let alone all of them (I'm pretty certain Fred is the only person who has finished all of these races). The fact that Fred has finished all of them in just over a year is beyond comprehension and is something that has brought a bewildered smile to my face each of the dozen or so times that I've thought about it since hearing of his arrival in Antelope Wells yesterday. These races add up to over 4,000 miles!!! Nice work Fred.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

In this first 4 days after my RAAM attempt, I don't think I stayed awake for more than 3 hours at a time. When you push your body so hard, you eventually have to give it time to recover.

Dave said...

Fred is officially the man. Mr. Consistency. I thought about a blog tribute, but I can't think of anything that isn't stupid, and press coverage doesn't really befit that modest man.

It also makes me feel good about all the times in the last 20 months when he stomped my ass.

Geoff said...

yeah, fred is the man. i can't imagine anyone that one might want to emulate if trying to succesfully complete any multi-day mtb ride.