Track and Field Blogs - RunDMC

Our summer and fall in Mammoth Lakes, CA has come to an end. The October weather cooperated nicely with 60degF days until the last weekend. We did some excellent hiking, biking and scenic driving. Tioga Pass remained open until the end of October. Fall colors were spectacular along the June Lake Loop. I got in one last Mammoth Creek session – it was so cold it STUNG!

We went to hear Deena talk about overcoming her disappointment about the Olympics. I got to talk to her and Jen Rhines a bit afterwards.

We went to a Halloween party with the High Sierra Striders that was fun. I went as a Ballot Box – one side said “Ballot Box”, the other said “Deposit Trash Here”. I met Ian Dobson (5k Olympian) and Julia Lucas (15:30s 5k runner). They are getting married soon and were fun to talk with.

A knee injury really threw a wrench in the works for my last few weeks, but overall it was still a great time. I did do some good racing and had a ton of fun running and riding trails. I have not felt this strong in a long time – and I ran a decent Boston Marathon earlier this year. I met a bunch of extremely nice people up there who gave us great advice on places to see. The place is so spectacular that I think almost everyone loves living there and it shows in how nice they are.

The last weekend it rained hard and was 40degF. Nasty! I went out to the Green Church Road Saturday morning for a club tempo run and only “Die Hard” Doug showed up. He was the only guy NOT running a marathon in December. I guess nobody else wanted to deal with the weather. Go figure. I probably ran too hard and my knee pain came back with a vengeance. Oh, well. I enjoyed running along with a view of Mt Morrison in the wind and freezing rain.

The nasty weather made it mentally easier to pack up the car with all our gear and work junk to head out. The car was riding low and we were a little down on the way home. I was hoping to see some of my new Mammoth friends at the Cal International Marathon in December, but I won’t be going now. Maybe we can figure out a way to go back again next year…