Thin Oxygen In Colorado
Residing in the dense oxygen and humidity of sea level California I’m drunk with the overindulgence in thoughts of Colorado. A couple of friends from the high state have sent a couple of bad parking photos to me.
Anxious to get on the trail, they just park their VW in the middle (dead center) of the road.
Sometimes you just have to say, “What the fuck.” (Miles from the movie Risky Business). These folks seem to follow that line of thinking when it comes to their free-spirited parking style.
"Hello, AAA? Yeah, a snowplow just rammed my Subaru off the side of a mountain. Yes, I was halfway parked in the road...on a blind corner. What's your point?"
Pre-run thoughts this morning…
It’s difficult to express my distaste for where I live now; it’s sunny and 60 degrees and I’m surrounded by lush green mountains after two months of Pacific rains. Yeah, I’ll get out today for a couple-hours-run but, like most days, it’s half-hearted and solitary. If I use my running as a measuring stick for my enthusiasm of my CA surroundings, I’d have to say I’m running on or near empty. The only remaining fuel that powers my low motivation is the image of the Rockies and their trails, and their peaks, and their people, and their vistas, and their sky, and everything. I’ve spent more sleepless nights over the last few weeks than I’ve spent days running. With a tough little 50k just 20 days away I force myself out the door for uninspired time on my feet. 3 miles of pavement up and down the same trail, then back track home on the pavement. Dark gaps of listless life fill the time between runs. California has become a tremendous disappointment for me. The visions I’ve carried of it for the last 25 years have dissolved into a murky visage with less substance than the morning fog so familiar to me now. The dilemma is substantial but as each day rounds to meet the arcing light the decision becomes more lucid and steadfast. I’ve never believed the cliche that life is too short, however, I do feel that certain stages of life are truly too short. With that in mind, I choose to make this short stage of my life worthwhile, regardless of the uncertainty and potential hardships.
