update

Been out of the office so I haven't been able to get my usual 40 hours a week of internet time.

-IAH was fantastic. Had a great drive up, hitting the Thunderbird Inn, South Park Saloon, and Backcountry Brewery. Then I proceeded to drink obscene amounts of booze and run awesome mountain trails (including one that was on the continental divide, between 10 and 12 thousand feet, for 10+ miles). Also did a barefoot beermile, luckily I never got my time for that. On the drive home $100 and I stopped at the Original Hard Rock Cafe in Empire!

-Running has been sporadic at best. Didn't log any workouts over IAH (though hopefully the 17 or so miles of trails I did will maintain some fitness). I'm a "what have you done for me lately" kind of guy and when I look at the last month of my training on a bar graph I think, "Jesus, how am I not getting fat. I'm not running at all!" Of course, when the distance axis is forced to fit around Leadville, it makes my ten milers look puny by comparison. I've had eight rest days since Pb, so I should be ready to get serious again.

-Off in Durango the past three days. Great town, but hanging out with lazy co-workers made the trip somewhat hellish. They actually wanted to go to Chili's the first night down there. Ugh. I did what I could though, talking them into Steamworks, then faking illness after two beers so I could ditch the crew. Got a nice hour run along the Animas River trail (very educational, as I learned what a beaver deceiver was), a 1.5 hour run through Dalla Mountain Park (next time I'm bringing my climbing shoes!) and Animas Mountain, and another 40 minute run through the town of Durango. Durango is a great place with tons to do, and I can't wait to visit again without dragging a bunch of boring people with me.

-If you're ever in Durango and need a huge, kick ass breakfast, you can't go wrong with the Durango Diner. I'd rank it almost right up there with King's Chef. Can't imagine how many one night stands I would have taken there had I gone to Ft. Lewis.

-Got my plane ticket to the 'burgh, looking forward to that trip. Gonna bag the state highpoint of PA and MD, visit the Flight 93 memorial, run with the Shik cross-country team and tell 'em "lads, I've been running since before you were born," take Katie to some classy South Oakland dives, and who knows what else. Oh yeah, there's also that little race I'm doing. Should be a great trip.

-Next big thing on the schedule is Telluride Blues and Brews! Though I'm a bit pissed that the Umphrey's McGee juke joint is up in Mountain Village, I think I'll be able to get over it by drinking huge amounts of beer, listening to great music, training on the Hardrock course, and eating three meals a day at Baked in Telluride.

-Long run this Sunday on the Air Force Academy if anyone wants to join me. 24 to 36 miles. Even a 12 mile option available for the little kids.