I cannot shake the idea that I am not doing enough right now.  Many adventures have ensued since my last post, however some of my attempts at being more active have been stymied by circumstance and poor planning.  I made the mistake of going on my last interview circuit without running shoes.  I thought hiking boots would suffice, but I have to say that there is something about having my old runners along, ready to tread swiftly at a moment’s notice, that really gets the job done!  Lesson learned.

Then, on returning to Bozeman, Joe, Mike, & I accomplished a long-time goal of skiing the Bridger Ridge from the M to Bridger Bowl.  It involved extensive transitioning between hiking, boot-packing, skinning, and sliding.  The terrain was variable but the beauty was consistent!

(Photo courtesy of Mike Spencer!)

The wind was stout and water scarce.  I started the journey with the motto “Light Is Wrong,” a play on the ski mountaineering strategy of “Light is Right” in reference to using lightweight gear to gain an athletic advantage.  I donned my heaviest skis and took to the hills!  Featherweight equipment is for the puny and weak spirited…. right?

(Joe & his puny skis!- M. Spencer)

The first half of the day was majestic and I enjoyed a summiteers view from Baldy!  Somewhere during the  latter half of day, however, I began to feel more exhausted than I am accustomed to.  I took it for lack of conditioning and poor nutrition, however by the time we were in the home stretch I had the distinct impression that something more was at play.  Later that evening I began to have a sore throat, which I interpreted as the effect of breathing hard into gale force winds.  As an aside, some sources claim anything greater than 32mph is considered “gale force” so withhold your naysaying!

(Car sized cornices, M. Spencer)

By the next day I felt miserable and a distinct feeling of FLU began to creep over me.  I spent the following three days drenched in sweat, while simultaneously shivering in my boots.  During this time I very tenuously moved out of the Bozeman Langohr House and boarded a flight to Seattle, leaving Joe the task of ground transportation of our worldly belongings!  I have always said that you aren’t really an adult until you require a UHaul to move, and I feverishly (literally) maintained that that would remain the case!

The true message of this post is that somewhere in the traveling, getting sick, and relocating, I have gotten behind in my training for the Grand Traverse.  It’s not the end of the world by any means, but with only nine weeks left to train I am feeling the pinch!  I will continue to prepare myself both mentally and physically for the big event– both of which will require quite a bit more effort and tenacity than I have demonstrated thus far.  I have broken down my training into mileage goals corresponding to the locations I will be in.  For instance, the next three weeks will be running in Seattle in which I hope to increase my training to 15 miles.  The following four weeks will be in Jackson, Wyoming, where I will attempt 25 miles with skis donned.  And my final push will be in Clark, CO, where a 30 mile day is in my hopes.  The great thing about ski touring is that it is much easier on the joints than running, and I therefore conclude that I will be in a good position to increase milage at greater increments than I normally would.  This will undoubtedly require me to become a “light is right” convert… and I rue the day!  I plan to continue to use my strength training regimen 3x/week.  I am also hoping to integrate massage and yoga to increase flexibility and decrease overuse injuries.

(Mike zenning himself out above Yoga Rock)

I am en-route to Portland, Maine as I write this for my very last interview– lucky number 15!  I have had a ton of fun on the interview trail, however I expect that the most joy related to interview season will come on Match Day when the hard work has finally paid off.  I am approaching training for the Grand Traverse in a similar way.  The training should be enjoyable in and of itself (c’mon, it’s skiing!), however it should also be hard.  As Jimmy Dugan once said, “It’s supposed to be hard.  If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it.  The ‘hard’ is what makes it great.”