The Hopeful Wanderer: I blame it on the Hunger Games

I've been a writing delinquent these past two weeks and I'm sorry. My only excuse is those darn good Hunger Games books. My life has been working, running, and reading. I should never be allowed to read fiction because my mind gets too carried away and I end up dwelling on how I wish my life had as much purpose as someone struggling to bring down a dystopian governmental system while keeping all of her loved ones alive. In order to get my head out of the fog I had a few adventures of my own.

1. Cory at the Breck Crest Marathon
To be honest I spent most of the day reading book two. I kept shaking all day and I couldn't figure out if it was because the book was so riveting or if it was race excitement. Normally I try to meet Cory at multiple points during a race to give him food, water, and encouragement but this course is difficult to spectate from. The aid stations are remote and so I waited anxiously at the start/finish line. Cory has a tendency to start fast. After a lot of road racing and training, it's hard to know how to pace yourself on trails. He held third place for the beginning of the race and gradually slipped back to seventh by the end. Considering that we haven't been doing a lot of climbing during training runs, I'd say he did pretty well. Notably first place Nick Pedatella finished at least 15 minutes ahead of the next competitor.

Cory keeping it together at the finish.

2. Long run in the Indian Peaks Wilderness

Cory's sister Kristen came to visit and we took her out for a little mountain running. Apparently Linfield's don't need time to acclimate because based on her ability you would think that Ohio must be at 9,000 feet elevation. Still trying to convince her to move.

This guy is only happy in the mountains.

I guess I'm pretty happy, too.

It's starting to look like fall in the mountains.

Kristen doesn't get many hills in Ohio.

Up by Devils Thumb lake... thinking about lunch.

3. Climbing at Ampitheatre Rock in Boulder

Until yesterday, all the climbing experience I had was at indoor gyms. Now that I've had my first outdoor experience, I think that I could easily get hooked on climbing. It's strange to realize this, but I think I honestly enjoy being in pain. I tend to day dream a lot but pain keeps me in the moment. It helps me focus and motivates me to pursue tangible goals. When you are climbing there is a simple goal... to reach the top. I'm very goal-oriented and I like to get things done, but lately I've felt very confused about what I'm supposed to be striving towards in life. It was so refreshing to climb, see where my goal was, and to feel tangible and motivating pain along the way. After coming back to the ground I would relish those brief moments of accomplishment before entering back into reality. We only did two climbs. Cory's uncle Roger has decades of climbing experience took us to a popular location in Boulder. After showing us how to set up a top rope he had us warm up on a class 4 crack. We found that pretty easy and tackled a 5.6 climb next. It took us a while but we all got it done. Linfields aren't quitters.