15 Miles

Heard the sad news of local Burlington artist, Mikey Welsh's passing the night before and ran the extra miles thinking of what a gift it truly is to be alive. Thought about art outliving humans and had no idea that Mikey was the genius behind the Weezer song Hashpipe which I always thought was their best piece. Loved the bass in that and turns out he played it. Wish I could have gotten to know Mikey better while living in Burlington. Was always a fan of his work and raw energy that he translated onto canvas, wood, walls, wherever his paint found a home. Great use of color, abstract and intense characters.

With music in my ears, and thoughts on my mind,  I set out to run the longest I've run to date. Was hoping to get 20 miles checked off, but stopped at 15 to respect my legs and not push it too hard. Ankle is still on the mend.

Running this far was intense. Ran by the Winooski river in Richmond. Pretty Fall farmland views. Saw a snake the 1st mile in! Garter snake that was coiled up on the side of the road with it's head poking out looking like it wanted to cross the road. We almost collided! Loved snakes as a kid, then was scared of them, and in this last month of training have seen so many between Utah and now here that I'm over the fear... I think.

Also saw a black bear later in the run! That scared me a little. Ran across the road about 1/2 a mile in front of me. The main reason I was scared is that I've been practicing eating while running and had just downed some Honey Stinger Cliff goo that exploded all over my hands and was a mess. I felt like a running honeycomb in bear country! Needless to say I survived. The run itself was challenging. My legs felt so heavy and tired by the end. Really happy my heart, lungs and breathing felt strong.

In October, 4 years ago, I got the sickest I have been in my life after a trip to Bali. Then was hit with pneumonia shortly after. Feels amazing to be strong and healthy. Very thankful for the gift of life, it truly is precious and important to live it well.

Rest In Peace Mikey Welsh.