Not sure what to say as these reports are the hardest ones to write. As others celebrate their victories I sit and wait for another race to redeem myself. It wouldn't be too bad if this was the first one I've written but there are two others. This time a bum left knee and some slippery mud did me in. The knee had been bothering me for over a month now and even caused me to miss a few races in hopes of getting healthy; the mud caused me to lose my footing a few too many times which put some strain on a few muscles that were already having issues. In the end there are no excuses, just a DNF by my name and I can live with that. I started this running journey a long time ago and run because I enjoy it. At times I think I've lost track by focusing too much on the next big race or goal I wanted to accomplish. I've run over 225 miles at Rocky Raccoon races and have one medal to show for it. I've made some new friends along the way and had some wonderful conversations out there in those woods, but now that must come to an end.
I want to say that I am so proud of all my friends that have completed the race and won their buckle, I know that they suffered quite a bit more than me to gain their prize and they should be proud, especially considering some of the conditions they have faced while doing it. It's been a heck of a couple of years out there.
For now I will bring the distances down a bit and rediscover the passion I once had for running faster. I saw a little bit of that at the Fort Worth marathon where I went sub 4 for the first time in a long time. I will find that faster runner again and see where it takes me. As far as the trails go, I will hit them every once in a while because I do love running them, they just don't love me back.
