Last Thursday, I left work early because it was such a nice day. I wanted to get a road run in and enjoy the newly lengthened afternoon. For the first time this year, I got to wear shorts! Felt great to stride it out but my left soleus (lower calf)muscle felt sore fairly early on in the run. I had a feeling that I had been running a little hard lately and was feeling the onset of a little overtraining muscle tear. I ran on and was able to continue without doing much more to upset it. I ended up with a great afternoon run down River Road to 131 and down Highway 40 and back to the house, 7.55 miles, in 1:04. 8:00/mile. I didn't run yesterday or today, but should be able to get back into it on Sunday. No worries though, I will probably taper my running this week very lightly in preparation for Moab.

Super stoked about going to Moab with Buschmann, Asta and Creeps, next weekend. We all made the trip there, must've been 7 - 8 years ago, when I still lived in Denver. Shit, I had dreadlocks at the time! That was a while ago. Anyway, Christian was living (or moving) there, and had built up his first Yota rock crawler. We spent a couple days camping and wheeling and it was a blast. This time around, everybody is pretty much bringing a rig, we're going to spend a little more time there, and I get to go nuts trail running slick rock and desert trails. Maybe some mountain trails, too, since Moab has it all. Can't wait. My goal is to do two long runs and probably bring my mountain bike, as well. Slinging my own water will be a must in the high desert, so I'll be sure to bring the ol' Camelbak. Another reason I'm excited to run there is that I'll get to wear my Vibram Five Fingers again. Last summer, after reading Chris McDougall's "Born to Run," I started doing a little barefoot-style running, while wearing the VFFs, which are essentially a foot glove. It's been too cold and snowy here since then to wear them, so I am glad to get the chance again. The idea behind the VFFs, and barefoot running, is that your feet can move in the most natural way possible once they are free of the confines of shoes. This, in turn, makes the feet, and legs, and body, stronger by allowing you to run the way humans were meant to.

Alright, good talk. Lates.