The Stubborn Tortoise

In this episode, I give a buncha shoutouts. (You might be mentioned) I give big kudos to my friend, Sara Dudzikowski, who finally got to bring home that 100-mile buckle for completing Snowdrop last week. I also shout out to Meg Eckert (who will be next week's guest), who set the 100-mile course record, course distance record (218.87 miles -- forgive my error in the podcast as I said it was 212.) She finished first overall and garnered a few other accolades. On top of all that, she is an incredibly generous and kind person.

Band of Runners gets a shoutout, too, as I hope to have Phil Parsons, an attendee at this year's camp and who just set the FKT for the Natchez trail.

I also got to participate in a cool relay event over the weekend called Resolve to Row. (Hi Alison, Danny and David!) at EnergyX Fitness I love this place and the people. It's been my sanctuary for almost a year as I have recovered from a hip injury.

My team (four people) rotated in and out until we got 10,000 meters. I love relays because you get to work as a team to achieve a goal. Three of us had never done it before and mercifully we had Coach Nicole (hi) and her expertise to guide us through.

And finally, I am getting back to the running. I will continue working out at this studio but has resolved to run more this year because I miss it. I'll be up at Bandera on Wednesday to help set up for one of the biggest races of the year and am going back on Saturday to hand out food and drink at the Equestrian aid station for a few hours.

This was a weird year: not much running, a lot of introspection, new gym challenges, new goals and dealing with the beast known as menopause. It's not kind, ladies.

Also, re-ditched a person who was incredibly selfish and unkind in my life. I don't know why I let myself put up with this nonsense, but I saw through it and stopped it.

Anyway, hoping to run more in 2024.

I met Angela early on in the Wild Hare 10K at Bluff Creek Ranch. The reason I met her is because I heard this gutteral voice in the woods belonging to our mutual friend, David Salazar.

She invited me to join her crew, doing an interval walk-run, which I appreciated.

She is fairly new to the trail scene, but plans to do her first 50K next year!

Robbie has been a friend of mine for a few years. (He made a shirt that I gave to Orville Peck -- long backstory) And, he has proven that he is there for us all.

He started out as a runner at a young age and later got into ultrarunning in his 40s.

He and his significant other, Ann Ludewig, have gone on many adventures.

For him, it's all about the love of running.

I once had a colleague from Southeastern Kentucky who was a master storyteller. She's start in one direction, veer off into left field, go to center field, then right field and manage to tie it all up by the time she got to home plate. Weird analogy, but that's kind of where this episode goes.

I talk about staying consistent in November, interval joy, road bike riding (including a spectacular tale about a crash where I zoomed downhill at 30 mph and lived to tell about it.) Oh, and there are some assorted other bits. But stay with me. I think it's worthwhile.

I ran my favorite race yesterday -- WildHare. I just did the 10K, but ran into a bunch of friends from the San Antonio Off-Road Runners.

Later, I watched a longhorn give birth (see photo) and a marriage proposal.

It was an uplifting day after a sort of dark one.

Hip feels good, so there's that.

I was privileged to join the Band of Runners this past weekend in Leakey, Texas, for its annual Band Camp. It is a trail running event for veterans and their families.

I was a pseudo-mentor, chronicling the event but participating in a group's activities: meal cleanup, prep, yoga, running form, running various courses/miles.

I enjoyed it so much. I met so many inspirational folks and made lifelong friends.

Again, trail-running is all about the stories. Expect to hear many, many more.

Today, I worked a couple of aid stations at the Hill Country Trivium in Marble Falls, Texas. I also got to hand out medals at the finish line. It was so fun to meet people, hear their stories and see them complete their first half, full or 50K.

Yesterday, I ran/hiked an 8K (5.2) out at Government Canyon. It felt pretty good, although the arthritic hip made me feel like The Tin Man.

Earlier in the week, I traveled to Atlanta and brought home eight national awards for Texas A&M-San Antonio's student magazine, El Espejo. I'm the adviser. It was super-cool.

But with the time difference and now the time change, my internal clock is at WTF o'clock.

Christine Foster is only 29 but she's already tackled three 50Ks. The Cincinnati, Ohio native has always been active and figured doing ultras was a natural next step. She's eyeing 50-milers in the future.

Oh, and she said it was a dream to be featured on a podcast. I was happy to oblige. :)

It took me a minute to come up with a themed headline that played off of the Javelina Jundred, but here we are.

Anyway, Brad and Pamela Toelle, of Kerrville, will tackle this race this coming weekend in Arizona. It will be Brad's first 100K. Pamela, who has finished the Rocky Raccoon 100M, will join her husband on a hike through some beautiful scenery with altitude. They hope to get it done between 21-25 hours.

Our conversation is giggly at times, as they've been friends for a number of years. Pamela and I have a friendly rivalry in the master's trail running arena, but she always bests me. That's OK. I have two years and less experience on her. :)

They're a great team. I enjoy talking to couples who run races together because they have a built-in support system.