Now It's October

I wasn't really ready to see snow this week.  There is more higher up.  I heard of guys skiing up on Independence Pass this morning.

October is here and in Aspen there is no way of pretending anymore that winter is not imminent.  I have mixed feelings about fall in general.  Part of me really enjoys it as the stress of races and training from the rest of year are done and I can just go out and run without any real purpose or direction.  Yet on the other hand, the cooler temps, and shorter days, are just a constant reminder of what is next.

So the big news of the week is that Leadville has gone to a lottery system.  Wyatt had a pretty good rant about it all.  I do question if "The Book" is actually still relevant in terms of influencing runners and those up and coming in the ultra game.  Three to four years ago, maybe... now, well, I just say look at the shoes most people are wearing and how footwear has really gone the other way.  Anyway, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.  Will it drive up demand or will it stay about the same?  Now that it is a lottery, will people look at other races? I guess if I were forced to say one way or the other I think they should have gone with a qualification standard first instead of going full blown nuclear with the lottery. 

From a personal standpoint with five finishes and after doing every race that Leadville has to offer at least two other times and being done without any desire to ever go back, it really does not have any impact for me.  One question I do have though is how will this affect people who are attempting certain slam series such as the Rocky Mountain Slam or the other one... (Don't want to say it lest I get sued.)  Anyway, I can see it making things hard to finish those series, that's all. (As a side note, with my chances of getting into HR100 increasing every year, I do sometimes entertain the idea of the Rocky Mountain Slam but don't tell Melissa I said that.)

I pretty much gave myself the summer off from working.  With the exception of working with established clients and classes and working on the requirements for my certification for the business, growth, or the activity of business building was put on the back burner.  I think more accurately it was wrapped in foil and put in the fridge.  Now that summer is over and there isn't anything big or serious on the horizon, all of that is now 95% of my focus in life.  So, I have been busy with that.  Of course building a business is nothing that I have ever done before so there is a great deal of learning, and learning, and then the work that goes into it.  In a strange way I view all of this as my next race or my next Leadman.  My belief is that if I can train for Leadman (twice) and finish (twice) I can take the same exact level of focus and effort and have my business humming along beyond expectations within a year.  So, that's what I am doing.

But that does not mean that I have given up on other plans or dreams, I did register for the Hardrock 100 Lottery on Wednesday.  Let's see where 16 tickets gets me this year.

And I do get to run a fun 10K here in Aspen tomorrow.  It is the Aspen Town and Trail 10K.  It is a small race and I ran it last year in it's first running.  I have been feeling better this week so my plan tomorrow is to actually race it.  I figure it is going to go awesome or I am going go down in fireball of glory around mile four.  Mostly I am just looking forward to it and having fun.

Of course one way or the other, I am sure it will make for a fun story.