Vernazza, Cinque Terre. Surrounded by vineyards and precipitous cliffs.

Old town Siena and the Duomo lit up at night.

…of Boulder that is. It’s been 3 weeks since I boarded a plane bound for Switzerland and the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc. As I sit on the plane headed back to Washington and ultimately Colorado, I can say the whole trip was fantastic, but I am very excited to return to my normal life and the mountains. The cities of Cinque Terre, Florence, Siena and Rome have been interesting and a true blast from the past (as in 2000+ years); isolated villages surrounded by vineyards, swims in the Mediterranean, some of the greatest artwork of the Renaissance, ancient ruins and some of the most spectacular structures ever built by man. But all of this has only further reminded me that while I enjoy the city sights I am not a city boy and I belong roaming the mountains and forests.

Roman Coliseum, 2000 year old marvel.

As I previously wrote about, my race(UTMB) did not go as planned, resulting in my first DNF in an ultra marathon. While I greatly enjoyed my time in the race and the experience as a whole was fantastic, after 3 weeks the knee pain has dissipated, but the disappointment still lingers. Many have said I should not be disappointed, but proud of what I had accomplished. After much thought, I would argue that these two feelings are not mutually exclusive. Even though I had a good experience with the race, my goal was not to just start, but to push my physical limits and to ultimately finish the infamous UTMB.

Night on Piazza Navona in Rome.

Yes my DNF was caused by a physical limitation, but one I knew could be an issue and was preventable if I’d done the proper work in the months leading up ton the race. The fact that I knew better, but hoped I could get by is why I am disappointed. I am capable of the goal I set, but didn’t realize it for lack of proper training. After the accidents the past year I need to refocus not on running, but on rebalancing my body to the state it was last year when I completed Nolans14. With plenty of work ahead for the winter its time to get back to cross training; yoga, weights and cycling. As ultra runners we are often concerned with how much training can we squeeze in, especially for those of us who have full time jobs. What we need to remember is to not just train harder, but smarter. Know what you body needs and what it can handle. I am still undecided on whether to run the Canyon de Chelly 50km in October, this will mostly depend on how my body responds to am few longer training runs in the wake my my issues at UTMB. To all you out there, run fast, run healthy, but mostly run happy.

Trail running outside Zermatt, high in the Alps where I belong.