Down under and behind...

I missed my weekly post last weekend. Did not write a single line despite the three-day weekend in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday. By the way, it would have been his 80th birthday, which surprised me because I always feel MLK to be of another age. But he died so early, way too early, although his life was certainly not given for nothing, especially as the world watched our new President's Inauguration, which kind of eclipsed JFK's 80. Or maybe it subsummed it!
So, what is going on with my blog? Well, it has to see with my running, which is not going well these days. I did not mention it in my previous post about our Crystal Springs Watershed fun run but, in the last 5 miles, I had developed some inflammation along the inside of my right tibia. It must have been a combination of the slower than usual pace, the frequent and long stops every 2 miles plus the ramp-up of the beginning of the season with good speed work sessions with Bob at the track. Bottom line, I did not run for 5 days, resumed training for 2 days just to find out that the inflammation was still burning, stopped for 9 days and ran 10 miles this morning; and the fire is still up, unfortunately (The run organized by Adam was a great run though, and I will cover it in a separate post next week.) Needless to say, this is not a great way to train for the coming Jed Smith 50-mile in 2 weeks. Nor the following Napa Valley Marathon, Way Too Cool, American River, Miwok, etc. Behind #1. Big BEHIND...

To keep in shape, I did a few bike rides over last weekend and some core training (Pilates), but it does not really feel the same. I get bored, I miss the trails in the hills, having to remain alert, the camaraderie of group runs, etc. Plus, I am so ashamed to get passed by fast bikers on Foothill Expressway or Stevens Creek Canyon Road, this is definitely not my sport! Feeling so slow and... behind, #2.

Then there is work, the full steam blue-washing process of getting on board at IBM, with an acceleration since the deal got confirmed to the press beginning of January. It feels good to be challenged by such a large organization which just announced record revenues and profits in the midst of such an economic meltdown. Moreover, it feels good to have a job and be busy when the unemployment rates are hitting record highs. Requests come from all over the place and you do not want to miss an opportunity to establish connections within this matrixed corporation, as well as contributing to a successful integration. Just overwhelming at times. Behind #3...
Processing inbound emails: behind #4. Getting ready to move away from 20 years of ILOG history and fully migrate to my new ThinkPad (without a TouchPad, yikes!): behind #5. Working on my tax return: started, but a bit behind: #6. And I could go on. With our busy lives, no matter how much we do, and we do a lot at work and at home, there is the feeling that 24 hours are not enough each day to get to the bottom of the todo lists, or wish lists...

Bottom line, missing last week's post was my big BEHIND #7...

Now, what about the "down under" in the title? It is actually linked to my getting behind on the blog because I've used some of my free time to respond to an interview with fellow blogger Kiwi Paul Charteris, to complement his series of tips on Western States (check his blog). Paul moved to his native New Zealand in the summer of 2008 but he will be back to California for the big race in June! Like many other "strangers", Paul has been adopted by the melting pot community of North California and we cannot wait to see him back here, with his communicative enthusiasm for trail and ultra running. Here is a group picture at the start of a run Paul organized on the Tahoe Rim Trail course as a therapy for getting over this year's cancelled Wester States. Paul is the third from the left in the first row:
Anyway, this is one of the many small excuses I found to explain why I was getting behind with this blog. I realize there is not much running-related content in this post but I hope you bear with me. In the meantime, I will keep working on my patience skills, patience, rest and time being key remedies to heal most of injuries...

Take care on the trails!