[This post was originally written on August 20, 1010, but I am reposting it here as I have moved over to Blogger.  I am too much of a moron to figure out to put any widgets or fun things on a WordPress blog.  Google has one more hook in me!]

Normally I do a lot of thinking while trail running. Probably because of altitude or an excess of GU, this is generally not high quality thinking.  During a trail race last weekend,  I spent about 99.9% of the time thinking about the Hansen’s Root Beer I would have at the finish.  The remaining .1% was the recurring mantra: “Don’t fall down!!!”

This morning while cruising the neighborhood trails, I happened to be thinking about winter and the fact that I have signed up for a classic ski race in Italy called the Marcialonga.

Normally, I don’t really worry about ski races.  I am a solid MOP (middle of the pack) freestyle nordic skier and can hide in the anonymity of my fellow MOPs (which are, in many cases, mamils).  The Marcialonga, however, is a classic technique race. The  Marcialonga is also a major European loppett race and let’s just say, Europeans have a knack for classic skiing.  Therefore, I have 162 days to transform myself into someone who can cover the distance with some semblance of speed and technique.

I’ve built a good fitness base over the summer but I have been terrible at building strength or doing any ski specific training.  During this morning’s run, I was thinking of how I could get myself over the hump and on track to accomplish this goal.  What would prompt me to try new things? Where could I not hide?

A blog.

A blog hidden among all 145,160,887 blogs in existence at this moment.  A blog joining the mere 46,840 blogs created in the last 24 hours.

It could be fun?  Let’s see how it goes.