Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Copper to Leadville- Leadville to Buena Vista- Step 9

"Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all"

     Copper to Leadville:

     Yesterday was an amazing day to say the least. It started with my dad, Emily and I meeting up with Corey Dillon in Copper for the start of an epic all out climb up Jackson pass and into Leadville. This is the day we all had been both looking forward to and nervous about since I routed the journey months ago. Emily and Corey and I set off from the Copper Mountain entrance and got off to a hobbling run/ walk start. My knee was still a little tight from the day before but thankfully it released completely by the time we got to the serious climbing. We moved with a purpose and a determination that kept us all fired up and moving up hill fast. The combination of the beautiful scenery and stellar conversation made the time fly and we reached the Jackson Pass Summit way ahead of schedule. The three of us laughed and took pictures and shared the beauty of the climb to the Climax Mine Summit and from there Emily and I ran it home into the town of Leadville. Once there we knew we would be at the official halfway point of the run. Before we got to the city limits we were greeted by Karen Reinhardt of the Leadville Herald who stopped to show some support, take a quick photo or two and say hi! We ended the run at the LT100 Race Headquarters and were welcomed by, Malin, Shannon and Merilee herself! I went to home get an ice bath and Merilee grabbed Em to go for a ride. She wanted to show us a great spot for our wedding... how cool is that?
       I have to say that running into "downtown" Leadville was a magical and unforgettable event in my life. My concept for the "Superman inside of us all" came in right in this town after I completed the Leadville 100 in 2010- my son Davey (who remembered me at 320lbs) told me at the finish that he thought I had turned into Superman. I told him "No, I am not Superman-but maybe we all can be Superman for one day" The Superman tattoo went on my calve a couple days after that.     
    


   Leadville to Buena Vista:

      Today we started the run were left off yesterday- LT100 Race Headquarters. I started the run alone to sort through my thoughts (as has been the norm for most days) and Corey and Emily were in the crew car ready to go miles and miles when I needed them. I wanted to run through today's step (Step 9) in my mind before I had company. I have been down this road before six years ago when I first found sobriety, and luckily I didn't have a lot of names to add to the lifelong list of people I have harmed, but I did have a few. Its amazing how the layers peel themselves away as the miles come. My ability to get directly to the core of my honesty without a lot of ego interference has become quite sharp since I started this run 200 miles ago. I quickly tallied a short list of those whom I have hurt or harmed inadvertently and directly. I cried as I studied the pain I have caused and quickly tried to release the guilt and design a plan to make amends.
     I had been running for miles before I realized that I was running two feet off the ground. Not literally of course, but damn, my legs felt great. The knee pain I was dealing with a couple days ago was gone and I felt strong and light- my body didn't even need a warm up to get primed. I looked at my GPS and I was running around 8 minute miles- uh oh. Sure it was downhill out of town, but that was still too fast considering I was running just under 40 miles today. I settled down to pace a little more reasonable just on time to pick up my first pacer Corey. It was impossible to not continually be aware of the stunning views and privilege we had to just to be running- so we just looked around with dumb grins on our faces and kept running. We agreed that everyone should at least once in their life do something really crazy- and really difficult. We got in about 5 miles together before Emily could no longer contain herself- she jumped out of the crew car and joined us on the road. Unfortunately Corey had to bail after 11 miles and drive all the back to Denver for work. He was solid, steady and it was an honor to run with him.  Emily and I finished off the last 3 hours of the run chatting at times like we were on our first date. She is an angel to me and possibly the greatest friend a man has known. I could never have gotten this far without her to say the least. 

 
   

Stepping...

    As the miles continue to pile on I feel my body adjusting to the spirit of the run. I feel my natural state is while I am running. my body craves it- almost needs it. When I slow down or walk it feels unnatural and I cant stay there for long. I am no longer preoccupied with how many hours or miles we have left. I feel the work of The Superman Project, for now is in this run, so there is where my thoughts and energies stay. Maybe that is overly dramatic but it seems real. I know that I cannot save anyone by running across the state- but it is still my intention to share my thoughts and experiences in hopes that some spark will ignite and roar into a huge fire in the belly of someone out there lurking. As I get ready to sleep it occurs to me that we all travel great distances in our lives, but few people see the world as they move about. I feel tiny and insignificant when I consider the vast beautiful rolling hills and towering mountains around me. I am not sure if I will ever really understand all of this and what it means but I am sure somehow it will all come together in the end. But for now as I run across this gorgeous state my eyes aren't closed anymore, I'm looking, and I like what I see....









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