Thursday :: AM: 30min easy PM: 45min easy

Today was a good day. No, correction: today was a great day! Before the clock struck 10:00, I:

• Ran for only the second time in a week
  
• Booked a ticket to Geneva
• Talked to one of my good friends
• Set the DVR for SA v. Brazil in the Confederations Cup Semi

Big news first! A few weeks ago, I alluded to the fact that I would be saving my pennies for a rainy day. Well, I'm told that the forecast is 100% positive for thundershowers on August 21! I am for sure flying to Chamonix for The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc on August 28 and better still, I'm making a stop via Berlin to watch Tera and Paige race at the World Championships! If I look at the grand scheme of things, fate is certainly smiling on me at the present moment even if the running is having a few hiccoughs. Everyone wants to travel to Europe, especially when it's with your friends and coworkers to a beautiful resort town like Chamonix, but it's so much sweeter to when you get to see two of your friends dreams coming true! So the planning begins... I get in to Geneva at 1pm on the 22nd, and will be back at 1pm on the 27th. How I get to Berlin, and where I'll be for the days after that, are anyone's guess. I have some scheduling to do, but I think I may leave a lot of this trip to chance as I'd like to do some travelling with Tera and Paige after their work is done. Somebody pinch me please!

I also managed to run, twice actually, today as my calf finally felt good enough to test. I've spent a lot of time on the bike, which has been fun, so I'm not too worried about my fitness and mentally I'm now about as hungry as ever to start doing some serious training. New York is only 17 weeks away, and it's going to take that long to get myself in what I hope will be 2:25 shape. As long as I take care of myself I think I can get there with some aggressive workouts and some smart, if not high-mileage, training.

The bad news of the day is that SA lost a game that they should have won against Brazil. They were the better team, controlled the pitch for most of the game and had far more opportunities than the Brazilians did. However, a fantastic free kick from Alvez put an end to the run with 4 minutes left in regulation time and there was simply no time for the Bafana Bafana to retaliate. I guess it was simply too much to ask for a USA v. SA Final. The good news is that the South Africans played their best soccer in years, and with the World Cup only a year away, their timing could not be better. I cannot think of a better way to unite the country than the soccer boys doing well next year!

So, with a big day behind me, I need to wind down with some stretching and precautionary icing. This weekend I am pacing my friend Nikki for about 20mi of the Western States 100mi from Squaw Valley to Auburn. Since she's in with a fighting chance of a win, I need to be able to pull her through some of the tougher sections without worrying about myself.

Love you all,