Wow, it’s been an eventful start to the year.

Just a couple short weeks ago it was shaping up to be the kind of Michigan winter I grew up with, snow on the ground for a long time, and I was running laps around my property in showshoes, prepping for the annual Bigfoot Snowshoe Race in Traverse City.

And now it’s nearly gone. The sun even came out today, although I hear it resulted in our official state groundhog to predict six more weeks of winter. Fortunately, even with rain up north last week, enough snow remained to hold the snowshoe race. A varied and cheerful crowd showed up as usual, with some in costume, See the slideshow below.

And run I did, with a surprising result. It wasn’t my fastest time, but I had my best finish in the standings, finishing 5^th overall and fourth among the men. Dang! Just missed the podium! Here I am with someone who keeps winning the 5K, and he did so again last Saturday. And on his 50^th birthday, no less! Maybe I didn’t get a cool sculpture, but I did get a mug and a piece of his birthday cake. So that’s something.

Me (right) with perennial ass-kicker Trevor (left). Not sure who’s photbombing us in the center.

That’s the good news of late. In the “not so good news” department, I will not be running the Rocky Raccoon 100 (again) this year. For the second time, I cancelled the trip due to a family medical situation. Last week we found out to our great disappointment that my wife’s cancer did not respond to the the experimental treatment we had high hopes for. So this week she went back on chemo, and given what that does to the body I felt it best for both of us to stay home. It’s turned out to be a good decision. And there will always be other races.

In better news, my friend and VM150 pacer Charlie is doing well with his cancer treatment. I saw him at Body Specs this week, and he looks good and is training well. He even set a personal record for a single-rep deadlift at 230 lbs. Not bad for a 77-year old, I’d say.

And I’ve begun some changes to my diet. After the Mid-Maryland 50K I had some nagging residual knee soreness. My trainer Skip told me to eat more protein and gave me a daily target of 130g. Without enough, the muscles don’t build back stronger. And Ryan, my coach, wants me to work on carbo-loading, too. So I’ve begun upping my food intake overall and adding scoops of protein powder. This will help me put on muscle and gain some weight, which I’m gonna need for the 200-miler in June, both in training for it and for the race itself. Not to mention a magnesium supplement. Good grief. Between me and my wife, we’re keeping the pharmaceutical industry safe from recession.

The resistance band/medicine ball shuffle. A signature Skip torture technique.

And there’s writing to write about, too. I’ll cover developments there next time. Until then, stay warm!