I set out to write a race recap and a plan to better my own effort at Crooked Gravel, but in doing so, realized that theres so much more too it than that.
I was drawing parallels between your trip to Colorado and my trip to France - both mixing personal achievement and pleasure with family/friends. It’s a delicate balance for sure. Your “wooden bench” comment took me back to walking 3 miles around Paris 2 days after my race (on torched legs), silently considering it my personal penance for being lucky enough to have a wife who supports me through these crazy endeavors. 😂
I like where you landed. A modified goal of perhaps a similar finishing time but a higher quality of experience sounds like a great outcome. (and yes, grueling-beforehand is most certainly inversely correlated to suffering-during)
Great write-up Paul.
I was drawing parallels between your trip to Colorado and my trip to France - both mixing personal achievement and pleasure with family/friends. It’s a delicate balance for sure. Your “wooden bench” comment took me back to walking 3 miles around Paris 2 days after my race (on torched legs), silently considering it my personal penance for being lucky enough to have a wife who supports me through these crazy endeavors. 😂
I like where you landed. A modified goal of perhaps a similar finishing time but a higher quality of experience sounds like a great outcome. (and yes, grueling-beforehand is most certainly inversely correlated to suffering-during)
Keep going…