IW is running a half marathon today in Borrego Springs, California. I stole these two pictures from the race website - it's a small town on the edge of the desert. You can see what gets me going about these places - the lumps! Real mountains! Proper size!

I'm not sure that it gets cold enough in Borrego Springs to snow, but a little further south in Santa Fe, New Mexico, my old friend Frank posted a photo of what I'm hoping is his backyard.

Photo stolen from Frank's album - wow!

All this looking at lumps and cold stuff is new and exciting, but it's a sideline - IW is running the half Mary! Better still, she's cranking out a century (100 mile = 160km) ride tomorrow! Sheesh.
In the spirit of shared experiences. I decided to scrape though the half distance this evening too, though I doubt it felt as pleasant as it will for IW, nor do I reckon I would have any chance of pulling off a century tomorrow.
Coincidentally, another old friend from Brisbane, Conrad, who now resides in Mandurah, is calling for a visitor, so what better way to get the century in with a pleasant food stop at half way!

Tonight's run was my longest since Berlin, and the first long stretch in the Fingens, too. My feet are a bit slapped about now, but nothing that won't be gone by morning. It eels good to be out on the road, and tonight, unlike last night, did  feel like a bit of a release. Long runs seem to fortify the ego sufficiently to step up to the world again and have another crack.