Work, kids and UTS!

Well it's been an odd week. Not necessarily busy but odd. I've worked a couple extra days, only 4 hours each though, and the little guy had fun at nursery. One big bonus is the little guy is able to attend nursery on Friday mornings, about 9 - noon, which will give me some free time. Ideally I'll be out the door running but obviously just having some kid-free time will be beneficial in getting things done. 

More work is good but I struggle with it as it's a fun job and my boss is a great guy, not to mention super flexible, but it's by no means a career or something I really look forward to as it can be kind of boring. It just doesn't have a fun exciting community surrounding it like all of my previous jobs have had. So, adding on some more time at work is a good thing financially, it mentally is kind of a downer. It just seems like a lot of commuting and hassle for little benefit. It kind of feels like my old job in Tahoe to some extent. Awesome place to work but you see what it could be, and probably should be, but it's held back. Then I think about any future as far as jobs go and holy shit is it a dead end for me considering my age, job history, and being tied to kids for the next (at least) 5 years...... Ugh, think happy thoughts!
   
Anyway, I mulled it over and committed my money to the Ultra Trail Snowdonia 100. It's a doozy! I still need to get on it and drop out of the Thames Path 100 and more importantly register for Autumn 100 so I keep that Western States lottery thing going on. The main unique thing about UTS is 39,500 vertical feet of climbing. The most I've ever done in a 100 miler is 23,000 I think. I'm planning on incorporating trekking poles which can be beneficial for the ups and downs, plus with my nordic ski background I know how to use them to my benefit. A few models that break down but are lightweight are what I'll get, probably some Black Diamond Carbon Z as they seem the most bang for your buck and have solid reviews. I also need to consider the technicality of some of the trails. It's an "alpine style" race so ridge lines, climbs, and descents could end up being third or fourth class scrambles. Anyway, I could talk for hours about what is needed etc. but the key addition is an ass-ton of up and down! Time to start training!