Costa Rica

Rode a bus through the clouds. 

Swam under a half-lit Caribbean ocean moon. 

Woke up in a hammock to a snake crawling across me. 

Hiked with monkeys and sloths. 

Drank cerveza and Nicaraguan rum and guaro. 

Kayaked through a jungle. 

Took surfing lessons at sunrise. 

Pedaled a bike over pavement and dirt from village to village. 

Taught two teenage boys who spoke no English how to body-surf. 

Played chess with an Italian expat.  

Ate jerk chicken tacos and gallo pinto and fresh fruit pastries and fish drenched in coconut sauce.

Smelled leather in skinny market corridors.

Walked with kids in an independence day parade.

Ran barefoot on a deserted stretch of beach. 

Showered in the rain.

 (snake slithering across me and the hammock)

(check out the entire photo album on my facebook page)

Moscow Mountain Madness 2010 (a mini race report)

I initially planned to skip this race, but my legs have been feeling better the last couple days, so I decided to get in one more good run before I leave for NYC/Costa Rica/SF.

Moscow Mountain Madness is a 12-mile trail run on my favorite local trails.  I ran this last year and finished in the top-10.  Even with heavy legs this year, I figured I could beat last year's time simply because I'm in much better shape than I was last year.  My legs weren't in racing mode, but my plan was to push them to the limit.

The crowd thinned out within about a mile and by two miles Sadie and I were by ourselves, just like a regular weekend run for us.  Except this time it cost me $15 more than usual.

My legs ended up feeling very good for the second-half downhill, so I let loose and blasted down.  Sadie was feeling strong too, and we crossed the finish line in 1:22:00 and another top-10 finish.

Lining up for the start

Almost feels like summer again

I love these trails

Sadie loves them too

I like running

I'll probably be offline for a couple weeks, but you'll hear from me soon.  :)

Keep running!

-Scott

I'm taking a vacation to Costa Rica

My legs are still heavy from my run across Idaho, so I decided that I need a little vacation.  Any excuse will work, right? And since I've never been to Costa Rica before, I thought next week would be a great time to go.  Flawless logic, I know. 

It's the "low" travel season in Costa Rica, which means "high" rain - but that's generally what happens in rain forests, so no matter.  I found a great deal on airline tickets that I simply couldn't pass up.  Believe me, I tried to pass it up, but I just couldn't do it.

I'm ending the trip in the San Francisco Bay Area to join my friend Angie as she runs 40 miles on her 40th birthday.  (Read her inspiring story.)

Here's what my trip is looking like so far:

Sept 13th
New York
-14-hour overnight layover (on purpose) to catch a Monday night Mets game.
(anyone in New York want to catch the game with me?)

Sept 14-22
Costa Rica
-no plans yet; I'll wing it with a pair of running shoes and a camera.

Sept 23-27
San Francisco/Oakland
-other than the 40-mile run on the 25th with Angie, I'll be winging it here too.
-Giants aren't in town, but will try to catch an A's game either Friday night or Sunday afternoon.
(anyone got a room I can crash in for the weekend?)

Sept 27
Back home

My Spanish isn't muy good, but to me that's part of the excitement of traveling.  I'm a very good pointer, which helps mucho.


Keep running! And traveling!

-Scott