Beginnings...

I have been fascinated by Badwater since the 1980s when I read about it in Runner's World magazine. Back then it was the Badwater 146, put on by Hi-Tec, and I was 30 years old, seriously out of shape and struggling to finish the Navy PRT run in time (PRT = physical readiness testing).
Since then I have run in at least 10 countries and completed 3 marathons, lots of shorter races and many sprint-distance triathlons, but since retiring from the Navy (with it's two-hours a day for fitness...) I have gotten more than a little out of shape. I ran a 1/2 marathon in 2006, but that is the extent of my running over the past 10 years or so.
Last summer (2009) I decided to get back into shape and start running again, with an eye toward eventually participating in ultramarathons and ultimately Badwater. I say participating rather than "competing" because I have never been anywhere near fast, no matter how much I love to run, and probably never will be. As is typical of beginners I got overzealous and violated the rule of too's (too much, too fast, too long too soon...) and ended up with knee pain, plantar fasciitis and ITB problems.
With all of that sorted out -hopefully- I am beginning again, again. I plan to use this blog as a record of my efforts, as a log and hopefully as a way to connect with some running partners. Like the old t-shirt said: "The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running!"