Greetings from 10,000′ (or thereabouts). Making my way back to Pennsylvania for a funeral this week. Didn’t start the day off well, missing my flight out of Oakland by two lousy minutes, which had me sitting around grading science tests for three hours hoping that I’d snag a seat on a connecting flight in Phoenix on the hot-standby list. If that TSA line just wasn’t so dang LONG checking in in OAK!! Or, if I hadn’t stopped at Starbucks on the way down. ERRGH!!

I made the 90min flight to PHX so it was back on hot-standby for me for a few more hours while the US Airways guy, Dave, juggled passengers around going to Pittsburgh. It was looking really good there, up to the absolute final moment, and boom, I’m not going anywhere. Stupid stand-by. Stuck in Phoenix?! Steve Miller Band’s “Keep on Rockin’ Me” annoyingly playing in the back of my head.

This day’s like a good ultra gone bad: I’m on-course, then miss a turn, then back on again, but behind. Then Super Dave, tapping away furiously on his keyboard while talking with 26.2 people at once asked me if I wanted to go to Boston, AND if I could run fast.

I had 2min to fly over to another gate (but didn’t have time to sync satellites on my Garmin, so no Strava upload, sadly). I think I had a good sub-6 pace going through the terminal, (kind of like trail-running, with all the bobbing and weaving). I even got some claps, compliments on my form, and a few “Go Runner!” cheers from limping, “Boston-Strong”-clad runners/new arrivals, just off the plane from the Boston Marathon. So that was pretty cool to have that additional support. Could’ve used some cow bell though…

Yeah, so about 800mi out from Boston now I am. Haven’t been there since crossing the finish-line in ’03, the same year I moved to CA. Did not have a good day (the slowest of my three Bostons). Some days are better than others. Like my grandmother used to say when I was pouting about something as a little kid, “Cheer up. Better days are coming.”

Amanda’s been home, at CTU Headquarters, tracking bags, making calls, booking hotel rooms, and generally doing what Chloe O’Brian from “24,” does for Jack Bauer, (when HE misses a flight by 2min). Sh*t Happens (saying coined by Forrest Gump, you’ll recall).

Flexibility, you may realize, is huge in our training and racing. In fact, it can be THE reason we’re successful or not. As in life, in the middle of a hard training week, or in the middle of a A-Pri event, we sometimes have to adjust our goals to best suit the day, we have to listen to our bodies and effectively deal with issues as they manifest themselves, inevitably, in one form or another.

With the help of our support teams we’re better able to maintain faith that things are going to work out, eventually. I saw a quote on Facebook when I was eating a $250 salad in the Phoenix airport today. It read, “Being positive won’t guarantee you’ll succeed. But being negative will guarantee you won’t.” When I first saw that this morning I dismissed it with a few choice words in my head, while knowing full well how true it is.

Maybe I can run around the tarmac tomorrow morning since I’m staying at the hotel at Logan International tonight. It’d be nice to capitalize on all this “Boston Strong” energy and get a workout up on Strava before catching my flight to Pittsburgh, where of course, I first qualified for the Boston Marathon, all the way back in the 20th century (circa 1999). Things are coming full circle (with a few tangents thrown in for good geometric measure) as I write this forming an arc over the US.

In conclusion, remember that flexibility is key, and remaining positive when under the gun of adversity may ultimately encourage stronger performances in the future. A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. Probably made an angry, frustrated sailor, on the way to being skilled.

Also, trust that things are going to workout. In the middle of an Ironman, or an ultra-run, sh*t can look really bad. Listen to that inner athlete in your head, and not what your body’s telling you. The body will always want to quit. Trust things can turn around when/if you get present, take a mental inventory, point positive, and keep on gettin’ down the road, trail, or sky as the case may be.

Plus, always remember that the most challenging days always produce some funny stories we can share with our friends while at 10,000′ (or thereabouts).