File This Under "Livin'"

I know, I know...I've been away, and you miss me.

You: "Psyche, where have you been? Are you injured? Are you sick? Do you even run any more? Why haven't you written about Chattooga or that crazy ass FHT spur trail run? WTF? I need my Psyche fix!" OK, I added that last part. Me...and Dave Pryor.

Me: "Uh, well...the truth is I've become addicted to watching Weeds and I've spent the last three weeks catching up on all 6 seasons you can rent I'm still here, not injured, not sick (at least in any way anybody can prove), and currently running 50-65 miles per week. More or less. About to be more.

Running wise, life is very good. I'm running fewer, more adventure-y runs this year. That leaves me plenty of time to finalize my divorce, sell the house, re-arrange my life and work my ass off to pay for said re-arranged life. Not to mention all the time it takes to fully embrace life anew and thoroughly enjoy being crazy in love. Giddyup.

And speaking of really lame segueways more adventure-y runs, Charles and I recently ran a hell of a run on the FHT blue spur trail. We ran 50K from Sassafras Mountain to Hwy. 276 and back, with side trips to Raven Cliff Falls and the overlook...We finished at 11pm in a rainstorm with a 700 foot climb straight up Sassafras. (Can you say super bad-ass?)

Yeah, you may have hiked up Sassafras Mountain from the Table Rock State Park side, but don't be fooled... the Caesars Head approach is not as easy. It's chock full 'o steep ascents and descents and as an out-and-back 50K, consists of over 8,000 feet of climbing in total. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that the trail is highly underused and very overgrown in places.

Oh, and along the way we inadvertently crashed a wedding while blaring Eminem, were attacked mercilessly by biting flies, and had encounters with 2 groups of bear hunters and their dogs. It's like I can't leave the parking lot without having a major adventure with Charles.

Next up: Rounding up the other poor suckers who're attempting the Pitchell to see if we can't schedule some time on the MST in preparation. Also a little thang called the Bloody 11W 100-Miler

Stay tuned...I promise to write about all the good stuff : )