thinking of running to work

Thinking of running to work...

  My work at Bear Valley has been great!  I really enjoy going to work every day. There are so many amazing, happy, smiling faces there every day. Now if only the customers (skiers/ Snowboarders) would start to show up. I guess that means the snow would have to make an appearance and that means el nina would have to make a disappearance. But for now things are fine and dandy in the Lodge Maintenance department. 
  Some of the changes to our department have been reduced manpower during busy days, as there have not been too many busy days so far this year. According to history the weeks before Christmas, between Christmas and New Years and the week following New Years are the busiest of the season for a ski resort.  That is due to kids being out of school for winter break and college kids being between semesters. Families tend to head to the snow country to enjoy a white Christmas if they have the means.  This year the means wasn't there. There hasn't been any snow falling in California since before Thanksgiving.  At Bear Valley there were a few lifts operating to service 4 or 5 man made snow covered slopes. The reduced customer base caused a reduced service need. Therefore changes had to be made.
  One of the benefits of reduced manpower during busy days meant I was able to use the "non busy" days to complete some long unfinished projects. I have cut lumber for and assembled 15 new picnic tables for the Bear Bungalow, I have remodeled the Special Events shack, I have remodeled the MAS events office and done a fair amount of fixing and repairing other items around the 40 plus year old facility. Unfortunately this has left my co workers holding the fort for other customer service related calls during the day. These are service calls to help a customer unlock her day use locker, helping a season pass holder build a shelf in their season locker, emptying trash bins as they fill toward overflowing, mopping up spilled lunch from in front of a missed trash can, checking on the level of the septic holding tank. You know everyday issues at a bustling day use ski resort.
  This past week another 'cut' has been made to most all Bear Valley employees. Hours are being reduced due to services being cut due to even more customers being absent. Our 4 / 10 work week has been changed to a 5 / 8 work week, leaving the temporary staff off the schedule. This has been a sort of blessing for me as I am getting home around 4:00 rather than at 5:30. Hence I am able to get in a run or bike ride in the evening before or during sunset. I love it!
 Tonight's run was a shortish out and back, about 4 miles. Mostly hills. In fact every run, ride or hike around here is 'mostly hills' as I live on the top of a hill and can see nothing but hills around me (I can see the sunset between hills, occasionally). But tonight's hilly sunset run had another benefit to me this time. I had a brainstorm. What if, for my birthday, I ran to work. My birthday is in May. That gives me 4 months to get in shape for this event. It also gives me enough time to encourage some other people (OK, friends) to join me in this most of a day long enterprise.  You see it is about 35 road miles from my house to work. It is longer by the dirt roads and trails I hope to traverse.  I am hoping it is less than 50 but I will cover them all regardless.
My thought was to make an early morning start, down in Hathaway Pines around 5:00 am and run the majority of the Arnold Rim Trail that I have been a part of building. That throws on an additional 8 miles or so, but in the overall scheme, so what. It's good advertising. I can get some of my ART buddies to join me maybe.  I know some of them hike and mt bike. Maybe they can join me for my breakfast aid station, somewhere around White Pines Lake. Say at 9 or 10:00 in the morning. Think you can make it? I think I can find other friends to join me for parts of the next 25 + miles up to Cabbage Patch. Then it's a mere 10 - 15 miles of Bear Trap Basin trail until Bear Valley Resort is in sight. No Problem. 
Of course anyone that doesn't care to join me running, or should I say shuffling up these dirt roads and trails, may chose to leave later and ride their mt bike up this same route, or leave even later and take the speedier route of pedaling up Highway 4, or leave at the same time as I leave and enjoy the scenery and stop and wait for me at predetermined stopping points to provide me with water and fuel. (Being my 'crew' was in our wedding vows don't ya know. )
I don't know, it sounded SO  doable when I was running earlier. I know it can be done. Maybe just not by me, not this year. BUT WAIT. Why not me. Why not this year. I'm not running Copper Canyon Ultra this year, I'm not racing in Leadville this year, I am going to run Bear Valley Ultra and maybe get a few other people to join me. Who knows, there might even be a tee shirt involved.

Think you want to join me? You Can Do It!! or part of it. Come on!

davee7098