Ask anyone who's run the Bolder Boulder. The race finishes with a brutal uphill section. No, it's not exactly the equivalent of Boston's Heartbreak Hill. We might call it Heartburn Hill. Even the elites complain about it.
So I guess I can be excused for taking a break this afternoon once I taught my Greek class. After all, I had finished BEFORE the elites did, and that has got to mean something.
You'll notice that the book I'm reading is about Mount Everest. My kids once asked me if I was going to attempt to climb Everest. It is human nature to want to seek the unusual, the exceptional, the audacious. I'm not exempt from this urge. But Everest? I told my kids, "Your dad may be dumb but he's not stupid." Still, something inside me (heartburn?) feels the need to go for the top in every area of life. I am an athlete not because I want to be one but because I have to be one. I know of no other way to live.
Everest is out. But what about another 14er or two in the Rockies? Now THAT sounds like fun.