Done. For now.

Today was the Denver Rock 'n Roll half-marathon. This marks the official end to my 2010 race season. Rather than being sad as I have been in years past, I am quite happy. I am excited for the upcoming period of rest and healing. This is primarily because my body is hurting. But first, the report from the race.

Jacquline and I ran together the whole morning. Before I continue, I want to give a public shout-out to Jac, who set her personal best time for the 13.1 distance. Congratulations my friend! She did it without falter and feeling great. As always, it was a fun race precisely because Jac was with me.

It was a typical race for me: start feeling strong and fast, suffer a dip around mile 9, and finish feeling as strong as I did at the start and at my fastest pace. The route was beautiful, a perfect representation of Denver: after starting in Civic Center Park by the capital building and the City & County building, the first 3 miles took us through the heart of downtown past the Pepsi Center, where the Nuggets and the Avalanche play, and Coors Field, home of the Rockies. We then headed up to City Park, a massive green space in the middle of the city that houses our Zoo, the Museum of Nature & Science, a golf course, and countless trails, paths, and picnic areas. Then we wound our way through some historic neighborhoods to Cheesman Park where you can find the Botanic Gardens. We finished back in Civic Center Park, passing the Denver Art Museum along the way. All of this with bluebird skies overhead and the snowcapped mountains as a backdrop. The route organizers did the city proud and we overhead many out-of-towners commenting on how magnificent the route was.

Being part of the "Rock 'n Roll" series of races, we had 11 live bands entertaining us along the way, accompanied by cheerleaders from the local schools and the best volunteers manning the aid stations. Running with Jacquline through some of my favorite parts of Denver helped me forget temporarily exactly how ready I am for the season to be done. Instead, I had a blast.

And then I got home. Minute by minute I felt my lower body stiffen up, creakiness settling into every nook and cranny. I crept into an Epsom salt bath and enjoyed soaking the aches away as my cat sampled the strange pink-colored water. Then I crept to the shower. During my creeping I had a realization: I am a much better runner when I'm also swimming and biking. During the half-ironman in August, I felt positively as fresh as a daisy when I started my 13.1-mile run after swimming 1.2 miles and biking 56. And the next day? I could have done it again.

The 13.1 miles today were a wholly different story. My training has largely targeted running since late August. My focused cross-training is on hiatus. And I'm paying for it. Cross-training definitely makes me a stronger runner. I don't think it works the other way around--that is, I don't think running helps my swimming and biking. But in training as well as in racing, my body does well with variety. Triathlon recruits my entire body--both the major muscle groups and all those hidden supporting ones. I'm a stronger athlete overall when I'm training for all three events.

I was quite surprised by this insight, that I'd rather run a half-marathon after several hours of swimming and biking than do just the running. This must bode well for Ironman training, right?

On another note, I wanted to give an update on my "October experiment" as I'm calling it. It's October 17th, past the half-way point in the month. And this October is truly different than others. This is due in no small part to YOU all, to all of your comments on this site and to me in person. Thank you for empathizing, for commiserating, for supporting. I know many of you struggle with this time of year, too.

In recent Octobers, my energy was largely spent around trying to prevent or at least delay the inevitable: the end of summer and, thus, the end of the race season. This year I find myself embracing season's end. As much as it hurts to hurt, I am listening this time to the pleas my body is making for rest, for easing up, for recovery.

I must enter Ironman training strong, healthy, and injury-free. And this gives me a whole new appreciation for this dormant period. I'm no longer fighting nature and her tendencies. And that is tremendously liberating.