PDTR Here we come, maybe...

What is a PDTR? The Palo Duro Trail Run! You know how you always hear how guys have a commitment problem? Well, I certainly have no problem with committing to my wife, but lately I have had a hard time committing to my running. So last night I called up my brother Matt and said he has to do the PDTR 50K with me, thus officially committing to this thing. He already had a yearly goal to run a 50K, so everything seemed great. Today I went for my first official training run in the canyon. I did a 7 mile run that had a trail register at the halfway point. My entry to the register was, "PDTR 50K here I come". On my drive down into the canyon I saw three muleys, I spooked up three more on the trail, and saw one turkey on my drive out of the canyon. I also spooked up an LL Bean model during my run. I ran up behind a 60-something lady wearing hiking boots, nylon pants and longsleave shirt, wide-brimmed, foldable hat, and matching trekking poles. I thought I was gonna give her a heart attack, but I guess she was okay after I left. I felt bad for scaring her, but not too bad because I was too focused on the scenery. While running, I also saw the tracks of coyotes (maybe dogs, but there were no matching human tracks), bobcats, birds, squirrels, and a porcupine. Later, when I got home, Marie and I were talking about the race and we decided it would be a great idea to invite Amber (my brother's wife) to run the race (the 20K) with Marie, while Matt and I ran the 50K. While we were at it we thought it would be a great idea to have my Mom and her husband Marcus (also a runner) come too. Also, if Lisa (my sister) and her fiance came, we could have the whole family up here for a nice visit. As our discussion progressed we said, "Oh shit, when is Lisa's wedding?". Well, it just so happens that Lisa's wedding is the exact same day as the PDTR. So I did what any sane person would do and I called up my sister and asked if she could move the wedding date. Luckily she had nothing reserved and she may be able to move her wedding date so that we can all get together for a wedding and a race all in the same month. Anyway, I am excited about the race and I hope the scheduling of races and weddings can all get worked out. If not, obviously Lisa's wedding is much more important than a race. Now that I have committed to my brother and the handful of people that read this post, I will hopefully become an official ultra-marathoner by October 17th.