Leadville!

I've just arrived in Leadville. I found Joel in Provin' Ground. No surprises there. If there was a Starbuck's I would have looked there instead. He's sitting across the table from me, laptop open, doing e-mail. He's finished his espresso so he's typing away like a fiend.
It's cool up here. Somehow I had forgotten how chilly it can be on a sunny day. I'll need to get a long sleeved shirt out of the car before wandering town. Maybe some socks and shoes as well. I heard a weather report for RMNP yesterday that said there was a good chance of up to a foot of snow above 10,000 feet tonight. The high temp tomorrow in Fort Collins is only supposed to be in the 60's. I hope we don't get that weather in Leadville!
Ya, the race...I'm not running. I'll be on the list as a DNS. No problem. I'm good with it. The five days at the trade show beat up my legs pretty bad but they feel recovered already. I'm just tired. Really tired. My ego wants me to run the race but logically I know this isn't my year. I've got great mileage. Structurally I'm in a good place. Mentally, emotionally...I need quiet. I had forgotten how emotionally draining a trade show can be for me. Wow! By the end I wanted to cry and I'm not a cryer. I get a lot of crazy ups and downs during a trade show. I operate on super high energy the entire time. While there I get the opportunity to hook up with some old friends and catch up on the changes in everyone's lives. This year, 3 divorces, 1 death. This is better than some years, worse than others.
Back to the race - I'll go ahead and do the medical check-in Friday morning so I can get my $200 t-shirt. This will also allow me to start the race if Joel insists on it. But after that I become crew and pacer for the deep, dark night time portion. I'm so tired I'm nervous about staying awake while crewing at night. I'll probably nap while waiting at each station. Sure I will. I'll be too nervous about missing Joel to sleep.
Time for lunch and then a few hours in the river practicing my dry fly presentation. My casting is improving alot but apparently the Colorado trout are not as impressed with it as I am. No worries, I'm enjoying the slow motion of the cast and the drift. The river is mesmerizing.