I am feeling pretty good in the aftermath of the canoe race; the soreness in my shoulders, arms, back, and core peaked on Monday. There is one spot on my left shoulder where it still feels like I was punched hard; I suppose I could have strained something while fighting the wind. Hopefully it won't interfere with the West Point pullup showdown.
My foot continues its convalescence, and I will resume biking as training until I am comfortable running again. I sometimes revisit that haunting possibility - that maybe I will not achieve my goals, that my pattern of breaking and falling short will continue until my potential is wasted away. I cannot discount that possibility, but I will not be swayed from my quest. An orienteering career, or indeed any pursuit, cannot be adequately summarized by its peak accolade. I will recover and set my sights on the next challenge. I imagine that at the end, the journey will have more than justified the apparent
sacrifice, though this is a speculative estimation of my utility function.
I recently revisited my 2011 Blue Hills Traverse course for kicks; while I think it's one of my best courses, it almost killed everyone because it was too long. I'm sure it couldn't compete with Jeff Schapiro's Billygoat (especially since there was the Short 10.7 km option), but I was a bit overzealous. I look forward to the 2012 race!