A fun day outside

Originally published February 23, 2019, on Jepsonfiles.com

Today, my dad and I went cross country skiing at the Country Club at Woodmoor right here in Monument. We got enough snow over the weekend that they could groom the trails on the golf course. It was nice and sunny and the temperature was great for being outside with a light jacket especially when working up a sweat on the skis. It was really fun to just be outside doing something different. We got cross country skis for Christmas but haven’t had much chance to use them yet because of snow conditions or scheduling conflicts. So, it was also cool to feel like I’m getting better at skiing than when I tried it for the first time last year. I think it is a good sport for me because I have good leg muscles and a fit heart, and it doesn’t take as much practice as downhill skiing. I think it will help me stay in shape during the winters so that I’ll be more ready for running in the spring. My dad and I want to do the Pikes Peak Ascent this year and then another marathon in the fall. This year is Arizona’s turn. I really am going to work on getting faster and not stopping except at feed zones. I have already qualified for the Boston marathon as a disabled person but that isn’t good enough for me. I want to qualify the same way that I would if I didn’t have autism. Then, I will be satisfied. Autism won’t stop me from being a real runner! I’m going to try for three hours and thirty minutes at the marathon in Tucson. Then, I’ll only have to knock off another twenty-five minutes to be BQ official. My dad will have to pick it up some to get that time, but I’ll push him like he has pushed me. He’ll be a fast old dude with a young handsome running partner pulling him along.