My dad

My energy, my stubborness, my high standards, my always wanting to be doing something don't even come close to my dad's. He was always "doing" - building this, taking apart that, making something perfect, puzzling through some conundrum, puttering around outside (and, until he was 90, literally putting four days a week at the golf course...but at 90 he found himself unable to walk the 18 holes so gave up the game). He was not a big fan of my new adventure - figuring there are lots better ways to cross the country (his choice would be flying, with himself at the controls as he had been a pilot in the Canadian Air Force during WWII). But I kept working on him - and it definitely provided us with some animated discussion.

The last couple of years have been tough for my dad. Physical ailments piled up and he was unable to do all the fiddling that had kept him so happily busy throughout his life. This fall, thoroughly frustrated with just sitting around and feeling yucky, he stated he wouldn't make it past Christmas. He is a man of his word. My pop, my standard of excellence, died this afternoon.

As I make my way across the country this summer, I'll picture him shaking his head over all the zig zagging I'll have to do. On the tough days, I'll dig deep and call on the big dose of stubborn he endowed me with. And as I arrive in Petoskey, I'll smile remembering that it was pop who moved his family to such a beautiful spot on this planet - a home worth running across the country to....and I'll look skyward with a wry grin - just like his own - to show him I did it!

95 miles. Done!

Slip sliding from my house to the bike path three blocks away took 7 minutes. But the bike path followed by 16 miles east on state highways were the best plowed surfaces I've run since the storm hit. A surprise wind added a new challenge today - but I got lucky and had it at my back for all but the last 4 miles or so. And to cap off the run, my family arrived at the right place at the right time then took me to breakfast. All in all, a mighty fine finish to my first 95 mile week!

Another 90+ mile week, another snow storm

The last time I had a 90-mile week scheduled (the first 90-mile week of my life), we had a snow storm - about 8 inches' worth. This week was my second-ever planned week of running in the 90s (95 miles to be exact) and we had another snow storm...22 inches of fresh powder was in our yard as the snow tapered off on Thursday. Covering 95 miles on foot is going to be a challenge this week. Here's what I have so far:

• Monday Run #1: 2.5 miles to/from the grocery store before heading to Denver to pick up my sons at the train station (the train arrived at 7 a.m.).
  
• Monday Run #2: 10 miles mostly in CU's cross-country course, with a friend, talking about travels, family, books - very pleasant.
• Monday Run #3: 4 miles looking at Christmas lights
• Tuesday Run #1: 12 miles on a hilly loop then a flatter trail warm down, much of the hilly portion with a running buddy. Again, very pleasant.
• Tuesday Run #2: 3 miles looking at Christmas lights on the way to meeting the family at a restaurant.
• Wednesday Run: 13 miles from the very beginning hints of the snow storm and on into the big snow, big wind, way cold. Very exciting.
• Thursday Run #1: 6 miles back and forth on a neighborhood street that had been plowed once. Very tough going.
• Thursday Run #2: 2 miles attempting to look at Christmas lights until I realized how stupid it was to be out there in the rutted moguly snow in the dark.
• Friday Run: 11 miles of verrryyyy slow running. Per my log: "snow pack, two feet of snow, ice, you name it - except clear roads." The middle chunk of this with a running buddy - good thing he was along since we encountered a never-plowed 1 mile stretch of bike path (in the middle of a 4 mile stretch of bike path) and I toppled over as we were wading our way through the thigh-high snow...I'd pr'y still be floundering in the powder if he hadn't been there to pull me out! I added up my miles for the week upon returning home and realized I'd have to run 16 miles on both Saturday and Sunday to get my 95 weekly total. I had my doubts that that would happen, given the road conditions...
  
• Saturday Run #1: 11 miles with the first half very slow over packed powder and icy chunks but the last half with running buddies along the cleared portion of the same bike path as yesterday's run. Very tired and tight quads, glutes, and hams from all the slogging through snow.
• Saturday Run #2: after the morning run I was ready to drop my quest for 95 miles, I was just so tired of running through the snow and ice. But, I had to mail my sons' tuition payment so I stood up from my desk, told my younger son (the cross country runner) it was time to go for a run to the post office, and donned my running gear (just a couple hours after returning from the morning run). Off we went to the post office, then extended the run a bit into the next neighborhood over, then returned back to our neighborhood at which point I realized that if I did another out/back on our semi-plowed neighborhood street (a one-mile long stretch each way), I'd have a total of 5 miles for this run and 16 miles for the day. Done.

So - "just" 16 more miles and I'll have my 95 for the week. I've laid out the route for tomorrow - a road that was quite well plowed when we had our last snow storm and that I can follow east for 16 miles (at which point the plan is for my family to pick me up). If it gets dicey the further east I go, I'll just turn around and head back towards home, the same way I came...hopefully totaling a 16 mile round trip!

No faux sneaux here!

The weather forecasters were waffling big time earlier in the week about how much snow we might get with an incoming front. I figured I'd best get out early today just in case the predictors of a Big Snow (the majority of the weather folk) were right. When I left the house there was just a wee itty bit of a dusting of snow on the ground, temperatures were mild (upper 20s), and the wind was light.

My route started on a southerly direction then curved east/northeast where the wind picked up a tad - but the snow lightened even more and I was starting to believe we were in the midst of a faux sneaux storm. This was maybe 5 miles into the run. Howsoever, about 8 miles into the run, the snow gods got serious, the wind howled and the snow whooshed down. It got so bad at times I had to swing around and put my back to the wind...the snow simply stung too much when I was pointed straight into it. Fortunately, around 10 miles into the run my route curved west and south putting the wind at my back....but not before questions such as "What are you, crazy?!" started popping into my head.

I was having to dig deep to keep myself running, then decided to provide myself with a little diversion and ran past my pre-retirement office, waving at all my coworkers as I passed their windows. One dashed outside and hollered "Are you nuts!" and I replied with "This is what you get to do when you're retired!" By the time I got home, I was one frozen popsicle runner. And just as I stripped and was stepping into the shower, my husband walked in yelling "hot latte delivery" - my hero!

Oh - as for the weather forecasters: those who were going for the big numbers had it right. We're measuring 18 inches in our backyard, a mere 12 hours since I started running in the aforementioned "wee itty bit of a dusting of snow" and the flakes continue to fall.

Holiday endeavors

Last week I ran 85 miles and this week I have 95 miles planned. It's also one week until Christmas. Here's my current schedule of activities: wake up, bake, run, stretch, shower, eat, bake, clean up after all that baking, eat, run, bake, clean up, sleep. Do it again!

Running: play? job? sanctuary?

For most of my years as a runner, running was play: a chance to gallop in the sunshine, skip through the leaves, hop over rocks, race - or not - with running buddies. But, with my run to Michigan on the horizon, I've had to take running very seriously - fit in the miles, do the stretching, get enough to eat and sleep, run in the morning, run in the afternoon, and do it all over again...sort of more like a job, though I can't really bring myself to call it that cuz, well, it's running and I do love to run.

Back when running was strictly play, it also provided a sanctuary whenever I was going through a rough patch. It just so happens that I've hit another rough patch and when I headed out on my longest run of the week at 5 a.m. today, I was wondering if running, now my serious endeavor, would still provide sanctuary. I'm relieved to report that, yes, running - no matter how seriously I need to take it - still soothes the soul. My miles gave me time beneath the moon and stars, sounds of a nearby owl, a rooster, and the rhythmic tapping of my feet against the pavement, wind brushing my cheeks and crisp air filling my lungs, the mountains' gradual appearance on the western horizon as the sun slowly climbed behind me. A couple of hours alone with my thoughts heavy and light undulating with the ground I covered - then a rendezvous with my running buddies for another hour running, this hour with their banter and friendship. Yes, running is still my sanctuary.

Paying attention to the details

My legs have felt rather rickety this week. But, rickety or not, I had a 12 mile run on tap for this morning and I was determined to get it done. On the plus side, some of it was with the Boulder Road Runners; running with others tends to make me forget all the aches and pains and the miles fly by. But by the time I left the Road Runners and added another hour to the run, my legs were once again squawking. It may take a bit of pounding on the cranium, but eventually, I get the hint. This time when I got home, I did everything right:

• got the coffee started as soon as I walk in the door
  
• stretched gently but thoroughly - all parts of my body
• drank some chocolate soy milk to do a quick nourishment replenishment during the window when replenishing is most effective
  
• hosed my legs down with cold water - lots of cold water, lots of hosing, thighs on down
• fixed a good breakfast and sat down and ate it without rushing

It seems to have paid off. After breakfast I went over to Kendall's school to help in the library and my legs felt lively on the walk both there and back. I definitely need to pay attention to these details if I want to make it through The Run!

Meeting with The Coach

Mark P is my volunteer coach. Since he simply stepped up and said he'd love to help me with this adventure, I don't like to impose on him too much - so we exchange emails and meet just every now and then. Today was one of those meeting days. What a positive influence he is! He still gets a most amused look on his face when we talk 180-mile weeks during The Run - but then he turns right around and lays out a plan that positions me well for achieving those 180-mile weeks and assures me that a lot of training effect will take place during the run.

So, between now and June, I stay on the four-week cycle:
Week 1: pile on miles
Week 2: pile on more miles
Week 3: cut back on miles and emphasize quality (hills, tempo, fartlek and an overall quicker pace)
Week 4: easy week
Throughout: focus on recovery (nutrition, vitamins, stretching, ice, epson salts, sleep)

Based on the plan we arrived at today, I'll be running 100-mile weeks by mid-January. And the week of March 12th, I'll run a 180-mile week ("for my head" since I'm really concerned about going into The Run, of many 180-mile weeks, without ever having run a 180-mile week). I'll also have a 160-mile week in April and a 140-mile week in May to experiment with back-to-back 30-mile days. The last 3 weeks before The Run I cut back on the mileage so I can hit the road feeling fresh. So! That's the plan ...as of December 13th!

Where do the mornings go?

When I was working, my mornings usually consisted of a pre-dawn run, dashing off to work (packing both my breakfast and lunch), responding to a myriad of emails and voice mails, going to meetings, problem-solving, adjusting project plans, testing, analyzing, yada yada yada.

In contrast, this morning (a fairly typical post-retirement morning) saw me: wake up around 5-ish (a hard habit to break), turn on the bedside lamp and grab my book as soon as my husband awakened, get up and get ready to run when I got to a good stopping place in my book, run for a couple of hours (hill repeats with AndyE today), get back home and stretch, do situps, pushups and a few other exercises, fix breakfast, do the morning sudoku, take a shower ....and, can you believe it, it's already noon!

Gifts from Japan

Firstly, I didn't post anything yesterday - but - I must make mention of Saturday morning's exquisite run. I ran from home to the Boulder Reservoir (the site of the Boulder Backroads Marathon's start and finish) to meet up with running buddies AndyE and Joe. We then headed north on the dirt roads from the rez for a few miles then came back via trails. Bright blue sky, sunshine, countryside peaceful quiet, hawks watching from trees, literally thousands of geese flying overhead filling the sky. A golden, golden run.

As yesterday's grand finale, my eldest (Devon) returned from Japan last night. He had a great trip and came home bearing fantastic tales - and gifts! He has a knack for selecting the perfect gift and it did it once again. He brought me two wrist sweat bands, black with Japanese characters in gold lettering (CU Buffalo colors!). One translates into "strong will" and the other is "sure victory." They may be a tad toasty to wear every day on the way to Michigan, but I certainly wore them on today's run and plan on wearing them on many runs to come. Arigatou Devonsan!

Mapping Nebraska

I've just spent the last two hours mapping the first 105 miles of the Nebraska portion of the run. Having learned my lesson during the Colorado mapping exercise, I tackled the exercise fully equipped with:

• a hardcopy Nebraska map from AAA,
  
• Google Earth - which has the best road detail I've found so far and provides GPS coordinates - but doesn't provide the ability to save a route (that I've been able to find)
• mapmyrun.com - which does allows one to save route - but you've got to do it in increments (the last time we decided to create routes in 105 mile increments)

So, I started plotting my way through Nebraska, saved at 45 miles, brought the map back up, asked to edit it, continued on through 105 miles, pressed 'update' and was told I didn't have permission and !poof! miles 45 through 105 of the Nebraska route were gone. Arggghhhhh.

Fortunately, I had written down every 15-mile section of the route including the roads followed and description and coordinates of each 15-mile end point so it's not been an entirely wasted effort.

I sure would like to find a more robust mapping tool, though - one that provides map and satellite image graphics, can handle a long route (ultimately 1500-1800 miles), shows mileage as the route is laid out, allows marking of 15-mile segments, offers road name details and GPS coordinates, and accommodates saving and editing. Not asking for too much am I? Does anyone know of such a tool?

Too much....running? rest?

This is the 'easy' week of my four-week training cycle. As such, I've been doing just one run per day - with a couple of six-ish mile runs and a couple of 10-mile runs so far. Today was a 10 mile run with the Boulder Road Runners so a tad faster than I would have run on my own. And when I got home I just plain ached all over. Is this because my body is generally fatigued from the prior three weeks of 82, 85.5, and 90 miles of running? Or is it because (based on past experience) my body simply does not like to rest? It rebels when doctors tell me to take it easy due to injury or sickness; it protests when I follow a traditional pre-marathon taper; it goes on strike when I take days off from running. "Rest" seems to signal to my body that it's time to shut down - in very cantankerous fashion.

In any case, shortly after my run (and stretching, showering, breakfasting), I headed over to my husband's school to help him out in the library. Today's job was picking up big boxes of books, emptying them to scan each book's bar code, repacking them, carrying the boxes over to the side of the room out of the way, then picking them back up, emptying them, stamping each book, then carrying them over to the side of the room again. (He has his methods and I'm just a volunteer so who am I ...systems analyst that I am... to argue finer points of efficiency with him ;-)) Towards the end of my shift at the library, Kendall's brother showed up to say 'hi' as he was on his way to deliver Christmas trees from his ski hut property to a tree lot in town. So I went with him to help unload trees from his trailer and truck. I'm feeling much better now!

A day at the desk

I got a late start on my run today - mostly because I was hoping it would get warm enough to run in shorts. It didn't quite make it there, but it was a grand run with blue sky and sunshine. Then the afternoon and early evening was spent at my desk doing paperwork. Ugh. But the grand finale was the completion of the letter and request form for my first major sponsorship request. I just need to get it photocopied then pop it in the mail. I should hear by the beginning of January. Crossing fingers & toes!

Flashback

This morning I ran to the CU track to meet up with a running buddy. It just so happens that the route to the track is the same as my walking route to my old office.

My running buddy and I ran along the Boulder Creek Path (beautifully cleared of snow). It just so happens that right on the other side of the creek path where we were running sits my old office.

After dashing back home after the run I had a bunch of paperwork to take care of before heading out again so I chowed down on a breakfast of yogurt and cereal while doing the paperwork. It just so happens that my standard start-of-the-work-day routine used to consist of running then dashing off to the office where I would sit at my desk and work while eating my breakfast of yogurt mixed with cereal.

I headed out to my next rendezvous by walking to a bus stop about a mile from my house - but I was a bit behind schedule so ran the last half-mile or so to catch the bus. It just so happens that when I would catch the bus to work (rather than walk or cycle), I would catch this same bus and invariably have to run the last half-mile or so because I was always cutting it too close.

My next rendezvous was a delightful lunch with a couple of former co-workers, one now retired and one still working. It just so happens that the conversation turned to the workplace where the same old politics and conundrums are carrying on full steam.

But! For the rest of the afternoon, my new glorious life of the retiree came to the forefront...wandering around the downtown (pedestrian) mall, Christmas shopping, peeking in new stores, browsing at the library...completely free to explore for however long and wherever I liked. Ahhhhh......

Easy week

This is the easy week of my 4-week training cycle. I can use it. Except the weather is gorgeous...blue sky, sunshine - all that slick white stuff on the ground is melting away. But I took an easy day today anyways. Ran to an errand and bussed/ran home (5 miles total). Then I cleaned house. I'm a dangerous cleaning woman when I've not had my multi-miles to wear me out. I done did broke my mop I did. Then I went on to cook dinner. Lots of it. I seem to be hungry these days. Looking forward to tomorrow when I'll do a bit more running!

90

At 6:36 this morning I finished my 90th mile of the week - the first 90-mile week of my life. One of my running buddies said today that if I could run 90 miles through this (referring to the snow, ice, wind, cold temperatures - 2 degrees this morning while I was running our snow/ice-packed streets) then I could run through anything. I don't know if that's quite true, but I do know that I feel a whole lot better than if I had given up and put the 90 miles off until more temperate climes prevailed.

Next up: a lighter mileage week and a lot of time at the computer figuring out if I can complete The Run in 9 weeks.

Challenges

As I've mentioned the last few days - the weather is making for some tough running: cold, snow, packed snow, ice, yada yada yada. Today was no exception. I started out for my longest run of the week shortly before 6 a.m. and found myself in the midst of a steady snowfall. I tiptoed over the ice for the mile or so to the main (plowed) road where I turned east and ran until I needed to turn around to head back into town to meet up with a couple running buddies for the last bit of the run. The good news was that the road and the shoulder of the east-bound road were in great condition for running. The bad news was that east (and north) were into the wind and snow. Turning around at ~7 miles or so got the wind to my back - a good thing. Unfortunately, the west-bound road's shoulder wasn't in such great shape, with clumps of snow and ice along the way. To add to the fun, by now the newly fallen snow had accumulated to a depth that came up over the tops of my shoes. Cold tootsies! Throughout the run I kept telling myself that if I bailed on this run - my first 90 mile week - I'd be bailing on the Run To Michigan. So...no bailing was had. All in all I got in close to 3 hours this morning - a very good thing.

To continue my pursuit of 90 miles this week, I went out again just a couple hours after getting home from the first run for a multi-part run:

1. ran around the neighborhood and the neighborhood to the south of us (~4 miles);
   
2. stopped by the house to tell my husband that I'd be running to the CU women's basketball game and to please bring a dry shirt - then ran to the basketball game (~2 miles);
   
3. watched the game then ran from there roundabout to the grocery store (~3 miles).
   

Current total for the week: 82 miles. 8 more...just 8 more...and I've got my first 90 mile week. I hope to get those 8 logged early tomorrow so that, by the time I report for Colder Boulder race duty at 7:15 a.m., I'll be done running for the week.

And now for the second challenge of the day: my husband just learned of the proposed 2007-08 calendar for the school district he works for. It has them starting school one week earlier than usual. This means I need to get the run to Michigan done in 9 weeks and 3 days. Gulp.

Plow! Plow! Who's got a plow?

...or, more accurately: who's got a plow and knows how to use it?
I spent 2.5 hours this morning running around town trying to find clear footing. The roads that were in the best shape had room enough for a car - but not for a car and a runner. Boulder's plow drivers need to spend some time apprenticing in northern Michigan... Beyond the roads, bike paths were ice-packed; trails were snow-covered and/or ice-packed and/or snow drifted. The big question then became: where should tomorrow's satboys long run be held? After my scouting expedition and a few phone calls and e-mails, the plan looks like I'll start out at daybreak and head east on a fairly major road that actually is well-plowed and tends to have very light traffic early weekend mornings. I'll run 6 miles east, then reverse direction, then reverse direction once again and this time, on the way back east, meet up with the gang and we'll all run the last 3 miles east then come back west to where they all parked. Rather goofy, but it should get the requisite miles in.

I mentioned yesterday that I was going to do three runs today. Since I ran so long this morning, I only needed one shorter run this afternoon. Unfortunately, I didn't get started on that one until 4 p.m. It sure does get dark fast this time of year...and the temperature fell equally quickly. It was an errand oriented run, and running home from the errand had me pretty darned nervous...running down the main street through our neighborhood, dark, icey roads, no room on the shoulders (due to plowed up snow), cars zooming by... a little too much excitement for my frosty feet!

Slip Slidin' Along

Today's temperature was all of 4 degrees when I first awoke - so, luxuriating in the life of the newly retired, I snuggled deeper into the bed covers and buried my nose in my book (The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende - definitely best read in long stretches rather the pick up and put down spurts which is my more usual reading practice). Around noon I ventured out for my run and found ice and snow-packed streets - rather arduous running conditions despite the blue sky, sunshine and now 20 degrees of balminess.

My legs were still tired from last night's step running at the Events Center (3.5 times around up & down the steps prior to the start of the basketball game) and I simply do not care for dancing across the ice as I run. I tried plowed streets that were now mushy snow with an undercoating of ice, plowed bike paths that were now packed ice and snow, and unplowed streets that were mostly just mounds and gullies of ice. Those streets that did have a clear track had to be shared with cars (funny how it's the car that expects to get the right of way). I put up with about 45 minutes of this and headed home and called it a day. Then I did the math.

Between now and midnight Sunday I need to run 47 miles to get my 90 for the week. That works out to an average of 15.67 miles per day over the next 3 days. The forecast indicates that conditions won't be much different tomorrow than they were today and more snow and colder temperatures are forecast for Saturday. But! My resolve is rebounding. I figure 3 runs tomorrow, a long run Saturday morning (18ish) and a shorter one Saturday afternoon before the next CU women's basketball game and whatever I can get/need to get on Sunday squeezed around a race I'm working in the morning. Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

Martin Miles

The weather forecasters got it right today and both snow and temperatures fell. When I went out this morning we had about six inches of fine powder on the ground and the temps were around 0 with the wind chill. I have the good fortune of living just a block away from the street on which our neighborhood school resides - and the city plows streets with schools. Thus this morning's run was back and forth back and forth back and forth on Martin Drive for a total of six miles. Although I doubt I need to train for snow-running for my summer adventure, I'd best get my brain ready for the occasional bout of boredom. This morning's run filled the bill. Tonight I head over to CU for a women's basketball game (CU vs. CSU - should be fun). I'll go early so I can run the steps in the Events Center. Hard work, particularly fun if they've got pre-game music going, and this run will be warm!

The weather is a changing

All the weather prognosticators have been talking big snow and tiny temperatures for late today and on into the week. So, after my bold statement of yesterday re. 12.nnnn daily miles not seeming like a whole lot, I got a bit nervous about reaching my weekly 90 mile goal if the weather went south....er....north.....er......yucky. So - during this morning's run (after hearing everyone talk about the incoming snow, wind, and cold) I decided to extend the run a bit and got in a total of 14. Good for miles - but bad from a planning perspective as I did it without any fluids and without having eaten. No brainiac here. Then I put in another 3 miles this afternoon getting some errands done just as the snow was starting to fly. Next on the list: dig around in the closet for running gear to stay warm by as the temps dip to zero.

Starting my first 90-mile week

Today is the first day of my first ever 90-mile week. The concept of 90 miles in a week is a bit mind-boggling to me. However, when doing the math and breaking it down to an average of 12.857142 miles per day, well, that just doesn't seem like a whole lot of daily running. Good lord Mildred, what has happened to me?!

Week's wrap up

Somethingorother seems to be catching up with me. The last couple of days I've been tired, cranky, and rather uninspired. But, I had 85 miles scheduled for this week and I was gonna run 85 miles by gum. So, after a 3-hour run yesterday morning and another 45 minutes last night, I was left with one more long run to do today. I decided to make it the route we've laid out for the First Run of the run to Michigan with instructions to my family to pick me up after 3 hours, 15 miles on the car odometer, or the intersection of highways 52 & 287 - whichever came last. All in all, it turned into quite a lovely run:

• the running was smooth and felt easy,
  
• the scenery was glorious with a spectacular view of the Continental Divide as I climbed the final hills on the eastern edge of town,
  
• I was hit by the inspiration that - this being bike/pedestrian trail happy Boulder - I could probably replace some of my road route with trails for the trip out of town (duh!),
  
• the last couple of miles of the route were measured and it turned out I was running just under 11 mpm pace and I'd been hoping for anything under 12.

Rejuvenated and ready for my upcoming 90 mile week!

Gobble Gobble Run Run

Thanksgiving has come and gone. There's lots to be thankful for.

• A dawn run on Thanksgiving morning with my younger son ...and he ran with me the whole way.
• Thanksgiving festivities with my husband's family - 26 people full of fun and good cheer (and a whole lot of food by the day's end).
• A husband who is willing (and happy) to go to the grocery store and cook the day after Thanksgiving so we can have turkey with the turkey-less leftovers we brought home from Thanksgiving dinner.
• The health and opportunity to fit in three runs on the day after Thanksgiving - one to a store to buy my older boy a travel pouch for his trip to Japan, one from a drop-off point on the way home from the airport trip that sent said son on his way to Japan, and one from home to the CU Women's Basketball game.
  
• Running buddies who check up on me as I run my way out to the rendezvous point that they've conveniently scheduled so I can get in a 3-hour run with their lively company for the last hour.
• A son who is willing to spend his time helping me plot my route on mapmyrun.com. (So far, the Colorado portion is available for all to see - in two maps: pjsrun0to105 and pjsrun105to210COtoNEB - both can be found by searching for pjsrun on mapmyrun.com.)
  

Thanksgiving Eve

70 degrees and sunshine, 2 hour 45 minute trail run, driveway basketball with my sons, baking for Thanksgiving. A mighty fine day.

Mapping the run

My sons are home from college and my younger son, Paul, has taken a keen interest in this run. So, yesterday we sat down at the computer and started mapping the run in detail, laying out 15-mile segments, stopping points for each segment and each day, coordinates, intersections, etc. We played with a few tools and ended up mapping all of the Colorado portion using google earth after determining that it would allow us to "save."

When we returned to the computer today, we discovered that, yes, it allowed us to "save" - but it didn't save the route. Rats. So, then we played with mapmyrun.com. We mapped the first morning's route, saved, called it back up, there it was, we were good to go! This tool even offers the option to display mile markers along the way, lets us mark water or aid stops, offers satellite overlays along with the map, and lets you specify whether or not you want to share your route on the web (I said yes - it's called pjsruncolorado). Nifty stuff. It does not have some of the road-name detail that google earth offers (such as the names/numbers of some of the country roads) - so, as we moved further into the plains we were going back and forth with google earth which did show country road names/numbers to make sure we were getting our intersection points right. And, apparently, it is not used to loooonnnnnggggg runs. Once we got into the 100s of miles, it stopped showing mileage markers. It also started slowing way down. And then, right around Sterling (about 150 miles into the run), it barfed. Unfortunately, my last save was that very first save 15 miles into the run. By the time I get Colorado completely mapped out and saved, I'm going to know it very very well. And, I suppose, that's a good thing!

Solo on the Cirelli Loop

I really wanted a long run today. I also wanted something different from what I've been running lately. I decided to run what the satboys running gang calls the Cirelli Loop. It's a standard in our repertoire, but it's been months (maybe even a year) since I've last run it. And I've never run it by myself. And word had it that a trail along one section of the route had been extended that would eliminate a couple of miles on a narrow, 2-lane busy-ish road. Definitely some variety in the air.

Husband Kendall rode his bike alongside me the first few miles until I picked up the trail - then it was 3+ hours of solo running on a day that started in the low 30s and was approaching 50 by the time I finished. Hawks in the air, gorgeous views on the new trail, a decided lack of speed, but a fair amount of fortitude that kept me going. On Coalton (the steepest of the hills) I was passed by a wide-hipped, jiggly butt, splayed foot, low stepping woman. I used to be the queen of Coalton, running it multiple times in one run just for grins. The pass happened a couple hours into today's run and jolted me into a new gear. Up Coalton (passing her back just after the steepest pitch), then out to the next road, I ran the fastest I had run all day (not that I'm competitive or anything).

I must confess, tho', I was pretty tired during the last hour. One gu, a couple of cliff shot blocks, and two bottles of gatorade (yes two bottles! I have a new double-bottle water belt that is proving to be a most excellent addition to my running gear - and the reason I could even do this run without support along the way) were just enough to keep me going. Total run time: 3 hours 50 minutes. And home just in time to shower, make two peanut butter sandwiches, and dash off to the CU Women's Basketball game missing just the first 4 minutes. Kendall informed me, however, after I snitched most of the snacks he had bought for himself, that this was the last time he was taking me to a game right after a 4 hour run. ;-)

A quick trip home

I've returned from my trip to Petoskey to visit my folks. I often travel there towards the end of November to help celebrate my dad's birthday (he'll be 95 on November 27). This year, both of my sons start their college winter break Thanksgiving week - then each of them head out again on new adventures: Devon to Japan a couple of days after Thanksgiving and Paul to New Orleans for volunteer work a week after Thanksgiving. With all the hustle and bustle, I decided an early solo trip to Petoskey was in order.

All in all, it was a good trip - both for visiting and for running. My running plan was to get out early before my parents were up and about and feeling lucky if I got a second run in each day. Many of my runs were variations on an old standard loop that goes from my parents' house in the southeast part of town (uphill from the bay), along Bear River down towards the bay, along the waterfront, then back through town and up the hill to their house. A longer variation included touring through the seasonal community of Bay View where music rings out many a summer's night but now lays quiet for the winter.
After a day of snow followed by a day of fog then a day of clouds, the sun peeked out and I looked at my folks and told them I was going to the beach....in tights, jacket, and running shoes. 50 minutes of running later I was cruising through sand, up and down dunes, dancing with the waves of Lake Michigan - and hooked up with a high school buddy who was walking/running her dog. Deeelightful. (The picture shows the beginning of the sunset we were treated to.) Going back to my folks' I wound my way through the Bay View Woods which were so leaf-packed I could barely make out the trails. 'Twas the longest - and zingiest - run of my visit.
Hill repeats were also on the menu - easy to find in a glacier-carved town. Hills, hills, everywhere hills.
And a couple of afternoons, when I just had to get outside, I put on a show for the folks, doing running drills back and forth on the street outside their living room window: high knees, butt kicks, skipping, bounding, criss-crosses, strides....further fueling the speculation about the sanity (or lack thereof) of their daughter.

Miles logged while in Michigan: 79....many along the lakeshore. Ahhhh......

Pre-travel trail run

I've had a habit of trying to get in a trail run whenever I'm about to go out of town. Today was no exception. I headed out early for one of my most favorite loops: an uphill climb west on South Boulder Creek Trail, cutting over on the Mesa Trail to the Bluestem Trail for a long downhill run back towards home. Deeeeelightful. Of course, today it was uphill and into the wind - but, what the heck, all of this running is to make me stronger anyways. And besides, in addition to a gorgeous sunrise, this morning's run was also graced by a lovely moon set. Just perfect for a getting-ready-to-leave-town run.

Successful Experiment

Because of my recent travels to Knox and upcoming travels to Petoskey, I thought I should squeeze in some high mileage days while I had the chance. To accomplish this, I decided to try 3 consecutive days of 3-hour runs. And I did it!
- Friday: 3 hours 20 minutes comprised of 3 large loops.
- Saturday: 3 hours 13 minutes accompanied by running buddies the last hour
- Sunday: 3 hours 17 minutes with some cyclocross spectating half-way through the run (now that's a tough, skilled, athletic endeavor - cyclocross, not spectating)

Continuing on for the final 90 minutes of my last 3-hour run (after the cyclocross spectating) was a challenge. I was just 20 minutes run-time from home so had to do some serious internal discussing to get myself to turn away from home to get the time in. I'm glad I did, tho' - it had turned into a gorgeous day and I ran on a few trails I hadn't been on lately. (The photo shows one of the detours I took away from home - definitely worth the effort.)

Today and tomorrow - before my next trip - I'm going to the other end of the spectrum. Instead of single long runs each day, my running will be consist of multiple shorter runs as I get all my errands and chores done before heading out of town. So far today, two runs down, two runs to go!

T-shirt, shorts, and change

One nice thing about living in Boulder is the number of warm days we have throughout the year.
And one nice thing about being retired is the flexibility about when to head out for a run.
Today, I awoke to 20-something degrees and a forecast for low 60s - so I dawdled about the house until the thermometer read 50 and I could head out in shorts and t-shirt. In November. Weehaww!

The plan was for 17 miles and, being the warm day it was, I decided to run in circles with a bottle of gatorade stashed in a spot I'd be passing by three times. It worked out quite nicely. Three circles of the CU cross-country course + the South Boulder Creek trail, 1 porta-potty stop, 40 ounces of gatorade, 1 gu, 3 gumdrops, 6 hawks, 4 horses, a whole buncho' cows, a town full of prairie dogs, a swarm of grasshoppers, one fly in my cap, and 83 cents (found in 3 different places - a major score since money found while running or walking is my most consistent funding source for this adventure) later, I had my 17 miles. Morning had turned into afternoon, toasted legs were ready for a cold hosing down, muscles were aching for a stretch, tummy was rumbling for a real meal. Mission accomplished! Done, done and done!

Running Home

This morning, my husband, Kendall, and I were talking about how long my brother had lived in Colorado (20 years) when I queried "When did I move here?" (It was 5 a.m., my mind had temporarily fogged.) We figured out that it was July, 1973...33 years ago. And then the witty man who was my cause for moving to Boulder in the first place for reasons of head-over-heels love, followed up with "and it's so bad now you're running home."

Ahhh...not so bad a't'all....rather so good! My two most favorite places - both part of my heart and soul. Boulder with Kendall's family nearby, decades' worth of friends, the town where my children were born, all the happenings of a college town, the mountains, the plains, sunshine and Colorado blue sky so many days of the year. A truly glorious place to live and play. And Petoskey, my little home town on the shore of Lake Michigan, where the Vaughan's ran their Basket Shop and raised their children, where most everyone knows most everyone,where summer brings lake time and fun in the dunes, berry picking, hikes in the woods and long hours of daylight, where winter brings crystal white snow, cross-country skiing through all those places we play in the summer, board games and hot toddies with friends, and where through every season, a nightly show of incredible sunsets over the bay and wonderful people to share them with. Again, a truly glorious place to live and play.

So...I'm merely going to try to tie them together with a trail of sweat and miles of smiles. ...running from hearth to home...

Trains, Knox, and Home Again

Life is settling back down after my train trip to visit my sons at Knox.

• Highlight of the trip: seeing my boys!
• Most interesting run: back and forth on the train platform in Otumwa, Iowa - home of Radar O'Riley of MASH.
  
• Prettiest (and longest) run: from the B&B where I was staying out to Lake Storey Park, around the lake on a leaf-covered bike path, through the Carl Sandburg College campus, and back to the B&B (which is in a neighborhood of beautiful 1800's homes).
• Niftiest run: a tempo run on the new purple Knox track (Knox's colors are purple and gold).
  

Back home again I was feeling a bit run down from the train and travel and headed out for today's run rather uncertain of distance or terrain. But then it turned into one of those runs where I just kept on going... first through the CU cross-country course, then into the southwestern-most neighborhood of Boulder where I hopped over a stream and onto a trail that runs along the base of NCAR where there were glorious views of frost-tipped trees above the flatirons, then onto another little feeder trail that took me to the Skunk Creek trail (where, many years ago, my old dog Loki was, indeed, skunked), then up to the Mesa trail where there were ice-covered puddles and bits of snow banks, then onto the Enchanted Mesa trail which brought me back down into civilization via the western boundary of the NIST property - which continued to offer up trails until I got to Broadway, one of Boulder's main north/south streets and the western boundary of my neighborhood. Altogether, out of 2.5 hours of running, I maybe spent 30 minutes on streets....no wonder I could just keep on going!

Winter run

I mentioned yesterday that I'd be running today regardless of how high the snow came over my tootsies. Well, there was plenty of snow - and plenty of ice water. It snowed during the night, then was raining when I awoke at 5 a.m., and was snow mixed with rain when I started my run at 6 a.m., then quickly turned to heavy snow while I was running. I still managed 2 hrs 19 minutes (thanks in large part to running buddy AndyE who gallantly joined me for an hour of this wintry fun). I doubt I'll be running in weather like this during my summer run to Michigan - but it was great training for hanging tough despite what the weather gods throw at you.

Next up (like in the next few minutes): I'm off to the train station to start my weekend adventure with my sons at Knox College. Shall be checking in again next week.

Takin' it easy, watching the weather

Being a cut-back week, I set out on an easy run this morning. My legs were squawking so much, I turned it into an even easier run than originally planned. A fair amount of walking transpired throughout the rest of the day, but running miles stayed in the very low single digits. In the meantime, weather prognosticators are making noise about double digit snow tonight. We shall see. My long run for the week will take place early tomorrow morning no matter how high the snow goes over my tootsies as I am hopping the train for Galesburg, Illinois and a visit with my Knox College boys tomorrow evening; running the remainder of the week will take a back seat to hanging out with Misters Devon and Paul. Yayyy!

Cross-training

This is supposed to be a cut-back week (50-60 miles vs. the 81, 81, 83 of the last 3 weeks). Cut-back weeks are sort of like pre-marathon tapers: cut down on miles, rest, sleep, eat. I've never been good at tapers. I must admit my legs are delighted at the lower miles; they're whupped. And with fewer miles, I have more time for stretching - a good thing. I also have more time for other, shall we say "cross-training" activities. Yesterday and today that cross-training consisted of finishing the conversion of my eldest son's bedroom into our study (aka PJ's Run workroom):
The two-day wrap up meant I: finished cleaning out my younger son's room moving his furniture around to make room for older son's bed; hauled all the 'temporary' piles of my old office stuff out of older son's room so I could get to his stuff; moved older son's bed to younger son's room, boxed up all of older son's books and detritus; hauled boxes; rearranged remaining furniture in older son's room; brought my stuff back in; dusted and vaccuumed out the wazoo throughout the process ...and...

• set the bookshelf up with maps, atlas, trail info, GPS unit etc. on the top shelf; sponsor and nutrition stuff on the second shelf.
• put a map of the US up on the wall.
• picked the spot for my satellite photo of the Great Lakes.
• have the designated wall of Mackinac Island calendars (I have several years' worth...love those pics; love Mackinac Island).
  
• picked the spot for the painting my good friend Deb gave me of a runner with the Shakespeare quote "Bid me run, and I will strive with things impossible." (This will go directly over the US map.)
• hung the ceramic plaque boss/co-worker/friend Linda gave me that says "play in the warmth of the sun; dance in the light of the moon; dream of the glow of the stars."
  ...and that's just what I'm doing!
  

Psyched and ready to roll in Boulder, Colorado!

New high mileage benchmark

My third consecutive 80+ mile week is in the books. Today's run brought this week's total to 83.5 miles. I did find my energy and excitement lacking by the end of the week and I had to give myself a big shove to get out the door this morning. But once out: ahhhh..... First, I decided to cobble together several loops into a new loop to add a bit of variety to my running life. And second, it was one gorgeous day out there - so gorgeous, I just kept going and going so that the 90 minutes I was trying so hard to talk myself into doing turned into just over 2 hours.

A sampling of today's run: smiling faces, sweating brows, runners in shorts, runners in rustly pants, runners in t-shirts, runners in sweatshirts, walkers, toddlers, old folks resting on benches, old folks saying yum yum yum as they gave their dog a treat, big dogs, little dogs, prairie dogs, coyotes, cows, horses, harrier hawks, red-tail hawks, bird houses made out of everything from teapots to hiking boots, golden leaves, amber grasses, cactus, snow-capped peaks, mud, a flying tomato. All this and I was never more than 4 miles from home. Running in Boulder is mighty fine.

Second snow

Today's run.
Lovely, simply lovely.

This week's experiment

This is the week I decided to try back-to-back long runs as well as keeping the full weekly mileage high (to make my 3rd consecutive week of 81 miles). So far so pretty good.

• Monday (after Sunday's marathon), I ran 14 miles in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. The morning run was dragging a bit until meeting up with Amie D. which really helped the time fly.
  
• Tuesday's run with the Boulder Road Runners really showed how tired my legs were. I didn't even try the tempo work 'cuz it was so hard staying up with everyone just during the warm up - but - log another 9 in the books.
• Wednesday was an easy day; just 6 miles total running to/from BCOR where we did some lower body work.
• Today was back to the tough stuff. Jester dog really really wanted to come with. I had planned on a hill workout so decided to do repeats on Boomerang Hill behind NIST (a boomerang-shaped dirt road running from the back side of NIST up to some trails leading to the Mesa Trail). I figured the overall distance would be too long for Jester but he could just hang out on the hill as I went up and back ...six times. A couple of incorrect assumptions: 1) I had remembered the hill being 5-6 minutes long but it was taking right about 7 minutes today. And I had wanted 3 miles of hill work - thus the six repeats (6x~.5 miles up). But I had forgotten about the 6 downhills associated with the repeats when calculating my time. So, what I had thought would be about 30 minutes of hill work turned into ~78 minutes (6x7 minutes up and 6x6 minutes down). Oops. So much for being on time to help catalog books in my husband's library. ...and... 2) No way Jester was going to 'hang out' while I went running out of sight. Fortunately it was a cool day (there was even some snow for him to frolic in) and he did have sense to slow down a bit as the repeats continued on - but he sure did get in an exceptionally long run for a sprinter dog. The good news is, both the human and the dog appear to have come off the repeats feeling good.
• Tonight - run to/from BCOR.
• Tomorrow - 3 hour run planned (last 2 hours with running buddy AndyE)
• Saturday & Sunday - not sure yet - maybe 60-90 minutes each. Whatever it takes to get to 81 miles for the week.
  

In the meantime....stretch....ice....stick....stretch....walk....ice....stretch....

Marathon #28 in the books

I ran the inaugural edition of the newest rendition of the Denver Marathon this morning. It was quite a fun run, touring many of the major landmarks, sporting arenas, and parks that Denver has to offer. A lot of turns, some hills, several stretches with runners going past eachother, and our names on our bibs allowing the many specatators along the way to cheer us along personally. Being an urban street marathon, my legs are a little more beat up than they were after the Boulder Backroads marathon three weeks ago. And, I suppose, this being my second consecutive week of 81 miles is also contributing to a bit of leg soreness - and the dire need for a nap this afternoon ;-).

My pacing during the marathon was interesting. I was none too peppy towards the end of this week and did not have high expectations for running pace today, but at the start of the marathon I felt like I was practically walking yet it turned out I was running steady 10 mpm (my goal pace was to run at a ~10:30-11:00 training pace). I stayed right around 10s until miles 15-20 when I crept into the upper 10s - which seems to be an unfortunately common pattern for me...to slow down in the middle third of any distance race. However, another common pattern within marathons for me is to perk right up as the miles remaining drop into single digits - and that's just what happened today. Except for a portapotty wait/stop at mile 8, Mile 17 was my slowest mile of the day (10:58) then the pace gradually quickened, the smile broadened, and I cruised it on in with miles 24, 25, and 26 all at 9:48 and 9:49.

My legs are a bit achey, even after hosing them down with cold water, and my feet feel like, well, they've been pounding pavement for a few hours today. Other than that, all seems to be well. The true test of current fitness will be tomorrow when I go out for my 15 mile run. Thankfully, I'll be back on Boulder's delightful dirt trails.

Marathon Non-Frenzy

I'm running the Denver Marathon on Sunday. I haven't checked the weather forecast; I don't know the course; I haven't stewed about my pre-race meals. Am I really running a marathon on Sunday?

What I have done is:
- monitor my mileage pretty closely this week so I don't go much over 80 miles by the time I cross the finish line on Sunday.
- planned out tomorrow's run so I'll be meeting up with my Saturday running buddies (the 'satboys') for an easy run on the flat and soft South Boulder Creek trail followed by breakfast.
- picked up my bib at the expo today. Now that was a surprise. I have bib number 101. Is that cool or what?! With a number like that I'm going to have to keep reminding myself that this is just a training run. yep yep

Feeling the load

I do believe my legs are a bit weary after last week's 81.5 miles and 46 miles so far this week. For the last three days there has been a decided lack of pep in the legs. I'm thinking it's not just the miles, though. Until this morning, breakfast had come no earlier than 10:30 a.m. so total food intake for the day has consisted of a late breakfast, maybe an afternoon snack, then a late dinner. Sleep hasn't been any great shakes either, getting to bed around 11 and waking up around 6. These are two areas that are definitely deserving of some new habits!

In the meantime, today was my last longish run before Sunday's Denver Marathon. I'm planning on running up to 9 miles total over the next two days then the marathon on Sunday - for another week of ~81 miles. I did have a big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast today after an early morning run, am about to fix lunch, and am done running for the day so dinner (and bedtime) should be at a reasonable hour. 'Tis a good start on this change of nutrition and sleep habits campaign, I'd say!

Most remarkable thing about the day so far: I'm actually wearing slacks and a button down shirt - for the first time since retirement I do believe. After lunch I'm headed over to my husband's school to help at their book fair. La de dah!

Getting out the door

The miles just may be catching up to me. I did some major dilly dallying this morning whilst fully dressed for my run. (Picture me, in full running regalia, cleaning the bathroom...something's very wrong with that picture, me being the non-housekeeper that I am...) But out the door I did finally go and into quite a lovely morning. I was none too lively on the run, and had to keep telling myself to "stick with the plan" (a 10 mile hill loop that has been in my repertoire for 20-some years) as I passed by trailheads and cutoffs. I also had to call myself back to reality on a number of occasions as I was mesmerized by the view of thick clouds hovering just above frosted pines, with occasional glimpses of the gray tops of the flatirons poking through. Now the run is done, the miles are logged, the day is warming, and I've finished baking the second batch of goodies for my husband's school library book fair and story hour with the CU Buffs. It was a slow start, but we're rolling now!

Wardrobe Change

Chilly chilly morning out there, with drizzle that was trying hard to be snow. So, for the first time this season, I got out the tights...and was not overly warm. Bring in the tomatoes! Fold up the lawn chairs! Find the polypro! Winter doth approacheth!

Topping 80

I reached a milestone this week - 81.5 miles logged Monday through Sunday. How does one do that, one might ask... Let me tell you, it's really handy to be retired since, at my speed, it takes a loooong time to cover that amount of mileage.
Here's how the miles unfolded:
* Monday: up behind the Bureau of Standards and along the base of NCAR - i.e., some hills, along the extremely pleasant western boundary of Boulder (53 minutes)
* Tuesday morning: 35 minutes warming up from my house (the long way) to where the Boulder Road Runners gather for their Tues/Thurs a.m. workouts, followed by60 minutes with the BRRs including some tempo running, then 27 minutes back home.
* Tuesday afternoon: to the post office, to campus to pick up some paperwork, and to Kinkos to pick up the calendar I had made for our anniversary (i.e., running errands...literally) (40 minutes).
* Wednesday: 3.25 hours running west along Boulder Creek (to a park that has a restroom that had opera playing in it!), then south to the Mesa Trail for a spectacular autumn run along scarlet and gold-laden trails. This is the run during which I thought to myself "there is nothing I'd rather be doing." A good thing, I suppose, since that's just about all I'll be doing next summer!
* Thursday morning: an easy 1 hour 53 minute run along the South Boulder Creek trail (the soft and flattish eastern portion of the trail), picking up various bike paths to wind my way back home.
* Thursday afternoon: to & from BCOR with 30 minutes of running the Mesa Trail during BCOR.
* Friday: 1.75 hours with AndyE, on the western portion of the South Boulder Creek trail and over to the Bluestem trail. An honest workout that takes you up up up then down down down with great footing on the downhill allowing you to take in the view from mountains to plains.
* Saturday: 2.5 hours - a little less than the 3 hours I had originally planned since my weekly total was beginning to look a bit huge. Again on the eastern portion of South Boulder Creek and various additional trails, this time with Kendall accompanying me on his bike. This run, I was feeling rather tired.
* Sunday: capped off the week with the Denver Race For The Cure. ~64,000 participants. What a phenomenal event - and a grand finale for the week's running.

Exquisite Autumn

Amber grasses, shoulder-high, glowing at sunrise.
Warm air above; hawks soaring. Frost-bitten stream beds below.
Snow-covered peaks, blushing pink with the new sun's rays.
Scarlet sumac, brilliant among the muted gold ground cover; speckles of blue flowers.
Creeks, water-free, brimming with golden leaves.
Rustling overhead, rustling under foot.
Clouds nestled down low; craggy flatirons poking through.
Full moon easing the darkness of the day's end.

Consistency

Today is our wedding anniversary! 31 years!
It appears that I tend to do things for long periods of time: 31 years married, 26 years in the same job, and, as of Sunday, 2007 miles run so far this year bringing my lifetime (logged) total to 46,813 miles.

Running 2000 miles in a year has long been a standard for me - a proof of consistency which, I believe, is key to running well. I've been logging my miles since 1981 and, in that time, have run at least 2000 miles 14 different years. Most years where I fell short have fairly obvious reasons: pregnancy (1984-85, 1987-88), broken arm (1993, 2005), stress fracture (2000), car accident (1996). And some years I just didn't put in the miles...but missed by no more than 135 miles. This year is exceptional as I have never before crossed the 2000 threshold so early in the year. Now, I just need to stay smart, stay consistent!

Consistency, on the surface, may appear to be a rather dull approach to life but apply it well and it can lead to very exciting rewards.

Bouncing back

This morning's run was a success: almost no headache, manageable muscle tightness in the neck and back, and a still-owie hip but I've decided that's just a bunch of bruised cellulite jiggling together, so tough noogies.

All this angst over running seems a bit silly, though. In the grand scheme of things, whether or not I can run 20 minutes or 20 days, or whether I have a few bumps and bruises is really quite trivial. A whole lot of people are having to deal with a whole lot of very serious issues. This run is nothing. Well, not really nothing. It is my dream, and that's the point.

Why spend however many years on this planet if you cannot dream and pursue those dreams? I've been running regularly since 1978. Very near the beginning of that running career I read a book about a trans-America run and the seed was planted. I've always enjoyed road trips all over the country and, since a child, I've loved sightseeing on foot. As my love affair with running continued to grow through the years and as I approached the time when I could retire from CU, I began to think that I might actually be able to spend the time to do a cross-country run. A couple of years ago a running buddy mentioned a friend of his who had run across the country at age 60 (read about it in "In the Long Run" by Annabel Marsh) and I told AndyE that a cross-country run was something I'd always wanted to do, I just hadn't figured out from where-to-where. Then I started tossing out ideas when out from my mouth came "...or I could run from here to Petoskey..." And there you have it!

Then it just became a matter of planning: when is the earliest I could actually be ready to pursue such a quest; how much time will I need to train; how do I bring my family around to this idea; what route; what will I need; etc., etc. Just another project for this project manager. But oh so exciting. An ordinary person pursuing a maybe not quite so ordinary dream.

We all have them, dreams. With a little luck, a bit of gumption, and a large helping of stubborn sprinkled with optimism each of us can pursue our dreams.....and wake up smiling - a good thing for this world of ours.

Running as a yardstick

so...I knew my back was sore, my hip was sore, my head was achey, but it was going to take a run to really know how things stood after toppling off my bicyle yesterday. I was a bit nervous about the impending litmus test so I dilly dallied around the house all morning. I've just returned and the results show:
- left hip yells 'youch' each time my left foot hits the ground. And it's not really the hip; it's a wee bit lower and further back. On my right side, that part of my hip/glute sort of caves in; on my left side, there's a lump there.
- head got more achey, I think in part because my neck and back are so tight. I'm thinking I might have given myself whiplash (generous person that I am) when I bounced after hitting on my hip and then landing back down on my back and back of my head/helmet.
- stomach chimed in with some squirreliness; pr'y a combination of the owie hip, headache, and angst over the whole situation.

Impact so far on training:
- yesterday was supposed to be 16-17 miles but was only 11 because I wasn't able to go for a second run.
- today's early run was supposed to be 2.5 hours but was only 20 minutes (just long enough to run to the post office and back).
- today was supposed to be a 2-run day (morning then to/from BCOR tonight). There will be no run to BCOR tonight.
- no BCOR for two days in a row now, missing upper body work last night and cardio tonight. I did have the pleasure of a lower body quads/glutes/hammies BCOR workout on Monday the day after the marathon - that should have offered enough pleasure to last a while ;-)
- this week was supposed to be mid-to-upper 70 miles but is looking rather pathetic at the moment. grrrrr.

Really stupid tradition

The day after last year's Boulder Backroads Marathon I fell off my bike (I was deeply engrossed in watching an extraordinarily good pick up basketball game and rode off the bike path on my way home from work). That bit of stupidity resulted in a broken arm. This year, I waited an extra day to fall off my bike....

...no broken bones (I don't think), but one shattered picture frame (it was a gift with a picture from my retirement party - sorry Dennis!), a banged up hip (that's what I landed on), a screwed up hand (that was gripping the picture when I fell), and a whacked head (the back of my head, inside a helmet thankfully, hit the curb). So, after coming off the marathon in mighty fine shape, I'm not feeling too tip top at the moment. Stupid Stupid Stupid.

Looking at the bright (but still really stupid) side of things, I fell because, as I was dismounting, my shorts got caught on the bike seat. They got caught on the bike seat cuz they're so darned baggy now since I've been losing some very much unwanted pounds.

Time to go rest my head and get my hips off this hard desk chair....

Slow Fun & Happy

Yesterday was the 8th running of the Boulder Backroads Marathon & Half-Marathon). I've participated in this event each year it's been run, once in the half-marathon (coming off a stress fracture) and, as of yesterday, 7 times in the marathon. I know by now that, to have an enjoyable day out there, one must:

1. run the first 10 miles conservatively
2. push solidly through the next 10 miles
3. count on your training for the last 6.2 miles

I had a most enjoyable day out there yesterday!

First, I was successful at being conservative with the first 10 (actually 12) miles with the help of a woman I hooked up with who was easy to converse with and easy to just run quietly next to (thank you Hillary from Ft. Collins!). Miles 12 to 17 were run solo and pretty much on cruise control. Mile 17 is my traditional Backroads gut check point. It's the furthest east point on the course and is where we do a 180 degree turn and start heading back to the finish. On a bad day, it's where one would start a long and arduous westward (uphill) shuffle; on a mediocre day, it's where one regroups, and digs in for the long road back; on a good day, it's where one begins to pick up the effort to see how quick the last 9.2 miles can be covered. On this day, I made the turn, did the gut check and my body answered back with a suprised "Wow! I feel great!" From mile 17 to the finish I got passed by one young long-legged fellow whom I passed back around mile 24; other than that, I did all the passing. I cheered for the course marshalls, bantered with the aid station volunteers, marvelled at the views of the Continental Divide, watched in awe as parasailers floated by, charged the hills, hammered the downhills, ran my fastest mile at mile 25, and crossed the finish line with a smile 26.2 miles wide. I felt like I could run forever - and that, folks, is what this year's training is all about!

New perspective

My, times they are a changing...
I'm running a marathon tomorrow. If it weren't right here in Boulder, I may have forgotten all about it. I'm also running the new Denver marathon in October - and I'm not really sure which weekend it's on and I've no clue where the course is. Both marathons are training runs and this non-hyped approach to prepping for them is rather novel for me. As the press for Boulder Backroads has picked up the last few days, I have had to remind myself that, no, I don't really need to rest for the marathon and, no, I don't really need to do the pre-race carbo-load thing since I supposedly should be eating enough for high mileage all the time anyway, and, absolutely no, I don't need to be wondering how many women have registered in the 50-54 year old age category. Something that really pointed out the change in direction my running has taken the last few months was this week's cut-back in mileage (planned as part of my 4-week training cycle) - I've had to be very conservative with my daily run miles during the week given tomorrow's 26.2 since I want to keep my mileage under 50 for the week. Since when did 50 become my low water mark?!

Non-running training regimen

Both Mark (coach) and Holly (massage therapist) have begun talking to me about the importance of recovery. Those who have been reading pj's run this week know that me and not-running don't get along too well. But recovery goes beyond not running and that's what I really need to put more emphasis on: stretching, icing, strengthening, cross-training, sleep, nutrition...the list goes on.

Mark wants me to pay particular attention to what I do to recover after long runs and to make note of what works. Holly has offered to help me build a more structured regimen of non-running activity to help ensure I'm doing all that I can do to build up to the summer in the healthiest way possible. This is definitely unchartered territory for me after many years of putting all my eggs into the running basket with the limited amount of non-work, non-mom-stuff time I had. But I'm in a new world now, being retired and empty nested. Time to build a new bag of tricks!

Of mouse and woman

My previously-mentioned crankiness continued today, easily attributed to reduced running mileage (planned as part of my 4-week training cycle) and one-week between-sessions BCOR break, compounded with rainy weather which had been predicted so I'd saved up all my indoor chores for today and tomorrow but last night I discovered a mouse in the house.

A mouse in the house? I do not share my house with a mouse. One must leave the house, me or the mouse. So out of the house, me or the mouse? Not knowing how to roust the mouse, I left the house today I dost.

First departure: to run. ahhh....to run. For over an hour. It was lovely. I came back a much happier human.
Second departure: to help out my husband in his school library, labeling and shelving books. Bonus: his school is at the harvesting end of their "garden to table" project and the school cook happens to be a gourmet chef. Said chef invited me to partake of lunch there today: pasta with spinach pesto (fresh picked sparkly clean spinach from the school garden) and caesar salad.
Third departure: yet to happen. My current layover at home (sending my dog ahead of me wherever I go in the house, making lots of noise) has included cold-fighting activities (downing some EmergenC, drinking a cup of echinacea tea), doing a cold water wash (clothes for Sunday's marathon), checking email, IM'ing with my younger son, and this blog entry. Next I'll pack up some of the paperwork I was going to do today, a book, some other reading from my 'pile,' and head off to the library. So far, the mouse is winning!

A little of this, a little of that

This appears to be the week of 'littles.' It's my cut-back week in my 4-week training cycle so I'm only supposed to do a 'little' mileage. It's also a week's break between BCOR sessions, so I'm only doing a 'little' ab/glute/arm work (whenever I'm feeling a 'little' inspired). I'm also feeling a 'little' bit like I'm coming down with a cold so I've been doing the rest, oj, vitamin C, zinc thing. All together, I'm getting a 'little' cranky with all this inactivity.

So! Today I went out for some running in the sunshine around CU's cross-country course with Jester dog. Sweating out the cold felt mighty fine. Then I got the urge to tackle our lawn conundrum. The grass is getting too long, but we can't really mow it because so many apples have blown down from our apple tree, but it's difficult to pick up all the apples cuz the grass is so long. Today I took on the apples. After a whole lot of raking I then brought out the snow shovel and wheelbarrow. With rake in one hand scooping onto the shovel I then lifted shovel-fulls of apples single-armed up into the wheelbarrow (thank you BCOR!). Five wheelbarrow-fulls later, we now have an apple-free yard and I did some more sweating out of the cold. (btw: we have been eating the apples as well. I'm a big fan of apple crisp and they're decent apples for crisps. I'm toying with the idea of trying to make apple butter. Other suggestions are welcome!)

Moving off the plateau?

Could it be I've moved beyond the 72-73 mile per week plateau? This week's total: 76 miles. This upcoming week is a cut-back week after 3 weeks in the 70s and will culminate with the Boulder Backroads Marathon on Sunday (to be run, not raced). More good news about yesterday's run (besides trying out a new road, beautiful vistas and fun in the snow): I felt great during today's 2 hour run!

Quintessential Rocky Mountain Autumn Run

Sweat dripping as I ran from home, part way up Sunshine Canyon.
Catch a ride with Kendall the rest of the way to Gold Hill (elevation 8300 feet).
Run Gold Hill Road to the Peak to Peak Highway, soaking in the mountain vistas, speckled with aspen gold.
...getting a bit breezy
...getting a bit drizzly
...getting a bit snowy
...getting a bit blizzardy
My how I love running in Colorado!

Multi-threading messages

As each day goes by, I'm constantly thinking about what to write in this blog. And today, new things kept popping up.

1. Getting the newspaper in the morning is turning into quite the festive occasion. This morning, there were THREE boxes from Gatorade waiting on the doorstep: one with a 3-gallon cooler, one with four water bottles and a smaller cooler, and one with a bazillion cups. Gatorade has really come through. Thank you Chuck!
2. Being so excited about the Gatorade delivery, I went right out for my run - in time for the sunrise, the autumn-gold grasses waving in the breeze, hawks soaring on the thermals above, a fox pausing to watch me go by. A grand early morning 90 minutes.
3. Gulped down some oatmeal (not the easiest thing to gulp, by the way) and hopped on my bike for the ~4 mile ride to my massage appointment. Most of the ride is down 30th street which also happens to be the bulk of the route for the Bound bus. Many a time I've cycled this street playing leap frog with the Bound, which inevitably pulls away from me as we continue to the furthest point north. Not today; today I BEAT THE BUS! I will ignore the fact that there is a strong possibility that the bus driver did not know he was in a race, and that he is required to let off passengers at requested stops - the last of which allowed me to go ahead for good. Bottom line is, I BEAT THE BUS!
4. After beating the bus, Magic Fingers Beggsy worked me over. I walked in there with some pretty serious alignment issues, and walked out of there with a nice smooth, even gait (and a bunch of exercises to add to my training regimen). Thank you Holly!
5. Got home to find an email from Mark with some tweaks to my running schedule. I'll be alternating weeks with a long hill run one week and a long tempo run the other week, and every couple of weeks I'll be doing back-to-back long runs. Looking forward to it. Thanks Mark!

As you can see, lots of thank yous are in order during this whole prepping for my run to Michigan. I'm one lucky lady!

I've decided to head to the hills for tomorrow's long run and get in some autumn aspen viewing whilst running. If any of you Colorado readers out there have suggestions of where to run 18-20 miles in the high country (on not too technical a trail), do send them my way!

"I like your shoes; they sparkle!"

...said the elderly woman who was walking up the path I was running down today. And you know what, it's been just a sparkly kind of day all the way around.

Early sparkle: When we went out to get the paper this morning there was a box waiting at our door - filled with 32 21-ounce packages of powdered Gatorade! How did this come to be, you might ask. Well, when we went to son Paul's first college cross country meet on Sept 1, I was cheering for Knox women's team runners as they passed by - as was another nearby woman. We got to talking and discovered we both had freshmen boys running for Knox. We walked and talked; she spotted my Boston shirt and asked if I had run it. I said yes and she replied that her husband really wanted to run a marathon but work or injuries always seemed to interrupt his training; however, since he was the president of Gatorade, they got to go see Ironman Hawaii and weren't they tremendous athletes. "Indeed they are," I replied. "You say your husband is the president of Gatorade?"

We talk a bit more, our respective husbands joined us, and introductions were made all around. Then the little voice in my head says "It's now or never Paula" so I pipe up with "You're the president of Gatorade?" Chuck nods affirmatively and I come back with "I was going to write to you." Chuck asks if it was for a good thing or a bad thing and I answer that it's for an adventure I'm planning for the summer of 2007 and proceed to describe my run to him. He jumps in with "You're going to need a lot of hydration!" and starts asking questions about my support crew (my family), distances, etc. then says "We'll take care of you." And lo and behold, two weeks later I've got enough Gatorade at my doorstep for a gallon a day every day I'm running next summer!

More sparkle: I got up enough gumption to send a piece I wrote about running partners and a request to publish the chronicles of my run (or any other aspect of it they're interested in) to one of the running magazines. Got my fingers crossed on that one.

Even more sparkle: I did my weekly 3 mile hill run today - another run up the NCAR road but this time I came down via a new (to me) trail. Two new trails in one week!

Additional sparkle: Kendall had mentioned that his library (he's an elementary school librarian) was falling behind on shelving - so I actually worked a bit today shelving books. A couple hours of work, and the retirement luster is still shining.

End-of-day sparkle: Today is the last day of this session of BCOR. We did our cardio fit test yesterday (2 x 1-mile repeats composed of 1/4 mile up/down/up/down). Both of my times last night beat my fastest time from the first week. On both occasions, my second repeat was slower than my first, but last night's was only 4 seconds slower (vs. 22 seconds the first week). Also, this time the fit test was the day after a 3-hour run. Could it be I'm getting fitter? In any case, after tonight's session, we're going out for a bit of partying then get a week off before the next session starts up. My quads, glutes, and hammies are all thrilled with the idea of a rest week!

Change in routine

Lately I've been reading a bit in bed before rising, something I considered a rare luxury before I retired. However, I really do love early mornings and am a bit out of sorts if I get a late start on my day. So today I got out of bed in time to accompany my husband on his pre-work walk (something that I had thought I'd be doing regularly when retirement was just a distant vision). Towards the end of the walk, when Kendall turned for home, I took Jester dog and we went off on a short neighborhood run, throwing in a few strides. I followed that with stretching - something I should be doing waaay more of. Now it's 7:30 and I've checked my email, done my blog and I've got the whole day ahead of me. WeeeHawww!

Anatomy of a Three Hour Run

When I first awoke today, it was pitch black out and cold; consequently I rolled over and went back to sleep. When I next awoke, it was getting light out, but still cold; consequently I grabbed my book and snuggled deeper into my covers. Finally, a bit after 8, I decided I really should get myself into gear. Having a 3-hour run on tap, I needed to eat, drink, load my water bottle, pack some gu, and give myself at least a bit of time after eating before running. Pre-run eating is a fairly new thing for me. I've been experimenting with oatmeal and tried it again today (with success!). By the time I got out the door it was after 10....darned late for me to be starting a run, I must say.

I had been cogitating hard on which route to run. After last night's showers, I ruled out some trails that have a high post-rain mud factor. Additional trails were ruled out because of mountain lion (and mountain lion kill cache) sightings. And still other routes were ruled out because of lack of water refills along the way. I finally decided on an easterly route that would eventually take me to the Boulder Creek Path which I could run west as far as I needed, and then south as far as I needed before coming back home in three hours. One block out the door, the warm air and bright blue sky captured me and I decided to head south and west (more away from town busy-ness than the originally-planned route). As I ran I devised a route that was basically a cobbling together of several of my standard shorter routes. I was pleased with the plan. Then, about 10 minutes later, as I approached a "T" intersection of bike paths I spotted Benji and Amie running east from the "T" where I was going to turn west. Amie (who was a few steps behind Benji and another runner) yelled out "Which way are you running?". I thought a split second and yelled back "Whichever way you're going." Third running plan of the day... We join up and head to the CU cross-country property where Amie leads me on an hour-long loop-di-loop course while we chat away. That was one quick hour of running - a great start to my 3-hour run.

After parting ways with Amie, I head south from the CU course and move on to the South Boulder Creek trail, where I remember I'm in the midst of a three-hour run so take a gu and drink heartily. At the point where the South Boulder Creek zigs east, I zagged west so I could add a bit of distance, avoid some mud, and refill my water bottle at a gas station. As I run the back way around the circle drive leading to the gas station, I realize I'm going past an office building I've been in before - and that I know has a drinking fountain and rest room. Thinking that those facilities would be much more pleasant than the gas station, I stop in, drink, refill, empty, and zoom back out again. On to the next phase of the run.

I've recently become aware of a pedestrian path between two neighborhoods that avoids a busy road so I head for that. And as I come out on the east end of that path, I spot what looks like an open space gate at the end of the next bit of the neighborhood. I run there and lo and behold, there is an open space path that then turns into a single track trail that runs along the west bank of South Boulder Creek where I thought there was only a path on the east bank. A new trail! Always a good running day when one finds a new trail! I follow that north until it ends at the bridge that crosses the creek and I get back on the main trail and continue north onto the Bobolink trail, then a little jog through a neighborhood to the Centennial trail, more neighborhood, then the Boulder Creek trail where I head west.

It was on this north and west section where I noticed I was more plodding than running. At that point I resorted to a number of tricks to get some rhythm back in my legs:

• singing Yankee Doodle (which, when done with gusto, works out to a 9 minute pace...go ahead...go to a track and try it!),
  
• counting (back when I was training for a qualifier for the 100th Boston, I worked on cadence, trying for 180 footfalls per minute, and got it so ingrained in my head that I can now just start counting and arrive at that cadence by the time I've counted to 10)
• thinking of my BCOR coach (yeah Josh) telling me to lift my knees, run strong, swing my arms

All those combined, plus the distraction of eavesdropping on passing walkers and cyclists (my favorite curiosity was "the men's team has some mental issues") got me to my next refill station (a drinking fountain along the bike path) in pretty good shape. By that point, I figured I had about 3.5 miles to go.

It was getting a bit warmish and I was definitely fatiguing so was glad the bulk of the run was behind me. Now for the slightly uphill grind to the finish. A mile more on the Boulder Creek Path then onto the Skunk Creek Path, past the grazing goats in the Research Park (Boulder's version of lawn mowers), then a choice: do I wind my way easterly, southerly, westerly and back home? or do I cut through some research properties, through a parking lot, across a median and onto the straightest shot home. I opt for the latter realizing I'm really pooped. I drank a bunch more then tried to pick it up a bit on the straight-shot street. From the street, it was onto the Bear Creek path and into the underpass that takes me to my neighborhood. I glanced at my watch: 2:54. From the underpass to home the shortest way is shorter than 6 minutes. Okay, suck it up. I stayed on the Bear Creek path into the neighborhood then looped back around to my house, and clicked off the watch as my toe touched the driveway: 3:00:33.

The aftermath - pretty darned good actually. I hosed my legs down with cold water, followed by a shower and lunch. Then it was off to the post office via bicycle to mail a package to my college boys, then vacuumed the house (including cobwebs that have pry been there since my folks last came to visit - for my dad's 85th birthday - and he's approaching his 95th), then did a cold water wash and ironed a whole bunch of shirts. It was at this point in the day that I was thinking a "Music for Household Chores Hour" would be a good addition to our local radio station's lineup. There are some tunes that are great for rockin' out those chores with.

Now! Hungry again! Later!

Diddling around

This was sort of a diddly day. I started off by running to my old office with the cake I baked yesterday. (Yes, if wrapped properly, one can run with a cake. It helps that it was a bundt cake; a layer cake would have been much sloppier. One must just lock one's arm in place, elbow bent, cake dangling in a bag from one's fist, then run verrry smoothly. I do believe I have BCOR to thank for the arm strength that allowed me to go 2 miles with the cake, switching between arms but a few times.)

I came home winding through neighborhoods, then spent most of the rest of the day just diddling around. This diddling must stop. I simply must get up my nerve and start writing letters to potential sponsors. When I write, I tend to let the idea, plot, words, nuance... all simmer together in my brain until a lovely little ditty bursts forth. Well, the ditties don't appear to be bursting; it's time to force the issue.

Although the day was rather ho-hum, the evening was fruitful. A thunderstorm rolled through and just as it calmed down, it was time to run to BCOR where we gave our glutes and quads a dandy workout, wrapping that up just as another storm was beginning to move in. I actually took a ride home tonight, being a lightning wimp. Now it's time to enjoy the post-exercise buzz and some more of Kendall's green chili.

Domesticity Day

A bit of a gray and drizzly day here in Boulder - perfect for doodling around the house. First, though, we headed out for a run/ride - me running (with Jester) and Kendall riding his bike along side. It's a great time for talking and sightseeing through the neighborhoods together. When we got back to the house, I continued for a few more miles in a round-about route to the grocery store where I'd be meeting up with Kendall again for the week's shopping. (Today's run brought this week's mileage total to 72.)

Upon arriving back at the house from the store, I unloaded groceries while Kendall cooked up a batch of green chili. (While I was at the Buff game yesterday, he was perusing the farmers' markets in Denver for chilis, stocking up for the winter.) We got all that done - and a load of wash going - in time for the Bronco game. The game was not so great, but the bean and rice burritos smothered with a fresh batch of green chili were most excellent!

During the second half of the game, the most astounding thing happened. Both Kendall and I started in on sewing projects! Neither one of us would even remotely be mistaken for seamstresses, but there Kendall was, fixing pockets on a couple of shirts and I was repairing a dog blanket. (My sister-in-law, who is extraordinarily skilled with a needle, made us a blanket out of squares of old sweats. It is the handiest dog blanket since it can - and needs to - be washed so often. A few of the squares were ripped up so I put in new ones. Fortunately, only Jester dog will be getting a close look at my stitching prowess or lack thereof...)

After the sewing project and another load of wash, it was time to return to the kitchen - this time to bake a cake in honor of a birthday boy. I must have music when I bake; this afternoon it was Big Band music followed by the sound track from Moulin Rouge. A somewhat unusual selection for my baking accompaniment, but it worked quite well for the mixing and beating.

To finish off the day, I have a choice of ironing or reading. I'm thinking I go with the book; one can get too carried away with this domesticity thing doncha know!

Saturday Busy-ness

Alarm clock at 4:45 a.m. (yes, this is Saturday).
Drizzling & cool outside; a shorts, long-sleeve t, rain jacket & gloves kind of day.
Headed west and north towards the up/down number streets west of Boulder's "Hill" neighborhood.
Always, watchful eyes for mountain lions that have been reported recently.
Plenty of hills, no lions, lots of worms; head back towards home.
7 a.m., back home, ditch the jacket, rendezvous with Phil & Joe, head south and west to the mongo fartlek loop.
More hills (no fartlek), Joe & Phil up ahead, me straining to keep up.
Back to home, 2 hours 57 minutes on my watch.
Quick change into dry clothes then walk up to the neighborhood pancake breakfast. Yum!
Next up: CU Buffs vs. CSU Rams at Mile High Stadium. Go Buffs!

Dog Treats

A cool day (my first long-sleeve running day of the season) + a relatively short run = perfect Jester dog running conditions! Jester and I trotted off to his most favorite running locale: the CU cross-country course (not the scene in the picture, but Jester is the dog in the picture). He got to sniff, roll, scamper (and, yes, come right to my side whenever I called) and I got to run on dirt, cruise the hills, look at the flatirons, and simply enjoy an easy day of running. Big grins all the way around!

Socializing on the trail

After yesterday's hill repeats followed by BCOR's hammies & glutes session, I decided a soft, flat run was in order for today. So! Out to one of the best soft, flat trails around: South Boulder Creek/Bobolink. I headed out just as the sun was rising - almost the same size, same roundness, same location, and just a bit redder than last night's moon. Gorgeous! A couple of miles of running got me to the trail head and on to basking in the luxury of the soft dirt, downhill-ish surface. A mile or so into the trail, there come Patti & Sally doing their Boulder Road Runner workout. I change directions and run with them on their out/back portion of the trail for a bit of chatting before we split ways (them to the west, wrapping up their run; me to the east to follow the trail east and north and log some more miles). After but a few moments, I spot AndyE, one of my regular Saturday ("Satboy") running partners. He's almost to the end of the 'out' portion of his out/back route so I turn and run with him to his turnaround point then we run together all the way back to his house, leaving me with just a few miles of solo running before arriving back home. What a grand way to start the day! What a grand running town!

Did I mention...

....driving the route from North Platte to Boulder took roughly from lunch time to dinner time; running it will take roughly 10 days. However, I will get see sites like this scrap metal insect hive spotted along the route near Julesberg, Colorado.
Notable events of the last 24 hours:
- yesterday I baked - something I used to do very frequently but less and less so as my job progressed. It was a delight to get back into it!
- tonight a glorious golden orb of a moon lit the way as I ran home from BCOR (glutes and hams today - such a treat after doing 4x6 minute hill repeats this morning!)

Reality Check

Snippets from my running log during the time we traveled to/from Boulder, Colorado and Galesburg, Illinois/Knox College this past week:
- 8/31 p.m.: "concrete tour d'hotel at nightfall" (Lincoln, Nebraska)
- 9/1 a.m.: "lost in Lincoln" (but we still made it to Elmhurst IL in time for Paul's 5 p.m. college xc debut!)
- 9/2: "hotel -> Paul/campus -> hotel. Good thing Paul was tired from his race"
- 9/3: "Galesburg...creaky...."
- 9/4: "Nebraska farm road drills"

Also on September 4th, we meandered off the interstate and onto a likely route for the Boulder-to-North Platte portion of next summer's run. Lots of farmland, a pony express station, a portion of the Lincoln Highway, feedlots, hawks, corn, some good road, some not so good. Traveling along, looking at road shoulders, evaluating traffic levels, passing through towns with double-digit populations, seeing a whole lot of sun and very little shade....it all became very real. Just prior to this back-road exploration, I read a plaque in The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument (a fine museum that pays tribute to those who passed through Nebraska via the Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, California Trail, Pony Express, the first railroad, the Lincoln Highway (the first transcontinental highway)):
The cowards never started
The weak died on the way
Only the strong arrived
They were the pioneers