PJ's Run

I'm flirting with a cold.
It's snowing - again.
I'm in the throes of taper-nutty-slugishness due to this week's light mileage.
But - none of that matters!

While crafting a letter requesting permission to run across the Mackinac Bridge, I found out the most amazing thing: The Mackinac Bridge is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
And, their anniversary celebration is going to be held July 27-28.
And, I'm due to arrive at the north end of the bridge on July 28th!!!
And, when I told my younger son about this he replied with "Isn't that the one-year anniversary of your retirement?" And he's absolutely right!!!!

Holy smokes!!!! Cosmic forces - whatever they may be - are smiling on The Bridge!
(The picture is from the Mackinac Bridge Authority photo gallery - beautiful isn't it?!
The bridge, the 3rd longest suspension bridge in the world and the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere, connects the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan - and Petoskey ...my hometown...the town I'm running to... is 35 miles south of the bridge. )

This is a planned easy week: 50-60 miles. The timing is good; I feel on the verge of a cold and the additional rest should take care of that. In fact, I'd best take care of most everything that ails me this week as I have a major test coming up. The schedule for the next three weeks is 110 miles, 180 miles, 110 miles. When I think about it, I get just a wee bit nervous. Instead of getting nervous, however, I should take stock of preparations to date. Perhaps I'll discover I'm ready for this next challenge!

So far:

• The first half of 2006 I averaged 45 miles per week (early-year mileage was particularly low as I was coming back from a broken arm-induced lay off).
• Mid-June, 2006 I started running 60-mile weeks.
• August I moved up to 70-mile weeks - my treat to myself upon retiring July 28th.
• After getting six 70+-mile weeks under my sneakers, I moved up to 80-mile weeks in October.
• Again, six weeks of the new mileage level, then it was on to 90-mile weeks the last week of November.
• Since then, the mileage as been a bit jumpy: 90 miles, 58.5 miles (planned easy week), 86 miles, 95.5 miles, 51.5 miles (the week my dad died and we went to Michigan), 77 miles, 95.5 miles, 100.5 miles, 50.5 miles (less mileage than originally planned due to flirting with injury), 70.5 miles, 100 miles, 110 miles, 73.5 miles (higher quality/faster paced), and this week's 50-60.

It looks like I laid a strong groundwork of 70-80+ mile-weeks then went into a patchwork of 6 weeks with 90-100 miles mixed with a few light weeks and a couple of semi-lower mileage/quicker weeks. Will this be enough to tackle the next three week mega-mileage cycle? Based on my recent 110-110 week combo, I'd say "yes!" It was during that stretch that the non-running components of my training started coming together. I was putting more emphasis on stretching, I was more conscious of timing when it came to eating, I was more religious about icing...and it's all paying off. That and the 50-degree days and sunshine. Every little bit, all added together - et voila! Happy healthy runner!

I headed out early this morning to scout trails before rendezvousing with the satboys gang. It was one fine scouting expedition: clear trails that we hadn't been able to run for weeks and wildlife galore. So when I met up with the guys, I was psyched to lead the way.

First we headed through the CU cross-country property and out a back trail - where I pointed out that furry creature you see sleeping in the tree (we all believe it's a raccoon, although we couldn't see a distinguishing striped tail). Then it was over the back gate and onto the South Boulder Creek trail where we saw a magnificent hawk watching the world move about him from high in his tree, and a few paces later a heron flew overhead, then a hawk with something (grass? a stick?) sticking out of its tail flew overhead, then we spotted a hawk sitting in a tree eating its breakfast.
All the while, the sun shone down and a light wind danced about us. Not bad for a winter weather alert day!

(btw: I got my camera phone working again - thus today's picture and I added a picture to the Feb 21 entry)

Forecast for today (Friday): blue sky, temperatures in the 50s.
Forecast for tomorrow (Saturday/traditional long run day): snow and high winds
Smart move of the day: run long today!

It was a solo run, but a fine one indeed in shorts and long-sleeve t: from my house, north towards the Boulder Reservoir, country roads north and east of the rez - accompanied by a bevy of hawks and geese, then east to the town of Longmont. And that's where the bread comes in.

The owners of the Great Harvest Bread Company of Longmont, upon hearing of my run, jumped right up and said they'd send me bread along the way. Then, on top of that, they said if I happen run to Longmont I should stop by for refueling - which is just what I did today. So! After 3.5 hours of running, I trotted into the bakery, got a big welcome from proprietor Matt, and was loaded up with thick slices of bread (cinnamon burst swirl and nine grain - both fabulous) and a topped-off water bottle. And, just as I was turning to leave, Matt said "Oh! You should have some of this too" and handed me a packet of peanut butter. He was exactly right - the bread plus the peanut butter was absolutely scrumptious and did an admirable job of tiding me over while I caught the bus back to Boulder and home. Thank you Great Harvest of Longmont!

'Twas another fine day here in Boulder. Shorts, sunshine, and dry trails!
I ran one of my most favorite trail loops - but one I haven't been able to run since November 22 because of all the snow we've had. The loop goes from my house south to the western portion of the South Boulder Creek trail, west (uphill) on South Boulder Creek to the Mesa Trail, a short northwest segment on Mesa over to the Bluestem Trail, and east (downhill) on Bluestem, then back home. Going west on South Boulder, which is a bit rocky, teaches me to pick up my feet; going east on Bluestem, which is quite smooth running, lets me stretch it out and fly. And there are great views both ways: the flatirons going west and the plains going east.
What a glorious run!

This was definitely one of those days that leaves you smiling. To start with, this morning's run:

• saw a blue heron near my old office
  
• stopped at my old office to tell them about the heron and saw some of my old work buddies - one of whom has my old plants and, my goodness, they look grand
• saw a whole bunch of hawks swirling and swooping
• ran a route I haven't run in many years - past the school house that was built the year my dad was born (1911), past the farm house I've admired since the first day I saw it...and it's now listed as 'historic' and is for sale, past the old brick house with three stories, big porch, nooks & crannies everywhere
  
• glorious view of the Continental Divide
• saw a coyote who saw me and we both trotted along giving each other long looks
  
• did the middle of the run as a tempo run singing Yankee Doodle to myself (which works out to a 9 mpm pace), and counted steps per minute before and after the tempo section to be sure I was going 91 steps per minute (counting just the left footfalls) - and felt great while cruising
• it was sunny! the roads were dry! I was wearing shorts!
  

The first leg of the run (~9 miles) ended at the door to a company I'm asking to sponsor me. I dropped off the sponsor request form and letter and got up the guts to ask if I could speak to the sponsor person. The answer was yes! So we had a brief meeting, she seemed to respond favorably, and I'll know in April whether or not my request for sponsorship was accepted.

I ran back only as far as a bus stop, took the bus back into town and went to the next smile-generating function of the day: a free concert at the Boulder Public Library - the Gypsy Swing Revue band - great foot tapping music and superb musicians.

Next it was a run home (via the "hill" neighborhood near CU - somewhere I haven't run since the snow hit - fun hills, ran past a house I lived in during grad school, great change of scenery from the last couple of months). Only a brief stop at home for a quick bite, shower and change then off to a retirement party at CU for a fellow I worked many a project with. 'Twas old home week...many many people I used to work with throughout my 26 years at CU. Very fun to catch up with everyone.

Now, it's back home - and the smile's still on my face. A good day. A very good day.

This was one tough week: weather, miles, flagging spirit. It's time to look beyond the difficulties and focus on the good stuff:

• I ran 110 miles this week!
• I put a 18 mile Saturday morning run and 4 mile Saturday afternoon run back-to-back with a 17.5 mile Sunday run and am still mobile!
• I didn't fall on the ice; I didn't break anything.
• I ran with friends on four different occasions - which sure does make the miles fly by.
• I saw hawks galore, two bald eagles, a cow in labor, and a herd of llamas.
• Today's run, along a highway, included many stretches of very runnable dirt shoulder...quite the treat for the tootsies that have been pounding so much concrete.
• I ran in shorts today!!!!
  

So how did the 110 miles come about:

• Monday a.m.: 9 miles round about to my massage, 1 mile from the bus to home
• Monday p.m.: 3 miles to and from the post office (round about)
• Tues. a.m.: 12 miles including running to the hill drill hill, two sets of drills then bailing due to slick snow & ice, 3 miles on the treadmill, then home (round about)
• Wed. a.m.: 12 miles gorgeous run until another snow storm blew in - the bald eagle/birthing cow run.
• Wed. p.m.: 3 miles in snow and ice around the neighborhood
• Thurs. a.m.: 6 miles squeezed in between when it started getting warm enough for good footing and when I needed to be at my volunteer job - managed to even run a trail I hadn't been on for about a month
  
• Thurs. p.m.: 10 miles running with a friend on her errand (the first few miles) then continuing on out and about cuz the weather was so nice and I knew I needed to get in some more miles
  
• Friday a.m.: 11 miles from my house to the post office then to AndyE's house then a big loop including some runnable trails and back home again after dropping AndyE off at his house
• Friday p.m.: 3.5 miles running errands from home to downtown in quite decent weather
• Saturday a.m.: 18 miles with the first 7 or so on extremely icey surfaces until the sun came up, the next couple getting out to the rendezvous point with Joe and AndyE, then 9 miles of great running on dirt roads and trails around the Boulder Reservoir
• Saturday p.m.: 4 miles from home to the running store to buy my new watch. Yay!
• Sunday (today): .5 miles out the door and back after deciding to change from a jacket to a short sleeve sweatshirt, 2 miles out the door and back after deciding to change from tights to SHORTS!, 15 miles out the door and on to Lyons...a little town north of Boulder where my husband met me and we went out for a most delicious lunch (catfish po'boy, sweet potato fries, black bean salad, two glasses of ice tea...yum!)

On tap for the new week:
...decreased quantity (80 miles),
...increased quality (tempo, hills, fartlek, quicker overall pace)

I left the house at 6:15 this morning, running from south Boulder, through town, then north and east to the Boulder Reservoir where I was to meet running buddies Joe and AndyE. The in-town portion of the run was horrendous: icey roads, even icier sidewalks and bike paths, cold, dark, dancing over ice to make room for cars - and to top it all off, one car decided to drive down the bike lane I was occupying...driver looking at me all the way. It was at that point in the run that I began to question this whole adventure. The snow, the cold, the ice, the difficulty of getting the miles in through this rugged winter, and the crazy drivers were all conspiring to turn me into a sniveling pile of whimpishness.

Then I got onto the country roads north of town.
The sun was rising higher, roads were dry, horses were whinnying, cows were grazing, hawks were flying, the three-legged dog that had chased after me a few months ago was tied up, and my running buddies were waiting at the rez with smiles. The second nine miles of the run were delightful. Sunshine, a new loopy route, good company, lovely views of the mountains, almost no traffic, great footing and a quick pace. All was right with the world once again.

As for the second run of the day (in my desperate attempt to get to 110 miles for the week by the end of the day tomorrow) - I ran to a running store and bought a new watch. The band was breaking, the battery was running down (the 2nd battery its had), and my tired old eyes are having a harder time reading the white numbers on a black background of my old watch. So! I now have a new watch with easy-to-read black numbers on a light background, a cloth watchband, and the same controls as the old watch so no learning curve involved. I can't wait to take it for a run - which will probably be a 17 miler tomorrow to get my 110...a good first workout for the new timepiece!

I've still got almost 40 miles to go to get to 110 for the week. And I'm tired tired tired.

I ran 11 this morning (in much less wind than predicted), got home, stretched, ate, sat (briefly) in an ice bath, showered, stretched out on the couch to read the newspaper...and fell asleep. Read, nodded off, read, nodded off - then changed into running gear and ran errands around town. Got home, did a few chores, ate dinner, stretched out on a different couch to watch TV...and fell asleep. TV, nodded off, TV, nodded off - then got ready for bed, stopped by the computer to write this, then will actually go to bed. It's out-the-door at 6 a.m. tomorrow for a long run including a rendezvous with the satboys gang at the rez at 8.

Oh yeah, it's snowing again.

10 degrees.
.....More snow.
..........A hint of sunshine.
...............Two bald eagles in a tree.
..........Hawks everywhere.
.....A cow giving birth.
Good run.

Yes indeedy. This week calls for 110 miles - a new high watermark for me, so, naturally, today brings more snow, cold, and ice. Despite the weather, I met up with AndyE for some hill drills. We managed 4 before it just got too slick and we called it quits for the drills. I ended up with an hour 45 minutes of running outside, followed by 3 miles of a treadmill hill workout at the rec center where AndyE and I had rendezvoused, and another couple of miles running home. Whether or not I go out again today will be a matter of gumption...

As for last week's running, I got in my second 100-mile week. By Friday I was feeling pretty creaky - enough so that I had my doubts about Saturday's runs. But, sticking to the plan, Saturday morning I pulled on my running gear, loaded up my pockets with Lara bars to munch on during the day, and headed out for my run to the xc races - and felt great! What with the excitement of the xc competition, I continued to feel great all day as I buzzed around doing my volunteer thing. By the end of the day, though, I was getting a bit concerned about Sunday's long run since Saturday had included 8 continuous hours on my feet, 3 runs, and very little food until dinner (oatmeal for breakfast, and 2 Lara bars, 1 cup of coffee, and 1 bottle of Gatorade during the day). But, again sticking to the plan, I headed out Sunday morning set on getting the 17.5 miles I needed to finish off my 100 mile week - and felt great!

You know how when you embark on something new and challenging, be it sport or academics or professional pursuit, you start from a comfort zone (often born of ignorance in my case) and dive into a whirlpool of struggling newness, thrashing your way through trying to master new skills and new knowledge and eventually, if you keep at it, you find yourself on a new higher-level comfort zone. So....I'm wondering....have I reached a new level? I hope so!
Meanwhile, today, it's just the snow/ice/cold vs. my gumption...

...February 10, 2007: USA Cross Country Nationals Championship races.
...Masters men & women 8k races, Junior women 6k, Junior men 8k, Open women 8k, Open men 12k.
...A serpentine 2k loop around a golf course in Boulder, snow-lined grass and dirt track with one small ditch jump and one big ditch jump (Jonesy's surprise, named after Steve Jones), tons of mud head to toe on runners, splattering spectators, sidelining lead vehicles.
...Fantastic spectator viewing options - and an estimated 10,000 spectators dashing about in the mud and snow to watch the action .
...The best of the best of USA's runners vying for spots on the World Cross Country Team going head to head, stride for stride, mud splat for mud splat.

Put it all together and you have a spectacular race.

I was very proud (and very lucky) to be a tiny volunteer cog in this extraordinary event...

• to witness a 15 year old win the Junior girls' race by 14 seconds,
  
• to cheer for not one, not two, but 5 over-80 Boulder Road Runners cruised the course (and another 9 70+ year olds).
  
• to see first-hand what the announcer described as "perfect form" as Deena Kastor stretched it out with each lap of the course to win by 61 seconds over 3000 meter American record holder Shalane Flanagan
• to hear the roar of the crowd as hometown boy, CU grad and Olympian Alan Culpepper moved up through the pack, eventually overtaking Adam Goucher, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Jorge Torres to lead the four-man former-CU-runners sweep at the finish.
  

If you have a chance to watch the TV coverage of this fantastic set of races, do! (ESPN2 was covering the races, and the documentary, Showdown, which is following five of today's runners, will have footage from the race.) The race website (www.boulder2007.com/) also offers some great info.
And, if ever in the future you have the opportunity to participate in a National XC meet, do it!

This morning's run was out by the Boulder Reservoir - and what a treat it was. The run from my house to the rez was fairly typical of the last several weeks: lots of concrete, dancing around ice, and even some fog though not as dense as yesterday's. But once I got to the rez (and met up with Joe), we had clear sailing. The roads were completely clear of snow, the dirt was hard-packed (no mud, no ice, no puddles), the traffic was light, the fog added both stillness and a tinge of frost to everything. We were in another world. This 'other world' was also home to a host of hawks watching from tree tops and gliding over fields. And for a special treat - a heron flew out of a ditch next to us then stayed just ahead for several minutes of viewing enjoyment. One of the best runs of 2007.

After the run, it was a quick trip home to stretch, ice, shower, and eat before I headed off to the National XC Championships packet pickup headquarters where I handed out t-shirts for a few hours. Very fun seeing so many runners from all over the country...young runners, mature runners, men, women, tall, short, skinny, stocky...all quite excited about tomorrow's race. The race will be held at a golf course in town (a flat course as a concession to the altitude, but with a couple of ditch/stream crossings just to keep things interesting). The course has been plowed and the water has been squeegeed/blown off it. So it's pretty much ice-free but the runners should be cruising and the mud should be flyin'!

This is supposed to be a 100 mile week. Monday and Tuesday went pretty well: 14 and 15 miles spread out over 3 runs on Monday and 2 runs on Tuesday. Yesterday (Wednesday) was another three-run day that went something like this:

• I woke up knowing it would be an icey morning given the prior day's warm temps and the mounds of snow still lining all the roads and yards. So, I figured I'd have my short run in the morning and a longer run when the day got warmer. That meant Jester would get to come on the morning run. At least one of us was psyched. I made a poor choice of routes: home to the CU cross-country property. The road into the CU property was an ice skating rink. The trails within the property were chopped ice. The bike paths I took out of the property (to avoid the ice rink road) were rivers of ice...absolutely impassable. I ended up hiking through snow banks. All in all, very little running and a whole lot of grumpiness.
• Post-run I met up with friend Debby to strategize on sponsorship possibilities, PR, logistics, etc. and ran into running buddy Joe. Debby always brings my psyche around to a good place and Joe suggested an afternoon run together. The mood was on the upswing.
• The afternoon run with Joe was over our regular fartlek loop (without the fartlek). Shorts weather. Clear roads. Great stuff. All was well with the world again.
• As part of the National Cross-Country meet activities, there was going to be a nutrition panel/talk in the early evening. The sun was still up, the talk was only a couple of miles away, I decided to run there.
• Wednesday totals: 3 runs, 14.5 miles, full stretching routine, no ice bath
• This morning I was to meet up with AndyE for an early run. And we had a new weather challenge: fog...so thick where AndyE and I were meeting that you couldn't see the length of a block. We cut our run a bit short though I still managed eight miles by taking a round-about way home.
• To get my 100 for the week, I really needed to get in an afternoon run. My body was not too terribly thrilled with the idea so we had a rather intense discussion. "You're going to be running two-a-days all summer, you'd better get used to it." "Yeah, but I'm achey and would really rather just sit with my feet up." "What's 180 miles in a week going to feel like if you can't even muster 100 miles?" "What's another run today going to feel like if you're already tired, eh?" Well...I won that argument. uhhh...which side was I on/not on? Anyways. Went out for another 5.

The runs tomorrow and Saturday will be fit in around the US cross-country activities. I'm running about 2.5 hours tomorrow morning before volunteering at packet pickup and I'll pry jog home from packet pickup (I'll be in street clothes, but I suspect I'll really need to loosen my legs by then). And Saturday I'll run to the races, volunteer at the races, perhaps run during a break in the races and my volunteer activities, then I'll run from the races to the CU women's basketball game (if the races are done in time).

Sunday I'll run as many miles as I need to get my 100. So far, I've got 56.5.

First: it's warm! How warm? Warm enough for shorts! Yesterday it was predicted to get into the 50s so I went ahead and headed out in shorts even while the temps were in the 30s. It warmed up quite nicely and I was one happy pale-legged camper. Today it was already into the 40s when I went out the door and my knees were happily breathing fresh air once again.

Second: the hills! The plan was to meet AndyE at our favorite hill-repeat hill. I ran about 50 minutes to our rendezvous point, and we found a horde of runners gathering for their hill repeat session at our hill. It turned out to be Mark Plaatjes' training group and when they saw us hanging out behind them (no way were we going to the head of the line) they encouraged us to join in. Well, heck, why not?! Every train needs a caboose! So there we were, running hill repeats with Plaatjes' speedy striders. 10 repeats in fact. And it was a blast. We were by far the slowest in the group but it turned into an excellent workout. They'd make it to the top and turn, and as soon as we saw them turn, we turned. They'd pass us on the way down, and when we saw them turn at the bottom, we'd turn to go back up the hill. 5 repeats or so into the workout, I started playing 'rabbit' - trying to stay ahead of the fastest runners with Mark exhorting his runners to catch Paula. About 8 repeats in, only Mark caught me and we both burst out laughing when he sneaked up on my shoulder (that man is a beautiful runner...his feet barely touch the ground as he flies by). And, upon finishing the 10th repeat, off I went for the rest of my run...50 more minutes, all of it spent dreaming of the ice bath I'd be treating my legs to as soon as I got home. Great fun!

3 hour run today. Much of it
.....uphill. into the wind. on ice.
No exaggeration.

I just finished mapping Wisconsin! Which means I've just arrived at the Michigan border! If the schedule holds, I'll be entering Michigan on July 21 - 1,198 miles into the run! The grin just kept getting bigger and bigger the closer I got to the state line! And we're only talking a map here!

The Wisconsin route can be found at: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=681821

Synopsis:
I'll be in Wisconsin from July 10 a.m. through July 21 p.m.
The route through Wisconsin is 289 miles long.
And, best of all, the route includes a lot of trail time:

• Chippewa River State Trail from Durand to Eau Claire
• Mountain-Bay State Trail from Weston to just north of Pulaski

And, after Pulaski, I pick up county roads and get a big dose of Lake Michigan/Green Bay shoreline. I'm so psyched!!!!

fyi - The routes through the states leading up to Wisconsin can be found at
Colorado (still to be converted from mapmyrun):
0-105 miles: http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/united-states/co/boulder/178670771
105-210/Nebraska: http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/united-states/co/brush/178705730
Nebraska: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com//?r=673075
Iowa: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=646975
Minnesota: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=649166

The nice lady on the radio said she had an announcement: "We're under a snow advisory through 9 a.m. tomorrow."
The nice man on the radio shortly thereafter said: "They're now predicting 8 inches of snow."

Yesterday it was all of 17 when I went out for my morning run - and I ran south which turned out to be into the wind which dropped the temperature to I-don't-know-what bitter cold. And as I was headed toward a trail a fellow was coming from that same trail and said: "It's really choppy, really icey, really bad." So I turned (which got me going with the wind and warmer) and ran one more stupid circle on this stupid snow with this stupid ice.

Today it was 5 degrees when I headed out and I was dressed better than I had been yesterday so stayed almost warm. But yesterday's really fine dry snow coated the streets which were then packed down by cars and everything was slicker'n'snot. I met up with AndyE about 40 minutes into my run and we ran some stupid sidewalks around in stupid circles avoiding the supid snow and stupid ice.

Tomorrow we're supposed to see a high of 10 degrees, with wind gusts up to 28 mph, and we'll have that up-to-8-inches of snow on the ground.

Are we having fun yet?!