2008 Restrospective

2008 was a potpourri of bumps, glides, hiccups, and yodels.

From a running perspective, there were certainly more hiccups than yodels. It looks like total miles logged will be about 2376 - a far cry from last year's 4,233. There were many days off, many less-than-planned weekly totals, few extra long runs - all for a variety of reasons ranging from falling on my tailbone to caring for a sick mom. But I was still able to get out, feel crisp cool air against my face, lope along the beach, scramble over rocks, dodge cow pies... What's a mileage total when you've got that kind of freedom at your toetips?

And in the grand scheme of things, it was a mighty fine year. My mom recovered from her sickness, my husband still makes me smile, my sons still like to come home to visit, and my dog still wags his tail whenever he sees me.

This is what makes the year shine!

Jester, Paul & Devon, December 2008

Holiday delights

This Christmas, our greatest delight has been having both of our sons home:
Paul just back from a trip to China where he taught English at Anhui Normal University and Devon who was able to squeeze together a few days off work and a train trip from Illinois to Colorado. It's Devon's first visit back to Boulder since last Christmas. Our house definitely feels more like home when the brothers are prancing about!



Our Boulder Colorado weather has been just wintry enough to make it feel like Christmas...especially when Mister Kendall is willing to don his boots and ho! ho! ho! his way out through the snowbanks to the morning newspaper in his nightshirt. Neighbors beware!






And, as an added delight, the January/February issue of "Marathon & Beyond" arrived in my mailbox Christmas eve sporting the first of my four-part series about my run to Michigan. Happy holidays indeed!

Baking Bonanza

Wintry weather blasted into Boulder this weekend. Perfect weather and perfect timing for turning on the oven, turning up the carols, breaking out the Baileys, and invoking my mother's cookie baking gene.

Many dozens of ginger cookies, magic cookie bars, pecan angel slices, date nut pinwheels, maple pecan butter cookies, buckeyes, chocolate & peppermint-studded dream cookies and Seydel date bars later and our Christmas cookie supply is shaping up nicely. Bunches will go in the mail tomorrow and bunches more will be awaiting the arrival of our boys...home from China and Galesburg. Holiday excitement mounts!

Ankle biting road junk

Some junk you find along the road can be fun - like all the junk I found along the road during a couple of days in Nebraska that I turned into this mobile for AndyE:
However, today I had a first-hand (first-foot?) encounter with road junk that I wouldn't quite refer to as "fun" - (fun sure wasn't the first word that flew out of my mouth at the time of the encounter). I was running along, saw that the light at the intersection ahead was about to turn green so I picked up the pace and began to fly! Unfortunately, I wasn't flying because of my supersonic speed...no... I was flying because, apparently, my left foot had just stepped on a wire hoop, causing it to raise up, where it caught my right foot in mid-stride. So "fly" was immediately followed by "crash" then "slide." Ouch! My knees and elbows now sport some lovely scrapes and egg-sized bumps - but, worst of all, the spanky smart wool gloves that I won at a race got a hole ripped in the palm. Rats!

Beware the road-side traps!

Over the river and through the woods

...to grandmother's house we go. Or, more precisely, to my mom's - but picking up our sons along the way thus their grandmother's. My brother and our dog will be accompanying us from Boulder so, by the time we get to Petoskey, there will be five humans and one fuzzy beast descending on what is typically a very calm and quiet homestead. Nothing like adding a little excitement to an 88-year-old's life! It is the first time we'll all be together since I finished The Run (August 2007). A long overdue gathering, I'd say!

Since we'll be driving across the Great Plains, we've been keeping a close eye on the weather. It has certainly been topsy-turvy here in Boulder. Last week was quite mild. However, Saturday's long run started in 18 degree weather...the coldest so far this fall. I couldn't quite remember what-all to wear when the temperatures dip so low so I pretty much just threw on every layer I could get my hands on. The cold air was very short-lived; by Tuesday, it was shorts and singlet weather...not just warm, but hot! Yesterday, another shorts & t-shirt day but today I was dancing over ice-encrusted wooden bridges as I ran along the creek paths amidst freezing drizzle. Because we're heading to Great Lakes/North Woods country, I figure we're looking at a week of wintry weather done right...but have packed a pair of running shorts just in case ;-)

Satisfaction

Two extremely satisfying events have occurred since I retired. One was my run from Boulder, Colorado to Petoskey, Michigan. A decades-long dream fulfilled. But a very self-centered dream. So many people pitched in to make it happen even though it was just one woman's frivolity.

The second, was the fulfillment of the promise I made to myself when I retired: to become involved with the 2008 election, specifically with the Democratic Party. My first opportunity came with an early summer e-mail saying I had been selected to volunteer at the DNC Host Committee call center. What a great job! I met dozens of folks from around the country who came to work the call center in the weeks leading up to the actual convention - and talked to thousands more who were eager to volunteer during the convention.
Just the walk through an exceptionally vibrant downtown Denver on my way to the call center each day during convention week was a thrill. And to be able to be at the final night's event...I'm still in awe...
Eager to keep the energy flowing, I put my name it at Boulder's Democratic Headquarters and at Obama's Boulder Headquarters and have spent the last several weeks doing mailing stuffings, data entry, list checking, ...whatever behind-the-scenes work was needed. And yesterday I was a poll monitor for Just Vote Colorado to help ensure that everyone who was eligible to vote was able to vote. Last night, it all paid off.

Of the many revelations I gleaned from my run, that which stands out the most is that we live in an astounding country brimming full with good, kind, wonderful people. I look forward to working with a leader who both recognizes and echoes that goodness.

Better than drugs

I woke up in a grumbly mood. As usual, upon waking, I prepared for a run. I knew in my head where I wanted to run - up...up on trails...up on long trails. But it took a lot of effort for my head to first convince my body to go out the door and, secondly, to convince my feet to keep heading west. Two miles into the run, the rhythm of the run began to encompass me. Three miles into the run, the cacophony of the city began to fade. Four miles into the run, it was just me and the trail... burnt-red leaves of scrub oak, the occasional twitter of a bird, sporadic breezes cooling my face, and a bright blue sky overhead.

This running, this running to quiet spots...quiet spots out of doors with sky as roof and trees, pine needles, streams and boulders as pathways...this is how I stay right with the world.

Keeping Busy

Almost-full October moon over the Continental Divide at dawn

A couple of weeks ago I was feeling a tad bored...so I started a landscaping project. That wrapped up just before a dose of wintry weather blew in. And now, as of today, I find myself working three jobs!

The day started with the volunteer job I've had for a little over a year - a three-mornings per week gig that I thoroughly enjoy reading newspapers over the airwaves for the visually impaired. Bonus - this volunteer job I can actually run to & fro and revel in the early dawn hours of quiet Boulder town.

After reading, I trotted home and took on my second job of the day, copy editing some articles. The copy editing actually pays Real Money - just enough to cover the cost of my fiddle lessons. Wahoo!

Now I'm off to my third job of the day - volunteering as a data entry person at the Boulder Obama headquarters.

Not bored no more no more nope nope!

The perfect loop

I wake up to discover it's loads warmer today than yesterday...comfortable shorts and long-sleeve t' weather.... So! head out the back door under a star-studded sky, run by the post office to drop a letter in the box, head east into the next neighborhood, point myself toward the sunrise and realize it's getting light enough to run trails so I do just that, and after an hour of smooth easy running, arrive at my volunteer job relaxed and refreshed.

Finish my Wednesday morning assignments, drink a cup of most-excellent coffee (Unseen Bean - superb stuff!), walk out the door to downright balmy temperatures, and continue on in the counterclockwise direction of my earlier run. Jump off the road and onto a sort-of-a-trail for a change of pace, spot a snake slithering away just in front of me, duck under golden quaking aspen leaves, cross some railroad tracks, discover the place where they make jibbitz (those decorative thingies for crocs), duck into another neighborhood zigging and zagging and daydreaming until I discover I've come back out onto the road I'd ducked off of so zigged and zagged some more back into the neighborhood then onto a bike path, heard a woman tell her dogs to "pay attention" and thought wouldn't that be something to teach a dog how to do - I never quite succeeded on that one with my boys!, gawked at a yellow-flowered bush covered with dozens of butterflies and bees, meandered over to another trail followed by yet another bike path, then on into my neighborhood and home, scoop up my newspaper and trot through the front door.

Ten miles of town running, almost all quiet roads, trails and bikepaths, from twinkling stars to sparkling sunshine, and didn't retrace a single step. I love those loop runs!

Heart and mind

Several years ago I was offered a job in New York City. Just prior to the trip to NYC when I was to give them my decision, I went for a run at Boulder's Teller Farms trail with the satboys gang. It was a glorious autumn day, blue sky, crisp air, and wonderful company. We ran over a series of hills, finally cresting the "water tower hill" when the Continental Divide and a host of hot air balloons filled the view. Much like today.


It was at that moment, that I knew I couldn't leave Boulder for the fast track job and faster NYC life. I've never regretted the decision. Every time I run up a hill and see hot air balloons drifting in front of the mountains, I think of that day and am grateful. Yes, my life would have been filled with great opportunities and adventures. But! My husband wouldn't have gone back for his teaching certification, my sons may not have discovered the college where they have had their own fantastic experiences, and I wouldn't have been able to retire at 54 opening the door for the year's training and subsequent run to Michigan when all the planets aligned to make it such a successful journey. The logical analysis of the job opportunity pointed to saying yes, but my heart and gut said no. Listen to that heart and gut - and revel in the sun, the mountains, and hot air balloons.

One year ago

June 6, 2007 - the adventure began. 1400 miles later, I was changed forever.
I am a lucky woman.



The send-off festivities (driveway and past my office):

Leaving Boulder:

Nebraska - of sandhill beauty and friendly drivers:




Iowa - 25 days into the journey...
who'd've thunk it'd take so long?!

Minnesota - a state of corn - lots of corn - but over 70 miles of trails too!

Wisconsin - a return to the great north woods - and - Lake Michigan!













...and then Michigan...









A mere 57 days and 1384 miles later, there was just one run left to go:

August 1, 2007, the finish line:

oh yeah...

Why I run

A local marathon has been advertising a "Why I Run" promotion. Such a question typically leads to a myriad of responses. Today I woke up in a funk. Perhaps the combo of no-big-goal and too-much-routine were wearing on me. Who knows. But rather than trot off to my Thursday morning exercise class, once I laced up my shoes and headed out the door I found myself pointed toward the trails. Up hills, through woods, over rocks, along babbling brooks, spring flower-dappled meadows at my side, blue sky above, air filled with bird song, and funk nowhere to be found.
This is why I run:

How 'bout that?!

Bolder Boulder participants - my 2 favorite quarterbacks (see www.bolderboulder.com)

When I last posted, I pondered how I'd run the Bolder Boulder. It was a day of surprises.

First surprise: I was in the mood to race...and not so much to race the clock, but to just see how fast I could go while feeling good. Hopeful goal: break 60 minutes. Dream goal: run my age (56:xx).

Second surprise: I ran the first mile (a downhill mile, very tempting to go too fast) well in control and hit it in a comfortable 9:11. It just so happens that a 9:10 pace would get me across the finish line just under 57 minutes.

Third surprise: After running miles 2 and 3 (uphill miles) in the 9:20s, I started picking up both speed and energy, and mile times dropped for each mile from 4 on.

Shocking surprise: I checked my watch at 9K and discovered that, if I could hammer the last kilometer, I'd sneak in under 57 minutes. AND I DID IT!!!! I've always known that my brain/stubbornness has a whole lot to do with any running success I might have - and it came through again this time. Not only did I concentrate on picking the shortest line along the course from 9k on in, but when I got to the very rude uphill just before the 6 mile mark and my legs started screaming at me, I answered back with "if I can run 1400 miles I can run this friggin' hill" - and so I did. Mind over matter - a delightful phenomenon.

Lessons learned:

• Bits of speed work add up. I did the occasional workout with the Boulder Road Runners, hill repeats on my own, tempo runs with running partners, and 1 minute pickups tossed into everyday runs. A little something at least once per week...apparently enough to jazz the legs up sufficiently for a 10k.
• Attitude is everything. Arriving at the starting line in the mood to experiment with speed, combined with putting my ego on hold, opened the door wide - and I leapt right on through.
• A little luck goes a long way. The weather was cool with occasional light drizzle. Hard on spectators but a perfect day for a run.
  

The Bolder Boulder question

Another stellar morning in Boulder. During today's run, I was greeted with the sight of two hot air balloons rising up behind Valmont Butte as I made my way to my volunteer job. (The balloons are the two specs just above the butte in the center of the picture...my phone camera certainly leaves something to be desired...)

A few mornings hence and the Bolder Boulder will fill the streets with runners and spectators. It's quite the gala event. I've not yet decided what approach I will take this year: run? race? run with a friend? see how fast I can run? As I trotted home from my volunteer job, I crossed paths with a fellow Boulder Road Runner who asked what I was shooting for on Monday. I told him I wanted to finish with a smile on my face. He had the better answer when I asked him what his goal was. His response: "I want to be drinking a beer by 8 a.m."

As for racing versus running, my body has still not fully transitioned out of the long-slow-run mode. However, I had a revelation after volunteering at last weekend's Big XII Track & Field Championships (a fantastic meet by the way - info can be found at www.cubuffs.com). Much of my volunteer time was spent at the back of the final straightaway where I had a fabulous view of runners flying down the track...spectacularly chiseled bodies, with soles of their shoes flashing back at me as the runners accelerated toward the finish line.
A few days later, as I was doing 90-second repeats along the South Boulder Creek path, that vision of the soles of the shoes came back to me - and I started pulling my feet through, lifting my heels behind me...not as high as my butt like the gazelles of the Big XII mind you, but certainly off the ground more than the millimeters I had been lifting them all last summer. My goodness, what a difference that makes! Not only does one go faster, one goes further with each footfall as well. Miraculous! My hopes for a potentially fast(ish) Bolder Boulder went from "hah! in your dreams!" to "hmmm! perhaps...maybe...wouldn't entirely rule it out..." Bottom line goal, however, remains Finish With A Smile! It is the 6.2 mile-long Bolder Boulder party after all!

Mothers Day

In my younger days, I did not have plans to be a mom.
Spending a decade or so with Kendall and the Miller family changed my way of thinking.
Now, I cannot imagine life without my sons, Devon Andrew and Paul Kalen VaughanMiller.

Before you were conceived I wanted you
Before you were born I loved you
Before you were here an hour I would die for you
This is the miracle of life.
~Maureen Hawkins

Loose ends

After pretty much coasting of late, I experienced a flurry of activity this past week (perhaps inspired by completing our final project for the CU class I was taking - or perhaps egged on by the realization that almost a year has gone by since The Run started). In any case, the last two items of my post-run to-do's have been checked off the list:

1. Submit my four-part series of articles to Marathon & Beyond. (Who knows if they'll want to publish them; fingers are crossed.)
2. Send a thank you to Gatorade who provided me with 1400-miles' worth of Riptide Rush for the trip. A palatable enough beverage that I still drink it! Along with my thank you note, I included a link to a Gatorade-related slide show of pictures from the run. The link to the slide show is on the side bar of this blog.

So! Now that the post-run checklist is done - perhaps it's time to start on a new adventure, eh?!

From slug to cheetah

A restless night, pre-dawn thunder & lightning show, rain lulling me back to sleep, gray morning and little desire to get moving. But move I did since I had a volunteer job to go to - but left so late my run was all of 10 minutes to jog to the bus which drove me through the puddles to my job. Not much more energized upon finishing up at the job, I hopped on another bus then strolled from the bus through the neighborhood streets back toward home. A sluggish morning indeed.


Two blocks from home, my cell phone rang. 'Twas Joe. "Have you run yet?" "No, well, yes, to the bus and back so, no." "My morning tempo run was canceled due to lightning. Want to go?" My body is rooted in slugdom but my brain feels a spark. My brain replies with a yes. We set a meeting time 15 minutes hence - enough time to adjust my running gear and dash to the rendezvous point.


Quite the tempo run it was. 10 minute warmup after meeting with Joe, then 10 minutes tempo with 5 minute rests (easy running) in between. Times 3. On my hilly fartlek loop. Which, coincidentally, lent itself to offering an uphill on each tempo segment. Ooohlala! Sweat, heavy breathing, legs grinding away. Life pulsed through me once again and the cheetah (or a slow cousin) appeared where once a slug had been. Weeehaww!

cheetah from nationalgeographic.com

Memories and flashbacks

It's been an interesting little spell here of trips down memory lane with flashbacks zipping through.

Just last spring, we drove our motorhome into our driveway for the first time and parked it right underneath those blossoming crab apple boughs. Hedwig looked mighty fine surrounded by pink petals. Last week we took ol' Hedwig in for its annual summerizing. One step inside that motorhome and I'm back in the heartland, waking up to birdsong, stretching out on the bed with ice cloths on my legs, munching down on Great Harvest bread with Justin's nut butter and gathering my energy for another 30 miles.

Running of late is nowhere near what my running was this time last year. However, more and more frequently, I find myself in both the rhythm and state of mind that carried me over all those country roads and trails. And just last week, twice I found myself next to trains - right here in Boulder! In one case, I even had to pause during my run to wait at a train crossing while car after car rumbled by. Those trains were great company during The Run. My little feet would go round-and-round just about in time to the chug of the train...a lovely accompaniment to the run.

Interspersed with my running this spring has been a CU class - and our final project (a group project) was due last week which leads us to Flashback #1 - to my college days - when group project meetings were typically held at night - and, guess what, they still are! I had to bite my tongue to keep from blurting out "but that's almost my bedtime" when they suggested an 8 p.m. meeting. (And after the meeting, when I was headed home, each of my classmates was off to another meeting!) The flashback continued when I arrived back at home and dug back into the project, going to bed after midnight and still getting up at 5:30 a.m. I must say, I'm just not used to those kinds of hours anymore.
Flashback #2 - to my work days. Our group project involved a class presentation and powerpoint. The last few years at work, I did, literally, hundreds of powerpoint presentations. Unlike the almost-all-nighters that I have no desire to become reaccustomed to, I was really hoping that my presentation skills would magically reappear. The first aspect, Dressing For The Presentation, slid on like an old glove...black slacks, button down shirt, black shoes (ok, so they didn't slide on so easily...my feet really really prefer running shoes and crocs). The second aspect, actually doing the presentation, well - our rehearsals were not particularly encouraging, stumbling through, thinking of things too late, low energy, etc., etc. But stand me up and put me in front of the room. Bingo! The powerpoint queen is back ;-) Smooth sailing and fun to be back up there. The rest of the group came through big time as well...'twas a stellar presentation! Then it was home, off with the dress up clothes, on with the shorts & t, and some serious outside time in blooming Boulder!

Transitions

The Rocky Mountain area puts forth a pot pourri of offerings this time of year. Snow storms and sunshine, iced sidewalks and blossoms, 80 degrees and 20 degrees, sunburns and parkas...sometimes all within a 24-hour period.
And so goes life.
I'm not the same person I was a year ago, but I'm a better person for all that transpired over the last year. I have jiggly bits where I used to have muscles...but when I tackle a hill or carry a load, my body still knows how to respond. My runs tend much more toward 30 minutes rather than 30 miles, but when I fatigue I know I can go further...and I do. Frustrations build...but the patience gained from the rhythmic days of meandering through the heartland bubbles up and overcomes. So, no, I may not be the lean mean running machine of last spring and summer, but there is a spring blossom in there that can still poke her head through the snow and brighten the day.

Spring break in Petoskey

Petoskey's breakwater and Little Traverse Bay, March 2008

I think there's a reason one does not see much advertising encouraging folks to come to northern Michigan for spring break! A snow storm greeted us upon our arrival in Petoskey (followed by two more during our stay), elementary schools were handing out sleds to their kiddos as they ran outside for recess, snow piles were taller than me as I ran about the streets, ice fishermen huddled out on the bay (the two barely visible dots in the picture above are ice shanties). Not exactly the tropics!

Another, more sobering, thing greeted us as we were about 10 miles outside of town - a call from Petoskey's finest informing me that my mom was being taken by ambulance to Northern Michigan Hospital in town. She is now recovering, but is proving that both of my parents filled my gene pool with a boatload of stubborn and determination (qualities I more often attribute to my pop - but ma continues to surprise). The upshot of the hospital stay was the removal of one very nasty gallbladder followed three days later with the replacement of a completely deteriorated left hip.

I was so very thankful we were in town when all this happened - and able to stay an extra week. As we headed back to Boulder, mom headed off to rehab. Plans for a party on the deck to welcome her home are already underway - with snow banished and an abundance of sunshine of course!

Party-ready deck - August 1, 2007 - PJ's Run grand finale

Top o' the mornin'

A crystalline wonderland with easy footing in pre-dawn hush.

A simply loverly run.

In a fog

Spectacularly bright jacket - along North Loup River fog in Nebraska Sandhills - June 23, 2007

Quite the run yesterday... I left the house at 5:30 a.m.-ish. Twas a bit chilly (20s) and smelled like rain. Within a half-mile, swirls of fog were rolling past (a rarity in Boulder). Within another quarter-mile, crystals filled the air...not quite snow but thicker than air. Then it was back to the rain smell followed by fog so thick I could see headlights on cars coming toward me - but not the cars. All the while hoping that my glo-bright yellow jacket was giving fair warning to anyone coming my way in this pre-dawn haze.

Our grand rendezvous point for our long weekend run was out at the Boulder Reservoir. It was a perfect location for the conditions!
The fog had settled on the rez - which also was playing host to several CU crew teams this early morning.
It looked rather like an old WWII movie with ships peaking out of the haze as they snuck about the water.




Amongst it all, a bald eagle watched over the morning's festivities.

As morning progressed, something within me seemed to awaken as the fog cleared. We were finishing our run on the last few miles of the Boulder Backroads marathon course and I felt myself kicking into a higher gear...something I used to like to do as I finished marathons in the pre-1400-mile-run days. This March day, I decided to find out if I still had a strong finish left in me (versus my more typical slog of late). And there it was: high(ish) knees, long(ish) stride, a bit of a reserve of power to draw on - and willing to be drawn upon. A grand finish to a three-hour run!

Attitude adjustment

Yesterday I was doing a tempo workout with Joe and couldn't believe how excruciatingly slow I was. 'Most every time I go out for a run, I'm passed by whomever else happens to be trotting by. And lately that's been bugging me.
So, today, I was running home from my volunteer job and got passed again. And again.
And I felt the self-irritation begin to rise - but then I was distracted by the sound of a woodpecker, then the sight of the pattern of snow over a manhole cover, then the silence that suddenly enveloped me as I went onto a creek-side path, then the sound of water trickling under the ice... ...and I remembered the crocuses I had discovered poking up beside the path we were running during that tempo workout yesterday, and the dime, quarter and nickel I had spotted over a three block span as I ran home from the tempo, the flattened dollar bill that I rescued from an icy tire track this morning, and the fresh tracks I left in the newly fallen snow as I started my run.

So why be disgusted by a lack of speed, I say, since it's that leisurely pace that offers up so much enjoyment as I meander my way through the world!

Mural along creek path underpass