PJ's Run

More snow!

2012-02-07T17:31:00.010-07:00

We woke up today to more snow falling from the sky. Where to run? Where to run?

<- Town? or Trail? ->

...the answer:

SCRAPE YOUR WINDSHIELD!!!!

2012-02-06T18:57:00.002-07:00

Note to everyone who is driving in cold weather:

SCRAPE YOUR WINDSHIELD BEFORE MOVING DOWN THE ROAD!!!!!

While running today, as I approached a four-way stop, a car also approached on the cross-street. I slowed to see what the car was going to do. The car stopped at the stop sign so I continued crossing the street, in the crosswalk. I moved my eyes from the car to my right to the street in front of me to ensure safe passage across the ice and snow. And then I heard the car...accelerating...right at me. I screamed like a banshee, waved my arms and sprinted toward the curb. Some combo of those actions caused the driver to slam on the brakes and I was left staring at a completed frost-covered windshield at my right shoulder. The driver never saw me! How could anyone attempt to operate a motor vehicle in that condition? I got across the street, the car continued on its way, windshield wipers moving fruitlessly across the frost. Unbelievable.

Snow. Trail. Beautiful Run.

2012-02-05T14:00:00.006-07:00

The snow storm quit yesterday after leaving a two-foot blanket on Boulder.
Today: sunny, blue sky, warm. Why not give a trail a try. Why not indeed?
The South Boulder Creek Trail was spectacular.
I was not the first with the idea as there were two well-broken-in tracks,
one for runners/walkers and one for skiers.

Pictures tell the story:

View to the west of the Flatirons

View ahead - runners to the right, skiers to the left

I couldn't resist; had to make a snow angel

Methinks a calf is soon to join this mama-to-be

Big Snow Day 2 - Got Smart!

2012-02-04T14:20:00.003-07:00

Snow-covered flatirons just at the hint of dawn

Snow continued to pile up here overnight; Boulder totals are now up around 22 inches.
As I cogitated on where the heck I was going to run today, inspiration finally struck: go out in the wee hours of the morning and simply enjoy the winter wonderland. And that's just what I did.

I ventured out around 5:45 a.m., and was immediately enveloped by a peacefulness that is unique to a sleeping town blanketed with fresh-fallen snow. Through most of the run, the quiet was interrupted only by the rustle of my jacket and every view was of an undisturbed crystalline world. 'Twas a spectacular run!

Testing the blizzard route

2012-02-03T14:40:00.006-07:00

One concern I have for the 60k on the first day of spring is that we might have a blizzard that day. It's been known to happen. More than once.

Today we awoke to 12 inches of new snow; perfect for testing a blizzard route. It turns out that a loop built around two of the main streets through our neighborhood works out to 2.5 miles. Four times around would give me 10 miles, the minimum I wanted to run today; 6 times for 15 miles and the most I wanted to run today. (And for those interested in the math, 14.88 times around for 60k. Eeegads!)

I knew that at least one of those main streets would be plowed and, indeed, exactly one of those streets (for about a mile long stretch) was plowed. Probably once. Probably very early on during the storm, leaving that stretch much like a two-track road. The other major road was a mass of ruts, snow and ice. After the second time around, the loop was losing much of its charm. The third loop earned the title of dog and spray loop. For some reason, that was the time period everyone was out shoveling their walks, letting their dogs run loose. Loose dogs sure love to say hi to folks slip/sliding/running by. As for "spray" - by now the snow in the busier portions of the road was slushing up and passing cars were hitting that slush with aplomb. Lots of head to toe soaking ice sprays. As I was finishing the third loop I had to give myself a stern talking to in order to continue on the fourth loop. "I can't end with a puny 7.5 miles!" "What if the 60k day is just like today?" "It's just one more loop, only 2.5 miles you wuss." In any case, stubborn kicked in and I made it one more loop around.

But that was the end of it. Besides not being a whole lot of fun, I noticed I was getting stupid - not stepping aside as quickly when cars were coming down the 'two-track', jumping from rut to rut without paying attention to where I'd be landing, fogging out rather than watching for traffic. Time to call it a day. Good call too. Kendall had made chicken pot pie while I was out running; definitely worth coming in from the cold for!

Devon & Paul, young studs tackling the driveway

Schedule, shmedule!

2012-02-01T14:19:00.005-07:00

Middle schoolers with their tissue paper hot air balloon; look close to see another up in the air

This week's long run was scheduled to be 22 miles on Saturday. Well, I miss meeting up with my Saturday gang and they're only running an hour on Saturdays, and they start around 7:30, and I don't much like the idea of leaving the house at 4 a.m. Saturday so I can get 3.5 hours of running in before joining in the group run.

So! I thought I'd move my long run to Friday and do my 10 mile run Saturday, which would mean only needing to run about an hour before meeting the gang.

Then last night I started hearing dire warnings of a snow storm moving in tomorrow (Thursday) night with 7 inches of snow fall expected overnight accompanied by gusty winds, all continuing into the day Friday. Huh. By this morning I thought ya' know, I really don't relish running for 4+ hours in a whole lotta snow and wind.

So! As I got dressed this morning, I made the decision to switch my long run to today. Yes I had done hill repeats yesterday. No I had not done any pampering or extra carbo consumption yesterday. But, what the heck, the whole point is to toughen up, right?

The run broke out roughly into thirds: The first third was warming up into the whole affair by heading east and getting on a north/south trail (Bobolink and South Boulder Creek). Much to my delight, I ran into two friends also running South Boulder Creek which livened up the introductory portion of the run considerably. The second third started with a planned rendezvous with running buddy Amie and accompanying her on her 90 minute run. Many highlights of that portion of the run including spotting a mysterious flying object which turned out to be a sort of hot-air balloon contraption built out of glued-together tissue paper by a middle school science class. Twas great fun tracking down the flying object then talking to the students about it. The final third was an exercise of mind over matter. I was definitely feeling fatigued and just had to keep myself zigging and zagging so I'd run the scheduled distance. But I hadn't mapped this out in advance; how to figure the distance? Huh.

So! Assuming I was running pretty slow, I estimated 12 minute miles thus 12 x 22 = 264 = 4 hours 24 minutes. Too hard to remember so figure 4.5 hours. Got to one zig place about 30 minutes from home but it wasn't quite 4 hours yet. Zag. Got to another zig place only 20 minutes from home but it wasn't quite 4:10 yet. Zag. And zig and zag and keep on keeping on, do the hokey pokey, that's what it's all about.

Final result: 4 hours 36 minutes and 23 miles. Schedule, shmedule.

One of today's lessons: when tired, look about you. Inspiration abounds.

Livening up the routine

2012-01-31T19:46:00.005-07:00

Hills again today. They're the bread and butter quality component of my training schedule. Years and years of hills - hilly loops, hill repeats, hill drills. Zillions of ups and downs on the same hills around town. Jonesing for some variety, I went to a slightly different place: the CU cross-country course, which I've run many times but have never before used for hill repeats.

Today's run: home to the course, run the low berm, the four times up and over jawbone hill and around back to jawbone. After the fourth jawbone, I headed to the eastern berm then decided to go off the beaten path a bit to take a closer look at the South Boulder Creek trail open space and cow pasture where, whoohoo!, the year's first calf (and mamas and friends) were watching my every move. I do declare, spring can't be too far away now!

Only in Boulder

2012-01-30T14:06:00.004-07:00

This is one of my all-time favorite signs, posted at many Boulder bike path underpasses. It makes me smile every time I see it. I'm pretty sure ice does exist; I guess there just isn't room on the sign to say Ice May Exist...here...now...

At this particular underpass, another sign might be useful - to offer the warning: Tumbleweeds May Exist. For some reason, this is a very popular tumbleweed gathering place. Whenever I pass through here after a windstorm, I usually end up spending some time clearing tumbleweeds to reduce the chance of a surprise tumble attack on an unsuspecting cyclist. Even if there hasn't been a windstorm, more often than not, you'll find at least one straggler like this fellow I found today.

Beyond the question of existence, today I was reminded of another Boulder phenomenon: bike paths and trails throughout the city. Running the five miles home from my volunteer job, I traveled over 1.5 blocks of a country road, 3 blocks between my house and the Bear Creek bike path - and everything else was on paths and trails, most of that following alongside creeks. Along this particular route I've been led down the path by an owl, had a great blue heron fly up in front of me, seen deer, foxes and raccoons scamper about, and even spotted a snapping turtle. Today's sightings were a bit more commonplace: crows, bluebirds, woodpeckers, squirrels, cows - all surrounded by the sounds of birdsong and wind...the roar of the city muffled in the distance, even though I was running right through the heart of it.

Interesting how piling on the miles of running can be simultaneously fatiguing and uplifting.

16 miles. Hungry!

2012-01-29T20:24:00.005-07:00

This morning involved a little over 3 hours and 16 miles of running.
1st hour: west and south; every uphill (of which there were many) into the wind.
2nd hour: met up with friends; the wind died down; the hour went quick.
3rd hour: north and west; wind picking up but could smell the barn.

And what a smell!
When I walked in the door, the aroma of coffee and fresh-baked scones enveloped me - as did my family.
All of us together for breakfast - a rare treat, a fine morning!

Birthdays and races

2012-01-28T15:44:00.002-07:00

The major event of the day is my first-born son's birthday. Happy birthday Devon Andrew! What an excellent life-change we experienced 27 years ago today!

Given that Mr. Devon had plans to celebrate with friends all day today, I celebrated (?!) the day with a cross-country race. Not having done much speedwork since early Autumn, I was not expecting much but knew the race would be a fun one, with a small field, close enough to home to run to/from as a warm up/warm down, and well-managed with Boulder Running Company as a primary sponsor and the Durdens in charge of the timing. Much to my surprise, I ran the slightly over 4 miles of lightly snow-covered curvy hillyish course in 36:40, picking up speed throughout, being passed only once and I passed her back. I'll take it!

After the race festivities, I trotted home, got (razzama)Taz and had a lovely walk/run around the neighborhood. A wonderful start to my 27th anniversary of being a Mom!

The Shoe

2012-01-26T16:30:00.003-07:00

According to my running logs, in August, 1999 I discovered the Brooks Adrenaline. I am now on pair number 58. A pair of my running shoes tends to follow the life cycle of: running, walking, gardening. Once all my shoe cubbies are full, I send pairs off to the local elementary school or to one of the running stores for donation to various charities.

One of my shoes, however, was confiscated by Jester when he was a pup. He was told in no uncertain terms that shoes were not to be toys. Unfortunately, it was too late for that particular shoe, having been thoroughly attacked by Jester dog. We left the chewed-on shoe in the backyard for Jester and there it remained for his amusement for the rest of his life (and he never touched any other shoe!).

Now we have Taz - and one of his first discoveries in our backyard was that shoe. In the month since Taz has been part of our family, he has completely dissected the shoe whittling through all of its layers. 'Tis definitely his most favorite toy...and the only shoe he's tackled. Socks, however, are another story!

Shifting plateaus

2012-01-25T18:48:00.003-07:00

After a training spell of logging hundreds of miles, doing countless hill repeats and pushing through tempo run after tempo run, one day you may notice a shift, if lucky, to a higher level of fitness. I think I may have just experienced such a shift. Not a major jump, but an encouraging inching up to a higher plateau.

What are the indicators you might ask? In my case, in this instance, they are:

markedly less jiggling when I run
more energy (this morning after my 12 mile run, I found myself tapping my foot to some music on the radio - rather inconvenient since I was trying to shave my legs at the time)
my 2 hour 23 minute run felt like a short outing (it helped that Amie was with me for 90 minutes of it and the last 16 minutes of it were with Taz)
continually looking for excuses to get up, get out, get at 'em

Hopefully this means: a) my cutback week is working; and b) my planned continued build-up will go smoothly!

By the way, the picture above was from an earlier, more dramatic plateau shift. This picture was taken July 18, 2007 on the Mountain-Bay Trail in Wisconsin - 43 days and 1,035 miles into my run from Colorado to Michigan, and only a few days after finally figuring out how to properly/fully fuel my body throughout the day. What a difference! Nothing was going to stop me now!

Improvisation

2012-01-24T15:36:00.003-07:00

A typical Tuesday finds me running hills ending at the rec center, enjoying an exercise class, then running home - or, running errands which today would include a visit to the downtown library. This morning I awoke with a squirrely stomach which resulted in me missing my exercise class. Around 11 a.m., I was settled enough to venture out into what was now a snowy morning.

I decided I would zigzag my way to the library - and zigzag I did, turning a 35 minute run into a 78 minute run with jaunts down streets I seldom traverse. It was a delight! I often keep up a running (so to speak) commentary in my head as I cruise along, especially on these wandering runs. This morning's included:

froze toze (for some reason, my toes were especially cold this morning)
whimsical (upon spotting a lawn with various logs standing about topped with critter statuary)
interesting (in response to a sculpture that looked rather like a huge ship's anchor entrenched in a front lawn)
cool (for the treehouse pictured above - one of the niftiest treehouses I've ever seen)
school or house? [right next to] house or apartments?
huh (provoked by the tree sculpture of dolphins - quite unlike most tree sculptures around town that tend toward western themes or critters found in the Rockies)
ugh (for a huge squared-off brick monstronsity built within a bungalow-filled neighborhood)
snow globe (as the snow thickened but kept its gentle touch)

I just don't know what all that detritus rattling around in my brain would do if it weren't for running!

Elastigirl where are you?

2012-01-23T17:21:00.002-07:00

Being Monday, today's running involved going to and from my volunteer job. On the way there, I discovered I had made an inadequate equipment choice. Apparently, my underwear's elasticity was no more. The further I ran, the further they drooped. Thank heavens I was wearing tights or those underwear would have been down around my ankles. I made it to the volunteer job, bopped into the restroom, hiked up my briefs, went back out and recorded my shows.

Volunteering done, I set back out for home but just couldn't run through the drooping undies situation so hopped on a bus instead. Funny the things that can disrupt a run. Raging blizzard, run on; droopy drawers, fuhgeddaboudit.

First Real Run!

2012-01-22T12:03:00.004-07:00

It was a big day today in VaughanMiller land. Taz went for his first real run - and he was great! We walked to the end of the driveway, I asked him to sit, I said "OK" and off we went for 23 minutes total. Along the way he responded just the way he was supposed to to "Get over" (the command I used with both Loki and Jester to get them further to my left) and to "Leave it" (whenever he got to interested in something we were passing in the road...like tar balls...the things that puppy loves to chew...).

I had given Paul a quick call to let him know we would be trotting by his house so he came out and performed Official Photographer duties, capturing the momentous occasion for all to see. I do believe there is a four-legged running buddy in my future!

Big week. Lookin' good!

2012-01-21T16:08:00.004-07:00

Sunrise glow over the foothills and continental divide
from the South Boulder Creek Trail.
Picture by Mary F.

This week's schedule was, shall we say, "challenging" what with 15 miles on Wednesday, 20 yesterday, 10 today and snow, ice and wind interspersed throughout. I was a bit nervous about successfully making it through the miles but having completed today's 10, it's looking pretty darned good. I need only complete a short easy run tomorrow and this week, the "big" week before the cut-back week of my 4-week training cycle, will be in the books.

This morning's run started out a bit creaky, feeling all 20 of yesterday's miles, but true to form, 55 minutes into my run my body was (finally) warmed up and running happy. Making the run even smoother and quicker, it was a positively lovely morning in Boulder: Gorgeous sunrise, fantastic venue (South Boulder Creek trail complete with cows, deer, kingfishers, and hawks), and delightful company for the last 5 miles of my 10 mile run. Topped off with breakfast with the Satruns gang of walkers and runners, you just couldn't ask for a better start to the weekend!

Wind at my back

2012-01-20T16:32:00.003-07:00

Arriving at the finish line of today's long run

The wind blew all last night and into the morning - thus prompting a route change for today's run. I had thought I'd be running today's 20-miler north and east from Boulder to Longmont. What with the wind blowing big from the north and west - and the being fed up with running into the wind - I plotted a new course that would take me a scant mile northeast then 19 miles due east, i.e., with the wind at my back. Ahhhh....

A new map, that showed a straight line east along Baseline Road, was handed to Kendall with instructions to meet me in 4 hours or slightly less at County Road 19. (Baseline, by the way, was so-named because it runs along the 40th parallel which also was the line of demarcation between the Nebraska and Kansas territories in 1854.)

Now back to the run and the high- and low-lights:

the wind was at my back!
the route involved all roads, and increasing traffic on the east-most miles where I had expected less traffic
some small town life and lots of farmland
the wind was at my back and I was running in shorts!
there is a lot of uphill involved in getting out of Boulder country (word of the day: "undulating")
despite mapping out a one-road run (after leaving my neighborhood) I managed to get onto a different road 16 miles into the run. Fortunately, Kendall had just seen me, had pulled to the side of the road to take some pics, and noticed that I veered right at the "Y" rather than left (since left said 168th rather than Baseline and right said nothing and most all traffic went right). All that crewing experience from the run to Michigan paid off big time today. The route deviation put me on a road parallel to Baseline (I didn't even know I was off Baseline until after the run), and gave me a bonus .5 miles.
the wind was at my back and I was running in shorts AND I was clocking a steady diet of 11 minute miles!

All in all, a solid 20.5-miler to put into the log which, coincidentally, gave me an even 200 miles for the year.

Let's see...which shall I choose

2012-01-19T16:25:00.009-07:00

My first run today was in high winds and monstrous gusts (up to 104 mph reported this morning). Needless to say, I cut the run short to exercise class. After class, the winds were much milder and the run much more enjoyable.

Once home, I had the pleasure of cleaning house - one of my least favorite activities on this planet - but I had put it off way too long. As I was scrubbing the kitchen floor I was thinking:

Scrub floors or run in 100 mph winds?
Scrub floors or run in a blizzard?
Scrub floors or run in subzero temperatures?

Guess which one I picked every time?!

Picture from December 2010 - again running rather than cleaning...

Mid week and windy!

2012-01-18T13:09:00.010-07:00

15 miles today.

First seven with Amie. Swift!
Last six: Headwind. Oof!

Taz update!

After the run, Taz happily greeted me -
delaying the need for a shower
since he licked a lot of the sweat away.

Left: Taz when we first adopted him.
Right: Taz one month later (yesterday)
Personality shift:
Then: oh dear oh dear what's next?
Now: oh boy! oh boy! what's next?!

Nothing that basketball and an ice bath can't make better!

2012-01-17T17:34:00.003-07:00

Paul, spring break 2009, humoring his mom with a game of basketball

The start of this morning's run: 8 degrees, ice/snow-glazed streets. The running so crappy that 20 minutes into the run, spent dodging ice and traffic, I said screw it and walked the rest of the way to the Rec Center where my exercise class was to be held. I got there early since I didn't do my full run and as I approached the door was wondering what the heck I was going to do to kill the time before class (assuming all the aerobic equipment would be in use). Opened the door and said "Aha! Basketball!"

I checked in, got a basketball, and spent the 30 minutes before class running/dribbling a circuit around the court, shooting at each of the 6 baskets until my shot dropped then running/dribbling to the next basket. Great fun and a most effective mood enhancer. All the gloom from the traffic-dodging icy run had disappeared and I was in fine fettle for the exercise class.

After class, I shot a few hoops with a friend then headed out for part 2 of the run. As per yesterday's post, I had hill drills scheduled for today. The temps had risen substantially and the ice had melted from the unshaded bits of the asphalt roads so the going was much easier. However, since I had so many frigging layers of clothes on due to the early single digit temps, I felt like an overdressed hippopotamus trying to high-knee, skip and bound up the quarter-mile of hill. After the second rep I decided to bag the hill drills and just run hills. So up and down I went sticking to the west-bound (steep) hills since those were the most ice-free surfaces, and managed to zig zag my way to 7+ miles of hill running. Not bad.

Once home, I did what I should have started doing many miles ago: got in an ice bath. It was the most effective sore/tired leg therapy I used when preparing for my Michigan run and I was long overdue in this training cycle. It was tough getting in, but I sure had some happy legs when I got out!

Volunteer day and pondering the week

2012-01-16T14:18:00.002-07:00

Mister Kendall, Creekside Elementary Librarian

Being Martin Luther King day, I spent a large chunk of the day volunteering - first at Audio Information Network of Colorado (where I volunteer every Monday morning), then at Kendall's library at Creekside Elementary shelving and rearranging books. With no kids at school today, we could just turn up the tunes and rock on with the literature. Very pleasant. (But dirty - spend a few hours shelving library books then look at your hands. Yikes!)

When not reading or shelving, I was cogitating on my week's running schedule. Good lord Mildred what have I gotten myself into?! This is the third week in my four week cycle where the first three weeks of the cycle build up, then the fourth week backs off a bit. Here's what is on the schedule for the week (gulp):

Monday (today), 8-9 easy miles running to/fro AINC
Tuesday, 7 miles including hill drills (high knees, skip, bound x3 each) followed by exercise class followed by 2 mile easy run back home
Wednesday, 15 mile run
Thursday, 6 miles rolling hills followed by exercise class followed by 2 mile easy run home
Friday, 5 easy miles
Saturday, 20 miles
Sunday, 10 miles

It's possible I'll move Saturday's workout to Friday and Sunday's to Saturday and run short/easy on Sunday in order to better coordinate a run with my usual Saturday running gang. Regardless, the 15-mile mid-week run + back-to-back 20-miler/10-miler has me nervous. But I figure it'll show me if I have what it takes to get ready for my March 20th 60k!

The Cows Are Back!

2012-01-15T18:23:00.002-07:00

Winter is definitely pointing toward spring in Boulder now; the cows have returned to the South Boulder Creek Trail! Between the cattle sighting, the quiet morning, and the warm-enough-to-not-have-to-wear-tights weather, the run was fleet-footed and smile-filled. An excellent outing to cap my 66.5 mile week!

Falling in love again

2012-01-14T22:00:00.004-07:00

Farm gate and sunflower silo near Hygiene, Colorado

What a day for a run! 18 miles was on the agenda and, in the end, 18.8 was achieved. Being a bit bored with the usual terrain, I mapped out a route that took me from home out past the Boulder Reservoir, north on bits of the Boulder Backroads Marathon course, then further north yet to the wee town of Hygiene.

Highlights: almost balmy temperatures, headwind only over a couple of the miles, rolling dirt roads, hardly any traffic, tumbleweed country, views of foothills and plains, glimpses of snow-covered peaks, and running alongside cattle, horses, sheep, llamas, and buffalo! And for the grand finale - a pickup by Kendall and Hedwig (the motorhome we got for the run to Michigan) followed by a scrumptious lunch at Hygiene's one cafe'.

A run that reminded me of why I love love love running!

Whoosh

2012-01-13T18:12:00.002-07:00

Windy day today.
First, wind in the face.
Then, wind pushing me from behind woohoo!
Next, wind pushing me cross-ways watch-out-I'm-blowing-off-the-road.
And finally, wind from the rear right quadrant until Kendall cruised along and offered a ride.
Another run done.

Mish Mash

2012-01-12T14:48:00.003-07:00

A mish mash run of hither and thither today:

Home to the library to return a couple of books. As I danced my way along the ice-covered streets in the frigid temps of early morning, one book in each hand as I slip slided along, I got to thinking, maybe returning books on this run wasn't the most brilliant idea I'd ever had. Ah well, made it there in one piece, dropped the books in the slot, then
Zig zagged my way to the Rec Center for exercise class - turning onto whatever street I saw that had been sanded, discovering a fair amount of false advertising along the way. Oh sure, sand the upper half of the street then leave us peds to our own devices as we hit the slick lower halves of said streets.
Got a good working out of glutes, shoulders, tris, and abs at exercise class then layered up for another outing.
Left the Rec Center with Amie and another zig zag run looking for sanded surfaces that would end us up back at the library after 35 minutes of running. Once again, running with a buddy went quickly; having 20 more degrees and softening ice helped as well.

From the library, I called the family and asked if they might be in the mood to walk toward me with Taz dog for a rendezvous in the park. They thought that was a fine idea and my day's running ended with a bunch of running in circles with the puppy in the fenced-in ball field in our neighborhood park. Taz dog sure loves to run...full tilt when off the leash and, thankfully, at a lovely trot right by my side when on leash.

Ooofdah!

2012-01-11T14:15:00.007-07:00

Some folks today might have been pondering on whether to add a bit of chocolate to their morning coffee, or whether to bump the thermostat up to 70, or, perhaps, whether to wear calf-high rather than ankle-high boots. The ponderings my brain occupied itself with took a slightly different twist. For example:

I wonder if my snot will freeze before or after it hits my neck warmer.
How long will this cliff shot blok take to thaw in my mouth?
What will happen once my shoes fill all the way with snow?

And, of course, the usual question when I set out on an unmapped run: which way should I turn now to get the full 2.5 hours in? Today's route selection considerations also included: which way avoids roads & traffic (and, consequently, avoids running on ice in traffic) as well as, once I turn back west how to I keep from going east (and into the wind) again?

Yep, it was another snowy run in Boulder. And it happened to fall on my mid-week longish run day. Fortunately, as I was pulling out all the layers I was going to wear, I got a text from Amie who was heading out and wondering if I'd like to meet up with her. The company sure did make the first hour go faster and easier. After parting ways with Amie, I turned east and, thus, away from home and the temptation to end the run early. Since east was right into a frigid wind, I did a bit of zigzagging until I got onto the Bobolink and South Boulder Creek trails. Trail running today meant breaking trail through several inches of new snow - but it also meant no worries about cars. Well worth it. Not only were there no cars, but very few people period: no cyclists and only three other runners. Quiet, frosty ...a quintessential Rocky Mountain January run. (And perfect prep for a 60k run that might very well be on a day just like today!)

Building up an appetite

2012-01-10T19:38:00.006-07:00

Went for a run, dropping a book off at the library then continuing on to a breakfast spot.

Joined other season ticket holders for breakfast and conversation with
CU's Women's Basketball Team coaches. Very fun!

Ran from breakfast (where I only had some blueberry cornbread and
chai tea) to a hill for a few form drills then on to my exercise class.

Exercise! Weights and cardio and friends.
Ran with a couple of friends after exercise class, including 4 x 90 second pickups.
Ran to the bank.
Ran toward home and rendezvoused with Devon and Taz.
Officially introduced Taz to a neighbor and visited a bit.
Arrived back home around 11:30 where I finally had a chance for a proper meal. Hungry!

What's with this slow revving up business?

2012-01-09T19:19:00.003-07:00

Another day and another struggle to get running. What in the world is up with that? Maybe it had something to do with the cold dark morning and ice-covered surfaces; not a particularly inviting venue for venturing out on the morning run...but still....

My usual Monday routine is to run to my volunteer job (reading for the Audio Information Network of Colorado - a broadcast reading service for the visually impaired), work for an hour, then run home...lots of route choices going and coming. It just so happened that Kendall needed to take the car to the repair shop early this morning so I asked if he could drop me off at AINC on the way. I can't remember the last time I got a ride in; what a wimpy start to the day! Howsoever, it turns out I was probably a wise wimp. By the time I finished reading, the sun was starting to soften the ice and it was certainly light enough to spot and avoid the major icebergs along the bikepaths and trails.

It took a while to get into the flow of the run, but once on dirt trails, with temperatures rising, the sun bright, and views of the foothills dancing alongside me, my mood and feet lightened considerably. To help ensure I got all of my scheduled miles in, I called a friend about an hour into my run and arranged a rendezvous which further spiced up the morning. A couple of chatty miles with Amie finished up the run - then mister Taz dog and I went out for a walk in the neighborhood. A delightful conclusion to the morning's perambulations!

Of course, no blog entry is complete without a picture. This is what caught my eye this morning - a morning when the town was still buzzing after yesterday's Broncos-Steelers wild WILD wildcard game.

Temptations

2012-01-08T17:40:00.003-07:00

This morning's temptations: warm bed, good book, puppy and a steaming cup of coffee - vs. 15 degrees and ice-glazed streets.
The temptations won out until 10 a.m. when I finally got myself layered up, trail shoes laced, and booted my butt out the door.

The first two miles were on roads and concrete bike paths that offered up plenty of slickness and not much fun. From 1/4 miles to two miles my head and training plan were battling it out: "too cold, too icey" "gotta get the miles in" "stiff and slipping" "time on the feet" "grumble" "suck it up." Then I arrived at the South Boulder Creek trailhead and fell in love with running again. Grippy snow-covered trail, glistening fields, blue sky, quiet. A few minutes into it and I felt like I could run all day. Bonus: a running buddy came along the trail offering good company for a few miles. Double bonus: I finished the run in the CU cross-country property where husband Kendall, son Devon and pup Taz were out for a morning walk. The last four minutes of the run were with a dog at my side. As so often happens, a blech run turns good.

Oh dark 30

2012-01-07T13:38:00.003-07:00

15 miles starting at 5:20 a.m. (10 minutes late;"lively" is difficult at that time of day).
Met the gang at 7:30 a.m.. It helped to have company, but my legs never did loosen up during the run. Nor did I get warm...at least not until after breakfast when I was able to sink into a warm bath, complete with bath bubbles. Thank you thank you thank you to whosoever invented bath tubs! Ahhhh...

Trivia of the day INVENTOR OF THE BATH TUB (according to wiki answers):
"John Michael Kohler invented the first enameled bathtub when he enameled a cast iron horse trough in 1883." This masterpiece was apparently advertised as "horse trough/hog scalder, when furnished with four legs will serve as a bathtub. "
And according to Wikipedia, the process for enameling cast iron bathtubs was invented by Scottish-born American David Dunbar Buick (founder of the Buick Motor Company).

In any case, this scalded hog is grateful for the luxurious invention!

Image from Kohler "Out of the Barn and Into the Bath
www.us.kohler.com

Aloha 2011 2012

2012-01-06T14:55:00.004-07:00

It's been a long time since I've added a post - a very long time.

I'd best sum up 2011 (mostly from a running perspective, since that was the genesis of this blog, eh):

I ran every day of 2011
Total 2011 miles run: 2,649
Stayed injury free. Woohoo!
I ran more races than is usual for me in one year:
two 5k's,
one 10k (my annual Bolder Boulder, 6th 59-year-old female out of 224),
one 15k (1st 50-59 female),
one half-marathon
2 marathons (Deadwood Mickelson Trail which I've wanted to do since the inaugural 10 years ago, placing 1st for 55-59 females - and Grandma's which I've wanted to run since I started running marathons 30+ years ago, placing 20th in my age, running it 13 minutes faster than Mickelson two weeks prior - both fantastic events!)
Reconnected with a training buddy from pre-kid days which led to greatly improved training quality through the spring and summer

Sadly, in September, my ace running partner, Jester dog, died from a fast-moving cancer. Such a fine dog he was. We were lucky to have him as a member of our family for almost 14 years.

The morose months that followed brightened considerably on December 17th when we adopted a four-month old pup from the Boulder Humane Society (rescued from a shelter in Tulsa). Now named Taz, and believed by our vet to be a purebred Australian Cattle dog, he has been a delightful addition to our family. So far, runs have been no longer than 1/4 mile but he loves his walks and gets extraordinarily excited when he does spot a runner. I'm looking forward to many a mile with Razzamatazz VaughanMiller!

Looking forward to 2012. I've got a plan. A big plan - not a monumentally big plan like 2007's, yet a big enough plan I felt a need to resume blogging. On March 20th, 2012 (the first day of spring and, coincidentally, my 60th birthday) I am planning to run 60 kilometers somewhere around Boulder. I'll be developing several potential routes so I have options to handle whatever weather is thrown my way. I've experienced everything from blizzards to clear trails on my birthday runs; who knows what Mother Nature has in store for the first day of spring this year. I just want to be ready...fit, healthy, happy, and with a route laid out for any possibility!

For those of you interested in training plans, my plan, in general includes Tuesday hills (drills or repeats), Wednesday mid-long run (10-to-15 miles), Thursday rolling hills, Saturday long run (16-to-30 miles), and Sunday mid-long run (8-to- 15 miles). The Saturday/Sunday mileage combo will grow over the next 9 weeks from 24 to 45 miles. Any and all suggestions for training plan improvements would be appreciated!

Good Times in South Dakota!

2011-06-13T19:23:00.013-06:00

Good times, YES! Fast times, not so much. It was
a) a leisurely (delightful) trip, and
b) my slowest marathon ever. But slow and steady was the way to go on the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon.

Kendall and I took in many of the sights before, during and after the marathon:

Mount Rushmore, the streets, bars, museums and people of Deadwood (which miraculously has preserved its wild west locally-owned historical heritage),
Hill City with its museums, art, and fine food, then drove home through Custer State Park with a night of camping in Chadron State Park before the final push to Boulder.

As for the marathon. Whoooeeee! A screaming downhill first mile followed by 12.5 miles of steady railroad grade uphill, then downhill and rolling to just short of 19 miles where the steepest uphill kicked our butts for a mile before the steepest downhill which smoothed out to a railroad grade downhill to the finish. All in all, a lovely setting - very quiet since the trail was away from towns and roads and the uphill (and heat - 80 degrees!) kicked the chatter right out of all the runners. Just the way I like it! Prairie, farm land, forest, peace and quiet.

As I said before, slow and steady was just the ticket. Being my first marathon in five years, I was verrrrry cautious going into this so started slow, but kept running the whole way, picking up speed as the downhills started making their appearance (7 minute negative split!). The hills and altitude training of Boulder really paid off big time as I was one of the few still running from 19 miles on. This was definitely my kind of marathon.

Final accounting for this ol' lady: 1st out of 10 in my age, 44/187 women, and 134/396 overall. Speaking of ol' lady, about 5 miles into the 'thon, a fella passed me and said "I hope I'm running as well as you when I'm your age." Say wha? I'm pretty sure I wasn't wearing my "I'm almost 60" sign on my butt. Ah well, I just run as young as I feel and I was feeling pretty darned young and happy as I cruised to the finish! btw - coolest age group award yet: a railroad spike!

Next up: Grandma's Marathon in Duluth. Bigger, on streets, fairly flat, sea level. Not really hitting any of my strong suits, but a marathon that has been on my list since I started running marathons 30 years ago. Definitely looking forward to it! We leave tomorrow; the marathon is Saturday. Woohoo!

Pictures, in order from top to bottom, right to left:
Buffalo in Custer State Park, South Dakota.
Mount Rushmore, 'Sheriff' in Deadwood gun fight enactment, Kendall and dinosaur at Hill City Black Hills Institute
Chadron State Park, Nebraska
Running to the finish of Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon and post-marathon awards (railroad spike, shoe charm, and medal!)

Deadwood Marathon Eve

2011-06-04T18:46:00.003-06:00

Kendall and I had a leisurely trip from Boulder to Deadwood, spending the first night at Fort Robinson State Park in northwest Nebraska where we were treated to this lovely rainbow over the hills south of our campsite. The next day we wound our way through the Black Hills of South Dakota, marveling at the size of the wild buffalo, gawking at the mind boggling carvings of Mount Rushmore, and catching repeated glimpses of the Mickelson Trail where I'll be running my first marathon in five years tomorrow.

Deadwood is a funny little town: lots of buildings from the 1800s, lots of pride in the history of the town (gold, gambling, brothels, and the final resting place for Wild Bill Hickok), and this weekend, lots of runners mingling amongst it all. And everyone enjoying themselves and eachother!

Spring blooms

2011-05-25T15:51:00.005-06:00

Wild irises, South Boulder Creek trail, May, 2001

After a somewhat lethargic winter, it was time to pick myself up, shake myself off, and frolic with gusto in the springtime sunshine. Some of this involved the intellectual (Conference of World Affairs - one of Boulder's all-time best events), some modicum of workplace effort (writing for CU), a bit of manual labor whenever I craved dirt under my fingernails (built a wood chip path to our new front porch and put in two vegetable gardens), and, of course, a revived running effort.

I tackled the running portion of springtime life from two directions:

I signed up for two marathons: Mickelson Trail in South Dakota - a rails-to-trails trail through the Black Hills that I've wanted to run ever since I first heard about it; and Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota which has been on my marathons-to-do list since I first started compiling a marathons-to-do list. The first of these, Mickelson, is a mere 11 days away now and Grandma's follows two weeks later! After South Dakota and before Minnesota we're coming back home to celebrate Kendall's birthday here in Boulder...it's possible I'll do a last-minute sign-up for the Estes Park marathon for that in-between weekend. First I have to see how Mickelson goes...being my first marathon since training for my run to Michigan... In the meantime, I've got my mileage back up in the 50s and 60s (miles per week) with a fair amount of hill work and tempo runs under my belt. Best of all, I've been able to head out and run wherever my legs want to explore for however long it takes to get there and back. Lovely lovely runs this spring. And, to top it all off, this past Saturday I ran my 60,000th life-time logged mile! The cherry on top? I still want to go out for more!
I started training with a couple of women who are serious about their Bolder Boulder prep. I've been friends with one of the women since the early 1980s and we did a lot of training together back before we had kids. We're quite compatible - strong but not extra speedy runners, and, (very important) we don't treat our runs together as mini competitions. We've had some excellent speed workouts over the past several weeks, with our final one today. 5x1k at 10k pace, and pulled each repeat off right at pace or a few seconds under. It will be interesting to see how everything comes together for the Bolder Boulder (which is Monday). My #1 goal is to beat my age (59), even better would be to beat last year's time (57:04), and more amazing would be to run in the 55 minute range which I haven't done for several years but training indicates is within the realm of feasibility (a stretch but...).

As an extra bonus, I volunteered to head up a Bolder Boulder training group of staff/teachers from our neighborhood school (where Kendall teaches). I got an idea of their goals and fitness levels, then handed out individual training plans for them to follow and logs for them to keep. We walked/ran, ran easy loops, graduated to hill drills and hill repeats (making each one sing one line from do-re-mi after running back down to make sure they had their breath back before heading up again) - and they were always ready for more. It was great! Today was our last session and I couldn't believe what all they were saying to me: "Having that log really helped. As soon as I saw two empty days, I got myself out the door." "I never would have tried those hills on my own; I never thought I could do something like that!" "Now when I run hills I just think about 'high knees' and I'm running right up it!" "I didn't believe you when you said when you're feeling yourself getting tired and running slowly, speed up. But it works - it gets me going again!" "What you said about consistency is the key. It makes all the difference." "I ran 1 hour without stopping to walk once. I'm ready!" I always thought the getting outside bit was the best thing about running - but listening to all of them talking today, that really really made my 30+ years of running worth it!

Winter running

2011-02-14T13:54:00.006-07:00

This has been the kind of winter where, when wintry weather strikes, it seems to hang on for a longer-than-desired number of days of, shall we say, "challenging" running. Then, just when you're ready to thrown in your running shoes, out bursts the sun, glistening off the snow-covered mountain tops and brightening the Colorado-blue sky.

Those bursting-with-sunshine days also offer up plenty of incentive to run in new venues or revisit old favorites long buried in snow. Some of the highlights of this winter's sunshine days running:

A new version of an old favorite affectionately known as the Cirelli loop after the fella who designed the route for our satboys running gang back 15 years or so ago when we were all training for marathons. At the time, only a few of the miles were on trail, the remainder on roads ranging from dirt to highway. Slowly over the years new trails have been developed replacing all of our road segments, with the final segment just now opening to the public. And, as an extra bonus, much of the trail mileage is up high offering incredible views of the Continental Divide. A new trail loop is just about the best gift a runner can receive during the height of winter!

A variation of a favorite trail loop. Since my usual 'up' segment, a rather rocky bit, was still covered with snow I went up my usual 'down' segment but rather than up and back, I went up then zigged over, up, and into the woods on a different trail. A run on an old favorite with a bit of variety thrown in - an excellent interlude to the winter's challenges. Extra bonus here: this particular trailhead boasts Boulder's "outhouse with the best view" winner.
[The view from inside the Big Bluestem/South Boulder Creek trailhead outhouse]

A cabin fever buster of a run - off to Longmont, just east of Boulder, for a run along the full length of the St. Vrain Greenway Trail. A lovely trail through the town of Longmont, but tucked peacefully back along the St. Vrain River. Refreshing and relaxing all rolled up into a delightful morning's run.

[Just finishing theSt. Vrain Greenway Trail

Looking west from the east-most trailhead ]

Snowflakes

2011-01-09T12:46:00.003-07:00

Run. Under the dome

of a snowglobe. Silent white.

Flakes. Left. Right. Up down.

Family - the best gift

2010-12-28T13:01:00.014-07:00

Mom and I decorating the Vaughan Christmas tree

This has been a whirlwind holiday season. My mom was rushed to the hospital in mid-December and Kendall and I flew to Michigan to check her out first-hand - and, thankfully, to take her back home and get her settled before we returned to Colorado. It ended up being a delightful trip, finally getting a (big) taste of winter after the balminess of Colorado, finishing the decorations in mom's already beautifully decorated home, celebrating early Christmas with her, and generally having a relaxed and lovely visit.

(Left to right: mom ready for early Christmas dinner, ready for church, and trying out her new hammer)

Kendall and I returned to Colorado with four days to do all of our Christmas preparations: cards, shopping, baking... And it turned out to be a pretty good way to go!

Tuesday: shop.
Wednesday morning/afternoon: write and mail cards - in time to reach at least the Colorado folk before Christmas!
Wednesday afternoon/evening: go to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert with some friends (wow - over the top sound & lights!).
Thursday night/Friday morning & afternoon: bake bake bake and deliver plates of cookies to neighbors and friends in time for Christmas Eve feasting.

Friday night (Christmas Eve) we enjoyed our traditional pizza and movie with the boys...ahhhh...relaxation.

Christmas Day started with me running to Paul via trails, he running with me back toward the house, meeting up with Kendall, Devon and Jester in the park for a leisurely stroll back to home, stockings, and presents. Since we wrap our presents in Sunday comics, our present opening is a rather slow process as we simply must read the comic that was oh-so-carefully chosen to highlight the present.

Lots of laughter accompanying the presents - especially so this year since Kendall and I had showered the fellas with science nerd t-shirts.
(Left: Devon & 'rock, paper, scissors, lizard, spock.' Right: Paul & his favorite reply to almost anything)

Celebrations and laughter continued on Sunday with the Miller Christmas gathering. The most uproarious moment? When Kendall and his brothers (the 'high foreheaded' Miller boys) opened a package addressed to the three of them containing hair hats (complements of Kendall). What a hoot!

Looking for winter

2010-12-17T13:06:00.002-07:00

Little Traverse Bay from one of my favorite running trails
(xc skis might have been the wiser choice over my runnin' shoes)

Last week I ran in shorts every day that I started my run after the sun was up. Being December, I thought that was a bit ridiculous. Then on Sunday my husband and I made a spur-of-the-moment trip to Petoskey - and found winter. We flew into Flint (in southeast Michigan) and drove through a blizzard to Petoskey (northwest Michigan). I've been running in breezy, snowy, chilly (way chilly) weather ever since. But as a good friend has said many times, there is no such thing as weather too bad to run in, there's just inadequate clothing. Three cheers for many many layers, and a winter wonderland!

December what?!

2010-12-08T15:33:00.003-07:00

December 8th actually. And I ran in shorts today!

I told my mom, who is battling yet another snowy northern Michigan winter (in addition to rebounding from some medical issues) that I would run in shorts today in her honor. And that's just what I did. A fine run it was too! Cows, two magnificent hawks (one who played leapfrog with me as I ran through CU's cross-country property), a chickadee, and a fly! What a wacky entry into winter we're having here in Boulder!

Keeping an eye on the trail

2010-12-01T13:53:00.003-07:00

This was my view during the bulk of my run today, eyes glued to the ground before each foot plant. If I wanted to look about at the blue sky, glowing flatirons, snow-capped Longs Peak, tall amber grasses, critters hiding in those tall amber grasses, I came to a full stop then gazed. Why such caution? 16 days ago I hit a patch of black ice while running in the wee hours of the morning and fell hard on my right side. My knee is still cranky, and my upper arm is outright furious. I do not wish to take another tumble. (I usually have one big one each winter, do you suppose I've already reached my quota?!) Today's run up Skunk Creek Trail was pure indulgence...running through the pain in order to revel in the day. Some days just gotta be seized!

Bovine adventures

2010-11-30T21:46:00.007-07:00

Attentive cows east of Burwell, Nebraska - June 30, 2007

Cows continue to add entertainment to my life. When I lived on a farm on the island of Nord Hidle, Norway (spring and summer, 1971) I herded cows, milked cows, fed cows, shoveled after cows and, most excitingly, outran a bull. Several years later, as a young mother, I experienced the adrenaline rush of warding off some charging cows while Kendall whisked our boys out of harms way as we hiked along a trail that, apparently, a herd of cows did not wish to share.

During my run to Michigan I startled many a cow along the way. I suspect runners are not as common on the backroads of the heartland as we are here in Boulder. The cows pictured above were the exception to the typical skittish prairie cow. Rather than stampeding away from the oddball runner as was the norm, these cows gathered along the fence as I ran past with Paul. My theory is they were eavesdropping on Paul who was giving me a play-by-play account of the latest Spiderman movie. Either those cows love a good movie narration or Paul is a closet cow whisperer.

Today presented an entirely new cow adventure. I was running around the eastern boundary of CU-Boulder's south campus (home of the CU cross-country course) through a herd of cows - a mix of moms and juveniles - when I noticed one of the youngsters was playing with a long strip of tyvek that had blown onto the property. He'd toss it around then chew on it...and chew some more. Figuring that tyvek was pr'y not the healthiest snack for a young bull, I decided I'd best get it away from him. So I wound my way through those moms and juveniles, yannering on in my calmest voice, until I got up to the young fella. I looked him in the eye and told him I really needed to take his plaything away. He looked back at me none to pleased but, what with sign language and forceful chit chat, I convinced him to move on, leaving the tyvek behind. With many glances around to all the watching bovines, I bundled up the tyvek and marched my way out of the herd. No charging cows today. Whew!

Defunkin/grumpin'

2010-11-11T17:03:00.003-07:00

I don't know what set it off, but my-oh-my I was in a grumpy mood today. I don't like being in a funk, nor do I like being a grump. So, what to do, what to do.

Here's the pjv method for chasing away the blues (today's version):

Go for a run (what a shocker, eh?!). To break the routine/rut of late (and hopefully break the funk), I went to the track and did some drills and ran some quarters. There's a whole lot of rust that needs to be busted; at least today was a start.
Go to exercise class for a big dose of sweat, movement, muscle, music, and friendship. It definitely takes one's mind off one's troubles.
Stay after class with one of your buddies and shoot hoops. Ahhhh, now you're talkin'!
Run back home (good) and make a hot bowl of soup for a cold almost-winter's day (good) and get interrupted by the painter who's coming to paint your house tomorrow (bad).
Chow down on luke warm soup and sit down at the computer to work (not helping!).
Jazz things up by adding some Baileys to that first cup of coffee you're just getting around to drinking. Yeah!
Go back and forth on whether or not to go to class and decide, yes, it would be good to get out of the house...and yes it was.
Being the first cold snowy day of the season, put on your spanky (almost) new hat. Now that is what absolutely turned the tide. It's just not possible to wear that hat without smiling.

And now we have a de-funked de-grumped kind of day!

Addicted? Apparently so!

2010-11-06T17:28:00.005-06:00

Phil, Joe, and AndyE near this morning's turnaround point
my phone camera leaves much to be desired...

October, as mentioned previously, was a very low-mileage month for me. Today, I burst out of that mode ...somewhat unintentionally. The plan was to meet up with the satboys gang at Coal Creek Golf Course where Joe would lead us out onto a new trail. Joe is famously navigationally challenged, but he had already thoroughly explored this trail plus we all knew roughly where it was so we had a high degree of confidence that we'd find our way there and back. And, when we were deciding on the plan for the day, Joe gave us options of a 6 mile out/back or a 7.5 mile lollipop loop; we chose the 6-mile option. To that 6-mile option, I added roughly 8 miles by running to the rendezvous point from home.

After arriving at the golf course and taking a boat-load of ribbing for all my blinky lights and reflective gear (at least I arrived unflattened after having left home at o-dark-thirty and running on high-traffic thoroughfares!) we set out to find this new trail on a glorious balmy autumn day. We first followed a familiar trail along a creek through a bit of town and into a quiet valley where we arrived at the new trail. Up and up, zigging and zagging we went across high dessert prairie and lo and behold, what a view opened up in front of us - the Continental Divide with snow-covered peaks hovering over the flatirons and foothills. Stunning....and just exactly what I wanted to be doing this morning...running, smiling, wind in my face, friends by my side. Perfect!

And, oh yeah, that 3 miles out/3 miles back? Not unless it took us 47 minutes to run 3 miles. Joe is no longer in charge of distance - in addition to directions. But it was a most excellent not-six-miles!

So why did I title this "Addicted? Apparently so!" ? I arrived back home in the best mood I've been in in ages...singing, laughing, dancing around the house. Yep yep, give me a long morning run any day!

Wow do I have a lot of catching up to do!

2010-10-31T17:47:00.018-06:00

Four months since I've posted. Terrible!

So, what's new? Well, starting with the most current:

Halloween! Finally we have a porch with a stoop wide enough for trick or treaters. That was one September-October project that kept us entertained! A new bay window, a west- (mountains) facing window where there was a wall, in addition to the new front porch were all part of the project. We're loving the result!

As for recent running, October was a rather puny month. Great autumn weather, lovely trails beckoning, but I just did not seem to be in the mood. Perhaps because of travel interruptions, perhaps because of dark cold mornings, perhaps because of achy body parts, perhaps because of taking on actual paid work (perhaps I'm allergic?). Who knows. But my October total mileage is almost 30% lower than my next lowest mileage month of 2010. This morning, as I put on my gear, I was debating where to run. I toyed with the idea of running with Jester, which would have guaranteed a run no longer than 20-30 minutes (he's gettin' old). I rejected that idea (perhaps the tide is turning), and decided to go out the door and head west and see what happened. A few minutes into the run, my brain took over my body, and trails were before me.

Over to NIST I headed, up Skunk Canyon - my most favorite autumn trail. It is well past prime color season but still delightful. I ran up Skunk to the Mesa Trail then over to Bear Canyon Road, and back out into the neighborhoods for a quick visit with son Paul, then back home. My achy body parts are still talking to me, but my head sure is happy!

Now backing up for a quick review of summer and autumn highlights:

Corinne came for a Fourth of July weekend visit with Devon. Great weather, great hiking!

We had great success with cherry trees this summer.
Enough cherries for 5 pies and 2 crisps. We froze most of the cherries, but had to have at least one fresh-from-the-tree homemade cherry pie. Yum!

Summer included a road trip to Oregon with stops along the way to:

- the Golden Spike National Historic Site...way cool
,

- and a Diners Drive-ins and Dives restaurant in Boise:
Pizzalchik where we feasted on a most excellent meal of, yes, pizza and salad (but no chicken...this time. If we ever find ourselves in Idaho again we are making the trip to Boise just to get another meal at Pizzalchik.)

Then it was on to Oregon and a wonderful visit with Kendall's sister Cheryl.

The highlight of the past month was my mom's 90th birthday. We went back to Petoskey and threw her a party including a surprise visit from her baby brother (a youngster at 87). Mom is inspiring with her high energy and wonderful friendships. A great time was had by all!

What to give a grad

2010-06-29T19:56:00.008-06:00

So there's Paul, new graduate from Knox College, and the boy who seldom asks for anything. What do you give a fella who had such a stellar college career? Well, Kendall and I settled on a droid seeing as how math & science dudes seem to like their gadgets. And I've got to admit, it was pretty fun to have the magic box along during the road trip to/from Galesburg/Petoskey and back home to Boulder.

But, being a mom, I really wanted to give him something from the heart. I had given this plenty of thought over the past year and had decided on a quilt. And not just any quilt, but a quilt made from t-shirts we collected during the run, one from each state plus an extra for Boulder, Petoskey, and Wisconsin (which took an awfully long time to run through). Problem was, I barely know how to sew, and am clueless about quilting. So! Sister-in-law Kitty to the rescue.

I showed her the design I had in mind:
t-shirts laid out roughly in the shape of the route, the bandanna I carried with me every step of the way laid out as Lake Michigan, and two digital pictures on cloth, one of me and Paul when I first saw the Michigan state line, and the other of the route map with markers for each days' end point. Kitty put that all together and added many more great touches...footprints stitched in, great lay out of the t-shirts, highlight stitching on the map... Absolutely fabulous.

Absolutely a gift from the heart for the fella who gave me his heart, soul, and energy throughout The Run.

Pictures:
top - Paul taking pictures with his droid at his Boulder graduation party.
middle - me and Kitty watching Paul opening his quilt.
bottom left - showing the quilt at the graduation party.
bottom right - the quilt about to be laid on Paul's bed.

Big days in Illinois and Michigan

2010-06-14T19:09:00.009-06:00

We've just returned to Colorado from one more road trip to the midwest, this trip highlighted by two grand events:

The most momentous event was Knox College's 2010 Commencement where our son Paul graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Math & Physics - a very proud day for the family! The next phase of his life brings Paul back to Boulder where he'll pursue a PhD in Applied Math at the University of Colorado. The entire VaughanMiller family will be back in Boulder again. Woohoo!

Next up on the road trip: Kendall's birthday,

celebrated during our post-graduation visit to Petoskey.

'Twas a lovely day which started with coffee and friends at our favorite coffee spot (Roast & Toast in Petoskey), followed by lunch out at Leggs Inn, a most excellent and unique Polish restaurant in Cross Village, and capped off with an evening stroll along Petoskey's waterfront.

Now we're back in Boulder where it seems extraordinarily damp - like much of the plains we drove through. Our garden is flourishing, our dog is wriggling all over, our elder son is happy to have company (so happy he had dinner waiting for us when we drove up!), and the trails are calling to me...mud and all.

A two-month review

2010-06-01T15:49:00.006-06:00

My goodness, it's been a while since I've posted! Here's a quick (well, sort of quick) synopsis of the last couple of months:

The entire Prairie Spirit Trail run was wonderful.
It scratched the itch I had for multi-day long quiet runs.
It also heightened my desire to work through the list of Rail Trails.
So many marvelous miles, so little time!

Through April and into May, I had the privilege and joy of coaching a girls running club at Kendall's elementary school. What a fantastic group! And what a fantastic community to be coaching in. I cold-called a number of athletes in the area to invite them to join us and had an overwhelming positive response: Sara Slattery, Colleen DeReuck, Coach Ceal Barry - and my running buddies (to show that friendship is also a benefit of running in addition to fitness) all helped out with the young runners. It was such a successful experience, Kendall (the school's librarian) and I will be doing a Running and Reading Club this summer.

The girls jumping with their new shoes - donated by Mark Plaatjes & Boulder Running Company

May also saw two family celebrations. One of my cousins came to visit (a rare occurrence for our midwest oriented family). In fact, she had the honor of christening our newly remodeled guest room. She also was the official courier for delivering the gift from that branch of the family to my brother in celebration of his 60th birthday. And that was the second of the family celebrations. Yes, my brother turned 60. And to do it up right, his birthday party was a Vaughan + Miller talent show - which turned out to be one of the most fun parties we've ever hosted. Talent ranged from story telling to comedy to magic tricks to dancing, fiddling, guitar playing (with yodeling!), and singing. A fabulous afternoon!

Great niece Kira, me, my brother Dave, and my son Devon doing the twist at Dave's 60th bday party

May's finale' was the Bolder Boulder with many family and friends running followed by Memorial Day tributes and elite athlete race finishes in the stadium...one of the best community events I've ever experienced. Icing on the cake: I beat my age in the 10k. A good day.

Now June is here. AND PAUL'S COLLEGE GRADUATION!!!! Yes, tomorrow we leave for Knox College, Paul graduates on Saturday, we head up to Petoskey on Sunday, return to Knox on Friday so Paul can go to a friend's wedding, then it's back to Boulder and summertime in the Rockies - with our entire family here to enjoy it. Weeehaww!!!

Prairie Spirit perfect running

2010-03-24T17:02:00.005-06:00

Prairie Spirit Trail, Princeton trail head, ready for the rain and runnin' toward Richmond

Well...I'm not a perfect runner, but it sure was a perfect running day today. Soft smooth trail, lightly wooded on either side, the occasional cow, the sound of chirping birds and ribbiting frogs, cloud cover, every now and then a bit of drizzle, cool temps but warm enough for shorts. Just fantastic.

Given these primo running conditions and the forecast for heavy rain later in the day and on into tomorrow, and since I had gotten a three mile headstart on the trail with yesterday's early evening run, I added a little extra today. The first bit was from Ottawa to Princeton with a light hum from the highway traffic one-half mile to the east, and all other sound just frogs and birds. Clouds above, fields to the left and right, and trail ahead. Charge!

As I ran into Princeton, the rain picked up so I hopped into waiting Hedwig and donned raincoat, gloves & hat, hopped back out, realized the rain had let up again, and continued happily down the trail, destination Richmond. Still a delightful run - but getting hungry and was very pleased to see Hedwig waiting at the Richmond trail head. Hopped in, got a banana, and decided, yup, I've got more miles in me so hopped back out for the final stretch of the day: Richmond to Garnett.

This one's for Joe - it's me trying to click my heels as I run toward the Richmond trail head.
Joe's way WAY better at clicking his heels...
my heels seem completely incapable of finding each other much less clicking.

Kendall and Jester met me a couple miles south of Richmond and we walked along the trail together for a few minutes before he drove off to check on campgrounds while I finished the stretch to Garnett. This bit of the run was absolutely marvelous. Away from the highway so no more car noise, just the frogs and birds and lots more trees, creeks and rivers. Really a lovely way to wrap up the twenty-mile day!

Garnett courthouse - in the center of a classic town square.
Good walking for shaking the miles out of my legs.

Getting acquainted with the Prairie Spirit Trail

2010-03-23T19:37:00.010-06:00

pj & Jester at the Prairie Spirit trailhead marker, Ottawa, Kansas

Hedwig (and Kendall, Jester dog, & I) rolled into Ottawa, Kansas today with enough light - and glorious weather - for me to run the first few miles of the Prairie Spirit Trail. 'Twas just a taste - but quite delectable!

...and the run begins...

pjv heading south from the Prairie Spirit trailhead
Ottawa, Kansas, March 23, 2010

Surprise in the concrete city

2010-03-22T19:28:00.003-06:00

Saline Wetlands at sunrise, Lincoln, Nebraska

We spent the night in Lincoln, Nebraska and when I headed out for my run it was right onto a concrete road, concrete sidewalks, and a neighborhood built on concrete. But that neighborhood bordered on a wetlands so I kept my eyes peeled for a gap in the houses that might lead away from all that concrete. Sure enough, as I got to the far end of the neighborhood I spotted a faint set of tire tracks. That was all the encouragement I needed. I followed the tracks, picked my way through some tall grasses and onto a two track which circled all around the Saline Wetlands that have been preserved right in the city of Lincoln. Birds chirping, sun rising - a lovely way to start the day!

Lincoln Highway in the spring time

2010-03-21T21:19:00.002-06:00

Lincoln Highway, trains, autos, cattle, corn fields, and a very happy runner

While the fellas ate lunch at Ole's in Paxton, Nebraska, I treated myself to another run along the Lincoln Highway. Today's run was under a warm sun, with cows grazing in corn fields still dotted with last year's husks. The road was as quiet as I remembered it, drivers waving as they went by giving me plenty of room along the generous shoulder. I even got a "toot toot" out of the passing train. Only seven miles rather than 30...but seven very delightful miles along one of my most favorite roads from the run to Michigan!

First day of spring

2010-03-20T12:36:00.004-06:00

A "challenging" morning run today. A fresh foot of snow covering the ground and trees, ice covering the roads - but we've got blue sky, sunshine, and crystalline glow filling the air now.
Spring has sprung!

Look at this!

2010-03-03T16:36:00.003-07:00

See that?! That trail?! That trail with NO SNOW!!!!!!!

That's what I got to run on today. Me and many other folks and dogs,
running, walking, splashing through the mud, smiling, and calling out cheery hellos every one!
Spring: 17 days to go, and counting!

Take the tiger by the tail

2010-02-21T18:50:00.005-07:00

Starting into the trees of the Kohler Mesa Trail

What a winter we've had. The snow that fell in December, which eventually turned into ice, is still hanging on. We've had all of one day this year of 2010 that has been above freezing when I headed out for my 6 a.m. run. And now, with February approaching its final week, it's been snowing since Thursday. Harumph. To top it off, I came down with a cold right when this most recent snow started to fall. So cold in me, and outside. Double harumph. What's a gal to do?

Well, wailing and whining just isn't my style (at least not for long) so today I decided to go straight into the eye of the storm. I pulled on my yaktrax (and three layers of clothes), headed out the door, pointed myself west, and set off for the trails up in the foothills. As soon as I got into the calf-high snow on Boomerang Hill behind NIST I began to question my sanity. But I held firm to my goal: make it to the top of the hill and find the trail. Finding the trail turned out to be easier than the 10-minute hill climb as I was not the first to tromp through the snow on the Kohler Mesa trail; indeed, based on the tracks, two humans and one dog had preceded me on the trail, leaving a lovely path for me to follow. So into the quiet of the snow-covered trees I trotted, catching occasional glimpses of the frosty flatirons poking through the low-lying clouds. Perfectly quiet. Perfectly serene. Perfectly beautiful. Today, I reveled in all that winter has to offer.

Looking back at the Kohler Mesa while coming down the Enchanted Mesa trail

Calf Run!

2010-02-03T18:57:00.003-07:00

Today's plan:

run north on trails from my volunteer job
rendezvous with running buddy Connie
continue north on trails alongside or through cow pastures
keep a sharp eye out for newborn calves

Pastures one and two had lots of cows - some verrrry wide - but no calves.
Pasture three, and there it was: a brand new calf on wobbly legs, then laying down under the watchful gaze of its mother who lumbered over to lick the youngster.

Mama cow keeping a close eye on us as her baby snuggles down in the grass

Those babies are going to be popping out all over the place now. There will definitely be more pasture running in the coming days!

A good day

2010-01-30T10:44:00.002-07:00

You can wake up grumpy, you can be out of sorts, you can be grumbling about the state of the world or less than satisfied with your current state of affairs - but if you're out trotting down a country road and see the full moon setting behind the Continental Divide, well, life is pretty darned good.

A quarter century - my first born is a quarter century old. Wow!

2010-01-28T12:30:00.008-07:00

Devon with his Grandpa Vaughan (left) and Opa Miller (right)

Yep, Devon Andrew VaughanMiller has been roaming the earth for 25 years today. Amazing!
The adventure of parenthood is second only to the adventure of life itself and it has been a real treat to see how Devon's life has unfolded. This year, with his move back to Colorado, we have the pleasure of actually celebrating his birthday with him. And, because the boy does like an adventure, we will be going to the Big City to take in an Avalanche game...something Devon has wanted to do ever since the Avalanche moved to town. Always trying something new, that's our boy. We are lucky parents!

Pictures, from left:
Devon greeting his mom upon her arrival in Petoskey, summer run 2007; Devon in Japan, 2006; Devon's Knox graduation, 2007

New trail - Yay!

2010-01-16T11:37:00.003-07:00

What with all the long-lingering ice and snow, my collection of running routes has been somewhat restricted of late and, frankly, has become rather boring. So! Today I tried something new!

First, I ran from home to the Boulder bus station (along an oft' frequented route, but to start a new adventure so it had some thrill associated with it). There I caught a bus to the neighboring town of Longmont (arriving at the bus station with an entire 60 seconds to spare before the hourly bus left ... adding to the thrill of the day).

Once in Longmont, I ran north from the bus stop wandering through unfamiliar neighborhoods until I found the marker for the St. Vrain Greenway trail - a trail I had read about but had never run on. What a delight! It's a concrete bike path (beautifully plowed) with a dirt path alongside (still snow-covered) that runs right along the banks of the St. Vrain River for 7+ miles. I saw no other humans once I set out along the trail - just water birds, raptors, chattering prairie dogs, river water running over and through ice formations, ice-covered ponds - one pond with a fox carrying his breakfast across the frosty surface (look closely at the photo below).

I tell ya', there's nothing quite like a new trail to brighten up the psyche!

Wintry winter

2010-01-10T15:31:00.004-07:00

Little Traverse Bay, first day of winter 2009

While we were in Petoskey there was no doubt it was winter. Snow, ice, cold, wind, long winter shadows. No sense in complaining about it...it is winter in northern Michigan after all! Bundle up, lace up the shoes, and enjoy a brisk run in a winter wonderland!

Upon our return to Boulder, I must confess I was a tad disappointed to discover that the snow we left behind when we headed east was still here - plus some. Rather unusual for Boulder where the sun typically works its magic quickly and melts away the white stuff. Since our return, the weather gods have continued to pile on the frosty flakes and wrap us in a deep freeze. Running routes have been modified, warmest clothes have been worn and washed repeatedly, yaktrax came out of their box for the first time. Again, though, no point in complaining...it's still winter just being winter. The big difference between Colorado and Michigan winters? The Colorado sky! Even when the temperatures are in the teens and snow covers every surface, Colorado's blue sky and sunshine warms the cockles and brings out the grins.

Frosty flatirons from CU cross-country property, Boulder, January 8, 2010

A fine wrap-up to 2009; ready for 2010

2010-01-05T16:18:00.006-07:00

We took the plunge and trundled everybody to Denver International Airport during the height of the holiday rush, winged our way to Detroit, hopped in a rental car, drove 5 hours north, and entered the holiday wonderland of Elena Vaughan's Petoskey abode at Christmas time. Mom was delighted to see us and we were delighted to be there. 'Twas the best present we could have given eachother.

Mom, her new sweatsuit, and giggling grandsons

Nine days later we headed "down below" and had a delightful visit with Murphey cousins in Ann Arbor. After that, it was back to the airport (and a much longer security line), a return to home-sweet-home where we then had a whirlwind of festivities including Miller Christmas with bunches of Kendall's family and extended family, New Years Eve with friends Mort & Lysa, and New Years Day lunch with Devon's girlfriend's family who were heading back to Kansas City after a ski vacation.

Life has settled down a bit since New Years. Boulder is deep in winter weather, Kendall is back to teaching, Paul has returned to his studies at Knox, Devon is enjoying the tail-end of his winter break, the CU Women's Basketball team is off to an exciting start to the season, my volunteer hours and running miles are piling up, and the VaughanMillers still love a good laugh together. Here's to 2010!

Frosty morning glow

2009-12-07T12:50:00.003-07:00

Winter's breath is sending chills through Boulder Valley. I've had a string of early moring runs to my volunteer job accompanied only by the sound of oh-so-cold squeaking snow beneath my feet. Today, as I made my way through the frosty darkness along the Bear Creek bike path, I discovered that someone had been busy over the weekend: last year's tree decorations have reappeared - a delightful treat brightening the way for us pre-dawn travelers.

Cake artistry

2009-11-30T16:14:00.004-07:00

Amber with the cake we made for Kitty's 60th birthday

It's been a while since I've posted (shame on me!); life has just been rolling along, no major hiccups nor whoopdedoos. But things are starting to pick up. Paul is home for winter break (from Thanksgiving week through New Years Day - weehawww!); we've made plane reservations for a Christmas trip to Petoskey (lots faster than running there); we partied on Thanksgiving day with bunches of Millers and extended family; and we just celebrated my sister-in-law Kitty's 60th birthday. Kitty's younger daughter, Amber, and I made a cake to honor the day. I've made a lot of birthday cakes over my years of motherhood, some quite niftily decorated - scorpion, sailing ship, island, Star Trek Enterprise, a bicycle, a guitar, and a really cool working volcano - but, as you can probably deduce, all for boys. This time, a lovely cake and with the help of Amber who actually knows how to do fancy cake decorations. Many hours later, we had our cake - and the next day, our rewards - the question "Are those real flowers?" and the smile on Kitty's face!

First big snow of the season!

2009-10-28T13:32:00.007-06:00

The weather folk were pretty sure it was going to snow but waffled on amounts - saying anything from 2 to 18 inches. It turns out the snow started a few hours earlier than expected, tapered off a bit around dawn, then picked up speed mid-day. So far, I'd say we have about a foot at our house and it's still snowing!

As luck would have it, I had a doctor's appointment scheduled today that was located about 5 miles by bike path from my house; luckier still, Boulder does a good job of plowing bike paths during snow storms. So! Off into the fluffy blowing flakes I went! Quite a lovely run actually. The return trip I decided to do as a combo run-bus-run affair which was not nearly as pleasant as the outbound trip. As is usually the case, those big roadside piles of snow turned into rivers of ice, many of which were just too wide to avoid as I made my way to and from the bus. Ah well, plenty of dry socks awaited me once I bounded through the snow banks and into our front door. Sspeaking of bounding, ol' Jester dog may have just celebrated his 12th birthday, but he is still does a fine job of bounding through snow. He's quite certain snow is a whole lot of fun falling from the sky!

The power of the dribble

2009-10-16T15:27:00.003-06:00

Mom's doing very well; home from the hospital, thinking straight, moving around, organizing...pretty much back to her old self (except no longer driving). Me...I'm just now coming around.

Mid-week, calming down with mom's return home, I was fighting fatigue from stress, lack of sleep, and a cold. My powers of concentration were zilch. I had a whole bunch of reading to do for class and little ability to focus. I'd sit, open the book, stand, wander around the house, dabble in this and that, sit, stand, dabble. Then I noticed the sunshine streaming in through the window and decided to turn the dabbling into dribbling.

Basketball is a wonderful thing. Outside, bouncing the ball, trotting around the driveway, shooting towards the big blue sky, rebounding, dribbling, trotting, jumping, shooting, dribbling. Extraordinarily soothing. I'm certain it nudged my soul out of the doldrums and into the light of day. Thursday I rejoined my exercise class, reappeared at my CU class and Friday/today I started the day at my old-usual 5:22 a.m., running to my volunteer job, reading newspapers for AINC, and have continued the day with a bounce in my step. Thank you basketball!

A roller coaster I'd like never to ride again

2009-10-12T15:53:00.004-06:00

Paula & Elena, July 2009

As is my nightly custom, I called my mom Thursday evening. No answer. Hmmm. Maybe tired from a busy day. We were heading out the door to catch a bus to Denver's Union Station where we were hopping a train to Galesburg, Illinois to visit Paul for his final family weekend at Knox College. I continued trying to call, tried calling neighbors...nobody answering. Hmmm. Maybe the phones are out in the neighborhood. Friday morning, I started calling again. No answer at mom's. Called the neighbors, they answered, went over to mom's house, and discovered no car in the garage and Thursday's mail still in the box. Oh oh. I called the hospital; no record of her there. I called her doctor; he hadn't heard from her in the last day or two. I called her dentist where she had an appointment Thursday morning. Yes, she had been there. But then heard from the friend who mom was supposed to have lunch with Thursday and mom had not shown up. Time to mount a full-out search. I called a high school buddy who started driving the streets of Petoskey and called the police who put out a 3-county bulletin and also started searching the streets, retracing possible routes mom might have taken. And me, my cell phone, and Kendall kept riding the rails to Galesburg.

Got to Galesburg. Happy family weekend Paul and, by the way, Grandma is missing. Checked into our B&B with the cell phone attached to my ear. Took Paul's buddies out for pizza and played with my salad while listening to the welcome distraction of a lively gang of college students. Looked up car rental agencies thinking we would head to Petoskey the next morning. Returned to the B&B, numb from disbelief at the turn of events. 10 p.m., the phone rings. It's the police and mom's been found. In her car, in good shape all things considered (no food or water for 36 hours and pretty darned cold), in a ditch off a two-track road off a country road south of town. The ambulance is taking her to the hospital to get checked out. I call the ER, they let me talk to her. She is talking, she is o.k., she's alive!

Today is Monday. We're back from Galesburg and mom's still in the hospital awaiting test results. The doctors would really like to solve the mystery of how mom got from the dentist's office to that little two-track road with no clue of where or how she was driving. In the meantime, she's got energy back in her voice, she's taking little walks around the hospital, she's cogent, she's got her sense of humor about her, and she's got one very thankful daughter. Whew. Oh, and she turned 89 during this adventure. Who'd've thunk an 89 year old could get into that much mischief.

Autumn musings

2009-10-05T13:36:00.003-06:00

One of my routes home takes me by a field with a bunch of apple trees - and one of those trees has the tastiest little apples. I often swing by and grab one for an end-of-run snack. This past week as I came upon the field I discovered five deer with the same idea: apple munchathon time!

Along with apple-laden trees, it's the time of the harvest moon, which means I can run to my volunteer job at 6 in the morning wearing sunglasses even though the sun has yet to peek above the eastern horizon when I leave the house. However, when I get within a couple of miles of work the sunrise is underway - and they have been stellar lately. Perhaps it's the pre-winter low-lying clouds picking up the early rays or the golden-hued grasses reaching to the sky...whatever the reason, the sky above and earth are infused with an amber glow to begin the day.

Just such a sunrise graced my run this morning reminding me of the train ride to Knox College for Family Weekend three years ago. (We're headed there again, on the train, in just a few days.) Kendall and I were just waking up and I looked out the window to see miles and miles of fields nestled under a lifting fog, gently glowing in the rays of the rising sun. I turned to Kendall and said "This is why I want to run across the heartland." It is still those scenes - rustling grasslands, fog-filled river valleys, north woods canopies, sparkling waves - that fill my mind when I think back on the run.

And today? Amber autumn clouds at sunrise, golden aspen leaves drifting through the air, owls hooting from above, and sharing apples with the deer. It's all good.

Sunday sanctuary

2009-09-28T16:31:00.003-06:00

The hills are alive with golden aspen and I was itching to get out of town to take a look - and to leave the hubbub of the city behind for at least a few peaceful moments. So I treated myself to my version of Sunday meditations by lacing up my running shoes and heading for the hills...on foot...3000 feet uphill in about 9 miles as I ran most of Sunshine Canyon from Boulder to Gold Hill. With most of the uphill running completed, Kendall and Devon drove up in the van and gave me a lift even further into the mountains where we gazed upon snow-covered peaks and glistening aspen. I must say it feels mighty fine to be fit enough again to simply cruise, breath, and lose myself to the sights and sounds of the world around me.

Shaping up!

2009-08-23T15:35:00.005-06:00

The cleaning frenzy is almost complete:
floors mopped, walls scrubbed, windows washed, surfaces dusted, cobwebs vanquished, shelves built in the basement to house the books that started this whole thing, and the dog has even been bathed!
O.K. Paul! You can come home now! ;-)

Speaking of shaping up. It appears my running is also beginning to shape up! This was my 4th consecutive week of high 40s or low to mid-50 miles/week; 4th consecutive week of solid hill repeat workouts (this week was the most I've ever done: 6 each of 90-second hills alternating between a steep and a friggin' steep hill); and 4th consecutive week with a long run over two hours - with two of those runs over 2.5 hours. I'm starting to feel the hints of fitness again. Weeehawww! I've been asked (often) what I'm getting ready for. Bottom line is, I'd like to be able to run as long as I want, whenever I want, wherever I might find myself to be. I do love perambulating tourism. When I was doing my hill repeats this past week I ran into Mark Plaatjes' training group which was also repeating on the "friggin' steep" hill. He commented on my run to Michigan and I said it was the best way to sight-see ever. He allowed as how one could get a pretty darned good view from an airplane. But I must say, I do prefer an up close and personal view!

Summer catch up post - 3 of 3

2009-08-12T16:50:00.007-06:00

TV room - with no more bookshelves

After the whirlwind of travel and festivities, it was time to buckle down to business. We've got this domino effect going on in our house that falls something like this:

Kendall buys a high def TV for the family for Christmas.
To make room for the new TV, all the bookshelves come down in the TV room; the books are boxed up; the boxes are piled into the guest room.
We paint the TV room, put up the TV and it all looks so darned good with the newly painted walls that we decide not to put bookshelves back up. (Ah hah! says the astute reader, the guest room is now the boxed up book room.)
Son Devon returns home to live while he goes for another round of college studies (this time in Communication/radio broadcast at Metro State College of Denver) and he needs that guest room. The books must find a new home.
The only room in the house that can possibly house that many shelves is...the basement. The basement is so full of 34 years of accumulated Paula/Kendall/boys' stuff that it has been reduced down to winding paths through the piles...no floor space, no wall space...pretty much no space at all. The basement must be cleaned out! [Note: this was the first agenda item on my Retirement List...but it somehow got preempted by 1) preparing for that wee run to Michigan and 2) too much nice weather to spend days in the basement and 3) pretty much anything else that came along that wasn't cleaning out the basement.]

With the pressure on to get Devon into his own room (he and his stuff is crammed into Paul's room at the moment and Paul is due home for a visit in two weeks), the neighborhood offers up a great incentive: a neighborhood garage sale! So, for the last week, we've been industriously - nay, ruthlessly - going through our piles.

Two mongo garbage barrels of trash, two mongo recycle barrels plus a giant box of recyclables, and a back porch of yard sale stuff, we now have a pretty darned tidy basement ...at least on the scale of VaughanMiller tidiness - which comes nowhere near the Good Housekeeping Martha Stewart scale of tidiness - but we're rather proud of ourselves!

(Porch-full of yard sale stuff -on the left above- makes for rediscovered basement walls & floor -on the right!)

So, if anyone is in the vicinity of the Martin Acres neighborhood of the city of Boulder on August 15th or 16th, do check out the yard sales and make us an offer; we're willing to go very very low!

Summer catch up post - 2 of 3

2009-08-12T16:08:00.011-06:00

Millers et al - brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles... the gang's all here!

Following the big dose of Vaughan festivities in early-mid July, we turned around for a Miller extravaganza in honor of Kendall's brother Steve's 60th birthday.
(In the picture to the right, Steve's daughter Amber presents the cake - which is decorated with "1949 Don't Ask" - while Steve's granddaughters Audrey and Kira look on.)

All the siblings were present, most of the kids of the siblings and many of the cousins. Middle brother, Andy, did most of the organizing in hopes that this celebration would take care of all the "60" parties for the brothers. Ha! He and two of his cousins celebrate birthdays within days of eachother (they were known as the triplets when they were little); I see another grand gathering in two years' time!

Brothers/cousins: Andy, Earl, Kendall, Steve, John
(Andy, Earl & John are the "triplets" - and all have the solar foreheads!)

The partying started in Fraser/Winter Park and continued on in the Denver area with a somewhat smaller - yet still boisterous crew. Those Millers sure do know how to have fun!

The next generation - yes, they do know how to have fun!
(Tony, Audrey, Cullen, Kira, Juniper & Sage)

Summer catch up post - 1 of 3

2009-08-12T15:00:00.007-06:00

How time flies when summer is swinging! Here's catch-up post #1 (and that's "catch up", not "ketchup" ...I'm a mustard kindo' gal myself... which reminds me of one of my 'quotes of the week' on our family whiteboard: "You can't put a mayonnaise personality into a mustard suit" ...from Unwrapped on the Food Network).

So! Summer since my last post!

That would include our road trip to Michigan by way of Knox College where we visited our son, Paul, who is spending his summer doing one of his very most favorite things: mathematics....specifically, research in cryptography. The boy looks good - and happy. And mom here is going to be even happier when he arrives back in Boulder at the end of the month for a two-week visit before his fall term starts up!

me & frisky mom

After the visit with Paul, we headed up to Petoskey for some quality time with mom, family, friends, and the lake. 'Twas an unusual visit for us in that friends we typically spend lots of time with were way busy (work in the summer...what's that about?!) thus our visiting time was good but short, friends we often don't get to see were actually in town while we were there so we had bonus visits, we were able to catch up with relatives we hadn't seen for a couple of years, and the weather was really quite lovely - lots of sunshine yet not too hot or muggy - but the water, at 50 degrees, was way too cold to swim in. Best of all, my mom's health has significantly improved over the past year so we were able to take her out for quite a few excursions. Northern Michigan is a most excellent get-out-and-about kind of place and we did just that!

Murphey & Vaughan cousins

Yi Lu, me, mom, Aunt Helen,
Dan, Kathleen, Dave

too cold to swim -
but great for hunting Petoskey stones

Summer in full swing

2009-07-03T16:26:00.005-06:00

Summer hasn't even been here a full two weeks, but there sure has been a flurry of summer activity!

What with our wet spring, hillsides are loaded with a rainbow of wildflowers making for some positively lovely trail running. Adding to the colorful trail running fun: a never-been-used pair of just-my-size montrails that I found at a yard sale for a mere $20. What a sweet pair of shoes - like running on feathers that glide over rocks and roots.

Adding to this year's summer fun, since we're going to be here in town more than we're going to be gone, we actually resurrected our garden! To top it off, the garden is even producing edibles. Lots of salads so far, with root vegetables on the way. Yummers. However, by my vote, even better than the vegies is this year's cherry crop. Earlier this week, my afternoon progressed as follows: pick a whole bunch of cherries, walk straight into the kitchen, pit the cherries, prepare the crisp, and become thoroughly intoxicated by the smell of hot bubbling fresh-picked cherries. Nothing better!

Alas, not every moment can be spent outdoors - not when one is preparing for their first fiddle recital. Yikes! Many many hours of fiddle practice - and, I'm sure, many many neighbors wishing they had never heard the far-too-often repeated pjv rendition of "Red Haired Boy". If y'all are interested in hearing just how that recital turned out (not perfect, but not a disaster), here's the video our son Devon shot of his fiddling mom, accompanied by our teacher, Mike Marsh. (The first 1:39 is tuning; I recommend you skip that part and head straight for the fiddling.)

Moseying across the country

2009-06-11T21:29:00.007-06:00

As you know, if you've read about my run from Colorado to Michigan, I'm a big fan of savoring the miles as one crosses the country. See the sights, enjoy the smells, revel in the fresh air... The thirty-mile-per-day plan was a delightful approach to travel.

Our most recent trip covered the distance a bit more quickly - something like 600 miles per day. Last week we journeyed to Illinois to attend Paul's Phi Beta Kappa induction ceremony and Devon's girlfriend Corinne's graduation (all at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois). The weekend's festivities culminated with the packing of all of Devon's stuff into our motorhome and moving him back to Colorado where he will be pursuing a degree in speech communication.

On the way back to Colorado, we crossed paths with a group of folks who were taking the leisurely approach to cross-country travel. They had crossed Iowa last summer, are making their way across Nebraska this summer and will travel through Wyoming next summer...20 miles per day via wagon train! They allowed us to drive along with for a mile or so and I ran alongside in order to get the pictures. I suspect I was warmer running than they were sitting on their wagons in the rain...but what a way to travel!

Vaughan stubborn

2009-06-02T21:31:00.003-06:00

Our backyard columbines.
We're lousy gardeners, but these hearty flowers burst forth regardless!

The Vaughan stubborn streak is legendary in our family.

It manifested in my dad through his unrelenting quest to finish whatever it is he may have started - be it changing a 6 cylinder Studebaker into a 4 cylinder Studebaker or going after a hole-in-one which he finally accomplished in his 80s (after 70 years of devoted golf playing).

In my case, it's heightened determination to do something after being told I can't. My first memory of this happening was in high school chemistry when the teacher announced that girls in the class should figure on getting a C since no girl had ever done better than that. So, despite not having any fondness for chemistry, I sucked it up and got an A. Another big one was when I was granted only a probationary admittance to grad school despite great test scores. My undergrad college wrote evaluations rather than give out grades so, without enough grade point credits, the grad school was reluctant to give me full admission. Harumph. First semester in, I got a 4.0 and ending up graduating at the top of my class. The most recent occurrence was just last week. A few weeks ago, my fiddle teacher had given me Red Haired Boy to try playing. Last week, he mentioned that our upcoming recital would be held at the end of June. I said, well, how about I play Red Haired Boy for the recital. He hemmed and hawed and said that it was a bit too tricky and we'd best find something else; he'd pick something out during the week. Tonight I showed up for the lesson, opened the book to Red Haired Boy and he said - ah, we were going to find something else for the recital. I replied with, how 'bout I play this for you first. Play I did...and raised some eyebrows. Red Haired Boy will be on the program! Like I said, don't tell me I can't do something!

Fortunately, for the run to Michigan, noone let it be known (to me, at least) that they didn't think I'd make it. There was no room for doubt in that endeavour...the challenge was daunting enough - and, besides, my brain was too full of the vision of running toward the view of Little Traverse Bay to make room for nay-sayers. I was quite amazed to discover afterwards how many of my buddies thought I was nuts to try...and unlikely to succeed. 'Tis a testament to their friendship that they never, ever shared those doubts with me until after the run. Nothing but powerful positive thoughts were sent my way. They do make all the difference!

Mood enhancers

2009-05-18T14:04:00.003-06:00

See that smile? That's me after finally getting to go for a run after many many days of a non-running regimen in hopes that my quad would stop squawking at me.

After much PT and way too many days of being good, I got the green light for a 20 minute max run. I set off at a brisk walk for my volunteer job along bike paths and trails with my running start point firmly in mind (roughly half-way). A few blocks after leaving my house, the dirt path paralleling the bike path I was on beckoned. I sez to myself: "it's dirt, it'll be gentle on the leg" so onto the dirt and into a trot I went. Ahhh.... About a third of the way into the run I approached a pedestrian overpass. As I crested the top and looked down the other side I saw another dirt path. My brain begins conversing: "There's some more dirt; should we run it?" one side asks. "Well, sure why not?!" the other side responds. At that point, I broke out laughing. It's darned difficult to have a pros and cons debate when both parties - and every molecule inbetween - are big time jonesing for a run.

So, yes, I ran on the dirt, and then ran from the half-way point on in to the job. A most excellent start to the day!

(NOTE: if you, dear reader, happen to know my mom, please do not share this cranky leg info with her...she tends to become overly worried about her baby girl no matter how trivial the issue.)

Moving slowly; seeing the sights

2009-04-20T17:30:00.003-06:00

I'm gimping around with a sore quad these days so have slowed down substantially...all the way down to a walk as a matter of fact. Other than being in a foul temper due to sweat glands not getting a workout, it's not been too bad. One can certainly get a good view of one's surroundings when meandering at a leisurely 3 miles per hour. Sightings of the last week have included

three turkey vultures and a hawk floating along the thermals (probably waiting for me to drop from 3 mph to 0 mph so I'd be easy pickin's);
a fox closely guarding its den where, I discovered the next day, at least one kit is being raised;
a clucking crow;
tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and even some pansies popping up...not to mention blossoms about to burst forth on the fruit trees;

But today's sighting takes the prize. Early this past Thursday it started to rain and snow...and did not stop raining and snowing until late Saturday. Supposedly there were 7 inches of snow and who knows how much rain. The streets were rivers, the dips were lakes, and our hay-like lawns now look like the emerald fields of Ireland. There was SO much water, apparently the fish population found new places to explore...this is what I spotted along the sidewalk when walking home from my volunteer job:

Keep your eyes wide open folks, ya' never know what you may see in this wild wonderful world of ours!

Quintessential spring

2009-04-03T11:18:00.005-06:00

Spring is in fine form:

itty bitty ants are roaming the restroom floor at my volunteer job
dandelions are bursting forth
chirpy red red robins are bob bob bobbin' all along the trail
and, of course, our weather forecast is calling for highs of 50s today and a foot of snow tonight

Ya' gotta just run with it!

Summer? Winter? Both?! It must be Spring!

2009-03-26T17:21:00.006-06:00

Yesterday - southeast Colorado.................................................................Today - our backyard

Yesterday we were in southeast Colorado, camping in high desert, listening to nothing but wind and birds, gazing out over canyons and prairie, stepping over fossil-filled rocks, gazing at pictographs etched in canyon walls, and hiking and running along cactus-studded trails. A wonderful break from the daily routine.

Today we awoke to a bit of snow, and more snow, and more snow yet. Running through the almost knee-high white stuff was quite fun, actually, since we haven't had much of it in Boulder this year...and there was so much on the ground and filling the air that traffic was almost non-existent. (Both the Boulder public schools and the University are closed for spring break this week so the town was quiet to begin with; closing the highway leading into town and shutting down city offices due to the blizzard conditions further contributed to the sleepiness of our burg.) My run was confined to quiet neighborhoods near my house to further reduce car/ped confrontations so I zigged and zagged, occasionally running along car tracks, occasionally breaking trail. By the time I returned home, I could barely see the tracks I had left when I first started out on my run. And, boy, was it fun to dash in the house and give my husband a great big frosty hug!

Yesterday, cacti. Today, snow drifts. Weather sure does liven things up!

The First Day of Spring

2009-03-20T16:59:00.008-06:00

I must confess, I am quite fond of the first day of spring. Rejuvenation abounds. And...it's my birthday!

Each year I thank my mom for giving me such a glorious birthday day. Even the blizzardy years. Or the gray years. Or, like today, the years when spring fills the air.

The first day of spring of 2009 has been mighty fine.
Not only has the day been filled with running, and yummy eating, and driveway basketball with my son, and flowers blooming, and vultures hovering overhead (o.k., that was a bit odd) - but also...bonus!
Kendall's school had a concert today to celebrate the completion of their readathon. Paul and I meandered over to listen in - and, I gotta tell ya', put my husband up on a stage and hand him a microphone and he can really belt out a tune! The guy is a rock star! Now that is one fine way to celebrate a birthday!

A fine way to spend an almost spring day

2009-03-19T15:48:00.003-06:00

Blue sky, sunshine, hill drills done, exercise class complete, editing finished, now home with the spring break college boy and a basketball. It just doesn't get much better than this!

Fun in the mountains

2009-03-15T15:37:00.013-06:00

The view from our cabins

We spent the weekend at a YMCA camp in Estes Park, just outside Rocky Mountain National Park, helping a friend celebrate his 60th birthday. Lots of friends, family, fidos, fresh air, fantastic views, foraging elk...a whole lot of festive fun all the way around. It made me realize just how refreshing a change of scenery and laid-back time with friends can be. Barely 24 hours away from home, and only 30 miles from Boulder, yet the cobwebs are clear and the energy stores are rejuvenated. I definitely must get out of town and away from the daily humdrum more often!

How the elk spend their Sunday mornings

Bicycle cake that I made for the birthday boy - and bicycle cake all lit up with 60 candles!

Revving up

2009-03-14T13:48:00.003-06:00

Joe, AndyE and cow families under the moon at Teller Farms

Another grand day of running here. Blue sky, almost full moon, frisky calves - plenty to keep our minds off the way chilly temperature - tho' it didn't stop the whining ;-)

During the run, AndyE, Joe and I concocted a semblance of a training plan for the spring. It was astoundingly difficult to find two weekday time slots where we three retirees are all available for a bit of quality running. What's up with that, eh? In any case, we now have got a Tuesday afternoon slot for tempo running and a Thursday morning time for hill repeats. We'll whip ourselves into shape yet!

Daylight Savings Time Distractions

2009-03-11T11:14:00.005-06:00

Full moon over darkened Flatirons

I've been grumbling a bit this week about the switch to daylight savings time, having become happily accustomed to light and warmth on my early morning runs. Since the switch

Monday morning I ran by AndyE's house, met up with him (although I didn't even see him until he was right at my shoulder it was so darned dark), and we had a very non-chatty run together to my volunteer job...undoubtedly at a loss for words cuz our bodies were in shock from the cold and dark.
Tuesday morning, after a night of light snow, the streets were so icy that running was darned near impossible. So I delayed my run until the sun had a chance to do its magic. The streets did, indeed, clear - but the wind picked up as well so it was hill repeats accompanied by, yes, sunshine, but also 40+ mph gusts.
This morning I started out once again in the dark...but no grumbling nope! nope! A bright full moon guided my way as it slowly dropped behind the mountains, vanishing just as the eastern horizon began to lighten. And as I wound my way east and north I heard the hoot of an owl. Just ahead of me high in a tree was the owl sitting watchful as a distant hoot carried through the air towards us. I stopped and listened as the hoots drifted back and forth while the sunrise continued to brighten the sky. A lovely morning run...and all because of that bothersome daylight savings time!

A hint of spring

2009-03-06T16:38:00.003-07:00

Signs of impending spring abound:

Crocuses are popping out all over
Students in my CU class are chatty and happily restless
Shorts are out of storage and on my bod as I run to my volunteer job at 6 a.m.
Geese are pairing up
Skateboards abound
Gardens are being dug
The TA for my class was sporting a sunburned neck today
Frisbees are flying
Everybody is smiling as they strut out of doors
...and, personally, energy levels - and miles run - are up!

It's definitely time to wrap up the indoor work and move operations outside. WEEEHAWWW!

Study nook

2009-02-09T16:49:00.004-07:00

The exhibit that was watching over me as I studied today

I'm taking a CU class this semester as a "Senior Auditor." It's a pretty sweet deal; dues-paying alumni over age 55 can take classes for $10. The class I chose for this semester's learnin' is The History of Words. It's quite the plunge into Latin, Greek, and linguistics. I've no background in any of these topics, so a lot of study time is involved. I have found I'm a much better studier if I get myself out of the house to do the readings so I've spent the semester exploring the campus, the public library, coffee shops, etc. for suitable study nooks.

I much prefer study spaces with a view or some sort of interesting diversion - even if I'm not allowing myself to be completely diverted. The Boulder Public Library offers a nice setting if you can find an empty chair near a window overlooking the Boulder Creek. The second floor of the student union on campus provides pretty good people watching - but people outnumber chairs there so there is often no seat to be had.

It is very windy in Boulder today so I went looking for a study nook on campus fairly near my classroom building. Today was my lucky day! I had read that the CU museum had set up a lounge in one of their exhibit areas so I checked it out. Lots of comfy seating, interesting exhibits throughout - and free coffee and tea! Two hours later with my homework done, coffee craving satiated, and mind refreshed, I was off to class. The BioLounge, as they call it, will definitely be seeing a lot of me this semester!

The day I became a mom

2009-01-28T07:31:00.004-07:00

Devon Andrew VaughanMiller, the one who bestowed upon me the honored title of "Mom" on this day 24 years ago.
The fella whose presence brings a light within me that glows from the tips of my toes to the frizzes of my hair.
The first of the VaughanMillers and who welcomed his little brother, the second VaughanMiller, as his new, and life-long, best friend.
The little tyke who would strike up a conversation with anybody about anything because he just so loved the new and different.
The young man who said this a week before my run to Michigan was to begin: "I believe in you, mom. You can somehow always believe in me, especially when I don't, now it is my turn to push you. ... You can do this. I know it, because you're a Vaughan, and, more importantly, my mom!"

Well, Devon, I have always and will always believe in you. You have a heart of gold and a soul of sunshine. Spread it 'round the world this new year!

Happy Birthday Devon!

Daydreaming on the run

2009-01-21T16:30:00.003-07:00

Of vistas and daydreams on the run - January 21, 2009

Today's run was a basic commute to and from my volunteer job. The trip in before the sun was up was quite dark. Have you ever noticed that some days dark is really really dark? Well, today was one of those days, so rather than run the unlit bike paths, I moved over to the roads. Then I got tired of the cars (funny how they hang around roads) so I zigzagged into and through a neighborhood that wasn't quite as dark as the bike paths and not quite as busy as some roads. With the quiet, came a peacefulness that encouraged daydreaming. 'Twas a good morning for daydreaming. We have a new president, a president whom I believe is truly for the people, by the people, and of the people. Now it is time for us people to take some our dreams, work with our president, and do!

Running back home after volunteering, I stayed with the bike paths and trails. Both the vista and the quiet were soothing and again fostered daydreams. I've just started corresponding with a running acquaintance who is interested in a long run, specifically a north/south run along the east coast of the US...currently envisioned as a Maine-to-Miami run. We would do it in segments, beginning in 2010 and finishing in 2012 - the year we both turn 60. As I trotted towards home, along a trail through a field, I heard crackling noises - and realized I was hearing the ground awaken. Our third consecutive balmy day was bringing out insects and sprouts and who knows what all else. It is for those moments, the moments of being able to hear the earth burst forth with life, that makes me think that the daydream of another long run should become reality.

New quote

2009-01-15T17:12:00.004-07:00

I read this bumper sticker quote on a listserv I belong to. It makes me feel even more comfortable in my non-conformist mind and body!

Don't worry, the rest of the world has "normal" covered.

A good reminder that I should just keep on cruising down my own pjv path!

A new goal!

2009-01-14T15:40:00.004-07:00

Fiddle wood carving seen on the run in Boulder

The National Western Stock Show is in full swing in Denver. It's quite the event: lots of cows, chickens, rabbits, rodeo-ing, dog running, artwork, cowboy hats, boots, belt buckles...you name it... If it's American West, it's there.

I hadn't been to the show since our boys were little but went this year for a whole new thing for me: the Colorado Fiddle Championships. It was fantastic - fiddlers from 8 to 80+; all mighty fine.

My new goal? To participate in the 2013 Fiddle Championships (when I'm 60). Maybe, just maybe, if I practice every day from now until then, I'll actually be good enough to compete. We shall see!

Quiet

2009-01-13T16:54:00.004-07:00

Minnesota - corn, soybeans and sky for as far as the eye can see...

I just finished editing the third part of the four-part series that I'm writing for Marathon & Beyond about my run to Petoskey. In this installment, I do a lot of tallying. One of the tallies that I included was "15 minutes" without being passed by a car on one of the county roads we traveled in Minnesota. My oh my how precious that quiet time is.

Being retired, I don't live a particularly hectic life these days. However, today started with an icy run to exercise class where a gaggle of sweating folks contorted for an hour with boisterous music, followed by an hour's run in howling winds over slightly less icy but car-filled roads that took me back home. There I had a quick shower, an equally quick lunch, then worked a few hours on my M&B story. After submitting the story, it was e-mail perusal time where I found a message from the professor for the class I just started taking. Holy toledo! I have homework! Due tomorrow! So next up: make some dinner and read read read.

In the midst of the upcoming months filled with running, my Monday/Wednesday/Friday a.m. volunteer job, Monday/Wednesday/Friday p.m. linguistics class, Tuesday/Thursday exercise class, and Tuesday fiddle class I need to sit down with trail info and road maps and figure out a 200-300 mile stretch of peaceful running for a mini-summer sojourn. It's long overdue.

...oh, and one funny farm

Fresh powder

2009-01-12T16:18:00.004-07:00

Predawn run along snowy Boulder Creek trail

When I run to my morning volunteer job at this time of year, it's still dark out. However, today it was dark on top and white on the bottom; we were in the midst of a gentle but thick snowstorm. As I left our driveway, the only tracks to be seen in the snow-covered street were those of my husband and dog (they had left for their walk about 15 minutes ahead of me); by now their tracks were barely discernible due to the fast-falling snow. When our paths crossed (he was looping back home as I continued east) I was startled by Kendall's appearance: snow-crusted cap, glasses, beard & jacket. (In fact, he said he had been worried about heading out in the dark wearing a charcoal gray jacket. No need to worry long, he was now sporting a frosty white jacket - quite visible in the darkness.) I didn't think I looked quite as frosty so I asked him which way the wind was blowing; yep - he was headed into it and I had it at my back. Lucky me!

After parting ways, I trotted off down a different bike path where there were no tracks to be seen. It was just me and a clean blanket of snow. About 45 minutes into the run, the morning's weather added some new entertainment features: snowballs were accumulating at the tops of my shoes/bottoms of my tights; mini-avalanches were cascading off my hat; the collar of my jacket was crackling in my ear...probably frozen. Nonetheless, there's nothing quite like being the runner who gets to lay the first track in an early morning snow fall!

p.s. to Paul if you're reading this: I tried to take a picture just for you of a tumbleweed I spotted sticking out of the new snow...too darned dark...you lucked out ;-)

2008 Restrospective

2008-12-31T17:34:00.004-07:00

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

2008-12-26T10:28:00.006-07:00

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

2008-12-15T17:47:00.004-07:00

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

2008-12-08T17:11:00.004-07:00

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

2008-11-20T16:10:00.004-07:00

...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

2008-11-05T13:54:00.007-07:00

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

2008-10-20T17:12:00.003-06:00

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

2008-10-15T12:28:00.003-06:00

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

2008-10-08T16:00:00.005-06:00

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!