Gobble Gobble Run Run

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

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

Thanksgiving Eve

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

Mapping the run

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

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

Solo on the Cirelli Loop

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

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

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

A quick trip home

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

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

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

Pre-travel trail run

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

Successful Experiment

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

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

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

T-shirt, shorts, and change

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

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

Running Home

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

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

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

Trains, Knox, and Home Again

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

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

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