Fresh powder

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

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

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

This is what makes the year shine!

Jester, Paul & Devon, December 2008

Holiday delights

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



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






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

Baking Bonanza

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

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

Ankle biting road junk

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

Beware the road-side traps!

Over the river and through the woods

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

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

Satisfaction

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

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

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

Better than drugs

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

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

Keeping Busy

Almost-full October moon over the Continental Divide at dawn

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

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

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

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

Not bored no more no more nope nope!

The perfect loop

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

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

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