Boots Take Three

I thought you loved me mom.....

Very cold and icy yesterday.  Still very cold today - 5 degrees - but Taz pup was seriously jonesin' to get out for a run.  So the boots came out once again.

On our first attempt a month or so ago, while just sitting around the house looking for some entertainment, we didn't even manage to get the boots on his paws.

On our second attempt, I donned all my running gear and put the harness on Taz before even pulling out the boots. With his focus firmly on going out the door, he tolerated me putting the boots on his tootsies.  He hated the feel of them, unwilling to put his paws down on the ground, walking with legs akimbo until somehow shedding all of the boots within about 20 yards of the beginning of the run.

Today, again, all my gear on, his harness on, focus on going out the door, and tolerance of me covering his paws with the boots.  This time, however, we made it part way along our sidewalk before the first boot came off, he ran with a fairly steady gait as the run got firmly underway, then made it a good 4-to-5 minutes into the run before the 2nd then 3rd boots came off.  The fourth boot held on as we got into the meat of the run: Taz's yaya loop where he can run off leash.  Woohoo!  a 25% success rate!  Part way around the yaya loop I called him back to me to make sure the boot was still on so I'd know whether or not I should be poking around in the snow looking for it.  Taz being Taz, he came charging back to me at full speed which, of course, sent the boot flying off.  Ah well, at least he had warm tootsies for a bit of the run.  And, cold or hot, snow or sunshine, wet or dry, that dog just is happy to be out!

Peeking out

What's this?! Tulips beginning to poke up in the garden?! No doubt taking advantage of the 50-60 degree days amidst our snow storms, gale-force winds, and temps in the teens and lower.

Usually by the time the tulips peek out, my base training has done its job and my legs, lungs, and brain are ready to crank it up for whatever monumental running accomplishment I've planned for myself for the year.  Much to my dismay, I seem to be lagging behind this year.  Legs are cranky, lungs are so-so and brain is needling toward the discouraged side of the scale.  The weather certainly hasn't been conducive to hard training - but it's winter so what's new about that, eh?!  Tho' I must say, two long runs through snowdrifts did my hips, back and glutes no favor and they've been quite demonstrative in their reactions to the abuse.  Cranky, cranky, cranky.

So what to do? Nothing too drastic since #1 in the plan is to be sensible in order to achieve #1 on the goal list which is to have a consistent year of running.

• Stick with one mid-week day of hard running, gradually incrementing the distance.  For the last couple of months, the hard running day has consisted of hills which I do believe offer a very big bang for the buck.
• Increase weekend mileage - gradually - with a semi-long run on one weekend day and a long run on the other weekend day.  In mid-April, speed work will be incorporated into the semi-long day in preparation for the Bolder Boulder.
• Put stretching into the daily routine.  Running buddy Connie told me she has been very consistent with her stretching this winter and it's been helping tremendously (and she's running faster and stronger than I am these days so 'tis good inspiration ...also a clear demonstration of what a prolonged period/months of consistent training can do for a person vs. the haphazard stretch I've had since early last summer).  She mentioned this during our hill workout Wednesday and I've been doing two stretching sessions per day since, focusing on hips and back to very good effect.  The crankiness is quieting!
• Lose weight...just a few pounds but a few pounds on this 5' 2" frame really make a difference with increased pounding (so to speak), compromised speed (such as it is), and general lethargy.

Follow those few simple steps, and hopefully, come April, I'll be ready to jump into Bolder Boulder training with all the flair and panache of a garden full of tulips!

Slip Slidin' Along

Our little library seems to be holding steady in this white and slippery winter.  However, we humans are having to be oh so careful.  It seems that every winter I have one spectacular fall.  I'm amazed it hasn't happened yet this year given the snow-melt-freeze cycles we have repeatedly experienced.  Yesterday was one of the melt days, today we awoke to temps in the teens and about 1/4 inch of snow covering yesterday's melt/today's ice.  Tricky going.  So tricky, in fact, even Taz pup's feet slid out from under him as he rounded a bend on the trail we were running (yes, a snow-packed trail topped with a thick layer of ice, topped with that very light invisibility cloak of snow).  My hope is that we get another 4 inches of snow today so that the ice camouflaged as snow will truly be a nice soft grippy layer of real deal snow for tomorrow's early morning run.

I am oh so tired of running on this stuff.  But! Still runnin'!

...and More Winter!

As noted earlier, what a winter: ice, snow, wind, cold.  And today, the result of that wind and that snow: snow drifts.  Forty-five minutes of breaking trail through snowdrifts in the middle of my 2.5 hour early morning run. Toasted my legs yet, as also mentioned earlier, oh so beautiful.

...still runnin'...

Cattle dog grins

I am not a fan of out-back runs, nor am I wild about running round and round in circles.  But! The last few days of below-zero temperatures have meant that Taz pup was only able to be out for a few moments at a time.  That all changed today when Boulder warmed up to a whole 21 degrees!  Weehaw!!! Time to take Mister Taz for a run.  His reward for patience during his house-bound days was a double trip round and round his Ya Ya loop (so called because that's where he gets his ya yas out).  My reward was the joy of seeing Taz's big ol' cattle dog smile at full wattage.  A great day for a great run with a great dog.

What a winter!

Running on ice.  Running in calf-high/knee-high snow. Running in monster winds. 

But still running!

Today's run was on packed snow - and in minus 6 degree temperatures.

Cold but beautiful.  And still running.

Wondrous World of White

Yesterday was an ice and snow-covered day, with ice winning out. It really was some bad running (tho' I told myself it wasn't as bad as not running at all!).  More snow fell overnight, which offered up a predominately snow-covered pre-dawn outing, almost eliminating the ice factor.  Woohoo!  As a bonus, thanks to it being a weekend wintry day, the town was very verrry quiet as I set off on my run.  No other person on foot was to be seen for the first two-hours. However, one set of footprints preceded me from the south edge of Boulder all the way to the west edge of Superior...'twas rather nice to have the company of this phantom runner.

Somehow, the slow and strenuous run through ankle-to-calf-high snow, with the occasional knee-high drifts, was one of the most calming experiences I've had in quite some time.  Perhaps it was the combination of the all-white world, the silence, the crisp air, and solitude.  All together, despite setting a world-worst record time for the route, this will go down as a Very Good Run.

A study in white, February 1, 2014

The benefits of slightly crazy running buddies

Connie & Anita at the bottom of NCAR hill already fighting the wind

Wednesdays are hill workout days this winter.  Today's Wednesday workout happens to have fallen after a balmy Sunday followed by a frigid, snow-filled Monday (meaning a layer of ice topped with 4 inches of fine snow which packed to more ice) and a very chilly, then warming, then very chilly Tuesday (resulting in packed snow/ice, melting, then refreezing).

At the top, thoroughly windblown but with a great view

So!  Today's plan.  Given that the temperatures are predicted to reach the 50s today, we (running buddies Connie, Anita, and I) decided to delay our start time an hour to give the sun a chance to work its magic.  And given that the neighborhood streets are all packed snow and ice, we decided to move our workout from our .7-mile neighborhood hill loop to the 2k NCAR hill since that is usually very well plowed.  As I started my run to the base of NCAR I thought we had a great plan given still miserable conditions of the neighborhood streets and the temperatures moving above freezing.  However, as I climbed further west, I began to have my doubts.  Apparently, today was going to be one of Boulder's infamous gusty wind days.  By the time I got the to base of NCAR and met up with Connie and Anita, barely able to make forward progress through some of the gusts, I was questioning our sanity.  But, given that the only reason I had continued my run was because I had two running buddies waiting for me, I figured we should complete the workout.

And what a workout it was!  Uphill into the wind, gusts knocking the breath right out of us and our legs out from under us.  And going downhill barely able to maintain contact with the ground as the wind furiously pushed us forward at break-neck speed (almost 9 minutes faster downhill than up!).  Perhaps you think I exaggerate.  And perhaps I thought I was overreacting.  But a check of the NCAR weather station provides the facts: 44 miles per hour sustained wind speed with gusts up to 77.8 mph during the time we were on the hill!

After the workout, I told Connie those numbers proved we were crazy.  She says it proves we are tough!  Methinks that's a pretty awesome combo!

Fighting a gust at the top

Reason 117 for why it's great to run with a dog

Last week the Monster Cold caught me and knocked me flat on my derriere.  I ran through it, but they were measly runs at best.  During the course of that same week, Boulder's weather improved considerably and I simply could no longer restrain myself. By Friday, cabin fever and bright sunshine threw me out the door with Taz pup at my side.  Westward ho we went climbing hills, wending our way through neighborhoods and trails until my energy was pretty well sapped from my body. 

At that point, I thought it best to head home via the most direct route - which happened to take me through NIST's property, which happened to include crossing an irrigation ditch, which happened to have lost its bridge in September's flood, and which happened to not have yet been replaced.  Oops.  It's a fairly narrow ditch, about four feet deep, with sides of loose dirt and rocks.  I looked at it, I considered how much further it would be to retrace my steps and go around, and down into the ditch I went with now wobbly legs.  Of course, once in the bottom of the ditch, 'tis best to climb back out again.  Easier said than done... That energy that was sapped, had not yet reappeared.  Those legs that were wobbly, still wobbly.  I just wasn't getting enough purchase on the ditch bank and sure didn't have enough oomph to hurl my body upward.  What to do, what to do???

Aha!  Mister Taz, spark plug that he is, had plenty of energy; energy enough for two as a matter of fact.  And, although small, he does have a bit of a linebacker build...nice and solid.  So! I sez "Go on Taz" and he hops up the bank.  I sez "Sit Taz" and he sits.  I sez "Wait Taz" and he waits there sitting like the prettiest anchor you ever saw.  And thus I hold my end of the leash and pull myself right up out of that ditch
.  All the while with Taz grinning away, happy as a lark to be out running with his human...no matter how wobbly that human might be.

Always great to run with a dog!

What's a bit of ice among friends?

Today, Wednesday, is hill run day.  

Yesterday, Boulder was one of the balmier towns in the USA with temps in the 40s.  The day before, and the day before that, and the day before that we had snow (about 10" total) and frigid temps.  What with the snow and cold followed by warm followed by 20s today, most of Boulder's surfaces vary between chunk ice and skating rinks.  But, as I said, today is hill run day.  The key was to find a plowed road...a plowed road with no traffic.  Huh. 

The solution: tip toe over the ice out of my neighborhood and onto the western bit of well-plowed Table Mesa drive (a major east-west street in the south part of town), battle my fears and run west with (vs. facing) traffic (because that is the side of the road with the bike lane, also well-plowed) up to the base of NCAR hill where I met up with running buddies Connie & Anita.  From there, we took on the challenge of NCAR's 2k uphill climb, a fantastic hill for measuring one's mettle.  When I'm very very fit, I can run three repeats of the hill (starting from the branch library, 1 mile downhill from the NCAR base).  Today, I was quite pleased to run the hill once in the company of good friends, stellar scenery, sunshine, and a gorgeous buck keeping an eye on these two-legged creatures out enjoying the day.