The lamb and the lion

At 6 a.m., March 1 (just yesterday), I left the house in shorts for a 15 mile run on dry trails, sun, warm, yes even sweating by the end. And on that same afternoon (again, just yesterday), I - along with what looked to be all the rest of Boulder's population - was out and about reveling in 70+ degree weather. Runners, walkers, cyclists, tennis players, skateboarders, babies in buggies, motorcyclists, bareheaded drivers in convertibles, crocuses. Everybody was popping out into the sunshine!

And today....well here are the pictures from this morning's hushed wintry run:

A hint

Not to jinx anything, but I do believe there is a hint of ....non-winter.... in the air. The birds have been bringing out their brightest warbles, the sky is a deeper blue, the sun actually has some warmth to it, animals are frisking about in pairs, and my-oh-my the prairie dog colonies are happenin' places these days!

The clincher, though, came this afternoon. Joe and I hit the 800 stretch of road near my neighborhood for a speedwork ladder. My legs didn't know what hit them. But they sure did like being out there in shorts! Weeehaww!

Perambulating tourism

It appears that sight-seeing on foot was something I got very good at during the summer's run. Yesterday I fell right back into the habit, and what a fine habit it is! The day started with a run to my volunteer job, picking up AndyE along the way. As we shifted direction from east to north we were treated to a spectacular moon set over the continental divide as the rising sun cast a pink glow over the snow-capped peaks. It took our breath away. (Oh for a real camera rather than my meager little phone camera.)

After volunteering, I had appointments to keep and errands to run and not quite enough time to actually run the full distance from work to appointment. Since it was a too gorgeous a day to waste, I decided to take a bus toward town then run the rest of the way to my appointment. Taking the bus put me a bit ahead of schedule so I could travel at a very leisurely pace and found myself on a route I had run almost every Saturday for 15 years or so when I would run from my house in south Boulder to my running buddy Patti's house in north Boulder. In those days, I would be caught up with thoughts about work, kids, getting to Patti's on time, things to get done on the weekend, etc., etc., etc. and ran fairly oblivious to my surroundings. Yesterday, however, I was the ultimate tourist traversing the streets. Look at those remodels! What a lovely stained glass! How 'bout that log house! What an interesting flower pot holder!

Yep, a marvelous way to travel! I ought to do some more of it!

Running 'til the well runs dry

...or at least the water bottle...


I left the house this morning with the thermometer reading 24 degrees. By the time I finished my volunteer work, a couple of hours later, the degrees had moved up to 36. Still cold enough for multiple layers. As I started my run from the volunteer location, I realized I was bored with every one of the routes home - lovely trails and paths tho' they may be, I've simply run them way too many times lately. Since even warmer temps were predicted for the day - the warmest temps we've seen in many a day - I decided I'd just run directly home and save most of my miles for later in the day. Fifteen minutes later, I was ready to shed a layer and found myself zigging east (away from home) rather than zagging homeward. With each step, up the temperature climbed. DEEEElightful!

I was running and stripping, preschoolers were out on walking field trips, skateboarders and rollerbladers were whizzing by, model plane flyers were out in the fields (the little spec in the photo just right of center, a bit above the flatirons, is a model glider), playgrounds were filled with squealing kiddos, moms were out with strollers and babies in backpacks, dads were out with daughters on training wheels, an old fella was walking his cat, people were running and cycling in shorts, and everybody was smiling. Oh we do love that hint of spring! So zig zig zig I went until my water bottle started to run dry, then it was a zagging trot on back to the homestead where I jumped into a pair of shorts and bounced right back outside to enjoy today's golden sunshine ....for tomorrow it shall snow....

Ramblin' Run

Today's plan was to run from my volunteer job in east Boulder to the library in west Boulder. Unlike the last nine days or so, the day started out in double digits! And, as a bonus feature, so did the wind! Of course, being a west wind, I'd be treated to a full frontal breeze. Ah well, that's Boulder winter running for you. Rather than take the straight shot down the Boulder Creek path to the library, I decided to give myself a taste of the wind from every angle and went zigzagging through various bike paths and neighborhoods. On one zig (or was it a zag?) a gust caught me straight on and I yelped "Doh! Doh! Doh!" - easily as eloquent an out-loud muttering as any I uttered during my summer run. Throughout my life, particularly when walking or running, I tend to have a narrative streaming through my brain. During the summer's run, some of it sneaked out. There's nothing quite like running down a quiet road and blurting out about whatever might have tickled your fancy at that moment. Try it! It opens you right up!

After DohDohDoh'ing and reminiscing about summer exclamations, my thoughts turned to tunes. Long-time readers of PJ's Run might remember that I had the Beverly Hillbillies' theme song running through my head for several hundred miles this summer. Well, as tiresome as that was, I must say I sure am glad I didn't start my fiddle lessons prior to The Run. My fiddle and I are now on our third variation of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and that tune is following me everywhere. Not only that, my right arm (which already has a tendency to hang low when I run due to a whole lotta miles logged with a cast on that arm in the early 90s) now incorporates air bowing into its arm swing, right in time with the Twinkle Twinkle humming in my head. Just a little one-woman band-on-the-run, eh?!

As for the rest of my zigzag run: delightful! Neighborhoods I hadn't run through recently, lots of new sights (including the little kiddo's firetruck in the picture above), warmer temperatures, quick conversations with passers by, a decently long non-weenie run, and ending at the library where I enjoyed their new art show then gathered an armload of books to keep me entertained for the next few weeks. Excellent outing!

A picture is worth a thousand words

...and a whole lot of memories

PJ's Run through pictures is now available!
Click on the PJ's Run Picture Extravaganza link in the left sidebar.

Weekend thoughts

After fighting a virus through most of December and falling straight down on my tailbone on Christmas Day, it seems like I've pretty much lost all of the muscle, lung capacity, endurance, and thinness that I gained during the preparation for and completion of my summer run. One thing I did not lose, however, is the knowledge that I have the ability to achieve that level of fitness. This weekend's running brought me closer to that mindset.

Yesterday I ran on the in-town portion of the South Boulder Creek trail. While out there running along the creek and amidst the grazing cows it felt like I had slid on a favorite pair of comfy old shoes....cruising along, taking in the sights (two coyotes trotting through the herd of cows), enjoying the mild weather and peaceful trail. Ahhhh.

Today I ran the Bluestem trail on the west side of town. Of any of the local trails, this is the one that comes closest to what a poster of Alan Culpepper's encourages: "Choose a course you can love. Make it your own. Put your name on it every day. On the trail, the path, the street, track, or wherever your road is. It will always be there for you. It's there for you now. You should be there too."
Bluestem offers a lot of variations - but one thing is guaranteed, you're going to climb, and you're going to descend. You'll work your butt off going up, you'll stretch it out coming home. Heading west, you'll have fantastic views of the flatirons - glowing at sunrise, frosty in winter, rock-solid year around; and on the east-bound trip, the town and prairie seem to stretch all the way to Nebraska. I've run this at the top of my game when it felt like my feet barely touched the ground and I've tackled it when my legs felt like concrete. Today, I was simply pleased to be out there.

Fiddling around

My husband says that's the answer he'll give folks when they ask what his retired wife is up to these days...."She's fiddling around." (He doesn't twitch nearly so much saying that as he did when he was responding with "She's running to Michigan.")

Actually, yesterday seemed very reminiscent of my old work days. I dressed in "real" clothes (pants with a zipper and not an ounce of elastic! a shirt with a collar!), I went into our office and dealt with outstanding email correspondence, turned to the desk and tackled the pile of papers waiting there, ate yogurt with kashi while plowing through these things, drank a pot of coffee, and once the clutter of all these odds and ends was obliterated , I wrapped my mind around the major project of the day (an actual paying work assignment!). I concentrated hard on the project in order to make some good forward progress before my afternoon "meeting." All in all, it was spookily like the rhythm of my old work days.

And just what was that aforementioned "meeting"? My first fiddle lesson! Weeehawww!
Learning to play the fiddle was an early entry on my what-I'm-going-to-do-when-I-retire list. And now I'm doing it! If you want to hear Twinkle Twinkle Little Star played by a 55-year-old violin novice, just holler!

A look back

Many have asked "what's next?" - and I don't have an answer to that. There are a lot of little things on the drawing board - but nothing big (yet)...certainly not as big as the summer's run. That run encompassed so much: a journey through new country and to new places in mind, body and spirit; an incomparable family road trip; the accomplishment of a decades-long goal; an entirely new perspective on day-to-day life...leading to a new perspective on life in general; the successful completion of the biggest project I have ever tackled.

And, as with a butterfly's wings, the run had a ripple effect. So often since I started the run, I've heard folks say things like "I'll feel tired then think about you and finish [name it]" or "Now I want to [insert goal here]" or "If you can do that, I know I can do this." I hope the ripples continue forever. If you have a dream, hold onto it, let it germinate, and continue to nurture it.
With patience, planning, a heavy dose of optimism, and, yes fortitude ...mayhap stubborness... your dream can - and will - blossom.



Pictures:
top - Lake Michigan beach, Upper Peninsula;
bottom - flowers along the Cannon Valley trail, Minnesota

Holiday running

One of the things I like about running this time of year - besides the beauty of running through a winter wonderland - is the holiday decor spicing up various lawns and homes. Someone with a magnificent imagination maintains a garden along one of my routes. Just recently the aliens that appeared during Halloween season were replaced with a variety of Santas - santa in a canoe on top of a caboose, santa pushing a reindeer sitting in a sleigh, santa tumbling into a well. Fun enough to make one forget the tricky footing of the season!