Gone with the Wind!

I forgot to bring my Wind-B-Gon. It has been howling, or just enough of a cold breeze to keep you chilled all the time, and in every direction. In Colorado the wind blows in 360 degrees at all times. I normally don't mind running in the wind, but it's just been so damn cold.

The days I was home sick, it was so windy and nasty that I didn't mind not being out there. I felt better by Thursday and got out for a 5 miler with the girls, and it felt so good to run. I hadn't moved since last Saturday and if I waited one more day I would have needed a spray of WD-40 in my joints.

Friday I was ready for action, and my long runs have been close to nonexistent for so long that I thought I'd do some back to back longish runs if I felt up to it the rest of the week. So I went out for a run on the Spring Creek Trail and just as I got on the trail, I ran into Ron Michaels and Jonathan Zeif, two of my fellow long time Fort Collins Running Club members. Turned out we were all doing 20 that day, and I planned to do 15 and then go home and get my tire to finish up. So I ran with them until we got to Old Town and then I turned around and ran home.

I took the girls for a couple of miles and they were happy about that. My legs started to cramp up so I took a break at home, drank a smoothie with two S caps added, and changed into warm dry clothes. Then I drove out to the stadium with the tire and ran up the hill above Dixon Reservoir twice. I felt good and no more muscle cramps, so the smoothie must have been perfect fuel. I ended up with a little over 21 miles for the day.

After I got back home from my run there was a panicked message from one of my coworkers who is about to have her first grandchild, and labor is being induced on Saturday. I could hear the desperation in her voice, she couldn't find anyone to work for her. So I called her back and told her I could work the second half of her shift Saturday. The problem was someone else had called in sick for Saturday- with the same bug I had. So she was extra thankful and relieved. I went out Saturday morning before work in the freezing cold breeze and ran 14 miles and was still feeling good, but decided to call it good for the day and do another 20 on Sunday.

So then this morning Dennis and I woke up too late to meet the running club at 7:30, which was okay because it was freezing and windy. I wore my Arizona race garb underneath my shell layer, hoping it might keep me warmer.

By the time we got up to Horsetooth at 9:15 it was a little warmer but still blowing. Hard. The kind of wind that picks you up off your feet and you use more energy trying to stay anchored to the ground than you do moving forward. Sometimes the gusts blow the breath out of your mouth before you can inhale, and the headwind is so strong that you're literally standing still, running in place, making no forward progress whatsoever.

The amazing thing is that every time I thought I'd have a tailwind, it turned out to be no better than a crosswind, again, blowing me either off the shoulder or into traffic. I ended up calling it a day after 10 miles, one full out and back on Horsetooth. I got the workout I needed, and that was enough. No sense in being miserable. Frankly my dear, I didn't give a dam. At least, not another dam.

So here's what it looked like, please forgive me for indulging, I have a new iPhone and I had to try out the video feature. I promise my movies will improve with time. Here they are. I'll update the links to go directly to video as soon as I get them to work through YouTube. I'm still figuring out how to be as smart as my new phone.

Soldier Canyon Dam

Dixon Dam