Second Annual DIY 100K

So, this happened last Friday.

As usual, trying to find ways to occupy my time and prepare for upcoming events always takes a bit of creative genius. Felix and I decided to do this again, even after last year's not so great event. I think we were in Spanish conversation group when we decided to repeat it.

Last year was okay, but we did 50 miles and it was hot and I remember feeling like I couldn't get my head in the right place all day to really enjoy it.

This year was completely different. Our friends Mel, Brooke, and Rachel came out to do a few miles, and Crisann generously offered her front porch for an aid station area, and between Felix and Crisann's house- they are be neighbors-  we had bathrooms and refrigerators available as needed.

My intention was to stay out for the entire 100km, as long as it took me. I wanted to make myself run at least 6 hours of it, as I am building up my running time again after several years of doing way too much walking. Other than that, I just wanted to take it easy and have fun. It looked like it would be hot again, so I had plenty of ice and cold drinks in my coolers.

Crisann brought bagels for everyone who wanted them, and we set up my table on her porch with potato chips and other crap food, and we were set. Her house is centrally located on the course, and Felix's is right around the corner.

I was the lone hard core early starter. I got to Crisann's at about 3:50 am, set up my stuff, and was ready to start at precisely 4 am. I strung a section of toilet paper labeled "DIY 100K Start" in Sharpie across the entrance to her porch in the dark, and took off. It was still dark but soon the sun began to rise over I-25 and the Budweiser plant, and at some point Mel drove up and was ready to start by maybe 5 am, and we ran about 3 miles together before taking off on our own loops.

There are maybe 4 to 6 different loops that anyone can run on this course to keep it a little more interesting. A few have hills, but they are pretty tame, except after you do them ten or fifteen times you start to recognize them as hills. I keep track of my distance using paper, pen, and calculator, and GPS is my backup system.

The morning got progressively hotter and by 9 am I wanted ice on  my neck. That lasted until about 1 pm when it clouded up enough to seem less intense, and even cooled down a little. Instead of 93 degrees as forecast, them temperature hit maybe 88 or 89 and then cooled off into the low to mid 80s with cloud cover. That saved my butt.

I felt good all day. I distributed the running well over the entire time I was out there, and didn't walk super hard when I was walking.I didn't even use music until late in the afternoon- for the last 3 or 4 hours. Most of the day I ran alone, with occasional loops with Mel or Felix.

Mel originally wanted to do her first ultra, so she set her goal as 26.3 miles, but she felt so good that she ended up doing a full 50K. Her first ultra at the DIY.

After that, she went over to the pool and hung out with Felix, Brooke, and Rachel. Brooke did about 16 miles but she was running a half marathon the next day, and Rachel did her longest run ever, I think that's what I heard from Felix. At the pool they were drinking mimosas and who knows what else...








While they were out there I stopped by Felix's for an ice cream sandwich. The afternoon was pleasant and I had few issues- a tiny bit of chafing and I changed my socks once- but other than that, it was all easy.

Felix hung out at the pool until at least 3:00 and then he was way behind- but he wanted to do 100K and got back out there. I kept teasing him about his harem. As it turned out, he did finish around 12:48 am on Saturday- about 4 hours after I did- and I was long gone and asleep at home by that time.

The sunset was a bonus with the cloud cover. I finished my 6 hours of running by 6 pm and finished the entire distance at 8:41 pm. Crisann helped me put my stuff back into my car and I went home.

Not super exciting, but it served its purpose and I felt good running. I was able to still run the uphill sections even toward the end. I haven't felt that good running in a long time. It gives me hope that I might actually become a runner again. Just really looking forward to Across the Years this time.


Not much else to say-it was a good run, 62.2 miles in 16 hours and 41 minutes, nothing to get too excited about, but a decent training run on my feet and ready to take it up a notch as I go into the fall. Kind of a backward approach to marathon training. At least now I know I can run long enough to run a whole marathon.

"The Outer I Go..."

This weekend was my annual urban adventure birthday run. This year I couldn't think of any good themes except that I was turning 55 and 55 miles was a perfect distance. I didn't want to do it all in one day, I prefer to spread it out so my friend Burke Painter in AZ gave me a great idea- he recently ran 72 miles in 72 hours on his birthday, so I borrowed the theme.

Fifty-five miles in fifty-five hours was not hard to do on its own but this time of year the weather can add a dimension of challenge, or misery. We've been having a really crappy time lately- it's been unusually cold, windy, snowy, and overcast for much of the past month or more. Usually by now we are alternating between bouts of winter weather and spring-like conditions, but we haven't seen much blue sky lately and it;s been getting to everyone I talk to.

Watching the weather this past week, I knew I'd have to be flexible and creative with my running plans. Originally I planned for doing something like 30-20-5. Then I decided it would be better for my upcoming 24 hour run if I just split it between two days and then took Sunday off, my actual birthday, and just drink margaritas.

I planned to start at 6 am and my friend Elise was going to meet me on the Power Trail. Instead of setting my alarm, I asked Dennis to wake me up at 5 since he's up for work at that hour. But he overslept by a half hour, so I texted Elise and planned to get out the door by 6:30 am, which I did. I planned to run out 15 miles or so, come back to the house and get Velcro and Gypsy and take them for a run at the end of my day.

I ran down the Power Trail, met Elise and her dog Maya, and we headed toward Loveland before she had to turn around and go to work. I continued on to Loveland, posting live videos every few hours as I thought of something to say. It wasn't too bad out- overcast, but not super cold. As the day went on the sky got darker and the wind picked up. I ran quite a bit but I was only trying to average four miles an hour, what I really need to do is work on my walking.

I took a short detour once I reached Eisenhower and went to a 7-11 at Eisenhower and Boise and bought some drinks and a banana and potato chips. I needed salt and calories, all I brought were bars and one PBJ. Then I went back to the bike path, and later, I was headed west along the Big Thompson River bike path in Loveland when I heard my GPS Map My Run app say I was at 18 miles. I had a Forrest Gump moment. I was totally out in space, didn't realize I had gone so far. So I turned around.

When I got back to Eisenhower I realized it was a good 10 mile stretch between there and any other stores or retail places where I could get food, so I stopped for lunch in a restaurant and got a grilled cheese sandwich on gluten-free bread. It was really good. After I scarfed that down, I headed back north along Boyd Lake and back to Fort Collins, the weather was looking a little sketchy but I had extra clothing in my pack.

I knew it would be a challenge to get home in time and beat the weather to take Gypsy and Velcro out since I was on track to be at 36 miles at home instead of 30. I knew they would be super pissed at me, too, for leaving them all day.

I kept recharging my phone with my portable charger and posting videos. I was also listening to music in Spanish, like Bad Bunny, and working on rolling my rs, which is my personal challenge right now. I've been brushing up on Spanish, which I haven't used much in years. I also found out that Bad Bunny and I share the same birthday. I'm 30 years older than him.

On one of my videos, my longtime running friend Lynn Newton posted a comment and told me he uses a proverb for his out and back runs- "The outer I go, the backer I have to come." I love that. I asked him if I could borrow it.

Along the way it became apparent that my GPS was not working right. Miles that I knew were full miles were being measured as 0.8, 0.6, and according to the app I was on track to be home around 31 miles, which didn't make sense since it said I was at 18 at the turnaround. I had done a few little extra sections on the way out, so I knew that would be slightly longer, but no more than a mile. I figured I could check it at home on the laptop.

As I headed into Fort Collins the sky was dark. Dennis texted me that he'd be coming home early, so I knew the Wranglas (Gypsy and Velcro) would be happy. Just as I turned onto my street the rain started. I went in the house and got attacked and yelled at by the Wranglas. They were mad at me! They are used to having mom at home with them all day.

As it turned out, my GPS was way off. On the phone it said 31.7 miles but on the laptop it said 36.8 miles. Not sure what happened but I was happy to have the miles in.

I decided to sleep in on Saturday and not get started until 9, and finish up all the miles. It was the first sunny, blue sky day we've had. It was super windy in the morning- 25 mph wind. Crisann came to my house and we started at 9, went to Rigden Reservoir, and Dennis took the Wranglas there. Then we got back to my house at around 1 and Jen met us, then Jen and I went out for the last 6 miles or so. By the end it was 50 degrees and not too windy anymore. Best day we've had in a long time!

Again the GPS was off. I ended up with 19.4+ miles, which gave me 56 miles and change for the two days, beyond my goal. So today I'm blogging and headed to the Rio for margaritas.

All in all, it was a mellow but perfect birthday run. I had great friends with me, great conversations, and plenty of time to myself, too. I got the miles in and felt really good- legs and feet held up nicely. Palmer Lake is just 5 weeks away, but I won't need to do any more long runs before it- I can just run like a normal person.

I am thankful for my health and ability to do these miles. You just never know what can happen, so I try to enjoy as much running as I can and I'll keep doing it as long as I can. And we all have to do the best with what we can and where we are in life. I'll keep going outer and outer and hope I have the strength to go backer and backer, wherever I find myself.

Summer Urban Adventure: DIY 50 Miles

The race I'd signed up for on July 21, the Lactic Acid Trip 24 hour, in Bailey, on a track, got postponed until October. Since I don't know that I can make it and the weather could be an issue in October, I decided to make my own 24 hour run. I asked around for some places where I felt I could run safely all night in a loop that would allow me easy and frequent access to my aid station. My friends Crisann, Felix, and Joanne all live in a quiet neighborhood in the north part of town and Crisann offered to let me use her house as my aid station and bathroom.

The benefits of this run would be a safe place to run alone in the dark, multiple short loops for variety yet easy aid access in case of hot weather, the availability of a deep gravel path similar to the conditions I'll encounter at Across the Years, and little traffic.

I sprained my ankle in June when blinded by the sunrise, I stepped on a pine cone and rolled forward. It had been about 6 weeks since the sprain and I was doing well with it, until last Wednesday Crisann and I were out hiking near the Rawahs and I misstepped and rolled over on it again, re-tweaking it. It only hurt at the moment I did it, and then it seemed to be okay after some ice, ibuprofen, and rest for a couple of days. I was a bit concerned about the ankle but I taped it the morning of the run and it held up fine other than getting puffy the day after the run.

I woke up at 3 am, unable to sleep very well, but I had a good five hours of sleep- which is enough to get through another 24 or so hours. My car was mostly packed with my supplies, all I had to do was load the coolers with ice, drinks, and food that I'd prepared in advance. I threw everything in and drove to Crisann's, set up my table, coolers, and junk in her driveway. They left the outdoor lights on, and I was set up in 15 minutes and ready to go. I started at 4:30 am on the nose.

It was cool but humid, 69 degrees at the start, and I began by doing the short loop around her neighborhood which was about 1.15 miles according to my GPS. Once the sky got a little lighter, I went out the other two loops, one of which I called the fork, and the other an out and back to the main street leading to their subdivision. One was about 1.65 miles and the other was 2 miles. Both of these had hills and climbed a little less than 50 feet each, but I knew the vertical would feel good for variety and would add up over the day.

The sunrise was worth every second of sleep deprivation. Looking east toward I-25 across the plains, the sun was a huge orange globe and the light reflected pink on the silos and buildings at the Budweiser plant.

Once the sky got light enough, I planned to do about ten percent of my miles on the gravel path that winds through the neighborhood. Most of it is loose, deep gravel, exactly like the Across the Years course. I want to condition my feet for Across the Years, which I plan to run in December, and last year the gravel portion, which is about ten percent of the course, killed my feet. I need to be ready for that if I want to make it through a couple of days of running on that course.

My goals for the day were to run 80 miles or 24 hours, whichever came first, to get 8 miles of gravel running, and to run for 6 hours of the time out there.

About two hours into the run I got a text from Felix, who lives around the corner from Crisann, asking me where I was in the neighborhood. I happened to be at my table at the moment. Felix came over and met me, and we started running together. He also took me on a loop around the lake in their neighborhood, which was a nice distraction from the usual loops. Along the way we ran into Joanne, who was out on her run, so the three of us did a few miles together including some of the gravel path.

Felix and I have been friends for many years now, and he's an amazing athlete. He's an ultraendurance cyclist, swimmer, runner, climber, and I'm probably forgetting something. He was on my crew for the Badwater Double, and he was there during the infamous SpongeBob hallucinations. He always seems to show up at the right moment, whether it's for joining me for my birthday runs or arriving in the middle of nowhere in the desert with pizza or ice cream, or coming up with a conversation topic completely out of the blue that distracts me from whatever discomfort I was thinking about at the moment. He always makes me laugh.

We spent a few chunks of time reviewing Spanish vocabulary and conversation, and talking about assorted topics that at this point I can't even remember. The day got progressively warmer and the shady spots fewer, and there was a lot of humidity. Big thunderheads were accumulating over the foothills but the sun was blazing until we got a little cloud cover toward the end of the day. The temperature was in the 80s and got up into the low 90s by mid-day, but the humidity was steady.

We knocked out the 8 miles of gravel before noon, and I got two solid hours of running in by late morning and decided to throw in minimal running the rest of the day until it cooled down in the evening, then I would focus on getting the full 6 hours of running in. I was drinking plenty, taking in S-caps and peeing enough, and I filled my bandana with ice, keeping a big ice pillow on my neck to stay cool.

All day I struggled mentally, I wanted to get into a rhythm and zone out, listen to my tunes and keep a steady walking pace. But somehow I couldn't do it. I was constantly distracted, the neighborhood had too many twists and turns, things to look at, and there were no "blank" areas where I could just tune out and lose myself. Felix was cognizant of my need for alone time and he sort of did his own thing, loosely following my route but giving me the space he thought I'd need, and that was great. But somehow I could not get my mind in the place I needed to be, to enjoy my run. It was like my brain as constantly being called on to look at something, notice something, and I felt overstimulated in that setting. Maybe it's just where my brain was that day.

Felix and I had talked about recent events and how we cope with them. I felt pretty traumatized after the past week between the news of how the President botched things at NATO with our allies and then the Helsinki summit where he looked like an oversized kid who had just been berated, punished, and sent to his room by Putin. Felix told me his strategy for such things- by tuning it out and not listening to the news. I told him how I need to find a better strategy for dealing with all of it, because it upsets me so much.

I was hoping this run would be a chance to reset, clear my mind, and let go of all that worry and frustration. Even though I didn't think about those events during the run, I still could not get my mind into a calm, relaxed place. I started to think about cutting it short for another day, but decided to keep going until the temperatures cooled down in the evening, to see if I could get my mind off things in the dark. After about 30 miles my mental struggle was overwhelming, despite my attempts to zone out with music and run the least stimulating parts of the course.

Whenever it's humid I tend to chafe badly and often get heat rash, and by afternoon I was greasing my legs where the seam on my shorts was rubbing. I didn't see the extent of the chafing until 11 hours in, when I rewarded myself for reaching 40 miles by changing my clothes and re-greasing. I had an outline of my running bra that was chafed- under my armpits and across my chest, and a few spots on my shoulders. I knew I'd be screaming when I finished and took a shower.

Felix would run with me and whenever I stopped at Crisann's to get more food, drinks, or ice, Felix would run over to his house to get his own supplies. Then he'd come back and find me on the course. Usually I'd see him sprinting toward me as I continued in my slow, steady walk.

After my clothes changing break, when Felix found me, he was wearing a "Team Beef" shirt. At that point I was at about 42 miles and it cracked me up. I don't even know why it strikes me as so funny, but if you knew Felix, it would make you laugh too.

I was really craving ice cream sandwiches at that point, and Crisann made an attempt by stopping at Trader Joe's earlier and picking up some ice cream sandwiches. Except they were soy ice cream sandwiches. I tried one and it actually wasn't bad for the first few bites, but then the chalkiness hit me. Not the same. I thanked her but explained there's a reason why I wear a tiara that says "Princess".

I called Dennis around 5 pm and asked him if he could bring me a real ice cream sandwich and maybe some food around 6:30. After another half hour I changed my mind. I'd had enough. I decided to keep going until 50 miles and call it a day. I just wasn't having fun, and I needed to save it for another time. I called Dennis back and told him my plan, and let Felix and Crisann know. I kept going until 50, it wasn't quite sunset, but I'd been on my feet for a little over 15 hours and it was enough. I felt like even in the dark, there were enough things I'd have to watch out for- like cars parked on the street, cracks in the sidewalk or road, corners, curbs, and the usual neighborhood activities that would continue to be a distraction- my brain would never be able to get into a relaxed state.

The official name of the run changed from the DIY 24 Hour to the DIY 50. And Felix, in his usual state of awesomeness, had completed 50 miles too. In about 2 hours less than it took me. Crisann and Felix helped me load up my car and I was soon home to Dennis, the girls, and food.The ice cream sandwich had to wait until Sunday, but I finally got my indulgence.

So... I got a decent 50 mile training run in, with a good portion of gravel, in the heat and humidity, with lots of mental distraction. I'll have to look for another opportunity for a long training run in August. But it was a memorable experience, shared with my great running buddy, and will go down in the history books as another urban adventure.

It was like turning lemons into tepid, sun-fermented, bug protein-infused lemonade, served on the rocks over neck bandana ice cubes and a sweat-crusted rim.

Afternotes: Worst heat rash I've ever had maybe with the exception of Badwater. Feet were fine other than heat rash, terrible chafing on my upper body, and my left ankle looks like a baseball tennis ball. But nothing hurts! No problems going up and down the stairs, walking, or moving. No blisters whatsoever. What's next? Bring it on!!

Photo credits: Felix Wong

Human Powered Brewery Tour 2018: Metal

The eleventh annual Human Powered Brewery Tour was a "Goes to Eleven" success. It was held February 17, 2018, which is when I originally wrote this post, but I didn't get around to adding the pictures until today.

My pogo stick is always part of my Human Powered Tour costume, regardless of the theme. This year it became my guitar. I made my guitar from cardboard, wire, some metal brackets, and lots of super glue and duct tape. I tried using velcro to attach it to the pogo stick but it didn't work, so I used more duct tape. It held up extremely well- still intact by the end of the day with minimal re-taping. The girls watched me with curiosity.

The event is a fundraiser for ALS. Celeste O'Connor is the founder of the event, along with her husband Scott Slusher.

Celeste has lost two of her family members to ALS, her cousins Bob and Annie, and they are the reason why she started the Tour 11 years ago.

That morning I knew I needed to get a run in because the Tour is not very long and it's hard to run in a costume, carrying a 20+ pound pogo stick, along with drinking beer. I went out and actually ran hill repeats on the Power Trail- just a few short ones, but it was a real workout.

I drank more than I wanted to. I had a taster of Raspberry Lime Tartastic at New Belgium, then drank about half of my pint of Blonde Ale plus a small taster of Chocolate Cherry Stout at Snowbank, then a 12 oz glass of Levity at Odell. And by then we were starving so Cat's husband Dave bought us all fish & chips from the food truck. I am not used to eating stuff like that but I scarfed it. Then I felt really gross the rest of the day.

Dennis brought the girls to Odell and they were very well-behaved, didn't try to steal anyone's food or beer like last year. They got all kinds of attention and compliments and they loved every minute. Chick magnets.

So then this morning I ran 13 miles with Cathy on the Power Trail and I felt like I got a real run in, again. It got up to 66 degrees today and felt like spring. I ran in shorts and a t-shirt this morning! This afternoon Dennis and I went walking along the Poudre River which gave me a few more miles, I ended up with nearly 50 miles this week. It's been a while. I feel like I am finally starting to make progress with building my mileage, except this coming week it's supposed to get cold and snowy again, maybe even single digit temperatures or below. Typical Colorado.

The Best Things in Life...

Are friends.

Followed by running, writing, and dogs, though not necessarily in that order. They all rank high up there on my list.

When you have any combination of them, it's pretty hard to beat.

Today I met with Libby James, a longtime writing and running friend in Fort Collins. We used to both write a monthly running column in the local paper along with our writer/artist friend Tom Riggs. We have a lot in common, mainly writing and running, but Libby is much more prolific than I am when it comes to writing.

She has published several books, I am not sure how many but she's written about running, and a number of other topics and genres, like historical fiction- her latest work. She's a great writer and that's not even the tip of the iceberg as far as her life stories. She happens to be a multiple-time age group world record holder at running, too.

I've always been inspired in running by the older runners who keep going, into their 70s, 80s, and even beyond. Libby falls squarely in that category although I wouldn't even try to categorize her. She's a lively, focused, interesting, and talented human being who has contributed great things to the world, including her offspring.

I met her at her house and we took off for a few laps around the cemetery, which happens to be one of our favorite places to run, another thing we share. Then we came back to her house where she made tea and we sat and talked books and plotted schemes around our favorite topics.

I got a peek at her latest book which hooked me within the first page, and I plan to read it as soon as I catch my breath around here. She's been at this a lot longer than I have been, and actually has her own shelf of local authors' books, she created a small lending library. I'm excited to be adding Navigating the C to her collection.

On our run around the cemetery we talked about our friend Morgan whom we lost last January. I felt like she was listening. After our run I kept seeing the name "Morgan" everywhere, like the directional sign near the university pointing to Morgan Library, and bright lime green colored objects, which was her favorite color. I realized the last time I saw Libby was last spring at Morgan's memorial. I've been intending to get together with her and the book kept taking over all my thoughts and plans.

We talked about how important it is to take the time to get together, these connections and conversations are so important, more important than the many distractions in everyday life.

I started this morning missing Donut Friday because I was up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. Maybe it was just being excited because before bedtime I found out that my books were being overnighted from Amazon in time for my book signing this Sunday. They have been super slow on production and last week when I checked, they told me I wouldn't receive them until January 31 or February 1. My book signing is on the 28th, and I ordered them on the 10th, with expedited shipping.

But they came through for me. (I've actually been very impressed with almost everything they do at Amazon around the book creation process.) When I arrived home from Libby's, the books were waiting for me!!

And I always have plenty of help with the boxes.

It was one of the best mornings I've had in quite some time (would have been 100% perfect if I'd made Donut Friday!). Ready to start getting this book out there to see the light of day in the world. I have more to say about that, in a future blogpost. For now, you can find Navigating the C: A Nurse Charts the Course for Cancer Survivorship Care, on Amazon.

Donut Triangle Birthday Urban Adventure

I first threatened this idea several years ago when I was still writing a running column in the local paper. It was around the time that Dunkin Donuts was making a resurgence in the local area after being gone for years.

I was thinking about themed runs for future birthdays and out of curiosity I checked on a map to see how far it was from the new Fort Collins Dunkin Donuts to the planned Windsor Dunkin Donuts. The most direct road route was 13.1 miles. How convenient. I proposed three different versions, a half marathon, marathon, and double donut marathon. That would have been perfect for my 52nd birthday. But as things turned out I wasn't focused on running at the time and the last thing I felt like doing was forcing myself to do 52 miles on a double out and back on the heavily trafficked roads between Fort Collins and Loveland.

I put the whole thing on hold for a while, and then when my friend Melody convinced me to join the Donut Running group for Donut Fridays last summer, I began thinking about it again. By then, there was also a Dunkin Donuts in Loveland. I decided it would be easier, and shorter, to do a loop hitting all the Dunkin Donuts locations. I measured it out and it came to about 35 miles, not 53, but just reverse the digits and it works.

I decided to plan it and invited a lot of running friends to come join me on a part of the loop. There are so many running events going on this time of year and spring break was coming up so I decided to choose the first weekend in March and avoid spring break. Two of my friends had just finished ultras last weekend and they wouldn't be doing it. But as it turned out I got 5 takers to join me on my urban birthday trek.

Why do I do these birthday runs? They are really just a way to do my favorite activity and be outdoors on my feet for a long time and share it with friends. It's always fun to dream up some kind of creative theme, to make things interesting. Celebrating another year of being able to do long distances on my feet, because I've learned that you can't take this stuff for granted.

I woke up around 4 am on Saturday and had coffee, the girls wanted to know what I was doing so they got up with me, but had to go in the crate when I left so Dennis could sleep. They didn't like that too much.

I ran the one mile from my house to Dunkin Donuts on south College and as soon as I arrived, Felix drove up. Felix has been on most of my birthday adventures. We had a donut, lit candles on it, and took off. The sunrise on the Mason Trail as we headed south was spectacular. One scene I never got a picture of, was the geese flying overhead in the sunrise, and the light was shining on them.

The whole way down we had a typical Felix and Alene running conversation, pointing out goofy signs along the way, joking about the medical and recreation marijuana shops all along the strip between Fort Collins and Loveland, laughing that we could stop in and work on our donut appetites. Felix and I have a long history of odd conversations at odd hours on foot, as he is the person who was with me during the infamous SpongeBob sighting in the middle of the night at Badwater.

Felix had to be at the airport later in the morning so he said he would run as far as he could with me but then had to turn around and go back to his car. He stayed with me all the way into Loveland, at the Walmart on Garfield. It was only two and a half more miles to the Loveland Dunkin Donuts.

There I took a little break, charged my phone and used the bathroom. It was breakfast time and there a huge line. I didn't think I'd be able to get a donut before having to get going toward Windsor, but the line died down and I got my donut fix.

I took off after about twenty minutes and started heading back north to the bike path across from Walmart. Once I got off the Rambo running stretch on 287, it was a relief. Quiet, peaceful, no traffic on the bike path. The day was shaping up to be beautiful. I went east on the bike bath past Boyd Lake and north to county road 30, taking it east past the stinky cow farm to the frontage road along I-25.

On the way across the bike path I was thinking about the Walmart run, when my friend Morgan was still with us, she joined us on that run. I could hear her voice and see her smile. I miss her so much. I'll be writing a post about her in the next few weeks.

I stuck my music in my ears and proceeded at a fast powerwalking pace with a few brief running bursts in between. It was a relief to be by myself on a long run again. I didn't have to think about anything, just moving forward, listening to music, from donut stop to donut stop.

I needed a break, to get away from the house and from thinking. So much mental work in my life right now. It was refreshing to have a puppy break, as much as I missed them and wanted puppy kisses along the way, it felt so good not to be constantly vigilant for chewing, barking, digging, and all the other forms of mischief I have to watch for while I work at home each day.

I crossed I-25 at highway 392 and took that east on the shoulder all the way to the Windsor Dunkin Donuts. That was the worst stretch other than 287. The cars were whizzing by fast, and lots of big macho loud trucks. I had my music and could ignore the noise.

At the Windsor Dunkin Donuts I had to text several people who were planning on meeting me later on. Jacob was going to meet me at Strauss Cabin and Kechter, and Crisann and Andy were meeting me at Harmony and Timberline, and Jen would find us and meet us somewhere between there and the finish. I took a half hour break, shed some extra layers of clothing, ate more than a donut, and got more drinks. I took off for the final leg of the triangle around 12:15.

As I ran north I wanted to connect with the county road that would allow me to avoid 392 again, but I wasn't sure which one it was. Fortunately I saw some people walking and I asked them, and got on the right road. I headed west toward Fort Collins past the dairy farms and ranches with a spectacular view of the Front Range, Longs Peak, Mummy Range, and Indian Peaks.

I was surprised at how much traffic was on the road going west. It used to be a lot quieter out there but there are so many people living in Windsor now, traffic is heavy. No one tried to run me off the road, fortunately. Then I had the narrow-to-no shoulder section of 1.5 miles going north to Kechter. That's the road that connects the Timnath Walmart and Costco to Highlands Ranch and the golf courses. Lots of traffic there, too.

After crossing I-25 again, Jacob was waiting at the top of the hill for me. My timing was perfect, I anticipated 1:45 pm and got there on the nose. We had a good conversation and he offered his house nearby in case I needed a bathroom, water, or anything, but I was doing fine and feeling good. I had some hot spots on my heels but other than that I felt fine. I wasn't getting enough salt because my fingers were all puffy, so I made a mental note to dump some S caps in a drink when I stopped on Timberline.

Going north on Timberline, Jacob ran with me until we met up with Andy and Crisann. We took off and stopped at a gas station so I could buy a cold drink and I got an ice sandwich. As if 4 donuts weren't enough sugar. Ice cream sandwiches are one of my favorite running foods, and this hit the spot.

We caught the Power Trail going north to Centennial, and Jen joined us about 2 miles from the finish. Jen has also been there for my past urban adventure birthday runs. We went west to Lemay and Swallow, then west on Swallow back to the Fort Collins Dunkin Donuts. It was 10 hours and 19 minutes including all the stops and breaks along the way, and 36 miles.

Crisann's husband Dave met us there and joined us for a celebratory donut, my fourth of the day, took our finish line picture, and then they gave me a ride home, which I was thankful for.

The girls were thrilled to see me. Dennis was working on a puppy fence in the back yard to protect our garden boxes from the wild diggers. I felt pretty good, but my neck, shoulders and low back are sore from carrying my pack all day. Legs feel fine today, just stiff, and a few tender spots on my feet that would have blistered had I been out any longer.

I am so glad I finally did this thing and got it behind me. Now I no longer have this hanging over my head. I can move on to other, non-donut-themed, urban adventures. Felix and I did notice that there is now a fifth Walmart, so perhaps my 55th birthday run will have another Walmart theme, but no guarantees. For now, I'm just glad to be able to stay upright and moving forward, and to have another birthday.

Happy donuts, everyone. Thanks to all my friends who joined me on foot and in spirit! Now I need to get busy losing this 20 pound weight I'm carrying around! No more donuts for me!

photo credits: Felix Wong