Under a Full Moon

Last night was the annual Fort Collins Running Club Holiday Lights Run & Potluck event. There was a good turnout and delicious food. It was fun to be around the runners again. We did a short run through a neighborhood with some beautiful light displays under a full moon. I cooked a vegan rice dish with veggies and garbanzo beans. It turned out good.

I didn't take any pictures during the run because I was busy trying not to slip on patches of ice! We've had some warm weather, temperatures in the 60s, and everything is melting but once the sun goes down, it freezes again.

When I woke up this morning the moon was setting over the woman cave and the sky was turning shades of pink.

The holidays are an odd time for me. After years of always working on the holidays, I'm not quite sure what to do! There's plenty of work on my business to do, but it's not a great time to be out talking to people because everyone is so distracted by the holidays. So all that gets put off until January. I guess that means I can take it somewhat easy, but I've been chipping away at the business website and my studying for certifications.

On the running front, I'm excited to say that I signed my contract for 2014 for the Pearl Izumi team again. I need to get my butt back in gear. Last night as people were asking me if I have any races lined up, I had to say no, because I really don't, even though I will soon. But it hit me that Pemberton Trail 50K is right around the corner, I made my airline reservations the other day, and I need to at least get some 20 milers in, which I haven't even done yet!!

Workouts are going okay, still sluggish in my pace, but I've been consistent with the weight training and core work, which is important. I need to rebuild my aerobic base before I can start pushing myself, and I need to be sure my hamstring is ready. I feel like I'm in this weird zone...can't race, can't really train for anything specific.

Monday I did my longest swim so far this year, 2000 meters, and I always feel like those young lifeguards at the pool are watching me thrash around like a dork in the water, they probably thing, this old chick sucks at swimming! They usually sit there and yawn, I think it's too early for them to be awake, it's only a bunch of old farts who get up that early to swim.

I did get half my hair chopped off the other day out of frustration with the heavy mop I've been carrying around for so long. Now it has some layers and I think the gray looks better that way. It needs to settle down a bit- it's wild and can't be pulled back into a ponytail anymore. It needs to grow out some before I tuck it into a running cap.

I could hardly believe that I wore out a pair of running shoes, my mileage has been so low, it's been forever since I replaced a pair. I'll be curious to see what kind of new models Pearl Izumi comes up with this year. I am looking for more motion control. You can't get more comfortable than the H3s though.

As soon as it snows again, I have a job to do. I was contacted by someone from Kahtoola, the company that makes Microspikes, and I'm going to try their product and write a review soon. We'll see how they compare to YakTrax.

I decided to go see Helen again this week, seems like the Bowenwork really helped my neck and I want to give it a few more sessions to see if I can get it loosened up even more. It would help my swimming too, because at the far point of my range of motion it hurts a little when I turn my head.

So that's what's happening in my world. A few exciting things, but I'm really looking forward to the mental hurdle of January 1, when it will be spring and I'm ready to move forward in the new year.

Get After It!

Today I did my track workout. Yesterday would have been a better day for it, but when I woke up yesterday I felt tired. Wednesday's a.m. Tabata and p.m. tempo workouts left me so tired that I needed an easy day of running. I hadn't planned on the evening tempo on Wednesday, and it was only 5 miles, but it was 93 degrees when I did it. I felt like I needed to do it, so I pushed the pace. Sub 9s. My old body felt it in the heat, too.

So Thursday I just ran easy, a few with Iris in the cool morning, and more on my own later. Thursday was an unusually cool day until late afternoon when the clouds moved out.

This morning I needed to get my butt over to the track, it was heating up fast and I knew the sooner I got it done, the less I'd suffer. It was 70 degrees when I started and 79 degrees when I finished.

Again, 3 x 2000 m of mixed intervals, faster than last time, with 10 x 200 at the end. My 200s are finally picking up a little, even though I'm still slow, I made it solidly into the 43-44 second range and the turnover felt better. Getting that leg turnover back is a little easier this time. But until my 200s are averaging around 37 seconds, I'm not anywhere near what I used to be able to do. I'm still carrying about 5 pounds of extra lard that I packed on since late April. Hopefully that will be gone soon, too.

I ran in my Pearl Izumi H3s on the track and they were amazingly comfortable. I've been breaking into them slowly, given a nearly 30 year history of running in Brooks. I could not believe how good the H3s feel on the track surface. The true test will be how my body feels in a day or two, whether I feel any effects of running in those shoes. But while I was running, they felt awesome. I'm hoping I can get used to them over the summer and it would be great to be able to run the 12 hour race on the track in them in August in Wisconsin.

At the track it was quiet at first, and then surprisingly everyone started to show up. Crazy backwards running lady was there, too. Now that I know her habits, I don't mind sharing the track so much because I know she veers between lane 1 and lane 2, and every time we're 50 meters or so apart, she does move back into lane 2, so my fears of a head-on collision with her have been abated.

There was this one tall dude at the track today, with a heart rate monitor around his chest, and he was totally freaked out by crazy backwards running lady. He was trying to run in lane 2 and he's about twice her height. I'm not sure how they worked things out, but he was giving her the evil eye. He obviously hasn't shared the track with her before. It was weird to be on the track on a Friday. There were a lot more people there than I expected. I need to switch my track days back to earlier in the week.

Tonight I'll do an easy 5 miles, tomorrow I'll take it super easy, probably just a run with the girls, and then Sunday is the Estes Park marathon. So far the word is that the air quality hasn't been affected much in Estes Park. The fire is around 600 acres at this point and 30% contained. The problem with this one is that it has the potential to do damage to our drinking water supply here in Fort Collins.

My legs feel tired, but that's the way it goes until I get back to it. I have an easy week planned next week, because I have to work 4 12 hour shifts. But after that I can get going and get after it, as Wheaties Boy says.

I need to figure out my next marathon training run after Estes. It has to be within driving distance, and preferably I won't need a hotel room. There's a marathon in Aspen on July 6th. It's pretty far from the cabin and I don't know if I want to fight the crowds around the July 4th holiday. I'll have to look for alternatives. And no, the Leadville Marathon is not an option. I'm permanently retired from that one. I'd like to run something that takes me less than 7 hours to finish! Breathing is not optional...

Leaves of Absence

This morning I woke up to the leaves. The trees are finally leafing out. Yesterday's hot temperatures brought out the apple blossoms, lilacs, and cottonwood leaves.


We did go from winter to summer in a week. I guess it's summer now.


Two exciting things happened in my own leave of absence from home yesterday. First, I got an e-mail from the St. George Marathon that I got in with the lottery! First try! I don't know how hard it is to get in, usually. but it was my lucky day, Monday the 13th.

The other thing that happened was the check came in the mail from North Coast, so I can apply that toward the racing budget.

I am toast this morning. I have a wicked work hangover, I worked two long days Saturday and Monday, nonstop busy. The computer training and a nasty human virus that's going around has limited the number of people available to work. So we hustled all day. By the end of the day I could barely keep my eyes open. This month I have so many odd shifts and days that I have to look at the calendar every day to make sure I know where I have to be and when.

It was in the 80s yesterday and that dried up a lot of the moisture that was hanging out in the soil. My allergies are also killing me. I hope we continue to get some regular rain because if we keep going on this dry streak for very long, it won't matter that we got all that snow. We'll be burning up. For runners, that means having to go out of town to run trails and mountains, because the air gets so bad here.

For some reason the hot flashes I was having all winter and early this spring have mostly gone away and left me alone. I'm sure this is temporary, but I'm enjoying it. Ever since I got back from Cleveland I've been much more comfortable. I hope it lasts because our house is HOT.

I'll be spending some time in the woman cave today, until it gets too hot. Time to get out for a run, but I'm sure I'll need a nap before I can feel human.


On Sunday we celebrated Iris's birthday with dog cookie cupcakes.

First Iris sang happy birthday to herself, drowning out all of our voices, then it was a race between the girls to see who could finish their cookie fastest.



Even after our party, I still felt enormous guilt going to work Monday morning, on Iris's actual birthday.

This morning I'm breaking in a pair of Pearl Izumi H3s, they are road shoes with rearfoot stability, actually through the midfoot. Nice and cushiony and comfortable. I took Iris for a short walk but I had a few errands to run early this morning so I only got a short run in. I will finish up with a longer run this evening, after a nap. Iris is expecting to go longer, so I need to make it up to her.


This morning I spent about a half hour trying to figure out where to stay in St. George and fortunately I was able to get a reservation at the same hotel where my friends Kirk and Keith are staying. I need to get my butt on some hills. I've been seriously neglecting hill training for too long.

Now that I know about St. George, I can start planning where to tuck the other marathons in throughout the summer. Finding them, close to home and on days when it is reasonable to travel to them in between work is the challenge. It's already the middle of May. I have a feeling October will be here soon. Makes me want to go over to the track now, but I have to recover from work first. I don't think I could concentrate long enough to make through one lap at this point.



I do have a 12 year old Australian Shepherd who is staring holes through me, letting me know it's time to get started on my day, with the first order of business.