"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.

Tacos in the Wind: Birthday Urban Adventure Run

March 10th is my birthday, and it happened to fall on a Saturday this year. I was able to round up a few diehards to run with me for tacos. The plan was, 54 kilometers for my 54th birthday, with at least one taco stop. Again, the distance was perfect. It is about 17 miles from my house to the southernmost point on the course, a little dive of a restaurant called Rancho Taqueria Alegre. I'd never been there before, but when I was mapping the course, it was conveniently located.

Cathy, Jen, Alicia and I started at Torchy's Tacos after I ran there from my house. Jen and Cathy were doing shorter runs so each turned around early, and Alicia continued on with me into Loveland. We took the new connecting trail between Fort Collins and Loveland that drops you off at Boyd Lake, avoiding almost all traffic. I love the new bike paths that are being built- it makes running so much easier without having to deal with cars. Felix met Alicia and I just south of Boyd Lake and we continued on the bike path until it dropped us at a spot half a mile north of the restuarant.

I had a taco and refried beans, Alicia was eating shot blocks and skipped the tacos...

and Felix had a burrito.

It was perfect fuel for the trip home.

Sasquatch (aka Dale Perry, aka Richard Cranium) met us south of Boyd Lake and Felix and Alicia peeled off there. The wind was starting to pick up, and it wasn't because Sasquatch joined us or because of eating the taco and beans.

This was pure, Colorado, out of the north, unadulterated wind. The kind that blows the breath out of your mouth and the sand in your eyes.

Sasquatch and I continued north toward Fort Collins and the wind was blowing the dirt across the trail, leaving dunes in our path.

As we approached the lower Power Trail, Sasquatch turned around to head back to Loveland, and I continued north.

The wind was getting stronger. I was making slow progress and I wanted to make sure I got done in time to shower and meet everyone at the Rio for margaritas and more tacos by 4 pm.When I hit 30 miles I realized I wasn't going to make it home in time, so I called Dennis and he picked me up. Thirty miles was enough, and I banked a few extra miles last year on the donut run, so I used those to credit myself.

I wanted a taco.

What I'd been waiting for all day!

Last taco of the day.

The best part was having Dennis and everybody join us at the Rio. Plenty of margaritas and food and fun.









Dennis took the picture, but clockwise from lower left: me, Felix, Amber, Serena, Colin, Steve, Leslie, and Jen.

And what would a birthday be without dessert? Coconut flan. Great way to wrap up a perfect day of running, wind, tacos, friends, and celebration. Now I have to start planning for next year.

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

Tramp Stamp

Life goes on. I hit the big 52 on Thursday. I took the day off and went to Boulder, as I often do on my birthday. I don't know why, maybe I feel like I have to go down there and remind myself that I'm glad I live in Fort Collins? I stopped at Union Reservoir in Longmont to take a picture of Longs Peak reflected in the water. Soon it will be time to get back up there on the trails.

I ran several days this week and felt pretty good. I'm not accumulating very many miles. The motivation has been off and on. Once I get a schedule in place, it will help. Just another couple of weeks and I will have that in place, too.

The weather has been so nice, we are finally getting a few 70 degree days. We did some yard work and cleaned up the front garden. It's too early to plant anything as we will get at least one more major snowstorm and many hard frosts before we're safe to plant outside. It's supposed to snow this week. That's a good thing, we need some moisture. It's been so dry since the last snowstorm.

My butt is healing. It finally stopped itching over the last day or two. Honey Boo Boo has a sign hung on her gate to her backyard that says "Dangerous Dog". I am sure the people who own the house love it. Maybe she should have thought of that before she let her dogs run wild.

Nice pic of my 1/2 smiley face tramp stamp surrounded by rash and adhesive-trashed skin. You can see two of the punctures and then the deep canine puncture tunnel makes up the half smile. It's healed up really well. I looked at my jeans and I can see why the one puncture on the right went so deep- the front teeth caught me through the pocket of my jeans, the canine was in the area where it was only a single layer of fabric. I'm lucky I was wearing jeans and not running shorts or tights.

I saw Wheaties Boy today. He's been injured, struggling to come back. We made a pact to start running together on Tuesday nights now that we're on daylight savings time again and we have the light in the evenings. Hopefully this will be the thing that pushes me past the edge of trying to motivate myself. I've been doing pretty well but since the bite I haven't been as motivated.

I launch my new online service, Cancer Harbors, the week of April 4-8. The website will be launched that week. For now it's still the temporary landing page. I'm going to do an online open house, using Twitter, Facebook, the website, email, and other social media.

I'm excited, scared, nervous, relieved, and all kinds of emotions about it. I can't wait to make the switch to marketing though, I have had enough of sitting on my butt for a while!

Olde Tyme Revival! Quadrennial Quagmire Resurrected!

This picture from 1992 is of me and two of my three running buddies who joined me on the original leap year run, The Quadrennial Quagmire. The original run, which happened twice, in 1992 and 1996, consisted of a circuitous out and back loop from town, around Horsetooth Reservoir, through Lory State Park and Horsetooth Mountain Park, up Redstone Canyon, and back. It was about 50 miles.

I am in need of a birthday challenge this year, but a "lite" version. I decided that given my minimal training and my need to keep doing the vertical, I'd do an easier challenge. Hence, the Quad Quag revival. Except this time, I'm calling it the Quadrennial Quadriceps Quagmire. It will be simple, consisting of just four Rock Repeats. Seventeen miles, 4400 feet of climb and the same of descent. Easy, right?

It's easy logistically, too, because the up and back course allows returns to the vehicle every 4 miles and change. No need to carry a bunch of gear. I plan to do it regardless of the weather. Quagmire or blizzard, sunny 70 degrees or downpour, I'll be there. I'm inviting any local runners to join me. Should be a fun time, regardless.

Short Days Drive Me CRAZY!

Approaching solstice is the hardest time of the year for me. I love the way the light and shadows look this time of year, but the darkness seems to affect me and my motivation.

The past nearly two weeks I've been sick, I have the worst of it behind me, but my head is still full of snot and every so often it sounds like a herd of elephants took over the house, as I attempt to clear my sinuses. It wiped my energy out, too. The past two days I walked at a good pace for 30 minutes each day, and I'm hoping to get out and try running a couple of miles today. Monday I tried to run and I thought two miles would kill me.

Then Wednesday morning soon after I woke up, I was overtaken by a sudden, violent sneeze attack, and actually strained my low back muscles. I spent two days hobbling around in pain with ice stuffed in the back of my pants.

Every so often I get a pang of regret that I'm not going to certain runs this year, but it passes quickly. I think I'll be much better off getting back into it when the enthusiasm returns. I might get to explore some new races later in the year that I've always wanted to check out.

The other day I finished writing a book chapter for an upcoming book for nurses, it was fun to write it. I have this huge manuscript of my own material that I'm wading through and it felt good to get the one project out of the way so I can get back to my focus.

One thing I want to do is plan some fun urban adventure-themed runs this winter and spring, as I increase my mileage. For example, Dunkin Donuts in Fort Collins is exactly 13.1 miles from the soon-to open Dunkin Donuts location in Windsor Colorado. Seems like there could be a convenient long run course that involved donuts. Or possibly as a 52nd birthday run I could do a double out & back.

I think I need some exposure to the sun, and oxygen to my brain. It's all been impaired lately due to the short daylight hours and the condition of my sinuses.

Still Kickin': 50th Birthday Running Tour of Fort Collins

You only turn 50 once.

You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Consistent with my past behavior, I decided to have a moving tour for my birthday. No multiple trips around the cemetery this time, and no Walmart shopping. This year it was a tour of Fort Collins. No tour of Fort Collins would be complete without a trip through Old Town, a visit to a brewery, and a few other landmarks along the way.

We congregated to start at Starbucks at 8 am and we had a small group to see us off. My neighbor Stan showed up with his camera and my friend Grace showed up to see us off. Kristin was there for her first 20 mile run, she's training for her first marathon later this year, and Josh showed up for the tour. Ping just got home from Hong Kong and was still jet-lagged but she showed up to run the first mile with us. photo: Stan Wolf

Dale, aka Sasquatch, aka the weather man, was supposed to show but the night before he got dumped on and had car trouble, even the weatherman gets snowed in...but he redeemed himself by providing perfect running conditions all day.

Kristin had been worried about not being able to keep up but I kept reassuring her that it was an easy pace and she'd be fine. She had no problem all day, running up the hills in the last miles and even sprinted at the end past both of us. I keep telling her she has an ultra in her. When she gets done with that marathon I'll be dropping all kinds of ultra hints...

Josh, Kristin and I took off down east Drake and hit the Power Trail going north. The streets and sidewalks were icy in so many places, from the rain and snow the day before. It was clear but cold and throughout the day, even until the end of the run, we were still hitting icy patches in the shade. We had planned to go through Riverbend Ponds but from the looks of the mud next to the bike path, we decided to stick to the path instead of slopping through the mud. It cut about a half mile off of the course, but was a better choice, as the sun was warming the ground fast.

We went west on the Poudre Trail until we hit the first construction detour that took us up Mulberry and into Old Town. About this time we were getting hungry and Josh broke out his compost. He makes this vegan mixture of ingredients that everyone raves about. My issue with it is that it has cinnamon in it, which I don't like. If he made it without the cinnamon I would try it. So I tease him about it being compost. It does look somewhat like compost. I can't tell the difference!

We stopped in Old Town at Silver Grill, which was packed as usual. I chose that spot in case anyone wanted a cinnamon roll, since it is a Fort Collins classic stop. But we got there 20 minutes early and waited around. Hunter and Joanne showed up, Joanne was going to run the next leg with us until the brewery where Hunter would meet us again. We took off from there through Old Town and headed for the cemetery.

On our way up Mountain, Elise met us with her dog, and ran the cemetery and City Park sections with us. I got a text from Felix saying he was on his way up Mountain, he missed us at the Silver Grill. We started our loop around the cemetery and on our way through, we saw Scott running, he caught up to us and joined us on our trip to Odell Brewing.

After the cemetery, we ran through City Park, doing a loop around the lake, and passing the frogs. Then it was time to head for the brewery, and it was beer-thirty.

Josh broke out his compost again for Joanne to try.

At Odell, we hung out and drank a beer. I tried a dry hopped ale called Leprechaun Flute. It was good. I still miss that stuff I had on the beer tour, that was amazing.

Scott took off to finish his run, Joanne and Hunter took off, and Kristin, Josh, Felix and I headed back into Old Town for the final leg through the CSU Oval and to the restaurant. On our way back across Riverside and Mountain, we were stopped waiting for the light to change, and we saw a very elderly man drive his car directly into oncoming traffic in the left turning lane. Fortunately the traffic was stopped but here was this man, stuck in his little car in the middle of a major intersection with semis coming down the road behind him, and all the traffic was stopped. He looked bewildered, and no one was doing anything.

I went out in the middle of the intersection and talked to him through his window, and asked him if he knew how to get himself out of the situation, to see if he understood what was going on. He seemed to be confused about the turning lane, but he told me he was afraid to back out with the trucks coming. I felt like he was coherent enough, and fortunately everyone waited for him to back his car out, and turn around to go down Lincoln.

I don't know what was going on, hopefully he was just confused about the traffic lanes, but I'm not sure...scary.

Felix left us at Library Park and the three of us diehards continued through campus and back to the restaurant, where we arrived an hour and a half early. We completed the loop back to Starbucks and I ran home, logging 20.5 miles for the day. That gave us time to go home and shower to get back to the restaurant for the party at 3.

photo: Shannon Price

It was a fun group at the party, Dennis, running club friends, friends I used to work with at the hospital, our neighbors, and Mr. & Mrs. Wheaties Boy.

Wheaties Boy and I discussed the time change and how we won't need headlamps anymore in the evening, and that means it's time to get serious about speed. Music to my ears.

My neighbor across the street shares a birthday with me, so we are going to continue the party on Monday.

It was such an honor to have everyone there, I can't think of any better way to spend a birthday than with these friends. That is best gift of all.

I had tons of energy and felt great despite having 96.5 miles already logged for the week. I remembered to change the clocks before I went to bed. I woke up early anyway.

Dennis gave me an iPod Nano as a gift. Something I've been wanting to do for a while before my old MP3 player disintegrates completely from thousands of miles of sweat and sunshine.

All I have to do today is a quick 3.5 miles and I'll have 100 for the week. Double my age in miles. Just three weeks until I get to test these 50 year old legs at an ultra for the first time!

And I have to start working on the 51st birthday theme run...