Two Races and One Pair of Shoes

Today I gave myself three kicks in the butt I need to motivate myself for this running season. First I went over to Runner's Roost and told Steve I want to try some different shoes.

I've been running in Brooks Addictions forever but their latest version of the Addiction is creating new foot problems for me. They've changed the upper and now it rubs on the outside of my first metatarsal and is constricting my upper foot, so I'm developing a neuroma, something I've had a tendency to do if I wear shoes that are too narrow or when my feet are swelling in a long race.

Steve pulled out a pair of Saucony Grid Stabils, size 7 1/2, and told me they would be similar to the Addiction. I tried them on and as soon as I jogged through the store and out on the sidewalk, I was in love. We'll see how long they hold up. They are built almost the same as the Addiction, they are stability shoes, slightly curved last, they weigh about the same, and cost about the same. The difference I could feel immediately was that the uppers feel great on my forefoot, there are no areas of friction. They feel equally stable to the Brooks. I tried the 7 1/2s in the Addiction just to be sure that it's not simply a matter of getting 1/2 size bigger in the same shoe.

I will try a pair of the Saucony Stabils and see how it goes. My biggest complaint about the Addiction, other than the way it rubs my foot, is that it doesn't last more than about 250 miles and I have to replace them. It would be nice if I could get a few more miles out of a pair of shoes, but that's not the big issue.

I need to solve my problems with blistering and calluses if I want to run multi-day runs with a minimum of foot problems. I'll try running part of the 45K tomorrow in the Sauconys and see how it goes.

Before I left the store I made myself sign up for the Colorado Marathon since it was the first race I planned to do this year, and I was dragging my feet about signing up. It's now 8 weeks away and I need to get my butt in gear!

Then I went home and Dennis and I called our friends Kirk and Keith in Grand Junction. They are in the process of moving to Fruita and they wrote us the other day and asked if we were coming out for the Desert RATS run in Fruita in April. We usually go out there, but this year we didn't plan on it. I wasn't planning to sign up, because I didn't have a reason to...no big races on the horizon that needed a 50 mile or even 25 mile training run.

I signed up for the 25 miler. Who can argue with a weekend on the Kokopelli Trail in April? So the plan is, we will take the Buffaloes and go to Fruita and stay with Kirk and Keith and I will run the 25 miler with Keith, and maybe Dennis will sign up if he wants a challenge...Kirk is of course running the 50.

I lightened my wallet enough today. Two races and one pair of shoes. I'll think of it as a birthday present.

Tonight, we turn the clocks ahead, one less hour of sleep in the morning and darkness again! Just when I was starting to enjoy the morning light. I have to be at the cemetery at 8:00 daylight savings time. Now I have three more reasons to get my butt out there and run 45 kilometers tomorrow!

Gifts

My 45th birthday is coming up next week. Like the speed limit sign says, this is fast enough, I don't need the years to go by any faster. It's hard to believe 45 is midlife when you feel like you're 23.

Today I felt like I got a birthday present, in an odd way. Lately I've been feeling sort of flat. Not depressed, but not really excited about running, or anything, and I've been dragging my feet about planning my next adventure. I'm not the only one, I've talked to a few other people lately who are also experiencing low energy and lack of enthusiasm.

I tend to get introverted and every so often I have to remind myself that there's a world out there, otherwise much of the time I'd be content to focus on whatever task I'm doing at the moment, or lose myself in my long solo runs.

The connection to others is a gift.

When I meet people who are depressed, they often have isolated themselves unintentionally, and they feel like they have lost their connections to others. Helping them reconnect is important, because the connections are still there, they just haven't been maintained. It usually takes a small effort. For depressed people that effort can seem like a huge mountain to climb, but that's another tangent.

This morning I was out on my run, planning to go about an hour, to get some miles in, and I wasn't feeling particularly enthusiastic but didn't feel bad. I was approaching Shields Street, headed west on the bike path when I ran into three runners coming toward me. I recognized Cat, and she was out with two other people running before their yoga class. She was about to stop and to talk to me but I turned around in their direction and started running with them. We ran about a mile and a half together before they turned off for yoga and I had to go home.

Just talking with Cat about her upcoming plans to run her first 50 miler, and her enthusiasm about having talked with another ultrarunner in her first 50K last year, who helped her see another way of looking at finishing an ultra, was uplifting for me. One of the runners she was with talked about how she hopes to do a marathon someday. Feeling that energy and knowing they are exploring something new reminded me that there are so many nice people out there in the running community, lots of people I have never run with, opening the possibilities to expand my social circle and running partners.

And when I got home I had two emails from running friends who will be joining me in my run on Sunday, Felix and Jeff. I felt so much better. Later I had energy to go back outside and enjoy the afternoon on the trails, after a massage from Cindy.

Sometimes you don't see the gifts that are hidden because you see only the screen that you've put up to filter things out. If you filter the world out too much you won't recognize a gift right in front of you, you're too busy screening things out.

Someone can brighten your day unexpectedly. It's a matter of opening your eyes and allowing yourself to receive the gift.

This afternoon I ran around Dixon Reservoir. It was a warm day, in the 70s, and the wind was gusting on the east side of the water. All the college students were out, restless, working on their tans, getting ready for spring break. Nothing is green yet, we need some rain. This is Colorado, and we should be getting several feet of snow by next month. We change the clocks back to Daylight Savings Time on Sunday.

Spring is here!

Desolation

My motivation has been low. Yesterday I only ran in the afternoon because Dennis got me out the door. Today I managed to get out and run twice, 10 in the morning on trails at Pineridge, and 4 in the afternoon in the neighborhood, at a faster pace.

It was all I could do to drag my butt into my car and drive to Cottonwood Glen park this morning so I could make myself start running. I was a snail, but I kept moving and as long as I went slow it got better. I managed to stay out for two hours, and the sun was coming out. I wore shorts and a t-shirt for the first time all year. It was close to 70 degrees today, which means it will dump three feet of snow next week for sure.

Last week I got my contact lens prescription changed so I can see distance again. I couldn't see the street signs coming up on me. I couldn't read license plates, I couldn't see anything in minor detail at a distance. It was driving me crazy. When I run, I want to see what's out there, part of the enjoyment of running is noticing details in the landscape.

Now I can see, even though I am sure I'll need reading glasses soon. So far I'm doing okay with close-up vision.

Speaking of things that happen when you start to get old, my longtime running friend Wally is about to become "Grandpa Prugh", as he calls himself. Hard to believe that his daughter Chris, the little girl I met when she was 9 years old, who is now an attorney, is having a baby.

And speaking of babies, my sister is going to be a mom again, still unnamed baby boy # 2 is coming on March 5th to join his big brother Matteo.

Sunday night we were in Whole Foods trying to figure out what to cook for dinner, and we ran into an old friend from our days in Gunnison, Tony. We haven't seen him since 1998. He runs a green thrift shop in Old Town Fort Collins now. Eco-Thrift. Pretty cool.

I wish I had more enthusiasm. I don't feel very excited about anything these days, and I haven't actually signed up for any races. I have vague plans, but I'm not committed. I feel like I need a vacation, or something to get me charged up again. I don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe I need to paint. Maybe I need my batteries recharged. Maybe I need ketchup. Towanda!!!!

Pawnee Buttes

Saturday we went for a drive out to Pawnee Buttes, about an hour east of here. The drive was more like an hour and a half because of the winding dirt roads once we got off highway 14. It's on the way to Nebraska.


It's hard to find information on this place, it's out in the middle of nowhere and I did go to the website for the federal govt, and there isn't much on it. There's this little townsite of Keota and you basically follow unmarked dirt roads, there's an occasional sign pointing you in the direction of the Pawnee Buttes, but it would be easy to get lost. Finally we reached the town site of Keota. Complete with water tower, cemetery, and a cool old fire hydrant...

Once we got through Keota we drove for what seemed like forever and couldn't see any buttes. We did see the big wind turbines to the north. We were considering turning around and going home up since we weren't seeing any buttes. Finally, they appeared. We drove in that direction and parked at a deserted dirt parking area and picked out the trail up ahead.








It was cold and windy, the kind of wind that bites and goes through you, no mater how much clothing you wear. We went for a short hike and then went home. We were both tired, Dennis slept on the way out while I drove, and then I slept for 45 minutes on the way home.





The Buffaloes loved the drive, whenever we get on a dirt road they get excited, they know they are GOING somewhere to play. They saw cows and sheep driving through on highway 14. Lots of good smells...to them.

I doubt I will go back out there for a while unless I have a lot of time. They close one of the trails starting March 1, for nesting of predator birds, so we got there just in time. There are some trails, and it looks like decent mountain biking except for the cactus and other prickly things that cause flat tires. It's too far of a drive to justify the short trail distances for running.

This week I was so tired, I was having trouble sleeping again. It starts up and then goes away. I took the girls to Riverbend Ponds and the ice is almost gone. I managed to get a 16+ mile run on the hills of Centennial Drive and Bingham Hill again, Lead legs, but I'm not walking and I feel strong. I look forward to doing speed training, which I should be able to start within the next few weeks. Maybe that will get me excited about training for something.

Today I ran the Tortoise & Hare 6K. It was freezing! There was a good turnout at Spring Park at 8 am when the temperature was 24 degrees. I was slightly disappointed ran 16 seconds slower than last fall. I'm trying to look at the small positive steps. The good news is, I ran my first mile too fast in 7:06, and that didn't hurt my hamstring, so I consider it a big improvement. I couldn't do anything faster than 7:30 pace for a long time.

I've managed to lose 2 pounds so far, I've cut way back on eating carbohydrates, and I think I'm feeling it in my running, but that's okay, I'll adapt soon. We've been eating mostly salads and fruit and meat, and it seems like I'm having an easier time with my mornings. I've been eating nuts and Lara bars at work, I still need snacks every 2 hours but at least I don't get to the point where my hands are shaking every 2 hours and feeling like I'm going to pass out.

The other night Venus and the crescent moon were out. I was exhausted when I got off work but when I saw the sky and I had to get my camera.










Next weekend is my birthday run, we're starting at Grandview Cemetery and will run about 45 kilometers, and then meet at the Rio afterwards.

Spring on the Horizon

I took the girls to the Ponds this morning. It's looking less winter-like but not quite spring.

I finally got some prints made from the Badwater photos. I've been intending to do a scrapbook or photo album but never got around to it. Now that I have a little more free time I will work on that project.

Sunday I did a fifteen mile out & back from the stadium, over the hills on Centenn-ial Drive and over Bingham Hill Road. A cold headwind froze me on the return trip, but I didn't feel bad at all. I ran every step and felt less like a snail by the end than I expected to. Saturday I felt exhausted, after two days of work. I couldn't motivate myself for anything.

Last week I finished studying for my certifica-tion exam for work and dragged my butt up to Cheyenne to take the test. I passed, and I'm glad to have it behind me. The past month I spent a lot of time studying and I hate sitting on my butt for long periods of time.

It's ironic though, that I often wonder these days what a desk job would feel like. After running my butt off for thankless 13 hour days, keeping endless details and lists in my head and trying to satisfy everyone, never taking a real break, not eating or drinking or peeing enough, and feeling wiped out after just two back-to-back days, and dreading having to work that third day later in the week, I can see now why so many nurses burnout or leave the bedside so quickly.

The system is set up for it to be an insane job, I really think that human beings were not designed for carrying so many details in their heads for so many hours at this relentless pace. Young people can probably do this for a while longer, but given that the average age of nurses in the U.S. is 45, I think some things need to be changed. But nurses have been saying that forever and it never does change.

I need to make a change for me, for my health and sanity, like spring, change is on the horizon.

A Taste of Spring

Today was warm and windy. Almost 60 degrees. Early this morning I took the Buffaloes for their run at Riverbend Ponds. It feels like spring. The ice is melting and the light looks brighter, the days are getting noticeably longer.












I took advantage of the day to go up to Horsetooth and run the hills on Centennial Drive. I did 10 miles at a snail's pace with a killer headwind from the north, but I enjoyed the run. I love my North Face jacket from Across the Years. It's perfect for cold days when you don't want to overdress. It wicks moisture better than anything else I own. It's nice to feel the air and sunlight on my legs, I wore shorts. I froze going north in the exposed sections of the road, but I was comfortable most of the way.











Yesterday I got a massage from Cindy and I was so tight in my upper back. I had a stressful two days at work. I could feel my whole body releasing knots as she worked on me. Even my face was tight. I've been doing more weight training over the past few weeks. I'm up to 30 miles of running this week with 10 as my longest run. I'll need to pick up the mileage over the next few weeks.


I'm working on my race plans for the year, trying to stay focused on what I need to do right now. I'm eating better, but haven't dropped any weight. I'm not putting in the mileage or intensity at this point to expect it to help any. I feel like I'm dragging this big lead weight up the hills. Ten pounds lighter would make a huge difference.

A front is moving in, that's why we have all the wind. I'm working this weekend, and the weather isn't supposed to be great. Next week I've got a busy schedule for personal business, like going to the accountant for our taxes, etc. I'm trying to get things done early so I can focus on being outside as much as possible!

TGIF! Announcing OFITG!

It's February and the days are getting longer, and it's only about a month before we change the clocks back to Daylight Savings Time again!

I started the month with a 5K run at the Fort Collins Running Club's Tortoise & Hare race. I had a good run. Ran 23:31, exactly 30 seconds faster than last year. I'll take anything that's an improvement at this point. We had a great turnout, 22 people ran, and there was a group of young runners from the Latino Running Club who participated.

I missed the breakfast afterwards as I needed to get home and get things done. This is my crunch week at work, and I don't have a lot of time in between work days to get all the little chores and errands done, plus my workouts, so I had to skip out of socializing. I try not to do that, but this week is a bad schedule.

February is when training really starts for the year, in my opinion. All of the new years resolution delusions have melted into reality and you can smell spring in the air. People are talking race plans and training runs, and you have to start organizing your schedule for any races you plan on doing in the next few months.

I've picked up the intensity of my weight training, I'm on the bike most days at least for a good spin, and I did my first double digit mileage run since Across the Years yesterday. I'm working on losing the ten pounds I put on by training slow and eating too much bad stuff last year.

Speaking of Daylight Savings Time, I've partially decided on my birthday run, and it will be on March 8th, the day we turn the clocks ahead. No official time or distance yet but I do have a name for the event. I'm calling it One Foot in The Grave (OFITG)and it will start and finish at Grandview Cemetery. I don't know what time it will start or how far I'll go, I might have to leave those details for the day of the run. I'm guessing I can drag myself out of bed and be at the cemetery by 8:00. It will be no longer than 45 miles, 45 Km, or 45 laps around some of the cemetery's many loops.

Afterwards we will go to the Rio for food and margaritas, and celebrate my entry into my new age group. I don't have a name for my new age group yet though. I'm leaving the geezer lite age group behind. Any ideas for my new age group, 45-49?