Thankful for routine things

Two Rock Repeats today, followed by a few miles with the Buffaloes. Tonight, 6 miles with the Wednesday night group at Runner's Roost. I'm feeling good and recovered from the race, just sleep deprived. I'm taking care of all sorts of errands and business this week, all the pleasant things I get to do this time of year, like taxes.

But I am thankful for these routine things. Any unpleasantness is forgotten when I think of the alternative. I have a job, I get to pay taxes. I have my eyes, teeth, and breasts, so I get to get my eyes checked, go to the dentist, and get a mammogram. I have two beautiful Australian Shepherds, and I get to pick up after them, in our backyard.

I did have my eye exam Monday and I'm getting new glasses. Not quite ready for reading glasses, but getting closer all the time. I had to wait until after dark to go running Monday, my pupils were still huge for 10 hours after my appointment. They always say it will resolve in 4 hours but it always takes so much longer for me. Same with the dentist, it never wears off until the next day. And next week is my favorite, the mammogram, the giant two-way ironing board. Can't wait.

The Southridge trail at Horsetooth Mountain Park was snowpacked and icy for about half the distance. Slowed me down a little, but I felt good climbing. I haven't worked on my powerwalk much so this was a good chance to do it. With Old Pueblo coming up, I needed to inoculate my quads with some downhill running. This whole winter has consisted of running on pavement, mostly the concrete bike paths! It felt so good to run dirt during the Pemberton race and today on Horsetooth Mountain.

Still waiting for some warm weather to happen, so I can clean up the yard. For now, we're just adding to the spring cleanup with every bowl of dog food...

But I can be thankful that the grass will be green this spring.

Paradise at the Pemberton Trail 50K

Get over yourself, you're in paradise!






That was the theme for the weekend. I've been extremely whiny lately about the persistent cold weather in Colorado. It's been cold, we have an ice sheet in our front yard, it never gets over 50 degrees, I'm completely white from lack of sun exposure, and so on. Waah, waah, waah. Life is soooo tough when all you can do is go home to Scottsdale for the weekend...

Dennis and I flew down there for a long weekend to visit my dad and stepmom, and treated ourselves to perfect 70+ degree weather and sunshine at the Pemberton Trail 50K in McDowell Mountain Park near Fountain Hills, where we used to live before we moved back to Fort Collins.

These are the trails where I used to run all the time. I have so many fun memories of the Pemberton and my trail buddies, out here among the cactus and sunshine, javelina and jackrabbits, and the occasional rattlesnake.

The Pemberton 50K consists of two 25k loops of the Pemberton Trail in McDowell Mountain Regional Park. The race is a benefit for the park itself and many of the trail improvements have been funded by Brian's race and other events held out here by local ultrarunners. It's a gentle grade with great footing, occasional sandy washes, big views of the Superstition Mountains, Four Peaks, gorgeous desert scenery, and is extremely runnable. It's a fast trail 50K course, for anyone interested in running a fast time.

Four Peaks from the trailhead staging area.





Brian Wieck is the founder and race director of this event, which had it's 10th anniversary this year. Brian is a friend and old running buddy of ours. His parents, Keith and Joan, were our neighbors in Fountain Hills. Keith and Joan help out at the Pemberton, making it a family event. Joan makes the best chili for the runners to eat afterwards. Dennis jumped in and helped at the packet pickup in the darkness, when he found out a couple of volunteers didn't show up, then he worked with Tiffany doing the timing at the finish line. There were roughly 130 runners in the 50K and a few dozen more in a two person relay.

Brian Wieck, race director, Tiffany and Dennis at the finish line timing station.

Speaking of fast times, aging competitive runners are such prima donnas. I really need to get over myself. Yes I am aging and slowing, I feel like a trail snail. Gravity is pulling me down. To be painfully blunt and honest about my prima donna feelings and whine about my damaged formerly competitive runner's pride, it's hard to haul ass down the trail when you're carrying 15 more pounds of it than you used to.

But I'm enjoying it as much as ever. I ran the first loop in just under 2 1/2 hours, running a steady pace but not pushing hard. I took a quick break to unload my extra clothes at the aid station as it was getting quite warm. I grabbed an extra bottle of gatorade and water to go, and I'm glad I did because it did heat up by halfway through the second loop.

On the second loop I took it easier on the uphill section and ate and drank a lot, which helped me run my last 10K leg of the loop in the same time as I ran that stretch in the first loop! I was very proud of that even split. I finished in 5:18, which is 55 minutes slower than my best time on the trail back 7 or 8 years ago, but like I said I need to get over myself.

Three more weeks to the Old Pueblo 50 miler. A bit of speedwork might help me feel less like a trail snail. I have a long way to go, as it's been 3 years since I did any real speed training.

Keith Wieck, Brian's dad, with me after I finished.







Brian and Alene.













Brian at the awards. Joan (Brian's mom) is taking the wine out of the box for the lucky raffle winner.



The start and finish line area.









Desert scenery in the McDowells. It's been the inspiration for many of my paintings.











"George", the rubber rattlesnake. He's been used at the finish line and various other places for years.

I didn't get to see Woofie. He had a mishap, he was having some pain in his leg early in the race and decided to call it a day rather than risk injury. I made it a point to see Houdini, the gila monster who lives at the park visitor center. Woofie is Houdini's sponsor. He's donated all the funds to provide Houdini with a home and to be well taken care of by the park staff.

Houdini's "home" at the visitor center.






Houdini through the glass. He was hiding.





Houdini sticks his head up to check things out.






No ice sheets here in Paradise.

The 3rd Annual Human Powered Brewery Tour

What do the beer fairy, the queen of Wal-Mart, and Spiderman have in common? And what was this odd assortment of characters doing running down the streets of Old Town Fort Collins today?



Today was the third annual Human Powered Brewery Tour, and a group of about 30 runners and other bipedal human powered creatures participated as a fundraiser for ALS.

We go on so many training runs and take our running and racing seriously, but it has to be fun. Pounding out thousands of miles every year on the roads has to be fun if it's worth the effort we put into it. Every once in a while you have to do something different. Why not have fun and make it help someone who can't run?



The tour, similar to Tour de Fat, a huge bicycle event in the fall, was organized by Scott and Celeste as a fundraiser.

We started at New Belgium Brewery around 11:00 this morning. The sister of Fort Collins' lastest claim to fame joined us for the tour, Connie in her Balloon Girl costume, with the balloon tied to her neck nearly hanging her from one of the big old cottonwoods lining the streets where we ran.

At New Belgium Connie won the costume contest.

Connie, Rebekah, me, Cat, & Pablo.






Half the group at the start of the tour.













Cat (beer fairy), Rebekah (not sure- was she St. Pauli Girl?), and Connie (Balloon Girl).

Pablo as Spiderman.

Arriving at New Belgium.

On the road to the Fort Collins Brewery.







Celeste. (Eddie, Scott, Connie, and Felix in the background)





The costume award at New Belgium.




Me, Connie, and Pete.






Bringing your husband along on the tour does not guarantee he'll drink your leftover beer.

I tried an India Pale Ale at New Belgium. It was mediocre. I love good India Pale Ale, but generally I am not a big beer drinker. I can usually only drink about 6 ounces, at that point I feel good and if I drink an entire 12 ounce beer by myself, that's too much for me.

After some socializing, the costume contest, and some beer tasting, it was time to hit the road for the mile or so to Fort Collins Brewery.

The Beer Fairy (Catharine) and the queen of Wal-Mart (me) arriving at the Fort Collins Brewery.

I tried a Pomegranate Wheat beer at Fort Collins Brewery. Hmmm.





Dennis V. from Runner's Roost




All of us at Fort Collins Brewery. We were only at our second stop on the tour, but everyone looks toasted.

Soon it was time to hit the road again, back toward Old Town, to Odell's Brewery. I like some of their beers. Dennis and I used to bring home a case of 90 Schilling to Arizona when we used to come up to Colorado for vacations. I also like their India Pale Ale. But I needed to try some different beers.

Connie and Cat.






Lisa, Rebekah, and Eddie.






I ended up trying both the Cutthroat Porter (too smoky) and Five Barrel Pale Ale (ugh, not like India Pale Ale).






The group at Odell's.

Soon it was time to move on to the last stop on the tour, Coopersmith's. We were all hungry. Scott brought snacks for everyone but we were all starving by then. It was after 2:00 and all we had was beer.

Connie, Pete, and me at Coopersmith's. We got there first, most motivated by food.






After twenty years of marriage and four breweries, he's still with me. It must be the food.




The beer fairy at her last stop on the tour.




The hungriest of the group arrived early at Coopersmith's.


The group at Coopersmith's, still smiling at 4 pm.




The Queen of Wal-Mart comes home to the Buffaloes, a happy ending to a fun day.

TGIF

February!

The days are getting longer, only another 5 weeks to daylight savings time, the sun is higher in the sky, the squirrels and birds are getting more active, and the frozen tundra of dog poop in the back yard is slowly melting, but not enough yet for the big spring cleanup.

This winter has been consistently colder and we are not seeing 50 degrees temperatures like we normally would. Everything is still icy and frozen, and the sidewalks are still treacherous in shady areas under trees. Today I noticed in the paper that last year on this day the high temperature was 62 degrees, today's expected high was 42.

I started getting grumpy a few weeks ago with the frozen ice shelf in the front yard, down the street in front of my house. It looks like Antarctica out there.

Last Friday, the 29th, Cat and I did a 50 mile training run. It was a gorgeous day, we started out in fog and ice, our hair and faces looked like frosted little old ladies with our ice beards and frozen spaghetti hair. I felt like a grumpy old lady at first because the sidewalks in Fort Collins and bike path in Loveland were so icy.

We broke the run up into 3 legs of 25, 15 and 10 miles. In between each we stopped at my house for a quick change of clothes and some food and drinks.

We started at my house 7 am in the fog and ran down to Loveland. We forgot our cameras! First we ran to Loveland, to Eisenhower & Denver, stopping into a coffee shop where we entertained all the patrons with our ice princess look. We tried to take a picture with Cat's cell phone but it wouldn't work. We froze our butts off on the way down. The low points of the hills along Lemay and then the bike path along Boyd Lake were several degrees colder than the tops of the hills, and the sun wouldn't break through the fog. We kept begging it to come out but it wouldn't.

We both felt good on the first 25 mile stretch and we made great time.

We got back to my house in the cold sunshine. It was a bit warmer on the way back from Loveland, but we still wished we had brought more clothes. Cat had a sandwich at my house and I had some soup. We packed extra warm clothes on the way out for the next leg, west along the Spring Creek Trail to Hughes Stadium, because we anticipated wind.

Slowly we started to warm up on the way out. As we approached the west end of the Spring Creek Trail, we both started having a bad patch. I felt like I should have eaten more before I left the house. We kept telling each other it's downhill all the way home. We both suffered a bit on this stretch. We got back to my house with 40 miles behind us, knowing we had only 10 to go. We both ate again and packed more warm clothes and lights for when it got dark.

The last 10 mile out and back we decided to repeat the Spring Creek Trail because it was close to rush hour and we wanted to avoid traffic. This time we didn't have to go as far. The sun set around the time we hit our far point at about 45 miles on the Spring Creek Trail. The sunset was a spectacular clear pink-peach-purple and when we turned around to run the last 5 miles back to my house we were both surprised by the big full moon.

I didn't realize it but it was a full moon again for my long run this month. We both felt recharged by this point and picked up the pace on the way back. We got back to my house by 6:30 pm, giving Cat a PR for the 50 mile distance! Not bad to do that in a laid back training run, with plenty of stops and breaks.

I was tired over the weekend but I maanaged to get out and run with The Buffaloes. Only 2 weeks to the Pemberton Trail 50K in Arizona. I hope I'll feel decent. It's hard coming back after a year of doing no ultras. I did feel better today.

This morning we woke up to TGIF day, February 1st, and we're celebrating. The Buffaloes did a longer run, then I sat in the hot tub while Isabelle sunbathed in the yard. She's waiting for the big thaw too.

Bootstraps

Despite the Horatio Alger myth that a few people still cling to, in the world we live in, you can't pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

No one does it all alone, everyone needs help to get somewhere. No one ever achieved anything in this world without having some basic support to lean on, whether it's a family source of money, connections to other people, a solid secure upbringing, combined with good health and a little luck.

For anyone who struggles, whether it's from being impoverished, poor education, lack of parenting, addiction, abuse, mental health conditions, or whatever it is, it's not possible in this world to achieve a secure, stable, comfortable quality of life all on your own. Yes it does take a certain amount of self-discipline and motivation, but having the power and resources at your disposal to really succeed at changing your circumstances requires help from other people. No one exists in a vacuum.

The AIR Foundation seeks to help individuals rise out of homelessness and addiction through

Activity Inspired Rehabilitation

This Denver-based organization helps people who are in recovery programs train for marathons, to help them work toward gaining the building blocks needed to succeed in the world. Some of the AIR Foundation's goals include assisting people in recovery with goal-setting, self-confidence, self-discipline, teamwork, giving support and encouragement, providing connections with the community, and helping them navigate a path to success to rebuild their lives and thrive.

Last Saturday, members of the Fort Collins Running Club and other local runners joined members of The AIR Foundation and it's founder, ultrarunner Nick Sterner, for a run at Horsetooth Reservoir on a cold, windy day. About 25 people came out for the run.












photo credit: AIR Foundation and Fort Collins Running Club by Nick Sterner
At the end of 2008, this organization lost it's funding. The smiles, determination, and positive attitudes of the participants who joined us showed what a great program this is, giving people hope and support that they use for success. One of the participants proudly announced that he is about to graduate from the program, and he's been clean and sober for 16 months as a result of being involved with the AIR Foundation. I could see and feel his enthusiasm in his encouragement of the other runners as he powered up the steep hills above the reservoir.

If you're interested in supporting the efforts of The AIR Foundation, go to their website.

This organization is helping people locally, and the evidence is in the smiles of the participants who are so proud of their accomplishments. Anyone who struggles deserves a chance. For anyone who struggles with addiction, it often takes much more than one chance, and this program is giving a chance to real people, real human beings, who might otherwise still be out on the streets and living with no hope.

It's worth supporting with whatever you can give.

Because every human being deserves to be this comfortable.