Hissy Fit!

Today was one of those loosey-goosey mornings.

I took the girls out for their morning run, and Isabelle wanted to come home after 2 miles, so we went home and then I went back out with Iris. Iris has a way of finding the geese, with her built-in GPS app, which means goose poop sniffing if you're new to the blog.

After four straight weeks of high mileage, it's my easy week, and all I wanted to do was get some quick speedwork in at the track this morning. I decided to do 16 x 200 meters, just for the turnover. Last week I did a few, just to get a feel for the pace, in 44-45 seconds.

The geese had taken over the track again, and there were just a few people on the track when I started my workout. There was this one VERY ANNOYING older woman, I've seen her before at the track, a few years ago. She loves to run and walk in the opposite direction of everyone, in lanes 1 and 2!

She doesn't seem to understand basic track etiquette, and the safety aspect seems to be lost on her. All she needs is to run into someone, she's a hip fracture waiting to happen. She'll run in lane 2, but she veers into lane 1 on the curves, even when someone is coming in the opposite direction! I watched her do that to another runner who was out there while I was warming up.

I need to have my elbows sharpened. She almost collided with me on the curve once. I wanted to say something to her, because she doesn't get it. I debated whether to talk to her. I wonder if someone already has. I am sure there are runners a lot less tolerant than I am.

I think it's great that she's out there doing it, she does a long consistent workout, but how stupid can you be, when there are people half your age and BIGGER than you running FAST in the counterclockwise direction, and you decide to wobble in the same lane going clockwise!!

It's one thing to run clockwise in the outer lanes when you warm up as long as you avoid anyone working out in those lanes going the counterclockwise direction. She left, fortunately, before I got too far into my workout, and I didn't bother to say anything. I'd hate to discourage her from doing her workouts. I wonder what she'd do if a whole track team showed up.

I ran about a 3 mile warmup, changed into my Adrenalines, and did some strides. The geese were pissed off. As I did my warmup in the outer lanes, after a few laps this one long-necked goose kept hissing at me. Once I was settled into my workout, he got a few of his friends in on the hissing, and soon I had two or three geese who opened their pink mouths and hissed at me every time I went by. They wouldn't approach me in the track lane, but they stayed on the grass in the infield as they ate. They stopped eating to hiss each lap.

I took it as a compliment, they were cheering for me.

This morning, cheered on by the hissing geese the whole time, I started out at 44 seconds and worked my way down to 41 seconds by the end.

Afterwards I drove home and felt like I'd done enough for the day. I got 11 miles in. When I got home, I looked at the bottoms of my shoes.

I wonder how much faster I would have been without all that goose poop!

After today's 11 miles, and 10 yesterday, preceded by 3 days off, I think I've rested well! I worked Wednesday, but Monday and Tuesday it was snowy and cold and I was tired, so I took advantage of the not-so-nice weather and took some much needed days off.

It's Superbowl weekend, and it's my work weekend. I'm anticipating the weekend with a bit of dread, because we tend to be busy and understaffed. But what I'm really dreading is the work hangover on Monday. Next week I don't have time for a work hangover, too much going on.

The other running news is that (1) today the Badwater race application period begins. No, I'm not applying this year. I'm hoping to make it out there this July to volunteer on medical again, if I can get away because of our work mandate of no vacation in July. This isn't a vacation, it's a professional activity, that will be my excuse. Let's hope it works.

(2) I have signed up again this year for the Team Gab Virtual Race to benefit Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation in honor of Gabby Gonzalez, daughter of Heather at 365 Days of Awesome. Last year I ran a 5K with a retro 80's theme. This year, I'll be doing the Pemberton 50K. Not sure if I'll have a costume or not, but we'll see. I have a week to figure it out.

Anyone can join, so if you're so inclined and care about this cause, I encourage you to visit her blog and check it out.

Happy Superbowl Running Weekend!

Frost Giant Races: Double Groundhog Day

One of the local, annual running events is the Frost Giant in Estes Park, the last Sunday in January. It features 5K & 10K races, with a late morning start, and staggered an hour apart so it is possible to run both races. The race is guaranteed to start regardless of the weather.

Estes Park is about 40 miles from Fort Collins, you have to drive to Loveland, then take highway 34 west, up Big Thompson Canyon, noted for steep rock walls and bighorn sheep sightings. It's not a bad drive, except on summer weekends when everyone on the planet wants to go to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Estes Park is at 7500 feet elevation, so if you live in the flatlands like we do, or worse, come up from sea level, it adds the challenge of breathing with less oxygen. Top that off with steep hills and a challenging, partially cross-country race course, and you get a workout.

I used to run this race most years, but the past several years I haven't, due to my ankle. Dennis used to hold the course record here, I'm not sure if he still does, but we used to both enjoy coming to this race. He has the upper respiratory crud right now, so he stayed home, plus he is barely running enough to call it running, he's still fighting plantar fascitis following his foot fracture last summer.

This year the courses were mostly dry, both races are on pavement for the first and final miles, with a steep uphill for the first mile and a steep downhill for the last. The second mile in the 5K and the middle 4 miles of the 10K are through grassy, hilly, uneven, bumpy, muddy, snowy terrain that challenges anyone with the best fitness and strongest ankles. The bonuses of jumping over prairie dog holes and cowpies are included at no extra charge...

I signed up for both races, of course, I figured I'd do 15 miles today to round out a 90 mile week, actually that's 90 miles in 5 days. I didn't get a real tempo run in this week so I thought these two races, with their effort, would make up for that workout.

I was not disappointed.

When I arrived in Estes Park, it was 34 degrees, with a strong wind, a few snowflakes were flying around but it was mostly sunny. I signed up for both races, got my race bibs and tshirt, and went out to run the 5K course as a warmup. I wore my lightweight Brooks Adrenalines thinking that course was all road. They have changed the courses since I last ran it.

Going up the first steep hill from Town Hall, you see the rock formations on Lumpy Ridge, with the Twin Owls. You also see the Stanley Hotel, where the movie The Shining was filmed. The 5K now goes off the road and up a steep little dirt road, then turns and heads down through a lumpy, bumpy grassy meadow until it rejoins the paved road for the last mile.

I saw several runners from the Fort Collins Trail Runners and the Fort Collins Running Club, I talked to several of them before the race. There were a lot of fast trail runners there from Fort Collins. This was their kind of terrain.

I was a little nervous about my ankle in the Adrenalines, but it was only a mile of cross country in the 5K and it really wasn't too bad, so I decided to stay in those for the 5K. I decided I would change back into my tanks, the Addictions, for the 10K, since it would be 4 miles on unknown terrain.

It turned out to be a good call. I ran the 5K pretty well, even though my legs burned going out in the first mile. I'm a terrible cross country runner, so I got passed by a gazillion people in the second mile, and then I passed them all again on the way back down in the last mile. The 5K was done in 26:31, and that was a lot harder than any tempo run effort. The freezing headwind in the second mile was an added bonus.

I had about a half hour to get ready for the 10K, so I changed my shoes and then changed into a dry bra and shirt, just for comfort. The wind was biting cold, but only when it was in your face. Right before the start of the 10K, I felt a little lightheaded and hungry. I didn't have enough time to run back to my car and grab a fig bar, I thought, I'll be okay, it's just an hour run at the most.

As we lined up for the 10K, someone said we are crazy for going out and doing it again, but doubling it. I thought, it's like Double Groundhog Day, if you screw it up the first time, you're doomed to repeat it, but you have to double it.

The start of the 10K was on a different road, even steeper than the 5K start. For a fleeting moment as we ran by the parked cars, I thought of stopping and grabbing that fig bar. But I didn't.

I thought I was going to die in that first mile of the 10K. I felt like I was crawling uphill. Everyone else around me was, too, though. Once we leveled out on the main road I felt better. When we hit the meadow, I started to worry about my ankle. It felt fine. I kept pushing as hard as I could, without feeling like I would twist something. The 4 mile meadow section was the longest 4 mile stretch I can ever remember, in any race. I thought it would never end.

Up the hill in one direction, then down the hill, up another hill in the shade on pine needles and snow, then down the hill into the freezing headwind on lumpy grass and cowpies. Up the hill on bumpy grass and prairie dog holes, then down the hill into the freezing wind again through mud and sudden twisting curves in the course. It was long slow torture. I haven't run on a cross country course in years, I haven't even run trails much at all since I screwed up my ankle 4 years ago.

So...this was a challenge. Fortunately my ankle tolerated it well and I made it through the slowest, toughest run I've done in years. When we finally got to mile 5 and we turned away from the icy headwind and hit the pavement again, I blasted down the hill, again passing everyone who passed me in the meadow. I finished the 10K in 58:22. Still a much harder effort than any tempo run.

After the race I was talking with a group of runners from the Fort Collins Trail Runners, and one of them had baked cookies and she offered me one. It saved my life, plus it was totally delicious, peanut butter oatmeal M & M or something like that, so good. I didn't catch that runner's name but I thank her.

As you look toward the right in this picture, you can see the lower part of the meadow we ran through in the 10K. The course made several convoluted turns that resulted in running cross-country, up and down these steep hills.

As it turned out I placed first in the 40-49 age group in the 5K, and second in that age group for the 10K. Age group placings used to not mean much to me, except for now, what they mean is when I'm at the upper end of my age group and winning, I'm faster than almost everyone within 10 years of my age in that race. Except I did get sharpei'd in a big way though, by one super fast woman in her 50s, in the 5K. But I still have two years of Frost Giants to catch up!

I finished up my cooldown miles, and drove down the canyon back home. Survived another 90 mile week, next week I will take it easy. Time for soup, shower, sleep, Buffaloes, and maybe a beer.

Looking Brighter

The light was visible well before 7:00 this morning. It hit me that February is right around the corner. This winter is going to fly by.

Friday morning I went to the CSU track and ran into Mike from Front Range Rambler. He was blasting relentless intervals. I'm glad I saw him doing that because it must have motivated me. I started my 400s and was completely shocked at my splits, consistent 95 seconds, except for two at 94, when last week I could barely get under 100. I didn't take much rest, same as last week.

Last week I did 20 of them, and they were all so slow, I felt like it was a huge uphill climb to get my legs to turn over again. But this was awesome! Still, nowhere near what I used to do, but much closer. I think it will take running my 400s consistently in the 80s before I'll feel like I've progressed speed-wise.

So much for doing 20 of them at this pace, though. The leg burn came back early, after just 8 of them, and I decided to mess with my plan. I rarely do that, but I felt like since I was faster, strong and consistent, I should stay that way, and not exhaust myself to the point of slowing down by trying to do 20, which would defeat the purpose of doing speedwork.

What I did: As soon as I felt like there was no way I could continue blasting them out at that pace, I switched to 200s. I cranked out eight 200s in 45 seconds, consistently, with a couple of them under 45. I have to thank Mike for inspiring me.

Then I switched back to easy running the rest of the cooldown and I went home and took the girls for a few easy miles. Ended up with almost 16 for the day.

This morning I went out and ran 21.5 miles, to Loveland and back via the Power Trail again. I felt pretty good, kept it relaxed and consistent, I actually had a negative split without trying. Tomorrow the plan is to go up to Estes Park and run both the 5K and 10K events at the Frost Giant races. I love the late start, 11 am and noon for the two races, and it's always fun to get out of town and run this event.

I feel a little less irritable than earlier this week. Maybe I just needed more endorphins. I've been running mega miles and even though I'll only have about 90 for the week, that's in just 5 days of running, since I don't run on my two work days.

Next week will be my rest week. And then after that, it's a big week with lots of miles and a 50K in Arizona. Warm weather, I hope.

With all the rain they've been getting down there lately, I'm hoping some of the early poppies will be blooming in the park by race day. Undeniable spring.

Power!

This is the view from the bottom of the Power Trail where it hits Trilby Road, looking at Longs Peak. I've been spending a lot of time on it lately, because of the ice on the streets. But we lucked out with a streak of warmer weather this week. I actually ran in a t-shirt today, for part of my afternoon run.

I don't know what happened to the weather forecast but we were supposed to have a warm day, nearly 70 degrees on Wednesday. It never got there, not even close. But maybe I missed it because I took a long nap in the afternoon.

Wednesday I started out by running 5+ miles with the girls and after that I could no longer function. Laundry and dishes were the limits of my cognitive abilities. And Wheaties Boy was unfortunately sidetracked last night for our tempo. So I went out after my nap and put in another 11 miles but didn't run hard. I ran easy, did a lot of thinking and obsessing about silly and not-so silly things.

It was probably good for me to take it easy. I've been busy with a lot of things. Work has been kind of snarly lately. Morale isn't all that good. One thing they sprung on us at our staff meeting on Wednesday morning, that really irritated me, along with everyone else, was that they are going to limit vacations in May, June, and July this year. It wasn't so bad at first when they told us that would be the case for the month of July this year. So then everyone made their plans to do things in May and June.

But because we are switching over to a new computer system, and they need to do the training in May and June, it will take extra hours off the unit. So then they need to be able to staff for that in the unit, and that will require us to work extra to fill in for the people who are training. So now people are PISSED.

I'm sorta pissed too, because back in November I put in for time off at the beginning of May to go run Cornbelt. I don't know when I'll find out if I can have it off. I'll wait to sign up until I hear. But a lot of people put in for real vacations too. May and June are full of family events, weddings, school graduations, etc. Like I said, people are pissed. Plus I already know that going out to Badwater might be a problem this summer, too, with the no vacation rule.

There have been so many changes, and they are asking us to do so much more with less, and people don't deal with change very well anyway, so it's really hard to be at work these days with so much griping. I try not to add to it at work, I just think of it as surfing, riding the waves, but sometimes you start to feel taken advantage of. Especially nurses.

So, I was pissed about that and processed it through my head as I was running last night, and then I was also thinking about this article I read in the paper, that Felix posted to my Facebook page. Yesterday I touched on the gun arguments in my blogpost and I never read the paper until late in the day but what a coincidence when I discovered this.

You know, it can be pretty scary to walk through Walmart with Spongebob lurking around every corner. If someone has a concealed weapon I won't know about it. But walking around with a visible rifle? That's dumb. I was thinking about that while running.

So my mood had not improved much last evening. I came home after the run, went to bed, and woke up too early today.

This morning I took the girls out for 2 1/2 miles around 9:00 and again I was worthless. I wanted to do hills, but I couldn't function. So at 10:00 I went back to bed and then woke up around 12:45 and went out for my run. I did 18 1/2 miles of short rolling hills, on the Power Trail and south of town on the way to Loveland.

I pushed hard on all the uphills, and after 13 miles I was hurting. I kept going, and pushing the hills, but those last 5 miles at the top of every hill I'd get a little past the crest and then I'd have to stop and catch my breath while my legs burned until I recovered some. I'd be doubled over, trying to breathe, and my legs were on fire.

It took me just a little over 3 hours to do that run. It gave me 21 miles for the day. I followed the run up with picking up freshly thawed dog poop in the yard. Gotta stay ahead of it when we have the thaw, otherwise we'll be buried in dog poop by spring.

That's my life this week. Sorta feels soft but cold, like freshly thawed dog poop. I hope it's just the hormones.

Work Hangover Wednesday: Bite Me!

Go ahead, make my day!

I'm in an extraordinarily foul mood today. I have a brutal work hangover and I need a nap, bad. The world needs me to take a nap.

After two long, busy, exhausting days topped off by a patient who tried several times to bite me, and other miscellaneous circus-like activity at work, I was ready to blow holes in the roof when I got home last night at 8:50 pm. Plus I had to be back in the morning for a 2 hour staff (antibiotic resistant staph) meeting that started at 7 am.

So I barely got enough sleep to open my eyes this morning, and I stumbled out of bed at 6 to get my butt out the door to the meeting. Two hours in a meeting makes me want to bang my head against the desk until I pass out.

Do not mess with this mom of Buffaloes.

When I got home from the staph meeting it was daylight and I saw the community mailbox in our front yard. Some dimwit tagged it overnight. We don't see too much of this in our neighborhood but every so often some dumbass will do this to a fence or the sidewalks. This time they got it on the mailbox that happens to sit in our front yard. If I catch the little motherfucker in my front yard I'll blow him away with an AK47. GO AHEAD, MAKE MY DAY.

Before you think I'm serious, I probably wouldn't be able to figure out how to shoot the damn thing. I will never own a gun and I have no use for one. I have never shot anything other than a water gun or a cap gun since I was a kid playing with my brother's toys. Personally, I hate guns. I tolerate their existence as possessions of other people, is all. If it were up to me, there would be no guns. Ever.

Actually here's another good reason NOT to allow guns. If they get in the wrong hands, like a RPB like myself today, they could do a lot of damage. I haven't even gone into the gun issue on this blog and really had planned to avoid it. Actually I think my bare hands could do more damage than a gun if I ran into this little booger with the spray paint can today.

But since we're talking about guns, I'll just say that I think the display of paranoia by a small percentage of the population regarding the gun issue, namely those who are comparing Obama to Hitler, Stalin and such, like the Wayne LaPierres of the world, is a good reason why THOSE exact people, the assault weapon and gun proliferation advocates themselves, SHOULD NOT be allowed to have guns in their possession. They are delusional and just plain bat shit crazy.

If we've come to the point where we need guns in schools, it's time for a nuclear flattening of the planet and let some other life form with far greater intelligence than humans start over in a galaxy far, far away.

Unless, of course, those crazies were willing to turn those guns on themselves, which would allow them to be Darwin Award recipients, and remove themselves from the gene pool, greatly improving the future prospects of this country.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Tank Girl at the Track

At the track this clear and cold morning I did 20 x 400 meters and I was just finishing up when the CSU distance runners showed up to do their warmup. I did my cooldown run in the outer lane while I watched them begin their workout.

My own workout was consistent, but slow. In this first workout of 400 meter repeats, I was running each of my 400s about 8 to 10 seconds slower than I was 6 years ago. Again, this is my baseline workout, just seeing where I am. I feel strong, but so slow. My legs don't want to turn over like they used to. Not that I was ever fast, or had good turnover, but these days as I struggle to regain some speed, I feel like a tank.

Janay DeLoach, our local Olympic bronze medalist in the long jump, was also working out at the same time. She is beautiful to watch running, pure speed, and so graceful on the track. It looks effortless, like she doesn't even touch the ground- she appears to be gliding above the surface of the track, so smooth, it's a hard contrast betwen her and the average plodding runner, even one with a little speed.

She has so much strength, driving her arms and legs, each moving forward in a perfect plane, with no wasted motion. Watching her go from fast to all-out, you'd think she flipped a switch somewhere and all of her body went along with it, there was no awkwardness, no digging in, no effort visible whatsoever.

There I was, the tank, clunking along on the track, compared to her.

It was fun to watch the team working out too, reminds me of the days when I was an assistant coach at Western State and everyone on the team encouraging each other, yelling until they were hoarse, all working together to perform at their best.

For some reason this past week sleep has been an issue. I haven't been sleeping long enough at night and I haven't been able to go down for a nap in the afternoon, I haven't been relaxed enough, or something. Not sure if it's due to an increase in mileage, or again, those evil hormones. Probably the evil hormones. I don't have anything super stressful going on.

I went in for my annual physical this afternoon. I'll have to go get a million labs drawn sometime in the near future where some phlebotomist vampire will suck out all my hemoglobin in little tubes and reduce my oxygen carrying capacity. I need every red blood cell, I don't have any to spare. I didn't go get my blood drawn today, I'm too dehydrated and they wouldn't be able to find my veins.

But I did have to pee in a cup. It's torture, I tell you, sort of like in the movie Tank Girl, where they are so desperate for water that they'll drain all the fluids out of your body and all that's left is a heap of powdered remains.

Tonight I followed up with an 8 mile run, giving me 21 miles for the day. All that's left on the agenda is sushi, and then rehydrating myself with WATER... and then sleep.

A Very Proud Day

Groundbreaking, Poudre Valley Cancer Center. A seven year buildup to this day. Hundreds of people involved in the planning. Over 3500 individual donors.

Construction will now be underway in building this facility, which will serve the people of northern Colorado and outlying communities. Opening date in 2014.

There are several longtime readers of this blog who have contributed to this effort as donors, and I'd like to thank them for their generosity, even though they don't even live here and might never benefit directly from it.

Cancer touches everyone, and no one is immune from it, eventually someone they know or love will have cancer and it will impact everyone around them.

A few pictures from the day follow: it was a nice warm sunny day, fortunately, because the heated tent was nowhere near big enough to accomodate all the people who showed up for the event. There was a donor brunch in the morning with several videos and speakers, and a public groundbreaking in the afternoon, with more speakers, followed by the hardhats and shovels.

There were 3500 donors to the Cancer Center, but many more small gifts add up to more uncounted donors. The Save Change program yielded $85,000, throughout the community. The local schools raised the bulk of these funds, so many committed and dedicated kids.

Small steps really do add up. Remember there are so many steps in a mile, and if you just multiply those by 100, you'll know how many steps there are in a 100 mile run.

If you want to accomplish something big, break it down into small steps, but most important of all, don't put off starting. If you wait, it might never happen.

Start today.