A Good Day for Snakes

I took this picture of a 4 foot bull snake on my run this morning at Horsetooth. If you look at about 2:00 from the shadow of my head, you can see the snake's head.

Yesterday and today I had decent runs. They weren't fast, but I felt better. I was feeling like crap for the past few weeks. Finally I decided to take a day off Friday and we went up to the cabin and hiked with the girls. Then Saturday I had a slow, but decent run where I felt stronger, on the Power Trail.

Then this morning I went up to Horsetooth Reservoir and ran hills, pushing a little harder over the tops, just a single out and back on the road to the north dam, about 10 miles. I felt so much better today, and the pace on the hilly run was faster than I've run all week, by a lot. I don't know what got into me, but maybe I'm finally turning the corner.

It was a gorgeous day at the reservoir. I got up there a little late but it wasn't too hot. Perfect for snakes, and people, too. I carried one water bottle and that was all I needed.

Today is our 23rd wedding anniversary and it's also our ultrarunner friend Kirk Apt's birthday. Happy birthday, Kirk.

Seeking Peace at the Grassroots

I've retreated to the woman cave for the evening.

Today was a weird day, I didn't have energy for anything physical. I don't know what was wrong. I was tired, and I felt like I needed more sleep. I did get up early and started writing by 6:15, and didn't stop until after 10:30. Then I took Iris out for a quick run, as Isabelle did not want to go despite my offer to take her to Starbucks. It was getting warm.

After I brought Iris home I went back out intending to do 10 miles but I didn't feel like it was going to happen. I got to the Power Trail and was dragging my butt. So I turned around and came home. I decided a nap might be a better idea. I didn't feel ready to take a nap though, so I ate lunch and read a few articles out of my literature review and then played with the girls.

I finally got into bed around 3:30 pm and slept until 5:30. Then Dennis came home and I wanted to go for a run, but I still didn't feel like running. So I went out and walked. I needed to think, anyway, so I thought a walk would be perfect for getting into my thoughts. Unfortunately I couldn't get a peaceful moment. I walked through the neighborhood, past the Mormon church and to the schoolyard, and there was noise everywhere.

The most obnoxious of which was the ice cream truck. I can't believe those things still exist. They are so loud and annoying, playing that tune, whatever it is, over and over. I could hear it from blocks away. And finally when I got about a mile from my house, I could hear it again, it followed me! Aaargh! Then there were a lot of kids playing in the streets, on bikes and skateboards. School is out so it's much more lively in our neighborhood. I finally decided to just go home because I wasn't getting the quiet I needed in order to lose myself in my thoughts.


The flowers are going crazy in the garden. All the purples bloomed first and now the oranges and pinks are coming out.



I'm pleased that the words have been pouring out of me. I was looking at the grass and thinking about the concept of grassroots. It's what fuels my passion. I so believe in the power of people, that it can be harnessed to create good, to improve things for other people in ways that big organizations and institutions don't accomplish.


That's why I like Pearl Izumi, and being part of what they call their grassroots team, of runners in the community who can talk to other runners, being more in touch than having only elite runners represent them. To ordinary runners, it can be intimidating to approach an elite runner, no matter how down to earth that person is. I was just thinking of Scott Jurek at Runners' Roost a few weeks ago and how some of the people at the gathering acted like he had some kind of magic aura surrounding him, that he wasn't really REAL, but he was the friendliest, most approachable guy you could imagine. Another human being. Same flesh.

Being a nurse, you come to understand how other people are really made of the same flesh. They hate to be poked by needles, hate invasive procedures, have the same fears for themselves, their health, their families, and are afraid of the things they don't understand. They can be taught, explained to, communicated with, and their anxieties relieved to varying extents. Every single person, regardless of where they stand on the socioeconomic ladder, is made of the same flesh. It is my sincerest belief that all people need the same thing, to be treated with the same care and respect, and that no one deserves better or worse treatment because of where they came from, what they have or don't have as far as things, money, or talents, or what they look like.

So before I depart from this topic of nursing, that I've beating into the ground both on and off this blog, I want my readers understand where I'm headed. I have plenty to say about nursing and I'm saying it all the time now, in a different place from here. I just feel that there are things that need to be said here, to wrap up that topic, to illustrate what drives me and why, and how it relates to running for me.

I feel that a grassroots approach is needed to transform nursing as a profession, and my project off this blog right now is focused on working toward that. There are a lot of people working on it besides me, but my piece of it is a personal writing project. Nurses are hurting everywhere and need advocacy for their own survival. Nurses spend all their time advocating for patients under conditions that are far from ideal or even helpful for providing effective patient care, so nurses need advocates for themselves. Otherwise I think much of the profession is doomed to obsolescence.

If you're not familiar with Amanda Trujillo, she is a nurse in Arizona who was fired over her attempts to advocate for a patient. She is still fighting the Arizona Board of Nursing. Arizona is a backward state in many ways, I know that from living there myself. It's a fascinating, but sad and frustrating story. She's paid a huge personal price for her refusal to back down and continues to stand up for what she believes is right. If you click on her name above you can go to her blog and find out more about her story. I want to share an excerpt from what she says, she so inspires me. I've used this piece with permission from Amanda, so I thank her again. I believe in my heart that she will end up on the right side of history. Amanda advocates for a grassroots approach to changing nursing.

"The most important thing….I’ve learned…is to never stop talking, never stop putting your passion and ideas out there—-Never let your voice, your heart, be silenced. The moment it happens happens you are invisible to the profession–both its present and future. With each nurse who is rendered silent we lose a shade of color from the color pallete that is our profession, we become less of an art... and we become grayer…..we lose the possibilities for greatness and influence and growth, we lose out on someone’s gifts and their own unique light. With every nurse who chooses to succumb to silence we lose what could be the next great leader, the next great theorist, another potential role model….you make change by staying loud and finding a way to contribute your own gifts in your own special way, and I will debat until my last breath anyone who tells me "There is a right time and place to do it." It's BS, sorry. If there was a rule book I didn't see Martin Luther King flashing it around or Cesar Chavez recommending it to everyone during his movement either. They relied on their dreams and what they had in their spirit. ….For me, its writing…and once I get into a new home with my daughter and get settled—it will be continuing my volunteer work as a nurse, writing my nurse memoir, working with the state legislature to enact a law to protect nurses in Arizona from retaliation, and advancing NAASA–the advocacy org I want to make into a non profit. Though I have fires to put out and much going on right now I have determined what my contribution and legacy will be to Nursing and how I will have made my profession a little bit better. What I will not allow is for a profit and politically driven healthcare system to render me inept or irrelevant. I have too much love and too much passion for nursing to ever EVER allow Banner Health or any BON to do that to me or my spirit." --Amanda Trujillo

When organizations and institutions get too big and powerful, they impede progress. They get unwieldy and awkward. They become too complex, and too divided into hierarchical levels to serve at the human level. This interferes with their ability to impact individual lives in an effective way. It's part of the political and economic landscape we live in. That's not to say it's okay or forgivable to operate this way in the context of the present time. It's just the reality of what we live with now. It needs change. I intend to do whatever I can to work toward that change, in my own piece of things. Nothing changes if you keep your mouth shut. People need to be more vocal and assertive, and put more energy and force into getting their needs met. The people at the tops of organizations are human too. Same flesh.

I am hopeful that someday we will move away from the tendency to form huge conglomerates, monopolies and mergers and return control to people and their communities, for the human beings who have to live in this world. I don't know if that's too idealistic, or if it's ruined beyond change at least in my lifetime, but there has to be a breaking point.

Running is a human endeavor. It reminds you of your own strengths, weaknesses, potential, and limitations. It takes away all the crap that the outside world piles on top of us every single day. We can sweat it out and it flies off into the breeze. Running is one way of keeping yourself grounded and sane in the crazy world we live in, that takes us so far away from the human animals we are.

I think it's important to have a constant reminder of the fact that you're an animal occupying this planet, with other animals. Dogs are great for that, they make us more human, and the more we can be like them, the better off we are.


The girls are my companions, they like to go in and out the door while I work out here.

Iris has the evildoer look on her face, but she's sworn to secrecy.


I want to thank the readers of this blog for staying with me through my tangents from running. I hope I've been able to show you how, in my eyes, it's all related.

Work Hangover Wednesday: Flowers in the Fog

It's a cold day! The temperature is only in the 50s. I actually had to turn on the heat in the woman cave this morning.

This morning is a typical post-work week hangover day. I'm brain fogged and almost non-functional. I did manage to read a couple of journal articles this morning but it's so hard to concentrate. I always plan for my work hangover day by keeping my schedule open, not planning on doing anything that requires brain function, verbal interaction with other humans or sounding intelligent, and I get dishes, laundry, gardening, bill paying, and other boring but necessary things out of the way. I can usually manage an easy run in the morning, but until I get my afternoon nap I am pretty much worthless for anything productive, running-wise, or otherwise.

The past two days of work were mixed, Monday was one of those frustrating days where nothing goes smoothly. Then Tuesday was a much better day, but long and exhausting. There's always something raining down on us that's entertaining at work, especially lately, seems like we can always snarkify it for a laugh among us. That's how we survive this insane pseudoprofession called nursing with its irony, futility, and cyclical idiocy. I have diverted my energy toward a separate writing project about nursing and it's amazing how easily the words flow out of me. I couldn't wait to get back to the woman cave and start writing again, but today so far it's not happening.

It does frustrate me that I can't be more productive on that first day off work. I tried writing this morning but my thoughts were choppy, and I was having a hard time focusing on what I wanted to say. A nap will be necessary to get the brain in gear. I haven't even been out for a run yet. I think I'll wait until after the nap and then do the whole thing at once, it's so cool today it won't matter what time I go.

The flowers are getting ready to explode in the garden. Any day now.



I'm lonely this week, Wheaties Boy is taking a hiatus after toughing out a brutal run at Bryce over the weekend, I'll have to get out there and make myself run fast. My body and legs feel good, the Casper Marathon didn't seem to faze me except for being sleep-deprived. I have a track workout and a hill workout planned, other than that I'll just shoot for easy miles. This morning I did sign up for the Estes Park marathon on June 16th. If I feel halfway decent I might even be able to run it faster than Casper.



I'm sitting here in the cave having lunch with the girls. I'm looking forward to the nap and the restoration that comes with it.

Casper. WY????

Why Casper?

As it turned out, this morning for the first 15 miles of the Casper Marathon I was asking myself that exact question, over and over again.

I suppose it was convenient, it was an inexpensive trip, just a three hour drive from home, a cheap hotel room, and a training run that would keep me honest. I was afraid that given the way I've been feeling lately, if I stayed home and did a long run by myself, that I'd wimp out and only run 20 miles. I needed a longer run and I needed to push myself a little harder than I would if I ran alone.

It was actually a very well-organized race and the aid stations were abundant, simple but well-stocked, and closely spaced. The volunteers were on top of it. I never had to wait for anything, they were always ready with what we needed. There were plenty of porta-potties along the course, which I needed, so it turned out good. The course was a little boring at times, but not too bad. It got a little warm and windy toward the end, but it's June in Wyoming, what else would you expect.



I left Fort Collins around 4 pm on Saturday and drove to Casper, which is a straight shot on I-25, exactly 3 hours. I used less than one tank of gas in each direction so I never had to stop. I'd never been north of the turnoff to Lusk, Wyoming, which is just south of Douglas. That's the way I go to the Black Hills. So this was uncharted territory for me. Another adventure. Typical Wyoming scenery, big open spaces, blue sky with fluffy clouds, lots of oil and gas drilling, cows, ranches, windmills, snow fences. I think it's really beautiful there.





I had reservations at the race hotel, the Ramada. I went inside, picked up my race packet, and checked into my room. I skipped the pre-race dinner since I ate a late lunch of Mexican food with Dennis before I left town. Dennis stayed home with the girls, he was going to see his mom in Denver on Sunday.



Walking into the hotel was an odd experience. The hallways felt institutional. I felt like I was in an asylum of some sort.

When I got into my room it looked clean enough, and outside, below my window, was the finish line area. That was convenient. I had to check out by noon and that gave me 5 1/2 hours to make it back, faster if I wanted a shower. I knew that even under the worst case scenario, I could walk most of it and still get back by noon.

I got my stuff ready for the morning and I had brought a bottle of Fat Tire Ale with me. I opened it and poured the contents bit by bit into the little cardboard coffee cups in the room.

Later I discovered some mystery hairs in the bathroom, someone's hair clippings, all over the lid to the toilet seat. But other than that the room was okay. At least there was nothing living in there or growing that I could see.

I went to bed at 10 pm, but didn't sleep very well. I woke up at midnight and was awake for a while, and then my alarm woke me up at 4:45.

I woke up feeling like my guts were protesting.

Ha-ha. Very funny.

My jokester body decided to play tricks on me again, even though I wasn't racing. My girl parts figured it out though. I thought maybe it was the Mexican food, but it was menstrual cramps. Killer ones. Surprise! Except I was prepared this time...essential part of my running supplies.

So that's why I've been the random perimenopausal bitch all week. I was tired and emotional, craving carbs, and bloated up like a blimp. I never thought it was the RPB rearing her ugly head. That's always the last thing I think of, but apparently my body isn't done with it yet. I'm still as regular as my races. Every other race since last October. How does that happen?


I made my morning coffee and took a shower, got dressed and ate a Lara Bar and a couple of rice cakes with almond butter, and then it was time to go downstairs and catch the shuttle to the start. I was on the last shuttle to arrive at the start so there wasn't any time to hit the bathrooms again, and I already had to go. It was cool at the start, but it felt a lot warmer than the 36 degrees that my phone claimed it was.






I saw the first porta-potty at mile 1, but it was occupied. I thought maybe I could find another one soon, or something to duck behind. As it turned out we did a loop and came back to the same porta potty at mile 4. One person dashed in ahead of me, so I waited. I got in and out of there and got back on the road. I had to stop again and again, by about 10 miles I had already been in 4 different portapotties. It was getting ridiculous. But I was still managing to average 11 minute miles plus change despite the frequent stops.



I was feeling awful until about halfway. At one point I saw this sign on a bridge over the North Platte River and I thought it sounded like a pretty good way to put myself out of my misery. I was running the whole way, but it was slow. I didn't feel the need to take any walk breaks except when I walked through the aid stations. My legs didn't feel bad at all, just slow, the same as they've been.





I had brought some ibuprofen with me as an afterthought, but I decided against taking it, since the day was going to heat up. My indoor plumbing was tying itself in knots, it felt like it was about to drop out from between my legs and fall on the asphalt. I was drinking adequate amounts of water and taking gels at most of the aid stations. I had S caps with me. I never had any problems with the heat.

After the halfway point, which I reached in 2:25, I decided I would run the last 10 miles harder than I went out. The cramps were easing up on their own by then.

I made one last portapotty stop just before the 16 mile mark, and came up on the aid station soon after that. As I walked away with my gels and cups of water, I saw a familiar face. It was Phil Rosenstein, my Badwater/Across the Years/Lost 118/instant mashed potato buddy who is now living in Wyoming. He was out there volunteering at the race, and was going to sweep the course after the runners came through. We walked together and talked, and Karla Holgers was also out there volunteering, and she caught us and we did about a half-mile walk before I took off to run the last 10.




After seeing Phil and Karla, I felt so much better. I picked it up and averaged somewhere around sub 10 minute miles the rest of the way without too much effort. I did throw in an 8 minute mile from miles 25 to 26. I wanted to git 'er done. I passed a total of 26 people between miles 21 and 26. I was counting, to keep myself moving. The temperature was in the mid-70s and the wind picked up in the last hour or two.


I crossed the finish line in 4:44:42. I made it with enough time to spare, to get a shower. All I wanted to do was drive home, so I got my shower, checked out of the room and got home by 3 pm.

Overall, it served its purpose for me. I got my training run in, I pushed myself a little harder than I would have alone, and the big unexpected bonus was I got to see Phil annd Karla. I don't think I'll do this one again unless it's out of convenience, but I think they did a good job of putting on a low-key, well-run event.

I ended up with 64 miles of running for the week, which boosts me back into the training range. I'm considering running the Estes Park marathon on June 16th, another training run with good hills and high altitude that's only an hour from home. Even though I swore I'd never do that one again. The older you get, the worse your memory is.

Track Day, and A Fascinating Visit at CSU

Back to the track today.

I didn't expect much the way my legs have been feeling, but it turned out not so bad. I did three sets of 2000 meters, starting at 5K pace, first with a 2000 meter run, then got progressively faster with an 800 and some 400s, then finished up with 10 x 200m.

It wasn't nearly as ugly as I feared. I got 10 miles in this morning and called it good, between dog running and the track workout. I'm trying not to pile on the mileage too much early this week knowing that I have Casper on Sunday, which will give me plenty of miles. It was encouraging to feel decent in my speed work.

I've been thinking about trying some Tabata workouts, to get my butt moving a little faster, and maybe burning more fat. I'll have to be really careful with them though, and work up to the intensity, since my body has no idea what a 4:30 or 5 minute mile feels like. I'll see about that later on, if I live through Casper.



This afternoon I made a visit to the Colorado State University vet school, to the Flint Animal Cancer Center. One of my former colleagues where I work now took a job there about a year ago. She loves it and has been telling me about it, and invited me to visit. I took her up on it, so today she gave me a tour and a briefing about the facility and services, and then I attended rounds with some of the doctors and residents, surgeons and radiation oncologists, which took about an hour.



It was interesting to hear about the treatments and regimens they use, both for chemotherapy and radiation, some of them are very similar to human cancers, others are different drugs I've never heard of. They discussed some of the clinical trials and biotherapies available too. The needs of the pet owners and animals, and quality of life, were always part of the discussion.



What I was most impressed with, and hope to go back to find out more, was their program for improving communication between veterinary medicine providers and the clients, who are the owners and pet families. They have a whole institute devoted to that. They support decision making, quality of life, and palliative care needs. They have educational programs devoted specifically to teaching compassion and effective communication to health professionals, so they can do a better job of serving the needs of the client and patient. They even have a hospice program for pets.

Some of what they do for animals and their people is paralleled in human patient navigator programs, palliative care (for this you can substitute the less formidable verbiage: transitional care), and hospice, but as far as teaching effective communication and holistic talk about quality of life and decision-making, human health care seems to be far behind. Part of that is just being behind the times, and some of it is just cultural sensitivity to talking about life and death matters, something that people here in this country, and the human medical profession do not do well.

She took me on a general tour, and I got to see the critical care unit, which was interesting having formerly been an ICU nurse, I saw a dog on a ventilator for the first time, looked exactly like a human with the endotracheal tube sticking out and the ventilator giving breaths, and the monitors, tangles of IV tubing, and so on. The dogs actually looked much more comfortable and relaxed in there than any human ICU I've ever seen.

They have every specialty you can imagine, not just oncology. I had the strong feeling, after listening to the residents and the doctors who were there, that they were very much aware of the big picture of what was meaningful and compassionate care for the animals, and for their people, not just a bunch of nerdy scientists looking for research subjects.

Human medicine stands to gain a lot from veterinary medicine, and not just from research protocols for clinical trials in drug testing. There's a whole world to explore in the psychosocial dimension of cancer care where human medical professionals could improve.

I spent two hours there but could have easily spent all day, just looking at the educational posters and displays on the walls about the different research that is going on there. I'll figure out a time to go back and hopefully learn and see more.



So now I'm back home, just some easy miles the rest of the week before I leave for Casper on Saturday afternoon. I hope this marathon doesn't hurt as much as I'm afraid it will...

My Cholesterol Experiment: Case Study, Preliminary Results

I seem to have survived running hard yesterday at the Houska Houska without any ill effects. So far...

This morning I had to forego my morning coffee and go over to the lab to get my blood drawn after a 12 hour fast. I was getting my lipids re-checked, and my TSH too. I went into the Express lab at 6:40 am and it was hopping in there. Everyone must have waited until after the holiday.

After that I went back home and had my coffee, and felt much happier. I took Iris for a brief run, and then went up to Horsetooth. It was my first hill workout in way too long. Can't even remember the last time I purposely ran hills. I'm slower than a snail, but at least I got up there and did it.

On my way home my phone rang and I didn't recognize the number, so I just let it ring. Plus I don't talk on the phone and drive, I have a hard enough time just talking on a cell phone...add driving to that and it would be a disaster.

When I got home I listened to the voicemail, it was my doctor's office calling with my lab results. Only 4 hours went by since I got the blood drawn. I was amazed, I thought I'd be able to see my results at work tomorrow before they'd ever call me. Then I thought, must be something really off, to call me back that fast.

But when I talked to the nurse who works with my physician, she told me my cholesterol was in the normal range now. I couldn't believe my ears. I asked her what it was. She said, "192." And that my triglycerides, LDL, and HDL had also dropped. The HDL I can understand because I haven't been running much, and that is very sensitive to exercise, but it's still 70.

When I had my labs drawn in March, my total cholesterol was something like 257. I remember the triglycerides were normal and the LDL was high-normal at that time. My TSH has actually dropped slightly, I thought maybe it went up because of the way I've been tired in the afternoons and gained weight so easily. Having a lower TSH might have something to do with the lowered cholesterol, but I sort of doubt it because I've been more on the hyper end of things before and never had my cholesterol anywhere near that low. So I'm pretty convinced it's dietary.

When I got my lab results back in March, my doctor mentioned that going gluten free had produced some dramatic results for other patients, and she knew I didn't have much room for improvements in my diet in general. I really do eat well, and I allow myself to indulge in bad things occasionally, but not regularly. Over the past 5 weeks I've been off the wagon somewhat, and over the last week I was extra bad with the sweets and ice cream, so I was a little surprised when today's labs showed what they did.

As we talked on the phone, I told her that I had only made two dietary modifications over the past 3 months: one was no longer putting half and half in my coffee and switching to soy creamer, and the other thing is that I've been avoiding gluten. I haven't been completely gluten-free, but I have been mostly avoiding wheat and sticking to corn and rice for the majority of my carbohydrates.

What I've done is avoid eating wheat. I'm not so strict about it that I scan labels of things like soy sauce, which I know has wheat in it, and I drink beer, which is not gluten-free either. I just avoid things that are made with wheat flour and have wheat as a major ingredient.

By avoiding things made with wheat I've found that helps me avoid the bloated feeling I get when I eat things like bread and pasta, and it also helps me eliminate a lot of bad foods from my diet: baked things, cookies, and other crap that I shouldn't be eating anyway.

I do eat dairy products, but not very much. I eat cheese and yogurt occasionally, and I do eat lean red meat more often than dairy. I eat a good amount of fat, but other than the infrequent red meat and dairy sources, almost all of my dietary fat comes from olive oil, avocados, and fish. Salads and fish are probably the most frequent things you'll find on our dinner table.

This is all really interesting. I'm curious to see what happens by next year when I get my annual labs drawn again.

It has never been my intention to promote a gluten-free diet, because if you're not celiac, and not gluten-sensitive, it can be an awfully inconvenient and expensive way to feed yourself. I think I might be a little sensitive to gluten, because I've noticed that when I eat certain things I get bloated.

Pizza and bagels are the worst offenders for me. I think they are often made with high gluten flour products. I don't know if it's wheat itself that's the problem, I haven't tried a lot of the other grains simply because I'm not a big fan of flour and baked things anymore.

I also have never been one to jump on the bandwagon with the latest dietary trends like Paleo or Atkins or whatever. I do like the concept of Paleo, and there are a lot of things wrong with the commercially prepared, processed foods abundant in the American food landscape. I probably eat closer to Paleo than anything, but I'm not strict about that, either.

One thing I want to avoid is going on medications for anything unless I absolutely need them. I already take two thyroid meds and I don't buy into the statin thing, being an athlete I don't want to cause muscular problems. Some drugs, for some people, are worth taking, but I'm not into tithing for Big Pharma when I don't need to.

But I was absolutely shocked and amazed at the results of my labs this morning. Time will tell if this is a lasting change, I probably won't have another lipid panel drawn until next spring. If this is a lasting change for me, worrying about cholesterol-lowering medications is not going to be an issue.

Time will tell and this case study will go on. I intend to stick to the dietary changes I've made, and see where that goes. Dropping my cholesterol by 65 points in 3 months without drugs, hell I should write a book...

cross-posted at Ultrahypo

Houska Houska 2013: How to Chick and Motivate an Old Man

This morning was the best annual Memorial Day running event in Colorado and fundraiser for the Bone Marrow Donor program and Poudre Valley Cancer Center, the Houska Houska 5K.

There are no starting waves or qualifying times for this one. No computer chips strapped to your ankle, or mats to step on. You are more likely to fit in to the crowd here if you are wearing a costume, running with a dog on a long leash, or pushing a baby stroller with at least two kids in it.

No one knows if the course is accurate, it's pretty close, but nobody cares. There is no timing, there are no bib numbers, age groups, awards or anything found at typical running events, except for a cotton t-shirt with an original, creative design for the year's theme.

The course starts off in the grass on an overgrown two-track parallel to the railroad tracks, then makes a couple of sharp turns at 1/4 mile in, to the Poudre Trail bike path, and runs a loop through a short hill on another overgrown dirt path and re-connects with the Poudre Trail in a partial out and back course with a twist.

You finish where you started, in the lumpy, tall grass and gravel next to the railroad tracks, across from Houska Automotive, under a billboard along Riverside Avenue.

Having slept in until 5:47 am, which is about an hour and a half later than I've slept the past two days of work, I got up in the daylight, made coffee, and let Dennis sleep. I really felt like crap. I don't race this race, it's not even what you can call a race, I just run it as hard as I can and get a good workout, because you usually spend half the time weaving in and out of people, strollers, dogs, and bikes.

I was hoping I would be able to run a respectable time despite my weeks of decadence, but it's not a race at all, it's an event. There is no comparison with road 5K times. Besides, the Casper Marathon is just 6 days away to challenge me.

Dennis has been running occasionally, just a few miles with the dogs on the weekends. His foot has improved with the plantar fascitis he's had since his fracture healed last summer. He's been hinting that he feels fat, which he's not. But he is not as fit as he was a year ago, and he often talks about getting motivated to run regularly, but hasn't managed to do it.

This was his first race since he broke his foot last June. And I decided a little motivation was in order.

Once Dennis woke up, he was moving slowly. I told him I was taking Iris for a run, and that I wanted to leave by 8 so there's time to warm up. He lifted his face up from staring at the paper and gave me that blank look. He wasn't awake yet.

I said, "You know, I have a feeling about this year."

"What's that?" He looked at me over his reading glasses.

"I think this is the year I'm gonna chick you."

"You think so?" He rolled his eyes.

"Not today, because I have a work hangover and feel like crap, but today in this race, I am going to get closer to you than I ever have before in a 5K. And sometime, over this coming year, I'll beat you in a 5K. You'll get chicked by your old lady."

"No way."

"Way. I'm gonna see the whites of your eyes when you look over your shoulder."

I took Iris out for a short run and when we got back, Dennis was ready. We drove down to Houska, parked, and signed up for the run.

At the start, I lined up on the starting line, in front, next to Dennis and our friend Forrest, who is not Forrest Gump but is a fast runner. Usually I get in behind a whole bunch of kids and strollers but this time I wanted to see what happened if I got up there.

I knew I couldn't beat Dennis, not today, the way I was feeling, but I was going to give myself a challenge by seeing how close I could stay to him.

When the gun went off, I took off and basically did what is an all-out sprint for me, for the first 0.2 miles down the overgrown two-track until you make a sharp left onto Lemay Avenue before the bike path. Running down the first little hill, I was right behind Dennnis. My lungs were burning! I was in anaerobic hell. Running down the first little asphalt hill under the bridge until the bike path levels out, I was already paying for it. I laughed to myself, thinking it would be interesting to see how this run turns out.

I ran pretty fast the first mile, but no one knows where the mile mark actually is, and I didn't have GPS. I could still see Dennis's back, he was less than 100 meters ahead of me, but I was having trouble keeping a fast pace. When we were close to the turnaround point, slightly more than halfway through, Dennis was not far ahead. I forget what I said to him to taunt him when we passed each other. He was far behind the lead runners. Forrest was way ahead of him.

It took me the first mile to recover from the sprint, and by this point, all I could do was hang on. I could feel my pace slipping, and I had no idea how fast I was going. I thought of looking at my watch when I rounded the last turn at Riverside and Lemay.

I decided against it because I had to hang in there for another 0.2 miles and I didn't want to be disappointed. I shut my watch off at the finish line. Ugly. 24:51. I saw Dennis walking around in the grass, down the road, but I was hurting too much to go tease him.

As it turned out, I was right. When we met each other in a spot in the shade, we compared notes. I was exactly 2 minutes and 4 seconds behind Dennis, the closest we've ever been in a 5K. By far. He ran 22:47. I think that's a personal worst for him. But I could tell he didn't feel defeated. He was smug, I had not beat him. Not even close.

The special thing about this morning was, it's the first day of training for me. I've been a slacker for the past 5 weeks since Cleveland, and last week I ran a grand total of 18 miles. I also consumed some rather decadent things. Like ice cream. Brownies. Chocolate chip cookies. Take out Chinese food. Beer.

And these Pellegrino Passion coolers. Actually those were pretty weird.

I've been trying not to worry about it but by the end of the week I felt HEAVY. And when I thought back to my pattern of consumption over the past week, it was pretty disgusting. I decided to scare myself and got on the scale this morning for the first time since my taper. 132!!!!??? It scared me. Nine pounds up since Cleveland? In 5 weeks? Really? It was definitely sodium and fluid-related, but still.

It amazes me how my weight can fluctuate. That's why it's not a good idea to weigh yourself frequently. But it is a good idea to weigh yourself when you need a reminder of why you can not indulge in those things on a regular basis. Especially when you're running 18 miles a week. Weighing myself before running this morning's event was a wake-up call.

The first order of business is, run my ass off, drop the extra weight, and get my butt in gear.

This morning I did not allow myself to indulge in the root beer floats they always serve at Houska Houska. Dennis had a couple of Bloody Marys. We walked around and talked, enjoying the sunshine and watching people. It was a nice morning, a little warm but not too bad.



This year's theme was the Roaring Twenties, so there were lots of flappers running around.

Of course the purpose of the run is to raise money for community cancer-related services, like Bone Marrow Donation.





And Houska Houska is big for the kids- there is always cotton candy, and this year, ziplining.





Dennis and I got a picture together, at a race. Something that rarely happens.

After hanging out and socializing, we didn't get our cool down run in so I suggested we go home and do our cooldown together. I only needed to do about 4 more miles. Dennis said he would do that with me if I'd take it easy on him. Uh-huh. It was warm outside, already 80 degrees. We took off for the Power Trail and after a mile he was whining.

Yes! Whining.

Dennis never whines. I started to tell him it was because of the Bloody Marys and not eating anything. WAAAAH.

I said we could make the first mile in under 11 minutes if he picked it up. He stopped and stretched and then we kept going. We got to our two mile turnaround and started heading back. At three miles he said he'd had enough and started walking. I ran home and he showed up a few minutes later. He said, "I'm dead."

So, maybe I didn't chick him in the race but I definitely kicked his butt on the cooldown. It's that endurance thing.

My plan worked. After 23 years, I know him well enough that I know he will need to avenge this.

Back in the old days when he was running for Reebok and I was running at my fastest, we used to run together and do pickups at the end of our runs, and I'd try to outsprint him at the end. I never could beat him for anything back then, he was running regular sub-15 minute 5Ks compared to my rare sub-19 minutes. As we've both gotten slower, we were always about 4 minutes apart in the 5K. Until now.

Looks like we'll be running some 5Ks this summer.

I can't wait.

The other news is that I planted a honeycrisp apple tree the other day. It was either that or I was going to have to buy stock in Whole Foods to earn dividends off my habit. I don't think we'll get fruit this year, but in two or three years it should pay for itself.

I also planted some tomatoes, peas, spaghetti squash, jalapeno and habanero peppers, cilantro, basil, thyme, yellow squash and zucchini, and beets. And then we have the oregano and parsley and chives that come up every year. I've never had any luck with beets here, the ground is too hard, but we're going to do one raised bed this year and see how that goes. Maybe we can finally grow beets. I love them.

The raspberries started to really take off last year. I miss our yard in Arizona. If I could get grapes to grow I'd want a trellis with grapevines on it. We had amazing grapes in Arizona, everyone in the neighborhood would walk by our house and marvel at the grapes. We had a bottlebrush tree, lemons, limes, grapefruit, oranges, and grew plenty of basil, tomatoes, cilantro, and tons of serrano peppers. We grew serrano peppers like they were on steroids. I think we might still have some dried serranos floating around somewhere in our kitchen cabinets that came from Arizona.

And the front yard flower garden is bursting out now. Every day there's something new.




This is it. I'm back to training again. Tomorrow the plan is hills at Horsetooth. Oh, it will hurt, but I need to do hills, I've become such a wimp on the flats. It will pay off.

Now I'm off to take a nap, sleep off this work hangover, and maybe later I'll soothe Dennis's ego...