Day 14: Two Hours of Torture

I thought it would never end. I met Colleen at 7:30 this morning and we took off north around downtown and up Mountain Avenue to City Park, then back through Old Town and south to the area where we both live. I could barely keep up with her, and I kept needing walk breaks. Colleen is only 3 weeks away from her first 50 miler and I can tell how much stronger she is since the last time we ran. She should have a great race.

About 10 1/2 miles later I had 2 hours on my watch, 2:00:25 to be exact, and I was done. I saw my neighbor as I was winding down and I asked her to please shoot me.

I don't know where it went but ever since I got sick I just don't have it...

It's supposed to be a nice weekend. I hope I feel better tomorrow because Emma and I have plans to run trails up at Horsetooth, and it will be all hills. If nothing else, I can get some good photos.

I need to practice taking naps this weekend. The same piles of work are on either side of my desk and haven't gotten any shorter. Looking for a productive work week next week.

Friek Friday: Day 13

It's happy hour. I'm happy because I just got back from my "run". I took Isabelle in the cart, for 4 miles, and ran for 20 solid minutes pushing her. I was tired and didn't feel like running at all, but she needed to get out. So I told myself I had to run for at least 20 minutes and I'd be off the hook for the day. I have a 2+ hour run planned tomorrow with Colleen, then trails with Emma on Sunday.

New beer just arrived, from Odell Brewing. It's a sour cherry/raspberry beer and it's awesome. FRIEK. I felt like a freak trying to open it. We did it, Dennis and I. We both tried and it took some muscle. First I tried, with the towel.

Soon we needed some backup help.

It was worth the effort, though.

It earned the Buffalo Seal of Approval.

Then it was time to run it off.

Day 12 Calm

I got busy working and around 2:30 my brain shut down, so I went out to run. I didn't have much energy today, but I originally thought I might shoot for an hour and twenty minutes. I changed my mind and instead I ran 40 minutes. Half of it.

I think if I keep doing this, cutting back on alternating days as I return my distance to where I was before I got sick, it might be a better approach. I'd to do a 2 hour run this weekend, but I don't want to go into already exhausted.

The scene at the lake this afternoon was calming, and I have to go to an event in Loveland tonight but I am going to try to get over to the lake at sunset and see if I can catch some good pictures of those clouds. If I can't do it tonight, I'll have to try on another day, soon.

The run was perfect for me today, I needed something to bring me back to a relaxed state. Looking at the water was perfect.

Day 11 Snow and Day 9 Memory Lapse

Despite the absence of clouds yesterday, I woke up to this...Isabelle loves it. She could sit there for hours. But we won't let her anymore, she's too old and I worry that she will freeze.

The snow cleared out by mid-morning and we had blue, clear skies all day. I ran an hour and ten minutes, finally, a legitimate run. Still feel like I have elephant legs.

The leaves are pretty much all down now, and the heavy wet snow cracked one of the branches of one of the apricot trees in the back yard this morning. I'm hoping it will recover.

I am such a space cadet, I forgot to blog on Monday. I went for an hour run Monday afternoon and then went out to meet someone for dinner/business talk, and I had every intention of blogging about my run. But the margarita at the Rio must have erased my memory. So I have a missing day! I did run, but I didn't get the blog post up. Damn.

Today I feel like I need a toilet plunger for my head. Ever feel like you've got so much floating around in there that it's backing up and spilling over? That's how I feel. I had a very unproductive morning. I wanted to get a bunch of content uploaded to my new site and my brain got tied in knots. I feel like my cognition is really off right now. No I don't think it's early dementia. I have too much on my mind.

Day 10 Dead on my Feet

I thought I'd have the energy to run for an hour and 10 minutes today. I was wrong.

I did half of that, 35:15 to be exact, just about 3 miles. It's supposed to snow in the next 24 hours but right now I don't see any clouds that look threatening.

It's about 60 degrees and sunny. I'm exhausted. Not much else to report. Busy work week. Until tomorrow...

Day 8 and Snakes-B-Gon

Cool Sunday morning, but it warmed up fast. Emma and I drove to the trailhead on Overland and for some reason the name of the trailhead escapes me, it's the one just south of Michaud Lane. Quick 5ish mile out & back, up to the saddle overlooking Bellvue and the foothills.

We had a lively discussion about all sorts of things, it's nice to have an adult conversation when you're cooped up in a little cave with a geriatric dog all week.

It's been a while since I got on the trails, earlier this year I was up here but now that the snakes are gone for the season, I'll do this more often. I twisted my ankle a couple of times today, it's rocky in some sections and I need to get back on the trails more often so I don't stumble so much.

Yesterday I got a flu shot and other than a sore arm, really can't tell today. I'm still hacking stuff up from being sick, that hung on forever, but I do feel better and I hope this coming week I will be back to running a decent amount, regularly.

I got an email from Bonnie at Cornbelt 24 Hour in Iowa and for a moment I considered going. It's such a fun event. But then I thought, I'll feel like I have to train for it, and then I'll go do it and have to recover, and all that, and I'm just not very certain at this point that I'll be willing or able to commit to preparing for it. Even if I just ran it for fun, there's the matter of the trip itself and recovering from it all.

I love the light in November.

Putting the Why in Wyoming...

The other day I needed to clear my mind. Fortunately I live within a short drive of some mind-clearing scenery. Dennis and I drove up to just past the state line, to Tie Siding, Wyoming. And we took in the views on a typical cold, blustery day with fresh snow. No other explanation needed.

On the way back we stopped on the south side of the state line in Virginia Dale, Colorado. The church below burned down a few years back. Now rebuilt.

I don't think I could live anywhere without views like these close by. The sky is too important a reminder of our place in the world.

More pictures: