Extreme Running Tour de Walmart

It was the best birthday run ever!

This was also a fantastic birthday. Not only did the weather gods smile on us, but the whole weekend was a celebration and appreciation of so many things. I am so fortunate to be where I am right now, and I am so grateful for the friends and support I have in all aspects of my life.

A quick recap is in order here, so skip the next few paragraphs (italicized) if you've already read the previous post on this.

I got this idea when I was rehabbing my ankle injury last fall. I noticed that my bike routes took me by several different Walmarts in the area. Walmart has never been much of a part of my life, I have gone there out of convenience when it's the only store in town where I can get all of the race food and supplies I need, usually in small towns in out of the way places like Okeechobee, Florida or Pahrump, Nevada. Last summer in Badwater the trip to Walmart was an adventure in itself thanks to my crazy crew.

One day last fall I figured the distance of a ride that went by all 4 Walmarts within about 15 miles of my house, in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Timnath. It was 48 miles if I did a loop from the house. The magic number, 48, matched my upcoming birthday. The idea was hatched and I forgot about it. Then this winter I became hooked on girl beer, thanks to our neighbors. Michelob Ultra 3.2 with pomegranate and raspberry flavor. Great recovery drink after a long run. I couldn't find it anywhere but Walmart.

On a recent girl beer run, I saw some awesome Walmart fashion and it reminded me of the idea. Since I needed a 50 mile training run, it was perfect. I invited some friends and though there were a few conscientious objectors, the idea appealed to a lot of people. Dennis said he would crew! I decided I would liven up my running wardrobe by buying one article of clothing at each Walmart, and wear it.


Extreme Running Tour de Walmart

Leg 1

Jen showed up at my house at 7:30 am, and parked in front. Her friend was going to meet us around 9 am and pick her up so she could make it to an event later that morning. Jen got the usual treatment that guests get in our household, an escort to the bathroom by Iris.

Dennis took a picture of us before we took off. We were both half asleep. We got started a little later than we planned, but I thought we might make it up at the Walmart stops. I figured on about a half hour stop per Walmart to shop, get through the checkout line, resupply at the car, and take pictures.

It was a cold but perfectly clear morning. We couldn't have had better weather. I had told Tom, Ginger, and Morgan my ETA for Walmart #1 on Highway 287, and I had my phone. Jen and I proceeded south on the Power Trail. First potty break, the porta-potty was in use! We waited a few minutes but then I decided to find a tree.

When we got to the top of the hill on south Lemay by the reservoir, where the road curves, Jen's friend stopped, took a picture of us, and Jen tok off. The plan was for us to stay in touch by texting and she would try to join me later, possibly on the final leg.

I continued on the last 3 miles solo to Walmart #1, where Dennis, Tom, Ginger and Morgan met me with birthday hats. I arrived just a few minutes late, and we went inside for our shopping stop.

I found the purple camo bras that I'd seen on my girl beer run weeks earlier, but again, they were out of smalls. On the next rack there was the same bra in black, in a small. It wasn't quite as "Walmart" as the purple one, but Ginger assured me that I couldn't go wrong with black. So I decided to go for it.

We went through the checkout line. Morgan and Ginger insisted on buying the bra for me, even though I had a Walmart gift card, that a friend in Colorado Springs sent me in advance of my Walmart tour. They told me to save it for one of the other Walmarts.

Our cashier was a sixty-ish looking woman with long blonde hair. She was really nice. Morgan and Tom told her what I was doing and she didn't seem to believe it.

We went outside, I refilled my bottles and got a snack and a drink at the car, and we took off for Walmart 2. It was still cold but warming up. I kept my warm shirts on, since I freeze even when other people are wearing singlets and shorts.

Leg 2

We proceeded east along the Loveland bike path and caught the path around the west shore of Boyd Lake. The morning was warming up, and the view of the mountains was spectacular. We were moving at a fast pace, and didn't take too many walk breaks. Just before we reached the underpass at Highway 34, we saw a runner coming toward us. He looked familiar. It was Felix!

Once we crossed under Eisenhower, we ran across the field directly to Walmart, where Dennis was waiting with the camera. I was starting to get hungry. We took our Walmart pictures, then went inside for shopping.

This time I struggled. I saw several items, again, no smalls in the purple camo bra. So I opted for the matching tank top, which they did have in a small.

Since Felix was there and familiar with the fashion tastes of our friend Ed, we decided to pick out something that might match one of Ed's running outfits. Ed likes to wear running skirts and he has several in different colors. When I saw something eye-catching, I asked Felix if he thought it was Ed. He agreed it was perfect.

We went through the checkout line, and our cashier was another sixty-ish looking blonde with long hair. I asked the others if they thought there was some profiling going on at Walmart. They told her what we were doing, and she laughed, and wished us luck.

I stopped at the McDonald's inside Walmart before we left, to see if they had any salads, thinking I could get something to keep me going other than the bars I had in the car. The answer was, no, we don't have salads here.

No salads at the Walmart McDonald's. Should I be surprised?

Leg 3

Ginger and Morgan were done at this point so Felix and Tom and I took off north on the bike path. Before we left I removed one of my long sleeved shirts. I was running in shorts for only the second time this year! The new sunglasses I won in Paige's blog giveaway worked great- lightweight, comfortable, and plenty of protection from the sides.

Felix ran through the park with us, until he turned around to go back to Walmart 2. Tom and I were on our own. Running through the park we passed two people on bicycles who slowed down and started talking to us, it was one of my coworkers and her husband. Kathleen is a massage therapist in the oncology department. They wished me happy birthday and then saw us again at the north end of the park.

Leg 3 was the longest, about 13 miles. I realized my phone battery was getting low and it was getting hot outside. I called Dennis to ask him to meet us before the third Walmart so he could recharge my phone and bring us some cold water.

Tom and I kept running north on Timberline, but by the time we turned off onto Kechter, we hadn't seen Dennis. I called again, hoping there was enough juice in the battery to get the call through. This time he answered. He'd been out in the yard. He met us a few minutes later. I changed into my t-shirt, and he had ice water. What a relief! It was hot, it felt like it might be in the mid-70s.

I also got a text from Jen asking me to let her know my ETA at the last Walmart so she could meet me there to run home. Tom planned to stop at Walmart 3, so it looked like I would be solo for the 4th leg.

The trickiest and scariest part of this run was crossing the overpass at I-25 and Harmony. It took us forever to cross Harmony, the traffic was so thick. Eventually we got across, but had to negotiate a deep ditch in the middle of the median, which we didn't anticipate. It felt like the Grand Canyon! Otherwise I felt pretty good on this stretch.

Tom and I got across the overpass no problem and descended the dirt hill down into Walmart #3. Dennis met us with food. He got burritos at Chipotle on the way out to meet us. I was starving and scarfed most of it down in a few minutes.

We went inside and I had a hard time deciding on what my garment choice would be. I finally settled on an animal print tank top. Tom insisted on buying this one. We got through the Walmart pretty fast. Our cashier this time had short brown hair, about the same age as the others. When Dennis and Tom told her what I was doing, she told us we could have started at the Longmont Walmart and added another 17 miles. I said, "I'll save that idea for another birthday!"

Leg 4

Tom went to his car, and I asked Dennis to meet me on the other side of the overpass at Strauss Cabin Road so my phone would have a chance to finish charging. I ran back over the overpass and met Dennis on the dirt road. After a quick pee break I took off to complete leg 4, about 9 1/2 miles. The sun was getting lower and I took a long sleeved shirt with me just in case, and my MP3 player. I started walking up the dirt road and posted some pictures on Facebook, letting the burrito digest.

Once I got off the dirt road onto Zeigler heading toward the Environmental Learning Center, I started to feel pretty good. I'd texted Jen with an ETA of 5:30 to 6 pm at Walmart 4, but I was running at a great pace and by the time I got past the ELC and onto the Poudre Trail, I realized it was going to be be 5:30 or sooner. I re-texted her, and she was already there, grabbing something to eat at a nearby restaurant.

As I got closer to Lemay, I passed a couple of seedy-looking characters on the bike path, wondering if it would be safe to be out there after dark, even with Jen. I knew I could run back along Lemay and then make up the miles in my neighborhood if necessary. I continued toward the Walmart and by the time I got there, it was only a few minutes after 5. That burrito must have revived me, because I was hauling ass along the last few miles of the Poudre Trail. My legs felt incredibly fresh for 40 miles in.

I arrived at Walmart, and heard a whistle in the parking lot. It was Dennis. I texted Jen to meet us under the flag in front, and we did our photo op and went inside. I was really struggling with finding something to buy, but eventually settled on a bright turquoise tank top and Jen and I got matching animal print headbands.

We did a few extra tenths of a mile in this Walmart, we went all the way to the back of the store to find some drinks that weren't sugary. Finally, I used my Walmart gift card, and still have a couple of dollars left over!

One of the managers was on the floor and Dennis must have told him what I was doing, he greeted us and said we saved the best Walmart for last. Our cashier at this one was a young man, who listened to the story and told us that he thought his 8 mile run before work was long that morning. I told him to keep running.

Leg 5

When we got outside, I got back into my tights and took gloves, headlamps, and warm shirts. I was starving again. Just across the street was a Taco Bell, so Jen and I stopped there, and I got a bean burrito and a taco, and used the bathroom.

I scarfed it all down and we took off by 6 pm. It was nearly an hour break at this Walmart, but it didn't matter, I had accomplished my mission of hitting all 4 Walmarts, and it was still light outside. After some debating of our route, we decided to just go for the bike path, since we were together, had our phones, and it was still going to be light for a while, long enough to get through the creepy part of the bike path.

Once we got out of the river bottom, it warmed up and the sunset and night sky were incredible. The stars came out, and we were serenaded by coyotes around the ponds before we turned onto the Spring Creek Trail. I felt great on this section, too, running well after I digested the food. I told Jen I was so pleased with how I felt, since this was nearly 20 miles longer than my longest run since last July. My legs really did feel good.

We arrived at my house at 7:30 pm, less than 12 hours after we started. Not bad for nearly 50 miles with at least a couple of hours at Walmart breaks.

After taking some finish line pictures, where I think Jen & I looked better than we did at the start, Iris escorted Jen to the bathroom again and she took off for home. Dennis had food waiting for me. I felt good, not stiff or sore, and stayed up for a while uploading my pictures from the day. If you want to see the entire Tour de Walmart photo album, you can go to this link.

What an amazing birthday, and what an awesome group of friends to share it! You can't ask for anything better.

Save money, live better. Always.

Reader Appreciation & Thanks

Readers, I want you to know just how much I appreciate all of you!

I want to thank all of you reading this blog for your readership, support, and enthusiasm for the topics I post here. Blogging is a labor of love, for me. It's not the way I earn a living, and certainly doesn't pay dividends in the economic sense. But the things I've learned from readers who comment and write me off-blog, the friends I've made through blogging, and just knowing that readers and followers are out there visiting and returning to Journey to Badwater, as evidenced by the reader statistics that I see, are priceless!

This week I just hit the 300 mark for the first time on blog followers, and hit 3000 page views on my So Ya Think Ya Want To Run Badwater post, and I know that numbers fluctuate up and down from time to time, and dipping below 300 could happen again at any time, but I am so thankful for every single one of you who visit ths blog and read my posts. And I love comments!

It's not about the statistics. The fact that you all are out there and reading this for a reason tells me that I have been able to reach everyone here in some way because of a common interest, whether ultrarunning, Badwater, cancer, thyroid disease, nursing, art, politics, or any of the topics I've touched on over the past four years that this blog has been in existence.

This week has been an amazing week for me, not just on the blog but professionally and personally, too. I'm going to say more about it when I blog about my Walmart adventure this weekend, which, by the way, has a weather forecast of clear, sunny skies and 60 degree temperatures- perfect running conditions!

I love blogging. I love to write, and blogging gives me an opportunity to write on so many different topics and reach out to those with different interests. I blog about several different topics besides running, I blog on a weekly basis for Oncology Nursing Society, I have my Ultrahypo blog about thyroid disease, I've kept a private blog in the past about the trials and tribulations of nursing school and being a new nurse, and I have an art blog and food blog where I occasionally post for fun. But Journey to Badwater is my main blog and about my true passion, and I've integrated the topics that are most important to me into my posts about running.

Reading other people's blogs has been enlightening and enjoyable for me, and I'm trying to put a certain amount of time into that on a regular basis, and commenting more. I like a variety of running blogs, it's fun to read different runners' perspectives, whether they are new to running, do short distances, are highly competitive, or have creative and even odd themes on their blogs. I also read several non-running blogs. The ones I visit most frequently are here in the right hand column, but there are many others I enjoy.

While blogging I've learned that bloggers are the media, we're a source, we are perceived that way by many people, and that gives bloggers an odd sort of power, which bloggers may or may not realize to any degree, but I think it gives us a concomitant responsibility to our readers. I can only speak for myself, but that's how I see it.

Last night I came home from work and found a birthday card with a thoughtful, meaningful, and fun gift from one of my readers, and a pair of sunglasses I won in a giveaway on another blog I read. I have corresponded with many of you, some I've known for years, I've managed to meet a few of you in person at races, and I am looking forward to meeting more of you in the coming year. Blogging is an evolving medium and it has the potential to lead to so many important connections between people.

Thank you. Thank you for coming here, thank you for reading, thank you for coming back, thank you for being out there living each day and seeking adventure in your lives.

Slow Lane

Another gorgeous spring day, a little windier today but still sunny and t-shirt & shorts weather.

Now that it's March, I need to get back to my plan to work on my speed. February didn't go so well. This morning Isabelle didn't want to go, she barely looked up at me when I asked her. Iris was dragging, probably due to all the excitement of yesterday and their shots.

After a slow mile with Iris, with a lot of sniffing, I headed over to the track. I took my big backpack so I could carry enough water, since the drinking fountain isn't turned on there yet. It's about 2.8 miles from my house to the track. Nice and quiet there today, just a guy practicing hammer throw, and he was good! I had the track to myself almost the whole time.

I did a few strides, then 2 x 2 miles at a decent effort, which yielded a disappointing 15:11 and 15:23. Slow for me. I pushed myself, but my legs felt like lead. Maybe I'm still tired from my work weekend. I felt like I had nothing there. But I told myself, better to do 4 miles at 7:30-7:40 pace than doing those same 4 miles at 9:30-10 minute pace out on the bike path. Plus I do need to be running the curves of the track to get ready for Iowa.

I think I'm just going to have to be patient this spring, and stick with it. If I can just be consistent about doing weekly track workouts, maybe I can turn this around. I guess this is the price I have to pay for not doing speedwork for 5 years.

I got a total of 12.6 miles in today and now I need to work my abs and do my weights. There is something motivating about the sunshine, and the breeze blowing warm instead of cold. Tomorrow I'll be inside all day at work, same with Friday. I'll do an easy run Thursday, and then Saturday is the big Walmart excursion.

Expose Yourself!

But don't forget the sunscreen!

Today was the first spring-like day and what a relief! It got into the upper 60s and the wind didn't pick up until afternoon. Almost overnight, we've gone from goose poop diving season to squirrel chasing season. So now this Mom of Buffaloes is carting the girls around in the Rav 4 to their next squirrel chase practice.

Actually I was driving the girls around in the car today, not as a soccer mom, but because it was time for their annual vet appointment, where they get their checkup and shots and heartworm test. They are almost 11 years old but doing well. Isabelle trembles the whole time and scratches at the door of the exam room to be let out, while Iris dominates the vet for attention. I promised them a trip to Arfy's afterwards and I came through on that, we got some bags of treats to take home.

This morning, 10.2 miles on the bike path, two of those with Buffaloes. The warm temperatures took us all by surprise. I'm going to have to start taking a water bottle with me again and getting the girls out first thing now that it's warmer. I was overdressed, and when I brought the girls back to the house I had to change into shorts and a t-shirt! First I had to dig them out of the drawer, buried under piles of tights and winter clothes.

And barf me out of town, I was not ready to see my pale, dry, scaly, hairy winter legs. My skin got so dry this winter, even with gallons of lotion. I guess it's time to break out the razor again. Don't look down!

This weekend at work was one of the busiest we've ever had. I ran my butt off nonstop for two twelve-plus hour days straight. I only have a mild work hangover today, though I do need some extra sleep. But this coming week will be just as busy, not just at work but in life in general. And then I'll top it off Saturday with my Walmart run. The forecast is for mild temperatures and no snow. We'll see...

Friday is my Sunday

March came in like a lion. It doesn't seem too fierce or too extreme, but maybe it's because we're getting used to windy and cold every day. Thursday, 10.5 miles easy, Power Trail and Spring Creek, windy and cold. Today, 14 miles of hills at Horsetooth, windy and cold. Brief sunshine this morning, but by 4 miles in, it was cloudy again.

This morning, I woke up to a nice surprise. I won a new pair of sunglasses in a giveaway on Paige's blog. Thanks to Paige, and to BTB Sport Optics. I'm getting the BTB 910. I needed a new pair of sunglasses, the ones I've had since 2008 are wearing out.

Between my new sunglasses and my upcoming Walmart excursion, I'll be stylin. Alene, the fashion diva. I'll take pictures, as this is a rare opportunity, like seeing me in a dress.

This upcoming weekend is my work weekend so I'm pretty much done with running for the week. I rarely run on my work days, unless something weird happens, like waking up at 4 am with way too much energy, or getting off early because we have no patients coming in. Both of those scenarios are highly unlikely.

Speaking of work, Heather at 365 Days of Awesome posted this video on her blog today, and I thought it was great. Reminds me of work. This is some of what I'll be doing this weekend while you all are out there running. Patients say the funniest things, and they can make you laugh and cry.

But I'm adding another video afterwards, same guy, to pause for a moment before we all go out and do our weekend runs: gratitude for what we all have.





Happy weekend, and enjoy every mile.

Drop A Double Mick!

A Double Mick???

Don't be silly, I'm not into snowboarding.

It's a run, my own brainstorm, a self-supported, self-contained adventure fun run of the Black Hills! The George S. Mickelson Trail stretches 109 miles from Edgemont to Deadwood, South Dakota, and I'm planning to run it out and back this summer. The Double Mick will be a total of 218 miles plus a few extra miles in pit stops and towns along the way.

I've run parts of the Mickelson Trail before, during the Lean Horse 50 and 100 mile events, and I've explored some other stretches of the trail on my own. I love the Black Hills, the scenery is awesome, and it's generally not mobbed with tourists like some other places are. Except for certain times of the year, when people come from all over to motorcycle rallies, street festivals with historical themes, and special events focused on the local wildlife, like the Bat Festival.

I have this thing about running out and back, when I run through a scenic area I like to see it from different perspectives, and at different times of the day, with different lighting. There are so many things you miss if you only go one way. It's the artist in me, I want to get a feel for the area and the size of the landscape and sky. There isn't any organized run out here to do this, but I'm all about making my own adventure, so I started to plan it.

When I asked a few of my friends last fall about their interest in doing this with me, everyone either had racing plans or travel plans in June. They were interested but the timing wasn't right. June is the ideal month because of the length of the daylight hours, and my racing and other plans are later in the year. So I decided to figure out a way, if necessary, to do it solo. Ed was interested in a tour of the Black Hills, and certainly capable of 218 miles in 5 days, but wasn't sure he could get that much time off work with his other plans. But the Bat Festival proved to be too much intrigue, and just the other day I found out...

Holy Guano Batman! My running buddy and supercrewer/pacer/fashion star from last year's Badwater double, Skortman Ed, will be there, at least for part of it. But now, he's Batman Ed. At this point, Ed is still unsure of whether he can escape from work long enough to do the whole thing. We're hoping he can, but for now, he plans to do most of it. Things are looking favorable, though.

We had to scramble to get our act together this winter because of the jam-packed tourism schedule in the Black Hills all summer. We were competing with everybody from rodeo goers to cyclists to Bat Festival attendees for a limited number of rooms. It would really be a bummer to get there and have to share a room with bats. They could sleep on the ceiling, I suppose. But no worries, we got reservations, and just a few more logistical details need to be worked out.

The Caped Crusader (formerly known as Skortman) and I will start out June 15th somewhere in the Black Hills and run 218 miles or more, finishing on the 19th. We have the daily time constraint of sunup to sundown, because the Mickelson Trail regulations limit use to daylight hours only. But that's a good thing, it means we can't get too sleep-deprived. We're staying overnight wherever we can get rooms for showers and some sleep. There isn't much to choose from. For example, in Edgemont, there's only one motel. If you've ever been to Edgemont, you'd understand why. But also it happens to be the southernmost point on the Mickelson Trail.

"Watch for poison ivy and rattlesnakes on this part of the trail. It can get extremely hot in summer..." the brochure warns.

On paper, it looks like Deadwood, Custer, and Edgemont all have accomodations, grocery or convenience stores, and restaurants that will work as pit stops for us. I am a bit disappointed that we can't run on the trail at night because that is the best time, but I can always run the Lean Horse 100 again if I want to run through there at night.

Still, we'll be averaging nearly 45 miles a day on the gravel railroad grade of the Mickelson Trail. We're running as close to summer solstice as possible, so we can have maximum daylight on the trail. We're thinking it will be a bit slow, because of the Batmobile.

The Batmobile does not exist yet, except in our imaginations. We are in the process of figuring out what combination of converted baby jogger/bike trailer will be easy and portable enough for us to share the burden, to carry a supply of ice and a few minimal supplies for us from pit stop to pit stop. We have one major issue we need to address for sure: we need adjustable height handles. Why? Because I am 5'1" tall on a good day, and Ed is 6'5" (see below).

So, we're working on it. We have a few ideas. We don't need something excessive, but there are some long stretches of the trail where there is no water and it can get hot enough that we will need some ice. It can be anywhere from freezing to 105 degrees, so we'll have to be prepared for temperature fluctuations and any weather conditions. Along with mountain lions, bears, rattlesnakes, bats, poison ivy, you name it. As usual though, the freakiest wildlife encounter that ever challenges us is the human element. But what is an adventure without adventure?

One thing is for sure, it will be fun. And I do have a plan for Ed's Double Mick Batman outfit.

A little birthday shopping spree at Walmart.

Tire Time

Today I woke up early and needed to get out and run. It was cold and cloudy. I had an appointment to meet with Andrea, who does our taxes, at 9:00. I planned to do my run after our appointment, but I asked the girls if they wanted to go first and of course, Iris did, but Isabelle wasn't so sure. Iris went, and Iz stayed home.

I took Iris for about 3.5 miles and then I had to get into some warm dry clothes to go meet Andrea. I did that, and on my way over to her office I noticed white flakes starting to fall. Within 5 minutes it was a blizzard. By the time I got out of my car in the parking lot it was dumping and blowing.

By the time I left her office 20 minutes later, it was slushy everywhere but no more snow coming down. Everything was wet, but the wind calmed down and I adjusted my clothes for damp cold conditions, and went out again. I felt slow and tired. I ran until I had a little over 10 miles and then I had to go home to shower and then be over at the hospital cafeteria where I was meeting Grace to promote the employee campaign for the Cancer Center during lunch time.

When I got home around 1:30, it was still gray, cool and calm but no more flakes. I changed into more running clothes and drove toward the stadium with the tire, and started running hill repeats on the county road. By the time I got out of the car it was starting to get windy again and the sky looked nasty.

I shot the video in my ongoing quest to become more proficient with the video feature of the iPhone. Sorry about the heavy breathing and scraping noises. Not a pretty picture, I know, but that's what it sounds like.

I ran with the tire for an hour. I ended up with nearly 15 miles for the day, not bad for someone who was whining two days ago about how much my training sucks.

So here I am back at home, eating hot soup and drinking one of my very cold 3.2 girl beers. I go back to work tomorrow, and this weekend is my work weekend again. The time goes by so fast! My personal challenge is to figure out a way to get to either Florida or Arizona before the end of March for a quick visit, otherwise I might go totally bonkers from this weather.