Yearly Archives: 2017

New Year’s Eve – time to reflect on another year past, another year of growth, another year of INCREDIBLE life adventure.  Absolute no better time to say THANKS – new places/new faces, laughs shared with family & friends.

 

Family/2017 LIFE highlight

High in the Rockies, one exit past the Continental Divide, Ash & Tom’s Colorado wedding over Memorial Day weekend.  Team Wilpiszeski filled the arena with laughter, dance & sheer noise.  Whatta FUN family – EVERYONE left Silverthorne crushing on Jersey.

The Haga Clan?  Let’s just say this Father-Daughter brought it.  Memory I’ll never forget.  Three time zones represented, family ‘cross the USA – ALL flew in for Ash’s BIG day.  BIG LOVE, proud Papa, thanks FAMILY ❤

 

Travel

  • New Zealand · two weeks, two islands, LIFETIME of memories.  Ran EVERY day – Auckland, Rotorua, Christchurch, Franz Josef Village, Queenstown, Dunedin, Oamaru, marathon finish’d in Hamilton.  Palm trees, glaciers, geysers, glow worms, whole lotta sheep, Fiordland Nat’l Park, Hobbiton & penguins too!  Nothing left undone.
  • Nova Scotia · two week vacation squeezed into a 4-day weekend.  Cape Split hike, toured Grand-Pré & Peggy’s Cove (Nova Scotia’s iconic lighthouse), my first Cèilidh (music/storytelling nite) PLUS a 4th Canadian marathon.  What an adventure!  To the Cavanaughs, Gillis’ & Schofields – I am indebted.  Thanks from the bottom of my American heart ❤
  • TOTALITY (Casper WY) • Great American Eclipse on my BIRTHDAY.  Like nothing I’ve EVER experienced.  Skies darkened, white light glowed around our extinguished Sun.  [Next 2 minutes] ‘diamond ring’ visible to the naked eye.  Surrounded by sunset & stars, soaked up the cityscape lights of Casper below (street-lamps triggered by the mid-day eclipse).  WOW!
  • Dublin IRELAND · Marathon #100.  Ran this day side-by-side with Sis.  Cancer SURVIVOR celebration!

 

Marathoning

Completed 27 marathons this year (including one ultra) – upping my FULL stats from 78 to 105 finishes.  2,017 miles+ logged in 2017 (GOAL COMPLETE).  Haven’t missed a month marathoning since December 2013, that’s 49 consecutive months.  Next BIG thing – marathon on EVERY continent (including Antarctica) by May 2020.

 

 

Easy to get caught up with an ‘out with the old, in with the new’ attitude.

So while I’m super eager/anticipating what lies ahead in 2018 – I am grateful for a life well lived.  I am grateful for the past 365 days – laughs shared, high-altitude hikes, new places/new faces AND of course, my best pup Ro.  Nothing left undone 🙂

 

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller

 

 

 

Father-Daughter Dance

 

 

Week between Christmas & New Year – 23rd thru January 2nd – unexpectedly (first time ever) workplace stayed closed, restarting production after the New Year.  Count it: 10 days off (including weekends).  FAAANNNNTASTIC!

GREAT to have extra time over the holidays.  10 days though, this body gets antsy.  Too late to coordinate a family trip but ’nuff time to late-register for a holiday-week marathon 🙂  The Huff, a 50K trail run in rural Indiana…in winter.  Hmmm.

Early Friday a.m. flight to Indianapolis, 2+ hour drive to Columbia City.  13 degrees & overcast.  Breakfast/lunch/brunch – 5am day start, 2-hour (Eastern) clock jump, time for Indiana food.  Snow & colder temps expected 2nd half of day.

Bib pick-up at the print shop which produced our swag shirts.  LOVE the Midwest – friendliest folks in the U.S. ❤

Hotel check-in – one gal shop.  Same friendly face answered the phone, mopped the front lobby (lotta traveller tracks) AND pushed snow outta handicap parking.  Was there in the morning when I checked out too.  Give that lady a raise!  WOW!

Dinner-dined at Chapman’s, directly ‘cross from the County Courthouse.  Standing-room only in this 6-table diner.  THE place for eats in downtown Columbia City.  Cajun shrimp bowl – tasty, filled the gut.  Back on the road, mile-half hotel return, 3 inches of fresh powder. Parked the rental, cranked room heat to HIGH (ice had formed on window inside).  COLD blustery nite.

Saturday race day.  Woke early, scraped & warmed the car.  30-45 minute drive to Chain O’ Lakes Park in Albion.  Winter wonderland.

Arrived 10 minutes til Race Start.  2 degrees above zero & SNOW.  THIS is when runners wear spikes – which unfortunately, I failed to pack.  Gonna be a Slip & Slide kinda day.  2-lap course, Drop Bag in the Main Tent, food & change of socks awaiting.

 

Chain O’Lakes State Park: Beautiful wooded trails, difficult weathered terrain.  Fresh snow covered long up-n-down stretches of melted/refrozen ice.  Tough slow-going trek & C-O-L-D ❄

iPod froze, no music.  iPhone froze – one pic, one choppy video.  C-O-L-D.

2nd water bottle on my hydration vest FROZE SOLID, only 8 miles in.  3 Aid Stations.  Remember the third one best – HUGE bon fire.  Camped there 15-20 minutes & drank slushy Coke (only liquid which didn’t freeze in the sub-zero wind).  5 miles more.

Back in the Main Tent, located my Drop Bag & worked off my shoes.  Cheeks & beard coated in ice.  Slurred speech.  Tongue stopped working.  This is CRAZY.  What am I doing?  50 yards into the 2nd lap, I turned back.  Told the race officials, no mas.  Penciled my name on a handwritten list (yep, their pen had frozen – HA!).  DNF.  [More than 50% of today’s field did the same.]

McDonald’s splash bath & a large order of fries.  Happy to be on my way HOME.  Tough way to end the year.

 

Hey now – no tears here.  Kickin’ off 2018 with FAMILY on the Big Island, Hawaii.

Sis’ birthday run (Hilo to Volcano 50K) just 7 days away.  4000ft climb (ocean-to-mountain).  H-U-G-E !

 

 

 

The Huff (short clip before iPhone froze)

 

 

After a string of frigid cold days, switched Tuesday hike day to Wednesday on the premise of warmer temps.  Rolled the dice/took a chance.  Happy to report 9NEWS’ Amelia Earhart landed this one!

Early to rise, easy highway drive, sunny skies south to Colorado Springs. By the time I hit Castle Rock (30 minutes south of Denver), day temps soared over 20, most snow gone/completely disappeared.  Appears the Springs must have missed our Christmas Eve wallop.  Trailhead parked before 9am.  Backpack-ready, rockin’ winter layers – destination: Manitou Incline.  Next mile straight UP – 2,000ft elevation gain over a single mile.  You want to kick off a Resolution, this is the place to go 🙂

UP UP UP.  Last trekked the Incline in December 2014That day caught the sunrise with a group of local runners.  Enough impression to make this year’s post-Christmas checklist.

Beautiful sunshiny day.  Went thru 2 bottles of water before reaching the Incline’s Christmas tree summit.  From there it’s an easy 3 mile trek down Barr Trail.  LOVE LOVE this country ❤

Home before 2 or….grab lunch inside a 1953 Boeing KC-97 tanker.  No brainer, right?

Built in 1953, this magnificent airplane refueled aircraft throughout the world. Forty-two passengers can actually eat in the plane of the 275-seat restaurant. …displaying 100’s of pictures, memorabilia and rare artifacts, Solo’s offers a flight through aviation history.

Burgers/fries – menu nothing special – but the experience itself, well worth the visit.

Day half over.  Evening plans?  Heck yeah.  Forest mushroom soup is back at Cracovia (our area’s Polish restaurant).  Not sure where they pick local mushrooms in December, but luckily Ash’s Tom caught the social media alert.  Restaurant still dressed in holiday spirit, enjoyed Cracovia’s last 2 bowls of mushroom soup.  FAAANNNNTASTIC!

Entrée choice?  Go with the bratwurst.  Personally don’t eat pork but envied Tom’s brat sizzling tableside.

Nite ended with dessert – all good diets wait ‘til after the holidays, right? 🙂

 

 

Manitou Incline ’17