The Dust Bowl, also known as the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the US and Canadian prairies during the 1930s; severe drought and a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent wind erosion caused the phenomenon. The drought came in three waves, 1934, 1936, and 1939–40, but some regions of the high plains experienced drought conditions for as many as eight years.
prevailing winds blew away [dust] in huge clouds that sometimes blackened the sky. These choking billows of dust – named “black blizzards” or “black rollers” – traveled cross country…
The drought and erosion of the Dust Bowl affected 100,000,000 acres that centered on the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma and touched adjacent sections of New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas.
Set a lotta new running goals in 2016 – first ultra distance, first trail race…and this weekend, my first marathon Double.
Boulder⇨ Louisville⇨ Westminster⇨ Englewood. Work, home, dog drop-off, commuter Park N Ride. Picked up Dave [a fellow 50 Stater] Friday nite 7pm & highway’d west. Hour-half to Limon (KS border), 2 hours south to Lamar – a super small town on the Plains (population 7,776), more reminiscent of Kansas than Colorado.
Tomorrow’s marathon would be my 2nd Colorado ‘training run’. [Already selected the Colorado Marathon on May 1st to complete my 50 States Quest.] January ran Cause & Effect Marathon in Brighton (Achilles Int’l charity race); registered tomorrow’s run as a FREE entry thru Mainly Marathons, part of their 5-day Dust Bowl Series. Well…kinda free. Week later signed up for Sunday’s 26.2 in Clayton, New Mexico. LOL>
Good training for next month – when I run State 49 Saturday in Illinois, hop on a plane, then finish State 50 the following morning in Fort Collins 🙂
Hoteled 6 hours at the Cow Palace (yep, completely serious) – then landed 10 minutes away in Lamar’s Willow Creek Park. Bib pick-up & blueberry pancakes. Game on!
Mainly Marathons trademark – FOOD. You’ll never go hungry on one of their runs!
Today’s course: 14 laps on urban trail (dirt & gravel…but this ain’t Moab – no mid-race rock climb required 🙂 ). Have never run so many laps in my life – tough to stay focused repetitive looping. Today we’d collect rubber bands – 13 bands, then one last loop to the Finish. Simple brilliant idea. I proudly collectedly 7 on one arm, 6 on the other.
Felt STRONG this cold day, went out fast. Held third, then slipped to 4th a lap later. Been running desert 5 weeks straight. I’m a cold weather runner, today my kinda day.
Temps dropped, wind blew & my pace slowed. Four laps remaining, tagged a steady runner – Dan from Iowa. Proudly declared ‘Victory Lap’ as I slipped on band 13, downed a handful of salty chips & hit trail, one last loop.
1.87 miles more. Mentally STRONG – FINISHED marathon/ultra #58.
2016 Dust Bowl Series Day 4 – Full Marathon – March 26, 2016 – Lamar, CO
KR Haga Louisville CO 05:00:39
Quick shower at the Cow Palace. SNOW blowing, 2 hour drive ‘cross the Oklahoma Panhandle, diner dinner in New Mexico.
One down, one to go. first marathon DOUBLE in sight – definitely gonna happen tomorrow!
-
- population 7776
-
- hoteled like a King…at the Cow Palace
-
- chilly Colorado sunrise
-
- my brief moment in 3rd place
-
- race ya to to the top 🙂
-
- one down, one to go — next marathon stop, Clayton NM
the Dust Bowl, 1930’s America
Nearly 1 foot of snow falls on Boulder, more expected through morning
The slow-moving winter storm that developed late Sunday had dropped nearly a foot of snow on Boulder by Monday night, with more accumulation expected overnight and Tuesday morning.
National Weather Service forecasters were calling for several inches of additional snow Monday night into Tuesday, with perhaps another inch after 6 a.m. Tuesday.
LOVE LOVE this time of year – brisk morning temps, pink sunrises…and SNOW. Weather ya’ll know is unpredictable – so a Monday/Tuesday storm, while pretty to watch, does not always mean will still be there for weekend play. Colorado high-altitude sunshine burns snow off roads & west-facing trails within a day or 2 (luckily, ground cover stays deep).
Chose an easy hike in Lyons for Saturday – snow increases the difficulty factor. Don’t log in a lot of miles winter hiking…but the landscape/those views are SPECTACULAR. Precip-free drive on 36 toward Estes, hung a left on Longmont Dam Road (County Road 80). Popped the Jeep into 4WD. LOVE LOVE having a vehicle alternative to the Prius 🙂
Relatively late hike start – quarter past 8 – but found ourselves alone this day. Snow.
Leash-free hiking for Sno’ Ro – good day to be dog. Little guy does a good job of staying close on long hikes but always on wildlife alert, better if hiking with another dog.
Followed a plowed trail to the Ranger Station. Unexpectedly easy hike to the dam. Living in the middle of nowhere, new post-retirement goal: Park Ranger 🙂
The St Vrain gurgled from upstream reservoir release. Sucked in high altitude air, wind bit at my cheeks, listened to the river. Quiet. Gotta do this more often, absolutely nothing better.
Deep snow proved a good deterrent for Ro. Sinking to his neck, Ro loped back on trail, glanced behind (checking in on Dad), then greyhound-galloped ahead again. All smiles.
GO BRONCOS!!
Briefly stopped at Button Rock Dam, water exploding from Ray Price Reservoir into the St Vrain. Thick winter ice formed ’round the pipe release – WOW! Crazy beautiful.
Trudged thru waist-deep snow, switch-backing up remnants of the summer trail ‘til we reached the top. Wind blew strong. Little tree coverage overlooking the Reservoir, which traps snow melt for Longmont & Lyons local water supply. Hugged half the reservoir lip before returning to logging roads, hoping to loop back to the trailhead.
Had earlier averted a herd of deer; Ro picked up their scent but didn’t see them, deep snow further deterred his interest. Hiking down from the Reservoir, 4 deer darted across the road & up the mountain face. No stopping Ro – argh. Thinking the rock face would hold back my pup, I didn’t call him back ‘til he had cleared 500ft+ in elevation. Deer continued to climb. Ro looked around – continue up, or listen to Dad & head down.
Overall – GREAT winter hike. Highly recommended.
Sunday a.m. — Morning run, Ro’s annual vet appointment (yeah, on a Sunday), church, then popped 2 previously prepped dips into the oven for today’s Super Bowl gathering at Ash’s house. Wings, jalapeño poppers, man dip (chili, cream cheese, sharp cheddar) & chicken enchilada dip (whole lotta ingredients).
Two of past 3 years, Denver’s made the Big Game. Long, defensive haul — 24-10 victory for our Broncos. SUPER BOWL 50 CHAMPIONS!
-
- layered up, getting my snow hike on
-
- water spray & ice – WOW!
-
- today’s hike destination: Ray Price Reservoir
Button Rock Dam, Lyons
Yesterday’s snowfall still blanketed the road but woke Saturday to sunshine.
Signed up for today’s Cause and Effect Marathon only two weeks ago – responding to a FaceBook post from Stacy, another Colorado-based Maniac. Would be my first of 18 scheduled marathons in Colorado this year (& my 50th marathon, yep 5-0). [Technically, my ‘Colorado’ state run (50 State Quest) will happen May 1st in Fort Collins (already declared my final 3 state runs).]
#2016whyIrun
The Cause: Achilles International (https://www.achillesinternational.org/).
The Effect: We get cold and tired to benefit athletes with disabilities.
Small handful of runners on today’s impromptu course (location moved mid-week due to snow maintenance issues). Cold, snowy start to marathon season – my first Centennial State 26.2, my first 26.2 of 2016.
Queued behind a line in the snow & started the first of 13 out-n-backs in fresh Colorado powder. Donned shades, ski cap, 2 shirts & a light jacket. Sunshine bounced off today’s snowscaped course. Crossed a wooden bridge, the South Platte gurgled & popped under thick ice below. If you’re a fan of winter – this was your day. FAAAANNNNTASTIC!
Generally not a fan of multiple out-n-backs; however, today appreciated the frequency of familiar faces. Briefly stopped at mile 16 & downed a cup of hot broth – super small race but organized by runners for runners. Nicely done, thanks Bill!
Feet cold & fingers numbing, I crossed the tape just under 5 hours. One of my top 10 worst times – but surprising, a 1st Place finish. Pretty sure I’ll remain a one-hit wonder (assuming I can’t find any blizzard runs) — but tonite I celebrate!
CAUSE AND EFFECT MARATHON
HERE’S HOW OUR RUNNERS DID!
Haga K R Louisville CO 4:59:30
Matt at Adams County Regional Park • Cause and Effect Marathon. 15 degree starting temp. This is marathon #3 in 90 days.
Niels • Strava • All money went for a good cause. 13 out and back ‘laps’ that ran a little long. Completely snow covered trails the entire time. Good because it was soft, challenging because it made it hard to get any kind of push off. My TomTom is still off about .01 per mile…..which equates to a 1/4 mile over this distance. 27.1 total today was a very good day. I love these underground small local little marathons. Hip Hip Hooray to the RD for organizing.
-
- cold, snowy start to marathon season
-
- queued behind a line drawn in the snow
-
- beanie, gloves, shades & lotta layers (dropped the jacket after mile 4)
-
- first Top 3 finish
-
- post-race thaw in marathoner warming hut
