Colorado Day 2015

Published August 1, 2015

Best way to celebrate Colorado Day? Outdoors of course 🙂

On August 1, 1876, president Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting Colorado as a state. Colorado Day was celebrated as a state holiday on August 1 for many years, and then was moved to the first Monday in August. The day no longer became a public holiday, but rather an observance, when the state started observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a public holiday in 1985.

Started the day with an early hour-half drive to Estes Park. Rocky Mountain Half Marathon, my first Half in 18 months. 6am Gun time – something special about racing pre-dawn, settling into pace, then experience sunrise.

Circled Estes Lake. Mile 2 jammed up on the running path – lotta runners, maybe 2 across possible. Picked up pace & caught the 1:50 racers.

Mile 4 thru 8 – UP. Elevation AND incline – but no negativity this day. I dug in, held pace & picked off tens of runners walking the last mile up.

Miles 9, 10 & 11 – big smile. Ripped DOWN (rare for me, generally I pull up, hold back).

UP again at mile 12 to the Stanley, then finished flat to the Fairgrounds. (Kinda weird ending – passed a ‘3’ which we all assumed was mile 13…but that happened another half mile later, then the final tenth mile was actually .3 miles. Not a deal breaker but I went out fast, far too early.)

Good day. 13.1 miles, half the distance – nice to have some gas left in the tank.

Hills & altitude – my new favourite combo. Finding hills to be an age equalizer.

Bib Name City Chip Time Division Place

327 K R Haga Louisville CO 1:52:21 6

Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park – Planned to re-hike Black Lake, hadn’t been in 3 years (2012 challenge: 52 weeks, 52 hikes). 9am in the Park but couldn’t find parking, even RMNP’s Park N Ride advised to come back at 2pm. Seriously? (Easy to get frustrated with summer tourist season but learning to share the love. National Parks are OUR parks as Americans – all Americans, no discrimination.)

Snuck the Prius in Moraine Park campground & hiked the extra mile to Cub Lake trailhead. Not a lotta trees in the meadow (Fern Lake fire burned most in 2012). Temps soon soared near 90, warm day. Last mile forested, blanketed in wildflowers 🙂

Cub Lake – pulled off my shoes & soaked. Lily pads, 2 ducks, dragonflies, small blue fish. Nibble, nibble, BITE. Hey, that’s no fish – pulled off a blood-sucking leech attached to my foot. ‘Nough soaking, hiked back – 4.6 miles total.

½ marathon run followed by a Nat’l Park hike. Colorado Day done? Nope, not yet.

: a well lived life

Othello

Colorado Shakespeare Festival (Boulder) – 8pm curtain time, biggest concern was sleep deprivation. Half-moon outdoor arena, center aisle seat, Flatirons sunset, temps in the low 70’s – yep, pretty much PERFECT.

From the opening dialogue, was hooked.

Iago couldn’t have been more sinister, nor Othello more tormented. Acting from these 2 overshadowed all other players. Othello a North African Moor, interracial marriage – and Iago’s sheer cunning to drive noble Othello mad.

NOT the Shakespeare of my youth. Far exceeded all expectations – I’ll be back next summer. FAANNN-frickin-TASTIC!

Colorado Day, day after? Sleep 🙂

Posted in Boulder County, Other Race Results, RMNP | Tagged hiking, holidays, rivers-lakes, theatre | Leave a comment

San Francisco Marathon

Published July 26, 2015

With recent life changes (& the onset of summer), haven’t stayed super consistent with marathon training. “You’ve done so many, your body is conditioned to run marathons.” Some truth to that, but I tell ya – getting up & randomly running 26 miles after throwing 6’s & an 8 over the past 2 weeks, is a struggle. Still coming to terms with dropping gym membership (eff July 1^st). Started finding my groove again last Wednesday – tight timing for Sunday’s marathon (kinda late in the game) but mentally feel I’ve turned a corner & I’m back.

Up early Saturday, caught a flight to San Francisco – my 35^th marathon, my 35^th different state. Landed in dense fog, temps in the upper 50’s – San Francisco norm for July. Packed long-sleeves & a jacket – my kinda summer weather 🙂

No rental required in SF, great public transportation. Air train to BART to Embarcadero station – 0.7 miles from my hotel, half-mile from tomorrow’s marathon start/finish. At Embarcadero, located the free Marathon Expo shuttle – BAM, easy peasy.

Bib & shirt pickup. Check, done. Explored Fort Mason & caught my first views of SF’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge – the reason I chose this marathon for my California run. Truly stunning.

Early night – 5:30am marathon start tomorrow, one of my earliest.

: marathon bib pick-up

: Fort Mason (Golden Gate Park)

: Golden Gate Bridge – will be up close & personal tomorrow 🙂

: Alcatraz – all tours sold out thru Aug 22nd, who knew?

: charmed life: Seattle’s Pike Market in June, San Fran’s Fishermans Wharf in July

: hotel view: SF’s Transamerica Pyramid

: “Rice-a-Roni…the San Francisco treat”

Quick shower, dressed in layers, running gloves & a hat – not your typical July attire. HA!

Arrived early, waited for my wave start – almost 15 minutes after the Elites. Lungs breathed water from the dense morning fog. Easy 5 mile, 8 minute-pace approaching Golden Gate Bridge. Yep, would be running OVER the Bridge to Marin County & back.

(bridge approach – one of the steepest hills I’ve marathoned. That said, better at mile 5, than mile 25 🙂 )

Got all nostalgic during the 3-mile Bridge out-n-back.

Have crossed the mighty Mississippi, run alongside both Atlantic & Pacific Oceans AND three Great Lakes (Michigan, Superior & Utah’s Great Salt Lake). Raced thru Nebraska & Iowa cornfields, Idaho potato farms, Louisiana bayou, Saguaro cactus in Arizona, down the Las Vegas strip at night, thru Kentucky’s Churchill Downs, viewed lighthouses in Maine, Wisconsin, Rhode Island & Michigan. 50 State Quest has been quite a life journey. Crazy proud of my country, our people & our national diversity.

Lotta hills in San Fran – I knew in advance, but still…a lotta hills in San Fran.

Fatigue set in early – lactic acid build-up near mile 12 (inconsistent training). 4-hour pace group passed soon after.

Haven’t run a large city race since Miami – enjoyed running with folks all 26 miles. While generally a HUGE fan of small-town America, latter miles can often be lonely. You wonder – does anyone know I’m out here?

A bit unorthodox but cell-phoned friends/family at miles 17, 19, 22 & 24. I would finish today. Last hill at mile 23, slogged in the remaining three miles. My 3^rd 5-hour marathon – not particularly proud of that stat, guess it’s all part of the journey. Good days, bad days, sunshine/rain/snow/ice/heat/wind – and fog.

Pretty amazing day. Today I ran across the Golden Gate Bridge. Beautiful city San Fran — I’ll be back 🙂

San Francisco Marathon 2015
Bib: 30741
Name: K R Haga
Hometown: Louisville, CO
Finish: 5:07:45

: marathoning over the Golden Gate Bridge

: 5am block party in San Francisco

: Bay Bridge pre-race selfie

Posted in Marathons/Ultras, Pacific/Desert | Leave a comment

Sharknado 3

Published July 22, 2015

Having exposed Ash to her first Sharknado two years ago, felt a proud family moment being invited to her home for a cookout & the premiere of Sharknado 3 (know what you’re thinking, where does the time go 🙂 )

Fans don’t watch for the sharks. Campy story lines & corny dialogue – that’s why we LOVE these films! Sooo campy & far-fetched, guessing absolutely nothing is considered a “bad idea” when crafting scripts.

This year’s sequel follows Fin (Ian Ziering) & April (Tara Reid) from:

Los Angeles (Sharknado 1) – when they were ex’s, Fin (& later his son) dated Nova, who dropped homemade bombs into Sharknados, fell out of the helicopter & later miraculously rescued from the belly of a shark via chainsaw
to New York (Sharknado 2) – where Sharknados mixed with East Coast cold, produced summer snow & sharks in Jets Stadium & April lost her hand to a shark (attacked while on an airplane, held on with the other hand ‘til the plane landed)
to DC, Orlando & Outer Space (Sharknado 3)

Sharknado 3 recap provided at link below:

https://www.today.com/popculture/sharknado-3-tears-through-east-coast-9-moments-talk-about-t34066

In the final scene, April — who now has a chainsaw hand — manages to deliver her own baby inside a shark while falling from space. The couple names it after Fin’s dad [David Hasselhoff], who sacrificed his own return to Earth for the cause.

No worries if you missed last night’s thriller – this series isn’t ending anytime soon.

Sharknado 4 is slated for July 2016. Mark your calendar! 🙂