nothing happy about Happy Buddha

Published February 9, 2013

Generally I have all weekends planned in advance (LIFE is meant to be LIVED) – but because of the East Coast blizzard, three feet of snow kept my friend lodged in New Hampshire.

First free weekend of 20-13. What to do?

Slept in ‘til 7am (that’s actually super late for me), played a few rounds of (mindless) solitaire on the iPad, then lazily rolled out of bed – Ro was begging at this point. Dog park day! An hour of running with his peeps, Ro seemed all balanced again. So while he napped, I went on my longest run to date – 15 miles. WOW!

That said, not a pretty run. Cold because of cloud cover with the day’s snow (generally only sunshine here). And I gotta tell ya, the last mile was .25 mile jog, .25 mile walk. Music blaring, downed 2 Hammer gels for added energy – still, all I could do to finish.

Don’t plan on adding any additional distance ‘til April. Gotta run more effortlessly, pick up the race pace & revamp my nutrition plan. It’s not that I eat poorly…just not eating the right things to refuel properly. Habits are tough to break…I skip a meal ‘cause I’ve overrun, then eat a buffet-size platter & overstuff myself. Super frustrating! Self-discipline?

Nothing happy about Happy Buddha. A thin guy with a Buddha belly just looks Ethiopian. Not cool. Fosters & Fritos Fridays on my NYC train commute for the past 4-5 years, took its toll. Why did I not have an Aha moment & stop/start sooner?

Definition of AHA MOMENT

: a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension

Our body is supposed to be a temple. Last year’s hike challenge improved this temple from ‘trailer park’ to maybe ‘starter home’ (probably more like HUD housing). But in order to finish a marathon, I’m gonna have to DREAM BIGGER – maybe settle on ‘ranch style’ in a family neighborhood but aim for ‘new development’ 🙂

Life Update: Followed up Saturday’s 15 mile run with another 10 miles on Sunday – a bit stiff in the beginning, but finished like a champ. Snowman Stampede 10 miler is Saturday. I can do this!

Happy Buddha

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Believe-to-Achieve Thursday: ATTITUDE

Published February 7, 2013

Completed first two 12 mile runs of the year. (Thanks to my neighbor Debbie who introduced me to Honey Stinger Energy Chews – keeping energy levels high during ‘long run’ days.)

Movie(s) of the Week

Dorian Gray – cursed young man loses his soul after youthful wish spirals out-of-control

Brideshead Revisited – English family’s struggle between love for one another & love of their God/religion

Inspirational Video of the Week

Arthur Boorman (Body & Soul) Transformation

Speech of the Week

Sun Feb 3rd: Wendy Watson Nelson – What would a holy woman (or holy man) do?

Workout iTune of the Week

Here Comes the Boom (Extended Version)

Runner Log

Fri Feb 1^st – 3.25 miles

Sat Feb 2^nd– 10 miles

Sun Feb 3^rd– 5 miles

^{Mon Feb 4th} – 5.25 miles

Tue Feb 5^th – 12 miles

Wed Feb 6^th – 5 miles

Thu Feb 7^th – 12.25 miles

YTD total – 153.95 miles

‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius

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x-country skiing: Ouzel Falls (RMNP)

Published February 2, 2013

Happy Groundhog Day 2013!

Depending on which varmint you follow, winter is either coming or going. Punxsutawney Phil saw no shadow this year (early Spring) but our local marmot, Flatiron Freddy saw his shadow (which means 6 more weeks of winter). That said, Farmer’s Almanac (sadly) has been bang-on this year – go Ben Franklin!

…winter will return with a vengeance for many East Coast states. But states west of the Continental Divide will see mild temperatures and below average precipitation.

Editor Peter Geiger writes: It will be a ‘winter of contraries’. It’s like Old Man Winter is cutting the country in half. The eastern half of the country will see plenty of cold and snow. The western half will experience relatively warm and dry condition. As in the political arena, the climate this winter will render us a nation divided.

How best to celebrate Groundhog Day than x-country skiing in Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park! FAAAANNNNTASTIC!

Met up with Annmarie, John & their meet-up friend Chip at the Stone Cup in Lyons – for breakfast before our ski day. Picked up rental skis in Estes for only $12 (thanks Annmarie for bargain shipping!), then trekked to Wild Basin Trailhead in Allenspark.

Argh…not much snow – but kept positive thoughts [that] conditions would improve as we climbed higher. Sunny weather, temps in the 30’s – BEAUTIFUL day! AND lucky for us, Chip was a skilled x-country skier – and navigated our way. Hiked a half mile to the trailhead (road closed this time of year) and SUCCESS – just enough snow…which only got deeper as we increased elevation 🙂

At the trailhead, met a guy who works at McMurdo station in Antarctica. WOW – what a dream job! Antarctica has been a bucket list destination since I was eight (4.21.2012 post: still on my adventure ‘wish list’). Someday…but today – lovin’ my life in Colorado! CLICK HERE for McMurdo Station Webcam.

Passed the (closed) warming hut (no hot chocolate for us 🙁 ), then ahead 2 more miles thru towering lodgepole pines. X-country skiing is in my blood – LOVE this sport! Our $12 skis were slightly wider than those rented at Eldora AND had metal edges – talk about a ROCKSTAR bargain. Edges make all the difference in controlling turns & allowing ya to skate ski (vs classic x-country).

3 miles in, saw a sign for Ouzel Falls – only 0.9 miles away. But because it was 1pm, made a group decision – turn-back here or forge ahead. Ouzel Falls, YES! Think all 4 of us are like-minded & addicted to Colorado summit destinations.

OF COURSE this last 0.9 miles was the best of the entire day – isn’t that the way it always is? Snow deepened (whole lot more powder), trail opened to several amazing views and our destination Ouzel Falls was SOLID ICE – WOW! Spectacular!

Raced back in under 2 hours as my body started to fatigue. Had run 10 miles BEFORE x-country skiing 10 miles (true marathon training). Refueled at Smokin’ Dave’s before picking up Ro from his play-date. What a crazy FUN day!

Ro play-date (short clip w/ baby Clara)