Manchester to Manchester

Published May 19, 2018

Late leaving Chicago, didn’t arrive in New Hampshire ‘til 2am. Mighty late/early (half full/half empty).

6 hours shuteye, hearty diner breakfast with Stephen, airport return for my weekend rental car. New England road trippin’ day – Manchester NH to Manchester VT. Notta lotta options travelling Southern Vermont.

Hartford CT 2 hr 33 min; Manchester NH 2 hr 34 min; Burlington VT 2 hr 24 min

Rainy day drive – but NO HAIL pelting the windshield. Better day.

Leafy shades of green all trip. Forgot how beautiful New England can be, nothing like the Green Mountains of Vermont. Bib pick-up, pizza at Christo’s. Hotel in time to watch Justify win the Preakness, 2^nd leg of the Triple Crown.

Early to bed, early to rise. 14^th marathon of 2018 🏃🏆

: “Here Comes the Rain Again” – Annie Lennox (1983)

: DW Diner, Merrimack

: Green Mountains of Vermont ❤

: little bit of Italy, in Manchester VT

Manchester to Manchester

Heaven & Hail

Published May 18, 2018

Denver ✈ Chicago ✈ Manchester

HAIL!

Lack of airports, lack of marathons. Vermont’s a gem. Gotta work at it to appreciate it.

5:40 flight to Chicago, 1:35AM arrival in Manchester [3-hour Vermont drive next day].

Dropped off Ro at lunch, left 30 minutes early for DIA. Spent that time on a 5-mile stretch within Boulder city limits. Glad I left early, not my usual. Spring storm forecasted/poised to hit Boulder – also not the usual (generally we’re shielded by the Flatirons, our surrounding peaks).

Skies opened, HAIL. Flash flooding; sheets of water poured down Foothills [Parkway]. Weather app said 90 minutes more. No time to wait, I’ve gotta flight to catch. Argh 🙁

Weekend prediction: RAIN… ’tis the season ☂

Hail coming down in boulder

3:59 PM – May 18, 2018 · Boulder, CO

Paul Aiken✔@PaulAikenBDC

A storm struck Boulder County on Friday afternoon, flooded streets, dropped heavy localized hail and was accompanied by lightning, which struck a Gunbarrel apartment complex and started a fire.

The National Weather Service put much of the eastern part of the county under a flash flood warning for about 90 minutes, and the county remains under a flash flood watch until midnight Saturday as more rain — some of it heavy — is expected along the Front Range and eastern plains.

NWS Meteorologist Kyle Fredin said that 1-inch hailstones were reported in south Boulder and nearly 3 inches of rain fell in the northeastern part of the city, causing flooding in some streets.

Local meteorologist Matt Kelsch wrote on his blog on Friday that parts of the Front Range are “in for a lot of rain today and Saturday, with wet snow above the treeline.”

“Watch out for localized street flooding and the potential for creeks to spread out of their channels in some places,” he wrote. “The Saturday morning Farmers Markets may be in for the second wet Saturday in a row.”

UK Run Challenge (May edition)

Published May 15, 2018

it doesn’t get Easier. you get Stronger.

May 2018 update: Completed my first 6 week marathon stretch since 2015. 6 marathons, 5 US states, 2 continents.

3 races remaining ‘til GOAL, including my most difficult ultra attempt EVER – the Dirty 30 in Black Hawk. 32 miles of rugged Colorado trail, up-n-over FIVE mountain peaks – at ALTITUDE. Goal time: 8 hours.

Milestones:

April 25th – Nashville Marathon registration (cuss-n-discuss 26 miles w/ Sis; race date: November 10th)
May 1st – Prince Edward Island Marathon registration (2 Canadian provinces/year – 10 province FINISH: 2020)
May 6th – confirmation: Knysna Elephant Park, South AFRICA (2 nites lodging/July 2018)

June MANTRA: SEE it, BE it, BELIEVE it, ACHIEVE.

No excuses, finish the journey. BIGHORN in 30 days.

Race ReCap: 2 marathons, one ultra, all PRs. Best 50K EVER (Vienna IL); 50 State PRs in Delaware & Massachusetts.

Marathoning Streak: 54 months

Mileage ReCap: ended May at 942 miles (only 141 miles from GOAL)

: ended May at 942 miles

: 2018 medal medley

Lands End to John O’Groats

1083 miles, the length of Britain

GOAL: 15 June 2018

Ended Month 5 near Urquhart Castle, 21 kilometres southwest of Inverness, 2 kilometres east of Drumnadrochit.

Urquhart Castle sits beside Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland.

The present ruins date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, though built on the site of an early medieval fortification. Founded in the 13th century, Urquhart played a role in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century. It was subsequently held as a royal castle, and was raided on several occasions by the MacDonald Earls of Ross. The castle was granted to the Clan Grant in 1509, though conflict with the MacDonalds continued.

In the 20th century it was placed in state care as a scheduled monument and opened to the public: now one of the most-visited castles in Scotland. The castle, situated on a headland overlooking Loch Ness, is one of the largest in Scotland in area. It was approached from the west and defended by a ditch and drawbridge.