holidays

Independence Pass, Independence Day

Published July 4, 2017

Anytime you see the word ’tundra’ in July, it’s a good day…a mighty good day.

Woke Tuesday outside of Aspen, Independence Day. Big parade in town, gonna shut down Main Street ‘til early afternoon. Sit-down breakfast then hit the highway before the town’s 930am curfew. Could always take ‘the winter route’ home – but who doesn’t want to travel Independence Pass on Independence Day. Perfect, right?

Windy drive UP UP UP State Highway 82, short 45 minutes from Aspen. Expecting a warm 4^th – but at 12,000ft? Ice still on the far edge of the lake, patches of remnant snow. Stopped at the Pass, walked at the Pass. FAAANNNTASTIC!

Colorado’s only east-west highway, I-70 can a nightmare. But today, breezed home. Parked, unpacked by noon. Quick run at the gym, off to Ash & Tom’s at 4pm. Grilling on July 4^th, gotta/hafta – it’s an American tradition.

Last year watched fireworks light up the highway as we returned home from St. Louis. This year played cards ‘til sunset, walked 2 blocks to Open Space & viewed 5 different town celebrations. Clear skies, cool mountain night – PERFECT. Best fireworks? The ones shooting directly ‘bove Ash’s neighborhood. WOW!

UPDATE: Stephen in town Friday & Saturday, time for our quarterly gig at Boulder Dinner Theatre. Summer season show: Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Yikes – whole lotta singing, not a lotta story. And randomly, a bunch of middle-schoolers would sing. Part of the show but not dressed for the show. LOVE our artsy tradition but this particular show, not a fave.

: UP UP UP State Hwy 82

: ’tundra’ in July, a good day

: FAAANNNTASTIC!

: Home, sweet Colorado home

: Happy Birthday USA!

: Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Independence Day 2017

Posted in Boulder County, Continental Divide | Tagged holidays, theatre | Leave a comment

Run the Year 2017 (June edition)

Published June 30, 2017

Run the Year Motto: EVERY day’s a run day, 2017 miles in 2017

June 2017 update: FAIL. While I maintained both run streaks, the month was a miss. Ran light after Ash’s wedding, tapered the week before Bighorn – running no more than 2 miles/day. Bighorn FAIL, followed by another week of short miles. Summitting Mt Elbert [my first 14er of 2017] helped right the mental, ease my loss. Reality: 50 miles, maybe too far too soon.

Positive? Posted my first sub-4 finish since March 2015 at REVEL Rockies in Morrison.

July focus (~~June~~ do-over): HYDRATION

As temps heat up this summer, gotta solve the riddle. Hydration & nutrition – my marathon nemeses. Consciously increasing raw vegetable & fruit intake all summer. ‘Tis the season, local foods available, time to focus/commit.

BIG supporter of local Boulder business – LOVE LOVE my Newtons (third year, same core brand). However, gonna mix up hydration this summer (been using Skratch Labs). No set solution, sampling Tailwind & Crank Sports’ e-Fuel next month.

Race ReCap: REVEL Rockies, not a PR but under 4 hours – Chip Time: 3:58:25.66

Streaks: 189 consecutive run days, 43 months marathoning

Mileage ReCap: missed the month, ended June at 1,209 miles (still 200 miles ahead of 2017 goal)

: ended June at 1,209 miles

: Dad’s Day celebration — fave food? Deviled eggs. Homemade’s the only way.

: Milestone 1100

: Milestone 1200

Posted in Run Challenges | Tagged holidays | Leave a comment

All-Out Beat the Heat Marathon

Published April 15, 2017

Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug… MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER

Tough day. Heat fail.

Training hard all month – Bighorn just over 60 days away. Completed another 10K Friday: 6 mile run, quarter-mile swim. Slept hard, probably some of my best [the] day before a marathon. Haven’t yet acclimated, deep sleep after every swim.

Today’s run only 20 minutes away in Westminster. Can’t beat that commute, huh?

Sunshiny skies, 8am Start, expecting a warm Finish. Commuted with my North End neighbor, Larry – he’d run the 10K today. Beautiful morning, well organized event. All-Out Beat the Heat Marathon. ‘Beat the Heat’ was exactly the plan.

Cool comfortable temp, Star-Spangled Banner blared proudly. Dropped my hat, hand over heart & sang along. Countdown from 10, our marathon journey began. Briefly started on asphalt (ran past an alpaca farm), then adjusted to packed trail (dirt). Climb, Climb, Climb – course incline the first 8 miles…that’s a lotta climb, luckily I’m a fan of hills 🙂

Marathon athletes will start out heading west on Big Dry Creek Trail toward Standley Lake Regional Park. At about 2.5 miles athletes will begin 4 miles of the gravel trail & road system within the park, including the spectacular views along a north / south dogleg near the dam, then exit the park to continue west toward the south trailhead and the west turnaround. As they return they way they came, athletes will skip the dogleg to return to Big Dry Creek Trail and follow it east for about 16 miles to the east turnaround.

Sun kicked in at 10 – rays were always there, but didn’t feel the heat ‘til 2^nd Half. 70, 75, 81° F. Perfect for a casual walk with the pup – but on a marathon run without any tree cover, our high-altitude sun baked. Number of participants dropped off significantly — folks opting to finish the Half, avoid the exposed bike path east to Denver. Today’s first Half highlighted shots of Standley Lake, backdropped by the Flatirons. 2^nd Half however was dry, flat, cracked earth, patches of dried salt littered the landscape.

Mentally broke at 21. My friend Larry doubled his 10K effort, met me just past mile 23. Walking now. Notta lotta chatter. Notta lotta options – small race, no golf-cart to the Finish should you call it quits. UGLY…nearly 2 hours to finish those last 5 miles. Dehydrated, sweat-caked salt ‘round my eyes, dried to the sides of my face.

A finish is a finish, collected my medal…but today’s fail stung.

2017 All-Out Beat the Heat – Full

April 15, 2017 in Westminster, CO

2587 K R Haga 5:11:18

Shoes off, home. 2 hours sleep, briefly woke to shower. 3pm: bowl of soup.

6:15pm: my quarterly Boulder Dinner Theatre date with Ash, Tom & Stephen. “Disenchanted!” – comedy depicting the now adult, middle-aged Disney princesses. Time to turn that frown upside down. Good laugh.

10 hours sleep, 2 easy miles on the treadmill, quarter-mile swim at CAC. Weekend over? Heck no, it’s Easter Sunday! Afternoon-celebrated at Casa Alegre — our Mexican Easter tradition — 4^th year with Ash & Tom. Mexican fiesta, olé!