Fries

We just made an unusual track for late night grub. Sometimes you just have grab fries after 10.

Sometimes

Day Off

I had a friend back in college that was balancing quite a few jobs to get through a tougher time. After several weeks of straight work he finally had a day off from all his jobs. He woke up at 1:30am and ground some coffee. By the by we were roommates at the time. When I an our other roommate inquired what the hell he was doing, he said he was going to get the most out of this day off and didn't want to sleep through any of it. That response has always made me smile and oddly I've thought about that often since. Today I decided to follow in my friend's distant foot steps and hopped in my running shoes right away this morning. I've got a full dance card for my day off but am pretty excited to pack in as much as I can. It's no 1:30am start, but I'm happy with it.

Monday Is Ok?

It would seem Monday's have the worst rep of all the days. They are dreaded and despised, even on Tuesday's. Well, I am experiencing a different facet of Monday this morning. It is a new week, but with that I have new opportunities to get some things achieved. To me the clean slate is a good thing and I am enjoying it thus far. Maybe Monday's have some redemption qualities that are overlooked?

Blizzard Run

So all the alerts said it may be blizzard conditions. I was resigned to the grim idea of doing my 14 mile run on our treadmill. When I woke up and looked outside, there was indeed a lot of snow, but it seemed to be gently falling. The temperature wasn't too bad either. I decided to go for it. It was a new route that mirrored some of the marathon course. The downside was that it was a mostly off roads. Turns out, it was colder than I thought and the wind caught up a little bit out the gate. As an additional perk, I had epic gear fail. The worst part was my head gear and gloves completely froze. We are talking near solid. Even with all these obstacles I am so glad I went out there and did it. Sure I spent a couple breaks in a port-a-potty outside Sports Authority Field and an REI just to warm up, but that's ok. By the end, the euphoria of just getting out there was in full effect.

Snow View

They say a storm is approaching tonight. There are warnings of blizzard conditions tomorrow. It's been an up and down week and personally I hope the predictions are true. When nature unleashes her power, it tends to add healthy perspective all around. With snow, it also just seems to make the whole world outside cleaner. It reminds me of how we have this chance to be a part of something bigger than us. With a view that embarrassingly falls short of my own troubles, I appreciate the reminder.

Caution and Ambition

There must be a peculiar twist to my brain when it comes to limitations or at times just common sense. After yesterday's near debacle of running in my barefoot shoes in snow and way too cold conditions, my speed workout today was looking grim. Especially after one of my toes decided to let me know how much it disliked the yesterday's workout last night by inducing a limp for an hour. The twist came when I got out there today. It is icy and snowy and just not conducive to speed work at all. I hadn't committed nor ruled it out though as I was running easy to the park. Then as soon as I got to my start point,I took off. The trail wasn't too icy, but worn and uneven snow made it much tougher. Despite constantly telling myself I could opt out at anytime without shame under the conditions, I made my two laps at tempo speed. For me, that looks close to 2 minutes shy of my regular speed.

The question lingers though, why? I am all for leaning in and going for it, but at what point is that just foolish inertia? Last night's limp concerned me and reminded me all too quickly, my goal for May's marathon may be dashed instantly if I irk my ITB or screw up a toe (again). The creed of go for it has served me well, but caution has become an equally valued training partner. Go for it doesn't work if I break the system.

Barefoot on Snow

So we just had a great snow here in Denver. I had an idea this morning (actually have had it for a while and just needed the opportunity) and decided to give it a shot. I am often one to throw caution and conventional thinking to the wind to try something. Today I gave my Vibram Five Finger running shoes a go in snow. For those unfamiliar they are the goofy shoes that have individual toes and are designed to offer a near bare foot type of running. Yep, I wanted to see if they would work on snow. After all, fingers warm up while running, shouldn't toes? Here's what I learned today on a mile run in my Vibrams:

1. Running barefoot on snow is exciting and feels great at first.
2. Lesson one does not last long.
3. When the toes go numb, it is less ideal that they are separate.
4. Once lesson 3 is discovered, getting home can not happen fast enough.
5. Toes are not like fingers, they never magically start warming up.
6. Getting frozen toes out of said shoes is hard and requires a bathtub with luke warm water.
7. While there is a strong urge to throw the shoes after 20 minute effort to get them off, the laugh ability of what you just tried is almost worth it.

Taking Stock

Every now and again it just hits me how good I have it. While that may sound more than a little annoying, let me clarify. I can see the the people in my life that care about me and inversely I care about. While I don't always feel wonderful, I have my health. There is a roof over my head and food to eat. I often find my eyes rolling a little when I hear people talking about those things because it sometimes feels like it is said cognitively. These aspects have not always been there for me or I was blind to them. Today though, I feel it. These gifts and this life are precious and can be taken all too easily. Today I am grateful they are a part of my life. Everything else is just a luxury problem. Taking Stock

Pushing Tired

Maintaining steam is not easy when I am feeling fatigued. I have a number of irons in the fire right now and am continuing to try and get some work done. My training has been good, but I can feel the body doing the usual slowing as extra miles start to do their thing. It's not easy to keep pushing, but I am trying. Sometimes the effort is all the reward to look at for a bit.

Surrender to Win

I live by some fairly straight forward rules on a daily basis. One of which is a degree of surrender. I do believe in a power greater than myself, call it God or whatever you wish. It seems from abundant evidence that life run by my will is a fruitless endeavor and not the proper use of my will. When I am more receptive to using that power beyond me, I am far more free to use the talents and skills I possess. It ironically is very empowering each morning when I ask God to guide my day and show me what my next step is to be. Today I hope to hold good on that request. That is ll I am asked to do, one day at a time.

Humility vs Pride

It's hard at times to navigate out of a self dig hole. I find myself there, details irrelevant, and somehow seeking to pull out of it. Pride is an irritating beast. Even when I know it's not getting me anywhere, times like this it's tough to throw it in reverse and accept I am on the wrong course. While I am a fan of humility, when I necessitate humiliation to get there it sucks. So here's to the slow steps back from a recent gaff.

Dog Show

Tiff and I took in a new type of event today, we went to the dog show. I gotta be honest, it was odd and fun all in one. It is always interesting to drop into a completely different world for a bit and a dog show was certainly a unique environment. I love dogs I do, but there was definitely a different type of love there. On the upshot, dogs, no matter how groomed and manicured are always just awesome. It was fun. 

Tempo Run

I am putting in considerably more effort in this marathon training than I have before. I am doing it for a couple reasons. The first is I feel up for the challenge. I had been teetering around the daily running routine for a while and was ready to add some structure to it. The second is that, while I hit a new personal record (PR) on my last marathon, I hit a wall big time n the latter miles that zapped me hard. I missed my target of a sub 4hr marathon by a teaser of 2:30. I am hoping increasing my prep will leave me stronger in those stages of my next marathon. It was tough enough I am not faltering in my dedication by just remembering that feeling.

One of the elements I have added is regular speed days. These are advised on almost every training plan I have ever seen. I have never been that interested in trying them as they sound utterly awful. This has changed this go around as I find myself a tad more receptive to experienced advice. One of the suggested speed workouts is called a Tempo Run. The basic understanding I have of it is that after a warm up period, you run at a high speed for a prolonged amount of time and finish with a cool down stretch. The speed should be fast enough to be uncomfortable and yet still leave you able to speak in short phrases. None of that sounded good till now, to be honest. I run because it's fun, not "uncomfortable."

Today I gave it a whirl. While I can not say it was my favorite workout, I managed pretty well and never gave in to the overwhelming desire to break for a walk. I managed to peal off a new PR for a 5K as well. It was a shock to see my times after were also 2 minutes faster than my regular speed! While I may not embrace my Friday speed workouts, I can honestly say it felt good getting home knowing I tried it. Even better, I didn't have to give up today.

True Valentine

I am not one to get all that jazzed over Valentine's Day anymore. It has three parts really that keep me from being too enthusiastic about our mid-February ritual. The first is that it just seems fake. If Charlie Brown once bemoaned the commercialism of Christmas, the V-day is it's unbridled sequel. The second is that I generally seem employed in places that keep me from making any traditional plans, a fact my wife has long since given in to. The last though is probably the best one though. I am madly in love with my wife. I tell regularly so in fact. I buy her flowers when she is blue, not because the calendar tells me to. With her, I feel the spirit of Valentines, if there is such, all the time. It seems as odd as proposing Drink Coffee Day or Walk Day.I must confess though, the recent Pancake Day was pretty awesome. With my wife, I am inspired to all the tenants of Valentine's Day but without the needless urge to go buy it. I love her and waited a long time to find her. Of course I will let her know she's my love and I am damn grateful she's in my life. 

I will now step off my heart shaped soapbox.

Pictures

I just spent some time organizing my iPhoto library a little. What with several devices taking picture cover the last few years, the photos are as jumbled as if they were printed and tossed in a shoe box. It was a lot of fun to go back and see some of them again and I was shocked how many I had forgotten about. In this digital age, it seems all to easy to have all these great pictures and not look at them very often. While I am now a little more organized than before, I am something a bit more than that. I am truly happy having revisited so many great memories.

One City Block

One of the things I am most enjoying and fascinated by in our recent return to city living is the variety of people all around us. Particularly when I am out on a run, I get to see things differently in my home town than I ever did when I lived here before. On Sunday, I had my 12 mile run and I mapped out a huge figure 8 to run on streets I was familiar with. I had never walked down some of these streets before but have driven them since returning. I thought there would be few surprises, especially early on a Sunday morning. What I did not expect was that I would be running past some truly rough areas ( not dangerous, just depressed) and then right into affluent ones. Within one block in particular I past folks leaving the shelter they had stayed at the night before and people waiting for their table a fashionable new brunch place. Such dichotomy within one city block is tough not to grab your attention. Without judgement, I am truly in awe of the human experience within such a small space. Whether it was the homeless or the hipsters or the shuck just trying to run through, each of us were breathing and just trying to get on together. Not to be sappy or anything, but it was a cool moment to feel connected to life around me by actually seeing it and being in it.

Yoga Push

I was excited to get back on the yoga mat tonight, but a little concerned as well. My 12 mile run yesterday left me a little wiped out but good. I have not exactly heeded my rest day policy and just kept it to an easy mile. Thus far I am on 43 day stretch of consistent running. I'm pushing it harder this time and enjoying it. None the less, I was a little worried about the yoga work. It's tough and challenging. I am always glad when I have completed a video (still intimidated to try a class yet). While I feel my legs are pretty strong, yoga has a fantastic way of humbling me pretty quick. I dig that. The human body is phenomenal, second only to the power of the mind. To push the body a little further than comfortable is pretty awesome.

Grammy's

Sitting here with Tiff watching the Grammy's. I am struck by a couple things here. The value of spectacle can not truly be priced. That is not to say it must be extravagant, but to go big is impressive when you can see it. The show itself and several of its artists have certainly gone big. I love it, even if the music isn't always t  my liking. However, I must say there have been so many artists and reminders of artists I love, I am smitten with the power of music to transform a mood. From unexpected country delights to some well know and loved pieces, I am  so enjoying the sound. There is so much good music out there, it staggers the mind. I am new to the jazz scene and can't begin to grasp how many great artists and groups there are in this category I hadn't noticed before. Hell, even in my favorite style of punk, I am routinely finding tunes I hadn't heard before. I love it. From Bad Religion to Miles Davis to Aretha Franklin to Skrillex, music is amazing and good.

Dog's Life

It's a sweet and sleepy Saturday morning in my house. I managed to get out for an easy 4 miler, but the dogs seem to have my wife and I pinned in a state of lounging. I know for a fact they would just be sleeping all over the couches if we were not here. Usually, they keep engaged with us though when we are both around. The tables have been turned today as we seem to be hopelessly drawn to laying on the bed or couch as they snuggle in and before we know it, no one is moving. These mornings are helpful though. Often we seem to hear life needs to be enjoyed more. For me that means occasionally shelving my plans of productivity and enjoy the dog's life, literally.

Mi Culpa

It's been a turbulent few days with work. The long and the short was getting the consequences of making a mistake. It was an honest mistake, but a mistake none the less. The impulse to explain or spread the blame has been overwhelming, but it was a mistake I made. I would love to be flawless, but I don't think that's reasonable in this instance. What I deplore is the phrase, "it's not my fault." I, to my chagrin, am human and will make mistakes. The tough part is just accepting it and moving on. At least it seems highly unlikely ill make THAT mistake again. In the grand scheme of things, making new mistakes is probably a good sign.

Puppy Love

Good Sleep.

Here it is now February and most thoughts of resolutions have faded or are distant memories. I had dubbed this the Year of Good, specifically focused on good music, good food, and good sleep. Most of my efforts had been on the first two of those areas. Last night, I slept though. It was the first uninterrupted night of sleep I had enjoyed in quite a long time. I was reminded this morning what a world of difference that can make. Sleep has long been an area of frustration for me. It has been elusive and aggravating. I either can't sleep most of the time or just opt not to. I latter years I have made efforts to try and sleep like a normal person, but it has been hit and miss. All I know to do is put my body in bed at a decent hour and try and stay there. The rest, pun intended, is out of my hands. I am hoping habit will happen and last night's true sleep will be repeated. It is very much good.

Felt Good

As I have confessed here before, I am a bit of a social runner. It was an absolutely gorgeous day when I got home from work today and I was all too eager to get out and do my 4 mile run. It was an easy day according to my training plan so I  was determined to ease back having learned a valuable lesson from my long run on Sunday. I decided to give the runner nod to each and every passing runner in the park. I realized it would almost never be returned, but that wasn't why I wanted to do it. I did it to remind myself to take it easy and just to be friendly. It felt good every time too. I also had an unusual response after each nod. It was that I liked being me at those moments. Now I am not usually burdened with an inflated ego most of the time, quite the contest even. However, there are moments when it feels good to admit that. So I humbly ask you my 3 readers to forgive me if it sounded arrogant, but in those instances of undemanding friendliness, it felt good to be me.

Bike Therapy

I used to admire and be mystified when I would hear my musician friends talk about just needing to go play a while. It would be therapy when pissed or celebration when happy, but either way it was a true need that seemed to transform them in a way I wasn't all that familiar with. At least not like that. I think I have found that something as of late though. Getting on the bike and going somewhere in the city. I love to run and I love to paint, but there is a certain difference in the hopping on the bike to get somewhere. The last part is key too. While I love to just ride, there is a decided difference in running out to grab dinner or meet friends or today, grab some paint. I feel so free flying down the street, like nothing else can reach me; ironic being how wonderfully vulnerable I am out there. None the less, my troubles fade after but a block or two. That is a cool thing to have learned.

By the by, today I grabbed 1 1/2 gallons of paint, running socks, energy snacks, and a beignet in my beloved Chrome bag on my old steel frame Bridgestone. Seriously this bag rules!

Long Run Sunday

In my third week of marathon training for the Colfax Marathon and Sunday once again was my long run. It was a 10 mile effort today. While it may sound ridiculous to my non running readers, there are times when the long run is effortless and the miles just fall by. Today was not one of those days and afterward I could see I was pushing a bit hard for a distance like that. The lessons I have gained from trying this a few times have been helpful. One, always bring more water than you think you will need. Two, have a little cash because finishing at home is ok, but finishing with a tasty mocha at a nearby coffee shop is better. Three, take it easy on a long run; the benefits are not from the speed but the consistent effort. Today I achieved 2 out of 3. Unwittingly I pushed too hard the entire run and while part of me wants to say, "hell yeah," I also know and respect the reasons for taking it easy. My Sundays runs will continue to get longer till the taper period and an injury from overexertion is pretty humbling. I am training harder and more thoroughly for this marathon than I have before, but that is all the more reason to not tweak this component as well. Here's hoping next Sunday I can report an effortless 12 miler. 

Ice Cream Run

Tiff and I have a rare day off together. The plans have been a bit fluid but we are now set on a new adventure shortly. The quest is to walk to a little ice cream shop in our neighborhood and see if it is worthy of the hype. How wonderful is it to be on a taste test quest of an ice-cream shop? I seriously have no real problems when I am able to gain some perspective. Sometimes the wall is just too damn close and seems too damn important. There are real struggles and troubles out there, that is for certain. What I have are luxury problems when compared. As long as I can stay back far enough and not listen to KFQT (the internal, deprecating radio station), I am able to see my life for what it is. A gift.

Left

Turn left. That I once heard was the definition of knowing what is God's will for you. Regardless of a particular faith, when you hit the wall, that is sound advice.