The Reward

I chose REI as my runabout destination for two reasons. 1. They have cool stuff to look at. 2. They have a Starbucks.

It took me about 3 hours to get the 20.5 miles from HR to downtown. I did eat a bit before I left, but I was quite hungry when I entered Starbucks. Before I could indulge in what you see above, I had to visit the restroom to wash my face. Unfortunately, running long distances produces a lot of sweat that dries to a nice white salty powder on my face. No need to give a ghostly scare to the other patrons trying to enjoy their morning coffee!

After my snack, I walked the store a bit. I then made my way over to the 16th Street Mall and found Barnes & Nobles. Forty-five minutes later I was on the light rail beginning my trek home. Upon arriving at the Littleton light rail station, I had to take a bus to HR. The best I could do was get dropped off 2 miles from our house. After sitting for over an hour, my legs had tightened up. That 2 mile jog home was much worse than the 20 mile run downtown!

Oh yeah...I don't get Frappuccinos or any other fancy coffee drinks often, but I can say this one was the best ever!

Denver Runabout

I recently read a book called 50/50 by Dean Karnazes. It chronicles his attempt to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. Dean has many other unbelievable running accomplishments that have earned him the nickname "Ultramarathon Man".

In 50/50 he offers many tidbits of advice to marathoners. One of them was an idea to break up the monotony of training by going on a "runabout". A runabout (Dean-style) is to grab a cell phone & credit card and head out the door before sunrise and not return until after sunset. Just pick a direction and go. The goal is to continue jogging/walking most of the day.

With Tanya & the girls in CA, I decided to go on a runabout (Woody-style) on Sunday morning. I packed up my Camelbak with: 60 oz of Gatorade, phone, wallet, change of shirt, granola bar, and...public transportation schedule! I've learned to be prepared! I left around 8:30am and headed north. My destination? REI in downtown Denver.

I didn't realize how much fun this adventure was going to be. It's not that anything out of the ordinary happened. No, the fun part was venturing out on a gorgeous day and just going somewhere by foot that I would never of thought going before without a car. As I got closer to downtown, I weaved my way through Washington & Cheeseman Parks, the heart of downtown, then out to Coors Field, and finally through Riverfront & Commons Parks which brought me to Confluence Park & REI.

More to come tomorrow...

Boston?

This shot is my favorite running picture of all. It was taken by the course photographer right at the end of the NH Marathon. I posted a similar picture last October, but it didn't have Zoe it in, and it didn't catch the expressions on our faces. I think I can make out a look of frustration on Zoe's face...she tried really hard to keep up.

Switching gears...this May I'm going to give trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon another shot. I'm going to run in the Colorado Marathon up in Fort Collins. I'm just over 10 weeks through a different 18 week training program that is kicking my butt....in a good way. Training can be a bit stressful at points. For an example, read on...

The other night I had a dream that my Boston qualifying race had come. For some reason it wasn't the CO Marathon, but some other race and I have no idea where it was. Anyway, for some reason I was very late getting to it. When I arrived, I absent-mindedly put the envelope containing my race bib and timing chip aside and just hopped into the race. Boy, did I run a good time. I was approaching the finish and happily looked at my watch and knew I was about to qualify. For some reason this was also the time I realized that without a timing chip, I would not receive an official time and thus my effort was worthless.

Most nights I sleep quite peacefully. This particular night, I woke up breathing heavy, panicking, heart-broken, angry for not wearing my chip...and with a light glaze of sweat covering me. You better believe that timing chip will be on securely on May 3rd!