It's really cool with a clear sky over Denver and the Rockies, with the Moon and Venus right next to each other. Too bad I have such a crappy camera. This was taken with my best digital camera.
I want a really nice expensive camera with interchangable lenses, but I'm picky. I think proprietary batteris are retarded. So I want a camera that takes AA's. It's also retarded to have a prorietary cord/plug when USB works fine. Why reinvent the wheel? To trap you into using all their stuff! To reduce your choices and lock you into their brand. No thanks. Strong-arm tactics steer me elsewhere.
It's been nice getting to see the Moon and Venus so close for so long. I don't ever remember a period in my life so long with such a consistent show.
My body is not responding this year like it has in past years. This year, my feet hurt. The rest of my body is fine, now, but Sunday, I think I had the stomach flu. Had a headache most of the day. Went for a long run and it took three miles to get rid of the headache. Then around mile 10 my stomach got queezy and started cramping. I wasn't really nauseous, but it was the kind of feeling where I was afraid I'd suddenly, spontaneously hurl. But I didn't. The whole run, I was very tired and lethargic. I told myself, "Look at it as an ultra - you're tired - okay - you don't have to go fast, just keep going." I managed 20.5 miles and felt decent afterwards. Still, it wasn't until Tuesday that I was back to my energetic self. Last Saturday, I volunteered at Colorado Runner Mag's Snowman Stampede 10-miler. It's a nice change of pace to stand there watching the pain on other people's faces instead of enduring it myself. Then afterwards I got the usual freebies.
These are photos Blogger refused to upload yesterday. Every time I tried, it would simply duplicate the photo of the sandstone mound instead of the big panorama.
I visited the Dewey Bridge again. Those who remember my post in April 2008 taken only six days before it burned. The destriptions sounded like it was an insurmountable project to rebuild, but actually it didn't look so hard. I think much of the problem is, the plaque near the bridge said it was refurbished in 2000. So lots of money and volunteer work went into a project, then the results only lasted eight years before it was ruined. That's got to make the same crew say, "Nope - never again - not me." But someone will some day. Fresh hearts, fresh hands, fresh donations. Hey! I know! A stimulus package could create jobs rebuilding the Dewey Bridge!
At lunch, I headed straight from work towards Moab. Lunch was half a Chipotle chicken burrito. I nibbled on the second half of that burrito all the way. I stopped at the BrewPub in Glenwood Springs to have one of my favorite beers, the Vapor Cave I.P.A. Then I hit the road again and arrived in Moab with plenty of time for another beer. I parked my CR-V in my usual spot (top secret location - I could tell you but, of course, you'd all have to DIE!!!) It wasn't very cold, in spite of some flurries. The next morning, I grabbed a 20oz. coffee in Moab and was parked with plenty of time. More flurries. The forecast everyone looked up said cold, flurries, 60% clouds, 12-15mph winds. The RD's email said it would be 40-50 and mostly sunny. The RD was right! Okay, so the start was cold, but the rest of the day was great weather. Joy R. parked next to me and we "caught up". Bill and Sandra from Leadville were there, Ryan Burch and fiance, Cindy Stone-Smith, and lots of very impressive elite runners, including Anita Ortiz and Dave Mackey. All I brought on the run was one 20oz bottle and two gels. I should have brought four, but it wasn't that big of a deal. Apparently I'm fatter and in worse shape than I thought. I expected to shave 30-45 minutes off of last year's time because last year I gave up a pint of blood two days before the race. All I managed was 20 minutes. Excuses: I didn't know what last year's time was. And I wasn't really watching the clock that closely. I'd had so much stress from my job that I didn't feel like filling my lungs with foam and coughing up both lungs afterwards. So I kind of wimped. It was still a very excellent time for me. My only regret was, if I was going to wimp, then why didn't I bring my camera? These photos on the rocks are from the morning after the race. There's this one view that is STUNNING! You get way up and start dropping, and then you notice out to the west you can see the shimmering Colorado river miles away. There's the La Sal's to the east and spires, bumps, canyons, walls, arches, cracks, etc. It was heaven! And we got to run all over them!!! Yeehah! This time I wore my road shoes, and I could tell the difference. My feet didn't get nearly as beat up as last year. Dave Mackey was incredible! He broke 4 hours. Seems humanly impossible. New course record. He also won $100 for breaking the record. That guy is amazing. I still don't know my finish time exactly. It was something like 6:04?? So, yeah, I sucked. I should be capable of 5:30/5:40. If I want it, I need to train, but I've have virtually no training since Thanksgiving. On the good side, I kept very good running form all the way. I ran straight, relaxed, on my toes, feet, legs, arms aligned. I just need to warm up before the race with a mile or so of jogging, and then put the hammer down and keep it down. So my mission for next year is, take my camera and get 5:30-ish.
The post race party was nice. I think I might have eaten as much as everyone else combined. They had beer and wine, too.
For Saturday, I went running with someone from out of town. She was training for her first ultra. We went for two hours. It was a good time - I always like meeting people from other states - people I've never met before and maybe never will again. Two ships passing...
Red Hot 50K in one more week.
I noticed something disturbing this morning. I was taking a shower and noticed that I have fat on my ass. This wouldn't be such an odd thing for most people, but first, I'm an ultra-runner who ran 2400 miles last year, and second, I'm the buttless-wonder. I thought, "So my real ass, the one made out of meat, is EVEN SMALLER?!?! OMG! If it wasn't for this fat, I'd totally have NO ASS AT ALL!! I'd have to get a prosthetic ass!"
Some women get their breasts "done". They sit around with close friends and say, "I had them done. How do they look?" I can see myself now after having my ass done... "Dude, look at my ass. I just had it done. Does it look natural? No, you can't touch it - but your girlfriend can, and she can give you the report. It hurt a little at first, but it was worth it."
Yes, this is a weird post of random jibberishnesses. I'm not done...
My 40's have been the best decade of my life. It is so true that 40-something is the new 30-something. We are looking better and feeling better than ever before - !IF! we follow all the latest research on health, nutrition, exercise, etc. I'm now in the last year of the best decade of my life. In spite of being a good year, my body still acts like it's truly 49 years old. I have to shave my ears (Eeeeoooooo!!!!!! TMI!). Maybe if I let it grow out I could braid little pony-tails? I could guru a new thing - like Goth for old people. Maybe we could all go around with little pony-tails from our ears, noses, and moles. Hey, it can't be worse than cutting into your earlobe and stretching a hole out so much you can fit a 2" diamter thingy into it. Or sticking 5 pieces of metal into your lip. Or, "I'm so ugly that I want to make it worse and draw attention to the fact at the same time!" Maybe I could meet other old women with pony-tails in their armpits. We could go to Grateful Dead concerts and sit around complaining about young people.
Okay, this is not a very "guy" post. It's about food. Girls talk about food. Guys only talk about burgers and BBQ... you know - manly foods. And there's nothing more girly than "salad". But I LIKE my new salad!
Full bunch of parsley Three apples 12 oz of grapes, red or white 2 cups or 10oz pecans 8-12 oz low-fat yoghurt
Cut any thicker stems away from the parsley that you'll find too course for consumption. I first used a knife the hard way, and the apples and grapes were cut nicely, giving the salad better texture, but that took FOREVER. Using a food processor, try to cut the apples and grapes so that they are about 1/8" to 1/4" peices. I tried vanilla yoghurt, but I think it clashed a little with the parsley. Next I used plain, low-fat yoghurt and it tasted better.
Thanks to JGirl for the inspiration! Check out her other links. She's great for nutrition info. And she somehow has become my defacto muse.
No salad photos - whataya think this is - a girly blog? ___________________________
I've finally been getting back into the swing of things. Work has been murder. Every day it's been like I've been chewed-up and spit out. This has helped me to get back into the training habit because nothing repairs stress like exercise. This is also why I haven't been posting - had enough computer time, and just wanted to run or go to the gym.
