Sunday, November 25, 2012

The new year is not that far away. With a new year, comes a new racing season. Amazingly, sign up for many summer trail runs starts soon after the new year. Which means....I need to figure out my racing schedule for 2013.
So many to choose from:
Definitely Jemez Mountain Runs in May
Perhaps Big Horn Scenic Trail Run in June or maybe the San Juan Solstice run. They're always on the same day.
Maybe the Mt. Taylor Quad in February (if I could ski, that is).
The Run Through Time in Salida in March?
Lots of choices in April....Desert Rat Trail Festival in Fruita or the Cheyenne Mountain Trail race in Colorado Springs or Cedro Peak right here in the Sandias of Albuquerque?
Obviously, developing my schedule requires a multi-variable data file complete with dates, distances, difficulty, price, and date that the entry opens. This is perhaps more work than I can deal with right now.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Why blog?

I can't quite figure out why people start up blogs. Readership is very low on most. I mean, who wants to waste their time reading about someone's boring life?

I decided to start this blog for me, as a chance to document stuff that is important to me.

Every now and then, I have a fun story to tell, but that is pretty rare. Usually, it is the same ole same ole.
I just returned from spending time with the grandkids. They make me feel old. They CALL me old. Well, Linus did anyway. He told me I was a nothing but a dusty ole gramma.

I guess I am a bit old, but I don't really think I'm dusty! However, this corresponded to my first year, since 1996, that I have not run at least one marathon. Usually I run multiple marathons per year. Sometimes I run 50 milers or even 100 milers. But not this year.

Surgery on my heel last January followed by a long, slow rehab. Back to running, but not up to marathon distance yet.

Guess I am just a dusty ole gramma!!

Saturday, November 24, post-black Friday


I  did not want to run tonight. After seeing Jessica and Josh off very early this morning, watching Ohio State beat Michigan, eating pizza with Adam and Mary Ann, I just wanted to nap, not run.

I finally dragged my dusty ole carcass out of the house, taking along both dogs and my head lamp. Headed straight up into the Sandias, managing to avoid the route that I took the other, the one evening that brought me to the edge of the homeless camp. Not that I have anything against homeless people, but I didn't want to go running into their space.

By the time I clambered over the boulders to the first ridge, the sun was down and the moon, not quite full, was up and it was time to turn around. Coming back down across the power lines, I thought I heard a deep, resonant, whooo whoooo. I stopped under the power line poles to listen. Yes, there it was again. I looked up to the top of the big pole and saw the outline of a great horned owl. It was too dark to see it well, but the "horns" were visible. After a moment, we headed on down the trail.Then I heard it call again, only this time the pitch was different. I turned back and saw that there were now TWO great horned owls.

Daylight had faded and I was trying to decide whether to use the headlamp. I decided to try to make it home without it. My reward: running through the moon shadows.

Pretty special evening.