Flip flops: A sure-fire way to slow things down...

Instead of hitting the trails in my running shoes and only seeing the larger scale of things,

the other day I had the opportunity to slow it down and see details...

exquisite details.

It came about following an appointment the morning after a night of heavy rain.

For some reason, I was wearing flip flops...on a potentially rainy day.

I think my reasoning was a distaste for soggy shoes...and

I had lent my rain boots to my daughter.

Feeling scattered and needing to restore mindfulness to my routine, I headed for nature.

Hiking a muddy, slippery trail in flip flops on a freshly-rained-on path

mandated a snail's pace and allowed me to see...

Raindrops on berry brambles.

Velvety lichen on an oak branch.

A pond turtle on a log catching some sun.

I swear it's a turtle in the middle there.

You might try clicking to biggify.

I took the time to smell the pungent bay laurel and the muskiness of damp leaves and soil,

to enjoy the clear and melodic sounds of wildlife and water runoff 

that always have a certain magic after it rains,

and, by virtue of wearing flip flops, to really feel the cool mud of the trail between my toes.

The healing, restorative qualities of nature astound me.

Thirty-five minutes later, I was revitalized, reinvigorated, re-energized and, at the same time, 

calmer and more at peace than I had been when I began.

Breaking routine can be a fantastic gateway to increasing mindfulness.

Taking it to the out-of-doors added such a grounding element for me.

I need to do this more often.

What do you do when you need a 'reset'?

6 x 400 : Making a case

I have always avoided speed work like the plague. My relationship with speed work has, historically, been a tense one. Having specific fast times to hit...gah! Stresses me right out.

I had hill repeats on my schedule for FOUR weeks in anticipation of speed work, the idea being to get me psyched and physically ready for it. I'm chagrinned to admit that I never completed a whole one of those hill repeat workouts...not a one. And I actually enjoy running hills.

Yes, I did do a timed mile last week. But that was an act of desperation.

On Tuesday I saw "6 x 400" on my calendar for the first time in a long time. I winced. I hid. I had a migraine. But I've run with a migraine before. Tuesday I didn't want to. So I didn't. I need for running to be fun. It can be hard, hard work, but it must be fun. I have never viewed speed work as fun. I've even (frequently) substituted elliptical for running using a heart rate training model to avoid running speed work.

I'm here to tell you something.

Heart rate training works.

So does the Don't Run, Run Faster plan.

Wednesday night after my kids were in bed, I finally sucked it up and ran some intervals.

And they were kind of fun. And, dare I say, kind of easy.

The random training plan I've been using this fall (cannot for the life of me remember which one it is...and I have no real goal race at the end of it...it's all kind of weird and nebulous-sounding, I know) calculated something from somewhere to suggest that I run these 400's in 1:52. I explained to myself that there was no need to be stressed about hitting a 1:52 for a quarter mile given that I was able to run a 6:47 mile. Luckily, I listened to myself, suited up and headed out.

My one mile warm-up was 10 minutes long. I was worried that I was running too fast for my warm-up, but I checked my heart rate monitor a few times and it had me in the high 120's...nice warm-up place to be. Then I began my first interval. Whoa, Nellie! 6:45 lap pace is a bit speedy, girl...rein it in. I had a heck of a time easing up enough; it felt just way too easy when I backed off. Aren't these supposed to leave you almost breathless but ready to go again after a brief rest?

1:49     (7:16 min/mile)
1:48     (7:11)
1:46     (7:05)
1:49     (7:14)
1:44     (6:55)
1:43     (6:52)

The last two I didn't think about hitting a specific time. Instead, I focused on feeling light and relaxed and fluid. They definitely felt the smoothest and easiest most likely because I wasn't playing the speed-up-slow-down game the whole time!

So I think my training methods are working. And I don't hate speed work anymore. And I won't be avoiding it.

Of course, maybe I'm doing it wrong :P

How do you feel about speed work?
– two thumbs up...now :)

If you have kids, what do you usually do after they go to bed?
– I don't always go run...maybe only once or twice a week. Sometimes I go to the gym and cardio or rock climb. Sometimes I sack out on the sofa and watch a movie. Sometimes I stare at the wall.

Darth Vader drives a minivan

This morning I felt infinitely more prepared to battle the winner of the CalTrans Lifetime Achievement Award for Consistently Worst Commute. Coincidentally, the kids were very well behaved on the way into school. Must've been my scary look and heavy breathing that kept them in line.

Darth Vader also wears flip flops cleverly concealed beneath his boot covers.

Just in case he wants to escape to the beach for a little R & R.

Today is the last day of school for the next 12 days...remember, my kids get lots of lengthy breaks...and so the school-wide Halloween Parade and party is happening now. It's always fun to see all the kids in their costumes...and all the adults, too...

A binder full of woman...

several other women (qualified women, of course) did join her in there,

but I wasn't quick enough with the camera.

I was only able to get one picture of a child in a costume at the parade...it was one of my children...

Baby X is a vampiress-babe thing...

fortunately not a sleazy one...but skating on the edge :(  

My baby's growing up...

 I was only able to get the one shot because it is very challenging to juggle this (I did have to carry her the whole time)...

Yeah, she's smiling now that we're at Target and got her "Alice shoes"...

but she wasn't so much during the parade. 

Most likely because she was wearing the wrong shoes...the horror.

...a phone/camera and an extra jacket while wearing a Darth Vader helmet/mask that gouges into your face and flip flops that keep getting stuck in your boot covers. Seriously, no wonder Vader was so cranky.

What are you going to be for Halloween?
– The Darth Vader persona is my "only have 30 seconds...better throw something on" costume...it's not what I plan to be for the real Halloween. I'm actually not entirely sure what I will be. I had an idea, but now can't find the right dress in the right size anywhere (meaning at any Target in a 20-mile radius) :(

If you have kids, what are they going to be for Halloween?
– Baby X is pictured above, as is Miss C. The boys are going to be:  Q-Man = Darth Maul and Big G = the King of Hearts...like on the playing card...but not as a playing card.

No Cupcakes...but it was a Classic 5K :)

Run With Jess organized the Cupcake Classic Virtual 5K, a race to be run however it worked best for the individual runner sometime during the time period of October 14th and 21st. You could do it by yourself, with a group, in the dark, on a trail...whatever you felt like doing.

I was so excited about this that I did it THREE times. Yes...1...2...3 times. Please excuse the absence of a race bib...I was so excited to be leaving the house to get away from my kids to go runnnnnninggggg that I forgot it :P

The first time I did it was Thursday...on the elliptical. After a 2.5-mile warm up, I ripped out a 17:19 elliptical 5K (just off my Ellipmic record). I will likely never be as fast on the ground as I am on the elliptical, and that is fine. I love how the elliptical makes me work super hard and doesn't hurt in that bad way. I love the feeling when my body is working at its capacity...LOVE it.

My second Cupcake Classic 5K was this afternoon from 5:00 until 5:31:36. It was beautiful out, and I was on my favorite trail running in these non-trail-running shoes...

I actually prefer these over my Brooks Cascadia 7 official trail-running shoes...

but I'm not doing anything very 'technical' (still not entirely sure what that means)

The temperature was perfect. Everything about the whole experience was perfect. I even randomly bumped into a friend from high school...in the middle of nowhere! I ran the whole loop with a goofy smile plastered on my face...sheer enjoyment. And when I finished, I said to myself Wow. That was so fun. I want to do it again! And so I did.

This final running of the Cupcake Classic 5K was faster than the second but not quite as fast as the first (for obvious reasons :P). You can tell it was smokin' fast by the blurriness of this picture...

Disclosure: that picture was actually taken during a different running of this route. I run this loop all the time and have an extensive archive of photos covering pretty much every section. Is that cheating?

This final 5K in the Cupcake series was completed in 30:02 (average pace 9:40).

I don't eat cupcakes so my post-race indulgence was this...

I'm like the kombucha ad girl...

I should seek an endorsement contract or something.

Maybe I need an agent?

Many thanks to the very organized and enthusiastic Jess for creating the Cupcake Classic 5K! She also does the Jelly Bean Run every spring and is going to help me organize Jingle Bell Hell in December...I am stoked to have her willing to work with me on that!

Any racers this weekend?

Any cupcake eaters or kombucha drinkers this weekend?

I see turkeys. And (completely unrelated) I have no shame.

I'll bet you didn't know this was an official Turkey-Sighting Blog. Yep...check out the blog-roll over here. I received this distinction with this post...and cemented my good standing as a Turkey-Sighting Blogger with this post. So believe me when I say...

"I see turkeys."

the kid+who+sees+dead+people pics on Sodahead

My most recent turkey-sighting happened this past Sunday when I was on what shall now be dubbed...

The Fiasco Run

The plan:  run 13.1 difficult, hilly, alone miles after having held down the fort (i.e. watched 4 kids while my husband was away) for 4 long, exhausting days.
Planned time of departure:  3:00 p.m.
Planned time of return:   5:30 p.m. (optimistic and including bathroom and water breaks)

The last time I successfully ran this route was just about a year ago.

It looked the same... like this...

The fun began right away with a 4 p.m. start, which pushed everything later...duh...and anyone know when sunset is? Yeah, me neither...then. Now I do ;-)

My husband had spontaneously offered to meet me at the sort-of-halfway to give encouragements, and that got me super excited. I gave him a window of meeting opportunity at the 5.3-mile point...right before I would begin a 3-mile loop back to the same spot (increasing possibilities for successful meeting). Cell service is very sketchy in that area so we needed to be coordinated ahead of time.

At around 4 miles into the run, I heard a baby crying. Wow, I thought to myself, that sounds exactly like Miss C! How funny! I wish they were cheering me on HERE!

A little over a mile later, I got to the meet-up spot where no one was and texted...

At the loop and going to loop it now. Prob 32 min. (4:55 p.m.)

I ran the loop in 32 minutes and headed to the conveniently-located bathroom (part of why I pick this trail run is the plethora of conveniently-located bathrooms). And saw no one and texted...

Finished loop. Peeing now.  (5:33)

*waiting, waiting, waiting...stretching...ShotBlok-ing...*

Starting back. Wish me luck. Prob abt an hour. I'm super tired so I'll be slow. 

If you don't hear from me in an hour, please call or text. 

And if you don't hear from me in 90 minutes try again and then call the police!  (5:39)

I started off slowly, realizing that my SI joint is quietly screeching at me, and heard the obnoxious chime of an incoming text...

We are on the loop road above the Farm waiting.  (5:41)

To which I replied...

I'm down at the portapotty!   (5:41)

It is important to note that you can only send and receive texts from a few random pockets of this park. If you move, you may be rendered communication-less. So I stopped and stood still.... waiting for them to come down the road because the place they were now waiting was backtracking for me and up a LONG hill that I didn't want to run back up!  I was so tired, it was getting dark, my butt hurt. But they didn't show up and no more texts came, so I grumblingly ran back up the dang hill...

I got to where I thought they would be...at the top of the LONG hill...and there was no one. Not a soul. But there was cell reception, so I texted...not knowing if he was in a place that could receive, however :P

I'm on the loop road. Can I hook back to the playground and get a ride?  (5:47)

*waiting, waiting, waiting...stretching...*

Where?   (5:49)

Right in that Little Farm parking lot. Say yes. I'm planning on it.  (5:50)

With that, I ran down the hill and through the farm.  And I'll be gol' danged if I didn't see some cows...

and...

...yep... TURKEYS  :)

A close-up to verify the turkey-sighting.

I reached the playground parking lot and find the car. YES! But... there was no family. I hung out a little... stretching... and I got this text...

Where are you?   (5:57)

The little play area with the big rocks. Meet you at car. Where are YOU?  (6:01) 

It took a few minutes to answer because of the lack of cell service

*waiting, waiting, waiting...decided to jog around a little since I was getting cold now*

We are waiting for you out at Jewel lake. Are u not getting my messages?  (6:16)

Jewel lake is the place where I heard that baby crying that sounded exactly like Miss C

...oooops...

We finally got it together and met at the car and I got a ride back to my truck.

9.38 miles in 1 hour 39 minutes. That was enough. I felt not at all badly that I didn't finish out the plan.

It was after sunset (which is how I now know when sunset is) when we pulled into the parking lot for me to retrieve the truck...and the ranger was closing the gate! I had a mini-freak-out at the thought of having run back and gotten stuck in the parking lot! My husband reassured me that they only lock the coming-in side. They do let people out.

Pretty sunset.

I got home where I had a lovely houseguest waiting for me...RunningHutch from Heavy Medal (a Nuun HTC 2012 teammate!) stayed with me for part of her Nike Women's Marathon experience. She ran the half-marathon and came away with a shiny, new PR :)

I rested Monday...all those missed connections, random jogging in a parking lot, and slightly screechy SI joint mandated rest, so I took it. And then on Tuesday I headed out for some....

Hill repeats.

I was busy chatting with a good friend and got a late start. I could only fit in 2 out of a planned 5.
No shame.
I need to remember to be a responsible mommy, a connected friend and not just a dedicated athlete :)

I told that good friend with whom I'd been chatting that it was hot here and that I planned to run in my sports bra and short shorts....with no shame. I have decided that it isn't only people who have smokin' hot bodies who should get to be comfortable. I am almost 50. I've had 4 kids. I have some weird GI issue that makes me look like I am always about 3-4 months pregnant. It is what it is. I am what I am.

I have found that folding the waistband over so that it lies under the gut protrusion 

is more comfortable and lessens the multiple-bulge factor.

Can you tell what I'm talking about?

Didn't think so... :(

comparison w/ 16 weeks pregnant belly photo...just letting it all hang out...

whatever...

wrinkly belly skin looking like an elephant's butt

So there it is...my gut in all it's glory. I hope it inspires some people who feel badly about their bodies to stop beating themselves up about it. Embrace what you are and who you are. If you don't like something about yourself, it's up to YOU to change it. And then remember to be patient with yourself. Changes don't always happen overnight. Although I did go from being a mommy-fitness-running blogger to a Turkey-Sighting Blogger overnight. I didn't even see that one coming ;-)

Do you beat yourself up about how you look? 

Do you ever see turkeys?

Less than Seven

Sometimes I find myself surprised.

In fact, today was full of surprises. For example, it rained. I suppose if I paid attention to weather forecasts I would have seen that one coming, but I no longer follow any information services (no newspapers, no radio, no t.v. news broadcasts, ignore updates on my smartphone...). I guess I kind of like surprises.

Anyway...

I planned on running this morning after dropping my kids off at school. But that didn't happen. I really wanted to go back to bed. So I did.

It was going to be an epic double Moeser...maybe even a triple. If I was going to exercise, I was craving arduous. Instead, I did the total opposite...I sacked out. It was necessary, but then I was faced with really wanting to run and not having the time to do what I planned and needing to shift directions.

The next window of running opportunity came at 8 p.m. Moeser was no longer an option in the dark and away from home. And the idea of slow, easy, boring loops at home in the dark was repellent.

Hmmmmm...what to do? what to do? A-HA! I know...

Time for a timed mile :D

I scarfed down a chicken andouille sausage because I was starving, got the kids in bed, put on my running clothes and decided to just do the best with what I had going on. I didn't stress about burping up spicy meat or the possibility of rain. I had a rough idea of what I was shooting for... a single seven-minute mile. My plan was to hit the first quarter in 1:45 in the hopes of an evenly paced mile and then either watch the wheels fall off, hang on to it, or destroy it. Or whatever the experience held for me. I was open to anything.

My two-mile warm up was comfortable and relaxed, but the few pick-ups I tossed in seemed to register slow on my Garmin. I adjusted my plan to running a 7:30 mile...I didn't care if I was slow, I wanted to feel successful :)

*beep*

I started running.

Oh, sh*t...the damn Garmin said 6:34. Well, whatever...just do what you can is what I told myself. After a blistering first quarter (6:31), I slowed considerably. I stopped looking at the watch and just ran. I felt like I kept things just this side of disaster. And somehow I managed to keep each quarter under 1:45 and finished the whole mile in...

6:47

The fastest I've run since 1997.

I felt like this.

But older.

And hey, wow...

I know you have all missed a good voting frenzy ;-)

Click on this pink circle and scroll down to Taking It On and click the little thumbs up...once every 24 hours...and it could be that very voting frenzy we've all been missing!

We could pretend that your votes are a little reward for running so super fast ;-)

Thanks in advance :)

Really Random Wednesday...with pictures

Random point number one...

"So much time, so little to do!" said the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.

We've been watching a lot of Alice lately...even though that White Rabbit has things backwards.  As you can see, Miss C has decided what she wants to be for Halloween. Unfortunately, I made the age-old mistake of letting her try on the costume before the big event. After wearing it for a full day, she has come to the conclusion that because the dress was hanging in her big sister's closet it actually belongs to her big sister and, therefore, she (Miss C) cannot be Alice for Halloween. 

Toddler logic is so confounding.

Random point number 2...

I am so disappointed in myself :(  I have a favorite elliptical machine now :(  I tried so hard to be flexible and content to use whatever was there and to mix it up even when all machines were available. It didn't work. My favorite machine is the one third from the right-hand side of the picture...the one with no hand thingies (those things make me crazy!). It's near a fan. The angles always seem comfy. The resistance is adjustable in ways that make me happy. And it has a cup holder for my water bottle. It is my favorite and now I get bummed if it is in use :(  I'm heading to the gym now...I hope it is not in use.

Random point number 3...

Our local video rental store is going out of business. Are you thinking "It's about time!"? I guess we live in a retro community or something, but we've been patronizing this place since the mid-90's. As they get ready to shutter the shop, they are selling everything super cheap. "Why would anyone want a bunch of VHS tapes?" you might be asking. Well, because there are some great movies to be had and watched...so we stocked up. Call us foolish. We don't care.

Random point number 4...

Someone commented on my last post that I should include the elevation profile for the long run I did on Sunday. I've posted the hill before...but not the hill in quadruplicate.  Here is an image of it doubled from the spring, I think.

It's really the same hill twice...the jaggedy freak out was just signal issues with the Garmin-to-satellite communication, I think. So on Sunday I did the hill four times. So double this doubling.

Random point number 5...

The next time you see a mom with a bunch of kids in a rowdy, family-friendly restaurant trying to contend with a preschooler meltdown, have compassion. Ask if you can help. It does no good to say something shitty to the woman...she is struggling to hang on to any shred of sanity she might be in possession of. Saying something shitty might just make her cry...in public...in front of her kids. And we wouldn't want that.

I took my kids out to dinner the other night. Miss C realized after we had ordered our food that she had left her KITTY in the car, which was parked a long block away in a busy part of town. She flipped out. Baby X offered to go fetch it for her, which led to screams of discontent because Miss C wanted to get it HERSELF! Of course. I told X to just go, so she did. Miss C began the tantrum to end all tantrums. I just held her and told her it would be okay as she writhed and punched me in the face while shrieking at the top of her lungs. I was feeling thankful that it was a really loud restaurant filled with families being loud already. And then this woman came up to me and said something shitty...while Miss C is shrieking in my ear and head-butting me. I knew that as soon as the KITTY arrived, all would be well. I was hanging on for that moment...I knew it would come. But the shitty something made me cry. My togetherness was all an illusion :(  But sure enough, once the KITTY arrived, peace reigned the valley. 

See?

Any random things to bring up for you this Wednesday?

The little legs that could...

Today was a 2012 distance record.

Over 11 miles.
Giant, dusty hills.
Blazing hot sun.
Barefoot.
Just like grandpa's walks to school in the olden days.

Just kidding…I wore flipflops.

Just kidding! I wore running shoes…but I took them off before I took this picture…

My feet really did look red. It was hot. 

I am posting that picture to pay homage to my little legs that are doing a great job with this running deal. They are getting stronger, staying relatively healthy for the time being, and finally are tan…which has nothing to do with how they run, but they are…so I am pointing it out. I've pretty much always had legs on the scrawny side (especially the calves) but now they sort of have muscles. Very cool. I was going to post a picture of my booty, too, because it's getting pretty awesome for the first time ever, but it ate my shorts (yes, it's now big enough to do that) and it's hard to photo your own butt, so given the awkward angle of the butt-that-ate-my-shorts picture, you lucky folks are getting a 'pass' on the ass-shot.

I'm getting very adept at the "run when you can" schedule. We didn't figure out our family schedule for the day until around 10 this morning. And it was determined that my run worked best if finished and home by 2:30 p.m. And I hadn't had breakfast yet. As I had a longish, hilly run in mind, I would have to start around noon. I love running in the heat with the sun high and missing lunch :(  But that was what worked, so I sucked it up and made it happen. 

I pulled into a sparsely populated parking lot and was ready to roll by 12:30. What I love about this loop are the following:

• it's half in the shade
• there are bathrooms
• there is a water fountain
• it's pretty
• you can park right by the trailhead

My first 2.83-mile loop was fun despite the heat. There were a lot of hikers and dogs…as one would expect on a lovely day…but everyone was conscientious so it was all good. I had water at the end of that loop and saw that someone had pulled into the spot next to me. Some ultra person, no doubt drawn to the spot by virtue of the powerful badass energy emanating from my super badass minivan. They probably thought that by parking next to my car, they would be infused with badass juice and have an ultramazing ultralong run. Needless to say, the car was still parked there when I left. 

The sticker says "miles" under the 50.

Lap #2 was even more fun than the first. I felt loose and happy. I savored the feelings because I had a notion that #3 and #4 might be a little different. I took another hit of water and had 2 ShotBlok things right before starting my third loop. I was feeling good…not dehydrated (I had been drinking Nuun prior to my run, both at home and during the drive to the trail) and not hungry (my granola/protein powder breakfast was proving to be good fuel) and not tired…yet.

As I set off on that third loop, I knew it was going to be more of a struggle. The first 1.4 miles were pretty much uphill, and I worked it…aggressive but not psycho. The mile and a half downhill that followed was my downfall. My legs were tired. My feet hurt. I had a blister. My hip was cranky. I was hot. I wanted my mommy. I briefly flirted with the idea of ending the run at the conclusion of that third loop, but I realized that I really wanted to run another. I had the time in my schedule to do it. I wasn't having any fueling/hydration issues. No GI crap to contend with. Though the hip was a little cranky, it was not really hurting. The blister hurt, but what's a blister? Pshhhh…

So…

A little more water and another ShotBlok and I pushed off on a fourth loop. What kept me going was that I had 'crowd support' on this one :)  By this time, I'd passed a lot of hikers multiple times. They finally realized it was the same runner passing them by and on this loop they all cheered me on! It was so nice…exactly what I needed to finish it off. I made it up the big hill decently, but the wheels fell off the wagon again on the downhill. The blister was just about all I could think about. 

But I made it. Walked it out a little. Stretched a bit. Performed self-Graston with a butterknife in the parking lot. And then remembered that I was supposed to high-tail it home!

I had a hard time finding my keys! I knew I had thrown them into the pocket on the door…but there is a LOT of crap in there!

Why this mini-screwdriver was in the handle-pocket of my car door, I have no idea.

Why I decided you needed to see this is an even bigger mystery.

I finally found my keys…along with something like 8 Target receipts, 4 broken pencils, 2 pair of sunglasses, a handful of ticket stubs, a banana peel (gross), and at least a dozen date pits (really gross). And as I drove home, I enjoyed the most refreshing post-run drink ever...

Post- and pre-run beverages of choice.

Water is what happens during.

Kombucha packed in ice as a reward for a run well done is my perfect "carrot" :)

Who doesn't love a photo of a cooler bag?

Just looking at it makes you feel all…cool and refreshed, right?

Run Stats

4 loops...4 x 2.83 miles 

  1 – 28:20 (10:01/mile)

  2 – 28:09 (9:57/mile)

  3 – 28:31 (10:04/mile)

  4 – 30:12 (10:40/mile)   "Survival" was my mantra.

Total distance = 11.32 miles

Total time = 1:55:11

Average pace = 10:10/mile

Let's Go!: on a trip up and down my favorite hill...

I've talked about my adventures running up and down Moeser Lane...

And you've seen the photos... 

From the top.

With RoseRunner on the super steep part.

And I've shown you the elevation profile of a Double Moeser...

This is actually a two-and-a-halfer. Subtract that final minihump to see a Double.

But only one of my blogreaders has ever experienced the magic that is Moeser (and she appears in one of the photos above)...

Yesterday as I was doing a DM (Double Moeser) in the hot sun of the late morning, I thought to myself  "Wouldn't it be fun to take my readers on a trip up and down Moeser? I'll bet they'd really like that!" And so I made these two videos...one goes UP and the other goes DOWN. So clever, I know ;-)

Anyway...

TURN THE SOUND OFF!

For real.

When you hold a cell phone video camera out the window of your car while you're driving the wind noise is really loud. Like, REALLY loud. And the hugest bummer of all is not that the loud noise is super annoying but that it covers up all of my witty commentary. So sad... so sad :(

So I guess that these videos are actually just super boring and very jiggly 2-minute videos of someone driving up and then down what appears to be some random street...and it seems kind of stupid. But whatever... here they are...

GOING UP

At 00:24, there is a lot of lurching for a couple of seconds. 

If you were able to hear my witty commentary, you would know that it is a demonstration of what it would look like if I'd tried to make the video while actually running and not driving.

And when we get to the top and I go around the corner,

I am showing you my OCD telephone pole stopping point :)

GOING DOWN

Again, such a drag to not have my amazingly entertaining commentary :(

So there you have it... Moeser Lane.

The most fun part of the run yesterday was when I summited for the second time (yes, I am saying 'summited' like it is a mountain...because it is, thanks), and there was a man just having summited and starting back down. We shouted "GO, TEAM MOESER!" at each other with our fists thrown triumphantly up in the air. It was nice to have a feeling of solidarity at that moment as I was really not feeling the fun.

But then I went home and was missing that satisfied feeling of arriving at the top and remembered to give the experience a big 'thumbs up' :)

Yeah...I was sporting the dumpling/sausage/Schwarzenegger look again...

78ºF
4.68 miles
55 minutes
1400' of climbing

Good times.

A preschooler hikes: a story in pictures

Sometimes 

it's hard to get going...

...but once you do get started...

...exploring can be fun...

Really fun, in fact...

So fun that you ignore your mom and dad telling you to

STOP!

And you run and run and run while they chase and yell...

which is super fun!

Until they catch up to you...

...and talk to you about not running away...

...and make sure you are listening.

But eventually they stop all that talking and let you get started again...

And it's really fun again...

And you start running again...

...but only because your brothers started it.

And then they ditch you at the bottom of the big stairs...

...and you slow down and start crying...

...until you see the wild turkeys!

And you chase those guys...

but they run into the bushes 

and your mom screams when you try to follow them...

something about leaves that will make you really itchy.

You don't like being itchy so you don't follow them.

You head back to 'civilization' and find a really cool thing...

...that you simply must figure out.

Your mom says it's time to go but you haven't figured it out yet so you holler at her.

She tries to pick you up, but you run away really fast.

But you get tired...

...and sit down and demand that she carry you.

But, of course, now she won't pick you up and tells you you must walk to the car.

What is UP with that?

Everything turns fun again when you get into your dad's big truck in the booster seat!

Which is totally different from and way better than the car seat that's in your mom's car.

But your big brother is now pissed off...

probably because he doesn't get to sit in a super awesome, way cool booster seat!

And no way are you sharing.