Monday, October 29, 2018

Eight Hundred Seventy-Two



October 28, 2018
25.11 Miles (Biked) in 2:49:37
Mood: Let's ride a bike to the ends of the earth and back.
Soundtrack: Twenty-One Pilots "Trench"

For some reason, I got it into my head that I should ride my bike to Cheesman Park and back. Turns out, that is a very long bike ride, and as I was in the final few miles home, I was significantly gassed. My legs were jello, and it was kind of amazing that I actually willed myself home. Still, this was a super fun morning ride. The Halloween decorations are up in force in Denver neighborhoods, and I had a ton of cool options to choose from, but I ended up using this rather modest ghost display because the picture came out cool, and because I found it to be extra creepy for some reason.





Friday, October 26, 2018

Eight Hundred Seventy-One


October 26, 2018
12.32 Miles (Biked) in 1:28:12
Mood: On the road again! (on a bike)
Soundtrack: The Walking Deadcast / The Memory Palace

My left foot has been bothering me more and more after every run in the past month, so I have decided to give it a rest for awhile and hit up the bike again for a bit. This also allowed me to get much further north than I can usually get on a run, which was critical for finding Pokestops I have never spun before, as that is randomly a part of the Pokemon Go Halloween event special research. So, it was a win-win. I found some virgin stops, and my foot doesn't feel sore at all, despite the fact that I was able to get in some good exercise this morning.

The only downside to going hard on a bike ride is that it tired out my legs, and I accidentally fell up the stairs on my way up to the third floor at the building where I work. It didn't really hurt, so no bigs.

The coolest upside to hitting the road on the bike is that I found SO MANY cool Halloween decorations, although none could top this enormous purple inflatable monster just hanging out in a field. With the sun behind it, it looked super cool.

Oddly, I forgot to start my bike tracking app until a little over a mile into the run, and then I stopped it and forgot to restart it at the exact same spot. So although officially I only tracked 12.32 miles, it was probably closer to 15. The weirdest part is that I didn't intend to start and stop at the exact same place, but did anyway.





Eight Hundred Seventy


October 23, 2018
6.01 Miles in 1:01:13
Mood: Good yet slow.
Soundtrack: Twenty One Pilots "Trench"

It was a gorgeous morning on the Highline Canal. I felt pretty good for pretty much the entirety of this run, and life was good. (Even if I'm getting to be so stinking slow.)


Monday, October 22, 2018

Eight Hundred Sixty-Nine


October 19, 2018
4.82 Miles in 49:36
Mood: Pumpkin explosion.
Soundtrack: Manchester Orchestra "A Black Mile To The Surface" and The Wood Brothers "Ways Not To Lose"

I felt good on the way out to Ketring Park, but once I arrived, I was pretty much out of gas, so I did my best on the way home, and ended up with just under five miles, for my second consecutive subpar run. I've not been running as much due to the frustration, but that will just compound the problem. I need to get myself back on track and soon.

As for today's photo...this church had a massive amount of pumpkins on their lawn. It must be October.


Eight Hundred Sixty-Eight


October 16, 2018
5.50 Miles in 58:10
Mood: Spooky and out of breath.
Soundtrack: Daves of Thunder

It was a spooky morning, and my stamina was awful. So while I only got five and a half miles, I did get this excellent photo of a jack-o-lantern hanging out in someone's yard. My fitness has gone to crap, and I don't entirely know why, but it is a bit discouraging.


Thursday, October 11, 2018

Eight Hundred Sixty-Seven


October 11, 2018
6.37 Miles in 1:04:03
Mood: Grey skies, colorful trees, and a friendly old lady sharing meaningless drivel.
Soundtrack: Twenty One Pilots "Trench"

It was another dreary morning in Denver, but it wasn't so bad visually because although the skies are gray, the trees are all sorts of amazing colors and that color brightened up the morning. Plus, I also saw a huge hawk just chilling on a low branch, so it was a pretty cool morning to be out in nature looking at stuff.

The funniest moment of the morning came as I was standing near Goodson Rec Center when an old white lady started talking to me. I had my earbuds in, so I quickly paused them and removed the one in the ear closest to her so I could hear what she had to say. I went through that trouble so that she could tell me, "I have the same trees in my front yard as these trees, and these trees have already lost most of their leaves, but mine still have their leaves!"

This is information I needed and could not have lived without. It's a good thing I was there at that very moment in time.


Monday, October 8, 2018

Eight Hundred Sixty-Six


October 7, 2018
7.30 Miles in 1:10:48
Mood: Happy in the gloom.
Soundtrack: Twenty-One Pilots "Trench"

It was unreasonably gloomy in Wash Park. However, I was happy, because I had a tremendous run, but also because unicycle guy was back again and I got a much closer photo of his antics! The gloom turned out to be prophetic, as both the Broncos and Rockies lost in super depressing fashion. The Broncos were pounded by the woeful Jets and the Rockies were shut out to get swept out of the playoffs by the Brewers. So, good morning run, terrible sports day...but the unicycle guy was there, so all was not lost.


Eight Hundred Sixty-Five


October 5, 2018
4.21 Miles in 42:58
Mood: Taking it easy
Soundtrack: Twenty One Pilots "Trench"

I haven't run two days in a row since my foot injury back in April. I figured it was time to try, but I also figured it was time to take it easy while trying. I felt pretty good, but I intentionally did not push myself and took extra breaks, even when they weren't really needed. My foot has felt really good the past few months, and I'd like it to stay that way, but I also haven't put together a 100 mile month since March, and I'm hoping to get back to that level at some point.

Anyway, the highlight of this outing was listening to the outstanding new Twenty One Pilots album a few times. It's super good.



Eight Hundred Sixty-Four


October 4, 2018
6.51 Miles in 1:04:50
Mood: Good.
Soundtrack: Panic! At The Disco "Pray For The Wicked"

Despite not making my 7 mile target and running at a slowing 9'57" per mile pace, I felt pretty good about this outing. I also have to note that the new Panic! album feels really really short. It's good, but it feels like it's over in 15 minutes.


Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Eight Hundred Sixty-Three


September 30, 2018
7.14 Miles in 1:09:17
Mood: And now...a unicycle.
Soundtrack: Wash Park Ambient Noises

This was my final run as a 41 year old, so I wanted to make it a good one. It was a cool and gray morning at Wash Park, and as I got out of the car to begin my run, I quickly realized that I had forgotten my earbuds. This is always a bummer, as I don't mind running without music, it's almost always better WITH music. My disappointment quickly faded away as I began walking along the track on the outside edge of the trail, as I saw a man riding a unicycle around the street that circles the park.

I have no idea what drives people to ride odd vehicles around Wash Park on Sundays, but once again as with the penny-farthing bicycle, I was delighted. I tried to get a good picture of him right away, but he rolled his one wheeled vehicle away from me too quickly. Over the course of the next hour and a half, I saw him a handful of times from across the park, but never close enough for a picture. I figured I had missed my chance, but just as I was on the last tenth of a mile of my run, he can wheeling around the corner, and I quickly ran after him to try and get the best possible picture that I could.

This picture is not great, but is provides photographic proof that Wash Park is home to weirdos. The type of weirdos who would spend a few hours riding a unicycle for exercise. I hope his tryout with the circus goes well.