Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Eleven Hundred Thirty-Four


June 28, 2020
8.59 Miles in 1:27:05
Mood: Colorado never felt so good.
Soundtrack: Boy & Bear "Suck on Light"

I was extremely glad to be back in the relative cool of Colorado for my Sunday run. It only took two runs in Arizona heat to make a Denver summer day feel cool and welcoming! I continued my recent trend of running around Wash Park just a little and then running a lot through the surrounding neighborhoods. This time I didn't even start at Wash Park and only hit just a little corner of it in passing. I also saw all sorts of new things that I had never experienced before in the local neighborhood including this tremendous tree stump carving which has little intricate gnome style houses on it. I very much liked this, as did I like just being back in Denver for a run. Feels good to be home, man!


Eleven Hundred Thirty-Three


June 25, 2020
10.19 Miles in 1:43:18
Mood: A long run through the desert? Why not!
Soundtrack: The Avett Brothers "Emotionalism"

Just to prove that I ran in Arizona, here is a photo of a cactus. I ran straight through 3 miles of barren desert on a paved trail that is quite literally the only thing around. I did this on the recommendation of my brother who said that it was a nice run, but it might be a little long. He was right on both counts, as it was a very nice run, but the entire loop ended up being 10 miles. I have no regrets, as it actually was a memorable and lovely run, but I was happy it didn't take much longer, as the sun was starting to really rev up to uncomfortable levels by the time I finished. I don't mind running in Arizona once every few years, but if I lived here, it would be hard to maintain my enthusiasm for the sport.


Eleven Hundred Thirty-Two


June 23, 2020
8.28 Miles in 1:24:48
Mood: Arizona is hot.
Soundtrack: Modest Mouse "Strangers to Ourselves" and "The Moon & Antarctica"

June in Tucson is unpleasant. The temperatures were routinely 107 degrees while we were there, and going outside makes you feel like your blood will actually boil. Living in Arizona is more of a response to a dare that no one made to you than a reasonable life decision. The entire time we were in Arizona, the surrounding mountains were literally on fire. And yet, if you wake up at 5AM and immediately go outside, it isn't that bad. In fact, on this particular morning, as I stepped outside, it was a tremendously pleasant 73 degrees, and it almost felt cool. Of course, by about 20 minutes into the run, I was sweating profusely, and by the end I was basically a walking puddle. It gets hot fast.

Still, Tucson is pretty, as the picture for this run shows, even the run of the mill flowers that you see everywhere are quite beautiful. To the best of my knowledge, this is called a Mexican Bird of Paradise, and they are all over the place in my Mom's subdivision, and they are living proof of the glory of the color orange. I love them.



Friday, June 19, 2020

Eleven Hundred Thirty-One


June 19, 2020
6.47 Miles in 1:06:31
Mood: Struggling to get in the miles on a weird morning
Soundtrack: The Decemberists "The King is Dead" and "Long Live the King"

This morning just started off wrong. I had forgotten to charge my phone, but it was charged enough that I was able to head out. Then very soon into my run, I could tell I was getting a low blood sugar. I returned home a mile and a half in, and ate a bunch of food and hoped that I'd recover enough to be able to get in a few more miles, knowing that it just wasn't going to be a great running morning. After that brief pitstop, I headed back out and struggled for a few miles until I finally hit my stride at about the four mile mark. This run was a slow rambling mess, but the fact that I was able to salvage six and a half miles from the wreckage of what was beginning to feel like a lost morning was a win. Especially since it's starting to get to the last third of the month, and I'm going to have to really work to hit 100 miles for June.



Eleven Hundred Thirty



June 18, 2020
9.35 Miles in 1:32:55
Mood: Now that is a political statement.
Soundtrack: Carbon Leaf "Indian Summer"

I wonder if the Elks know fully what they are doing by putting up a sign like this. This country is so divided right now, and this is a powerful political statement that probably really ticks off a huge portion of the country. I'm not as anti-police as many people are right now, but this did come off to me as pretty tone deaf to me. I mean, I think the Elks know what they are doing, but I'm not sure they know just how hard they are doing it. 




Eleven Hundred Twenty-Nine


June 14, 2020
8.36 Miles in 1:26:43
Mood: Do your part, scarecrow! Geez!
Soundtrack: The Mountain Goats "All Eternals Deck" and "In League with Dragons"

After seeing so many statues wearing masks, to see this scarecrow incorporate a bandanna into his costume but NOT wear it as a mask actually shocked me a little. It's almost like I felt this scarecrow was being irresponsible in not helping to stop the spread of coronavirus, which is ridiculous, but also kinda how I felt. 



Eleven Hundred Twenty-Eight


June 14, 2020
7.08 Miles in 1:10:32
Mood: In a mood to go somewhere new.
Soundtrack: Grouplove "Never Trust a Happy Song"

I wasn't really sure where I'd end up as I began this run at Wash Park, but I followed my muse and ended up finding a new trail I'd never run on before and most importantly a purple dinosaur playground! I love finding fun new places that are so close to tried and true stomping grounds.



Friday, June 12, 2020

Eleven Hundred Twenty-Seven


June 12, 2020
7.00 Miles in 1:08:41
Mood: This statue used to seem cooler.
Soundtrack: Cold War Kids "LA DIVINE"

This statue has seen better days. His eagle is broken, and he's doing his part to stop the spread of covid by wearing a glove and a mask, but like many Americans, I feel like his heart isn't really in it. Look how loose that glove is, for crying out loud! Still. He's trying, so that's something. Stay safe, breaking down statue. We're all in this together.




Thursday, June 11, 2020

Eleven Hundred Twenty-Six


June 10, 2020
7.06 Miles in 1:09:24
Mood: Being at peace for a tick.
Soundtrack: Colin Hay "Going Somewhere"

This run was a chance to just exist. The world be crazy right now! I put on Colin Hay and just zoned out into a beautiful and peaceful Wednesday morning, and it felt so good to just exist for awhile without worry or the existential dread that seems to accompany everything about 2020. I grant you it is my privilege which allows me to dip out even if it's just a few hours, but man, it sure is nice. So here is a pretty picture of my beautiful morning.



Monday, June 8, 2020

Eleven Hundred Twenty-Five


June 7, 2020
9.51 Miles in 1:33:14
Mood: Surveying the battle damage
Soundtrack: AJR "The Click"

Wash Park looked like a tornado had hit it. There were downed trees everywhere, the ground was littered with branches, and I even saw a car that had been crushed by huge fallen tree that was covering half the street. I knew we had some storms on Saturday night, but the storms in the Wash Park area must have been next level, as you can see by this enormous tree that just was blown down and literally split at the base and lying in someone's yard. Insanity!

As for my run, I decided to run from Wash Park to City Park and back, and it turns out that's a long run. The weather could not have been any more perfect, and I felt good, so I was happy to have a long run.



Saturday, June 6, 2020

Eleven Hundred Twenty-Four


June 5, 2020
8.00 Miles in 1:21:37
Mood: Faux seclusion in nature
Soundtrack: Panic! at the Disco "Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!"

I started running without a plan, and ended up in Highlands Ranch running through a beautiful nature preserve in the middle of the soulless suburb. I'm not a huge fan or Highlands Ranch, but I can't knock everything about it because it does have vast expanses of nature with good trails that one can feel like you're pretty much in a rural area. You're not...I was only minutes away from city life here, but it FEELS secluded, which is pretty nice.



Eleven Hundred Twenty-Three


June 3, 2020
6.74 Miles in 1:08:59
Mood: Happy (Anniversary)
Soundtrack: The Beatles "Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band"

It was Jen and my twentieth wedding anniversary, so it felt only appropriate to listen to Sgt Peppers because..."It was twenty years ago today!"  I also took a picture of flowers that somehow had a rainbow appear, so it was basically a magic day.



Eleven Hundred Twenty-Two


May 31, 2020
8.10 Miles in 1:18:33
Mood: Mixing it up again.
Soundtrack: Florence and The Machine "Ceremonials"

Lately I've taken to starting Sundays at Wash Park, but rather than running laps, I'm just exploring the neighborhoods in one direction or another after beginning a lap of the park and then finishing up with the other half of one lap of the park. It's kinda fun to hit the streets and see places that I'm not super familiar with while still enjoying my favorite park. It's been a good mix and has made my Sunday runs very enjoyable.