This view has become pretty familiar over the past year or so….the arch at sunrise, race spectators lining the sidewalks with funny signs (i.e., “You’re my inspiration, complete stranger,” “You’re running better than the government”) thousands of jittery runners packed into corrals waiting for the horn to go off… But yesterday was a little different….
Category: running
Fall Sunday Fun Day
…And they’re off!! See Batman and the Riddler at the front of the starting line? Those are my guys, barreling out of the gate and running their first 5K race with reckless abandon. Pre-race silliness. I can’t begin to tell you how many people asked to pose for photos with them. It was hilarious….
Geeez …
Just a small glimpse into what happens when we shop for socks and boxers in our house. Gotta say, my kids are funny and fearless. Not shown: my hot pink compression socks for running. They’re supposed to help prevent further injuries. Given that my single pair of running socks cost as much as nine pairs…
Beautiful
During my run tonight, I saw this plastic baggie tacked to a tree. Hrmph…never noticed this before. And I’ve run this route literally hundreds of times. Curious, I went off course to check it out. I thought maybe a good citizen had placed a lost item in the bag so an owner retracing his or…
Top O’ the Lou to Ya
Started the weekend with a couple of buddies at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Race, a five-mile run that boasts some 12,000 runners. Well…”runners” might be too strong of a term. Given the above photo, let’s try “participants“. And it was such a blast! This guy was one of many folks who dressed for the…
Quality Time With Santa
A Friday night visit with one super-awesome looking Santa… …and a Saturday morning 5k with a lot of Santa wannabes. And a good time was had at both. Although I now have a whole new respect for kids who are in the Santa Hot Seat. That’s a lot of pressure! I sat down and drew…
This and That
Highlights from the Halloween 10k that I ran last month. It’s so much fun to watch the video and go, “Hey, I saw that!” or “Oh, I remember running through there!” What a great run. Can’t wait to do it again. But a couple of super fun runs are coming up soon. When it comes to…
Go! St. Louis Halloween 10k Run
Lookie how my morning started! My very first 10k race! Pictured above are my new running buddies sporting their BUTTerfly wings. Yes, we absolutely had as much fun as this would indicate. Some people really took the costume contest seriously. But the fisherman and fish combo was my fave. These were attached, mind you. Talk…
Eat, Play, Love
One of the things I’ve thoroughly enjoyed about running is the portrait of my neighborhood that is painted every time I head out the door. A few deep breaths lets me know who’s doing laundry. Or barbecuing. Or smoking in exile on porches. A few extra newspapers littering the driveway is a good indicator of…
Balance…and the lack thereof
Today I was tickled to find out that my office has used five of my photos (including the one above) to create new thank you cards/stationary. You know, when I started taking photos a few years ago, I didn’t have any ideas of doing anything with them…which resulted in nothing more than a small blog,…
Fall at the Farmers’ Market
Today’s run started at our little downtown Farmers’ Market — and gee whiz, it looks like The Great Pumpkin blew though here since last week! The early morning light was so perfect. I wish I would’ve had my real camera with me! But it was worth resorting to the iPhone because this was my longest run…
Dear So and So: Running Edition
Been a long time since it occurred to me to write a Dear So and So note, but a few cluttered my mind tonight while I ran. So here goes. Dear Neighbor Who is Fortunate Enough to Have a Garage: Your cars are parked in the driveway because you can’t fit them among the floor-to-ceiling,…
Sunday Morning Run
My Sunday morning run route started and ended at our little downtown Farmer’s Market. Gourds, pumpkins, mums, temperatures in the 60s…looks like fall is heading our way. This is a new route that afforded some unexpected encouragement… …unexpected beauty and photo ops. Love these prayer flags. What a funky little route! I’ll definitely be doing…
Random Act of Encouragement
There are several beautiful gardens that are lovingly cared for along one of my running routes. Tonight as I approached one of my favorites, its elderly gardener was pulling his trash can to the curb. When he sent a smile my way, I nodded towards his yard and said, “Your flowers!” – which was all I…
Run, Forest! RUN! Or not.
An evening run turned into a walk. Which turned into a stroll. Which turned into picture-taking. I have no idea what happened. Distracted? Bored? Unmotivated? I dunno. I just wasn’t feeling it. I don’t understand how that happens with running. One day for no apparent reason…oops. Bad day. Yet the next day you can channel…
Happy Dance!
Please join me in a happy dance…today marked my 100th mile of running since May 26! Technically, I crossed the 100-mile mark a few days ago, but there were a couple of runs that I forgot to use my app and get credit for the miles. Wish I would’ve had this app when I started…
A room with a view…
…and a run with a view. I’m in Madison, Wisconsin for training and I’m ready to move. Okay, a little dramatic, but I’m in love with this town. The above building is on the university campus and is outside my classroom window. And at the end of the day, I went for a run along…
I Spy…
For months, my various running routes have all had one particular corner in common. And for all these months I have failed to notice this empty bench sitting away from the curb, slightly hidden by unruly hedges and overgrown weeds. I saw it tonight and it stopped me in my tracks. It was like a…
Color Me Happy!
We did it! We ran our first 5k! The Color Run lived up to its self-proclaimed distinction of being “The Happiest 5k on the Planet.” We saw runners in tutus, togas, and clown wigs…runners of every age, size, and fitness level. And everyone was happy to be there to share in this funky experience. The…
Let’s try this again, shall we?
Okay, so last night my 5k training hit a bit of a snag. Actually, it was more like hitting a wall. A 91-degree wall. You know, it’s hard to run through a wall. But I sure tried. Eventually I became sick, overheated, and completely discouraged — I couldn’t even finish the run. It was awful….
Pretty Little Things
The risk of me going for runs near our downtown can be summed up in the above photo. Too many distractions. Our home town is sweet, quaint and filled with photo opportunities. I was quite proud that I only stopped twice on my last long run. Above was during my warm up; below was during…
Smelling the Flowers, Catching My Breath
I’m convinced that my gym keeps beautiful landscaping near the front door so people like me have an excuse for walking slowly to the car and save face. Exhausted? Oh no, I’m not exhausted; I’m smelling the flowers. Of course my workout didn’t kick my butt; I’m admiring these blooms. (In my defense, I really…
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