Eight Hundred Fifty-Two

August 31, 2018
7.59 Miles in 1:12:09
Mood: Feeling amazing, for once.
Soundtrack: The Shins "Port of Morrow"

I decided to just push myself this morning. Take few breaks, go hard, and see what happens. What happened is that I felt like myself (pre-injury myself), and it was awesome. This was one of the best runs I have had in ages, and it wasn't even at Wash Park, which is usually where I have my best results. Felt good, man.

Eight Hundred Fifty-One

August 29, 2018
4.74 Miles in 47:08
Mood: Glorious morning, inglorious foot.
Soundtrack: The Decemberists "I'll Be Your Girl" / The Shins "Heartworms" and "The Worm's Heart"

The Shins did this weird thing this year where they remixed every song from their 2017 album Heartworms (making them vastly different in the process), put them in reverse order, and released it as an album called "The Worm's Heart". I just discovered this on my run this morning for the first time, and after one listen, I am confused on whether or not this is good. I would say that Heartworms is a pretty good album, but nothing close to their best, and this new remix is definitely inferior to it, but it was also interesting hearing songs get totally re-imagined. It was definitely intriguing, but I am not sure I liked it, if that makes any sense. I'll listen to it again sometime and see if I can come to more clarity on my opinion, but for now, the review is mixed.

This morning's run had the advantage of being a gorgeous morning and the disadvantage of my left foot bothering me enough to the point that I had to take much longer walking breaks than usual, and I ended up not even reaching five miles. That was disappointing, but enjoying a beautiful August morning was good for the soul, even if it was less good for the foot. Seriously, just look at that sunlight in those trees and it will improve your outlook, even if just minutely.

Eight Hundred Fifty

August 26, 2018
7.07 Miles in 1:07:12
Mood: Doing it right.
Soundtrack: Flora Cash "Nothing Lasts Forever (And It's Fine)" / The Avett Brothers "Live Vol. Four"

It had been several weeks since I had been at Wash Park in the early morning, and while I have been to my favorite place in that time, I had not been there at my favorite time...which is right around 7:30 AM. It was nice to have the confluence of right place at the right time, and the run was a lovely and peaceful time, as commemorated by this lovely and peaceful photo taken right around the best time to be at the best park (on the best day...Sunday.)

Eight Hundred Forty-Nine

August 24, 2018
7.32 Miles in 1:11:20
Mood: Partly Smoky
Soundtrack: Panic! At The Disco "Pray For The Wicked"

When I listen to the weather forecast on the radio these days, a word they are using a lot is "smoky" as in, "The weather tomorrow will be partly smoky." This is due to all of the wildfires, and it's kind of insane. Smoky is not a word I want in my weather forecast. Also, when the sun rises and it's blood red on the horizon, that's probably not okay. It's eerie, but if I'm honest, it's also kind of pretty, although I'll be quite happy when smoke is less a part of our lives here in the American West.

Eight Hundred Forty-Eight

August 21, 2018
5.66 Miles in 56:38
Mood: Awful chilly for summertime.
Soundtrack: Josh Garrels "Love & War & The Sea In Between"

It's getting chilly awful early in the summer this year. It is still August, and yet I was cold as I walked outside to begin this run. We are having a run of chillier weather, and I wonder if it's because we've been having a lot more rain, and I wonder if that rain is caused by all the smoke and ash in the air from so much of the Western United States being on fire. These are the things I pondered as I set out trying to get myself warmed up at the outset of this run.

Eight Hundred Forty-Seven

August 19, 2018
7.04 Miles in 1:05:06
Mood: Would you look at that!
Soundtrack: Rich Mullins "A Liturgy, A Legacy & A Ragamuffin Band"

The photo above is of a 2018 era man riding what is known as a Penny-farthing bicycle. It is so named because it looks like two coins, one which is much larger than the other. It was the heights of fashion in 1878, less so 140 years later. First of all, it is important that you understand just how high up this guy is on his bike.  I would estimate his seat is 10 feet off the ground. I have no clue how one mounts such an outdated form of transportation, nor why one would do so. It looks astoundingly dangerous to ride this thing, and he was wobbling all over the place as he rode it, leading me to believe he was still mastering this crazy skill. This is a textbook definition of being a hipster, and rest assured...he had a large handlebar mustache, because of course he did.

While you might think I'm against hipsters doing things like riding bikes from the late 19th century, nothing could be further from the truth. He added joy to my life seeing him doing something so ridiculous. Long live the goofy hipsters!

Eight Hundred Forty-Six

August 16, 2018
7.25 Miles in 1:11:29
Mood: I'm late, I'm late, for a not that important date.
Soundtrack: Footsteps on Gravel

Two nights ago, my old blind dog got stuck behind our bed, and in her mania to get free jerked the cord to my alarm clock out of the wall. I reset it, but in doing so inadvertently transposed AM with PM, which meant that when my alarm was set to go off in what I intended it to be as this morning at 5:33, it actually was set to go off this evening at 5:33. This meant that I awoke at two minutes to six this morning, and was nearly a half hour behind schedule.

I thought about just abandoning running, but I really wanted to get out there after a long and arduous day at work the day before. So I hurried through my morning routine, and got out the door just a little behind schedule. This feeling of being a bit late actually helped, as it motivated me to push hard and run with fewer breaks, and I actually managed to break the seven mile mark this morning, which is my usual goal, but one I have not been hitting nearly as often lately.

My being in a hurry also meant that as I began my run about two minutes walk away from home, I declined to head back into the house to grab my earbuds as that would have put me further behind, so I ended up running with no music, which was actually a nice change of pace. Every now and then, it's good to actually hear the world around you while running. I did notice that many more bikers proclaim "On your left" than I realized and also many people say "Good morning" in a very low voice that I probably miss when I'm listening to music. (I wave to pretty much EVERYONE I pass, so I doubt too many people think I'm being antisocial when I don't hear them.)

Eight Hundred Forty-Five

August 14, 2018
6.08 Miles in 58:42
Mood: Feeling good after skipping a day.
Soundtrack: Matt Nathanson "Some Mad Hope" / Manchester Orchestra "A Black Mile To The Surface"

I skipped Sunday's run to give myself a bit of a rest, and because I knew the family had plans to go hiking that day anyway. The rest did me some good, as even though I only completed six miles, it was a solid feeling six.

I saw the one armed man again, and I waved hi at him as I passed. I did it with just one arm...not trying to show off with a two handed greeting, that would be a little too cocky, probably.

Eight Hundred Forty-Four

August 9, 2018
5.02 Miles in 50:56
Mood: Dragging butt a bit.
Soundtrack: Jerryd James "Thirty One" and "High"

I felt so tired and broken this morning. I had gotten plenty of rest, and shouldn't have felt this way, but for some reason this was a tough morning run. I had to resort to walking far more than I wanted to, and I didn't feel good. This happens from time to time, and hopefully my next outing will go better...at least I managed five miles, which is better than nothing.

As for today's photo, this apple tree is really starting to produce some impressive fruit. (By Colorado apple standards.) It's weird seeing apples grow here, as this isn't exactly the ideal climate for them, but here they go growing all the same.

Eight Hundred Forty-Three

August 7, 2018
5.53 Miles in 55:05
Mood: I still have two arms.
Soundtrack: Robert DeLong "Just Movement" / Jack Garratt "Phase"

I hit the wall on this run, and never really recovered. Hence only achieving five and a half miles. Still, it felt good up until that point, and it was a lovely morning. I know that the map posted below shows a rainy icon, but it wasn't even close to raining. It was sunny and wonderful, and that weather report is fake news.

I saw a one armed man while on this run. Thankfully he didn't kill my wife and frame me for it. (The Fugitive reference). He looked happy and friendly, and I started thinking about what life would be like with half the arms I have now. I'm not eager to test it out, but it was cool to see this guy out and about and looking happy. You go, one armed man!

Eight Hundred Forty-Two

August 5, 2018
7.38 Miles in 1:11:21
Mood: Feeling cool
Soundtrack: The sounds of my own feet clomping on the gravel trail.

For the second straight Sunday, the early morning weather was gray, cloudly, and a little rainy. One could get annoyed at the precipitation, or bask in it. I chose the latter, as it felt SO GOOD outside on this run around Wash Park. I was only rained on a tiny amount, not nearly enough to get significantly wet. I could get used to these mostly warm, with just a slight chill type of Sunday runs.

Eight Hundred Forty-One

August 3, 2018
6.66 Miles in 1:06:15
Mood: Basking in a sunrise
Soundtrack: The Avett Brothers "The Gleam" and "The Second Gleam" and "Mignonette"

I knew what my photo would be for this run about 30 seconds in, because the sunrise was glorious, and I was into it. The rest of this run was a quite pleasant but rather unremarkable trip along the hook. I'm trying to really appreciate these summer runs, because the times when I can go running in shorts at 6:30 in the morning last for far too short a time. Soon I'll be bundling up in jogging pants and hoodies and missing these halcyon days of warmth and most importantly no snow.

Eight Hundred Forty

July 31, 2018
6.49 Miles in 1:03:40
Mood: Look at the pretty flowers!
Soundtrack: Panic! At The Disco "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out"

Bright flowers in bright sun and almost always a great picture. Or if not a great picture, at least great COLOR within a picture. On this meandering run, I looped around quite a bit, but felt pretty good the whole time, and I got a picture with some great pink and red flowers, so pretty good for a Tuesday morning, I guess.

Eight Hundred Thirty-Nine

July 29, 2018
7.27 Miles in 1:07:23
Mood: Cool day, hot pace.
Soundtrack: Panic! At The Disco "Vices & Virtues"

It's amazing what having a park full of runners circling Wash Park in both directions can do for your pace. That competitive spirit works wonders when I want to keep up with people. I went hard on this run, with very few stops, and finished with a pace this is significantly faster than any pace I have accomplished in months. It helped that the skies were gray and overcast and the weather was downright chilly (at least at the start.)

I felt super amazing about this entire run when I had finished, and also realized that I had never before listened to the Panic! album Vices and Virtures before, and that I rather liked it. This was a glorious Sunday morning experience all around.

Eight Hundred Thirty-Eight

July 27, 2018
7.27 Miles in 1:11:27
Mood: On a Star Wars related mission.
Soundtrack: Daves of Thunder / Trampled by Turtles "Stars and Satellites"

On the back side of this sign on the Highline Canal, there is what appears to be an image of Boba Fett
appearing in the rust. I have no idea how this has happened, but I noticed it the previous Saturday while on my walkabout, and I HAD to return to get a photo of it into Run and Shoot. I really am massively curious if someone scratched this out, or if somehow it appeared organically like an image of the virgin Mary in a devout Catholic's toast.