Nine Hundred Sixty-Six

June 27, 2019
5.78 Miles in 1:00:16
Mood: Slight cold means slow Craig
Soundtrack: Cold War Kids "LA DIVINE"

Another photo of flowers can only mean one thing...I spent almost an entire run at Southglenn again. They really do have really great flowers in addition to so many Pokestops that I can't help myself. I was fighting the effects of a minor cold, and I felt a bit dehydrated and slow today. This is my excuse why I couldn't even get to six miles today.

Nine Hundred Sixty-Five

June 25, 2019
7.00 Miles in 1:12:10
Mood: Be thankful for your repetitive blessings.
Soundtrack: Modest Mouse "Strangers to Ourselves"

I run on the Highline Canal so much, that I am beginning to take it for granted. I was looking at all these beautiful green photos of trees and scenery and thinking I didn't have anything worth posting. Then I remember that I shouldn't take something this awesome for granted. So here is yet another picture of the scenic Highline Canal Trail. It's really pretty, and every morning I run on it is a blessing.

Nine Hundred Sixty-Four

June 23, 2019
7.31 Miles in 1:14:09
Mood: Photographic deception
Soundtrack: Blitzen Trapper "Furr"

For the bazillionth day in a row (Approximately) it was cloudy and rainy in Denver. But, for a brief moment, the sun came out at Wash Park and the sky was at least partially blue, and I was able to get a photo which made it look like a much nicer day than it ended up being. The moral of the story is: Never trust a photo.

Nine Hundred Sixty-Three

June 21, 2019
6.29 Miles in 1:06:45
Mood: Limiting myself and taking pictures of pink flowers.
Soundtrack: Good Old War "Come Back as Rain"

I didn't intend to circle Southglenn on this particular morning, but the threat of rain and some relative soreness in the legs made me decide that it might be a good idea to be close to home in case I want to get back in a hurry. So rather than run the Highline Canal, I just filled up my Pokemon supplies while running in circles around the mall, but hey...at least the mall has good flowers. (PS, it did not rain.)

Nine Hundred Sixty-Two

June 19, 2019
7.01 Miles in 1:13:24
Mood: Appreciating my beautiful state.
Soundtrack: The Avett Brothers "Mignonette"

Colorado is not ugly. I present this photo in the defense of this proposition. Man, it was a gorgeous morning.

Nine Hundred Sixty-One

June 17, 2019
7.87 Miles in 1:18:51
Mood: Baby shoe?
Soundtrack: Mumford & Sons "Sigh No More"

After driving from Chicago to Denver on Sunday, I still had Monday off, so I made up for a lost Sunday run by heading up to Wash Park for a rare Monday run. It felt deserted, as my usual Wash Park runs happen on Sundays and the park is monumentally more active on a Sunday than on a Monday. Still, I enjoyed a nice run with the most distance I've managed in quite awhile. I also found a baby shoe just hanging out on a mile marker, so it was clearly a complete success from beginning to end.

Nine Hundred Sixty

June 13, 2019
5.52 Miles in 56:51
Mood: Happily vacationing
Soundtrack: "Craig's List" Spotify Playlist

I have run in Illinois on a handful of occasions, and it always left me depressed running through the Chicago suburbs because there were just no good trails on which to run and I ended up galloping through generic and unexciting terrain. This was by far the best Illinois run I have ever taken. I ran through a forest preserve and then on the Naperville Riverwalk, and it was gorgeous with cool trails and lots of cool stuff to see like this bell tower known as the Millenium Carillon.

My mood was terrific as I had just seen Hamilton the night before and was getting ready to go to a White Sox game later that day, so I was in peak vacation mood.

Nine Hundred Fifty-Nine

June 9, 2019
6.30 Miles in 1:02:49
Mood: Better a gray Sunday than a bright and shiny Monday.
Soundtrack: The Avett Brothers "Magpie and the Dandelion"

It is allegedly June, but I was wearing pants and long sleeves for this one, as it was legitimately chilly outside. Now, if it were January and I had a 46 degree day, I'd say it was balmy, but it's all a matter of perspective and what month the calendar is flipped to, and right now it should be warmer than the mid-forties when I run.

Despite the chill and the gray skies, it was actually a pretty nice day. There were brief sprinklings falling on me, but for the most part I stayed dry and comfortable, and the cooler weather was actually pretty nice once you got a few miles in. Knowing I only had one more day of work before vacation began didn't hurt either.

Nine Hundred Fifty-Eight

June 6, 2019
5.86 Miles in 59:28
Mood: Blurry and off balance to a spectacular degree.
Soundtrack: Pearl Jam "Ten" and Manchester Orchestra "A Black Mile To The Surface"

I have two pairs of glasses. The nice pair that is my current prescription and get worn at almost all times, and the old pair with an outdated prescription that only gets worn when I exercise because my new ones will not stay on my nose when I sweat. I accidentally wore the good pair as I left the house this morning, and I noticed it within 500 yards of home, but decided not to go back and switch them out..."I'll be FINE!" I said. I was not fine. I got sweaty, and within a mile, I decided to just rip them off my face and into my pocket because the constant sliding down my nose is uncomfortable and just so annoying.

So I spent most of the morning looking at the world as if it were an impressionist painting. (Because without my glasses everything is blurry.) All was fine, and I managed to get almost all the way back home without incident, but while coming home through the streets of southglenn I took a bad step, got knocked off balance, and couldn't recover in time and I hit the ground like a sack of hammers. Miraculously, I was able to fall gracefully enough to not scrape myself up or smash my glasses which were in my pocket. The tiny woman who was walking directly towards me at the time did the neighborly thing and asked if I was okay. I'm not sure what she would have done if I had said, "No...please help me up!" because as I said...she was tiny. I told her I was fine while lying awkwardly on the sidewalk and then a group of guys across the street also yelled, "YOU OKAY, BRO?!?" I sheepishly said yes, and then headed home. So it was a blurry fally run, but it still felt good.

Nine Hundred Fifty-Seven

June 4, 2019
7.27 Miles in 1:14:30
Mood: Engineering and the possibility is rising for a 100 mile month.
Soundtrack: U2 "Songs of Experience" and "Songs of Innocence"

This thing is like some kind of viaduct to allow a stream to head in a direction it normally wouldn't. I don't care about the man over nature impact, I just like how cool all the wood slats look. Also, this is two straight runs of over 7 miles. I'm getting my groove back. It's still awfully early in the month to think about a 100 mile month...especially with some travelling getting mixed in, but all I'm saying is for the first time in over a year, it's at least a possibility.

Nine Hundred Fifty-Six

June 2, 2019
7.19 Miles in 1:10:06
Mood: Better living through eating (less)
Soundtrack: The Long Winters "Putting The Days To Bed"

I have been trying to eat healthier the past several weeks, and it's starting to become noticeable while I'm running. I have only dropped a few pounds, but the healthier eating is definitely allowing me to run longer and just a tiny bit faster. I feel better while I'm doing it, too. I had gotten into some bad habits of eating way too much food, and just trying to check myself a little makes a huge difference.

Nine Hundred Fifty-Five

May 31, 2019
6.77 Miles in 1:08:14
Mood: Digging the green textures.
Soundtrack: The Head and The Heart "Living Mirage"

I like the photo for the many layers of green found within. Lots of good textures and distances and light.