Twelve Hundred Nineteen

 

December 29, 2020

7.26 Miles in 1:18:08

Mood:  Here comes the sun!
Soundtrack: The Beatles "Abbey Road"

I awoke to find that a few inches of white stuff had fallen while I slept. This left the sidewalks and streets in the condition seen above...not ideal. I only needed six more miles to put the finishing touches on my 17th consecutive 100 mile month, and today was the day I had scheduled to make that happen, so I did what I so often do in these situations...head to Southglenn. 

Southglenn was a little slippery, but so much less so than anywhere else I would have ventured, so I did my loops and got my miles and called it a day. The snow made me realize one thing, and that was that the Beatles song "Here Comes The Sun" was probably written in winter, as when the snow comes, the ice is slowly melting. I got to see that phenomenon in action, as when I began, the ice was everywhere, but the sun came out and the ice indeed did slowly melt. It's just as nice to see in person as it is to hear in song, and when the two come together, it's magic! 

Twelve Hundred Eighteen

 

December 27, 2020

7.67 Miles in 1:19:37

Mood: Appreciating the homemade Christmas decor.
Soundtrack: The Avett Brothers "The Gleam" and "The Second Gleam" and "The Third Gleam"

Somewhere north of Wash Park and south of Cheesman Park lies a house that had been decorated in a Dr Suess/Grinch theme. These are the truffala trees, and there were more candy style decorations on the other side of the house. It was modest, but I liked it because everything was homemade, which is generally better than spending seventy dollars at The Home Depot to get a licensed inflatable. 

Twelve Hundred Seventeen

 

December 25, 2020

7.67 Miles in 1:19:37

Mood: EAGLE! A CHRISTMAS EAGLE!!!
Soundtrack: Rich Mullins "A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band"

After a lovely Christmas morning with the family, I decided to get in an afternoon run at Wash Park, and I was so glad that I did. The world was full of the type of warmth which pretty much you only feel on Christmas. It was a beautiful day, and on my first lap around the park, I noticed a large group of people on the north end of the park looking up and taking pictures. I stopped, and looked, but couldn't see what they were staring at. I walked over to a fellow and asked if he wouldn't mind telling me what we were all looking at. He said it at almost the exact moment that I found it for myself..."There's a bald eagle up there!"

It was very cool, and on my second lap, I stopped and looked again, because although I had literally seen a bald eagle much closer up at the zoo the day before, there is something special about seeing a wild one just chilling in the park. On my third lap, he seemed to be gone from the grove of trees, and I was a little bummed, but figured that it couldn't go on forever, then I saw him sitting on a bare branch over Smith Lake, just soaking in the late afternoon sun. I took a lot more pictures, one of which you see here, and felt like God had given me an extra Christmas present in the form of a park eagle. 

Twelve Hundred Sixteen

 

December 22, 2020

7.22 Miles in 1:13:57

Mood: Flamingos and Penguins living together
Soundtrack: Arctic Monkeys "AM"

I'm happy I live in a world where Penguins and Flamingos can share a yard. If this isn't the perfect Christmas metaphor...okay, clearly it isn't, but it probably means something anyway, right?

Twelve Hundred Fifteen

 

December 20, 2020

7.40 Miles in 1:14:20

Mood: Ugly sweaters galore
Soundtrack: The Avett Brothers "The Third Gleam"

Perspective can be a funny thing. This looks like a normal snowman, but I assure you, it is teeny tiny. Look at the size of the leaves for context. I just got down really close to the ground to take the picture, and it turned out pretty cool looking. I take photos of most snowmen I see, regardless of quality. 

Also, there was too much snow on the ground for this run, so I had to run on the paved section of Wash Park, not as good as the outside track, but still nice. I was far from alone, as well, as this particular morning the park was hosting an Ugly Sweater run. It was very odd, as it appeared they were keeping their participants well paced out, so for the entire time I was running, I saw runners of varying speeds also circling the park in small groups. Most running while wearing outrageously ugly sweaters. It was a treat.

Twelve Hundred Fourteen

 

December 18, 2020

7.23 Miles in 1:14:35

Mood: Christmasy Baby Yoda
Soundtrack: Phoebe Bridgers "Punisher"

If you have an inflatable Baby Yoda in your yard, there is a good chance that I will take a picture of it and it will end up on this blog. That's just science. So good work to the people of this house. One week before Christmas and I was in a Christmasy Baby Yoda mood.

There was a lot of snow and ice on the ground for this one, so I stayed mainly on side streets where I could run in the street and avoid large measures of traffic. That allowed me to avoid slipping pretty well, avoid getting hit by cars entirely, and it also allowed me to see a mobile dog washing station washing a large floppy haired white dog in his own doggy driveway. The dog was very cute and also sitting completely still, and it appeared that he was resigned to his fate to become a clean dog. I felt a little bad for him, because he was soaking wet and it was really cold, so the walk from the dog cleaning trailer back into his home was going to be really really chilly. Still, I was glad I was able to see such a thing, as I had never seen one of those mobile dog wash businesses in operation. It felt like seeing a unicorn in person.

Twelve Hundred Thirteen

 

December 16, 2020

7.28 Miles in 1:17:12

Mood: ANOTHER Southglenn tour

Soundtrack: Modest Mouse "We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank"

I have to be honest. I'm getting tired of running at Southglenn, but with ice covering everything, it's the safest place to run outdoors near me, and it was awfully pretty with pink clouds during sunrise this morning. I'm hoping to go somewhere else on Friday, as I need a change, but it is good to have a place that clears snow and ice, is fairly large and flat, and doesn't care that I run around it when we do have the slick roads.

Twelve Hundred Twelve

December 14, 2020

7.16 Miles in 1:18:35

Mood: I think I'm alone now, and not falling down on ice.
Soundtrack: The Avett Brothers "The Third Gleam"

For the second time in three days, I was running around Southglenn. This time, it was due to the fact that thanks to a moderate snowstorm over the weekend, there was ice EVERYWHERE and Southglenn remains the safest place to run in such situations as it is flat and a large portion of the ice is removed to assist commerce in the area. Unlike my Saturday run situation, I saw virtually no one, as it turns out that when the temps are at 14 degrees at it's 7AM on a Monday morning, very few people are walking around Southglenn. However, I did get in a nice run after viewing a pink sky that proceeded a very disappointing sunrise.

Twelve Hundred Eleven

 

December 12, 2020

7.37 Miles in 1:15:32

Mood: Standing out, like a big weirdo.
Soundtrack: The Avett Brothers "I and Love and You"

I slept in and was in no hurry to get my run in this Saturday, so I ended up starting out VERY late in the morning. This caused me to be running in circles at Southglenn at the same time that a Pokemon Go Community Day was beginning. The result was I saw several fellow Pokemon players out playing and they saw me out running like a crazy person. I stopped several times to say hello, but continued on my run without ever really stopping much to play. I felt like quite the weirdo.

Also, I'm running out of things to photograph at Southglenn, so here are a few of the excessively large collection of little shopping carts that Whole Foods has at the ready outside their store.

Twelve Hundred Ten

 

December 10, 2020

6.41 Miles in 1:06:37

Mood: Low blood sugars and paying respects. 
Soundtrack: Better Oblivion Community Center "Better Oblivion Community Center"

For the second straight run, I was cut down by the annoyance of a low blood sugar. This time it happened much closer to the end, and since I had already gone over six miles, I just called it a day and walked the rest of the way home. It wasn't nearly as annoying as the previous low, either. I knew what it was and that it wasn't too intense. 

My route for this one was a little odd, as I ended up running a trail I hit all the time, but in a direction I rarely ever go, and the slight difference felt refreshing. I also stopped by a local cemetery and paid my respects to the memorials of the people who were killed in 1999 in the Columbine High School shooting. It sobered me to think that if that hadn't happened, these kids would all be in their late 30's now. 

Twelve Hundred Nine

 

December 8, 2020

6.91 Miles in 1:10:46

Mood: Attacked by low blood sugar!
Soundtrack: TV on the Radio "Nine Types of Light"

When I was about three miles into this run, I felt like I was going to die. I had less than zero energy, and I didn't know if I would be able to walk the rest of the way, much less run. It turned out to be a low blood sugar, and I stopped at a convenience store and purchased a green tea which helped turn things around, and I was able to salvage a decent amount of mileage from the morning, but it was definitely a ride on the struggle bus.

Before I started falling apart, I saw this sign with this animal head eating it, and thought it was fun. I wish plush animal heads would eat more things out in the world.  

Twelve Hundred Eight

 

December 6, 2020

7.32 Miles in 1:11:27

Mood: Socially distant nativity. 
Soundtrack: Lord Huron "Lonesome Dreams"

Mary is wearing her mask, and Baby Jesus has his on. (Should babies wear masks?) But that donkey has no interest. He's going to vector, and no one can stop him. He really should be an elephant. 

Also, Sunday morning was lovely and I had one of my better runs in awhile, so that was nice.

Twelve Hundred Seven

 

December 3, 2020

7.38 Miles in 1:16:06

Mood: Hark! The Herald Dragons Sing?
Soundtrack: Too Beautiful To Live

I saw dragons back in October for Halloween, and I thought that was cool, but a little odd for a Halloween decoration theme. Then I saw the Christmas dragon today, and that made Halloween dragons look super normal. This dude has the Santa hat and candy canes and everything. Also, the wings move back and forth. It's a pretty solid piece of work. Crazy, but solid. 

Twelve Hundred Six

 

December 1, 2020

7.36 Miles in 1:16:48

Mood: Taking in the morning views. 
Soundtrack: The Avett Brothers "The Magpie and the Dandelion"

December greeted me with a gorgeous sunrise, and after taking a couple pictures of it just as I started out, I knew that I wouldn't need my camera for the rest of the morning, as I had my picture for the day. The lovely pink and the skies perforated with fluffy blue clouds put me in a very good mood to start out my morning run. I enjoy the day more when I see the sunrise and it's a good one.

Twelve Hundred Five

 

November 28, 2020

7.11 Miles in 1:11:20

Mood: Do you play croquet? 
Soundtrack: Jack White "Blunderbuss"

I rarely run at Wash Park on back to back runs, but a four day Thanksgiving holiday afforded me the chance. I arrived at the park at right around the same time I had run two days previously and I parked behind the exact same car that I had parked behind on Thanksgiving Day. I could tell it was the same car, because it was a Mini Cooper with a croquet peg mounted on the back. How many of those could there possibly be?

I was able to run on the outside track this time, as the snow had melted enough since Thursday to make that feasible. Sadly, I saw no one dressed up as a turkey this time, but I guess that moment had passed. 

Twelve Hundred Four

 

November 26, 2020

7.14 Miles in 1:11:03

Mood: Thankful
Soundtrack: Arcade Fire "Everything Now"

I thought that Thanksgiving might be quiet at the park, but I was 100% incorrect on that assumption. The park was packed and many of the people enjoying their morning at the park were dressed up like turkeys. I know it was for Thanksgiving, and I enjoyed it very much, especially some of the more elaborate hats and costumes, but there is something slightly weird about dressing up as an animal that you are planning to devour in a few hours. 

There had recently been snow, and the outside gravel track at the park was a little too snowpacked for my tastes, so I ran on the paved road inside the park which isn't quite as nice as the outside track, but is still pretty and that was where most of the people dressed like turkeys were hanging out, so that was a nice consolation prize. I kinda wish that I had taken a picture of some of the people that were dressed up, but it the time of COVID, I felt like the best thing to do was to just stay six feet or more away from people and not ask them to pose for me, and taking a picture without their permission sounded to creepy for me, so instead you get a picture of the trampled snow close to the lake on the south side of Wash Park!

Twelve Hundred Three

 

November 23, 2020

7.00 Miles in 1:13:54

Mood: Not gonna do what I'm told.
Soundtrack: Twenty One Pilots "Trench"

If I just followed all rules and instructions blindly, would I just stand in this spray painted red square? I might. I'm glad I utilize my own mind and don't follow all instructions blindly. I don't want to stand in that square. I even made sure to avoid it while running around it.