Glimpsing the Sublime

How divine,
The liberty, for frail, for mortal, man
To roam at large among unpeopled glens
And mountainous retirements . . .regions consecrate
To oldest time!  [Wordsworth, Works 5.125]

The 20˚ air held my German Shorthaired Pointer’s exhaled breath in billowy white plumes as we were a couple miles into a 17 mile long run.  As we turned to the southeast, the sun was peeking over the crest of a hill and its rays were caught by the frost on the golden brown grass, which had not yet been trampled under heavy winter snows.  It was as if frost had collected on my lens as each strand of straw stood illuminated in the morning sun, all silver and gold, etching crystals into my vision.  Time stood still in the morning chill as I experienced a moment of sublimity that would make Wordsworth proud.  Of course, the dog was just happy to be running.

I had an excellent long run yesterday.  Fletcher ran 2.6 miles and Finn ran 17.3 to bring me a tenth of a mile or so short of 20 for the day.  The weekly totals are: Teamcam—65.5; Finn—49.6; Fletcher—15.9.  Week 4 (14 weeks to go) of the Pete Pfitzinger 18/70 plan contains no speedwork, just a lot of medium long runs and long runs, so the dogs were in for every mile.  We all seem to be holding up quite nicely.

It was a glorious run yesterday as the only people out on the paths were dog walkers, and there were not a lot of them on a cold Saturday morning.  After the sublime scene depicted above, Finn and I made our way to a greenbelt that parallels Clear Creek.  The sun was shining, illuminating the snow and frost as the creek steamed.  It was one of those runs that make me happy to shun the treadmill and get out there.

I understand that some people live in places where the weather is just too bad to run in all of the time and that the treadmill offers convenience for those short on time, but I would not trade the feeling of covering ground and seeing my surroundings for anything.  I am blessed to live in Colorado, but that is not to say that I only run in beautiful surroundings.  Yesterday’s course went through some bleak industrial areas, but even those were picturesque in the blues, grays, and whites of a January morning.  We saw both a fox and a coyote on different parts of the run.  There were several views that were just breathtaking.  And we finished several hours of running feeling wonderfully tired and with the feeling that we had gotten somewhere.  Where to?  Well through the fourth week of training for my second Boston Marathon and into an ice bath—brrrrrr!

I hope that your running gets you to where you want to be, and that, for even just a moment, you feel at one with the world in which you run. 

So it begins

On this last day of 2010, it seems appropriate that I get a jump on the new year.  While I am not a big fan of resolutions, it seems like a good time to start blogging.  I have been kicking around the idea of blogging for a couple of months, with most of the consideration occurring while I was out running with the dogs.  So, why not make running the focus of this new adventure?  I am sure that the people I interact with on a daily basis will be appreciative of an outlet where I can discuss my running, my dogs, and anything else that is occupying my thoughts as to spare them having to listen to me talk about it.  Of course, I offer no guarantees.  Perhaps now they will have to listen to me blather on about blogging.  Who knows?

I entered my last run of 2010 into my training log today.  5.2 miles in twenty degree temps brought my total for the year to 2159.3 miles.  It was a good year of running: my highest mileage ever and my first sub-3 hour marathon (Chicago 10-10-10) are the highlights.  Of course, I plan on using this blog as a forum as I pursue some goals for 2011.

The first two goals for the new year are running well in the Canyonlands Half Marathon (3/19/11) and the Boston Marathon (4/18/11).  I aspire to set personal records in both events.  Of course, all I can do is prepare and hope for the best.  So prepare I will.  I am currently finishing up the third week of Pete Pfitzinger's 18/70 (18 weeks/ 70 mile week maximum) plan.  It is my second time using this training plan; the first of which garnered a 10:30 improvement of my marathon time.  Pfitz has planned the work, now I will work the plan.

After Boston, I will set my sights on the lofty goal of the Pike's Peak Ascent.  I have never run this event, but it is on my wish list, and, if all goes well, I will accomplish that goal this year.  I am sure that there will be other races, but the A-list is relatively short at this point.

Of course, I don't want this blog to be a glorified version of a training log.  I am hoping to create some interesting narratives regarding running, dadding, husbanding, cubscouting, and anything else that rattles around in my head as I am banging out the miles.

Happy new year!