Day 167, 168 & 169: Tuesday Jan 28th - Glorious Sunrise(s)

Day 167, 168 & 169 - Glorious Sunrise(s) 

Nice weekend and Monday off work. The past few mornings have been beautiful!
Yesterday Jax and I braved the higher trails on my second favorite route which tends to be on the slippery side early in the morning, so with careful footfalls I was able to avoid a bruised bottom and broken limbs.  There were a few close calls as we crested the top of a particularly steep ridge.  I tried to use Jax to my advantage (his 4 paws and power can come in handy from time to time) and had him go up first, helping guide me up a bit while I got my footing situated, however this plan nearly backfired as he caught the whiff of some dogs marking and started back down... dragging me down what would have been a painful ice slide (about 15 ft down).  I yanked my arm grabbing the closest branch and was able to find a dry patch to dig my foot in to regain my balance.  After a quick growl from me and a rush of adrenaline, we headed back up to the top successfully.  I think I will wait for Spring before attempting that portion of the trail again.. lol

Speaking of spring, we have some rain coming our way and mountain snow.  Love it!

Day 77: Mon Oct 28th - Tale of Two Brains

Day Seventy-seven: Tale of two brains.

Brain One: Let's go! 

Brain Two: Really?? Again?  What are you doing?

Brain One: Shut it. It is beautiful outside.  

 (pulls out phone, takes photo of sunrise and yellow clouds)

Brain Two: It's windy, your contacts will get dust in them. Your legs are tired.  You...

Brain One: Enough. 

Brain Two: Seriously, you don't have to prove anything. 

Brain One: Just because. I don't have a reason. I just love it.

Brain Two: Watch it!  (tripping on a rock) See... you're tired.

Brain One: Be quiet... geez! I'm trying to focus.

                (ladies walking dog off leash, Jax breaks concentration and pulls to take a butt sniff)

Brain Two:  Grrrrrr those ladies should have their dogs on leash! I wonder if they will pick up their poop.

Brain One:  Be nice. They are walking in the woods, kicking the leaves, it is beautiful... it's okay. 

Brain Two:  Look.... fresh poo... I wonder if it is from them. Grrrrr

Brain One: What is UP with you today??!  Gee... this is fun! The wind is nice, it's perfect temperature and with the storm and cold front coming, just enjoy it okay?!

Brain Two:  *grumble*

Brain One:  I love this song.             (steps up the pace)

Brain Two:  Oh look... the ladies again. Same dang dogs. Why don't people follow the rules.. this isn't off leash.

Brain One:  Look how beautiful this path is. I should take a picture. 

Brain Two:  How many photos do you need??

Brain One: I could snap a zillion photos.  Like this one (taking photo of a purple flower). 

 

Brain Two:  Okay... maybe it's nice. But take it easy.

Brain One:  Jax is such a good boy, he looks so happy.

Brain Two:  You're right. 

Brain One:  I feel great. Those inserts are really helping my feet. 

  (pushing repeat on awesome song)

I feel alive and happy.  This is why I do it.

Brain Two:  It doesn't make sense.

Brain One:  It makes sense to me. 

Day 57: Tues Oct 8th - Short and Sweet

Day Fifty-seven: A short and sweet run this morning. I was scheduled to work earlier than normal, so I had to hustle through this morning's run - which was sad considering how breathtakingly beautiful the skies were.  Photos captured the beauty pretty well considering they are taken via my cell phone camera and usually a quick 'stop and shoot' photo moment on the run. But of course, nothing compared to the true beauty of staring up at the sky with your own eyes. If only I could stare upwards while running and not fall on my face... if possible, today I would have done so :)

 A glorious morning... so beautiful.

Day 46: Fri Sept 27th - Panorama Blue

Day Forty-six:  The view of the skyline at the top of the trail before I descend.  Cool and very crisp morning. Here you can see the battle between the stormy clouds vs. early sunshine competing for majority in the sky. You can also see ,somewhat is the distance, the snowy tippy tops of the Rockies. It was 41 degrees according to my outdoor temperature gage, which I think might be my favorite running temperature.  In-between 40-50 degrees is ideal for me to run in. Even though it is chilly to begin, it is neither too hot or too cold while running. It's perfect.  

(here are closeups from the panorama above)

Day 44: Wed Sept 25th - The Fire Before the Storm

Day Forty-four: "The Fire Before the Storm".  I'm pretty sure that is a book title, or at least it should be.  This sunrise was absolutely gorgeous. Again, the photo doesn't do it justice, but the sunrise was beautiful while it lasted.  We have 2-3 days of rain and cold coming our way, along with snow in the mountains and possibly foothills (if we are lucky).  I know, I know.... it is a bit early for snow, but the first snowfall is always exciting. I can be patient however. This morning was absolutely perfect.  It was cool, not humid and other than Jax refusing to go around a pile of what I am assuming to be fox diarrhea, it was a morning that reaffirms why I run everyday.  As for the paw to poo...... "SPLAT"... Jax back foot hit dead center in the middle of a large pile of shit, and the worst kind of poop. I even exclaimed briefly "You dumb dog!" when he refused to go around on the path. My tone was funny in nature, or so I thought until I got a glare from someone walking along the path. Oh well.... it wasn't THEIR dog who just coated his foot with runny green goo. To top it off the river was virtually dry and not helpful in my effort to clean up his paw.  *sigh*.
Here is the photo of the sunrise.    Good thing I took a picture of the sunrise as opposed to the paw.... Gross!!