Day 164 - Thurs Jan 23rd - Get me outta here!!

Nope... this isn't a photo of a mystical fog enveloping the land.

DAY 164 - Get me OUTTA here!!

<------------------------------  IT'S INSANE!!!

I said I would focus on the beautiful parts of my run.  But enough is enough.  The air is so thick you can taste it, leaving your throat dry, your nose and head stuffy and your asthma spray on empty. I long for the Northwest air, trees and green!

Climbing up on the foothills we were able to escape the most dense parts of the blucky valley.  Jax had a ball running off leash, slipping on ice and marking his territory throughout the trail. I did a bit of slipping as well. Probably not the best idea to run up here, but I'd rather risk a bruised bottom than run through that muck :)

Smile!

Day 160, 161, 162 and 163 Ups and Downs - life in 4 days...

Day 160, 161, 162 & 163

Ups and Downs - life in 4 days....

 

Well... once again I proved how challenging it is for me to write the blog while at home. My laggy laptop didn't help.  It was an up and down 4 days, challenged further by a bit of a bad stomach bug :(

Running was also up and down.  Some up days and some down days, but ran them all the same.  

On a positive note :)

Sunday was particularly beautiful. The river was completely frozen. Jax had fun running around the shallow ice areas, playing and jumping around like a child on too much sugar. We crunched around on the ice contemplating life and why area dog owners refuse to pick up their poo.  ggrrrrrrr

Monday through this morning the inversion was pretty yuck. Luckily I run early enough it doesn't seem as bad. However later in the day it is downright terrible. Good news! a mini wind storm is supposed to come by and clear some of it out tomorrow.

beauty vs. the beast of inversion

Day 123: Fri Dec 13th - A Wheezy Day

Day One Hundred Twenty-three:

Friday the 13th

A Wheezy Day.

What a beautiful sight. The mountains so majestic..... Errrrrrrrr wait. You can't SEE the mountains.

There are mountains somewhere behind this photo as well.  Foggy, mucky.... Inversion

On a good note. I only have to work 1/2 a day and get to have some Holiday fun with co-workers. 

I thought this was funny. Though I am not the least bit superstitious.

Day 121: Wed Dec 11th - 1/3 Way There!

Day One Hundred Twenty-One:

1/3 Completed and finding the positive in the air.

 

Today marks 1/3 of the way toward my goal, not that I'm counting (yeah...right :) However, time feels like it's gone by pretty fast. Especially with the holidays and staying busy.  Not quite as cold this morning. Jax had fun and was bounds of energy.  He nearly knocked me flat in the snow once we got to the top of the hill where the snow was pretty deep. I'm pretty sure he thought the deeper snow meant it was play time and he bounced up and down trying to wrestle and chase me.  His head butted behind my knee and when I yelped in surprise and a twinge of pain, he settled back down with head held low, standing behind me with a pitiful look of sorry on his face.  Luckily I was fine and told him so, then we headed off running again. Silly dog.

 

Trying to find the bright side of the winter air is not easy, especially today.  I could literally taste the air when I first headed out. It tasted a mixture of burnt toast and exhaust. Once I got higher, it wasn't as bad.  

 

Positive:  ------------------------------>

 

The mucky air makes for pretty sunsets. This was taken last night.

 

 

 

 

 <-------------------------- Negative.

The bad air killed one of Santa's baby reindeer while she was out practicing her flying last night, and the wild dogs hiding in the trees carted off the body for dinner, 

Okay, not really. But from far away, this branch looked like an antler and that is the story my sleep deprived brain imagined as I was running.

 

Time for coffee.

 

 

 

 

Day 106: Tues Nov 26th - Frosty with Inversion Sprinkles

Day One Hundred-six: 

Frosty with a sprinkle of inversion on top.

 

Got to love a crisp frosty morning, but I could do without the mucky air developing across the valley.

<<cough... cough...wheeze...wheeze>> 

Ran a good clip though. It was cold initially but warmed quickly.  Jax was full of energy as he bounded up this hill. It's a bugger. As much as I would like him to pull me up it, he just bounds up several feet, stops, looks at me, waits patiently for me to catch up, then bounds up more, waits, repeats until we get to the top. I like hills (even when at times I curse them). It feels good when you get to the top, out of breathe but more energized than ever.

 

 

"The battle of life is, in most cases, fought uphill; and to win it without a struggle were perhaps

to win it without honor. If there were no difficulties there would be no success; if there were

nothing to struggle for, there would be nothing to be achieved."

                                                                                       ~ Samuel Smiles 1812-1904