Where's the Donuts?

Finally back to running. I took an unplanned week off running up to Christmas; for no reason other than it's tough to get out running working 12-hour days with six hours of sleep. It was a busy time to get ready for vacation and Christmas stuff around here. But I got through and was really, really ready to stretch my legs down in Kansas. 

Sunny morning and cold, had to be in the twenties. There was snow on the ground but not deep, and Timm and I ran a really pretty rural trail behind my grandmother's house. They built a trail on top of a dike, you look down at housing developments on old wheat fields on one side, and a lazy frozen river on the other. And, since it's Kansas, you can see for miles at like 35' elevation. Real easy pace, just talking with Timm, maybe 8:30s. I left him for the last mile, picked up a bit just to get that pent up energy out of me. 

brooks cascadia -- 23

Another Kansas morning, no sun this time. Let Timm sleep in, just got lost (literally, at the end) in the subdivisions my uncle and aunt live near. Cold and gray, but the footing was fine and there was no one out on the streets. A little quicker pace than Monday, but still easy and not much more than 7:30s or so. 

brooks cascadia -- 28

Snowy morning this time, but Timm and I ran slowly and stuck to the empty roads in Central Salina. It was warm enough that the ice had melted, so our feet were a little wet but the footing was alright. Only four this time, we got cold and went inside. About 30 minutes.

brooks cascadia -- 32

One last Kansas run with Timm, another 30 minutes around my uncle and aunt's neighborhood. Ran a good bit on some spongy grass around Salina South High School, Kansas has this nice type of short prairie grass that is nice in the winter. Sunny this time around, but cold cold cold. Had to be in the teens, though the wind held off until afternoon thankfully (or not, since in the p.m. we stood in a pasture for a few hours shooting shotguns and nearly froze our fingers and toes). Time to fly back home.

brooks cascadia -- 36

Eight with Mike down on Beach Drive. A little drizzly but really warm for January, it was nearly 50 when we started and felt like spring other than the darkness. We pushed the pace a bit, maybe we were just excited to run together and catch up (or it was too dark to check our watches). One quick one to start, then three at 7:10, then a 7 and a 6:48, then back to 7:08 per for the final two miles. Definitely felt like I was pushing by the end there. 

We did begin to discuss the 2010 race calendar. I need to go update now. I'm firm on a 10k up in Mount Vernon in two weeks (Nookachamps, which I'll be able to compare to a 2008 time), then the biggie is the Chuckanut 50k, my first ultra race. That's in March. Also on the schedule is to participate in the Roots Rock trail series as much as possible once it gets started, and likely Bloomsday 12k over in Spokane in May, which would be the "big" race of the spring. Happy New Year, I feel like it can begin now.

supernova glide -- 157