When we were looking to buy a home it was important to find a location where we could really enjoy the outdoors. For me that meant I needed a good running route and a location convenient to trails and good cycling roads. We have been very fortunate that is for sure. I have a route that starts at my driveway and is exactly 6.5 miles [with many more miles available] on mostly lightly traveled dirt roads. The route gains and loses about 690 feet of elevation which can be pretty challenging and when it’s not you have some great fitness.

There is more to this loop than the terrain or the proximity. I have been running with Amelia and she usually sleeps anywhere from 50 to 95% of the ride but smiles the entire time that she is awake. It’s a blast having her along. We get to run past Mr. Heim’s residence then head past Mrs. Gloria outside maintaining her beautifully landscaped yard. Next we head down Hotchkiss and listen to all of the tree frogs in the bogs and look for someone to say “hello” to. Next we turn right and head up the longest climb of the day. I don’t get a chance to talk much in this section but there is usually a nice person at the top of the hill looking at us like we’re crazy [votes not in whether we are or not!]. Next is the great section downhill that I’ve coined “Cow Pie Lane” and the first of the Stewart Farms. Mr. Stewart is retired from farming and leaves the work to his kids. He is always good for a wave and lives around the corner from his brother the other Mr. Stewart. We run past Petey the friendly dog and then we head toward home. The HOME LOOP feels like HOME.

This past Saturday we headed to a local 5k race put on by Schmohz a local brewery.  I had my own cheering section with Angie and Amelia and we all had a great time together.  My race went pretty well and all of the training I have been doing is paying dividends.  I haven’t done any speed work but I was able to pull off a PR for the distance by a whopping 4 seconds @ 19:17.  I felt pretty good throughout the race but lost first place in my age group during the final .5 mile and finished 8 seconds behind.  Not bad for the first race of the year and I’m looking forward to the upcoming races.  I know that my girls are too!

My crew and I headed to a book signing for Dean Karnazes recently. Dean is the author of Ultramarathon Man. He has done a ton of amazing endurance events and most recently ran 350 Miles consecutive! The next on his adventure list is running 50 marathons in 50 days in all 50 states… One of the marathons will be on the Grand Rapids Marathon Course so I’m thinking I’ll head-out for that one and run as well. During the book signing we had a chance to speak with him for a couple of minutes and I mentioned to him that I would like to run the Leadville Marathon in 2007 and the first thing he said was, “can I talk you out of it”? I found that pretty interesting. Here is a man who ran 151 miles to the start of a 199 mile relay race [that involves teams of 12] by himself and he was asking me if he could talk me out of running 26.2 miles in Leadville Colorado. Lets just say I did listen but I’m that much more excited about running the race but I will take as much preparation as possible.