I've been so lax on blogging lately.. life has been so very routine that it seems like there's nothing to say!
I've had to change up my normal running schedule a bit, a few Saturday's ago some of the Trail Nerds spotted a (approx.) 120 lb cougar at Wyco park... a park that I run at alone.. a lot. It was decided that I was no longer allowed to run out there on my own since I might make a tasty 4'11 100 lb cougar snack. Since I'm not to eager to get maimed or killed, I reluctantly agreed to only run out there in large groups. So I've been having to drive to Lawrence and run the Clinton trails more often, which isn't totally awful since those are my favorite trails around but it adds an extra 1.5 hours drive time to my workout. Blech!

I spent the last 2 Saturdays volunteering at races instead of running.. 2 weeks ago was the Veterans Day 4 mile run at Wyco Park and I spent the day writing down numbers and times.. my friend Laurie was there to confuse me and yell out incorrect numbers...not really, you see she was smart enough to wear her glasses.. I on the other hand, did not, so I couldn't see the runners numbers. I'm real smart sometimes! It was our first frigid cold day, so I got out the Michelin Man coat and then promptly ruined it by standing too close to the fire and melted the front of it. Again, I'm real smart! It was a usual Trail Nerds race with lots of happy runners and good cheer. Afterwards a bunch of us got in some decent mileage at the park... we kept a close eye out, but no cougars were to be seen.

This past Saturday I volunteered at a road race and let's just say the atmosphere was a bit different.. I think I'll stick to trail races. I was assigned a spot where the runners crossed a road, so I was there to make sure no cars ran them over. It was a pretty quiet street, so my main duty turned into ringing my cowbell and jumping around like an idiot, screaming encouragement and stupid things at the runners. I was surprised at how few people even acknowledged my presence, and since there were NO spectators it wasn't real hard to miss me! C'mon toss me a smile, a wave, a smart-ass comment.. even a hearty "fuck you" will do.. I'm freezing my ass off and would much rather be running far, far away from where I am!
It snowed for a bit.. nothing stuck though.. it was stupidly cold and I was much envious of the runners and wishing for a steamy hot cup of tea. Sunday was gorgeous and sunny and I did a few loops at SMP while my husband and dog hiked.. it was really nice to sleep in for a change and be able to spend the morning with my family. I ran into a bunch of other Nerds on the trails and it was nice to stop and have a bit of a chat in the nice weather.
This Friday is Nathaniel's Run.. a 6/12/24 hour run.. your choice. It starts at 6 pm so I chose to do the 12 hour run to practice the all night run for Rocky. I will be experimenting with shoes, clothes, lighting systems, & food and hoping to get in somewhere between 40-60 miles. I'm going to take it real slow and just see how the body reacts to the all night (cold!) run. The course is a 3 mile loop on very easy trails.. very minimal hills. Should be fun!