Bolder Boulder recap

in case you are thinking about registering or want to see some of the fun. It is always a good time.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXsASXc1Cfs&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=email&utm_medium=registration&utm_campaign=BB_RecapVideo&utm_term=BB_RecapVideo&utm_content=main_image

1st rattlesnake of the year

     Loud, big, angry.  You can see the rattles.  1st pic, cropped to show it better but blurred.  2nd pic, original.  It was only a tenth of a mile from the parking lot in the South Valley Park.

Bolder Boulder

     Nearly 50,000 people ran or walked the 40th annual Bolder Boulder yesterday.  It was well organized.  There were 100 different corral starts between 6:55 AM and 9:25 AM, so the route was cleared of walkers by the time the elite women ran at 11:15, with the elite men starting shortly thereafter. Both winners were from Ethiopia, the elite male winner's time was 28:18, the female winner's time was 32:37.

     Here are my running/carpool friends before the start:  John, me, Sid, Sabrina, and Karisah.

     Even though it doesn't compare with the elite running times, I was happy enough with my time of 1 hr, 20 min. for overall place 24,198, age div place 34/148,  gender place 10962/23714 so I am still a solid mid-packer.
     It is such an inspiring and entertaining event.  There are so many kids, families, bands, people of all ages and in amazing costumes. It has to be Boulder's biggest ever party!
     It is also America's largest Memorial Day ceremony with the Jet flyover, the skydivers, and remembrance services. The national anthem was trumpeted by a Veteran who is one of the Lucky Eleven survivors of the Battle of the Bulge. So amazing.  He plays every year from his wheelchair.
     As my corral awaited our starting gun the announcer said there was a 96 year old woman in our group with her family.  96!!!
     And then I saw this photo on the Bolder Boulder FB page of Bill Weber, who had also run the first Bolder Boulder 40 years ago!  So inspiring.

    I am borrowing the below picture from a friend.  This is what you see when you enter the stadium to finish the Bolder Boulder 10 K.  It is so exciting!

     I am running the Bolder Boulder 10K today in Boulder.  It is such a massive party with 40000+ other people, and this year is the 40th anniversary of the race.  It ends in Folsom Field and is followed by an amazing Memorial Day ceremony.  It is an awesome event.
     I am carpooling  rather than taking the bus this year.  It'll be more fun, but probably less convenient. 
     Wish me luck.

In case you forgot to remind yourself this morning ... Your butt is perfect. Your smile lights up the room. Your mind is insanely cool. You are way more than enough. And you are doing an amazing job at life.

Wait a minute...

Climate change and human extinction

     Here is a link to a report by a top climate scientist from Harvard.  Please read and be aware!  The news is ominous.

https://gritpost.com/humans-extinct-climate-change/


     And the oceans are not rising because of rocks falling in as suggested by GOP Rep Mo Brooks from Alabama. Please believe the science!
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/05/17/mo-brooks-rocks-causing-sea-levels-rise/621389002/

Running with knee osteoarthritis....

    Running may not only deter the onset of knee osteoarthritis, but may even improve it if it is already there.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2312866/running-bad-knees-might-be-ok-after-all

Heart Mountain

How Pope Francis begins his day:

Prayer for Good Humor
by St. Thomas More

Grant me, O Lord, good digestion, and also something to digest.
Grant me a healthy body, and the necessary good humor to maintain it.
Grant me a simple soul that knows to treasure all that is good
and that doesn’t frighten easily at the sight of evil,
but rather finds the means to put things back in their place.
Give me a soul that knows not boredom, grumblings, sighs and laments,
nor excess of stress, because of that obstructing thing called “I.”
Grant me, O Lord, a sense of good humor.
Allow me the grace to be able to take a joke to discover in life a bit of joy,
and to be able to share it with others.

Today, just show up

Namaste

     Look who was at the park trailhead this morning!  Some sweet contemplative person shared this beautiful Buddha.  It did influence me to try to meditate while running, to calm my mind, and to appreciate the nature surrounding me. (I may run like the tortoise but my mind continually darts around like the hare.) It didn't really work as my mind wanders so much, but I kept returning to the mantra of "Peace."
     As I suspected, by the time I returned to the trailhead, a park employee removed the beautiful Buddha. But at least he was there for everyone to enjoy for a short time.
   

     May all beings have happy minds......the Buddha.

 “We think we are different, but we share the same life that teaches us the same lessons of love.”

btw

                                                                              ♡♡♡♡

success is a journey

As is fitness.  My new mantra:  fitness is a journey, not a destination.

Leave your old self behind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCydhQ6Pq8M

An awesome poem for girls and women of all ages...

by elite athlete Lauren Fleshman.

http://www.oiselle.com/blog/lauren-fleshmans-ode-legs?utm_source=Ode+to+Legs+May+15+%281%29&utm_medium=Ascent_Email&utm_campaign=1526340&utm_term=NjUxNzQyNTIxODUS1&utm_content=May+15%2C+2018&spMailingID=1526340&spUserID=NjUxNzQyNTIxODUS1&spJobID=540493863&spReportId=NTQwNDkzODYzS0

My mind, to a tee.

Prefontaine

     I'm not sure why I love this quote, but I do.  I'm not even doing anything athletic today, but this makes me smile.  Have a great week.

To my Mom on Mother's Day. Not all superheroes wear capes!

     Love you, Mom.

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother...never. A mother is something absolutely new." ~~Author Unknown~~

To my children on Mother's Day

     I love you guys!

And I'm humble, too

Have you ever seen a cormorant tree?

     A flight, gulp, rookery, sunning or swim of cormorants seen on my walk this morning.

This made me laugh!

     The need for high protein is a widespread myth in this country.  As an adult woman, I need about 45 grams of protein a day.  I decided to track my nutrients on Cronometer.com for a few days.  As a vegan, I was getting 90+ grams of protein a day, twice what I need! I know that excess plant protein is not harmful like animal protein which can cause kidney disease, kidney stones, osteoporosis, heart disease and cancer, but I don't need the excess.
     Track your intake for a few days on Chronometer. It is illuminating.  It tracks vitamins and minerals as well as macronutrients. 

http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vsk/vegetarian-starter-kit-protein

Celebrate the small successes.

     I got the lawn mower blade off to take it in for sharpening...by myself.  (Of course I had to google for directions as I had forgotten how a socket wrench works.  LOL)
     Now, when I get it back in a week, to get it back on right side up. That will be the real success.

Motivational Friday.

Adventure is still out there!

'I think midlife is when the Universe gently places her hands upon your shoulders, pulls you close, and whispers in your ear:
I’m not screwing around. It’s time. All of this pretending and performing – these coping mechanisms that you’ve developed to protect yourself from feeling inadequate and getting hurt – has to go.

Your armour is preventing you from growing into your gifts. I understand that you needed these protections when you were small. I understand that you believed your armor could help you secure all of the things you needed to feel worthy of love and belonging, but you’re still searching and you’re more lost than ever.

Time is growing short. There are unexplored adventures ahead of you. You can’t live the rest of your life worried about what other people think. You were born worthy of love and belonging. Courage and daring are coursing through you. You were made to live and love with your whole heart. It’s time to show up and be seen.''

Author: Brené Brown

When the old plum tree blooms, the entire world blooms. Dogen

     I love the season of blooming wild plums.  They have the most remarkable fragrance!  I will be walking/jogging along looking down, as always, so as to not trip on rocks, roots, or snakes, when their scent comes wafting on the breeze making me smile and look up to notice the world around me again.
     I am so lucky that the park nearby has great wild patches of them.  They commingle with other shrubbery the rest of the year, but in spring they stand out in all their glory.
     When I was growing up, they were along the roadsides and in the shelterbelt surrounding my country school, providing beauty and a habitat for wildlife.  I miss them.
     I always get maudlin over wild plums.

“Well, sometimes love seems easy. Like..it's easy to love rain...and hawks. And it's easy to love wild plums...and the moon. But with people, seems like love's a hard thing to know. It gets all mixed up. I mean, you can love one person in one way and another person in another way. But how do you know you love the right one in every way?” 
― Billie Letts, Where the Heart Is

Witches

     We need more of them in the world!  Major religions could learn from this.

Thought for the week!

     Once again we skipped spring entirely and went directly from winter to summer. I should be used to this. Enjoy the moments.

A very Sunday quote.

     My spirit animal:

I am the storm.

     I love this.....we all have hearts wrapped in scotch tape.....or maybe even duct tape.  It is so perceptive and poetic.

Happy weekend. Dance, sing, read, enjoy.

"What after all, is a halo? It's only one more thing to keep clean." Christopher Fry

     (How I feel on many days:)

Big Sur 4-29-18

     Bixby Bridge

Views

Finish

So tired

I did it!

"Ooh
You can dance
You can jive
Having the time of your life
Ooh, see that girl
Watch that scene
Diggin' the dancing queen..."



Pics to come later.
It was a tough hilly course. (My GPS watch said 3500 ft. elevation gain) 
I'm including my stats to show I finished with 6 min. to spare, and that not only was I not last, I was far from last.  That's my goal....to beat the time cut-off and hopefully not be last.

DEBORAH JOHNSON

Big Sur International Marathon 2018

MARATHON

Bib Number	2038
MARATHON	3193 of 4398
Gender Place	1593 of 2270
F 65-69	18 of 28
Gender	F
Age	66
Start Time	06:55:41
5 Mile	00:59:53 11:58 min/mi
9.8 Mile	02:04:15 12:40 min/mi
13.1 Mile	02:52:29 13:10 min/mi
15.3 Mile	03:18:03 12:56 min/mi
17 Mile	03:42:51 13:06 min/mi
21.2 Mile	04:44:02 13:23 min/mi
24 Mile	05:22:57 13:27 min/mi
Elapsed	05:54:22
Pace	13:31 min/mile