This was the start of my Sunday run. It might not look it, but the horizon is a half mile-long hill. I take it as my warmup.
Sunday was also Mother’s Day. Margot had a sleep-over with her Coco so that her mother could have the day.
I typically climb that first hill on this path carved out alongside the wider and more pedestrian trail by mountain bikers. My shin got bit by a sotol near the top of the hill.
I ran without a watch today, something I rarely do anymore. It made for such a better running experience. I didn’t feel like I was on the clock when stopping to take photos.
I kept my run short today, as well as Saturday’s run. This weekend was my first running since the Colorado Marathon the previous Sunday. My legs were tired still. If you know the East Boulder Trail, then you know where this bridge crosses Boulder Creek and you know how far I got before I turned around.
I finished a bit parched in the 80° weather. I carried a 500ml water bottle and finished it well before I finished running. Not having more hydration is what determined my distance today. I learned a good running lesson though. Carrying the water bottle is very likely what caused my forearms to nearly cramp in last week’s marathon. I’m going to start training with a bottle in my hand this summer, on the shorter 6 milers that I would not normally wear a vest or carry hydration.
Back to Margot, this weekend seemed mostly about her. Sugar Pine displays their cupcakes on a shelf low enough for toddlers to catch a glimpse of.
Margot said, “look at me, I’m in the flowers.” She then stepped into the flowers.
And Coco got some flowers for Mother’s Day for being such a good mother for the past thirty-plus years.
I ran 70 miles last week, the first time in 9 years that I’ve run that far in a single week. Today’s 22 miler has me set to do it again this week. I’m closing out the year running strong.
I got in 3 good runs while down in Austin, twice around the lake and once on the greenbelt. It rained on me in the pic above. That warm, soft rain so typical of Texas in the winter.
The Austin Greenbelt was the perfect prep for Bandera. It’s essentially a trail along Barton Creek and there are good sections of cliffs with rocky footing like you see above.
Karen and I stayed at my favorite place in Austin, her cousin Liz’s Casa del Sol on S. 2nd and Oltorf. I can run through the Bouldin neighborhood and reach Lady Bird Lake in 1.2 miles. Here’s some of the yard art from Bouldin.
Margot Fay saw Santa everywhere she went in Austin. Like a toddler Ted Lasso, she believes.
Ellie wasn’t able to join us in Austin because of her new job as a data analyst at Dish. She won’t have PTO until March. Our darling friend Wendy invited Ellie over to spend Christmas with her and Chase.
Ellie Rose and Chase have been best friends since grade school.
These two have been besties even longer. They were the hosts with the most serving a couple dozen family members Christmas dinner. Karen’s father golfed nine holes the next day.
Most all of us are in this dinner photo. I’ll see Susan and Steve and Liam in a couple weeks in Bandera – they’re my crew. Promises were made at dinner for me to run the 2026 Austin Marathon with Chad and Laura. The other Laura.
Margo Fay again, at her grandparent’s mountain home. I’m off for a second week. My only plans are to run every day. Today included cold 25 mile-an-hour winds off the water at the Boulder Res. Just more good prep for Bandera where I’ll run 62 miles at 62 years of age. Happy New Years all y’all.
I have a new running hat – the bucket hat style of serious ultra runners. This hat alone makes me an ultra runner. The bucket hat style is brilliant, and this REI version of it worked out well in the rain this morning. I’m a happy camper. I’ll be wearing it for next Sunday’s Boulder Marathon. You can track me here, starting at 7am Mountain.
You can tell it’s fall in these photos. Some trees are turning color and the air was 49° as I launched into my 16 miler this morning.
The cool temps helped me average a 10 minute pace. I’m hoping to run a bit faster than that in the Boulder Marathon. If my son-in-law Eric has a strong performance at the Bear 100 Miler on Friday, that’ll put some pressure on me to do well. You can track Eric here on Friday.
The other reason you know it’s fall is because Margo turned 3 on Saturday. Her birthday always marks the end of summer.
Angel Fire was first named by the Utes – Fire of the Gods – after the gloriously red and orange sunsets and glow seen above the mountains at dusk and dawn. The Spanish later renamed it The Place of the Fire of the Angels. Renowned explorer and buffalo killer Kit Carson would later rename it to Angel Fire. Karen’s good friend graciously lent us her condo at the resort for the weekend. A weekend when the air quality in Colorado meant working out indoors if at all. Not only was there some visibility in New Mexico, but it was 20° cooler.
I was in Angel Fire last in 2016 to run a 24 hour relay through the ski slopes with my friends. Karen and I hiked the Greenbelt across the road from the ski slopes because they are 99% dedicated to mountain bikers during the summer. We hiked the Lady Slipper near Monte Verde Lake Friday morning. The two photos above are from that trail.
We hiked the Deer Trail Saturday morning and we saw deer.
Brit got in a trail run while Karen and I hiked.
Once we returned to the condo, Eric launched off to Taos via the South Boundary Trail for a 22 miler.
We picked him up at the El Nogal Trailhead outside of Taos after strolling around town a bit.
Eric said it was his prettiest run of the year. He only saw 3 others, mountain bikers, the entire distance.
I’ve yet to run but expect to get in a few miles tomorrow. Nothing as extreme as Eric.
My brother-in-law Chad ran his first marathon Saturday in 4:29. That’s probably about what I’ll run for next week’s Colorado Marathon. I ran the Boulder Marathon last fall in 4:30, so currently, Chad has me beat by one minute. I’m going to target 4:28 next Sunday.
It was Ellie’s birthday weekend. She’s pretty happy with her boyfriend’s performance. Austin bought her flowers and baked her a cake. I haven’t asked any questions yet about the pumpkin.
And it was a big Margot weekend. She spent the night so her parents could go see a band perform. I took her home early this morning so I could get in a twenty-mile run. My last big miles before tapering. I tested out my new Salomon ADV Skin 12 running vest. Such an improvement over my previous vest with big, easy-to-reach pockets.
Next weekend can’t come soon enough. I’m at a good running weight and excited to see if I can beat Chad. He’ll be the first to know if I do.
We started out Margot Fay’s first sleep-over at the WOW! Museum in Lafayette. It’s a very eclectic place for toddlers to romp around. Then we went home for more fun and dinner at our house.
We strolled around the block as we walked the dogs. We played the piano. We ran up and down two flights of stairs until I nearly collapsed. And we watched Frozen 2. Bed time was at 8pm and she is still sleeping now at 7:30am. Next weekend will be a two-nighter so Brit and Eric can celebrate Eric’s birthday out-of-town.
We’ve been returning to Austin for Christmas for the last 34 years. The only exception was in 1991 when Britty-Boo was born seven weeks early and had to spend Christmas in the hospital with all the other little preemies in their incubators. Now Brit has a baby of her own.
Brit ran a two-hour half marathon Saturday from the Loveland ski area to Georgetown, termed the Slacker Half because it’s mostly downhill, but it’s also quite high in elevation. Meanwhile, her husband Eric paced his buddy Matt through the Western States 100 mile ultra in Tahoe. It’s a running family.
Karen and I took care of baby Margot in a comfortable townhome in Keystone while Brit ran. Great location just past Loveland Pass. When I drove Brit back over the pass for the race start, we saw deer crossing the road at an actual road crossing sign and a herd of big horn sheep near A-Basin. It was a good day for running.
Ellie and I celebrated our joint birthdays this weekend because I’ll be in San Francisco the last week of April and Canada the first week of May, and she has finals approaching.
But of course, today wasn’t about us. Today was all Margot Fay.
Wearing her mother’s thirty year old dress and baby Doc Martens, Margot sprinted around the grass in search of eggs.
The sky looked like winter still but the weather was quite warm and the grass was starting to turn green – perfect for hiding eggs.
We walked home from the park for brunch.
Margot’s first discovery was her new Minnie chair.
And then she was off to play a song.
Margot never tires of climbing the stairs, although she can do it now walking on her two feet.
My day always begins with a fresh Margo photo to the family chat. Well, more often than not, it begins with an exchange of Wordle outcomes, but quickly followed by a ray of pictorial sunshine. A joy I could never have imagined fifteen years ago, pre-iPhone.
And on weekends such as this, I read, I run, and I write. Although we mixed it up this morning by listening to Ian play Bob Dylan at the Winot Coffeehouse. It was good to get outside today. The sun and air conspired for perfect running weather.
Life starts at sixty. Everyone knows that. Which is why I had heart surgery a week ago, quit my job, and plan to go trail running this week in the Collegiate Peaks. I’m focused on new beginnings.
My heart 2.0 has been operating fairly smoothly since the ablation. I track it throughout the day with the fourth frontier EKG chest strap that displays metrics to an app on my iPhone. I can track it for hours. It was recordings from this app that I was able to share with my primary care to begin diagnosing the problem. Cost about $500 but very cool tech. There’s an online dashboard for EKGs but below are before and after surgery EKG summaries from my app. Until today’s run, I’d yet to record A-Fib post surgery.
A-Fib 85% of the time on this run before ablation
A much nicer looking chart post surgery
After a week of taking it easy, I ran four miles today and recorded some A-fib for the first time – which is normal so it didn’t bother me. My pace was slower than normal though. Time to get back in shape. I’m registered for the Austin Marathon in February.
4 miler
Everything is of course new to Margot. This is her first halloween and we took her to Munson farms where we took Brit and Ellie for their first pumpkin patch experiences.
Munson Farms
Margot was hard to keep up with as she romped through the pumpkin patch
Karen finally caught up to her.
It was a bright, sunny October day.
Margot picked out a pumpkin her size and no doubt dreamt of witches and goblins last night.
One of the first words baby Margot learned to speak was Kitty Cat. So, the Aristocat themed cake with the kitty Marie seemed appropriate.
Look at me
Eric was giving me a mile-by-mile summary of his advance from middle of the pack to finishing first place in the recent Run Rabbit Run 100 mile ultra when Margot reminded us who this party was for.
Hold me!
Eric and I were discussing how to run fast on a winding, single track trail in the pitch-black darkness of the forest at 2am when Margot took over the conversation.
Winter is coming
Margot modeled her new winter fashion coat and bear socks for all.
The Princess
And Margot reminded us that all little girls are princesses, not just on their first birthday, but every day.
A Runner's Story 