haikus are funrunning is fun

cold night, treadmill sucks.
temperature means nothing.
running from the porch.

up hill. fox sighting.
enduring promenade stretch.
snow paved. downtown glimpse.

sketchy sweep onward
liquor store frenzy. dead lot.
dog walkers, relieved.

a pace to the beats.
problematic. deep long breath.
last lap. refreshed bit.

as winter set in, any running i was doing came to an abrupt halt. there were less sunshine hours in the day and it was near black when i came out of work. my options were: wake up earlier to run... not happening. i tried it, nothing was accomplished. option 2: run indoors on the treadmill while trying to keep my mind on anything besides the fact that i was moving on a lame piece of anchored equipment. while this lasted for like two workouts i was slowly opting to not run at all and were definitely feeling the side effects. to me, you either run because you have a lot of extra time so you decide to fill it with long running/walking excursions [at least how i thinkof them] or you MAKE time for it because you feel its a part of who you are. i might be crazy but i missed running. so i did the unthinkable and signed up for a half marathon. wowzers, i better get my butt in gear. shortly after, my last and final option popped into my head: i will have to run at night after any other obligatory happenings are over for the day, no excuses, and this will have to happen in a safe environment since running at night, alone, near train tracks and being female is never smart.

so i got in the groove and choose my trail. it is just a loop that keeps you on the perimeter of the development i live in and i'm guessing is roughly a mile. but who's keeping measure anyways? it allows me to get out and be free for an hour right within a few steps of my own residence. this small adventure i take before turning in for the night lets me digest the day or wander about nothingness. nothing but my feet hitting the gound and my body in motion. maybe i'll visit sometime during the day, i'm sure it will be notably different and maybe even unfamiliar.

eldoradocanyon
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there are so many places to climb in colorado it's out of your mind. even all the 'close' places haven't seen my eyes. or better yet, my eyes have not yet feasted on and my mouth hasn't drooled upon. ALL saturday [unintentionally, but sweetly] was spent climbing at eldorado canyon. i honestly had no idea how close i was living to such great climbing. driving there was nothing too exciting, just through the dry brown colored hills of the denver outskirts. then, as approaching the foothills the base of the mountains just seems to open right up and just enough for you and your vehicle to slip on inside. and then... wa-la.bam.boom.bam. you're there and it would be crazy to look back because there is so much ahead.
that day we were placing our own gear into fissures in the rock and hoping that the decision made every 8' or so was a good choice. more simply, we were traditional climbing. however, i was just following so the pressure laid very lightly on my chest. still, such a great first experience trad climbing and in the magical slippery sandstone world of eldo, i couldn't ask for much more.

set alarms. get there early. kinda. hike to crag. climb. mind wanders into bliss. reach summit. check out view. descend. gather gear. ride home. eat lots. happy.

i like this scenario. but i forgot to throw in there that you are always meeting new people and making friends, even if you will never see them again. two sets of guys were following us on the 6 pitch climb we were getting after and one pair was climbing slightly like morons. what can you do? so we climb on, reach the top and do check out the view with a sublime sunset. the two, non moron climbing guys arrive and we all hang out. then the others follow shortly and beg us not to leave since they won't make it out with enough light to guide the way and are unfortunately headlamp less. once his partner makes it up and over he informs us that he left a piece of gear that he couldn't take out. i think this guy was a second time climber, err maybe third. so we wait some more and get to check out all the lights coming on across the city which is always cool from some 300 feet up. oh dear. we have to get down some how and suddenly its not so cool. stories of people having to often camp out up there is coming out and it makes sense if you don't know the way only marked by carins. but we set off ever so cautiously and arrive, who knows when later, injury-free. lucky us. very lucky us. no more traveling without my headlamp from here on out.

cold nightsshelf road

pitching your tent on a 4" layer of snow doesn't always give someone the comfort that it's going to be a cozy night sleeping. things that make this thought go away. . . the stars, someone to curl up next to, climbing in 60 degree sunshiny weather, burnt food tasting like pure campfire [yummm] and knowing that you are in the middle of a knockout landscape. a little shivering in your sleeping bag is minor compared to these luxuries. i've been to shelf. rd. three times since i've moved to colorado and it is pretty much an awesome place to spend a weekend climbing camping and hanging out with friends. it's a relatively short drive from denver and takes you right into the heart of the Wet Mountains. a perfect get-away location for the weekend. the whole idea of being far away but not too far to drive for two days, but just far enough sort of thing. it's the whole process of getting in your car and moving yourself to a new far off location that sets your mind right. i don't feel that this could be achieved by spending the night in your local park or wooded backyard. but maybe that is the imagination i've lost since i was six =( i believe the authenticity in people have the opportunity to come out when placed in nature. this is outside of our everyday environment [or so the majority] and allows the soul to open up to new heights. at least this is true for me and i love it. and for the bonus, the shower you get to take once you get home is always and over again 'the best thing'.
so we camped. climbed to our hearts content. burnt our own food and ate it. star-gazed. drank some snow-chilled beer. had a blast. and least of which tried to stay warm.

on another note, but still in the frame of mind. i've been thinking about urban camping and all that entails. urban dictionary defines it as camping in an urban setting by sleeping on rooftops, under bushes, and in public parks.hmmm...looks like fun.