Busy week

This past week has been good, but very busy. We have a new daycare provider for Xander 3 days a week now. A wonderful mom, Nicole, who lives about halfway between my work and home. Xander was with her this week, and everything seemed to go very well. We hope that Nicole will be our "permanent" daycare provider 3 days a week at least through the end of the year. What an adventure the day care thing has been. Yikes!

I have started building base mileage for a marathon with Erin in December, probably California International. I've been running about 40 miles per week for the last three weeks. I moved my long run to Sunday this week, and ran 16 miles this morning. I had to go to work briefly this morning, so I started my run a little before 5 AM. It was a beautiful morning and it was very peaceful to be up and out so early. I'm planning on plateauing my mileage next week, and then taking a recovery week, when I'll be out of town on a business trip. (Erin can post an update about being a "single" parent for a week...). After that, I'll start training in earnest. Speed workouts, lots more mileage, etc. I expect to be running around 70 miles a week at my peak. I'm going to try to qualify for the Boston Marathon again. Last time it took me 9 months of solid training. I'm trying to do it this time in 5 months. This should be interesting.

With all the running, I have been making some modifications to my morning routine. Xander runs with me most mornings in the baby jogger and I take him to day care while Erin starts her day at 6 AM on conference calls from home. Getting myself ready in the morning while taking care of Xander has required some adjustment, but is going really well. He helps me make sure I don't miss any spots shaving!


Speaking of running, I was able to get out and do some trail work on Saturday morning with the running community. The Boulder Trail Runners group, that I don't participate nearly enough in, have adopted a section of the Walker Ranch Trail. We worked on re-grading a section of trail that was starting to develop ruts due to poor drainage. It was a fun way to spend a morning, but I can tell you that I was definitely sore on Sunday morning, I'm not used to swinging a pic ax! Erin brought the whole crew lunch after we were done and then we headed home.

After a quick shower at home we drove into Denver for a picnic with friends in Washington (Wash) Park. Some of the communities in downtown Denver are absolutely beautiful, and this has got to be one of the best. The park is about 8X4 blocks and has two peaceful lakes in it. The center has lots of open grassy fields for volleyball and other games, and beautiful huge trees creating lovely shady spots for picnics. We had a wonderful time with old friends and new. The light filtering through the trees was stunning, and I had lots of fun taking photos.




-Jake