Owls!!

This afternoon, my husband and I decided we would once again go "owling". Owling is a word we made up for wondering around whatever military base we are assigned, and try and take pictures of owls of various sorts. Although we created a bit of a stir with some well meaning MP's, who took their job of keeping the base and its secrets secure very seriously, ( a big thank you to them for doing such a great job and serving their country))they seemed amused that an "old couple", (hey, Tim's 40, and I almost am. Old to those in their early twenties) would actually go out and take pictures of owls. The following pictures of cute, little burrowing owls, who couldn't wait for Tim and I to leave them alone.

Every Foot Step is a Blessing......

It has been a while, but here are some photos of some of the races I have run since that 100km in April. Most of them have been training runs for the fast approaching Leadville Trail 100, but despite having a 50 miler on my legs just one week earlier (Squaw Peak 50 in Orem, UT), and a fast 15 mile run the day before, I managed to take third place female overall at the Estes Peak marathon. The Estes Park marathon is one of my favorite marathons to run. It is so beautiful, with great support from the whole community from start to finish, and a friendly race director who loves running.

If you haven't run the Joe Colton races, you are missing out. It is absolutely beautiful, with races of various distances for all runners, and their families. A series of folk music bands played great music out along the course, in the background was the sound of a very spirited Rocky mountain stream. Snow capped mountains, blue birds, and swallows greated the runners too. Great food, a raffle, and more music greated the runners and families at the finish. I ran it on June 13th, taking 6th woman, a slight improvement from last year, and my husband ran it with me.

The next morning I ran the Estes Park Marathon. It is very hilly, with some very prolonged climbs at over 7000 feet in elevation, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. For the women's field, it ended up being a 26.2 mile cat fight between the four leading ladies. Although I was in second place for the first 17 miles, my tired legs just couldn't keep the pace, and I dropped to third. When my husband shouted out to me that the fourth place woman was gaining on me, and she was in her twenties, I was like, "hell no!" and took off, beating her by less than a minute, coming in third. All four of us were less than 2 and 1/2 minutes apart.

A big thank you to the Marshall family for their hospitality, and Tim's family for being there along the course to cheer me on, and for being there at the finish, at one of the most competitive and intense marathons I have run.

Here are some pictures of the past few weeks races: