Fowl Fun Run

This year's Fowl Run in Mount Vernon looked to be bad weather.  A big wind and rain storm has been pounding the Skagit Valley the past day or two. The river and creeks are running high, which is always a sight to see. On the way to race, I stopped at the Skagit and watched a full length tree moving down the river at a steady clip.

As it turned out, the weather during the run was pretty good, with little wind or rain. The winter fowl are flying into the Skagit, and so I saw snow geese and swans flying above, in fields.

My run was slow, with lots of walking. My body doesn't like running right now. I'll try to teach it better. I did the 10k, but the 5k was probably more apropos.  I don't know though--I'm fine with it now. I'm glad I laced them up, and got out there.

Afterwards, it was great to see good friends like Craig, Heather, Kevin, Steve, Toi, Delores and others, who made it all happen. Some pumpkin pie.

Thank you Skagit Runners!

Fowl Fun Run

This morning I ran the Fowl Fun Run in south Mount Vernon, a 10k that’s been around longer than some of the runners. I ran like a runny nose, bad, like a slug on saltines. My shins hurt and my shoes didn’t feel right, and I never seemed to be able to get the blood flowing or the heart beating. And then it was done.

That’s the way it goes for me sometimes. I don’t worry about it too much. But on another day, I’m sure I could take a few minutes off my time. Guess I’ll have to prove it to myself sometime this winter.

That said, the Fowl Run was Fun! The course starts at Mount Vernon Christian School, and loops out along the Skagit River dike on semi-rural roads, and loops back to the school via Britt Road. It's totally flat, with some mild headwind today. There are nice views of farmlands, and the possibility of seeing winter fowl, like snowgeese and one big running turkey. One aid station midway.

This year there seemed to be more runners than ever—a few hundred, I’m sure. I enjoyed watching people warm up, which you just don't see too much of with ultras and marathons. Maybe I should've joined in.  Pumpkin pie and hot chocolate in the gym afterwards, with great company. A beanie and handmade coasters to all runners, pictured above.

Heather R. did a terrific job directing, with her wonderful supporting cast and Skagit Runners, our local running club. Thank you all! Great to hang out with Terry, Bryan, Craig, and so many others before and after.

I started up winter track this week, on Wednesday nights, with Erik D. coaching and a bunch of B’ham peeps running. Hopefully I’ll pick up some flexibility tips, and figure out how to move faster. At this point, running is a fundamental part of my life, but one reason I like it so is because there are so many ways to mix things up and keep things fun and new---go trails, headlamp running, hit the track, cross train, short races, long races. Running the WWU track on a cool night, with the track illuminated and the students playing football, rugby, or whatever is pretty cool. Hopefully the weather holds up.