Running with Tonks

10 half marathons in 2017!       The idea of 10 halves in 2017 did not start in January.  Actually, my goal was originally to run the Prairie Dog Half Marathon Race Series.  This is a great series of half marathons- one each season in a different town.  (Winter-Louisville, Spring-Arvada, Summer-Castle Rock, Fall-Westminster) My goal was to eventually run a half marathon without being totally spent for the day.  Then I added on the Spring Equinox in March and then I decided to run the Slacker Half in June and it snowballed from there!  It was not until August that I realized I was set to run 8 half marathons and that was ridiculously close to ten.  So, I searched for two last runs during the last few months of the year.        On December 8th I packed my hydration pack with Ultima Electrolyte Powder and a buffet of nutrition (still trying to get nutrition right).  I did a final check of the weather and laid out Flat Erica.  The next morning we rolled out of the house to run.  I

Up until this point I have been able to get my runs in at a reasonable hour.  I run during planning time/lunch at school and right after school.  However, on this particular day we had an all-day field trip followed by a staff meeting.  This meant I had to start my 6 mile run just after 5pm.  I knew it was going to get dark during the run so I made sure to have my dog with me. I even put a glowing collar on her.   But let me tell you, I was not prepared for my imagination.  It started out okay with the sun setting as we looped around our little park heading towards the trail.  The sunset was one of those amazing Broncos sunsets with the brilliant oranges and blues just screaming for a victory (just one, please?!?).  About a mile and half away from the house, we dropped down through what I call Prairie Dog Lane and onto Big Dry Creek Trail.  At this point it was fully dark and really cold.  I wasn't too concerned as I was covered in flecks of beautiful blue lights coming fr