Polar Circle Marathon

What an amazing trip! First a brief one day visit in Copenhagen, then a flight to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. We did some sightseeing and some hiking and a trip to the ice cap to see the marathon course.
It was a very tough course, in 10 degree temperatures with strong winds. the first 6 miles were on the Greenland Ice Cap glacier. I wore ice grippers the whole way. I had not expected such a hilly course. It was quite difficult, all on snow and ice covered covered road. I felt fairly good, but was definitely a bit slower than usual.  I did finish, but sadly, they were strict with their 7 hour time limit. So even though I got my medal, they didn't post an official time because I was 15 minutes over.. So technically I probably can't count it as an official country with Marathon Globetrotters. I am disappointed in myself because of that. I loved Greenland so much, that if I feel I have improved enough, I'll give it another try next year,

Gorgeous!

Me at the start

Gold Mint Trail

Not quite enough snow to break out the skis but a gorgeous day to walk the Gold Mint Trail.

I never even got there all summer. I was too busy traveling to other places around the world. I've missed my favorite spots here in Alaska. I pretty much had the trail all to myself. So peaceful and beautiful. I'm looking forward to more snow so I can go far back on my skis.

Another spectacular Alaska view,

4 Miles through paradise

Amchorage Hillside

Oh how gorgeous was my little cross country ski trek today with Diane. Beautiful new snowfall. I hope we get lots of snow this winter because I could be happy doing this every day until April. My ski legs are a little rusty. In fact I think I'm just getting a little rusty in general.  Too much concentration on marathons and not enough dedication to some of the other outdoor adventures that I cherish so much.

Anchorage Hillside

Eklutna Lakeside Trail

A fantastic day to just go for a solo hike along the Eklutna Lakeside Trail. I turned around at the Bold Peak Trail head foe a nice 10 mile trek. I think Eklutna Lake will always be one of my favorite places. I was alone the whole way. I felt for a little while there really was peace on earth. At least there was on this walk,

How can you ever beat this view?

Eklutna Lake

And Back Down!

What goes up must also go down. The descent got pretty treacherous at times on the way down from Flattop.  I slipped a few times.  Diane and Tobi left me in the dust a few times. Yep, I need to do more climbing.  I'm getting out of climbing shape.  But still a fabulous day to be in the mountains overlooking Anchorage.

Diane & Tobi Flattop Summit

Climbing Flattop

What a fun way to get a great workout.  I hiked up Flattop with Diane and her crazy puppy Tobi. I'd forgotten how strenuous that climb can be.  I did my share of stumbling while negotiating the rocks near the top.  I didn't feel very surefooted though,  I've been spending too much time running in the flat lands.  I definitely need to do more trails and climbs.  But it was a perfect day.

Only about a mile and a half, but a great workout with a beautiful view,

Chicago Marathon

Finished marathon number 90 and another successful race with Team In Training.  The marathon raised $865,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with 321 Team In Training runners. My own fundraiser raised over $4000 and our joint team effort through Team Deere raised over $100,000. It was a very successful event.  I love when I can run knowing that my effort is for such a worthy cause.

I was worried that my abscessed tooth might give me trouble over the weekend but it was completely quiet, even though my face was still swollen and my jaw was kind of black and blue.  I looked like I had been training for a boxing match instead of a marathon.  I can look forward to the root canal on Wednesday.

We were blessed with perfect weather for the Chicago Marathon.  It was in the high 50's to low 60's, perfect for running.  I was slower than I had hoped but actually I felt really good and strong the whole way.  I was disappointed to see that I was still over 6 hours. But I beat the time limit and got my medal and official time, so that's what counts.

Chicago is a lovely city and our hotel was wonderful.