Run 11.11 miles on 1/1/11 @ 11:11

Mission Accomplished, Ellen, Will, Trent, Andi, and Steve at Will's house for post-run recovery, New Year's Day 2011,

Apple iPhone 4, Focal length 3.85mm, Exposure 1/17 sec @ f2.8, ISO 250, with flash  © Steven Crisp

Well, thanks to organizing by Will, encouragement (shaming?) by Andi, and with fond memories of Angi, this group accomplished its mission.

And that, according to Will, was to run 11.11 miles on 1/1/11 at 11:11 AM.  Great idea.  However ... Note to self:  "conditioning is a terrible thing to waste" ;-)

I haven't run in probably 3 months, and my heart rate was constantly in my anaerobic range, which meant by the end of this run, there was nothing (I mean nothing) left in the tank.  But the group showed great patience, and Trent probably got an extra mile of running from doubling back to make sure I didn't get lost (thanks, Trent).  So that means one more thing for me ... the run was at an 11 minute pace.  That's appropriate, don't you think?

 As for the weather?  Typical German winter, with some spitting snow and lots of snow (and some ice) on the trails.  But I could not blame my footing, and here's why:  I screwed my shoes.  If you count, I've got 50 sheet metal screws set into an old pair of my running shoes.  That's some traction.  Just don't wear your shoes in the house ;-) 

We ran up to Birkenkopf (aka Rubble Hill) and had a nice view of Stuttgart (not to mention a nice rest for some of us ;-)  Below you see a photo looking toward Stuttgart (and perhaps notice the detritus from New Year's Eve), the runners at the top of the hill, and a 360º panorama movie of the surrounding towns and forests.

                

But wait, there's more.  Where can you be running along a trail and come across a wild boar family (yes, with a fence in between, but still)?  And where can you be running along and stumble across an outdoor Glühwein stand?  You guessed it ... only in Germany.  So below you will see a few photos, as well as our Glühwein toast to Angi and Mike Buckley -- Happy New Year guys -- we miss you!