Flatiron Vista in the Sun

Post-work dash from the Flatiron Vista trailhead to the Spring Brook Loop in the warm afternoon sun.


Time: 1:14
Distance: 8.41 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Average
Weather: Sun and cool

Workload today was manageable and the sun was out, so I had time today for a fine jog from the Flatiron Vista trailhead, complete with the usual outstanding views of the Flatirons and Eldorado Canyon.

Heading up the Flatiron Vista South Trail.

 I started at the trailhead off Highway 93 and headed up the Flatiron Vista South Trail and ran the southern route to the intersection with Dowdy Draw Trail.  Dowdy Draw drops steadily down to the namesake creek before ascending to the start to the Spring Brook Loop.

Sign at beginning of Spring Brook Loop - note the Muddy Trails Meter

I opted to climb via the Spring Brook North Trail, eager to get quicker access to the dramatic views of the South Boulder and Bear Peaks and Eldorado Canyon. Per the Muddy Trails Meter on the Spring Brook sign, there were some muddy sections on this trail.  Most spots were easily negotiable on foot via rocks and a bit of remaining snow/ice. In a few places, I had to simply step in the mud.

This is a tough time of year for trails. It's human nature to want to avoid mud/water. Unfortunately, the result is widening or braided trails.

The trail tread is still under snow here. See new trail being made on the left.

Despite the few muddy spots, the trail was in decent shape. The views were, of course, sublime.

Eldorado Canyon

South Boulder and Bear Peaks from the plateau off Spring Brook North

Looking south from the Spring Brook North Trail

After completing the Spring Brook Loop, I returned up the Dowdy Draw Trail and ran back to the truck via the Flatiron Vista North Trail.

I felt a bit of fatigue in the legs from yesterday's run, but nothing significant.  Had to remind myself regularly to ease up and keep the easy day easy. Hard to do on this run given the moderate grades and great scenery.

Dry Trails Ahoy!

Out early for a solid 19 miles of fun on the nearly completely dry and snow-free trails of the foothills just west of Denver.


Time: 3:23
Distance: 19.1
Effort: Easy
Body: Average
Weather: Cloudy and cool

Met up at 6:30 a.m. with Todd G. at the base of Lakewood's Green Mountain with plans to do a circuit that would include Green, the Dakota Hogback, Red Rocks and Matthew Winters open space parks.

The first nine miles was a sweet circumnavigation of the (mostly) outside flanks of the mountain. We ran a series of official and social trails, missing out on the northwest corner of the park when we ran out of social trail options.

After a quick stop at the cars to drop some clothing and pick up more gels/water, we set off up the Zoro Trail to the upper ridge of the Dakota Hogback. At the top, we hung a left and headed south along the formation's spine, dropping soon down to Red Rocks.

With the massive red rock formations looming above, we headed up the Red Rocks Trail and climbed through meadows and up a gully to the north of the park's namesake rocks.  We topped out on the Morrison Slide Trail and cruised across the high plateau here before dropping down to just above the Matthew Winters parking lot.

Twas here where Todd pointed out an old road bed that snaked west up into the foothills above. "Up for a little exploring," he asked. Some question. So, up we went, hiking most of it as it climbed steeply up. Turns out, the road bed is actually the route of an underground natural gas line. We climbed for about a mile before hitting the western boundary of the open space park.  We soaked in the views of Mt. Morrison and pointed out potential routes visible due to snow in the trail/road treads in the trees and grass far across a big drainage.  We'll be back to find a way to access Mt. Morrison, one of the bigger peaks of the immediate Front Range (clearly there's a road up the backside, since it's festooned with multiple radio/tv towers).

After running back down and rejoining the Red Rocks Trail, we ran through the Matthew Winters parking lot, across Highway 93 and back onto the Dakota Hogback formation, which technically is part of the Matthew Winters Open Space park.  We made relatively quick work of the steady climb to the Dakota Ridge Trail, hung a right and returned to the Zoro Trail and descended back to the cars at the base of Green Mountain.

Felt decent (save for a lingering dry hack from the recent illness) the whole run.  Still working on fully kicking the virus, but progress is evident.  Legs felt good, despite the multiple days off of late (including Saturday).  Really a great day on the trails. Virtually no mud. Almost no snow/ice (save for a really sketchy steep stretch coming down from the Morrison Slide Trail that had both of us on our butts trying not to slide off the trail).  Just a whole bunch of dry singletrack to whet our appetites for the coming spring (please hurry!).

3,899 feet o' elevation gain.

A Double & The Test Drive Continues...

Out early for a short jog with the Dog To Be Named Later, followed in the mid-afternoon by a follow-up jog up Stagecoach Road.


Time: 29 minutes (a.m.) and 55 minutes (p.m.)
Distance: 2.6 miles (a.m.) and 6.1 miles (p.m.) - 8.7 miles total
Effort: Easy
Body: Fair
Weather: Cloudy and Cold

The dog test drive continues.  This time we went off-road for a 2.6 mile jog up the Painters Pause Trail from the lower lot at Elk Meadow Open Space. At the top of the hill, we ran up to Meadow View and returned back down the Founders Trail.

The dog did great. I took her off-leash (shhhhhhh...) about 1/4 mile in. From then on, she stayed pretty close all the time, pausing repeatedly to soak in some new smells. As soon as she realized I was putting some distance on her, she'd come tearing up the trail, blow by me and rush up to the next interesting scent.  It went like that the whole run. She had plenty of energy and no doubt would have gone longer, but we'll start easy and build from here.

Working her way up Painters Pause Trail.

Running back toward me on Meadow View Trail.

The fog froze overnight creating beautiful frost designs on the ponderosas.

Home, James.

Run #2 was mid-afternoon. I headed from the house up to Elk Meadow's upper lot and ran a couple miles up Stagecoach Road and returned the same way. Picked up 1K of vert on this one.

I think this was only the second time I've run a double (if a 2.6 mile run counts...).  Kinda liked it.  Kinda.

Lots of chatter today about the "Ultra Run of Champions." I'm not one pining for ultrarunning to go Big Time, so I'm not sure what to make of this. Still mulling it over. A few things about the race surprised me.

1.  The location.  I'm a little disappointed that the race is in the East (admittedly, I'm way biased - and I get that the altitude in VA will even things out...and Charlottesville is a great town).  

2.   Road running.  30 miles of the out-and-back 100K run is on roads - 25 miles on gravel roads and five miles on pavement - so it's about half roads and half trail (32 miles o' singletrack).  Cool 3D course flyover here. 

3.  Timing.  The race is on September 24th - just two weeks after the Wasatch 100, 29 days after UTMB and the same weekend as the Bear 100.  I wonder why the race isn't in October.

It will be interesting to see who shows up and whether the winners' purse grows as more sponsors come on board. I imagine Roes will be able to pull in a number of the Big Guns.  I do think it would be fun the run the race...and I'm sure a lot of people will. 

Sanitas Valley and a Request For Help

Mt. Sanitas was tantalizing close, but the watch did not lie. Not enough time for more than a couple trips around the Sanitas Valley circuit.


Time:  39:54
Distance: 4.7 miles
Effort:  Easy
Body: Fair
Weather: Sunny and cool

With JP on a biz trip, today was a day of running...mostly figuratively, though.

Barely had a minute to breath today between a busy day at work, an acupuncture (more on that in a later post) appointment, a Mountain Area Land Trust board meeting, jP's basketball practice and CP's Girl Scouts gathering. Things finally slowed down at 6:30 p.m.

Somewhere in between the day's fun, I squeezed in 40 minutes of real fun running up the Sanitas Valley a couple of times. The first ascent was up the Valley Trail, returning down the Dakota Ridge Trail. Then, I turned around and ran the same loop in reverse. Perfect running weather in Boulder today. Chilly, but not cold.

Starting to feel a bit better. Nice easy run today. Ended the run wishing I had time for more, but 40 minutes was all I could squeeze in. I was thinking this run would have been perfect for this gal:

A dog to be named later.

We met this year-and-a-half year old dog this weekend at the local grocery store. The Evergreen Animal Protection League had brought several dogs and cats they had available for adoption. We had been thinking a while about getting a dog. The opportunity came up to "foster" this one (and keep her if the test drive goes well) and we took it.  So far, so good.  She's been out on a couple of two-mile walks. She did great. Hung close to us, didn't pull on the leash, played well with other dogs and wanted more trail time.  A trail dog to be?  We'll see. We took her Monday in to be spayed, so I haven't yet taken her out for a jog.  She came from New Mexico, where she was slated for euthanasia before volunteers from Colorado went down and picked her up.

One problem...we have so far failed to come up with a name that fits. The EAPL folks call her Angel. That's not going to work.  So, she needs a new name. "Dog" ain't cuttin' it.  Any ideas?

Slooooooow Recovering Run

There's recovery runs and there's recovering runs. Still trying to shake a now seven-day old virus, so any running is slow and frustrating.


Time: 58:38
Distance: 5.9 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Poor
Weather: Sunny & cool

Out the door mid-day for a run in the relative warmth at 7,600 feet. Was glad to be moving again, after five days off, but still had to force the run given the lingering effects of this nasty-ass virus that's been dragging me down.

Without the beach and 70 degree temps to lure me out the door, once I returned to Colorado from Florida I succumbed to the illness and spent the long weekend taking it easy and napping.

Since trail conditions were terrible today (all ice...all the time) and I was feeling crappy, I decided to strap on the heart rate monitor and run the standard Meadow View Loop at Elk Meadow at a HR under 145.  I couldn't believe how hard it was to keep the HR that low.

Now, I know I'm sick and have been off running for five days, but I was dumbfounded at how much I had to focus to keep the HR low. The smallest of hills would send the HR shooting up. On the gentle downhills, I could cruise easily (relatively speaking given how crappy I felt) at about a 6:45 pace with the HR in the high 130s, but as soon as the trail turned even slightly up...so did the HR. Could my aerobic fitness be that poor?

I'll have to try this again when I finally kick this viral crud.

A Medical Experiment

Back on the beach experimenting with running while on death's door. Turns out, running may be the anodyne for what ails ya.


Time: 53 minutes
Distance: 6.08 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Poor
Weather: Sunny and Warm

Everything went downhill fast last night at the meeting's closing dinner here outside St. Petersburg, Florida. Voice: gone. Sinuses: plugged. Throat: Sore. Body: aching. Overall well-being: non-existant.

Woke up feeling like the walking dead. Once I got up and around, though, the recovery began. By mid-afternoon, the notion of running wasn't laughable, but still felt ill-advised. Still, given that it was almost 80 degrees and perfectly sunny, I figured I should give it a shot.

Last night's sunset over the Gulf of Mexico.

Headed north up the beach of Long Key, the island on which our hotel sits. Ran to the end of the beach, a dead-end at an inlet encircled by concrete rip-rap. Turned tail and ran back to the hotel and continued on another 3/4 mile or so. Ended up with six miles. The Garmin credited me with 288 feet of elevation gain. Go figure. Makes me wonder how off it is on a mountain run.

Seems the run allowed me to sweat out some of the bad stuff that had taken over my system. Still wracked by the crud, but on the mend, I think.

The beach is swell, but can't wait to get back to the mountains.

Coming Back to Life...Slowly

Pried my virus-ridden body out of bed early for a run on the beach. 


Distance: 6.1 miles
Time: 40 minutes
Effort: Easy
Body: Poor
Weather: Sunny and warm

Took Tuesday off due to busy meeting day and being wracked by a virus I must have picked up on the plane from Denver to Tampa.

Met up with CB this morning at 6:30 a.m. and quickly hit the beach here on Florida's Gulf Coast, outside St. Petersburg. The tide was out, so there was a wide, nearly flat and solid-sand surface for running.

We cruised south to a jetty, which marks the end of the peninsula on which we are staying. Not willing to give up the great running surface, we turned around and ran the 1.75 miles back to the hotel and continued on for another for a bit...enough to get five miles in before the day's events got going.

Surprisingly, I felt better running than not. Before I started, I was sure I was going to be dragging. Instead, I was distracted by the movement and good conversation. Once we hit the hotel's beach-side patio and slowed to a walk, the drag-down feeling washed right back over me...sort of like a wave crashing on the beach.

Sore throat has eased and a snot factory set up shop in my head. Body feels beat up and tired, but the trend appears to be toward beating back the virus.

Dead Man Running

Ahhhhh, temps in the high 60s, cloudless sunny days, the beach...and the worst *#@#%^$ sore throat I've had in years.  Perfect.


Time: 31 minutes
Distance: 3.5 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Terrible
Weather: Perfect

Woke up to a tickle in the throat. Turned into a full-on raging sore throat by mid-day. Snuck out for 30 minutes before dinner to see if I could jostle the illness on its way.

Ran south down the beach (currently at a work meeting on Florida's Gulf Coast) for 15 minutes and ran back north along the Intercoastal Waterway.

The run didn't help anything...and doesn't appear to have hurt anything either.

Hoping for improvement tomorrow. The sun and the beach beckon.

Road Runner

Slowly working the long run mileage back up...bit by bit.  This morning was a long, slow loop on the roads of west Evergreen.

Time: No watch

Distance: 18 miles

Effort: Easy

Body: Average

Weather: Sunny and cool

Got up before the sun, but didn't hit the roads until the hills were starting to turn red with the morning sun. 

Did a slow, even-paced loop from the house down to Evergreen Lake on the bike path, up Upper Bear Creek Road eight miles, back to Whittier Gulch, then up to Greystone and back on Stagecoach. At the upper parking lot at Elk Meadow Open Space, I hung a left and ran a 1/2 mile of trail to get back to the 'hood. 

I ran without a watch today, focusing instead on running an even, easy pace and keeping the heart rate down. Too often on these runs, I start picking up the pace just to be done. Today, I just kept it mellow, trying to enjoy the self-propulsion.

Unfortunately, the enjoyment was, at best, fleeting. There were a few great moments, such as running  on the upper reaches of Upper Bear Creek Road with a full-on view of Mt. Evans.  However, most of the run must be filed under the Just-Get-it-Done category.  Sunday was a long run day...so run long.

I reckon I'm hitting a bit of a running rough patch...losing a bit of the fun quotient.  Nothing a bit of prolonged warmth and snow-free trails won't cure.  Just another couple of months to go...

I'm off to Florida for several days.  Hope to get in a few miles right at sea level.

Saturday Indoors

A promisingly sunny early morning turned into a cloudy, windy late morning. Opted for the treadmill rather than doing battle with the elements.


Time: 1:13
Distance: 10.5 miles
Effort: Moderate
Body: Fair
Weather: Indoors

Woke up feeling off. Ended up taking a nap after being up an hour or so. Never quite shook it off.

jP wanted to take a friend to open gym time in the gymnastic gym at the rec center, so I loaded up the boys and headed over.  While they swung on ropes, jumped on trampolines and generally worked off an immense amount of energy, I went to the treadmill and tried to find some energy.

Did a 1 mile w/u at 8:27, five miles at 6:58, then four more at 7:30 - 8:27...just letting it flow based on how I was feeling, which, overall, was less than stellar.  Walked half-mile as a c/d.

Feeling a bit whooped post-run.

Good post today from Roes.  Gives a shout-out to some top-notch, unheralded runners, including PG, Fanselow and Schlarb.  Good stuff.

Slush, Ice and Sun

A little bit of everything on this no-fun, get-it-done run around the 'hood. Cars splashing slush...falling down on ice...all around junk(ish) miles


Time:  1:10
Distance: 8.13 miles
Effort:  Easy
Body: Fair
Weather: Sunny and cold

Ran jP's homework over to his school (getting splashed with slush at one point by a passing car) and made an attempt to run Elk Meadow's trails.  All the wind last night blew big drifts over the Painter's Pause Trail, so I bailed after a quarter mile.

Back to the roads.

Ran through the Hiwan, El Pinal and Hiwan Hills 'hoods, making a big loop from the house.  Fell on the ice at the entrance to a private road - that'll teach me.

Didn't enjoy the run, but liked the sunny weather. Was warm enough for shorts and a light running shirt. Could have done without the wind.

No more bitching, though.  The end.

Stringing it Together

Random collection out-and-backs and small loops around the neighborhood vicinity to get in some mileage between work conference calls.


Time: 1:01
Distance: 7.08 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Good
Weather: Sunny and cold

Another mad dash between work and family obligations. Reminds me how much I can't wait until warmer weather when I actually feel like getting these runs done before the day's grind begins. Tough to do in single digit temps.

Still, twas an enjoyable outing running close to home on some out-of-the-way roads, including a jaunt through a never-explored gated neighborhood in a watershed over from where I live. The full-on views of Mt. Evans here were amazing, especially on this brilliant blue-sky day.

All the roads were still snow packed. The dry snow made the best squench, squench, squench sound underfoot...sort of like the sound that is made when one rings out a wet chamois.

Bring back the warmth!

Back to the Treadmill

Run-of-the-mill treadmill dash.


Time:  55 minutes
Distance: 7 miles
Effort: Some hard
Body:  Fair
Weather: Indoors

Lots of new snow and single digit temps did little for my motivation to run outside, so I once again hit the treadmill at the rec center.

Did 2 miles at 8:27 w/u, then 1x1 mile at 5:42, 2x800 meters at 5:15, 1x1 mile at 6:58 and the rest was easy c/d and recovery between the intervals.

The first 5:42 mile hurt. Wasn't feeling whippy today, which is why I shifted to the 800s. I upped the pace for them, but was happy to not being doing miles.  I slept poorly last night, which is what I'll attribute my sub-par effort to.  I'm working on a list of other excuses for future use.

Left heel felt good on the run and just a touch of soreness later.

Weekend Running

A nice, solid weekend of running featuring a three-hour tour around Roxborough State Park (and snow) and a cruise on the roads of north Evergreen (and snow).


Saturday - Roxborough State Park


Time: 3:02
Distance: 15.4 miles
Effort: Hard
Body: Average
Weather: Gray and cold

As Jaime Y., Woody A., Scott J. and I gathered in the parking lot at the Sharptail Ridge trailhead, I glanced over at the snow-covered trail heading up past a picnic pavilion into the rolling grasslands and beyond and noticed that there was not a single set of tracks on it.

Yep, we'd be be breaking trail on the four-mile stretch of double track through this chunk of Douglas County Open Space land adjacent to Roxborough State Park.  Little did we realize at the time, but we'd be breaking trail for all but maybe 10 minutes of the next three hours of winter trail running.

For the first four miles of mostly uphill slogging, we took turns running in each other's footsteps, seeking the path of least resistance through the five or so inches of crusty snow until we entered Roxborough.

Trail sign at the junction of old County Road 5 and the Sharptail and Swallowtail Trails.

Once in Roxborough, the snow got deeper and the trail got steeper in spots as we climbed and descended on an old roadbed, veering into the Pike National Forest for a bit before reentering the park and joining up with the Powerline Trail. Through here we hit our deepest snow, in some places about 10 inches deep.

How long do I have to stand around before my feet get cold?

Jaime heads back into the park on the aptly-named Powerline Trail.

From Powerline, we hung a right and climbed up the the run's highpoint, Carpenter Peak at 7,160 feet.

Jaime scouts the skies for elusive snowy wood ducks.

Try to look natural, Scott.

Soaking up the views down in Roxborough State Park and the plains beyond.

After spending a few minutes taking in the views, we headed down the Carpenter Peak trail to the red rock formations below.

Scott J. runs through the Gambel oak descending from Carpenter Peak

The boys regroup back on old County Road 5

The Jaimes cruise back up to the Sharptail Ridge Trail junction

After the descent from Carpenter Peak, we had a short climb back up to the junction with the Sharptail Ridge Trail. Other than one short climb just after the turn-off, it was all pretty much a downhill cruise to the cars.

Jaime Y. makes the return trip look easy.

Scott J. speeding toward the trailhead and, perhaps, the day's first bit of sun.

Sunday - North Evergreen Snowy Road Run


Time: Watch battery died
Distance: 11.3 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Average
Weather: Snowing and cold (5 degrees)

Late afternoon/early evening run from home to a friends house in Soda Creek where we'd left a car the night before. Took the scenic route through the Hiwan, The Ridge and Soda Creek subdivisions.  Ran the last couple of miles in the dark, including a good bit on a totally unplowed road with six inches of new snow on it. Ran in the one set of tire tracks available.

Running 100 Miles in Utah

Plan B.

The Bear. September 23-24, 2011. Logan, UT to Fish Haven, ID.

Wasatch 100...Lottery Failure

Wasatch 100 lottery results are up.  I was shut out. Not on the list. Very disappointed, especially after getting caught up in the Rocky Racoon fun today on Twitter.  Time for a Plan B.

Anyone got a Plan B?

A Monochrome Day on Green Mountain

Solid run from Chautauqua up the backside of Green Mountain and down Bear Canyon.


Time: 1:47
Distance: 9 miles
Effort: Steady
Body: Average
Weather: Gray and cold

Sometimes the incongruence of a name and a place becomes suddenly conspicuous.  For example, if something terrible happens to a family that lives in a place called Happy Valley...or if no one in Germantown speaks German...or if there are no hills or dales anywhere near Hillsdale.

I was thinking about this as I was headed up Green Mountain as a light snow was falling and the fog-like fingers of a low cloud ceiling were reaching down into the furrows that unfold along the mountain's flanks. The snow, trees shrouded in white, the clouds and the poor overall visibility created a monochrome feel around Green Mountain today, a peak whose names suggests a verdant, living place.

Still, even a seemingly colorless landscape has beauty and Green didn't disappoint today...it just presented itself in a new way. Stark. Simple. Quiet.

I started late afternoon at the Chautauqua parking lot and made my way over to Gregory Canyon, slipped on the traction devices and started my trek up toward the ranger cottage. I saw one other hiker on the ascent, just a bit past the trailhead.

I ran up to the cottage at a steady, but unimpressive pace, stopping ten or so times to readjust the Microspikes. I need to get a smaller sized pair for my size 11.5 feet. The Crosslites I was wearing are too narrow for the large size spikes I have.

I was today in the mood for the mountains, so the stops didn't bother me. Everything would be taken in stride. No hurry. The temps were nice. The snow was beautiful.  All good.

I hit the summit in around 46 minutes, tagged the summit marker and headed back down to the four-way and dropped down toward Bear Canyon. Along the southwestern side of Green, the cloud ceiling really seemed to close in, heightening the feeling of absence of color.

I don't remember much of the descent. I was lost in thought and on blissful autopilot feeling like I was miles away from the bustle of work and of Boulder.

I saw my first hikers since early in Gregory Canyon shortly after joining the Mesa Trail. The appearance of others whipped me out of my revelry. I put my head down and focused on keeping a steady pace back to Chautauqua.

By the time I was back in the truck and headed home on Highway 93, the falling snow and dropping temps had made for some relatively treacherous driving conditions. Traffic slowed, and so did my commute. The upside...I had more time to reflect on the monochrome silence that enveloped Green Mountain this winter day.

Dinner!

With the temps the way they were, the kids out of school and JP on a biz trip to our nation's capitol, I had to make peace with the fact that today was a good ol' sedentary day.

When my body is at (forced) rest, I tend to think more about diet.  Thus...

Before:

Mixed fruit, blueberries, banana, kale, ground flax seed and orange juice.

After:

Tastes better than it looks.

Dessert:

Tastes as good as it looks.

 ...from the Ska Brewing Company.

Treadmill with a Purpose

The cold is, indeed, a bit too much for me, so back inside to the treadmill for a more focused workout.


Time: 51 minutes
Distance: 6 miles
Effort: Hard
Body: Good
Weather: Indoors

Since I complained yesterday about the tedious nature of unstructured treadmill workouts, today was a day for more structure. And, since it's Tuesday...that means a bit o' the speedwork.

Set the 'mill on one percent grade, warmed up for a mile at 8:27 and did 3x1 mile at 5:42 pace with 400 meter recovery jogs at 10:20 pace. Just as I was finishing, jP appeared having finished goofing at the pool. So, I finished the run at an easy pace for another 1.5 miles or so to get me to six miles as a cooldown.  Fled to the hottub with jP to round out the gym time (after I was informed that jP was two months too young to be in the workout area...sigh).

All the mile repeats were challenging, but never in doubt. I was pleasantly surprised since I haven't done any speedwork for months. Felt good to sweat, especially knowing the temps outside read -14 on the car thermometer.  Interested to see how the heel feels tonight/tomorrow.  Now -- two hours later -- it feels fine.

School cancelled again tomorrow. The reason: school district doesn't want kids standing in the cold waiting for buses; and the buses aren't working well in the cold.  My response:  Don't buses work fine in Minnesota and North Dakota?  How about just doing a late start?  Parents could take their kids to school themselves and still get to work. So, instead of kids being inside at school while it's too cold to play outside, they will have to sit inside in late May and early June (to make up for the "snow" days) when the weather is great and they should be outside!  I'm sure it's always a tough call for the school district folks. If only the whole world followed JeffCo's lead...we'd all have been off for two days!