I'm sick.

I've been sick for three days.  Not really sick.  But sick enough that my head hurts and lots of gunk is thickening in my lungs. I keep hoping I'll recover, but I awoke this morning with the addition of a sore throat.

Will this unfortunate turn of events keep me from the starting line tomorrow?  Hell no.  But it very well may hurt my performance, which, if I were more zen-like, I wouldn't be too upset about. After all, I'm strong, and I will have the good…

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That mountain can be as unforgiving as it is beautiful. Anything that can make its own weather, on a moments notice, to include snow in August, deserves our respect. Maybe because I see Pikes Peak every day, I somehow think it a trusted and old friend.



But it's not.



It's a force; a powerful and mighty foe, that is almost deserving of our worship, kind of like Mordor, I suppose.



I had my last long-ish training run on 'the mountain' this past Wednesday afternoon.… Continue

Check.

I have finally run to the top of Pikes Peak. It was a beautiful Colorado day, a day I have most officially named, The Day of the Marmot. Our furry, mountain friends were my constant companions during the last three miles of the run, cheering me on from the edge of the trail. Here is one of my kind and fearless amigos:

I should note that I…

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So here we are only 4 weeks out from the magnum opus of races and I just took an entire week off.  Crazy, I know, and not really what I'd planned.  I'm now naturally concerned about what that desert of a week has done to my training, how much muscle mass I've obviously lost, and what a week at sea level has done to my red blood cells.  

I wonder these things, but I don't regret the week off from my mad running schedule.  My much-needed break was spent with my family, in the most…

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