First things first. I ascended Saturday. The weather was beautiful, the scenery was beautiful, and the finish line was beautiful.

What made the day truly unforgettable for me, though, was people, not places. 

If you can, forgive the sequential synopsis and the unabashed name-dropping. My mile markers for the race of lifetime were the people who impacted it, some in small ways, some in big.

Okay, rewind to March, when Tim Bergsten convinced me to run the Triple Crown and…

Polite inquiries. Well-intended advice. Wrestling with important questions like "Have I prepared enough?" and "How much tapering should I do?"

Yes, the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon are less than a week away and all these things abound.

I know the answers differ for every runner, but for me they are as follows:

I am nervous. I am underprepared. And tapering? Taper from what?…

“Izquierda o derecha?” I shrieked, pointing to my color-coded bib. Right or left?

I was at a critical point in my race in Quito, and there were three courses: marathon, half-marathon, and 8-miler – I needed to know which way to turn to complete my chosen half-marathon course.

I have no doubt that the volunteers said something to the effect of “If this is your first lap, turn right. If this is your second, turn left.”  What I heard, however, was “turn…

They’re done. Over. Finished.

The second leg of the Triple Crown of Running and my (likely only) practice summit of the Peak are in the 2013 history books.

Both were surprisingly nice. While I put forth a very respectable effort, I didn't exactly “smack down” either the Peak or High Drive, but I had more fun doing both than I thought possible.

They…