So there I was, just putting one foot in front of the other, minding my own business on some trail when BAM it hits me - THE MOST AMAZING THOUGHT EVER.  Suddenly, life made sense.  Or at least, whatever it was I was trying to figure out suddenly made sense.  So, I put the thought just behind the forefront of my other thoughts, cataloged for later use.

Whaddyaknow...up and over and around a few more bends, hills, nooks, crannies, and suddenly I have yet ANOTHER revelation.  I'M…

The past two weeks of running have been pretty inexplicable. My abilities have changed, daily; and I'm grateful for the natural improvement. Truthfully, I haven't even been trying. It became noticeable a week ago, when I stood at the starting line of Take 5 in the Garden. I had decided to drag my butt off the couch and get moving, but my strategy was to walk every hill and generally take it easy with some 14 minute miles. I was certain that the race would take me over an hour to finish. But,…

I ran another 8 miles in the Garden yesterday. I beat the weather and it was a beautiful and crisp morning. There were lots of runners out and most appeared to be running a similar course, in preparation for the upcoming Garden of the Gods 10 mile race. I saw at least three people I know, and ran into a very large group of women who were all wearing pink shirts. I felt like a salmon swimming upstream.

I have already said it, but it bears repeating, that the GOG 10 mile is my favorite…

Setbacks

I know while training for the Triple Crown Series and the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile race there will be setbacks.  I do not know how many there will be or when they will happen but I encountered my first one.

This past week went nothing as scheduled.  The week started promising with a nice run on Monday.  It felt good and I set my schedule.  Run Tuesday, run Thursday and then figure out if I was going to run a double on Saturday.  It was looking good, an increase in…

Yesterday I took advantage of the warm, sunny weather and got a tempo run in at Garden of the Gods to prepare for the upcoming Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Run. The Women's Fit Team, decked out in fluorescent pink, were out doing the full course and I felt a little guilty only running 6. I pushed the pace and tried to…

I have a love-hate relationship with mile markers.  It's great to know where I am, but when I'm running up a mountain it's also disheartening to see just how long I've been at it and how far I've yet to go.

Here's a story about my first run to Barr Camp, mile marker by mile marker:

½. My calves are screaming for mercy. I'm the only person going up Barr Trail, my legs would like to add "with good reason."

 1: Who knew the human calf muscles could do this? Let's not find…

Prior to 2012 I had never run more than 7 miles so the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Garden of the Gods 10-miler would be my longest run ever. Fortunately my good friend and regular jogging partner, a Triple Crown winner in his age group, trained me very well. Our first time out we did about 7 miles of the 10-mile course. The next time we did another 7-miles that included the portion of the course we had not run the first time. By the third time I was ready for the entire 10-mile…

As part of the PPS Triple Crown team, I will be running three tough races this summer...

1. The Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Run
2. Summer Roundup 12k
3. And the infamous Pikes Peak…

Since the beginning of March I've been lucky enough to coach a Girls on the Run group at Deerfield Hills Community Center.  Ok, full disclosure: "lucky" isn't always the first word that has come to mind, but as the season wraps up it the verbiage I'm choosing. Today my group of 3-5th graders ran their "practice 5K," which gives them a chance to cover the distance before having to do so on race day.  Some practices…

Well, here we go again, a third stab at that great sentinel above Colorado Springs. I mentioned to someone that I was part of a group attempting the Ascent again and this person, a very nice person mind you, never says a bad word about anyone, said "Yeah, I know" and then I distinctly heard them mutter, under their breath "Crazy fools."

Yup, crazy alright, seeing how fast one can haul their butt up a mountain and yet, somehow, in some peculiar way, it just gets in your blood and you…

The first weekend in May has become the weekend for the Tri-Lakes Time Trial and a Gran Fondo, both sponsored by Cafe Velo. The local master's race team, Rotor Bike/CP Racing, a local masters race team, organizes the time trial, and based on the comments from participants it's one of the best organized around (if not the best.)

For anyone not familiar with the Time Trial format, it's a bike race against the clock. Riders are released from the start at specific intervals (in…

I took 5 miles in the Garden yesterday on a hilly course that would have had me near tears only six weeks ago.  For me a 5 miler is far better than the 5K, but I'm certainly looking forward to the longer races to come.  I am a distance girl, not a speed girl (except for when I'm driving - my family has referred to me as "speed bat baby").  I didn't end the race feeling like I was going to barf or swearing I would never run again - instead I finished happy, only wishing I had pushed harder…

I have been extremely tired and breathless during my runs lately. In fact, over last weekend, I had been in such sorry condition that I said to my husband, "I wonder if I will EVER feel like I used to feel. What if this is all I've got going forward?" My friends are all getting in better shape as they train for upcoming race, and right now I am always the slowest one in the group. While I understand what is going on with my body, I…

Like about 2,000 other people out there in crazyland, I hope to complete the Pikes Peak Ascent on August 16th.  If things go well, I also hope to do the Pikes Peak Marathon the next morning.  Nothing unique there - there are 159 of us signed up for…

My husband, CJ, is definitely a "front of the pack" runner and I love cheering him on! Our fireplace mantle is full of his running awards and I am so proud of all he has achieved. Because he is a fairly fast runner, many of our friends are fast "front of the pack" runners as well.

However, I tend to be more of a "middle of the pack" runner.

It is in this "middle of the pack" where I am joined by so many. And with a lot of hard work, I am improving. Honestly, I…

Here is my first blog ever.  First I want to say I am honored to be a part of the 2014 PikesPeakSports.us Triple Crown Runners. 

Pre-training……yes, exactly, I mean training to train. :)

I was picking up a race packet the other day and a guy asked me “How’s your training going?”  Being the witty guy I am I said “I am still in pre-training”.  He chuckled at me and I could see in his face…