Hope you've had a fabulous weekend! We have lots of fun and informative things going on this week at Quinn's. We had such an awesome turnout this past week and hope to have just as many of you join us this week. We look forward to seeing you out on the trail! Note that next week we will be traveling to Falcon Physical…

     Last weekend, I journeyed west to race in the land of crimson canyons. A place where the rocky terrain is so cool and so hip, it goes by the name "slick." Moab and the Behind the Rocks Wilderness Area is home to a new 53+ mile race, brought to you by the folks at Grass Roots Events. I'd been to Moab only one other time and was excited to race in this incredible part of the country. While it can be a bit of a haul from the…

I had the week off from chemo this week. Physically I felt ready for it. After three weeks of medications being pumped into my body, I was tired. When I say tired, I mean so tired that the bags under my eyes are truly too terrifying to document. Still, it was my goal on my week off to try to enjoy life as much as possible. I ran every day. I ran by myself, I ran with my husband and I ran with friends. I ran the Santa Fe trail. I ran at…

A die-hard dedication to training, I'm coming to realize, must be accompanied by an equal dedication to rest and other factors that sane, non-runners take for granted.  A prime example: there was a time (ok...like most of my running career) when I considered cross-training days to be days "off."  You see the rationale I'm sure, since these days did not include a run they were a waste and counted for nothing.  To me, like to any logical human being, a 4000 yard swim takes no effort and…

I'm really excited to be working with the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region to start a triathlon program. We're kicking it off at Garden Ranch location (2380 Montebello Drive West) and the April session begins on Monday, April 7th. To sign up, simply swing by the YMCA front desk or call them at 593-9622. There is more info here on the flyer: GardenRanchTriFlyer.pdf 

Swims are…

Hello there fellow Quinnians! 

Have you got…

This past Monday I had my 9th chemo infusion. I am getting a total of 18, so that means I am now half way finished with treatments! I am on a 3 week on and one week off chemo schedule, so I have completed 11 of 24 weeks. My husband and I continued with our pre chemo tradition of running 10 miles in the morning before heading to the cancer center. I was nervous going in on Monday. I do not normally get particularly nervous, but I had…

For the first time since moving to the Springs - and beginning my trail running education in ernest - I think I might actually be making progress.  On Thursday I put in 10 miles, cross-trained yesterday, and then did (almost) 7 this morning bringing the week's mileage to somewhere around the 40 mile mark.  That's low for me, but these have been hard won, high-quality miles.  None of those flat-as-a-pancake-and-boring-as-heck-road-miles.  The hills may not be the highlight of my run, but they…

10 mile trail run yesterday, hot yoga this morning.  Can you guess which one I considered miserable?  Like many dedicated runners, I ended up loving the sport because I'm not coordinated enough to do much else. Plunk a very klutzy me into a 105 degree room and it's a recipe for dread.  While the sheer volume of sweat produced while doing this particular sort of yoga is astonishing and the heat is almost sickening, I left feeling like a million bucks.  While unfamiliar and somewhat unpleasant…

I completed my first trail run since having our son, Rowan. I pushed as hard as I could for as long as I could (no pun intended) and covered 4.4 miles. I felt really strong. But when I returned to the car and checked my new Garmin, I saw that my average mile was 13:41. I had two thoughts:

#1, Seriously? Fail.

#2, Seriously? Get over it. It's only been 6 weeks.

I'm running a lot slower than I did before having Rowan, and I guess I thought I would bounce back a lot…

Being a transplant from the great, flat, expanse of the Northern Midwest I am no stranger to lonely runs.  That doesn't mean I enjoy them.  Moving to the Springs feels like I've found my tribe.  There's some sort of social running group meeting almost every night of the week.  Last night, because I didn't want to go it alone in the wind/occasional rain, I joined the Colorado Running Company's social running group.  It was fun - I met people who are training for a variety of different events…

My luck finally ran out at the Hardrock lottery this year.  Despite being in the old timer’s category and thus being a near shoe-in, I now sit far enough back on the wait list that I won’t get into the race.  Instead of moping around feeling sorry for myself I decided to try a new challenge: Leadman.

If you don’t know, the Leadman is a series of races that all start and finish in Leadville.  The…

Last weekend's Salida Run Through Time Marathon marks my first year of longer trail races. Within this year I ran my first 50 miler, ran a gruesome 50 k, and trained a lot of mileage (last year). I was excited for the marathon this year, since I felt these experiences would help me improve my time from my first Salida.…

Sunny and 50's for Tuesday so brush the snow off of your shoes and come on out!

"Success is not final. failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston…

I've succeeded in that!  I ran a different combination of trails in Red Rocks today than any I've done before and it was among the most peaceful hours of my running life.  The bright red earth with fresh snow, the cool, still, morning, and the view of the park through the fog were otherworldly.  Really, where else in the world can you stand in one place and see snow covered cactuses, mountains, lakes, and colorful canyons.  It was just me and the dog and the views for a good three miles…

you check the weather very few minutes to see if it's gotten any warmer.  So far we're up to 23 degree, already better than what we braved yesterday morning (19 degrees with wind).  By noon it should be near 50, so I'll practice patience for a few more hours.  

Cliche as it may be, dogs make awesome companions.  When you hit the trails with a dog you have someone to talk to, when the hills get long you're not actually going it alone, and dogs don't have a training plan of their own so the run has one purpose - fun. I'm dog-sitting for my boss at the moment and this particular dog is a blast to run with.  While she's more than capable of out-running me, she's doesn't seem to be interested in pushing the pace or running off like a maniac. She just…

Yesterday marked the first day of Spring and the weather was magnificent: 65 degrees and sunny made for a perfect Red Rocks run.  Since I'm a trail newbie without any sense of direction to speak of, I never seem to be able to find the same trail twice.  I started off on a trail that I was sure I recognized, needless to say I was wrong.  The loop started with a climb up to Ring the Peak trail (with some hill repeats added in just for kicks :).  By the time I reached 3.5 miles I felt like I…