Words won't do justice to my disappointment for not toeing the start line on Saturday for my first ever Pikes Peak Ascent, a giant among giants on my list of physical accomplishments.

Here's a timeline of how I didn't get there:

Thursday, August 13th at 7:00am, 48 hours from go-time, I wrestled with the alarm and staggered to work. I actually felt like I was going to fall asleep on my very…

I won't bore you with the details of how I feel because by 7:30am tomorrow that won't matter. I will say I have a couple of key means of inspiration demonstrated below:

Meet Beautiful Naked Man!

Tomorrow as I "run" I'll think of him in all his splendor and certainly "run" faster.…

I had really hoped I wouldn't be the case study of "How Not To Prepare for the Ascent" and I even want to think I'm not. But, I'm ever so near the edge on this one. Not only have I enjoyed two low mileage vacations (see photo of me sitting, not running), I've also gotten sick enough to go to the doctor (which I NEVER do) and took longer to recover than I expected. …

Something happened at the Garden of the God 10 Mile for me. It was as though I burst through the delusion that I wasn't, nor ever would be, a "RUNNER."

Not being a runner was fine. I was okay with that. I actually preferred it that way because it allowed me to not expect too much from myself. "I'm not…

I was super jazzed going into the final weekend preceding the first Triple Crown race, The Garden of the God 10 Mile. Our son, Jack, had a soccer tournament in Denver but I was ready. Ready to run between games and wear my goofy compression socks everywhere…

Let's be clear, I'm a cyclist. An avid mountain biker with respectable technical skills who's logged thousands of miles stomping pedals and for three years on only one gear. I remember when I switched from gears to single speed and suddenly became identified as one of *those* crazy single speeders. I loved the…