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…

Continue

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…

Continue

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…

Continue

Sunday is the 2014 Summer Roundup Trail Run and it's a new race for everyone running, as the course has completely changed due to last year's floods.  I hear the race was once known as the Mystery Course Run, so it appears the race has returned to its roots...and the old is once again new.  

I have looked at the new course, which I've attached for curious…

Continue

I finally ran to Barr Camp this past Friday. It was a lovely and cool morning, and the mountain was peaceful and as beautiful as ever. But goodness, that run tore me up. I thought I was in good shape, but as I zeroed in on my goal, by knee began to ache, my hamstrings burned, and my right calf began to have random charlie horse cramps.



And on top of everything, I ran out of water. Oh how I wish I had a water filter when I hit Barr Camp.



The run down was relatively… Continue

Continue

How many blogs have been written about The Taper?  That dreaded pre-race rest that runners worry will somehow thwart their months of training and hard work. I am tapering right now in advance of tomorrow's Garden of the Gods 10-mile race, and will miss my Saturday run, and I'm pretty sure I can feel my leg muscles atrophying while I type.

Runners love to obsess on every detail of The Run, whether it's finding the best shoe, choosing mid-run nutrition and motivating running music, or…

Continue

Yes, it’s a drag that the Incline will be closed during our beautiful Fall months. Yes, it’s the best hike in town, a great workout, and a strikingly lovely trail.

But wow, have you seen the pictures of what it will look like when the repair is complete? It will look amazing! And do you realize that the restoration project will protect the Incline from further erosion? I am so grateful for the vision of our Parks Department and the many groups who are funding this huge and daunting…

Continue

Three summers ago I was biking home with my family when my bike suddenly collided with my husband’s bike. I’m sure this accident wasn’t my fault, but while my husband, Matt, jumped over his bike and managed to land on his feet, I fell to the left and landed hard on my knee with bike on top of me. The next thing I saw was Matt and the kids standing over me as I lay in the…

Continue

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…

Continue

Last weekend I ran the half-marathon at the Run to Remember in Oklahoma City, which is a yearly memorial to the 168 people who died in the bombing in 1995. The race began and ended at the memorial to those who died, which is a constant reminder to the powerful meaning of the race.

I didn't really train for this race, figuring the low altitude and flat course would make it a piece of cake.  I didn't consider that the humidity would be a form of kryptonite for me, the firefighters…

Continue