So, the best I can say is that I finally completed the Pikes Peak Ascent and my very first Triple Crown of Running series. Certainly not my best times or efforts, but I had tons of fun along the way and met some incredible athletes and human beings in the process. I suppose that is the thread that keeps me in the running community, despite the fact that life has a way of pulling me in the opposite direction at times.  It is the experience as a whole that keeps me lacing up my shoes, rather…

As a side note to a recent family vacation, I spontaneously decided to run the Beaver Creek Half Marathon.  Not necessarily because I love races, but because I realized that in one week I’m expected to complete the Pikes Peak Ascent and my training runs have fallen grotesquely short on both distance and difficulty.  This race boasted one of the most beautiful courses in the Endurance Race Series at an altitude of approximately 8,000 feet and a total of 1,400 feet of climbing. On a whim, I…