Dear slick rock and sand,



Our relationship started out sweet. Beautiful views, great weather...I was eager to get to know you better but I've decided that I want to break up. If we ever see each other again, it will be on a bike. While your canted features are stunning and the softness of your red sand is appealing if we were on a beach, I don't appreciate how you get in my shoes and slow me down. You mesmerized me with your seductive views, so much so I fell for you HARD...at mile… Continue

This year marks the 6th time I've run/crawled/hiked up Pikes Peak for fun. The infamous 4 hour wall was missed by a little over a minute. It seems like the times I've been close (4:01:08 this year, 4:01:18  two years ago), it was partially a result of really bad leg cramps. I went out pretty fast as I got bogged down in the W's last year while attempting to hold back and save some for the top which I didn't think worked for me. This year my splits to top of W's, No-name and Barr Camp were…

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"The hay is in the barn" so they say. I need to have faith that the hard work and miles spent playing in the mountains will pay off tomorrow. There is always that lingering voice of uncertainty that pops up once I step up to the starting line. Regardless of how hard I trained there are always those variables outside the realm of my control that factor in on race day including but not limited to : congestion in the w's, stomach issues, nerves, weather, Aunt Flo's visit, work, and numerous…

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Relays are increasingly popular and interesting beasts. Last weekend I ran the Wild West Relay which covered 200 miles from Fort Collins to Steamboat Springs. This was my first relay so had no idea what to expect. Vanessa, purple and gold alum, was our fearless team captain and did a great job organizing 10 friends and a couple strangers to run 36 legs. The legs varied from easy to "very hard". I'm not really sure how the…

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The countdown is on for the Wild West Relay which runs from Ft. Collins to Steamboat Springs starting at the butt-crack of dawn (actually, before that) tomorrow. I'm proud to be running with the Schriever Striders which is coordinated by the one and only Pikes Peak Sports Triple Crown of Running alum, Vanessa Shawver. I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to run with this fun group. The total mileage for my 3 legs is around 20 miles but I may jump in on some other legs to get a 50k in…

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"The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.” 

― John Muir

I'm finally back to having cell-phone signal and reliable access to the interwebs after my last 9 days of travel. I've calculated that I've slept in a tent almost 1/3…

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If you've never had an opportunity to spend the night at Barr Camp, I highly suggest it. Renee and Anthony, the current caretakers were accommodating and friendly. I was planning on meeting up with some friends from Denver and they called saying they were stuck in traffic and would be arriving late. I debated hiking the…

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This year's new Summer Trail Roundup course offered some different challenges and eliminated the infamous High Drive shuffle. I kind of missed the uphill grind and fast descent of High Drive but the up and down course this year combined with some narrow single track, stairs, and temps starting in the high 60's and quickly climbing to high 70's made for a hot run. 

I had run the course with the Striders the prior week so I knew generally what to expect as far as the route. I…

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As I prepare for my favorite race of the Triple Crown, the Summer Trail Roundup, I am continuing to try to get up into the mountains as much as I can. Traditionally, the majority of my training is on Barr Trail and at Bear Creek Park but this summer I'm trying to get as many peaks in as I can. I have gotten several training runs in with the Striders at Bear Creek Park but I'm not confident of my leg-turnover speed so I'm a little…

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I'm not getting any younger. I was running before yoga in the park on Saturday and realized that I hadn't taken a day off for 7 days which is a lot of consecutive training days in my typical regimen. No wonder my legs felt tired. It's easy to do when you have the glamorous career of teaching and don't have to work in the summer. Besides forgetting what day of the week it is (premature alzheimers?), I have been indulging in the best that Colorado has to offer. If my body holds up to enjoy…

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While it's still pretty early in the season for 14'er climbing due to all of the snow, I have recently bagged a few. The snow adds an interesting element that I haven't experienced before. I am not, by any means, an expert mountaineer. I was very grateful to have my friend, Anna, an EPCSAR volunteer, on the Mt. Harvard hike as it became a longer day than…

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"Mountains are enormous but they all have a top, set your dreams to reach them and be strong enough to keep them."

-Zug Izland (stolen from a friend's Facebook post)

Hills, hills, hills, and the Incline. This year marked my 7th straight 10 mile jaunt through Garden of the Gods. I managed to run 11 minutes faster than the first time I ran this course. It…

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Today was a lesson in humility. Every time I attend a Strider's 6 a.m running session, I am reminded how it feels to be at the back of the pack. The Sunrise Striders meet at 6 a.m on Tuesdays and Thursdays which conflicts with my school-year work schedule. I try to get to some (I think I have gone to two??) workouts in the summer since I don't have to be at work at 7:15 a.m. Perhaps I would be faster if I got my butt out of bed early enough to train with them more consistently? I wish I…

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Last Sunday I arrived at Memorial Park in hopes to get a head-start up Barr Trail before it got too hot. I ended up high-jacking a ride up to Elk Park with Michael Everson and Roger Austin, two bad-a*% IC'er's. Humbled by their legendary Incline Club status, I tried again to get a head-start in hopes not to hold them up too much. I ended up getting to the car about 20 minutes after they finished. I didn't care (sorry Michael-I'm slow). The run was absolutely beautiful.

The trails were…

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I'm sitting outside waiting to check out of my 6th residence in the last 8 years. I've lived in Colorado Springs for 8 years and love it here, however, I've done a little bit of moving within this area including a stint in Manitou.



I guess I get restless or I'm afraid of commitment. Regardless of my numerous addresses, running and I have had a consistent relationship over the last 7 years.



Whenever life gets hectic, running is there for me. After moving and unpacking over… Continue

Disclaimer: I’m no expert at running, nor am I an expert on injury prevention so I offer only my own meandering experience.

I tend to be a little type-A sometimes and I tend to ignore nagging pains until they get so severe it completely prevents me from running. I’ve learned that self-care, rest-days and maintenance are just as important as the miles and workouts I put in.

Almost every runner I know has something going on with their body as they start and as…

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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…

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I thought my first blog would catch some attention if a reference to poo was involved. Today I ran the Collegiate Peaks 25 miler. Temps were in the mid 30's to start and rose to mid-60's. It was a gorgeous day to run.



I had heard from some friends who have run the race that there are quite a few sandy sections. They were accurate. While the climbing wasn't too bad, I went out really conservatively. I started to have some stomach issues around mile 21.



The majority of the… Continue