So I’ve had an idea in mind for a different workout and finally gave it a try on Thursday, July 19. Monument Preserve has long been a favorite place to run. It offers varied terrain, some up and down but certainly not killer hills and scenic trails that weave in aall over U.S. Forest Service land. There is a main parking lot for the preserve, right along Mt. Herman Road but I usually park at a pull-off area another half-mile or less up the road, almost directly across from a Forest Service…

I’ve always enjoyed running hills and with one exception I’ve always lived in states where there were ample opportunities to to roll up and down a running course. I seem to recall, many moons ago, reading in some magazine about a runner who said races are won on hills, that hills were the place to exert some effort, to pass and maybe even demoralize your competition. Well, if you’ve been reading any of the previous blogs here you know that I am not really out to win anything but still…

The Summer Roundup was a lot of fun and great to see the rest of the team again. For six people who just came together by chance, we’re a fun bunch if I do say so. At the end, there was JT, looking dapper in his lucky Schlitz hat. Anyone else remember Schlitz? He had this amazing, Emergency Energy Recovery and Rescue Kit. It resembles a cooler. Ahh, that ice could be so soothing on the knees but it serves a higher purpose of  cooling down the even more soothing barley-pops…

Saturday, June 23 I see an e-mail about a fire near Waldo Canyon. Hmm, not good. Later, leaving for a trip to Denver I glance south from Monument and see the towering, wide white plume. Oh no, this is only going to get worse. And Waldo is so special. Then came the carnage of Tuesday night, June 26 and the horror of watching a home burn in real time on television. In the flash of a fire, suddenly the challenge of jogging up Pikes Peak looked insignificant compared with the challenge of…