( ^^ Deftones song reference for all you non-rockers reading this ;p )

Hooray! Hooray! Summer Round Up is this weekend! Summer Round  Up has always been one of my favorite summer races! It is more or less what turned me on to trail running! I ran my first Summer Round Up 4 years ago, just a few months after ACL surgery...probably not the smartest thing I've ever done...or was it?! It was a tough course, but not so tough it wasn't still fun. For example, Barr Trail Race is one for me that I enjoy once it's done, but definitely not during!! It's too short to really settle into a good climbing pace. I feel like BTMR is balls-to-the-wall allll the way up and then you end up flying  back down at a terrifying-ankle-breaking pace. Summer Round Up is shorter and less aggressive course...the two races are really nothing alike, sorry I compared them! I am pretty bummed that High Drive (a ginormous hill) is no longer part of the  Round Up course. I loved that hill! It was always nice and cool back there and you had a chance to 1. pass a lot of people who are not good climbers and 2. make up some serious time flying back down the hill! Actually, to be completely honest, I am pretty irritated about the course this year (sorry if you are reading this and responsible for charting the course...but seriously why would you do that?). This year the course consists of three loops around the east side of Bear Creek Park. I hate loops. Firstly, there is more than enough trail to NOT have loops in Bear Creek Park. Secondly, it crowds the trail like WOAH! And thirdly, it so hard to gauge where you're ranking in the race because everyone is all jumbled up. Wait, there is a fourthly, it will be so hot (that's pretty much a given no matter the course, I just wanted to throw a 'fourthly' in there). Having said all that, I am sure the race will still be a good time and I am quite certain that lots of people will love the course...I just...why with the loops?!

At this point you are wondering what the title of this blog post has to do with anything...well, let me tell you! This past Thursday was my last day at my firm in Denver. I will be starting at a firm in Colorado Springs on the 15th (RTA Architects...the cool kids that will be designing the new Summit House for Pikes Peak!!!). Prior to last week things were pretty crazy for me (thus the lack of blog posts). I was previously commuting to downtown Denver everyday! I will now have an average of 2 extra hours everyday!! Whatever will I do with myself?! I am hoping that I will be smart and use those extra two hours on the trails...as the Ascent and Marathon are only a little more than a month out (insert terrified face here).

In my last post I promised a race report from the Slacker Half....well, I was the ultimate slacker and skipped the race! It was a Saturday race and Friday night I just wasn't feeling it. I decided to set my alarm as if I were going to the race and make a game time decision when my alarm went off. Well you can image how that went! Its not like i was THAT tired...I don't really know why I didn't want to go, I just didn't, so I didn't!  I instead got up and attempted to go to Barr Camp. I say attempted because I got about 3/4 of the way to Barr Camp and had such a bad attitude I decided to turn around. I was feeling really strong the entire way, so that was good, but I was also complaining (in my head) the entire way. It was like one of those cartoons where there is a devil on one shoulder and an angle on the other. Finally, I just gave into the devil and arbitrarily turned around. But you know what? As soon I as decided it was OK to not feel like running today, I felt 100% better! Its OK! Its OK to have to drag you butt out of bed sometimes. Its OK to cut your run short sometimes. Its OK to have a bad day or a bad run. Its OK to turn around. Its OK to say f*&# it! Whats not OK is not letting that stuff be 'OK'. Just let it go and move on! :)

Good luck to all the Summer Round Up runners! I KNOW I'll see you out there on the course...on the stupid loops...hehehe! Also, a shout out and good luck to Brandon Stapanowich who will be running Hardrock 100!! Go Brandon, Go!!! :)