I found myself looking through the website for the Western States 100 race last week, thinking "how on Earth can someone put their body through that?"  Reflecting on my own "long runs" of 15-20 miles, and how much those take out of me, it boggles my mind that people do races 5 or more times that distance, and someone maintain a semblance of sanity.  For me, my athleticism has always been one of enrichment.  I run, hike, climb, swim, bike because I truly enjoy those things...the strength, endurance, and achievement that come along with those activities is only a distant second to being out in nature, feeling the sun on my face, sensing my body work hard to get to the next hold or chug through the next switchback.  It's this deeply personal and introspective connection with running and other sports that I hope to inspire my daughter with, and pass along to her.

Almost 2 weeks ago, I took Fiona on her first 14er ascent, climbing our hometown high-point Pikes Peak.  I'm not sure she completely knew what she was getting into, agreeing to come on this adventure with me, but she tackled it with vigor and enthusiasm that made me heart swell!  We took our time, playing games (like "I Spy") and singing songs along the trail, stopping for the night at Barr Camp before continuing for the Summit.  We continue up the next day, under perfect bluebird conditions and made the summit by early afternoon!  She was pretty much beat by the time we got onto the Cog Railway to ride back down, but she seemed happy and proud of her awesome accomplishment!

Along the same lines of changing it up, I raced this past weekend in the Lookout Mountain Triathlon, outside of Golden, and found myself relishing my return to multisport races, as well as excited about my new-found legs during the run (THANK YOU, Triple Crown training!!).  The location of the race was absolutely breathtaking Genessee Park,

just west of the Denver area...you probably know it as the place with the buffalo herd off of I-70.

With perfect weather, outdoor lap swimming (not my favorite, I prefer lake swims), and some intense, rolling hills, this was a great location for my first tri in 2 years.  I ended up doing well, placing in the top 25%, and providing me with a great baseline to work from for the rest of the season!  Even more importantly, it allowed me to try out a few tricks I've learned while training and racing in the Triple Crown this year:  I was careful to monitor my pre-race nutrition, really only limiting it to

some energy gel and a banana the morning of, having had a large meal of complex carbs the night before.  I also made sure to do some effective pre-race warming up, running a relaxed 1/4mile and then putting in some laps in the pool to prepare.  I found that these lead to feeling more centered, less queasy, and much more focused during the start and duration of the race.  (The massive breakfast buffet that they put on after the race certainly helped, too!)

*Gorgeous* Genessee Park

The point I want to make in this post is that I don't know if I have the running fortitude to do something as demanding and strenuous at the Western States 100.  But I sure as hell have fun preparing for climbing mountains, running local races, and doing triathlons.  Having fun and keeping it interesting is what it's all about for me!