Today I ran in the spectacularly gorgeous Garden of the Gods 10 Mile race, kicking off my participation in the Triple Crown of Running as part of the Mighty Marmot race team. 

Despite months of training, and being fortunate to live within running distance of Garden of the Gods, I wasn't able to meet my personal goal for the race. After Mile 2, my digestive system decided to go on strike. Suddenly overcome with pain, my vision briefly went blurry, forcing me to stop for a few minutes. I was able to resume running, but the rest of the race felt painful and slow. I'm not sure what happened - nothing like this occurred during any of my many training runs - but it is no doubt related to my Crohn's Disease. All is well that ends well, though. Given the circumstances, I guess I can still be happy with my solid middle-of-the-pack performance.

Though I was less than happy after crossing the finish line, my spirits didn't stay down for long. The pain subsided some, and after the race, I had the chance to help with the kiddie run (put on by the crew of the weekly Gallop in the Garden.) Despite my lifelong nervousness around children, I had a blast. After signposting the course, I led the pack to make sure none of the potential future Mighty Marmots went astray. (Don't worry: not wishing to steal their glory, I slowed down near the finish line to again finish middle of the pack.)

In case you were wondering, while I was competitive in the toddler race, the 8-11 year old racers left me in the dust at the start line:

That's all for now from this Marmot! I can't wait to get back on the trails in preparation for the Summer Roundup half marathon in Cheyenne Mountain State Park.

P.S. Kudos to the fabulous dancing dinosaur: