Countdown to the Garden: 4 days! I have a feeling that with my lack of consistent speed work, I won’t be as fast as I was hoping. (On top of the fact that the high is 88 for Sunday!)

I recently returned from a family trip to Philadelphia. While there, we ran in a very cool woody single-track trail in Fairmount Park, the largest urban park in the nation. Along the path leading to trails were various historic buildings, statues of historic figures, and adorable baby geese.
 

To our surprise the first day, we stumbled upon a sign outside the Chaumonix Mansion marking a former bus stop, leading into a heavily wooded area. Following the sign, we discovered an old, abandoned bridge.

Beyond the cool trail, the altitude difference from Colorado was fantastic – 8 minute miles were effortless, water was unnecessary for hour-long runs, and my back was free from a running pack!

This trip made me remember how cool it is to run in new places – between getting out of a rut of the same routine of runs, and especially noticing the fact that altitude training does in fact make a significant difference.

Back to reality (aka altitude)… Two trips to Barr Camp post-Philadelphia are under my belt – one which felt pretty good and one on National Running Day which was ironically a slow, fatigued one. But pushing through the fatigue, listening to your heart pumping wildly while powering uphill, gasping for breath, and leaping around rocks can certainly make you feel triumphant!

So with this, I hope to dominate those hills in the Garden, triumphant at the finish and feel like the miles are as easy as in Philadelphia.

Go Team Pikes Peak Sports and Happy National Running Day!