So by now I've learned that keeping up with the blogging is much harder this year than it was last time. Sorry, Tim! 

Anyway, less than a month to go before we all toe the line to take on The Mountain. (Hoping our trials against it are more successful than those against the Game of Thrones character by the same name.) Since I last checked in, I've raced twice: the Summer Roundup Trail Run, aka the second leg of the Triple Crown, and the Barr Trail Mountain Race, aka the scrappy little brother of the Triple Crown. 

Carrie and I ran the Summer Roundup together. I didn't have any real goals except to stay consistent. To my surprise, my third time up the big hill was my fastest, according to Strava! 

I had similar plans for the Barr Trail Mountain Race: go out there and have fun. I ran this race with Kristy Milligan, a friend I had lost touch with since she stopped coming to Attack Pack runs. We finished just under 3:00, my slowest BTMR time yet but probably one of the most fun roundtrips I've run. Kristy took a small tumble toward the end but we both escaped the mountain mostly unscathed and earned our official finisher shirts by beating the cutoffs.

This year, I was lucky enough to serve on the BTMR race committee. We worked out logistics (there are a lot when a race goes to 10,200 feet halfway up a mountain), sampled food and brews from our sponsors Manitou Brewing Co. and Front Range BBQ (for posterity!), ordered some excellent merchandise (see super sweet hats!), crafted the handmade awards, and created a little controversy along the way. It was a blast!

I'm proud of what we did. Gender inequality in work, life, and sport has been going on for untold decades, so we decided to take a small, symbolic stand by upping the women's prize purse by 20 percent. In doing so, we stirred up quite a bit of lively discussion, which was the point all along. 

Directly after the race, my husband, baby, and I hopped on a plane to a family reunion in Montana. Johan had a blast meeting his extended family, including his great-grandma! Lance and I even got to steal away for a mountain-climbing date -- our first in years -- while relatives watched our son. That hike was the extent of my exercise for the week, with the exception of some sprints in the traditional family foot races. I don't consider myself a sprinter by any stretch, but managed to notch victories in the 50m and 100m adult women's races, and the mile (open to all age groups). 

Re-entry has been painful for a number of reasons. I had another good day above treeline on Sunday. This weekend I have another big Peak weekend planned. Trying not to freak out that only three weekends remain.

At this point, I know I can survive the PPM, but it might not be especially pretty :) I'm feeling strong but slow right now. I still have a couple nagging muscle/nerve issues to work out, but I've enlisted a PT friend to help. Just gonna keep plugging away and hope The Mountain is merciful next month!

I've also vowed to keep up the storied Attack Pack tradition of fueling with doughnuts. How many Marmots can you spot?