La Plata and Run Run Run

The summer is flying by and I can’t believe it is already August! AA and I are headed back east at the end of the week and I couldn’t be more excited! We will both see friends in Boston, then one of AA’s friends is getting married in Plymouth, then we are spending 3 nights with his parents in NH, and then 3 nights with my parents in NY! I am so excited for a vacation! Plus getting to see friends/family – it will be great! We are hoping to still get in some runs and hikes while we are gone too :-)

Giving blood dilemma again! I am scheduled to give blood on Wednesday, but I am having reservations this time around L I was SO beat after the last time and it took a long time to recover. There are only 3 weeks until the 10 mile race and a lot of big runs so I am afraid how it would impact my endurance. Colorado needs the blood though, with the recent shootings, so I feel guilty for not giving it L I will probably decide against it in the end, I’ll just make sure to give after the ½ Marathon in October!

Saturday, July 28th
La Plata, 14’336

AA and I headed out for our first solo fourteener and it could not have gone better! We left Denver at 3 AM and were on the trailhead by 5:45AM. Storms were scheduled to start rolling in by 11-1ish so we knew we need to get an early start! The hike was a beastly 9.5 miles roundtrip and 4500’ elevation gain. It ended up taking us about 4 hours to hike up, and 3 hours to hike down. The first 2 miles were easier going through the forest, followed by some brutal switchbacks for 1.5-2 miles and then the final ridge ascent over larger boulder/rocks. The beginning of the hike went as planned and we did not run in to anyone on the trail. As we were approaching the end of the switchbacks we passed a father and son who asked what we thought about the weather. At this time the clouds started to roll in, we continued on. By 8:30 we were getting worried as we were about to traverse part of the ridge and would leave us exposed. We waited for 10ish minutes for another group to come up and discuss the clouds. We again decided to carry on as they did not seem to be moving and had some clearer skies behind them. The best decision. We got to the top and it was absolutely gorgeous. Probably the best views I have seen. AA has a much more trip report here though :-) aa blog

Early AM through the woods

Headed up! Amazing views

Summit views!

Downpour!

After spending some time on the summit we headed back down. Nothing too crazy, but the last 45 minutes we ran/hiked through the torrential downpour but were rewarded with chocolate milk at the car and then Park Burger when we returned to Denver :-)

Run, run, run!

With the big 14er on Saturday, I did not make the long rail on Sunday, so I knew I needed to schedule in my long run during the week.

Monday July 30th – 3.5 miles on tredmill, 0% grade @ 5.8, saving legs for LR

Tuesday July 31st – 6 mile run to and around Wash Park. Ran before work. Felt slow but mainly from legs.

Thursday August 2nd – 3.5 miles on tredmill, 0% grade @ 6.0, felt really good

Saturday August 4th – 7 miles on Highline Canal trail
AA and I headed to the Highline Canal for a run. This is an awesome running trail through the suburbs south of Denver. We are excited to get in some long runs here as it is shaded, quiet, and flat! There was a break from the heat, only 70 degrees when we started at 10:30 so that was a treat. The first two miles did not feel great, but after that the run felt great and flew by. This ties for my longest run ever, so I am excited to pass this point and hit 8 miles next week! AA missed the turnaround spot though and jumped ahead and ran closer to 10 miles, whoops!

Monday August 6th – 4 miles on treadmill, .5% grade @ 5.8, watched Olympics, felt great

The plan for the rest of this week is elliptical/weights at gym and then bike to kickball. Another 4 mile run on Wednesday. The next run will be the 8 mile long run but I don’t know if we will get to that until the following Monday. I could try to be super ambitious and get up before the flight and run on Friday, but I have a feeling getting everything ready before Friday will take priority.

Other fun activities

Kelsey was staying with us for the weekend and we got to ride our bikes to a brewery on Friday night and then some book/cloth shopping on Saturday. Each trip was about 6 miles J

Mini golf – stealing babies attempt 2 

AA, Baby O and Panda