Man, I miss Steamboat...

What a fabulous weekend in Steamboat. It made realize how much I miss the laid back lifestyle that small town American has to offer. Ellie and I had made a goal to get back to a small down within 5 or so years, and this just made me realize how much that goal is still a huge part of my everyday thoughts. How does this involve working out? Not really sure, but the weekend was completed by the 2 hour bike ride I took on one of my favorite rides in Colorado, followed by my 1 hr 20 min run on my absolute favorite run in Colorado. It was just a perfect weekend of working out, the stomach cooperated, the temps were in the mid-70's with some cloud cover, and my body responded when I pushed it. Aaand, the beer was cold when I got done :-)

Fish, I'll get you some pixxors soon. The bunniez ate my camera charger, so I have to get a new one.

Sarah was in my thoughts this weekend as well. Sarah, I hope you are getting excited for Leadville. My thoughts have been constantly going to my fear of being under-trained for my HIM, and I'm sure Sarah is having the same thoughts for her Leadville 100. I think it's completely natural to think back on your training, or to review your training log, and focus on the workouts you missed, or the ones you did 'poorly' on. I keep having to tell myself, "You're going to kill it, you know it." Sarah, you know you're going to kill it. You've put in the miles, and the stress. And when you're done, the beers are going to be ice cold at mi casa. Only a few more weeks!!

E

Bike commuting....

Freaking rocks, and sucks, all at once. I love it, all except for the heavy backpack I have to carry. But there is NOTHING like a brisk, 65 degree Colorado day at 6:30am, with the road to yourself. I love it.

Heading to Steamboat this weekend for my mother in law's 60th. I'm going to ride some of my favorite rides, and do a good long run on my favorite trail. I'm so excited, I may actually just leave now on my bike.

Less than 18 days. Oh man. I'm in for it.

E

Just checking in....

Wow, it's been a freaking crazy few weeks. Just nuts. One of my best friends got married this past weekend, and he and I, along with about 8 of our friends cooked the rehearsal dinner for about 60 people. He and I were in charge of logistics, and it went perfectly. It was all-consuming though, so the only rides we got in were just over an hour each on Friday and Saturday morning. They were absolutely gorgeous, and it was good to blow off some steam on the bike. Saturday morning, we did a monstrous climb to end the ride, and that was just awesome.

I got a great, short run in on Thursday evening, but it was so short since I had to get back and prep the meal. It was a down hill adventure, and then a nice climb back up - someone took all the oxygen out of the air though, and that made it tough. Sunday was spent recovering, so no workouts.

I rode my bike to work today for the first time in a while. It was really nice to get out in the early morning air and have the roads to myself. I'll be riding most days from now on.

Work is nuts, so I'm going to be checking in here when I can. Lets just hope it mellows out a bit soon...

E

Now THAT'S will power!

Went for a GREAT bike ride with my buddies Brandon and Matt yesterday. It was mid-70's out, crystal clear Colorado sky, just a perfect day for riding. Riding on a day like that in Boulder is essentially a bike show - there were a million bikers out, all seemily pros or on their way to being a pro (they are ALL in team kits). The bikes are all really fun to look at, there are some rides that I would love to be on, just once in a race, to see if my equipment is holding me back. Either way, it was just a gorgeous day, and I really loved being out.

When we got back to my place, my 2 buddies both just stretched a bit, got into the house, while I went up to put on my running gear for a quick 2.5 miles to round out the brick. On my way out the door, I heard the "pssssht" "pssssht" of two cold beers being crack, and the boys were so kind to offer me a beer on the way out. "Keep running". The beers tasted fantastic when I got home, a little too fantastic. I'll be running with a slight headache this morning, but I was very proud of myself for running when the dudes were enjoying icy cold beverages.

I'm heading to Breck for one of those guy's weddings on Thursday through Sunday, and I'm really really pumped to train up in the mountains. I just have to make sure I get the workouts in, and I've informed everyone up there that I fully intend on getting each workout in. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures and will be able to get some entries up.

E

Sufferfest

Man, today's 8 mile run was just brutal. It was pushing 90 outside, and I turned back after 5 minutes to grab a water bottle. It was still a really rough run. I don't think I was 100% prepared hydration and nutrition wise, but I can usually get through it. I think the roughest part is that on the way back, there is a very long false flat, and that combined with the heat just smoked me. I'm glad I got this run in, as I think this will be similar to the conditions in the Long Course, so I just need to learn to stay cool, and push through. Once I got through the false flat, I took off my shirt which cooled me off a LOT, and I just hammered through the last mile or so feeling rather strong. Lessons to take with me.

Yesterday was one of the best bike rides I've had all summer. It was the type of ride that makes me realize why I love cycling. Crystal blue skies, 68 degrees, got on the roads by 8am, so they were just empty. Gave me a lot of time to be in my thoughts, thinking about the 4th of July and all the sacrifices people have made to allow me to get out there and enjoy the freedom of the roads. It let me pretend for just a few minutes that I was on a break at the Tour de France and that the Peloton wasn't going to get me. It let me take a check and realize how lucky I am that I won the genetic lottery by being born in the US - even if I disagree with most of our politicians and the way we handle ourselves in the World. It's pretty awesome when you can just get lost in your thoughts that way.

I hope all 3 of you that read this had a fantastic 4th, and I hope you have a great Sunday.

E