I love running with the Striders in the winter months because it gives me a reason to keep running when it is cold outside. We did several standard winter runs this month including hill repeats and tempo runs at Bear Creek Park, intervals on the CC track, tempo runs and mile repeats on the Santa Fe trail, and some fartlek’s around Prospect Lake. I even managed to sneak in a longer run on the Santa Fe trail from Woodmen with the Kokopelli run club while Emma did her long run with her clubmates. While I ran mostly outside with maybe one run on the treadmill, I managed to keep up with my 45-day weight lifting program and biking on the Peloton. Mike and I managed to sneak way up to Denver to bike during a warmer day on the Bear Creek Trail loop, which is a 30-mile loop.
We started the New Year with a 24-mile ride down the Cottonwood and Santa Fe trail. It was a relatively warmer day for the winter and so we put on our layers and headed out. The good weather didn’t stick around for very long. Most of my runs this month were on snow covered trails or really cold mornings. We did hill repeats at Bear Creek Park, hill repeats and tempo runs along the Santa Fe trail, a hill endurance run up Rampart Range Road, and a tempo loop at Bear Creek Park. I was extremely proud of myself for staying on task with the 45-day weight program that Mike and I started last month. I was consistent and started to see real results by the end of this month.
It was no surprise that we slept in again and then headed to the fitness center one more time to lift weights. After getting ready and eating breakfast at the Peacock Alley again, we headed to the Air and Space Museum by Uber as it was snowing. We loved seeing some of the new updates to this museum and understood why we needed reserved tickets. Over half of the museum was still under renovation. After we were done exploring we walked over to the National Art Gallery and saw some of our favorite paintings and then ate lunch at the Garden Café. The food was surprisingly good! As we walked back to the hotel it was still snowing a little bit. We finished packing our bags and relaxed for a little bit longer since my flight was delayed due to the snow. It ended up being a long trek back home as my flight got delayed even more at the airport. Although that was not ideal, I wouldn’t have traded this weekend for anything. air and space museumnational art galleryAfter staying up way too late watching TV together, we slept in again and then got breakfast once again at the Peacock Alley. I got the waffles again and was not disappointed at all by that choice. Before heading to Virginia, we walked around the building to the entrance of the clock tower and made our way to the top. The view was amazing, but we didn't stay there very long since it was quite windy. Then we got the car and headed into Virginia for a little bit of a nostalgic day. We headed to Tysons Corner first and stopped at our old apartment building and then went in to the mall at Tysons. We didn’t spend too long there before we got back in the car and headed to see Mike’s childhood home and walk around the woods that he grew up exploring. The weather was definitely colder than the day before, so we wore our hats and gloves and warm jackets. We even saw a fox run past us and quickly grabbed some photos for Madeline since the fox is her favorite animal. Afterwards we headed to the cemetery to see Mike’s mom and to pay our respects to an amazing woman. Mike took the opportunity to call his sister and reminisce about their mom and the memories they have of her. The day of nostalgia wouldn’t have been complete without a stop to eat dinner at Sweet Water Tavern with Gina. The food was just as I remembered it, and I was surprised that I still found it tasted pretty good. Views from the clock towerfirst apartment and tysons cornerchildhood home and neighborhoodcemeterysweet water tavernAfter sleeping in, which we never do, we got on our workout clothes and headed to the hotel fitness center to lift our weights for the day. The gym was pretty nice but there were several people on the cardio machines, so it felt pretty stuffy inside. After finishing our workout and getting ready for the day we ate breakfast at the Peacock Alley inside the grand atrium area. I had the most amazing mini waffles and Mike had a stack of pancakes. It was delicious and filled our bellies for a full day of roaming around the mall area of DC. We headed first to the Natural History museum and loved seeing all of the new upgrades since the last time we there almost a decade ago. We just kept saying how much we wished Madeline could be there because we knew how much she would love this museum. Then we headed toward the Air and Space museum but realized upon arriving that you needed reservation tickets. Since there were no more for this day we got tickets for Monday. We made our way towards the Capitol building and needed to burn some time before our reservations at the Capital and Library of Congress, so we ate lunch at a cute little French inspired café not too far from the Library of Congress. It must have been a popular place since it was packed inside. After eating lunch, we walked over to the outside of the Supreme Court building which I had never seen and snapped a few photos before our reservation to go inside the Library of Congress. I was so impressed by the inside of the Library of Congress. It was beautiful and I enjoyed Thomas Jefferson’s library as well as the many amazing quotes in the main area of the building. Next we headed to the Capital building for our tour. We have done this tour once before with the older kids but it was nice to do it again without little children in tow. Our favorite statue, by far, was one of the Colorado statues. It truly is one of the coolest looking statues at the Capital. As we made our way back to our hotel after a lot of walking, we felt a little like we were in a different country with people from the middle east lining the sidewalks going to and coming from the protest. I must admit it felt strange to have the feeling of being a minority in your own country. Luckily the protest was dying down and people were going home. I’m glad we avoided that throughout the day. We decided to dine in for dinner and canceled our other plans to go out to dinner. We ate at the Peacock Alley again and got to witness firsthand the attitudes of those that deem themselves high and mighty. It was quite comical to watch different groups of people as they dressed in fancy clothes and drank their liquor. It made me grateful that Mike and I are very much down to earth kind of people. Waldorf AstoriaNatural history museumthe mallthe capital buildingthe supreme courtthe library of congressCapital tourWhile Mike was doing his reserve duty in Washington DC, I decided to head out there for the long weekend for a quick little couples’ getaway. When I arrived at the airport, he had food from one of my favorite sandwich shops just in case I was hungry. He also looked so handsome in his suit which he wore just for fun. We headed from the Reagan airport to the Waldorf Astoria which is where we would be staying for the next few days. When we made it up to the room, I was floored by how nice the room was and how sweet it was that Mike put heart chocolates all over the bed. He even had a nice little chocolate cake with ice-cream sitting in a bucket of ice. There is one thing that is for sure, Mike is such a romantic. We relaxed for a bit before heading out to dinner at the Hamilton. We walked by the White House on our way to the restaurant. In preparation for the Palestinian protest the next day there were already people set up with their own protest signs. Without saying too much about that I will just say that’s what you get when you live in America where everyone thinks they can say whatever they want. Luckily people were pleasant so that was good. After getting to the restaurant, we were seated early which was nice. There weren’t too many people there at the beginning which was nice. I had crab cakes, and they were amazing. After dinner we decided to head straight back to the hotel instead of wandering around more. It was getting colder, and it started to sprinkle a bit. We got back to our hotel just in time before the weather started to turn. As we walked through the grand atrium in one of the most impressive lobbies ever, I felt so lucky that we were staying in such a fancy hotel.
Most of this month found us with relatively decent weather which made running in the cold not so bad. I ran plenty of times with the Striders and was even able to go outside for a ride at Garden of the Gods. One of the biggest changes this month was working in more cross fit workouts into my routine. For most of the month Mike worked on developing a lifting program for us to do in the new year. We actually decided to start our 45-day program on Christmas day. It was fun to start something new and to be able to do it together.
After quite a big year of racing and endurance events, I took 9 days off of any real running or biking. Once I was ready I slowly started adding back in Peloton rides and running with the Striders during the weekdays. I was amazed at how strong I was during my first two running days back with the group. The first workout was fartleks on the Shooks Run loop and I was able to hold a pretty good pace. The next workout was the Bear Creek tempo loop where I think I actually hit one of my best times, but I will never for sure know because my watch started the segment before I even started. After training mostly uphill on trails, it was good to know that my fast, flat pace wasn't all that bad. The following week we hit 4 min tempos on the MVP mile loop which turned out to be harder than expected. It was a relief to have a fun run the next meeting up Section 16 and the Palmer trail. I'm not sure Section 16 is ever that much fun since it is a grueling 3/4 mile up some pretty narly steep sections. However, the group was pretty big that morning and I enjoyed keeping up with people that I deem pretty fast. The first 3 weeks of this month were pretty awesome but then I got sick and was forced to take 11 days off all exercise. My first run back was the last day of this month, and it was only 3 miles, but it felt good to be back on my feet again doing what I love.
Today we slept in, ate breakfast at a French restaurant, and then went shopping at the Stranger Things store and the shops inside the Venetian. There is something so fun and exciting about the indoor shopping area at the Venetian. We found a quaint little Italian restaurant and ate lunch there. After feeling pretty tired from so much walking we headed back to the Bellagio and spent some time lounging around the pool and eating gelato. As day turned to night we got dressed up and walked with the other crowds of people toward the Sphere to see the U2 concert. This is the band I grew up listening to and has been one of my favorites for a long time. I never thought I would be able to see them in person. The venue at the new Sphere in Las Vegas was unreal. The music was nostalgic, the visuals out of this world, and for as old as they are now, they still sounded pretty dang good! The opening was spectacular, but my favorite part of the entire concert was actually the last couple of songs. They sang their classic songs, "Where the Streets Have No Name," "With or Without You," and "Beautiful Day." It was the best closing to any concert I have been to. shopping, shopping, eating, shoppingu2 ConcertMike took me on a weekend getaway to Vegas with surprises around every corner. The only thing I knew coming into this weekend was that we would be going to the U2 concert on Saturday at the Sphere. What I didn’t realize was that Mike arranged for much more than that. With a surprise visit from my parents for dinner at the Lago and then a surprise show to see Adele, Mike really outdid himself this time. We spent the day shopping and eating an amazing brunch before getting ready for a fun evening. When we walked into the Lago I turned the corner and saw my parents and was so surprised. I loved spending time with my parents, celebrating my mom's 75th birthday, and watching the water show at the Bellagio from the restaurant. Afterwards, we said goodbye to my parents and headed to the Adele concert. I had no idea we were seeing Adele until we got there. I thought we were seeing a completely different show. This was hands down the BEST concert I have ever seen and the best surprise ever! Adele is amazing, beautiful, kind, a complete entertainer and so incredibly funny and personable. This was an experience I will never forget. shopping and eatingdinner at the lagobellagio conservatory & botanical gardensadele concertThis month started out with some last preparatory runs before R2R2R followed by a taper week, our big adventure in the Grand Canyon (see post HERE), and finally some recovery time. One of our last big runs was running some downhill trail miles on Rampart Range Road. Dionne and I had her brother drive us 6 miles up so we could run down to simulate the first part of R2R2R. I was also able to do some hill repeats with the Striders at Red Rocks. By the time I hit my taper week I was so relieved! After we got back from the Grand Canyon we took some time off and then got back out there slowly by riding bikes with Madeline. We took her to ride both on the Santa Fe gravel trail and the paved section up by Costco. She had more fun on the paved section and enjoyed playing at the park at MVP. After 10 days of resting and riding bikes or the peloton, I decided to jump back into the Striders run. I did some intervals at the CC track and felt surprisingly good.
Running Rim to Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon was so incredible. It was my first ultra, and Mike's first time running anything over a half marathon. This was one of the most exciting adventures ever! There were so many good moments. The atmosphere, views, and people were awesome. Dionne, who is our good friend, was our ultimate guide as this was her 7th time running this. She knew the tricks to ultra-running, and she gladly shared them with us. Those things were truly lifesaving. Here is a breakdown of our adventure: Total Distance: 43.68 miles Total Running Time: 6:14:52 Total Hiking Time: 7:23:07 Total Ascent: 11,405 Total Descent: 11,429 South Kaibab to Phantom Ranch: This 7-mile section was done mostly in the dark as we started at 4:20am. We ran the entire downhill section, and it was way more technical than even Barr trail that I trained on for the Ascent. I was so happy to follow Dionne on this section. Phantom Ranch to Manzanita: This 9-mile section was amazing. We ran 90% of the canyon floor as it was a flowy trail with a gradual ascent of almost 2000ft. We stopped plenty of times for photos and once to apply moleskin to my toe. Manzanita to North Rim: Manzanita was a zoo. There were so many people who were coming from the North Rim and South Rim since this was the last weekend before they turn off the water at the North Rim. This 5-mile ascent was relatively easy, and we hiked the entire thing except for a few flatter sections that we ran. We even got to see the solar eclipse. The only tough part was the last 2 miles. When we got to the top we were floored to see Mike wander up there only 15 min after us. We thought he was going to turn around at Manzanita! He’s a beast and even did a few pushups at the top to prove it! North Rim to Cottonwood: We thoroughly enjoyed running down this section and spent some time admiring the amazing rock formations and cliff views. We blew past Manzanita and filled our water at Cottonwood. Then it was time for the hot box. Cottonwood to Phantom Ranch: I had been warned about the hot box (Canyon floor in the afternoon) on the way back. Most people do not realize but the canyon floor is 15-20 degrees hotter than it is at the rim. We were extremely blessed with magical wind and shadier sections when we got to the canyon walls. After a few miles I knew we weren’t going to make it in time for the lemonade before it closed at 4pm. Dionne encouraged me to keep going and since I had legs left I booked it for 5 miles down the canyon floor. I flew and it was fun. I got to the lemonade stand at 3:58pm and then saw it was open until 8pm. They had changed the time. Oof. Either way, we got our lemonade. We waited around for an hour but didn’t see Mike, so we made our way out of the canyon. Phantom Ranch to South Kaibab: First 2.5 miles were spectacular with great views. We even saw Mike making his way up and he was fast. He is such a good hiker. As the sun was setting we put our headlamps back on. We eventually waited for Mike at Ooh Ahh point and made the most horrible 4 miles out of the canyon in the dark together. Those were truly grueling miles that tested everything I had. I didn’t think I was going to make it. It truly was one of the hardest things I’ve done in terms of endurance. I’m so glad we all finished this amazing adventure together! south kaibab to phantom ranch |
After a difficult week of not feeling great I showed up for this race and gave it everything I had. It was fun to start in Wave 1 with Zarya. I was strong but not overly fast up to Hydro and through the W’s. I hit all of my racing goals up to Barr Camp but then I lost some steam. I died a bit on that next 3-mile section. This was the only section that I didn’t train on over the summer. It was also the most difficult mentally to get through. I tried really hard to keep up with some of the other runners from my group that ended up passing me on this section, but it was all I could do to keep moving, even if that meant hiking fast. I recovered a bit when I hit A-frame and tried to run more than I did the previous 3 miles. I never stopped and tried to run as many runnable sections that I could. During the last half mile, I literally told myself to put one foot in front of the other. I was so grateful for Mike and Madeline who came to the top to cheer me on. I was also grateful for the many amazing friends at Striders who I was able to train with and who all did an amazing job!
leaving kandersteg
lucerne
After taking in the amazing views, we started out on the long (and I mean really long) steep descent from the pass to lake Oeschinesse. The descent was long, steep, and rocky with crazy steep grades. So naturally, there was some lunatic mountain biking down it. He had mad skills, because we could barely walk down it.
By the time we got to the lake, we were pretty exhausted. None the less, Mike stripped down and jumped in the water and Sara soaked her feet. It was a nice moment to regroup for the long descent to Kandersteg. The lake was beautiful and the cliffs staggering. However, our favorite part was the ice cream. Without it, we would not have made it down the final steep descent to town. We skipped the gondola to show how bad ass we were and wandered into Kandersteg exhausted but thrilled we made it. We never did see that other American family. For all we know, they are still trying to find Griesalp.
Kandersteg was gorgeous. The views of the mountain pristine. Our hotel was delightful and the dinner perfect on the patio. The lamb was exquisite, there were some people in old school Swiss outfits (like Cosplay for Alpine folk), and the guy sitting next to us just enjoying life. No phones, no distractions, just the perfect Alpine air, beautiful views, and delightful food. Our view from our room’s balcony was probably the best of the trip in many ways. Not as grand as the Eiger, but just perfect. The little church in the field had a light go on as the night settled into the valley. In our minds, a little Swiss lady was playing the organ as people sang hymns in that little church thanking God for this wonderful place.
Murren to Sefinenfurgge to Griesalp via Via Alpina route
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