Summertime. Wooooo.

As summer gets underway, I’m definitely missing the weather and trails of Colorado Springs. Tucson is starting to get into the triple digits on a consistent basis and the rattlesnakes have been out of hibernation for about a month. Basically, this means the runs need to be done by at least 7:30 and the trails are closed for business. There are a few runners in town that still brave the trials, however, I haven’t been able to get over my first trail run here where I almost stumbled on 2 rattlers on a 45 minute run. On the bright side, I get to see all my old homeless friends from last summer who haven’t lost their enthusiasm for runners.

I’ve had some setbacks in my training since my last race nearly a month ago. I came down with a nasty bug that was compounded by allergy problems, and I ended up taking a week completely off to heal and concentrate on my last week of finals. Now that school is out of the way for the time being and I’m healthy again, I’m trying to come back in time for the Atlanta Peachtree on July 4^th. Since graduating college, this has been my favorite race by far. There is something special about seeing the sun come up at the starting line and seeing 55,000 people lined up behind you. It’s equally special to run a 10k course lined with people fired up to cheer for some Americans on the 4^th of July. Hopefully, this year will be as fun as the last 2.

A short recap of the last few weeks...

• First, a huge thank you to Cody, David, and Adrian for helping with a mile repeat workout this past Saturday. Poor Cody showed up to Monument Park without knowing we would be there and quickly got suckered into pacing me. Cody was a great pacer and pulled me through the first 5 mile reps between 5:24-5:26, and then killed me on the last rep as he dragged me to 5:11!! Adrian had an amazing workout especially after having a two hour drill and strength session at the gym the day before. David was a great coach and kept me controlled. Russ and Jay also had intervals on the road and ran very well. Amanda and Ashley did threshold workouts and had a very good day. Shannon happened to have an easy run at the park as well. It was like a mini team meeting.


• Congrats to Ashley for graduating from PA school!


• Congrats to all the BRC Adidas runners who took on the new course at the Bolder Boulder.


• Workouts have been wonderful through the month of May. I have surprised myself with some faster paces that I wasn't sure I could hit and I defeated a couple workouts that previously were defeating me.


• I ran on the Colorado Trail in Buffalo Creek on Sunday. Great trail and scenery. It was a gorgious day with blue skies and warm weather. There was an attempt to get in the South Platte River afterwards, but when the water feels like it's below 40 degrees I can't make myself even get a foot in.


• Monday was another adventurous run at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. We had never been to this park but saw that there was a ton of trails. We definitely should have investigated a bit further...the trails were ridiculously difficult and gained altitude quickly. I was not ready for that after a huge mile repeat workout and a long run. There was some awesome sites on the trail though. There was a lake with an old cabin. At the top of the mountain you have a great view of Mt Evans and some other snow covered peaks. The most interesting thing we saw was the mountain lion kill that was on the trail. It was a bit strange, the hind was separate from the skeleton and the legs were broken off and scattered about. Luckily, no mountain lion sighting. Fair warning - this is probably a good trail run, but don't do it when you are tired or in need of a recovery day.

This weekend I'm running a local 5k to keep the brain fresh for competition. Then in two weeks I'll race the mile on the track at Boulder for a last workout before USA Nationals. I can't wait to go to Eugene, to race and to explore. Until next time, happy running and go BRC Adidas!!