Banff Mountain Film Festival

Some friends and I went to see this last night. I've been in years past and absolutely love it. There were some seriously wicked films this year and awesome music to go along with them! Go if you ever get the chance, you'll be on the edge of your seat the entire time and it will make you want to explore the world just a little bit more...it promotes understanding and appreciation of the world’s mountain places by creating opportunities for people to share — and find inspiration in — mountain experiences, ideas and challenges.

Click Here to see when it'll be in your town!

The Run from Hell

I think I left everything I have on the South Boulder Creek Trail this morning. I'm not sure I have much more to give to the day and I still need to work and get my swim/lift in later. 

I knew it would be tough but I had NO idea it would be what it was-UGLY! I had a 90 minute run with 6 x 1 mile repeats at 20-30 seconds faster than my marathon pace with 1' rest. I know for a fact it wasn't that fast as I don't think I'm quite there yet but it was fast and it hurt, bad! The trail has a slight up hill on the way out and obviously a slight down hill on the way back. What goes up must come down right? I was dying on my first 2, by 3 my legs were coming around a bit, and 4 felt much better but still hard, maybe because I was going down? You think? By #5 my gut wasn't too happy and the cramping started. I wasn't giving up on #5 so I pushed through, got though #6 and then tried to book it home as fast as I could, even my super slow cool down hurt. I barely made it home in time for my gut to speak up and say how much it also hated the past 90 minutes! Nothing gets the good ol' GI moving along in the morning like a hard run (and coffee of course). Sorry for the details...so goes life as an athlete I guess.

I'm not sure if I'm just worn out from the weekend or if it was just a really gnarly run. Probably a combination of both. I definitely wasn't on the top of my game but I'm glad I got it done and I'm glad I'm seeing some results of all the miles I'm pounding into the pavement. I should have worn a heart rate monitor to keep a closer eye on my zones. 

There were a ton of folks on the trail this morning enjoying the warmer weather and the sun was beautiful as it came up and lit up the mountains. Get a load of this February forecast...

Also I thought I'd share this video...I really liked it. Puts everything into perspective huh? With a little humor. No one is ever happy, no matter who our president is, no matter how much you have, no matter how healthy you are, there is always something more we want and there always seems to be something to complain about...just smile and be blessed! And laugh a little....

A Short Weekend (with TONS of sleep)

This weekend I was in Colorado Springs. I am no longer an ice hockey virgin, I went to my first game and it was a good one. Colorado College vs. Minnesota. CC won 5 to 3. It was fun to go with some friends and enjoy a few cocktails as well. Vodka lemonade makes everything more fun!

These were the festivities on Saturday night. We had a lazy day on Saturday. I was so worn out from a long long week so we slept in super late before heading out to run Lucy and get in an easy run ourselves. It wasn't long after we got back and had some lunch that we were passed out again for a 4 hour nap!!! Did I mention I was worn out this week? I'm starting to feel the affects of working full time and running 50+ miles a week (plus lifting, yoga, and the occasional swim or bike). I feel like it's IM training again and it's no where near the volume I anticipate by the time summer rolls around. Guess it's a good thing I have a while to build.

Side Note: Yet another reason I love Boulder-- I got the chance to meet and swim with Chrissie Wellington on Friday at FAC. It was cool to chat with her about Kona. She is super laid back and doesn't seem to have a big head like allot of other "celebrities". She was willing to mingle with the "common folk" who can only go 11 hrs at IM rather than 9. She is in Boulder until September training with Simon Lessing so it'll be fun to cross paths with her some more and see what she has planned this year! No doubt another attempt in Kona in October!

Sunday was a lazy morning, sleeping in, coffee in bed, then finally getting up to get in the long run. Considering how tired I was feeling I was surprised I had a solid run. We ran 3 loops of monument valley park. The first and last were warm up/cool down and the middle was marathon pace. I'm definitely not at the pace I want to race at in May but I'm making improvements and felt solid. I think I left some on the table thinking I might negative split the last lap too but decided a nice easy cool down was a better idea.

Back home to Boulder Sunday night to start another long week. Is it bad I'm already fantasizing about the weekend?

Llama Lady Fundrasier

Last night an organization that I am apart of here in Boulder put together a fundraiser for Bobra Goldsmith. She was the only one to lose her entire home in the Boulder fires in January. She is a senior and has lived in that house most of her life. She lost EVERYTHING. My company and this organization works with seniors every day and I have a special place in my heart for the elderly. This lady has a heart of gold. She has a Llama Farm here in Boulder. During the fires every single Llama was rescued and got out safely but she lost everything else. The firefighters did an amazing job. She used to be a professor at CU and has been a part of the Boulder community for many many years!

Although much has been done in our community for the firefighters, who are amazing! Nothing had been done for Bobra and we simply wanted to pull the community together and see what we could do to help. Over 120 local residents and business donated items for a silent auction and donations were being taken. The goal was to raise at least $10,000 to help here rebuild her life as much as possible. The highlight of the evening was the Llamas she brought. They were just led around the building and mingled with everyone, it was quite amusing. And even more amusing when one decided he needed to pee and went in the middle of the room! What do you do? There is nothing you can do but let it finish it's business. Quite entertaining to say the least.

 

I love that our community pulled together to help someone in need, especially when so many people are in need right now with our economy. 

Click here to read a brief article in the local paper about the event. 

Triathlon Team

A colleague of mine is trying to put together a triathlon team that I'm super excited about. I'm not going to disclose all of the details at this point because it's still in the works. It's essentially a team utilizing Elite Age-Group athletes to market and promote each sponors products in the triathlon market. Select elite level AG athletes have been selected who regularly podium in large-scale races and each person selected has qualified for Kona at some point. The goal of the team is to utilize and promote the products in both racing and training, garnering exposure for sponsors via visibility pre, during, and post race. 

I'm very excited about this! The list of sponsors is fantastic and all have very credible products. I have used or worked with each company at some point in the past, personally or professionally, and am excited to do so further. I love marketing and grassroots efforts in the athletic arena so not only will this be a great opportunity for the team of athletes it will be fun for me to get involved in on the professional side and there truly isn't a better place to do so than Boulder, CO. Coming from a exercise physiology & marketing background this is right up my alley.

More to come...

First Swim in a Looooong Time

I jumped in the pool for the first time in a long time yesterday! It was quite a shock to the system, and not just because of the frigid weather outside. I love swimming when it's cool out and seeing the steam come off the top of the water. I was expecting to feel like a rock and sink, especially after being sick for close to a week but I felt strong. Aerobically I felt great, but my arms get tired and I just don't have the turn over that I have when I'm swimming 3-4 times per week, even with weight training.

Thus the commitment begins now to get in the pool at least 2x a week until the marathon May 3rd. Injury prevention and muscle memory will be huge if I can at least get wet 2x. I never have a problem getting my swim fitness back each year so I tell myself it's not that important but I know it will help and by the time we're swimming crazy fast and long workouts again this spring/summer hopefully I'll feel a bit more prepared. I'm hopeful this year that with much dedication in the pool I can shave my times down to 1:20 pace comfortably. It'll be tough but I'm not too far off.

For now, the focus continues to be my run, I have lofty goals for running this year but swimming is creeping back in along with a few rides each week. The yoga and strength training has also been awesome this winter. I plan to continue that this season as well. I'm not sure how I'm going to fit it all in, last year I was training 22-26 hours a week without yoga and weights so I'm going to have to go into prioritization overdrive to be efficient and stay healthy! The weekly massages help too, I can't wait to get those going-the highlight of my weeks in the summer!

It's amazing how after being sick you come back with a new appreciation for health and strength in fitness. I am not good at being lazy and have a VERY hard time sitting back and letting myself rest and recover--some my call it OCD :)--however every time I jump back in I feel good and I feel stronger due to the mandatory rest. I am thankful that I am healthy.

Off to get in a hill workout! Peace...

Yankz

As I was getting ready for my run at Flatirons today I watched another runner lace up her shoes next to me. It seemed liked a tedious process, I haven't tied my running shoes for as long as I can remember. I product I recommend to everyone who runs, especially triathletes who are consistently trying to shave time...YANKZ! 

Just lace them into your shoes so that your shoe fits just how you want and you never have to touch it again, just slide your foot in and go. I think they are more comfortable as well. Once you find the right fit, it's never different, unlike laces. No lacing or possibility of laces coming untied while running. I will never run in another pair of shoes without putting these in before I take my first stride. Check em out if you haven't yet...

www.yankz.com

I am one lucky girl (I think!)

Kevin just left after a fantastic weekend. Although quite lazy as I still recovered from my cold I couldn't have asked for better company. It is so hard to say goodbye to him every weekend when we go our separate ways but I know I will always blessed by more days in his presence. And hopefully very soon it will be everyday that I get to come home to him rather than just the weekends! Fingers crossed! How did I get so lucky to score such a fantastic guy? I love you Kevin!

I loved how when I was visiting Katie last weekend she said "I love how you are so happy with him..." I couldn't agree more and I love it how other people notice that I am finally happy! I know I deserve it and I'm never letting go. 

Sorry everyone for the sappy post, I am giddy tonight and feeling so blessed!

One Crappy Week to Be Sick

It was yet again another uncharacteristically warm week in Colorado. My family in Nashville has had a colder winter than me, but I'm not complaining! With temps in the high 60s all week the sun  shining, I was aching to be outside BUT I came down with a stupid cold on Monday and have felt lousy all week long. Usually I can continue to train with a head cold. I've never had much of an issue with it. They say if it's above the neck it's OK but if it's below (in the chest or stomach) you should back off, well not so for me with this cold. I have felt SO BAD. Finally today I am feeling better after 3 nights in a row of 10 hours of sleep (and allot of Nyquil) I think I'm finally getting back to normal. 

On the upside, I'm been yearning for a new computer for a long time, my laptop is 5 years old and a POS so I finally took the plunge on a new Mac Book Pro! It is one fantastic machine (and it should be for the price, damn it should be able to cook me dinner for that price tag) but well worth every penny!!! I need to learn all the little tricks. I use a Mac at work so I know the basics but there is so much to learn. I went to my first Mac workshop this morning at the Apple store here in Boulder and just in 45 minutes learned a handful of stuff I never knew. The thing even talks, it can read text if you're too lazy to read, haha. I just want to say how much more intuitive Apple is than PC! Amazing! I'm no longer a Mac virgin and I never plan to go back!

 I also finished my taxes last night and I'm super stoked I'm getting a decent refund, good thing too, I can pay for this new toy of mine! Fingers crossed the IRS doesn't come knocking on my door! No Audits Please!!!

Kevin is on his way up to Boulder today, I'm so ready to see him! It's been a while since we've had some quality time and he almost didn't come due to my yummy cold (fingers crossed I'm no longer contagious)! Hope everyone has a great great weekend. Peace out...I'm out the door to play in the sunshine!

Weekend in Cali

This past weekend I went to California to see some great friends. I flew into San Jose late Thursday night. My friend Katie, whom I used to work with in Colorado Springs, lives in Palo Alto. Friday morning we got up and walked "the dish" a 3.5 or so mile loop around the gorgeous hills of Palo Alto. Later that morning we headed into San Francisco for a fun filled day. We walked the ENTIRE city. We started in Union Square, hit up the mega 

Macy's, whose shoe department is enormous (or ginormous as I like to say but Katie made fun of me for! haha) Although I couldn't afford most of them, we found some good deals! We headed from here to China Town, while stopping in all the interesting stores, and eventually got a fantastic recommendation for sushi. It's been so long since I've had sushi and it satisfied the craving immensely! From here we walked all the way through town over to North Beach, stopped in a popular candy store and then over to Cafe Roma for some highly recommended coffee. OMG, I think I'm still going through withdrawal from that java. I have NEVER in my life had coffee so good or so strong. We felt drunk when we left. While sitting out on the street this guy Katie knew, who doesn't live in San Fran, walked up. Small world!  Turns out he is the #1 Kayaker in the world http://www.taoberman.com/. He sat and chatted with us a bit. It didn't hurt that he was extremely good looking! A girl can look right? Over to Lombard Street next, the "crookedest" street in the world. It has eight switchbacks on a 40-degree slope in just one 

block! It was crazy watching the cars wind down the hill at about 2mph. The view from the top of the hill was gorgeous. We had the most perfect day. It was in the 60s out and sunny! Considering San Fran is often covered in fog and pretty cool, we lucked out big time! We continued our journey down to the wharf, Ghiredelli Square, and sat by the beach with the Golden Gate in view for a little while. Although walking back would have been fun we decided to take the cable car back to Union Square. You can't come to San Fran and not ride the cable car. We got the perfect spot, right in front hanging off the side. Katie and I even  got hit on my cable car driver, which was quite interesting. Before heading back to Palo Alto we had to make a "quick" stop in the Levi store for jeans. I've been looking for some "skinny jeans" but I have the worst luck finding pants. I scored big time on the sales and got away with 3 new pairs! Back to Palo Alto and a fantastic dinner down town.

 Saturday was super fun! We got up and walked the dish again. The we headed to Monterrey for the day to see another friend that Katie & I used to work with in Colorado Springs, Jason. He and his wife, Gina, recently had their first little baby boy! (See previous blog) We met them in Carmel by the Sea for a fabulous Italian lunch before heading over the the Monterrey Aquarium for the rest of the day. This aquarium is INSANE, by far one of the best in the world! It was a fun day with some great great friends. I miss them!

Sunday was jammed packed before an evening flight out. We started with some coffee and some YUMMY crepes at the local farmers market. I love farmers

markets! I love that Boulder has one and I love getting lots of fantastic produce that is organic and locally grown. It doesn't get much better! We then headed over to Katie's brothers for a bit before heading over to Stanford and then out to Half Moon Bay. The Standford Campus was incredible and there was this amazing cathedral. I've never seen anything so ornate in my life! Breathtaking! In Half  Moon Bay  there is a great chowder house right on the water. We took some cards and spent the day eating, playing cards, walking the beach, and driving the coast. Again, it was 70 or so out and I actually got some sun!

All in all the weekend was fantastic. Great food, great friends,  great conversation, & TONS of walking. I miss Katie and Jason but I love that we stay connected! Good friends are so few and far between, I try to cherish every minute I have with the ones I love the most!