Travel, Train, Race

I can’t believe that we have been traveling since June 16th! We have been home for a day or two, a couple times, but for the most part we have been on the road. I love it, but the kids are a bit homesick.
 
We went to Long Beach, CA for 5 days. I took my youngest to Vidcon while the rest of the crew hung out poolside at our AirBnB. 

There was really yummy Vietnamese food walking distance from the Air BnB!

Next we went to Norman, OK to visit my family.  We stayed there for 13 days. I only get to see my family once a year so I wasn’t completely ready to leave.  I was looking forward to the mountains, and the running sucks in Norman, but I do miss my family. The one great thing abut running in Norman, the track at the high school was completely open as were the bathrooms! 

The Myriad Botanical Garden in Oklahoma City is awesome! And free!

Relaxing by the pool. A rare vacation day for me.

​We headed to Telluride from Norman. Our luck finally ran out and there were no sites available at Town Park. The sun was setting, I was starving and we had no plan B. We decided to try camping off Last Dollar Road. We had never been there and had no idea where it would go or if my Prius C would even make it.  The road was interesting. We were waiting for dispersed camping, but kept seeing huge houses on large pieces of land. Then we came across a ton of sheep just grazing. It was crazy to see! (The next morning Norm I would see them again on our run. They shepherd was carrying a very large rifle on his back, but he smiled and laughed at us for running up the mountain . He didn’t seem to speak English.) But, in the end it was a stroke of luck! At the point where the Prius would go no further we reached a huge campsite with amazing views!  We spent a couple days going down into Telluride trying to get a site before we were successful.  I have mixed feeling about camping in Town Park. It is awesome to wake up and walk to get coffee. I also feel comfortable leaving the kids while I run because the hang out at the library, Baked in Telluride, or the very busy park. I do not love having all those people right on top of me and walking through my campsite.  But, since I was working on dissertation corrections, the library and Baked in Telluride saw their fair share of me. I don’t normally suffer much from altitude, but I ended really sick. I had to take Sinjin back to Phoenix for 2 days to attend a wedding and luckily when I returned I felt much better. 

Campsite om Last Dollar Road

Norm makes friends with the dog and this shepherd with a gun is NOT what I read about in the Bible. But he was friendly.

​Enzo’s girlfriend came with us this year (as did his friend Thomas) and it was her 16th birthday on July 18th so we went to the hot springs in Ouray. We let Enzo drive Last Dollar Road. Not really scary or dangerous, but good for his first drive on a single lane dirt road.  We encountered the sheep crossing the road again. They really do not care about you or what you are trying to do. After some time at the hot springs and the park we headed to Mouse’s Chocolate. Yummy! We had chocolates, ice cream and coffee and played the games provided. 

These sheep were so amazing to see!

Playing games at Mouse's Chocolates. Yummy and fun!

​After Telluride, we headed to Silverton were we camped off South Mineral.  We have camped here the last three years and I love it, but I think next year it might be time to find a new spot.  I stress about bears, but one night Enzo was taking pictures and saw a lot of deer around our tent. That made me feel a little better. I was also shocked at how the people before us had left the camp ground. There was trash and dog poop every where! What is wrong with people? 

Building a bridge. I love camping here and watching the kids be kids. Even the teenagers.

​I had been on the fence about running Kendall Mountain, but with money running low due to a few unexpected expenses I decided that I would give a go and hope to podium. I volunteered the night before the race at packet pick up and who should walk in and sign up…Emilee Forsberg. Yep, I’m out. At this point I decided the field was too stacked and I did not want to get all nervous and deal with race day for no good reason. But, over dinner and a very large glass of wine, Hayley convinced me to give it a shot. The bad news, I was not a fast as I thought I would be. The good news, I was 23 minutes faster than when I ran the race 2 years ago.  I did not let the scree field stress me out. Two years ago, at least 5 women, maybe more, passed me on the scree field. This year, not one women passed me. My kids new favorite phrase is “are you a puss baby?” so I just kept telling myself, “Don't be a puss baby!”
 
After the race I told Norm, “I want  to be proud of myself, but…” Of course Norm told me I should be proud of myself.  I have worked hard to get better at sky running, but I want to be so much better. Sigh. 

F9 and 1st in my AG at Kendall Mountain.

​On the 25th we drove to Copper Mountain to stay in a condo. A condo that is very inexpensive and I wish had a booked for more days… (We have a 3 day gap before the next condo and I am on the hunt for a cheap place to stay.) I love camping, but I am not going to lie, being a condo is pretty awesome. The best part for me is that it makes it easier to get in really good training. I don’t feel confortable leaving the kids in the middle of the forest with no cell service and being gone for hours. But in a condo, different story. We just take off and I’m not worried at all.  And I am not always in fear of bears.
 
This area is my favorite in Colorado, the Ten Mile Range. It’s beautiful, with small (ish) towns, but there is a Target, fast food, and of course Whole Foods.  Enzo and I have been here before, but I was really excited for everyone else to see this area. 

Working on my dissertation was way more fun on this porch than my office at home. I am REALLY going to miss this porch when we go home.

The running here is beautiful. I am having a blast exploring all these awesome trails!