Week in Review (March 29 - April 4)

Tuesday (25,300 steps) - 5ish miles in the morning. I was really surprised at how much snow and ice there still was on the sidewalks. Glad I didn't slip and fall and break my neck, especially since it was pretty dark still when I was out.

A got her team soccer jersey!

After work A had her last archery class and I did a lower body video.
Wednesday (25,060 steps) - Air was very chilly on my run, another 5ish miles. Still icy, but not as bad as the day before. Man, when we get a blizzard it really takes a long time to melt! Remembered to stretch after my run.

I had to run early because I had my LASIK consult at 8. Good news, I'm a candidate! Now I just have to wait a few more months to have enough money in my HSA account to fund it. Excited!! A and I went to run club, but decided not to run. It was very windy and lightly snowing, and well, we just didn't feel like it. I finally had collected all the goodies I wanted to give A as a "things you might want when running your first ultra." Special thanks to Runner's Roost, not only for helping me get the items, but for stealthily ringing everything up so A didn't see. Fun times!

Thursday (24,179 steps) - "Taper" time! Only a 3 mile run (no ice), and then I did a pilates/yoga video after.

A had her first "real" gymnastics lesson and seemed to enjoy it. Finally finished packing for our Moab trip!
Friday (19,613 steps) - Up early (AGAIN) so we could be on the road early. We left the house just after 6, with a stop at Dunkin' for coffee and donuts. Drive to Glenwood Springs wasn't bad, although we hit a little bit of snow on the west side of the tunnel. Part of the reason for our early departure is that I was dying to hike Hanging Lake, and every other time I've been in the area the lot has been full (it's pretty inaccessible), so I was hoping with it being a weekday and chilly, that we would be able to hike it.

We arrived at the lot and it was practically empty. Score! It was, however, super chilly. I was wearing two shirts, a hoodie and a jacket, plus a beanie and gloves. A was wearing similar. The first 1/4 of a mile or so is a paved sidewalk along the river. The hike to the lake itself is only a mile. I figured round trip it would take about 2 hours. Immediately there is some decent climbing, but nothing technical.

About 1/4 of a mile in, we came across an incredibly icy section. There was nothing just snow-packed to get footing, no rocks to step on, nor anything to grab onto to get up. We spent a few minutes slipping and sliding to get to the next section. If only that had been the sketchiest section! The remainder of the trail was super slippery and I kept thinking... "probably not the best idea to be doing this the day before a 50K..." We had a great time and took a ton of pictures. And Hanging Lake was totally worth the climb. After getting our pictures we hiked the remainder to Spouting Rock.

We were able to run a teeny tiny section that wasn't icy

I've already printed this one!

Behind Spouting Rock

Now for the hard part... getting down. If I thought it was slick on the way up, the way down was insane. A was in front and her shoes had much better traction than mine. We crab-walked down a lot of it and every time I though "hey, this is fiiiiine..." my feet would slip out from under me. The trail was literally a sheet of ice and we "bobsledded" down most of the way. So amazed neither of us felt into the creek or hurt ourselves. We laughed and laughed and laughed and had a great time. So happy we did this!

After we got to the bottom we had a snack and then drove into Grand Junction, where we stopped at Chili's for lunch. From Grand Junction, it was only about a 90 minute drive into Moab - and we took the scenic route through the canyon to get there.

Had to pull over for this one!

We arrive at the Gonzo Inn just minutes before Heather arrived. After checking in to our room I went to move my car and the check engine light was on. NOT GOOD! I kept turning it off and restarting it, but it was still on. Dang! Don't want to get stuck in Moab (as much as I love it). Figured we would deal with it later, and headed to get our packets. Pick up was totally low key, just got a bib, timing chip, tee shirt and trucker hat. Stopped at a service station, as they were closing, and they said I could come by on Saturday and they would be able to read the code to see what was going on with my car.

We headed to the Moab Brewery for dinner, and surprisingly, there was no wait. By the time we left it was PACKED though. Quick stop at Walker Drugstore to get some drinks, and then we were in for the night. Our friend Ben was coming in from Denver and was going to crash on the floor of our hotel room. We went to the pool with A for a bit, had some beers, and in bed by 10:30ish(?)
Saturday (75,984 steps) - Behind the Rocks 50K.

I hadn't been hungry immediately after finishing, which was weird. After finishing my beer we headed back to the hotel. I met up with Heather and A at the pool. While Ben and I were running, Heather and A had done some hiking.

After cleaning up, we were STARVING. A was a bit exhausted and said she was full from lunch, tired, and didn't want to eat. We ended up going to the Mexican restaurant across the street. Delicious! A few more beers and I'm pretty sure I was in bed even earlier.
Sunday (21,301 steps) - Did NOT sleep well. A was super fidgety and I woke up at least eleventy-billion times. So much for "sleeping in." We wen to the hotel lobby for breakfast, packed up our stuff and then headed out to Negro Bill canyon to do the hike to Morning Glory bridge. This was A's request, as we had hiked it a few years ago when we came out and she remembered/loved the water crossings (all 18 of them!). As the hike progressed, it was obvious that A wasn't feeling well. I wasn't carrying any food on me since we had just eaten breakfast, but she took a caffeine free GU and seemed to get some energy back. Beautiful day for a hike!

By the time we had finished it was already after 12. Packed up the car, and then went to Zak's for the pizza buffet. Man. I haven't had pizza in ages, and it was delicious. By the time we finished lunch it was 2:00, and it was time to head back. A slept most of the way back to Denver and we made fantastic time, getting back around 7:45. So crazy not to hit any traffic or weather, AND I drove the speed limit the whole time. A went to bed really early and I stayed up to watch the season finale of the Walking Dead.
Monday (18,152 steps) - Yoga/Pilates video before work. Quick jog by the lake, just to get the juices flowing.

Stats:

• 209,589 steps
• 49.2 miles run
• About 5 hours of cross training - between the two hikes
• 77 minutes of strength/stretching

Everything Else:

• Gas light went off before we did the drive back (thankfully). I still have an appointment this week to get it looked at. I know I need a new air filter, so maybe that was part of it. Also finally getting my windshield replaced.
• Last week of #alltheactivites - A will still be doing soccer two days a week after school, but as for "evening" activities, we are down to just run club and one night of gymnastics. The last month or so has felt very overwhelming.
• Finally got a pay raise! 2%, and it was retroactive to the first of the year. Exciting stuff!