Week in Review (August 25 - August 31)

Tuesday (30,015 steps) - Work in the office. Met Tyler at Apex for a run after work. It was really one of the best nights out there for a run - not sure if it was because of the poor air quality or the heat, but we only saw maybe a half dozen people on the trails. Volunteers were hanging out at the trail head letting people know about the new changes to the trail system - it's about time that they are making some of the trails split by usage - it's pretty dangerous with the mountain bikers, so this will be appreciated. Anyway, it was a nice night.

One of the new gates for the usage changes

I had picked up a collapsible water bowl for Pika when I was chatting with the volunteers. I thought she looked cute wearing it. Ben didn't get the reference to Devo.

Wednesday (27,497 steps) - Work from home. Did my videos for the day. Went to get my semi-annual ring cleaning (which I had to make an appointment three weeks out for something that took about 5 minutes). Took Pika for a walk and had some of the best owl viewing yet!

Thursday (21,560 steps) - Work in the office. Went to Bear Creek to run with Mo and Colfax. Colfax apparently doesn't like to run anymore, so it was really more of a walk with some jogging mixed in.

When we were almost back to our cars we heard someone yelling our names - it was Chris! Fun to see her, and we also got a picture out of it.

We chatted for close to an hour before I realized I needed to get home. As an aside, today was also A's first day of school, but since I hadn't been home since before 7 am, I wasn't able to get  picture. First time ever!

Friday (27,129 steps) - Work from home. Did my videos for the day. Our air conditioner guy FINALLY showed up to look at our unit. It was a relatively inexpensive fix, it turns out we were just low on fluids, but I'm so happy to have AC again!! I clocked out early for the day at lunch because I had to get a mammogram. Luckily I found a place right down the street and the whole thing was done pretty quick.

Made a stop at Hobby Lobby to swap out wedding supplies, and spent the afternoon making our seating chart. Really pleased with how it turned out! And... I got "second" day of school pictures. This is what 9th grade looks like! I can't believe Ariel is in HIGH SCHOOL. How did this happen? Also, unlike when school was virtual in the spring, she is actually having visual instruction, so she is getting up earlier, showering and looking generally presentable.

Had a porch happy hour with Tyler.

Saturday (19,352 steps) - Up early-ish. Took Pika for a quick walk and then drove A to her first high school XC meet! The meet was actually being held at her old middle school, which is right by our house. My plan was to go for a run and get there in enough time to spectate. While I was crossing the street to start, the neighborhood cat (that I have named Pablo) came to say hi!

The whole time I was running I was wondering if I was going to have enough time to finish - I hadn't run this section in a while and I couldn't remember how far it was. The result was that I actually ran my fastest pace in a jillion years. I arrived at the meet with plenty of time. Pete, Kristin & Doug also came out to spectate, which was a blast. Kristin & Doug's son had run XC for the same school so they were really excited to watch A run. Ariel did AMAZING. She started out mid-pack, and ended up in front fairly early on.

It was so fun and exciting to watch her run. She looks like a completely different runner - and I can tell she has made so much progress with her coach and team.

She ran incredibly well and was neck and neck with a girl for third place (!!!), but got edged out right near the finish. To get 4th overall and top runner for her school was quite an accomplishment! She also average a 7:38 pace for 2ish miles!

The girls made and decorated their own hair bows!

Ariel wanted to stick around to watch the boys run, so I went to get breakfast with the gang - it was really fun to socialize kinda like we used to. No recollection of the rest of the day. I think I napped.

Sunday (32,570 steps) - Ben's only day off this week, so we didn't get up TOO early for our adventure. Since he has to work on his birthday, we wanted to plan the day to do something fun. We drove up to Summit County and decided to run an "unofficial" Run the Rockies half marathon. I've always loved that race and apparently I missed that it actually happened this year. There was also a new course, which I was looking forward to checking out. We were not in any sort of hurry, so it took us a bit over three hours to finish, but it was a beautiful day, and the weather was pretty perfect - especially compared to the sweltering heat we've been having.

We stopped at Outer Range for a beer and to get some lunch. While we were sitting on the patio the rain came in. The temperature dropped like 30 degrees and we quickly finished up and headed out.

We hit SO MUCH TRAFFIC on our way home. For the first time since COVID, it was just like old times with "mountain" weekend traffic. Ick. We stopped at Over Yonder, then headed home to have a planning session with Carrie on last minute wedding stuff. Pika walk, had pizza delivered, and then cupcakes and porch beers with Tyler and Mike.

Monday (28,461 steps) - Work from home. Basically nothing exciting, other than doing another day of my challenge videos. Ate cupcakes.

German Chocolate

French Toast with Bacon!

Stats:

• 186,584 steps
• 28.4 miles run
• 130 minutes of cross training videos!