Copper Kings 100M (Race Recap)

Butte, MT

Friday, June 26

100 Mile Attempt #25

Weather - Cloudy, mostly perfect, some rain

When I didn't get into Western States I started looking for a 100 miler to run as a training run for Summit. This race came up as a good one, so I signed up - looking forward to a "new to me" unique 100 mile loop in Montana. It also was unique in the fact that I "know" the race director, Wes, from running 200 milers.

Race Day

I had my alarm set for just after 2 am, but Ben's alarm went off at like 1:45, so I just got up when he did. Even though we had done almost everything the night before, it took over an hour for us both to get ready, caffeinated, force down a breakfast sandwich and get out the door.

We still had to figure out what to do with the car key and Airbnb key since we were not planning on running the whole race together. First, we went to pick up our trackers and then I found Thor to ask if she had any ideas. She directed us to Leah, who was incredibly helpful and offered to hold onto it for us.

Multiple trips to the bathroom line and a couple pre-race selfies!

Me & Andrea

Start/Belmont Mine to Basin Creek (Miles 0-12.1)

Lined up with about 5 minutes to go - still not 100% where we were going. I'm somewhat directionally challenged when I don't have the Rockies for a reference.

Decided I needed ONE more bathroom stop and jumped back in with less than a minute to go, towards the back.

The first miles were going to all be on road, which was fine by me. I honestly didn't have any goals for this race, other than to finish, and "faster" road miles give me a lot of confidence when I'm able to bank some time. Ben and I ran the whole first mile before I set up 3/1 intervals.

The morning was actually perfect for running - for 4 am and impending winter weather, the temperatures were very pleasant. We ran through some neighborhoods before ending up on a major road heading towards the chain restaurants, Walmart and the airport. The big excitement in this section was my watch hitting five miles directly across the street from the Five Mile Bar - still not sure how Wes made that happen!

The sun was starting to come up, but it was overcast so I didn't need to pull out my sunglasses. We moved out of town to a more rural area.

There were a few rolling hills as we got closer to the trails, but nothing crazy and our intervals were still working perfectly. We saw Scott before getting to the aid station.

Basin Creek to Highland (Miles 12.1-25.0)

We were very efficient at this aid station. Ben used the bathroom, I filled my bottles, grabbed a couple of snacks and pulled out my poles - knowing this section had nearly 3,000' of vertical gain. We moved quickly and efficiently through the first few miles.

I started to pull away from Ben when he stopped to adjust his laces and saw Jason right around the corner. I could hear Ben yelling that I had left him to die (or maybe just that I had abandoned him?) and thought that I would wait for him to catch up this time. We hiked along, enjoying the trees and pretty trails. A few miles in I noticed that Ben was dropping behind and I pushed ahead. I came upon friends Helgi and Mary Deane and passed a few more people in this section on the climbs. There was some nice downhill that was relatively runnable, which I enjoyed. 

I heard Andrea before I actually saw her! I was able to run and catch up with her, which was surprising to me. We enjoyed catching up, the last time we ran together was Across Florida in November. 

We did some jogging on the downhills to the aid station at Highland, "already" 25% done! We both planned for this to be a quicker stop. 

Highland to Pipestone (Miles 25-36.8)

All we needed to do was fill bottles and get something to eat. I think we were in and out in just a few minutes. Back into the woods we went! This section of woods really reminded me of west coast trails like Tahoe and Bigfoot. VERY green and not super technical.

Emerged from the woods and found ourselves in a beautiful meadow with expansive views of town. We were running with Carolyn at this point as well and when we got to the top of the climb, we saw Jason - now how did he get up there, we wondered?

Another relatively quick aid station stop, which I barely remember. Was this the aid station where I randomly saw Eliot? Our friend that used to live in Colorado? He was volunteering (plus, I think I saw him on the trail in the woods).

Pipestone to Homestake (Miles 36.8-46.3)

Back to the climbing. There were some really cool rock formations in here and a lot of our conversation was focused on that.

There was some light rain in this section, but temperatures were quite nice. We were planning on a little bit of a longer stop at Homestake. 

Homestake to Our Lady of the Rockies (Miles 46.3 to 58.6)

I had my first drop bag here. I was debating what gear I wanted to have on me for the next two, long, sections. I had to grab my lights and warmer night gear. Also, while we were sitting at the aid station getting everything ready and eating, the rain started. When we headed out it was raining pretty hard, so I did have my rain jacket on. It wasn't QUITE a downpour, but I bet it rained for at least an hour?

We had spent a long time trying to figure out where "she" (the statue) was. We had caught back up to Carolyn at some point and she ran last year, so she was able to give us some great insight into how far we still had to go. She did indicate that we were on a great pace, hours faster than when she had finished the previous year. 

And there she is, across the valley. Well over an hour away still.

Butte is down there, what looks like a lake is the Berkeley Pit!

More cool rock formations

Finally, a couple miles out from the next aid station, we had to turn our lights on. We had an out and back to go up to the aid station. According to Andrea, it took us SEVENTEEN MINUTES to do this third of a mile. It was steep, technical, and not a lot of fun. 

We did get to see a few runners coming back down, which was neat as it was the only section of the course that was two-way traffic. We saw the aid station but had to keep going around the bend to visit the statue before we could get aid.

Attempt at a selfie. She is 90 feet tall, and this is not proportionate haha

We stopped at the bathroom so that we could reapply lube and actually wash our hands. I think this is when I put my pants and other layers on. We spent a bit longer than I wanted to at the aid station. I am pretty sure I had more mashed potatoes with broth, but otherwise I can't recall what else I ate. I had to move some of my snacks around, but soon we were off on the longest section of the course, nearly 18 miles without aid.

Our Lady of the Rockies to Nez Perce (Miles 58.6 to 76.3)

According to the runner guide, people were not permitted to drop at the Our Lady aid station because of accessibility issues, so once you left Homestake before mile 50, you were committing to get to at least mile 76.

On paper it seemed like we were going to have about 7 flattish miles (some rollers) to a water crossing , then a 2 mile climb which would take us to the high point of the course at 8500' and then a 9 mile downhill. Well, the 7 miles WENT ON FOREVER. Nothing felt overly hard, but it certainly felt long. We had been cruising at a pretty decent pace and we slowed to much slower mid 20 miles. I think things did shift a bit when we got to the water crossing - we both filtered, then we started the climb up. It wasn't that bad, but there were a lot of switchbacks.

I put my poles away at the top of the climb since I don't really use them when I do downhills. It was interesting that when we got to the top that we seemingly went down very gradually for a mile or two without really getting lower (not sure if that makes sense).

Finally we got to more switchbacks where we did a little bit of running. It was rockier in here and I rolled my ankle, which didn't feel great.

We finally popped out onto a wide, dirt road. Maybe it was another mile to the aid station?

Nez Perce to Konda (Miles 76.3 to 80.8)

I had spent the previous few miles thinking that I had my second drop bag at this one, only to realize upon arrival it was at the next one. I still wanted to take off my shoes, clean my feet and change socks since I kind of felt like I had a lot of silt in my socks. When I started the switch to Mount to Coast shoes, I realized that my Topo gaiters wouldn't work so I had picked up some ankle Kahtoola ones, and I just don't think I like them. If I tighten them enough for junk to not get in my shoes they irritate my ankles, and if I keep them too loose, well there is no point to even using them. So I ditched the gaiters.

We needed a bit of recovery eating after a zillion miles in the dark. Saw Scott, and he walked us out of the aid station. (I think? Was this here?) We left on a dirt road and had a very sort section of just 4.5 miles, the only segment under 10ish miles in the whole race!

We did a small amount of jogging here. Spent an exorbitant amount of time wondering what the black blob in the field was - never figured it out, even after getting closer.

I think we passed a few people in this section. We didn't spend a ton of time here, although I did have to drop my lights and anything I didn't think I would need for the last 20 miles. My pack felt SO much lighter.

Konda to Moulton (Miles 80.8 to 89.9)

I had planned on leaving my rain pants in my drop bag and dropping my top layer, but even just sitting for a few minutes it got cold enough that I decided to keep everything on. 

Neither of us knew what the course would be doing next, but we DID know that at some point there would be a gnarly climb and a meadow. Wes had also mentioned that IF we were going to get lost, it would be the most likely segment for it. I had my phone on standby in case we ever felt like we were off course. This section was mostly dirt roads and jeep trails. Climbing was very manageable. We had heard it that it was about a three-mile-long climb, with the first 2.5 being gradual and the bulk/steepest in the last half mile.

How will we know when we are there? Well. We knew. It was chunky rock, and steep. Andrea powered right up the hill, and I definitely had to stop once or twice to take a few deep breaths. We celebrated getting to the top for Andrea to congratulate us on getting up the hill - until I realized we had only done about a quarter mile... then we turned a corner and there was part two of the climb. UGH.

But we did it, like champs. I didn't even pull out my poles, although I will admit that I wanted to think I could be faster up the hills if I had them. 

We got to the meadow, and on a clear day it was probably beautiful. However, it was lightly raining and anything dirt was kinda muddy and the grass was slick.

We saw another huge climb, but thankfully we bypassed that and went back into the woods. We got passed by an older guy in this section as we were probably being a bit too cautious on some of the descents. I didn't need to be rolling my ankle again with ten miles to go. Got a little loopy in this section - definitely belted out some Alanis Morisette. JUST.WANT.TO.BE.DONE.

The sheer joy when we saw the dirt road.

Moulton to Finish/Belmont Mine (Miles 89.9 to 100.5ish)

FASTEST STOP OF THE WHOLE RACE. I didn't even top off my bottles since I hadn't really been drinking that much. Andrea grabbed me a granola bar and I think I slammed a cup of coke. We were in the home stretch!!!

Leaving the aid station was on dirt road, although we knew it would become paved eventually. It was SLICK from all the rain. Andrea and I finally separated at this point - she was running a bit faster/more than I was and I was fine to put headphones in for the first time the whole race. 

I did get passed by a couple people early on, but I set up intervals on my phone and when the road finally became paved it was a bit easier to run. I started with one-minute intervals since there was a shocking amount of rollers here. When we got closer to town I increased to 90 seconds, then eventually two minutes. The sun was sort of coming out and I was a little sad I had left my sunglasses in the last drop bag. I almost took off my top layer, but every time I got ready to do that, I would feel cold again, so I just dealt with it.

We were running above the city and I could see exactly where we were going - Andrea quickly disappeared from sight, but I saw other people! Over the course of the next 4-5 miles in town, I bet I passed at least a half dozen people on the bike path. I felt really good!!

Finally recognized the main street that we were running on that was less than two miles from the finish. Passed another 4-5 people in this section?

CROSSED THE FINISH LINE!! Early in the race, Ben had asked what my goal was. I really never DID have one, other than wanting to finish. I finally said under 36 would be nice. But when I got to town I thought getting close to 34 would be cool. Gave Wes a hug and got my buckle, telling him "that was hard."

Overall Time - 34:10:00

Overall Place - 77/115

Gender Place - 19/36

Garmin Time - 34:09:42

Garmin Distance - 100.50 miles

Elevation Gain - 14,694-

Miles 1-10 - 11:57, 12:51, 13:18, 13:01, 13:12, 13:09, 14:09, 13:38, 13:55, 13:51

Miles 11-20 - 13:43, 13:53, 22:35, 16:19, 15:46, 18:45, 18:45, 16:15, 16:40, 19:13

Miles 21-30 - 17:30, 14:51, 16:32, 17:07, 25:24, 22:29, 22:06, 20:17, 21:33, 18:58

Miles 31-40 - 19:44, 21:10, 16:40, 17:41, 16:26, 14:13, 22:19, 19:17, 19:53, 20:30

Miles 41-50 - 19:53, 18:29, 18:42, 20:08, 15:57, 15:11, 40:06, 22:31, 21:09, 20:31

Miles 51-60 - 21:10, 21:11, 22:45, 25:10, 23:29, 21:48, 24:15, 23:13, 57:34, 25:08

Miles 61-70 - 22:51, 32:05, 23:53, 23:27, 22:17, 31:11, 26:13, 23:51, 21:15, 33:12

Miles 71-80 - 23:28, 24:35, 41:16, 21:44, 20:20, 17:31, 42:22, 20:06, 19:48, 20:17

Miles 81-90 - 19:24, 37:50, 21:56, 22:17, 24:57, 22:47, 21:58, 20:45, 20:47, 21:22

Miles 91-100.5 - 18:04, 15:55, 14:34, 15:29, 15:05, 13:46, 13:29, 13:07, 13:59, 13:29, 12:07 (!)

Originally, I had thought that I would go back to the bnb to shower and change, but I also wanted to watch people finish, so I didn't leave. I did find Leah so I could grab our drop bags and put them in the car. I knew we had a black Subaru, but apparently so do a lot of other people and I couldn't remember where we parked, so I had to wander up and down the lot for a good 5 minutes hitting the unlock until I found the car. 

Walked back over to the finish area and sat with Andrea and Elliot. Ben was going to finish!!! I walked up the hill to bring him into the finish:

Gear:

• One pair of Mount to Coast H1s, wore the whole race. Two pairs of rabbit trail socks. Kahtoola gaiters for 70ish miles. ZERO BLISTERS.
• CVG shorts, Zensah high neck sports bra with a rabbit EZ tee and over that a rabbit sunshirt. I did get a little bit of chafing on the bra line, but I didn't notice until after I was done.
• Patagonia rain jacket and REI rain pants. The pants somehow have some new holes that will need to be patched up before Summit
• Patagonia R2 - I skipped the R1 for the first time and went right for the warmer layer.
• Runners Roost hat for the first 45, Bula fleece lined hat for overnight, UltrAspire hat for the last 20. Alternated with some cheap stretchy gloves and my Smartwool mittens
• UltrAspire Traverse with two 800ml flasks, Katadyn filter, Leki poles. I think I used them for maybe half the race? Not at all the first 12 or the last 30+ and also just carried a lot. Glad to have the quiver to keep them stashed.
• Petzl headlamp and tried out the UltrAspire waist light for the first time. I think I need to mess around with the settings a bit as I couldn't seem to get it as bright as Kogalla (and I don't even use that on max brightness).
• Of note, I carried a battery pack on me the whole time, but I didn't actually have to use one?? That's never happened in a 100. 
• For fuel I used my LMNT raspberry, Hi-Chew and Nerd Clusters, Trail mix.

Thoughts:

• I'll start with Wes, the race director. He cares SO much about Butte, about the race, and EVERY SINGLE RUNNER. The final runner was going to come in over cutoff and he still gave her an unofficial finish and buckle BUT was so considerate that he turned the race clock around so she wouldn't have to look at it when she crossed. What a guy!
• Now that I am done, I am a teeny tiny itty-bitty bit sad that I didn't finish sub-34 so I could use this as a qualifier for Crazy Mountain.
• Also, this race was not a qualifier for Western States this year but looks like it will be for next year! The 40-hour cutoff makes for a great race for everyone - takes away the pressure of a tight cutoff and gives people the confidence to go for a more "mountain" 100.
• The aid stations were great, but wow, it was "almost" like doing a 200 with how far apart they were, especially from Our Lady to Nez Pearce. The volunteers were absolutely incredible. There was supposedly at least one medical professional at every aid station, but since I never needed that, I don't know for 100% sure.
• People were allowed to have a drop bag at all aid stations, but I opted to only have two, and it worked out just fine. 
• I was REALLY thirsty during this race, especially the first 50 or so miles. I was using 800ml flasks, and I ran out at LEAST the first three segments. 
• This might be the first 100 I've ever done where I never hit a really low point? I got a tiny bit tired right before sunrise, but not that bad, and between a five-hour energy and some caffeinated gum, I got through it. No horrible hills or surprises, the mileage lined up and the weather mostly cooperated. I had a REALLY enjoyable experience! I think other than the 100 I ran with Steph a few years ago, the 70ish miles I did with Andrea is probably the longest I have ever spent with anyone other than Ben on a race course - I really enjoyed her company!

I haven't bought the professional pictures yet, but I will, and will add when I get them. (The pictures are wonderful, but I really think I need to go to "how to take a good picture" school or something)

Week in Review (June 23 - June 29)

Tuesday (13,285 steps) - Up before my alarm. Again. Did a quickie Peloton ride before Ben and I took Olive for  a walk. Went early to the gym at lunch and did a strength video and then a treadmill hike - which, for the record, was a REALLY hard class. The building had their tenant appreciation party/lunch on the rooftop patio. Food was delicious like always, AND, I got to see Paula! Went for another walk later in the afternoon just to get away from my desk. Ben picked up pizza for dinner and I had to finish packing! Good Fight.

Wednesday (14,965 steps) - Up before my alarm. Took a shower and then Ben and I took Olive for a longer walk. Finished packing and then I drove Olive down to Tami's house. Thankfully traffic wasn't too bad - just a LOT of lights. The Lyft showed up shortly after I got home. We were a little nervous for security - ONLY because we were going to try taking our poles through TSA for the first time (it is only recently that the verbiage has changed and that poles are now allowed - per TSA discretion - so not guaranteed). Both of our bags DID get flagged but the agent was nice and spent a minute talking to us about best practices for getting through with minimal hassle on our end (since these are not sharp-tipped poles). ANYWAY. There was basically zero line and we were through in a few minutes. We found a place for Ben to get a pre-flight beer and I got a coffee. The only "bad" thing about this trip is that we were going to have a connection both ways. If it was just me traveling I probably would have paid more for the direct flight, but with two plane tickets it was a substantial savings. 

First flight to Salt Lake City was about an hour and very turbulent. We actually did a "touch and go" and had to circle the airport to try landing again. Coupled with the fact that we were in the very back of the plane, we had to speed walk across the whole terminal and arrived at our next gate as boarding was already starting. The agent said that they were taking volunteers to gate check, and since this was the last leg of our journey, we opted to do that so we didn't have to carry them on. Also, this was probably one of the smallest commercial flights I have ever been on - teeny tiny plane! The flight to Butte was even shorter, maybe 45 minutes in the air. Also a very bouncy ride and we were happy to be on the ground.

I can't believe that neither of us actually got a picture of the airport. When we deplaned I looked over at Ben and said "I think this is it? Isn't that security over there?" It was about 30 steps to baggage claim so I walked over to the Hertz desk to get the rental car. That was also the quickest experience of my life. Gave my name and he handed over the keys and the contract "there are only ten parking spaces out there, you will see it." Got our bags and sure enough, found the car with no problems. We did have trouble again connecting to the Carplay - not sure why in 2026 we can't seem to figure out the true wireless Bluetooth, but I digress.

I had booked us a really cute Airbnb in uptown and it was only about ten minutes from the airport. We checked in and then it was time to walk around and find something to eat. If you haven't been to Butte, it is a very cute town, and VERY hilly. 

There didn't seem to be a ton of options where we were, but eventually landed on the M&M cafe - and it was a great choice! We both got burgers and it was delicious.

We walked down the street to check out Quarry Brewing. It was a cute place! We chatted with a guy who teaches at the college in town - interesting stuff! They closed at 8, which was perfect for us to head back to our bnb. We watched a rerun of Criminal Minds while getting ready for bed.

Thursday (16,214 steps) - Woke up early. Again. I guess this is just my life now? I can't seem to sleep late at all, rarely even make it to 7:00 anymore. We walked up the street to a really cute coffee shop - and the coffee was AMAZING. If you are in Butte you should check it out - Orofino! 

Even though it looked like it was going to rain, we decided to walk over to where the pre-race meeting was going to be later. Of course we got to where we were going to turn around and it started to rain.

Well, welcome to our forecast for the weekend! At least it was mostly a light drizzle and not a complete downpour. 

We had most of the morning to get pre-race things done. Showered first and then got my drop bags and pack items all figured out. We still needed to get a few groceries, so we drove to Walmart. Probably got way too much stuff, but we needed breakfast items, coffee, water and a handful of other things. Went to Chic-Fil-A for lunch (and apparently the restaurant had only been open a few weeks and the employees were very obviously still in training). 

Last minute adjustments to our stuff before we loaded our bags in the car to head to the shake out run. The email had said it was at the start/finish - but it didn't give an address. I looked at the directions on ultrasignup and the coordinates took us up the hill - but we didn't see anyone and realized that we probably needed to go to where packet pick up was. Sure enough, everyone was at the Maroon Activity Center. 

The run was going to be an out and back on the last section of the course - we got a tiny bit of a late start because we got distracted talking to Thor and Jason. The route seemed uphill, but that only meant the finish would be downhill! Did the back half of the run with Andrea - and ran much faster than I should have - got carried away!

We dropped off our bags and then we still had some time to kill so we went back into town and visited Slainte for Ben to get a beer. We decided we maybe didn't want to walk over to the mandatory meeting since we were planning on going to Butte Brewing/Pizza for dinner that was right by the meeting.

So the pre-race meeting was held outside and it was probably the only warm part of the whole weekend. We were in full sun. It was only supposed to last an hour and it was closer to 90 minutes. While I did appreciate learning some of the history of the race, we really just wanted to get dinner and get ready for bed since we had such an early start. 

Went across the street to the pizza place - the food was DELICIOUS and thankfully didn't take too long. Headed back to the bnb. Braided my hair and got as much ready before bed that I could. With a 4 am start, we were supposed to be there around 3 to get our trackers, so we were in bed by about 8:30.

Friday (133,888 steps) - Copper Kings 100

Saturday (94,282 steps) - Copper Kings 100. We stuck around for the last finisher, who unfortunately crossed after the official cutoff time. It was pretty cold and windy so I wanted to get out of there and finally get something to eat and drink! Went to the bnb and had hoped to get food from Dairy Queen, but they were closed. I took a shower and Ben ended up ordering in food - I think I had a burger and fries. I think it was one of those situations where I was really hungry but then by the time the food came I wasn't as hungry as I thought. We initially had plans to sit up and unwind by watching tv but we fell asleep almost immediately. 

Sunday (11,024 steps) - Up early and we didn't have a ton of time to get everything organized and packed up since the check-out time was EARLY - 10 am!! Had to sort through all the stuff, and with the accumulation of yet another hoodie, I seemingly was having a tough time fitting everything in my bag. Took a shower and got everything ready to go and out the door at 9:59. It had rained all night and was still raining when we drove up the street to the M&M for brunch. They were packed! We saw multiple other people wearing the race hoodie, so it was fun to talk about the race with others. Food was AMAZING.

We asked the waitress what "must do" things were open in Butte on a Sunday. She suggested we go to the Berkeley Pit viewing center. It ended up being just down the street from where the race was. It literally was just a gift shop with a tunnel leading to an overlook above the pit. 

Ben facetimed Ariel since this type of thing is right up her alley.

We didn't spend too long here - mainly because we were cold. We did talk to the guy in the gift shop for a bit though - lots of interesting things to learn about mining and the colonization of Butte! We still had many, many hours to kill until our flight, so we went to a few of the shops in town so I could get my magnet. 

With it being Sunday, unfortunately a lot of places were closed. Finally we headed to the airport around 5, even though our flight didn't leave until 6:45 - just because we didn't have anything else to do and it was too cold to just walk around. Flight left on time, a little bumpy, but otherwise uneventful. We knew our connecting flight was a bit delayed, so we went to a restaurant across from the gate and got some dinner.

This flight was short, also somewhat turbulent, but not awful. I realized I still had like 3,000 steps to hit my step goal so I was basically sprinting around the airport to get my steps in. We were not able to schedule our Lyft in advance and the app kept telling us it was only 6 minutes until our driver arrived. It wasn't the best drive home, but at least we didn't have to drive ourselves. After midnight when we got home and all the animals were insane. Basically let Olive out and then to bed.

Monday (11,528 steps) - Day started around 4:30 with a power outage. There was another one around 6:30, so hooray for work from home day! Combined with being woken up a bunch and not sleeping great after racing, it was nice to not have to leave the house. Took Olive for a walk before clocking in for the day. I was all caught up on emails by 9:00. Another power outage when I was trying to do laundry. UGH. Took a shower and walked Olive at lunch. 

Robin spent most of the day in the office with me

Went out for a delivery after work. Ariel was over for dinner, Ben ordered in Little Caesars. Ariel and I took Olive for a walk and then we just sat around until going to bed a little earlier than normal. 

Stats:

• 295,186 steps
• 2.82, 100.49 miles run
• 12.22 miles walked
• 10 minutes of cardio
• 20 minutes of strength
• 0 minutes of sauna

Week in Review (June 16 - June 22)

Tuesday (14,189 steps) - Woke up insanely early, which seems to just be how this summer is going to go. Is it the heat? Peloton and Olive walk before going to work. Went for a short walk late morning before going to the gym at lunch. I liked my outfit today!

Full body strength and treadmill hike/walk - really working on picking up the pace for all my upcoming adventures. Olive walk after work. Dinner? Good Fight?

Wednesday (19,351 steps) - Olive walk before going to work. I had an easy run with strides to do at lunch and decided to go the other way on the bike path since Josephine mentioned some new (?) art. It was pretty darn warm, but not the worst run, thankfully.

And a handful of pictures of the art I haven't seen before!

This one might be my favorite!

Normally I just get dressed and go back to work, but for the second time in the recent past I had to take a quick shower first. Another quick walk in the afternoon before heading home. Ben had to work late, so I stopped at home to pick Olive up and we went to Runners Roost in Louisville for "run" club. Since it was hot AND I had already run, we just went for a walk. 

Larry and Lisa joined us. It was the summer VIP night, and probably for the first time ever, I didn't get anything. Ben stopped on his way home and picked up a pizza for dinner. Good Fight.

Thursday (13,793 steps) - Up early again. Even though it was a work from home day, Ben went with me and Olive for a pre-work walk around the block. I did a quick row session and had an uneventful morning. Took Olive for a little bit of a longer walk at lunch.

Got my strength training done before finishing work. Took Olive for a walk and did a delivery on the way to meet Ben at Torchy's for dinner. Good Fight.

Friday (17,181 steps) - Actually got up early even though I didn't have to work. Olive and I had plans to go to Square Top for a hike and last year I got stuck in traffic for the Floyd Hill construction - not gonna get me this time!! Took Olive for a walk with Ben before we got everything ready to go.

The drive was actually quite pleasant - virtually no traffic! I stopped in Georgetown to use the bathroom and then it was up Guanella Pass. I was worried that we had left too late since people were parked on both sides of the road starting at the last turn, but there were still probably a dozen spots in the lot. It was the perfect morning for a hike!

Thanks to warm temperatures and a low snowpack, there was really nothing for Olive to play in - outside of a small patch of snow near the upper lake - which she definitely enjoyed!

We stopped briefly at the lake for a snack, but it was the only part of the trail that was windy, so didn't stay long.

LOTS of dogs on this one, so she stayed leashed the entire time.

Headed down almost immediately and then stopped again in Georgetown to use the bathroom and to let Mo that we were heading to see her. I had found a new-to-us coffee shop in Lakewood that had a wonderful covered patio. We stuck around for a couple hours drinking coffee, snacking and catching up. Always great to see her and Colfax!

Olive and I left and went straight to 4 Noses to meet up with Ben for happy hour. We didn't stay too long and ordered in Mod Market for dinner.

Good Fight.

Saturday (23,400 steps) - Took Olive for a walk before heading to South Table for our run. There was a new trail recently added and I had mapped a route that would actually make it a full loop - so I was very excited! It was supposed to be freakishly hot again, but it wasn't too bad thanks to some cloud cover for at least part of the time.

The new T. Rex Tooth Trail was FANTASTIC!

"They" did a great job with it - fairly non-technical single track (but wide enough for two-way traffic and some views that we hadn't seen before. We both really liked the addition.

We stopped at Dutch Bros on the way home - our (new) Keurig broke last week and we have been going through withdrawals. Took Olive for a long walk to the lake. We ran a few errands to pick some things up for our upcoming trip, then went to Rails End for indoor treat town with Olive. We must have done dinner, but I don't remember what it was. Took Olive for a walk and got eaten alive by mosquitos again. Good Fight.

Sunday (14,841 steps) - Olive walk around the block while Ben picked up coffee for us. Then, up to Boulder for a hike. HOT HOT HOT.

We stopped in at Runners Roost so I could drop off the NINE pairs of shoes I was recycling. Yes. Nine. I didn't get anything, but Ben got a few pairs of socks. Then, it was on to Resolute for indoor treat town and a snack.

We were all pretty blah after that, so we just sat around and then Ben ordered in Panda for dinner. Good Fight.

Monday (16,585 steps) UP EARLY AGAIN. Curse this. Since I had a lot of things to get done, I went for my run early and stopped by the library to drop off my ballot.

Took Olive for a walk around the block while Ben went to get coffee at Dunkin. Worked for a few hours and then had to take Robin back to the vet for another follow-up. She has thankfully gained some weight back and her numbers are holding steady - which is about all we can hope for. So, continued kidney meds, but she is doing good.

Took Olive for a walk at lunch - HOT.

Worked in the afternoon while getting some cleaning done, laundry and got quite a bit of my packing done. Did a quick delivery after work and then Ben ordered in Chili's for dinner. Yes, I realize we have gotten into a pretty bad habit of ordering food in - we just both hate cooking so much - especially when it is hot outside. Good Fight.

Stats:

• 119,340 steps
• 19.14 miles run
• 18.92 miles walked
• 25 minutes of cardio
• 51 minutes of strength
• 0 minutes of sauna