Week in Review (July 4 - July 10)

Tuesday (21,146 steps) - Up early for our annual adventure of hiking Herman Gulch with friends! Ben got to the house and we left only a few minutes late at 6:50ish. I was actually driving - woo! Apparently it was a bit crowded in the back because Olive didn't feel like sharing the backseat. Thankfully, our plan of arriving at 8 worked out - the lot was crazy full for "so early." 

Actually started the hike a little closer to 8:10 while waiting for stragglers to arrive. It was shaping up to be a gorgeous day! I was handling Olive and appreciating the breaks she was letting me take. I didn't have my poles and this felt pretty hard, honestly. 

Olive was actually doing really well on the way up! Every time she saw snow or water she wanted to stop - which was fine with me.

As we approached the lake it definitely looked like it was going to be stormy.

We finally arrived and caught up with the group that looked like they had been there for a while (including A). Near the snow field I took Olive off leash and let her run around for a bit. By the time I decided it was time to eat the sandwich I had brought it was starting to rain. We quickly took this selfie before heading down.

Ben and Ariel hadn't remembered to bring a layer so they were running down. Unfortunately for me, that meant that Olive wanted to chase after them! It was a bit scary at times, but she did pretty well. When I caught up to them in the trees, Ariel agreed to take Olive for the rest of the time.

And wouldn't you know it, but the time we got about halfway down, the sun came back out like nothing had happened.

We stayed at the car waiting for people to finish up before heading to Over Yonder for a beer.

Ariel had to be at work, so we didn't stay long. Headed home to give Olive a bath and since we were invited to dinner at Kristin and Doug's, Ben and I had some time to kill. 4 Noses had closed by the time we arrived, so we went to Rails End for a beer. Quick stop at the store to pick up food to share, and then headed to their house. They had a nice setup on their patio - until it got windy and we could tell it was going to storm. And storm it did! It was honestly like a monsoon!! Headed home and watched tv until it was time for bed. Olive, thankfully, doesn't seem to mind the fireworks, but the cats were not happy.

Wednesday (10,334 steps) - Bonus work from home day!! Did a 30 minute ride before "work." With Joyce out of town, I had cleared it with Amber as A had an appointment to get new brakes and an oil change for Lucy. We dropped her off her car and had to wait to find out a timeline and price (I don't know why they can't give you this info in advance?) Work was slow, took Olive for a walk at lunch and did a 20 minute upper body video. 

Thursday (20,170 steps) - Work from home! I logged in early to get work done but took a VERY early lunch to get my run done before it got hot. I had a semi-complicated workout to do, but it worked out - thank you to Garmin for letting me program paces/times in. Makes my life so much easier. Took Olive for a walk at "real" lunch and picked up A's car. At the end of the day we realized we could see how long lines were for emissions testing, so we headed to Arvada to get that done - it was SUPER fast. 

Friday (12,917 steps) - Wash Park and coffee with the gang. Work was fine, except I found out I am finally getting a new cellmate. I have only ever sat with Nicole and since she took the promotion a few years ago, I have been working alone, which is what I prefer. Sigh. A was actually going to be home in the evening, so I picked up some alfredo from Costco for dinner.

Saturday (17,440 steps) - No run on schedule!! I didn't sleep in, but I did go to Target to get dog/cat food right when they opened before taking Olive to Boulder for a hike. I tried multiple paid trailheads (I have a pass) but they were all full, so I ended up taking her on the loop I normally do. Thankfully with all the rain there was still accessible water - she was a hot dog!

No idea what I did the rest of the day, but probably had a Nip/Tuck marathon.

Sunday (26,685steps) - Originally had plans to do Hope Pass, but Tyler unfortunately sprained his ankle and had to bail. I had hoped to do about 10 miles with a decent amount of vert and decided to just go back to Herman Gulch and then head up Jones Pass until I hit 5 miles. This time, I was prepared for a true workout. Arrived at the same time, just before 8 and it was still pretty crowded. I guess this is just how summer is? I had my poles this time and the goal was to do a dress rehearsal for race day (in less than two weeks!) I did the best I've ever done on this climb!

I only took ONE 30 second break before hitting the trail junction. 

I did not see a single person in the next two miles, which was quite nice! I wasn't sure what the conditions were going to be - and the answer was - some snowfields and water crossings, but actually pretty good!

So many wildflowers, but they never show up great in pictures...

I saw quite a few marmots! They are so fat and adorable! As I was turning around, I pulled out a protein bar when I realized I hadn't had any calories yet. 

The goal on the way down was to be semi-cautious (since I have a race coming up) but working on running when I can. For the most part I was easily able to jog the downhills as there weren't a ton of technical areas. On the way back to the trailhead I saw 4 total people and one dog. It was nice being alone for so long!

And then it was back to the masses. I do love this trail, but it's an exercise in patience. It's beautiful and fairly accessible, so there are a lot of people, and many of them have zero trail etiquette. 

I was able to do 10 miles with nearly 3,000' of climbing in 3 hours, which is basically how long it took us to do it on the 4th of July. (Like 3.5 less miles and 1,000+ less feet of vertical gain). This was definitely a confidence building day. I feel like with hard work and being stubborn I can actually get this race done! On the drive up I had been reminded of Garbanzo's in Lakewood and I had been thinking about it the whole morning. The giant plate did not disappoint. YUM. 

I had scheduled a dog walker but probably could have cancelled since I was home only about 20 minutes after she was finished. No recollection of this day either, but it was hot and I think I just watched more Nip/Tuck.

Monday (21,767 steps) - Work from home. With a forecast of low 90's, I did my run very early. It was supposed to be easy, and the heartrate says it was! Took a bit to get warmed up, I was actually a bit sore after the mountain adventure. With Tyler being injured, I offered to pick up his dog to join me and Olive for a walk. I hadn't walked Koda in at least a year, and wow, he is SO much calmer than he used to be! And interestingly, Olive liked taking the lead. It was a good time.

Work was pretty slow, did laundry. After work more Nip/Tuck. I finally finished the series (for the second time, I watched it when it first came out). I'm not entirely sure I watched the last season before, it was the only one I didn't really remember. 

Stats:

• 130,459 steps
• 28.65 miles run
• 30 minutes of cardio (plus 2 hour hike!)
• 20 minutes strength training