Sunset Trail Festival 28K

Gold Hill, CO

Sunday, June 22

Weather - Sunny and warm

I won't do a long recap on this one.

I had heard about this race a year or two earlier and had talked about running it but since no one else committed we didn't sign up. This year, Terri brought it up in early June and Larry and I both followed suit by signing up. I had never run the loop near Gold Hill, so I was looking forward to seeing what it was all about.

There was a shuttle we needed to be on by 6 am, so we agreed to meet at the Justice Center in Boulder at 5:30, just to ensure we were there in plenty of time. Not only was it plenty of time, but we were the first people to get there. I'd rather not be stressed about it, so it was fine.

We rode in a bus that was maybe 20-25 minutes of windy roads to get to the start line. About halfway there, we lost phone service and would end up not having any service the rest of the day, which was fine.

Our race didn't start until 7:30, so that meant a LOT of standing around. We picked up our bibs and race shirt at the start line, and I used the bathroom 2-3 times. The race provided some bagels and cream cheese, and I think that after about 45 minutes I decided my breakfast had "worn off" and I grabbed a half a bagel. At some point, another busload of people got dropped off, for those that were running the shorter distances. Chelsea was running (and recognized me) and I briefly said hi to her. Finally, it was time to get going.

The race director gathered us all shortly before 7:30 to go over the course details. I barely listened but glad I caught some of the directions as there were ZERO course markings. Not one single flag or sign!!! The route was pretty straightforward, but it was still crazy.

We had to start in town and run up the hill before turning down a back road and going down the hill. Walked most of the hill on the way up and Larry, Terri and I were in the back of the back. I hate starting a race in the very back, but I wasn't sure I was even "racing" this race. The route started on a wide, dirt road. It was definitely a generous downhill, but I didn't want to run too hard. There was a funny sign that said "Private Sign, Don't Read" which I should have taken a picture of, but didn't. Terri edged just a little bit upfront and Larry and I were fairly close behind. At one point, Larry's shoe came untied and we stopped briefly for him to fix it. It was crazy to think that running a pace of low 10s had us the very back of the pack. It was just under 5 miles of dirt road before we came to the junction where we supposed to take a right turn. The aid station wasn't too far up the road and I just very quickly grabbed a cup of water. From here it was still a gradual uphill, some of the earlier parts were paved. I also liked this sign:

Even though it was a gradual uphill, I was trying to do some running intervals. While there was technically no cutoff for the course, there was a scheduled last shuttle back to Boulder which obviously we did not want to miss. Since I had never been in the area, I had no idea what to expect from the "Switzerland Trail." All the email and race info said was that it was rocky, and I wanted to move as quickly as possible on sections that were not technical. I also could not remember where the next aid station was. Terri and I had kind of ended up running together with Larry a little further back, and we both thought it was in mile 9-10. It was closer to 10.5 miles and right at the base of the Switzerland Trail. I stopped only long enough to drink some water and grab a couple packages of gummy bears, which I tried to eat while leaving the aid station. The trail was more like a rocky double track. We left right behind another gal and for a while me, her and Terri were all relatively close together. We came up behind a guy and I decided to run around him and the other girl and basically never saw him, the other girl or Terri again. 

Apparently, this is the Switzerland Trail

I realized I hadn't been taking any pictures, so on one of my walk breaks I took some pictures of the surrounding valleys we were in.

There was really only one section on the course that didn't have a trail marker and I really felt like it should have, but I'm just glad I stayed on what looked the MOST like the main road and didn't get lost. Came across some ATVs and a few bikes in this section, but other than dust, it was not an issue since we were more on a road than a trail. I also knew there was a THIRD aid station, but I didn't really know where that was either. Since I had no service I couldn't pull up any info or see the course map, but I vaguely remember that the last part of the course was downhill. I had put in music by this point but since there were bikes and such out I only used one ear bud. 

Finally, I saw the third aid station, over 14 miles in! If my math was correct, we were just about done with the uphill and we would just be coasting in. I topped off a flask and asked how many miles to the finish and the volunteer told me 3.5, which had me sooo mad! I didn't want to be closer to 18 miles. With the pace I was running I really hoped to finish under 4 hours. The road out of the aid station was the widest road yet, and it was really hot and exposed. I could see some people in front of me and as tired as I was, I decided that maybe I would race "just a little bit." I passed at least one lady right as we hit some of the downhill. Suddenly, I got to a volunteer and a stop sign - I asked where to go and she said to the right and then the finish was only 100 yards away. YAY!!!! I could see the race clock and I knew I would get in under 4 hours. As soon as I crossed the line I went into the garden area and grabbed a coke to drink while I waited for Larry and Terri to finish.

Distance - 17.46 miles

Garmin Time - 3:58:40

Official Time - 3:58:40

Garmin Pace - 13:40

Elevation Gain - 2,628'

Overall Place - 46/54

Mile 1 - 11:40

Mile 2 - 10:13

Mile 3 - 10:05

Mile 4 - 9:54

Mile 5 - 12:52

Mile 6 - 14:05

Mile 7 - 15:48

Mile 8 - 14:56

Mile 9 - 15:31

Mile 10 - 16:40

Mile 11 - 17:06

Mile 12 - 15:51

Mile 13 - 15:27

Mile 14 - 15:36

Mile 15 - 15:04

Mile 16 - 13:28

Mile 17 - 10:26

Mile 17.46 pace - 8:42

We had a beer and grabbed our free burritos. We found out while we were sitting there that we had somehow ALL misunderstood the last shuttle info - it was actually scheduled to leave at 12:30 and ARRIVE in Boulder at 1. At least we all made it?

Thoughts:

• We signed up only 3ish weeks out. The race is put on to benefit the Watershed and so it wasn't for profit and was $70 plus fees.
• Our registration included a shirt, a burrito and post race beer.
• The gpx was provided on the website, but I didn't add it to my watch or gaia since I naively assumed there would be at least minimal course markings. It ended up being fine, but I would have felt better with a flag or two.
• The aid stations were perfectly situated, I just forgot to mentally take a note of where they were on course. Minimal with fluids only for the first one and very minimal snacks with water/electrolytes at the last two.
• I would recommend this for a supported event with a "somewhat fun" finish line. Any festivities were unfortunately done by the time we finished, so it was a little underwhelming for us, but it was a nice area and the volunteers were very friendly.
• I would maybe run this one again, I think it was a good training run for heat and a bit higher elevation than I run around my house.

Week in Review (June 17 - June 23)

Tuesday (11,848 steps) - Up early for cross training. Did a 30 minutes of upper body/back strength training and 30 minutes on the bike before taking Olive for a walk. Yet another day of going to jury duty. Took a walk around the court house at lunch.

Took Olive for a walk when I got home. TV of some kind... maybe this was the night we watched The Accountant 2?

Wednesday (22,210 steps) - Still have jury duty and I had a decent workout on schedule. Since I am a slow runner, my coach normally gives me everything in time, but he had EIGHT miles on schedule. I figured I would just go for "a" run. I was not in the mood for it at all and was really taking it easy when I headed out. I ran into Tanessa and her daughter near the park and we ended up running together for about 20 minutes, which was really nice and made my run a lot better. The way back (alone) was faster because I was worried about having enough time to walk Olive and get ready. Another walk around the court house during lunch and took Olive for a longer walk when I got home.

Thursday (18,984 steps) - YAY for a federal holiday that gave me the day off from BOTH work and jury duty. I didn't set an alarm to get up early, but Olive and I had plans to go in the mountains and check out Square Top. I sent Ariel a text when I left the house to see if she wanted to meet at Dutch for a coffee, which she did. We ended up not taking the trek up until maybe 10 am - which was a HUGE mistake. I had completely forgotten about all the road construction on I-70. The traffic was horrible and it took probably twice as long to get to Idaho Springs. Once we got to town it was a normal drive up. We arrive around noon, which is pretty late and I was shocked to see so many people on the trail (and across the way at Bierstadt). 

The lower "pond" that's about a mile up was the lowest I have ever seen and it was barely a puddle for Olive to get in and get some water. 

There was a decent snow field in the typically muddy area and then at the junction for the lakes - which of course Olive loved playing in. 

The drive back down wasn't AS bad as the way up, but it still wasn't great. I had been messaging with Mo to see if she wanted to meet up for a beer or snack, but the brewery we normally meet at near Evergreen has seemingly gone out of business. (Side note - is anyone else noticing that a large number of established businesses have been suddenly shuttering as of late?) By the time we reconnected after getting phone service out of the mountains it was pretty much too late to do anything. I decided to stop at Over Yonder since they allow dogs inside and then planned to meet both Mo and Ben at Roost in Lakewood for a run club. 

I had wanted to go to run club since I knew that Topo was going to be there. They were doing demo shoes of the version 4 of the Ultraventure, which I wanted to try - and I am so glad I did! I found the sizing of the 3's to be off, and had to size down, while I found the 4's to be more true to size. We did not run, but we walked with Mo and Colfax, Erica and Dani - it was nice to catch up! Topo did a giveaway and Ben won! He doesn't wear Topo so he gave the free shoes to me. YAY!!

They did a fun taco relay, which I didn't participate in OR take any pictures, but Ben did and that was pretty fun.

Friday (11,147 steps) - I did NOT have jury duty, but had to go in to work instead. I took Olive for a long walk - and finally saw some owls!

Took Olive to work with me and it was a very busy day trying to get caught up after unexpectedly missing so much work. We headed straight to 4 Noses to meet up with Ben for a beer and some sushi tacos. Yum!

Saturday (20,250 steps) - Took Olive for a walk and then had to meet Ariel at Big O because now one of her rear tires seemed to be flat and she had to work all day. I had planned on it being a longer morning, so I wore my running shoes so that I could get my run out of the way before it got too hot. I didn't have too much of a route planned, but I knew I was going to be out for around 90 minutes. I headed down the road towards the path I have run many times - that was a bit sketchy for sure. 

I definitely needed to use the bathroom at one point and was really grateful that I remembered there were facilities at a rec center. At some point I had decided that I'd rather try to create a loop to head back rather than go back the way I came, and I ended up in a cute neighborhood that had some goats. Wish we could have goats...

I ended up on a major road and decided to stop and buy some water. For whatever reason, the drinking fountains in the park around the rec center were all shut off. Glad I had my wallet on me!

I somehow managed to time my route pretty good and basically got back in exactly the time I planned. I only had to wait maybe another 20 minutes for Ariel's car - we found out it was a sensor for the tire pressure and not a tire at all. Still costly, though. I was starving by this point since I hadn't had breakfast, so I went across the street for a burger. Yum.

Olive had her grooming appointment, so we headed up to 4 Noses. 

This may be one of my favorite new bandanas!

Sunday (39,359 steps) - Up around 4 am since I had to drive up to Boulder for the Sunset Trail festival race I was running with Terri and Larry. First, though, I had to get ready and take Olive for a walk. I was out the door shortly after 5 and got to the Justice Center in plenty of time. I'll recap this separately.

Finally got service when we were almost back to Boulder and Ben said that he would meet us at 4 Noses. Not sure what else we did after.

Monday (15,050 steps) - Another day that I didn't have jury duty since the judge had other cases he needed to tend to. I did, however, still need to work. It was nice not getting up early. Ariel had mentioned she was going to be coming by, so I hurried out the door to get my run in. It was a relatively blah run, but it was nice and cool out and not as awful as it could have been. She got to the house shortly after I did and while she was doing some other things I took Olive for a walk. We went to Dutch and picked up Torchy's for lunch. Finished out the day working and finishing an episode of You. Watching "The Waterfront."

Stats:

• 138,848 steps
• 37.65 miles run
• 11.53 miles walked
• 30 minutes of cardio
• 30 minutes of strength

Week in Review (June 10 - June 16)

Tuesday (11,399 steps) - Peloton and walked Olive before heading to the Jefferson County court house. I had to be there at 7:45 and traffic wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I had remembered to charge my Kindle and then promptly forgot to bring it with me. I ended up spending a few hours in the morning reading my my book on my phone and surfing the net. I did not get called in the first set of people. HOWEVER, I was called FOURTH in the second set of people of which 110 total people were given numbers. 

The 110 of us were then separated into groups, and since I was one of the lower numbers, I actually had to sit in the jury box for the first round of questioning and disqualifications. We were given a long lunch, and since I hadn't really planned on actually being called, I hadn't brought my water bottle (because I wasn't sure I could even bring through security) and I didn't have much to eat for lunch. I knew Ariel was working, so I stopped by to say hi before walking to Target to grab some shelf stable food and a bottle of water. 

Blue-C and Lucy being adorable together

I went back to Cheesecake for a quick lunch. It was expensive, but tasty.

I got back to the court house with a little bit of extra time, so I did a quick walk around the back of the building to get some extra steps in. I had no idea there were gardens back there!

The afternoon round of jury selection did not get me eliminated either, so I was going to have to plan on at least another day of jury duty. Ugh. Ariel came by after work. We took Olive for a walk and saw that one of the houses up the street had added some painted rocks to the base of their tree - which was cute!

We had not come up with a great plan for dinner, so Ben went to Costco to pick up a pizza. Ariel hung out with us for a bit before leaving to visit with a friend. Lioness.

Wednesday (15,228 steps) - Thanks to jury duty, I had to get up extra early to do my workout. Greg had scheduled me for 14x70s, which I have done a few times. I decided I would just run north to the bike path and do repeats back and forth so I didn't get too far from home  AND so I would have access to a bathroom. It was a good plan, since I had to stop after my second repeat. Over all I just felt really tired during these and walked almost all the recoveries. 

By the time I got home I had enough time to shower and barely enough time to take Olive for a short walk. Ariel had spent the night and said she could walk Olive at lunch. Court, day 2. This time it was even more jury selection. By lunch I found out that I would actually be serving on a criminal trial - FOR THREE WEEKS. I brought my lunch this time at least, and walked back into the garden area and read my book in the shade. Long day. I think we did a "just fend for yourself" for dinner since I was starving by the time I got home. Ran to the grocery store to find some food to take for lunch while I'm in jury duty that won't require a microwave. Lioness?

Thursday (17,860 steps) - Up early AGAIN to get my workouts in. I did a Peloton arms and shoulders class, but I still had to get a run in also. (Technically, I was supposed to do an hour of cross training, but I figured that twenty minutes was probably plenty).

Yes, it was a pretty morning, no, I was not happy to be out. I had planned on running to the lower pavilion and than cutting along the trail to get back. There has been so much rain that the grass and weeds have taken over and that section of trail is completely gone! I had to wander up the hill to find the higher up trail to run back down the way I wanted to go. Rushed home for a shower and then took Olive for a walk before going back to court, day 3. On my lunch hour I took a longer walk to see where all the bike paths connected and once again ate my lunch on a bench.

I will say, at least where I've been on my lunch hour, it's pretty. After work I went home to let Olive out before Ben and I went to Torchy's for dinner. We both took Olive for a walk when we got home. Lioness.

Friday (13,160 steps) - With it being a rest day, I just got up a little bit earlier so that I could take Olive for a longer walk, out to the lake. It was a beautiful morning and there were tons of people out.

Court, day 4. Same deal, walked around during lunch and had my lunch, this time at a picnic table and read my book on my phone. 

We unfortunately did not get released on time, which was my first BIG annoyance of the day. Then, I walked out to my car and noticed that my tired looked flat. Sure enough, when I turned my car on the front passenger tire was completely flat! Thankfully, I still drive with run flat tires, so I was able to go home. It looked MUCH worse by the time I got there.

Ben brought home sandwiches from Taste of Philly. Lioness.

Saturday (28,572 steps) - Took Olive for a long walk to the lake and got all my gear packed up for our afternoon adventure of course sweeping for Aravaipa at Barr Lake trail races. First, we had to drive to Big O so I could drop my car off for the new tire. Then, we drove up to Brighton. It was at least 85 degrees when we arrived - with full sun. We had been asked to arrive at 11:30, but they were not ready for us to start sweeping until closer to noon. We saw the last runner go by the start/finish of the 9ish mile loop we would be sweeping with another guy, Jay. For a loop course, I was really surprised by the amount of flagging and signage. There was really only about a mile long section that had a lot of trash, and that was near the boat ramp area. Most of that was not race-related trash, but I felt like we should collect it anyway. My pockets definitely got really gross and sticky. We passed the water only aid station that was the 5k turn around and the first real aid station was at about mile 3 - where we arrived right as the runner left. I suggested that we wait at LEAST 5 minutes for her to get a head start on us. I had some watermelon and coke with ice. By now, it had to be pushing 90 degrees. Thankfully, Ben still had his quiver on his pack, which turned out to be the perfect way to carry all the pin flags!

We were able to see the runner, who was now accompanied by the bike medic when we were still probably 1.5 miles away from the aid station. Jay thought she might want company, but I thought we should hang back, at least for a bit. As someone that has spent some time with sweepers, a lot of the time I do NOT enjoy the company.

The next aid station was another 3.5 miles away, so maybe around 6.5 miles into the loop. We arrived right after the runner, and I could tell just by how she reacted to the few things that were said to her that she was not in the mood to hang out with sweepers. We stayed much longer at this aid station, and learned the girl captaining the aid station was going to be running Ouray 100 as her first 100, and her and Ben had some animated conversations about the race. We assumed we only had about 2.5 miles to go and headed out. Definitely getting REALLY hot now. The runner was definitely slowing down, and at this point in the course there were a LOT more signs that had to be pulled. We also saw some deer!

Some clouds finally came out with maybe 2/3 of a mile to go. This was a blessing and a curse. A blessing since it finally seemed to cool things down, and a curse because every mosquito in the country swarmed us in this section. Even though we had applied a bug spray multiple times - it did not matter. These were murder mosquitos. I probably got at least 20 bites in maybe 6-7 minutes. We were all really happy to cross the finish line.

There was a taco truck at the finish line, and as volunteers, we were able to get a free plate. They were so good! Unfortunately, the mosquitos had followed us. We put on even MORE bug spray, but this was not a lot of fun.

We stuck around to help tear down the finish line and aid station for about 30 minutes before we had to leave and go pick up my car. When I dropped off the car, we picked up Olive and went to 4 Noses. Dinner was leftovers from Taste of Philly. Lioness.

Sunday (24,827 steps) - Tried to sleep in and failed. Took Olive for a walk relatively early and let Ben know it was already feeling insanely hot so we should head out for our workout ASAP. I had 3,000' of vert to do, and since we had made plans to have lunch with Ariel in Golden, I suggested going to the Quarry road at North Table to do repeats. Of course I "forgot" that there is basically no shade. Even on the first repeat, there were only a few tiny patches of shade, and those were probably only a tenth of a mile from the top. We grinded out the first three fairly quickly.

There were NO clouds and it was HOT. Like really hot. Ben does not do as well in the heat as I do and I think on the 4th repeat he stayed at the top to lower his heart rate while I ran down and came back up. He ran down with me, but chose to stop after that one. So, I had two more to do, alone.

I had multiple people ask me how many repeats I was doing and they were telling me I was "awesome." More like stupid. We should not have started this so late in the day!!

The last one was a struggle and I stopped multiple times on the way up and thought very hard about not finishing, but of course I did. When I got back down I took off my back and went into the bathroom to rinse all the dead bugs of my arms and face. Thankfully, the bathroom has very cold water. It was refreshing!! We headed into Golden and got on the wait list for Woody's. By the time Ariel arrived our table was ready. Unfortunately, we had asked for "first available" - which was outside. SO HOT! The food was good, and it was great (like always) to see Ariel. After lunch we walked around on the bike path. She had to go home to get ready for work, so we also went home. We both showered and then grabbed Olive and went up to 4 Noses. We ended up sitting there for a bit and got food from the food truck (Georgia Brothers) to take home for dinner. Lioness. Also, the shortest and hottest weekend ever.

Monday (20,272 steps) - UGH. Normally a work from home day for me and a day I usually sleep until after 7. NOPE. I had to get up early to get my run in. I was definitely sore and tired from the repeats and this was a struggle.

I turned around on a similar path to the one I "lost" the previous week, thinking that there would be a feeder trail up to the higher path. Once again, I couldn't find it, so I had to trek up the hill again.

Super happy to have this one done. Ben had gone to Dutch Bros. and got me a coffee while I was out running, which was so appreciated! Took Olive for a walk and had to rush out the door for jury duty, day 6. Long day, again. Once again, I took a long walk around the building before settling on a bench and having my lunch while reading my book. We got out late, again. Ben was able to let Olive out, so at least I wasn't stressed about that. Goosie's newest outfit came in the mail! I love her hat.

We had to go to Costco, but as we normally do, we picked up a pizza on our way out for dinner. Lioness.

Stats:

• 131,318 steps
• 29.3 miles run
• 14.17 miles walked
• 25 minutes of cardio
• 20 minutes of strength

Week in Review (June 3 - June 9)

Tuesday (13,912 steps) - Peloton and Olive walk before going to work in the office. Went to the gym at lunch for StairMaster and used the weight machines again for mostly chest and back exercises. 

Ben grilled some chicken for dinner and then I took Olive for a walk 

Wednesday (19,213 steps) - Since I hadn't planned on running at lunch, I actually decided to straighten my hair. Much to my annoyance, it was really humid when I walked Olive and my hair got kinda wavy and frizzy. UGH. After work I headed over to Dinosaur Ridge since I had a my 5x5 repeats - Ben actually met me for the workout, although he joined in after I had already done the warmup. I was feeling really sluggish and slow on these and actually had to walk over to the visitor center to use the bathroom before I could finish my workout. 

We stopped just in the nick of time as it started to rain and was pouring most of the drive home. We made the new Birria taco kit from Costco - pretty tasty!

Thursday (13,728 steps) - It was time for my 400th strength class with Peloton, so I logged in before work to hopefully get a shout out in Katie's Upper Body Strength, which I ultimately did not get. Since I was already logged in I decided to continue with a bonus lower body class. Got my Peloton ride in. I also had a run on schedule that I planned to do at lunch - only 45 minutes. With it having been raining nonstop for weeks, I wasn't sure how muddy it would be at the lake, but figured I would just turn around if it got too bad. Run was off to a bad start when I got my lowest rating from Garmin of a -7?!??! 

Once I got off the bike path, I decided to go out towards the dam instead of the south side and it initially was pretty good. I had planned to do the loop away from the dam but had to turn around because I could tell that it was going to be chunky. I felt kinda blah the whole time and even walked a bit during the last mile. Walked Olive after that. Finished out the day with some actual stretching since I have been so sore. Had to clock out a little early so I could go in for my annual mammogram. 

We had Torchy's for dinner and then Criminal Minds!

Friday (16,261 steps) - Wash Park with the gang  and then Olive and I went to work. Had a decent amount of documents that needed to be finalized and sent to clients so the day went by relatively fast.

 

Took Olive for a walk at lunch. We rushed home after work since we were heading up to Summit County to camp for the week and the only thing that I had gotten ready was Olive's bag. At least I had made a list of things to get ready before I left work, so it didn't take that long to get everything ready. Helped Ben load up Shelly and we got on the road by about 6:45. Historically, we have hit NASTY traffic when leaving, but it was a very smooth drive up and we did not hit any traffic! We got to the mountain early enough to hit up Outer Range for a beer with Lee and his friend before heading over to the campsite.  

We had to stop at Safeway to pick up firewood and then Ben grilled up the hot dogs for us but it was pretty chilly and we were exhausted, so we didn't stay up late.

Saturday (23,297 steps) - We did not get up super early, but took Olive for a loop around the campsite and had breakfast before our activity of the day. 

We decided on going back to Baldy Mountain, but Ben knew a different trailhead to start at that would cut out some of the distance and basically give us the same vert. We had planned on mostly hiking the climbs. 

The trails were pretty smooth until we got to about 11,500' - and then there was ALL THE SNOW. This led to some route finding and also some post holing - which as you all know, is NOT my favorite. At one point, I even lost my shoe!! That was annoying since I had to SIT in the snow to retrieve it. Ugh. 

The weather was actually pretty mild and we decided that if the trail was clear once we got across the snowfield that we would see if we could get to the first summit at the radio tower - which we did. It was also really REALLY windy up there at 12,611'! 

Quickly turned around with the goal of getting down quickly, so we did a little jogging here and there.

There had actually been a lot melting just in the amount of time we had been out, which was impressive. 

Of course as soon as we finished with the run we were ravenous. We were trying to find somewhere to get a snack and a beer and ended up going to Highside since we knew that we could be inside. 

Olive immediately conked out - exhausted!! After lunch and a beer we met Lee again at Outer Range before heading back to the campsite for cheeseburgers and relaxation. More napping for Olive! 

We started a new show (Lioness), but we were really tired so had another relatively early evening.

Sunday (17,747 steps) - Even though we didn't set an alarm, we got up early so that we would be able to get our fitness activity in before we had to leave the campground. I had suggested going to Rainbow Lake (for Olive, mostly) and then planned on going up Miners Creek until we hit snow. The lower trail was in mostly good shape although some areas were a bit muddy. 

We opted to go up the road, thinking that it would be easier to keep Olive off leash. There were definitely some large "puddles" that led us to question how the vehicles were going to handle it. We saw the crossover to the trail and decided to just go down that way. It was actually a lot of fun to go down that way and we mostly ran the entire section. We saw just a few people on foot, thankfully no bikes. 

The run took a lot less time than we expected so when we got back to the campground we grilled up the last of the hot dogs as we were packing up everything to leave. 

We had such a great view from the campsite

Exhausted Olive while we were loading up

Of course, on our way out of town we opted to stop for a quick beer at Outer Range, while still watching the traffic. Strangely, we did not hit traffic heading home!! We decided to go to 4 Noses for a quick beer after getting back to the area. Unloaded the camper and I went to pick up a pizza at Costco since we really didn't have any food in the house. Lioness.

Monday (24,209 steps) - Work from home!

Normally I don't walk Olive in the morning if I am working from home, but I wasn't sure how my day was going to progress so I took her for an early walk. It was already toasty by the time I walked her and it was even worse when I went for my run at lunch. I had a longer run (for during the week) so I had to tack on some distance from what I normally run. I really wanted to run the south side, and once again, I figured I could always change my route if the conditions were too poor. I was very surprised that the single track in the middle of the hill was actually completely dry! While I didn't think this run was terrible, my heart rate was relatively high and that's probably a direct correlation to the amount of beer I had over the weekend and the poor sleep.

After work I hoped to do some driving but only got in one delivery before heading home. I had received a summons for jury duty before we went to Alaska and unfortunately when I called, my number was included in the list of people that needed to go in. Ben grilled some chicken and then we took Olive to the lake for a walk.

Stats:

• 128,367 steps
• 29.01 miles run
• 11.01 miles walked
• 60 minutes of cardio
• 40 minutes of strength