Week in Review (October 6 - October 12)

Tuesday (10,888 steps) - Peloton ride and Olive walk before going to work. Robin has not been doing well, so I spent the morning researching options for end of life, which was really traumatizing. Gym at lunch for strength training and a hike on the treadmill. Olive walk when I got home. Ben had a work meeting go late so he ordered Mod Market for dinner. 

Carrie miniseries.

Wednesday (17,926 steps) - Olive walk before work. I switched my running workouts so I could just get my run done on my lunch hour. Run was fine. 

I really hate the .5 selfie, but only way to get my Halloween shorts in the pic!

Olive walk after work. More Carrie and spent the evening making sure Robin had the best night - lots of lap cuddles. 

Thursday (24,445 steps) - Olive walk to the lake before starting work for the day. 

Did my hill repeats early so that I would have more time with Robin before her appointment. 

Ariel arrived before lunch hour and we both worked in the kitchen to be near Robin. We even took her outside in the yard to see if she would enjoy the grass, but she seemingly just wanted to be inside lying in the sun. 

After lunch it was time to take Robin in. They took very good care of her, but it was still gut-wrenching. She was the sweetest baby and we will miss her very much. 

Quick afternoon walk with Olive before dinner at Torchy's, which Ariel joined us for. Did a small amount of packing, but mostly just sad couch time watching Carrie.

Friday (22,269 steps) - Walk with Olive to the lake before starting my workday. 

We had hoped to be out the door by 9, but it was closer to 9:30 before we left. Stopped at Dutch on our way out of town. Detour in Avon because Ben had some work to do at a job site. Olive and I went on multiple walks in the area while he was busy. 

We drove all the way through to Moab, only stopping to the use the bathroom at the rest stop just inside the Utah border. We made a quick stop at HQ in town, hoping to buy a hat, but the merch tent was closed. Confirmed our job with Brian and then drove to the aid station at Shay, same as last year. We got there right after the sun started to set and we were able to get the truck and canopy set up right behind the aid station - much closer than we were last year. Took Olive for a quick walk since we had all been cooped up in the car. 

We helped to set up the walled canopies and tried to start organizing the kitchen/food tent. Finally decided to go to sleep around 11(?) before the first runners were supposed to show up.

Saturday (19,835 steps) - Ben woke up well before our alarm was scheduled to go off, but Olive and I stayed in the truck until maybe 4. While it hadn't rained overnight it was definitely chilly with the wind. Our first runner was in and out pretty quickly, maybe around 5 am. I planned to go for a run on the course and figured I should get that done before the runners really started to come in. I headed out around 8:15. I was surprised at how dry the road was, although there were definitely sections that were muddy. This was a deviation from the course we had in 2020 and it was GORGEOUS. 

I ended up run/hiking up a little over 3 miles to false summit before I noticed the dark clouds and decided I better head back before I got poured on. 

While I had a few raindrops land on me, the weather held up. I got within maybe a mile of being done before I saw some of the runners coming up the trail. Glad I got this done early! Took Olive for a very quick and short walk before it was really time to get to work at the aid station. We weren't super busy for hours, which was nice. It was definitely windier than last year, so that was a challenge. We mostly had Olive leashed to the truck hitch because she was wanting to wander. 

We knew the rain was coming and we had to move quickly to relocate the drop bags that were obviously not waterproof. I'll never understand why people do this!! We got done just in time and the rain started around 3 pm. From then it was on and off... for the rest of the race. Runners were coming into our aid station telling us about the flooding that was occurring before the climb to Shay. We didn't really know how bad it was at this point. Ben was working nonstop with various medical issues and I was working to check runners in and out after two ladies finished their shift. Continued doing that for a few hours until replacements came in. There was going to be a lull in runners and Olive was getting anxious with the weather, so I loaded her up in the truck and we planned a nap. 

Sunday (10,422 steps) - I know for SURE that I had set an alarm on my watch, so I was very surprised when I eventually decided to get up and realized we had been in bed much longer than I intended. I opened FB to check on runner updates and that is when I found out that approximately 70 runners were being held at Bridger Jack (the aid station before ours) because of unsafe trail conditions and flooding. Getting back out and helping runners was triage. They were cold and wet and the wind was making things even worse. The rain had come down so hard during the night that just about everything was soaking wet. Sometime before sunrise I was going back and forth between the truck and aid station and I heard Olive crying so I relocated her to the kitchen tent so she wasn't alone. We were not under the tent for very long before a gust of wind uprooted it and blew it away! It only stopped because our canopy and Ben's truck was there. Since we were at the tail end of runners (with the back of the pack being stuck at Bridger Jack and not being allowed to continue) we had to pack up all our stuff. Olive and I helped tear down the aid station - starting with the canopies that we had determined were no longer secure. We headed out maybe around 8 to go to HQ and figure out what our next assignment was going to be. We talked to Brian and found out more info on Bridger Jack and that a total of 142 people (runners, pacers, staff/volunteers) had been stuck there overnight and they were working on evacuation. We basically told Brian that we were going to get a hotel in town and would have to figure out if we had the mental capacity to go to another aid station - at that time, Geyser Pass in the La Sals was considered the aid station that would need the most help. We went into town to a place called Gloria's that had a walled in patio so Olive could be inside to get breakfast.

Since there was a break in the weather, we took a quick walk. 

Our room at the Marriott wasn't going to be ready until 2. We went to the new brewery in town, Proper, (I mean, it's probably not new, but new since we ran in 2020). Ben said the beer was "not bad" and we got some cheesecake - which was delicious. Bonus that we were able to bring Olive inside there as well.

We checked in basically right at 2 and immediately showered. I was scrolling through socials when I saw the race had been completely cancelled due to deteriorating weather conditions. Holy crap!! So at this point we knew we were done with the race, but we were still planning on staying in town for the night. We got dinner in the hotel restaurant and then watched a bit of tv, but went to bed early.

Monday (13,588 steps) - Woke up early to take Olive for a long walk before starting work. 

I don't connect to unsecured networks when working and my phone hotspot was a nightmare. Thankfully we were able to get Ben's truck close enough to use the Starlink. We checked out at 11 and headed over to HQ to talk with people that were hanging out there. We picked up new hoodies and were on the road by probably noon. Stopped in Grand Junction for Dutch Bros. and gas and then in Frisco for Whole Foods pizza and Outer Range. 

Bye until next year, Summit County :(

It was probably 8 before we got home. Spent a half hour unloaded everything and starting on laundry before one episode of Carrie.

Stats:

• 119,373 steps
• 16.88 miles run
• 16.39 miles walked
• 30 minutes of cardio
• 30 minutes of strength 
• 0 minutes of sauna

Week in Review (September 15 - September 21)

Tuesday (13,457 steps) - Woke up exhausted. Olive was scratching all night and it kept waking me up. UGH. Peloton and walk with Ben and Olive. Had a quick interview and then went to the gym. Strength workout and a walking video. Went for another walk in the afternoon. We are only in the mid 70s right now and it is so gloriously comfortable compared to all the days of 90s we had this summer. Ben made tacos for dinner. Took Olive for a walk before Yellowjackets.

Wednesday (19,294 steps) - Walked Olive to the lake before clocking in. 

I worked from home for about over an hour before Ben and I took Olive to the vet. She has been itchy and scratching for a while now - nothing we have tried has worked. So... allergy shot, hopefully it works. Traffic was weirdly horrific going into Denver. Later lunch to do my workout. It was mostly fine but had a hard time keeping my heart rate lower. 

Qdoba for dinner. Reacher season finale and more Yellowjackets.

Thursday (25,184 steps) - Walk with Olive to the lake before starting work. Had to take Olive back to the groomer so she could get the rest of her undercoat treatment - a blowout! So fancy. Went for my run at lunch. It was lightly raining so I ran on Big Dry Creek for my workout. SO HUMID. 

Quick Peloton ride, an Olive walk, upper body workout. After work I headed down to Golden for trail work with Trail Sisters on Chimney Gulch. The map took me up Lookout so I had to find somewhere to turn around and get to the correct trailhead. Annoying! This was a nice night for working and I was glad that we only worked until about 7 because again, HUMID. 

It was Brit's birthday so we had some cake in the parking lot before I headed to Torchy's to meet Ben for a late dinner. Barely had time for an episode of Yellowjackets. Lordy, longest day ever.

Friday (12,174 steps) - Quick walk with Olive before going to work. Took Olive for a walk at lunch. We left early so I could get my things packed for the weekend. I have never been one to wait until the last minute to pack and the last few trips I have done that and it is always so stressful! We started the drive up to the mountains about the time I would normally be getting off work, so that meant I did not need to bring the laptop with me. We got to the town hall in Frisco just after 6 so I could pick up my bib. Super fast and easy! Then it was to Outer Range (of course). 

Lee met us there and we stayed until about 7:30. Picked up pizza from Whole Foods and then back to Lee's house. We had dinner and then spent an odd amount of time researching the Sri Chimnoy Transcendence race. 

Saturday (27,909 steps) - Up at 6 for Run the Rockies - race recap to follow. We drove up to Copper Mountain for the start and took Olive for a quick walk on the bike path. There is snow on the peaks?!

Since the weather was still being iffy, we planned to go to Highside so we could be inside and get food. Managed to get a pic of my NA beer but not the nachos we got.

I took off my wet clothes in the bathroom and put on one of Ben's truck hoodies and could NOT get warm. He grabbed the moving blanket from the truck, but I was still freezing. How am I possibly going to be able to survive winter?? I heard back from Greg that he was leaving Leadville and we agreed to meet him at Outer Range. They had half their patio closed for their Summit members gathering, but we were thankfully able to get some seats at the outdoor bar. We stayed chatting with Greg for a bit - it was great to see him, we don't cross paths much anymore. Time to head to Lee's house and I was really glad to change out of my race clothes and put on my joggers. Lee picked up JJ's Chinese food for us and we spent a decent amount of time watching the Run Rabbit livestream. 

Went to bed early because I was totally exhausted. 

Sunday (18,107 steps) - Took Olive for a walk around the block. I love that people are already putting out their Halloween decorations!

We decided to go to Vail for a trip up Berry Picker. We weren't sure if we were going to miss the changing leaves or not and decided not to risk it since the weather was nice. TONS of parking and the jaunt up the hill was beautiful and tough like always. 

We stayed at the top for a beer (NA for me) and then took the gondola down. 

The fear when Olive remembers she has to get on the gondola

Lunch at Garfinkel's. Sidenote: We are such creatures of habit that even though we have only done this 3-4 times Olive knows exactly where to go and what to do. Pretty silly. 

Quick window-shopping stop at Patagonia before heading down the hill. Met Lee at Outer Range and then started the drive down. 

We had waited until it looked like traffic wouldn't be that bad - spoiler - it was horrific and it took us almost three hours to get home. It was dark by the time we got there and we had to unload the truck. Did some things around the house and had a frozen burrito for dinner before an episode of Yellowjackets. 

Monday (22,986 steps) - Olive walk to the lake before I clocked in for the day. 

Greg actually gave me a workout (!) to do, which was surprising to me since I had raced on Saturday. I had some apprehension about it, but it actually went REALLY well. 

Saw this guy both times I ran by!

Ben and I went to Costco at lunch since we have ZERO food in the house. Another walk around the block with Olive. We made dinner, a random chicken carbona lasagna - weird combo, but it was really good! More Yellowjackets. 

Stats:

• 139,111 steps
• 32.87 miles run
• 16.13 miles walked
• 25 minutes of cardio
• 40 minutes of strength
• 0 minutes of sauna