Road Trip to the Bubble

When work ended on Friday, it was time to hit the road.  Brian and I had packed the car the night before -- with all sorts of things including: climbing gear, his brand new, fancy computer, enough clothes to get him through a month-long stay in Boulder, and running gear -- so we were ready to get moving as soon as my work day ended.  We did something totally unprecedented and attacked the drive west in two parts; yep, no sitting in the car for 15 hours straight.  We made it to central Iowa on evening one, and after hunting down a hotel room, which was no easy task thanks to a high school track meet that brought a billion people to the city, called it a night.  We took our time with the second half of the drive on Saturday as the weather in Colorado has been uncharacteristically awful.  We made it into town around dinner time and were able to settle into our pal Peter's house (he's hosting Brian for a few weeks while Brian remains in Boulder).  And then we got to having fun.  We went out for drinks and a few rounds of shuffleboard that evening, we went to Movement Climbing + Fitness Denver for some climbing on Sunday, we attended the wine and cheese party Peter was hosting in the evening, and we ran 6.2 miles Monday morning.  

That run was the reason we set this trip in motion at this particular time.  We ran the BolderBOULDER last year and really enjoyed ourselves, so we decided, despite a lack of training due to time (Brian) and injury (me), that we'd run it again this year.  Having dealt with some major running issues as of late, my nerves were on high alert.  I simply wanted to run a race pain free and enjoy myself...also, the competitive side of me wanted to do better than last year, to run at a great pace and feel like I was able to push myself and give it my all. Once we got going on Monday, I felt great - no knee pain and it almost felt like I could breathe normally.  We continued to cut down our split times and settled into a great pace.  We chatted and laughed and celebrated every kilometer...that is until we hit the 8K mark.  My knee, the other one this time, started to flare up and I knew that I was in trouble.  I told Brian my bad news and tried to find a pace and stride that wasn't going to make me feel any worse.  The end was near when the pain really kicked in, but the sigh of the stadium helped me fight through it, and as we entered Folsom Field, I got a boost of energy and kicked in into high(ish) gear as I headed toward the finish line.  I was really excited to report to Brian that we had achieved his goal; we beat our time from last year.  His response: "I think we can do this in sub-60."  Now keep in mind that this came from the person who was pretty certain he didn't want to do the BB10K this year ... or again.  I guess there's something to be said about a runner's high!  There's also something to be said about finishing a race in the shadows of the Flatirons.  

We celebrated our 'victory' with an awesome lunch and then went to Boulder Creek Fest.  We ended our time together in Boulder with a visit with some pals.  We ate well, drank well, and laughed a lot. It was perfect...and then the rain came, and I had to go to the airport.  

Back in Wisconsin, the countdown is on.  Twelve days of school remain, and then it's SUMMERTIME, which will include trips in Colorado, Utah, and British Columbia.  I cannot wait to be back under the same roof (wherever that may be) as my adventure buddy; I cannot wait to run in the mountains and hike by the sea; I cannot wait for our adventure summer, and this past weekend was  great kick-off for it! 

Reporting from FL (the FL wave, that is)


A tradition has begun?! 

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