Homemade Pizza

Fresh-picked tomatoes from the garden.

Hazel Dell Mushrooms from the farmers' market.

Basil from the garden.

Red pepper from Cure Organic Farm. 

The finished product. Yum.

Milner Pass to Mount Ida

Ben and I completed our final long training run before the Imogene Pass Run in two weeks. It's all downhill from here (before the big uphill climb of course)! On Sunday morning we drove through Estes Park into Rocky Mountain National Park, over the Continental Divide via Trail Ridge Road to the Milner Pass Trailhead. The wind was gusting when we arrived at the nearly 11,000 foot-high trailhead and there was a forty-degree temperature difference as compared to Boulder. I was actually cold. I haven't been cold in the outdoors in what feels like months!

When running at high altitude you have to be prepared for rapid weather changes - in minutes the sky can turn from sunny and clear to cloudy and stormy.  Lightning is one of my biggest worries when I'm hiking. Since most of our run was above timberline and entirely exposed, there was nothing protecting us from the elements. We packed our Camelbaks with hats, gloves, rain gear and energy and headed up the mountain. We would forge ahead, rain or shine. Clouds passed above, the wind whipped through us, but thankfully no storms developed overhead.

I made the decision to run long this weekend knowing it was my last chance to do so before the race. During the last month my training has really suffered. Classes, applications, a trip to Honduras (where it is not safe for a female to run alone), and my little friend the sinus infection put a damper on my ability to run. I needed this run.  So, ignoring the fact that I was not completely recovered from the sinus infection, I ran. It may not have been pretty or fast, but I ran up that mountain slow and steady.

The trail is--pardon the language--a real bitch in the beginning. When we left the trail head it felt so good to just be moving after resting most of the week and I said so aloud. B's response was "tell me that again in five minutes." He wasn't kidding, I looked down at my watch and by 4 minutes and 35 seconds I was breathless and struggling to keep moving up the mountain. Holy hell! How would I survive? My muscles have atrophied thanks to my lack of training, I thought. I've lost weight, I'm weak! I'm still sick! I'm going to die! All thoughts passing through my mind. Turns out I have not lost any significant amount of muscle that I can tell by looking, I am not seriously sick anymore, and I did not die on that trail. 

After thirty minutes of pure, relentless mountain-climbing hell, the trail leveled out just enough for me to come to my senses and realize that I wasn't in hell, I was in fact running across the Continental Divide and currently missing the most expansive mountain views I've ever seen while running. I gathered myself, slowed my breathing, and continued to climb to the summit of Mount Ida now enjoying my surroundings. We reached the peak in 1.5 hours and made it back down in a total of 2.5 hours. The trail is about 10 miles round-trip reaching an altitude just shy of 13,000 feet. I was pleased with the amount of time we spent climbing. I know Imogene will be a much longer climb, but I think I'll make it through alright. 

Driving back on Trail Ridge Road I took some pictures of Mt. Ida. The peak is easiest to spot in this first photo with its long, sloping ridge. We ran up the west side from north to south (photo taken facing west). Pretty amazing views, right?

I can't believe our race is just two short weeks away! I can't wait.

Team Masselink

This weekend Ben and I attended Ben's friend Jamie's wedding at Echo Mountain. We drove up to Idaho Springs on a winding mountain road to the small ski resort and after arriving quickly understood why they chose this location to be married. Just look at the backdrop!

The sky threatened rain but the weather held out for the ceremony. The location was perfect for the intimate wedding they planned - only fifty or so guests attended. Jamie and Travis are such a cute pair. Just look at how happy they are to be starting their new life together:

"Super in love."

The details:

Probably my favorite detail of the wedding was the photo booth they used for their guest book. Each guest was asked to take pictures and then sign the guest book - and you even got a copy of your own pictures. If our house wasn't in a shambles because of the remodel, I'd scan a copy of our photos and post them. Maybe soon.

The dancing:

And, us:

Super in love.

Full moon rising

Tonight I ventured out for a walk, not a run, with my pups as I'm still recovering from a bad sinus infection. I took the camera along like I do on all of our other walks, but the loop was rather unremarkable and I wasn't inspired to pull off the lens cap very often. I did notice, however, that Higgins has grown considerably in the last month: At nine months old, he is a head taller than Byrdie and still growing.

I let the dogs run around and burn off some energy before rounding them up to head for home. That's when inspiration struck. Inspiration in the form of the full moon rising in the east. I regret that I didn't grab the telescopic lens on my way out the door. The moon hung low and dim over the horizon and slowly climbed higher and higher into the fading light. As I walked home I snapped time-lapsed pictures to try and capture the beauty.

What a gift.

Neighborhood Walk 2

Happy puppies.

Grasshoppers gone wild.

Surrounded by beauty.

Just another day in the neighborhood. I love every minute of it.