Thru Endurance We Conquer!

Wow. Closing out 2018 and it's been an interesting year. There's been a lot of challenges that we had to work through, a few firsts - both in good and bad ways, and plenty of adventure. I can't say I'm sad to see 2018 go...  But before that, in no particular order, are some of the highlights and lessons from the year. A new year is like the dawn of a new day - full of potential Best New Race Hands down, the Sangre de Cristo Ultra . This was kind of a whim race - I headed down for a supported long run on some new trails. And I came away with a rekindled love for running in the mountains. There is something to be said about a simple course, minimal marking for a truly wilderness feel and being able to camp at the race start. It was truly one of the most enjoyable races I've done, surrounded with amazing scenery and other like minded runners. Follow the rainbow trail -  spectacular views around every bend Most Important Racing Lesson Stay in the moment....

While the main purpose of the Tulsa trip was to visit my dad, I still managed to find a fun race to add on to the trip. The format of the event is what intrigued me - half marathon on trails or a half marathon on road or combine the two together for a full marathon. Of course, I had to do the full marathon. Might as well! And I wanted the two medals for the complete yin-yang of road and trail... I'd been watching the weather for the entire week before the race. While Sunday - race day - always stayed consistent - sunny and cold, the temperature varied form a high of 45 and low of 28 to a high of 32 and low of 19. It was the days before the race that had me worried. That was ranging from cold and raining for both days to freezing rain to freezing rain followed by up to 7 inches of snow. Rain would make the trail portion interestingly muddy, but have no affect on the road half. Freezing rain or freezing rain and snow was a different matter. Since I was flying, I wouldn't be abl...

Eventually! As I sit in the COS airport, I’m reminded exactly why I don’t like flying for races. But this is an exception. It’s a short little solo jaunt to Tulsa, hopefully running the RunnersWorld Tulsa Half and Half Marathon, then heading home. So at least running clothes - even if I have to pack all the layers for the pending weather - don’t take up that much room! The race isn’t the primary goal of this trip however. It’s a nice side part to the timing of the trip. I think. I haven’t run a formal marathon in low 30s* in a while! Add in the fact that I know nothing about the first half of the race - the trail half and it’s definitely going to be an adventure. The half and half refers to the type of race - first half of the course is on trails and the second half is on roads. I think I’m going to be happy that the first half is trail - it will still be frozen when we start! Leaving on a jet plane... Last view of the mountains for a few days! No, the race isn’t the goal. The go...