I had the pleasure of spending my weekend at altitude in beautiful Colorado. Our friends, Sean and Jenny Vandergriff, got married on top of a nice mountain spot in Boulder. It was such a gorgeous weekend- full sun, great weather, a happy couple, and good friends.
While there was a rumor out there that I was in Boulder to train (I swear Jeff Skinner started that rumor)- unless premier altitude training consists of vodka/grapefruit, mimosas, cosmopolitans, fat tire, chardonnay, champagne AND one 80 minute run up a mountain, I would say my competition is safe for the year.
I will say that running in Colorado is absolutely amazing. It was a beautiful experience- and I am jealous that the residents get to run in that weather and on that terrain 6 months out of the year.
Our group stayed in a big cabin on top of a mountain outside of Boulder. We were above 9,000 feet which is pretty amazing. I had an 80 minute run to fit in Saturday morning before the 11:00 wedding. Everyone was impressed that I woke up in time to get a run in, given the lingering hangovers. I seriously wondered how I was going to run up the side of a mountain. Forget hills- the SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN- we were 14 miles straight up a mountain! wow! And, if I decided to run down, then I still had to get back up. Oh yeah, and the lack of oxygen was a consideration. Oh, and the night before everyone scared me with mountain lion stories.
So, I decided to stay on a traveled road- NO trails for me. I wanted my wildlife experience to stick with rabbits- no mountain lions. And, since I was running alone, had no food, and there were NO cell phone signals- I took my mace in case I ran into a mad mountain man. Oh, and I wrote my name and the cabin's address on my hand just in case....
The first 3 minutes of the run at that crazy altitude were interesting. Hello oxygen? Seriously, though, it ended up being so beautiful and fun. Once I got through half of the run and realized I would not pass out from altitude problems, I loved it! I had two main thoughts on my run:
1. I will never have this single run back again. Make the most of it and enjoy it!
2. Deena Kastor does this every day (in Mammoth Lakes altitude) at 5:30 pace! Holy crap that is amazing.
So, hopefully my one day of altitude training will carry me on to a fantastic ironman. :) The mountains were so beautiful, and Dave and I started plotting in our heads how we could have a summer home there one day (after, of course, I get a job- minor detail).
6 comments:
that is a smart move on writing your name on your hand..pretty smart :) the photo's are beautiful...Ohio is so boring and ugly!!!
I guess you can't be called a closet trainer when you put the details on your blog... :) Sounds awesome, wish I was there now!
So when you get a vacation home in CO, and when I get a vacation home at the beach we can alternate vacations and chill out at mountains and ocean in between races! Sound like a plan? You don't mind me tagging along right... ;)
Glad to hear you had a good weekend. Sounds like a fantastic run! Missed you on Saturday though!!!
do you have a road id bracelet thing? i wear one of those when i run alone. and i'm so impressed that you actually ran in colorado. when kert and i went last july, we did a 10k up the side of a mountain and let's just say that we walked the entire uphill part.
Hey, love the pics! I just love Colorado. Duane and i want to move there one day! Thank you for your sweet comment on my blog. It really helps!
Isn't Colorado THE BEST? That's why I want to go there for my job...eventually...
Take care!
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