Ragnar Relay Washington DC 2009

My pictures from the race can be seen here

Ragnar Leg 1  (9.2 miles) :  http://bit.ly/27IK0P and  http://bit.ly/3fBtjQ (lost GPS signal in middle)

Ragnar Leg 2 (4.8 miles) : http://bit.ly/3B5gE1

Ragnar Leg 3 (3.8 miles) :  http://bit.ly/cUyal

Ragnar Leg 4 (8.9  miles) : http://bit.ly/rDpgZ

Total: 26.7 miles

Ragnar was intense. The experience was amazing. My mind and body were pushed to their limits once again. My emotions ran the entire spectrum during the relay – at points I felt like I was on top of the world, hours later I felt like I was going to have a sleep-deprivation-induced panic attack, and then soon again I felt sheer bliss.

The distance relay began in Cumberland, MD and took us 199.3 miles to RFK Stadium in Washington DC. Teams typically consist of 12 people who run three legs each, but our team only had 9 runners so we each picked up an extra leg. Way too much happened to describe here but I will give a rundown of the highlights.

Joe, my brother Mike, Aubre and I left Wilmington Thursday night for Rockville, MD where we met up with the rest of our team and stayed the night. At this point, we still didn’t have any of our legs assigned so Justin crunched some numbers late into the night – figuring out who was running what and when, etc. I was way too excited to fall asleep so I just rested on the couch until 5am when we left for the starting line. My van included myself, Justin, Liz and Aubre. The other van was made up of Mike, Joe, Steve P, Andrew/Henry, and Griffin. Justin kicked things off at the starting line with a goofy ass, “Rocky”-inspired one-two punching combo when our team was announced. We got some tech shirts and freebies and watched Jmo kick things off. I was running the second leg so we headed to the 2nd exchange.

My first leg took me 9.2 miles along the C&O Trail on flat double-track. Perfect way to start off the race as running on the trail first would be easier on the knees and enable me to finish strong in my subsequent legs. Justin and I exchanged and I was off. I had to keep reminding myself to slow down my pace so I wouldn’t burn up all my energy. I ended up keeping it right around a 10 min/mile which had been my goal. The first few miles flew by as I was talking with a couple other runners. As the miles went by I found myself feeling stronger – the complete opposite of how my body usually responds to longer runs. I lost track of my distance after 5 miles – I lost the GPS signal on the Garmin Forerunner watch and with RunKeeper at certain points. Most legs of this race had a sign indicating “One Mile To Go” so I had been on the lookout for that, but this leg did not have the sign so I was surprised to round a bend and see the 3rd exchange just a couple hundred feet ahead. I thought I still had at least 2 more miles to run. I handed the bracelet off to Aubre and her torn hip muscle and off she went. I ended the first of my four legs feeling great and ready for more.

Ragnar Leg 1(a) - http://bit.ly/27IK0P

Ragnar Leg 1(b) – http://bit.ly/3fBtjQ

I didn’t have to run again until after nightfall. Justin ran up a mountain in Paw Paw, West Virginia. Over 8 miles straight uphill. My man is insane. We stopped a few miles up to cheer him on and he was singing “The General” by Dispatch so I knew he was in the Mo-Man Zone. Justin is definitely cut from a different cloth. At the top of the mountain, at the 5th exchange, we were to meet up with the other van for them to take over legs 6-12, but they were nowhere to be found. We had no cell service up there so we were freaking out about there being no runner to take over for Justin. Finally, we got a cryptic text from Joey Boy Gallo: “I am playing mini golf” … I guess we communicated with them just in time – they were down the other side of the mountain at a driving range so they hurried up and met us just in time. Andrew, recovering from possible swine flu, raced down the mountain and met us at the first major exchange (exchange 6) and Joey Boy took over. After driving by Joe on his uphill run, blasting Miley Cyrus to pump him up, and watching him yell obsenities, we headed to grab some food. Justin went all DHM (Dick Head Moses) on the clueless staff at a Sheetz, and we went to the next major exchange (exchange 12) to wait for the other van to finish their legs.

This exchange was located at the Hagerstown Speedway and was quite hilarious. There was a herd of cattle right next to where we were parked – Justin attempted some bovine photography and they responded with some very angry sounding moos. We got some s’mores and as dusk fell, we took the hand-off from van 2.

My second leg was was 4.8 miles and I took the hand-off from Justin around 8:30 pm. Fully equipped with reflective vest, headlamp, and flashing red LED butt light, I ran off into the night. At times all I could see was the 2 feet in front of me and the safety gear of runners far ahead of me. I took this one at a faster pace a little over 8:30 min/mile – probably not the best idea since I had another leg just a few spots later. I mostly ran along a highway and then entered a small town. That’s all there is to really say about this one – pretty uneventful.

Ragnar Leg 2 – http://bit.ly/3B5gE1

At this point, exhaustion was kicking in. I had not slept at all the night before so I was pushing over 40 hours without a wink. I only had 2 legs off until my third leg, which was an extra I was making up since our team was shorthanded. I took the hand-off from Liz (I think?) at 10:10 pm and scampered off for what should have been an easy, slow, 3.8 mile night run. Instead, in my delirium, I ran as fast as my sore and tired legs would allow and about halfway through noticed a sharp pain developing in my left heel. This pain got worse the further I went but I had no choice but to keep going. I arrived at the exchange and honestly don’t even remember who I handed off too. Andrew maybe. Our van was off to the next major exchange and while my brain entered the gates of oblivion.

Ragnar Leg 3 – http://bit.ly/cUyal

I didn’t have the foresight to pack a sleeping bag, a crash pad, or any warm clothing for this race. Same went for the rest of my teammates. Our only option for sleep was to try to get as comfortable as possible in our van (mission: impossible). Sleep deprivation is nothing to mess with. I found myself lying on the floor of the van, shivering and sweating at the same time, and thinking/speaking gibberish. I heard my own voice in my head talking to me about “the dancing chicken nuggets being unhappy with such poor customer service” and I had to pee every 20-30 minutes. Knowing that I had to be up to run 8.9 miles in a few hours, I was super stressed about grabbing at least a couple hours of sleep. The combo of this worrying and not being comfortable killed any hope of sleep. I was also nervous about running with the pain in my foot, I wasn’t sure if it was just a mild strain or something more serious. It hurt to put weight on it. Pretty sure I had had a panic attack while wedged between the driver’s seat and sliding door. It was a pretty rough night to say the least. Justin was off a little after 4 am for his last run, an 8+ miler through rolling farmland.

I took the hand-off from Justin a little before 6 am and it was still dark out. I was running with a definite limp, putting most of the weight on my right foot, and honestly don’t remember much about the first couple miles. I ran into a beautiful sunrise which helped to improve my mood but things with my foot were just getting worse. I was determined to finish my last 8.9 miles – I had been training for this for half a year and wasn’t about to let anything less than a severed limb stop me. This leg was mostly uphill and I just set my body to slowly trudge up the hills. My van was waiting for me around the halfway mark and I took one of my water bottles – at this point I was trading hydration in for less weight. I ran by a McDonald’s and the smell of Egg McMuffins tortured me – if I had any cash on me I probably would have stopped in there. My mp3 player died with less than a mile to go. This was the only leg I used the iPod for and my mixture of inspirational sports music (Rocky theme song) and hardcore/punk (Comeback Kid, Bane, Boy Sets Fire) kept me going. I spotted the “One Mile To Go” marker and ramped it up. This was the longest mile in history – it felt like it took me an hour. On the crest of a hill, I mentioned this to a face volunteer, and he told me that all I had left was 400 feet downhill. I flew down this hill like a maniac, handed off to Aubre, and was done! The team still had another 8 or so hours of running until Washington DC, but my individual legs were complete. I uttered some gibberish to Justin and Liz, and off we were to the remaining exchange points.

Ragnar Leg 4 -http://bit.ly/rDpgZ

53+ hours of no sleep and somehow I was feeling OK. Liz had the final leg, 7 miles through Washington DC to the finish line at RFK Stadium. It had started to rain and as we saw her appear we all mobbed her and ran through the finish line together. This may have been the hardest run of them all! I was limping around – my calves and quads were super tight. We got our medals, which double as bottle openers (nice touch) and we downed some pizza. I had a Sam Adams and can honestly say it was the best tasting beer I have ever had. Fought through some traffic and got home and passed out around 10:30 pm – 62 hours after the last time I had slept a wink.

The Ragnar Relay was one of the toughest experiences of my life so far and I can not wait to do another. My next big run is the Philly Half Marathon on November 22, so hopefully I can get this foot squared away and pick up training again in a week or so. I had a blast with and can’t thank my eight teammates enough! 199.3 miles, woo!

Leaving for Ragnar tomorrow…

Tomorrow will be the start of what will surely be an interesting weekend. I have been training since May to participate with some friends in the Ragnar Relay that will take us 199.3 miles from Cumberland, MD to Washington DC. Our start time is set for 8:30 am on Friday morning in Cumberland and we are hoping to reach the finish line at RFK Stadium in DC by Saturday afternoon. In a perfect world, our team would have 12 runners, each taking 3 separate turns and getting some degree of rest and possibly sleep in between our sections.

What is going to make things a little more unpredictable is the fact that our team that stood 12 strong just a week ago has now dwindled to somewhere between 8-9 runners, meaning those of us who remain will be making up those extra 45-50 miles. Of those who remain, some are dealing with nagging injuries or illnesses. I am feeling good physically besides a shin splint but I am sure by the end of this race I will have plenty of injuries to share with my fellow teammates.

We are leaving tomorrow evening to meet up in Rockville, MD where we will spend the night and divide up our relay legs before heading to the start line on early Friday. I will be using RunKeeper Pro to track my progress and also be updating my twitter and this blog as long as my phone stays charged.

Ragnar Relay Series – Washington DC

twitter.com/papastevsie

Re-Cleveland

We next headed to our final stop on the trip: Cleveland. We had a pretty good time there last year but it was a weeknight so we were excited to see what the place would be like on a Saturday. It was also the 4th of July so we were pumped. Checked into a really nice Hyatt and went to a Mexican restaurant where we saw on ESPN that our road trip had claimed its 6th celebrity death in 12 days, this time Steve McNair (RIP). I got insanely full eating a delicious burrito at this place and had to lay down back at the hotel for a few. As is Cleveland tradition, Justin kept me hydrated with alcoholic beverages while I got a shower.
Fireworks were happening all around. We posted up by Lake Erie and saw the main fireworks go off near Browns Stadium. The Indians game behind us had fireworks as well, and there were a bunch of other shows lining the shores of Erie in farther away towns. Pretty sw33t 4th celebration. Back to the hotel room for a few more drinks then we went to the Warehouse District and found it much more alive than last year. Crappy bar first that I believe was called Sin, where the bartender made us the incorrect drinks that were also watered down. Stopped to a few more bars including a cool rooftop place. Justin and I went pretty hard that night as we were both yaking (me at the bar, at the hotel; Jmo in the morning and on the drive back).

On the walk back we had a brief stop where Justin turned into Dr. Chaos. Then we went to the car to get the harmonicas and guitar so we could have a 3am jam session in the room. Somehow along the way, a bum caught Justin’s soft side to the tune of six bucks. And then, to quote Current Swell, “everything was going just as planned until” two drunk dudes out front of the hotel had a major issue with us (yer pal might have laughed at the one guy who fell down from being too drunk). Luckily, Justin and I let cooler heads prevail among us (translation, Justin has two bum shoulders and I was in puke-mode) so a full-fledged street brawl was avoided. Probably a good thing since these guys were definitely ninjas (or at the very least, black belts) and there were cops all over. It was pretty funny though to see the cops haul off these dudes (yer pal may have called 911).

Needless to say, the jam session did not happen but I did sing the blues to JMo as we drifted off to sleep. Woke up the next morning feeling like HELL, which was appropriate because our drive home would actually take us through Hell (Western PA/Pittsburgh area – home of the world’s shittest fan base) and a jammed up Route 70. Long drive to Tori’s back in Frederick, MD to get my car. Jmo and I said our quick goodbyes, fully expecting to never see one another again. (I’m getting lazy, I just ripped that right out of my blog from last summer). Couple more hours to arrive in Wilmington at 8:30. Thursday morning: Colorado; Sunday night: Rodney Square. Woo!

No sentimental post-trip recap post this time. I already got all emotional in my post about the 14er.
Next summer: Pacific Northwest? British Columbia? Seattle, Olympic, Oregon, Glacier? Stay tuned, and if I do anything interesting before then, maybe I’ll post it here.

Peace

Chicago, take 2

Last year we had a ball in Chicago but missed a few things we wanted to do/see. Time to fix that.

First we set out to finally get Chicago pizza, which was IMPOSSIBLE last summer. We went back to a brewery/pizzeria called Piece where we drank last year. Got our pizza (it rocked) and each left with a 64 oz. growler of Golden Arm brew. After a nightmare parking situation in which Jmo somehow managed to keep his cool, we hit the hostel and consumed (most) of the contents of our growlers. We immediately felt like bloated pieces of crap.

Next mission: find Rock Bottom, a bar we missed last year that was named after our good chum Joey Boy John “Rock Bottom” Gallo. We promised him a picture. Oops. We found it but missed the photo op on the way in due to exploding bladders and missed it on way out again due to our funny new friends we met inside. Sorry pal, we will just have to get the shot next year.

Took a long cab ride to Lincoln Park and went to Goodbar. Ran up a gargantuan tab with watered down tequilla shots. Quote of the night by Justin: “Last call can’t come any faster”.

4 mile walk back to the Hostel. Stop at Pita Pit. Funny pictures with rando’s on the sidewalks. Took a cab the last 3 miles straight to the BP gas station. This was my Mecca. Last year, I chowed down on the best damn convenience store microwavable cheeseburger there. Another tradition continued as Justin used his photography skills to capture the moment: papastevsie sitting on the curb enjoying lukewarm deliciousness.

Back in our hostel (aka freshman year dorm room) my roomate and I were ready to pass out after another fun night in Chi-Town. First I downed the remnants of the growler, because as Justin says, I am a man who hates waste. Goodnight, Cleveland tomorrow.

Omaha aha!

Easy drive to Omaha from Denver. Justin and I have pretty much conquered the country because every 8 hour drive seems like nothing. Got to Omaha in the evening and checked into a hotel in a seedy area. This would provide a derth of entertainment later in the night.

My friend from high school (and possibly middle school, we’re not sure) Steph moved out to Nebraska and I hadn’t seen her since graduation and it was awesome to meet up with her. First we grabbed some dinner at Famous Dave’s and a guy down the bar who was drinking alone ripped a juicy fart and then tried to talk to me about it. I ignored him but privately admired his boldness.

Down the street was where we met up with Steph and her crew at Old Chicago. A bunch of cool people and they showed us the Old Market district. First stop was Upstream, a local brewery with a sweet rooftop deck. Good drinks but the service was slow and my man spilled a drink on me.

From there we went to The Dubliner (road trip crew always at the Irish pubs). The guy playing guitar was playing Tenacious D hits, much to our amusement. The bartender was drunk and tried to make us Irish car bombs with vermouth but Justin corrected him. More on the car bomb front, we learned that Steph didn’t know how to drink one. We corrected that as well.

Highlight of the bar was a couple of young lovebirds who were making out all over the place. Being the mature young adults that we are, we secretly photographed ourselves in front of the great romance, complete with thumbs up, etc.

It was great catching up with Steph and hopefully I will be able to hang with her and Joe in ‘ol Delaware next week when they come to visit.

Back to the hotel. Justin and I had been told it was not set in the greatest area so we pretended to be terrified (sprinting to the door, pressing elevator buttons rapidly, furiously locking the door, looking for the do not disturb sign). I think you had to be there. My man was also seamlessly inserting some melodious toots with his scaredycat act. Next was a little 2am Oregon Trail on the computer in which Justin set a grueling pace with meager rations. Somehow everyone survived the game except for our good pal Joey Boy, who succumbed to a mixture of dysentery and cholera. Sorry Joe and we miss ya.

Next up: Chicago round two

Denver

Justin and I were totally wrecked from the hike so we checked into a La Quinta and chilled for a few hours. We stayed right by Coors Field, but honestly who cares about the Rockies? DHM finally made some headway with hotels.com and he got a refund (sort of). We went to a new place called the IceHouse Tavern in downtown Colorado and met up once more with Liz who is driving to Las Vegas to start a new job. Caitlin was also with her, and her friend Nick who lives in town. We downed some bombers and ate ridiculously large burgers (my second of the day, therefore, a great day) and walked roughly 67 blocks to a place called The Front Porch.

This place was cool because every time you ordered drinks the bartender would flip a coin and if you called it, the round was free. Well, I went 1-5, choosing tails each time. Oh well, tails always works in Madden but I guess it’s different in real life. Eventully I just let Caitlin call the flips for me and then I started to get free drinks. Justin and I were downing some scream sodas, our signature beverage consisting of Captain Morgan and Sprite.

Time to leave and we encountered some pouring rain and a long walk back. This was the end of our streak of clear skies and not getting rained on, dating back to June 2nd, 2008. I guess ~7 weeks and ~7000 miles with no rain is impressive, but the end of an era is always sad.

On to Omaha as we begin the trip back East.

Bierstadt – My first 14er!

[my camera batteries died due to the cold weather so no pictures for now, check Justin's blog for some at http://jmosroadtrip09.blogspot.com]

Up at 5:30 am on Wednesday to pack up camp and head a couple more miles up the road to the Mt Evans Wilderness, where Justin and I would find the Mt Bierstadt Trailhead. This was to be my first 14er (mountain with a summit above 14,000 feet). On last year’s trip, we summitted Mt Cammerer in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and that was a bit over 4,000 ft, and I thought that was difficult.

I looked out to Mt Bierstadt’s peak from the trailhead, a good 4 mile hike/climb/scramble from where I stood. The path ahead looked tough but we were ready. The first leg took us down a few hundred feet into the Gomez Creek where we had to decide how to cross. Option 1 was to hop across partially submerged rocks which would have led to soaked feet (even though my Goretex-lined Montrail Mountain Masochist GTX trail shoes could have handled it —plug for Montrail for giving me free kicks—). Option 2 was to shimmy across two wet logs laid across the creek that were still covered in early morning frost. There were a couple girls at the crossing who were having a hard time deciding how to cross. The time was ripe for an executive decision, and I chose Option 2: the logs. It was actually a lot easier than it looked, my shoes gripped well despite the frost and I got over pretty rapidly, same for Jmo. We had to move logs closer for the girls and they had a much harder time crossing which was pretty amusing to us.

We soon found ourselves “willow-wacking” (not really) on a steady incline surrounded by low shrubery. The uphill hike combined with the increasing altitude required us to proceed slowly. Once we passed the point where the bushes stopped growing, the trail became much steeper and rockier. It was here that we were really starting to get our asses handed to us by Bierstadt. A good number of breaks were needed just to catch our breath.

As the ridge and peak drew closer, so did our view of The Sawtooth, a ridgeline with jagged points and a sheer western face that dropped straight down. The Sawtooth is directly north of Bierstadt’s Summit and was an awe-inspiring sight.

Continuing to switchback up the mountain, things started to get interesting. We saw the first of several snowfields (more on them later) and the trail turned icy/muddy from the melting snow above. With every hundred feet we ascended, the view of the Rockies became more and more breathtaking. I knew the view from the top would be spectacular.

Finally, the ridge leading to Bierstadt’s peak was nearing, but it was a steep ascent. We were above the point where vegetation could grow so now we were faced with only boulders and snowfields. Also at this point, the trail path was no longer defined and we had only the cairns (piles of stones that indicate the trail) to follow.

We inadvertantly went off trail a few times and that gave us a chance to do some class 3 scrambling which I know got my associate Justin’s blood pumping. Scrambling is climbing that involves being on all fours and my man is all into that sort of thing. The peak loomed ahead…

13,500 ft, 13,700 ft, 13,850 ft…

Now I had heard that around 13,500 feet, many people hit a wall and have trouble physically proceding further. I was fully expecting to be one of these people but I didn’t notice a change. I also had expected to feel some effects of altitude sickness but luckily I avoided that as well. Justin had a light headache but other than that we proceded to 14,000 feet smoothly.

13,900 ft…13,950 ft…

…the Summit! We reached the top in about 2.5 hours and were stunned. 360 degree view of the Rocky Mountains from a bird’s eye view. Standing next to the imprint of the US Geological Survey at 14,060 ft above sea level, I took it all in. Justin and I just climbed our first 14er and what a sense of accomplishment. I can’t begin to describe the sheer beauty we beheld and I don’t think the pictures will either.

We were able to discern some of the other peaks in the distance, some of which we originally planned to climb, and will climb in the future. Longs Peak and Mt Meeker far to the north, a 14er and almost-14er located in Rocky Mountain National Park. Nearby to the west were Grays and Torrey, the two 14ers we attempted to reach the previous day but were turned away from due to a washed out road. Far in the distance we could make out Mt of the Holy Cross, which was the peak we had originally planned to do. It gets its name from the cross-like pattern the snow creates on it’s eastern face. Far to the south, rising from an open valley were what we believed to be the Collegiate Range (Yale, Columbia, Harvard, etc. Hey Justin, where is Penn?) and beyond Mt Antero and several others named for Indian Chiefs. It was crazy to think 24 hours ago we had been all the way over there, floating along the Arkansas, far below those towering peaks. To the southeast stood Pikes Peak and right next to us was Mt Evans, complete with a road leading to a parking lot 100 yds from the summit (lol). I am proud that we summitted our 14er the right way, with a mixture of sweat, pain, joy, and emotion.

And finally, stretching as far as the eye can see to the east, the flatness of eastern Colorado and Kansas. Beyond that, out of sight, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio and their overabudance of bridges. Our route out here. Rising further to the east comes the rolling Appalachain Mountains of West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland; beautiful in their own right but nothing compared to where we stood. Far, far on the other side of that chain finds my home in Delaware, my beach house set on the Atlantic, my Mom, my Dad, Mikey, Ashley, all my friends and family, my amazing job. I think about everything I have and how truly blessed I am to be standing on top of the world both literally and figuratively.

I can’t leave out the most amazing part of my summit experience. A slight descent down the eastern side and I was face to face with a marmot! Anyone who knows me is aware of my obsession with prarie dogs. The marmot is a close relative of my beloved critter who chooses to make it’s home atop of mountains (who could blame them) rather than the open prarie. I watched him for a while and soon another one popped up next to him. Justin did a great job recreating
last summer’s now iconic (yeah right) “Papastevsie + prarie dog = Thumbs Up” picture. I then let them be (translation: got too close and they scurried away) and it was time for us to fall back to Earth.

The descent was incredibly fun. Obviously, it’s easier to go downhill than uphill so it was not as strenuous. Still tough however. We had been the second group to summit, so everyone we passed were still heading up. Boulder hopping, falling through the now-melting snow that had been hard just an hour before. Seeing the incredible view shrink with each step. Looking over at the faint, tiny speck where the trailhead and our car lay. Still a long, long 4 mile descent ahead of us.

Always looking for giggling opportunities (see: driving 100 mph, farting), Justin and I started glissading down every snowfield we encountered. Think sledding, but instead of a sled, you have your ass. I think everyone passing by got a kick out of us, but not as much as we got out of ourselves.

Unfortunately, with decreasing elevation came increasing temperatures. Goodbye snow. Hello steep downhill hiking. And, as a tradition, my yearly downslope, end of tough hike, yellow EMS tech-wick clad trail run. Justin must hate me sometimes, but at least this year I was wearing my own shirt and not his.

When we got back to the trailhead, our sense of accomplishment and elation were immediately crushed by a swarm of mosquitos and raging headaches. I guess I did not eat enough (a Clif bar, handful of trail mix, and 3 crackers via Ashley) for the hike’s demands so I felt pretty crappy until I ate. After a 15+ mile drive in neutral down an extremely rough road that was also under construction, we reached Georegtown and I wolfed down a burger at the aptly named Mountain Buzz Pizzeria.

Off to Denver to relax/recover/regroup at a hotel and meet up with another road-tripping group of friends from back home. And so begins our journey back east…

Rafting the Arkansas River

After getting our bodies battered on Monday, we set out early Tuesday morning to Buena Vista, CO for some whitewater rafting. My hands were pretty torn up from biking and Jmo was having some shoulder issues, so we knew things would be interesting.

Our destination was Brown Canyon in the Arkansas River. Due to a late snow melt and some heavy rains last week, the river was flowing faster than usual which made things that much better. We hit a good number of rapids early on, and almost got dumped from our raft on a certain one known as the “Big Drop” and also took some nice hits on the “Widowmaker”.

At one point in calmer waters, I jumped over and took a dip in the very cold Arkansas and it felt great on my banged up body. Best quote of the river trip, from our guide: “I would rather you fall into the middle of the raft and look like a goon than take a swim [fall overboard]“.

For the most part we hit class 2 rapids but we did go through a few class 3’s which were a lot more intense. I hope to sometime raft through somewhere that has mainly class 3 rapids.

After drying off and grabbing a bite, we spent a good deal of time trying to decide which 14er we were going to climb the next day. After a lot of driving and discovering inaccesible trailheads due to washed out roads, the choice was made. We headed to Arapaho National Forest to camp for the night and in the morning we were to set out for Mount Bierstadt. I got down on a dehydrated meal of sweet and sour pork at sunset. So many good memories from last summer came to mind when “cooking” the food. I topped it off with some delicious choco-creme cookies that a totally sweet babe hooked me up with. Nice night of camping to get ready for the big day in the morning.

[we climbed Bierstadt today but I am too tired to write about it, check back tomorrow!]

The Day I Got My Ass Kicked

Wow. Today was intense. I am writing this from our beautiful Luxury Inn room (49 bucks). We bailed on camping tonight because we are both hurting pretty bad.

We started off with the trail run that I already wrote about. Following that, we mountain biked down Keystone mountain, twice! This was crazy and very difficult (and yes not very safe either!) I wiped out twice twice: a flip over the handlebars and later a sideways slide. End result, swollen hands, jammed fingers, a bruised knee, and some cuts and scratches. Justin fell once too and banged up his shoulder. Due to our need to ice our battle wounds and recover, we decided to hold off on camping until tomorrow night.

I think I am totally obsessed with mountain biking now. I have never had that much fun in my life. It was invigorating and I felt so alive coming down the switchbacks and strugglig to not wipe out! I’m going to get a bike asap. Don’t worry Mom, no Rocky Mountains around Delaware, just the modest hills of White Clay and Brandywine Creek!

After biking we went to Chipoltle and I have never been so happy to have a huge burrito inside my stomach before.

Finally we made the drive to Breckenridge Golf Club and despite feeling delerious and sore we played nine holes. The course was absolutely beautiful, my game was not. Definitely my worst outing ever, and that’s all I want to say about that.

What a day! I am beat, in pain, dazed, and yet have never felt so alive.

Entering Colorado

We are here and I am so pumped. This will likely be my last update until we get to Omaha on Thursday as we are camping until then.

We destroyed Kansas on the drive, going between 85-100 mph on the deserted country roads. However when we hit Colorado, I managed to get a ticket for going 47 mph! I wanted to tell the cop that just twenty minutes prior we were peaking out at 104, woo! So just a little $135 fine, no big deal.

Approaching Denver I got my first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains, which we were heading directly into. They are such a beautiful sight that I can’t even begin to describe them here. When we reached Silverthorne, CO we checked out our room and went to Mint Steakhouse. This place was awesome, it’s a grill-your-own-steak joint. Justin and I managed to grill the best steaks we have ever tasted somehow, then we hit our hotel’s funny little pool for an hour.

This morning we got up a 6 am to go for a trail run on the Ptarmigan Trail on the mountain of the same name. This run was absolutely brutal! The steep incline and high altitude wreaked havoc on our cardiovascular systems and the run was pretty tough. It felt amazing though and the views were spectacular. In my long and storied experience with running trails (about 4 months) I have never had a better/tougher run.

The next few days we are mountain biking, white water rafting, playing golf, doing a day hike, and summitting two 14ers (14,000+ ft peaks). Check back for a recap (if we survive) on hopefully Thursday. I am in heaven.