What A Weekend...

Adam Masonbrink and I had quite a weekend. It started Friday night when we went to a "fashion show" at a techno club in downtown Denver called Beta. The night was filled with break dancing, techno music, fashion, a power outage, and was topped off with a delicious burrito at Illegal Petes. We only got about 4 hours of sleep, and woke up at 5:30am to go race in the Barkin' Dog Duathlon. The race is the largest duathlon in the Western US, and consisted of a 5k run, 30k road ride, and another 5k run. It ended up being perfect weather and a great race.



After the race we headed up to Evergreen and relaxed with some vino at Creekside, followed by some much needed pizza at Beaujeau's. Saturday night was spent watching Rob and Big at the cabin. We woke up Sunday morning (Mother's Day) and headed to A Basin. It hadn't snowed for a few weeks on the mountain, and it just happened to dump about 2 feet when we got there! It was awesome powder with great weather. What more can you ask for on a Sunday?!

My New Favorite Sound

A lot of people have a favorite sound, especially come summer time. For some it's the crack of a wood bat at a baseball game. For some it's the sound of opening a cold beer on a hot summer day. And for some is the sound of a boat starting before heading out for a day on the lake. Though I love all of these sounds, I think I found a new favorite today. The sound of your shoes crunching over packed dirt and rock while hiking. There is something very freeing about being by yourself on a hike in the mountains, and only hearing that crunch and the nature around you. I went hiking today through Elk Meadow Park for about 2.5 hours to around 8400'. It was the perfect day for a hike. 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Once I got to my turn around spot, I found a boulder to lay on, turned on some Martin Sexton tunes, and just sat and stared at the amazing scenery. It was so incredibly peaceful, and I feel so lucky to live in this amazing place. My hope while living in Colorado is that this never becomes mundane and ordinary. I hope that every time I look around at my surroundings, I can stand in awe as though it is just as new and as exciting as right now. What's ironic is that while I am writing this, I just looked at the map of where I hiked, and on the back of the map is a quote. "All my troubles melt away at the sound of my boots on the trail, fresh air and the smell of pine." Below are a few pics from the hike.

Back in the Saddle

I can now survive mild athletic activity without throbbing pain. I believe I have fully adapted to the mile high syndrome. I've been running a lot lately, and after my first 2 runs, which I blogged about, I was good to go. Today I ran a little over 5 miles and felt great. For some reason, running is a lot more refreshing at this altitude. I could just be dreaming, but I really feel a lot better after running here than after running in Dallas or KC. My first Colorado race is this Saturday. It's a road duathlon that consists of a 5k run, 30k road ride, and another 5k run. It's at the beautiful Cherry Creek State Park, so I should be able to enjoy the scenery whether I'm sucking wind or not! Wish me luck! Cherry Creek State Park pics below.

Home Sweet Home!

Emily came in town this weekend, and we signed the lease on an AWESOME house! It is 2 blocks from Wash Park and 2 blocks from Whole Foods. What more could you ask for?! Pics below.