Zumbarunner...A New Me: Back At It

I know I said I'd try to write while on vacation, but that never happened. Now that I'm back, it's time to get back at it, so let's begin with vacation.

Vacation in Colorado was full of activities, SORT OF relaxing, but it was still good to get away. This was a family vacation for me, including a wedding rehearsal the Thursday evening we (my folks and I) arrived, a day trip to Estes Park on Friday, Saturday's full schedule of a mani-pedi, my nephew's wedding and reception, Sunday's Kilometers for C.O.P.S. 5k (my first altitude 5k, btw) and trip to Ft. Collins to see fellow Zumba friend, and long trip home on Monday. WHEW! It makes me tired just thinking about it!

My sister and her family even made the long trip from KCK on Friday, but not without some hitches...including a blown tire, my sister's dental fiasco, my bro in law's illness, and sheer exhaustion at the end of the day.

On Friday my folks and I drove to Estes Park through Boulder, where bikers were training for a weekend triathlon. That was cool enough to see, but what was even cooler was seeing the Boulder Running Company store. Don't even ask me why I got excited about seeing the storefront, but I did...hmm.

The wedding was nice and simple, yet elegant, with the reception at a mansion on Lookout Mountain...awesome food, too! My brother (nephew's dad) made the wedding cake....a cheesecake. John's famous for them. They also had mini cupcakes for everyone to eat, of course after eating a three course dinner consisting of a zucchini salad, beef medallions or sea bass, and asparagus. I, of course, passed on the asparagus and sea bass. That's just how I roll.

Sunday's run was in Golden 20 minutes away. It took me nearly an hour to get to the location, because I kept getting lost, and I had to get there early because I hadn't registered for it yet. I think I made it with about 5 minutes to spare! It was on a police pursuit training course on a mesa overlooking Golden. It was HOT at 9am...about 85 degrees I would say. The course was mostly flat with a couple small inclines, but not too bad. This was my first ever altitude run, which was the main reason for me to do it. It was my challenge to myself.

The race went well. It was my first chip-timed race, there were about 65 entries (including walkers), and I just took it easy, because I wasn't sure if I would get altitude sickness. I didn't struggle too hard, but just kept at a steady pace. I wasn't looking to make a personal record on this, I was just looking to finish.

I struck up a conversation with another walker during the last mile of the run. Remember, I run slow. She was impressed at how I was doing this run after only 2 days of being acclamated to the altitude adjustment, at how I was running steady throughout the whole race.

I did Kick It at the end of the race, crossing in 51:52, which was only 3 minutes behind my last 5k in August. A part of me wishes now that I would have kicked it a little bit earlier, but again, I wasn't there to set a personal record. I was there to challenge myself; to see if I could actually run a 5k in altitude.

On the way back to my motel, I was able to see some cyclists compete in the US Bicycle tour going through the area. They were racing down Lookout Mountain. That was cool!

Sunday afternoon was awesome too, after seeing a fellow Zumba member, even if only for a half hour or so.

So many memories made on this trip. It was a good trip. Time spent with family, people starting new chapters, and challenges met. Now it's back to reality, and time to once again get back at it.

Today's training...one mile street run.

Zumbarunner...Whether Shaking it or Running it, I'll cross the finish line!