My First Blog.... Back to School week

Well not only is this my first time to blog ever it is my first time to blog on www.TwistYogaWear.com. This has been a big week for me! I must start out by talking about the coolest race I have ever run. See, being a native Coloradoan, we get to run in the mountains. That said, I don't get up there much so.... my crazy girlfriends Dawn and Alyson suggested a run called the Pikes Peak Ascent? I initially thought they were MAD! Seriously, running up a 14er, climbing nearly 8000 feet? That is for those crazy people who eventually climb Mt. Everest, not me! Well.... being a challenge lover, my common sense lost out and I signed up but not before I convinced my equally crazy running partner, Kristi to join in our quest! Poor Kristi knew if this didn't go well, she would be living elsewhere as she was one of the rare few who survived last year's Chicago marathon.

Well as they say in Colorado, the weather changes hourly. Unfortunately for us, the weather decided to change for the worse but continued to get worse. Many veteran Pikes Peak runners claim this is the worst year ever! We nearly called it and I thought when starting in Manitou Springs and there was thunder, immediately followed by lightening, the race director would call it but no! It was a go! So off we went in our trash bags, rain ponchos, Gore-tex and lots and lots of layers that would soon be soaked! It rained until we hit Barr Camp, with 5.6 miles left I thought this isn't so bad! No major puddles, I could still feel my fingers and toes, proceed! The next place to see was with a little more than 3 miles to go and they shouted "Gropple ahead". Us not so mountaineering types asked what Gropple was? Probably not a good sign, FYI... it is little pellets of frozen rain, sleet where I come from! Oh, and 20-40 mile an hour winds. A few people started to turn around. Hmmm, rethinking this one. Then I started to question which was a better decision? 10 miles down in the rain or another 3 up? Guess which I chose? Up I trudged, much better word than ran, not too much of that going on at this point!! I attempted to put on gloves with my teeth, they froze approx 10 mins later! There were 4-6 thunder lightening combos above tree line and reality set in! We are messing with mother nature here and I sort of wigged! Thanks to a nice man in front of me and behind me who stayed by me I got up. I lost my friends earlier due to the crowds and the narrow trail. We made it! I finished, frozen and a bit delirious. I managed to get inside the Summit House and asked a very nice lady from Texas to open my bag with my warm gear for me. My hands were frozen. I am thankful for making it, experiencing it and that no-one got seriously hurt! Out of 1900 starters, only 760 finished that day with 80 being treated for hypothermia. At the A frame they started to turn around runners due to the impending storm. They closed the mountain down as well. Colorado has wonderful weather but it can turn treacherous on a dime.

I initially said back to school. My girls all headed back to their respective schools this week. Although I love the freedom to actually get some things done, like Twist..... I miss them and their constant mom this and that! Hopefully if you are reading this you got my back2school coupon to save 20%. That is my way of saying thanks for helping me with Twist and getting it off the ground!! I promise to blog more.... I have never been much of a writer, just a talker. Those who know me and run with me, know that I can find something to talk about all the time- even on those dreaded 20 milers. :-0)

I hope others will blog too! Just in case anyone is interested in the Pikes Peak Ascent, visit their website. Their msg board is entertaining too!
On a closing note, I must offer my deepest sympathy to a family in my neighborhood that lost 2 very young children this week in a tragic accident. My heart weighs heavy for their entire family! Bless you all!