Next up: Silver Rush 50 Mtb

The week after the Leadville trail marathon turned out to be one of my biggest weeks of training.  And funnest.  For the first time in 7 months I had the freedom to think only of myself.  No husband, no kids, no job.  Don't get me wrong, I love and missed my family very much but I knew I had this time to myself and I was going to enjoy it. 

The only other run I did besides the Firecracker 5K was a double crossing of Hope Pass.  The rest of the time was on the bike.  Lots of time spent on the Silver Rush and Leadville courses with my Leadman buddies.  The Leadville family is small but the Leadman/woman family within that is even smaller and therefore, even tighter.  We really clicked and made it a point to spend some wonderful time together and watch out for each other. 

By the end of the week I had put in almost 20 hours of training and over 20,000 feet of climbing.  A solid week considering part of it was recovering from the marathon.  Time to pick up the family.  Pat and the girls were riding Amtrak from Sacramento and I would pick them up in Grand Junction before we headed to Crested Butte to visit friends.  On my way to GJ I stopped in Glenwood Springs to do a couple hikes I've been wanting to do for a long time.  The first hike was up to Hanging Lake, just off I-70 in the Glenwood Canyon.  It's only a mile hike but it's all uphill.  I took it easy and was amazed at the types of people on the trail.  Everything from folks in their 60's motoring along to families with very young kids who wanted nothing to do with hiking uphill.



Sprouting Rock

 The lake is beautiful, especially Sprouting Rock.  I had a snack, took some pictures, and finally all the people started to annoy me so I quickly made my way back down the trail.  Next stop: lunch.  My coach had recommended Charcoal Burger and I'm so glad I went, it was delicious and you have to try the onion rings.

Just west of GS is Canyon Creek Estates where the trailhead to the Storm King memorial trail is.  In 1994 14 firefighters were killed when a fire blew up below them.  I've hiked this trail once before but I really felt the urge to hike it again.  I spent 2 1/2 hours hiking up and down those canyons, visiting the markers that show where each firefighter fell and I didn't see another soul.  Time well spent.

I drove to GJ where I scoped out the where-abouts of the train station for the next morning then made my way to a hotel room in Fruita.  My first real room and bed after 2 weeks of camping.  Right next door was Rib City Grill where I inhaled a plate of the best ribs I've tasted and washed it down with a slice of pecan pie.

The next morning my family became complete once again when Pat and my girls climbed down off the train and we embraced.  As fun as it was having some solo time, I love my family and it was great to be together again.  The next couple days were spent in Crested Butte playing and relaxing.  The girls loved the Adventure Park at Mt. Crested Butte as well as just skipping rocks in the nearby river.

Before I knew it, it was time to head back to Leadville to take on the next race in the Leadwoman series, a 50 mile mtn bike race.  That report will be next.