Thumbs Up! I made it to the Top of the Incline!

Wew! I was so excited when this photo was taken! One hour and ten minutes later I made it to the top of the incline! The view was beautiful as you can see in this photo. You could see the entire city of Colorado Springs, and almost all the way to Kansas! How did I celebrate?...We went to Starbucks on the way back where I snarfed down an orange juice and delicious pumpkin cream chees muffin! (Which I felt completely "guilt free eating)....Then I went home and rode my road bike 6 1/2 miles! :)

We Made It To The Top!

Here's the gang I went with...(starting with the upper left lady in the black sweater) Kim, Judy's daughter "Kinzie" (in green), Judy, and me on the far right. Judy and I stayed together the entire time and took a lot of breathing breaks! This group (along with Kim's husband who isn't in this picture) does the incline about every other Saturday and offered to let me tag along whenever I want to. I think this will be good training for when Wayne and I hike up the summit of Pike's Peak next Summer!

Look How Far we Went....And We are STILL Not at the Top!

I took this photo to kind of motiviate me during a "I want to Vomit" break! you can see the grey area at the top right of the picture...that is the parking lot. The railway ties just kept getting steeper and steeper all the way to the top! It was about here that I hit my "second wind" and pushed my wobbly legs all the way to the top!

Going Up! This is the "Stairway to Heaven!"

More of "The Incline!" This picture just doesn't do the thing justice! The lady in white in this picture is my friend Judy. I used to work just down the hall from her until my dentist boss man moved to another office building. She works for another dentist as well and has become one of my dear friends and "mom" in the Springs. (Don't worry mom, no one can EVER replace you!) You can see the very top of the incline in this picture. One mile straight up!

"The Incline"....A.K.A "Vomit Mountain"

Friday night I was invited to do "the incline" with a friend. Ok, so the incline is a mile straight up a mountain trail that used to be the old Cog Railway System to the top of Pike's Peak. You gain 2,000 feet in elevation in just a mile! The old railway ties are still there...you know, to make it even more of a butt kicker! Some parts of the trail your knee is just about to your nose because the railway ties are so steep! I seriously almost threw up about three times on the way up! I almost threw up again when I saw an "older" gentelman RUNNING up the trail! I have decided that this trail is probably one of the best ways to train for a marathon because my quads were pretty much screaming at me the entire way!

MMMMM...Peanuts...

So Wayne accidentally bumped a box the other day and all of the sudden there were a million packing peanuts all over the carpet! Sam went CRAZY! He was rolling in them so much that it just created a big ball of static all over his fur! This picture kind of reminds me of the dog off of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas." Poor Little Peanut shaped antlers and yes, that is one of them in his mouth!

"Citius, Altius, Fortius!" Go Wayne, Go!

Here's Wayne "pushing" a bobsled in the Olympic Training Center....he didn't go very far. In fact, he didn't get anywhere at all....maybe just the bronze medal Wayne....or not.

On to Vancouver....and London!

I thought this "count-down" clock at the O.T.C was pretty dang cool! In case you "forget" how many days are left until the next Olympics, just come visit me in the Springs and I can take you to see the "count-down" clock for yourself!

US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs

USA! USA! Last weekend (after our trip home from the half marathon), Wayne and I went to take a tour of the US Olympic Training Center here in our home town of Colorado Springs! The center was HUGE, and our tour guide was a female weightlifter who could probably snap me in half if she really wanted to...but she was WAY too nice!The tour was about an hour long and we had the chance to see some really cool places, and even some athletes! Our tour guide told us that Michael Phelps was there training a month or so before the Olympics in China...DANG! Why couldn't we have visited it when he was there?!!

I DID IT!

ALL RIGHT! Here I am at the end of the Moab Half Marathon! It was about 15 degrees warmer this year than last which made for a great race! This makes the total 4 and 4. 4 Full marathons and 4 halfs! Can you see the excitement in my face?!

We Did it!!

My sister and I finished the race! This was her first half marathon and she did great! It was nice to have someone to talk to the whole time and to keep my mind of off the aches and pains that come with running! We enjoyed this one so much that we are already planning the April 2009 Salt Lake Marathon!

Under Corona Arch

Here we are once again taking a nice break under Corona Arch. The hike was pretty warm with a high in the low 80's for the day! After the hike, the boys hit up the hotel swimming pool. Jessica and I avoided it so we could "conserve energy" for the race!

Wayne Under the Arch

Once at the arch we took a break from the sun and heat by sitting in the shadow of the arch. Wayne loves to do anything and everything outside and this particular hike is one of his favorites in Southern Utah. Can you tell?

Beautiful Corona Arch!

As we came around a corner on the hike...there it was! Corona Arch! It stands over 200 feet tall and is probably the biggest arch I have ever seen in my life! The hike continues all the way around to the left of the arch and on to Bow-Tie Arch. Considering we had a half marathon to run the next day, we only went to Corona!

Secret Hideout!

While hiking to Corona Arch, the boys found a little "hideout." Trevor was a little hesitant to go in it at first because of all the mini holes in the rock. Here they are posing for the camera!

Hiking to Corona Arch

On Saturday we hiked to Corona Arch. The two nephews did a great job considering it was a little warm and some parts of the hike were strenuous! my youngest nephew, Trevor, wanted to carry the camelback...it was about as big as he is!

Eating out at Zax Pizza!

On Friday night we went out to this all you can eat pizza buffet in Moab. Zax is a really good place for pizza if you are ever in that area! I can't even believe how many styles and flavors of pizza they have! How about "Honey Chicken?"...that by the way was the most AMAZING pizza I've ever had in my life! My nephew Trevor loved it as well....he also loved seeing his crazy uncle "Ween" as he says. Here they are just being goofy as can be!

Moab Half Marathon-Oct. 2008

This past weekend Wayne, myself, my sister, two nephews, and brother-in-law went to Moab, UT for a half marathon. We had a great time hiking, eating out, and of course, running the race. My sister and I were the only two that actually ran the race and it was so nice to have a running buddy!! Wayne snapped this photo when he was waiting at the finish line area. The moon up and to the left of the picture makes it even more amazing!