Mountain Training

It's definitely time to update the personal blog again.  Lately I have been wanting to write more often on this blog, but I have taken that writing energy and put it into my business's blog.

I also no longer have internet at home.  What started as a delay in getting internet after I moved from my nanny position has become an experiment to see how long I can go without paying Comcast any of my hard-earned money (if we had Google Fiber this would be a different story).  Initially I had planned to purchase internet once I returned from Captain's Career Course in late June.  But then I thought...well, that's $60-$70/month for internet and I'm not exactly sure I really need it.  My office is less than a mile away and I can access internet there any day of the week for free.  So you could perhaps see the enticement.  I'm not sure if I am getting more granola or I just want to spend less money because I know hwo hard it can be to make money.  In any case, I'm hardly suffering.  My phone plan offers unlimited data (directly from my phone) and I have 3GB/month as a WiFi hotspot for laptop work.  If I only use it for work, I don't think I'll have any issues going over my limit.  One month down and it's hardly been an inconvenience.

The experiment continues!
No TV, no internet, no problem...

So my "ultra" on June 4th went well.  It was a bit last minute decision to run the Ultimate Direction Dirty 30 trail race (~32 miles) as I was supposed to have drill that weekend.  Fortunately my unit allowed me to do the race instead.  I love the Dirty 30 course, very scenic and a great mix of terrain with lots of single track and some shorter distances running a dirt/gravel road.  I ran nearly all of the course with my friend Melissa...while she has covered 50 miles in a single day, this was her first official ultra-marathon race.

The Ultimate Direction Dirty 30 Trail Run.
I ran the entire way in Xero Z-Trail sandals and it felt great!

Captain's Career Course went very well.  I only took about a week off running following my heel "surgery."  It was a bit challenging to deal with running in the middle of the day in San Antonio with heat indices as high as 106 deg F.  I just hung in there and did it anyway.  The APFT I took the second week of the course was relatively easy (at least the running part).  Over a year ago when I was still transitioning to minimalist and barefoot running, I had quite the difficulty running at faster paces.  Basically my feet would get tired and if I pushed it, they would stiffen up and be really sore.  Over time I have been able to run further and faster, it's the best thing I've ever done for my running.

We spent lots of time sitting at CCC.
Here our class is practicing military decision making with medical support.

It's great going to a course with medical providers.  This is one of the doctors taking the stitches out of my heel.

The rest of the blog post will basically be my life in captioned pictures.  This is basically how my life works anyway I think?

Colorado State Flower - The Columbine
(Rampart Reservoir, June 2016)

I ran around Rampart shortly after getting back from Texas.
It was a perfect way to say hello to Colorado again.

I have a lot of great running sandals, this is the Xero Z-trail and they are great!

Mount Massive.  I spent the July 4th weekend training near Leadville.  #amazing

I live in sandals.  I'm out for a nice evening walk after a day of work in Pueblo.

Fortunate for many wonderful friends in my life.  I hiked Eagle's Peak on Independence Day with Melissa and Donnie.

Always a great view of Pikes North Face from Eagle's Peak.

Great views from the top of Eagle's Peak.

I took this photo for my friend Ruth Mischler, we used to take pictures in college with statues around town.
Shout out to my Lipscomb forever-friends.

Yoga at Reserve Drill Weekend?  Yes please!

It was a really, really warm day (100deg) for the Warrior Symposium.
I enjoyed presenting on Therapeutic Fasting and getting to meet AR-MEDCOMs Commanding General, MG Mary Link.

Short hike near the Crags on July 10th, lots of smoke in the air from the Hayden Fire.

Sunsets along the greenway.  #lovesummer

Along the Peaks Trail, Leadville training this past weekend.

Super scenic and fun trail to run or mountain bike...highly recommend it if you're in the Frisco or Breckenridge area.

Hiking up Hope Pass.

Tim nearing the summit of Hope Pass.

Summit of Hope Pass, looking south.

Another amazing view looking south of Hope Pass.

#purejoy

Cooling off in the river post run.  The mountains are the perfect place to ice your legs and feet.

Tim cooling his super white feet.

#invigorating

Well folks, I basically have one month left until the Leadville 100.  Summer really flies by in Colorado.  It feels like even if you get out every weekend to enjoy the sunshine, you're still left with a handful of weekends before the weather is cold again.  I should be camping this weekend if everything goes as planned and next week/weekend there will be more training (perhaps another summit of Hope Pass, but this time out and back to Winfield) and maybe even a double ascent to Barr Camp and back down if i'm feeling really motivated.

I have a feeling I'm going to need a LOT of sleep...