September and October

September 12, 2014

I signed up for another long relay race, this time from Idaho Springs to Buena Vista. I could tell just from looking at my leg maps that it was going to be harder than the last one. Dave had a training session in Boston two days before the race, so he flew back and arrived home at about 1:00 a.m. on Friday. My friend Renee picked me up at 3:00 a.m. so we could go join the rest of the team and make it to Idaho Springs in time for our 5:30 a.m. start. (Thanks to Brenda and Michael for even considering showing up at our house in the middle of the night if Dave hadn’t made it back in time!)

In many ways, it was a fun race. Everyone got along, even though there were ten of us riding together in Jaala’s huge van. It has 5 rows of seats, so we could sit two to a row with an empty space in the middle. Nobody got much sleep, so by morning of the second day, we were slaphappy and exhausted. In other ways, it was a really difficult race. The weather was freezing; I got snowed on twice. And it was at very high altitudes. I ended up coining the word “ralk” to describe the running-with-a-lot-of-walking-mixed-in I did. My first leg was 4.4 miles with a level of “hard.” The terrain was a “STEEP climb up Guanella Pass with altitude exceeding 10,000 feet.” Turns out, you really have to train at altitude, or at least on some hills! My second leg was a “moderate” 6.2 miles, a “continuous climb on a bike path through the woods up to Copper Mountain.” I found it much harder than moderate. It was night, and I was pretty cold in the snow that was falling. I couldn’t breathe, and the 6 miles felt endless as I alternated running and walking. My final leg was an “easy” 4.5 miles. It was such a beautiful run! The weather was warming up, and I could just see the sun peeking above the horizon as I ran. The road was mostly downhill, and the elevation wasn’t so high. The perfect way to end a hard race. By the time we got to Buena Vista, where Dave and the kids met me, it was a beautiful hot day.

The back of the van, stocked with supplies.

The grass was thick with ice way up there.

A beautiful view, but very windy at the top of the mountain.

Our team’s sticky bun logo.

September 18

September 20

At some point, Phoebe decided that she likes car racing, so we took the kids to Bandimere Speedway for the Grand Prix Motorsports Fall Racing Series, Madcap Fast 16 and Purifoy Chevrolet Quick 16, CC Challenge. (Whatever that means.) Dave cautioned me that we’d need ear plugs, so I dutifully bought some, though I kept wondering how it could be that loud. As you’ll see in the following photos, it’s that loud. I kind of liked it, but the kids were terrified. It took a long time to make our way up to the bleachers, but we only stayed about 20 minutes after that. I guess we’ll go back to watching motocross on TV for a while longer.

It's way too loud! (And that's with earplugs.) — It’s way too loud! (And that’s with earplugs.)

Nobody's having a very good time. — Nobody’s having a very good time.

After our failed day at the track, Phoebe made a tent in the living room.

September 21

Our church participated in God’s Work Our Hands Sunday by cleaning up a couple of parks. We had a really nice time as a family out in the beautiful weather, doing something to help the community.

Family photo on God's Work Our Hands Sunday (observed). — Family photo on God’s Work Our Hands Sunday (observed).

October 4

October 5

Phoebe has always enjoyed watching Dave play Skyrim. Here they’re throwing things in his house.

Here she’s singing along as she builds a track for Benjamin’s new truck.

October 12

Phoebe got new fox pajamas from Grammie.

October 15

Phoebe's butterfly towel fits Benjamin perfectly! — Phoebe’s butterfly towel fits Benjamin perfectly!

October 17

I took the kids to the Rocky Mountain Center for Musical Arts for their grand re-opening after they did a lot of work on the building. Here the kids play in the outdoor instrument park.