Grandma Phyllis

Grandma Phyllis Diekman passed away last week. She lived life the right way. She always greeted you with a smile and made everyone feel welcome in her presence. She lived with honor, pride, strength and love. She was an example of how to live and her legacy lives on with all those she impacted.

We move through the motions of the day to day and it’s easy to lose focus of what is important. When you look back through the years we recognize the people who stand out and establish the values that define a family. Grandma Phyllis and Grandpa Frank did that for the Diekman family. Their consistency, love for each other and deliberate dedication to be an example of how to live life right is a reminder that we can all be better.

I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Grandma Phyllis. I wish I didn’t take it for granted. As I have had some time to reflect on her and realized the great affect she had on Meghan I recognize that I have an obligation to be a better person. At the end of the day there is one thing that matters and it is the example that we set to our family and friends. The best way to honor our great family members is to continue to live by their example. Thank you Grandma Phyllis for being that example.

Feeling Better

I had a good week of training. I logged 45.38 miles. After my tough run last Saturday I was dying to get back at it. I subbed in some mountain biking on Sunday. Weather kept me on the low trails Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday I discovered another whole network of trails in the hills of North Ken Caryl. I had another good run on Thursday before heading up to Buffalo Mountain on Saturday.

I was bummed about the training run last week and was starting to doubt myself for CPTR. The hills on the course are not that bad but I got smashed by them. If I'm going to have the race I want I knew I had to start attacking vertical. That experience and TF putting up a 3k+ hill repeat run inspired me. 10,908 feet this month so far. It's not exceptional but I am glad to be back running the hills and its starting to pay off.

If I have a solid long run this weekend I should be in good shape for CPTR.

Fire on the Mountain

This was a strange week. I had a low mileage week of 38 miles. I took off Sunday with the plan of putting in 10 miles on Monday. The winds picked up on Monday and stirred up some sparks from a controlled burn in an area about 10 miles west of Waterton Canyon called the Lower North Fork. This area has been subject to many burns. Most notable is the Hayman Fire where 138,114 acres burned. Thankfully the Lower North Fork Fire burned only a little over 4,000 acres. Unfortunately 3 lives were lost along with 26 houses. It really puts into perspective the scale of the Hayman Fire.

The Lower North Fork Fire was close to the North Fork 50k/50m course. This course goes through some old burn areas. The fire was so hot that there was no chance for the seeds to germinate. The result is a wild and barren landscape. The course was not touched by this fire but the race director had to evacuate her house. I hope to hear that her house was spared.

I aborted my run on Monday to capture some photos of the fire. The smoke was terrible on Monday. A smokey haze filled all of the Front Range the rest of the week. Each day conditions improved but the air quality encouraged me to move my weekend up to the mountains.

The CPTR course offered me an opportunity to get in 25 miles and do a little recon. It was a brutal run for me. Temps were in the 70's and the skies were clear. I felt tired, dehydrated and slow. The good news is I got some invaluable experience for race day and completed the run. The course was beautiful but tough. There are 4 sustained climbs for the 50 mile course with several rollers in other areas. This type of climbing is different than most races and training runs that I do. I'm looking forward to the challenge but I am also a little nervous.

I ended the weekend with a 13.9 mile mountain bike ride up Waterton Canyon with Rob D. It was a nice break from running. Waterton Canyon starts a 3 week closure today to remove the dredging equipment from the reservoir.

I feel a lot better today and I am looking forward to a solid week of training before hitting the slopes for the last time this season on Saturday.