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Archives for September 2014

September 30, 2014

Rocky Mountain High-est Leadville Marathon Race Report

I haven’t been able to get in any races longer than a half marathon on trails so I caved and signed up for a road marathon. Leadville’s marathon seemed like a good idea since it was at high elevation and I {heart} Leadville

IMG_2175The race claims to be the highest road marathon in the world, so I figured I might be good training for possible ultra marathons in Leadville next summer.

This was the first year for the race, it was small and low key much like the trail races I have been racing lately. If you get energy from crowds and lots of aid stations this race isn’t for you.

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It does offer friendly volunteers and incredible views.
Since the course had only a handful of aid stations I decided to run with my hydration pack and carry everything I might need. I was completely fine with this since I will be rocking my pack for my 50k so I might as well get used to it.
2014-09-07 11.32.07
I had a great day and enjoyed my time in Leadville. My only real complaint about the race was the lack of amenities. There were no restrooms along the course. For a full marathon I was disappointed. And frankly uncomfortable for quite a long time. Luckily there was a golf course pro-shop along the way that let me use their restrooms, a little more support would be great.
Not the races fault by any means but I did learn that when you train on nothing but trails, 26.2 miles of pavement hurts.
The best part was the the race support the nonprofit GECKO
Giving Every Child Knowledge of the Outdoors (GECKO). The premise sounds simple enough. Yet study after study shows that our children aren’t getting enough outdoor play. And this trend isn’t improving. The latest information shows that less than 25% of children are active outdoors more than twice per week. Does this statistic worry you? Because it definitely worries us.
The finishers medals were made by local school kids with the elevation stamped on it.

IMG_2180   Overall it was a good race and I would run it again for sure.

Posted by bethcurtis Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Marathon, Race report, Uncategorized Tagged: Marathon, race report

September 9, 2014

50k Ultramarathon Training – Week 10

How did we get through week 10 already?!? This ultramrathon will be here before I know it. I am looking forward to putting in some big millage weeks at the end of the month and hopefully that will be enough. With all that here is how week 10 went down:
2014-09-07 11.32.07
Monday: Day off of work means time on the trails! 14.5 mile trail run at Picture Rock in Lyons. Awesome new trail.
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Tuesday:  Walk with pups

Wednesday: 4.5 mile run around local lake

Thursday: 1.5 mile walk around city park (start of mini taper)

Friday: 2 mile run with Winston

IMG_2157 (1)
Saturday: 2.5 mile hike while monitoring prairie dogs

Sunday: 26.47 mile Leadville Highest Marathon (race report coming soon) Furthest I have ever ran at one time =)
2014-09-07 15.32.29

Total miles ran or hiked: 52.5 miles
Total hours training: 14:46

This week was interesting since I had Monday off of work for labor day. Even though I had raced a half marathon (Breck Crest) on Sunday and was racing a marathon that weekend, I couldn’t give up the chance to try out a new trail. So it wasn’t the best marathon taper ever. A lot of plans call for a three week taper but this wasn’t an A race so I mainly “trained through” and I definitely didn’t feel completely fresh on Sunday, but that may have also been the 10-11 thousand foot elevation. Next couple of weeks am traveling for a work conference, while it’s a lot of fun there isn’t a lot of down time. I am hoping to get as much running in as possible. Anyone know any great routes running distance from Disney?

Posted by bethcurtis 1 Comment
Filed Under: 50k training, ultra Tagged: 50k, training, Ultramarathon

September 4, 2014

August 2014 Recap

So much fun has been had since my last update! I kept meaning to get on and update with my races, volunteering and training but time just slips by! Best to just get it all in with a quick August recap.

Some Highlights

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Longest Run: 20 miles at Devil’s Back Bone
photo 4

Races: Beaver Creek Half Marathon
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And Breck Crest Half Marathon (supposed to be full marathon but was cut short due to crazy snowy conditions)
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Best running Moment: Watching Rob Krar win the Leadville Trail 100
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**Also it was really cool to get to volunteer at the finish line at leadville
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Coolest Wildlife Seen on a Run: Bison while on a work trip to New Mexico
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Favorite Run: Turquoise Lake in Leadville
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Favorite Spectating: Watching my mom take second in her triathlon and my bother and dad take second in their duathlon at Boulder Sunset
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Best Post Run Meal: High Mountain Pies Leadville
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Monthly Totals:
Miles running: 160.6
Hours training (including some swimming, riding and lifting): 52 hours

Whew! August was a great month but I am ready for some fall fun, this morning I needed my headlamp for my morning run for the first time. I am looking forward to some cool runs, changing leaves and everything pumpkin!

Posted by bethcurtis 2 Comments
Filed Under: Month recap Tagged: Month Recap

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We are having so much fun learning to ski as a fam We are having so much fun learning to ski as a family! Ski traffic I could do without 🫠
✨2022✨ I can honestly say this was the best ✨2022✨ 

I can honestly say this was the best year of my life. So many adventures. I am loving the ages of these kiddos and cherish our time together. 

Very unsure if we can top this in 2023 but we are sure going to try!
We hope you had a merry little Christmas 🎄 We hope you had a merry little Christmas 🎄
Winter hiking is just so magical. Definitely not h Winter hiking is just so magical. Definitely not hating winter this year! ❄️
We kicked off the holiday season by visiting the N We kicked off the holiday season by visiting the North Pole and seeing Santa! 

The kids had so much fun and it was way cuter than I was expecting. They said it was better than Disneyland 😂 @northpolecolorado
Happy Halloween!!! Cannon really wanted to be To Happy Halloween!!! 

Cannon really wanted to be Toad from Super Mario this year so we tagged along. 

Scroll to see 2021-> 2020 -> 2019 -> 2018 -> 2017 -> 2016 🎃
We finished up our tour of France with a couple da We finished up our tour of France with a couple days in Disneyland Paris. I love Disney Parks and visiting Disneyland Paris was a dream come true. We had such an amazing time on our entire trip. 

We are trying to plan our next trip. Where is the best place you have ever been? Do you have a favorite trip? I would love to hear about it. My parents say that Ireland was their favorite so UK tops the list currently but Italy or Costa Rica are on the list too.
In our last couple of days in Paris we took a bus In our last couple of days in Paris we took a bus tour to see the major sights. Our favorites included walking the entire Champs-Élysées and climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. We missed out on seeing the Catacombs because we didn’t get tickets early enough. c’est la vie, I guess we will have to go back 😉
A cousin reminded me that I never finished sharing A cousin reminded me that I never finished sharing our trip to France 🫠 better late than never! 

We spent our first day back in Paris with a trip to Versailles. We loved the gardens so much and particularly enjoyed Marie Antoinette’s little farm. The history here is incredible and the opulence overwhelming. We walked over 10 miles on our visit!
Before our long drive back to Paris we did the thr Before our long drive back to Paris we did the three castle hike in Ribeauvillé, France. We climbed up the side of a hill to three castle ruins from the 14th century. It was really fun to explore and a great way to burn some energy before a long drive.
While we were in the Alsace region of France we vi While we were in the Alsace region of France we visited the sweet little village of Riquewihr. Rumor says this was the inspiration for Belle’s village in Disney’s Beaty and the Beast. Can you see it? We could and kept singing Bonjour while walking through town.
After leaving Switzerland we made our way to Colma After leaving Switzerland we made our way to Colmar. This sweet little town in the Alsace region of France near the German border. We loved all the half timber buildings and winding streets. We had some great local food and wine. Colmar was a lovely place to get lost for an afternoon.
It was so exciting to see the Matterhorn in person It was so exciting to see the Matterhorn in person. The peak was never fully clear of clouds while we were there which was a little disappointing but it was still majestic . We took a cog train and gondola up then hiked about five miles down on the five lakes trail. It was a beautiful day and we got to enjoy lunch mid hike. We loved the little (car free) town of Zermatt. We enjoyed some fun Swiss playgrounds in town before dinner. I love Switzerland and it’s mountains!
With the last of our time in Chamonix we took a go With the last of our time in Chamonix we took a gondola and cable car up Le Brévent. We enjoyed hot chocolates and crepes at the top with views of Mont Blanc. 

Next it was time to drive on to Switzerland 🇨🇭
We took a cute cogwheel train up the valley in Cha We took a cute cogwheel train up the valley in Chamonix to Montenvers to visit the Mer de Glace  glacier. At the top you can take a gondola a little way down then MANY stairs to the glacier. It was sad to see the markers of where the glacier was in years past and how much it has shrunk. We did love exploring an ice cave that they dig out each year. We had to try twice to get into the ice caves as the first time it closed right as we arrived due to a storm. It was worth taking the train twice.
After riding to the top of Aiguille du Midi we sto After riding to the top of Aiguille du Midi we stopped half way down for a couple mile hike and a stop at a mountain hut for lunch. This might have been my favorite lunch ever. The views were amazing and the weather was nice. The mountains here are STUNNING!!! #aiguilledumidi #chamonix
We decided to spend a few day in Chamonix to explo We decided to spend a few day in Chamonix to explore the French Alps. The experience we were most excited about was taking the gondola up the 
Aiguille du Midi (highest cable car in France). You switch cable cars half way up so you can enjoy the views. The top outpost is incredible perching on top of the mountain. I’ve never seen anything like it! 

The day wasn’t completely clear but the views were still incredible. #aiguilledumidi #chamonix
After a long drive across the French countryside w After a long drive across the French countryside we landed in Annecy at the foot of the Alps. 

Annecy was such a pretty little town on the bank of a gorgeous turquoise lake.  We got to enjoy lunch at a canal side cafe, wander the streets, enjoy ice cream and playground hop our way through town. 

Very excited about our next few days in mountains of France + Switzerland.
We drove into the heart of France to visit the Go We drove into the heart of France to visit the  Gouffre de Padirac. A large cave system including an underground river. I don’t have many good pictures given the lighting and lack of patience. We loved climbing down into the cave and riding a boat along the river. Probably my favorite cave that I have visited. Kids loved all of it too and are so good about us dragging them along with us across France.
After leaving Mont Saint-Michele we drove to Loire After leaving Mont Saint-Michele we drove to Loire to visit Château de Chenonceau. It was stunning and the gardens were fun to explore. The history here is so rich!
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