Back in Boulder / Eldora 10K

We returned to Boulder on Monday and it's been a great week. No smoking - now at Day 26 - excellent runs and we've found a few homes at good prices

One area we crossed off the list is anything up Flagstaff Road. We looked with no expectations but this is where so many legendary Boulder mountain runs are (Green, Bear, etc). Flagstaff is very curvy and very steep for too many miles



Later in the day this grasshopper rode with us for a few miles while we looked at a few houses in Longmont



Running has been excellent. Wednesday I ran / hiked Mount Sanitas, a 3.1-mile round trip with 1,350' of elevation gain. I was excited to race on Saturday to see progress - and to kick my buddy Chuck's ass (he's the guy running the Leadville 100 in two weeks). This would also be Maureen's first mountain race



The Eldora (Ski Resort) 10K had maybe 750' and began at an elevation of maybe 9,400'

I started strong and was able to run all hills - although I'm sure my breathing was louder than anyone else's. I was several minutes ahead of Chuck and cruising into the final mile at less than a 9-minute mile pace. Then...three of us had no clue on which way to go...we had two choices...

15-minutes later I said to one guy "I think we went the wrong way" at the same time the other guy yelled back "Did we go the wrong way?"

We ended up doing a 12.2K with 850' of elevation gain. Haha! Dumbasses...

Afterwards we cruised into Denver via the scenic route (Peak-to-Peak Highway) past Rollinsville...



...through Black Hawk and Central City





We stopped in Central City. The two towns are very close and famous old mining towns that have survived as small casino towns with a lot of historical preservation - including the famous Central City Opera House

While in Central City I stubbed my second toe on a metal rod sticking out of the sidewalk (I was wearing sandals). It hurt very much. I thought I broke it for the first first few minutes. Here I am icing my toe later in the day



I listend to "This American Life" on the drive back from Denver - not usually my favorite program but this was a classic, all three stories

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/412/million-dollar-idea