The Stroke & Stride is a local race series for those needing a mid-week reservoir swim (half mile or mile) and 5k run. There are 9 races throughout the summer and most folks use them as time trials or practice for their upcoming triathlons (swim, bike, run). I started doing these races back in 2019, during my first summer in Boulder. This upcoming week will be my 9th race, perhaps I will be able to beat that 22 minute barrier.
Summer evenings in Boulder can be quite hot, 90-95F. The temps make the swim extremely pleasant while the run can be challenging. By the time I hit the turn around point, I've mentally gathered all of the athlete goddesses I've known over my many years of training and racing. They run beside me and in front of me. I tie my imaginary knot onto them, let my love for my ladies fill my soul, and as a team, we push hard to the finish. No one ever mentioned that one of the best parts of growing up is observing the development of your friends' professional careers. Team leaders become nurses and teachers, pain-cave survivors become naturopaths and forest service rangers, dance instructors, musicians, and a lawyer. For 10 minutes each week, when I am exhausted and begging for water, these people come back to me. Suffering together, or is it pleasure? I'm still not sure. At the finish, I reach for my watermelon slices, my ghost friends are gone - back to their lives, spread out all across the U.S. and beyond. I have a half ironman (1.3 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13 mile run) on September 11th! Woot woot.
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We finished our Colorado Trail journey in Leadville at the end of segment 10 (Mount Massive Trailhead). We had gathered a badass girl gang to hike with, which felt fantastic. But, at the end of the day, we decided to call it quits. For future CO Trail adventures, we plan to day-run shorter segments and weekend-backpack the longer segments. We are really looking forward to the southern sections - unfamiliar terrain will entice us next year.
Day 1 on the trail was full of anticipation. We started around 8 am and hiked the dirt road through Waterton Canyon with 8 days of food weighing on our backs but spirits very high. We reached our camp at about 2 pm and set up camp just as a rain storm hit. We rode out the storm in our tent and only later realized we could see Denver skyscrapers in the distance.
The days since the first are quite a blur. I feel lucky to have quickly shifted into trail brain - a calm mindless meditation that filters out all the mental nonsense and focuses instead only on the intense flower colors and the balance between human and tree breaths. We’ve had few wildlife encounters so far - 2 moose, 3 deer, 1 fox, 2 bull snakes. And tonight we are quietly nestled into a hostel in the gorgeous Breckenridge area. A 2500’ climb in 3 miles waits for us tomorrow. And it sure will feel like a challenge with our food sacks freshly stocked with 4 days of food. |
AuthorSierra is a graduate student in the Barger Lab at CU Boulder studying microbial ecology for dryland restoration. Archives
August 2023
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