Pikes Peak Challenge

Last year I trained throughout the summer, packed my gear, studied and talked to every smart person I knew and took all the advice I could get, and signed up to participate in the Pikes Peak Challenge, which is a fundraiser for the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado.



In spite of my preparations – I don’t think I was really truly ready for what a challenge climbing Pikes Peak would be...

Pikes Peak Update

Thinking back… I can remember my first pair of hiking boots. My mom got them cheap off a friend who didn’t like the color. I’d never even gone hiking before, but I wore those boots to my junior high school every chance I got. They didn’t even match, most of the time, but I remember the feeling I had wearing those – I felt powerful. Big. Like I could do anything.
 

Palmer Park

I remember my first time trying to hike, soon after I started college.

Summer Training Log

Here's the rundown of all the steps (quite literally, actually) that I took this year to train for the Pikes Peak Challenge:

Learning the Argentine Tango!

The first thing I wanted to do as part of my recovery was dance. One month after surgery, I saw that they were offering a "Tango with Passion Week" at my old dance studio.

I thought I’d sign up for one class and see how it went...

Changed by art

I attended an arts/business luncheon recently, and the speaker was talking about how art can change you, without you even being aware that a change has taken place… I started thinking about that, and came up with a real recent example where a particular statue changed my life completely.

Cheyenne Foxhunt Adventure

So when I was growing up, my parents would tell me about a game they used to play called Foxhunting in their hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming. It's basically hide and seek, except played with cars and CB radios. Then I would tease them about that being the sort of game you'd expect to be popular in a city as small as Cheyenne.

But I always wanted to try it. So when my cousin invited me along during a recent visit up there to see family, I jumped at the chance.

The rules (as I understand them) are basically this: You get permission from Fox Control via your CB radio to join the game....

Learning to Viennese Waltz

So a little while back I got on the ballroom dancing bandwagon. Growing up with movies like Dirty Dancing, Moulin Rouge, and Strictly Ballroom, it was something I definately wanted to try. So found a great local place that taught classes and started to take lessons.

A friend and I started with the beginning classes, and then moved up to advanced, all with Pro/Am teacher Nikki Morin. Then we started going really nuts...