A Summer Crush in Colorado: Hanging with our wolfpack

Our first full day in Colorado ended up having a packed agenda—more packed than we thought we could pull off. As we pieced together our itinerary, centered around a visit to the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center, our day was coming together. Breweries, cave dwellings, a hail storm, and much more were in store. Continue reading

A Summer Crush in Colorado: Rocky Mountain High

Merri Beth and I were heading to Colorado to see the Dirty Heads at the Red Rocks. But before the big show, we had an open plate to explore. Our first day in Colorado included lots of travel, our flight to Denver and then driving to Colorado Springs. Of course there were a few snacks and food sampling at a few breweries along the way. Let’s dive into the specifics and see how a mostly unplanned Saturday afternoon turned out for us. Continue reading

My last spring running season before 40

I ran four half marathons over the last six weeks. That wasn’t the plan, but that’s how it panned out. After a pretty rough winter in North Carolina, where Raleigh set a new record with 158 consecutive hours below freezing, I’m surprised I got the training time and miles in to accomplish this.

I distinctly remember having to do one of my longer runs (7 miles) in early January where the high was 27° F, and there was snow on the ground. The weather this winter and spring has been about as up and down as the hills I train on, which would play out during the spring race season. Continue reading

Lacing up the 2017 running season

After three half marathons in the spring (Wilmington, Raleigh, OBX) and my first two Sprint Triathlons in the summer, I was excited for the fall race season this November and December. After miles of training in September and October (~150 miles) with warmer days leading to cooler mornings, November was a great month to run in North Carolina and enjoy all my races. Continue reading

Summer escape to Chicago: Blink 182 at Lollapalooza

Friday, August 4 – The Stage is set for Blink 182 and Lollapalooza

With some severe weather moving through yesterday, the temps took a drop and my morning run to Navy Pier was much nicer with the cooler temperatures. There was also some steady cloud cover which was a nice set-up for a day at Lollapalooza. After breakfast, Merri Beth and I did a little online research and prep for a day at Grant Park. Then we walked from out hotel for a day of music at Lolla.

As soon as we got through security, we stopped at the Tito’s stage and enjoyed a few songs from The Frights. Next was Saint Jhn on the Pepsi stage before we walked around Grant Park for a bit. We were interested in seeing Hon Solo on Perry’s Stage and this DJ put on an awesome performance. With a few bands under our belt, we were ready for some lunch. Continue reading

Summer escape to Chicago: Wrigley Field and the Cubbies

Thursday, August 3 – A Long Day at Wrigley Field

Day two in Chicago started with a run to Navy Pier and exploring more of Millennial Park. I intentionally stayed away from Grant Park since today was the first day of Lollapalooza and a ton of things would have been blocked off and closed for the music festival. I really enjoyed the route and was out-and-about before the tourists starting swarming the area.

I picked up breakfast on the way back to the room. Once I returned, MB and I got ready for the day and did a little research on Wrigley Field, prep for lunch options, transit routes, and kept on eye on the weather forecast. Unfortunately, there was severe weather in the forecast for the afternoon and periodic rain. Continue reading

Summer escape to Chicago: Heading to the Southside

Wednesday, August 2 – Heading to the Southside to see the Chicago White Sox

One of my favorite parts of traveling is to explore the city during my morning runs. Not only do I get better oriented with directions and wayfinding, but I get to see way more that I could just walking around. I started off our first day in Chicago checking out the Riverwalk along Millennial Park and Grant Park. I ran to the Shedd Aquarium before making my way back to the hotel. Definitely a clutch trail for running, biking, and enjoying the outdoors. Continue reading