Not having a marathon time to get into the Pikes Peak Ascent I had to enter the Triple Crown Race Series. Throw in the US Mountain Team Qualifier race in Colorado Springs and that will be 4 trips to Colorado Springs/Manitou Springs this summer.

When I was a kid I loved flamingos. I once saw them in the wild when I was in southern Chile.  Here, they were yard art, a landmark that I was getting closer to my destination, Manitou Springs, CO. This trip was for the Pikes Peak Ascent.

I had earned my way into the PPAscent by competing in one of my only road races, the Garden of the Gods 10 mile as part of the Triple Crown Series.  I just missed the podium but I gained a new respect, and possibly a small seed of desire, for running on pavement.

The second race in the Triple Crown Series, was a fun but very hot 12k Summer Roundup Trail Run. I had ‘slept’ in my car for both of these events which is something I would not suggest mostly because it is way too hot at night to get any sleep.

Now that I was in Colorado Springs for the fourth time this summer, I couldn’t bare the thought of another night in my car. I found the cheapest hotel but splurged on the best Italian restaurant in Manitou Springs.

I thoroughly enjoyed a great meal while crunching numbers as at this time I was trying to decide if I should buy the coffee shop that I had re-opened with a ‘partner’ a year and a half prior.

This is what I had been doing all season, working, running, racing and deciding if I should buy a business.

The next day I won the Pikes Peak Ascent.