This could all be traced back to 2000 when our church youth group took a trip to Twin Lakes, CO to climb Mt. Elbert. This trip was for those who had finished 9th-12th grades and wanted to go on a camping trip and climb a mountain in Colorado. I don't really know why, but I always looked forward to being old enough to finally go on "Trek." When I showed up to the interest meeting one of the local football players looked at me and scoffed "you're going on this trip? Don't expect me to carry any of your stuff" I assured him that wouldn't be necessary. So it began. Not only did I go on the trip, I loved it, I carried all my own gear without problems, and when the macho football player was struggling up the mountain I carried some of HIS stuff. Funny how even after 17 years I remember how that comment made me feel and the fire it lit inside me. I went on the trip again in 2002, we climbed Mosquito Peak. In 2003 I started volunteering for the camp and I still volunteer my time with them today.
Nothing about my junior or high school years was particularly terrible, nor was it outstanding. I didn't have a lot of friends, but I had enough acquaintances to not be an outcast. I'm facebook friends with some people from high school but I don't keep in touch with anyone. When I found the mountains though, I felt like I was home, everything made sense, my heart was happy and they bring me so much joy and confidence. Year after year, from 2003-2010 I couldn't help myself, I had to return to the mountains for weeks on end and climb those mountains.
In 2010 I guess you could say it was time to "grow-up," I had bought a home in Texas, found a steady job, a great man to marry and became a traditional adult. We vacationed in the mountains every year for a week at a time, sometimes twice a year. In 2013 I climbed my last mountain, LaPlata Peak. In 2014 we had our wonderful daughter and since then my hiking boots, pack, sleeping bag, and tent have been collecting dust and taking up precious space in a closet.
I love my husband and daughter fiercely and would not trade them for anything, I want to make that completely clear. They meet and exceed any expectations I may have had about my future family when I was 12-years-old doodling hearts and playing MASH in a spiral notebook. Even when a part of your life is great there can still be something missing. For me, that missing piece is the wilderness. I need it, I crave it, it makes me whole so that I can be everything that my family needs and wants me to be.
For a while, I felt depressed, lost and just sad for no apparent reason. In March 2016 a friend and I agreed to do TransRockies Run 6 in 2017 and through running I felt a little better, I thought that I just needed something that was mine to be excited about. As part of our training, we have done monthly trail races since January, distances from 10k to 50k. I was eager to put Leadville Race Series events on our race schedule, the Austin Rattler, and the Leadville Marathon. The 50k in Bastrop, TX came before my first marathon and it went well, I felt empowered to call myself an "Ultrarunner." It was definitely an accomplishment, but I wouldn't say that the race brought me a lot of joy. Then, last week, was the Leadville Marathon, the race that I was the most anxious and excited about on our calendar, aside from TransRockies. It was amazing! It was the first time since 2013 that I have been above treeline, walking along the snow, being beat by the wind, suffering, huffing, and puffing, slowly dropping one foot in front of the other, hearing others groaning, and I couldn't help but smile and feel true joy swelling inside me. I was conquering the mountain like I had done so many times before, and it felt incredible. I was finally me. I finished the marathon under the 8:30-time cutoff and I did struggle, but I truly loved the whole thing. Then, after the race, at the awards ceremony, I decided to put my number in the drawing for the Leadville Trail 100 Run. My number was drawn for the very last spot they were raffling that day. I am so thrilled! So, since I am embarking on such a HUGE journey and my employment is a little uncertain past September, I thought I would start a blog, because why not?
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