Imogene, Imogene, Imo Imo Imo Gene

Imma be on the next level. Going from 8000+ feet in Ouray up to the summit of Imogene Pass at a little over 13,000 feet, and back down again on the Telluride side. Oh yes, I'm an excited girl today.

Registration for the 38th Annual Imogene Pass Run opened at midnight earlier today, and after doing everything I could to keep myself awake, I celebrated National Running Day by getting on the computer at midnight for the fourth June 1st in a row, and signing for the 17.1 mile run from Ouray, Colorado to Telluride, Colorado over the Imogene Pass. Well, actually, I registered a friend first who has a very busy life lately and kindly requested it since I'd be up (not without joking that I was going to then take his credit card on a spending spree after registration). Then, I became one of the first 250 people to sign up in the first five minutes after midnight. By the time I got up to run at 5am, I was floored to see that there were nearly 900 entrants, and by shortly after 10am, the 2011 Imogene Pass Run was filled to capacity.

I have to say I'm stoked this year because I'm training for the race, and plan to run it with a different mindset. I have a pretty aggressive time goal, which on one hand seems unrealistic. I set aggressive goals last fall, though, and it paid off in spades to aim beyond a "safe" goal. Safety doesn't really drive me as much as being told I can't or shouldn't do something. I've decided I'm done with giving my reasons and excuses, and am ready to attack the things that need work with my trail running in order to be strong enough to hit that time goal. I'm going to have a good network of people to train with, too. The excitement was contagious among veterans and first-timers alike as the 1500 person field filled rapidly, and I'm looking forward to getting dirty, confident, and strong over the next hundred days.

Next up on my agenda, though, is a big weekend of dance rehearsals and performances. Oh, yes, it's time to put on my Teflon hat and go along for that ride. I love it once I'm sitting in the audience watching the kids, but it's just going to be a little hairy for the next few days before that time. Then, it's on to Durango, Colorado for my third running of the Steamworks Half Marathon. It's another good pre-season training race at altitude, and you can't go wrong with local beer and real food off the grill after the uphill finish. I'll just keep squeezing in the runs here and there over the course of this busy week, and let that recovering ankle dictate pace and distance. It's definitely great to be back to running regularly, and I'm looking forward to making those training deposits all summer long.