This weekend was absolutely incredible, and I cannot wait to share my experience of the race and Colorado. As much as I’d like to start with the race recap, I just haven’t found the right words to explain it. But the city, oh how I’ve fallen in love.

I flew into Denver on Friday, incredibly excited, and nervous. Darren flew out earlier, picked me up from the airport and we made our way into the city. Unfortunately, because it was so late, they only place open was Hooters. Awesome. It actually wasn’t that bad, and the seafood was pretty good.

Saturday was by far the busiest day. With the race being on Sunday, we had a lot to get done in such a short amount of time. First up was the race expo to pick up my shirt and bib. There weren’t many vendors, but I found a great race belt from FlipBelt It didn’t move, and it held everything I needed, perfect for a small person like me.

Long sleeve tech tee, amazing.

Next we headed to the mountains, stopping at Red Rocks Amphitheater. It was absolutely breath taking. The view of Denver from the mountains was incredible.

Love, love, love.

And even more fascinating was the amount of people working out. Runners, cyclists, climbers, yogis. This was the place to be. I was a little jealous I didn’t have my running shoes on.

I can climb too! Well, just a few feet

After hanging out at Red Rocks for a while, we headed further into the mountains.

Colorado snow is better than Ohio snow

I started to feel the altitude change at this point and we decided to turn around. Perfect time too, the moment I stepped in our hotel room I was out for a good three hours. I honestly thought my trip out here was a complete bust at this point. I started to regret wanting to run the race, and making Darren come out here for a few short days. I even had a small moment where I didn’t even want to run, just stay in bed for the rest of the trip. But Darren forced me to get better so I could do a little early birthday shopping. Shopping can cure dehydration/altitude sickness. Fact. Lulelemon and REI were calling my name.

The rest of the night was pretty low key. We went out for some carbs at Strings, and then visited with some of Darren’s friends. All I could think about was how little energy I had and how terrified I was for the next day.

Sunday-Race Day. As much as I’d love to start right in, I have to keep you in suspense. Tomorrow I’ll have the recap, I promise it will be worth it.

However, the weekend wasn’t over just yet. After the race, we didn’t want to let the day get away from us, so we met up with blogger/runner Courtney.

First meeting IRL

We spent the rest of the day checking out the city, and trying some amazing restaurants, Vine Street Pub and d Bar Desserts. Seriously the best chocolate chip cookies ever. We spent the evening packing up and moping around about having to leave.

Monday we were off to the airport and back to the wonderful city of Cleveland. As much as I love Ohio, I fell in love with another city. Denver was absolutely amazing. At every turn you could see someone running, biking, walking, just enjoying the outdoors. There was so much more to do, but with so little time, we could only pick a few. I already have an itch to get back there. I’d even move out there in a heart beat. I’ve enjoyed my travels for work, running, and past vacations, but this place definitely called out to me. I can’t wait to go back!

Denver, I love you.