Goodbye LA, Hello Boulder!

After 15 hours of driving, up the I-15 and across the I-70, I am now just south of Boulder, Co.

Yesterday morning Mary Beth and I left Los Angeles and at roughly 10pm Mountain time we arrived at her condo just outside of Denver/Boulder. The drive was painless. Honestly, nothing about it felt 15 hours long. We stopped every 4-5 hours to get gas and to use the restrooms, but otherwise, we drove straight through. The car was packed to the brim with our stuff - bike boxes, suitcases, food - it was pretty ridiculous. There was not a lot of room to move around. I have to say our packing skills were pretty on point because I don't think we could have fit anything else in there had we tried.

It was sad to leave L.A. and to leave my "family" there. I'm glad I will have about 2 weeks back there in June to see them. It will break up the summer and make it easier to get to September. My dog, Sammy, was so upset. He spent the entire day on Saturday watching me pack. If he could have cried I think he would have. Then, he refused to say goodbye when I left. He kept turning his back to me. He knew what was going on, he hates suitcases, and he was really unhappy. Funny how some dogs know.

I am staying with Mary Beth and her boyfriend until May 1st when I can move into the condo that I am renting in Boulder for the summer with Lauren Groves and her boyfriend. Our training for the next 6 days is pretty aerobic based to get us acclimated to the altitude but I still expect it will be hard on me.

I'm really excited for a change of pace and to have a great summer up here. The training is amazing and there will be so many people coming and going from all over the world that it will be loads of fun... and loads of hardwork! I have never spent more than 3 weeks at altitude, so I am eager to see how my body reacts and if it impacts my performance at all.