The Coen Clan: Leadville!

Last weekend, we piled into the car and headed up to Leadville, CO...the highest town in North America (sitting at a lofty 10,200 ft). It was our first time there and all of us had a blast. What a gorgeous area! The Sawatch Range is stunning. The purpose of our trip was so I could "run" (said very loosely) the Leadville Heavy Half Marathon (more about that later). We explored, rode a train attempted to do a little hike (which we were unable to find the road) and simply hung out.

The first day we spent at Turquoise Lake throwing rocks and having a picnic. The mountains in Colorado never cease to amaze me, and these did not disappoint!

Turquoise Lake

Yummy picnic!

Throwing rocks and getting the feet wet. The kids LOVE to do this anywhere there is water.

That afternoon we rode the Leadville and Southern Colorado Railroad. It was a 2.5 hour train ride along the mountain side. The weather was great, the views were excellent and the kids had a great time. Kami was a little nervous at first, but soon got over it. Brennan was beside himself.

Silly kids posing.

All aboard!!!

This was the only time you could see the engine and caboose at the same time.

Awesome views.

The kids were able to check out the engine and the caboose when we made a little pit stop at a water tower.

On Saturday was the big "race". I'm always looking for a challenge, and this definitely fit the bill. When I signed up for the Leadville Heavy Half Marathon, I thought the "heavy" part referred to the altitude. Had I looked at the course map a bit closer, I would have discovered the "heavy" part also referred to the fact it was 15.4 miles instead of the 13.1 I thought...I would have signed up anyway:) The course started in downtown Leadville (which sits at 10,200 ft) and follows an old dirt mining road up to the top of Mosquito Pass (which sits at 13,185 ft) and then back down (7.7 miles up and 7.7 miles down). The first mile was pavement, then we hit the dirt for the rest of the run. In the beginning, things were going pretty smoothly and I was able to run for a few minutes and then walk for a few...until we hit mile 4.5 or so. Then we started up the 4-wheel drive road, which was steep, treacherous and full of large boulders. For the last 3 miles up, there was no running for anyone but the crazy elite runners. The last mile up was extremely difficult. I was only able to keep at a 25 min/mile pace. After finally making it to the top, which involved running around a pink stake, I headed back down. I attempted to run, but it was very slow and for small amounts of time (I didn't want to break my ankle at 13,000 ft...those life flights are quite expensive:)). After the 4-wheel drive road ended, I was able to run at a steady pace the rest of the way down. Despite the sore muscles, and the fact I never want to do that race again, the scenery made up for everything. It was the hardest, most challenging, most beautiful run I have ever done. Well worth the pain:)

Brennan waiting for me to start.

And we're off!

Views from a mountain run.

On the way up.

View from the road looking back. The lake in the front is Mountain Lake and the one in the back in Diamond Lake.

I made it to the top. Now back down!

Sorry, these ones are out of order. While I was running, Pat took the kids to a couple parks to play. The kids loved running on the high school football field.

They love to swing.

They also went to the fish hatchery and feed the fish. Pat said they loved it!

Can you see the fish?

They were really hungry.

Now we are back in order. This is Brennan waiting for me at the finish line.

This was the only race I've ever run that I crossed the finish line with no other runners. The kids were excited to help me across the finish line.

Wait for me, Mama!

Finally finished! 4:05 was my time and I was very happy with that!

On Sunday, we did a little exploring. We drove to the top of Independence Pass and walked around. We attempted to go on a little hike, but were unable to find the road we need to turn on, so we headed towards home instead. We made it to Frisco and drove to Lake Dillon where the kids were able to throw some rocks and we ate lunch.