Goodbye beautiful beautiful Colorado! 
Well almost. 
We were supposed to leave early this morning, but plans have been delayed by yet another member of the group (Phoebe) feeling less than up to 10 hours in the car. So while she naps and hydrates away the bug she's caught, there are some people who've helped us the last couple of days who deserve some mentioning.

The Boulder Track Club, was gracious enough to let us jump in on a workout with them on just one of the emotively scenic trail systems in the Boulder area.  We were able to watch -from the back- them crush a fartlek type workout. (Fartlek, for the non-runners, is a training method not a weird bodily function) Wow.  Special thanks to Laura Thweatt, Betsy Flood, Allison Sawyer, and Jayson Swigart for taking the time to chat with us about their experiences and forwarding us to a famous (therefore touristy), yet delicious breakfast spot called The Buff.  Furthermore, we would have loved to join you guys for the Sunday LONG run, but it goes without saying that the physical limitations that kept us from leaving today also kept us from running several miles.  We wish the entire Boulder Track Club success this upcoming season!  

Marcus Allen Hille hooked Phoebe and I up with some very needed massages. He worked on my ever-temperamental achilles tendon and our mountain climbing-weary legs so we could keep ourselves going through these last few days of biking, hiking, and running.  He was the amazing detective that so easily uncovered the mechanism of an injury that had halted nearly all my training in the weeks leading up to our meeting.  Beyond being incredibly knowledgeable and effective at his physiological care, he is just one of the many selfless, amazing people we have encountered in our journeys in the sport.  If you are in the Boulder area, I can not imagine a better person to trust your burdened body to than him.  To gain more information on his skills, credentials, and testimonials from other athletes check out his website at www.marcusallenhille.com

Finally we have to thank our wonderfully accommodating hosts here in Golden, CO.
Yesterday some of them took us on one final adventure tubing down Clear Creek in Golden, CO. Now, we're from Tennessee so we've all tubed down rivers where the most strenuous action consists of figuring out a way to open the beer you forgot wasn't a twist-off. 
What we did yesterday was NOT that kind of tubing! This was no river we were floating down, it was a creek. When we were shown the proper technique for keeping our butts from bumping across the rocks jutting out of the incredibly shallow water, we did not realize how necessary these crotch-to-the-sky plank positions would be for the next hour. Kat, in particular, could not quite grasp the concept that letting your butt fall through the hole at any point was going to result in a bruised tail bone. She realizes it now. 
Or maybe she was just thinking that being as far into the tube as possible over CLASS THREE rapids was probably the best call. Regardless of the multiple bruises we all have in some very inconvenient places, it was definitely one of the most fun days we've had here. 
Between leading us up mountains, cooking us meals, and introducing us to groovy people and even groovier places, our hosts this week have really gone above and beyond. BIG big big thank you to Ty "Moneypants" Conner and his roommates James and Brendan for letting us take over their home, and to Tommy G. for feeding us like the ravenous, insatiable athletes we are.
See ya round, Colorado!
We're off to Yellowstone and some very spotty wifi, so we'll post again ASAP.

-Erica