take me to the river!

Our 4th of July weekend started off great! I ran my very first 5k race in the morning, and I had a blast. I finished 5 minutes past my goal time, but nonetheless I had fun and I finished w/out walking, which were two more of my goals. JP was there to watch and I couldn't have done it without his support, I'm so thankful he was there! Hearing everyone cheering and clapping as you sprint to the finish is amazing, and I'm hooked. I have another race this month that I'll be doing with my mentoree, and then two more in August and September. I was so hesitant to do this 5k b/c I didn't think I was ready, but I just went out and did it and I'm so glad I did. I'm actually motivated to run and train now!

After that we celebrated with breakfast, ran some errands and then hurried home to shower & change and grab the dogs. We took them to the dog park to let them run around, and we also took them on a ride as we perused the neighborhoods in the area to get an idea of where we might want to live in a years time. We're on the northeast edge of town right now, and we can't wait to get more centrally located...closer to all the places we've been frequenting. Anyway, then we headed home, and watched the fireworks from our bedroom window...we were too pooped to head to City Park to take in the live show!

Saturday was the big day of the weekend...we went whitewater rafting down the Cache la Poudre (pronounced 'pooder') River. We had such a blast! We went with a locally based company (Mountain Whitewater Descents) that is very well known and very well respected in the community, so we felt we were in good hands. The Poudre is really high right now due to all the snowmelt off the mountains, so it was a raging river indeed. The morning came early, we had to be there at 8 am and I was still tired from the previous day's events. I got up and ate breakfast, prepared some coffee to go, and got ready myself. We were lucky to be able to take our dogs with us, they have kennels there for just that reason and we hadn't thought about what we were going to do with the dogs until the last minute. Of course all the local kennels were full by the time I called...at 5:00 pm on July 4th! (Very last minute). So I called the company to tell them our dilemma, and that's when I learned that they had kennels there and we could just bring our dogs along. Problem solved! So we arrived bright and early (and on time!) and checked in. We then had our safety talk and loaded up with gear. The Poudre is about 40 degrees F right now, so they provided us with wetsuits, fleece and a splash jacket. Prior to our adventure John and I had both gotten a pair of waterproof outdoor sandals which I was excited to try out...but he suggested I get the booties they offered b/c he knows I get cold very easily...and I don't have fun when I'm cold b/c it's all I can think about. So I got the booties...which proved to be a very good idea. We then had about an hour's drive up to the drop off point, during which we got to know our fellow crew members and take a nap...which I took advantage of! At the drop off point we reviewed pertinent safety measures...and then we hopped in and shoved off. We did about 12 miles in the morning, stopped for lunch, and then about 12 more miles in the afternoon. Our guide was great...he was extremely knowledgeable about the river, and he's been rafting since 1996 so he also has a wealth of experience. He used words like "gnarly" to describe the rapids! The river had plenty to offer since it was so high, and even during the low points where we could take in the scenery it still reached up to smack me as if to say "don't forget about me down here!" It was really cold, but we stayed warm with all our gear. It rained in the afternoon, which didn't matter much since we were already drenched! We went through all the well known rapids...except the stretch of the river known as "The Narrows". These are Class V rapids (I learned all about the class system yesterday, how they define the difficulty of the rapids, and we only did Class III and IV rapids). We drove by The Narrows and they are pretty crazy looking, that's for sure. Even our guide has never attempted them.

We didn't see any wildlife, but the scenery was amazing. It felt surreal, like things you only see in the movies or on TV. The Poudre Canyon is just beautiful, I can't wait to go up there to hike some weekend. At one point we passed a spot where people were getting ready to cliff jump into the river, which the guide pointed out there is a sign nearby indicating you are not to do that...but people apparently do it all the time. He said the river is deep enough, he himself has taken part in that!

Anyway, today we were pretty sore and tired, so we took it easy by sleeping in and relaxing. There's been a Harry Potter marathon on ABC family, so we've been taking that in all day. We did manage to get out to get something to eat ( at Culvers!) and run some errands. Tomorrow is our anniversary so John took the day off. Next weekend we're heading to Colorado Springs to celebrate our 5 years of wedded bliss! Ha!!

Next on our list is to try Kayaking! We saw some kayakers on the river yesterday, and it looked too fun!