Ellie is finishing up pre-season running the East Boulder Trail.  These hills aren’t for the faint-of-heart.  And the shadeless heat isn’t for the uninitiated.  We ran three miles out here last weekend, both Saturday and Sunday.  This weekend, we kicked it up a notch to five miles.  Monday afternoon, I hand over what’s left of her legs to the NHS Cross Country Team to train for reals.

Ellie really impressed me today by running the entire way back without walking.  This course is tougher on the return.  The final hill, up to the water tower behind the Heatherwood neighborhood, is a quarter mile climb.  It’s truly brutal.  I bet her an Intajuice she couldn’t do it.  She proved me wrong.  She’s ready for next week.