Triple-Dog Dare Ya'

 

It's time to say "Uncle" - this is waaaaaaaaay too COLD!!!

If you see us outside, we'll look similar to this!! Happy Trails and stay warm!

Frozen Trails

Got up a little behind schedule on Saturday morning (hey, it's winter...) so we had to squeeze in a quick, COLD run before Kathleen had to head to the office for a while.  We were able to do about 5.5 miles, starting in a half-sleep stupor, but awakening quickly in the chill of a gray winter morning.  The weatherman was "threatening" some sunshine ahead of another arctic air mass and snow on Sunday.  Since we already had two days in the teens for highs this week, any hint of sunshine and balmy 30 degree temps was enough to get the hopes up!

So after Kathleen headed out, the sun "sort of" came out and I put some dry clothing on and scooted over to the Santa Fe trail to get a second run in, just in case Sunday's storm materialized and limited the running possibilities.  Most of Santa Fe was lightly snow covered, as seen here with Pikes Peak behind, and there were some tricky areas that had solid ice hidden below the top coat of snow.

But, for the most part, it was some snow with very tiny patches of exposed dirt.  Although only in the 30's, I went for the shorts as the forecast was for the next 5 days being below 27 degrees.  It was good but you would not want to stand around - keep it moving!

Awesome ice flow under the railroad drainage - that is almost 2 foot thick already!

I was able to sneak out another 8 miles and felt pretty good at the finish.  I liked this shot of Monument Creek partially frozen near the end of the run.  It was a good day, although I am not quite used to the double run thing.

Shoes - Asics Trabuco on early run

 S - Brooks Ravenna on run #2

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Sunday Duathlon ... sort of

We're always nervous when the weather forecast is for 1 - 2" of snow.  That can mean you wake up to sunshine, or you're buried in it - but mostly somewhere in between.  The cold part they got right - woke up to 14 degrees with 1 degree wind chill.  There was already 4" fresh down when we decided to bundle up and still get in some semblance of a run.  So we cruised over to Ute Valley to give it a shot, with fresh snow falling the whole time we were out.  It is always quiet and peaceful to run on mornings like this.  The falling snow muffles all the environmental noises and the rhythmic crunch of snow underfoot sounds out the cadence of your run.   

Steve making fresh tracks at UVP.

Another cool part of snow runs is the monochromatic imagery of the photographs that are snapped.  It is almost as if the colors of your gear are superimposed on a grayscale background.  We just did a short loop in Ute and then did some flat trails to the west of the park.  The flat light that fresh snow creates, along with the depth of the fresh powder, made the technical running a bit on the sketchy side.  No need to sprain an ankle on a day like this.  We finished with about 6 miles and fatigued legs - snow runs, especially when you break trail most of the way, are quite taxing on the legs.

Shoes - Asics Trabuco with screws

We got cleaned up and headed over to the Peak Grille for a late morning breakfast date!  Breakfast burritos after a snowy run - mmmmmmmmmm!  Then it was home and Kathleen was on the frantic knitting schedule - trying to get some things "sewn up" for the mothers' for Christmas and time is slim!  Since our run was short, we saddled up for a road ride, er um, make that a trainer ride in the afternoon.  Get in a little duathlon training on a cold day, right?

For those who don't ride, the contraption pictured above is a trainer.  You hook your bike up in front of the TV, set some resistance, and ride indoors.  Comes in handy in the winter, but to be quite honest, is a bit on the boring side.  Never ran on a treadmill, but could be similar I guess - outdoors is always better.  (Unless outdoors is covered in 7 inches of freshies and now sub-10 degrees.)  All in all, it was a good day.  Happy Trails - and anyone who wants some snow is more than welcome to take it!!!!!

Give Thanks and Run Trails!

Started off the Thanksgiving long weekend right by heading out to dinner Wednesday night with wonderful, long-time friends we don't get to see often enough.  Lots of laughs and good times, as always.  Geared up Thanksgiving Day and headed to Greenland Open Space, this time departing from the upper trailhead at Palmer Lake.  Sunny skies and temps in the 50's were perfect for a nice trail run on turkey day.  For many years now, we always start off our Thanksgiving day with a run or ride - it is a tradition for us.

Kathleen lacing up for a run!

Getting our dose of train activity - had two go by while we were out.

We had hoped for some dryness on the trails as Greenland is pretty open, but we had no such luck.  At least the trails here have a lot of sand, so the mud does not cake up on the shoes very much.  As you can see off on the far hill, there is still some snow that needs to melt.  Kathleen is nearing the top of the Kipps Loop climb. 

Picking my way through the melting snow/mud transitions on Kipps Loop.

These big fellas are from the Mile High Bison Ranch, which borders Greenland Open Space.  Steak anyone?

Kathleen is cruising back toward Palmer Lake on the Greenland Trail.  In the distance is another of our favorites, Spruce Mountain Open Space, however its trails were untouchable under the current conditions.  Though muddy most of our route, we still got in 10.5 miles, had an awesome day for a run, and headed home to get cleaned up for dinner with family.  We ate with Steve's sister and family, and his younger brother, all of whom live in Colorado Springs.  It was great to get together and be thankful for all our blessings, including dear family, friends, and good health!

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Black Friday dawned and we did what we always do - anything to avoid SHOPPING!  The color we were looking for was more azure, and the sky was painted with it - bingo!  Now, people will drive hundreds of miles, elbow their way through lines at malls, even sleep overnight in parking lots - just to buy junk that will end up in their attic 6 months from now.  Not us.  With unseasonably warm temps ahead of an impending weekend snow storm, it was trail time!!!

Last weekend, we ran something new in Pueblo.  This weekend, we went for more familiar terrain there - sweet desert singletrack on the south shore at Pueblo Reservoir.  Unlike our trails that cannot currently shake the freeze/melt/mud pattern, the narrow twisty trails at the reservoir were in perfect form.  We started at the Red Gate trailhead and jumped onto Cuatro Cinco - which Kathleen is running above.

With the temperature eventually reaching 70 before we finished, it was another unreal running day - who would trade this for an elbow-jockey duel in the aisles of Walley World or Best Buy?  Pass.  We connected over to the Outer Limits (seen above) for some nice cliff-hugging trail along one of many inlets of the reservoir.  Way, way out there you can just see the white cap of Pikes Peak.

Last weekend, we turned around on our out-and-back about 100 feet or so below the dam.  Here is today's view from far above the water on Pedro's Point, looking out to the dam - Nice!

Kathleen is topping out on one of many cliffs overlooking the water.

Looking out from the Pedro's Point trail to the marina - water is down a bit, as evidenced by the large sand bars.  While recreation is big here, a lot of people rely on this reservoir for their water supply and the dry fall has it a bit lower than it was on our last visit.

Powering up the Rock Canyon trail - camera makes it look pretty flat, however, it is about 8% grade behind me.  This is a tricky climb, covered in loose rock plates and left over volcanic flow that makes for less-than uniform footing.  It is a great way to finish the run by draining what's left in the tank on the climb out to the ridge.

Not much else to say - great day, another great run!  We were able to do a nice 13.5 mile loop on some fantastic desert trails.  **Almost forgot to mention - set an SKCR for the route today too - running faster is good!  We're thankful - Happy Trails!

Shoes - Asics Trabuco

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In search of dry trails...

With wet heavy snow that turned to a cement-like crust last weekend, we have had serious issue trying to find something dry to run.  Everything that has had sun is wet all the way through and will just about suck your shoes off your feet!  Yesterday, went over to Santa Fe trail which is usually our go-to trail when everything else is muddy.  No such luck.  Ran 9.5 miles of muck - the only thing not muddy was the snowpack that was still left.  Covered in mud, no photos will be posted!  :-)

So we hit the road this morning, heading south on I-25 to Pueblo and a run along the Arkansas River Trail.  We knew we would have to run some on the paved bike path, but it was dry so we went for it.  We would generally come to Pueblo to run the south shore trails at Pueblo Reservoir, however, today we decided to get a little fast leg turnover on the flat route.   When we made the turn west on Arkansas River Trail, this was the view back to the east under Pueblo Blvd - the Arkansas River looking pretty calm.

After passing by the Nature Center, we were out in the open in Rock Canyon running an abandoned dirt road (which kept us off the cement bike path!!)  Thought this knarled tree was cool looking against the bluff.  The road is a gradual ascent out toward the reservoir, generally following the twists and turns of the river.

Kathleen coming off the dirt road and onto a section of the bike path.  From here, we would be on and off on paved and dirt double track sections all the way out to the dam.  As you can see in the pics, we had a nice sunny day though the cool wind kept temps in the upper 40's. 

After following a large bend in the river, the dam wall comes into view.  On the left, you see one of MANY fly fisherman we saw on the run - they had an awesome day to be out.  If you have seen any of our pics from past runs at Pueblo Reservoir, you know there is a LOT OF WATER behind that dam.

The handiwork of beavers, above, could get ugly on the trail when they are a little further along on their task!

Me - Enjoying the run and NO MUD!

More fishing activity.  Fly fishing always looks peaceful, kind of like trail running!

The satellite view of our out and back run.  Like I said, lots of water behind that cement wall!  We had a nice run of just over 11 miles, though very different for us with continuous leg turnover and faster pace.  Aside from some paved areas, it is a nice mellow run with a total elevation gain of a little under 900 feet - pretty much flat for Colorado.  This is probably the Happy Trails version of a road run :-)  Hope everyone has a great week!

Shoes - K - Nike Structure Triax

S - Brooks Ravenna

Quick trip up the Incline

Azure skies and brilliant sunshine extended their cheerful greeting this morning and the perfect workout for snowy - slushy conditions is the Incline.  So I laced up a pair of screw shoes, donned a running skirt for some vitamin D action, and made a quick trip over to Manitou.  Surprisingly, the normally overflowing parking lot at the Barr Trail trailhead was almost empty.  Made my way around the bluff to the bottom and started the march up the mountain.

Yes folks, read the sign - I AM a lawbreaker.  So are thousands of others in this fine town who regularly trek up the hill.  Good news for all of the lawbreakers - it's on the verge of becoming legal.  Yahoooo!!!

Nearing the top, it was shady and cool.  

With one mile and 2000 feet of vertical gain in the legs, a fellow lawbreaker snapped this photo at the top.

Awesome beauty on the way down.

I love rocks!

The run down Barr Trail was part super-slush, part snow-pack (awesome traction!), and part dirt.  Made it to the bottom safe and sound and continued to savor the awesome sunshine and blue skies.

Caught this little buck foraging in our front yard and perennial flower garden (looks like a bunch of weeds at this time of year) in the afternoon.  He dug himself a nice hole in the snow then moved on to check out the bird feeder to the right.  He was a little ticked off because the BIRD feeder was EMPTY.  Oops, my bad.  After he moved over to our neighbor's yard, I filled it for the next group of visitors.  Notice the buck in our neighbor's yard across the street.  There were also two does to the right of the little guy in our yard.  Couldn't fit them all in the photo!
Happy Trails this week!

Play Day in the Snow

Got some good wet, heavy snow last night and were expecting more today.  However the sun broke out late morning, so instead of staying in for the day, we ventured out in the cold for a little trail/snow run. The storm actually went "dry" as the fancy weather folk would say.  Cold north wind kept the accumulation low, whereas a warmer, upslope wind would have dumped more on us.  We got about 6 inches total in the NW part of town, so not too bad.  Ute was a winter wonderland when we got out.

 

Usually get this more in the spring snows, but I love the icicles on the spruce.

 Kathleen heading into Ute Valley, glad to be out of the wind!

 

 Footing was tricky as there was water running under the snow in a lot of spots.

 

 Looking over the bluff toward the mountains.

 

 Kathleen navigating the boulders - the snow hides a lot of loose rock, so footing is tentative on days like this.

 

 The "stream" was little wider this morning!

 

Enjoying the day and glad we got out for a while instead of holing up.  Plus we were able to get some nice pics in the snow and some fresh, crisp air in the lungs.  Happy Snowy Trails!