Holiday Smorgasboard...

It's been a while since there has been a running post here, so we'll catch up a bit on the past couple weeks.  It has also continued to be unusually cold for us, so it has been a bit less than "Happy" on the trails for those of us who would prefer more moderate temps. :)  We had family staying with us for a week, so bloggy-time has been limited.  So here we go - a quick rehash since Christmas Day:

Christmas Day was crispy cold with 15 degrees and a stout breeze.  We bundled up, laced up the screw shoes, and hit the trails at Garden of the Gods.  If you are going to freeze, why not have great scenery?!?!?  We had little traffic on the trails, so it was wide open for running - just a bit slow with the snow and ice.  Here is Kathleen cruising up the Ute Trail.

 

Looking north to the Gateway Rocks.

 

Kathleen cruises down the rocks in front of the Siamese Twins.

 

Is it Steve??  Not sure with 100 layers of clothes, but it was good to be out running in such an awesome spot on Christmas.

 

It looked REALLY cold on Pikes Peak with the wind swirling snow around!  We got in a nice 8.5 mile run and then headed home to prep the house for guests.

Shoes - Asics Trabuco w/screws

Family Christmas Dinner

 

Steve's mom and dad flew in from NY late Christmas night, so we actually celebrated Christmas as a family on the 27th.  We had a lot of fun, had our family tradition of Lasagna (mom's Italian background!!!), exchanged gifts, and even got to meet "The Boy" - our niece has a serious boyfriend, who until recently, has been known only as "the Boy".  He's nice, has a real name, does not seem to have a criminal past, and is on scholarship for baseball.  We always take a family photo, and we got creative this year since we had an extra set of hands to take pics for us.  Photo credit: The Boy.

Happy New Year

 

So New Years Day, we got out for a combo run.  We hit the trails in Ute Valley Park for a bit, then ran the multi use trail around Flying W.  Steve, dashing through the pines.  It was sunny and 30's and the shorts were a wee bit of a stretch, but I am sick of being balled up in a pile of clothes!!!

 

Kathleen is cruising through some nice boulders at UVP.

 

We stopped for family photo - maybe even an anniversary photo, since we didn't bring the camera on our date Thursday!!

 

Every year this little Charlie Brown looking tree gets decorated by local neighbors at Ute Valley - right in the middle of the trail.  Kind of cool to have the trailside Christmas Tree!  We got to run 11 miles and had a pretty relaxed day by ourselves - sometimes that is nice.  OH YES - my Buckeyes won the Rose Bowl too - SWEEET!

Shoes - K Asics 2150 Trail

S Nike Triax ESC

Deja Vu

 

It was supposed to be windy and cloudy Saturday, so we decided to run Ute Valley again as it stays pretty sheltered from the wind.  About 15 minutes into the run, the clouds peeled off and we had sun for the duration - nice.  The evergreens always provide a nice frame against the sandstone at Ute Valley - then Kathleen's vibrant colors stand out even more!

 

Cruising the top rim of the park with cloud-capped Pikes Peak towering in the distance.

 

Coming off the top of the ridge and revved up for the descent!

 

It is awesome to have this great park so close to home.  There is enough variety that it never gets old and always provides a strong work-over on the legs.  We were able to get 10 miles of trail running in under sunny skies - then within half hour of finishing, it snowed!  Colorado is funny that way. 

Shoes -  Asics Trabuco

Today - no pics.  Just a pretty boring 7 mile "tempo" run on Santa Fe trail.  Still a lot of snowpack on Santa Fe, so footing is tricky.  Sunny, windy, and cold - therefore the camera stayed put!!!  It was all good though and the legs felt fresh.  Hope that everyone had a great time the last couple weeks - Happy Trails!