(Sort of) Soggy Trails

It has been a WEE bit rainy/stormy here the past few days, and then a COLD front moved in.  Saturday morning, I left for my run in the rain.  On purpose. Had no choice.  It was 46, feels like 39 according to The Weather Channel - yee haw! (Don't feel too bad, it was 87 Thursday)  I knew it was not likely to get better, so I went out hoping to plug in 5 or 6 miles.  Got to the top of Flying W and got a little sleet - bonus.  But then, about 4 miles in, the rain broke for the most part.  So I ended up going for 10 miles and finished cold and soaking wet.  But, ran with no pain in certain area, so life was good.  Tried out some New Balance 905's - more to come after I have some miles in them...

Looking North at the clouds - Blodgett Peak on far right.

Today, woke to the same scenario.  Driveway wet, 48 degrees, blustery north wind.  Today, though, I had Kathleen to run with!  After 2 weeks of being "under the weather" - she was ready for a run. It had ceased raining by run time but the wind picked up as the front was on the move.   We were not sure what the run would produce for Kathleen, so we headed out from home again, toward Ute Valley Park.  We ran some of the flats along Centennial and she was still upright and breathing, so we hopped on the singletrack at the far west edge of the park.

Woo Hoo - Kathleen on trail!

Navigating the rocks on the descent.

We came back up the west edge of the park and Kathleen peeled off for home, finishing nicely with 7 miles.  Although she did not get to Run With Jill today, she was meeting her for brunch after Jill ran the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Run - a huge road race that, at times, has drawn international runners. Good Times for the gals at The Peak Grill.

After K split off for home, I hopped over the ridge and down into Ute Valley.  This was looking back from the rim to Blodgett Peak (9423' summit), with the clouds now breaking up (temporarily) to the north.  I was feeling OK so I decided to shoot for around 2 hours and see how things went.  These were my first back-to-back runs since the Santa Fe trip so I did not want to blow it.  I kept the pace a little slower than normal just so I could try to get some nice running time.

A glimpse of Pikeview Quarry over the ridge.

Me with Pikes Peak over my right shoulder...well, it should be...

Headed for home after making some nice rounds in UVP.  Ended up just shy of 13 miles and 1:55 running, so I was happy with that and the fact that I ran well 2 days straight.  While not physically in the "all clear" quite yet, this was a positive step.   Good to be alive and running - Happy Trails!

Shoes - Asics Trabuco