If you’re lucky enough to be in the mountains, you’re lucky enough!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

FUN!!! Red Rock Canyon

The forecast for today was 59 degrees and full, brilliant sun.  Jumping from bed this morning, I peeled up the blinds with great expectation and lo and behold, no sun BUT we did have our familiar howling winds to greet us.  No worries.  After a week and a half of battling the crud (and, being the kind and generous person I strive to be, shared aforementioned  crud with Steve - oops), we were chomping at the bit to get out for a good trail run.  FUN was the rule for today. Not TRAINING but FUN.  And Red Rock Canyon fulfilled our requirement.
It was a windy and wild hair day.
Steve on what we call the "Fruita" trail (the REAL name is Codell Trail).  Very desert-like.
Looped around the bluff and now descending the Fruita trail
The trail surface and color has changed.....  Garden of the Gods is perched magnificently in the background.
Great open spaces - This is an area with a great network of trails.  Behind Steve, where the line of red rocks ends, is the connection over to Intemann and Section 16 which can connect to a whole other trail area in Cheyenne Canon.  Miles and miles of high quality trail to be explored........
I love the color contrast - red-orange rock mixed with the dark green.  Brilliant blue sky would have completed the contrast nicely.
Team HT at the Quarry
It's enjoyable rolling the constant undulations.  Nothing flat here, thankfully.  I would get bored with straight and flat.
Contouring one the hillsides
The fun zig-zag of the trail....  Red Rock Canyon offers a diverse landscape - from the red and green canyons up close in this photo, to the gray rock and and more open tread of the Fruita trail that starts at the bluff in the distance at the top of this photo.
The red arrow points out our local stairmaster workout (and Pikes Peak looming on the left) - the beloved Incline.  2000 feet elevation gain in 1 mile with 3000 steps.  It is a great, fast, well-rounded workout.  Good climb up, nice descent on Barr Trail on the way back.
Finished up with another quick pass on Fruita.  Great day on great trails with great company (Steve).  Because of the crud thing this past week and neither of us feeling overly peppy yet, we didn't want to push too much and were happy with a fun 10 miles for the day.  Traditionally, December and January have always been our "slacker" months.  February marks the start of ramping back up on miles and intensity (hopefully!).  Headed home and re-fueled with Monte Cristo crepes (gluten-free!) - scrambled eggs, black forest ham, swiss cheese, covered with a fresh stawberry-blueberry puree.  GOOD STUFF!!!
Happy Trails this week!!!
Shoes:  S - Nike Pegasus 
K- Nike Lunarfly Trail

19 comments:

Alyssa said...

3000 STEPS!!! YE GOTTS!!!!

ajh said...

Looks great as always. Glad the crud went away.

Generation X (Slomohusky) said...

fun. except the cruds. i have them all weekend as well. great pix as always. Kathleen your hair - wow! my wife is envious. your blog is her favorite. well written and as always - the pix are the best!

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

Great pic of you with your hair flying through the air, K! I like the color contrast, too, and your description of what's in the photos. That breakfast sounds so good! Is it breakfast-time yet?! I have everything but the blueberries - ate the last of mine this morning. Must buy more!

Jennifer said...

Gosh, I love Red Rocks! Jealous!

Happy Feet 26.2 said...

K - glad you are feeling better and able to enjoy the trails. you were so smart to cap it at 10. I went for 16 on Sun. and it was to much too soon post crud. I survived but it was HARD. I need access to that incline thingy to train for Blue Ridge, ha!

Christi said...

So glad the crud is going away!!

I love the areas you run around. You certainly know the trails well.

mer@lifeat7000feet said...

Glad you're feeling better and were able to get out and enjoy our "not-so-warm" day! I've NEVER been to Red Rocks canyon but every time I drive by I remember that I want to hike there! MUST make that happen soon. Your pics are gorgeous.

As for the Incline, there is a tiny bit of ice on the Incline itself but it's WAY better than it was when I did it on New Year's Day. Barr Trail is virtually clear too. And I'm not celiac but I definitely have some gluten intolerance and feel a hundred times better when I keep it out of my system. I'll check out that pizza from Vitamin Cottage! Thanks for that tip!

Jim P. said...

The section of the PP50K through Red Rocks was my favorite of the run. Would love to explore those areas some more, and your pics only whetted the appetite further!

Generation X (Slomohusky) said...

i can access my blog using the link on the margin in your honor roll section. hmm... if it is google reader you might need to delete/or cancel following, and then go back to the blog and re-follow. I would think that should do it. or, just go to my blog, click follow again, cancel, and then re-follow. doing one of those things or all should re-set it.

mer@lifeat7000feet said...

I looked for Against the Grain gluten free pizza at my Vitamin Cottage this AM (Monument) but they didn't carry it. Which store do you buy it in? I'm headed to the Springs later this week and would love to pick one up to try! :)

Johann said...

Awesome fun out on the trails. Gets me all excited for our planned trip to your side of the world in August. Would be fantastic to meet you two. I run on the road with Nike Pegasus and I'm looking at getting the trail version for my trail runs. Seems to be great.

Angela said...

Kathleen- still enjoying the blog and looking forward to another trip to your area - hopefully this Sept. (I'd like to tackle Pikes Peak again!) Great pictures and hope your new year is blessed! A.Parker

Terzah said...

Amazing! Gorgeous! I've been doing too much road running, clearly.

Tara said...

Awww, I hope you and Steve are feeling better, that crud was going around last week, everyone at my office had it.

HOW do you run with your hair down like that? I love the pic and your hair is beautiful! I can't stand anything but a ponytail, my hair drives me crazy down. It does make for good photos though.

Last weekend was super windy! Are you ready for the big snow storm???

Kathy said...

Simply gorgeous!!! Did you guys get any of the snow we got in the metro area??

Kathy said...

Saw your note on my blog ...
#1 RAI recovery is pretty easy (two very close friends just went through it - one for cancer, one for Graves). You will do just fine.
#2 You CAN function and run just as well with thyroid supplementation. I have Hashimotos thyroiditis (autoimmune thyroid disease, basically my thyroid has completely shut down). I was not a runner when I was diagnosed. I started putting on weight and started running to lose weight a few years ago. After years of tweaking my dosage my thyroid balanced out considerably once I became a regular runner. A friend, who is an endocrinologist, tells me that regular activity and weight management really helps stabilize our thyroid needs. As a matter of fact, I have not needed to adjust my dosage for over 2 years due to my stable weight and regular running. I feel great and am getting faster and stronger all the time. No doubt you will have a transition after the RAI but as long as your doc doesn't disagree, keep up your regular training.
#3 Follow the Synthroid instructions. Do NOT change your brands - I find that Synthroid is the best of the meds out there. Take it on an empty stomach every morning and wait 30-60 minutes before eating. Avoid orange and grapefruit juice and walnuts for at least 2 hours after taking your med (strange but true).
Email me anytime with questions.

Kathy said...

LOL, oops, my new email widget only goes one way - my bad.
kathyleereed@gmail.com

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

Since you mentioned the weather in a comment, just came over to check your weather widget. Hmmm...cloudy. Hoping you get sunny days with blue skies soon!

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