Chatfield State Park

With gas being down another forty cents and a full year's Colorado State Parks pass hanging out on the windshield, it was change of venue time this weekend - heading for some new trails! All the years we have lived on the Front Range, we have never been to Chatfield State Park on the southwest portion of suburban Denver. Until today.
We started our run at the southern tip of Chatfield Reservoir and headed south toward Waterton Canyon. It was an awesome day with sunny skies and 75 degree temps making for trail running bliss.
Heading south, we first passed the Gravel Ponds. We ran past more water today than we do in months of regular trail running, so it was a nice change of scenery. Also, the trails here were mostly flat - don't get to say that too often in Colorado but it was good for the legs to have some different cadence. The only thing that was odd - and a pet peeve when a park charges for trail use - NO trail markers. But we survived with only a couple small detours.
A lot of the trails we ran were surrounding the Chatfield Wetlands - a series of ponds and marsh areas near the Platte River.

Here Steve runs along the Platte River on unnamed trail #3 with splendid fall color for a backdrop. We ran a combination of trail surfaces ranging from open grassland type areas with gravel and deep sand to densely wooded, leaf-covered singletrack that was twisty, narrow, and contained many roots and rocks camouflaged by the fallen leaves. It was very quiet and peaceful in the woods and these trails are probably sheltered nicely from the wind on cool late fall/early spring runs - we'll make a mental note of that.
Kathleen briefly comes out of the forest cover for a quick glimpse of the Platte River. We saw quite a few cyclists in the park but no other runners - odd for such an outstanding day.
Steve crunching through the leaves on one of the forested trails. Today was a great discovery day for us, adding new trails to our list and enjoying a totally different type of trail conditions than we normally run close to home. We had a spectacular run and Good Times as always!

Thanks to the Colorado Masters Running/Racewalking Association for the tip on the route - we ran the 10 mile course (plus some extra) from their November 'Chatfield Five & Dime' trail race. Since we enjoyed ourselves, that race might just show up on our November 15 post!!!

Mid-week Trot

I never can get a shot of the entry to Palmer Park after my runs lately because it is dark, so I "cheated" and snapped this one while I was at lunch. This is at one of the main entrances near the baseball fields, playground, dog park, and volleyball courts. At over 700 acres and more than 25 miles of marked trails, this is a nice oasis wedged into the middle of our city.
Got a later start than I have been and had virtually no sunlight as I began my run out onto the Grandview Mesa. It was quite chilly with a stout breeze, but I needed a run and did not mind the environmental conditions. I ran into a handful of mountain bikers who, like me, were desparately attempting to squeeze the maximum dosage of daylight from the park - comraderie of the trail junkies in fall!! It is important to be cautious when running at dusk, especially on more technical trails such as these, because the shadows are sometimes odd and depth perception is off. Another tricky part are the dang rabbits - darting back and forth across the trail, seemingly timed to perfection to arrive right below your next foot-fall. I was able to squeeze out a nice run, free from any bunny squashings, and felt like I maximized my available daylight. Pikes Peak stands watch over the 'skyline' of Colorado Springs and in the darkness of the foreground, the trails are closing down for the night.
Not really having a great deal of anticipation to riding the trainer on these mid-week workouts, so I will get a few more dimly lit runs in before waving the white flag. If we decided to do some night running, it would most certainly be played out on much more tame trails than these. The jury is still out on that as the cold night air is not always kind to our lungs. Get out and enjoy the trails!

Opportunistic Monday

I had been really looking forward to a ride today but contemplated blowing it off when I looked out the window and saw all the frosty white rooftops in the neighborhood. I ran upstairs and logged on to The Weather Channel page for our local zip code and confirmed what my eyes were bleakly seeing - a dreaded 29 degree number. NOOOOOOOOO!!! I screamed. I ran downstairs to let Sage out for her morning "potty", and yes, the outside air that greeted my face when I opened the door also confirmed The Weather Channel's report. Like I said earlier, I ALMOST blew off my ride. After moping around a few minutes and being cranky about the long cold winter heading our way, I realized I needed a serious "attitudinal adjustment". Instead of being negative about the arrival of cold weather, I gave myself a swift kick in the rear and decided to take a more positive view of the situation. Today is an OPPORTUNITY to start developing my thicker "winter" skin. So develop I did. Get out there and suck it up buttercup!

So here I am, above, decked out in my winter gear,and doing so quite happily, after my attitudinal adjustment. Here's a description of my winter wear: base layer is a lightweight merino wool long sleeve. Wool is, after many years of trying all the fancy-schmancy wonder fabrics, THE BEST next to skin layer. It stays warm in spite of getting wet and sweaty. Next is a Pearlizumi Kodiak Light bike jersey. Top that off with a Wind Pro Fleece Vest which blocks the wind and adds a bit of insulation. Tights are winter weight with a front wind panel. Socks are merino wool DeFeet Blaze - I love these socks for riding and running in the winter. Many a time last winter I ran in the Blaze through ankle deep snow and my feet did great each time. Buy some! On my hands, I've got REI's Wind Pro gloves. When it gets extra cold, I will put a pair of Smartwool liner gloves underneath (only when I ride. Usually, the Smartwool glove liners are all I need when I run in the winter). A Smartwool earband tops out the protection. Merino wool and Wind Pro are two of the best fabrics for cold outdoor aerobic sports like running and biking. I like wearing a vest in most cold weather situations rather than a jacket because a vest allows my arms to vent some of the heat build-up but still keeps my core warm. FYI: Sport Hill's 3SP is another MUST HAVE winter fabric, particularly for running. I have a 3SP pant and a 3SP top. Awesome pieces!
It ended up being a wonderful ride. It's amazing what a little swift kick will do!
I headed north on the Santa Fe Trail, winding through the Air Force Academy which is always enjoyable.
Although the weather was crisp and rather gray, I felt blessed to be able to get out and enjoy the day, ending my ride with about 26 miles. It was great!

One trick that works for me in the cooler weather - I always run and ride with an Ice Blue Throat Lozenge in my mouth. It helps to keep my throat and nose from getting irritated breathing in the cold air. The blue Brachs mints work well, too, although they are very difficult to find around here.

Here's a side note unrelated to running and biking: I am making my very own homemade vanilla extract! I will bottle it up and add the bottles to the Christmas packages/baskets I am putting together this year. It is super easy to do. The pictures below show the 3 stages my vanilla is in right now. The bottle on the right has been "soaking", "marinating", "fermenting", "stewing", whatever vanilla does, for 2 days. The bottle in the middle, 2 weeks and the bottle on the left for 4 weeks. Basically all you need to do is get canning jars, vodka, and vanilla beans. Mix the vodka and vanilla beans and let "marinate" for 3 months - shaking the bottles every other day or so over that 3 months - then you have wonderful vanilla extract! If you are interested, I've attached 2 links below. One is for the recipe I used and one is for the supplier I purchased the beans from. Enjoy!

http://www.kitchenproject.com/vanilla/4FoldVanillaExtract.htm
http://www.organic-vanilla.com/servlet/StoreFront