It is January, right? I thought I might check into it since the normal weather cues that usually tip one off to the presence of WINTER are by and large missing in action in these parts of Colorado. Other than a few decent storms that have left us some seriously icy trails up on the western areas of town, it has been downright balmy. As any good trail runner would do in this scenario, we have to take advantage of the conditions - sort of that 'Make Hay while the Sun Shines' mentality!!
As had been ever so briefly mentioned in the previous monologue, a slight issue flared up on the measly 6 miler at Bear Creek Lake which I have had to baby a bit the last few runs. With that, and the aforementioned icy trails west and up the side of yonder hills, we regretfully passed on the Ponderous Posterior 2012 edition. It is a great mid-winter, get out and socialize, and mingle with trail luminaries (such as JT) but the thought of spending the entire spring nursing hip/groin issues due to a silly ice incident made the decision easy.
Saturday was a VERY nice day and we used the sunshine and warm temps to get in a nice flat tempo run on the Santa Fe Trail. We worked ourselves pretty hard but are enjoying the continued attention to maintaining a bit of speed. We also met some new trail running folks while we were out that have been at some of the same races we have - always nice to have some familiar faces to pass while out doing what we love!
When we woke today to brilliant gray skies, I must say we were less than enthusiastic about getting the motor running and hitting the trails. Seriously now, gray sky and 50 degrees in January, in Colorado no less, is worthy of a bit of sour puss, right??? We decided to head over to Palmer Park again as we had thoroughly enjoyed our run there back in the start of December. It was readily apparent from our first miles that the gray skies had been no deterrent to the throng of other trail users - it was game on! Mountain bikers, trail runners, hikers, a bazillion dogs - everyone was jockeying for their piece of the outdoor space with the 50 plus degree weather.
While we both felt less than stellar (even talked about driving back home :-o ) taking the first steps from the trailhead, we gave it the "couple mile" grace period before passing judgement on the legs and are glad we did. Despite the lack of dopamine generated by the gloomy skies, we warmed up nicely and got into a nice mellow rhythm, enjoying the trails, chatting with other trail users and their pups, and soaking up a pleasant vibe from the pure delight of running sweet trails - ever have that transcendent feeling on your runs? I must say, Jim's post from earlier in the week replayed in my head a time or two and brought a smile to my face as we tread across the technical terrain at Palmer Park.
I even gave the Cascadia's a shot at a redemption run today. While they have spectacular ice traction, they do irritate my toes a fair amount and Brooks was far less than helpful when I contacted them after the Barr Trail disaster in them. I doubt I will wear this beast many more times and will most likely send it's slightly used carcass on to a worthy cause for "re-issue". Worse things happen I suppose. All told, it ended up being a really nice run and we enjoyed the day, even though we had contemplated bagging the run before it ever started. Sometimes you just have to give the mind a chance to "warm up", along with the legs and lungs. Once engaged, it turned out to be a great day to run after all!
As had been ever so briefly mentioned in the previous monologue, a slight issue flared up on the measly 6 miler at Bear Creek Lake which I have had to baby a bit the last few runs. With that, and the aforementioned icy trails west and up the side of yonder hills, we regretfully passed on the Ponderous Posterior 2012 edition. It is a great mid-winter, get out and socialize, and mingle with trail luminaries (such as JT) but the thought of spending the entire spring nursing hip/groin issues due to a silly ice incident made the decision easy.
Saturday was a VERY nice day and we used the sunshine and warm temps to get in a nice flat tempo run on the Santa Fe Trail. We worked ourselves pretty hard but are enjoying the continued attention to maintaining a bit of speed. We also met some new trail running folks while we were out that have been at some of the same races we have - always nice to have some familiar faces to pass while out doing what we love!
When we woke today to brilliant gray skies, I must say we were less than enthusiastic about getting the motor running and hitting the trails. Seriously now, gray sky and 50 degrees in January, in Colorado no less, is worthy of a bit of sour puss, right??? We decided to head over to Palmer Park again as we had thoroughly enjoyed our run there back in the start of December. It was readily apparent from our first miles that the gray skies had been no deterrent to the throng of other trail users - it was game on! Mountain bikers, trail runners, hikers, a bazillion dogs - everyone was jockeying for their piece of the outdoor space with the 50 plus degree weather.
While we both felt less than stellar (even talked about driving back home :-o ) taking the first steps from the trailhead, we gave it the "couple mile" grace period before passing judgement on the legs and are glad we did. Despite the lack of dopamine generated by the gloomy skies, we warmed up nicely and got into a nice mellow rhythm, enjoying the trails, chatting with other trail users and their pups, and soaking up a pleasant vibe from the pure delight of running sweet trails - ever have that transcendent feeling on your runs? I must say, Jim's post from earlier in the week replayed in my head a time or two and brought a smile to my face as we tread across the technical terrain at Palmer Park.
I even gave the Cascadia's a shot at a redemption run today. While they have spectacular ice traction, they do irritate my toes a fair amount and Brooks was far less than helpful when I contacted them after the Barr Trail disaster in them. I doubt I will wear this beast many more times and will most likely send it's slightly used carcass on to a worthy cause for "re-issue". Worse things happen I suppose. All told, it ended up being a really nice run and we enjoyed the day, even though we had contemplated bagging the run before it ever started. Sometimes you just have to give the mind a chance to "warm up", along with the legs and lungs. Once engaged, it turned out to be a great day to run after all!
12 miles
Shoes - K Nike Lunarfly Trail
S Brooks Cascadia
Enjoy some pics from the day:
Yeah... photography geek moment there...
