Thanks ... and Moving Along

First off, thanks to everyone for the kind comments and emails last week.  It was a great lift and just wanted to let everyone know it was appreciated.  Kathleen is doing fine and we are going along through the waiting process that is normal to occur after the radioactive iodine treatment. 

FREEDOM

Kathleen was quarantined for two to three days so as to not expose others to radioactivity - and she was stir crazy!!! So following two days of complete isolation from the outside world, last Sunday she was allowed out of the house - so we hit the Garden for a run! We were still super cautious about being in close proximity to other people but out on the trails that was no biggie.

Free at last

Enjoying the grayish sunshine below Siamese Twins

The Hill

Siamese Twins with no crowds

It was good to get out to the Garden, and especially nice for Kathleen to be outside.  Kathleen ran a nice 7 mile loop, then relaxed with a book in the Pilot while I went for another loop to finish with 13 miles on the day.  Good times!

Shoes - Montrail Masochist 

Nice Long Run

Reservoir with a nice backdrop

Last Saturday, Kathleen ran early before she had to go in to work for a bit.  Though her body won't allow her to push the pace at all or get long distances in, she has still been getting out for her runs without much trouble and just keeping them shorter than usual.  But shorter runs are far better than Zero runs!!!  I was a chump and waited for it to warm up before heading out on a long run.  I have not done as many of these lately and just wanted to log some miles and stay out on the feet for a while.  I headed over Flying W trail toward the Garden, but took a detour up onto Blair Bridge Open Space.  We always see these reservoirs in the satellite photos, but have not ever gone on top of the hill to check it out. 

Looking down from the top of Blair

Sweet views with the blue sky making its return!

Up on the west ridge looking across the Garden

Same reservoir, different perspective...

I looped through the Garden on Palmer Trail, then up out of the park on the Ponderous trails to the ridge above Glen Eyrie.  From there looking east, you can see the reservoirs far below from the beginning of the run.  Dropped over the gate and onto Rampart Range Road for the long cruise back down to the Garden.

Not the Saguaros that you will see over here, but they're all we have to offer!

Parting shot - heading home

One happy pair of shoes

It was a great day, with temps in the 50's for most of the run which I will take any day in the winter!  The run ended up being 17 miles and though tired, I felt overall quite good to finish a run like this in February.   Longest run yet in the Saucony Peregrines and my feet seem to like them real well.

More Blue Skies

   Group shot at Ute Valley Park

Sunday morning we got out early for a run at Ute Valley Park, and it was quite a bit more crisp than Saturday.  We were meeting friends in Castle Rock for lunch so we got in a nice 7 mile run on the trails and then hit the road.  It was also the inaugural run for both of us in these puppies:

Brooks Pure Grit

So back in time a bit to the big day at the hospital, Jill showed up wearing the Brooks Pure Flow shoes.  We were intrigued and of course GRILLED her about them.  Her new race team is sponsored partially by Brooks, so she also was privy to the Pure Grit and encouraged us to check them out.  We did.  And then we bought them :)  I felt so good running in them, that I took another jaunt at Ute when we got home later in the afternoon.  First shoe since the Masochist that I can cinch down and run without having some foot discomfort.  After some miles in them, watch for a review here.  Happy Trails!

You never know what you'll get in the Rockies!

Saturday morning, we woke to snow and temperatures hovering around 10 degrees, with a wind chill subzero.  It was snowing lightly, as it would all day long, so we decided against more sane judgment to head out for a run at Ute Valley. 

 Kathleen runs up from the arch

 Quiet forest

 Top entrance to Ute Valley

 Peaceful running

Heading out - looking over the west rim

We got our 10 miles in, then got back inside to stay warm the rest of the day.  Good run, but not hoping for many more at those temps!!

Now go back 1 week, and we had blue skies, 40 degree temps, and a great run in the Garden - weather jaackpot is looney around here lately!

 Say oooh, aaaah....

 Top of the ridge above Rampart Range Road

 Ridge Trail

 Kathleen on Rampart Range

Nothing like the Garden on a blue sky day!

Not bad for a 12 mile run in the middle of winter.  We will certainly take this over the recent alternative even though we desperately need the snow!  Just thought we'd throw up some quick pics so everyone knows we're alive!!!  Happpy Trails!

Palmer Park Run (What a Difference a Week Makes...)

Previously...

So back up a week and gather some background on why there was no posting here.  It was butt cold.  I was too frozen to type.  Last Saturday, I had quite possibly the coldest experience ever on a run.  I finished with the wool undershirt I was wearing frozen (as in sheet of ice) from my chest to my waist.  Hands frozen too.  Almost called a cab to get home.  Thought about changing the blog to Unhappy Trails.  Sunday was not much better, so we headed over to Ute Valley Park hoping to avoid the bone chilling wind.  We had some snow, but for the most part have missed out on what the Northern Regions received (Denver, Boulder, Ft Collins).  So with the mercury at 20 and wind chill temporarily above 10, we headed over to Ute.

 Kathleen drops in off the west ridge

 Tried to stay down in the valley and out of the wind

Weather moving in fast and we're headed home!

While we mostly avoided the wind, we did not outsmart the cold.  At 7.5 miles, we threw in the towel, cried Uncle, whatever you want to call it.  Judging by the peace and tranquility on the trails, most (sane) folks hopped on a treadmill in a warm room somewhere.  A venti Italian Roast at Starbucks at least made a segue into warming me up post-run.

Shoes - K Nike LunarFly Trail

S -Nike Pegasus

Now for the good stuff!

 Sweet, technical, DRY trails beckoning us 

Today, under vastly different conditions, we headed over to Palmer Park to get in some great trails.  This used to be our summer post-work run.  However, rampant riff-raff and various seedy issues have caused us to avoid evening visits to this park.  Sad how "that" element of society can dictate public use of such an awesome park but it is what it is.  With an inviting cerulean sky and beautiful trails awaiting we took off on what we hoped to be a great run.  

 Kathleen gets things rolling early on the run

 Doesn't look like we're right in the middle of the city?

Palmer Park is one of those rare gems - a rustic, mostly undeveloped park with unbelievable trails that is right in the middle of the city.  Land locked in between neighborhoods and heavy traffic, this jewel has  awesome trails and great rock formations.  Many of the trails are on the techy side, so there are a lot of hardcore mountain bikers that frequent the trails here as well.

 Unlimited views

 Some snow hanging on the northern trails

 Kathleen rocks the final , sunny descent

As we had hoped, the weather was fantastic and the 40's felt like summer after last weekend.  We were able to get in 12 miles on some premiere trails and absolutely enjoyed our run.  Days like this in December are special and we often squeeze out of them the maximum we can for the day because it could be zero next weekend.  But it wasn't today, life is good!

Happy Trails this week!

Shoes - K Nike LunarFly Trail

S - Saucony Peregrine

Mid-Week Special

Unbreakable: The Western States 100

Wednesday evening, we had tickets to see a screening of "Unbreakable" to benefit Friends of the Incline.  Great cause, and a good reason to get out and see a well done documentary covering the 2010 Western States 100 race.  If you get the chance to see a screening of it in your area, we would highly recommend it.  It is being released on DVD next week as well - link to the website from the caption under the video.  After the film, we were privileged to have these two guys spend a little time doing QnA - good times:

Geoff Roes and Tony Krupicka (in case you didn't recognize them...)

Blown away, bruised toes, and such....

There was a high wind warning in effect for our area that started posting yesterday for the entire day today.  Now, when you live in (or even near) the mountains, weather reports, predictions, dire warnings, etc. are always taken with a grain of salt.  Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't.  Well, let's just say they weren't joking.  It was not freezing cold this morning, however, it was 20 - 30mph winds with gusts to 50mph.  Sweet.  I love wind.  And sarcasm.   I waited for a bit to see if it would die down.  As if.  I would be running solo, as Kathleen had to do some labs early before work.  Now, if you are going to run in sucky wind, it is always "nicer" to have someone suffering with you, right???  OK, off to run and hopefully not be blown away.  I dropped in to Ute Valley Park hoping for at least some periods of shelter from the wind gusts.

 Theme for the day - see dust cloud coming, turn back to it and squint until it passes!!!

 Been a while since I ran here - love these trails and the sights along them!

 Walk the Plank!

I took the side spur out toward I25 at the bottom of Ute Valley Park, hoping to stay in the ravine for a bit and out of the wind.  This trail seems to be in the middle of nowhere, then out of nowhere you end up looking up at I25.  That is the great thing about unimproved parks in the middle of town.

 The trail skirts along the ravine on the right - I25 is straight ahead but you wouldn't know

 Not sure who put this up in the park boundary?

 Storm shelter... or wildlife hostel

I ran through the disc golf course, surprised to see a couple guys out tossing discs in gale force winds!  As I rolled past the cave above, which we have run by many times, it came to mind that this would be a great little shelter if some freak weather blitz hits while out on a run.  Although, the mountain lion and/or bear that frequently uses it may take issue with the occupancy!

 Always have to run past the favorite arch

As always, fabulous.

I had many opportunities to gaze on Pikes Peak during the run.  The wind was howling up there, as could be seen by the swirling clouds of snow whipping through the many large bowls on the massive granite slab.  I would guess that a run up there today would have been just peachy....  I was not sure what to expect from the day, as I started out the run with the expectation that it may be a short lap, then right back home.  I had just enough shelter in Ute that the run went well and I ended up with 10 miles.  Basically had the park to myself, as I saw three cyclists (still can't figure that) and a guy walking a couple dogs.  That's it.  So it turned out pretty good for a day that I could have easily passed on!

Shoes - Nike Pegasus

In the Can't Ever Find the Perfect Shoe department, I had a strange occurrence after our great run to Barr Camp a few weeks back.  After feeling pretty stellar throughout that whole run, including the big descent, I got out of the chair late that evening and my left big toe area felt like it had been smashed.  Nothing happened on any previous runs, so what gives?  No trips, no stubbed toes, nothing.  So I remove my sock, and whoa nelly - the whole side of the big toe trunk was purple.  I wasn't sure if I sprained it (is that possible?), broke it,  or any number of other things that run through your mind when the side of your foot is heinously discolored...  I took the whole following week off as a precaution but basically felt fine by Saturday morning.  I was set for a long trail run, so I laced up the Cascadias, just as I had on Barr, but felt a strangely familiar pain in the big toe less than a half mile in.  So I circled back to the homestead and did a little investigation.  When lining up the epicenter of the formerly purpleized area over the shoe, lo and behold it was exactly centered above this point:

Scene of the crime.....

So I am taking a few weeks reprieve from donning said torture device, hoping to not retire an expensive shoe WAY TOO EARLY.  We'll see.  On the run in question, I swapped over to the Saucony Peregrine and proceeded to run 16 miles on the Garden trails and part of the Ponderous Posterior route without incident, so I am leary.  I am interested if anyone else has had this issue with the new Cascadia, since it is the first model year to have the front wedge added to the medial side of the shoe...????   Remains to be seen.

Happy Trails to all - hope to run tomorrow, sans wind, with the lovely Mrs HT!

Thursday evening jaunt

After having some really smoky days from the NM & AZ wildfires, it cooled a bit Thursday afternoon and some big cloud cover rolled in sporadically on the foothills.  I headed out for Ute Valley Park after work and got in a great run with some fantastic sky vistas.  The run ended up at a little over 7 miles and I got some good pics of the filtered sunset.  Hope everyone is having a great week!

 

 

Fun Filled Weekend

After 5 weeks of long run weekends, including 3 with back to back long runs, it was time for a cut back week.  This was timed perfectly to coincide with a visit from Kathleen's brother and his family from Iowa for the Easter weekend.  It also timed out well for a couple shorter runs during a crappy weather spell!  After an awesome Friday evening forage on Boriello Brothers Pizza (I highly recommend the Clemente), we were up early in the cold on Saturday to sneak in some trails at Ute Valley Park.

 Kathleen climbing the west rim

 Keeping it moving on a cold gray morning

 Kathleen drops into the trees

 Posing by the favorite arch

We had a nice 8 mile run, got in some great trails, and did not have to pound out any long miles in this latest bout of cold weather.  That makes for a good run, and it was only the start of our day...

Shoes - Montrail Mountain Masochist

 Mmmm ... Boonzaaijers....

Post-run, it was time to get the tour guide hats on and get rolling.  Of course, Starbucks was up first, closely followed by a trip to Boonzaaijers Dutch Bakery.  Nothing says recovery fuel like a Black Forest Roulade...

Fresh Tart, Tiramisu, and Black Forest Roulade - good stuff!

In the "tourist" section of the Garden

After taking the kids up to see the Adventures in Odyssey and doing a little shopping, the sun broke out for a bit and we made good use of the time by hitting Garden of the Gods for a little sight seeing.  While it was certainly not warm, the sun helped out and we were able to get the Iowans out to see the Siamese Twins, then got over to the Gateway/Cathedral Spires area to see some of the nice rock formations.  Since these are not optimal run routes, we are rarely down in this section and it was nice to reacquaint with the area. 

 Good day for climbing once the sun popped out

 White Rock catching late rays

 Looking out from the darkness behind North Gateway

Had a great trip (as always) to the Garden, hit up Salsa Brava for some high quality Mexican grub, and settled in for a movie with the fam at home ... just as it started to SNOW?????

A run ... and then the "Safari"

It did indeed drop some snow Saturday night and we woke to colder temps with some fresh snow, so we ran the neighborhood trails over Flying W and got in a quick and cold 7 miler this morning.  We needed to get rolling as we were not sure what the weather would hold and we had promised the kiddos a trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  Now, we do not have the largest zoo with the most animals, but with a spectacular setting right on the side of the mountain, this one is pretty tough to beat for atmosphere. It is a wonderfully scenic and awesome little zoo.  So we bundled up the crew and headed out for some more fun!

 Feeding the giraffes - CM Zoo has a great, very accomplished giraffe program

 Meerkats huddled under the heat lamp - it was a bit of a funny sight

 Mountain Tapir - they make very interesting noises and have intriguing feet

 Amur Tiger - 500 lbs of magnificent, carnivorous beast

 Mountain Lion - a bit unnerving being three feet from one of these - he wasn't intimidated by us at all.  He was probably thinking, "Hmmm, I've seen them running down the trail before......".  Very beautiful but also a little scary as they are prolific in our area.

 The Big Fellas - just got let out into their enclosure.  CMZ is getting ready to build an enormous new elephant display which includes a wide open, 2 acre natural area for them to roam and a variety of new buildings and enclosures.

More skilled hunters

 Albino Burmese Python - 10 foot of creepiness there

 Primate with "bad manners".  He was a funny and sneaky guy.  He was hoarding all of the lettuce feed by hiding piles of it in the hay and carrying it to this spot where he would uncover his treasured lettuce and begin his feast.  We watched him do it over and over.  As you can tell, he was not too amused by our presence, evidenced by his well rehearsed use of sign language.  Ahem.  It was a comedy.

 Always a ham in the bunch

Hit up the Garden Trading Post on the way home

We had a blast at the zoo and then did some extra shopping time at the Garden of the Gods Trading Post, aka Tourist Trap Central!!!  Had a great time with the family and were sad to see them head off late this afternoon in order to avoid the marathon drive home tomorrow.  Good times and we are reminded, once again, how incredibly blessed and thankful we are for our wonderfully beloved families and dear friends.  We need to never take any for granted, which is easy to do.  Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Happy Trails this week!