Gray day but it's all good!

It was cold and gray when we headed over to Garden of the Gods for a run this morning. Most certainly today was one of those days when the Chamber of Commerce was hoping we would post no pictures - but we do get one or two cloudy days in Colorado! The Peak always looks cool ringed with clouds - it almost makes it look more massive than it normally does. We have had no snow for quite a few weeks, so our trails are mostly clear. It was supposed to snow today but most of the day was just gray, with few flurries starting around 6 PM.
The red rocks sure stand out on a cloudy day. This is a good vantage point on the Palmer Trail, with the red spires against the gray skyline.
Here Kathleen cruises another section of the Palmer Trail, with some pink highlights to brighten the day!

Kathleen descending the back side of Cabin Canyon trail above.

Steve on another section of Cabin Canyon.

We had intended to get in 12 miles today, however, we both felt like laying down on the side of the trail to take a nap after about 40 minutes! So we did an 8 mile loop and called it all good for the day. We both have had decreased motivation to get out the last two weeks, so it must be the mid-winter blahs!!! It was a good run, we made it outside, and we are healthy, so life is good - Happy Trails!

Shoes - K Montrail Odyssey
S - Asics Gel Trabuco

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Howard Thurman

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We also finished our exhausting car shopping journey on Saturday. After the Explorer was totaled, we have been narrowing our search for a replacement that was both safe with long-term reliability, as we like to keep our vehicles A LONG TIME. We were down to the Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot - we came home with this nicely maintained pre-owned Honda as our newest adventure transport! We hope for many years of trail access from this vehicle. (Plus it holds LOTS of stuff AND we could sleep in the back if needed!!!) :-)

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Scene 1

We had a nice weekend and a couple good runs, mixed in with frantic consumer research and car shopping. (Thankfully, Kathleen had an uneventful drive to work this Saturday morning!!) So we are a little behind on blogging and are covering two days in one shot! We got out early Saturday and headed down into Ute Valley Park to avoid the high winds we were having - instead of running from home, we "cheated" the wind and parked near the trailhead. It was surprisingly pleasant for getting out right after sunrise.
Kathleen heads over the ridge into the park, with sunrise adding a little spring to her step. We are very glad that the mornings are starting to lighten up a little earlier. We are ready for longer days so we can start to get more mileage in mid-week!

Pikes Peak bathed in morning sun!

There was still a bit of time needed for the sun to reach the valley floor, but all in all it was a great early run. We got in a quick six miler, all on trails, and had some balmy temps for 7 am in the middle of winter. Also, I received no phone calls that stopped my breathing - WHEW!

Shoes - K Asics Trail Sensor
S - Montrail Odyssey

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Scene 2

Sunday's forecast was for rain turning to snow and cold temperatures. The weather man was WRONG again, only this time it was in our favor - sweet! Aside from a crisp wind, it was clear bluebird skies and fairly mild temps and we took advantage of it. We headed over to Palmer Park for some trails - we had not been there since the New Year's Day road/trail race we ran. We even tried out some new trail areas in order to create a longer loop and not do much doubling of trails. Here is Steve running the Kinnickinnick Trail - hope that one does not come up on the spelling bee!!!
We looped around to the top of the mesa and headed out Grandview. Kathleen runs in front of one of the cool rock formations - Palmer Park is full of these.

Grandview Overlook - looking across town to the Peak, grand indeed!

Kathleen watching her footing on the Templeton Trail.

Palmer Park has a nice mixture of everything from buttery smooth - as seen here - to technical rocks, roots, and deep sand.

Steve heading out on the Palmer Point Trail.

Finished for the day after a good 12 miler! We headed home, got cleaned (and fueled) up and left for our traditional Super Bowl get together with some dear friends. Definite good times and Happy Trails to all this week!

Shoes - K Montrail Odyssey
S - Asics Gel Trabuco

(COLD) Reality Bites!

We really enjoyed our 10 day run of WAY above average temperatures and probably got a little spoiled by the warm running... OK, not probably, we just expect it now! However, there is a slight problem in that we live in Colorado and it IS January - the TROPICS have left the building!!! So when the mercury could not top 35 Friday and the expected 40's for this weekend disappeared by Friday night's weather forecast, we knew it was back to bundled up running.
We woke to light snow falling again this morning and when the sun finally peeled back the clouds, we decided to head out for some leg turnover on the Santa Fe trail. We have been very lucky that we have not been required to tap Santa Fe much this winter - it is mostly wide open and generally never gets too muddy, so it is occasionally a winter staple. While "flat" for Colorado trail running standards, it still requires a good effort to maintain some speed. The other issue becomes one of boredom - not much in the way of the regular spectacular scenery we get to enjoy on our runs. So we hooked up some tunes and set out for a run. It was quite cold when we started but the sun helped. You always have to be careful on this trail when it's cold because there is NO shelter from the wind.
We made the turn around point we had decided on in really good time and still had some sun. What we had not realized was that our good pace out was not iPod induced, but rather tailwind induced. We had not paid much attention to that because it was quite cold on the way out. Shortly after the photo above, we lost the sun, the wind kicked up hard, and flurries started. Now we have run some cold days this year and done very well maintaining a positive attitude, but this last 4 miles today was a character building event. The wind got so cold that Kathleen started to have blurred vision from her eyeballs freezing and we did not have much conversation on the way back - our mouths and faces were frozen stiff! What a difference 1/2 hour can make in the mountains. We finished with an amazingly respectable time for a mid-winter, frozen jaunt, decided to SKIP the cool down walk because we were FROZEN, and immediately jumped into our rental vehicle (see yesterday's post for that jolly time). It was an interesting scene - I had Ice-locks - my hair was frozen solid from the sweat on the way out and my wool headband was frozen stiff!!! But, it was quite a good run and it was one of those efforts that pays dividends in Spring and Summer when you think about bailing on a run because of cheesy stuff like lack of motivation, wind, or cloudy days. That is ultimately why we run when many don't - earn your fitness now and enjoy the base you build in three months when others are trying to get in shape! BTW, we saw 5 other humans while out for 10 miles.
By the time we made the 5 minute drive home from the trail head, this was the view of the mountains from our driveway - well, they ARE there, you just cannot see them!!! Needless to say, the caffeine production equipment kicked into high gear when we got home - jet black, steaming espresso helps thaw out the body after a frigid outing. We got in a good ten miler and then parked it in front of the "Lance Returns" special on Versus - nothing like Lance for some good motivation! (We're glad he is back!) Good Times!

Shoes - K Asics Trail Sensor
S- Asics Gel Trabuco