Racing Daylight

Denial can only go so far ... we are at that time of year where daylight and post-work runs are mixing less and less! We headed over to Palmer Park for an evening trail run and squeezed in some nice miles and warm temps. Steve got in a quick lap and Kathleen joined in when she arrived. We lost the sun behind Pikes Peak with about a mile to go so it was not too bad. Off in the distance, you can barely make out the red rock formations of Garden of the Gods against the mountains. It is nice not having a lot of skyscrapers to block the views around town!
Steve put together 7 miles and Kathleen 5, so it was a good weeknight trot. We saw a lot of folks out on the trails, so it appears everyone is trying to maximize their outdoor time. We'll take every night like this we can get and we might even consider some night running this fall - anyone have suggestions for good headlamps that work for trail running? We have done a bunch on bikes at night, but not really any runs. Get out and enjoy the trails!!!

Santa Fe Trail and AFA Ride Day

What a difference one day can make! Yesterday was gray, cloudy, and cool. Today was a a perfect day for a ride on the mountain bike. Brilliant blue skies and "just right" temperatures - 65 to start, 72 at the end - greeted us. Becky and I headed over to the Santa Fe Trail for a more mellow, non-technical ride.
I love the scene above. It is along the trail on the AFA. It is gorgeous. I wish there was a trail that meandered down into this area!
We stopped for a "group photo" near the area on the AFA where the cadets do some of their glider training. There is another area near this spot where they practice parachuting - that is very interesting to watch. Note SNOW covered Pikes Peak way in the background. That is SO wrong! :-)
We detoured from Santa Fe Trail and headed up "the dirt road climb". It is a dirt road that is about 3 miles long (??? - haven't measured it exactly in awhile) and climbs steadily, gaining about 1100 feet in elevation. In past years, (when Steve and I were in excellent mountain bike shape - which is not now!!! :-) ) we utilized this road frequently for our hill training. No hard intensity today - we just put it in a small gear and spun our way up and just enjoyed the beautiful day!
Kathleen heading up the climb. It is a beautiful setting!
We took a detour and did some exploring on a couple of the dirt roads that split off from "the dirt road climb". This particular road leads to the AFA stables and continues beyond. This section was a nice discovery because it is kind of flatish and is in and out of the trees. I forgot to take a photo at the top - the views are expansive and awe inspiring. We were both marveling at the beauty that we are so blessed to be surrounded by!
Time to head back down! We ended the day with around 27 miles. I thankfully savored the beauty and blessings of today - perfect weather, a beautiful area to live and play in, good health so that I am able to get out to ride, run, and enjoy all our area has to offer, my wonderful friends like Becky, and an awesome hubby! Not much more to ask for! Happy Trails to all this week!

Nice Run at Falcon Trail

After running early yesterday in the cold due to schedule, we decided to get in a long run today at the Falcon Trail. Weather forecast was for sunny and 64, but we were treated to cloudy and 49 - guess you can't always have great trails and weather on the same day. We were just glad it never rained because it certainly could have at any time.
Kathleen trying to get warmed up at the start of the run right behind Falcon Stadium. Aside from the back side climb where it got a little cool, it was surprisingly comfortable running today even though we still have our summer "skin".

Grinding up the climb on the back side of the loop. With 4 climbs and over 2000' elevation gain on the loop, the climb up the back side is the longest and most difficult.
You can see the water treatment facility for the Air Force Academy in the background as Steve continues the climb. The trails were in great shape after some more nice rain we had Thursday and Friday.
Cruising some sweet singletrack makes you forget about the clouds.
Climbing is finished ... time for some great downhill! The trails were pretty quiet today - must be that no one is ready for this kind of weather yet.
We had a great day today and accomplished one of our summer goals - we ran the loop sub-2 hours and topped our previous best time by almost 8 minutes! Happy Trails!