Week in review

Tuesday Run - Palmer Park

Tuesday after work, I put some trail under foot at one of my my favorite post-work spots, Palmer Park. While some might get bored with the same trails, the fact is that when a park like this is convenient and easy to access within minutes of leaving work, you are more likely to stay motivated to run after being at the grind all day. Above is a shot peering through the rock formations on the top of the Yucca Trail, overlooking one of the busier intersections in town - quite a contrast. I prefer the trails myself!
There were hordes of trail users out, and especially a lot of traffic on the mesas as everyone was making the most of the available daylight. With waves of pillow-like clouds rolling over, there were intermittent periods of blazing evening sunlight and deep gray shadows as the day's light was fading away.
Nothing like the last rays of a beautiful day streaming through the cloud cover to show off the silhouette of Pikes Peak! I was able to get a nice run in and enjoy the last of the days' sunshine on some fine trails - hard to beat!

Deja Vu at Palmer Park

It seems as though I was just here running...

... I was able to make it out again for a quick run at Palmer Park on Thursday night. I was planning my runs around two schedules - 1. My folks were here visiting/watching my nephew, so I was able to get some time in while they were driving to baseball games and practices. (on an unrelated note, I don't see why 13 year old kids need to have 3 nights of practice and 2 nights of games - when does that leave time to be a kid?) 2. At the same time, I was trying to keep an eye on my lovely wife and (usually) running partner who is having a whale of a time getting over this round of bronchitis.
It felt great to be out on the trails again - two weeknight runs certainly helps put down some base miles. The trails were even more crowded tonight - mostly bikes though. It is odd how few trail runners we see at Palmer Park as it is an outstanding place to run.
I was able to capture the Peak at sunset driving out of the park - I especially enjoy the night skyline with the sun going down behind the mountains.

Ahh .. The Weekend

It was an interesting contrast of weather this weekend and Spring is definitely still here! Saturday morning we were greeted with thick fog and drizzle. I waited for it to break and it did not. So I took a run in the drizzle with no camera, got a little damp trail under foot, and called it a day.

Sunday, the sun was back out and we headed up to Greenland Open Space, about 40 minutes north of home. These are the trails that will play host to the 25k race I am signed up for in 2 weeks. Instead of staying home (which is driving her out of her mind), Kathleen came along and was at least able to get out for a nice long walk with Sage. My goal was to study the course and plan a little for the race. It will be my longest run to date and I wanted to have a little preparation under my belt. Pikes Peak was just sneaking it's head above the hills as seen from the trailhead.

The view out from the Greenland Trail as an engine awaits a passing train.

The sights of Spring - 20" of snow mixed with winter's dormant prairie and two weeks of sunshine yields signs of life! These flowers were popping out everywhere along the trails.

This is definitely "Open" space!!

It appears as though the singletrack will lead you right to the tip of Pikes Peak - except for the 50 miles that lies between the top of the hill and the BIG mountain! It really is a great area to run, with the wide open vistas lined with rolling trails. One thing is for sure, there are going to be some people drag racing on this course. The trails are in good condition and the climbs are a nice gradient making for some very fast track for the gazelles at the front!
I was able to run 14.5 miles - my longest run ever - and my legs felt really good after the run. It was a nice day, with great trails and sunshine, which is always a recipe for a long-lasting grin!
We got in a family photo at the trailhead. I am really anxious for Kathleen to get back on the trails with me soon. She is extremely frustrated with this bout of crud she has had and is itching to get back to running. I am glad my girls made the trip with me today and were patient while I did my long run! Happy Trails and have a great week!

The Sun Returns!

It is fantastic to get a view of Pikes peak in the morning with a blanket of fresh snow ... in January! When it is almost May, not as much excitement but when it comes with bluebird skies and sunshine, we'll still take it. Our snow tapered off yesterday afternoon and the rain ended late last night, so it was sunny day and time to get some miles. I had considered getting some good miles on Gold Camp Road - the old mining road from Colorado Springs to Cripple Creek. Kathleen was going to hang out at the truck and knit so she could at least get out of the house for a while. So we drove up Cheyenne Canyon and started to get a bit nervous at the amount of snow we were seeing, especially since most of town was melting out so fast from the wet snow. We arrived at the trailhead to find shin deep snow - no thanks for a 10 to 12 mile run! So I brought her home and decided to run a couple laps of the Flying W Loop that we use near home - you'll get pictures of Gold Camp at a later date, though ;-)
I figured the double loop on Flying W might not be a bad idea since the Greenland race course will also be two nearly identical loops. This is me at the base of the first climb up Flying W - about the only spot I had a good shot of the Peak from this loop. So my theory was to get in a run with two laps and two distinct climbs to somewhat model the 25k course and then test my pacing. It worked really well although my route today was shorter at just over 11 miles but it had almost 200' more climb, so it was a pretty good dummy route. I was quite comfortable with the pace, staying conservative on the first ascent and pushing a bit more on the second. I ended up with 8:23 average, faster than I have ever done the single loop of FW, so I was pleased.

Here's the Greenland course map and elevation profile from USATF.

Here is what I did today.

Actually turned out to be a nice day and a good run. My biggest concerns for the races are always starting too fast with all the adrenaline at the gun and/or hitting a lull somewhere in the middle that sucks the wind out of your pace. If I can fight those two off, I think it will be a good run for me.

Asics Gel Trabuco

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Just in case you're wondering, the other half of Happy Trails, my lovely Kathleen, has been attempting to use up her anxious energy from not running by doing a lot of knitting. It is not working well, but she may get to venture out on a small outing next weekend - we'll see. The mocha colored Alpaca on the right is Mr Logan and he was kind enough to "donate" some fur last summer that was spun into the wool that Kathleen used to make this:

The Logan Bag

She likes to find things when we are out of town that help commemorate different places we have visited - so this is now one of our Taos memories. Thanks Logan!

Happy Trails everyone and have a great week!

Running, LOTS more Spring, and a race

I was able to get in a run after work on Wednesday night at Palmer Park. The weatherman was forecasting a huge storm system for Colorado starting Thursday night, so I figured I should try to get some miles in for a "worst case scenario" weekend. It was sunny and 65 when I left the parking lot at work and drove 3 blocks to Palmer Park. It was a great evening with the sun flooding the mesa on top of the park with it's radiant beams. However, 20 minutes into the run, the sun gave way to some fast moving clouds coming in over Pikes Peak...
... and by the time I got in a quick 7 miles, there was no Peak and barely any foothills still showing through. Before I could even drive down out of the park, it was pouring rain. WOW! Weather moves fast in the mountains, there is no doubt about that! But I got my run in, which was a good thing because ----
Wednesday I signed up for the Greenland 25k race on May 9! I figured since we would not be going over to Gunnison for the Sage Burner, I might as well just get signed up for this one. 15.5 miles - I have never raced that far but we know the course from running and biking it, so I think it will be fine. I am actually looking forward to it. I'm not big on goals for racing (someone else is the competitive one!!!) but I would like to hit somewhere in the 8:30 - 8:40 per mile pace. I was going to set my goal pace as Just Don't Suck, but figured that was setting the bar a little low!!! LOL!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

So the weatherman was right. It started hailing Thursday evening, then rain, then snow. And it did not stop, except for a few brief rest periods, until tonight (Saturday). Lots of heavy wet spring snow. There were a couple areas in our mountains that received 50"+ of the white stuff. I think the April Showers thingy has worn out it's welcome in Colorado this year!
I knew that regular trails were so far out of the question that I did not even attempt that option. So I headed off to the Santa Fe trail to at least get some leg turnover. Here is the view across our neighborhood park on the way over.
The wind was blowing hard from the north, so the start of the run was directly into it. There was sleet at first, which then turned to snow and it stung on the face at times. Here I am at about mile 2 - already soaked but not doing too bad.
Almost the entire length of what I ran was either standing water or slushy. So I hit the three mile turn around and headed back. This is what was left of the snow on Santa Fe after having rain this morning. There was much less than we had at home - amazing what 600' difference in elevation does!
All the wet snow and rain had Sand Creek well beyond it's normal trickle - alpine desert + water = GOOD!
I was completely satisfied to get in 6 miles at a nice pace under these weather conditions. I am hoping to find something decent tomorrow to get in a long run without knee deep mud. I am hoping for a couple weeks of warm and sun - the Greenland area (where the race will be held) reportedly received 20" or more of snow from this storm. That is a lot of melting to get done in the coming weeks. Happy Trails and we're hoping maybe next weekend Kathleen will be up to at least some activity!

Shoes - Asics Gel Trabuco