Thursday, May 23, 2019

Weekly training update - wet spring weather begets cross training and urban trail running

My last post was on Wednesday of last week, when I enjoyed a trip up a totally clear Barr trail.

On Thursday, I went to the gym and did some lifting and rowed for 30 minutes.

On Friday, I simply swam for 45 minutes. A nice relaxing swim can help a week's training sink it. It's like yoga in the water if you don't push overly hard.

On Saturday, I ran down to my favorite set of pullup bars at the top of Monument Valley Park. I might have mentioned this previously - the bar is the perfect height and width for pullups for me.

I took a photo as I left, above Boddington Field, of Pikes Peak hiding in the clouds.


I ran north along the Pikes Peak Greenway to the Pikeview Reservoir. Pikes Peak revealed herself from behind the clouds.


Saturday's run was atypical of a weekend run, totalling only 7 miles.

Sunday was my daughter's birthday! It was also the Pokemon Go community day for May, so we spent three hours walking around downtown and came home to pizza and cake. Certainly not the ideal diet, but that is life. My diet is a constant work-in-progress. Sometimes I'm better about it, but usually I'm not. I try not to beat myself up about it too much, and just stay active enough to counteract *most* of the damage.

Then, on Monday, I ran a quick 5.5 miles at Palmer Park. I somehow managed to find a gap between the rain we recieved in the morning and the crazy snowstorm in the evening!


The mountains stayed shrouded in the clouds, but the view of the city and the Garden of the Gods was nice.

On Tuesday, I again went to the gym. This time I played around on the adult monkey bars for a while, swinging across them as many times as my grip could stand for, and finishing with a set of hanging leg raises each time. Then I did some bodyweight dips, situps and pushups. I finished with 30 minutes of swimming.

On Wednesday, I was itching to go for a run, but my body was yelling at me for a break. I delayed too long and ended up putting my run off for the next day.

Which brings us to Thursday, which is today. The weather was cool and crisp in the morning, overcast and misty but not raining outright.

I set out along the Templeton Gap trail, which is exceptionally green. The spillway has a solid stream running through it, and the grass shows evidence of even higher water levels recently.


The extra water along the trails is spurring the wildflower growth!


I ran to the Pikeview Reservoir again.



My run totalled 11 miles for today. Not too bad for a mid-length run.

My expectations are high for my upcoming training! Tomorrow I plan to do some bodyweight work and possibly some light cardio. Then, on Sunday, I am planning on going up Elk Park with Sharon on our second annual Memorial Day weekend Elk Park trip! The mountains have been hammered with snow lately, but it's also been raining a lot and warm enough to keep the snow melting quickly. We shall see if we make it - if not, at least we plan to get to Barr Camp. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I also made a reservation for early July camping at the Sand Dunes National Park with my family. I can't wait to take the kids camping here - it was the first place I went camping when I moved to Colorado almost 20 years ago. I went with my high school cross country team for a training camp. The memory of that very positive experience still draws me to return, so I hope to do at least a run up Mosca Pass and some lap swimming in the hot springs pool while we are there.

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