On Tuesday, I went to the gym and lifted really hard and went swimming for a little while afterward. I knew I'd probably be at least a little fatigued for the rest of the week just from that one gym session. So I figured the best thing to do was throw some trail running on top of that!
On Wednesday, I set out to loop the southern mesa of Palmer Park, sticking as much as possible to the roughest trails. Real mountain running type training! Then today, (Friday) I looped the northern mesa, sticking to rough and washed out dirt trails encircling the entire mesa.
The northern mesa was about a half-mile longer than the southern one, but the loops took about equivalent time for me. Both loops had about 1000 feet of climbing!
These loops would also be a huge challenge for cyclists! Especially with how washed out some segments are. I'll go into more detail about the trails I took.
For the southern Mesa, I started out from the Paseo entrance of the park on Grandview Trail, then connected to South Canyon Trail, which quickly led to the Cheyenne Trail. I then connected back to Grandview Trail until it feeds into Kinnickinnick Trail. Then I scrambled down towards Council Grounds picnic area, doubling back up to complete my loop. This side of the park provided many unique views of the formations that are a signature of Palmer Park.
And then today, I decided to do the whole loop of the northern mesa. From the Paseo entrance, I took the connector to the Templeton Trail and stayed on this trail for most of the way around, eventually connecting to the Edna Mae Bennett Nature Trail before returning home. The trail was very washed out in places, making it even more challenging. Especially the north side of the mesa.
As I was close to completing today's loop, the clouds started forming above the mountains and the air cooled off quite a bit. I took a brief pause and spent a few minutes looking at the rain on the mountains before heading home.
Before I close today's blog, I just want to briefly comment on how interesting the vegetation zones are in Palmer Park. The top of the mesas have high desert shrubbery, like yuccas, mountain mahogany, and junipers, with gambles oak and pinion pines interspersed. But lower down on the north-facing side of the mesas, there is a ponderosa forest. Palmer Park gives you a little bit of everything, with life zones shifting and changing as you encircle the park. It is nice that it offers such a escape to nature, along with a good trail running experience, right in the city's center!
Of course, I can't help but look forward to my next trip up to the alpine tundra, hopefully Sunday. Although having fun on the Palmer Park trails is worthwhile for my shorter midweek runs, attaining high altitude regularly is the best way to train for a high altitude race.
And then today, I decided to do the whole loop of the northern mesa. From the Paseo entrance, I took the connector to the Templeton Trail and stayed on this trail for most of the way around, eventually connecting to the Edna Mae Bennett Nature Trail before returning home. The trail was very washed out in places, making it even more challenging. Especially the north side of the mesa.
As I was close to completing today's loop, the clouds started forming above the mountains and the air cooled off quite a bit. I took a brief pause and spent a few minutes looking at the rain on the mountains before heading home.
Before I close today's blog, I just want to briefly comment on how interesting the vegetation zones are in Palmer Park. The top of the mesas have high desert shrubbery, like yuccas, mountain mahogany, and junipers, with gambles oak and pinion pines interspersed. But lower down on the north-facing side of the mesas, there is a ponderosa forest. Palmer Park gives you a little bit of everything, with life zones shifting and changing as you encircle the park. It is nice that it offers such a escape to nature, along with a good trail running experience, right in the city's center!
Of course, I can't help but look forward to my next trip up to the alpine tundra, hopefully Sunday. Although having fun on the Palmer Park trails is worthwhile for my shorter midweek runs, attaining high altitude regularly is the best way to train for a high altitude race.
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