The summer that slipped away

 Hi everyone, 

We are now solidly into the autumn here in Colorado. Three months ago was my last post and my last significant running effort.

Since then, I've kept it pretty close to home and pretty minimal.

My husband is one of the few who took this virus very seriously from the beginning and continues to be abundantly cautious about it. As such, he doesn't want me to go in the mountains on trails that have others around, and I respect that decision. 

But for me, it's been tough to miss out on a whole summer of trail running. I miss the mountains and I miss running with my friends! Looking back, I realize how good I really had it when I was able to do those things.

The health of my family isn't something that I'll put at risk, though. My next adventure will be something that involves quiet trails and fairly untouched wilderness. I have tentative plans for something next week - keep an eye out.

For now, I'll update on what I've been doing closer to home this summer.

We got our home gym set up. I'm thankful that we bought this setup last year before the virus hit and home gym prices went through the roof. I finally got the time and space to set it up, and it'll be a good safety net for the winter when I'm stuck indoors.

The cable pulley machine is a full-body system. I still need to sit down and write myself a comprehensive routine that involves all muscle groups on alternating days.

We had our first snowstorm about a month ago, and I was able to get out and run during the middle of it. I took to the eastern Rock Island Trail and got a quick reminder of running in freezing temperatures. The first mile, I almost gave up several times. But I stuck with it, knowing that once I warmed up, I'd feel better. I got 8 miles that day, and I outlasted my phone which shut down on me in mile 6, likely due to getting too cold.

Since then, the weather warmed up again, but the fires from Colorado and California have been detrimental to the air quality in the Colorado Springs area. I haven't been out as much as I'd like, but I did get a nice flat and fast 10 miles at sunset last Monday.

And last night, I got a nice nighttime loop in the park. Although it was short, not quite even 5 miles, I still got a solid 700 feet elevation gain and saw some lovely moonlit rock formations. 

Stay tuned! If the weather and the smoke conditions are both cooperative, I will be attempting a marathon-length run next week. This will be my second time this year going for the distance, and likely my last effort of that length for the calendar year.

Stay healthy out there folks. I'm not losing hope that someday I'll be able to run in those mountains that I so love, and that I'll be able to meet up with all of you!!