A week of wandering: Pineries Open Space, Temple Canyon Park, Austin Bluffs Open Space & more

 ***

Monday, July 19th, 2021:

This day, I did a late-morning loop through Palmer Park, hitting Palmer Point first before encircling the park clockwise, descending the far eastern bluffs and ascending once again through Council Grounds. I hit up Grandview Overlook before descending the road.

Bluffs above Council Grounds. They provided a nice short class 3-ish scramble. 

I got about 8.5 miles and 1000 feet of climbing. 

***

Tuesday, July 20th, 2021:

I did an hour on the exercise bike at a very casual/ non-athletic pace. My primary goal was recovery and just getting myself moving, not a "workout." And in the evening, I did barbell deadlifts (7 sets x 10 reps) and machine butterfly. 

I haven't worked out in the gym in quite some time. I've been occupying my exercise time lately with mostly very long mileage. In the peak time of summer, sometimes my lifting falls by the wayside a little because I *enjoy* doing the extra mileage while I can. In the winter, sometimes it's easier to do more gym work when the weather is better for indoor exercise. 

In any case, my lack of weightlifting lately meant that these deadlifts absolutely destroyed me, although mainly in my lower lats as well as my upper glutes.

***

Wednesday, July 21st, 2021:

I ran a 15-mile loop in the late evening, a standard loop that I've done many a time throughout the years. About halfway through the loop, I pass by the Garden of the Gods overlook along the Palmer-Mesa trail. 

The sun had already set by the time I reached the overlook, but the Kissing Camels were nicely lit up.

I'm surprised I survived this loop and actually at a fairly fast pace, despite being still very sore from my deadlifts the day before. 15 miles and 1100 feet elevation gain.

***

Thursday, July 22nd, 2021:

We decided to check out the Pineries Open Space, a new open space in Black Forest. We ended up walking about 3 miles with the kids.

The whole trail is a 9 mile loop, even though we only did about a 1.5-mile out-and-back. It was really lovely and enjoyable to just walk with the family. The air was fresh and cool. This is definitely one I'd like to return to for a run.

At home, I did pushups with rotation (using the "perfect pushup" rotating handle grips.) These rotating pushups add a small extra element of challenge, and for me, help focus on weak(er) spots with the pushup. I got a bit sore from these in the forearms and triceps.

***

Friday, July 23rd, 2021:

We visited Temple Canyon Park near Cañon City for a hike with the family today. It was super hot when we first arrived. We climbed a sandstone canyon that was filled with fossils. What a neat and educational space to explore!

After we reached the top of the sandy canyon and walked a little further, a fast-moving storm began rolling in. We ran down the trail that went along the side of the canyon, hiding under some brush during the worst of the rain. This part of the desert is prone to flash flooding, so we didn't hide down in the wash, but avoided the hilltops for fear of lightning. We chose the middle ground in this situation (literally). But the storm only lasted a few minutes and we safely returned to our vehicle and headed home.

***

Saturday, July 24th, 2021:

I got up early and went on a sunrise 15-mile loop, a different one this time.

My loop took me through Austin Bluffs Open Space, next to Pulpit Rock Park. 

I have yet to actually climb Pulpit Rock itself. This cute little open space was just a nice small addition to my workout today, which ended up just over 15 miles and 1300 feet elevation gain.

***

Sunday, July 24th, 2021:

In the morning, I did an upper-body focused gym workout. I did a variety of chest presses at different angles on the workout machine in our garage, plus some shoulder exercises and dumbbell raises. My goal wasn't to make myself overly sore, but get a good all-around upper body workout in.

In the evening, we went out with the kids to run around on the plains a little and get some fresh air with appropriate social distancing. We spent some time at Kirk Hanna Park in Hanover.

It was super windy on the plains!!

***

That was a pretty full week!

Now that it's Monday again, I'll probably head out for a short evening run tonight, to get my week off on the right foot. Maybe I'll get back to the mountains sometime midweek for another long one! 

Ridgeline Trail (Red Rocks Canyon) to Mt. Buckhorn at sunset

I ran 10+ miles at sunset on Saturday after the rain and thunderstorms passed through. It was a very brief patch of rain and did not bring much moisture through, but it still kept mostly everyone home. What a nice quiet night.

The trail was not muddy at all, nor had any puddles. But the small amount of rain that did pass through quenched the ground's thirst just enough that there was no dry, dusty trail, and the trails had improved traction. Perfect trail running conditions. 

I set out into Red Rocks Canyon from the new 26th street parking lot. The trail is a wide dirt road, first descending into the Hogback Valley and quickly climbing out into the southeast side of Red Rocks Canyon.

26th Street Connector to Hogback Valley. 

View from one of the hogback sandstone outcroppings.

Since I was already right along the ridge, I continued following the hogback sandstone ridgeline that trends generally south. (If you're interested in the geology of the region, I believe this hogback sandstone ridge continues north into the Garden of the Gods and becomes the Niobrara trail.)

This trail is aptly named the Ridgeline trail.

The sunset kept treating me to amazing views down into the canyon.

I don't think I've ever run the entire Ridgeline trail from Red Rocks Canyon to Section 16 before. I've run the upper connection, one valley over, which connects to Section 16 through the Intemann trail (past the intermittent waterfall trail). 

Because it's right up along the ridge, the views are persistent and amazing! What a great alternative trail along the eastern ridge of this amazing canyon.

Soon I could see the characteristic rock of Section 16 coming up.

At this point, the trail descends the ridge rather quickly and lands you right at the Section 16 parking lot. Then I went up the short section of road to connect with High Drive, which ascends Bear Creek Canyon. 

From here on, it was beginning to get dark, so I tried to limit my photos. I was also trying to get somewhat of a workout in, so now that the sun was mostly down, I tried to focus on climbing on the wide, steep High Drive. The air was so fresh and cool!! What a perfect evening. I love when I can truly smell all the trees as I climb up a canyon.

I took a photo just as civil twilight was ending, capturing Specimen Rock above the canyon in fading light.

I had a goal in mind, and I didn't want to give up before attaining it. I climbed up the rest of High Drive and turned onto the trail 667 west at the saddle. This segment of trail goes up Mt. Buckhorn.

Buckhorn is a short little worthwhile summit. Often overlooked, and only about a mile to the top from the saddle, the elevation gained does make it feel a little bit longer.

I had a cool view of the Colorado Springs city lights to the east. It was easy to make out landmarks even in the night, like the mountaintop lodge owned by the Broadmoor on top of the north side of Cheyenne Mountain, with the radio tower farm just to the south, and the backside of the Broadmoor Hotel proper down below.

Colorado Springs city lights below, to the east.

Once on top, I was treated to nighttime views of Cheyenne Cañon. 

The almost perfect half-moon shone brightly behind the clouds in the sky, bringing out the outlines of the more prominent mountains. The half-dome appearance of Cookstove Mountain was especially stunning in the moonlight.

I spent just a minute to soak in the nighttime view. I really wished I'd had more time at this point, to just hang out on the rock outcropping on top of Mt. Buckhorn and soak in the views of the canyon all night. I had had an amazing run, and I just wanted this moment on top to last forever. Maybe longer next time!

After a brief pause, I made my descent. The one mile off of 667 felt longer due to the steepness, but once I reached High Drive again, I was flying. I just enjoyed the rapid run down the smoothly graded dirt road (which isn't open to vehicles except maintenance.) When I reached the part where the road meets with Bear Creek Canyon trail and descends by the river, I was hit with the freshest air I'd encountered all night. It was like breathing a whole field of Christmas trees. So much pine!

I completed my run by coming out of the canyon and running down 26th street towards the Bear Creek Nature Center.

A little over 10.5 miles, perfect for a sunset run! I was so happy to be able to turn this short run into an adventure. I felt like it gave me a lot of bang for my buck, a lot of fulfillment for a short(er) trip. I got a great sunset view over Red Rocks, a ridgeline traverse, a small but beautiful summit with a decent amount of climbing, and a big dose of fresh pine-scented, stream-cooled air.

I'm thankful that I got to do this one, even if it wasn't a huge mountain loop like usual. It's peaceful to find joy in the ordinary, close trails.  👣 

Monument run & mid-year update

Hello and happy Friday!

Yesterday, I did a long run to Monument, 19.4 miles. One week after doing 30 miles, and feeling decently solid 💪 especially considering the extreme heat (more on that in a minute!)

First of all, a general update: 

Halfway through the year, my total mileage exceeded 850 miles, so I'm still on target to reach my goal for the year of 1700.

I've been slowly dropping the excess body fat weight that many people have experienced during the pandemic. I have been keeping up with weightlifting a couple times a week, which isn't a whole ton of lifting, but it is enough for me at the moment. I feel that I've reached a good balance where I'm not losing a lot of muscle even as I'm slowly dropping a few pounds. I'm at a pretty good place right now, but still around 23 BMI. Distance runners may benefit from maintaining a BMI closer to the low end of the healthy range, like 19-20.

Last week, I took a short walk at Rhyolite Park in Castle Rock with the family. It was quite a pretty park to check out, with views from the top that displayed most of the whole Front Range. Great views all the way from Longs Peak, to the Indian Peaks, to the Lost Creek Wilderness, to the Rampart Range, and south to Pikes Peak. I didn't get a decent panoramic photo, so I'll have to return for that.

***

Now on the main story!

I took off yesterday at 7 am sharp, which was way too late. I had planned to go earlier, but just had a busy morning and didn't get going until later than I wanted.

I ran to the Templeton Gap trail, following the spillway northwest to Nevada Ave, where I ran north for a long block and joined the Pikes Peak Greenway at Austin Bluffs.

From there on, it was a straightforward route north along the trail. But it began to get hot very rapidly.

I had about 3 liters of fluids with me (2 L water and 1 L Gatorade with some extra electrolyte salt.) I had planned on doing 20 miles today, and I'm glad I didn't have my heart set on a more ambitious goal, because I knew my fluids wouldn't last much longer. On a cooler day, I can get away with about 1 liter per 10 miles for long runs. (Many runners can get away with much less, but I like to stay fairly hydrated.)

The view from the meadow on the Air Force Academy just after the trail entrance was very pretty. Many wildflowers are still in full bloom.

The open field just after the AFA entrance on the trail.

Around mile 12, the heat began to really get to me. I stopped in the shade for a few minutes, drank some extra water, and had a snack. I was 90% ready to give up, but somehow the 10% of not quitting won out. 😅 My phone said the temperature was 90 degrees, but the heat bouncing off the trail felt hotter than that. Furthermore, I knew the next stretch had some pretty extreme exposure, especially once I reached the long flat stretch before N. Gate Blvd. 

My pace was falling due to the heat, but I pressed on at a slow jog, since walking felt worse.

I got a panoramic shot of the field near N. Gate Blvd and some pretty white thistle flowers.

Panorama of the field before N. Gate Blvd along the New Santa Fe Trail on the AFA. 

In order to manage the heat, I took a few more brief stops in the shade along the way, pressing through the exposed areas as well as I could.

I was thinking about all the ultramarathon races that take place with exteme heat conditions, like Moab or Cocodona. If those competitors can tolerate mile after mile of extreme heat and exposure, I could handle another 7 miles or so!

I managed to get to my end goal of Monument with 19.4 miles total, and about 1600 feet elevation gain. I've previously run this route and it was "about" 20 miles, but I must have shortcut it a little today, which was OK with me. I'm counting this one as making my goal for the day! I was so happy to have gotten it done, even if my pace was slower due to the heat.

Now that I had a full night's rest, I feel very recovered and honestly not like I even ran yesterday, which is a little bit bewildering.

Today's goal is a moderate weight session, followed by a run tomorrow morning of 8 to 10 miles. Ultimately, I'll try to get to the mountains sometime next week for a real adventure, but we will see!!

Every once in a while, I run 30 miles to remind myself why I don't run 30 miles more often.

Hello!

I'm so glad I got this one done.

First of all, the totals: 30.11 miles with 2570 feet elevation gain.

I don't usually post exact time and details of my runs and such. I feel that most of my runs are mountain adventures that are for my own experience, and I'm not necessarily going for a specific time. 

This "flat" run was different. I think this is the fastest 30 miler I've ever run (and I've done a few, over the years. Something about that distance seems so pleasant to me for some weird reason that I still haven't figured out. 🙃)

For me, 12:19 minutes per mile is a fast time for 30 miles! I realize I'm a turtle 🐢, but I was happy that most of my faster splits were in the second half of my run.

First the data dump:

My fastest mile was mile 30. I guess I was excited to get done!

Also, I was going up and down the hill at Palmer Park at the very end of my run, so my slowest mile was 28, during the last big climb.

Now the story of the run:

There might not be quite as much of a story for a "flat" one like this. I started out early (predawn!) And I headed for Palmer Park first. Miles 1 & 2 were climbing up the mesa, then I descended Lazyland Road and used the pedestrian interchange at Austin Bluffs and Union to get on the UCCS side of the street so I could safely ascend the next big hill in my day, along Austin Bluffs. 

I ran through campus to the west, connecting from Clyde Way to the shops at N. Nevada (over by Costco.) There is a pedestrian tunnel that goes under Nevada and connects directly to the Pikes Peak Greenway, which would be the remainder of my route.

I ran north on the Greenway until it became the New Santa Fe Trail (same trail, it just changes names.)

I ran into the Air Force Academy just as twilight was beginning. It was so nice to watch the sun come up on the trail.

Everything was fresh because it had rained just before my run, but surprisingly the trail wasn't muddy at all! There were a few entirely avoidable puddles.

I kept going past S. Gate Blvd and tackled the hills. I made it onto the big, long flat stretch just before N. Gate Blvd before my phone dinged 15 miles. I took a panorama of the mountains at sunrise with alpenglow from my turn-around location.

Cool clouds at sunrise on the Air Force Academy (New Santa Fe Trail.)

I tried not to take *too* many photos, since I was trying to keep a consistent pace. At the time I'd turned around, my average pace was 12:28 minutes per mile, and I had decided that I would be happy with anything faster than 13 minutes per mile. Naturally I was happy as seconds dropped off the average pace each mile.

Between mile 17.5 and 18, I hit a low point. I was on the phone with my husband who had called to check in on how I was doing. I told him that I was ready for him to come pick me up, but he knew that I was just fine and told me to keep going. I know if I'd pushed the matter, he would have come to get me, but he wanted me to attain my goal, and wasn't going to let me get away with taking the easy way out for no real reason (no injury, no other issue.)

Most runs of significant difficulty tend to have a low point, but it is possible to recover from these low points with experience and proper fueling. In my case, I took some electrolyte salt and I felt better as I continued.

In fact, I was still quite tired, but somehow my average pace per mile was getting faster by a few seconds each mile. I couldn't figure out HOW this was happening, but it put me into a more positive mindset.

I enjoyed the views of the mountains ⛰ with the sun coming up on them. I did pause long enough to snap a shot of Blodgett Peak and the canyon to the north.

Blodgett Peak is the high point on the left side of the photo.

I was glad when I got back to the Costco and the connector trail to UCCS around mile 23. I was beginning to cramp up, so I took a few minutes' stop here. I treated it like an aid station in a race and sat on a bench, stretching out my ankles, calves, and hamstrings. I got some extra calories in and some water. 

Since I was doing an out-and-back route today, I still had my two climbs that I'd done at the start of the day: Austin Bluffs and Palmer Park.

The Austin Bluffs climb went well overall. I actually got down to 12:15 average pace as I approached the Union intersection.

However, the climb back up the Palmer Park mesa was going to be more difficult. I ascended Lazyland Road, but I had to slow down and walk a few short sections. My slowest mile of the day (mile 28) was here. I had previously mentally conceded that I'd probably lose a little bit of time here, so I didn't let it bother me. Instead, I got up to the top of Palmer and enjoyed the fast descent that followed.

Clouds were already beginning to build over Pikes Peak, with the threat of scattered thunderstorms as early as noon.

Clouds building over Pikes Peak as I descended the road in Palmer Park.

That was half the reason I'd started so ridiculously early this morning. The second half of the reason was that my husband and I had agreed to help a friend move at 10 am, so I had to be done, showered and ready! (Yes, moving stuff after running 30 miles - stupid or brave?)

I got out of the park and descended the last hill on the way to my house, setting an 11-minute mile in mile 30!

I was glad that I'd stuck this one out! It was challenging for sure. By mile 29, I was wondering how anyone EVER ran more than that. But I'd done it. ✔ My longest distance since the pandemic began, and first time exceeding the official marathon mark in over a year.

And I was additionally pleased that I'd had nearly 2600 feet of elevation gain on a "flat" run. 

Since this week was "flat" and "fast," maybe next week I'll get to go back to the mountains, especially with the weather improving! 😀 

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I know this isn't as interesting as a typical adventure, but I needed the confidence boost that this run gave me.