***
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.
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| 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!
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