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.

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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!!