Thursday, November 18th, 2021:

Today was a home gym workout including core strength. I did make sure to properly flex throughout the body with an upright stature (engage the transverse abdominus), and did:

* Barbell back squats

* Barbell overhead press 

* Machine chest press 

* Yoga swing leg raises (these were tough - need more practice on these!)

It didn't feel like I worked that hard actually, but the next day I was pretty sore.

***

Friday, November 19th, 2021:

15 miles in-town loop at sunset. The gym workout from yesterday really made this run more difficult. My shoulders especially felt very tired, and my pace was slower than expected.

However, I didn't try to push beyond my capabilities and just felt happy to be outside enjoying the evening with a jog.

I found a cool new rock formation on the new (to me) path I selected through Austin Bluffs Open Space. 

Top right: Palmer Point Trail; All others: Austin Bluffs Open Space. 

I enjoyed the nice flat finish to my loop, as I took the Pikes Peak Greenway back south after crossing to the west side of Austin Bluffs Open Space where it splits again to the north towards Pulpit Rock.

Totals for today were 15 miles and just over 1300 feet elevation. 

***

Saturday, November 20th, 2021:

Back to the home gym today! Barbell bicep curls, followed by kettlebell side lunges. Those kettlebell side lunges are really good for me, as they are a unilateral exercise that exposes (and hopefully corrects) weaknesses in each side.

45 minutes on the exercise bike at a fairly easy effort.

***

Monday, November 22nd, 2021:

Another in-town loop day. I chose a hilly way out with a few decent climbs, and I landed right at Pulpit Rock Park at sunset (which again, is so early now!)

I had the whole rock to myself. I've never actually been on the very top, but as the sun was almost all the way down, I wasn't super comfortable with climbing up at night. So I simply rounded the trail at the base of the rock formation, descended safely, connected to the Pikes Peak Greenway, and took the mostly-flat way home. Total today was 16.5 miles and 1500 feet elevation. I finally hit my groove around mile 11, and ended up with a faster overall pace than my 15-miler a few days ago.

***

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021:

Just two exercises today: hanging L-sit practice in the yoga swing, and machine butterfly in the gym.

Not much today, but I'll try to do more in my next gym session.

***

Wednesday, November 24th, 2021:

8 miles, 1000 feet. Lovely clouds above the mountains. It was nice and cold for today's jog, making me feel lively. I managed to fit my run in between the small snow flurries today, but still cold enough to make my hands feel freezing in my gloves. 

For better or worse, the weather is expected to return to the mid-60s again soon. 

***

Thursday, November 25th, 2021:

Happy Thanksgiving! A nice day of rest on this turkey day.

***

Friday, November 26th, 2021:

A really challenging gym workout today!

* Barbell deadlifts 

* Side T-curls (dumbbell)

* Side lunge-squats (dumbbell)

* Toe squats (hindu squats) (dumbbell)

* Lying leg raises (bodyweight)

A really solid full-body day. But I know I'll be too sore to do a big mileage day soon. I'll have to take it easy for a recovery jog tomorrow.

Nonetheless, I'm dreaming of doing a Mt. Rosa circumnavigation loop soon, kind-of similar (but not exactly) like the one I did close to Labor Day this year.

I'm even contemplating going from home, to tally a 34-mile-ish 🤔 day? Maybe midweek next week, after I recover from today's killer weight lifting day.

Big adventures still await even though it's winter! Time to get planning - my chill day yesterday encouraged me to get something that will motivate me on my calendar again. It's been too many weeks since I've done anything but town runs. Let's go to the ⛰ mountains again! 

Clambering around the slopes of Mount Arthur, and a sunset run at Greenland Open Space

On Monday, November 8th, I had an opportunity for a mountain run before cooler weather later in the week.

I started my run from High Drive just after 6am, when the sun was beginning to come up. I ran up the social trail that adjoins the Red Rock Loop Trail. This trail stayed very solid for a long way, but I eventually lost the trail, and began making my way up the steep slopes through the wilderness. 

I reached a rock outcropping with a great view down towards Hwy 24.

I kept scrambling upwards, following the slope as best as I could, when I came to the gap between the Tenney Crags.

This little middle valley was full of decorative outcroppings and sheer rock walls.

The morning light the giant wall of Tenney Crags. 

After this point, I rounded the base of Tenney Crags and kept scrambling upslope towards Mt. Arthur.

I passed my a number of other interesting rock outcroppings, including one that looks like a "fin" on the mountain that is recognizable from town.

Finally, I reached the summit of Mount Arthur. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a summit log, but I sat on the summit block for a while and absorbed the sunlight. Here is a photo with some of the views from the top: 

Summit views on Mt. Arthur - Top: Cheyenne Mountain; Bottom left: Almagre South; Bottom right: Pikes Peak.

Then it was time to head down. Mt. Arthur is often done in conjunction with Mt. Garfield, its western neighbor. But my fun meter was already overfilled for the day, so I headed down towards the valley that adjoins the twin summits. I got a good preview of the trail for next time. It is easy to follow the valley that the Garfield/ Arthur social trail is in. It connects directly to the Loud's Cabin trail 622A. Then I gladly took a break from the scrambling and jogged down the established trails instead, taking 667 to High Drive and back down. 

All in all, I got 15 miles with 5100 feet elevation, and ticked off a local summit. Here's a little video that shows the route in 3D (from the Relive app):

***

Thursday, November 11th, 2021:

I had an opportunity to do Kipps Loop in Greenland Open Space at sunset. A total of 8.6 miles and 1000 feet elevation.

The sunset colors were stunning!

I felt pretty fast this evening, despite a sluggish week overall. (Also despite stopping to take photos without pausing my run - still fast overall.) Shoulders were a bit tired in the last mile or so.

***

Friday, November 12th, 2021:

Today's home gym day felt good. It's been a while. I tend to neglect the gym when I don't have time for both weights and running (since I prefer running.) But it felt like a strong session today.

I did machine lat pull-downs first, then some standing dumbell exercises - chest flies, front raises, and lightweight neutral-grip overhead presses. A nice way to get back to the gym. I hope I can keep it a little more consistent as we move into the winter, but with the weather still so nice outside, I have a tough time skipping a run day in favor of strength work.

***

Saturday, November 13th, 2021:

An absolutely warm and gorgeous afternoon. Almost 70 degrees, a perfect day for an 8-mile trail loop at Palmer. 800 feet elevation. 

***

Sunday, November 14th, 2021:

I couldn't get out earlier in the day, so I did a night run. The sun sets so early these days! Still, not a bad night for a run - temps still in the 50s. 10 miles with 900 feet.

***

Monday, November 15th, 2021:

Got a COVID booster shot today, my 3rd dose of Moderna. My arm was a little sore, but the CDC encourages exercising (light weightlifting) to help mitigate this. I did find that it helped to do some side lateral raises, dumbbell press-outs, and kettlebell lunges for good measure.

***

Tuesday, November 16th, 2021:

8 miles trail loop, 1100 feet. Still plenty warm out; fitting in one last warm run before the weather is expected to change.

***

Overall, I had a fun week, especially with the scramble up Mt. Arthur early in the week. The evening run at Greenland Open Space just added to the late-autumn joy of the trails.

We haven't really had a big dose of winter yet here along the southern Front Range. It's expected to be cold for a couple days starting Wednesday, but no snow is forecast. We may very well have a mild winter overall this year. I look forward to taking advantage of the lack of snow and ice, with planning another long mountain run soon!

Week of November 1st, 2021

***

Monday, November 1st, 2021:

I went out for a longer one in the cold evening. I wanted to feel the cold, experience the coming winter. It felt nice and fresh outside, but tired legs dictated that I go mid-length rather than truly long. I arranged an agreement with myself that I'd be "allowed" to run only 10 miles rather than 14 or 15, provided I supplemented my run with a little bit of strength work later. 

At my home gym, I did heavy dumbbell overhead presses and ab-wheel planks. (Holding a slightly elevated narrow plank, with the goal of strengthening my abs enough to use the ab-wheel torture device more effectively. 😉)

I use a paper running training logbook that includes a monthly "inspirational thought," which is a pagelong training-related writeup. When I turned the page to the new month to log my run, I saw that the tidbit of wisdom on the page commended me on what I'd decided to do by trimming a bit of mileage in favor of some strength work...

This month's inspiration, by Marty Jerome. (Runner's Day-By-Day Log, 2021).

Essentially, in this season of shortened light, allow shorter mileage for yourself. But don't neglect those strength and flexibility exercises that will help keep the core strong and the spirit positive, so that you can jump into the spring with a literal spring in your step.

***

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021:

At this time of year, it's time for a little metaphorical tightening of the belt (which will hopefully lead to literal tightening of the belt). I usually try my best to limit my calorie intake for a few weeks before the holidays. Then I can relax a little more near the end of the year, knowing I will be in a position that I can indulge a little more.

It's a tough thing for most of us - trying to restrict our calories at a time when our mileage might be limited by early-fading daylight, and comfort is found in the warm kitchen, baking with our families.

But I intend to counter all the baking and goodies with: first, moderation, and second, lots of greens, daily salads 🥗 of many colors, to help fullness and limit cravings.

Nonetheless, it is still a difficult thing, and I feel that I'm around 5 to 10 lbs too heavy at the moment. I still feel like I've made progress over the last year - I think my underlying muscle levels have increased, helping me feel a little slimmer/fitter at a slightly higher weight. But I have to trim down a little to get all that muscle to really show.

Time for taking all the tricks out of the bag - eating slowly, waiting 15-20 minutes before any second helpings, and lots of extra water!

Today's home workout was an early morning bike ride in my gym. I just wanted to get my metabolism up a little for the day. I told myself I only "had" to do 30 minutes if I didn't feel like continuing after that time. But when 30 minutes rolled around, I still felt pretty good and ended up doing the full 1 hour.

A quick note about overall yearly mileage. I surpassed 1500 miles for the year at the end of October, making my goal of 1700 miles for the year well within reach for me. That means only 100 miles a month for the next two months, or about 25 miles a week. I'd say that is within my "comfortable" mileage zone.

I'm already thinking ahead to next year that I will likely reduce my yearly mileage goal to 1200 miles for next year, and anything above that would just be bonus. Or, rather than having a yearly goal, I'd rather just aim for 100 miles per month as a minimum, because it will set a mileage floor for the winter (which I'll hopefully exceed easily in the summer months.)

***

Thursday, November 4th, 2021:

This was a trail loop day at Palmer. I minimized the road running, and got 7.5 miles with 1100 feet.

I got to see the alpenglow on Pikes just as I started my loop, and got to see wispy clouds above all the unique formations as I completed my loop. I generally ran on the trails that border the park, in a clockwise direction. 

***

Saturday, November 6th, 2021:

Today's early morning jog was beautiful. I got out early enough that all the stars were still out. I love seeing the night sky in the early morning. Gradually, I saw the dawning of twilight, which seems to happen so slowly at this time of year. Then the lovely morning alpenglow on Pikes Peak.

Today, I set out with the goal of 10 miles, and got almost 12 instead, with 1350 feet. Most surfaces were road, dirt road, and sidewalk this time.

***

Sunday, November 7th, 2021:

A rest day, as I'm planning on a big one tomorrow. I haven't been to the mountains for over two weeks now, so it's time to get another long one in while the weather is still so unseasonably warm!