A quick update for the end of the year, merely a week away:
The weather has been so mild this month that I met and exceeded my 1700 miles for the year goal. So I decided to "reach" for my stretch goal of 1800 miles on the year. I'm currently only about 18 miles away now, and with another week left, I'm pretty confident I'll be able to make it!
I'm already beginning to reflect on my 2021 year of running, and it's been quite lovely - far better than 2020 for me. But, more on that in next week's update, which will be my yearly summary.
Picking up where I left off on the last update (after my 60 mile week), I took a few days off from running but did some decent cross-training.
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Wednesday, December 15th, 2021:
1 hour and 15 minutes on the exercise bike.
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Thursday, December 16th, 2021:
A really decent weightlifting workout today, including a lot of full-body movements, like deadlifts, dips, and straight-leg raises on the dip bars.
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Friday, December 17th, 2021:
45 minutes on the rodeo core, engaging the core as much as possible. Tough one!
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Saturday, December 18th, 2021:
7 miles, 880 feet elevation. Nice short one with a little climb.
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Sunday, December 19th, 2021:
A flat one - 8 miles and 400 ft elevation.
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Wednesday, December 22nd, 2021:
I set off just before dawn for a first-day-of-winter run. The air was noticeably warm, even at 5:30am. Not only was the air temperature warm, even the breeze was warm, indicating a hot day to come. "What a nice midsummer morning on this first day of winter," I thought.
I pondered climate change for a while. I realize that one warm year isn't what scientists mean when they say the climate is warming, but this feels different. I don't recall any other year having a warm breeze in the normally chilly predawn hours of the first day of winter. I wondered if the climate has reached a "tipping point" where this type of weather will become more common in years to come.
As I came back to the present moment, a nearly-full moon above cast plenty of light, and the trail was visible even without a headlamp.
I made quick time on trails, connecting from the Palmer Point Trail to Union Meadows then going up through University Park on the urban trail that cuts right through the neighborhood. Referencing the map, this trail is called the University Park Internal Link Trail (what a mouthful!) And it leads right into Austin Bluffs Open Space, where the sunrise began to greet the mountains, bathing them in morning alpenglow.
Soon all the neat rock formations of the Austin Bluffs Open Space were lit with the rising sun, as I kept on the trail towards Pulpit Rock Park.
I had to make sure to stray neither too far north nor south, sticking to the one trail that makes the connection directly to Pulpit Rock.
A quiet day at Pulpit Rock, so I climbed the formation before descending to the northeast, making a loop back to the University Park neighborhood.
It did get really warm once the sun rose! I was thankful I'd dressed in appropriate layers so I could wear short sleeves at this point.
The streaky clouds in the sky were lovely as I headed back towards home.
I got about 12.5 miles and 1800 feet elevation on this first-day-of-winter run. A perfect mid-length run.
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Friday, December 24th, 2021:
An afternoon/evening jog for me today. I saw the huge storm clouds over the mountain as I set out, so I wore wind pants and a wind breaker, but I was almost instantly too warm. Thankful once again for layers, I took off the wind breaker top and ran in my Christmas-themed t-shirt for a while.
The sky was dramatic!
I ran north along Palmer Point Trail, then east along the north edge of the park on Brenner Trail.
As I reached the northeastern corner of the park and began to ascend the mesa back towards the south, a sudden gust of wind brought icy, wet snow! I was glad now that I had the wind breaker! This little valley on the north side of the park is normally cooler than the rest of the park, but that was doubly true with the wind gusting directly out of the north. Lucky for me, since I was headed south now, it was totally at my back and pushing me uphill.
As I reached the top of the mesa, I considered just going down because I figured it may be even more cold and windy. The icy mix had turned into a more regular cold rain though, so I ran along the top of the mesa towards Grandview Overlook.
And, as abruptly as it had begun, the wind and precipitation stopped. It suddenly got almost warm again and the roads (and me) started drying out rather quickly.
I took my time and enjoyed my run up and down the overlook, now able to see the mountains again and a fresh layer of snow on them.
As I descended from the top of the park and went back into my neighborhood, I pondered how light it was out still. Less than a month ago, I was plunged into near-total darkness before 5pm on my Mt. Rosa semi-loop.
Now, it was nearly 5:15 and the Civil twilight was still quite bright. I felt calm and happy, knowing that the earliest sunset was already several weeks ago. Even though the longest night was on the winter solstice only a few days ago, the earliest sunset was in the first week of December, and the latest sunrise is still a week or so away.
I prefer to have more sunlight later in the day, since my schedule varies and sometimes I have to squeeze in a run before sunset. Later sunsets make this a little easier.
Winter just started, but the increasing light in the early evenings makes me feel positive and looking forward to the coming season.
Other reflections on this week: I did one good weight session but haven't done much since then. A little rest for the body isn't a bad thing, but I'd like to get in another good lifting day (or two) soon.
I like to celebrate the solstices (both winter and summer) with a run. I usually like to go to the mountains, like in 2018 when I went to the Bottomless Pit junction. But this year's in-town trail run was refreshing and fulfilling. I'm thankful that I live in an ideal location in town, where I can link up multiple open spaces to create long runs almost entirely on unpaved trails.
With all that, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and enjoys these last few days of 2021. It's been an interesting one for sure, but there's so much to look forward to. I feel absolutely blessed that this is my life!
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