Nice in-town runs to start the year off!

The new year is off to a bang start! It's been a busy first week. I kicked off New Years Day with chinups, deadlifts, and leg raises (engage the core!)

This year for Christmas, we found a great deal on a row machine. I'm super excited about this! Rowing has long been one of my favorite cross-training activities. It's something I've missed since I stopped going to gyms a couple years ago at the start of the pandemic. Over the last couple years I've been steadily building up my home gym instead.

Our new row machine completes my home gym! And I am very happy with the quality of the model we got. (It is a magnetic resistant based machine.) I now feel like I have everything I need for a well-rounded gym workout at home.

I did 30 minutes of rowing for my first session on the 2nd. It has been quite a while since I've used the row machine, so that much felt pretty tiring.

Then, on the 3rd, I did my first run of the new year, 15.5 miles with 1750 ft elevation. 

Top: "Marconi Heights" trail; Bottom: Windmill Project on UCCS.

Top: Pulpit Rock from a distance; Bottom: Sunset on the way back home through UCCS. 

I saw a nice sunset as I made my return home.

I went back to the row machine for a couple days, doing 25 minutes the first day and 15 the next. I was getting a little sore from it, so I decided to take it short. I'm so excited about this row machine, but I need to work up to longer times again since I'm so out of practice! 

On the 6th, I ran 8 miles, and then just over 9 miles on the 7th, so I felt like that was a solid first week of the year for running also. At the risk of having too many goals, I want to be able to do both running AND solid cross-training throughout the year.

One of my goals for this year is to get a weightlifting program so I can be more consistent with my resistance training. I've done some research but haven't decided on a set program to start yet. I figure I may begin with a 12 to 16 week program once I settle on the right one. For now, I'm sticking to the pick-two concept, just to get myself more consistent with lifting before I begin a designated program. The pick-two concept is where I decide on two exercises to focus on each day. Then I try to do as many sets as possible of those two exercises, even if I take a break in between sets.

For the 8th, I did standing pulldowns and lunges. On the 9th, machine chest press and dips, and back to the row machine for 25 minutes.

Then after a rest day, on the 11th, I set out for an evening in-town run. The secret plan was 20 miles.

I ran from home to the Garden of the Gods, entering from the southeast, near Valley Reservoir Trail. The first lovely valley near the old Reservoir gives a great view of the whole Garden from a unique angle.

This angle, looking north past the golden winter fields of the empty Valley Reservoir, reminds me of a similar viewpoint further down the valley in Red Rocks Canyon.

I ran through the far south side of the Garden of the Gods and saw several unique and rarely-seen formations. In fact, I haven't been through this area since I worked as Park Safety in 2017.

Then I crossed over Ridge Road and ran along the Buckskin Charlie Trail until I crossed Garden Drive, just a short way from the Siamese Twins.

I made it up to the "view window" in the fading blue light, enjoying a quiet glance at Pikes Peak (Tava Mountain) through the window before heading home. 

I ran up the road, through the central Garden, and out of the Garden on the nicely repaired Dakota Trail that connects right to the Foothills Trail.

The half-moon 🌙 high in the sky was so bright that I didn't even need a headlamp on the urban trails.

A big loop back to home, and my total landed right at 20 miles! I was overall pretty happy with how I felt for my first 20+ miler of the year. I wasn't fast, but a lot of my recent strength work has left me feeling stronger, and mentally focused. I didn't feel so fatigued at the end that I just wanted to collapse, either, which is saying a lot for a 20 miler with a fair amount of concrete and asphalt. And I got to see some lesser-known trails in Garden of the Gods, as well as have the Siamese Twins to myself at sundown.

What a peaceful start for the year. I hope to get to the "real" mountains sometime soon still, but this gorgeous loop through the Garden was quite enjoyable too! What a blessing to live in such a rich and varied natural area!