Weekly summary, June 20th to 27th, 2022

After my Mount Rosa loop on Friday the 17th, I took a few days off immediately. My left shoulder was paining me quite a bit. The first night, a small muscle seized up in my back.  Fortunately, it resolved itself within a few days.

I still realized I likely overextended myself between the heavy deadlifts a few days prior, follower by the 27 miler (especially with carrying the heavy water pack).

On Monday evening (the 20th), I did 45 minutes easy on the exercise bike. This was the perfect recovery exercise, and I felt like it got the blood flowing without any risk for injury.

I got back into it with a slow 8.5 mile recovery jog on Tuesday the 21st.

8.5 mile recovery run at Palmer Park.

It was overcast and not overly hot.

Another full rest day followed, and then I did another short run of 6.75 miles on Thursday the 23rd.

6.75 miles at Palmer Park, on lovely trails.

This run was quite a bit hotter by contrast.

Still, it was such a beautiful day, and I just enjoyed that southwest sun as I topped out the bluffs and viewed the mountains from afar.

I stuck to trails, enjoying the rock formations and making a big loop around the park.

By Friday the 24th, a week after the long run, I felt ready to get back to the weight room. My shoulder felt back to 100%, but I still wanted to be extra careful.

So I chose to do only one exercise, which was lightweight squats. I didn't really want to squat a heavy barbell yet. Instead I took a single 25-lb dumbell and held it out in front of myself as I squatted for about 15 to 20 reps, with about 7 or 8 sets.

I followed up with 45 minutes on the exercise bike, like earlier in the week.

This weight session felt great overall, and I felt I'd be ready for a real heavy lifting day soon.

On Saturday, I simply hit the exercise bike again, for an hour this time, and at a bit faster/ more athletic pace this time. It's such an accessible cross-training exercise, since it's right in my gym.

On Sunday, Alex and I went to Denver Pridefest!! It's been three years since we've been - since before the pandemic. Still, we wore masks and stayed away from the main part of the crowd. It was nice to be able to take this day off and walk around the festival and enjoy spending time with my husband!

On Monday the 27th, I headed out for a mid-length jog and ended up with 13.5 miles. It was another beautiful Colorado day. I went out-and-back on the road to Grandview Overlook twice before adding some more mileage on trails.

13.5 mile day in Palmer Park, with clouds building over the mountains but sunshine 🌞 in the park.

I was pleased that my pace was fairly quick as compared to my last couple runs. I now feel totally recovered from my Mount Rosa jaunt, and I didn't overextend myself by doing 13.5 today. 

As the primary summer training season is here, I am planning to head to the mountains again as soon as I can - maybe even later this week! I'm planning on hitting up Almagre Mountain, one of my usual summer favorites. See you on the trails 👣! 

Beating the heat on Mount Rosa!

The last couple weeks have seemed busy! Overall, my summer training has been going well - a fair mix of weights, rowing, running, and working on the yard and house.

Here's a few photos from my training the last couple weeks in town. The flowers in the city are in full summer mode.

Clouds quickly building over Palmer Point Trail, on my way out versus on my way back, on a 9 mile run.

Wildflowers of a variety of colors in Palmer Park. Stunning!

***

The town runs and gym training have been consistent. But as you all know, I love nothing more than putting my training to use in the mountains.

Originally, I wanted to do a mountain run on Monday, but it was going to be 95 degrees and it was already fairly hazy in the morning.

Since I knew the haze would make it harder to see the distant 14ers from the mountain summits, I decided to put the mountains off until later in the week. Hopefully a cold front will at least clear the haze, and I'll go on a day with temps only in the 80s instead of 90s!

Instead, on Monday, I did a pre-planning run for this mountain run.

Austin Bluffs was the perfect location for this. I really enjoy how I live close to the bluffs and can top them out for a good view of the mountains and trails.

It was super hot out, and the sun was beating down already even though it was really early. I ran up and over Palmer Park first, trying to stick to the shady canyon trails.

There was nothing I could do to avoid the sun and heat once I went up Marconi Heights.

Soon I arrived at my overlook for the day, up above UCCS. And a set of pull-up bars, too!

Similar pull-up bars are found throughout the parks in the local area.

I found a nice shade tree and observed the mountains for a few minutes. There's almost no snow remaining anywhere in the Pikes Peak region. Full on summer trail conditions everywhere. Of course, that's expected with 95 degree temperatures in town today! 

Pullups and panoramas on the bluffs.

I did a few pullups before returning home and planning out a few routes.

I will try to do my next mountain run on Thursday or Friday this week.

***

On Tuesday, I had a great heavy lifting gym day. Barbell deadlifts were called for, and I'm glad I did them. What a great overall strengthening exercise! Followed up by standing curls, for some supplemental upper-body work.

***

On Thursday, we took the family and visited Clear Creek Canyon, outside of Golden. They've made a number of improvements to the trail in recent years.

It was a lovely day for a walk along the creek in this steep, jagged canyon. And then just hanging out by the water with the kids! 

Our day in Clear Creek Canyon. 

***

Finally, it was Friday - and time to hit the mountains for a long trail run! 

It was still somewhat hazy in the morning, but better than it was earlier in the week. Also, it was going to be another very hot day. Not ideal, but I was hoping that I could beat the heat.

I had looked at several routes for the day but ultimately settled on ascending Mount Rosa. I would start from the base of North Cheyenne Cañon (not the top), just as I had almost a year ago on my 2021 summer solstice run. Last year, I didn't make the summit on that day, so I had extra motivation to top out today!

I started out on Columbine Trail this time. I enjoyed some of the classic views and rock formations that I haven't seen in a little while. 

Views from Columbine Trail. 

I connected to Gold Camp Road and kept jogging up the St. Mary's Falls standard route. 

Ascending the St. Mary's Falls Trail. 

It was already warm in the morning, but the heat was beginning to catch up with me. It was the kind of day when the heat was so extreme that it even gathered in the valleys and normally cool canyons in the forest.

After the final St. Mary's Falls junction (500 feet from the base of the falls), the trail begins to climb much more steeply. This part of the trail was HOT! All I could do is keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

I contemplated reaching the junction on the saddle and just descending towards Frosty's Park without attempting the summit. I felt overheated. I knew I had to go at least as far as the saddle, since I was planning on running the road down instead of descending the same way I'd come up.

It was slow going for a while. Even the wind was hot. I felt like I was in an oven!

Thankfully, when I finally arrived at the saddle, a cooler breeze blew over me. Some distant clouds were forming over Pikes Peak and the other mountains to the west.

Scenes from the saddle to Mount Rosa. 

The cool breeze was just enough to convince me that going to the summit would be worthwhile. My final climb was enjoyable, as the trail twists through the pine trees after the saddle. A last few switchbacks near the peak, and finally the trail breaks out onto the open summit.

I enjoyed the summit view for a moment. But out in the open, the sun was quickly roasting me.

I had to find some shade and rest before heading down.

I scrambled down a few meters from the top, onto the boulders on the summit's west flank. Here, I found a shady spot with a great view to the southwest.

The view to the southwest from Mount Rosa's west flank, just a few meters below the summit. 

I could see Penrose-Rosemont Reservoir down below, and a superb view of Mount Big Chief to the west.

Unfortunately, the day was too hazy to be able to see the distant 14ers that are normally visible from the summit block. Nonetheless, I sat and relaxed for a while and enjoyed looking at the Gold Camp area, where I'd soon be headed on my downhill return to town.

As I left the summit and returned to the heat, I took some photos of the barren dead tree trunks that litter the saddle. It really felt like a high altitude desert!

I reached the junction with the 672 trail and descended to the west, to Frosty's Park. It was all easy downhill road running from here.

I'm always surprised by how far away Mount Rosa looks while descending Old Stage Road. It feels way more distant than the few downhill miles I'd put in.

Between the heat and the mileage I'd already put into the day, I was reduced to walking for a while.

But once I reached Devil's Slide, and then the St. Peter's Dome area, the road began to descend sharply, and I felt up to jogging again. Or more like, I felt like I had to jog or I'd never be done.

After the steep descent, the road began to climb again for a short mile before it makes its final exit from the National Forest. On this section, I was worried about being late to meet my ride, so I just kept jogging and pushing onward. Happily, I think this is the best I've ever done on this section. When I was feeling burnt out and tired earlier, I didn't think I was going to make it through this part AT ALL and I'd have to have my husband come get me. Instead, it was actually my fastest mile all day! It goes to show that we can actually do much more than we think, and that running long distances is often mostly mental rather than physical. 

I did take a brief look back at the distant mountains from where I'd come.

The mountains were beginning to cloud over now. That would have been nice earlier, ha!

I made it out to the paved part of the road, and by the time Alex had come with the kids to get me, I'd made almost 27 miles on the day. And 6600 feet of climbing, according to my app (accuracy is questionable 😅). Still, whew! What a day! A full marathon with over a mile of ascent. I'll take that.

And I did actually make the summit all the way from the bottom of the canyon - the run I was unable to complete a year ago. What a great adventure on this last weekend before the summer solstice. 

After meeting with my family, we decided to take a short walk. I loved having my family join me for a little cool-down hike at the base of the canyon.

What a great way to wrap up the day!

***

I'm now home and resting on Sunday evening, enjoying this father's day at home. Yesterday, my left shoulder was very sore. I think I overdid the exercise, between the heavy lifting on Tuesday and the marathon on Friday. But I feel much better today already. It's not a bad thing to be forced to take a break for a few days in a row!

Mainly, I did too many deadlifts, and aggravated my shoulder by running so far with my pack on and bouncing around. Next time I'll be careful to not overdo it in my lifting session.

However, as I enjoy this lovely day, I can't help but be thankful for all I've been able to experience lately, and for the support of my family ❤. And summer hasn't even officially started!! So much to be glad about, and even more to look forward to.

"Ring the Peak" - Mount Rosa edition

It's a good feeling when a run goes as planned!

Originally, as I mentioned in my last update, I had planned to do my long run on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. But a cold front was threatening to overtake the mountains, so I decided to start very early Monday morning (Memorial Day) instead.

I set off from the base of High Drive around 5:45 am. The sun was already up, and soon it was illuminating the rocks high up on the hillside.

As I started off, another jogger came up behind me, which gave me some encouragement. We kept pace for the first mile until he split off towards the Bear Creek Canyon Trail. I stayed on High Drive until the saddle, then joining the 667 trail towards Mount Buckhorn.

The little silent competition with the other jogger had energized me, and I topped out Buckhorn in the beautiful sunshine and pressed on quickly, only stopping for a quick photo.

Top: Views from High Drive and Mt. Buckhorn. Bottom: Pipeline Trail towards Frosty's Park. 

I kept on 667 until the 622A junction. This short but steep descent would immediately lead to a quick climb, regaining all the lost elevation as I joined the Pipeline Trail #668.

Around this point I passed by the jogger that had given me a push up High Drive earlier. He encouraged me to keep pushing 💪! This gave me an additional boost as I was only about halfway through the uphill section of today's run.

When I was out in the sun on the south- and east-facing trail portions, I was almost too warm with my jacket on. But when the trail turned to the north or west, I was hit by instantly freezing winds. 🥶 

This made me glad that I'd opted to go a day earlier, since I knew the cold front was coming. But also, I was glad that I chose to do the route I had selected for today, which was the same route I'd done exactly six months ago, on November 30th, when I saw the most amazing sunset.  I didn't realize that it was exactly six months to the day until afterwards! I just really loved this route and was glad to do a repeat of it.

My route didn't have any summits or off-trail climbing involved. It is a simple horseshoe-shaped "almost loop" which starts at the base of High Drive and ends at the base of Old Stage Road, at the entrance to the National Forest. It nearly circumnavigates the base of Mount Rosa. It is easy to follow and extremely runnable - just perfect for a day like today.

I kept at a steady pace up the Pipeline trail until reaching Frosty's Park, where the outstanding view of Mount Rosa greeted me. At the same time, a great gust of wind brought icy little snowballs! (You can't tell from the photo, but it was snowing and sunny at the same time.)

Top: Sights along Pipeline trail. Bottom: Mount Rosa from Frosty's Park.

This was a fast way to attain the highest elevation point of the day, at Frosty's Park, over 10,500 feet. I was just under 10 miles in, but now I had a nice long downhill to look forward to!

I cruised easily down the Forest Service Road #379. I felt good the whole time, no complaints today.

Occasionally, a gusty wind would bring a short bout of snow. But once I reached Gold Camp Road, the sun was shining and the tree cover was gone, and I was warm. I was finally able to shed my jacket and run in my tank top.

I enjoyed views of all my favorite rock formations as I made the slow, gradual descent towards town. I really love this road and how it showcases the characteristic Pikes Peak granite uplifts. Wide-open views are abundant. 

The recent snowstorm has really helped the surroundings green up quite a bit! The little marshy valley east of Penrose-Rosemont Reservoir was green, and the skies above were gorgeously blue. 

Mount Rosa towers above in the distance, while new green growth lines the pond that reflects the blue skies.

I love this section of the road. No matter the time of day or time of year, it seems to be the best place to catch interesting clouds and bright colors.

I made this collage to compare the same segment of road from my run 6 months ago, to today.

Top: November 30th, 2021. Bottom: May 30th, 2022.

I was relaxed and jogging easily, even though I couldn't stop taking soo many photos 😅! My pace did suffer a little, but it was worthwhile.

Soon I arrived at Devil's Slide, with Colorado blue skies above and dramatic clouds to the west.

Looking up at Devil's Slide. 

Looking west at angry storm clouds. 

From here, it wasn't too far to the St. Peter's Dome parking area, and then the long descent that would lead out of the National Forest and back to town.

All the way along, I chased the puffy clouds ☁️ to the east while running away from the angry ones to the west. It was increasingly warm now, and although I didn't feel fatigued or too tired, I simply tucked in and did the mileage before I got too overheated.

The road goes back uphill for a short section, right before the last descent out of the National Forest. Here I soaked in some last views before I approached the big slabs of rock that told me I was almost done.

Top: Looking north towards Blodgett Peak in the distance. Middle: Looking back to the west over North Cheyenne Cañon. Bottom: These big rocks stand guard near the entrance to Old Stage Road.

As I came out of the National Forest, my ride hadn't arrived yet, so I turned and ran a mile up towards the zoo, just like last time. Because after running almost 24 miles, why not run another mile - uphill?! 😆

I ended the day with 25.5 miles and 6300 feet of climbing! What a day!

Although this route wasn't new or different or especially adventurous, it was a favorite and an absolute joy to be able to complete it again. I found this run to be very fulfilling, and exactly what I was looking for.

Now that the road up North Cheyenne Cañon is set to open within a few days, I'll have a chance to plan some more adventures soon. And maybe hit some of my other summer favorites, like Almagre Mountain.

Thanks for reading along, and I hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed this day. 😀