Week of July 11th to July 18th, 2022

Monday, July 11th:

A lovely rest day, with a family walk in the evening of a couple miles at Spruce Meadows Open Space.

Another amazing Colorado sunset at Spruce Meadows Open Space with the family. 

I love this open space, it's one of the better-kept local secrets. 🤫 It consists of open high prairies and views of the surrounding mesas.

I've run the 8-mile loop around this open space a number of times in the past. The rolling prairie is a gentler run than the mountains, but just as pretty.

***

Tuesday, July 12th:

Machine pull-downs and machine chest press in today's weight session. Even with the equipment, I always try to go slow and really contract the muscles involved.

I followed up with 45 minutes on the exercise bike, at a casual speed.

***

Wednesday, July 13th:

Wow, an amazing afternoon/evening run!

Over 1700 feet elevation gain.

It was very hot at the outset, 91.3 degrees as the photo shows. But the overcast skies kept the punishing sun away; it was a great heat-training day. I like to incorporate some hot-day training runs, to feel comfortable keeping a steady pace in 90-degree heat.

I ran up Palmer Point trail along the west side of Palmer Park, connecting to Marconi Heights, then Austin Bluffs Open Space.

Overcast skies made 91-degree weather tolerable, even pleasant. Palmer Point (top & middle), and Marconi Heights (bottom). 

From Austin Bluffs Open Space, I ran out to the overlook. Sitting atop for a few minutes, I looked out towards the mountains. 

I visually mapped the rest of my route for today, and looked beyond, for a future upcoming run. I have in the works a 45-mile route that will trace what I did today, then continue north-westward to connect to Ute Valley Park, South Blodgett Peak, and up to Rampart Range Road. Then I'd descend all the way down to Balanced Rock before connecting back home through the Garden.

Today, I wanted to try out the connection to Ute Valley Park, from a trailhead I'd never been to before.

So I climbed down from the overlook and connected to the primary trail through Austin Bluffs Open Space, jogging west and bypassing the Windmill Project on UCCS, with Pulpit Rock in the background.

I kept on the trail and went through the student tunnel at University Village, linking into the Pikes Peak Greenway for a moment. I soon switched to sidewalks until ProRodeo Drive, where I would latch into the eastern Ute Valley Park trailhead.

I didn't even realize this trailhead existed until recently. On the Google map, it doesn't show that this trail is even part of Ute Valley, unless you zoom way in and you notice a small waypoint called "Ute Valley Parking and Hiking Trailhead 2."

When I arrived, the trail was marked "Black and Blue Loop." I entered this part of the trail just ahead of a couple cyclists.

The trail rolled up and down, along pine tree-lined trail. There were a couple neat rock formations, and then Blodgett Peak came into view through the trees.

Views from the overlook at Austin Bluffs Open Space (top); the Windmill Project with Pulpit Rock  behind (bottom); and the Black & Blue Loop looking towards Blodgett Peak (right).

When I do the 45-mile day, I'll continue on this trail through the main Ute Valley, all the way to the northwest corner, when I'll cross Centennial Blvd and quickly connect to the S. Blodgett trailhead.

But for today, I stuck to the Black & Blue Loop. I could hear the cyclists behind me. I was instantly enthusiastic. This was a fun challenge! Even though cycling is generally faster on flats and downhills, this trail had a number of somewhat rocky, albeit short, climbs. I would quickly drop the cyclists on the climbs.

I after I popped out of the Black & Blue Loop, I turned southwest on the trail toward Piñon Valley Park.

Here, the cyclists had taken a pause, and I asked them if they had been the ones just behind me since the trailhead. They said "yes, we almost caught you, but you were too steady." This was the biggest compliment I could have gotten!! My pace was so consistent that I had bested the "challenge" I'd set for myself to stay in the lead of the cyclists.

I took a last look to the trail that continued to the northwest, the route that I'll be taking when I head toward the Blodgett Peak portion of my 45-mile planned escapade.

Instead, I climbed on a trail - I believe it was actually named "Winding Woods Trail" - through the woods to the Piñon Park trail entrance. Then, I ran through the neighborhood for a short time, crossing Garden of the Gods Blvd and linking into the Sinton Trail, which I took back to the Pikes Peak Greenway and home. These trails will also make up a portion of my future big loop route, too.

With the long daylight hours, I was even able to make it home during the nautical twilight this evening, with bright yellow light still beaming from behind the Rampart Range. The orange-glowing moon was just beginning to rise. 

I accomplished over 17 miles in town today, and saw some new trail connections for the loop that I have planned 😀. I practiced jogging at a pace that I'd be able to do the whole 45-mile loop at, and it was just under 14 minutes per mile. Based upon this data, allowing myself some extra time for stops and photos and the major climb through the National Forest towards Ormes Peak, I think I would be able to do the 45-mile loop in about 12 hours. This gives me an average pace of around 16 minutes per mile.

Here is the planned route:

It might be a couple weeks before I have time to complete this route, but it's nice to have all the plans worked out! 😊 

***

Thursday, July 14th:

I noticed only mild sorness from the 17 miles yesterday. So I did the elliptical for a little while at an easy pace, just to loosen up, and ended up doing 2 hours and 15 minutes total, (with a few breaks!)

***

Friday, July 15th:

11 miles total today, split between two runs. I don't usually do "doubles," but that's just how it worked out today. First was a walk/jog of 5 miles, with a more consistently-paced 10k later on. Mostly flat today!! Also a few front raises, with only 10 lb weights.

***

Saturday, July 16th:

7 miles, mostly flat. This is shaping up to be a good week!

***

Sunday, July 17th:

Rest day.

***

Monday, July 18th:

Back to the trails for another solid 12-miler.

I wanted to pad my run with some extra mileage at the outset, heading out-and-back to Grandview Overlook on the road.

Then, it was all trail for the rest of the miles, heading down through Greencrest, up Marconi Heights, and back down the dirt road to UCCS where I joined the Tava Trail. I finally returned to Palmer Point Trail to wrap up my day.

12-miler on July 18th.

It was mostly overcast, but still fairly hot. No rain or drizzle this evening. I didn't bring water and felt fine the whole way, even 12 miles in 80-degree heat, so I think I'm adjusting to the hotter summer temperatures pretty well.

I feel like my weight is in a good spot, too. Not too bulky for the trails, but muscular enough to power up extensive climbs. I was sitting right at 139 lbs after returning from this run. 

This was a good, solid week. I'm really feeling confident about my upcoming long runs!!

I hope to be approaching the 40-mile distance soon. But first, I have to head out west to Arizona for a week or so. I'll be pretty busy, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to fit any running in, but we will see!