Week of August 15th through August 21st, 2022 - Florissant Fossil Beds; Garden of the Gods

Monday, August 15th:

Lying leg raises (straight-legged). I need do more core work. This was just a small start.

I made our usual pizzas from scratch for dinner. I've refined the recipe over the last few years to the way we prefer - less greasy and more like a cheesy bread. I put parmesan cheese stars on top for fun, to see if they'd still look like stars when it came out of the oven. They kind of worked out!

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Tuesday, August 16th:

8.5 miles in the rain. I was soaked by the end. Right about then, the rain stopped. Never fails! Nonetheless, this was a good run for me. The rain must have kept me cool, since my average pace was quite a bit faster than my usual for a run of the same length.

Later, I did a few lightweight side lateral raises and front raises.

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Friday, August 19th:

With the exception of a daily walk with my family, I took three days off from exercise. Although not totally planned, (I have just been too busy!) it was still nice rest my body a little. I did want to bank some energy for a long one tomorrow.

For Friday's walk, we checked out the Hornbek Homestead in Florissant (it is part of the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument).

We got up there early to catch the sunrise and see if we could spot any of the Perseid meteor shower. (Although the Perseids are nearing their end for this year, I still spotted at least a half-dozen in the clear pre-dawn sky).

It was great to watch the twilight dawning in the east, and then we enjoyed our hike through the meadow in the morning dew.

All the recent moisture has made early mornings in the mountains unseasonably fresh, cool, and almost spring-like.

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Saturday, August 20th:

I set out early this morning for a long in-town loop.

Initially I had planned to go to the mountains today, but Alex was hesitant because of early thunderstorms that were anticipated. I reluctantly agreed that he was correct, the high risk of storms meant the mountains would be safer on another day.

I opted to do a big loop through the Garden of the Gods. There's plenty of natural beauty right here in town, too!

I ran from the Rock Island Trail to Monument Valley Park, connecting to Sondermann Park.

The sunrise was beautiful in Mesa Open Space as I made my way over to the west side, by crossing Mesa Road and passing through Pioneer Park.

Top, Middle: Sunrise from Mesa Open Space. Bottom: The "Tolerance Trail" is a short-cut to Pioneer Park and the west side of Colorado Springs. 

I entered the Garden on Ridge Road and linked into the Old Colorado City Trail, which brought me directly into the very south end of the park.

The views along the red rock ridgeline were grand! I could see everything to the south, including all the formations of Red Rock Canyon.

It's been a while since I've entered the Garden on this particular trail, and I forgot what a gem it is.

Entering Garden of the Gods on the Old Colorado City Trail. 

On a prominent ridge, I took a mid-run break, about 10 miles in. I sat and took in the view of the mountains, watching distant clouds pass around the summit of Mt. Garfield.

All of the clouds were swirling around above 10,000 feet, so I was glad I didn't go up there today. Still, the view of the lower mountains from here was great.

I took out my mini binocs and checked out the Incline. I used to sit in this area and spot individual people on the Incline, the summer when I worked in the Garden. But my mini binocs aren't as powerful as the big ones I had with me during park safety duty.

Just as I looked at the Incline, a person in a white shirt appeared. I silently cheered him (or her) on. Go white shirt person! Thanks for wearing a white shirt which made you easy to spot!

After a rest, I decided to connect the Old Colorado City Trail to the Buckskin Charlie. This lovely trail was fresh and cool. I wound around many curves on this dirt path and eventually joined the Scotsman Loop.

Buckskin Charlie and Scotsman.

Scotsman Trail brought me right to the south end of the Central Garden.

A digitally generated "painting" of my photo, on the Scotsman Trail approaching the Central Garden. 

From here, I decided to hop onto the Palmer Trail, sticking to the theme of dirt trails in the Garden. Palmer Trail circles the northwest side of the park, and connects to the Dakota Trail. I then exited the very north side of the Garden and joined the Foothills Trail for my run towards home.

Top: Views from Palmer Trail. Bottom: A peek into lower Queens Canyon from the Foothills Trail.

All along the Foothills Trail, Sinton Trail, and Templeton Gap Trail on my way home, the wildflowers were popping!

All the recent moisture has enlivened the flowers. I couldn't stop taking photos!

My favorite wildflower photo of the day was actually a thistle flower. It was so colorful and symmetrical, it really caught my eye.

Around 14 or 15 miles in, I started to feel like my feet were very heavy and like I was dragging.

Somehow, even with all the rest days prior to this run, I still felt tired. But I was mentally in a good place, so I just resolved to go slowly and keep moving.

I've had runs where I was so tired that I just wanted to be done already. But over the years I've realized that embracing the moment is even more crucial when tired. If you're a runner, you're going to have days where you feel heavy, whether it's expected or not. You'll have to keep dragging on tired feet regardless. Focusing on the moment and enjoying your surroundings is just much more pleasant than wishing for a run to be over. 

This run ended up being a better mental exercise than physical exercise for me, since I was able to maintain a positive mindset the whole way, even though I wished my pace had been better.

When I neared Union on the Templeton Gap Trail, I decided to add one more park to my day. I connected from the trail into the west side of Palmer Park, climbing directly to the small overlook along Palmer Point.

As soon as I got onto the dirt trail in Palmer, I realized this was going to be a sloppy, slow mile. The trails all throughout the Garden had been solid - the rainwater had been soaked up by the red sand and made a packed surface that was solid - not muddy at all. However, in Palmer Park, the rain had saturated the trails so much that the silt had become clay. It was thick, sticky mud that accumulated on your feet.

I laughed that my last few miles would slow my average pace down even more. But I enjoyed the trail and the fresh mist in the air that wasn't quite rain yet.

Finally, I made it home. My total for the day was 21 miles! This loop was another great one, filled with so much beauty in our local Colorado Springs city parks. What an unbeatable place to live!

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Sunday, August 21st:

We enjoyed our hike in Florissant so much that we decided to get up early and head up there again. We left early enough to look for meteors again, but just as we arrived, the clear skies clouded over within minutes.

No matter, as the sun came up, another gorgeous Colorado dawn greeted us.

This time, we walked on the Shootin' Star Trail.

As we headed back towards town, the back side of Pikes Peak had a huge thunderhead forming above.

Then, in the afternoon, Alex got us a fancy takeout lunch from Red Lobster in celebration of our wedding anniversary. 💑 We went on a drive out east and sat on the plains, eating and watching the clouds pass by on the other side of the mountains.

Top: The back side of Pikes Peak, near Divide. Bottom: The same clouds as viewed from the eastern plains, near Calhan.

It was a reflective and peaceful day 😌. 

Later on, I did some dumbbell press-outs and lightweight squats, just to keep a bit of strength training in the mix.

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Wow, that was a long post for a regular weekly update. It was really a lovely week!