Early September 2026

What an eventful and fun first half of the month!

Highlights included: Mocha and I did a big adventure loop for Labor Day; I joined Bailey and Fireball for a dog-friendly run; and I went on a classic hike with my mom and my children.

***

To start off easy and familiar, Mocha and I did a nice repeat of the Sec 16 loop from the water tank.

As one of her more familiar routes, Mocha does great zooming down from the overlook on this loop.

***

As a trail runner for many years, I enjoy the tradition of a long run on both Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend, to begin and end my summer on the right foot.

This year, I have Mocha to go with me for my Labor Day weekend outing! I decided to start out on Seven Bridges uphill and see how it went.

After the brutal sand hill, we zoomed easily along Pipeline trail. Mocha still had good energy, and she really enjoyed the intermittent streams and waterfalls. 

When we reached the junction of Pipeline and 701 trail, I knew we could complete the whole loop at that point.

A little ways from the junction of 701 and Captain Jack's (667), there is a small rocky summit that overlooks all of N. Cheyenne Cañon below. Mocha led me up to the top and we spent just a few minutes gazing at the views of Mt. Rosa, Almagre, and the city below.

The view west. I believe this hill is coined "Runs Down Fast Mountain."

The view east. Kineo Mountain is in the center, with the city beyond.

The view southeast. Mount Rosa stands out clearly above her saddle from this vantage point.

The view southwest, looking towards Almagre Mountain, with the FS 379A road cut visible just below treeline on the mountain. 

The downhill on Captain Jack's trail felt smooth and flowy. The last time I'd run this western portion of trail, I was with Pippin on our longest run ever, 20 miles to and back from Lake Moraine. Coincidentelly, this run with Pippin was on Labor Day two years ago!

I remembered thinking at the time what a perfect trail Captain Jack's downhill was for canicross.

So I was glad to have Mocha join me on this same part of the trail for my Labor Day weekend tradition. ❤️ 

This day ended up being 16.5 miles in total. Mocha had the best look of satisfaction on the ride home! 

***

A few easy days followed, where we stayed at locations close to home, like Palmer Park and Austin Bluffs. 

***

I took Mocha to Pineries Open Space one morning for the full loop. This open space is a newer county parks parcel in the Black Forest. We went clockwise around the trail, getting the sunniest part out of the way earlier.

The whole loop is about 9 miles with gentle rolling ups and downs, weaving in and out of meadows and stands of pine trees.

***

One Sunday, Bailey invited me and Mocha to join her and Fireball for a loop in N. Cheyenne Cañon. 

Mocha had such a fun time, and she was definitely excited to be running with another dog. The dogs seemed to get along well and be comfortable running together.

The inner canyon loop we did was very good for canicross, and Mocha really enjoyed following behind Fireball. It gave her a little additional motivation to keep going!

***

The next day, my mom invited me and my kids for a hike up the Crags. I hadn't been on this trail since I was in high school, so it was a trip down memory lane for me.

It was nice to be able to bring my kids to this interesting trail on the back side of Pikes Peak. I always enjoy the characteristic rock formations, often weathered away into the patterns of toadstools and hoodoos.

The weather had said there was a 20% chance of rain. As we approached the meadow area, the small 20% cloud popped, and it sprinkled temporarily. 

But soon the drizzle stopped, and we approached the last climb of the trail, which ascends the sandy summit adorned with weathered rocks.

The summit area was very windy!

There are lovely views of the reservoirs on the North Slopes of Pikes Peak. 

We made our way back down the trail, and got to the parking lot just as the setting sun was beginning to color the evening sky.

What a lovely hike and nice reminder of how craggy and rugged the back side of Pikes Peak feels.

***

Finally, to wrap up the first half of September, Mocha and I did the Seven Bridges/ Captain Jack's Loop.

This time was rough, because unlike our big loop earlier in the month, the downhill trail was dusty and dry, lacking in precipitation in recent days, making the gravel on the trail more slick and slippery.

It was still a beautiful morning in the mountains, and I've made a mental note to try to plan this route in the future for a day after it's rained. That seems to help the trail "stick together" a little better and not move underneath my feet!

***

That concludes this first half of September 2026. While I am posting this a bit late (it is almost the end of the month now!), I didn't want this post to get too long, so I'll write about the second half of the month separately.

Autumn is coming, days are cooling, and trail running season is in full swing! 🍂 

Second half of August 2026

I've been trying to come to terms with the idea that I may not enjoy really long ultramarathons.

I think my sweet spot is around the marathon to 50k distance, and I prefer trails over roads.

Every time I try for the 50 mile distance, I struggle. I know it's probably an issue of problem solving, electrolytes, hydration, etc... but I am not convinced that it's a problem I want to solve, at least maybe not yet in my running career.

The idea of someday running 100 miles might have to go on the back burner for a while.

At the moment, I feel like I could do better by focusing more on fundamentals. Core strength and balance - two things that trail runners who lack them can really benefit from - are a current focus for me.

I am trying to make sure I have at least two solid sessions per week of overall strength and core work, with an emphasis on movements that might help with the dynamic motion of bounding downhill on trails.

Since I've been putting in the canicross training time with Mocha, my muscle memory for controlling forward-moving force from my waist is returning.

And Mocha is making leaps of improvement in her consistency and understanding of what is expected of her on the trails!

On hot days, we still go shorter, but fortunately the seasons are slowly turning towards cooler weather.

Here's a few photos from some of our adventures in this second half of August.

One day, we did a portion of Daniel's Pass trail again. The day got hot quickly.

A different morning, the sky began to cloud up as Mocha and I arrived to North Cheyenne Cañon. Morning thunderstorms aren't very common, as usually the afternoons are prime time for monsoon weather. 

An angry, heavy rain swept in quickly. Mocha didn't enjoy running in the rain, so we ducked under a tree for five minutes or so. That's all it took, and the clouds began to disappate.

From an overlook, we watched as small remaining patches of fog burned off in the bright Colorado morning sun.

Another day, Mocha posed along Seven Bridges trail for my favorite recent picture of her.

We explored more on Austin Bluffs in town.

And we did the loop around the Kineo Mountain base again, stopping for a rest in the middle.

This was actually our longest canicross to date, as we added a small out-and-back on Pipeline trail to bring our mileage for the day to 9.8.

It was such a nice cool day that Mocha was still pulling enthusiastically in the last mile.

I am very encouraged by her progress, but I don't want to do too much too quickly - for her, or me! As I'm still recovering from my brutal ultramarathon battle.

But as mornings become cooler and autumn peeks around the corner, I am really looking forward to some fall training adventures with my best new training teammate.

First half of August 2026

In the days after my race experience at Grand Mesa, I really needed the recovery.

The early days of August I spent going easy on trails with Mocha.

Nice calm evening on Templeton Trail in Palmer Park.

I'm really happy at how far she has come in our trail training already. She still is excitable, with her puppy energy, but she is doing much better channeling that into herding me successfully.

After a few days of really chill recovery, I felt energetic enough to do a few longer, more structured jogs with Mocha.

Moonset above Pikes Peak from Austin Bluffs Open Space 

We did a big loop through Austin Bluffs Open Space one day.

Then, Section 16 another day. (Palmer Red Rock loop)

The Palmer Red Rock loop is such a classic.

One day, I wanted to do St. Mary's Falls with her, and decided the best option would be to start at Daniel's Pass.

This ended up being a good choice of trail, as Daniel's Pass is very canicross-friendly, smooth and easy to navigate.

St. Mary's Falls is notoriously more steep and rocky, especially in the last quarter mile before the Falls, but Mocha still did very well on this excursion, which ended up being our longest outing yet at 8.5 miles. 

There's not that much water in the Falls at the moment.

St. Mary's Falls, looking up from the rock in the center of the Falls- not much flow!

With the smoke coming in from wildfires across the state, I've been lucky to find some nice pockets of clear air.

In the early morning at Red Rock Canyon one day, the fog on the mountains seemed to lift the wildfire smoke away with it, giving at least temporary reprieve from the haze of the day.

Mocha is a dog after my own heart, as she enjoys a good view just as much as I do. I notice her stopping to take more breaks at beautiful lookouts.

Airy clouds lifting off of the Section 16 summit, as viewed from the Ridgeline Trail

It was a great day to do the loop from Ridgeline Trail to the Gypsum Canyon Trail in Red Rocks, which gives an overlook of all the layers of uplift before delving into them, winding between different sandstone strata of time.

Another day on Sec 16 loop, the skyline was a little hazy with smoke. The wildfires still burning in the state are impacting air quality.

One morning, I was up early enough to take Mocha up to Kineo Mountain. She was a little cautious on the steep climb above Seven Bridges trail. Even in the sharp morning daylight and uphill direction, the trail is very steep here. I recalled how Pippin once guided me downhill on this very same steep canyon trail, at night. I marveled a little at how I survived that expedition unscathed!

Near the 622A/667 junction, I came across an acquaintance from the Striders who was also on a canicross mission with his dog. It's always nice to see a familiar face out in the mountains on adventures.

Mocha and I got to the rocky overlook, spent a few minutes, and headed downhill on 667 to 776, which was much more canicross-friendly than the way we came up. 

Kineo Mountain summit.

Now that the worst heat of the summer seems to be winding down, I'm looking forward to cooler trail days ahead, and more distance with my best new trail buddy.