A few days ago I was invited to meet up with a few other local runners for an early morning tackle of Horsetooth Mtn Park.
I met up with Phil Klotzbach and Dan Turk at 6:15am at JJ's and we carpooled over to the trailhead together. Dan has a parking pass and so it was nice to not have to trot the extra mile from my usual parking spot to the trailhead.
It was a cool (56 degree) wet, drizzly and foggy run up into the mountain this morning. ahh...perfect!
It was great to have some company and a nice conversation as well. We ran the 7.3 mile (est) Horsetooth trail race course. I have run this local trail race several times, and is one of my more favorite courses to train on.
The trail starts out with a couple of miles of climbing, followed by a few miles of rolling stuff, and finishes with a nice amount of descent the final few miles (with only one small climb in the final 3.5 miles). So much drop that I often find myself applying the brakes, as even a few seconds of pushing the downhill on Towers will have you on a kamikaze, out of control, land speed record push.
The trail this morning was wet, muddy and slippery, on all the rocky sections. Since I hardly trust my ankle to motor across this stuff on a clear sunny day right now, I was definitely taking it easy and even power hiking down a few of the steeper wet rocky sections. Halfway into our run the rain started to come down a bit more and the fog rolled in and made it difficult to see more than 50 yards or so. Running in the rain and slop is something that I enjoy, and with the drier climate in Colorado it is always a treat to get out on the trails during the rare times it actually does rain.
Overall, this is a great trail route and also makes for a great test of fitness, as it provides ample climbing, ups and downs, and some nice (semi-technical) stuff.
I also spotted several herds of deer throughout the run, just standing off the trail. Which is always a welcomed view in my opinion.
Now time to dry off, warm up and enjoy the rest of the day.
Today is Andreas birthday as well, and I am planning a little something at our place later this evening.
Also, we leave for Grand Junction in the morning to visit some friends of ours who moved there about a month or so ago. It will be nice to spend the next 4 days on the western slope with some good friends. And if I'm lucky, maybe even find some trails to hit while we are out there.
Total Time : 1hr 25min
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