Since it has rained almost non-stop for the last 48 hours I was fully expecting the trails to be muddy. However, to my surprise the trail was hard packed and almost fully dry.
Todays run was an easy poke that started from the Maxwell trailhead and proceeds up and over the climb behind the stadium, to the ridge
... ran a short loop, and returned to the trailhead.
I plan to run my first long run in about 6 weeks in the morning. And so an easy run today felt nice.
Tomorrow I plan to run in the 2-3 hour (nothing super long, but a good start) range, mixing it up between Blue Sky trail and Horsetooth Mtn trails. I am looking forward to getting back into a weekly long run again.
...Weather is looking to be in the 70's this weekend. Should be a great weekend for some quality runs.
Total Time: 34 minutes
Friday, September 16, 2011
Pineridge (9/15)
My run on Thursday was not much different than my run on Wednesday.
The first 15 minutes of my run it was raining pretty hard, and splishing and splashing through the numerous puddles along the trail was actually quite fun. Once the rain stopped, the trails were a complete mud pit.
I basically ran whichever trails were runnable, and avoided the the more sloppy stuff the best I could.
I didnt have any route in mind that I wanted to run, and so I ran a hodgepodge of several (somewhat runnable) loops in Pineridge, and then headed back to my truck once I hit the 1 hour mark.
...One thing that stuck out to me while the rain was pouring down on me, was that something is missing from my trail running arsenal....water proof clothing!
I have always had the "less is better" approach when it comes to what I wear in the rain. (sometimes running in general)
I just dont like being weighed down with bulky clothes and extra "stuff" when I am running in the cold/rain. The less bulky clothes I wear the more "free" I feel when running.
Unless the temps fall below 40 degrees, I usually just wear a pair of shorts and sometimes just a tech shirt.
And I suppose I have a super lightweight camelbak that I can hardly feel on my back when I am wearing it. I remove the bladder and store nutrition for long runs consisting of several hours or longer.
...And so I think I will invest in purchasing a nice lightweight waterproof jacket sometime this fall
Total Time : 1hr 2 minutes
The first 15 minutes of my run it was raining pretty hard, and splishing and splashing through the numerous puddles along the trail was actually quite fun. Once the rain stopped, the trails were a complete mud pit.
I basically ran whichever trails were runnable, and avoided the the more sloppy stuff the best I could.
I didnt have any route in mind that I wanted to run, and so I ran a hodgepodge of several (somewhat runnable) loops in Pineridge, and then headed back to my truck once I hit the 1 hour mark.
...One thing that stuck out to me while the rain was pouring down on me, was that something is missing from my trail running arsenal....water proof clothing!
I have always had the "less is better" approach when it comes to what I wear in the rain. (sometimes running in general)
I just dont like being weighed down with bulky clothes and extra "stuff" when I am running in the cold/rain. The less bulky clothes I wear the more "free" I feel when running.
Unless the temps fall below 40 degrees, I usually just wear a pair of shorts and sometimes just a tech shirt.
And I suppose I have a super lightweight camelbak that I can hardly feel on my back when I am wearing it. I remove the bladder and store nutrition for long runs consisting of several hours or longer.
...And so I think I will invest in purchasing a nice lightweight waterproof jacket sometime this fall
Total Time : 1hr 2 minutes
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Foothills Trail (9/14)
One thing I can say about the fall, is that I absolutley love running in the cool, drizzly mist, on a crisp autumn day. Hands down, simply awesome.
Todays run had some of that, with the addition of a muddy downhill trail version of Slip-N-Slide.
I started my run at the Maxwell trailhead and ran the foothills trail up and over the short climb behind the stadium. I turned right at the first "Y" split in the trail at the top of the hill, which kept me on the East side of the road. The trail eventually crosses the road and this is where I headed back South (on the West side of the road), running along the ridge.
The first half of this run was great. Cool breeze, slight drizzle, peaks covered in the overhead mist, just an overall wet and damp day on the trails.
Not too long after my turn around point the rain picked up and the fog rolled in. The drizzle turned into a downpour and the mist turned into dense fog. Now, as much as I enjoy running in the slop, I also enjoy being able to see in the direction I am running.
The trail quickly turned into a muddy downhill slopfest and each step I took had me sliding down the trail, not running. The interesting thing about the mud here in this part of Colorado, is that the mud is like a thick, sticky clay, it sticks to the bottom of your shoes with each step. Depending on your preference you can choose to run 3 inches taller, or stop and scrap off the muddy clay every few minutes during your run.
Still somewhat enjoying the run (despite dragging along an additional few pounds of mud on each of my soles), I decided to call it a day when I got to the parking lot and skip out on tacking on the additional 30 minute Pineridge loop that I had planned. But ohh well, it was fun to play in the mud for a change.
Tomorrows weather calls for the same, so expecting the trails to be in even worse conditions.
Total Time : 42 mins
Todays run had some of that, with the addition of a muddy downhill trail version of Slip-N-Slide.
I started my run at the Maxwell trailhead and ran the foothills trail up and over the short climb behind the stadium. I turned right at the first "Y" split in the trail at the top of the hill, which kept me on the East side of the road. The trail eventually crosses the road and this is where I headed back South (on the West side of the road), running along the ridge.
The first half of this run was great. Cool breeze, slight drizzle, peaks covered in the overhead mist, just an overall wet and damp day on the trails.
Not too long after my turn around point the rain picked up and the fog rolled in. The drizzle turned into a downpour and the mist turned into dense fog. Now, as much as I enjoy running in the slop, I also enjoy being able to see in the direction I am running.
The trail quickly turned into a muddy downhill slopfest and each step I took had me sliding down the trail, not running. The interesting thing about the mud here in this part of Colorado, is that the mud is like a thick, sticky clay, it sticks to the bottom of your shoes with each step. Depending on your preference you can choose to run 3 inches taller, or stop and scrap off the muddy clay every few minutes during your run.
Still somewhat enjoying the run (despite dragging along an additional few pounds of mud on each of my soles), I decided to call it a day when I got to the parking lot and skip out on tacking on the additional 30 minute Pineridge loop that I had planned. But ohh well, it was fun to play in the mud for a change.
Tomorrows weather calls for the same, so expecting the trails to be in even worse conditions.
Total Time : 42 mins
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Horsetooth Mtn (9/13)
Started my run this afternoon from the main Horsetooth parking lot. I hopped on the Horsetooth falls trail, which is a nice smooth, mostly downhill, route. Just before the falls I turned onto Spring Creek for a short climb and traverse around the contour of the Mtn.
At the intersection of Spring Creek and Stout, I took the sharp left turning onto Stout. The climb up Stout towards Herrington is constant and consists of single track trail with small to medium sized loose rocks. There are a few patches of flat sections, but overall it is an uphill grinder. I was able to push myself on this stretch of trail and quickly broke into a heavy sweat. I guzzled down most of my water during this part of the run. It was hot and I was pushing hard.
After reaching the intersection of Stout and Herrington, I turned onto Herrington and enjoyed this nice downhill section after running the previous climb fairly hard.
I took Herrington to the Horsetooth rock trail and ran the last few downhill miles fairly easy, taking in the views.
Finished up at the parking lot and felt pretty good overall, almost zero hint of any ankle injury! Pretty easy run, while pushing the pace on one or two of the climbs felt pretty good for a change.
Trail summary : Horsetooth Falls > Spring Creek > Stout > Herrington > Spring Creek > Soderberg > Horsetooth Rock Trail. (A nice little loop)
Total Time : 53 minutes
Gotta love the single track
Monday, September 12, 2011
Pineridge (AM) + Foothills Trail (PM) - (9/12)
Ran twice today.
Lunch - Ran the Pineridge loop from the Maxwell trailhead. First time in over a month where I pushed the pace here and there, and it felt great. Lots of spring in my step and felt fresh and strong.
total time : 29:15
PM - Starting again from Maxwell lot, I ran up the short climb behind the stadium, dropped down on the back side of the hill and followed the descending trail down to the shore. Turned around just before the North dam. Tacked on an additional small loop at Pineridge at the end of the run. Felt solid the entire run. It feels great to be getting back into form again.
total time : 1hr 2min
TOTAL Time : 1hr 31min
Lunch - Ran the Pineridge loop from the Maxwell trailhead. First time in over a month where I pushed the pace here and there, and it felt great. Lots of spring in my step and felt fresh and strong.
total time : 29:15
PM - Starting again from Maxwell lot, I ran up the short climb behind the stadium, dropped down on the back side of the hill and followed the descending trail down to the shore. Turned around just before the North dam. Tacked on an additional small loop at Pineridge at the end of the run. Felt solid the entire run. It feels great to be getting back into form again.
total time : 1hr 2min
TOTAL Time : 1hr 31min
Tabeguache (9/9 - 9/11)
Friday afternoon I had some time to check out the Tabeguache trail.
This run had just about everything; good amount of vertical, technical rocky sections, sand pits, awkward diagonal slabs of rocks, and brightly colored lizards!
I really enjoy running on new trails and this was more than just another trail, it was literally an entirely different ecosystem. I was basically running through a desert filled with large rocks, small rocks, sideways rocks, ups and downs..etc
The majority of the trail is used my mountain bikers, and the "Caution, downhill traffic only" signs at trail intersections were a constant reminder. I must have seen about a dozen or so bikers on the trail, but I did not see any other trail runners out there. I was the lone person rock-hopping the trails by foot.
In the above picture (if you look close) you can see the zig-zagging trail heading up towards the top of the mesa, located far off in the distance. This was the out and back route I took for the day.
It was about 87 degrees, and only about 20 minutes into my run I found myself chugging down all but about 6oz of my 24oz handheld H2O bottle. I backed off the liquid consumption and focused on enjoying the rocky climb up to the top of the mesa. The views were great, and I had wished I brought my camera with me instead of leaving it in the car. Ohh well.
After taking a few wrong turns on the way back down (every intersection resembled the previous intersection), I was able to get back to the trailhead by looking up and locating where the parking lot was in relation to where I was, and proceed to take that general direction. There were a few times when I thought "I dont remember this huge rock I had to climb over to get up here..hmmm" and so I would proceed to turn around and eventually get back on course.
The trails were marked, I for some reason, somehow still took a few wrong turns.
I got back to the car and downed a solid 30oz of liquid goodness! This was a great run. Ankle felt pretty good on all the rocky, awkward, technical sections as well. Nothing hard, but was definitely focused on every awkward step my right foot took on the way back down.
...After running for 7 straight days after not running for over 4 weeks, I decided to take off on Saturday and Sunday. Which was fine because I plan to increase the volume of my training (and maybe intensity) a bit this week and I figure having a 2 day off period would be a good thing to start the week off fresh.
Saturday was actually a really fun day as we spent the better part of the day touring several different vineyards in Palisades. Wine tasting, picking fresh peaches off the trees, and fun times with friends...priceless!
Sunday was spent driving back home across the continental divide, and back into Ft collins.
Total Time: 1hr 34min (Friday)
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: OFF
Friday, September 9, 2011
RECAP : Sept 3 - Sept 9
5 weeks ago I sprained my right ankle while running down Flattop Mtn in RMNP. This past week has been the first week of decent, consistent training since the sprain.
My ankle on the trails this past week has been feeling better and better after each run, which is really encouraging.
I purposely have not yet pushed myself on the trails this week (especially the downs), and have taken several really easy days as well. But with each passing workout I can feel myself inching closer and closer to a full recovery.
The time out here in Grand Junction has been great. Hanging out with close friends and exploring some of the pretty spectacular trails out here this morning (more info on this later this weekend) have been great.
Total Time - 5 hrs 1 min
My ankle on the trails this past week has been feeling better and better after each run, which is really encouraging.
I purposely have not yet pushed myself on the trails this week (especially the downs), and have taken several really easy days as well. But with each passing workout I can feel myself inching closer and closer to a full recovery.
The time out here in Grand Junction has been great. Hanging out with close friends and exploring some of the pretty spectacular trails out here this morning (more info on this later this weekend) have been great.
Total Time - 5 hrs 1 min
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