Pineridge + Foothills Trail (short loop) - 63 minutes
On most days, Mondays are hill repeat / climb days, but the weather today was perfect. Low to mid 60's. And the thought of slogging up a 3 mile hill, running up and down..and up and down...and up and down, for hill repeats, or running a treadmill climb just didnt sound very appealing on this day.
However, a nice trail run under the warming Colorado sun did!
Workout went like this:
Starting from Maxwell TH. Ran one out and back loop of Pineridge. Then ran through Maxwell TH and hopped on the Foothills Trail. Then ran back down the hill and back to truck at Maxwell TH.
Dry trails and warm temps mean busy trails with mountain bikers, runners and hikers! Most important item in that last sentence--- DRY trails!
--- Tuesday - 03/06/12 ---
Foothills Trail (long loop) + short loop at Pineridge - 65 minutes
Two days in a row of warm weather. Todays temp was 68 degrees! The only downside was the sustained 25 mph wind with 40mph+ gusts the entire time---uggh!
Nothing like the feeling of getting pelted in the face over and over with dirt and debris which was flying around everywhere on the trails this afternoon.
Workout went like this:
Starting from the Maxwell TH, I ran up the hill behind the stadium on the Foothills Trail (long loop). Got back to the Maxwell TH at 48 minutes. I then tacked on an additional 17 minutes around Pineridge.
I felt great on the run, no issues...legs feel strong, no aches...no pains......simply a great afternoon on the dirt.
As soon as I finished up I jumped into my truck and sat there for a solid 2 minutes...shell shocked!
I could still feel the wind on my face, and could still hear the wind whistling in my ears, and even though I didnt have to anymore, I sat there in a semi-permanent squint--as if dirt was still blowing in my face.
--- Wednesday - 03/07/12 ---
Foothills Trail (short loop) 35 minutes + easy 25 minutes in the PM
Workout went like this:
Starting from Maxwell TH, ran up the hill behind the stadium and ran the short loop and back down the same way.
In the evening (9pm) I went out for an easy 25 minutes to get my 1 hour of running total for the day.
The weather was perfect today, slighty cooler than yesterday at about 45 degrees and overcast. Felt great today.
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| Looking West with Horsetooth Rock in background |
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| Looking North from Foothills Trail |
Total Time : 1 hour
--- Thursday - 03/08/12 ---
Pineridge Full Loop x 2 -- 62 minutes
Workout went like this:
Starting from the Maxwell TH, I ran 2 full counter clockwise laps around pineridge.
Another beautiful day in Colorado. Weather was about 60 degrees and I felt great. Nice and easy pace.
--- Friday - 03/09/12 ---
Horsetooth Mountain Park - 2 hours 3 minutes
Workout went like this:
Horsetooth Liquor store > main TH > falls > Spring Creek > Towers / Mill Creek intersection > Mill Creek > Loggers > Carey Springs > Towers > Herrington > Spring Creek > Falls > main TH > back to truck @ Horsetooth Liquor store.
This was easily my favorite workout this week. Another warm day in Colorado. The trails are drying up and becoming much easier to negate. Although there is still some slop here and there:
But overall, the trails are in good conditions, with snow in parts of the upper trails and mud in parts of the lower trails. My guess is that the mud and most of the snow/ice will be dried up by the end of next week, as temps are supposed to be in the mid 60's for several days this week.
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| Falls Trail |
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| Spring Creek |
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| Snow on Mill Creek |
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| Looking East towards Fort Collins |
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| Mill Creek |
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| Mill Creek |
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| Loggers Trail |
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| Loggers Trail |
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| Spring Creek |
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| Horsetooth Rock from Herrington |
Just another beautiful day running in the mountains.
This morning Andrea headed to Grand Junction to visit her friend. And so the rest of the weekend (Friday afternoon) until Sunday night it is just going be me and Eliana. A daddy-daughter weekend!
Not sure how much running I will be able to get in (if any), so I am glad I had the time to get this run in today and maybe just rest and take it easy over the weekend.
--- Saturday - 03/10/12 ---
OFF - Daddy-Daughter weekend
The temperature today was about 70 degrees, not a cloud in sight and a gentle breeze blowing across town. Simply perfect. I had a full day planned with Eliana today. Something that included getting out in this warm weather.
So on todays agenda : Hang out at Barnes and Noble in the morning (Daddys favorite place to hang out and relax indoors), then a walk in the park, and playing on the swings in the afternoon! ahhh.....now thats the life!
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| Eliana reading up on some very important material. |
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| Look at the random pile of wood chips Daddy! |
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| Where is Eliana?? |
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| Peek-A-Boo.....I see you! |
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| Eliana likes to climb into her toy chest. |
......Although I didn't run today, I (or shall I say WE) got in a 3 mile walk in the park this afternoon. But even more importantly we had a fun Daddy-Daughter day reading books, playing outside and playing with some toys. It was a blast.
--- Sunday - 03/11/12 ---
Easy night run in the neighborhood - 30 minutes
Today was much of the same as yesterday. A beautiful day outside. We went on a nice hour long walk together, went to the park, took a bath, played with toys....etc
Andrea got back from Grand Junction around 8pm, and I managed to get in an easy 30 minute scamper around town at about 9pm.
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Fridays run was great. The temperature was perfect and the ice/snow on the trails appear to be melting away. The weekend was filled with fun and good times with Eliana.
I plan to make up for this off/easy weekend by getting in a couple of solid long runs this week.
Tuesday, I am taking off work and I plan to get in a long run ranging in the 4-5 hour range and then next Saturday morning another long run in the 2-3 range. Both runs will be up at Horsetooth/Lory, and will consist mostly of the Quad Rock 50 course. Only 8 more weeks to go until race day!
The weather should be in the mid 60's all week long making it a great week to hit the trails!
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