Mathewson Hill

It's good to be home. Logistics proved too challenging to fit in a run this morning before getting on a plane. Set out in the thicker east coast air as soon as I returned though. Chose a Mathewson loop with 5 repeats up Mathewson Rd. This is a pretty short and steep hill that I sometimes ride up on my way home from work. Felt pretty fluid and it was good to incorporate some harder running. Repeats went 49-53-55-57-55 so it's clear I started a little fast but was at least able to round it out in the end. I was fairly liberal with the recoveries (~90 seconds back down the hill) to give it more of a strength focus. That gives me 6.7 miles for the day, 53:55.

Relativity

Holiday time in the Rockies is winding down. Had a few hours of downtime this afternoon and with a brewery visit scheduled for this evening I took the opportunity to grab a few easy miles. I could have gone either way today but I'm glad I got out to witness the first crisp view of the divide ranges of the entire trip.

Gazing toward Mt Evans, one of Colorado's highest peaks, I thought of early explorers trekking up through the hills, likely following game trails in search of precious metals. Once, on a backpacking trek through some of southwest Colorado's very remote wilderness, I found myself contemplating the reality of a late 19th century miner. Having gauged the difficulty of my day on the number of miles I'd covered and the pounds of dried food and gear on my back and the feet of altitude I'd walked up and down, my sense of accomplishment was all but deflated when I came across a remote mine and the large machinery required to operate it. Someone had to lug that up there, miles and miles from the nearest town, well above the treeline and very exposed to the elements.

We're a bunch of pansies, compared to those folk. But it's all relative, I suppose. 6.1 miles on the same Cherry Creek out-and-back I did last Monday.

Merry Merry!

I sent a post here from my phone, but apparently it didn't come through. The extent of the message, which was authored on Friday, was happy holidays! I hope everyone has enjoyed hearty meals with friends and family. Here's the view from our cabin here in Estes Park:

As you can see in the above photo, it's fairly icy on the smallest streets. The main roads are actually fairly well maintained and they've surprisingly had very little snow for this time of year. I figured I would explore some trails on Saturday, with the help of some Microspikes I picked up back in Denver. The crampons turned out not to be entirely necessary because the trails were not very well packed. Snow shoes would have been better actually, and I took the opportunity to hop onto a road when I came to it. I ended up running up Bear Lake Rd, within Rocky Mountain National Park now, toward a small picnic area before heading back downhill. Between stomping through the snow on the lower trails and popping onto the road at an unknown point I won't attempt to map it. I'll call it a 6 mile effort, 47:29. The road miles were definitely faster than the trails, especially the uphill ones which are pretty sluggish at this altitude. I think that's about 35 for the week.

I had a 12 mile run penciled in for today and I decided to stick to the streets, as I feared the effort to trudge through the trails would have made the run less enjoyable. I headed down the hill to Estes Park and back up a long climb to Mary's Lake. I'm not sure what the elevation change was but the climb up to the lake was very tiresome. The view from atop made the effort well worth it but I felt like I was moving pretty slowly. I made up some time heading back down to Estes on a grueling, mile-long descent that made any east coast hill seem like a wrinkle in the sand. By about 70 minutes I had to make a decision to bite the bullet and focus on putting one foot in front of the other. The ups and downs mixed with the altitude put me in a painful place, and my momentum was slowly draining. I had to stop a few times on the climb back up to the cabin, which wasn't as steep or long as the climb to Marys Lake, but it was tough enough. I finished strong though, and I was ecstatic to have completed such a scenic and challenging run. 12 miles, 1:38:07. Not bad considering the altitude and hills.

I spent the afternoon snow-shoeing up in the national park, and it was the most fun I've had in a long time. I could totally get into this in a big way. The dearth of majestic scenery out east would make it somewhat of a different experience, but I'm glad I tried it today. Headed back to Denver tomorrow, then back to DC on Tuesday.

Untitled

This morning I decided I would head north on the Cherry Creek Trail, which eventually turns into the High Line Canal trail. Before ultimately deciding on an out-and-back run I contemplated heading to this irregular track loop that's about 460 meters in length and less than a quarter-mile from the front door. The desire to work in some higher intensity running is there. I've got my foot down that this won't be a spur of the moment thing however, as it would have been this morning. I want to plan for it, and perhaps I'll pencil it in next Tuesday before I head to the airport to fly back east.

For today I kept it simple. 6.3 miles, 47:44. 7 strides on the return leg. Followed up with some strength work at the "fitness room." I don't hurt, but I'll be pretty ready for a nap in a couple hours.

Easy Wednesday

I'm finding it much easier to blog now that I have absolutely no daily obligations. Even so, I feel as if a cat has nipped my tongue. Or my fingertips.

The weather in Denver is dry, so that when you sweat, it evaporates almost immediately. I guess sweating is much more effective as a means of cooling than on the east coast, where you get soggy and never reap the endothermic benefits of evaporation. But all of this doesn't really matter when it's 18 degrees outside. The temps have swung wildly from upper 50s on Monday to teens today, and apparently they're measuring snow in the feet just north and west of us.

Gonna check out Fort Collins and Greeley today. Friday we're off to Estes Park to stay in a cabin there for a few nights. Should be picturesque, and hopefully I'll get in a couple runs if the snow doesn't preclude it.

Today was a planned easy day, which meant 3.5 miles (30:00) on the treadmill after 30 minutes on the elliptical. Funny I should come across this post this morning, which got my mind in recovery mode. Felt good to go easy.

Cherry Creek Loop

Cold morning loop around Cherry Creek Lake followed by a soak in the hot tub. If I had one of these things I would be in it twice a day. I make sure to take advantage of them every chance I get. Which is mostly when I visit my or Maia's parents.

Legs feeling heavy after the weights yesterday, not surprisingly, and the thin air got to me just a little more than days prior. After 45 minutes or so it was more of a mental run than anything. This type of run, to me, seems an important aspect of training to run long distances. 9.3 miles, 1:12:31.

Fresh Air

First time I was in Denver was back in 2007 when I ran a 5k on New Year's Eve. I'd never run at this altitude before and I was surprised at how much I was affected by the thinner air. Running wasn't really any more difficult, but I remember gasping at the end of the race, feeling like I just couldn't fill my lungs with enough air. Don't have this issue this time around. Not sure if it's because I've been coming here once or twice a year since then, or that I'm in better shape.

Yesterday night I went for a late evening treadmill run to shake out my flying legs. Just 4 easy miles, 33:20.

Today I found it easy to get up well before the sunrise. I waited til the sun came up, poking around running websites as I sipped my coffee. By the time I headed out I was pretty psyched on some old footage of Rodgers and Shorter. Kept the effort mostly easy along the Cherry Creek canal trail. Threw in 5 strides on the return leg. Stopped at the "fitness room" in the apartment complex here for some core and light lifting exercises. This fresh air feels so good. 6.1 miles, 46:23.