Red Rocks and White Snow

     Maybe and two weeks ago Amanda, my new friend, Molly, and I went and ran the trails at Red Rocks. I had forgotten how much I love running trails compared to the streets. The day was clear and the trail was the kind that you are able to jump off rocks and logs which makes it that much better.  I had been to Red Rocks only once before to go to a concert but had never run the trails. They aren't too long but the hills that the trails follow make you do work. 

     For the last month I've kicked the idea around in my head to run a 50 mile race or even a 50K. There are a few in Colorado but they are all during the summer or early fall so I would still have a bit to train if I decided later that I want to do it. Running a ultra somewhere like Red Rocks would be amazing. 

     We each took turns leading the way out from the parking lot. The elevation gain right off the bat is around 830 ft. which leaves you trying to catch your breath once you reach the top. It levels off and from there on out, It's a easy run. We ran out for about 20 minutes since we had to be back for the Lion King show that we were going to and then headed in. It felt good to be running outside somewhere other than Cheesman Park.

     So today was my day off and I decided that I wanted to go running at Red Rocks again. For the last five days there has been serious snow on the ground and it has finally started melting so I figured today would be a  good day. A few days ago, Amanda and I went shopping at REI and another outdoor equipment store. I ended up getting some YakTrax. Super glad I did. I tested them out two days ago at Cheesman and they worked great. I used them again today. I love them. The trail was snowy and still a bit icy so it was perfect. I wasn't a fan of running in the snow at first, but I'm learning to love it. 

  

Rock Mountain NP

So back a few weeks ago before all the snow, my friend Kaleigh came to visit. She'd been traveling around the entire US. Cali, Texas, Colorado, Ohio, North Carolina, and Hawaii. I don't know how she afforded it, but she made it happen. So on one of the days that she was in town, she, Amanda and I went and hiked in the Rocky Mountain National Park. I think that anytime that we get together and go play in the forest we always feel that we are the most athletic people in the world (see "Yeah, this is happening"). Wrong again. We planned for a day of hiking around the park, climbing mountains, and chasing elk. We would have been successful, but the elk were lazy and weren't up for it.

As soon as we started out on our hike, it started raining. Not hard but enough to make us freezing and not like being outside at the time. But after about 20 minutes it stopped and we continued on looking for more adventures. The sights were amazing and the river that we followed made it that much better. 

The river that we followed while it rained on us.

We continued on and it opened into a clearing that was surrounded by mountains calling our names.

I want to climb the mountain in the background so bad. 

Such the adventurers.

 The hike ended at around 9 miles and many hours later. As we got off the trail and to the rest stop we noticed the sign that showed what people like us are suppose to carry.

We clearly had none of these things! Ok maybe water, but topo map? Really?

It's like a Bob Ross painting. Complete with "happy trees."

Aspens. So beautiful. 

Baby elk just hanging out next to the road.

Yeah, this is happening...

    So October 8th I ran the Xterra Trail Half Marathon in Cheyenne Mountain State Park, Colorado. The last week it's been 80-85 degrees so what else would I expect for a Saturday afternoon full of trail running? As my friend Kaleigh and I drive into Colorado Springs Thursday the temperature drops like a rock to 55. Ok, I can handle that. I have a jacket. We look online for the forecast for Saturday morning. Oh just a measly 30 degrees with a winter advisory. Oh shit, I'm going to need a bigger coat. 
     On Friday Amanda drives down from Denver. Where are Kaleigh and I? At Dick's Sporting goods looking for things to keep us from not DYING! So I have finally decided that I need actual trail shoes and that the road ones that I have planned on wearing aren't going to cut it. So we spend a good 30 minutes trying on shoes. I try on a pair of Brooks PureCadence. Brilliant. The fit is better than anything that I've ever felt. One problem. They're not trail shoes. But I do find a pair of Brooks PureGrit. They ARE trail shoes, slightly less arch support, but still great. Amanda meets us at Dick's and she feels the need (after hearing that it's going to be cold as shit Saturday) that she needs a shirt to run it. She gets 2 shirts, I get shoes, Kaleigh wants to go to Lululemon. Oh no. Lululemon is the Burberry of Women's yoga/running apparel. So we make it to Lulu and the girls drop some money on pants/tops which I'm sure they needed.

    That night we go to bed and one of the last things we look for is the weather report. 35 degrees and raining. Damn. So Saturday I wake up and look outside. Snow!? Are you kidding me? It's the beginning of October and it's snowing already?! I holler at Kaleigh to look outside. We are seriously some of the most ridiculous people we know. We get all our clothing layers on and get into the car. Which by the way we had to remove the snow off of it. We make it to the race and are looking around at all the other crazy racers who drove from all over to run. It was blizzard in Denver. We sign in and then run back to the car and wait for the race to start. About 8:05am we go to the starting line and start jumping around trying to stay loose. Rain, mud, wind. Not the best conditions. And we paid to do this! The gun starts and we head out the gate. Its uphill till mile four with elevation gain of +900 ft. The first few miles flew by due to race nerves and frozen limbs. Around mile three I finally got feeling back in my feet. The trail was muddy. The Muddy Buddy/Warrior Dash had nothing on this. Seriously. People that were there that did them last weekend told us so. Mud caked everywhere. Slipping, sliding, screaming downhill. I make it to the top of the mountain to start mile four. Four through eight was awesome. Rolling down the trail, jumping over rocks, sliding through mud puddles. Thank goodness I Scotch Guarded everything the night before. The altitude was fine, the mud I could handle, even my feet were still dry. But my hands were frozen. I couldn't do anything to heat them up. I had gloves but they got wet and from then on there wasn't a whole lot of help.

Mile 8 we started back up the next mountain. This section was some of the best trail that I've run. I begin my accent into the pine trees and it starts snowing, again. But not just light snow, I'm getting pelted in my face with snowflakes. It starts to stick to the trees and grass. The landscape is green covered in snow. The prettiest thing I've ever seen. I make it to the top and I can see over the park. The sky is gray. The land is brown and green slowly being converted to white. I make it to the last aid station, mile 12. One more to go and I am relieved. I make the last turn and see the finish.         I cross the finish and am able to finally stop. My legs are shaking hard, my fingers are so numb that I can't even stop my watch to record my time. Kaleigh is there with her umbrella waiting for us. 
      Amanda finished nine minutes later. She didn't walk at all! So impressive. We are awarded our medals for finishing and get back in the car to warm up. Breakfast is all we want and head to Denny's. Free refills of hot chocolate? Hell yes! Four cups was all we could handle. We get back in the car and head back to our friend Mitch's and lay around and watch college football and take naps. The most miserable 2 hours and twenty minutes I've every experienced, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

14 minutes!? It took me an hour!

  So yesterday Amanda and I got outside and went on a hike. We'd been kicking it around Boulder for 2 weeks and had yet to go into the mountain trail systems. So we planned our trip to Mt. Sanitas. It's just west of the city and easy to get to by bicycle or walk from Pearl Street Mall. Being the planner that I sometimes am I looked up the route online the day before. Apparently, it's a mid level difficulty hike that makes a loop and is an all-around good time. Estimated time: 2 hours. Ok, that seemed reasonable. So we ride our bikes to the trail head and start our hike. It's gorgeous. Nice day, but all I have pant-wise to hike in is blue jeans. Not the best choice, but I made it work. And by that I mean I toughed it out, NOT made jorts.
  I brought along my camera and took a ton of pictures. (As seen below.) We started out and began our climb up to the summit. Now, while there is a path, it is by no means "beaten." Rocks, ledges, other obstacles. We reached the top in 50 minutes. An being the geniuses that we are, we packed the other halves of the sandwiches from the night before. Winning. After our lunch break we began our decent along the "long way" down. Probably even more "technical" than the other side. Anyways, we made it through while stumbling upon a "warming hut" which I can only assume to be used for "medicinal" purposes on those chilly days. We also found a snake sunning itself on the path and then being a little scaredy cat and running off. Also, apparently there was a bear sighting 2 days before we went. What!? BEARS! And of course I tell Amanda that she needs to carry bear mace just in case someone tries to attack her. But to get to actually use bear mace on bears!? Epic.
  We make it down without any more incidents, unless you count hearing a motorcycle engine start and think it's a bear's stomach growling. Not winning. So the day was a good one and today we're sore, but it's good.

The plaque at the summit

"Warming hut"

The snake that was scared of us

  Now that you get an idea of the fullness of this hike, chew on this. Kilian Jornet ran this trail and guess how long it took him to ascent? 14 minutes and 12 seconds. Good grief.

Wait, was that...?

  In two weeks I am running an X-terra trail half marathon in Colorado Springs, CO. I've lived at nothing higher than 500ft above sea level all of my life. I'm in trouble. I've been in Colorado for two weeks now and I'm slowly working my way into "Thin air." So due to this fact, I've continued running everyday. Usually, no more than 50 minutes. Well, on Monday I told myself that Tuesday, "I'm going running for 8 miles." My friend Amanda, who is also running the half marathon and not used to the altitude, told me to go right ahead. She wasn't going. So I headed out to look for trails. The last two weeks have been mostly street runs. I needed some trail but didn't have the energy to run eight miles of Boulder's "boulders". So I headed for the pavement. It was nothing too fancy for the first 30 minutes and I was still breathing. As I was about to turn around and head back I saw a sign for the Bobolink trail on the east side of town. I can't turn that down! There I was about to leave and head back on the road and all of a sudden I see a trail?! I took it. I had no idea how long it would go, but I figured I could try it and then turn around if I needed.

  What is greater than running trail along a creek with the Colorado mountains in front of you? Nothing. So awesome. For those of you who stick to the road, do yourself a favor and hit a trail one day. You won't regret it. So this is a buffer for the point of my story: a few months ago Runner's World came out with an article about the greatest trail runner in the world, Kilian Jornet. Oh yeah and by the way he also lives in Boulder, CO. He kind of a bad ass when it comes to all things trail and mountaineering. So about five minutes into my trail section I come head on to another runner. He's going pretty fast and not really paying much attention to anything else. But the thing is...he kind of looks like Kilian Jornet. So we pass each other and the whole time after I pass him I ask myself, "Was that just Kilian Jornet?" Of course it most likely wasn't but if it was that would be pretty cool, eh?
  So long story short I finish my trail run through under the watch of the mountains and end back on Baseline. A total of 8.65 miles. Overall, it was a good day.
Boulder (Bobolink Trail/City) by mdlove297 at Garmin Connect - Details