Blue Shan Slab

49 minutes
easy pace
parked at the Shanahan TH, ran up Big Bluestem, north on the Mesa trail, up North Shanahan to the Slab, turned around and came strait down North Shan to the TH

Friday Family Run

55 minutes
easy pace
mid morning - pushin' the running stroller with Sweets on board and mommy alongside - down and up the Bear Creek bike path

Thursday AM Mesa

49 minutes
easy pace
5:30 am - usual commuter route into work

Blue Shan on the Forth

46 minutes
easy pace
mid afternoon - headed out from the Shanahan trailhead, up Big Bluestem, north on the Mesa trail, east and down North Shanahan trail to the TH.

Tuesday AM Mesa

49 minutes
easy pace
5:30am - usual commuter route into work

Monday Mesa

49 minutes
easy pace
5pm - usual commuter route home from work

Another Day Off

Oh so lazy

Day Off

very hot today - plus I'm lazy

Friday with the Family

55 minutes
easy pace
down and up the Bear Creek bike path pushing the running stroller with the boy and mommy

AM Mesa

49 minutes
easy pace
5:45am - cloudy and fairly cool - usual commuter route into work - felt great this morning - finally feel a little zippy again - but I went nice and easy this morning - will go faster or farther this weekend - a little cloud was snuggled up against the Flatirons this morning and I ran through it along the Mesa trail - that was cooler and more humid.

Humid Mesa

48 minutes
easy pace
5pm - mostly cloudy and fairly cool, but very humid - usual commuter route home from work via the Mesa trail - feel like I'm starting to shake off the doldrums - I've just felt slow and unmotivated the last few weeks, but I feel my legs coming back a bit - felt good today - sweatin' like a pig in this humidity.

Morning on the Mesa Trail

51 minutes
easy pace
5:40am - hazy sunrise - a little cooler today - usual route into work from home along the Mesa trail - saw a mule deer up on the knoll between Bear Canyon fire road and Yuri Pass - only saw one other person (a runner dude) on the trail this morning - felt great - rolled my left ankle quite nicely - after shaking off those first painful two minutes the ankle felt fine, but when I rolled it the top of my foot slammed into a rock - very bruised and a little sore - I guess it just makes me tougher.

Mesa Commute

49 minutes
easy pace
5:15pm - hot and sunny - usual commuter route home from work via the Mesa trail - seriously hot out in the sun today, but once in the trees on the Mesa it felt just fine - always tough to shake off a rest day (or two), but about half way home I started clickin' and feelin' it.

Off Again

just lazy today

Off

Legs are a bit tired from mountain biking - day off.

Buffalo Creek

[mountain bike]
approx. 2.5 hours
approx. average speed - 10mph
approx 25 miles
mid morning - hot and sunny, turned cloudy and rainy - first real ride of the season on my mountain bike - went out to Buffalo Creek with DJ - we rode our usual circuit - felt fantastic - climbing hills like they were almost flat - for sure did not have a lot of confidence descending, but climbing was special today - love to get that all-legs burn that running never gives me - need more miles on the bikes.

In in the Morning

51 minutes
easy pace
5:30am - super mellow run into work this morning - same commuter route as always.

Mesa to Home

47 minutes
easy pace
5pm - up 9th to Chautauqua, Mesa trail to Bear Creek Canyon fire road, Yuri Pass, Bear Mountain Park, Table Mesa Dr., and home (usual commuter route).

Commuter Route

50 minutes
easy pace
5:40am - same commuter route as always (including Yuri Pass).

Woods Quarry

55-ish minutes
easy pace
5pm - hot and sunny - same commuter route home from work but I added a little side trip up to Woods Quarry.

Morgul

[road bike]
1-1.5 hours
easy to moderate pace
hot and sunny - rode the Morgul-Bismark road loop from the house with KJ - felt weird to be on a road bike, but felt normal after an hour or so - those hills are tough but not nearly tough as I remember - good to get out there with KJ.

To the Slab

48 minutes
easy pace
evening - cool and cloudy, slight mist at higher elevations - did a hiking swap with Nee' and Sweets - ran from the Shanahan TH, up Big Bluestem, Mesa trail north to Fern Canyon, up Fern just to the Slab, stopped there, hiked down with the boy and mommy took off on a run from the Slab.

Friday Family Run

57 minutes
easy pace
6:30pm - down and up the Bear Creek bike path pushing Sweets in the running stroller while mommy ran alongside.

Morning Mesa

50 minutes
easy pace
5:30am - cool and mostly clear - same route into work as always - all week I've been feeling slow and unmotivated, but today I felt a little fire return - about halfway into the run my legs got lighter, my pace got faster, it felt easy again, and I was having fun - super easy pace today, but feeling like getting zippy again.

Damp Mesa Trail

52 minutes
easy pace
5:40am - mostly cloudy, cool, damp from yesterday's rain - usual route into work (no Yuri Pass) - felt bloated and slow and not into it - then I needed to stop for a digestive emergency at Chautauqua - felt a lot better after that - trails were a bit muddy, but nothing too bad - super mellow pace today.

Easy Rainy Mesa

52 minutes
easy pace
5:40am - cloudy, mist became steady light rain - same route as last night but in reverse and without Yuri Pass - headed out in very light mist, by the time I got up to the Mesa trail it was more like light rain, and as I ran down 9th St. into town it was a steady light rain - I was pretty soaked but it felt great - ran very easy and relaxed this morning - just enjoying the early morning rain - feelin' good.

Shakin' It Out

48 minutes
easy pace
5pm - sunny and very warm - ran home along my usual commuter route from work to the house - ran very easy but it didn't feel super easy - shakin' off a rest day is always tough, plus I'm still shakin' off the beers and crappy food that I consumed while camping over the weekend - finally started clicking the last ten minutes of the run - the big fallen pine tree has been cleared from the Bear Canyon fire road.

Off

broke camp early and came home - then got busy doing yard work - then got lazy

Devil's Playground

53 minutes
easy pace
mid-afternoon, mostly sunny, warm, light breeze - ran with Nee' today - headed out from our campsite at Vedauwoo and ended up circumnavigating the Devil's Playground - cool little area with lots of bulbous rocks and hoodoos and rock outcroppings with little singletrack trails going all over the place - those twenty minutes or so that we were hopping around among the rocks were so fun - sweet little tailwind coming back - felt great today - it's nice to run with Nee'.

Vedauwoo Meander

45 minutes
easy pace
late afternoon, mostly sunny, cool and windy - just did a little meander from our campsite at Vedauwoo (between Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyoming in the Medicine Bow National Forest) - wow, I could really feel the elevation here (about 8,000 ft.) - ran into a headwind going out, but the wind shifted so I also had a headwind coming back - never really got into the groove today.

Surveying of the Wind Damage

48 minutes
easy pace
5:40am - sunny, crystal clear blue sky, windy - same route as last night, but in reverse and without Yuri Pass - we had a ferocious windstorm last night (power lines arcing all over the place flashing throughout the neighborhood - kept me up most of the night) - it was still crazy windy out there, but nothing like the middle of the night - it was an interesting run as I was surveying all of the wind damage - a big branch in our neighbor's yard was filling our side yard - tree limbs down all over the place - three big pines (one about 18 in. diameter and 60 ft. tall) were draped across the Bear Canyon fire road, all in a little cluster (all just snapped off like toothpicks about 20 feet up) - it was at a place where the terrain was too steep to go around, so the only way through was through the trees, up and over, under, twisting around branches and trunks - I could tell that I was not the first to navigate through these trees as the bark was all scuffed up - 9th St. looked like a war zone (no big trees down, but branches and leaves and trash and patio furniture everywhere) - the Pearl Street Mall crew was busy filling their truck beds with tree limbs - Mother Nature sure can sock it to us when she wants to - the run was at a very easy pace, but the wind really sucked the energy out of me, so I was felt a bit more wiped afterward.

Cool & Breezy Mesa Run

47 minutes
easy pace
5pm - warm and sunny with a cool breeze - usual commuter route home from work via the Mesa trail - felt a bit tired today, not really zipping around as effortlessly as normal - it felt pretty hot where I was protected from the wind, but it felt cool and refreshing where the breezes were on me - big windstorm coming tonight; these light breezes are just the prelude.

Post-Sunrise Mesa

47 minutes
easy pace
5:30am - sunny and fairly cool - a run at 5:30 is no longer a sunrise run, as the sun is already up - saw 4 or 5 runners up on the Mesa trail this morning - we pre-6am-trail-runners have a nice little unspoken respect for each other - same route as last night, but in reverse and without Yuri Pass - saw a couple of mule deer on the little saddle west of NCAR - took me a little while to feel good this morning - tossed in a tiny surge on the Mesa trail behind NCAR and that made me feel better - felt awesome truckin' down 9th St.

Feelin' Good on the Mesa

45 minutes
easy to moderate pace (closer to moderate)
5:15pm - sunny and fairly cool - usual route home from work via 9th, Chautauqua, Mesa trail, Bear Canyon fire road, Yuri Pass - felt great - climbed the hill fairly easy and worked a little bit up on top - I am noticing how there is poison ivy everywhere now; gotta watch out for that stuff.

Bear Peak

111 minutes
easy pace
2:15pm - mostly cloudy and fairly cool - got dropped off at the Bear Canyon TH, ran up Bear Canyon, Bear Peak West Ridge, scampered up to the peak, ran back the same way, but went over Yuri Pass, ran down through the 'hood and Bear Mountain Park to finish at the house - wow, I have not done this run in a while and it seemed so easy - I ran fairly mellow, never really breathing too hard - my legs were a little tired, but my heart and lungs were very comfortable for the entire run - maybe I'm getting in shape - lots of hikers on the way up and on the peak, but very little coming down - a few raindrops fell on me on the way up the lower slopes which made the rocks a bit slippery - felt awesome today.

Big Blue

55 minutes
easy pace
11am - sunny and quite warm, with light breeze - parked at the South Boulder Creek (West) TH - ran up South Boulder Creek, continued up the Mesa trail, ran down the upper and lower Big Bluestem to the TH - felt great - took it very easy - lots of hikers up there today - the upper Blue is one of my favorite stretches of trail in all of Boulder Mountain Parks, so beautiful - finally feelin' like I've shook off those rest days - those off days just kill me - drank a few Jamaican beers afterward.

Family Run

56 minutes
easy pace
11am-ish - cloudy and cool - pushed sweets in the running stroller while mommy ran alongside - went down the Bear Creek path to Boulder Creek, turned around and ran back up - he slept on the return trip - real mellow run, but my legs felt a bit tired - I think it's just the concrete - it's hard to feel good running on that brutal surface - felt like we were crawlin' but our time was a little faster than usual.

In on the Mesa

50 minutes
easy pace
5:30am - very thin fog, but otherwise sunny, and chilly - same route as last night, but in reverse and without Yuri Pass - ran at a super mellow pace - sort of felt half asleep out there this morning - once up on the mesa the thin fog below looked neat - these morning runs make me realize that I am the luckiest man on Earth - I have my health, a beautiful and wonderful family, a house in a cool place with running trails 10 minutes away, a job that I like; what else could I want?

Home on the Mesa

47 minutes
easy pace
5pm - sunny and cool - usual commuter route home from work (up 9th to Chautauqua, Mesa trail to Bear Creek, fire road, Yuri Pass, Bear Mountain Park, down Table Mesa to home) - went super easy - climbed the hill with no huffin' or puffin' - felt good.

2 Days On - 1 Day Off

feelin' lazy today

Skunk Meander

83 minutes
easy pace
1:30pm - sunny and very warm with light, cool breezes - feeling great (dodged a little bullet with whatever was getting to me on Saturday), so, instead of this week's zippy run, I decided to go a little longer, but very mellow - from the house, ran down to NOAA, up Skunk Canyon, south on the Mesa, stayed straight at Shanahan Ridge, up the the sub station on the knife edge, little singletrack through and down from the knife edge, down the gentle green prairie valley, behind the houses back to the north, up telephone road, down skunk, NOAA, church trail, and home - very mellow with just a few little surges thrown in - was going to go a little over an hour, but I was feelin' great and stayed out a little longer - only watched the Bolder Boulder on tv.

Family Run

58 minutes
easy pace
mid morning - sunny and warm - feeling just fine today (glad I took it easy yesterday) - pushed the D-man in the running stroller down and up the Bear Creek bike path - he had just woke up from a nap so he was awake the whole time - he loves to zip down the bike paths.

21 Days On - 1 Day Off

after pulling the D-man all over town in the bike trailer this morning I started feeling a little ill - slight congestion with body aches - was planning on doing something speedy today, but decided to park it for a day - just hung out on a blanket in the backyard with the boy all afternoon - ate tons of food - had several doses of my herbal immune system activator - had a beer - went to bed early.

Big Blue

52 minutes
easy pace
10:45am - sunny and warm - parked at the South Boulder Creek (west) TH - ran up South Boulder Creek, up Mesa trail, down upper and lower Big Bluestem back to the TH - felt good - nice and mellow.

Cold on the Mesa

49 minutes
easy pace
5:30am - clear and cold - same route as last night but in reverse and without Yuri Pass - wore gloves this morning but my fingers were still cold - it's all relative - a couple of months ago this would have felt warm, but I'm used to running half-naked so this chill is a shock - as the sun rose I could see that the highest couple of hundred feet on Bear Peak had a little snow, and as I ran into town I saw some cars (down from the foothills) with snow on them - super mellow effort today - just couldn't get in the groove with the chill - beautiful crisp and clear sunrise - brilliant blue sky.

Mesa Mist

45 minutes
easy pace
5pm - cloudy, cold, with light mist - usual route home from work via the Mesa trail - chilly out there today - I actually wore a shirt and a hat - light mist falling and the higher I climbed the heavier the mist was - my fingers were cold for the entire run - I was happy with my time considering that it seemed like an easy effort - I guess the cold keeps me movin' along fairly zippy - legs felt refreshed and strong.

Into Work on the Mesa

49 minutes
easy pace
5:35am - sun and clouds, cool and breezy - same route as last night, but in reverse and without Yuri Pass - lovely sunrise through the spotty clouds on the horizon - the morning breeze out of the west felt great; chilly but refreshing - it was so nice out there this morning with the sun reflecting off the dew drops on the wildflowers and the birds singing all over the place - it's these early morning runs that really feed my soul and make me feel alive - I am so lucky to live in a place where I can run out my front door and be on amazing rugged trails in only 10-20 minutes.

Homeward on the Mesa Trail

47 minutes
easy to moderate pace
5pm - mostly sunny, warm - usual commuter route home via 9th St., the Mesa trail, fire road, Yuri Pass, Table Mesa Dr. - legs were still a little sore on the downhills and today they felt a little tired - overall I felt very good though - going uphill is getting easier and easier - hills that used to seem like a long march now don't even get my attention - I just zip up them - I think the key is to just go without thinking about the fact that it's a hill - just go and soon you're cresting the top of it - this weather has been great.

Short Little Recovery from Gregory

39 minutes
easy to moderate pace (closer to easy)
1:30pm - sun and clouds, warm, with thunder around - got dropped off at Gregory Canyon - ran up the Bluebell-Baird, Mesa, dunked my head in Bear Creek, down fire road, Yuri Pass, Bear Mountain Park, and home - I thought my knees would be achin' today, but it was my quads - not too sore, but I sure could feel it on the downhills - that hill up from Gregory gets easier every time I run it - now it's nothing - legs were a little sore and tired, but the rest of me feels awesome - it's summer and I'm in great shape and feelin' super fit - all is well.

Long, Steep, Technical, Loose

120 minutes
easy pace
10am - sunny and quite warm - after visiting the Farmer's Market, Nee' dropped me off at the top of Flagstaff Road (so I got to begin my run at about 7500 feet) - ran Green Mountain West Ridge to the top of Green Mountain (quickly scampered up and bagged the peak), then ran down the E.M. Greenman trail, Saddle Rock trail, and Amphitheater trail to Gregory Canyon (all of that was steep and loose and technical - not really "running", more like scrambling) - then up the Bluebell-Baird trail to the Mesa trail, then up to Royal Arch and back (about 20% of that was power hiking rather than running - those stairs can get steep), then south along the Mesa trail, another side-trip up to Woods Quarry and back, then farther south on the Mesa trail to Bear Canyon Creek (dunked my head in a Bear Creek cascade), then down fire road, over Yuri Pass, through Bear Mountain Park, and on home - can you say "yahoos"?! - there were so many yahoo, tourist-type, lowlander-like, very slow hikers all over those trails today - it's good to see people out there, they just slow me down - my knees will be a bit sore tomorrow from all of the downhill I bet - felt great today - this run was much easier than the last, less-hilly, 2 hour run a couple of weeks ago (long runs are so beneficial) - beautiful summer-like Boulder day.

Family Run

58 minutes
easy pace
10:20am - sunny and very warm - the whole family went down the Bear Creek bike path to Boulder Creek, then back up it - I pushed the little man in the running stroller; Mommy ran alongside - he was awake for the trip out, but slept most of the way home - he tossed his hat overboard, but we found it on the way back - running on concrete is brutal, and pushing the running stroller requires some work - felt just slightly tired today.

Mesa Morning

48 minutes
easy pace
5:30am - clear, cool, and a little hazy - normal commuter route into work (Mesa trail without Yuri Pass) - lots of hummingbirds whirling over me along the Mesa trail - saw a few runners up there - it was a beautiful orange ball of hydrogen shining though the haze this morning - felt great.

Mesa Trail

45 minutes
moderate pace
5pm - sunny and warm - usual route home via the Mesa trail and Yuri Pass - went pretty zippy today but the effort was not much of a strain - felt damn good - starting to see a lot of afternoon hikers up there.

Moist Mesa Morning

49 minutes
easy pace
5:40am - cool, cloudy, and damp from the overnight rain - same route as last night, but in reverse, and without Yuri Pass - usual route into work - went really easy this morning - felt great - rolled my right ankle a bit going down the Mesa trail, but it was fine after another quarter mile - really smelled like spring up there with everything being all wet and humid - feelin' super-fit (but more long runs and more fast runs will get me even fitter).

Home on the Mesa

47 minutes
easy pace
5pm - sun and clouds, warm - usual route home from work (up 9th St. to Chautauqua, Mesa trail to Bear Canyon Creek, down fire road, Yuri Pass, through Bear Mountain Park, and home) - legs felt a little tired today, but my heart and lungs are really starting to feel fit - hummingbirds whirling over my head on fire road - thunder clapping to the west - got home just before the rain started.

Sub-30 Little Blue

49-ish minutes
10 min. easy, 29 min. moderate to hard, 10-ish min. easy
3pm - mostly cloudy, somewhat cool, steady westerly wind - parked at the South Boulder Creek West trailhead, jogged around to warm up for ten minutes - ran the little Big Bluestem loop (up South Boulder Creek trail, north on the Mesa trail, down lower Big Bluestem trail), ran it at a good clip and finally went sub-30 (28:30) - I knew I could do it if I warmed up and gave it a decent effort - didn't need to go all-out to do it - I think a sub-27 is possible, maybe sub-26 - jogged around for about ten minutes as a warm-down - felt good, but not great - new shoes are not quite ready to go zippy yet, so today was the last run in the old shoes - a sub-30 Little Blue was a good way to retire them.

New Shoes on Rollie Trails

77 minutes
easy pace
2:45pm - sunny with clouds around, quite warm - new shoes today (6th pair in a row of Montrail Hardrock's) - got dropped off at the South Mesa trailhead - ran up the Towhee to the mouth of Shadow Canyon (with the short spur to the top of the old Mesa trail saddle above Eldorado Springs - great view up there), last-chance-back-to-the-Mesa trail, Mesa trail north over Shanahan Ridge and NCAR saddle, down Skunk Canyon trail, across the creek, NOAA's southern property line to Broadway, ducked back into the 'hood, up church trail, and home - this run might have been a bit long and hilly for new shoes, as I got a little hot spot on my left heel - but I felt great today - that Towhee hill gets easier every time I run it.

Friday with the Family

58 minutes
easy pace
mid-morning - sunny and very warm - down the Bear Creek bike path to Boulder Creek and back pushing the running stroller while mommy ran alongside - sweets stayed awake the whole run, havin' a blast, watching the world go by, feelin' the G's - my shoes are so shot, starting to hurt my knees (concrete running doesn't help either), gotta get a new pair - the sun felt very hot today, but I'm getting used to the heat - legs felt a bit tired today.

AM Mesa

47 minutes
easy to moderate pace (closer to easy)
5:40am - clear and cool - same route into work as always (without Yuri Pass) - got onto fire road just in time to see the sun come up over Baseline Reservoir and make Bear Peak and the Flatirons orange - saw two herds of mule deer (one on the knoll between fire road and Yuri Pass and the other on the little saddle west of NCAR and north of fire road) - saw a few runners out there as well as a couple of climber dudes hiking up fire road with tons of climbing gear (they were up early for a mega day of rock climbing) - felt great.

Full Belly on the Mesa

45 minutes
easy to moderate pace
5pm - sunny and warm - usual route home from work via the Mesa trail (including Yuri Pass) - my belly was still so full from the lunch buffet at Himalayas Restaurant, so a touch faster than easy pace was probably all I would have been capable of today - felt surprisingly good considering I was lugging around a gut full of Indian/Tibetan/Nepalese food - the legs felt strong - everything is so green and lush around here now - perfect afternoon weather.

Mesa Sunrise

49 minutes
easy pace
5:35am - clear and cool - steady westerly breeze that died as soon as the sun rose - same route as last night to get to work (but without Yuri Pass) - saw a herd of mule deer just west of NCAR on the slope north of fire road - saw a couple runners up there along the Mesa trail - blindingly bright orange sunrise - felt awesome.

Bee Sting on the Mesa

45 minutes
easy to moderate pace (closer to moderate)
5:10pm - sunny and cool - same route to home from work as usual - saw a bunch of rescue vehicles in the southwest part of Chautauqua Meadow (later learned that they were there because of the guy who died falling off the 2nd flatiron) - gave it a fairly good effort on the climb - felt great - just south of the Skunk Creek trail junction I felt a sharp pain under the tongue of my left shoe - thought it was just a sharp rock - knelt over to get it out and found that it was a bee stingin' away, dumpin' his toxins into my bloodstream - I could feel the throbbing poison sensation for the rest of the run, but it really didn't bother me until later - once home it got a little swollen and very itchy - iced it down with a bag of frozen blackberries and it was fine - really starting to feel fit these days.

Fowler

35 minutes
easy to moderate pace (closer to easy)
8am - sunny and cold - just a short little run today as a bit of recovery from the long run yesterday - didn't feel at all tired - felt great - parked at the Eldorado Mountain TH - ran the Fowler trail to the Eldorado Springs State Park visitor's center, and back - just the slightest bit of snow along the edge of the trail (but the peaks above had quite a bit of snow - just rain overnight in town) - pretty muddy - beautiful morning.

Davidson and Marshall Mesas Loops

120 minutes
easy pace
1:30pm - mostly cloudy and cool - a very mellow, slow, long run today - parked at the new Marshall Mesa TH - ran east on Marshall Valley trail to the old TH, out to the road, west on the road to Cherryvale, north on Cherryvale to the trail gate across from the old schoolhouse - little singletrack trail along Cherryvale and up and over Davidson Mesa, crossed Marshall Road, faint little singletrack back to the west along the old railroad grade to the old TH, up Marshall Mesa trail (including the little spur to the northwest to the rocky cliff viewpoint), Community Ditch, up the steps to the Greenbelt Plateau junction, west to CO-93, down the Coal Seam trail back to the TH, there I grabbed a little water and an energy gel, then ran that same loop again, then out-and-back on the Marshall Valley trail, then a little meander for five more minutes to get this thing to 2 hours - felt good, site of my pelvic fractures got achey the last half hour, but was fine after I stretched later - doing a long run by trying to string together loops and meandering at the end makes it seem longer and kind of boring - next time I'll just do a giant loop or a big out-and-back - the only advantage is the stopping at the car to refuel - felt tired at the end (as I should) but nowhere near as tired as the long run two weeks ago.

Day Off

.....and on the nineteenth day I rested.

Morning Traffic on the Mesa

48 minutes
easy pace
5:40am - cool with some clouds around - same route as last night, but in reverse and without Yuri Pass - there were some clouds hangin' out today, especially on the eastern horizon - so instead of the sunrise being vivid and bright it was very colorful (pinks and oranges and magentas and yellows and reds and purples) but short-lived (all that color only lasted about ten minutes) - felt great this morning, but just went easy - lots of early morning traffic up there - saw 7 hikers and 6 runners, most of whom were with their dogs (where were these people a month or two ago in the ice and slop?) - this week I feel like I've stepped up to another level of fitness - want to do something long this weekend.

Mesa

48 minutes
easy to moderate pace (moderate up, easy on top and down)
5pm - sunny and warm - usual route home from work via the Mesa trail (including Yuri Pass) - felt zippy, but forced myself to go fairly easy - felt groggy before I headed out, but felt alert almost instantly when I started running - running is the cure for almost everything that ails me.

Mesa Sunrise

46 minutes
easy to moderate pace
5:40am - cool and clear - no shirt at sunrise (I love the warm weather) - same route as last night, but in reverse and without Yuri Pass - intended to go super easy today, but felt good and zipped right along - saw a big herd of mule deer up on the Yuri Pass saddle - the sun rose just as I got up to the Mesa trail - the plum blossoms are still smelling so good - smelled a skunk along fire road - feeling great.

Zippy on the Mesa

44 minutes
moderate pace
5pm - sunny and warm - usual route home from work (up 9th to Chautauqua, Mesa trail to Bear Creek Canyon, down fire road, Yuri Pass, Bear Mountain Park, and home) - gave it a pretty good effort today - felt great, but not super-great - just a little mud still hangin' around up there - I am loving this weather.....something about being warm and shirtless that just makes me feel zippy.

Rollie-Pollie

75 minutes
easy to moderate pace (closer to easy)
3:15pm - mostly sunny and very warm with clouds around - still had a little headache today and still feeling a bit tired, so I didn't push it today - same up-and-down loop as several recent weekends - lots of hikers out there - I don't think I've ever documented it, but this run always includes a hundred meter spur off of the Shadow Canyon trail to the top of the saddle where the old Mesa trail dives down to Eldorado Springs - I step on the lichen covered rock, stop the watch for a second, catch my breath, and take in the view before climbing the last bit up to the mouth of Shadow Canyon - it was right there where I got a little nauseous, but it passed (hope I'm not getting sick - I don't think so - probably just too much sun this weekend) - twice saw a couple of speed demons with CSU garb on running in the opposite direction - still quite a bit of mud in spots from the soaking rains earlier in the week; rather than tromp through I danced around it in most places - feeling good running-wise, but feeling kind of tired - just need to get used to the sun and heat.

Little Blue

34 minutes
easy pace
3:45pm - sunny and very warm - did a lot of yard work and got a lot of sun today, and I'm not used to either - so I was feeling tired and had a little headache - just did a short little easy thing today - ran the little Big Bluestem loop from the South Boulder Creek West trailhead - I love this little loop; I ran this thing all the time when I was coming back from my pelvis fracture, and it's still one of my favorite short runs - up the South Boulder Creek trail, north on the Mesa trail, then down lower Big Bluestem back to the TH - still felt tired when I was done, but felt a lot better than before the run - spring has sprung and the meadowlarks were singing their little warbley song.

Friday Family Run

57 minutes
easy pace
9:45am - sunny and warm - the whole family went running today - same run as last Friday - I pushed the running stroller and we all ran down the Bear Creek bike path to the confluence with Boulder Creek, then we turned around and came back up - the boy was awake for 10 minutes, then asleep for 35, then awake for the rest of the way home - he likes to see Mommy running in front of him.

More Mesa, More Mud

49 minutes
easy pace
6am - chilly (frosty) and clear - lovely sunrise this morning - ran the usual route into work (same route as last night, but in reverse) - we must have had more rain overnight because it was a little more muddy this morning - from above I could see the fog hanging around in some of the valleys with the sunrise above - I can't remember ever seeing Boulder so green as this week - on 9th St. I saw a couple of robins doing their mating ritual (fluttering and somersaulting and twirling though the air just a few feet off the ground) - feelin' good these days - it's almost May; almost time to start rockin' and rollin' - time to start movin' faster and goin' farther.

Muddy Mesa

48 minutes
easy to moderate pace
5pm - sun & clouds, cool, moist - usual route home from work via the Mesa Trail - we have had a ton of rain the past few days, so the trail was rather muddy (but not as sloppy as I expected) - because of the mud I did not do Yuri Pass today - the mud slowed things down a bit, but I was able to zip along pretty well most of the way - the cool, moist air felt great.

Another Rainy Tuesday Morning

24 minutes
easy pace
6am - cold and raining - this is the third Tuesday morning in a row that it has been raining and I have opted to just run straight up Broadway to work - it's probably a good thing as I've been a feeling a little tired and the easy short run was sort of a rest day - I was very wet when I got to downtown - glad I didn't wimp out though.

A Little Muddy on the Mesa

49 minutes
easy pace
5:20pm - cloudy, cool, just after a little rain shower - usual route home from work via the Mesa Trail - a rain shower had just passed through as I headed out - wet everywhere - it really smelled like spring out there, and those plum blossoms are still smelling great - not as muddy as I thought it would be, but I did not run Yuri Pass today (that trail has very clayey soil that sticks to your shoes - didn't want to carry ten pounds of mud along with me) - saw a small group of mule deer on the grassy slope south of Bear Canyon Creek and fire road - felt pretty tired today.

To Walker Via Eldorado

107 minutes
easy to moderate pace
2:15pm - hazy sunshine and clouds, cool - headed out from the Eldorado Mountain TH, up the Fowler into Eldorado Canyon State Park, once at the Visitor's Center I headed west up the Eldorado Canyon Trail - got to the trail's high point at about 45 minutes - here I had a decision to make: 1) turn around or 2) keep going west, descending the hill to the junction with the Walker Ranch loop, then turn around - I kept going - down the hill to Walker Ranch (that little section - from the high point down to Walker - was new to my feet; never been on that section before) - turned around at 53 minutes and immediately felt very tired - climbed back up the Eldorado Canyon Trail, then down the east side back to the Visitor's Center - at this point I was not only damn tired but I was starting to bonk - I was getting the chills and was fantasizing about cold beers (like a Raspberry Wheat beer from Southern Sun) - just concentrated and plugged along the Fowler back to the TH - ended up not completely bonked, but about half way to a nasty bonk - should have eaten a bigger lunch and/or brought some energy gels with me - had a Coke and some of Nee's famous fried rice when I got home and felt just fine - gotta do more of these hilly long runs (and eat more) so they don't seem so tough - beautiful day, beautiful run.

Rollie-Pollie

71 minutes
moderate pace
1:45pm - cloudy and a little cool - same little loop that I have done a lot recently (start from the base of Shanahan Ridge, over to the Big Bluestem valley, up the remainder of the lower Big Bluestem, down the Mesa Trail, up the Towhee to the mouth of Shadow Canyon, last-chance-back-to-the-Mesa-Trail to the Mesa, Mesa north to North Shan, up to the Slab, down Fern Canyon to the Mesa, Mesa Trail south to North Shan, down North Shan to the TH) - this time there was not much mud though - I was very unmotivated before starting, then for the first two miles I just felt like stopping and walking back - I just felt exhausted and uninspired - but I decided to climb the hill (Towhee Trail) and see how I felt - I ended up feeling pretty fantastic - I was happy with my time, but it's tough to compare as the other times I did this run I was dealing with either snow & ice or mud - very light mist fell on me as I came down the North Shanahan Trail - so glad I stuck with it today.

Family Run

55 minutes
easy pace
11:45am - sunny and warm - the whole family ran down and up the Bear Creek Bike Path - we loaded up the boy in the baby jogger (can we call it the "baby runner"?) and ran down the Bear Creek Bike Path to the confluence with Boulder Creek, then we turned around and headed back up - he's an expert at this now as mommy and he do this a couple of times a week, but this was my first time pushing the "baby runner" - it's different because I couldn't swing my arms like in normal running, and my arms got a little bit tired from pushing the thing - the boy was awake for most of the trip out, and was completely zonked out for the trip home - a fun little family adventure.

Morning Mesa

47 minutes
easy pace
6am - same route as last night, but without Yuri Pass - beautiful sunrise this morning; not a lot of colors, but a nice, bright ball of hydrogen popping up over the horizon - that hour (sunrise) is the best for the Mesa Trail - felt good - feeling fired up to something a little longer this weekend.

Mesa

47 minutes
easy pace
5pm - warm and sunny - usual commuter route from work to home via the Mesa Trail - felt a little blah on the climb but ended up feeling pretty good - lots of runners out there today - late April and May are when I see the most runners out there - once the Bolder Boulder has been run a lot of them fade away - plum blooms still smell great.

Rainy Broadway

26 minutes
easy pace
6am - light rain - pre-dawn - pretty wet out there, so I just ran straight in along the Broadway bike path - very slow and mellow - barely even breathing - wanted more when I got to work.

Plum Blossoms Along the Mesa

48 minutes
easy pace
5pm - cloudy & cool - standard commuter route home from work (up 9th to Chautauqua, Mesa Trail to Bear Creek Canyon fire road, over Yuri Pass, Bear Mountain Park, and home) - nice and easy today - just enjoying the beautiful afternoon - the plum blooms near Chautauqua and along Bear Creek (as well as in out front yard) smell so good - one of my favorite smells of spring - looked like it wanted to rain, but only a few drops fell on me.

Day Off

just lazy today

Marshall Mesa

50 minutes
easy pace
late afternoon - sunny and warm - parked at the new Marshall Mesa TH, ran east on Marshall Valley to the old TH, out to the road, back west along the road to Cherryvale, Cheryvale to the old schoolhouse, hit the little Davidson Mesa singletrack, across the dry ditch, up and over Davidson Mesa, down the southeast side, crossed Hwy. 128, west along the old railroad grade back to the old TH, up Marshall Mesa trail, up to Greenbelt Plateau, west to Hwy. 93, down Coal Seam trail to the TH - great little loop; I really like the location of the new TH and the two new trails they have made - felt good - spectacular views of Longs Peak and Indian Peaks - beautiful day.

Rest Day

the nasty weather never came, but I still didn't get out there.

From Home to Work

50 minutes
easy pace
6am - clear and cold - same route as last night, but in reverse and without Yuri Pass - heard an owl hooting in the neighborhood - saw a mule deer silhouetted against the morning sky on the little knoll between Yuri Pass and Bear Creek - the sun greeted me today - finally my morning run to work has some sunshine - and what a beautiful sunrise it was - felt a little zombie-esque when I left the house, but ended up feeling great - fingers were pretty cold this morning.

From Work to Home

48 minutes
easy pace
5:15pm - sunny and chilly - usual commuter route home from work via the Mesa Trail - the sun was shining, but it was quite chilly in the shadow along the Mesa Trail - felt pretty good - just took it easy.

Rain on Broadway

27 minutes
6am - rainy and fairly dark - the rain had mostly stopped by the time I got out, but it was still wet (too freshly wet for trails) - just ran very easy up B-Way to work - had to duck into a building on the CU campus for a digestive emergency - felt a lot better after the pit stop - super-super mellow - just a little jog today.

Back At It

48 minutes
easy pace
5:15pm - mostly sunny and a bit chilly - a little muddy from the weekend moisture - felt heavy and rusty today (those rest days just kill me) - but ended up feeling pretty good by the end of the run - ran the standard commuter route home from work (up 9th to Chautauqua, Mesa Trail, Bear Creek Canyon Trail, Yuri Pass, Bear Mountain Park, and home).

Rest Day # 3

I could have (should have) run today - in the afternoon the snow and ice melted away - woulda-shoulda-coulda.

Rest Day #2

thick coating of ice everywhere - another day to chill out.

Rest Day #1

freezing rain with a little coating of ice everywhere - I'm staying in.

Morning on the Mesa

51 minutes
easy pace
6am - cloudy and chilly - same route as last night (without Yuri Pass), but in reverse - it was a little darker today than on Tuesday due to the cloud cover, but I still had enough light to see where I was putting my feet - no spectacular pre-sunrise colors either - just a gray morning - the twinkling city lights always look sort of neat though - saw a large herd of mule deer just south of Chautauqua - super mellow, just goin' easy this morning.

Feelin' Good on the Mesa

44 minutes
moderate pace
5:15pm - cloudy and a little chilly - usual commuter route home via the Mesa Trail (including Yuri Pass) - gave it a little harder effort on the climb, then just kept zippin' along - feelin' quite good today.

Moon Over Bear Canyon

50 minutes
easy pace
6am - clear and chilly - ran the same route as last night, but in reverse (and without Yuri Pass) - as I left the house the big, fat full moon was setting in Bear Canyon, perfectly framed by Bear Peak on the left and Green Mountain on the right - as I made it up to the Mesa Trail the pinks and oranges were doing their thing over the eastern horizon - what a beautiful morning; I love the crisp morning air - just goin' easy - it's hard to do anything more than go easy at that hour with nothing but a little coffee in my belly - felt great.

Via the Mesa

47 minutes
easy to moderate pace
5:15pm - sunny and warm - usual commuter route home via the Mesa Trail (from downtown, up 9th to Chautauqua, Mesa Trail, down Bear Creek Canyon Trail, Yuri Pass, Bear Mountain Park, and home) - fely pretty good, but compared to the last few days I was fairly sluggish - the sun was feeling quite hot on the climb.

Fowler

34 minutes
easy to moderate pace
8:45am - sunny, chilly in the shade - just a short little run today - parked at the Eldorado Mountain TH, ran the Fowler to the Eldorado Canyon State Park visitor's center, turned around and came back - only a few tourists on the trail today - felt great.

Rollie-Pollie

77 minutes
easy to moderate pace, but easy effort
11am - warm and sunny - ran the same loop as the last couple of weekends (from the base of Shanahan Ridge, over to Big Bluestem, down the Mesa to the Towhee, up Tohee to the mouth of Shadow Canyon, last-chance-back-to-the-Mesa-Trail, north on the Mesa Trail to North Shan, up to the Slab, down lower Fern Canyon Trail, Mesa back up to North Shan, North Shan down to the TH) - only a little slushy snow left over from our last little snow, but the big snow and ice fields from winter are now gone (a lot of mud is still hangin' around though) - today would have been a great day for a race because I felt unbelievably good - everything was effortless today, just zippin' up the hills like they were nothing - I saw more trail runners today than ever this year (must have seen 20 of 'em) - great run.

Blue Shan

40 minutes
easy pace
11am - warm and sunny - parked at the base of Shanahan Ridge - ran over to the Big Bluestem valley, up upper Big Bluestem, north on the Mesa Trail, down North Shanahan trail to the TH - some sticky mud on Big Blue - felt pretty good.

Wet Flakes on B-way

24 minutes
easy pace
6:15am - dark, chilly, with wet snow falling - snowing but not sticking to the bike path (just the grass and dirt) - feeling a bit wimpy today - after all of the nice weather it's difficult to embrace the cold and wet again - just ran easy, straight up the Broadway bike path into work this morning - once I was into the run and feeling good I sort of wished I had taken a longer route in, but once downtown I was fine with the little run.

Ice-Free Mesa

48 minutes
easy pace
5pm - sunny and a little cool - felt like I was taking it easy today, but my time wasn't too slow - felt good - this is the first time since our December/January snowstorms that this route has been completely free of snow and ice - still some snow visible up in the trees, but the trail itself is dry - just a mellow little easy run home from work today.

Bike Paths without the Bike

39 minutes
easy pace
6am - cool and dark - did my typical run-into-work-on-the-bike-paths-because-it's-too-dark-to-hit-the-trail route (down Bear Creek bike path to the confluence with Boulder Creek, then up the Boulder Creek bike path to downtown Boulder) - saw a few runners out there, and a few walkers, but I mostly saw tons of little bunnies darting across the path - it felt great to be out there early this morning.

Big Blue

32 minutes
easy to moderate pace
5:30pm - cool and cloudy - just did the little Big Bluestem loop from the South Boulder Creek (West) TH (up South Boulder Creek trail to the Mesa trail, then down the lower Big Bluestem trail) - climbed the hill at moderate pace and came down pretty mellow - felt pretty good - (someday I need to bust out a sub-30 on this thing - it will be fairly easy - I just need to do it).

'Round the Res'

44 minutes
easy pace
10am - warm and sunny - parked at Coot Lake TH - when I arrived Mark Wetmore was sitting on a park bench looking mellow - as I was getting dressed his runners started to return to the TH from their longish run (I heard one of them say "1:42 - I'm gonna go three more minutes") - after starting out too quickly (4 cups of coffee will do that), I settled into a mellow little counter-clockwise loop of Coot Lake and Boulder Reservoir - only felt so-so today (those rest days just kill me - plus I think I was a little dehydrated) - the sun felt very hot today.

Rainin' and Restin'

I really wish I had not taken yesterday off, because today it is 39 degrees with steady rain - no way I'm goin' out there today.

Day Off

Hangin' out with the boy today.

Zombie-esque on B-Way

24 minutes
easy pace
6:15am - pretty dark and cool - felt like I woke from the dead this morning and was not feeling much more awake when I left the house - so, I decided to just run straight up Broadway into work - a very mellow shuffle on the concrete bike path - maybe it's good to rest my legs a bit as I intend to not be lazy and actually get out there this weekend.

Feelin' Zippy on the Mesa

46 minutes
easy to moderate pace
5pm - warm with filtered sunshine - usual trail route home from work - went a touch faster than a comfortable pace up the hill, then went at closer to a moderate pace on the Mesa Trail and the downhill - legs felt a little tired, but felt pretty good and zippy - it's amazing how much faster dry trail is compared to snow and ice (even though I love the snow and ice) - and it really smelled like spring out there.

Bike Paths in the Dark

40 minutes
easy pace
5:50am - dark and cool - just an easy trot to work on the concrete bike paths (Bear Creek path to Boulder Creek path to downtown) - starting to see a lot more runners out early (saw the runner dude with the headlamp again) - it's hard to motivate myself to get up and out at that early hour, but once I'm two minutes into the run I'm thrilled to be out there - can't wait for just a little more light (or some snowfall) so I can resume running on the trails in the morning - it's just a little too dark still - felt good today.

Home on the Mesa

47 minutes
easy to moderate pace
5pm - sunny and quite warm - usual commuter route home from work (up 9th to Chautauqua, Mesa Trail south to Bear Creek Canyon fire road, down fire road, Bear Mountain Park, and home) - turned it on a bit on the Mesa and the downhill, but still kept a lid on it - felt a little tired, but felt good.

Another Rollie-Pollie

81 minutes
easy pace
7am - sunny and getting warm - same up-and-down loop as last weekend - as I was cruising up the Big Bluestem trail the sun peeked up over Marshall Mesa - then I saw a few mule deer in the sunlight on a steep slope west of the trail - felt great this morning - ran this a few minutes faster than last week, but it felt like I was running easier than last week (I guess I felt better today, but also there was less snow and ice to fight through) - there are still a few snow fields up in the trees on north sides (and a couple of them are still big and deep) - felt awesome - ended the run wanting to go farther.

Rest Day

Day Off

Straight On In

25 minutes
easy pace
6am - dark and somewhat chilly - woke up this morning feeling like a zombie, so motivation was quite low - just ran straight in along the Broadway bike path - my legs have been feeling a little tired this week, so maybe this is a good rest for them - looking to go longer this weekend.

Mesa Commute

48 minutes
easy pace
5pm - warm with sun and clouds - usual commute run home from work via the Mesa Trail - only a couple of big snow fields left on the north sides - otherwise it's a dry trail, so the runs are getting a little speedier - felt great.

Bike Paths

43 minutes
easy pace
6am - dark but warm - I had planned on doing the usual Mesa Trail route to get into work, but with the time change it's seriously dark at 6am - so, I just ran the Bear Creek bike path down to the confluence with Boulder Creek, then up the Boulder Creek bike path to downtown - lots of concrete, but at least I could see where I was going - some runner dude passed me huffin' and puffin' wearing a headlamp - I guess it will be a couple of weeks before I can get up on a trail at this hour (unless we get some snow, which will reflect the light and light up the whole forest).

Side Trip to Woods Quarry

56 minutes
easy pace
5pm - warm and sunny - ran home from work via the usual commuter route on the Mesa Trail, but I also did a little side trip up to Woods Quarry - sat on a flagstone chair for a few seconds, then continued on home - that extra hour of light in the afternoon really helps.

Rollie-Pollie

84 minutes
easy to moderate pace
2pm - sunny and warm - did some up and down today - parked at the base of Shanahan Ridge (off Lehigh), ran out to the Big Bluestem, down the Mesa, up the Towhee to the mouth of Shadow Canyon, last-chance-back-to-the-Mesa trail, Mesa trail north to the North Shan trail, up to the Slab, down to Fern Canyon trail, Mesa trail back up to the North Shan, down North Shan to the TH - great little loop - felt fantastic - these warm temperatures are pretty nice - I think I'm done with winter now - now that the trails are mostly dry, I want them to stay that way - still some big snowfields up there, and the cool air was so nice running across them - Fern Canyon was also very chilly - great run today.

Dinkin' Around Again

40 minutes
easy pace
2pm - warm and sunny - same route as yesterday (planning on going longer tomorrow) - ran this loop in the same time as yesterday, but did it with less effort today; just felt better today.

Dink-Around Loop

40 minutes
easy pace
noon - somewhat chilly, sunshine filtered through high clouds - just did the little dink-around loop from the house (down church trail, east side of NOAA/NIST property, up King Ave., Four Pines TH, behind the cemetery, up lower Skunk, down telephone road, behind the houses, then into the neighborhood, Bear Mountain Park, and home) - just takin' it easy today.

Bogus Bear Scare

53 minutes
easy pace
5:40 am - still quite warm, high clouds, pre-dawn light on the horizon - retraced my steps from last night (without Yuri Pass) - not nearly as much mud as last night - another week of this weather and the trail will be dry - had a little scare this morning: after crossing the little wooden bridge over Skunk Creek I thought I saw a bear cub on the trail about 50 meters in front of me (and where there are bear cubs there are usually big bad mama bears) - I froze in place and thought about alternate routes - suddenly it started coming toward me - my heart stopped for a split second, but just then a runner came around the corner with the big black dog - that's all it was, just a big black dog - sure got my blood pumpin' though for a minute or two - feels great to run again after all the laziness.

Muddy Mesa

51 minutes
easy pace
5pm - very warm - felt good to get back to running - ran home via the usual commuter route (up 9th to Chautauqua, Mesa Trail to Bear Canyon, down fire road, Yuri Pass, Bear Mountain Park, and home) - lots of mud out there, and the ice is muddy and not too slick - felt great.

Another Off Day

got home and wanted to chill with the boy - it's been a lazy week; that's plenty of rest and laziness for a while - gotta get back into it.

Didn't Happen

got stuck at work late, and the run just never happened

Hangin' at Home

stayed home and hung out with the boy today

Blue Shan

45 minutes
easy pace
3pm-ish, warm, sunny - parked at the base of Shanahan Ridge (off Lehigh), ran out to the Big Bluestem, up the Upper Big Bluestem to the Mesa, north on the Mesa Trail, down the North Shanahan Trail - mostly slushy snow in the trees, and mostly mud in the sun - felt good - the knee is fine (just sore and scabby).

Day Off

feelin' lazy

Straight In

26 minutes
easy pace
6am - cold, clear, and windy, with blowing and drifting snow - didn't really feel like fighting the wind and the snow drifts on the trail, so I just came straight in on the Broadway bike path - after only two minutes (on Table Mesa bike path) I slipped on some black ice underneath some drifted snow, landed squarely on the concrete with my left kneecap - that was some good pain for a few minutes, but I ran it off - a lot of ice on that path, so i just ran very mellow - once I got to work I realized that I drew a little blood and ripped my tights a tiny bit - it will be sore, but no real damage done - not the most thrilling or lengthy run today, but at least I got something in - feelin' good.

More Snow on the Mesa

57 minutes
easy pace
5pm - cold and clearing - more snow fell during the day today - in general there were about 6 inches of powder on the trail, but certain sections had over 10 inches - took the usual route home from work, including Yuri Pass - took a good spill in the trees behind NCAR, but where I fell was so slick that I just kept sliding; I was fine, but totally sprawled out on the trail - I'm glad we're back to winter; if it's going to be cold, and if it's going to be even a little icy, then why not go all in and just have snow everywhere - felt great.

Darkness and Ice

56 minutes
easy pace
5:45 am - dark, clear, and chilly - back into work via the usual route (no Yuri in the dark though) - feelin' pretty good these days, and used to the early morning thing - slow going in the dark and ice, but once I crossed Skunk Creek there was enough light to move a little faster.

Home on the Mesa

50 minutes
easy pace
5pm - clear and cool - usual route home from work (up 9th to Chautauqua, Mesa Trail to Bear Creek fire road, Yuri Pass, Bear Mountain Park, and home) - movin' right along today and feelin' zippy; amazing how much faster dry ground is compared to snowpack - less ice all the time, but the remaining ice is glassy and super slick; did a lot of bypassing the ice by just finding dry forest floor off the side of the trail - rolled left ankle coming off Yuri; not too bad though - felt great.

Day Off

got lazy

on quarry land

73 minutes
easy pace
midday - sunny and breezy - they said there would be 2-5 inches of snow today, but I ran with sun and blue skies - parked at the Eldorado Mountain TH, took the little singletrack up the first valley to the left, crossed the aqueduct, and hit the old fire road west of the siphon - saw a ton of snow mold on the new mulch back there - at the gate went across the creek, hopped the fence, and explored around a bit on private land (owned by the quarry?) - found a huge section of the uplifted ancient sea bed (like down near the trailhead), found an old mine with little elevated rails coming out of it, and saw the biggest group of ptarmigans I've ever seen (there must have been a hundred of them) - scrambled straight upslope for a beautiful view of Rocky Flats, Table Mountain, and Denver - turned around and came back the same way - meant to go longer, but ended up back near the TH and didn't feel like doing any extra - felt a little groggy on the way out, but felt good coming home.

Mesa to Downtown

56 minutes
easy pace
5:45 am - dark, clear, and chilly - back to work from home retracing my steps from last night (without Yuri Pass) - getting used to these pre-sunrise, dark trail runs - I was not motivated at all today, but once I was up on the trail I was glad I made it out - the packed snow is now ice, and very glassy and slick ice - I had a few close calls slipping on the ice, but saved myself each time without even having to dab with my hands - feeling good and looking forward to something a bit longer this weekend.

Home on the Mesa

53 minutes
easy pace
5pm - clear, fairly warm - ran home from work on the typical commuter route (up 9th to Chautauqua, south on the Mesa Trail, east on Bear Creek Canyon fire road, Bear Mountain Park, and home) - every day there is more and more dry trail to run on, but the snow patches in the trees are getting packed down and glazed up (pretty much like ice) - felt good.

Mesa to Work

58 minutes
easy pace
5:45 am - still warm, dark and clear - back into work via the standard commuter route (reverse of last night) - mellow run into work - half asleep, just shuffling along in the trees and snowpack - a skunk darted across the trail in front of me on fire road - most of the mud was frozen - beautiful pre-sunrise colors on the horizon this morning - felt great after the run.

Mesa to Home

53 minutes
easy pace
5 pm - pretty warm and clear, but windy - ran home from work via the standard commuter route - plenty of snowpack in the trees, but other exposed spots are now dry and fast - it feels strange to run on dry dirt - felt pretty zippy tonight, but just kept movin' along at a mellow pace - took most of the run to skake off yesterday's rest day; those off days are killers - felt great once up the hill.

Day Off

just laziness

Rocky Mountain

66 minutes
easy pace
2pm-ish - sunny, breezy, warm - ran with Nee' today in Rocky Mountain National Park - headed out from the trailhead off Highway 66, about a mile from our Estes Park cabin - ran the snowpack into the park, under the road to Bear Lake, and up toward Moraine Park in the trees along the south edge of Moraine Park - lots of post-hole making in those trees at a bit higher elevation - turned around near a huge herd of Elk in Moraine Park - could really feel the elevation over the first mile - Nee' drove the car back and let me run back to the cabin on the highway.

E/F in a Little Powder

62 minutes
easy pace
10:30 am, chilly, sunny, 2-3 inches of fresh powder on the trail - a very mellow trot up to the Mesa in the fresh snow - resisted the urge to go harder.

Rest Day

lazy, lazy

Broadway

26 minutes
easy pace
6 am - dark and cold (4 degrees) - feeling a bit lazy and wimpy today, so I ran into work from home via the most direct route: straight down the Broadway bike path - light snow on the pavement, but not too slick - just trotted along mellow - my fingertips never really warmed up this morning.

More Snow on the Mesa

59 minutes
easy pace
5 pm - light snow and chilly - ran home via the usual commuter route - snow was ending and clouds were thinning as I reached Chautauqua - snow-covered flatirons were lovely - 2-3 inches of new snow on the trail - it was a bit slippery - I had three near misses were I thought I was going to hit the ground hard, but saved myself every time - spooked a herd of mule deer near fire road; a few scurried down the slope while most stood motionless ten feet above the trail until I ran by - nice and easy run in the light powder.

Morning Mesa

60 minutes
easy pace
5:45 am - chilly, foggy, light snow, and dark - ran back into work via the same route as last night, in reverse - the early hour and the fog combined to make this the darkest run I've done in a long time - I was moving pretty slowly on the Mesa Trail because I really couldn't see the trail well at all - plus the trace of snow on the trail made it tough to judge how slippery it was - just took it very easy, enjoying the crisp morning air and the quiet - saw no people up there this morning - feelin' good.

Evening Mesa

57 minutes
easy pace
5 pm - chilly, humid, very foggy - ran home from work via the standard commute route (up 9th to Chautauqua, Mesa Trail to Bear Creek Canyon fire road, Bear Mountain Park, and home) - the fog was very thick and it made the woods feel more isolated - the frozen post-holes were tough to navigate - more and more long stretches of open trail every day where I can actually run - very mellow, nice and easy.

Rest Day

just feelin' lazy

Buffalo Ranch

41 minutes
easy pace
8 am - foggy, chilly - trotted around the CU cross country course with SR/OG - we did two of the big, full-perimeter loops (including two trips over Jawbone Hill) - nice and easy - most of the trails were frozen mud - I'm sure SR/OG wondered about the Buffs home course; now he's seen it with his feet.

Shanahan with SR/OG

55 minutes
easy pace
11 am - started out in the chilly fog, but climbed up above it into the sunshine - headed out from the base of Shanahan (on Lehigh), up the central singletrack to mid-Shan, then up South Shan to the Mesa Trail, Mesa north to North Shan, down North Shan to the trailhead - trail conditions were all types and the frozen post-holes were like a mine field - I think SR/OG enjoyed being up in the trees, but I doubt he enjoyed the trail conditions - descended back into the fog to end the run.

AM Meander in Ice Fog

39 minutes
easy pace
5:45 am - chilly with ice fog (felt like micro-snow in the face) - super chill little run from the house this morning - did my standard dink-around loop, but, rather than going up Skunk and down telphone road, I came home along the southern edge of the NOAA property and back up church trail - heading out I slipped on some black ice in the church trail parking lot (hit the pavement pretty hard and sort of jammed my wrist - hurt for about 10 minutes) - behind the cemetery (on the side of Kohler Mesa) I heard a pack of coyotes below me (on the western edge of NIST property along Skunk Creek); they were yelpin' and yipin' about something for a couple of minutes - felt like I wasn't really awake yet this morning, but felt pretty good.

Mesa Trail Commute

56 minutes
easy to moderate pace
5 pm - cool and calm - ran home from work via my normal commuting route on the Mesa Trail - the snow was still soft, but much firmer than the last two days - not as much mud - it's pretty difficult to run easy in that soft snow; it simply takes a little more effort to get through it - felt a little tired tonight, but mostly felt good.

Dawn on the Mesa

60 minutes
easy to moderate pace
6 am - still warm out there (pushin' 50 degrees) - ran into work retracing my steps from last night's run - a lot of ice had glazed up on the trail, but the packed snow was even softer than yesterday - my feet were punching through it, sometimes up to mid-shin - I usually had a choice between ice or very soft snow - pretty slow-goin' today - I was off the Mesa Trail before the actual sunrise, but there were some beautiful pre-sunrise colors hangin' out above Denver and the horizon.

Soft Snow on the Mesa

54 minutes
easy to moderate pace
5 pm - dusk - very warm today in Boulder (60 degrees with snow melting everywhere), and it was still close to 50 when I set out - ran home from work via my usual commuter route (up 9th to Chautauqua, up the Mesa Trail, down Bear Creek Canyon fire road, Bear Mountain Park, and home) - the snow on the trail was very soft and my feet often would post-hole a foot down into it - very muddy on the south-facing slopes, but still a lot of snow in the trees - felt strong tonight.

Short Little Blue

39 minutes
easy to moderate pace
2 pm - filtered sun through the clouds - windy (but nothing compared to yesterday) - just a short little Big Bluestem loop - after yesterday's "run" I wanted something super mellow today - parked at the South Boulder Creek (West) TH - ran up South Boulder Creek Trail, then down Big Bluestem Trail - the wind and sun have been eating away a lot of snow - trail conditions were a variety (damp earth, mud, slush, packed snow, ice) - climbing up with the headwind it was mostly soft-packed snow with slush on top, coming down with the tailwind it was mostly damp earth with some mud - once past the corral (almost back to the trailhead) I descended into a foggy pocket of air that was at least 10 to 15 degrees colder than above (there the snow was crunchy and firm) - felt a little tired today.

Windy and Deep

85 minutes
easy to hard effort
10:15 am - sunny and crazy windy - wow - today was quite the experience - from the house, headed up through Bear Mountain Park, up fire road, south on the Mesa Trail to South Shanahan Trail, turned around and back the same way - with the sunshine it felt pretty warm, but the wind was wild - some parts of the trail (especially fire road) were completely exposed, but the wind was moving the snow to other places - once south of the Fern Canyon Trail on the Mesa I was breaking trail though deep snow - in some spots the drifts (more like filled-in gullies) were up to my hips - it was a ton of work, but a total blast - if I didn't know the Mesa Trail so well it would have been very easy to get far off the trail - turned around at the junction with the South Shanahan Trail at 48:30, and immediately I was re-breaking trail (the wind was covering up my footprints that quickly) - coming down through all of that snow was super fun (sliding and shoe-skiing, plunging deep into the snow and falling face first into it) - I was pretty tired when I got home - I probably would have been better off on skis today, but that would have just been a fun ski - today was an adventure!

Cold Dink-Around Loop

43 minutes
easy to moderate pace
9:30 am - sunny, cold, light breeze - another 2-3 inches of snow fell yesterday afternoon - did my standard from-the-house, short, dink-around-loop (about half road and half trail) - I started out quickly to stay warm, and I was really movin' on the Broadway bike path, but it felt almost effortless - once on the trail it was more like trompin' and slidin' and a lot more work - felt very good - just something short today - maybe I'll go longer tomorrow.

AM Mesa

56 minutes
easy pace
7 am - very cold, sun and clouds - ran back into work this morning via the same route as last night, in reverse - zero degrees when I left the house - my body felt warm by the time I got to fire road - Shanahan Ridge obstructed my view of the sunrise, but it was beautiful to see the sunlight light up Bear Peak...then I watched the sun line drop down to put a red glow on the entire mountain - by the time I got up to the Mesa Trail the sun was behind a cloud, so I never felt it's warming rays - only about a half inch of new powder fell since last night's run - felt great.

Snowy Mesa Trail

60 minutes
easy to moderate pace
5 pm - cold with light snow - ran home from work via the same route as Monday - only this time I left a half an hour earlier and had more light to work with, and 3-4 inches of fresh powder covered the trail - it was a little harder climbing with the snow on the ground - I could just barely see the flatirons through the snowflakes and clouds (beautiful) - the snow cover made the ice underneath a little less treacherous - saw four mule deer ascending a steep slope west of NCAR - the long climb took a bit longer, but seemed much shorter today - feelin' good - really starting to enjoy this winter snowy weather - Boulder feels like a ski town this winter.

Bike Paths into Work

45 minutes
easy pace
5 am, cold & dark - the moon that helped me last night was far beneath the horizon - ran down the Bear Creek bike path to Boulder Creek, then up the Boulder Creek bike path to downtown, then 13th to Pearl - it was a lot of concrete, but I wanted to keep it flat since I had just run 12 hours earlier - the whole way I only saw one woman walking her dog (he had a glow-in-the-dark collar!) and one runner - the partially frozen cascades of Boulder Creek were neat to see - felt a little tired, but the crisp morning air felt great - everything was so quiet at that early hour.

Moonlight Mesa

57 minutes
easy to moderate pace
5:30 pm, pretty cold, slight breeze, dark - ran home from work (Pearl Street Mall) - west on Walnut, south up 9th to Chautauqua, up the Mesa Trail, down Bear Creek Canyon fire road (no Yuri today), Bear Mountain Park, and home - when I left it was dusk/twilight, but by the time I got to Chautauqua it was dark - but the snow and the moon helped me see where I was putting my feet - I didn't realize how bright the moon was until I got into the trees, where it was much more difficult to differentiate between packed snow and ice (sometimes I had to slow down to just a shuffle) - it was a long 25 minute climb up 9th and the Mesa onto Kohler Mesa, but I was rewarded with serene solitude and beauty - the city lights almost looked beautiful from above - the pace was pretty mellow, but the long climb and my inability to completely relax on the snow and ice in the dark made the effort a bit tougher - so beautiful and peaceful - had a great time.

Shan-Blue-Slab

56 minutes
easy pace (but moderate effort)
1:30 pm, a bit chilly but sunny, breezy - parked at the base of Shanahan Ridge (on Lehigh), ran East Shan out to Big Bluestem, up Upper Big Blue, north on the Mesa to North Shan junction, west to "the Slab" (touched the slab), then down North Shan to the trailhead - Lower Blue was muddy as the wind had eaten away the snow (and it was still howlin' on that open section of trail), but once I got into the trees on Upper Blue the trail was mostly snowpack - but the sun and wind had really softened the snow, thus the moderate effort for an easy pace (not a very efficient transfer of energy) - occasionally a my shoe would post-hole into the snow, but my body was still moving forward creating a slightly painful rip-the-foot-out-of-the-snow-hole-ankle-tweak - I took one little spill (I don't even know what happened - suddenly my kneecaps were slamming into the ground - fortunately on soft snow, not Rocky Mountain rock) - the trail up to the Slab was a lot of work (still a lot of soft snow that was not as well traveled and packed) - once I turned around at the Slab it was all down, down, down - mostly running, with a little sliding / shoe skiing mixed in - super fun - feeling damn good - my fitness isn't as horrible as I thought - it's only January, so I'll be fine by April (but I hardly ever race - I'm not trying to achieve anything other than feeling great).

E/F in the Pow-Pow

60 minutes
easy pace
We woke up to yet more snow today. Headed out at about 11:30 am in 4 or 5 inches of fluffy powder. Did the standard E/F loop from the house (down church trail, west along the southern edge of NOAA/NIST property, Fed service road up onto Kohler Mesa, crossed Enchanted Mesa trail, continued to the Mesa trail, Mesa to Bear Creek fire road, down fire road, up and over Yuri Pass, Bear Mountain Park, and home). Still snowing when I left, encountered some hikers, a couple snowshoers, several XC skiers, but most of the peeps out there were runners. Mesa Trail was packed powder - had seen a good amount of traffic in the snow today. Once at Bear Creek, snow stopped, sun showed itself, and I had sunshine from Yuri Pass to home. Beautiful up there today.

Dink-Around Loop

42 minutes
easy pace
After about 10 days off with a nasty cold I did my typical dink-around not-too-hilly loop from the house (down church trail, in front of the NOAA/NIST property along B-way, King Ave., Four Pines, behind the cemetery, up Skunk, down telephone road, behind the houses, Bear Mountain Park, and home). Just nice and easy today - trying to get back into it. It felt so good to be back out there, even if I was hacking up a ton of gunk from being sick. Started with the long-sleeved shirt but ended up running with no shirt - just long shorts, hat, and gloves. The sun makes a big difference. Still a lot of snow on the north sides - and quite muddy where the earth was exposed.

---Hiatus (from blogging)---

OK folks, back at the blogging here. What's been happening during this hiatus? I have been running, but not every day - not even close. The big news is that our little boy was born in September. I won't say much about it here - there's another blog for that - but he's great, and I hope I can stay in shape enough to hang with him until he stomps me into oblivion when he's in high school. I've been running about three to four days a week, but there have been several weeks thrown in there with no running at all. I've been at it enough to keep from gaining weight or getting too soft, but my fitness is a couple of levels below where it was before. Things are now finally settling down to the point where I can see myself trying to run most days. We'll see how it goes. I am very motivated to be fast and mean come summer. So off we go...