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.