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.