10/29 - 11/4

Mon: 8 mi (:57, 1,000') Betasso Preserve
This singletrack loop in the mountains west of Boulder has piqued my interest as of late, so I popped over there in the afternoon. While offering mild vertical, it's generally smooth, flat singletrack that encourages plenty of full-stride running. Really a blast to zip through the contouring trail in a mix of forest and view-yielding mountain meadows.

Tue: Off

Wed: Off

Thu: 5 mi (1:03, 1,300') Flagstaff Mountain
Started from Chautauqua parking lot and took Baseline trail to Flagstaff Rd, which I ran to the top. Came back down Gregory Canyon. Obviously, the road is not very steep at all in comparison to the trail, but I feel it offers a nice warm up to bigger, more legitimate climbing later in the week. Caught a spectacular orange and purple sunrise in low-lying clouds on the way up.

Fri: 10 mi (1:31) Bobolink from work
Jogged 15 minutes from work to the trailhead where I met Mehri to run Bobolink. Ran really slow from the trailhead to where Mehri turned around (~3 miles), after which point I bumped up the pace a little bit, but nothing serious. Sunset was nice.

Sat: 4.4 mi (1:11, 2,400') Green Mountain
Up Amphitheater/Saddle Rock/Greenman. Hit the summit in :45. I started out way too fast up Amphi and subsequently blew up after the first view on Saddle Rock. Stopped at the SR/Greenman junction to regroup. Ran the flatter stuff on Greenman and power hiked the rest, which felt totally exhausting. The top was crammed with the usual Saturday morning hiking crowd, so I didn't linger and immediately came back down. Might need to do some strength training in the quads as my knees felt pretty banged up afterwards. 60th summit of Green.

Sun: 10 mi (2:28, 3,500') Bear Peak & Mesa Trail
I initially intended to run Mesa to Eldo and run Rattlesnake Gulch like last week, but by the time I got to South Shanahan junction, lack of inspiration had the last say. I turned around and went up Fern Canyon to tag Bear Peak. Windy above the saddle, but warm and clear skies otherwise. Great choice.

Totals:
Miles: 37.4
Vert: 8,200'
Time: 7:12

Although I enjoy the mix of different running styles I've been incorporating over the last month or so, the lack of serious climbing has left me feeling pretty weak in the quads, which I believe has been affecting my knees on the descents. While I really wanted to build up mileage this Winter, strength training might need to be the priority. I'll probably focus on power hiking more of the local peaks and, dare I say, doing some lunges.