I'd had the good fortune of meeting a runner named Kendrick at the coffee shop last weekend, who was from Boulder. We exchanged information such that we could get in touch next time he was up here or if I headed down there. As it turned out, he was lacing up as we were arriving and I was beyond ready to stretch out my legs after well over two hours in the car. We headed up from Settlers Park, by Kendrick's house, where we crossed the summit of Flagstaff Mountain en route to Green Mountain.
I was tickled to death with the work the city of Boulder does to provide effective, enjoyable mountain-oriented recreation to the people of the city. These trails and mountains are almost in everyone's backyard.
What thrilled me all the more, however, was the amount of oxygen they have in that city!! I was able to run up Green at a pretty good clip and it felt easy, almost, at least in comparison to running anywhere up above 10, 11, or 13,000 feet.
10 miles and 3,100 vertical feet later, Kendrick and I arrived back at the park where Melissa met us after her hike. Kendrick was kind enough to offer a shower to destinkify myself before we headed with a larger group to Mountain Sun Brewery for an awesome dinner and great beverages.
The following morning Kendrick and I got out for another 3 miles before he headed off to work. We then walked up Pearl Street to the Boulder Running Company where (poor Melissa and poor shoe salesman) I proceeded to try on a dozen different pairs of shoes, some of them in different sizes, some I tested on the treadmill, some on the sidewalk, over the course of over an hour and a half. It was a tedious process for two reasons: 1) For almost 2 years I have run in New Balance 101s, which are no longer in productions, so I had to find something new, and 2) We had to drive 2.5 hours to find a decent selection of running shoes, so I wasn't about to leave any stone unturned.
Anywho, I eventually decided on the Asics FugiRacers. So far so good, but I'm only 25 miles in on them, we'll see what happens.
Around noon we headed out for a hike with our old friend and fellow North Carolinian-turned-Coloradoian, Casey, out on the trails around Bear Peak. It was exquisitely beautiful and a delight to share the trails with her.
After that came a trip to the Walnut Brewery with Casey and her boyfriend, Alex.
During this trip it came to my attention that The Tallest Man on Earth is coming to play in Boulder on June 10th. It has been nearly two years since Melissa and I bought tickets to see a concert and we've had a very short list of bands (3 or 4) that we would pay to see if the opportunity presented itself. Lo-and-behold, the Tallest Man was on the list!
The week in review:
05/28- Monday
AM- 13 miles up Mt Massive, 4:00, 2:24 to summit, 4,500 ft
05/29-Tuesday
PM- 9 miles up Sherman, Sheridan, and Gemini, 2:47, 3,500 ft
05/30- Wednesday
Nada
05/31- Thursday
PM- 10 miles up Flagstaff and Green in Boulder with Kendrick, 1:52, 3,100 ft
06/01- Friday
AM- 3 miles with Kendrick up Boulder Canyon, :25, 200 ft
PM- 6 miles hiking with Mel and Casey around Bear Peak 2 hours, 2,000 ft
PM- 4 miles on Boulders trail (Leadville), :30, 600 ft
06/02- Saturday
PM- 17 miles from the house to the college and everywhere in between. Felt bonked from the second I started, unfortunately. Really hard to keep moving on this one... 2:50, 3,000 ft
06/03- Sunday
Its not official yet, but I don't forsee myself running today...
Totals: 62 miles, 13 hours, 16,900 ft
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| Beautiful greens |
I think you are trying to make me envious on purpose.
ReplyDeleteJust egging you to get out here, really!
ReplyDeleteHey Jon, great to meet you and your wife at the coffeeshop on Sunday. Alex and I (from FC) had a fun and very leisurely Half Pipe with cooperative weather.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Colorado and glad you're making the most of it. Surely see you around, and let us know if/when you visit Ft. Collins.
Cheers,
mah