Casper Running

Platte River Parkway and Tails
November 7, 2010
4.06 miles
39:13 minutes
9:40 pace

Sunday and I had to work in Casper; therefore this weekend I stayed in my adopted city and ran Friday, biked Saturday and wanted to get out for a run today before my presentation at noon.

What great weather, albeit windy! Nothing new with the wind. Everytime I hit wind now, I think of running in Mountain Home, Idaho -- I don't know if that's the worst (no, Greenland Open Space on a bad day is worse) or if it is just because it was the first time I hit horrible wind -- in either case, I don't hate/dislike the wind as much here as I thought I would.

Mike told me there were side trails off the Platte River Parkway, I just had not seen them as yet. Today I did and today, and I took advantage of them.  I do believe I will like running those instead of the wide, paved, pathway that beckons to most. Single track through tall bushes along the river versus the parkway; really, is there any doubt which one I'll take?

The trails meander from the paved path to the river and back again, never following a straight, true line and this is perfect for me. However, sometimes when the single track is hidden from view, I should be a little smarter and take my pepper spray that my police friend keeps telling me to do ... yes sir, next time, I promise!

A nice little run over four miles in a not-so-fast pace and I enjoyed it very much. Another good run in the books and I was happy and ready for a shower.

Continuation of Blog and Running!

September and October Running

Where in the world did the time fly?   I needed the rest of August off to repair the damage I did to myself at Leadville; but did I really need most of September off? According to Bob, that's normal behavior after a 100 mile run. Yes, I ran in September and October; however, I did not blog any of them.  

I finished Leadville and that was the purpose of the blog.  So, what to do after accomplishing that?  Well, I've decided in hindsight to continue blogging my runs.  Below is the short list of runs I did since Leadville -- whew!  That makes me feel less of a dirtbag! When I can see in black and white that, yes, I did in fact run.  Thank goodness for Garmin!

Let's group all of September together:  I ran four times in September for a grand total  of:  

Sept - 14 miles

Yeah, I was a little slow on the recovery after Leadville.  However, for October, I did a little better:

Oct 3   - 5.01 miles (Fox Run)

Oct 5   - 3.35

Oct 9   - 5.04 (Fox Run)

Oct 10 - 15.10 miles (bike ride)

Oct 12 - 4.00 (this was with Mike at work to show me the trail in town

Oct 17 - 4.01

Oct 18 - 4.16

Oct 23 - 5.51 (Fox Run)

Total for October plus a little run with the guys on next blog (Oct. 30 - 6.85 miles)  ~ 35 miles -- still nothing to brag about; but, twice as much as September!  Ah, the slow road back to running normally and consistently; it is slow but continuous progress!

Waldo Canyon & continuation of blog

Waldo Canyon
October 30, 2010
6.84 miles
1:23:05 time
12:07 min/mil pace

First run with my Colorado guys after Leadville!  Okay, I may have had a small one in there earlier in the month; but since I didn't stick with my blogging and have just decided to pick it up, it's my first!
Waldo Canyon; what a great run at elevation, with hills, and rocks, and roots, and ... well, you name it, this trail has it.  It also has some gorgeous scenery of Pikes Peak, the Front Range, and pine-filled canyons.  I love how C-Springs has so many wonderful trails like this that not only challenge you; but also give you great views.

My run today is atypical of what I was able to accomplish before Leadville.  I am so much slower and my hill running ability is practically nil with all the power hiking training I put in for Leadville.  Even so, a wonderful run with my core group of guys is all I need to lift the spirits.  So what if they are always waiting for me?  So what if I am breathing doubly hard?  I'm out and running and living the life!

Part of the canyon section

We started at a little past 8 am and ran up the steps from the parking lot off of Hwy 24.  For those out-of-towners this trail does have a decent parking lot and you just have to look on the right hand side of the road for one of those brown trailhead markers with a picture of a hiker on it. The parking lot is right around the next bend so slow down!

The elevation for this run starts at 7,041' and rises to 8,140'.  As I stated, it's a pretty decent workout all the way around.  It is a lollipop - meaning you run down the trail to a loop, go around the loop and then head back the way you came.  We stop at the loop on the way out and back to catch stragglers in our group -- today that was me -- both stops!

Just a great run and one to motivate me to get out more and think about my running goals for next year ....hmmm.