Thru Endurance We Conquer!

One last week of playing around. We took advantage of the nice weather to get some fun and easy rides in the canyon, as well as some exploring up North. Some of those rides will be off limits when the snow comes fo good, so was nice to be able to sneak them in. All north side of the canyon on shaded slopes and I don't like riding on ice that much! Everything has been pretty chill - no hard workouts on the bike just yet. I have noticed I need to ride more techy stuff again - I was a little sloppy in spots. With yhe exception of a few events, the trails I've been racing on haven't been that hard. Long and fast yes - but not really hard. So I'm a little skittish on the fun, narrow trails Nick favors. But it's time to get back to business. At least on the running side! After not really running far or fast all summer, I decided the smartest plan for the rest of my off season would be to train for the Rock Canyon Half Marathon on December 2nd. I've done that race a...

It's still nice out right now, but the weather forecast for the next few days is for winter - with snow and really cold temperatures. So Nick and I decided to beat the weather front and do Pipeline yesterday. Speed wasn't the plan - just riding up the road at a comfortable pace and then having some fun on the descent. Because we weren't sure when the cold front was going to move down, we both had our Osprey Talons loaded up with some warm clothes. And food and water for a four plus hour ride. We rode really easy up Gold Camp. Nick was really tired from a hard night ride the night before and I wasn't interested in gunning it at all. I was taking advantage of the relaxed pace to look around, do some sight-seeing and really appreciate the ride. Normally, I'm nose to the bars, tongue hanging out, trying to keep up with Nick. It also wasn't warm out at all - the sun was brilliant and the sky blue, but there was no warmth to the rays. And there was a looming mountai...

There's a turf war going on in our back yard. It's been pretty mellow for the first few weeks, but things are starting to escalate. I'm starting to worry about walking beside the fence - I don't want to end up in the middle of a battle! And all the fighting is about some - well a whole tree full - of apples. There's a huge apple tree in our neighbor's back yard. The branches are full with small apples - full to the point of breaking. And I know why all the squirrels in our area are fat... They are fighting over the apples big time. I've seen a few scrawnier squirrels run out of the tree, still clutching an apple in their mouth. The bigger critters are guarding the apples very carefully. And when they're not fighting, they are harvesting. The squirrels are constantly picking the best apples and tossing them to the ground. Or the metal roof of the shed below the tree. The apples land with a huge thunk that sounds like someone is throwing rocks at the hou...

Time for some exploring. Wanting a few hours on the bike, but not wanting to climb up Gold Camp Road again or deal with the crowds in Palmer Park, we decided to head up to Woodland Park. Nick had been staring at the Pikes Peak Atlas and there were some trail around the Catamount Reservoirs that we could access pretty easily. We'd ridden a few of them before, but had taken the toll road to get up there. It was time to see if we could get at those trails via a different route. Ring the Peak  trail - riding and having fun We started with a long climb up to the Ring the Peak trail, but stayed on the Catamount trails for a while. I don't remember the name, but it was a lolly-pop type trail with a fun little loop at the very end. Nothing about the trails were technical at all - the loop trail was fairly wide, but with some steep climbs. We did a little exploring off the beaten track, but every time the trail turned straight uphill, we turned around. It was a day for fun and eas...

Last weekend, Nick and I got to spend some time up in Buffalo Creek and it was a super fun time. We were going up for a group ride and Mexican potluck on Sunday and decided to make a weekend of it. We hadn't ridden in Buff Creek at all this year, so I was really looking forward to some hours on the trail. Saturday, we drove up the pass with clouds hanging heavy on the mountains and draped across the slopes of Pikes Peak. The moisture filled the air with the occasional flake of snow drifting down amid the mist and rain. Perfect riding weather. And the trails at Buffalo Creek would be in awesome shape, thanks to the rain. We just needed to dig out all the winter gear that had been hidden since March! I could tell we hadn't ridden in that kind of conditions for a while, we both over dressed and had to stop and take jackets and hats off pretty quickly after we started riding. We had no agenda when we started - just ride up to the CT and pick a direction. Ended up going west, lo...

I've never been one to run (or ride) with music. Maybe inside while on the trainer or treadmill, but even then, I still end up taking it off midway so I can focus on the workout. I don't like the distraction from how I am feeling and responding to the workout. And everyone has stories about headphone clad runners, hikers, and cyclists. No need to rehash the most annoying aspects of headphone use. No, the problem with headphones is the absence of experience - more in tune with the tunes then anything else. With music blaring, you miss the little things. The soft hooting of an owl in the tree above the trail. The mournful "whowhoo" from a hidden figure calling to the fading stars or other nighttime creatures. I looked up in the tree as I ran underneath - but could not find the owl. In the predawn gloom, it was perfectly camaflauged from view. Or the soft rustle of a buck as he steps from behind the scrub oak. He paused, antlers framed against the periwinkle dawn. A...

Sometimes we get caught up in the race, the lives of everyone else and trying to match or beat them. We start thinking that life is about the physical objects cluttering up the world. We forget that the experiences are where the great stories come from. In order to find the hidden gems and craft the stories worth sharing, we have to leave the race behind. I am as guilty as everyone else, babbling about meaningless happenings in 140 characters or less. Its hard to hear the music and words of the journey when I'm not focused. But it's out there, echoing along lonely roads, scenic trails - hidden in the trees, the rocks and rippling down the rivers. This last weekend made me realize that its time to reopen my eyes and become in tune with the experiences echoing in the wind gusts, the stories rustling in the waves of grass and aspens and the rhythmic tapping if rain on the ground. It's time to start listening better, to learn from the joy and experiences of others. Not the mi...