Hi everyone! I have been having some really nice runs lately and wanted to share them with you, especially any of my local peeps. (I just wanted to say peeps so close to Easter!)
Last week my husband started his new job at CU in Boulder and I have to tell you that I am loving it! He gets off at 2:30 so we have plenty of time to get in a trail run before dinner! He rides in with his brother and I picked him up last week and we went for a run.
Right when we got there we saw a ton of smoke but no emergency personnel yet. Luckily we heard the sirens coming. Since the smoke was not blowing our direction we went ahead with our run. We ran at Chautauqua, which if you have run there you know that if you head up the road it is a lung and thigh burner at first!! There are a few spots where it is not too easy to run because of rocks everywhere and there were several stretches of icy trail that we had to walk through, but overall it sure was nice to get in a climb and trail run.
Also, they took away all the Pay to Park meters that were all over the place so we didn't have to pay! That was really nice. Here are a few pics of our run. You can see the fire at the beginning of our run and the emergency personnel at the end already having it contained.
A couple of weeks ago we went up to Loveland, CO and parked at the marina at Carter Lake in the day parking area and did a 13 mile run. It was one of those rare 70 degree days in late February/early March in Colorado so it was great! There were about 5-7 miles of straight up hill starting at about mile 5 and that was brutal but again, a good workout. It was absolutely gorgeous and peaceful despite being on the road. There were tons of friendly cyclists out also. Here is a picture I made from that run. Yes, I was pretty proud of myself for putting the words on there!!
Lastly, this Saturday we ran near our house at a new area called Barefoot Lakes. It is a new subdivision with a couple of lakes and new houses being built. There are plenty of porta-potties because of all the construction!
Anyway, we did 16 miles through the neighborhoods and around the lakes. It was nice because each loop around the lack is about 2.5 miles so we could leave our water by my car and get some at each loop. The view was so amazing I had to stop and take a picture. Here it is.
I have to mention two other things before I go today. First, I wanted to update you on my watch. I ended up deciding on the Garmin Fenix 3 HR.
So far I am really liking all of the info it provides, especially the wrist-based heart rate. It is a bit big so at night I take it off because it catches on the sheets and bugs me, so I am not getting my sleep data.
I also forget to put it back on if I am not going for a run so I don't get my steps for the day when that happens. I like the estimated VO2max as well and it makes me feel like I am improving because I have already improved this number. Anyway, just thought I would give a quick update on the watch. I still need to figure out some of the settings better but because I am not good at reading instructions I am not sure if that will ever happen. I was able to configure the screens to put only one piece of data on each screen so that I can see it without my glasses so that is very nice!
The last thing I wanted to mention today was a gift I received from my friend Barbara. She makes the most amazing cards as you all know because I have shared some in the past. She is so thoughtful and creative. Take a look at what she put in my adorable bag and then take a very close look at the card and see how she really personalized it for me!
She gave me the gift for my upcoming birthday. I will turn 49 and if you look closely you will see my race bib number is 49!!
Anyway, I am always so amazed with how talented she is and I feel compelled to share! She also had a "peep" in there that I put in the picture at the beginning of the post.
I hope you are having a great start to your Monday! We have some colder temps and snow here in Colorado which honestly I could do without because I am really ready to wear some cute spring dresses!
Happy Running!
Kristi