Semi-Cirque de Boulder...

Pain don't hurt. ~ James Dalton

So yesterday went relatively well. Luke and I got started around 4:30 from the 7-mile mark of the Cirque de Boulder route. Let's call it the semi-cirque. We started off under overcast skies and moderate temperatures. Pretty near perfect conditions. The first half of the route went smoothly and Nichole and Pete met us at Gregory Canyon to help crew. Special thanks to those two as we were both out of water by this point and it is always good to see a familiar face.

We jammed up to the Mesa Trail and this is when my right ankle started acting up. No biggie, just kept running and ignored it. We were treated to some amazing views with the sunset highlighting the Flatirons. Really just a gorgeous evening.

We dropped down Blue Stem around dusk and pushed the pace along 93 and got to the Bobolink trailhead (I think) just as darkness started to set in. There was a pack of howling coyotes in the meadow through which we ran just yipping up a storm. Really cool to see this much of the Boulder Valley and Foothills in Springtime. The wildflowers and dogwoods were blooming, the pines were sprouting fresh needles and everything is getting green again.

We ran through the darkness under an amazing new moon to Luke's parents' house and grabbed a ride back to our starting point to retrieve my car. All in all a good run.

I am a bit hammered today. I felt like I was hungover this morning. I don't think I rehydrated enough post run and definitely didn't eat enough after we stopped running. My left knee swelled up quite a bit where I banged it last week but I think this, along with the ankle issue, will resolve itself in due time. I plan to limit my activity to hiking and biking for the next few days. All told, we logged at least 23 miles in about 4.5 hours. A bit off our intended pace but a pretty decent effort nonetheless.

Today, I drove to Gunnison to hang out with my parents. I head back to the Front Range tomorrow and will probably take it a bit easy thru the weekend. I'll keep you posted.

~stubert