March and April were both unusually warm and dry for Boulder. May seems to be bucking that trend with quite a few Seattle-like days of cooler temperatures and overcast skies. After living in Seattle for 15 years, I sometimes miss it. Today was one of those days. Waking up with a grey sky, the smell of moisture in the air, a light dew still on the grass.
A perfect day for running!
One of the events I have planned for the summer has some extended downhill stretches so I wanted to get some 'practice' in. One of the longest extended downhills I know of in the area is Lefthand Canyon. Unfortunately it's pavement, but still a good place to see what my quads have in them.
Despite being a Saturday, Boulder was sleeping in today. Normally on a nice spring day there are hundreds of cyclists up Lefthand Canyon and dozens of hikers in cars making their way up to the myriad of trails and lakes around Brainerd. In the first half of my run, I saw just four cyclists and not many more cars. I missed the company of the cyclists and the friendly waves so often shared. On the other hand, I appreciated the clean, fresh air without so much exhaust.
On this morning, the run felt like I could have been somewhere in Seattle. Overcast skies certainly contributed to the feeling. Also the rolling river of melting snow and leftover rain from last night. Boulder is showing off its finest greens and lushness this time of year, similar to the extensive year-round green of the Pacific Northwest. The only thing missing was moss on all four sides of the trees.
Since I wanted some continuous downhill, that meant the first half was continual uphill. With the chilly morning air and the general assumption that the temperature would warm up slightly by the time I turned around, I headed out from 5500 feet in shorts and a t-shirt. The run up was smooth and I stayed warm enough enjoying the canyon pretty much to myself this morning. It took almost an hour before I started to find a good groove.
The turnaround around 8000 feet was a bit of a shock. Within a few minutes of turning around, I could feel the difference in temperature, both because of the elevation difference and because of a rolling uphill fog. At that point I was definitely wishing for another layer. The chill really hit my hands to the point where it was achy to open and close them. As cyclists pass I usually wave, not today, it was just a nod.
To this point I was doing well with my food, water, and salt tablets. What I had left was a half of a bar and a package of Clif Blocks. I really wanted the Clif Blocks, but my hands were too cold to open a package! I finished off my half of a bar and hoped the temperature would warm up so I could open the Clif Blocks later. That didn't happen and finally I stopped for a few seconds to get the plastic open with my teeth - I really needed some food. That Clif Blocks sure tasted good!
The cold stayed with me the whole way down so I was glad to get back to my car and my heated seats. In just a few minutes the rain started - that would have been really cold!
All in all another really good run! And my quads held up pretty well.
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