Worked and goofed all day and ended up running in the dark. Returned to Alderfer-Three Sisters for another varied loop o' fun.
Time: 6.1 miles
Distance: 57 minutes
Effort: Easy
Body: Poor
Weather: Cloudy & cool
Following a highly competitive bowling session down in Lakewood with my nine-year-old son, I dashed out around 6:30 p.m. to get in a few more miles with the dog at Alderfer-Three Sisters. Given my current state of creakiness, the modest grades and mostly forgiving terrain at this open space park is much to my liking.
Started with Maya from the upper lot and ran the mountainside loop on Evergreen Mountain counterclockwise, crossed Buffalo Park Road and ran the Sisters Trail to Bearberry and cruised that back to the parking lot. Finished the run in the dark.
Still no improvement on the back/hip thing. Working on stretching more and icing is a regular evening ritual (the hard part is deciding what to ice first...).
996 feet o' elevation gain.
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Showing posts with label Evergreen Mountain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evergreen Mountain. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Definitely Not a Tempo Run
A modest-paced loop around Alderfer-Three Sisters and Evergreen Mountain during the twilight hours.
Time: 1:18
Distance: 8.01 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Poor
Weather: Mostly cloudy and cool
Didn't get out until after 5 p.m., but that turned out to be just fine as I pretty much had the entirety of Alderfer-Three Sisters Open Space park to myself (well, myself and Maya the dog).
From the upper lot, I ran north to the Mountain Muhly Trail and followed it around to the park's northwest and northeast corners before ascending to Bearberry and over to the Sisters Trail which heads up over a ridge next to the park's three namesake rock formations (the Three Sisters).
We then descended down to the lower lot, crossed Buffalo Park Road and ran up the Evergreen Mountain East Trail (past the Brother, another rock formation) and back down to the upper lot via the Evergreen Mountain West trail.
The whole time out on the trails, we passed one mountain biker and saw two other people off in the distance. The upper lot was empty when we got back to the truck. Sorta cool to be the King of the Park for an evening.
My back/left hip is slowly improving. Still have a fair bit of steady discomfort, and there's no way I'm leaping for a frisbee right now, but moderate-effort running is doable. Running, at least, doesn't appear to make things worse. Will make a return trip to the PT after the kids' spring break week is over.
Maya, on the other hand, is running solid. Endurance is building. She had no trouble with the eight miles and the evening's elevation gain. That said, she zonked out post-run while I made a quick trip into the local library.
1,341 feet o' elevation gain.
Monday, March 14, 2011
A Run With a Fast Female
Hoofed it up Evergreen Mountain late this afternoon chasing after Maya who repeatedly mocked my pedestrian pace and literally ran circles around me.
Time: 1:45
Distance: 6 miles (Evergreen Mountain); 2 miles (Elk Meadow Off-leash Area)
Effort: Easy
Weather: Sunny and warm
Maya (the new addition to the P family) had been patiently waiting all day while I pounded away at the keyboard and talked on the phone. She gave me "are you ready yet" eye now and then, but otherwise bided her time, for she knew her time would come.
Round about 4 p.m., her time came. So, off we went to the lower lot at Alderfer-Three Sister Open Space for a run up Evergreen Mountain. Maya's previous long run had been just a hair over four miles, so I was interested to see how she'd do with six miles and some elevation gain.
The trail, just across Buffalo Park Road from the parking lot, was in fair shape...a bit of mud and lots of melting ice. Fortunately, the ice was well on its way to melting and the footing was pretty good. Maya spent a lot of time dashing ahead, stopping to check something out as I passed then sprinting ahead to the next interesting thing (which often included leisurely rolls in the softening snow). I never had to stop to call her or wait for her. She hung right with me.
We hit the summit, did the short loop at the top and returned down the Evergreen Mountain West Trail to the upper lot at Alderfer and ran the completely dry Silver Fox and Ponderosa Trails back to the truck. Great run with the budding trail dog.
Post-run, we picked up jP at school and headed over to the off-leash part of Elk Meadow Open Space where the three of us jogged a couple of miles around the park, then spent a good hour watching Maya horse around with other dogs in the fenced area. jP got a new pair of kicks yesterday and was eager to get in a run. He loves his new Nike Freedom Lites. Swears he can run faster and jump higher with 'em. I couldn't have agreed more.
Speaking of new kicks...I ran today in the new Saucony Peregrines I got yesterday. I really am liking them so far. I'll say a bit more about them after a couple more runs. So far...so good.
Time: 1:45
Distance: 6 miles (Evergreen Mountain); 2 miles (Elk Meadow Off-leash Area)
Effort: Easy
Weather: Sunny and warm
Maya (the new addition to the P family) had been patiently waiting all day while I pounded away at the keyboard and talked on the phone. She gave me "are you ready yet" eye now and then, but otherwise bided her time, for she knew her time would come.
Round about 4 p.m., her time came. So, off we went to the lower lot at Alderfer-Three Sister Open Space for a run up Evergreen Mountain. Maya's previous long run had been just a hair over four miles, so I was interested to see how she'd do with six miles and some elevation gain.
The trail, just across Buffalo Park Road from the parking lot, was in fair shape...a bit of mud and lots of melting ice. Fortunately, the ice was well on its way to melting and the footing was pretty good. Maya spent a lot of time dashing ahead, stopping to check something out as I passed then sprinting ahead to the next interesting thing (which often included leisurely rolls in the softening snow). I never had to stop to call her or wait for her. She hung right with me.
We hit the summit, did the short loop at the top and returned down the Evergreen Mountain West Trail to the upper lot at Alderfer and ran the completely dry Silver Fox and Ponderosa Trails back to the truck. Great run with the budding trail dog.
Post-run, we picked up jP at school and headed over to the off-leash part of Elk Meadow Open Space where the three of us jogged a couple of miles around the park, then spent a good hour watching Maya horse around with other dogs in the fenced area. jP got a new pair of kicks yesterday and was eager to get in a run. He loves his new Nike Freedom Lites. Swears he can run faster and jump higher with 'em. I couldn't have agreed more.
Speaking of new kicks...I ran today in the new Saucony Peregrines I got yesterday. I really am liking them so far. I'll say a bit more about them after a couple more runs. So far...so good.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Evergreen Mountain - Tempo
Lunch time tempo run around one of Evergreen's signature open space venues, Evergreen Mountain.
Time: 44:50
Distance: 5.67 miles
Effort: Hard
Body: Good
Weather: Sunny & Warm
With a very narrow window of time and a yearning desire to run something besides Elk Meadow, I opted to hop in the vehicle and drive 10 minutes over to Evergreen Mountain, an 8,527-foot hump visible from my living room window.
Now part of Jefferson County's Alderfer-Three Sisters Open Space park, Evergreen Mountain is a former 440-acre chunk of State Land Board land that was transferred to the county in 2004 and added to Alderfer. The climb up the northern face of the mountain is moderate in grade, making it a good trail to run up...quick.
Since I was squeezing in this run between a busy work morning and an afternoon flight to D.C., I knew I only had 50 minutes. And, since I prefer to avoid out-and-backs whenever possible, the day's best bet was a tempo effort to see if I could get up the mountain, do the short loop at the top and return in time to get home, pack and get to the airport in time for my flight.
So, from the western parking lot by the big yellow house, I ran across Buffalo Park Road and onto the Wild Iris Loop Trail, which climbs gently up through a hay meadow to the lodgepole forest that dominates this mountain. Next up was the climb up the Evergreen Mountain Trail West. Once in the trees, I picked up the pace and suddenly was feeling good.
The trail switchbacks up and at 1.32 miles, I hung a right on the Summit Trail and ran up to the mountain's large rounded top and zipped around the .5 mile loop there and headed back down, turnedleft right at the trail junction and cruised 2.6 miles down Evergreen Mountain Trail East to it's intersection with the eastern edge of the Wild Iris Loop Trail. From there, it was a short skip back to the truck.
Felt good to run the ups with a solid, hard effort. Also really enjoyed jamming down the mountain, running a good bit of it in the low 6s and high 5s. Total elevation gain for the run was 1.024 feet and an average pace of 7:49.
Ryan Burch's Run Rabbit Run 50 race report is up. Here.
Time: 44:50
Distance: 5.67 miles
Effort: Hard
Body: Good
Weather: Sunny & Warm
With a very narrow window of time and a yearning desire to run something besides Elk Meadow, I opted to hop in the vehicle and drive 10 minutes over to Evergreen Mountain, an 8,527-foot hump visible from my living room window.
Now part of Jefferson County's Alderfer-Three Sisters Open Space park, Evergreen Mountain is a former 440-acre chunk of State Land Board land that was transferred to the county in 2004 and added to Alderfer. The climb up the northern face of the mountain is moderate in grade, making it a good trail to run up...quick.
Since I was squeezing in this run between a busy work morning and an afternoon flight to D.C., I knew I only had 50 minutes. And, since I prefer to avoid out-and-backs whenever possible, the day's best bet was a tempo effort to see if I could get up the mountain, do the short loop at the top and return in time to get home, pack and get to the airport in time for my flight.
So, from the western parking lot by the big yellow house, I ran across Buffalo Park Road and onto the Wild Iris Loop Trail, which climbs gently up through a hay meadow to the lodgepole forest that dominates this mountain. Next up was the climb up the Evergreen Mountain Trail West. Once in the trees, I picked up the pace and suddenly was feeling good.
The trail switchbacks up and at 1.32 miles, I hung a right on the Summit Trail and ran up to the mountain's large rounded top and zipped around the .5 mile loop there and headed back down, turned
Felt good to run the ups with a solid, hard effort. Also really enjoyed jamming down the mountain, running a good bit of it in the low 6s and high 5s. Total elevation gain for the run was 1.024 feet and an average pace of 7:49.
Ryan Burch's Run Rabbit Run 50 race report is up. Here.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Evergreen Mountain - Long Run
Time: 3:09
Distance: 19.1 miles
Effort: Easy/Long
Body: Good
Weather: Mostly sunny & cool
Looking out our window across the hills and dales of Evergreen, Evergreen Mountain occupies a prominent place in our viewshed. It's a rounded, north-facing mountain with a rocky bald spot, bright with April snow, that makes for a familiar hump three miles to the south.
Today's plan was to run from home to the top of Evergreen Mountain, with a few interesting stops along the way.
From the house, I ran through a local neighborhood, then jumped on the People's Path, a paved sidewalk that parallels Evergreen Parkway. I followed this a couple of miles to Dedisse Park, a Denver Mountain Park on the north side of Upper Bear Creek Road. A dirt road snakes through park and dead ends at a final picnic spot. Here a nice single track winds down the south-facing hill to Upper Bear Creek Road. Across the road, the Dedisse Trail winds its way uphill, around the Evergreen Golf Course and into JeffCo's Aldefer-Three Sisters Open Space Park.
Once in Three Sisters, I ran to the trail high point in the park, just below the Three Sisters, which are prominent rock outcroppings looming up above Bear Creek (there's a Brother, too, but it's across Buffalo Park Road in the Evergreen Mountain open space park). After a few more miles in Three Sisters, I made a pit stop at the upper parking lot and then headed across Buffalo Park Road and around the meadow in front of Evergreen Mountain.
To this point, the trail had been virtually snow free. Once in the trees of Evergreen Mountain, however, it was all packed snow. I took the trail up the west side of the mountain and made quick work of the switchbacks up to the intersection with the two-mile summit lollipop out-and-back. On the south side of the large, rounded summit, one is treated to an amazing view of Mt. Evans and its surrounding peaks. I paused here for a few moments of mountain-gazing before returning to the main intersection and heading down the east side trail and back into Three Sisters.
I returned on the Dedisse Trail, ran up Upper Bear Creek Road to the Lakehouse and into downtown Evergreen to refill my water bottle at good ol' Beau Jo's Pizza. For the final stretch home, I did the big climb on Douglas Park Road and wound through Hiwan Hills and back home.
Beautiful afternoon. Whetted my appetite for more snow-free trails!
Distance: 19.1 miles
Effort: Easy/Long
Body: Good
Weather: Mostly sunny & cool
Looking out our window across the hills and dales of Evergreen, Evergreen Mountain occupies a prominent place in our viewshed. It's a rounded, north-facing mountain with a rocky bald spot, bright with April snow, that makes for a familiar hump three miles to the south.
Today's plan was to run from home to the top of Evergreen Mountain, with a few interesting stops along the way.
From the house, I ran through a local neighborhood, then jumped on the People's Path, a paved sidewalk that parallels Evergreen Parkway. I followed this a couple of miles to Dedisse Park, a Denver Mountain Park on the north side of Upper Bear Creek Road. A dirt road snakes through park and dead ends at a final picnic spot. Here a nice single track winds down the south-facing hill to Upper Bear Creek Road. Across the road, the Dedisse Trail winds its way uphill, around the Evergreen Golf Course and into JeffCo's Aldefer-Three Sisters Open Space Park.
Once in Three Sisters, I ran to the trail high point in the park, just below the Three Sisters, which are prominent rock outcroppings looming up above Bear Creek (there's a Brother, too, but it's across Buffalo Park Road in the Evergreen Mountain open space park). After a few more miles in Three Sisters, I made a pit stop at the upper parking lot and then headed across Buffalo Park Road and around the meadow in front of Evergreen Mountain.
To this point, the trail had been virtually snow free. Once in the trees of Evergreen Mountain, however, it was all packed snow. I took the trail up the west side of the mountain and made quick work of the switchbacks up to the intersection with the two-mile summit lollipop out-and-back. On the south side of the large, rounded summit, one is treated to an amazing view of Mt. Evans and its surrounding peaks. I paused here for a few moments of mountain-gazing before returning to the main intersection and heading down the east side trail and back into Three Sisters.
I returned on the Dedisse Trail, ran up Upper Bear Creek Road to the Lakehouse and into downtown Evergreen to refill my water bottle at good ol' Beau Jo's Pizza. For the final stretch home, I did the big climb on Douglas Park Road and wound through Hiwan Hills and back home.
Beautiful afternoon. Whetted my appetite for more snow-free trails!
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