Thursday, July 16th - Green Mountain

Run: Green Mountain - Boulder

Time: 39:39 ascent; didn't time the descent

Effort: Hard

Body: Average

Weather: 90+ degrees; hot!

Made a quick trip over to Chautauqua today to get in a quick lunch-time hill workout. Decided it was a good day for a fitness check via a run to the summit of Green Mountain. I took the Ampitheater - Saddlerock - Green route, hitting the summit marker in 39:39 under a blazing hot sun. Didn't linger long...the summit was swarming with bugs, including a dizzying number of ladybugs.

Whenever I run this route I marvel at the time and effort it must have taken to construct this trail, or rather this forested and rock-strewn staircase. Save for a few sections near the summit, this route is unrelenting, with step-up after step-up. Thankfully, a good bit of the trail is in a dense forest, providing some relief from the noon-time sun.

All-in-all, I felt pretty good on this run, but pushed myself into the redzone a few too many times, which ended up affecting my pace to the summit.

I returned down the same route, gingerly picking my way down. Did not time the descent.

I definitely need to spend more time exploring the trails around Boulder's Flatirons.