Hot and sunny Hall Ranch, Lyons, CO

This is pretty much my first real trail run. And I say real because it was rocky and hilly. Top that off with hardly having any shade on a hot summer day making it even more not pleasant. There were hundreds of thousands of grasshoppers on the trail as well, but for the most part don't think I squished too many because they all flee as I approach. A scorching 6.5 miles climbing 1459 feet in a very slow 1:28. GPS map

First high elevation run

I really don't know how I chose this as my first high elevation run, but it was a pretty good one: Milner Pass up to Fall River Pass. The run started out very challenging because I was mostly running up steps. I thought I was actually not going to make it the first half mile from getting used to the elevation as well as the strenuous use of leg muscles. Once I made it above the steps, the grade was a lot easier and I was able to get my breath back. There were a decent amount of people on the trail and I realized then that as a person running is going to get a lot of positive comments from people along the way. I consider myself fortunate to be able to do this and tend to keep that in my mind when doing this and to keep me humble. But it was a lot of fun briefly chatting with people along the trail when I went by. The run overall was surprisingly easy: 4 miles up and a much quicker 4 miles back starting at 10,758 feet going up to 11,800 feet.