Hey! Hope y’all had a great weekend. Mine was filled with fun, friends and work {not in that order} so I’m feeling a little exhausted as we kick-off the new work week. Le sigh. Still wondering when I’m going to become independently wealthy….
I spent most of Saturday working on some writing deadlines and dealing with chores around the house. I made plans with some girlfriends to hit up the trails on Sunday morning, so I tried to crash early in hopes of feeling rested and ready to run. Alas, that didn’t happen! I’ve got a crazy head cold that kept me coughing, and truthfully, I wasn’t able to fully fall asleep until Will got home. He had been on the east coast for a few days and flew back in late Saturday. Per the norm, his flight was delayed so that he didn’t get back until almost midnight. I crashed after that, but 6:45 came early on Sunday!
North Table Mountain
Eyes heavy, lungs thick and legs like lead, I hopped in the car when my friend picked me up. We headed to North Table Mountain, a decent trail system that isn’t too far from our neighborhood. Marilyn and I met up with Carrie at the trailhead and eyeballed the single track.
North Table Mountain is a flat mesa in Golden that was formed by lava flows back in the day. I’m always fascinated with mesas because of their steep walls and table-flat tops. This particular trail system is crisscrossed with single track, as well as zillions of deer and rattlesnakes. Fortunately, we spied a couple of the former and zero of the latter!
Carrie and Marilyn on the top of the mesa
We parked at the east entrance off Easley Road and immediately set out on the Lithic Trail. We decided to head counter clockwise and caught the North Table Loop. Truthfully, it didn’t matter: whether we left or right, we were still going to have to climb up to the top of the mesa!
Out of the gates, Carrie was a trooper and set a quick pace as we climbed. I tend to suffer during the first mile or so, so it was nice having a little “rabbit” in front of me to chase. Otherwise, I think there is a good chance I would’ve slowed to a walk and hiked that hill!
If you click on this, I swear it’s bigger!
We chatted for awhile as we climbed, but eventually the trail got too steep and we resorted to power hiking. This lasted for a good mile before we reached the summit of North Table Mountain. From here, it was all flat or downhill!
Descending on the Cottonwood Canyon Trail
I’ve been running in a pair of the Hoka Stinson Trails for the past couple of months and I have to say that I am loving them on the descents! I questioned the crazy-looking moon shoes but that extra cushion makes the downhill so much easier to navigate. We were cruising down the Cottonwood Canyon Trail which is fairly steep with some tight single track, and I never once questioned a step. The shoes also made the descent more enjoyable because I don’t feel like my joints are taking a beating.
In the end, our running trio did 6.5 miles with 1000 feet of gain {following the North Table Loop-Mesa Top Trail-Cottonwood Canyon-North Table route}. I know that it really isn’t that much in the grand scheme of things, but it’s honestly been a few months since I’ve topped the 5 mile marker and it felt great to break that barrier again. I’m still looking at a trail half in the fall {and maybe some other races!} so I’m kinda digging hitting the trails and stretching my legs!
********************
Trails or road? Have you ever tried Hokas?
Who got outside this weekend? Tell me stories!