Not the best week to jump from 3 to 8 mile runs.  At first I thought maybe I fell drastically out of shape.  I was running so slow it was hard to keep my balance.  I ran faster though under cooler clouds Thursday.  That confirmed for me that I am acclimating to the heat.  And that I need to increase my focus on hydration.

I ran 12 miles Saturday on the LoBo Trail.  The weather was in the 70°s.  I can handle that.  I wore my camelbak to remain well hydrated.  Felt strong.  Safe to say I’m recovered and I’m back.  My expectations were to not be running for three months after my surgery.  It’s only been two months and I’m back to running my old workouts.  Maybe I should be bummed over having had cancer.  Instead I feel fortunate.  And 28 grams lighter.

Acclimating to the heat is one thing.  To prep for my 80 mile backpacking trip along the Continental Divide at the end of June, I need to acclimate to the altitude.  One mile high isn’t good enough.  I need to get closer to two miles high.  So that’s what I did this morning with Ellie.  We drove up to Brainard Lake and hiked on the snowshoe trail.  We could have used snowshoes in fact, the snow was several feet high in spots.  It was good we both wore hiking boots and that we brought trekking poles.  I didn’t expect this much snow at 10,000 feet, but apparently Brainard Lake is on the northeast side of the mountain.  The road up to the lake itself is still closed.

We lunched at the Millsite Inn.  The waitress said they just got a four foot dump of snow over Mother’s Day, and that it even snowed a bit early this morning.  The Inn was out of many of their menu items – as usual.  They said they were low on supplies due to the winter.  Never mind they are open throughout the winter.  Still, we had some good cheese burgers and listened to live music.

I was happy to test out my new hiking boots today.  I post-holed several times into hidden streams flowing under the snow packed trail.  The water-proof feature works.  I’m not used to wearing boots and they feel a bit odd.  Still, these Salomon Quest 4D GTX hiking boots are extremely light.  I just need to get comfortable with the large footprint.  Ellie and I plan to hike together the next couple of weekends.  I need to find some trails at higher elevation that aren’t buried in snow.  I’m currently reading through a trail book for Rocky Mountain National Park. Any suggestions, let me know.