My running mojo has been a little lacking lately but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been taking advantage of the gorgeous Colorado summer weather. It’s been really hot lately so most trail explorations have been in the cooler early morning + late evening hours. And I don’t get out to the actual trails often but late last week I had a few hours to kill after class. Sure, my EMS book would have loved my attention but my brain was fried so I headed to Mt Falcon where I left my brain in the car and just wandered along the trails.

The timing was perfect. The heat of the day was dying off, the sun was sinking behind the mountains and critters were out exploring. With every switchback I looped around I was greeted by a few staring rabbits [awww!] and the scuttle of enormous spiders [ewww!]. This is what I love about the more popular Front Range trails – the animals are used to seeing humans so they stop and stare rather than sprint off to hide in the shrubbery. I’ve seen more “wild” animals on the trails less than 10 minutes from cities than I ever have in the deep backcountry. I’m sre there are pros/cons to this but for now I’m going to enjoy watching the creatures explore their homes.

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I know I say this a lot about trail running but, really, it applies to anything you love doing that lets your mind wander into the good and bad crevasses of your life. For me, trail running lets me forget about the stresses of life [or it let’s me ponder them + organize my thoughts] and it gives me a chance to appreciate my life for what it is, not what it could be.

I’ve been very reflective lately and I’m sure people in my life are getting tired of me saying “Two Years Ago Heidi would have lost her mind if this happened; but I kind of love it”. And I’m sorry for not shutting up about it but I am still reeling from the shock that I can so happily be someone who terrified me years ago. Hopefully I can figure out how to keep this optimism alive, because we all know reality eventually pops everyone’s happy bubble!

Mt Falcon is one of the Front Range trails I like to use as a “benchmark” trail to see where I’m at with ascending/descending but this time I wasn’t there to see how fast I could climb…I was simply looking for a few miles away from the screaming demands of reality. Mt Falcon delivered, and then some. There was a concert starting up at Red Rocks, a few miles north, so I got lost in the odd combination of distance beat of music + rustle of the mountain animals settling in for the night. It’s pretty cool how civilization + wilderness meld together.

Since this Mt Falcon run last week I’ve found a few me hours to dedicate to running and, while rebuilding my fitness isn’t going to be easy, there is definitely hope! I have some big plans for August/September and they all require my legs to be fully functional and prepared for long hours on the trails with at least a few miles of happy smiles. This feels more and more attainable everyday I survive another day of the “managed chaos” that is my life. It feels good to have something exciting to work toward that doesn’t require a textbook!


2 Comments

Laura · July 11, 2021 at 8:08 am

I’m glad you were able to get out and enjoy this trail. It sounds magnificent.
I can relate to what you said about trail running giving you the perspective of gratitude for what you’re experiencing. I love that my time spent outdoors is some of my most present and “slowest” time.

    Heidi Nicole · July 13, 2021 at 11:51 am

    Yup, the moment you let the time fade away that you really start to enjoy yourself out there!

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