8.22 Run (Hallenbeck Ranch)

Callie and I went to Hallenbeck Ranch to run. Hallenbeck Ranch is open from May to September according to a sign I saw there, but the gate is closed and Callie says you always have to crawl under the barbed wire fence. To me climbing under a fence isn't "open" but who am I to say.

Callie was only going to run 30-40 minutes. Not a big run for her but pretty long for me at elevation.  We have to drive 15 minutes to the Hallenbeck Ranch. On our way the sky starts to change and we can tell rain is coming. The weather apps on our phones have been wrong many times throughout the week and yet again they were. All the other times, rain was predicted and it did not rain. This time it was the opposite.

Callie and I started running and ended up going too fast. I was already dead. Oops.  Around 1 mile in, it started raining just slightly. Then at 1.5 miles, I said I was turning around but she could go on.  I turned around and it started raining harder. Then there was hail.  Then I made a wrong turn and ended up at a road and had to backtrack. Then I go a bit further and the same thing happens again but this time the wrong turn is a lot longer out of the way.  My 3.0 mile run ended up being 3.85 miles.  Just so you know hitting the road at the 2nd wrong turn ended up exactly at what would have been 3 miles (with the addition of the first wrong turn).


On the way out the first slow down was going way off the path to go around a big puddle in the road path.  The second and third time I slowed down was to tie my shoes.  The 4th slow down was when I saw Callie and I wanted to make sure I was going the right way.
The run was relatively flat.  It was roughly the same as my North Park Runs which is pretty good for a run in the mountains.   It was a lot harder to run there than at home and I ran a lot slower. It might have been the elevation or might have been my lack of nutrition.  My hands got tingly 1 mile in but instead of complaining about that I started talking about how in the book I'm reading said that studies have shown that if you do not complain about your problems (aches and pains) that they go away sooner. (Well it didn't quite phrase it that way but that was the gist of it.) I was hoping that was the case.  Running and talking at 9000 ft is much harder than running and talking at 900 ft.


This course was hillier than the first time I ran in Leadville. The first trail was prettier. The weather was nicer the first time too. This time I could run next to Callie versus in front of her. This time the dogs ran free instead of on a leash.

Callie referred to this workout as a speed workout when she talked about it later.  Maybe it's a speed workout for 2 days after running 50 miles in a race, but I wouldn't consider it a speed workout. I'd consider it an awful workout. I tried to run faster than I could. My breathing sucked.  After my asthma was bothering me as if I didn't take my inhaler... but I did. If it didn't rain, I might have thought it was OK. If I didn't make wrong turns, I might have thought it was OK.

Mile 1: 9:53 (last time:10:42)
Mile 2: 10:56 (last time:10:56)
Mile 3: 11:10 (last time: 11:32)
Mile 3.85: 8:51 (Pace: 10:24 and last time 11:04)

So my second run was better than my first.  Too bad I only ran my first full day there and my last full day there. I had a full week off in the middle.

My average moving pace is slow because after the second wrong turn I stopped and stopped the timer to try to peek which way was the right direction to go. I had a difficult time with that.  I also don't understand how the elevation gain and loss are not the same since I start and end at the same point.

Timmy debated staying home but Callie said it would be pretty to take pictures. So he went. She ended up locking the car. When it rained, he tried to get in, but didn't know quite how to wiggle the key to get it open. He spent almost the entire time trying to get into the car. He finally made it in just before we got back. I don't even think he made it anywhere good for pictures before the rain.  Poor Timmy.

Callie has a lot more random places to run. She has a lot more trails to run. I always have to run on some form of pavement. I think I like that pavement is safer. Pavement is harder on the knees though.

What is your favorite running place?  Have you ever run at a high elevation?