beating the heat

Tuesday in Boulder was HOT.  I'm thinking it was ~90 degrees. 

I was scheduled for a 4 mile recovery run and Dave scheduled for an 8 miler.   We decided to drive up the canyon a bit to run at Betasso.  It's a 3.3 mile loop with ~500ft elevation gain per loop...all trail with some fast smooth singletrack and a few rocks and roots thrown in.  We were pretty happy when we got to the trailhead - it was definitely a lot cooler and it's pretty much entirely shaded from the trees. 

betasso - garmin/google earth view

I was excited to try my new Salomon hydration pack.  But then Dave and I both felt like total weenies/novices as we put our packs on and then a group of ~6 "real" trail runners ran up to the trailhead as they were finishing up their run.  The guys were shirtless, had on itty bitty shorts and looked like gazelles and of course carried no water.  They looked like they were Anton Krupicka's brothers or cousins.   Ahh...Boulder...gotta love how humble it makes you feel.

I ride Betasso a fair bit on my mtn bike and so I usually don't pay much attention to this sign, but since it was already ~7pm and only an hour of daylight left - I told Dave we had to boogie!

Betasso is as much fun to run as it is to ride.  I think I might have to do some run/ride combos next time.   Spring is so beautiful in Boulder and the trail was in great condition.   Thankfully, all the mtn bikers were really nice. 

buttery smoooth singletrack!

yum! rocks and roots!

I only did 1 loop, my legs were still trashed from the race and that was plenty for me.   I hung out and enjoyed the scenery and chatted with a few people here and there while Dave finished up his 2nd loop.

Dave - getting his run on!

As we were packed up and the sun was setting we noticed someone had left their front wheel, helmet and gloves in the parking area.  Probably a good $300 worth of stuff.

items recused from the trailhead

I know how bummed I'd be if I did that.  After a bit of deliberation we decided to take the items for safe keeping and left a note at the trailhead.   I also posted on craigslist and the mtbr.com forum.   Luckily, the guy contacted me off the CL ad and was able to correctly describe his items.   I was super stoked to get the stuff back to their rightful owner.  The guy brought me a bottle of wine as a thank you.  The bottle of wine was nice but it was seeing how happy the guy was to get his stuff back made my day!!

nice!