Green/Flagstaff/Sanitas Loop

With it being Easter and given a rare 3 day weekend, I had plans of heading off to Utah for some warm desert running. A long workday Thursday basically cancelled those plans. Probably best as I-70 over Vail Pass was closed most of the day leaving it almost impossible for me to make it to Moab anyway.

So I opted for a long run on trails in town. Choose Boulder and specifically Green Mt, Flagstaff Mt, and Mt Sanitas. Just recently it occurred to me that I can make it to Sanitas from Green via trails. Never knew this option was available and was all about it this morning.

Normally I get my long runs in on the weekends due to work constraints so getting this run in on a Friday got me excited. What didn't excite me was a dip in temps and lots of cold wind.

Headed out of Chautauqua up Gregory and then Ranger and summited Green in 50 minutes. Legs from the get go were tight and tired and the trail conditions the last mile plus made running almost impossible. Windy at top and spring snow storms hammering the divide. Good old Bear Peak below full of winter love.



From there I made it back down Ranger over to Ute, thru Flagstaff and over to Valley Point trail on my way to Sanitas. This was my first time on Valley Point and was it beautiful. Views of Sanitas and all of Boulder were breath taking. The view below reveals what I still had to climb.



Finally at the doorsteps of Sanitas I felt a bit exhausted but eager to make that climb up that mother. Trails were busy, as to be expected, and considering how tired I was by this point, I was happy with my ascent. 25 minutes flat. Far from my best but felt mentally strong the whole way up. Green Mt didn't look so snowy an hour ago.



Yet another windy mountain top and from there I was heading back down the south trail thru the Red Rocks area and back to my car in Chautauqua. 3 hours of slow running, 14 miles and a solid 5K of up and down.

Here's to days off spent on trails beating up the body in preparation for race day!