Rainageddon

Working the Elk Creek aid station

I have never in all my time in Colorado seen a week like we've just had. I studied the 1997 floods and while it was similar rain totals it didn't last for a week! Seven straight days of no sunshine! I was begining to wonder if I was really in Colorado. Alaska? Wisconsin? Yeah I wouldn't think twice, but not Colorado.

Monday I was getting ready for an afternoon run and since it was lightening down by my office I opted for running up the mountain. I left my office, turned onto the freeway and the storm hit. After sitting in the middle of the freeway for 10 minutes waiting for the rain and hail to subside I figured running was out of the question. Just getting to daycare was going to be rough. 35 minutes later I finished the 3 mile drive to daycare. The whole place was completely flooded. The road back to the center was washed out and it was unlike anything I had seen before.

The rain had subsided a bit by Tuesday morning and I wanted to see how Apex had faired in the storm. Plus the mountain tops were socked in with fog and I LOVE running in the fog. The Apex trail was a mess! There were rockslide/mudslides that covered the trail in several spots. I was able to get passed the first area where the trail was washed out, but the second one was huge. Too big to jump across, too deep and vertical to scramble down and up. I backtracked a bit and then looped back up the mountain. It was gorgeous and amazing running weather. Unfortunately I didn't realize the flooding that was occurring elsewhere. The county ended up closing Apex after I got done running and it is still closed, along with several other parks. James' daycare ended up getting shutdown on Thursday and Friday so they could fix the leaking roof and the parking lot a bit. The main entrance is still shutdown and the whole road needs to be rebuilt.

More rain and fog Wednesday so I ran the Falcon hill climb. It was one of the best runs I've ever had. The rain had chased most of the people away and I was one of the only ones on the trail so it was just quiet and peaceful. A perfect run!

The rain let up for a bit Saturday while Dan and I captained Aid Station 1 at the inaguural Elk Creek Marathon. We had a blast! And James as always won over the hearts of many! This was our first experience with someone "knowing". As I handed a glass of water to one guy he leaned over and smiled at James. "My sister has a kid with Downs, he's amazing" and then he took off. I was a bit stunned. I mean I know James' features are becoming more prominent as he gets older, but I just wasn't expecting that. And then a couple hours later this group of 3 women came walking in. They were walking the half and having a great time. One of the women put her hand on James' head and said what a blessed child he is. It seemed a bit strange at first, but then when I looked at her the expression on her face said it all. She went on to say she was a special ed teacher for 30 years and that I had a pretty special kid on my hands.

All in all it was quite an exciting week. The rain and flooding definitely forced a light week in terms of mileage, but I certainly had some exciting adventure runs checking out the damage, running through puddles and getting wet!

Week September 9 - 15

Miles Running: 28.6
Hours Hiking and Running: 6


Elk Creek Marathon AS1

 

Apex trail

 

The road to James' daycare

Apex Trail

Apex Trail