As mentioned in my blog post yesterday, I will be running in the mountains for the next ten days.  For my first long run in the mountains, I decided to run along the Colorado Trail. It was a stunningly beautiful run.

In addition to being beautiful, the run, as expected, was quite a challenge.  The lower oxygen level in the air at this altitude, had me breathing quite hard. This was made worse by the fact that the first 75 minutes of my run was all up hill.  The run started at an elevation of about 9,750 feet and I topped out at 11,000 feet.  

At the highest point of my run, I paused for a few minutes to just absorb the amazing scenery. I could see high mountains, a small creek, and a meadow that was full of wild flowers. There were butterflies everywhere I looked. I could also hear the occasional bird, and also saw a couple of chipmunks.  There really is nothing like being out in nature.

Luckily, the run back to our condo was, mostly, all downhill. This made breathing a little easier, but still not like running in Pittsburgh. 

I was really pleased with my run today though, especially because I was able to run for quite of good portion of the overall distance of ten miles. In addition, I felt really good after the run. I am looking forward to running some different parts of the Colorado Trail, over the coming days.  Hopefully I will find areas as beautiful as those I discovered today.