February 13, 2026

I found a new trailsystem today at Coyote Ridge Open Space. It looked really interesting and has lots of access to mountain trails, so I thought I’d give it a go. When I hopped in my car, however, it wouldn’t start. I resigned myself to another run on Spring Creek Trail, when suddenly I realized that I could very easily bike to the trailhead.

This revelation, while maybe obvious to some, has opened up an entire world of trails that now I want to go run. Not only can I call the ride part of my workout (and thus eliminate the mental struggle of thinking “It’s a twenty minute drive just to get there and that will add forty minutes to either end of my workout”), I also now am adding light aerobic volume to my day, helping to round out the intensity of my typical workouts.

So, below are my two rides to and from the trail head. I expect embeds like below to be much more common moving forward.

The run itself went well. I’m definitely not in good trail shape, but getting to the mountains more frequently will quickly fix that. The ups were slow and got my heart pumping, the downs were slow and gave my ankles some pops they haven’t seen in a long time. The view from the top was well worth the climb. These trails go for miles back into the Rocky Mountains, and I’d love to explore them next time I have more miles to run.

Perhaps for my next brick, I’ll do a big bike climb to find some backcountry trails, do a long run on said trails, and then bike home. Same as today, but a lot longer. Could be a ton of fun.

My body is feeling good still, but my quads were a bit prefatigued today before getting pounded by the hills. I’ve had a few heavy days in a row, so tomorrow I think I may back it off with an easier swim.

Until then,

Ben