As I get more fitness-oriented, I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate exercise into my daily regimen.  I recently dusted off my bicycle, bought some new gear for it, and am using in on my cross-training days.  However, with the price of gas these days, I decided I'd start riding my bike to work and got permission from my boss to park my bike in our warehouse on days I feel motivated to ride.

I'll be biking along the Pikes Peak Greenway in the morning/afternoon when going in to work, but on the way home, I'll take the more-travelled streets.  I wanted to explore the trail I'd be taking, and with my husband accompanying me on a run recently, I took advantage of the opportunity of his company.  For safety reasons, I take him along my trails anyway, so that if anything happens to me, he always knows what trail I'm on and when. 

We parked at Monument Valley Park in the lot behind the Fine Arts Center on Friday morning, then headed south.  I have run the trail before with my running buddy, Lisa Darden, but had only gone as far as the Tejon Street overpass.  When Greg and I hit the 3-mile mark near Nevada, I suggested we just go all the way home (I was running, Greg was riding my bike) so that I'd be familiar with the path.  From my estimates, it would be about 5 miles, 6 at the most, to where the trail comes up at Chelton, then it's less than a mile from our house.

The weather was perfect:  cloudy with a bit of breeze, and not too hot.  We enjoyed talking, the scenery, and stopping to snap a few pictures.  Time flew by as we passed parks with children playing baseball, a dad with his kids exploring the creek, and many other bikers and walkers with dogs.  Eventually, we passed the Kohl's on Circle Ave, found a turn, and continued on.  Imagine our surprise when we surfaced at the CJC on Las Vegas!  What?  We obviously missed a turn somewhere!

I pulled out my GPS and zoomed in, realizing with dread we were headed in the wrong direction.  We had to backtrack to Kohl's, climbed up to Circle, and took Hancock Expressway east, nowhere near where the trail came up on Chelton and Murray.  Greg's hindparts were sore, but we continued on.  I was glad to have him with me, that's for sure.  By the time we hit Astrozon behind the King Soopers, I guessed we had gone about 7 miles so far.  About a minute later, the RunKeeper announced, "Eight point eight nine miles ..."!  I couldn't believe it!

I figured we'd keep going since we were less than a mile from home--I couldn't see stopping now since I felt fine.  When we finally arrived in front of our house, the GPS read 9.79 miles!  I raised my arms, whooped loudly, and exclaimed, "I am woman, hear me ROAR!"  Greg laughed--I was glad to see he was still in good spirits despite hardly being able to walk.

As we drove back to MVP to pick up Greg's truck, I admitted, "Okay, Honey, I learned a very valuable lesson today:  I really need to MAP OUT my route prior to actually running or biking it!"  He agreed wholeheartedly.  So, until I find a good map that shows me where the roads connect with the trails, I'll still be driving.  In the meantime, I still can't believe I ran almost ten miles, even if it WAS accidental!