Needless to say I've been training hard...but not quite as hard as I should. I've been a little more diligent since I signed up for another 50k....having goals forces you to train! I'm going to do this kind of like my update I did after Antarctica....there are several runs so I'm just going to play them out in order!
Wasson Peak
Ok so one day off after the brutal run up Mt Wrightson I went out to the Tucson Range and did Wasson Peak at sunset. We ran up and hit the summit right as the sun was going down. It was pretty spectacular! The trail was all single track and it was pretty technical the whole way. The climb up took about 1 hour 10 minutes and then it was about 50 back down leaving me at an even two hours. One thing I've noticed is I don't go as fast as I should on technical down hills....if I work on that I can improve my times a lot!
As you can see from the map the route is a simple out and back. The first 3 or so miles you are stuck kind of low. But, once the climbing begins the views get great and there is some really good running while you're up on one of the ridges! I'm glad we did this at sunset...because man it was hot that day....also it gave me a chance to do the last 30 minutes with my headlamp and get some night trail practice.
Catalina Peaks
I did this run with Tucson Trail Runners who are an awesome group of trail runners that just relish being surrounded by Tucson's mountains and trails. The route was supposed to be 22 miles, however early on the group I was running with took a small (5 mile) detour and then late in the run I twisted my ankle a little bit. Luckily at mile 17 which was at the top of Mt Lemmon (9000+ ft) there were some people setup with an aid station, so me and another runner hopped a ride back to the start and called it a success at 17 miles. I think my time was something like 3:40. Anyway, I met two pretty cool people Korey and Guy and we ran pretty much the whole way as a group....Korey actualSly finished the run and after the detour at the beginning probably hit 27 miles for the day. This was a lot of fun and I even saw a snake sleeping under a rock ( I gave him like 15 feet of space :) )
Bear Canyon (Or adventures in hydration)
So I've done this route twice now and the two times were VERY different. The first time I ran this I stayed out late the night before...I'm trying to be social and meet people remember....anyway there was a cool band playing downtown so I listened to most of their set before going home....anyway I woke up the next morning to do the 17 mile Bear Canyon Loop....Instead of downing a whole bottle of Gatorade like a good runner I just rolled out of bed and out the door. I'm going to take this moment to relay some advice that Running Legend David Horton gives runners at his races "Don't be stupid". I think its obvious my first encounter with this route didn't go so well. I downed my whole 2L of water in the first 8 miles, luckily I was running with Korey and he had plenty of extra....and there is actually running water 14 miles in when you get to Sabino Canyon.....anyway....Hydrate!
The second time (2 weeks later) was much better. I've since figured out hydration a little better and didn't even use my full 2L of water on the run. Repeat...."Don't be stupid" ..... this is great advice for endurance athletes. Anyway the views on this run are spectacular you run through two canyons and up and around a small mountain....its great...I love it....I'll probably do this route at least once a month. Anyway 17 miles....currently running it in about 3:40.....I really think I could do it in 3:10 if I quit being a wimp and just push through some of the tougher parts.
Sunset Loops
Another TTR run. This run was a lot of fun, again it was up in the Catalina Mountains and involved the climb up Mt. Lemmon. However, this run is nice and has all the climbing at the beginning. The run starts with a climb from the Sunset Trailhead to Mt Lemmon and then goes out along the ridge for several miles before dropping into a really cool place called the Wilderness of Rocks (It's just what it sounds like). The only bad thing about this part of the run is that sometimes the trail kind of disappears for 50 feet. Eventually the trail loops back around to the Sunset Trailhead making a giant Figure 8. 17 Miles....I ran this in 4:50.....I felt really slow all day.....I want another shot at this....I feel like 4:10 should be my goal. Anyway lots of elevation lots of miles.
Summary
Tucson is great! Socially I'm doing pretty well getting out there and meeting people. Running here is awesome, 20 minute drive to great mountain trails and there are plenty of other crazies out here who love to run long in the mountains......Oh I almost forgot....There is this awesome hill on my way home from work....there's a road to the top, I do hill repeats up it once a week for training! Each lap is 3 miles 700/700 ft gain/loss!
