Twenty miles was on the plan yesterday. It is the first 20mile+ distance that I'll run, increasing steadily up to the final week before I start to taper and culminate in a 35 miler. Instead of taking off at the local trailhead I opted to drive 10 minutes to an alternative. I had a route in mind which would be a figure of eight, minimizing the dull factor of running loops and would give me an "add on" for when I need to extend it a bit further. Rain was forecast and while the cloud was mean and moody I managed to avoid the worst of it; it did rain more later in the day. What is nice about this run is the variety; you start out on the flat in a pasture like landscape, transition through some light woods into desert and then have the rolling barren hills. It was a good job the rain held off too as the trails are so dusty that any real rain is going to turn them in to porridge. So rather than babble on, here is 20 miles in 20 photos.
Mile 1. Starting at the Canyon Entrance; it's wide and flat
Mile 2. It's not as dark as it looks...really!
Mile 3. Coming out the wooded section
Mile 4. The trail starts to get rockier (and rollier)!
Mile 5. Note the use of the word "Flat"...very liberal!
Mile 6. Am I getting higher or is the cloud getting lower?
Mile 7 Definitely going up...
Mile 8. ...and up
Mile 9. The start of the rolling hills on the Ridge Trail
Mile 10. Rolling down and up...
Mile 11. ...and round and round
Mile 12. Need more use of the word "Cheese"!
Mile 13. Back in the woods, a bit brighter this time
Mile 14. Not much to say about this; it's dirt!
Mile 15. More hillwork
Mile 16. The long and winding road...well trail
Mile 17. Oh poo! Broken Lace
Mile 18. The final hill
Mile 19. Homeward bound
Mile 20. Well 19.87, if my shoes could talk the tales they would tell!Overall the run went well and I felt I could have gone on further, I was actually .13 shy of 20 but it's close enough. My pace was still slower than I would like although I shaved 15 seconds off of it from my last long run so it's getting there. I am aiming for an average 10 minute mile pace. nothing super fast but like I have said in the past that's a five hour 50k and a 10 hour 50 miler. This week's plan has a me running another 26 miles and biking the same, I've two more long bike rides and then it's full on running for the rest of the plan till Twin Peaks in December.
There's no more photos any better than the ones above but here's the MotionBased data:
Stuart--looks like a great run! so your longest run is 35 miles? one of my friends is doing a 50 miler next weekend, his training involved marathons one week apart.
ReplyDeletewhat's going on in photo 17?
awesome run! LOVE the mile by mile shots!
ReplyDeletewow! what an amazing run! you're fortunate to have those trails so close to home... :) have a great week.
ReplyDeleteDude that's a lot of dirt (and hills LMAO!)! Very cool!
ReplyDeleteLove the pictorial! That is one hilly "cheesie" trail, oh and dusty!!
ReplyDeletedang about the shoelace, didn't seem to stop you though.
Nice Run! I love how you always have pics for us. Oh, and I did a quadrathon today, and thought of you this morning.
ReplyDeleteGreat run. Very nice photos of the trail. I can't wait until I get my camera.
ReplyDeleteWHOA - check out the new badass page!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great run Stu...man I miss the trails.
Wow - incredible relief, up and down and up and down. The maps and photos really show what the run was about. Hmm broken shoelace, that's something new to worry about...
ReplyDeleteLove the mile by mile photos. New header is very nice as well.
ReplyDelete20 miles looks rather pleasant and deceptively easy when viewed through mile-by-mile trail photos.
ReplyDeleteheck... I feel lazy that I just run the runs and you take enough time to snap shot it for us. i am such a slacker :)
ReplyDeleteBTW - got the last of Scott's swag while we were out of town. he will post is full report this week. I LOVE all of the prizes :)
wow that is an awesome run!! great job getting the 20 miles in. love the shoe pic!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures, thanks for sharing. There are so many great spots to run! Good job getting a 20 miler in!
ReplyDeleteVery nice photo-run. Plus, you got a big-ass sweet banner posted up there. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteWOW! You tackle some awesome hills!!
ReplyDeleteWow! That looks pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteWow... what's a quadrathon, exactly? I'm scared to tackle a Duathlon let alone a 4 event challenge!!! Wow.
ReplyDeleteThose are some awesome photos, btw. Who's taking them for you while you're running??
I'm thinking about doing an ultra distance next year. Where do I start?? Any advice?
That was one cheesy run :-) Well done!!!
ReplyDeleteBTW did you sign up for C2M yet?
ReplyDeleteThose pics are great! glad you carried us through the run. It does look very dirty. I guess that's what trail running is all about. Fun - fun.
ReplyDeleteFantastic run, love the mile by mile photo what a way to keep it fun for the readers.
ReplyDeletethe new masthead looks awesome!