This was a new trail run for the Tucson Trail Runners; everyone who ran it today loved it. There were many variations; some ran shorter distances, and one person ran to Manning Camp (and encountered quite a bit of snow!) Dallas and I decided to run to Grass Shack Campground, via Loma Alta, Quilter and Manning Camp trails. Quilter trail is a newer section of the AZ trail that connects with the upper trails in the Rincons. Thank you Chase for coming up with this run!
Summary:
1 spectacular sunrise...
21 miles of pretty runnable terrain. I got a lot of running in, which I really needed for my training.
Nice view of fog over the city.
3,796 feet of elevation gain. We did some climbing, that's for sure, but it didn't feel too hard.
Big kitty paw prints along the trail. Glad I was with Dallas!
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| Mike says mountain lions like pink... |
1 fall with a bruised up knee.
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| Lots of large Saguaros in this area. |
We crossed water several times. It had rained like crazy earlier in the week. It was supposed to rain the day before our run, but it didn't, and then the revised forecast indicated that we would be running in rain the whole time. Thankfully, that didn't happen either, and the rain held off until that afternoon when we were finished.
I was leading us on the way back down and I missed the turnoff to the Quilter trail (I was in a trail trance - dancing downhill on a rocky trail). We ended up running a bit towards the Madrona Ranger Station, which added on about a 1/2 mile. Dallas kept yelling at me until I stopped and turned around - he was a little behind me. We got back on track and it was all good. Finished in 5:05.
This run gave me the confidence I needed to continue my training for my two 50 mile races in the Spring. I got in a lot of running today - it is slow running, but running. Everything feels good. I am happy.
"I want you to be everything that is you, deep in the center of your being."
~ Confucius
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