A very wet run on 50 year and Sutherland trails in CSP

Julie and I sat in the truck for about 20 minutes waiting for the rain to stop before starting our trail run in Catalina State Park this morning a little before 8am. It was looking like it was clearing, but 15 minutes into the run, the rain started and didn't stop the entire time! Luckily, I had my new Arcteryx rain jacket, which I had yet to rain test. It held up well, and I didn't overheat since the jacket had pit zips and I could get some ventilation. Poor Julie, though; I think she was soaked to the bone the entire run. What a trooper. I'll miss her when she heads out of town next month. She says she is not a tough one, but I disagree.

We started on the Bridle Trail, connected to the 50 year trail and then the Sutherland Trail. The Bridle Trail is super sandy, the 50 year trail is a fairly good climb onto a ridge and the Sutherland Trail was not so great. Shortly after getting onto the Sutherland Trail, it dropped back down off of the ridge in a series of short, steep switchbacks, which we navigated with care. After that, the trail turned into boulder fields for long stretches. And, by this point, the rain had really picked up, and although it was about 55 degrees at the start of the run, it seemed as if the temperature dropped about 10 or more degrees with the heavy rain. We were freezing (can you tell Julie is cold on the picture on the left above?)

I had meant to call Joyce (I added her nice blog to my blog listing) and ask about the Sutherland trail, which she had just ran; however, I had so much going on, I kept forgetting. It was probably just as well; if she had told me the truth, I probably would have skipped it. I'm sure Julie would have been okay with that, too. :)

However, the views of the Catalina mountains were amazing, albeit covered in hazy fog. The saguaro cactus just seem like sentinels out there watching over us as we went down the trail over wet, slippery rocks.

I had planned on doing 2 loops of the Canyon Loop trail (2.3 miles each) when we were done, but we were just too wet and too cold. Our shoes were just sloshing with all the water. I did have the energy, though. I felt good out there today. So, we ended up doing about 9 miles. The Sutherland trail hooks back down to the Canyon Loop trail, and we took the short part of the Canyon Loop trail back to the trailhead. Warm thoughts of a truck heater at the end of the trail and hot shower when we got home were beckoning. I will say that the last part of the Sutherland trail before Canyon Loop was super runnable and I had some fun on that section. If I hadn't been so wet and cold, I would have followed through with the plan.

Well, I ended up getting about 26 miles for the week. I certainly had planned on getting over 30 miles this week, but with cutting today's run down by 5 miles, that didn't happen. I'll do a nice, long weight workout later on today in the warmth of my exercise room.

Julie and I stayed in pretty good spirits all considering and she bought me an Einstein's bagel afterwards (Good Grains, my favorite, with honey butter) which was heavenly. Thanks Julie!

I've got plenty of 'news' going on, but I'll save that for another day. Time for that hot shower.

Law of Probability and Trail Running

Since plans fell through to run with someone else this weekend, I ran by myself out at Catalina State Park. Having no commitment to someone, I took the opportunity to sleep in a little and I headed out a little late, arriving at the park at 8am. I'm always a little nervous/excited heading out on a longer trail run by myself. Not sure why, but I think I worry about what I might encounter (i.e. critters), but also, whether or not I'll be able to stay energized running by myself and not having companionship to pass the time. It turned out fine, as usual.

I knew the Catalina State Park trail race packet pick-up was going to start at 10:30am at the park, and rather than make two trips out there (1 hour round trip driving each time), I thought it would be good to get my run in later in the morning and then right when I got done, I could get my packet. I did the whole race course, plus a little extra, for about 12 miles total. The course consists of the Canyon Loop trail, an out and back on the Montrose trail (where it forks to go to Romero Pools), the Nature trail, and an out and back portion of the Bridle trail. I did all of those twice, which is what we'll do during the race, and then I did an extra loop on the Nature trail and a little extra out and back on the Bridle trail. I would guess around 12 miles. I wanted to do 13, but I got too late of a start and it was just too hot. You can tell how high the sun was by my shadow in this picture:

The wildflowers were still out, although no rain has everything drying up quick:

And dang it was hot! Getting started after 8am made for a super challenging run. The desert was heating up quick. I wore sunscreen SPF 70, so I wouldn't get sunburned, but I still got too much sun on my chest and shoulders. Luckily, the race will be starting at 6:30am, so it should be great! I'll be switching to evening runs soon, as darkness steals my morning run time day by day. So, a little heat training was probably good, because it is still pretty hot in the evenings here in sunny Tucson. The water I saw out on the trail will probably be dried up by race weekend:

The Law of Probability header is related to seeing rattlesnakes. I guess if you run trails enough, the stats on seeing rattlers goes up, too. I haven't seen very many while trail running, but I saw 2 today! One was crossing the trail in front of me and I heard him before I saw him. I was polite and let him pass, snapped a few pics, and ran by him when he was almost off the trail. Boy, did he send off a rattle when I did that! Made my heart beat faster. That's what I love about trail running - it is so exciting and adrenaline-filled! Another one I saw was off the trail, and the only reason I saw it was a guy was bent over taking a picture of it. This rattler was not happy at all, and the head on this one was up off the ground about a foot or so in strike position. This happy hiker was snapping pictures like there was no tomorrow. I made a comment about the snake not looking too happy and I moved on along!

It is pretty sandy out there - great workout for the ankles and calves!

Running alone, which I do for most of my runs, I think of all sorts of stuff. Today, there were a gazillion ants out there on the trail; over and over again, I pondered how many thousands I killed on today's trail run (and other bugs I may have done in). It really bothered me! I also wondered if I'll be able to face my increased responsibility at work, how I can become more effective in helping others, and how I'll do with my upcoming training (trail running in the dark! more on that later). I came to the conclusion that God will help me deal with all of my problems! He always has. Not sure what to do about the ants/bugs dilemma.

There are still plenty of open slots for the Catalina State Park 11 mile trail race, so come join us! Should be a lot of fun. There is a 5.5 mile option as well. When I picked up my packet, Steve, the RD, didn't recognize me because I wasn't wearing pink (he always says, 'pretty in pink' when he sees me!) Can't wear pink everyday when I'm running, but I almost do. :)

Sure was pretty out there today and I had a good time. It is always good to run with others, but I'm glad I feel comfortable enough in my own skin to run alone with all the thoughts in my head (no ipod!)

I got in 37 miles for the week and 2 weight workouts. I was going to do Bikram yoga, but my in-laws are coming into town and I needed to clean the house. Can't do it all, but I try.

Catalina State Park trail run

This morning, I headed out for a training run for the upcoming Catalina State Park 11 mile trail race. Julie (my new friend from Colorado), Shari (my trusty trail running partner in crime), Shari's friend Jen, and I met out at the park today to check out the course. We arrived right about 6am, and it was just getting light enough to be able to hit the trails. Our plan was to do 2 loops of the course, which is 11 miles (some people can choose the 5.5 mile option only). Jen was out on her first trail run, I think, so she was only going to do about 8 miles. The course is a 'reverse the course' from the race in April. So, we go down the steps (all 92 of them) this time around, but up a big hill instead (and you still have to go up the other big hill on the Nature trail either way). Seemed just as hard, but it is a fun and beautiful course. It was Julie's first time on the full course, and I think she really enjoyed herself, too. She has good stories to tell and the time passed fast.

Julie, Renee and Shari

The park is glorious right now! I'm not used to seeing it after so much rain. Everything is very green and the wildflowers are in full bloom. Morning glories have taken over and are covering everything with the bright blue flowers and vines. There were also tons of these purple flowers which were amazing! Definitely a great place to be this time of year. Morning glories are actually considered a 'noxious weed' in Arizona (they spread like crazy). The reason I believe they have classified it as such is because they are highly allergenic and of course, Arizona has enough problems with allergens.

The tens of thousands of little blue flowers didn't bother me today, but Shari was really suffering with her breathing. The morning glories were everywhere! Really pretty, but not if they are bothersome to someone! I sure hope Shari feels better.

Julie, Renee and Jen (Isn't she tan? Holy cow, I look like a pale white girl next to her)

This is a fairly sandy course, which feels great on the body, but gives the lower legs a real workout! There are some rocky areas, but not too bad. We had to rock hop across a few creek crossings, and there are some hilly/uphill sections along the course.

If you haven't made it out to Catalina State Park recently, go check it out. Better yet, join us for the race on Saturday, September 27th.

This puts me at 35 miles for the week (four 6 mile mid-week runs and about 11 today). I'll be taking tomorrow off from running to get back into the Bikram (hot) yoga. I feel a little creaky and think it would be good. I'll be upping my running mileage a bit and getting serious about marathon training soon and I want to make sure I'm really taking care of my body. I skip the hot yoga all summer because it is already super hot in Tucson, and sitting in a hot room just doesn't sound fun. Now that the weather is cooling off, it shouldn't be too bad.

Oh, and I consumed raisins again during my long run today, and they were great. I just get a small snack bag, fill it up and snip a corner off. Then, I squeeze them out to eat them. I don't have to worry about touching them, because they are sticky. Works great!

What a fun morning. I think all of us felt like little kids out there today, running in the sand, rock hopping, running screaming fast on the downhills (thought I heard a 'wheeee' out of someone today) and just having a blast. Trail running in the desert is a real kick.