If it is good, try it again.

Had such a great time last weekend doing the Cactus Forest trail/Saguaro paved loop combo, that we decided to do it again! After a fitfull night's sleep, I awoke at 3:50am to meet the gals at the Broadway trailhead at 5am! This time, it was myself, Sheryl, Shari, and Laurie, which was such a surprise. I have not run with Laurie since last Spring, when she started experiencing knee pain and had to take time off. She was a welcome sight and she just looked great! Not only had she really shaped up, but she had on the cutest skirt/top combo (she is in the far right in the picture above).
I think all of us were pretty wiped out when we started. They all had done a 25 mile bike ride yesterday and I had ran my 9.5 mile hilly trail, so we took it slow and just had fun. We ended up doing 11 miles, which was perfect.

We did see one of those desert jack rabbits, which are always cute with the big ears. He just stopped and posed for us.

I ran into (not literally) my friend Steve, who was running the other way on the trail with Andy, I believe. Always great to see his smiling face; we gave each other a high five as we passed and we all kept running, of course.

Sheryl led the whole way at a good pace. We got a big monsoon rain last night in Tucson, so the run was a pretty muggy, sweaty one. We did have cloud cover for quite a bit of the morning, which was great! The last mile we didn't talk much; I think we were all ready to be done! But, we had fun, as always. Laurie always talks about recipes towards the end of the run, which is fabulous!

I got in about 39 miles running and 2 miles walking for the week. I also did 2 weight workouts.
Tomorrow, I'm not getting up early for anything.

Combo Cactus Forest trail run/Saguaro loop run

Well, my week has been absolutely crazy, so I haven't had much time to blog. I have worked through some of the things which were bothering me last weekend after some self examination and discussion with others. I came through this week with a new attitude, my runs have been great, I'm solving some of the remaining problems with the rental (almost done!) and Kenny and I got our $1,200 economic stimulus check (like a gift, it just dropped into my checking account via direct deposit!). With all the guys I have working on various things both at the rental and at my own house, I'm doing my share to stimulate the economy here in Tucson.

I did get about 35 miles of running in this week and about 3 miles of walking. I'm working back up to 40 miles a week, but I wanted to ramp up slowly and give it time to let all the creaks and aches to dissipate from my marathon/ultra blitz this Spring. I'm back to my twice a week weight workouts, which feels great. I try to do a variety of weight exercises for both upper and lower body, but I'm also trying to up my situps (did 100 on the ball) and pushups (3 sets of 10 on the stands). I may throw a 3rd weight workout in during the week, but I also know I need to make it back to Bikram Yoga (I'm feeling too creaky).

I had the most fabulous run this morning! I ran about 12 miles and ended up walking almost a mile in the middle for about 13 miles total. At the end, I was ready to do about 5 more miles! I was surprised about that, because I have been getting about 6 hours sleep a night, which just isn't cutting it. I'm hoping to catch up on my sleep tonight.

Anyway, back to the run: Shari, Sheryl and I met at the Broadway trailhead entrance to Saguaro National Park and ran the Cactus Forest trail to the Saguaro National Park paved 8 mile loop (about 1.7 miles). There was a sign that warned of mountain lion activity, but the trails affected were a a bit more east of us, so we went on and just stayed aware. We were pretty far from the water source (the dam), which is near where the lions were spotted by others.

Nancy, Lisa, Sue and a new gal Cathy (new to me) ran from somewhere else to the beginning of the park, so our plan was to hit the loop from the trail and run backwards to them, which we did. We didn't want to get too much running in, so we ended up doing a little walking until we ran into them. We found them and continued to run the loop until we reached the Cactus Forest trail from the other side of the loop (Cactus Forest trail starts outside the paved loop and runs right through it). We then ran back on the Cactus Forest trail all the way back to the trailhead (about 4.2 miles). Lisa, Nancy, Sue and Cathy continued on the loop. In addition to the trail, the part of the paved loop that we did is super hilly, and we got a phenomenal workout! The 8 mile loop is the course for the Saguaro Labor Day run, which I just signed up for (my 4th running of it). After the run, I went and signed up for the Everyone Runs 11 mile Catalina State Park trail run, which is on September 27th. Got some cool schwag for getting there early to register (a pair of Everyone Runs socks and a $10 Robeks smoothie gift card!) Looks like my 2008 race calendar is shaping up.

Great picture of Shari and the new gal, Cathy. They'll be doing a half Ironman in July.

It was really a fun run today; lots of chatting and laughing and I guess I have just decided to let everyone be who they are and have fun, too. Lots to be thankful to God for today: a man who truly loves me, great friends, being able to run like the wind, opportunities for spiritual growth, and the ability to think of others on occasion and how I may help them.

Change of running plans - 19 miles!

1st plan with Angie/Barb - Sabino Canyon Phoneline trail/tram road loop x 2 (18 miles). Too much water we figured, so onto the next plan...

2nd plan with Angie/Barb- Douglas Springs trailhead to Cowhead Saddle out and back (17 miles). Check out pictures from Angie's blog and you'll see why I changed my mind about this one.
3rd plan (no Angie or Barb) - about the same as last week - 8 mile Saguaro East paved loop, followed by 11 miles of Cactus Forest/Mica trails.

We had quite a storm on Friday that dumped a significant amount of snow on the surrounding mountains and lots of water in the valley. I knew Sabino Canyon would be too much water to wade through, so we made an alternate plan - running with the Tucson Trail Runners to Cowhead Saddle in the Rincon Mountains. I canceled out on that one because I was concerned about the amount of snow on the Rincon mountains. 'Fear of the unknown'. I didn't want to risk falling or getting injured on ice/snow, so Angie went on without me. Sorry Angie! She was one brave one though. I'm a warm weather runner, that's for sure!

Here are the Rincon Mountains with snow on them this morning.

So, I ran the 8 mile loop by myself. It is really hilly (with one super hill) and is a great workout.

You can see the super hill here in this elevation profile:
Then Laurie met me for 11 miles of trails (Cactus Forest and Mica in Saguaro National Monument East). I was so warm! It felt lovely. We ran into a little mud, but not too bad. Pretty dry for the most part.

I felt pretty good, although I have this mild shin pain that has been going on for several weeks now. I don't think I have upped my mileage significantly - it must be shin splints and I'm just in denial. I could have run a little farther today I felt so good at the finish.

Our friend Lisa (back from Oregon!) showed up at the end of the run to go for a bike ride with Laurie. Doesn't she look fabulous?

Laurie and Lisa gearing up for a bike ride

Next week - out to Tucson Mountain Park for a 20 + miler. I love, love, love it out there. I have 3 more long, long runs before I start tapering for the marathon!

19.5 miles!

Today I ran 9 miles on the Saguaro National Monument East Loop (paved - including the picnic loop) followed by 10.5 miles on the Cactus Forest Trail (from the Visitor's Center). It was fantastic! My fueling was perfect - I felt great the whole time, plenty of energy, and no stomach problems. I used Hammer Heed, Hammer Perpetuem, Clif Blox, and Hammer Endurolytes (electrolyte replacement). The Hammer products are great since there is no sugar.

The last 2 miles my legs were getting tired, but I felt that was normal since this was my longest run so far in my training. I know I'll be ready for my marathon on March 30.

I did the run in two pieces. I don't have anyone to run the whole run with, so I was blessed to be joined by some road running friends for the first part (paved) and then some trail running friends for the second part (trails).

I met my friends Nancy and Lisa (she's moved back from Oregon to stay!) first thing this morning and did the 9 mile loop. It was pretty cold at the start (about 38 degrees) but by the time we were done, it had warmed up nicely! This loop is great hill training. It has one monster hill in the middle that goes on and on. I feel like my conditioning is coming along because it wasn't that hard!

It was so wonderful to see Lisa and Nancy. I had not run with Nancy since January 5th and I hadn't seen Lisa since November when she moved to Oregon. They are amazing women and I'm so glad they are in my life!

After we were done, they went on their way and my friend Laurie and a new friend of mine, Shari, met me and we did the remaining 10.5 miles on the Cactus Forest Trail. Shari has done an Ironman and Laurie will be training for one in the Fall (she has already done a half Ironman). This trail is nice single track with some rolling hill action and some rocky areas. I love it!

I went home and ate A LOT. I'm usually hungry all day when I run this long! However, I'm trying to be good. I ate some extra firm tofu (protein!) and 3 thick slices of some heavy duty whole grain bread (Essene bread). Essene bread is just made with sprouted grain - nothing else. No sugar, no yeast, nothing. It is very sweet and moist and amazing and has protein, fiber and carbs! I get it at the health food store.

I gained weight last year during marathon training (I can eat all I want right? I'm training for a marathon!), so this year I'm trying to eat lots of berries, cherries, fruit in general, whole grains (brown rice, whole grain pasta), tons of veggies, salmon, lean ground beef, tofu, and lots of beans. I do allow myself some sweets - chocolate! However, I try to limit it to small pieces of dark chocolate, Skinny Cow fudge bars, and dark chocolate covered edamame (Trader Joe's, yum! Lots of fiber and protein). Angie's last post got me thinking about my diet again. I know my training goes better when I eat better. It is just so hard to make good choices when I'm hungry all the time!

The trail just heals my soul. I continue to fall more in love with the Tucson desert.

I'm getting a massage today. My shins and calves are super tight and still sore. Can't wait! Have a good day, ya'll!