Sunnier Trails

Much more tolerable temps this week though—of course—with the increased humidity, it never really gets cooler than 80 (F), making those morning runs more miserable.  Monday I got out for a late morning ride around Saguaro East. Tuesday Rode for nearly an hour in the 105 afternoon heat. With the new bike, easily broke my personal best on Freeman Hill (Speedway to Spanish Trail), going sub-14 minutes for the first time. Wednesday Afternoon cloud cover kept the temperature just below 100 and I did my longest run in a while—8.25 miles—on the trails at Saguaro East. Felt pretty strong running again. Had one rattlesnake encounter: came around a corner and surprised a Western Diamondback that was crossing the trail, moving fast and rattling at the same time! Saturday Went out to the Camino Loma Alta trailhead and ran RidgeView once (2.0 miles); felt like the tank was empty so I wussed out and went home to have a proper breakfast. Another relatively "cool" afternoon; I rode the MTB d...

Before this whole pandemic thing, I was working on a list of trail lists in AZ that I'd like to do. I've done the Colossal Vail AZT 50K (twice), the BoulderDash 30K, the Fleet Feet AZ Trail race, the Oracle Rumble 12K, and maybe one or two other very short trail races. I do like the shorter races—the two times doing the Colossal Vail 50K where absolutely miserable experiences because of the heat, but I will definitely try to build my fitness up and do a 50K again, this time properly! Here's the list. I tried to narrow it down to one for each month, prioritizing those that are closest, and that wouldn't require an overnight trip. January: Oracle Rumble in Oracle, AZ (1 hour drive). I'll probably do the half marathon next. February: Copper Corridor 50K in Superior, AZ (2 hour drive). March: Old Pueblo 25-miler (about a 1 hour drive). I volunteered one year at this race but have never run it. April: The Texas Canyon Trail Run and the Vail Scramble Half Marathon. These ...

This week kind of fell apart, as I wasn't feeling motivated to 'beat the heat' at all, but I finished strong with a good run on Sunday, and with a gradual cool-down the rest of the summer (although, with the humidity from the arrival of the monsoons, it might not feel like it), I am optimistic about getting the mileage up! Monday I ran out to Garwood Dam (via the most runnable route this time), and repeated the section that is mostly shaded ascending from the 'T' trail intersection to the dam, for a total of around 6.2 miles. Tuesday Rode 12.5 miles through nearby neighborhoods, basically just checking out the bike after cleaning it extensively. Hot, but a bit of a breeze made it bearable (barely). Friday Ran 4 miles of trails and felt pretty cooked. Sunday Ran 6.2 miles of trails, actually putting some effort into it for a couple 2-mile sections, walking some of the washes and stairs and jogging the rest. Things felt pretty good. Big monsoon action the night prior,...

Monday I ran a mile out on the Douglas Springs Trail; it was already pretty warm and breezeless and I didn't feel like slogging up the steep vertical section, so I turned on Carillo, ran to the 'T' intersection where I turned around to make it about a 3-mile out-n-back. After that, the wind picked up so I decided to do a short tide out to the Rita Ranch area. Strong headwinds heading out; I was just noodling along, enjoying the breeze which was now making it feel much cooler. I went east on Valencia Road to check out the new pavement (I'd seen the black river of asphalt crossing the Pantano from Tanque Verde Ridge a week earlier). Had to turn around at the bridge as that is still under construction. Wednesday Passing the halfway point of the year. Just something like 555 running miles in 2020 to date due to my nagging heel issue, but I've finally felt like major progress has been made: for instance, on Tuesday night I'd gone on a long walk with Boo-Boo and it fe...