Tales from the Trails

My weekends for the last 2 months have been filled with trail running.  Every Thursday I look at my schedule and decide which trails I'm running and how far.  I love trail running.  Aside from making me super strong, trails are a great escape.  Stressed?  Hit the trails.  Mad about something?  Hit the trails.  Happy and content?  Hit the trails.  I can't get enough of the solitude, being away from cars and the general noise of life for a while.  Even when I have the pleasure of company on the trails, I feel like I am escaping from the crowds. 

Last weekend, completely jet lagged from our return to the mainland, I ran the Javalina 12 hour Night Run put on by Aravaipa Running.  The beauty of a timed event is that you can run as far or (in my case) as little as you want.  Since my husband came with me out to McDowell Mountain Park, I opted for one loop as he would be very bored and half asleep waiting on me to run further.  So I made the most of it.  When the clock ticked down to race time and we were told to "GO!" I took off.  My goal was to make it through the rocky climb at mile 3 before needing my headlamp.  The sun was quickly setting, but I made it past the worst of the rocks before I needed a little light assistance.

I discovered quickly that I should have changed the batteries in my headlamp.  The beam was very dim and did little to light my path.  Luckily, I had a small flashlight for backup and dug that out of my pack to help out my dying headlamp.  I didn't feel great.  My legs were trashed from rehab on Friday (learned a new routine!) and my tummy was yucky after a normal day of eating.  Being a morning runner, I almost never eat before running.   I find it difficult to fuel for an evening run.  I tried to be very careful, eating things that were easily digested, but it went awry somewhere around 3 pm after which time I was bloated and generally not in a good place.  (I'm pretty sure it was the iced coffee drink that I thought would give me a nice caffeine boost...) 

Despite all of that I ran hard and well for the entire 15.5 mile loop.  My friend LM passed me at mile 4, flying in her very first trail race!  I was excited for her and thrilled that her first experience was such a great one.  And MPS caught me around mile 7 or 8.  We ran together for a couple of miles before he finally left me with about 3 miles to go.  Overall I was thrilled with my effort.  I finished 21 minutes faster than last year, and was 3rd woman and 10th overall in the single loop division.  After the race, and into the next day, I complained that I felt like I had run two loops.  My already defeated legs were not happy about my hard run!  Sunday morning we slept in and had a leisurely bike ride to our favorite breakfast place in an attempt to palliate my limbs.

Between work and family stuff, the week flew by.  Soon it was Thursday again and I was contemplating my trail plans for the weekend.  I decided to check out a couple of trails that I had never run out at Pemberton on Saturday, planning for around 15-16 miles.  On Sunday, I would tackle the 5.6 mile loop at San Tan with my friend HP. 

Saturday I was up early.  Having woken at about 4 am, I was in and out of sleep and finally decided to get out of bed at 5:10 am.  I hit the road at 5:30 ish and headed out to MMP.  My legs were sluggish from the 28 miles accumulated already in the week.  I didn't have my usual pep in my trail step.  At 1.8 miles in, on perfectly flat, sandy trail I totally hit the dirt.  My toe caught a rock and in seemingly slow motion, I hit the ground with my hands, right knee and finally right shoulder before I slid to a stop.  I laid on the ground for a moment, my already beat-up body now even more so.  I crawled to my hands and knees and surveyed the damage.  Pretty minimal cuts on my hands and knee.  My shoulder took the brunt of the trail rash, but was covered by my T-shirt and therefore contained limited amounts of debris.  I used my hydration pack to rinse the wounds and got moving again, being more careful to pick up my feet. 

At 3.5 miles, Dixie Mine Trail diverged to the left.  This was where I began exploring, and I loved every minute of it.  Dixie Mine took me up and over the ridge and down down down to the valley floor only to rise again on the other side.  It was rocky, steep ups and downs, and overall just the challenge I was looking for.  I had a map I was following, but I didn't know exactly how far it would be taking me.  I could have turned around at any time, but I was enjoying it so much.  I ended up taking DM to it's dead end before I turned around.  I stopped, checked out the trail head, ate the contents of a Peter Rabbits Organics pouch, and hit the trail again.

By now I was 9 miles in and feeling a little fatigued.  I had to walk a couple of the steeper segments but I ran the entire gradual climb back to where Coachwhip Trail diverged, the second of my new trail adventures.  CW was another fun trail to explore.  Very runable.  I bumped into a handful of mountain bikers, the first people I had seen all day.  About 2 1/2 miles later I was back onto Pemberton, at mile 14, heading toward the Tonto Tank Trail.  I was cooked.  I took my second PRO pouch and took some salt capsules. 

I hit 15 miles just before Tonto Tank.  Finally, a nice downhill stretch!  I coasted down the trail.  Not super fast, but holding a 9:20 pace which was decent at 17 miles in.  With a mile to go, I turned back onto the Pemberton Trail heading toward the parking lot/ trailhead.  I stepped into the open lot just as I took my last sip of water from my hydration pack.  Couldn't have timed it any better.  I had run 18.6 miles.  Little bit longer than planned, but worth every step. 

And I can't help but wonder, is it wrong that I wear my trail rash like a badge of honor?  I have been showing it off to everyone.  Yes, I am a clutz.  But I'm a badass clutz.  18.8 miles and some bruising and scrapes to show for it. 

Looking forward to next weekend:  The Cave Creek Thriller!  First of the fall trail series by Aravaipa Running.  My goal is to beat my time from last year by 45-60 minutes.  (I bonked bad last year and ended up walking about 6 miles...)  I heart trails!