So far, as most of my runs had been solo – I was sticking to the Davis Creek Canyon drainage – just because that is where I had gone before. This Saturday morning I hooked up with a guy I met online (sounds bad, right?) on a FB page of other local trail runners. He showed me up the canyon just north of Davis Creek – the much bigger Steed Creek Canyon. The trail was much better traveled, and the…
Went out with the plan to bang out a 5k PR. Unfortunately, according to the GPS, I only went 3.3 miles instead of the needed 3.5-3.6. Oops. Good pace though – got PRs on a couple segments or road/trail. 3.3 miles @ 8:26 min/mile
Apparently never content with running trails I have already explored, I set off on this Saturday morning to explore another new route. I had previously failed in following Triumph Trail up the north side of Davis Creek Canyon, but had since believed to have spotted where I took a wrong turn. So, with a new set of running tights to protect against some chilly morning air, I set off. The first part of the trail I already knew, and had…
As I have mentioned, I know that trail running extends my endurance. A slower 6 mile in the hills is way easier than pounding out 6 miles at my top pace on pavement. So…I decided to test my legs out and really see if my endurance on the streets was improving. I decided to run a straight 10 miles. I had never done this before, so it was a big deal for me. It was hard, but I’m very glad…
With the family still out of town, I took a longer excursion up to the top of Farmington Canyon to run the Great Western Trail from Francis Peak to Thurston and back. I had done this once before, and wanted to get it in again before the canyon road was shut down. As I drove up, however, I noticed an oddly large volume of 4×4 pickup trucks going up and down the canyon. Then, I noticed people in orange vests…and…
Back from my conference in Tucson, my family was out of town – so I had to take advantage of having free time to myself. Up till now I had only run solo. Even in Kearney on the streets – I may have run one time with my wife. My next door neighbor said he was up for a run, even though he runs full-on 100 mile ultras. He agreed to not make fun of my slow pace. I was…
In October I had a conference to attend down in Tucson, so I decided to drive. My plan was to find a place to run somewhere in the middle of the drive and I chose an obscure canyon that gets easy access to the Colorado River. It is Soap Creek Canyon, south of the 89a and the Vermillion Cliffs. The night before I couldn’t sleep so I just hit the road around 3:30 AM – arriving at the trail-head around…
I was feeling good on the trails. THRILLED about going 6-9 miles. But, I was realizing that there was a bit of self-deception. My PACE on the trails was slow. That is normal for trail running. A bit slower overall – fast power hiking on big climbs, etc… You aren’t running at a full street pace the whole time. So, I was wondering if I could put in 6-9 miles on the pavement. I suspected not. I decided to shoot…
High on the excitement of feeling a little bit familiar with the Davis Creek trails, and having looked at the map a lot, I decided to explore further. I went up towards Pretty Valley, but cut East up the hill on what I thought was going to be a trail. It was not. More scratches and lesson learned. If it looks like it “might” be a trail…that’s about all it is – it “might” be a trail. But it is…
Another hike with the kids We hiked up the Davis Creek trail to the first bench, which is pretty steep, and they did great!