2:42:18 (ave 9:01 pace). Beautiful day for a hilly run! Saguaro National Park West. I ran on the Bajada drive loop (a dirt road) 3 times. The trail maps say it is 6 miles, but based on my splits I did not believe it, I think it is about 400 - 600 meters short of 6 miles so I added on an extra mile (ran out and back on a ~ 1/2 mile dirt road that leads to a picnic area). The loops are primarily uphill for 3 miles and then downhill to flat for 3 miles. Splits were 51:05, 51:13, 49:59. I could not believe how good I felt on this run, the hard part was that I was getting bored with running -- mainly I just did not want to be out there any more near the end - it would have been nice to have some company. But it was such a pretty run that it was tolerable (and I was so happy that I felt good!). |