1:54:31. Very hilly mountain run, two laps + a little under a mile added on in the middle (59:17, 55:34). I tried to get out earlier, but the best I could manage was 7:30 and it was already 70F, it is 87F and sunny now. Now that it is hot, I plan on running at least 10-20 secs/mile slower than I normally would (well, I don't know exactly what pace, I guess I would say I start out running no faster than 65-75% effort). Most of the time, this works fine and I can pick it up the later part of the run - or not if it is really hot out.
So, today I ran on the big dirt road that goes through Saguaro Park West. This is were the BIG snakes live ;-). It is a safe place to run though, because even if I see a snake the road is plenty wide enough to go around them. I saw two snakes, one live and one dead, neither of them were rattlesnakes (they were much too pretty and colorful - although one of them was easily as big around as my forearm). The VERY COOLEST thing? I saw my first Gila Monster, he/she was much larger than the one in this picture, about the size of a small cat (larger than a kitten - maybe an adolescent cat). They say that a Gila Monster bite is the most painful desert creature bit there is ... I did not put my hand down to test it out -- it did not seem like it cared that much about me watching him/her. It was very pretty, bright orange spots/lines. Very very cool - I sped it up after this, because I wanted to check the internet to make sure it was a Gila Monster! Today is the final day of NCAA PAC 10 track and field regionals (as our own Ruthio knows ... although I think she is in the Mountain region). Anyway - after 7 events Arizona women are ahead of U of Oregon ... wow. Of course, the 1500 and the 5K are today, so who knows what will happen; not to mention the 800m! Still, I was happy to Arizona in number 1 status, even if it is short lived. Have a wonderful day resting and enjoying your family bloggers. Congratulations to all of our awesome Ogden Marathon and 1/2 Marathon runners! | 