I'm in St. George visiting my
grandparents with Catherine and my brother, Sean. We got into town
last night sometime after 11:00, and we weren't in bed until sometime
after midnight, so this morning's “early” start wasn't until
about 7:00. I drove out to Hurricane and parked at the trailhead up
on the mesa. From there I ran about 4.5 miles up the highway toward
Polygamyville and Gooseberry Mesa and then picked up the JEM trail. I
stopped there for a few minutes to shed some weight (if you know what
I mean), eat a gel, and sign the trail register.
The JEM trail is a gem, in my opinion.
I've ridden it on my mountain bike several times, but today was my
first time running it. The trail rolls and swoops through the desert,
a gradual descent almost the entire way with a few short climbs and
some steep drop-offs along the way. Because the sun was low in the
sky, the temperature was fantastic and I ran with my shirt off for
about an hour.
After five miles, the Hurricane Rim
trail intersects the JEM trail. This trail connects the JEM trail to
the parking lot where I left my car, about seven miles away.
Hurricane Ridge is a different beast. Although it's no mountain,
there are a couple of small but sustained climbs, and a lot more rocks and
technical sections along the way. My brother and I rode the trail
last year at Thanksgiving, and I crashed three times and broke my
saddle, thanks to my dismal bike-handling skills.
Anyways, it was here that the wheels
started coming off today, too, so to speak. First, I saw a sign with
what looked like a picture of a snake on it, and it made me start
worrying about snakes. I freaking hate snakes. Also, the sun had
started to come out, and although it was only in the mid-80s, it was
much hotter than anything I've run in this year. On some of the later
climbs, I started to feel dizzy and nauseous, and I had to walk a few
short stretches—pretty lame, given the relatively mellow nature of
the climbs.
Anyway, I made it back to the car
without incident, other than almost not being able to find my keys,
which I had hidden a little too well along the cliff. I ended up
finishing just under 17 miles in 2:15. Sadly, my longest run since
the Buffalo Run, and my second longest run of the year. I could have
run the Gould's Rim trail rather than the highway up to the JEM
trail, but I'm glad I decided not to. Given the heat, I would have
needed to start earlier than I did, and I don't think my leg would
have enjoyed the extra three miles.
Speaking of my leg—I wouldn't say my
knee hurt, but I felt enough twinges to know it wasn't happy.
Seventeen miles is probably about five too many right now, and I
expect I'll be pretty sore this evening. I've swallowed a handful of
ibuprofen preemptively, and I'll ice the knee a little later.
Hopefully it won't keep me from running next week.
By the way, the Grandeur Peak Fun Run
is next week. If you're in Salt Lake next week and you run mountains, you won't want to miss this one. http://sites.google.com/site/mrcultra/granduer-fun-run
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