9 miles
2,000 vertical
Got out with Tim and Brandon today for a little jaunt up SuperFlag. I have been meaning to do this for some time, primarily for pushing a bit on the downhill in order to shock my downhill muscles into shape a bit, just in case I am able to go to the Grand Canyon in 2 weeks, plus the trails are so crappy right now, it almost seemed appealing to run on the road.
Started off at a fairly casual pace, chatting with Tim about various topics. Upped the tempo here and there, but not by much, just really bad pacing really, yet I was not set on any certain pace, just kind of enjoying the day. Picked up the pace a bit in the last mile through the steepest section (not really upping the pace, just upping the effort a bit to get up the hill).
All the wet sand and slush on the road made footing a little slippy toward the top, but nothing like the trails would be now. Made the top in 44:32 and Tim was not far behind. We turned tail, taking it fairly conservative as to not totally kill our legs, or slip on the poor road surface. 7 minutes for the 1st mile, then 5:53 for the second, not sure on the 3rd mile but was going somewhat fast, at least for the first half, then it started to feel as though I was getting a flat tire. Not sure what that was about, as I stopped a few times to examine my right shoe and it looked intact. I guess it was some odd foot sensation that went away when I stopped. 28:47 for the down.
I feel like quite the klunker on the road, but it is a good exercise in pacing, cadence and is an all around great workout.
