Monument Valley Park

This run was a much needed long run. I usually do a fairly long run every other week as part of my training plan. Last week I was supposed to do a long run, but it was the also the 5K (plus I was traveling and it's always kind of hard to do while traveling). Anyway, it had been two weeks since my 11 mile run and I was a little worried about doing a 12 mile run. I had been wanting to go to Monument Valley Park - another nice downtown park that connects to the Pikes Peak Greenway trail. This park had trails that circle around the park and connect to the longer main trail. I thought I would circle the park once and then go out and back on the main trail. There was actually some kind of race going on at the park, but after I circled the park and got to the part of the trail where the "finish" line was, the race was all over. It was a really nice trail and park. The day started out overcast and cool - which was nice, and then cleared up with some sun. The trail was nicely shaded in most parts so that helped. I'm pretty sure at least part of the half marathon is on this section of trail. So it was also nice to get familiar with the terrain. I took along two different gels - a power bar chocolate gel and a cliff shots vanilla. The chocolate one actually tasted pretty good. The vanilla was was disgusting. I think I'll stick to the power bar brand - that one has tasted the best so far. I also had my best pace ever for a long run - 11:29 average per mile. My 10 mile run was 12:41 and my 11 mile run was 12:22. Somehow, I had the energy to finish faster than my last few miles. In the past, I have always gotten slower and slower as the run went a long. Now I'm hopeful that I can finish in about 2:30. I did 12 miles in 2:18 and I'm pretty sure I could have done one more mile in 12 minutes or less. I misjudged my distance and had about 3/4 of a mile back to my car after the 12 miles. I stopped my watch right at 12 miles because I wanted my average pace to be for the 12 miles. I was pretty sore and tired on that walk back. I was also sore the rest of the day - not really my muscles, but my joints. The next day my muscles were pretty sore. I got some blisters on my toes as well. I felt like it was a pretty good run. I love getting to know the trails all around Colorado Springs. Today there was an article in the paper that had maps and explanations of a lot of the trails. I'm excited to try some different ones next time.



August 1 Long Run on Garmin Connect