This morning I finally made it the top of ridge I’ve been eyeing for a few weeks now and was not disappointed. I apologize for not bringing the HD camera with me but I plan on going over the peak next time!!! The final climb to the summit was only .25 miles but had grades of 18-21%.
It’s absolutely gorgeous back there and I can’t wait to see what lies around the next bend and hill.
RMFR
The title of this post has two meanings. The first and most important is that I’ve found my love for running once again. The second is paying homage to Third Day’s song “Born Again.” Looking for some really good spiritual music? Third Day is it!!!
If you’ve been following along, you know that I’ve been struggling all year finding my way thru injuries and just finding my groove running. Who knew all it would take would be some rocky trails right outside my front door?
Every once in awhile in my 6+ years running, I hit some trails in the foothills west of Las Vegas. It was fun and different but never really stuck. When I really bottomed out a couple of weeks ago, I thought it couldn’t hurt to give the same trails a shot again. It’s been magical what’s happened and my whole view of running has once again shifted gears.
While training for various races, I had always felt that the trail running got in the way of my weekly schedules and tempo runs. How could I truly determine my pace when running uphill on technical terrain skewing my times? Long runs? No way!!! Again, can I compare 20 miles on the trails to the streets? I think not!!! That’s the kind of thinking that impeded me really appreciating trail running. It’s all changed now.
I no longer care about my race times. I’m more concerned with my love of running and keeping it going for a very, very long time. My last race, the Summerlin Half Marathon, had some very challenging hills and I vowed shortly after that I would not fear another hill again. This brought me back to the trails. Running them requires climbing the entire way until I turn around. While I might not be able to run all the way up, it’s getting easier each successive time.
With no headphones, nature is up front and all around me. That and the fact that I want to hear any signs of danger (snakes, coyotes, mountain lions, etc.) let’s me soak everything in. There are no trees just rocks so orienteering is fairly easy. Yes, you might take a wrong trail every now and again but they all lead down. It’s not a matter of getting down, just where it spits you out.
I’ve vowed to now take all long runs on the trails while inserting a couple of street runs just for times sake. Since it takes a good 2+ miles to get to the “good stuff,” it doesn’t make any sense to take my shorter runs to the trails. I can hardly wait for my next long run. I don’t care about the distance on my running schedule, I just run until nature tells me to turn around.
As always, I want to share some of this with you. If you happen to be in the Las Vegas valley and want to join me some Saturday, shoot me an email and we’ll hit it together (just don’t leave me in the dust).
This is about 2+ miles into my trail run. It’s when you first start hitting the red rock formations and gully’s. Before you get here, you’re sure to bump into the desert cottontails and if you’re really lucky, a family of coyotes.
This is the first landmark worth stopping to look at. You can see this rock formation from all over Las Vegas. It’s much better up close and personal. You have a couple of options here. You can go right and take a little easier climb up or head down to the left. This will take your right to the base and up the “bad ass climb” that requires a little walking.
At the top of the “bad ass climb” one can look back upon the Las Vegas valley. It’s amazing how quickly you can make the Las Vegas Strip seem small. A goal of mine to to run these trails one night for a surreal light show. Need to find a running buddy first. Don’t think I want to tackle this feat alone.
A little further up into the foothills additional rock formations come into full view. While not as spectacular as the first, they all have there own charming qualities.
This is where I called it a day last Saturday. I had set a time limit of one hour before I turned around. This point is approximately 4 miles and 1,500 ft. in elevation change. With the loose gravel and sand, my legs started to scream at me to turn around. The great beyond is what has me intrigued. What wonders wait for me at the crest of the trail? I can hardly wait to find out!!!
RMFR
So many times we get caught up in our training runs that we forget how enjoyable running can be when we put all that other crap else behind us. Such was the case with me last week.
Coming off what I considered a somewhat disappointing Rock-n-Roll Las Vegas Marathon, I was entering a runner’s low. I took off the whole week before starting up training for the Walt Disney World Marathon. I needed a recharge and it came with snow.
Las Vegas occasionally gets snow every winter and this year has been no different. Instead of putting in a short easy run to get the muscles firing again, I put on the trail shoes and headed up to the white fluffy stuff. Overnight, mother nature had deposited a nice dusting of snow up in the foothills. Since running in snow is something I don’t get to do that often, this was a situation I had to take advantage of!!!
I had my Garmin but didn’t look at it once. Instead I let myself blend in with God’s creation and tried to take everything in. I stopped. I walked. I even thru a couple of snowballs. When I reached a point to turn back, I took photos. I even took the time to call my dad and share with him the beauty that surrounded me. This was running for the pure enjoyment of it. I didn’t care what my mile splits were. I didn’t have any goal except to be one with the moment. Yes, my batteries are recharged and I’m going to try and remember that running IS enjoyable. If it’s not any fun, why do it?
RMFR
I’ve been going Urban Warrior for the last several months in training for my fall races. When training for races, I don’t usually head out for trail runs because I’m focusing on tempo and distance. This week was different. It was basically my first and only rest week during my 12 week training for the Rock-n-Roll Las Vegas Marathon so I decided to take my easy 6 mile run to the trail.
I’m a sucker for nature and just focusing on the trail (and avoiding ankle breaking rocks) and giving into natures surrounding totally rejuvenated my spirits for the rest of my training. The week before I felt like crap on my 20 miler and was a little dejected all week. I’m now looking forward to next weeks 20 miles with a passion and can’t wait to attack it with my new found energy. Here are some photos from my run on Saturday.
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Pearl Izumi is sponsoring a Running Preservation Society photo contest for animals you encounter on your runs. It’s funny but since I started trail running, I never gave much thought to it…until I told people about it. Rattlers, coyotes, scorpions…I never really thought about it. I will definitely be picking up some mace before me next trail run!!!
I’ve been struggling as of late so I thought I’d throw a wrench into the workout routine. I went on a trail run. I know for most of you, this isn’t a novel idea but for me I’ve been an “Urban Warrior” since I started running. The crazy thing is, it’s not like I have to go very far to get to the desert and trails – less than a 1/4 mile.
I live on the west side of Las Vegas adjacent to the Spring Mountains and the Red Rock Conservation Area. There’s a lot of construction going on and it’s amazing how easy it was to run up there. There are semi-graded roads that could literally hold four lanes of traffic. This morning, the most they held was myself and a couple of bunnies.
Here’s an aerial of the area (from what I can measure online, it’s about 3 miles up to the first outcroppings of red rock). NOTE: If my family or friends want to know what to get me for my birthday in June, click here or here!!!
I was really hoping for some spirituality this morning taking in God’s creations (being one with my surroundings) and with “God Skys” (right B?) it was looking good from the beginning.
My son doesn't call these "God Skys" but says that people go to heaven by going up the rays of the sun to God.
The climb was steep but I didn’t think about it much. With my mantra by my side and trying to figure out which way to go, it didn’t take too long to reach my destination.
This goes back forever and I can't wait to get a descent pair of trail shoes and an entire morning to explore how far back these trails goes.
The way back down was a piece of cake and took about 15 minutes less than it took to get up here. I “hanked” a left when I should have gone straight and came out 1/2 mile from where I entered. It’s funny how things look entirely strange from a different perspective.
This photo is from my highest point. The red circle indicates the Las Vegas strip. The yellow circle is the Red Rock Resort.
The point of this entire post is that changing things up is good…no GREAT!!! Was I fully energized? No. Was I fully in a meditative state with God? No. Was my running desire restored? You bet your “Slump Buster”!!! Now I’m going to pick up a pair of Nike Air Terra Humara’s tomorrow.
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