| This was, without a doubt, the most challenging run I've ever undertaken. I'm shocked-- SHOCKED-- that this run tracker software gives it a measly 3.7 out of 5.0. If this was a 3.7, I shudder to think what a 5.0 would be. 18 miles up a 45% grade in 100° heat carrying a live mule on my back while juggling lit torches and whistling the theme from Guns of Navarone? Sheesh! Anyway, Barry seemed to still be feeling sore, so Bill and I ran this run without him. We decided on a 12-miler at DC Ranch to get in some practice running hills. And that's one thing this area has-- in spades! The weather has finally, finally, FINALLY cooled off (the high today is only supposed to be 88°). We agreed to meet at Bill's house at 6AM since the weather would be more pleasant. Indeed, when I walked out the back door, it was almost chilly. I even had these weird bumpy protrusions all over the skin on my arms. It seems like I've seen them before. What are they called... oh yeah, goose bumps! We drove up to DC Ranch and left some water at about the 6-mile point of the route. When we got to the parking area, we were surprised to discover that today was the Tour de Scottsdale, a 70 mile bike race through the desert of North Scottsdale. The normally quiet parking lot was full of bikers in really expensive riding clothes and really expensive riding shoes on really expensive bikes. After finally finding a place to park, we got underway at about about 7AM. We did the first 3 miles at a pretty decent sub-9:00 pace. That part is mostly downhill, with an occasional flat or slight uphill to break it up. The challenge here is to keep from running TOO fast, which we managed to do. And then the fun began. We made a left turn onto Bell Road. We were immediately confronted with a 3/4-mile stretch of straight road that climbs from about 1650 ft. of elevation to about 1850 ft. As soon as we started, I turned to Bill and said, "Holy stuff this hill is fooling STEEP!" We attacked the hill at a really good pace, averaging 8:30 - 9:15. I stopped at the top to turn around and admire what we had just done. There is an awesome view of the Valley of the Sun from there. From there, it's a long downhill that drops about 300 feet. Again, I tried to keep my pace in check. I was also starting to feel some tightness in my calves, and wanted to make sure I wasn't hurting for the rest of the run-- or for our Big Race in a couple weeks-- so I kept my pace to around 9:00 or so. When we got to the bottom of the hill, we picked up our water and rested for a couple minutes. As we were descending, I thought, "That would be sinister if we made this into an out-and-back and just turned around and ran back up this crazy hill." I suggested that to Bill, and he said, "Sure. What the heck." After our rest, we set out again and immediately started climbing. And climbing. And climbing. This hill describes a sweeping arc. Just when you think you might be at the top, you round another curve and see more hill waiting for you. Bill seemed to be feeling great and pulled ahead. I was doing my darnedest to keep up, but the steepness was insanely challenging. When I looked at my Garmin later, I was surprised to see that I managed a 9:00 - 10:00 pace the whole time. I felt like I was barely walking. When we finally crested the hill, I stopped to walk a bit to enjoy the view again. Simply incredible. Then we started the shin-pounding descent. It's so hard to keep from all-out sprinting down a hill like that, but I did. When we reached the bottom, we turned back onto Thompson Peak Rd. and immediately started the 2 mile climb up F__kyou Hill. "This is insanse!" I thought. By then, my quads, hamstrings and calves were all crying mercy. I tried to push through the pain, but I had to take a few walk breaks on the way up. My muscles felt like a piece of steak that had been thwacked with a tenderizer for the past hour. Whenever I tried to accelerate, my legs would just chuckle and say, "Yeah right, asshole!" But we finally made it to the top of the hill, and I rejoiced inside. The final mile was a 9:00-ish plod to the finish. Again, I was surpised to see how fast my pace was because, at the time, it felt like I was just jogging slowly. I've never been so glad to see that parking area at DC Ranch. As soon as my Garmin hit 12.00 miles, I hit the stop button and started walking. Whew! Bill and I agreed that the run should be a 5.0 difficulty, given the length of the run and the number and steepness of the hills. The hills are just unrelenting and steep. It's not just the burning from the uphills, it's the pounding from the steep downhills. But I was satisfied in knowing that the 2 hills that The Other Half will throw at us in two weeks (TWO WEEKS!!) will be nothing in comparison.  I feel ready for The Big Race now. Activity
 Elevation (ft)  Pace (min/mile)  Splits
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Posted from runtracker.runnersworld.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday, October 5, 2008
The Rolling Hills of DC Ranch
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment