7.6.14 Pilot Knoll Trail Run

Last week's trail run was a disaster.  No other way to put it.  I just didn't have it.  Rich, Joe and I decided to leave an hour earlier this week to avoid some of the heat.  I met them at Joe's house at 7am.  We made it to the trail head at 7:30.  Same plan from last week.  Go 30 minutes south, turn around, refuel at the trail head, and go 30 minutes north and back.  We ended up going a little long on the way out.  I think it was like 34 minutes and slightly over 3 miles.  At the turnaround, we had a gel and walked for a few minutes before starting the leg back.  The southern section of the trail is more open and you have the sun beating on you.  I didn't feel great at all for the first return from miles 3-6.  I was soaking wet when we got back to Joe's truck.  We stopped for a minute to refuel and then started the second leg.  We needed about 25 minutes out and then would reevaluate what to do.  After we went through the tunnel at 2499, we got in a rhythm and it felt really good on the shaded, flatter sections of the trail.  I think we ended up going almost 30 minutes out before turning around.  Ate another gel and had a salt pill at the turnaround.  Once we passed West Nile pond, there was two miles to go and I was feeling pretty good.  We picked up the pace a little.  The 2499 tunnel is one mile from the parking lot.  I decided to put the pedal down a little and see how my body would respond.  Rich stuck with me and we were running 9 minute pace or below.  There are four logs across the trail when you get to the last half mile.  Good to see the logs and I was hopping over them instead of walking over them.  Rich helped to motivate us and keep the pace going.  Once back to the parking lot, the time was around two hours and six minutes.  My garmin had approximately 11.4 miles.  Rich and Joe wanted to get to 12 so they put in a little extra.  I was done.  We park just outside the guard shack to the park.  They have a hose there and the attendant lets us use it.  The cold water is greatness.  It's like getting a cold shower.  Feels great and cools the body temperature.  We usually set up the camping chairs in the shade, eat some fruit and drink some Endurox for recovery.  Nothing better than that after a run.  Much better day than last week and I did more miles the day before on the bike.  This whole Boulder thing might work out.

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/535815650