Testing the trails

After talking to a few people, I realized that most didn't notice the link to my GPS report at the top of my last post, so I moved it to the bottom. That's where it will be on all posts from here on out. You don't have to click through, but I think the reports are pretty cool. Someday I'll ask someone to show me how to post the routes directly to the blog.

Rather than running on the treadmill this morning, I drove up to City Creek Canyon to try some little trail running. (Yes, I know it's lame to drive a mile and a half to go running, especially since I finished with about that much running on the road, but running down from 11th Avenue destroys my legs and I don't want to try it again until I'm fully recovered from last time.)

I hopped on the Bonneville Shoreline trail and ran one mile up the west side of the canyon before climbing some switchbacks up to where the trail overlooks some very large houses behind the capitol. I was surprised at how slow I ran up the trail, especially considering my level of exertion. At first I assumed it was because of the uneven terrain and the mud (about two pounds of which ended up on my shoes), and both certainly slowed me down, But looking at my GPS file, it's obvious that what really slowed me down for that first mile and a half was the elevation gain. Which explains why the return trip was so much faster.

After running back to the mouth of the canyon, I finished with a trip down Bonneville Boulevard and a loop around the capitol, for a total of just over 5.5 miles. I was pretty tired afterward, however, so I don't think I've recovered completely from Monday. Just to play it safe, I think I'll take tomorrow off so I can do another long run on Saturday.

GPS Report - February 18, 2010