I just completed a half marathon. On the roads. It was called the Canyonlands Half Marathon, and as far as road races go, this is my favorite. The course runs along the river road outside of Moab and then right into town to finish at the park. I was not planning on running, but I'm in Moab and I've done this race every year for the past five years now, so why not? To make things even harder, I ran nineteen miles the day before the race, and after tomorrow I'll have a total of 120 miles for the week - once again my biggest training week ever.
However, 120 miles may be too much. Two weeks ago when I ran 115 I promptly got sick and had to take four days off. Fortunately my health returned quickly and allowed me to spend most of the last week in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. This is CSU's spring break, so I've had a whole week to myself. Usually I wouldn't advertise cool places like the Needles, but Canyonlands is so amazing that everyone should experience it if given the opportunity. Like most National Parks, Canyonlands encompasses some of the most stunning terrain in the world. Huge spires connected with massive walls and hundreds of canyons and arches too intricate to comprehend. The place is stunning. The Needles are far away from all civilization, but despite that they have a really well-defined series of trails, and over four days I managed to run about seventy miles with very little repetition. Something about the desert really speaks to me with its wide open landscapes cut by steep and unforgiving rock faces. You should really check it out.
So hopefully I don't get sick again this week, but if I do then at least I'll have a pretty clear answer that anything over 100 miles per week is too much. Hopefully that doesn't happen though, because running is feeling really good right now. This much mileage has been extremely enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to staying strong and consistent for the next few months.
The half marathon was a good speed workout, but that's probably an excuse. It was windy too, ok? I think I was somewhere in the latter half of the top ten. But I just like running in the desert. If you missed the Canyonlands Half Marathon and want to try it yourself, they do a really awesome race in October called The Other Half. Check it out at moabhalfmarathon.org. Then come out to the desert and experience what I'm talking about. We live in a really cool world.
Nice. Dude, post some trails/loops if you don't mind!
ReplyDeleteDid you go by yourself? I'm at CU-Denver and spent last wknd in the Fruita desert for a few days for the same reason (solo), and Grand Mesa (for some skiing), though I get weird questions about going solo. I wanted to go deeper into the Utah desert but couldn't piece together any good loops with reasonable water situations (besides slogging through slot canyons), so if you have any good suggestions, it'd be nice to hear them! There aren't good resources out there on what's runnable (that I found), so good for you for exploring. Cheers.
Dakota,
ReplyDeleteGlad that you got time to yourself down in the Needles. I fastpacked there a year and a half ago and can't wait to get back. It's like Bryce Canyon, but with a large trail network.
If you're looking for a remote trail network on the other side of the state, check out Gooseberry Mesa. It's a smaller trail network built by mountain bikers, but it's a pleasant combination of remote without taking hours to get to.
Great meeting you at the start of the half! It was a great weekend in Moab, definitely wouldn't mind doing a longer trip to explore the trails around there. Sounds awesome!
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