Ideal Conditions

I should have known I was going to have a good run yesterday. It all started on Saturday, when I spent the afternoon in Austin at REI and Hula Hut. 65 and sunny is pretty ideal for a day in Austin (really there is no bad day there). Fast forward to yesterday. I stopped at Valero on my way to Government Canyon, where I was meeting Liza for the first part of my 18 mile “tempo” run. I grab my customary pre-run coffee, and the guy at the counter just looked at me and said, “Don’t worry about it. This one’s on me.” Free anything is good, and free coffee is really good! I arrived at GC a few minutes early, thinking I would get ready and fill out the necessary paperwork before the ranger arrived to open the gate. Suddenly a truck drove up, and a man got out and started unlocking the gate. I looked at my clock – 6:55AM. This must be a mistake. Everyone knows that Government Canyon NEVER opens early. Sure enough, he waved us on through. Free coffee, gates opening early…this was shaping up to be a good day.

Liza could only run for an hour, so we headed off under a cool, clear sky towards Far Reaches. Up Far reaches and down Sendero Balcones, then back to the car. We did this (nearly 7 mile section) in exactly one hour, which is fast for me, especially since I had another 11 miles to go. I bid Liza farewell and headed back out, not too excited about trying to maintain my “fast” pace. I decided to run JJR and go up Wildcat Canyon. At the top, I ran Sendero Balcones the opposite direction and linked up with Twin Oaks, a really fun trail to run down. At the junction with JJR, I took a right and headed up and over the Overlook Trail, stopping to admire the beautiful morning and look down on the trail I had just run. Back down Overlook to JJR for a 2 mile stretch back to the car, then a mile cooldown in the front country. I looked at my watch when I had finished – 2:45 total for 18 miles. For me, this was one of my best runs at GC (maybe anywhere). The cool weather and having Liza push me (I’m sure it felt slow to her) at the start really helped. I was dreading this run from the moment I awoke, but I was really glad I did it.

One track day this week and a few easy runs, then the Austin Marathon on Sunday. As if running a road marathon isn’t bad enough (I much prefer trails), the forecast is calling for warm/humid temperatures and showers. Great. Can’t wait.