onepinkfuzzy

The day dawned bright and clear. J let me sleep in till 8, and I took my time getting ready. Since I'm tapering, I decided to do an 8.4 mile run up Bear Canyon (which you access from the Sabino Canyon area) to a gorgeous waterfall. I've hiked the route a number of times over the years, but hadn't been up there in awhile. I had totally forgotten how Bear Canyon is so much more beautiful than Sabino Canyon. The riparian areas are densely forested (for the desert, anyway!), the stream was still flowing (Sabino hasn't flowed in ages!) and there was more shade. There were also more hikers than exercisers, resulting in a lot of stopping, passing and comments such as the one opening my post. (It's a widely held belief in Tucson that Phoenix is way more hectic - and less desirable - than Tucson. He totally dissed me with that comment. Grr.) On the way up, almost to the falls, I passed a guy and a girl heading down. On my way back down, I passed them again. A short while later, I heard "thud, thud, thud," as I started to cross the wash, and I thought a mountain lion was coming to get me! Then the girl emerged from the bushes, and I thought perhaps I had dropped something and she was running me down to return it. But nope. The guy said I had inspired them, so they started running! (And promptly passed me. Grr.)

The weather was absolutely perfect! I wore shorts, a T and my visor. The sun was a little strong, but the breeze kept my temperature just right - no overheating, no freezing. Perfect. The run felt great! Knowing that I had less than 9 miles to run today took a lot of pressure off. I had to keep reminding myself that I was tapering. In other words, don't overdo it! I kept wanting to go faster, but tried to hold myself back a little. It just felt so good. I wanted to be out there, instead of feeling like I needed to be out there. The trail was a fun one, twisty and turny. There were a few spots, as with all Tucson trails, where it got rocky and a bit dodgy for footing, but it's one of the smoother Tucson trails!

I liked how relaxing this run felt. No pressure, no worries. Deliberately tried to take it easy, instead of push myself. I took a 30 second break at the falls to take in their glory, and a three-minute break on the way down to tie my shoes and refill my water bottles. Total time elapsed: 2:06:50, 15:06/mile. Taking out the breaks, I averaged 14:41/mile. Not bad for 1000 vt ft of elevation on a trail! And the best part? It felt good.