Trying to improve my running

Ran the local Saquaro loop today except I ran up the smaller hills a couple of times each to add a little more vert. my watch died towards the end so I think it is about 4 miles fortunately I was done with the vertical gain before it died.

Ran radiotower hill again I was able to go about 55 feet further up the hill than prior and felt pretty good. I think I should be able to get all the way up this hill in the next couple of weeks. I think then I will start doing multiple loops up the hill.

Ran radiotower hill again. a little further up the hill than last time I also was able to go further up on the second lap then prior. I felt pretty good about the run despite not sleeping well last night.

Ran the Sombrero Saddle trail again today. I woke up early so I decided to tack on an extra jaunt up the side of sombrero peak. I was a good bit faster, to the saddle, this time from last (8:43, previous 9:15 for 0.5 miles). It felt really pretty good. The extra jaunt added an additional 342 feet over 0.29 miles for grade of 22%. I won't lie I ended up walking most of that. It felt really steep. Hard coming down as well I almost feel like I have to go slower coming down then going up to avoid falling. The hill has a lot of loose gravel.

Ran up Beacon hill this AM. Don't usually run on Sunday but I had to work today and I knew I was going to need a run if I was going to survive the shift. I wasn't able to get as far as last time, unsure why because I had yesterday off. I was able to run more of the hill than prior on the second time up it however.

Ran the hill again tosday I was able to get about 150 further up than yesterday and it was about 50 feet further than I have made it before. today. I was also a minute faster up the hill than yesterday. I still wasn't quite as fast as on the 3rd, which is my fastest time up yet. The second trip up I ran about the same amount as on Sunday as well.

Very nice run this AM. I ran the local Saquaro loop except I am now pretty much always running the extra hill at the first and middle of the run to make it not so much of a loop as an out and back. I made it the same distance up the saddle as prior and felt pretty tired doing it. I was a little discouraged that I couldn't get any further up. However, on the way home I was able to go 8:28/mile on the last mile. That is better than I have been able to do in the past.

Didn't have work today so I went further up Sombrero than usual. It is really pretty steep after the saddle. I would like to work up to running up the whole thing. Maybe by the end of June. The last mile I was able to get down under 8:30/mile part of that was on pavement.

 AP: 13:29/mile 

Happy birthday to me. I got new shoes (Altra instinct) for my birthday. I went running on the treadmill in them because I was staying in a hotel on the strip in vegas and didn't feel like running there. I did the hill routine that the treadmill had and had an average of a 3% grade for the whole run. I did get up to a 9% grade at the steepest part.

AP: 8:30/mile 

Ran with my borther up to the top of griffith peak. It was a great run/hike. It was challenging d/t the altitude started at 7600 ft and went up to 11,044. Very fun I want to climb more peaks.  The trail up there was fantastic well defined with hardly any loose gravel.

AP:18:27/mile took 3 hours 4 min. 

Ran the local loop today. It felt super tough. I think partly d/t the cold, and partly the run this weekend and sore muscles. I was able to go as far as before though I wish I could have gone further but I am glad I at least got out since I didn't feel very good.

Did beacon hill today. I wanted to do it twice. It was super windy and I wasn't feeling great yet again. I didn't get as far up as I have in the past so I only did it once. Hopefully I get over this cold soon so I can do better. I will really want to be able to get all the way up this hill without walking before the end of the month.

Ran the local loop feeling better today hope to get all the way up sombrero peak this weekend.

Finally I made it to the top of Sombrero peak the peak right by my house. This is not ideal for running up. the first half is good though very steep with loose gravel. The last 3/4 mile is more like a scramble and rock climb than a run. I am glad to have made it to the top though finally. I think I will now stick to running up to the saddle or just the base of the cliffs for elevation gain as the last part wasn't very helpful for running training. I made it to the top in just under 1 hour.

Ran up to the top of Wasson peak for the second time. This time I ran up the backside of the mountain it had a little less elevation gain compared to last time, but the trail is so much nicer. I was able to run essentially the whole way up, with a couple of stops to rest. Last time I had to walk a large portion of the run. I felt great getting up there. This also brings me over 13,000 feet of vert for this month, which was my goal. I guess adding in the 3 peaks in the last week will do that for you. I think I will shoot for 20,000 ft to finish out the month.

 Here is a comparison of this trip and last also the tracks for last trip. 

Summary May 19 backside Mar 17 front

Beacon hill again today. I was able to make it 0.2 miles up the hill before having to stop to walk today. In addition I ran the whole hill except for a 400 foot section. Next time I will do the whole thing. It felt pretty good.

I ran up Wasson peak on the backside again this AM. I was able to get out there in time to watch the sunrise it was fantastic. It was a great run. I felt really good and was able to run nearly the whole thing did it 5 min faster than Saturday. The best part of the run is it was so peaceful out there no one on the trail early in the morning the sun coming up seeing the occasional lizard or rabbit. It was great. A good reminder of why I like running.

Ran in Saguaro park the same trail I usually run by my house. today was kind of exciting because just as I turned a corner there was a rattle snake coiled up on the side of the trail. I didn't notice him until I was past him. Boy that really woke me up and got the blood pumping. Probably my fastest time up that little hill. The rest of the run I was a bit slower though because I was looking closely at the sides of the trail for more friends.

Same trail again today as yesterday. I thought I should get back out on it before I totally syked myself out from running there anymore (after yesterdays rattler).  No sign of snakes today. I am starting to not like this trail a ton anymore though because the steepest hill on it is so hard to run up d/t all of the loose rocks. It is the best thing right by my house though.

Ran up Wasson peak again. It was not as great as the previous time. I tried to check out a couple of extra new spots to geta  little more elevation and just explors a little bit. So I was kind of surprised when at the end of the run despite having gone further and gone up and down some extra hills I had less vertical feet then previously. I am not sure how Garmin calculates that. It was a good run though i was able to run the whole thing today for the first time. I did stop a couple of times but didn't walk at all. except when trying not to fall going up rocky parts (Not much). Lots of wildlife out today. I actually stepped on a lizard that tried to cut across the trail under me. I can't believe how many reptiles there are here.

Ran up beacon hill today. I was able to run the whole thing it felt really good. this brings me to almost 20000 feet for the month.